Ore potential of skarn-type ore deposits in the Gangdise metallogenic belt, Tibet

In recent years, with the progress in geologic investigation a number of skarn-type Fe-Cu-Pb-Zn deposits have been discovered in the Gangdise tectonomagmatic belt between the Yarlung Zangbo juncture and the Bangong Co-Nujiang juncture. They form a gigantic skarn-type metallogenic belt. The country rocks of the deposits are Carboniferous-Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone, dolomitic limestone and sandstone, and related intrusive rocks are Yanshanian-Himalayan granite and granodiorite and their hypabyssal equivalents. The intrusions commonly occur as small and medium-sized stocks and usually have a porphyritic texture. The skarn deposits in the Gangdise metallogenic belt are comparable to Fe-Cu-Au skarn deposits in the middle and lower Yangtze Valley metallogenic belt in many aspects. The Gangdise area has great ore potential and shows promise as a new Fe-Cu-Pb-Zn resource base of China in the near future.