Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25

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Journal of Applied Geophysics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jappgeo

Gravity method for investigating the geological structures associated

with W–Sn polymetallic deposits in the Nanling Range, China
Guoxiong Chen a,b,d, Tianyou Liu c, Jinsong Sun c, Qiuming Cheng a,d,e,⁎, Bhaskar Sahoo e,
Zhenjie Zhang a,b, Henglei Zhang c
a
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
b
Faculty of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
c
Institute of Geophysics and Geomatics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
d
Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada
e
Department of Geography, York University, Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The crustal structures of the Nanling Range (South China), which is endowed with abundant W–Sn polymetallic
Received 6 December 2014 mineral resources related to granites, was investigated with gravity surveys. Since the rock densities of granitic
Received in revised form 13 May 2015 intrusions differ significantly from the host sedimentary rocks, an integrated gravity data analysis (e.g., field
Accepted 4 June 2015
decomposition, edge detection and inverse modeling) could help explore the concealed geological structures
Available online 7 June 2015
in the region. Subsequently, the analysis would assist in understanding the spatial distribution of W–Sn
Keywords:
polymetallic deposits. Multiscale decomposition of Bouguer gravity data based on wavelet transform showed
Gravity exploration the multiscale gravity components of causative sources at different depths, and highlighted lots of concealed
Geological structures bodies (e.g., granites and sedimentary basin) especially in the 2nd and 3rd order wavelet details. Based on
Mineral deposits these decomposed gravity anomalies, the edge detection method played a significant role in delineating the
Nanling Range multiscale concealed faults or lithological contacts. These lineaments, especially for their bends and intersections,
are closely associated with the spatial distribution of ore deposits due to the fact that most of the deposits occur
along these lineaments. The potential distribution of concealed granitic intrusions was mapped by using singu-
larity analysis, which notably identified the weak gravity anomalies caused by concealed granites. It was ob-
served that most of the ore deposits are located inside or near these potential areas. Three-dimensional (3D)
density modeling of the local ore cluster area, Xianghualing–Qitianling–Qianlishan (XQQ) indicated that the
granites extend much underneath the outcrops. This result derived from gravity inversion suggested that XQQ
granitic plutons are connected together in the middle-lower crust and this system might provide sufficient ma-
terials and heat to form a large number of polymetallic ore deposits. Also, from a calculation of the Moho depths
in the area, our findings showed that ore deposits often occur alongside the Moho variations which are often as-
sociated with various tectonic activities (e.g., crustal fault and magma intrusion). In summary, our research sug-
gested that the bends and intersections of lineaments; concealed granites and their buffer zones; and the Moho
variations serve as significant indicators for ore mineralization and they can assist in the prediction of potential
W–Sn polymetallic deposits in the Nanling Range.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction hydrothermal systems are the most distinguished signatures of Nanling

