Hydrochemical Prospecting and Its Application in Green Investigation for the Large Mineral Resource Base: A Case Study from Jiulong Area in Western Sichuan Province

YU Yang; WANG Wei; WANG Deng-hong; GAO Juan-qin; LIU Shan-bao; YUAN Lin-ping; YU Feng; ZHANG Sai

doi:10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.202004080040

YU Yang, WANG Wei, WANG Deng-hong, GAO Juan-qin, LIU Shan-bao, YUAN Lin-ping, YU Feng, ZHANG Sai. Hydrochemical Prospecting and Its Application in Green Investigation for the Large Mineral Resource Base: A Case Study from Jiulong Area in Western Sichuan Province[J]. Rock and Mineral Analysis, 2021, 40(2): 227-238. DOI: 10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.202004080040

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Hydrochemical Prospecting and Its Application in Green Investigation for the Large Mineral Resource Base: A Case Study from Jiulong Area in Western Sichuan Province

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BACKGROUNDThe 'Strategic Emerging Industry Mineral Investigation' project actively advocates the application of new theories and methods of green investigation in the exploration and development of large-scale resource bases. Green investigation is one of the main content of the comprehensive investigation and evaluation work of large-scale lithium and beryllium resource bases in western Sichuan.OBJECTIVESTo summarize the development history and current situation of the hydrochemical prospecting method, and the main problems of the hydrochemical prospecting method in mineral exploration and environmental investigation are put forward. To preliminarily elucidate the lithium prospect area which should be further investigated in details, by using hydrochemical prospecting method in the humid and semi-humid alpine mountainous area of Jiulong, West Sichuan.METHODSThe temperature, pH value, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and total dissolved solids (TDS) of surface water were measured by field multi-parameter tester. The content of trace elements such as Li, B, Rb, Sr, Ni, W and Sc were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).RESULTSThe content of lithium, boron, strontium and nickel in the water body of the study area was significantly higher than the background value. Among the 60 samples, more than 17% of the samples had content of trace elements in excess of the abnormal lower limit (7.76μg/L). The lithium content of the water body flowing through the southeast corner of the Wulaxi rock mass (Shitougou) reached the maximum value of 20.1μg/L, which was 4.5 times the background value of the water body lithium content in the study area and 2.6 times the abnormal lower limit. These anomalies were closely related to mineralization, and its obvious change law can be used as a hydrochemical lithium search prospecting sign. The southeastern part of the Wulaxi pluton and the surrounding water body of the Lomo Pluton had an obvious relationship with mineralization, which can be used as a prospective area for the next detailed investigation.CONCLUSIONSUnder the current conditions of continuous improvement of the strategic position of environmental protection, continuous increase of green exploration efforts, and equal emphasis on resource investigation and environmental protection, hydrochemical methods have important guiding significance for early prospecting deployment. The research results provide a reference for solving practical problems such as prospecting deployment and environmental protection bottlenecks in the ecologically fragile areas of the Western Sichuan Plateau.

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Hydrochemical Prospecting and Its Application in Green Investigation for the Large Mineral Resource Base: A Case Study from Jiulong Area in Western Sichuan Province

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