Fluid sources and metallogenesis in the Baiganhu W-Sn deposit, East Kunlun, NW China: Insights from chemical and boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline

- The Baiganhu area is a new large W-Sn belt in northwest China.
- Tourmalines are related to the Li-poor granites and the Al-saturated metapelites.
- The cores are depleted in Mg, Ca, Ti, and enriched in Al and Fe relative to the rims.
- B-isotope ratios of tourmalines range from − 12.9 to − 7.9‰ δ11B.
- B-isotope reflects a single granite-derived magmatic-hydrothermal origin.

Tourmaline is widespread in the Baiganhu W-Sn deposit, Xinjiang Province, NW China. In this study, electron microprobe analysis reveals that tourmaline in the Baiganhu deposit belongs to the alkali and X-site group with low Ca and moderate X site vacancy, all beyond the confines of schorl-dravite series, with Na/(Na + Ca) and Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios ranging from 0.769 to 0.965 and 0.518 to 0.822, respectively. In chemical discrimination diagrams, the tourmaline samples plot in the fields of Li-poor granite, associated with Al-saturated metapelites and metapsammites. The tourmaline cores are depleted in Mg, Ca, Ti, but enriched in Al and Fe compared to the rims. Substitution mechanisms for the compositional variations are dominantly due to MgFe− 1, □Al(NaFe)− 1, □Al(NaMg)− 1, and AlO(Fe− 1(OH))− 1 exchange vectors. The δ11B values of the tourmalines range from − 12.9 to − 7.9‰, with a slight variation between cores and rims, which reflect a common boron source, and also indicate that the tourmaline crystallized during a single magmatic-hydrothermal event related to monzogranite. Tourmaline is a valuable prospecting indicator of W-Sn mineralization.