ZHANG Ai-kui, MA Sheng-long, LIU Guang-lian, LIU Zhi-gang, LIU Jun-pei, ZHANG Yong, YANG Hong, LIU Yong-le, SUN Fei-fei

（The Third Institution of Qinghai Geological Mineral Prospecting, Xining 810008, China）

Abstract: Based on collecting documents of the mineral exploration and related literatures of research achievements, and investigating typical iron deposits in the Qinghai Province, the spatial-temporal distribution, metallogenic series and metallogenic models of iron deposits in Qinghai Province have been systematically studied in this paper with the support of the Qinghai provincial research and compilation project of the geological records of mineral resources in Qinghai Province. The following achievements have been obtained. 1) The iron ore deposits in Qinghai Province were mainly formed during the Proterozoic, Cambrian-Ordovician and Triassic epochs and their ages are changed progressively older from south to north. These deposits are mainly distributed in the Qilian and Eastern Kunlun tectonic belts. The Cambrian-Ordovician marine volcanic-sedimentary-type iron deposits are dominantly distributed in the Qilian tectonic belt, while the Proterozoic sedimentary metamorphic and Triassic skarn iron deposits are mainly distributed in the Eastern Kunlun tectonic belt. 2) The iron deposits in Qinghai Province have been classified into nine metallogenic series. 3) The tectonic environments for the formation of iron deposits in Qinghai Province have been discussed. It is believed that the Proterozoic sedimentary metamorphic iron deposits were formed in the continental margin. The Cambrian-Ordovician and Permian-Triassic marine volcanic-sedimentary iron deposits occurred in continental rifts, island-arc or back-arc basins. The Triassic contact metasomatic skarn-type iron deposits occurred in the collision and post-collision orogenic belts. 4) The metalogenic characteristics of nine series of iron deposits have been summarized and the main metallogenic models of various types of iron deposits, including the Proterozoic sedimentary-metamorphic-type, Cambrian-Ordovician volcanic-sedimentary-type, Permian-Triassic marine volcanic-sedimentary-type, and Triassic contact metasomatic skarn-type, have been established.

Keywords: The spatial-temporal distribution of deposits; minerogenic series; metallogenic model; iron deposits; Qinghai Province

ACTA MINERALOGICA SINICA Vol. 39, No.1, 2019, page 41-54