Geological Characteristics and Prospecting Potential of the Wenduoerhaer Copper Deposit in Inner Mongolia

The Wenduoerhaer copper deposit is located in the Ordos depression, the continental margin accretion zone north of the North China plate, and belongs to the Langshan-Zhaertai Proterozoic-Paleozoic polymetallic metallogenic belt. This paper analyzes its geological, geophysical and geochemical characteristics, and illuminates its metallogenic features, ore-controlling factors and prospecting potential. The deposit is divided into the north and south ore sections, and the northern section is dominated by iron mineralization, and the southern section is primarily copper mineralization. Outcrops of carbonaceous quartz slate in the southern ore section cause a serous interference to geophysical surveys, and cannot be used as direct prospecting clues. On the other hand, mineralization in the southern section is obviously controlled by strata, and the copper ore bodies are confined to quartzite formation which should be regarded as the focus for future prospecting.