Structure of the Panzhihua intrusion and its Fe-Ti-V deposit,China

The Panzhihua intrusion in southwest China is part of the Emeishan large igneous province and host of a large Fe-Ti-V ore deposit.In previous interpretations it was considered to be a layered,differentiated sill with the ore deposits at its base.New structural and petrological data suggest instead that the intrusion has an open S-shape,with two near-concordant segments joined by a discordant dyke-like segment. During emplacement of the main intrusion,multiple generations of mafic dykes invaded carbonate wall rocks,producing a large contact aureole.In the central segment,magmatic layering is oriented oblique to the walls of the intrusion.This layering cannot have formed by crystal settling or in-situ growth on the floor of the intrusion;instead we propose that it resulted from inward solidification of multiple,individually operating,convection cells.Ore formation was triggered by interaction of magma with carbonate wall rocks.