The Nanling Range in southern China is a well-known mineral belt of
base and noble metals and rare earth and radioactive elements (Hu and
Zhou, 2012; Mao et al., 2009; Yu, 2011b). Highly enriched non-ferrous
and rare minerals related to felsic intrusive rocks and low-temperature
⁎ Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral
Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
E-mail addresses: chengxhg@163.com (G. Chen), liuty@cug.edu.cn (T. Liu),
qiuming@cug.edu.cn (Q. Cheng).
mineral district, making it the most important metallogenic provinces in
the world (Mao et al., 2011; Peng et al., 2003). The regional reserves of
W, Sn, Pb and Zn ores account for approximately 83%, 63%, 30% and
22% of the total amounts of identified resources in China, respectively
(Wang et al., 2007). There are numerous world-class W–Sn polymetallic
deposits in this region, such as Shizhuyuan W–Sn–Mo–Bi (Mao et al.,
1996), Furong W–Sn (Z. Li et al., 2007), and Xihuashan W deposits
(McKee et al., 1987). These deposits are closely associated with the
Jurassic and Cretaceous granites and related hydrothermal processes.
In recent years, this mineral district has captured increasing attention
from the geologists all over the world, interested in the study of the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2015.06.001
0926-9851/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
genesis and distribution of regional ore formation (Chen, 1989; Chen
et al., 2007; Zaw et al., 2007).
Since the discovery of the Nanling mineral province several decades
ago (Weng, 1919; Xie, 1936), many mineralization theories (e.g., Chen,
1989; Yu, 2011a,b,c) have been proposed to study the regional
metallogenic regularities and various ore exploration (geophysical,
geochemical and remote sensing) methods (e.g., Liu et al., 2013a,b;
Rao, 2006) have been applied to predict the potential mineral resources
in this area. Gravity and magnetic survey methods, two of the widely
used classical geophysical prospecting techniques, have been greatly
developed over the past decades with new theories of data analysis,
and have proved particularly useful in the engineering, environment,
and mineral exploration studies (Nabighian et al., 2005a,b). In mineral
exploration, these techniques are commonly used for direct identifica-
tion of ore bodies or indirect assessment of the mineral resources
through the analysis of ore-controlling structures (Betts et al., 2004;
Bierlein et al., 2006; Li et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2011). For instance,
while potential field gradients are capable of horizontal delineation of
faults and lithological contacts by using edge detection technique, the
2D gravity anomaly data could help map 3D density distributions of
buried ore bodies or other concealed geological features by using inver-
sion approaches. The gravity and magnetic exploration methods have
shown great prospects in the study of ore genesis (e.g., Lü et al., 2012;
Wannamaker et al., 2009), metallogenic regularity (e.g., Blakely and
Jachens, 1991; Gunn and Dentith, 1997) and mineral resource predic-
tion (e.g., Shah et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2011; Cheng, 2012) as evi-
denced from various case studies.
Early gravity and magnetic exploration for geological surveys in the
Nanling and its surrounding area have been implemented by Chinese
scholars in the late 1990s (e.g., Qin, 1984, 1987; Rao et al., 1993;
Wang, 1985; Zeng et al., 1997). Qin (1984, 1987) reviewed the signa-
tures of gravity and magnetic anomalies over numerous ore deposits
in the north of our study area and showed that ore deposits usually
occurred along gravity gradients accompanied by strong magnetic
anomalies. Wang (1985) pointed out that the gravity signatures of gran-
ite outcrops differ from the host sedimentary rocks due to the difference
in density, and investigated the extension of some granitic plutons
through 2D forward modeling of gravity data. Zeng et al. (1997) delin-
eated the faults and calculated the crustal thickness of South China by
exploiting the Bouguer gravity data, and they noticed the difficulty in
separating the gravity anomalies arising from various sources of differ-
ent sizes in the region. Therefore, decomposition of mixed gravity fields
is crucial for investigation of specific geological structures such as faults,
concealed granites and Moho discontinuity. From a review of the works
conducted by Rao (2006) it is suggested that geophysical (e.g., gravity
anomaly lows and magnetic anomaly highs) and geochemical anoma-
lies associated with magmatic and hydrothermal activities could serve
as significant indicators for finding potential ore deposits in the Nanling
region. The above mentioned literatures provided foundation for
the current research with an incentive to use gravity method in
the investigation of the crustal structures in our study area. Howev-
