Zhuxi W-Cu deposit, Leping Co., Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, Chinai

Regional Level Types
Zhuxi W-Cu deposit	Deposit
Leping Co.	County
Jingdezhen	Prefecture
Jiangxi	Province
China	Country

Estimated the tungsten reserves of this deposit to be more than 3.44 million tons making it the largest tungsten reserve in the world.

The Zhuxi tungsten deposit has concealed ore bodies that exhibit a primary NE-trending with a NW-dipping. The ore bodies in this deposit typically occur as veins, lenticulars, or are strata bounded. Based on their spatial distribution, occurrence patterns, and host rock characteristics, these ore bodies can be classified into four types: skarn type, granite type, greisen vein type, and quartz vein type. In terms of vertical extension, these ore bodies change from granite type at depth, to skarn type, greisen vein type, and quartz vein type towards the surface. The Zhuxi deposit exhibits a mineralization zonation, transiting from W to W-Cu, and then to Cu from deep to shallow. The presence of copper ore bodies is primarily observed in the shallower part (less than 250 m). Between depths of 250–1100 m, the strata are steeply dipping and mineralization is relatively weak. From approximately 1100 to 1900 m, there is a substantial W(-Cu) ore body, with a more gently dipping strata and well-developed ore body. The geological evolution of the Zhuxi tungsten deposit can be divided into four paragenetic stages based on previous research, including skarn stage, retrograde alteration stage, quartz-sulfide stage, and calcite stage.

The emplacement of granitic magma led to the contact metamorphism of host rocks in the Zhuxi deposit, characterized by the conversions of limestone to calcic marble and dolostone to magnesian marble. Prograde skarn stage signifies the initiation of hydrothermal processes, which consists of a suite of anhydrous silicate minerals and can be categorized into calcic and magnesian skarns. Magnesian skarn formed within magnesian marble, predominantly exhibiting dark-green color and composed of olivine, pyroxene, and garnet. Calcic skarn develops within calcic marble and displays reddish-brown, light green, or dark green colors based on the color of garnet and the proportion of garnet to clinopyroxene, which primarily comprises garnet, wollastonite, talc, and minor clinopyroxene. Depending on the occurrence, prograde skarn can further be subdivided into massive and vein types. he retrograde skarn stage followed the prograde skarn stage and was characterized by the formation of hydrous minerals such as amphiboles (actinolite, tremolite), epidote, chlorite, serpentinite, sericite, and talc. Retrograde skarn is categorized into three types based on their occurrences: (1) retrograde minerals overlapping the prograde minerals, (2) veinlet-disseminated quartz–sericite alteration within granitic rocks, and (3) quartz–muscovite–scheelite ± fluorite and epidote–chlorite–serpentine veins within the marble. As the hydrothermal fluids cooled progressively (150–240℃), abundant sulfides (e.g., chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, pyrrhotite) and minor scheelite precipitated. Sulfide precipitation occurred primarily in two settings: (1) as infill minerals within the massive skarn zones, occupying interstitial spaces among previously formed garnets; (2) as veinlet precipitates within marble and carbonate rocks. This stage represents the main stage of Cu mineralization at the Zhuxi deposit. The scheelite analyzed in this study originates from veinlet-disseminated type scheelite orebodies within newly discovered deep-seated biotite monzogranite, which formed during the retrograde skarn stage.

In the shallow Zhuxi Cu deposit, more than 14 bedded or lenticular-shaped Cu orebodies are densely distributed in a narrow area of approximately 0.3 km2 near the Zhuxi fault. These orebodies are hosted mainly in Carboniferous Huanglong and Chuanshan and Permian Qixia Formation carbonate sequences, with minor host metamorphic rocks in the Shuangqiaoshan Group (Fig. 3B–D). They are mostly concealed at depths ranging from 150–250 m, and the maximum depth is nearly ∼ 400 m. Two groups of orebodies can be distinguished on the basis of their occurrence. One group is NE-trending and dips to the NW, similar to the occurrence of the host rocks, with variable dip angles ranging from approximately 6° to 70°. The other group is nearly E–W-trending and dips to the south, with steeper dip angles ranging from 60° to 75°. The largest No.1 Cu orebody among them extends for 1700 m near the Zhuxi fault, with an average thickness of 4.25 m. The orebody is relatively steep in the shallow part, gentle in the middle part and steep in the lower part, forming an “S” shape dipping to the NW, with trends of 295° to 345°.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References