Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 718–727 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ore Geology Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oregeorev The history and economics of gold mining in China Rui Zhang, Huayan Pian ⁎, M. Santosh, Shouting Zhang School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences Beijing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China article info abstract Article history: As the largest producer of gold in the world, China's gold reserves are spread across a number of orogenic belts Received 23 January 2014 that were constructed around ancient craton margins during various subduction–collision cycles, as well as with- Received in revised form 4 March 2014 in the cratonic interior along reactivated paleo-sutures. Among the major gold deposits in China is the unique Accepted 5 March 2014 class of world's richest gold mines in the Jiaodong Peninsula in the eastern part of the North China Craton with Available online 20 March 2014 an overall endowment of N3000 tons. Following the dawn of metal in the third millennium BC in western Keywords: China, placer gold mining was soon in practice, particularly during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. During Gold deposits 1096 AD, mining techniques were developed to dig underground tunnels and the earliest mineral processing Geology technology was in place to pan gold from crushed rock ores. However, ancient China did not witness any History major breakthrough in gold exploitation and production, and the growth in the gold ownership was partly due Economics to the ‘Silk Road’ that enabled the sale of silk products and exquisite artifacts to the west in exchange of gold prod- China ucts. In the modern times, the proven reserves of gold resources in China have steadily increased from 4614.7 tons in 2005 up to 6864.79 tons in 2010, with a growth rate of 48.76%. In the past ten years, the rate of production increased by 70%, launching China as the top producer of gold in the world in 2008 when the produc- tion reached 300 tons per year. The gross industrial output of gold industry in China increased sharply from 20.82 billion Yuan up to 229.29 billion Yuan between 2000 and 2010, registering 9 times growth, and breaking the world record. A simultaneous hike in the proportion of gross value in GDP from 0.21% in 2003 up to 0.58% in 2010 is also recorded. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction the economic aspects of gold production in China in relation to those in the rest of the world. China currently ranks as the largest producer of gold in the world. The country's gold reserves are associated with a number of major 2. Geological background of gold deposits in China tectonic belts that traverse the junctions of ancient microblocks or were built along the craton margins during subduction–collision tecton- The gold deposits in China and surrounding regions are distributed ics (Goldfarb and Santosh, 2014; Zhai and Santosh, 2013). Some gold along several major belts including craton margins, intracratonic deposits also occur within the interior of the cratonic block along sutures and continental collision zones. In a recent overview, Goldfarb reactivated paleo-sutures (Li and Santosh, 2014). The gold deposits et al. (2014) presented the salient characteristics, ages and tectonic range in size from small (5–20 tons Au), medium (20–50 tons Au), affinities of the major gold fields in East Asia, and the summary below and large (50–100 tons Au) to super-large (N100 tons Au). Among the on the gold deposits in China is largely based on this work. various gold belts, those in the Jiaodong Peninsula in eastern China, de- The Qilian and West Qinling orogenic belts in the southwestern fine the country's largest gold province with an overall endowment es- margin of the North China Craton carry significant gold resources, timated as N3000 tons Au (Goldfarb and Santosh, 2014, and references classified as orogenic gold deposits (Goldfarb et al., 2014). Those in therein). the Qilian belt include the deposits hosted in Ordovician arc volcanic Despite the leadership that China enjoys in world gold production, rocks of the North Qilian terrane and the Tanjianshan deposit occurring very little published information exists in international scientific within Mesoproterozoic phyllite and felsic to intermediate igneous literature related to the history and economics of gold mining in this rocks of the North Qaidam block. The reported ages of the gold mineral- country. In this paper, we attempt to trace the gold deposits and records ization range between 214 and 285 Ma (Mao et al., 2000; Zhang et al., of gold mining in ancient China from historical reviews and publications 2009). In West Qinling, both orogenic and Carlin-type gold deposits in Chinese literature. We also synthesize the updated information on