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There are 25 Li-rich geothermal fields (>15 mg/L) are displayed throughout nine geothermal zones in Tibet. The Kawu geothermal system is one of the representative high-enthalpy and Li-rich geothermal systems and is located in the Skaya dome, the Himalayas. Their boiling and hot and cold waters are Cl-HCO3-Na and HCO3-Ca types, respectively. The parent geothermal fluids are characterized by high Na, Cl, B, Si, As, Li, Rb+, Cs+ and F, and the Cl− concentration and enthalpy of the parent geothermal liquid are 515 mg/L and 1,485 J/g, respectively (corresponding to a temperature of 323.5°C). The stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of geothermal fluids range from −19.7 to −23.4‰ and −155 to −181.2‰, indicating that the ratio of magmatic water mixed into geothermal fluid is between 11.7% and 19.5%. The lithium content in the geothermal system is high (13.04 to 20.8 ppm), but the δ7Li is relatively low (1.06 to 1.72‰). The high Cl, Li and B contents, constant Cl/Li and Cl/B ratios and low δ7Li indicate that they mainly originate from magmatic fluid, rather than from water rock reaction with the leucogranite and gneiss. While ascending from the reservoirs to the surface, the parent geothermal fluids gradually mixed with the meteoric waters infiltrated via brittle tensional small-scale faults, in turn forming four cooling processes upwelling patterns, i.e. conductive cooling, adiabatic cooling, mixing with cold water, and the combination of these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pyrite and quartz geochemical analyses were conducted on the Mazhala Au-Sb deposit in South Tibet; • Trace elements and sulfur isotopes allow four types of pyrite to be recognized; • Pyrite has mixed sedimentary-diagenesis, magmatic-hydrothermal, and metamorphic origin; • H-O isotopic composition of quartz inclusions suggests a mixed magmatic and metamorphic water origin. The Mazhala deposit is a typical Au-Sb deposit in the northern Himalayan orogenic belt that has increasingly attracted worldwide attentions. However, debates remain regarding the source of ore–forming fluid and its evolutionary process. Herein, we investigate the genetic and compositional evolutionary characteristics of different types of pyrite grains in order to better constrain the ore–forming fluid source and ore–forming processes by means of Using in-situ trace and sulfur isotope data of pyrite and inclusion temperature and H-O isotope data of quartz. Based on the occurrence and morphological features of pyrite, four types of pyrite (Py0, Py1, Py2, and Py3) have been identified. The framboids of pyrite Py0 have high contents of Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and Sb, with Co/Ni < l, and their δ34S values range from −34.0‰ to −19.3‰, indicating a sedimentary-diagenetic origin. Py1 pyrite exhibits stark core-rim structure. The contents of Sn, Ti, Be and W in Py1c are higher, with Co/Ni > 1. The δ34S of Py1c ranges from 0.30 to 3.9‰ (mean = 1.7‰), indicating a magmatic hydrothermal transformation origin. Py1r, Py2, and Py3 differ greatly in pyrite morphology and trace element contents, with Co/Ni < 1, indicating as hydrothermal sedimentary transformation origin. The δ34S values of Py1r, Py2, and Py3 vary from 1.4 to 6.50‰, interpreted as the presence of metamorphic sulfur sources. The δ34S values of Py1-Py2-Py3 firstly increases and then decreases, indicatinga fluid mixing process. The Mazhala ore–forming fluid is typical of low temperature (270–291 °C), low salinity (1.1–5.0 wt% NaCl equiv) and CO 2 -enrichment, with H-O isotopic compositions of quartz resembling magmatic and/or metamorphic water, which makes us to infer a mixture of magmatic and/or metamorphic water source for the Mazhala ore-forming fluid. The early pyrite grains were dissolved and reprecipitated under the action of fluid. In the process of multistage hydrothermal interaction, Au and other trace elements were released from the primary pyrite lattice into the fluid, forming the gold–bearing ore–forming fluid. Separation of fluid phase coupled with significant change in the pH value of fluid prompted the co-precipitation of Au and Sb to form the Mazhala Au-Sb deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]