Cover Story
Drilling site and ore characteristics of Xinlong gold deposit in Tibet. Through innovative application of porphyry-epithermal mineralization theories and integration of hy-perspectral remote sensing, geochemical analy-sis, and geophysical techniques, the high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposit in the continental volcanic rock area in Tibet, the Xinlong gold deposit, was first discovered. Notably, this gold deposit has significant met-allogenic potential, with the primary orebody exhibiting an apparent thickness of 55 m (true thickness of approximately 10.5 m) and an average grade of 17.97 g/t. The discovery of the Xinlong gold deposit has started a new chapter in the exploration of epithermal gold deposits in continental volcanic rock areas in Tibet and throughout China. The research achievement led by academician TANG Juxing, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences(CAGS), ranks the first among “Top Ten Geological Sci-tech Progresses of CAGS in 2023”. (Photo by CHEN Wei and LIU Qingping)