Genesis and Archaeological Significance of the Taoshan Nephrite, Northeast China: Evidence From Gemology, Mineralogy, Spectroscopy and Geochemistry

ABSTRACT The Taoshan nephrite (tremolite jade) deposit, located in the Tieli region of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China, represents a significant D‐type nephrite source, but its ore‐forming fluid source and microstructural evolution remain insufficiently constrained. To address these issues, this study integrated gemological, mineralogical, spectroscopic, and geochemical analyses to investigate the genesis of Taoshan tremolite jade. The primary mineral of Taoshan tremolite jade is tremolite, with minor diopside, calcite, and serpentine. Microstructural analysis reveals a three‐stage evolutionary process, from initial porphyritic tremolite (Tr1), through oriented needle‐like crystals (Tr2), to a dense, interwoven felt‐like texture (Tr3) that determines the quality of the jade. Geochemically, the jade samples are characterized by low total rare earth element (ΣREE) contents (average 8.12 ppm), LREE enrichment, moderate negative Eu anomalies (average δ Eu = 0.75), and slight positive Ce anomalies. Sr isotopic ratios of 0.7089–0.7106 indicate that the ore‐forming fluids were derived from a mixed crustal–mantle magmatic source. Thus, we conclude that Taoshan tremolite jade is a typical D‐type (dolomite‐related) nephrite formed by contact metamorphism between Mesozoic granitic intrusions and Cambrian–Permian dolomitic marbles as part of a regional porphyry–skarn system. This study provides new insights into the metallogenic mechanism of Taoshan jade and establishes scientific criteria for its identification. More broadly, these results highlight the exploration potential for high‐quality nephrite in the Lesser Xing'an Range and provide a geological and geochemical reference for evaluating Taoshan as a potential source of the tremolite jade recovered from the Xiaonanshan site (9200–8600 BP) and other neighbouring early Neolithic sites in Northeast China.