er, previous work is limited by lackluster information obtained
from conventional methods (e.g., signature analysis, up continua-
tion and 2D forward modeling). We need to explore more underly-
ing information such as multiscale views of gravity field and
gravitational gradient, and 2D map and 3D model of concealed
granites to analyze the spatial relationship between the mineral
deposits and the concealed structures. This information may assist
in understanding the mineralization regularities as well as predicting
potential mineral resources.
In this study, we propose to use the advanced gravity data process-
ing methods (e.g., wavelet based multiscale decomposition, multiscale
edge detection, singularity mapping and 3D density inversion) to
explore various concealed geological structures such as fault/contact
systems; 2D spatial distributions and 3D geological models of concealed
granites; and Moho variations. In subsequent sections, after a briefly
15
description of the geological settings and methodologies, we mainly
focus on the data analysis result and address their implications on the
regional mineralization.
2. Study area
2.1. Geological settings
Nanling Range is geographically located in an area that intersects the
Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces in South China,
between latitude 24°N–27°N and longitude 110°E–115°E (Fig. 1).
Geologically, the region is located within the South China Block which
is associated with two separate plates: the Cathaysian Block in the
southeast and the Yangtze Block in the northwest, along with the
closure of the paleo South China Ocean during the Neoproterozoic–
Mesoproterozoic (900–850 Ma) period (Shu, 2006). The continental
collision between the Tibet–Yunnan Plate and the South China Block
during the Indosinian (late Triassic) produced a northwest-trending
structural system. The subsequent NW-directed subduction of the
paleo Pacific oceanic plate beneath the South China Block during the
Jurassic led to a NE-trending structural system (Hu and Zhou, 2012; X.
Li et al., 2007; Yu, 2011c). The NW- and NE-trending faults are well
developed and intersected in the Nanling Range (Fig. 1). The Chaling–
Chenzhou–Linwu (CCL) Fault, considered as the suture line of the for-
mer Cathaysian Block and Yangtze Block, is the most important fault
in our study area (Hong et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2003).
The Nanling district is characterized by widespread magmatic activ-
ities of granitic intrusions with ages ranging from the Sibao period (ca.
1600–1000 Ma) to the Yanshanian period (ca. 199–134 Ma), and the
granites have an outcropping area of 50,000 km2 (Yu, 2011a). This
region has experienced multiple tectonic events since the Paleozoic,
such as the Indosinian (late Permian–middle Triassic) orogenies
and the Yanshanian (Jurassic–Cretaceous) tectono-magmatic events.
These tectonic events were responsible for multi-stage granitic intrusive
bodies, and the crust–mantle interaction played an important role in
the formation of the granitic rocks (Chen, 1989; Zhu et al., 2009).
Mao et al. (2009) suggested a comprehensive deposit model related
to magma intrusions in South China (Fig. 2). The complicated
geo-processes including evolution-differentiation of the magmas
and hydrothermal systems resulted in abundant mineralization of
vein-type (W–Sn and Pb–Zn–Ag), porphyry (Cu–Mo), epithermal
(Au–Ag) and skarn (Fe–Cu) deposits (Hu and Zhou, 2012; Mao
et al., 1996; Zaw et al., 2007).
2.2. Mineralization and geophysical anomalies
Nanling district is one of the best natural laboratories for studying
the mineralization of granites. The hydrothermal systems in this region
are either closely associated with the felsic intrusive rocks or are low-
temperature systems with no direct connection to igneous activities
(Hu and Zhou, 2012). The W–Sn polymetallic skarn/vein deposits
formed during 160–150 Ma (Hu et al., 2012; Mao et al., 2011) are typical
of the Nanling area (e.g., Xizhuyuan, Furong, Xianghualing and
Xihuashan) and they are often located along the contacts between
the Yanshanian granitoids and Late Devonian dolomitic limestones
(Hu and Zhou, 2012; Zaw et al., 2007) as shown in Fig. 2. Also, these
deposits are enriched in other elements such as Mo, Bi, Pb and Zn. For
instance, the Shizhuyuan deposit contains 7.5 Mt of WO3, 4.9 Mt of Sn,
3 Mt of Bi, 1.3 Mt of Mo and 2 Mt of Be with grades ranging from 1 to
5% (Lu et al., 2003).
From the mineralization model in Fig. 2, the ore deposits are closely
associated with granitic intrusions, faults and hydrothermal processes.
Divergences of petrophysical properties are the prerequisites of using
geophysical methods to study geological targets. As mentioned in the
Introduction section, the previous geophysical works in this region
have suggested that most of the mineral deposits exhibit “gravity
16 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25

Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Nanling range in South China, mainly showing the spatial distributions of granitic outcrops, major faults and W, Sn, Pb and Zn mineral deposits.
Modified from Huang and Deng (2002).

anomaly lows”, which is the characteristic response of granitic intru- occurring around the contacts between sedimentary rocks and granites
sions with low density, and such lows generally occur along gravity gra- may lead to the enrichment of magnetic minerals. In addition, the line-
dients representing faults. These deposits often show distinct signatures aments of isolated magnetic anomalies can identify the faults associated
of magnetic anomalies since some type of mineralization-alteration with mineralization-alteration (Qin, 1984, 1987; Rao, 2006).

Fig. 2. Comprehensive model of polymetallic deposits associated with magma intrusions in South China (modified from Mao et al., 2009).
 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
Table 1
Statistic on density of sedimentary strata.
Modified from Rao et al. (1993).
Strata Average density Strata Average density
(g/cm3) (g/cm3)
K 2.57 D 2.68
J 2.56 S 2.64
T 2.68 O 2.68
P 2.62 Є 2.68
C 2.70 Z 2.69
3. Rock densities and gravity dataset
Table 1 shows the statistics on density of sedimentary strata as
adapted from Rao et al. (1993). Density value for the Mesozoic sedimen-
tary strata ranges from 2.53 to 2.68 g/cm3 and 2.64 to 2.70 g/cm3 for the
Paleozoic sedimentary strata. Compared with the host sedimentary
strata, density of granitic intrusions ranges from 2.55 to 2.63 g/cm3
with an average of 2.60 g/cm3. While the Paleozoic sedimentary strata
is widely distributed, the Mesozoic sedimentary basin is mainly devel-
oped in the NE area (e.g., Hengyang Basin and Chaling–Yongxing
Basin) and the Proterozoic sedimentary strata are sparsely distributed
in the Nanling Range (Fig. 1). The granitic intrusions with in
the Mesozoic sedimentary strata show density contrasts ranging from
−0.04 to −0.10 g/cm3, and produce low amplitude gravity anomalies.
It must be noticed that few Cretaceous and Jurassic sedimentary strata
with low density values can cause gravity anomaly lows misleading
the identification of granites.
Fig. 3 shows the satellite Bouguer gravity anomaly pattern in the
Nanling Range. This gravity dataset is obtained from the “calculation ser-
vice” of the International Center for Global Earth Models (ICGEM)
(Barthelmes and Köhler, 2012, http://icgem.gfz-potsdam.de/ICGEM/)
by using the EGM 2008 global geopotential model with a spatial resolu-
tion of 0.05°. Although the gravitational gradients on the gravity map are
very complex in nature, they roughly coincide with the geologically de-
lineated faults. Gravity anomalies of granitic intrusions can be vaguely
recognized, but most of them are buried in the strong interferences of
the background field produced by the Moho undulation. Therefore, in
order to delineate multiscale faulting and to investigate the spatial
distribution of concealed granites, we should first extract the specific
gravity information from this mixed field. In this research, we used
the ground-based field Bouguer gravity data with over 46,500 sta-
tions covering an area of 180,000 km2 to explore the concealed crust-
al structures in the Nanling Range, which would provide more
Fig. 3. Satellite Bouguer gravity map in the Nanling Range.
17
detailed information of subsurface geological bodies than shown by
the satellite gravity data.
4. Methods description
4.1. Field decomposition
Since the potential fields arise from the superposition of multiple
sources of variable size and depth, the target anomalies should be sepa-
rated from the observed gravity or magnetic data. Field-separation
are commonly implemented in the Fourier domain by using various fre-
quency filtering methods, such as the upward continuation (Nettleton,
1954), matched filtering (Spector and Grant, 1970), and Wiener
filtering (Pawlowski and Hansen, 1990). In the last decades, multi-
resolution analysis based on wavelet transform (MAWT) (Mallat,
1989), acting as a breakthrough for Fourier transformation, has been
introduced to decompose potential fields f(x, y) into a set of details
(Dj, j = 1, 2, …, n) and a low-resolution approximation (An) (Fedi and
Quarta, 1998; Hou and Yang, 1997). This relation can be expressed as
X
n
f ðx; yÞ ¼ An f ðx; yÞ þ D j f ðx; yÞ ð1Þ
j¼1
where, the details and approximation are obtained from the wavelet
transform by employing mother wavelet (high-pass filtering) and
father wavelet (low-pass filtering), respectively. Yang et al. (2001)
suggested that the Spector and Grant (1970) method could help
determine the average depth of the separated gravity or magnetic com-
ponents (details). The success of MAWT could be attributed to the fact
that it can obtain multiscale residual and regional anomalies with re-
spect to a vast range of depth-scales.
4.2. Edge detection
Potential fields contain the analytical signal of the boundaries of
contrasting properties of subsurface rocks and their gradients can help
horizontally delineate the faults or lithological contacts. Based on
the derivative of geopotential field, a variety of edge-detection
methods have been developed to facilitate source geometry interpre-
tation of gravity and magnetic anomaly (Nabighian et al., 2005b;
Pilkington and Keating, 2004). Some of the widely used methods
include horizontal- and total-gradient amplitude, vertical derivative,
tilt angle, and theta map. Direct application of such methods on the ob-
served data only produces a 2D view for delineating faults or contacts.
18 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
With this in mind, multiscale edge detection has been introduced to
evaluate the gradients of potential field data at different levels of up-
ward continuation (Cella et al., 2009; Holden et al., 2000; Lahti and
Karinen, 2010). This method may enhance the structural interpretation
of potential field data from a multiscale view. In this paper, based on the
multiscale gravity components ranging from fine to coarse scales (ob-
tained from MAWT), we use the directional gradient amplitudes to de-
lineate the multiscale edge system in the Nanling district.
Singularity mapping technique based on a density–area (C–A) frac-
tal model has been applied to extract weak gravity and magnetic anom-
alies (Cheng, 2012; Wang et al., 2011). Also, this method, with the
unique advantage of scale invariance, is capable of detecting the edges
of causative sources (Chen et al., 2013, 2015). The fractal model can be
expressed as:
hρðAÞi ¼ cAα=2−1
where, 〈〉 denotes the statistical expectation, α is the singularity index, c
is a constant, and ρ(A) represents the areal density of field value in a
