High Heat Producing Granites and Related Lithium Mineralization:Insights from Giant Yifeng-Fengxin Lithium Ore Field,West Jiangxi Province
Wu Junhua
Gong Min
Li Guomeng
Wu Zanhua
Ji Hao
Zhou Jianting
Kuang Erlong
Li Yanjun
Abstract：Granite related lithium deposits are generally characterized by high radiogenic heat productions.However,the genetic relationship between the high heat producing granites(HHP)and Li mineralization is poorly understood.In the study,the newly discovered giant Yifeng-Fengxin granite related lithium ore field in West Jiangxi Province was selected to further constrain the relationship between the HHP and Li mineralization.Petrology and major and trace elemental geochemistry were carried out on Li-related granites,including biotite granite,two-mica granite,muscovite granite,and lepidolite granite.The results show that all the granites roughly belong to strongly peraluminous and high-K calc-alkaline series with obvious enrichments of SiO2,Al2O3,Na2O,K2O,and P2O5,but depletions of CaO,TiO2,MgO,and FeO*.Low Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios and high 10 000×Ga/Al ratios indicate that they could be highly fractionated S-type granites.From biotite granite,two-mica granite,to muscovite granite and lepidolite granite,they underwent distinct fractional crystallization of quartz,feldspar,mica,monazite,allanite and zircon with gradually increased differentiation degree.Biotite granite exhibits the highest radiogenic heat production among all granite types due to the concentration of U and Th,and can be regarded as HHP.The high heat production of biotite granite may be inherited from its source region with some mantle magma injection.With the increase of evolution degree,the radiogenic heat production of different types of granites generally decreased while the lithium content increased gradually.In conclusion,the control of HHP on Li mineralization may be reflected in two aspects:(1)HHP and its parental magma provide the dominant source of lithium metal;and(2)radiogenic heat released by the decay of heat producing elements considerably prolongs the suprasolidus lifetime of granitic magmas,and the fractional crystallization and/or the diffusion of Li(and other metals)from melt to hydrothermal can be allowed to proceed more completely before the solidus is reached.Thus,radiogenic heat production may be another thermal drive mechanism for the rare metal mineralization of highly differentiated granite in South China.The study of HHP will enhance the understanding of the mineralization of granite-type lithium deposits and the metallogenetic relationship between Li,W-Sn,Nb-Ta,U and other metal deposits,which is expected to bring enlightenment for the prospection and exploration of these metals.
Keywords：high heat producing granitegranite-related lithium depositlithium mineralizationYifeng-Fengxin lithium ore fieldWest Jiangxi Provincegeochemistrypetrology
Publication Date：2025-07-30
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：24( 2643-2666 )