Antimony vein deposits of China

Abstract

The Chinese antimony vein-type ore deposits account for 55% of the world's reserves of antimony. About 85% of China's antimony production comes from Human Province, largely from the giant Xikuangshan deposit (the world's largest Sb deposit). China's Sb deposits occur in four belts. Most deposits are located in the Provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Guangxi and east Yunnan within the circum-West Pacific Sb belt which, together with Australian and Japan etc., constitutes the world's most important area for Sb. The Sb vein-deposits of northwest Hubei and Shanxi Provinces extend into “Russian” Central Asia to form the Qinling-Central Asia Sb belt, the second-most important in China. The two other Sb belts account for only 0.2% each of China's Sb reserves: the deposits in west Yunnan belong to the Mediterranean Sb belt that extends west through Yugoslavia, Italy and Spain; while the deposits in North China belong to the Jilin-Daxinganling-Tianshan-Outer Baikal belt that extends into Siberia. The major Chinese Sb deposits can be divided into three groups: (1) pure stibnite deposits, which account for about 67% of reserves and are typified by the Xikuangshan deposit, Hunan; (2) SbAuW deposits, which account for 21% of reserves and include the Woxi, Hunan, and Gongguan, Shanxi, deposits and; (3) sulphantimonates-base metal deposits, which account for 12% of reserves are typified by the Dachang deposit, Guangxi. Chinese vein-type Sb deposits are classified and described in terms of their host-rock lithologies (seven classes) and age of their enclosing strata (Devonian host-rocks predominate). Structure appears to be the primary ore-control; six orecontrolling structural features have been recognised throughout China ( abstracted by the Editor).