have been reported (Mao et al., 2000) and the ore formation dated at ca. 216 Ma is correlated to a transtensional event (Zeng et al., 2012). ⁎ Corresponding author. Goldfarb et al. (2014) considered the Late Triassic as an important E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Pian). phase of gold formation associated with the waning phases of NE–SW http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2014.03.004 0169-1368/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. R. Zhang et al. / Ore Geology Reviews 65 (2015) 718–727 719 directed compression resulting from the collision of the North and 2003), the gold deposits of Jiaodong in the eastern part of the NCC South China blocks. The Xiaoqinling region in the south-western margin constitute one of the richest gold reserves in the world, and also define of the NCC has been well known for large scale mining for gold since the a unique class of gold mineralization (Goldfarb and Santosh, 2014; Yang Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644). According to Li and Santosh (2014), and Santosh, 2014; Yang et al., 2013). Ranging in age from 126 to more than 1200 auriferous quartz veins have been explored in this 120 Ma, they constitute one of the major ore fields for gold in East region, among which about 400 tons of gold reserve has been proved Asia (Goldfarb et al., 2014), and the largest gold province in China and more than 10 large and super-large gold deposits are exploited. A with an overall endowment estimated as N3000 tons Au, accounting number of large crypto-explosive-breccia type gold deposits occur in for more than 25% of China's gold reserves (Guo et al., 2013). The gold the Xiong'ershan region in eastern Qinling within the southern margin mineralization in Jiaodong has been classified into the Linglong-type of the NCC (Chen et al., 2008). In the northern margin of the NCC, that occurs as extensional massive gold–quartz–pyrite veins, and some large and super-large gold deposits occur in the Jibei region. Jiaojia-type forming disseminated veinlets and wallrock disseminations In the Yangtze Block of South China, gold reserves are associated (Goldfarb and Santosh, 2014; Li and Santosh, 2014; Qiu et al., 2002). with the Jiangnan Orogen, a Neoproterozoic suture that resulted from Both types of ores are principally hosted by NE- to NNE-trending brittle the collision between the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks. Gold deposits normal faults that parallel the margins of the Jurassic and Cretaceous in the Jiangnan Orogen occur along the inboard side of the orogen and granitoids, with the larger orebodies associated with dilational jogs continue into adjacent parts of the Paleozoic foreland basin (Goldfarb (Goldfarb and Santosh, 2014). Although the tectonic setting and ore et al., 2014). The available ages show a broad range from 514 to genesis of the Jiaodong gold deposits have remained equivocal, it has 370 Ma (Lu et al., 2005). The Jinshan gold deposit, the largest one in been recently recognized that they constitute a unique class of gold de- the area, occurs in the eastern part of the Jiangnan Orogen. Although posits associated with intraplate processes (Li and Santosh, 2014; Zhai debates surround the timing of gold formation in the Jiangnan Orogen, and Santosh, 2013; Zhai et al., 2004a,b,c). with ages ranging from Neoproterozoic to Jurassic, most workers Several gold-bearing skarn, porphyry and magmatic vein deposits correlate the metallogeny to the Caledonian event (Goldfarb et al., 2014). with ages ranging from 151 to 135 Ma occur in the Lower to Middle The Middle to Late Paleozoic units in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt Yangtze River province in South China (e.g., Mao et al., 2011; Pang are important hosts for gold. In the Northern Tien Shan region, several et al., 2013). The dominant deposits are Cu–Mo–Au-bearing porphyry subduction and arc-related auriferous porphyry magmatic systems deposits with bulk of the gold occurring within garnet- and pyroxene- have been recognized (e.g., Seltmann and Porter, 2005; Shen et al., rich copper skarns that developed in carbonate rocks (Goldfarb et al., 2012). In the eastern part of Northern Tien Shan, in the western domain 2014). Important gold resources also occur in the South China Fold of Beishan suture (Xiao et al., 2010), more than 100 small gold deposits Belt representing a classic late Mesozoic basin and range region (e.g., and prospects have been identified proximal to the east–west thrust Pirajno and Bagas, 2002). Similar to the Yangtze River province, the faults and strike-slip faults. Their ages range between 300 and 230 Ma tectonics in this region is associated with the change from north– and broadly overlap with the Permian–Early Triassic accretionary south convergence between the North and South China blocks in the deformation (Goldfarb et al., 2014).