Prospective prediction of volcanics-hosted gold deposits in western Liaoning based on weights of evidence

Located at the northern margin of North China Craton and southern margin of Tianshan-Xing'an Mongolian orogenic belt, the West Liaoning region is one of the well-developed volcanic terrains in eastern China and also a significant gold concentration area in Liaoning Province. Dozens of volcanic-hosted gold deposits have been discovered there, represented by the medium-sized Erdaogou deposit in Beipiao and Shuiquan deposit in Huludao, as well as the small-sized Hongshilazi deposit in Yi County. Extensive previous regional geological surveys, coupled with geophysical-geochemical explorations, have accumulated a substantial amount of relevant data. This study conducts a regional-scale prediction for the distribution of volcanic-hosted gold deposits in western Liaoning, with data collected from the Regional Geology of Liaoning and the Mineral Resource Potential Assessment of Liaoning. Using fundamental geological information including regional stratigraphy, regional structures, and lithological formations(volcanic, intrusive, sedimentary, and metamorphic), and integrated with geophysical(regional aeromagnetic and gravity)and geochemical(gold and eight related elements) data, the authors applied the weights-of-evidence method to analyze the spatial distribution of volcanics-hosted gold deposits relative to each predictive factor and assigned corresponding weights. By superimposing these weights, prospective target zones for gold exploration are identified. The results delineated 23 prospective zones, categorized as 2 Class A zones(covering about 4.5 km²), 2 Class B zones(about 9.8 km²), and 19 Class C zones(about 84 km²), primarily distributed over the volcanic formations in the central area surrounded by Shenjiatai, Yixian, Jinzhou, and Linghai City, and also corresponding to aeromagnetic transition area between positive and negative anomalies.