Formation of the Wulong gold deposit, Liaodong gold Province, NE China: Constraints from zircon U–Pb age, sericite Ar–Ar age, and H–O–S–He isotopes

The Wulong deposit is the largest quartz vein-type gold deposit in the eastern Liaoning Province of China. The gold ore bodies are hosted by Mesozoic biotite-granites. The mineralization occurs as veins with lenticular shapes. Laser-ablation-ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating was used to date the biotite-granite, granite porphyry, and fine-grained diorites at the Wulong deposit, yielding ages of 155.4 ± 0.9 Ma, 154.2 ± 1.2 Ma, and 123.1 ± 0.9 Ma,...