THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF CHINA (1919)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2011
• Sequence Number: 608
• Publication Date: October 20, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
IRE ffiI'PAL RESOURCES OF CHINA, 1919)
1 RT I. INTRODUCTIOl;
ChapterI. Principles of economic avolcwy.
Not specifically related to China.
Chantor_II. Ge.212.gy of _China.
Ore leposit
appears to follow no fixed low, yet on closer investigation there
is found to be a definite arran ornnt. Hence in order to study
China's m'_noral resoureos it is first necessary to know something
about the geology of the country. This is not the place for a
detr,iled discussion of this subject,; all that we need is a broad
view in order to give us a genorel idoa of our pathway. We shall
look at it in this order= (1) Stratigraphical divisions as oor-
tiflod by :those who have. studied) the diffront geological ages,
in order to clarify the connection between the oru deposits and
those geological a,,,,,, (2) Classification and distribution of
the igneous rocks, in order to show the relationship betne0n the
metallic ores and the mother magma. 3; t: summary of the goo-
logicel his :cry of the; country.
1. Strati, _phic divisions. There are numerous s.'.milarities aa,i
differ0;'rcos b; tvoon the geology of Chin, rand that of ether countries
being of vast patent it is passiblc to divide the country into many
regions each of vhich possesses succicl characteristics. In
gone.ral the land formations of the provinces are the most
ancient, while in the S.e, the sea romaincd for a rolntively long
time and the most recant changes took place there. ny the mr.,in
geological oeriods we havoc
(1) The br;hoan Group - the earliest strata, of cr, age
almost impossible to calculate, seeing that where outcx-~Jq
occur observation of the ridges is possible, but not of the;
troughs. Cf he rock th,. chief is jzn' i' s, with grunito
next, followed by different kinds c?r' crystnlline schist.
The granite is extremely hard and weathers very slowly; so
that if gneiss is predominant erhorv Arcrrean rocks are ex-
posed, the hillsides will crumble r.nc. be slowly lowered,
whereas if Crnn_tc end gneiss-grenito rocks are In the
raoJority, there r,ro lofty end steeply risirv; peeks, as
T'ai SLen in Shantung and Hue Shan in Shansi, which belong
to this class. This group occurs in the north-nest, ehiofiy'
in F..ngtien, Chihli, Shantung, Shansi and Henan; and gneiss
and granite ore vor; widely spru,-d in th?; south, Cu in the
Kwangtung coastal bolt, in Fuklcn nnr Kiengsi, r.r-1 In the
groat ran;f,us of snow-covered mountains In N.W. Szoehwan.
The Franito and gneiss found so nr.undnntly in the CE'IN-LING,
FU-NIU and HUAI-YI.NG Ramos may also belong to the Archoan
Group. Of ore deposits in this group, gold is the most
important in the north; it occurs mostly in gneiss rock in
Hoilungkiang, Kirin, Fon!;tion end Shantung. Next COm..3
iron ore in a 1:,clt strCtchinc; from the oouth of Fungbicn t?e
YU:IG-PIING in Chihli, wh..,re t`::reor,. seers of maguutitu rand
hematite botw,;en gneiss and quartzite. Thirdly, thuro are
ov.is contaluing copper, end th.. folluwinC; pl,:cos have moor.
fcm?'d as cyppor-procucing, districts from olden tl,aus$
VI-M-148I, YUAH-CH'U, CHIAKG-H3IEN end HISIA-HSLSN in sout4-
wostern Shansi; CHFN-P.N in southern Shcnai; end the YUN-
YANG, CiJU-SHIN region in north-western 11upeh. Thu occurrence
01' iron ores may perhaps be occounted for by the presence in
the primitive aqueous rocks of much elementary iron, vahich
through later metamorphic changes hecrre crystalline, forming
soars of magnetite. It is observed that this occurs along-
side quartzite, the strata being soon togothor in fixed
positions. How is it that gold and copper ore found in those
ancient strata? It mo- be that having been a?ip down in ,he
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
earth they wore affected by long immersion in solvents and
?asos found in the mogr:.a, giving ris:; to the tracr-s fro-
quently found.
