1. IntroductionMost metallic mineral deposits formed from hydrothermal fluids, and the mineralization processes include both chemical （e.g., fluid-rock and fluid-fluid interactions） and physical （e.g., fluid flow） aspects.
Guoxiang Chi Department of Geology,University of Regina, Regina,Saskatchewan,Canada Chunji Xue State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources,China University of Geosciences, Xueyuan Road 29,Beijing 100083,China
Fluid flow is an integral part of hydrothermal mineralization, and its analysis and characterization constitute an important part of a mineralization model. The hydrodynamic study of mineralization deals with analyzing the driving forces, fluid pressure regimes, fluid flow rate and direction, and their relationships with localization of mineralization. This paper reviews the principles and methods of hydrodynamic studies of mineralization, and discusses their significance and limitations for ore deposit studies and mineral exploration. The driving forces of fluid flow may be related to fluid overpressure, topographic relief, tectonic deformation, and fluid density change due to heating or salinity variation, depending on specific geologic environments and mineralization processes. The study methods may be classified into three types, megascopic （field） observations, microscopic analyses, and numerical modeling. Megascopic features indicative of significantly overpressured （especially lithostatic or supralithostatic） fluid systems include horizontal veins, sand injection dikes, and hydraulic breccias. Microscopic studies, especially microthermometry of fluid inclusions and combined stress analysis and microthermometry of fluid inclusion planes （FIPs） can provide important information about fluid temperature, pressure, and fluid-structural relationships, thus constraining fluid flow models. Numerical modeling can be carried out to solve partial differential equations governing fluid flow, heat transfer, rock deformation and chemical reactions, in order to simulate the distribution of fluid pressure, temperature, fluid flow rate and direction, and mineral precipitation or dissolution in 2D or 3D space and through time. The results of hydrodynamic studies of mineralization can enhance our understanding of the formation nrocesses of hvdrothermal denosits, and can be used directly or indirectly in mineral exnloration.
The Ordos Basin of North China is not only an important uranium mineralization province, but also a major producer of oil, gas and coal in China. The genetic relationship between uranium mineralization and hydrocarbons has been recognized by a number of previous studies, but it has not been well understood in terms of the hydrodynamics of basin fluid flow. We have demonstrated in a previous study that the preferential localization of Cretaceous uranium mineralization in the upper part of the Ordos Jurassic section may have been related to the interface between an upward flowing, reducing fluid and a downward flowing, oxidizing fluid. This interface may have been controlled by the interplay between fluid overpressure related to disequilibrium sediment compaction and which drove the upward flow, and topographic relief, which drove the downward flow. In this study, we carried out numerical modeling for the contribution of oil and gas generation to the development of fluid overpressure, in addition to sedi- ment compaction and heating. Our results indicate that when hydrocarbon generation is taken into account, fluid overpressure during the Cretaceous was more than doubled in comparison with the simu- lation when hydrocarbon generation was not considered. Furthermore, fluid overpressure dissipation at the end of sedimentation slowed down relative to the no-hydrocarbon generation case. These results suggest that hydrocarbon generation may have played an important role in uranium mineralization, not only in providing reducing agents required for the mineralization, but also in contributing to the driving force to maintain the upward flow.
本文探讨流体包裹体组合(FIA)的原理及其对包裹体测温数据有效性的制约以及数据的表达方法。流体包裹体组合指的是一组同时被捕获的流体包裹体,其同时性的依据是岩相学关系而不是测温数据的相似性。如果根据岩相学关系建立了一个 FIA,且这个 FIA 内的包裹体测温数据很一致,那么这些包裹体可能属于均一捕获且在捕获后未受破坏,这些包裹体的测温数据是有效的。在进行数据汇总或统计时,应取整个 FIA 内所有包裹体的平均值为代表,而不应将每个包裹体的数据都列入。如果同一 FIA 内包裹体的测温数据变化很大,那么这些包裹体可能属于非均一捕获或在捕获后遭受了显著改变(如卡脖子、拉伸)。这种情况下包裹体的测温数据是无效的,不应纳入数据汇总或统计。在很多情况下,一组包裹体是否属于同时捕获是很难确定的,因此不能严格地用 FTA 的方法来判定数据的有效性。但是,FIA 的原理还是可以提供一些制约的。例如,如果相邻包裹体显示相似的测温数据,那么这些包裹体可能属于均一捕获且无显著捕获后变化。各个包裹体的数据都应纳入数据汇总及统计,但要注意不要将数据点过分集中在某个小区域。反之,如果相邻包裹体的测温数据相差很大,就要怀疑是不是非均一捕获、捕获后破坏,或不同期次包裹体叠加。详细的包裹体测温"填图",结合与已知 FIA 数据的比较,可能可以解决这种多解性问题。
