History · Geology
About Xiaoqinling Gold Field
The Xiaoqinling gold field straddles the Shaanxi-Henan border, on the southern margin of the North China Craton. It is the second-largest gold field in China (after Jiaodong, Shandong), centered on Tongguan and Lingbao.
Geology
Gold mineralization occurs in shear-hosted quartz veins cutting Archean Taihua Group migmatites and amphibolites. The veins formed in the Late Mesozoic Yanshanian event during the activation of the craton margin.
Notable Minerals
Native gold (often visible foliated leaves and dendritic forms in milky quartz), pyrite (lustrous Yanshanian cubes), tetrahedrite, molybdenite, calcite. Some specimens host wire gold and free-milling visible gold.
Collector Notes
Xiaoqinling visible-gold-in-quartz specimens are among the most aesthetically photographed Chinese gold pieces. Pair with Jiaojia (Shandong) for the complete Chinese orogenic gold story.
Minerals Produced Here
- Agate (玛瑙)
- Amethyst (紫水晶)
- Calcite (方解石)
- Chalcedony (玉髓)
- Citrine (黄水晶)
- Gold (Native) (自然金)
- Jasper (碧玉)
- Molybdenite (辉钼矿)
- Pyrite (黄铁矿)
- Quartz (石英 / 水晶)
- Rose Quartz (玫瑰石英)
- Tetrahedrite (黝铜矿)
