Abstract:
The Longyuanba uranium mineralization concentration area in the eastern section of the Nanling Range is a core segment of the Taoshan-Zhuguang uranium metallogenic belt within the Southeastern China Uranium Province. Research on the structural ore-control mechanisms of granite-hosted uranium deposits in this area is relatively weak, and previous studies have not systematically clarified the coupling relationship between fault activity episodes and the "ore-guiding, ore-hosting, and ore-breaking" system. This study reveals the structural ore-control through field structural geological surveys, attitude measurements of 39 ore-bearing structures, stress field inversion, and isotopic data verification. The results indicate that: 1) The area develops four fault sets: nearly E-W, NE, NNE, and NW-trending. Among them, the nearly E-W trending Huangsha-Shangzhukeng Fault is an ore-guiding structure (controlling the Huangsha fault depression and serving as a convergence zone for ore-forming fluids); the NE-trending F
5-F
8 faults are ore-bearing structures for iron-lead-zinc polymetallic mineralization (associated with white massive quartz veins); the NW-trending cataclastic-altered rocks/diabase dikes are ore-bearing structures for uranium mineralization (preferred orientation 282°); and the NNE-trending F
1/F
53/F
55 faults are post-ore structures. 2) Uranium mineralization occurred during the NW-SE extensional stage of the Yanshanian period (corresponding to a mineralization age of 89 Ma), which couples with the formation period of the NW-trending tensile fractures. 3) A three-level metallogenic model of "ore-guiding structures controlling the district - ore-hosting structures controlling the deposit location - post-ore structures causing modification" is established. The NWW-trending structures within the Huangsha fault depression show significant mineralization potential at greater depths. This study provides practical target areas for uranium prospecting in the Longyuanba area and refines the structural ore-control theory for granite-hosted uranium deposits in the eastern section of the Nanling Range.