(ii) The Proterozoic or Pro-Cambrtr.n Group - thtsrc has been
a high degree of metamorphism in the strata of this group, and
they arc, frequently hard to distinguish frcrn the krchoon; the
only certainties are hr?t t cy contain no fossils red are
hence, metamorl,htam is not at .:11 clear and they
fall within th:: scope of the Pr?oLei ozojc Group. In China
this group has boon studied with most cord in the north, where
it is found that it is broadly diviciblu into two parts with
no conformity. (s) The lover acctioi, called the 'r1U-"'AI
System, h.:s for its chief constituents I*,noisa, crystalline
9,A-tut, r,:r:rblo, quartzitc,!.nd chlorite schist. I~ is must
a:)undant near VU-T'1,I-31TAN in Shansi, arid tlr? .e/.r.+>rbo further
subdivided into the 3-'IH-TSUI, the P.4'-T'hI, nd the HSI-T'LI
series, with mutual discordancy. It ic: f..a irs-I oxt.:rsivr:ly
also in Chihli, Johcl, cnd through to tha south of Fc,n;;tion
and the cast of Shantung. 1c1o, the V!u-t'c,i iystom ore
locatod gnoiss and crystalline ar.hist rocks among which are
ucoful minerals substantially the soma as arc in the Archoon
Groups gold, iron and c opper ar.: the most important, .,nd
other elements such as lend, zinc, ncl-'l c'onui.; c ad tanrestun
are mot with here nd there, with ailvcr-load ore occupying
a comprrativol,r i,nportr,nt po,ition. :.cru in much marble
in the upper portion of the 1u-T'ni S"..tum; rrr.^,nesium enters
largely into its composition, this f i?rin" rice to dolomite,
pericloao, talc end as::oatce, dolomite and poricloso kayo
recently been mined in largo quantit?: in K.'I-PING, FU-HSIuN,
.,Ii.G-zi.NG c:nd HGI-CH'. NG in southern F?'ngtion, ehilo talc
inns asbestos are particularly widely sprcor1 through Fongtion,
Chihli, Shansi and Johol. Graphite ir; mother product found
in the 91u-T'; I System, but not: much of this has -.jot been dis-
coverod, (b) Th., upper suction of the Pr::-Cambrian group is
culled the ;I; It-j('OU (or the ?i'.e-Vu) S atan. 'lutri?or.s of this
are soon in Jchcl,, Chihli, ,nsi nrd l.on^n. The thickness
of the strata groatl;r diriniahes when they reach Shantung, so
that at times tho^ cen,iot tx, fcund at all. Th:; rocks in the
lower suction are quartz -..nd scndaton;, or ahclo; in the
upper 3c:ction, limestone eontr.intnl? flint, ;arid the two sections
are mutually concordant. 'aA,-u ?phijm cf' tl.p rocks has not
oztondod far, nd there is hard'.v s.n- diff,rcnoe between them
and the Paleozoic strete, only tn:,re"era absolutely no traces
of fossils to .9 found. Seers of colitis l:cmatitu ppre four
:,otweon qunrtzito and lir?',stone in the LUITG_1;Ji.Ii, IiSULIT-H-UI
region of Chihli. Only the north-eastern provinces hcvc boon
spoken of so f.nr?. In tl:c, South the phyllitr, rock system is
well Geve.lopod in Hunon, Kier?si ra61 south '.nh:voi; whore it
I.; found in the r .i,icu of K .ere rsi it is
ct;l1?;d th., CFIW -Ti;-r: ;p s Tatum, c.nri whor.: found it t?+or:n the
ueth~,i n sloe Of Ti bi; u-SB/ ~a and i;uI-C''uU (^,iis new H6I-i,'.3 113N)
ir. nhc,c i it is known the TL,.
Carious
':hIn cloy (l;:~oli::) of FSiliG-TZi, in
kiain^;:i. Is -,pp2reiitly producod in thjec, str?c to., r S'orn.tir.,as
rich gold-i:ccri* quartz veins ,rc orueent in ph;;llito rock,
&s 13t P' IITC-CFiIJ?;G in Hunan. Lut it is Generally found that
the phyllitu ago is not completely Pre-Cnmt-rian? mutnr,,or;hism
h e taken place by contact with intrusive k;ranito, as vrit:r the
LU-S7111.11 schist in Kiengsi.
