Hydrothermal VentingFlowing Sedimentation Characteristics of Devonian Barite Deposits from Leji, Zhenning County, Guizhou Province

Key words: 
• sedimentation structure /
• hydrothermal water ventingflowing /
• barite /
• Guizhou Province /
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Abstract: The Devonian barite deposits located in Zhenning County, Guizhou Province have  proved reserves of 33.02×106 t, belonging to largescale ore deposits. Research  on sedimentation structures and tectonic characteristics related to the barite deposits reveal the coexistence of a variety of structures like laminar structures, baritebanded structure, brecciated structure, baritefragmental structure and massive structure, etc., which are similar to those of the TianzhuDahebian barite deposit, the hydrothermal barite rocks of Gutan in Guangxi Province and the hydrothermal water sedimentary barite rocks of Erlangping Group from north Qinling Mountains. Several types of sedimentary characteristics, such as hydrothermal venting channel phases formed in submarine hydrothermal venting, unitary hydrothermal lithofacies and hydrothermally mixed synsedimentary phases, were identified widely in barite orebeds in Zhenning, Guizhou. Similar to Devonian hydrothermal sedimentary rocks (deposits) from Qinling, those sedimentary phases and lithofacies features found in Zhenning characterize a hydrothermal turbidity current sedimentation phase. Sedimentary structures, constructions and lithofacies features of the orebed record well the information of submarine hydrothermal venting and its evolution, the sedimentation rhythm characteristics reveal the intensity of hydrothermal ventingflowing was weakstrongweak. Hence, barite deposits  in Zhenning were formed in submarine hydrothermal venting sedimentation, and the hydrothermal sedimentary structures, constructions and hydrothermal lithofacies features make them ideal places for research on ancient hydrothermal venting diagenesis, metallogenesis and hydrothermal lithofacies categorization.