我国深海矿产研究:进展与发现(2011—2020)

Research on Deep-sea Minerals in China: Progress and Discovery (2011-2020)

深海矿产是地球上尚未被人类充分认识和利用的最大潜在战略矿产资源,近十年我国在该领域的研究取得了重要进展。在太平洋国际海底区域申请到2块多金属结核勘探区、1块富钴结壳勘探区,在西南印度洋中脊申请到1块多金属硫化物勘探区。研究阐明了我国多金属结核和富钴结壳勘探区小尺度成矿规律,揭示了其成矿作用过程及古海洋古气候记录,探讨了关键金属元素富集机制。在西南印度洋、西北印度洋和南大西洋中脊发现了多处热液区,阐述了其成矿作用及控制因素,建立了超慢速扩洋中脊热液循环模型,探讨了拆离断层型热液成矿系统的成矿机制。在太平洋和印度洋划分了4个深海稀土成矿带,在中印度洋海盆、东南太平洋和西太平洋深海盆地发现了大面积富稀土沉积区,初步揭示了深海稀土的富集特征、分布规律、赋存状态和成矿机理。今后在继续加大深海矿产资源调查研究的同时,应聚焦深海关键金属成矿作用研究。

Deep-sea minerals belong to potential strategic mineral resources which have been less recognized and not been utilized yet. In the last decade, China made abundant important progresses in deep sea mineral exploration and research. Two exploration areas on polymetallic nodules, one exploration area on Co-rich ferromanganese crusts in the Pacific, and one exploration area on polymetallic sulfides in the Southwest Indian Ridge were allocated by China sponsored contractors. The distribution patterns of polymetallic nodules and Co-rich ferromanganese crusts in exploration areas of small-scale were clarified. The ore-forming processes and palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic records were illustrated. The enrichment mechanisms of critical metals were investigated. A number of hydrothermal fields were discovered in the Southwest Indian Ridge, the Northwest Indian Ridge, and South Atlantic Ridge. In those hydrothermal fields, ore-forming conditions and mineralization mechanisms were revealed, hydrothermal recycling models for ultra-slow spreading ridge were built up, and a diversity of detachment fault-related hydrothermal systems were studied. Four metallogenetic belts of REY-rich deep-sea sediments in global deep oceans were discriminated. A few large areas covered by REY-rich deep-sea sediments were discovered respectively in the Central Indian Basin, the Southeast Pacific, and the West Pacific. The preliminarily researches on enrichment feature, distribution pattern, occurrence state, and ore-forming process of the REY-rich deep-sea sediments had been carried out. The future researches on the ore-forming dynamic of critical metals in deep-sea will be prosperous.