History · Geology
About Sandaozhuang Mine
The Sandaozhuang Mine in Luanchuan County, Henan Province is China’s largest skarn-type tungsten-molybdenum deposit and one of the most significant W-Mo polymetallic resources in East Asia. Active since the 1980s as part of the Luanchuan ore field, the deposit hosts ribbon-banded scheelite-molybdenite skarn ores and produces collector-grade specimens of scheelite, molybdenite, and rare tungsten-bearing accessory minerals tied to the contact-metamorphic alteration zone.
Geology & Signature Specimens
Sandaozhuang sits at the contact between Late Jurassic granitic intrusions and Mesoproterozoic Guandaokou Group dolomitic marble. Skarn alteration produced a complex assemblage of scheelite, molybdenite, garnet, diopside, and tremolite. Collector specimens are typically smaller than those from the Nanling tungsten belt but technically distinct — orange fluorescent scheelite under UV is the signature display piece. Henan is added to the encyclopedia’s Chinese province coverage by this entry.
