Ore prospecting model and targets for the Dashuigou tellurium deposit,Sichuan Province,China

The Dashuigou tellurium (Te) deposit in Shimian city, Sichuan Province is the only known independent Te ore deposit in China. Samples were collected by 1/50,000 stream sediment survey and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, emission spectrometry, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. An ore prospecting model for the Dashuigou Te deposit was then established. In the Dashuigou area, bismuth (Bi), Te, and gold (Au) concentrations in stream sediment samples displayed weak-positive anomalies, while silver (Ag) displayed a weak-negative anomaly. Bi, Te, Ag, and Au anomalies are regarded as indicators of Te deposits; the greater the ratio of Te?+?Bi/Au?+?Ag, the larger the possibility of an independent tellurobismuthite deposit. The ratio calculated from our samples is 7.288. Five locations were identified for prospecting for Te minerals by this model, including the northern part of the Dashuigou Te deposit, Majiagou, Tizigou, southeastern Miaoping, and northern Baishuihe. These five regions are within the Dashuigou dome anticline, the exposed strata of which are controlled by tracing the tensile shear fracture; the metallogenic geological conditions and geochemical characteristics are the same as those of the known Dashuigou Te deposit. Already, Te–Bi veins have been found in some of these areas.