Distribution details of antimony deposits in China

China has four main antimony ore-forming belts, each connected to one of the world's four antimony ore belts. The specific distribution details are as follows:

(1) South China Antimony Ore Belt

This is China's most important antimony ore belt and a significant part of the circum-Pacific antimony ore belt. Known antimony deposits account for 85.5% of the total number of antimony deposits in the country and 83.1% of the total antimony reserves.

(2) Western Yunnan and Tibet Antimony Ore Belt

Extending westward to connect with the Mediterranean antimony ore belt, it accounts for 2.4% of the total number of antimony deposits in the country and 0.3% of the total antimony reserves.

(3) Qinling-Kunlun Mountain Antimony Ore Belt

Extending westward to connect with the Central Asian antimony ore belt, known antimony deposits account for 9.7% of the total number of antimony deposits in the country and 16.3% of the total antimony reserves. It is an important antimony ore belt discovered in the last 10 years.

(4) Changbai Mountain-Yinshan-Tianshan Antimony Ore Belt

Extending westward to connect with the Transbaikal antimony ore belt, it is a newly discovered zone, accounting for 3.4% of the total number of antimony deposits in the country and 0.3% of the total antimony reserves. Important antimony deposit distribution areas include Xikuangshan in Hunan, Banxi in Hunan, Zazi Creek in Hunan, Longshan in Hunan, Woxi in Hunan, Yuanlong in Hunan, Hengdong in Hunan, Ningyuan in Hunan, Liuyang in Hunan, Xupu in Hunan, Qinglong in Guizhou, Dushan in Guizhou, Rongjiang in Guizhou, Muli in Yunnan, Xihe in Gansu, Nanduan in Guangxi, Longlin in Guangxi, Hechi in Guangxi, Lingchuan in Guangxi, Xing'an in Guangxi, Lechag in Guangdong, Minshan in Sichuan, Lushi in Henan, De'an in Jiangxi, Xunyuan in Shaanxi, Danfeng in Shaanxi, southern Tibet, and the Tianshan area of Xinjiang. Extra-large deposits include the Xikuangshan ore field in Hunan and the Dachang tin-lead-zinc-antimony deposit in Guangxi; large deposits include the Anhua Zazi Creek antimony mine in Hunan, the Yuanling Xiangxi gold-antimony-tungsten mine, the Wuxu Jianzhupo in Hechi, Guangxi, the Nanduan Chaoshan antimony mine, the Qinglong antimony mine in Guizhou, the Dushan Banpo antimony mine, and the Yunnan Guangnan Muli antimony mine.

The most important antimony-producing area is Hunan, followed by Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Guangdong. In addition, southern Tibet and the Tianshan area of Xinjiang are promising areas for gold-antimony associated deposits. More than 254 antimony deposits have been discovered in Hunan, the most important of which are the single stibnite deposit of Xikuangshan near Lengshuijiang City, the tungsten, antimony, and gold deposit of Woxi in Taoyuan, and the antimony-gold deposit of Banxi in Taojiang. The brittle sulfur antimony-lead ore found in Dachang, Guangxi, within the tin ore belt, the red antimony deposit in the Tiandong area, and the antimony-mercury deposit in Xunyuan, Shaanxi, each have their own characteristics.

