An Outline of Vein-Type Tungsten Deposits in Southeast China

Abstract

It is well known that the Circum-Pacific belt contains major metallogenic tungsten provinces in the world. There are many similarities among them as they are most likely related to the subduction processes at the margin of the Pacific plate. However, the different environments of formation resulted in different type of deposits between the various Circum-Pacific tungsten provinces. The geological environment of tungsten deposits in SE China may exist in other parts of the world, in which case a detailed description would be more useful for explorers.
China is one of the most important tungsten producing countries in the world. Tungsten minerals are predominantly concentrated in the SE continental margin of China where vein-type deposits are characterized by "5-floor-building" structural pattern according to structure, morphology, and vertical zonations of gangue and ore mineralization. Ore deposits are intimately associated with various ages of granite formation, of which the Yanshanian period (76-150 Ma) is the most significant granite formation. The W-bearing magma is thought to be mainly related to a subduction plate and partial melting, though it is possible that sedimentary rocks may also be controlling the location of the tungsten deposits. The continental boundaries are associated with extreme uplifts and with relatively young granite intrusions. These are the fundamental conditions in searching for tungsten resources in SE China.