Provenance of iron,bauxite and clay deposits of the Carboniferous Benxi Formation in southern margin of North China Craton: An example from Da'an bauxite and clay deposit of Sanmenxia area,Henan Province |
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| Authors: | Liu Xue-Fei Wang Qing-Fei Ma Yao Li Zhong-Ming Zhao Li-Hua Zhou Zhi-Hui Liu Bai-Shun Ma Xin-Li |
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| Institution: | 1.School of Earth Science and Resources,China University of Geosciences(Beijing),Beijing 100083,China;2.Geological Survey Institute of Henan Province,Zhengzhou 450001,China |
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| Abstract: | During the Middle Ordovician to Late Carboniferous period,the North China Craton(NCC)was exposed and experienced prolonged weathering that resulted in the formation of large-scale iron,clay and bauxite deposits. The source of ore-forming material has always been a research focus,in particular,whether the sources of the iron ore and the Fe-bearing clay at the bottom of Benxi Formation are the same as the upper bauxite and clay deposit is still unclear. In this study,the Da'an bauxite and clay deposit at the southern margin of the NCC was chosen to carry out a detailed analysis of the micro-region mineral composition and elemental geochemical characteristics for further exploring the sources of iron,bauxite and clay deposits. The composition of the ore-bearing rocks in the Da'an bauxite deposit from the bottom to top includes Fe-bearing clay(locally iron ore),bauxite,and bauxitic clay;locally,in karstic uplift,bauxitic clay layer is directly overlying on the Fe-bearing clay. The Fe-bearing clay is dominated by siderite,pyrite,and illite in the karstic depression,and hematite,illite,and kaolinite in the uplift. Bauxite is mainly composed of diaspore,illite,and anatase,while bauxitic clay is mainly composed of illite. Mineral microanalysis revealed the development of large amounts of moissanite and small amounts of natural silica,silicalite,and chromite at the bottom of bauxitic clay layer. Regional comparison and correlation reveal that the ophiolite in the Shangdan suture zone and Erlangping Group in the North Qinling orogenic belt(NQOB)likely provides source materials for bauxite and clay deposits. The obvious differences in immobile element ratios (e.g., Zr/TiO2,Hf/TiO2,Nb/TiO2,Ta/TiO2)between the bottom Fe-bearing clay layer and the upper bauxite and clay layer in Da'an deposit,revealing that they are from different sources. The bottom Fe-bearing clay and iron ore layers are the products of in-situ weathering of underlying carbonates,while the top bauxite and clay are allochthonous. The regional uplift of the NQOB during the Late Carboniferous period provided important ore-forming materials for the formation of the NCC bauxite and clay deposits. |
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| Keywords: | North China Craton bauxite and clay deposit mineral microanalysis moissanite immobile elements provenance |
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