Himalayan Leucogranites: Rare-metal Resources
Fu‐Yuan Wu, Xiao‐Chi Liu, Fangyang Hu, Lei Xie, Rucheng Wang
Abstract
Himalayan leucogranites were once overlooked for rare-metal resources because they initially were thought to have formed by in-situ partial melting of underlying high-grade metamorphic rocks. However, recent findings have revealed widespread rare-metal mineralizations of Be, Nb/Ta, Li/Rb/Cs, and W/Sn associated with leucogranites in the area, suggesting these mineralizations resulted from extensive fractionation of leucogranitic magmas during long-distance magma transport along the low-angle South Tibetan Detachment System. When combined with coeval Au-Sb-Pb/Zn mineralizations in the Himalayas of the Indian plate, and porphyry Cu-Mo mineralizations in the Gangdese of the Asian plate, a specific Himalayan-type mineralization is proposed to describe the metallogenesis related to the exhumation of the subducted Indian continent, coinciding with the uplift of the Himalayan mountains.