Newly discovered sedimentary rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits in the People's republic of China

Sedimentary rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits (Carlin-type deposits) have recently been recognized in the People's Republic of China. Five deposits discovered in Guizhou Province, Yata, Getang, Sanchahe, Ceyang, and Banqi are described here for the first time in Western literature (Fig. 1). The deposits have geologic features and geochemical signatures that are remarkably similar to those of sedimentary rock-hosted precious metal deposits in the United States. The sizes of the deposits are as yet undetermined, but they each contain significant reserves at average grades of 4 to 5 g of gold per metric ton. Exploration and drilling are in progress at all of the deposits, and other areas where the geologic setting and geochemical anomalies are similar are being tested.

The deposits are located in a relatively inaccessible region in the southern part of the People's Republic of China. Four of the five deposits described in this report were visited in September 1986 as part of a cooperative study between the U. S. Geological Survey and the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources of the People's Republic of China. Transportation and logistical support for site visits were provided by the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Guizhou Province, the organization primarily responsible for mineral exploration in the region.

Very little has been published about sedimentary rock-hosted disseminated gold deposits in the People's Republic of China (Li et al., 1986). The Chinese literature sometimes refers to them as "underground hydrothermal (brine) leaching gold deposits" (Cai Changjin and Li Zhixiang, unpub. data, 1986). Analytical information from samples collected in the course of this study is available in Dean et al. (1988)