The Lanmuchang Tl deposit and its environmental geochemistry

Tl is a dispersed element and it seldom occurs in the form of independent minerals.The world annual production of Tl is about 13 ton, most of which is by-product separated from non-ferrous metal products. Lanmuchang is the only large-size independent Tl deposit in the world. Bio-enrichment and hydrothermal reworking are the two important metallogenic mechanisms of this Tl deposit. Samples of plant and animal organs and villagers’ urine as well as hair and nail (toenail) samples from the Tl mining district were analyzed. Analytical results showed that the contents of Tl, Hg and As are high, suggesting that the residents and villagers in the mining district have been affected by Tl-Hg pollution, and on the other hand, they can serve as the guidelines for ore prospecting. The contents of Tl, Hg, and As in human beings and other organic bodies depend largely on the background values of these metals in rock, ore, soil and water.