The discovery of the Dahebian PbZn deposit in Tianzhu area of Guizhou Province and its prospecting significance

The Dahebian barite deposit is a world-class superlarge barite deposit. Beneath this deposit, a new zinc-lead deposit was discovered. Sulfide ores are mainly discordant but stratabound in the Doushantuo Formation that consists of micrite dolomite and carbonaceous mudstone. This type of zinc-lead mineralization has a close spatial relationship with the stratiform barite mineralization. The sulfide ores primarily contain sphalerite, pyrite and galena, with minor amounts of marcasite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. The gangue minerals primarily consist of quartz, barite and minor calcite, bitumen and hydrothermal apatite, and trace amounts of hyalophane. Ore-forming fluids in this deposit are similar to fluids in the sedimentary exhalative zinclead deposit. The sulfur in the Dahebian zinclead deposit was derived from the Early Cambrian restricted seawater column through sulfate reduction processes. The stable occurrence of this type of sulfide and barite mineralization along the Nanhua rift basin suggests that giant hydrothermal fluid exhalative event occurred during the early Cambrian period in this basin. The discovery of the Dahebian zinclead deposit has an important prospecting significance in this area.