Linking Mesozoic lode gold deposits to metal-fertilized lower continental crust in the North China Craton: Evidence from Pb isotope systematics

The source(s) of lode gold deposits formed in Precambrian cratons related to accretion/collision and cratonic reactivation, formerly attributed to either supercrustal volcano-sedimentary sequences or deep crustal/sub-crustal origin, remain controversial largely because gold deposits are spatially related to metamorphosed rocks, but geochemical data somewhat indicate a poorly understood deep source. Reconciling such conflicts is important to...