Abstract:
Tungsten and tin are strategic critical metals of China. The Northern Jiangxi–Southern Anhui metallogenic belt in the eastern Jiangnan Orogen is a newly discovered world-class tungsten enrichment province identified in recent years, with total mineral resources exceeding those of the Nanling metallogenic belt. This paper systematically classifies tungsten-tin deposit types within the Jiangnan Orogen, and discusses geological features, magmatic processes and metallogenic regularities of typical deposits including Zhuxi, Dahutang, Xianglushan, Yangchuling, Dongyuan and Xiwukou, based on the classification of S-, I- and A-type granites.
The Jiangnan Orogen represents the Neoproterozoic collisional suture between the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks, and its Shuangqiaoshan Group basement rocks are enriched in tungsten and tin. The Yanshanian epoch (150–130 Ma) constitutes the major metallogenic period. S-type granites host the giant Zhuxi and Dahutang W-Cu deposits, which are characterized by reduced magmas, strong peralumious, with skarn and superimposed composite mineralization. I-type granites generate medium-to-large W-Mo deposits such as Xianglushan, Yangchuling and Dongyuan, belonging to medium-high temperature weakly peraluminous rocks with well-developed porphyry and skarn mineralization. A-type granites are exemplified by the Xiwukou Sn-W-Rb deposit in southern Anhui, which are highly fractionated and fluorine-rich, enriched in rare metals including tin and rubidium.
Metallogenic materials enrichment follows a three-stage model: pre-enrichment in basement rocks, Mesozoic crust-mantle interaction, and magmatic fluid mineralization. Calcium sources for scheelite formation are either from carbonate wall rocks or from silicate alteration and Ca release of magmatic rocks. Research achievements in this area break the traditional understanding that tungsten mineralization is solely controlled by S-type granites, establish a differentiated metallogenic system for three types of granites, and reveal that subduction rollback of the Paleo-Pacific Plate and lithospheric extension constitute the deep dynamic background for regional mineralization. This paper summarizes existing research gaps such as metallogenic material cycling and fluid metallogenic dynamics, and proposes four types of deep prospecting targets including fault intersections and concealed pluton domes, providing theoretical support for further exploration of tungsten and tin resources in China.