sampling area A. The singularity index acts as a high-pass filter and
can be divided into three cases for evaluating gravity anomaly and
detecting the density properties: α b 2 indicates high density, α N 2
indicates low density, and α ~ 2 indicates the lithological contacts
with different densities. We exploit this method to delineate the spatial
distribution of concealed granites in the study area.
4.3. Inversions
Once the potential field is observed over 2D surface, it is possible to
model the 3D density or susceptibility distributions through the 3D
inverse approach of gravity or magnetic data, which can help under-
stand the 3D structures of causative sources better. The 3D inverse
process divides the subsurface into an ensemble (m × n matrix) of rect-
angular prismatic blocks with variable densities, and the observed
gravity anomaly vector g is related to its source by a linear function:
g ¼ Md
where, d is the vector containing density values of each blocks and M is
the sensitive matrix (m × n). The inverse method recovers an optimal
3D density model to represent the subsurface material by minimizing
a model objective function subjected to fitting the observed gravity
data. The depth-weighting function and a priori information on density
range for the study region can help construct geologically sound models.
The 3D inversion in this paper is implemented by using the GMS3.0
software (Liu, 2013) together with the method proposed by Li and
Oldenburg (1998).
The Moho, as the interface of crust and mantle, shows a significant
density discontinuity inside the Earth. The relation between the Moho
depth and vertical gravity effect was described as a series of Fourier
transforms given by Parker (1973), which can be used to calculate the
homogeneous layer with an uneven boundary generated by density
contrasts. Oldenburg (1974) rearranged this relation to calculate the
Moho depth by:
" #
F ½Δg ðx; yÞ expðkz0 Þ X ∞
k
n−1
 n  detail at an average depth of ~ 3 km, mainly characterizing the small-
hðx; yÞ ¼ F −1 − − F h ðx; yÞ ;
2πGΔρ n¼2
n!
where, F[Δg] denotes Fourier transformation of gravity anomalies, G is
the gravitational constant, Δρ is the crustal density contrast, k is the
wavenumber, z0 is the average crustal thickness, and h(x, y) is the
Moho depth. The values of h(x, y) are iteratively computed in Eq. (4)
until some convergence criterion is met or a maximum number of
iteration has been completed. In order to diminish the crustal contribu-
tions to Bouguer gravity anomalies that are theoretically of higher fre-
quencies, a low-pass filtering is generally built into the Parker–
Oldenburg iterative method (Oldenburg, 1974). In this research, we
use the low-pass filtering results (approximation) obtained from the
MAWT to calculate the Moho depth in the Nanling Range.
5. Results and discussions
5.1. Multiscale gravity anomalies
Multiscale gravity anomalies in our study area are obtained from the
MAWT of ground Bouguer gravity data, and Fig. 4 shows the multiscale
patterns from fine scales to coarse scales (D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5). The
power spectrum of individual and separated gravity anomalies are
showed in Fig. 5 with distinct slopes corresponding to each ensemble
source depth. The depth estimation is obtained from the Spector and
Grant method, and shows that the 2nd to 5th details have the approxi-
ð2Þ mate depth of ~3 km, ~8 km, ~15 km and ~26 km, respectively.
The 1st order detail (Fig. 4a) contains the highest frequency portion
of ground gravity anomalies, and shows a large number of isolated
anomalies patterns (highs or lows) which reveals the small-size sources
with inhomogeneous densities near the surface, such as small igneous
rocks and younger strata. The 2nd and 3rd order details (Fig. 4b and
c), representing approximate depths of ~3 km and ~8 km, respectively,
arise from sources in the upper crust. The outcropping granitic intru-
sions correspond to local gravity lows and some enhanced weak anom-
alies can be further used to delineate the concealed granites
(e.g., Xianhualing and Sancaijie plutons in Fig. 4b and c). However,
few gravity lows produced by Mesozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary strata
(e.g., Chaling–Yongxing basement in Fig. 4b and c) demand attention
for the delineation of the granitic plutons. The 4th order detail
(Fig. 4d) with an estimated depth of ~15 km may arise from the sources
in the middle crust, and the gravity anomaly lows trending NE- and NW
may be associated with deep concealed granitic intrusions. The 5th
order detail (Fig. 4e) with an estimated depth of ~ 26 km may arise
from the sources in the lower crust, and its pattern still contains the re-
sidual shape of large-size outcropping granites (e.g., Zhuguangshan,
Yuechengling, and Dadongshan), suggesting that these granites may
ð3Þ have very deep extension into the lower crust.
Fig. 4f shows the superposition of all the details, which can be seen
as local gravity anomaly arising from the sources in the crust, and the re-
gional field (A5) is produced by the sources under the crust, mainly by
the Moho discontinuities. This local gravity anomaly can better help de-
tect the boundaries and inverse the 3D density distributions of concealed
granites since it avoids the interference of Moho undulation. Conversely,
the regional field can be purely used to estimate the Moho depth.
5.2. Multiscale edge system
The multiscale edge detection in this study is implemented by using
the directional gradient method together with multiscale gravity anom-
alies obtained from the MAWT. The 45° and 135° direction gradients
have been addressed to investigate the dominant tectonic activities of
NW- and NE-trending faults in the Nanling Range. The results in Fig. 6
provide a pseudo-3D plot of lineaments (faults or contacts) at a series
of average depths (~ 3 km, ~ 8 km, ~ 15 km and ~ 26 km). The plot in
Fig. 6a delineates the fine-scale gradients obtained from the 1st order
ð4Þ
size fragmented lineaments in the nearsurface. Similarly, Fig. 6b, c and
d are obtained from the 2nd to 5th order details at average depths of
~ 8 km, ~ 15 km, and ~ 25 km, respectively, showing the faults frame-
work developed in the upper, middle and lower crust. For example,
the result in Fig. 6d indicates that the CCL fault may extend to depth
larger than 25 km, which had been reported from the seismic data
(Rao et al., 1993; Zhang et al., 2013).
The near-surface gravitational gradients (lineaments) in Fig. 5a
are fragmented and intersected, primarily along the NW-, NE-, and
EW-direction. These gravity gradients gradually become simpler and
 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25 19

