Geologoical And Geochemical Characteristics Of Kuancaoping Bauxite Deposit In Ningwu County, Shanxi Province

The Kuancaoping bauxite orefield in Ningwu County of Shanxi province lies on the southeast of Ningeu-Jingle basin. Kuancaoping bauxite orefield was on the north part of Shanxi Massif, the middle part of North China Platform. Belongs to the category of typical North China platform G layer bauxite. The north China platform G layer bauxite lies on the Middle Ordovician carbonatite of fossil erosion surface, Under the coal-bearing formation of Carboniferous-Permain. Commonly referred to as the rock assemblage of"G layer bauxite and Shanxi tpe iron ore".The stratigraphic succession of the studied area from oldest to youngest includes Middle Ordovician, Middle Carboniferous, Early Permian and Quaternary. The emergence stratum mainly are of Benxi Formation and Taiyuan Formation of Middle Carboniferous. Benxi Formation of Middle Carboniferous is the main ore-bearing strata. The folds and the EW, NNE-trending faults are widely developed. Magmatic rocks are not developed.The Kuancaoping bauxite in Ningwu County of Shanxi province belongs to typical karstic bauxite. From bottom to top the ore-hosted strata is consists of ferruginous clay layer, bauxite layer and clay layer, and it generally includes two obvious sedimentary cycles. The orebodies mainly occur as stratified or stratoid beds and the ore structure is predominantly cryptocrystalline, with clastic or oolitic texture being locally present. The massive structure is dominated in bauxite ores.Mineralogical analyses reveal that diaspore, goethite, anatase and kaolinite are the major minerals in bauxite ores with small amounts of quartz, illite and chlorite. Geochemical analyses indicate that Al₂O₃, SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, H₂O⁺ and TiO₂ are the main components of the bauxite ores and trace elements such as alkaline and alkaline earth elements Li, Sr, Be, Cs, Ba and acid earth elements Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, W were obviously enriched during the bauxitization process. Simultaneously, Zr vs. Hf and Nb vs. Ta show a high degree of correlation.The Kuancaoping bauxite in Ningwu County of Shanxi province is rich in various kinds of accompanying element. Elements such as Ga, Sc, Nb, Fe, Li, Zr, Ti, V and rare earth element which have the great value of development and utilization. Especially the elements Ga, Sc, Nb, Fe and rare earth element are up to the industrial grade of Associated deposits.Geochemical index such as Zr/Hf, Nb/Ta and Eu/Eu^*-TiO2/Al₂O₃ diagram denote that the ore-forming material of bauxite ores in Ningwu County of Shanxi province are mainly from the upper crust, the carbonatite provided the main sources of material for the bauxite ores.