A Preliminary Review on the Metallogeny of Pb-Zn Deposits in China

Lead and zinc resources are abundant in China, with the reserves of 100 million tons ranking only second in the world. There are more than 3000 lead-zinc mine areas nationwide. The classification of lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) deposits has been a highly controversial issue. From the standpoint of evaluating the potential of mineral resources, we construct a Pb-Zn deposit predictive type of classification scheme, and propose a Pb-Zn deposit comprehensive classification scheme (including 5 classes and 13 sub-types) that regards mineralization as the primary factor and the ore rock as secondary. According to the temporal and spatial distribution of Pb-Zn deposits, we conclude that a multi-period, multi-cycle orogenic environment is the most favorable for lead-zinc deposit growth, that the Proterozoic is the major eon for the growth of igneous-type deposits, the Paleozoic is an important development era for sedimentary Pb-Zn deposits, and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are the heyday eras of magmatic type lead-zinc deposits. On this basis, we analyse the relationship between tectonic evolution and Pb-Zn metallogenic, and propose that the key factors determining geological mineralization are the metallogenic epoch of mineralization and tectonic environment, which determine the temporal and spatial distribution.