(iii)(r) The lower Paloozoie Group, i.e. Cambrian a-al Gri n-
vicie:n periods, (eltornativoly known as the Sini:en G75tc n,
though sometimon this name includes ui_so the u?n,r section
of the Pre-Cambrian Group, or is extendedd to c of cover the ? i k io
Paleozoic period, making it too broad). /.t that L-r :;c ti ,
ocean waters wore advancing and deepening over the ?:,holo of
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
Chino, with ser.inontation of shale and liiaostone atrnta over
the Srchoon or Pre-Ci rbriun, ahowin? inconformity. Such
stratification is found in Chihli, Shantung, Sh,.nsi s.nd Henan,
where, broadly, a triple division is possible: (a) '}'read
shclo', the low et section, th;; coin rock here boin; rud aaelo
from 30 or 40 to 150 extras thieh (b) I-hove this i ' _owloon'
lioiustone, nuch of W1'tI i! is ocliticlind pso_?hitic limestone
(popularly c llur', v-.vtufnted marbic.), th t.hicknucs of which
is from 200 to o"rcr 5-%, ,,,,trc L. in the so too Car:brieu
stratn trilobite, fcssilr pro c,xtr.is..l numerous. (c) The
uppor largor is the Or?duvici::n 'Tei.n:.n' limosto .u, pore end
conteinlru few fossils, crn9 fron 1000 to ever 1000 metros
thick. Tau rock i?sucj rer _iuni;:,; lira: in tl:c N.?. provinces
i:^ c1l trkun from this l:yer, f c,, teconsc of its purity and
vt:ickiresa other lice atone c,-nrct !.rprouch it. the 'CH'I-
H3I1I' Corpeontio.i et U;.N-h31 ;f (T.i1: TI-i. le the location
of the K:-TEEN inc.) bi:'lids ii: most rn:ireblu !'cr ce'ont mm.nu-
facturo. N, dotni]uu stud:, of t:ic. lover FeLeozoic Cro;ip in
the S. F. province] h:'. ,bet ee n ode; only it is known that
t_-iero are Oriovicirn fossils in th._ lirc_otono of LUIi-Sii..h near
Hunkin, and that "::hero th:, nrcvirieirl boundaries of flup.ar,
c-horai end :zochwun r.;c:ut the lcwur Fv'lou'dui.c ircup is coi,:-
posed of thick li:'ieston?_ strata. The prrc.rc.l t r for this
rock is CEI-1? illy-LI1'.G lire stone , _?n t'::: period is shown by
the prea.inea of trilobite mncl brachiopod fossils; it is well
over 1000 motros in total thicknese, iiaO l low it ''road shcle'
is vbserit, b?jing r:plecoc. by 30 or mare mutros of quartz-
sandstone and comclor:or.: t:. rode of dens.: s.-nel end lnrga
pebbles, the :narkiru a on thooe zha:iiri N-S;e.f. South -,ucd rind on the Shonsi-
Kansu border. In the river vc,ll.ey.,scuth of the C':'IN--LING
mountains where jnveatigations have bean cr.rri.:,d on, -biz; Ti.-
NM-HO (Szc) , '_L'-ThI-IiO (She.), P1.I-SHUI-HO (han. - Sze), the
strata of tiro middle Paleozoic Group pro perfoett beic-:? pre
the Ordovician, s.bove ore the Cerboniforeus, all beautifully
concordant. Continuing on aibovu the CHI-HSIN-LITNG limestone
is green ahnle containing lumps of grey iron, followed by a
layer of siliceous rock four or five foot thick vihich may be
celled a transitional stratum. On to(i of it is grey limestono
to a thickness of over 60 ?.otr:;s, and green iron-rnd-caul-.
bearing shale to a thickness of over 500 metr s ccntairiaC
thin seems of or, ate iline schistose limestone. J,nthoaon and
`,r?^chioppod fossils hay' be i obtained botweon NIPNG-C: ' 1..V, and
ICUnNG-YPi.N; they arc covered h-; more thick limustc?nu etreta,
blue or grey in colour and with numerous fossil..^,, boionoirig to
the D~:vonian period. Slier Con roc'c In Yun, an is meetly
nronacoous shale with thin limestone strata, not ,robe than
100-200 metres thick, erabudued in it. The lower Dcvcaiinn
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130608-1
- 4 -
also is still made up of arenaceous shale and marl; when we
reach the middle Devonian period limestone is much more abun-
dant, and in it are many anthozoa and brachiopod fc,ssila.
Eastward to IweichaNignd Kwcnfsi, and even to south-west Hunan,
the fact that there 3till middle acrd upper Devonian limestone
con '`~e taken as sur~ evidence. To sum up, it may be taken as
a provod and settled fact that tix.?re are extensive and thick
strata of Devonian limestone in the vieotc.rn part of China, and
all throwh it mineral traces are to be found, as e.g. cop.er
in Yunnan and mercury in Kweichew, though it is true that these
usually occur only in countr?i rock which has entered by filling
or replacement, and. perhaps has no c'irect con_,-.e.eticn with the
period.
No detailed study of the middle i'nloozoic group has bson
made in the S.E, provinces; but in t:;e ll,n+,s to at Luti-SiI/.iI
l:nr!king, there are graptolite fossils of the Silurian period,
with quartz-sand atcu., above in wnici fossi..l rro absent- and
this same typo of cuertz-sandstone is Courd beneath lower Car-
boniferous l r:~sto:ze at CF:'I-IfSIA-Sca:rt, so that it is natural
to say that it btilongs tc the De,,;nien :nrlod. It is call,,d
'_]Finking li.reatcno, end traces of it arc round. t.ro; snd t1oro
in tl:_ Nrovi::ce3 of end Che.kion,,; at
times large pimps of iron oxldr. arc folrr:d In it, but th?,re have
been no reports yet cf t.,i3 considerabl, docos!.ts of ore.
(111) (c) The upper P i r o,