Application of nanominerals in research on stacked bauxite deposits

Nanomineral is the mineral that is less than 100ⁿm at least one dimension. Aside from the man-made nanominerals,there is a large number of natural nanominerals. With the increasing application of transmission electron microscopy(TEM)in earth science,a large number of natural nanominerals have been discovered in the surface and interior of the Earth. Especially in ore deposit region,nanominerals related to ore bodies are found in various media,and these nanominerals play a unique role in the research of ore deposits. The stacked bauxite deposit is an important source of bauxite because of its large reserve. There are a large number of nanominerals distributed in stacked bauxite deposit,and these ore nanominerals distributed in the deposit in the form of nanocrystals. In addition,the ore minerals in stacked bauxite deposit display changes of the structure and composition in nanoscale. The nanominerals as well as the changes of structure and composition in nanoscale can record the physical and chemical information of bauxite mineralization process,providing a unique window to explore the genesis of the stacked bauxite deposit. This review summarizes the advantages of nanominerals in the research on the stacked bauxite deposit,providing a new method and a new perspective for the understanding of the genesis of bauxite deposit.