Trace element geochemistry of the Lower Cambrian black rock series from northwestern Hunan, South China

Samples of black rock series collected from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, northwestern Hunan Province, China, were analyzed for trace elements. The trace element geochemical characteristics of the ore layer (high enrichments of Ni, Mo, V, U, Cu, Ph, Zn, Cd, Tl and Ba; high U/Th ratios and LREE-enriched patterns with positive Eu and Y anomalies) support the assumption that the Ni-Mo polymetallic layer is of submarine hydrothermal origin. High field strength elements (HFSE) and lithophile elements such as Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Li, Be, Rb, Cs, Th and Sc are remarkably higher in the upper unit than those in the lower unit of the Niutitang Formation. These features may reflect that hydrothermal contributions were diminished, and terrigenous constituents were increased in the sediments of the upper unit of the Niutitang Formation.