Fig. 4. Multiscale decomposition of ground Bouguer gravity data by using MAWT. Patterns from (a) to (e), show the 1st to 5th order details, respectively, and (f) is the reconstructed gravity
anomaly (viz. local anomaly) obtained from the superposition of all the details.

continuous with scale increasing. Also, the deeper lineaments are devel-
oped mainly along the NW- and NE-directions, which are associated
with the NW-directed subduction of the paleo Pacific oceanic plate
and the NE-directed collision of the Tibet–Yunnan Plate, respectively.
This tectonic framework indeed controls the magmatic intrusions
since the granitic outcrops yield NE- and NW-directional distribution
(Fig. 5), and naturally it would direct the ore deposit occurrences related
to granites. Integrating the maps in Fig. 6 to a single map (Fig. 7), we ob-
serve that major faults coincide with the lineaments delineated by grav-
ity gradients.
A buffer model is used to measure the numbers of deposits in incre-
mental buffer regions created by vector lines such as gravity lineaments
in Fig. 7 in order to investigate the association between the multiscale
edge system and the W–Sn polymetallic deposits. A simplified example
of buffer model surrounding faults has been illustrated in Fig. 8a (more
details can be found in Bierlein et al., 2006). The buffer increments are
defined by a series of distances (widths) from faults, and the total num-
ber of deposits is counted within each buffer increment. Fig. 8b shows
that the number of ore deposits reaches around 80 in the buffer area
within a distance of 2.5 km and approaches the total number of selected
deposits (127) when the buffer distance increases to 6 km. This result
suggests that the largest buffer distance of mineralization associated
with the faults is around 6 km. This optimal buffer distance of faults or
contacts is often used in mineral resource prediction to set the weights
20 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
Fig. 5. Power spectrum of the wavelet details. Their individual approximate depths were
estimated by using Spector and Grant method.
in fuzzy logic and WofE models (see e.g., Cheng, 2008; Joly et al., 2012;
Porwal et al., 2010).
From the above results, it is apparent that most of the ore deposits
are located along the gravity lineaments (fault or contact), and the spa-
tial distributions of W–Sn polymetallic deposits are closely associated
with the multiscale edge system derived from gravitational gradients.
In general, the deep faults are likely to provide pathway for focusing
Fig. 6. Multiscale edge detection. (a) to (d) are the edge detection results obtained from the multiscale gravity anomalies with a series of depth-scales (~3 km, ~8 km, ~15 km and ~26 km,
respectively). The gray lines are lineaments of gravity gradient maxima (indicating faults or contacts).
magma or mineral fluids into the upper crust, while the near-surface
fractures or contacts could provide venues for housing economically
profitable deposits. Moreover, the cluster of ore deposits preferentially
occurs in the intersected or bended zones of the lineaments with differ-
ent scale and/or directional trends (e.g., Xihuashan and Qianlishan) and
such areas should be paid more attention for future mineral exploration.
5.3. Concealed granites
The occurrences of W–Sn polymetallic deposits are closely related to
the acidic granites in the Nanling district. Investigating the 2D bound-
aries and 3D density distributions of concealed granitic intrusions are
undertaken to better understand the potential distribution of ore de-
posits as well as the ore genesis.
5.3.1. 2D mapping
Singularity analysis is used for mapping the local gravity anomalies
(Fig. 4f) to delineate the boundaries of concealed granites in our work.
The distribution of the singularity index (α) has been shown in Fig. 9a,
where the negative singularities (α b 2) indicate causative sources of
high density and the positive singularities (α N 2) indicate low density
sources. This singularity map could highlight signatures of the granitic
outcrops and exhibit a pattern with higher resolution for identifying
the concealed granites compared with local gravity patterns (Fig. 4f).
Finally, Fig. 9b outlines the boundaries of concealed granites by using
contour line of α ~ 2 derived from Fig. 9a. More details about the data
processing procedure of singularity analysis and edge-detection in this
area can be found in Chen et al. (2015).
The potential granite map in Fig. 9b has delineated the horizontal
extension of the granitic outcrops and also identified a number of
 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25 21

