A review of geological characteristics and time–space distribution of cobalt deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Xinjiang, Northwest China

ABSTRACT

Northern Xinjiang in Northwest China is an important part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and is characterized by Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, W, Mo, Au and rare metal deposits. Cobalt is a critical mineral resource and new energy material, but cobalt resources are scarce in China. Many by-product cobalt deposits have been found in the CAOB of Xinjiang. In addition to cobalt-dominant minerals that contain essential Co, cobalt mainly occurs in sulphides, with minor amounts present in arsenic, oxides, and natural metal elements in the form of isomorphic substitutions. Co deposits are mainly distributed in East Tianshan and Beishan, and minor deposits occur in Junggar and West Tianshan. We recognize five types of Co deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt of Xinjiang: magmatic, magmatic-hydrothermal, volcanogenic, skarn, and sedimentary. Of these types, magmatic deposits are the most common. The ore formation in Co deposits can be divided into five mineralization phases: Early Cambrian, Early Silurian, Early Devonian, early Carboniferous, and Early Permian. Among these phases, the Early Permian was the main mineralization phase, in which magmatic-type (Cu–Ni–Co and Ni–Co) and skarn-type (Fe–Co and Ag–Cu–Pb–Zn–Co) deposits formed. The evolution of subduction, collision, and postcollision in the Paleo-Asian oceanic plate resulted in the formation of diverse types of Co deposits.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Cobalt deposits
• geological characteristics
• types of ore deposits
• spatiotemporal
• Central Asian Orogenic Belt
• Xinjiang

Highlights

• The Co deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Xinjiang are mainly distributed in East Tianshan, Beishan, Junggar, and West Tianshan.

• Types of the Co deposits: magmatic, magmatic-hydrothermal, volcanogenic, skarn, and sedimentary.

• Five Co mineralization phases: Early Cambrian, Early Silurian, Early Devonian, early Carboniferous, and Early Permian (main mineralization phase).

• The Co deposits developed in diverse tectonic regimes: a subduction setting and a postcollisional extensional tectonic setting.

Acknowledgments

This research was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Program (Grant No. 41972079) and “Introducing Talents to Western China” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Evaluation and Target Selection of Important Mineral Resources in Altay, Mongolia and Adjacent Areas of Xinjiang). John F. Slack and another anonymous reviewers are thanked for their careful reviewing and constructive suggestions, which greatly improved the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2022.2087111

Additional information

Funding

This research was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Program (Grant No. 41972079) and “Introducing Talents to Western China” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Evaluation and Target Selection of Important Mineral Resources in Altay, Mongolia and Adjacent Areas of Xinjiang).