Search

China is rich in lithium resource, among which lithium ore in the Salt Lake has huge reserves, but the development and utilization technology has yet to be developed, and the main target of development is hard-rock lithium ore at present. Hard-rock lithium ore is mainly pegmatitic and concentrated in Xinjiang and Sichuan. The Mesozoic is the most important metallogenic period for pegmatite-type lithium deposits in China. A relatively stable tectonic environment after an orogeny is favored by the formation of pegmatite-type lithium deposits. After a decade of exploration practice and theoretical research, the types of lithium resource in China have shown a great variety. The brine-type lithium resource has expanded from surface brine to both shallow brine and deep brine, and the hard-rock lithium resources from single granitic pegmatite-type to altered granite-type, cryptoexplosion breccia tube-type and sedimentary-type. The metallogenic age has extended from the Meso-Cenozoic to the Paleozoic and other epochs. The metallogenic zones has increased from 12 to 16, and a number of new mineralized areas have been discovered in the Jiajika and Ke’eryin areas in western Sichuan and the Dahongliutan and Shaligou areas in Xinjiang . A new resource pattern of lithium is being formed. Moreover, Prospecting methods and exploration techniques have also developed from single surface prospecting and mapping to an integration of new techniques and methods, e.g., remote sensing to determine the prospective area, geological surveying to determine the type, geochemical prospecting to determine the mineral, geophysical prospecting to determine the location of drilling, drilling to determine the reserves, as well as biological prospecting, deep penetration of the deep exploration. In view of the rigid demand for lithium resources due to the rapid development of strategic emerging industries, it is suggested to strengthen a) the investigation, research, development and utilization of new types of lithium resources with lepidolite as the main industrial mineral and sedimentary-type lithium resources with Li-bearing clay as the main lithium resources; b) the research and prospecting of the Paleozoic and even Precambrian lithium deposits; c) the exploration of new lithium mineralization belts such as Altyn Tagh, Himalaya, Gangdise and western slope of Great Hinggan Mountains; d) the research on new mechanisms of dynamic management of lithium resources under market economy; e) the advanced research and resource reserve on lithium isotope as the raw material of controllable nuclear fusion, for leading the development of high-end mining industry.

Previous studies on the Ke'eryin pegmatite-type lithium ore field in the Songpan–Ganzi Orogenic Belt have explored the characteristics of the parent rock but have not precisely determined its magma source area. This uncertainty limits our understanding of the regularity of lithium ore formation in this region. In this study, to address the issue of the precise source area of the parent rock of lithium mineralization, a detailed analysis of the Li isotope composition of the ore-forming parent rock (Ke'eryin two-mica monzogranite) and its potential source rocks (Triassic Xikang Group metamorphic rocks) was conducted. The δ7Li values of the Ke'eryin two-mica monzogranite, Xikang Group metasandstone, and Xikang Group mica schist are −3.3–−0.7‰ (average: −1.43‰), +0.1–+6.9‰ (average: +3.83‰), and −9.1–0‰ (average: −5.00‰), respectively. The Li isotopic composition of the Ke'eryin two-mica monzogranite is notably different from the metasandstone and aligns more closely with the mica schist, suggesting that the mica schist is its primary source rock. The heavy Li isotopic composition of the two-mica monzogranite compared to the mica schist may have resulted from the separation of the peritectic garnet into the residual phase during the biotite dehydration melting process. Moreover, the low-temperature weathering of the source rocks may have been the main factor leading to the lighter lithium isotope composition of the Xikang Group mica schist compared to the metasandstone. Further analysis suggests that continental crust weathering and crustal folding and thickening play crucial roles in the enrichment of lithium during multi-cycle orogenies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Cu‐Au‐Pb‐Zn‐Ag polymetallic mineralization belt of the conjuncture of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, occurs the Taiping Pb‐Zn deposit in Proterozoic metamorphic rock strata accompanied by late Proterozoic volcanic rocks. Previous studies on this type of Pb‐Zn deposits are limited. The main purpose of this work is to investigate its metallogenic characteristic and genesis. Rb‐Sr dating of sphalerite yields 714 ± 11 Ma for the Taiping Pb‐Zn deposit, which is a new mineralization age of Pb‐Zn deposits in the Sichuan–Yunnan–Guizhou Pb‐Zn metallogenic belt, reflecting that the Pb‐Zn deposits in the Proterozoic basement strata formed in the Neoproterozoic. In addition, the characteristics of its minerals, including pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, gersdorffite, and galena, imply that the deposit formed in moderately low temperature and moderately shallow‐seated environments. Sulphur (δ34S of 10.4–12.3‰) was dominantly derived from the reduction of marine sulphate in the strata. Lead isotope data showed normal Pb characteristic, indicating that Pb came from the basement strata and it was affected by metamorphism. 87Sr/86Sr values of trachyandesite are 0.77–0.87, reflecting that Sr was derived from crustal sources. For sphalerite, (87Sr/86Sr)i (t = 714 Ma) = 0.72064–0.72135, indicating that metallogenic materials (metal) came mainly from the basement strata. The enrichment of Zn was associated with ankerite alteration. Ore‐forming fluid is characterized by moderately low temperature (112.6–188.7°C), moderate salinity (10.61–19.68% NaCl), and moderately low pressure. Compositions of H and O isotopes show that the ore‐forming fluid was derived mainly from formation water, and that tensile spaces in the carbonate rocks likely provided conduits for fluid transport and space for metal precipitation, forming layered zinc ore bodies. In conclusion, the Chengjiang period in this study area was an important stage for zinc mineralization, and the Taiping Pb‐Zn deposit is a MVT type deposit in the Proterozoic basement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]