The explored antimony deposits in Guangxi are distributed in Nanduan Dachang, Hechi Wuxu, Chaoshan, Longlin, Shanglin, Depao, and other areas, each with unique mineral combinations. Nanduan Dachang is a complex tin, antimony, lead, and zinc mine; Hechi Wuxu is a complex antimony, lead, and zinc mine; Chaoshan and Longlin are mainly stibnite; while the antimony deposits in Shanglin, Depao, and other counties are a type of red antimony, occurring as gravel-like dispersed deposits in Quaternary red earth layers, not forming veins. The main producing area is Tiandong. The antimony mines in Guangxi mainly belong to the mesothermal hydrothermal tin-lead-zinc-antimony polymetallic deposits, mainly occurring in Devonian carbonate strata. The deposits are of two types: conformable and cross-cutting. Antimony deposits in Guizhou Province are distributed in Qinglong, Dushan, Leishan, Rongjiang, and other counties, with multiple producing strata, mainly Permian and Devonian, followed by the Banxi Group, Cambrian, Fanjingshan Group, Triassic, and Silurian, which also have a small number of antimony deposits or antimony mineralization. The Permian is the main producing stratum for the industrial type of antimony ore in Guizhou Province. The antimony ore is hosted in the Dachang Formation between the top of the Lower Permian Maokou Limestone and the Emeishan basalt, with ore bodies mostly occurring as layered, lenticular, vein-like, reticulate, and pod-like forms, discontinuously distributed along the strata. Devonian antimony deposits are mainly distributed in Dushan. In addition, there are a few deposits in Huishui and Libo. The ore-bearing strata are mainly the Lower Devonian Danlin Formation quartz sandstone, occurring as cross-cutting vein-type single deposits. The metallic minerals are mainly stibnite and a small amount of valentinite. The gangue minerals are mainly quartz, dolomite, and a small amount of calcite.

Antimony deposits in Yunnan Province are mainly concentrated in Muli, followed by Funing, Xichou, Qiubei, Wenshan, Pingbian, Mengzi, Kaiyuan, Hekou, Jianshui, Weishan, and other counties. The ores are mostly a mixture of antimony sulfide and antimony oxide.

The antimony mining area in Guangdong Province is located in the horseshoe-shaped shield area on the west wing of the Yaoshan back-fold in the north-north-east trending structural spine of the Yuebei mountain range. The strata in the area are repeatedly folded, and longitudinal faults are well developed, forming a north-north-east trending new Cathaysian fold-fault zone. The deposits are distributed in a north-north-east trending belt, extending for 11 km. Five deposits are known. The ore-forming geological structural conditions and deposit characteristics of each deposit are roughly similar. The main commonalities are: the deposits are located in the Tianziling limestone strata; ore formation is controlled by three-level structures and two lithological interfaces; ore bodies are hosted in silicified limestone, occurring as lenticular and layered forms, with steep dips, and lacking relatively good closed structures; the deposits belong to the quartz-fluorite-stibnite formation, with stibnite mainly occurring as massive and disseminated forms; the mineral composition is relatively simple, belonging to a single sulfide stibnite deposit; the genetic type of the deposit is a low-temperature hydrothermal replacement-filling deposit, and the industrial type is a hydrothermal layered-lenticular-layered antimony deposit.

Antimony deposits in Shaanxi Province are distributed in Danfeng, Shangxian, Shanyang, and Zhen'an counties in southern Shaanxi, with the Zhen'an antimony mine being relatively large. Its characteristics are small but rich, belonging to "chicken coop" mines, with high-grade ore reaching 60% and low-grade ore at 30%. The mineral morphology is mostly oxide ore, basically a mixture of sulfide and oxide ore, with high arsenic content.

The mercury-antimony-gold metallogenic belt in the Xunyuan area of Shaanxi contains abundant mercury-antimony associated deposits, with the Gongguan super-large mercury-antimony deposit and the Qingtonggou super-large mercury-antimony deposit located in this area.

Antimony deposits in Gansu Province are mainly produced in Yawang, Xihe County, Tianshui area. The mineral composition of the ore is relatively simple, with stibnite as the main ore mineral, followed by pyrite and pyrrhotite; secondary oxide minerals include cervantite, valentinite, and limonite. The average antimony grade of the ore is 2.86%, and it is associated with Se, Ag, Ga, Ge, In, and Te.

Antimony ore resources in Henan Province are found in the Luoshi and Nantai counties of western Henan, with stibnite as the main mineral.

Antimony mines in southern Tibet and the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang are mainly antimony-gold mines or antimony-gold-silver polymetallic ore deposits, with stibnite as the main useful mineral, accompanied by gold and silver.