Volume 2 · Issue 1 (2025)
Apatite Geochemical Characteristics for Mineralization in Granitic Pegmatite-Type Lithium Deposits
Jiaxin Wang 1, Chunping Yin 2, Weijian Zhou 1,3,*
1 Hunan Vocational College of Engineering, Wanjiali North Road, Changsha, China
2 Hunan Huazhong Mining CO.,LTD, Shaoshan South Road, Changsha, China
3 Hunan Mine Carbon Sequestration and Sink Enhancement Engineering Technology Research Center, Wanjiali North Road, Changsha, China
* Corresponding author
Abstract: Granitic pegmatite-type lithium deposits are a crucial source of lithium resources, with their mineralization temporally coupled with the convergent orogenic processes of supercontinents, primarily occurring in the middle to late stages of these tectonic events. In China, most identified granitic pegmatite-type lithium deposits are located in the western regions, where they were formed in post-collisional tectonic environments of the Paleozoic era, with mineralization periods extending into post-orogenic tectonic settings. Apatite, a widely present accessory mineral in granite, holds significant value for understanding pegmatite evolution and mineralization, as its trace-element composition can record and preserve evidence of magmatic and hydrothermal activity. This study takes apatite from the Zhawulong and Koktokay granitic pegmatite-type lithium deposits as examples to explore the influence of magmatic oxygen and hydrothermal activities on the mineralization of pegmatite-type lithium deposits during diagenesis and mineralization. The findings indicate that the geochemical characteristics of apatite effectively serve as indicators for the mineralization processes of granitic pegmatite-type lithium deposits.
Keywords: Apatite; Geochemistry; Granitic pegmatite; Lithium deposit
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