A Preliminary Review of the Metallogenic Regularity of Nickel Deposits in China

AbstractThe nickel deposits mainly distributed in 19 provinces and autonomous regions in China are 339 ore deposits/occurrences, including 4 super large‐scale deposits, 14 large‐scale deposits, 26 middle‐scale deposits, 75 small‐scale deposits, and 220 mineralized occurrences. The prediction types of mineral resources of nickel deposits are magmatic type, marine sedimentary type and regolith type. The formation age is from the Neoarchean to the Cenozoic with two peaks in the Neoproterozoic and the late Paleozoic. The nickel deposits formed in the Neoproterozoic are located on the margin of the North China Block and Yangtze Block, and those formed in the late Paleozoic are mainly distributed in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), Emeishan and the Tarim Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). Magmatic nickel deposits are mainly related with broken‐up continental margin, post‐collision extension of the orogenic belt and mantle plume. According to different tectonic backgrounds and main characteristics of magmatism, the Ni‐Cu‐Co‐PGE metallogenic series types of ore deposits related with mantle‐derived mafic‐ultramafic rocks can be divided into 4 subtypes: (1) the Ni‐Cu‐Co‐PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle‐derived mafic‐ultramafic rocks in the broken‐up continental margin, (2) the Ni‐Cu‐Co‐PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle‐derived mafic‐ultramafic rocks in mantle plume magmatism, (3) the Ni‐Cu‐Co‐PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle‐derived mafic‐ultramafic rocks in the subduction of the orogenic belt, and (4) the Ni‐Cu‐Co‐PGE metallogenic series subtype of ore deposits related with mantle‐derived mafic‐ultramafic rocks in post‐collision extension of the orogenic belt. We have discussed in this paper the typical characteristics and metallogenic models for Neoproterozoic Ni‐Cu‐(PGE) deposits related with broken‐up continental margin, Cambrian marine sedimentary Ni‐Mo‐V deposits related with black shale, early Permian Ni‐Cu deposits related with post‐collision extension of the orogenic belt, late Permian Ni‐Cu‐(PGE) deposits related with Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), and Cenozoic Ni‐Au deposits related with regolith. The broken‐up continental margin, mantle plume and post‐collision extension of the orogenic belt are important ore‐forming geological backgrounds, and the discordogenic fault, mafic‐ultramafic intrusion, high MgO primitive magma (high‐MgO basaltic magma), deep magmatism, sulfur saturation and sulfide segregation are 6 important geological conditions for the magmatic nickel deposits.