Regional Geochemical Characteristics of Lithium in the Mufushan Area, South China

Abstract

With the explosive growth in demand for lithium (Li) resources, the Mufushan area has been a hotspot for Li deposit exploration in China in recent years. Geochemical maps and geochemical anomaly maps are basic maps in the geochemical exploration of mineral resources. A fixed-value method to contour a Li geochemical map is presented here, in which Li concentrations are divided into 19 levels on 18 fixed values, ranging from 5 μg/g (corresponding to the detection limit) to 1858 μg/g (corresponding to the cut-off grade of Li deposit in hard-rock type) and illustrated in six color tones corresponding to Li areas of low background, high background, low anomaly, high anomaly, mineralization in clay-type, and mineralization in hard-rock type. The geochemical map of Li in the Mufushan area using the new fixed-value method indicates that the study area belongs to the high background area, and the known Li deposits are located in the high anomaly areas. In addition, the geochemical anomaly map of the Mufushan area is drawn using the method of seven levels of classification, and indicates that the known Li deposits are all in the anomaly areas, with anomaly levels not lower than the second level. Furthermore, four other areas are recognized for Li resource potential based on the geochemical map and geochemical anomaly map in the Mufushan area.