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Geoscience ›› 2018, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (03): 493-499.DOI: 10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2018.03.07

• Geochemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Regional Geochemistry of Lithium in the Altay Area across the Boundary of China and Mongolia

LIU Hanliang1,2(), NIE Lanshi1,2(), WANG Xueqiu1,2, ZHANG Yibo3, LIU Dongsheng1,2, WANG Wei1,2, CHI Qinghua1,2   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Geochemical Exploration, Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Langfang, Hebei 065000, China
    2. UNESCO International Center on Global-scale Geochemistry, Langfang, Hebei 065000, China
    3. Geological Exploration Institute of Shandong Zhengyuan, China Metallurgical Geology Bureau, Jinan, Shandong 250014, China
  • Received:2018-01-17 Revised:2018-03-21 Online:2018-06-10 Published:2023-09-22
  • Contact: NIE Lanshi

Abstract:

Lithium, known as the “green energy metal” and “white oil”, is of strategic importance which plays a great role in changing the world in the 21st century.And the Altay area is an important rare metal metallogenic belt, so it is crucial to carry out the potential prospect areas of lithium resources in this area. The same methods of sampling, laboratory analysis, statistics were used in geochemical mapping in the Altay area across the boundary of China and Mongolia. In this study, the samples were analyzed for 69 elements including rare elements which were not determined before. This paper discussed the background values of lithium in different tectonic belts and the regional geochemical anomalies. In the Altay area, the background value of lithium in China side (23.5×10-6) is lower than that in Mongolia side (25.9×10-6). The background values and average values of lithium in the Altay tectonic belt, the arc basin system in the southern margin of the Altay and the Junggar block are higher than that in the whole’s region. Especially the background value (31.6×10-6) and average value (32.9×10-6) of lithium distributed along the Altay tectonic belt are the highest values, showing that lithium is enriched in the Altay tectonic belt. A total of 24 lithium geochemical anomalies based on the 85% cumulative percentage have been delineated, and three of them with coverage of over an area of 1 000 km2 are potential prospect areas of lithium resources.

Key words: lithium, regional geochemistry, boundary of China and Mongolia, Altay

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