A New Type of Rare Metal Deposit: The Yushishan Leptynite-Type Nb-Ta Deposit in Eastern Altun, Gansu Province, NW China
Corresponding Author
Shaoyong JIANG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorTao LIU
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorHaoxiang ZHANG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorShuyun CAO
School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorRuohong ZHENG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorTongguo LI
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorJunpeng YU
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorYibu WU
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Shaoyong JIANG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorTao LIU
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorHaoxiang ZHANG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorShuyun CAO
School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorRuohong ZHENG
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Strategic Mineral Resources, School of Earth Resource, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074 China
Search for more papers by this authorTongguo LI
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorJunpeng YU
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorYibu WU
Geological Survey of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbout the first and corresponding author:
JIANG Shaoyong, male, born in 1964 in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, Ph.D., graduated from Bristol University (U.K.), now professor in China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). He is interested in the study of geochemistry of mineral deposits. E-mail: [email protected]; phone: 027-67883505.
Abstract
The Yusishan deposit is a newly found leptynite-type niobium and tantalum (Nb-Ta) deposit, which is located in the Eastern Altun of Gansu Province. The leptynite of the Neoproterozoic Aoyougou Formation occurs more than 10 km long and 3 km wide. In this paper, we carried out a detailed study of the leptynite and related mineralization. The U-Pb dating of zircon reveals ages of 831 ± 5 Ma and 790 ± 5 Ma for the unmineralized leptynite and 491 ± 4 Ma and 455 ± 4 Ma for the mineralized leptynite. The petrographic and geochemical evidence identified the protolith of the leptynite as alkaline volcanic rocks that erupted during Neoproterozoic at ca. 830 Ma. At ca. 490 Ma, the tectono-magmatic and metamorphic event triggered remobilization and enrichment of Nb-Ta as well as other critical metals (REE, Zr, Hf etc) with the formation of industry orebodies in the leptynite strata. The Yushishan deposit presents many similarities with the alkaline volcanic rocks related rare metal deposits in the south Qinling of China and the Brochman, Toogni and Southern Peak Range deposits in Australian. We therefore propose that the Yushishan deposit is a new type (sub-type) of Nb-Ta deposit and termed as leptynite type that represents the metamorphic counterpart of the alkaline volcanic rocks related rare metal deposits.
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