The Ningwu volcanic basin in eastern China hosts three types of
ore deposits: Fe-oxide–apatite, Cu–Au, and pyrite. These deposits
were systematically explored by the Bureau of Geology and Minerals Resources of Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces and the Bureau of
Geology and Exploration for Nonferrous Metal Deposits of Anhui
and Jiangsu Provinces between the 1950s and the 1980s. The
exploration led to the discovery of more than 30 Fe-oxide–apatite
deposits within the Ningwu volcanic basin, containing a total
resource of about 2700 million tons (Mt) iron (Zhou et al., 2013).