Metallogenic characteristics and resource potential of antimony in China

Abstract China has the largest antimony (Sb) resources, products and consumption in the world, which plays an important role in the global antimony trade. Chinese Sb deposits are characterized by large resources, concentrated distributions, primary deposits dominating, and associating with numerous valuable elements and minerals. In China, most of Sb deposits are located at the edges of various geotectonic units and are constrained by plate suture zones or large deep fault belts. There are 5 Sb metallogenic belts were distinguished in this paper including the Tianshan-Xingmeng Sb ore belt, Qin-Qi-Kun Sb ore belt, Qiangtang-Sanjiang Sb ore belt, South China Sb ore belt and South Tibet Sb ore belt. Sb deposits are hosted in Mesoproterozoic to Quaternary formations, but most of them were occurred in Precambrian, Devonian and Triassic strata. The ages of mineralization of Sb deposits in China are mainly concentrated in the Indosinian, Yanshanian and Himalayan, while the large-scale mineralization is restricted within the Jurassic to Cretaceous of the Yanshanian. Antimony deposits have multiple sources of ore-forming metals and fluids, of which Precambrian basement strata may be one of the most important. The magmatic activity caused by asthenosphere upwelling may be the main evocator for driving the circulation of groundwater to extract mineralized elements. According to the results of China National Mineral Resources Potential Assessment Project (NMRP), China delineated 94 Sb prospect areas, in which, 15.43 million tons of unproven Sb metal were predicted within 2 km below the surface. Among the 5 Sb ore belts, the South China Sb Ore Belt has the largest number of deposits, identified resources and resources potential, showing strongest mineralization intensity. The Qiangtang-Sanjiang Sb Ore Belt followed, where may become the future antimony resource-base of China.