Fig. 7. Multiscale edge (lineament) system, showing its spatial association with the W–Sn polymetallic deposits.

concealed granites (e.g., Sancaijie, Xianghualing and Xihuashan). It
is observed that most of the known W–Sn polymetallic deposits are
located within the concealed granitic areas or along their boundaries
(Fig. 9b). This potential map of granites shows their obvious association
with the ore deposits and provides clues to understand the clusters of
mineral deposits in our study area. For example, ore clusters preferen-
tially occur in areas of small granitic outcrops (e.g., Xianghualing,
Qianlishan and Xihuashan) with large-scale concealed granites under-
neath. This concealed granite system could provide sufficient minerals
and heat to form a large number of polymetallic ore deposits.
5.3.2. 3D modeling
3D inversion method helps look at the subsurface 3D density distri-
butions in the XQQ (Xianghualing–Qitianling–Qianlishan) area, which
is endowed with a number of W–Sn polymetallic deposits such as
Xianghualing, Huangshaping, Furong and Shizhuyuan. Most of these
deposits are located in the local area with small granitic plutons or
granitic dykes exposed (Fig. 10a). In this study, 3D density modeling is
implemented by the interactive Gravity and Magnetic Software
(GMS), which is designed for processing potential field data in mineral
exploration (Liu, 2013).
In order to reduce the gravity effects of Moho discontinuities, the
local gravity anomaly in Fig. 10b extracted from the restructured data
in Fig. 4f, is used to inverse 3D density distributions underlying the
XQQ region. We have 1500 gravity data values with a spacing of 2.5 km,
and the gravity values range from −19 mGal to 16 mGal. The 3D model
volume subjected to gravity inversion has x-, y-, and z-dimensions of
126 km, 76 km, 30 km, respectively, and has been subdivided into a
mesh of prism cells of size 2.5 km × 2.5 km × 2.5 km. To avoid boundary
effects, the 3D model has been laterally extended by more than 2 km in all
directions. Based on the statistic on density of rocks introduced in
Section 3, we set the density contrast value ranging from −0.1 g/cm3 to
0.1 g/cm3 as a constraint during the inversion process. The preferred in-
version results are achieved after a series of iterations (n = 100) are per-
formed along with a depth weighting parameter (β = 2). Fig. 10c shows
the predicted gravity field, and Fig. 10d shows the small residuals
between the model and the observed gravity values, indicating that
all major anomalous field variations have been recovered after this
inversion.
The 3D model (Fig. 10e) obtained from the above inversion shows
that while the geological features beneath the XQQ granitic outcrops
are characterized by negative density contrasts, they display positive
density contrasts under the Paleozoic sedimentary strata (host rock).
The signatures of negative density contrast indicate that the XQQ granitic
plutons may extend to a depth greater than 15 km. Since the granitic
rocks have significant density contrast larger than −0.04 g/cm3 com-
pared to Paleozoic sedimentary strata, this constant value is chosen to
represent the contact between granites and their host Paleozoic

