The Jiapigou gold belt is located on the northern margin of the North China Craton, and is one of the most important gold-mining and production regions in the circum-Pacific metallogenic zone. Research has been conducted in this area since the 1960s, however, the timing of the gold mineralisation is still unresolved, and an ideal metallogenic model has not been well established. To address these questions, a systematic geological, geochemical and geochronological investigation was conducted. The study revealed that (i) the gold-bearing quartz veins can be divided into two groups, earlier and later gold-bearing quartz veins according to their occurrence and the geochemical characteristics, (ii) the geochemical characteristics of the ore bodies, while similar to granite, are clearly different from the altered rock, and (iii) the geochemical characteristics of the later gold-bearing quartz veins have more similarity to the altered rock than the earlier gold-bearing quartz veins do. Therefore, we conclude that two independent stages of metallogenesis within the Jiapigou gold deposit area are related to magmatic activity in the Palaeoproterozoic and the Yanshanian stage of the Mesozoic, that the ore-forming fluids are mainly of magmatic origin, and that magma contamination by the altered rock was stronger in the Mesozoic. Zircon LA–ICP–MS U–Pb data show that the age of the Palaeoproterozoic granite is ∼2426.0 Ma and that of the Mesozoic granite is ∼166.2 Ma; these ages can be interpreted as the maximum ages of the two periods of gold mineralisation. In addition to investigating the geotectonic and regional structure of the Jiapigou gold belt, this study also proposes that the WNW-trending zone of gold mineralization is a result of a magmatic event within the basement in the early Palaeoproterozoic, and that largescale sinistral strike-slip displacements of the Huifahe and Liangjiang Faults in the late Middle Triassic (Yanshanian epoch) controlled the later tectono-magmatic event and the NNE–ENE-trending zone of gold mineralisation.

SE China is well known for its Mesozoic large-scale granitoid plutons and associated ore deposits. Here, zircon U–Pb geochronological and geochemical data have been used to better constrain the petrogenesis of the igneous rocks associated with porphyry Ag–Pb–Zn deposits in the Lengshuikeng ore district, SE China. The Lengshuikeng rhyolitic tuff, granite porphyry and syenogranite yielded zircon U–Pb ages of 161, 155 and 138 Ma, respectively. The Lengshuikeng granite porphyries belong to calc-alkaline series and show fractionated I-type affinities. The rhyolitic tuffs show almost similar characteristics as the granite porphyries. The engshuikeng syenogranites are all alkali-rich and show A-type affinities. The syenogranites have high contents of high field strength elements such as Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf; with Zr + Nb + Ce + Y contents of < 350 ppm. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns show relative enrichment of LREEs and strong negative Eu anomalies. The Lengshuikeng granite porphyries, syenogranites and tuffs were probably derived from partial melting of underlying Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks with minor addition of mantle-derived magmas, accompanied by fractional crystallization. Detailed petrologic and geochemical data for the Jurassic igneous rocks from the Lengshuikeng ore district imply that during the Late Jurassic, SE China on the southeast of the Shi-Hang zone was a continental arc associated with the subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific plate and that since the beginning of the Early Cretaceous an intra-arc rift has been formed along the Shi-Hang zone.

The Mogou syenite intruded into the Mesoproterozoic Xiong’er Group is the main lithostratigraphic unit, along the southern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). This paper reports zircon LAICP-MS data, whole-rock major and trace element compositions of late Triassic magmatic rocks in the Mogou syenite, in order to constrain the formation age of the Mogou syenite, research the origin and evolution of the magma and analyse the geodynamic setting of the Qinling Orogen (QO) in Late Triassic. These rocks consist of medium- to coarse-grained syenite and fine-grained quartz syenite. Zircon U–Pb dating yields a crystallization age of 226.5±2.7 Ma. The syenites are characterized by highSiO_2 (63.49–72.17%), alkali (K_2O+Na_2O of 11.18–15.38%) and potassium (K_2O/Na_2O of 2.88–28.11), are peralkaline or metaluminous (molar A/CNK of 0.87–1.02) and belong to shoshonite series. The syenites have ΣREE of 33.01–191.30 ppm, LREE/HREE of 14–20, (La/Yb)N of 11–24, with LREE-richdistribution pattern and obvious differentiation between HREE and LREE. Eu anomalies are positive for the medium- to coarse-grained syenite and weakly negative for the fine-grained quartz syenite. In addition, the syenites are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (Ba, K, Sr, and Pb) but depleted inhigh strength field elements (Ti, Ta, Nb, Zr, and Hf), and have high differentiation indices of 91.69–97.06. These geochemical features indicate that the primary magma of the Mogou syenite most likely originated from a mantle source with minor crustal component, and underwent a fractional crystallizationprocess during its emplacement. The late Triassic A-type Moguo syenite along the southern margin of the NCC was generated in the late stage of the syn-collision event of QO, recording a transition periodfrom compression to extension at around 227 Ma.