Geological characteristics and ore-controlling conditions of the Serulang rutile deposit in southern Tibet

The Serulang rutile deposit in southern Tibet is located at the north edge of the eastern Mila Pass fault zone. The green schist is the major ore-hosting rock. Three orebodies were discovered from north to south, which are broadly distributed in simple layers and extend in the northeast direction. The major ore mineral is rutile, which is associated with such metal minerals as magnetite, hematite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. The rutile, which exhibits euhedral-subhedral columnar and anhedral granular forms, is mainly red brown and subordinately dark brown in color. Its particle size is 0.01~0.2mm, with the largest up to 1~2mm. The formation of the deposit was mainly controlled by both strata and metamorphism. The later structures had a certain destructive effect on the shape of the ore deposit. Geological characteristics comparison of the Serulang deposit with other typical rutile ore deposits in China indicates that the genetic type of the Serulang ore deposit is the medium-low pressure metamorphic type.