Using In Situ Monazite and Xenotime U-Pb Geochronology to Resolve the Fate of the “Missing” Banded Iron Formation-Hosted High-Grade Hematite Ores of the North China Craton

High-grade hematite mineralization is widely developed in banded iron formations (BIFs) worldwide. However, in the North China craton where Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic BIFs are abundant, economic high-grade hematite ores are scarce. High-grade hematite ores hosted in the Paleoproterozoic Yuanjiacun BIFs represent the largest occurrence of this type of ore in the North China craton. The orebodies are fault controlled and show sharp contacts with...