Nonmetallic Mineral Deposits of China and Plate Tectonics

The Chinese continent is a component part of the present Eurasian plate. The history of its geologicaldevelopment is a process of the convergence of palaeo-plates. the oceanward migration of volcanic belts andvolcanic island-arcs, and the accompanying growth of the intracontinental rifts in the later stage. So theChinese continent abounds in nonmetal resources. Based on the plate-tectonic settings in which those depos-its were formed, the nonmetallic deposits can be generally classified into those related to the sutures andophiolites. those related to the volcanic island-arcs. those related to the back-arc epicontinental sea. those re-lated to the intracontinental rifts and those within the plate interior. They all show certain characteristicregularities of distribution. The evolutionary process of the Chinese continent is so complicated that somenonmetallic deposits have various origins and are characterized by multi-stage mineralization. multiplicityof types and superimposition of mineralization. All these are of great significance in deepening the under-standing of the formation and modes of occurrence of the nonmetallic deposits and in prospecting for min-eral resources.