Spatial-Temporal Distribution, Geological Characteristics and Ore-Formation Controlling Factors of Major Types of Rare Metal Mineral Deposits in China

Rare metals including Lithium(Li),Beryllium(Be),Rubidium(Rb),Cesium(Cs),Zirconium(Zr),Hafnium(Hf),Niobium(Nb),Tantalum(Ta),Tungsten(W)and Tin(Sn)are important critical mineral resources.In China,rare metal mineral deposits are spatially distributed mainly in the Altay and Southern Great Xingán Range regions in the Central Asian orogenic belt;in the Middle Qilian,South Qinling and East Qinling mountains regions in the Qilian-Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt;in the Western Sichuan and Bailongshan-Dahongliutan regions in the Kunlun-Songpan-Garze orogenic belt,and in the Northeastern Jiangxi,Northwestern Jiangxi,and Southern Hunan regions in South China.Major ore-forming epochs include Indosinian(mostly 200-240 Ma,in particular in western China)and the Yanshanian(mostly 120-160 Ma,in particular in South China).In addition,Bayan Obo,Inner Mongolia,northeastern China,with a complex formation history,hosts the largest REE and Nb deposits in China.There are six major rare metal mineral deposit types in China:Highly fractionated granite;Pegmatite;Alkaline granite;Carbonatite and alkaline rock;Volcanic;and Hydrothermal types.Two further types,namely the Leptynite type and Breccia pipe type,have recently been discovered in China,and are represented by the Yushishan Nb-Ta-(Zr-Hf-REE)and the Weilasituo Li-Rb-Sn-W-Zn-Pb deposits.Several most important controlling factors for rare metal mineral deposits are discussed,including geochemical behaviors and sources of the rare metals,highly evolved magmatic fractionation,and structural controls such as the metamorphic core complex setting,with a revised conceptual model for the latter.

Flotation of indium-beard marmatite from multi-metallic ore

Flotation of indium-beard marmatite from Dulong multi-metallic ore in Yunnan Province of China was studied to improve the grades and recoveries of zinc and indium of the zinc concentrate in Dulong concentration plant. The experimental results indicated that copper sulfate mixed with a chemical reagent X- 1 as the activator in the marmatite flotation produced a much better beneficiation than copper sulfate alone, increasing the zinc and indium recoveries of 10% and 6%, respectively, while the concentrate grades remained unchanged. Also, the new activator acted well around pH 10, allowing large savings on lime consumption in the marmatite flotation. In addition, it has been found that a sufficient activated time of activator with ore slurry in the flotation is needed to achieve good beneficiation of the marmatite ore.

The Evolutionary History of Ore-forming Processes of Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Guangxi

The northern Guangxi region is an important rare metal, rare earth metal and polymetallic metallogenic province. In the region there exist five metallogenic series and two metallogenic subseries, whose metallogenesis shows features of polycyclic spiral evolution throughout the geological history. As far as various cycles are concerned, mantle-derived ore substances were reduced while crust-derived ore substances increased from early to late timesfin the whole geological evolutionary history, mantle-derived substances decreased gradually while crust-derived ones increased. Meanwhile ore element associations became more and more varied. In terms of space, mineralization migrated from the old basement outwards, i.e. from west to east during the Precambrian, and from north to south during the Phanerozoic, and again from east to west during the Yanshanian.