A Study on Palaeogeography and Metallogenic Conditions of Early Carboniferous Bauxite Deposits of Old Weathered Crust in Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei Provinces

There are four subtypes. namely, Ia, Ib, Ic and Id of the Early Carboniferous bauxite deposits of the old weathered crust type in Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei provinces. They are all distributed in the Upper Yangtze old land. As a result of the Hunan-Guizhou palaeo-faulting, the crust on the northern side of the fault was uplifted and became land, thus suffering denudation. The bauxitic substances left in the weathered crust evolved and were reworked into bauxite. On the other hand, the crust on the southern side of the fault sank and remained to be part of an ocean. The bauxite deposits of Ia and Ib subtypes were formed by in-situ enrichment of residual bauxitic substances in the weathered crust of the old land, but bauxite deposits of Ic and Id subtypes resulted from transportation, accumulation and sedimentation of allothogenous bauxitic substances on the weathered crust of the old land. The processes of transportation may be distinguished as dry transportation and wet transportation, both of which proceeded under atmospheric conditions.

A Preliminary Review of the Metallogenic Regularity of Nickel Deposits in China

The nickel deposits mainly distributed in 19 provinces and autonomous regions in China are 339 ore deposits/occurrences, including 4 super large-scale deposits, 14 large-scale deposits, 26 middle- scale deposits, 75 small-scale deposits, and 220 mineralized occurrences. The prediction types of mineral resources of nickel deposits are magmatic type, marine sedimentary type and regolith type. The formation age is from the Neoarchean to the Cenozoic with two peaks in the Neoproterozoic and the late Paleozoic. The nickel deposits formed in the Neoproterozoic are located on the margin of the North China Block and Yangtze Block, and those formed in the late Paleozoic are mainly distributed in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt （CAOB）, Emeishan and the Tarim Large Igneous Provinces （LIPs）. Magmatic nickel deposits are mainly related with broken-up continental margin, post-collision extension of the orogenic belt and mantle plume. According to different tectonic backgrounds and main characteristics of magmatism, the Ni-Cu-Co-PGE metallogenie series types of ore deposits related with mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic rocks can be divided into 4 subtypes： （1） the Ni-Cu-Co- PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic rocks in the broken-up continental margin, （2） the Ni-Cu-Co-PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic rocks in mantle plume magmatism, （3） the Ni-Cu-Co- PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic rocks in the subduction of the orogenic belt, and （4） the Ni-Cu-Co-PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic rocks in post-collision extension of the orogenic belt. We have discussed in this paper the typical characteristics and metaliogenic models for Neoproterozoic Ni-Cu-（PGE） deposits related with broken-up continental margin, Cambrian marine sedimentary Ni-Mo-V deposits related with black shale, early Permian Ni-Cu deposits related with post-collision extension of the orogenic belt, late Permian Ni-Cu-（PGE） deposits related with Large Igneous Provinces （LIPs）, and Cenozoic Ni-Au deposits related with regolith. The broken-up continental margin, mantle plume and post-collision extension of the orogenic belt are important ore- forming geological backgrounds, and the discordogenic fault, mafic-ultramafic intrusion, high MgO primitive magma （high-MgO basaltic magma）, deep magmatism, sulfur saturation and sulfide segregation are 6 important geological conditions for the magmatic nickel deposits.

Ore-bearing Formations and Mineral Resource Prospects of the Peripheral Areas of the Tarim Block

The tectonic development of the Tarim block has experienced four stages, i. e. Earth's core accretion and block formation in the Precambrian, margin splitting, opening-closing and piecing up in the Early Palaeozoic, rift formation and plate unification in the Late Palaeozoic, and basin-mountain coupling and landform shaping in the Meso-Cenozoic, forming six ore-bearing formations and ore deposits of various genetic types in the Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains and Altun Mountains. In the peripheral areas of Tarim there are four giant intercontinental metallogenic belts passing through, the Central Tianshan and southwestern Tianshan belts in the former USSR and the Qinling-Qilian-Kunlun and Palaeo-Tethys belts in China. According to the macro-analysis on the nearly one thousand known deposits (occurrences) and geophysical-geochemical anomalies, and the information from reconnaissance in some areas, the region has very good prospects for mineral resources. Some of the metallogenic belts may well become the reserve bases for exploration of mineral resources in China.