A Medium-Sized Tungsten Deposit Found in Anhui

The "General Survey Report of Biyun'an Tungsten and Molybdenum Polymetallic Ore in Jingde County, Anhui Province" submitted by the Anhui Provincial Geological Survey Institute recently passed the review of mineral resources reserves by the Ministry of Natural Resources and was put on record.

The deposit submitted this time is a medium-scale stratified skarn deposit. The ore body occurs in the Xiuning Formation of Nanhua System. It is in a layered-like distribution, with the gentle occurrence, stable thickness, and relatively uniform useful components. The average content of WO₃ is 0.550%. At present, two prospecting potential areas and two prospecting target areas have been identified, laying the foundation for the next exploration work, and expanding the scale of prospecting.

Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively combined with other elements in chemical compounds rather than alone. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include wolframite and scheelite.

Tungsten (VI) oxide, also known as WO₃ is a chemical compound containing oxygen and the transition metal W. It is obtained as an intermediate in the recovery of tungsten from its minerals. The ores are treated with alkalis to produce WO₃. Further reaction with carbon or hydrogen gas reduces W trioxide to the pure metal.

It is reported that the project is one of the Anhui Provincial Geological Exploration Fund projects. The prospecting license was issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Anhui Provincial Geological Survey Institute. It lasted for four years. The final submission was a medium-scale deposit of the elements mainly composed of tungsten, accompanied by molybdenum, silver, gallium, and germanium.

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