Fig. 8. (a) Illustration of buffer increments around faults. (b) Statistics on the total number of deposit within the buffer area defined by a series of distances (e.g., b2, 4 and 6 km).
22 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
Fig. 9. (a) Spatial distribution of singularity indices, α N 2 generally indicate the granitic intrusions. (b) Potential map of concealed granites delineated by using contour line of α ~ 2 (after
Chen et al. (2015)), shows its spatial association with the W–Sn polymetallic deposits.
sedimentary rocks. As shown in Fig. 10f, the isosurface of this constant de-
rived from the recovered density data depicts the 3D structures of XQQ
granitic plutons. This 3D model suggests that the XQQ granitic plutons
may connect together in the middle-lower crust along the NE trending
CCL deep fault, which agrees with the inference of 2D potential granite
map in Fig. 9. However, this inference from the gravity data needs more
proof from future seismic or magnetotelluric data across Xianhualing,
Qitianling and Qianlishan granitic plutons.
It is known that there are huge concealed granites beneath the XQQ
area, especially for the small plutons or dykes (in Fig. 10f) in areas such
as Xianghualing, Qianlishan, Yaogangxian and Huangshaping. These
districts often host a large number of W–Sn polymetallic deposits, and
we may conclude that the huge concealed granitic intrusions supplied
abundant minerals and heat for the ore clustering. Also, the inversion
result helps to understand the origin of the Qitianling granite. The 3D
model in Fig. 10f shows that the Qitianling granite extends to the
Moho depth around 30 km, which has been demonstrated by the NW
direction seismic profile crossing Qitianling and Huashaping (J. Li
et al., 2014). This finding favors the discovery obtained from isotope
geochemistry, which argued that the granitic bodies are formed by
crust–mantle interaction and some mantle magma likely participated
in the formation of the Qitianling granite (Zhao et al., 2012).
5.4. Moho variations
Moho variations are computed by the Parker–Oldenburg method in
this study. The 5th approximation (regional field) obtained from MAWT
is used in the calculation since it has diminished most of the high fre-
quency gravity effects caused by sources in the crust. From the previous
geophysical works in South China (Rao et al., 1993; Zeng et al., 1997),
the average Moho surface depth and density contrast values in the
Nanling Range are 32 km and 0.4 g/cm3, respectively. Based on this in-
formation, the Moho topography has been computed after 20 iterations
and shown in Fig. 11. The calculated Moho depths using gravity data
coincide with the available experiments derived from seismic data in
South China (Y. Li et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2013). In the Nanling
Range, the Moho surface has a maximum depth of approximate 39 km
beneath the Yuechengling region and a minimum depth of approximate
31 km beneath the Hengyang basin. Most of the granitic outcrops are
 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25 23

Fig. 10. (a) Distribution of granitic outcrops in XQQ area; (b) local gravity anomaly; (c) predicted gravity field; (d) the residuals between (b) and (c); (e) 3D slice view looking to the
density distribution under XQQ area; (f) 3D model view looking to the extension of XQQ granitic plutons. The recovered density dataset has been interpolated with a resolution of
1 km × 1 km × 1 km to make the 3D views more smooth.

located in the Moho depression areas, while few granitic plutons dis- between the Moho variations and the ore deposits. Several interesting
tributed in the uplift zones. relationships can be summarized as follows: (1) Moho uplift regions,
The locations of W–Sn polymetallic deposits are marked on the such as Hengyang, Jian and Ganzhou area (in Fig. 1), have poor associa-
Moho topography map (Fig. 11) to analyze the spatial association tions with W–Sn polymetallic deposits since few granites are developed

Fig. 11. Moho topography in the Nanling Range, showing its spatial association with the W–Sn polymetallic deposits.
24 G. Chen et al. / Journal of Applied Geophysics 120 (2015) 14–25
in these areas. (2) Mantle depression areas, usually corresponding to big
mountains such as Yuechengling and Zhuguangshan, exhibit some
associations with W–Sn polymetallic deposits in the periphery, but
poor associations in the center. (3) Moho variation zones show a clear
association that most of the ore deposits are located along the variations
of Moho topography such as the CCL fault corridor. These variation
zones may facilitate the development of deep faults along which
magmas or ore-forming fluids can intrude upward to the near-surface
to form granites or ore deposits.
6. Conclusions
Gravity survey could act as a powerful tool for investigating the
geological structures associated with the W–Sn polymetallic deposits
in the Nanling Range. The advanced gravity data processing methods
(e.g., MAWT, singularity analysis and 3D inversion) provide insights
into the concealed geological frameworks, such as multiscale edge
systems; 2D map and 3D model of concealed granites; and the Moho
topography. The signatures derived from the gravity data analysis
exhibit significant spatial correlations with the locations of mineral
deposits. We suggest that (i) the bends and intersections of multiscale
lineaments (faults or contacts), (ii) the concealed granites and their
buffer areas and (iii) the Moho variation zones are closely associated
with the W–Sn polymetallic mineralization in Nanling district. In addi-
tion, these results may subsequently help predict the potential mineral-
ization targets by integrating other multiple geo-information such as
geological, aeromagnetic and geochemical in future mineral sources
assessment.
Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to Prof. Chongwen Yu and Dehui Zhang for their
helps in this work. G. Chen thanks Prof. Deyi Xu and Renguang Zuo for
their suggestions. Many thanks go to Dr. Vinicius Louro and two anony-
mous reviewers for their insightful comments that improved this paper.
This work has been jointly supported by China Geological Survey Grant
(No. 1212011121101), excellent PhD thesis funding from China Univer-
sity of Geosciences (Wuhan), and a special student fund project
(WHS201311) from IGGE. Thanks also are given to China Scholarship
Council for funding G. Chen's PhD study in York University of Canada.
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