Hydrochemical Characteristics and Genesis of Ore-Rich Brine in the Lingbei Area of the Jiangling Depression, Jianghan Basin

Abstract The brine resources in the Jianghan Basin have abundant reserves. In the Lingbei area of the Jiangling Depression, the brine resources from the Late Cretaceous to Lower Eocene strata have high salinity and rich mineral ion resources. These resources exceed the comprehensive utilization grade and some areas even exceed the industrial grade, indicating broad prospects for development and utilization. In this study, twelve brine samples were collected from the Lingbei area of the Jiangling Depression. The chemical characteristics, element correlation, characteristic coefficient, and isotope characteristics of the brine were analyzed based on the test results. The average salinity of the brine samples was 192.05g/L, and the hydrochemical type was chloride. Correlation analysis revealed that water-rock reactions in various underground reservoirs, such as sandstones and basalts, contributed a significant amount of salt materials. The characteristic coefficient analysis indicated obvious characteristics of sedimentary underground brine, good sealing, and high metamorphism. Furthermore, the analysis of δD-δ18O isotopes suggested that the water samples originated from terrestrial atmospheric precipitation, as they were all on the right side of the atmospheric precipitation.