Structural Ore-Control Model of the Daliangzi Pb–Zn Deposit, Southwest China

The oblique distribution of orebodies is a fundamental characteristic of the spatial arrangement of orebody groups in non-magmatic hydrothermal deposits and is closely related to shearing. The Daliangzi Pb–Zn deposit in the Sichuan–Yunnan–Guizhou Pb–Zn polymetallic metallogenic area is a typical representative of epigenetic hydrothermal deposits controlled by a strike-slip–fault-fold structure. However, the underlying ore-controlling mechanism of this strike-slip–fault-fold structure remains unclear; as a result, achieving breakthroughs in mineral exploration in the deposit’s deep and peripheral zones is directly hindered. This paper focuses on the Daliangzi Pb–Zn deposit. Based on the Theory and Methods of Ore-field Geomechanics, the hierarchical structural ore-controlling pattern of the deposit is clarified, identifying the NE-trending tectonic zone from the Middle-Late Indosinian to Early Yanshanian as the Pb–Zn metallogenic tectonic system. It proposes the spatial oblique distribution patterns of the deposits, ore sections, orebodies, and ore blocks, along with the mechanical mechanisms of multi-scale structural ore control. A compound negative flower structure–fault-fold–diapiric ore-controlling model was constructed for the Daliangzi Pb–Zn deposit. Finally, the locations of concealed orebodies at different scales within the Daliangzi Pb–Zn deposit and its surrounding areas were predicted; moreover, the locations of concealed orebodies at various depths within the deposit area were also predicted.