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China has abundant reserves of magnesite, making it the world's leading source of this strategic mineral. Sparry magnesite is the main type of magnesite deposit, and is easy to exploit. It occurs mainly as the sedimentary-metamorphic type. Production is centred on eastern Liaoning Province, where a world-class large to super large magnesite ore processing and production facility has been developed. Hydrothermal metasomatic deposits, associated with ultramafic complexes and eluvial deposits produced by weathering, are two other important types found in China. The Western section of the Bangonghu-Nujiang metallogenic belt is an important target region for prospecting lake-sedimentary magnesite deposits. Based on a systematic analysis of material from 62 magnesite production areas, this study investigated the metallogeny of magnesite and delineated 13 magnesite metallogenic belts. Maps were produced showing metallogenic regularities in magnesite deposits, the metallogenic system of the magnesite deposits, and the distribution of the metallogenic belts of Chinese magnesite deposits. It provides a theoretical basis for forecasting the location of potential magnesite resources in China. Finally, it explores some key scientific issues, including the formation processes of ultra magnesite ore-concentrated areas, and their sources of magnesium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium resources support the development of high-technology industries. China has abundant lithium resources which are mainly distributed in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan and Jiangxi. Salt lakes in China have significant lithium reserves, but lithium is mainly produced from hard rock lithium deposits because the extraction from salt lakes requires further improvements. The hard rock lithium deposits mainly occur in granitic pegmatite in the Altay region of Xinjiang and the Jiajika deposit in western Sichuan Province; they mainly formed in the Mesozoic and occurred in a relatively stable stage during orogenic processes. On the basis of the information from 151 lithium deposits or spots, 14 lithium metallogenic series were identified, and granitic pegmatite, granite, and sedimentary types were considered to be the main prediction types of lithium resources. Twelve lithium mineralization belts were divided and a series of maps showing the lithium metallogenetic regularity in China were drawn. We conclude that the hard rock and brine type of lithium resources possibly have a similar lithium source related to magmatism. The metallogenic features of the lithium in China were related with the distinct history of tectonic-magmatic activity in China. This study benefits the assessment of, and prospecting for, lithium resources in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granitic pegmatites are commonly thought to form by fractional crystallization or by liquid immiscibility of granitic magma; however, these proposals are based mainly on analyses of fluid and melt inclusions. Here, we use the Jiajika pegmatite deposit, the largest spodumene deposit in Asia, as a case study to investigate ore forming processes using isotope dating. Daring of a single granite sample from the Jiajika deposit using multiple methods gave a zircon U-Pb SHRIMP age of 208.4 ± 3.9 Ma, an 40Ar/39Ar age for muscovite of 182.9 ± 1.7 Ma, and an 40Ar/39Ar age for biotite of 169.9 ± 1.6 Ma. Based on these dating results and the 40Ar/39Ar age of muscovite from the Jiajika pegmatite, a temperature-time cooling track for the Jiajika granite was constructed using closure temperatures of the different isotope systems. This track indicates that the granite cooled over ∼40 m. y., with segregation of the pegmatite fluid from the granitic magma at a temperature of ∼700°C. This result suggests that the Jiajika pegmatite formed not by fractional crystallization, but by segregation of an immiscible liquid from the granitic magma. When compared with fractional crystallization, the relatively early timing of segregation of an immiscible liquid from a granitic magma can prevent the precipitation of ore-forming elements during crystallization, and suggests that liquid immiscibility could be an important ore-forming process for rare metal pegmatities. We also conclude that isotope dating is a method that can potentially be used to determine the dominant ore-forming processes that occurred during the formation of granite-related ore deposits, and suggest that this method can be employed to determine the formation history of the W-Sn ore deposits found elsewhere within the Nanling Metallogenic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the ore-forming mechanism of the asikaerte granitic pegmatite beryllium deposit. Topics discussed include role of granitic pegmatite in studying magmatic-hydrothermal evolution, observation of melt and fluid inclusions in the asikaerte deposit and presence of more water in crystal-rich inclusions. Other topics include presence of liquid immiscibility of granitic magma in the asikaerte deposit.