This could dilute the contents of mineralized elements and mask the signals of
mineralization.Most area of Northeast China is well developed with forest
and swamp and covered by thick soils with high concentrations of
organic materials. East China is covered by alluvial soils that conceal
bedrocks and any ore deposits. South China is predominated by laterite
terrain where red earth and laterite are enriched in many elements by
the process of chemical decomposition of these rocks and residual concentrations.
These diverse regolith-covered terrains are under-explored
or even unexplored; in addition, they are the current geochemical challenges
for mineral exploration in China (Table 1).