Whole-Rock Element Analyses Constraining the Magmatic Evolution and Metallogenesis of the Jiaojia Fault Zone, Jiaodong Gold Province

The Jiaodong Peninsula constitutes a world-class gold province in eastern China, containing more than 5000 t of identified gold resources. The Jiaojia gold deposit is one of the largest deposits within this gold province, and mineralization is primarily distributed along the northern segment of the Jiaojia Fault. The structural characteristics and mineralization processes of the northern segment have been extensively documented. In contrast, the ore-forming mechanisms of the southern Jiaojia Fault remain poorly constrained, hindering further exploration targeting. We chose several gold deposits and one drill core along the Jiaojia Fault, then present whole-rock major and trace elements data to evaluate magmatic affinities and their ore-forming potential. The results show that the lithological differences in plutonic and stratigraphic units suggest that variations in petrogenesis may have exerted a fundamental control on mineralization styles. Almost all samples are characterized by enrichment in light rare earth elements, relative enrichment in Europium, and pronounced depletion in heavy rare earth elements. Alteration characteristics indicate the northern segment is dominated by advanced argillic alteration, whereas phyllic alteration is more prevalent in the southern segment. The rare earth elements discrimination plot clearly suggests differentiation from the northern and southern fault segments. Consequently, we propose that the northern segment records synorogenic arc magmatism, while the southern segment experienced both synorogenic and a subsequent intraplate extensional transitional stage.