Gold Deposits in China: Main Types and Potential

Abstract

The considerable gold resource potential in China has been increasingly recognized in recent years, following detailed geological investigation of the major orogenic belts since the 1980s. The major tectonic components of China include the Sino-Korean, Yangtze, Tarim, and Cathaysian Precambrian platforms surrounded by the Altaides, Tianshan-Inner Mongolia, Daxinganling, Alkin, Kunlun, Qilian, Qinling, Himalaya-Tethys, and Nanling orogenic belts. A large number of gold deposits and geochemical anomalies have been discovered in all of these lithotectonic provinces. The most important deposit types are Precambrian lode, Carlin-type, ophioliterelated, porphyry-related, volcanic epithermal, and possible Muruntau-type gold deposits, occurring mainly in seven major metallogenic districts in eastern and southwestern China. Many lithotectonic belts provide favorable locations for the formation of various large gold deposits and are comparable with other productive gold provinces of the world, such as the Canadian Shield and Circum-Pacific magmatic arcs. The geochemical anomalies and many existing gold deposits and metallogenic belts in China require additional detailed study on the basis of modern exploration technologies.