Magma evolution and mineralization of the Baixintan magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide deposit in Eastern Tianshan, Northwestern China

Eastern Tianshan is an important nickel ore belt in China, in which large to middle-sized magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide deposits occur spatially in the eastern part. The Baixintan magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide deposit is an important discovery in the western part of Eastern Tianshan, which provides an ideal target to track the evolution of the magmatic mineralization system in this part. The Baixintan intrusion is composed of the northeastern mafic units and the southwestern mafic–ultramafic units. The olivine Fo contents of the Baixintan intrusion range from 81.12 to 84.46 mol.%. Numerical calculations yield a parental magma composition with 9.14 wt.% MgO. The Rayleigh simulation using olivine Fo and Ni contents shows that the parental magma of the Baixintan intrusion has experienced ~ 2% olivine crystallization, and then evolved magma became sulfide-saturated. Calculations by the mass-balance R factor equation using PGE data indicate that the formation of the mafic and mafic–ultramafic units of the Baixintan intrusion resulted from multiple influxes of magmas. The Baixintan intrusion is highly comparable with those mafic–ultramafic intrusions that host large magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide deposits in the eastern part of Eastern Tianshan. The mafic–ultramafic intrusions in the western part of Eastern Tianshan should be carefully evaluated for the potential of hosting large magmatic Ni–Cu deposits.