Mineralization Characteristics and Prospecting Potential in the Qinling Metallogenic Belt

The Qinling metallogenic belt is an important mining site for base and precious metals and also one of the most potential mineralization areas in China.The recent integrated studies show that the Qinling Mountains is a collisional orogen with polycyclic evolution and composite formations as well as mineralization.The charact eristics of tectonic setting, lithological formation, association of ore deposits and metallogenic epoch indicate seven major miner ogenetic systems and 18 minerogenetic series governing miner alization of Co, Mo, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, Hg and Sb in the belt.This paper discusses the geological features for each minerogenetic series and its corresponding ore deposit, reviews the new discoveries in recent exploration and establishes the regional models for Cu, Au, Pb, Zn and Ag series.The study of the spectrum of ore deposits in the belt demonst rates that the regional mineralization is temporally characterized by polycycling, inheritance, neoformation and superimposition.The Variscan, late Indosinian to Yanshanian epochs are favorable periods to form large and giant ore deposits.Spatially, mineralization zoning in both vertical and lateral direction has been observed.Also, this study evaluates the Qinling metallogenic belt in terms of ore-forming potential and prospecting areas and concludes that prospective deposits are SEDEX and MVT types of Pb and Zn, vienlet-disseminated type and quartz vein altered type Au, porphyry type of Mo, W and Cu and epithermal Hg and Sb in the belt.Finally, 5 regional prospecting zones and 17 important potential areas have been determined.