The basin is a terrestrial fault basin formed under the action of the Tantanlu strike–slip fracture system in eastern China, and a large rock salt deposit with a reserve of more than 20 billion tons was deposited during the Paleogene period. During the Eocene–Oligocene epoch, a continuous and widespread shallow and saline lacustrine succession, rich in halite, gypsum, and other salt minerals, developed in the Dawenkou Formation, Guanzhuang Group of the Huanggang Basin. The Dawenkou Formation consists of three sections, with the lower section being primarily composed of brownish-red to purplish-red mudstone and argillaceous siltstone. The middle section contains a salt-bearing succession comprising grayish-white gypsiferous mudstone/halite interbedded with dark-gray mudstone/silty mudstone. And the upper section is predominantly composed of gray/grayish-green mudstone, yellow/light-yellow silty mudstone, and siltstone, with occasional gravel beds at the bottom. The sedimentary sequence reflects the cyclicity of the water desalination–salinization processes, with evaporation and deposition occurring from the bottom to the top of the formation. four boreholes (YZR1, ZK01, YZK2, and YZK1).

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

ⓘ Salt

Mineral List

9 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Albite

Formula: Na(AlSi₃O₈)

References:

Chen, Wentao, Lv, Dawei, Ejembi, John I., Yang, Bin, Song, Cuiyu, Ning, Zhenguo, Tang, Lulu, Zhang, Zhihui, Jia, Haibo (2024) Sedimentary Characteristics and Depositional Model of the Paleogene Dawenkou Formation in Eastern China: Insights from the Huanggang Depression. Minerals, 14 (2) doi:10.3390/min14020131

ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase

Formula: (Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]

References:

ⓘ Anhydrite

Formula: CaSO₄

References:

ⓘ Calcite

Formula: CaCO₃

References:

ⓘ Dolomite

Formula: CaMg(CO₃)₂

References:

ⓘ 'Feldspar Group'

References:

ⓘ Gypsum

Formula: CaSO₄ · 2H₂O

References:

ⓘ Halite

Formula: NaCl

References:

ⓘ 'K Feldspar'

References:

ⓘ Muscovite

Formula: KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂

References:

ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite

Formula: K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂

References:

ⓘ 'Plagioclase'

Formula: (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈

References:

ⓘ Pyrite

Formula: FeS₂

References:

ⓘ Quartz

Formula: SiO₂

References:

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘ	Pyrite	2.EB.05a	FeS₂
Group 3 - Halides
ⓘ	Halite	3.AA.20	NaCl
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘ	Quartz	4.DA.05	SiO₂
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
ⓘ	Calcite	5.AB.05	CaCO₃
ⓘ	Dolomite	5.AB.10	CaMg(CO₃)₂
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
ⓘ	Anhydrite	7.AD.30	CaSO₄
ⓘ	Gypsum	7.CD.40	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘ	Muscovite var. Illite	9.EC.15	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
ⓘ		9.EC.15	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
ⓘ	Albite	9.FA.35	Na(AlSi₃O₈)
ⓘ	var. Oligoclase	9.FA.35	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
Unclassified
ⓘ	'Feldspar Group'	-
ⓘ	'Plagioclase'	-	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
ⓘ	'K Feldspar'	-

List of minerals for each chemical element

H	Hydrogen
H	ⓘ Gypsum	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O
H	ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
H	ⓘ Muscovite	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
C	Carbon
C	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
C	ⓘ Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂
O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Albite	Na(AlSi₃O₈)
O	ⓘ Anhydrite	CaSO₄
O	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
O	ⓘ Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂
O	ⓘ Gypsum	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O
O	ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
O	ⓘ Muscovite	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
O	ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
O	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
O	ⓘ Plagioclase	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
Na	Sodium
Na	ⓘ Albite	Na(AlSi₃O₈)
Na	ⓘ Halite	NaCl
Na	ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
Na	ⓘ Plagioclase	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
Mg	Magnesium
Mg	ⓘ Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂
Al	Aluminium
Al	ⓘ Albite	Na(AlSi₃O₈)
Al	ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
Al	ⓘ Muscovite	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
Al	ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
Al	ⓘ Plagioclase	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
Si	Silicon
Si	ⓘ Albite	Na(AlSi₃O₈)
Si	ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
Si	ⓘ Muscovite	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
Si	ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
Si	ⓘ Quartz	SiO₂
Si	ⓘ Plagioclase	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
S	Sulfur
S	ⓘ Anhydrite	CaSO₄
S	ⓘ Gypsum	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O
S	ⓘ Pyrite	FeS₂
Cl	Chlorine
Cl	ⓘ Halite	NaCl
K	Potassium
K	ⓘ Muscovite var. Illite	K_0.65Al_2.0[Al_0.65Si_3.35O₁₀](OH)₂
K	ⓘ Muscovite	KAl₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
Ca	Calcium
Ca	ⓘ Anhydrite	CaSO₄
Ca	ⓘ Calcite	CaCO₃
Ca	ⓘ Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂
Ca	ⓘ Gypsum	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O
Ca	ⓘ Albite var. Oligoclase	(Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si₂O₈]
Ca	ⓘ Plagioclase	(Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi₂]O₈
Fe	Iron
Fe	ⓘ Pyrite	FeS₂

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

Eurasian Plate

North China Craton
- Longgang BlockShield

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

[1]Chen, Wentao, Lv, Dawei, Ejembi, John I., Yang, Bin, Song, Cuiyu, Ning, Zhenguo, Tang, Lulu, Zhang, Zhihui, Jia, Haibo (2024) Sedimentary Characteristics and Depositional Model of the Paleogene Dawenkou Formation in Eastern China: Insights from the Huanggang Depression. Minerals, 14 (2) doi:10.3390/min14020131

Quick NavTop Commodities Mineral List Rock Types Other Regions References

Mindat.org® is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Mindat® and mindat.org® are registered trademarks of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2026, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau.
Content on this site may not be used to train, fine-tune, or otherwise develop artificial intelligence or machine learning models without prior written permission - see our Terms & Conditions.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: September 4, 2026 10:41:43 Page updated: August 5, 2025 19:18:38

Go to top of page

Huanggang Depression, Shandong, ChinaiRegional Level TypesHuanggang DepressionBasin ShandongProvince ChinaCountry function showexplain() { $("#locexplain").toggle(); if (typeof movemap === "function") movemap(); }

Select Mineral List Type

Commodity List

Mineral List

Rock Types Recorded

Select Rock List Type

Detailed Mineral List:

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

List of minerals for each chemical element

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

References

Huanggang Depression, Shandong, China i
Regional Level Types
Huanggang Depression Basin
Shandong Province
China Country