To evaluate the resource potential and suitability for high-purity quartz production of the granitic pegmatite-type quartz deposit in the Huoqiu Group on the southern margin of the North China Craton, the quartz deposit in the Caolou area of Huoqiu County, Anhui Province, was selected for study. Optical microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and related analytical methods were employed to systematically investigate the mineralogical characteristics, inclusion features, and geochemical properties of the quartz ore. A combined purification process including calcination-water quenching pretreatment, gravity separation, high-gradient magnetic separation, HF-activated flotation, mixed-acid leaching, and high-temperature HCl chlorination was adopted for quartz purification, and the impurity removal behavior at each stage was analyzed. The results show that sample I from the Caolou granitic pegmatite has a massive structure and contains medium-to fine-grained quartz with high crystallinity, closely associated with plagioclase and biotite. Quartz inclusions are dominated by secondary fluid inclusions with directional distribution, and most are smaller than 10 μm with relatively low abundance, indicating favorable characteristics for high-purity quartz production. After systematic purification, the SiO2 purity increased from 99.921 wt% to 99.996 wt%, while the total impurity content decreased from 793.44 ppm to 39.27 ppm, corresponding to an overall impurity removal rate of 95.05% and meeting the technical standard for 4N6-grade high-purity quartz. Al, Ca, K, and Fe were efficiently removed because they mainly occur in gangue minerals or discrete oxide phases, whereas Li, Na, and Ti mainly occur in lattice-bound or inclusion-hosted forms and remain the main constraints on further purity improvement. These results indicate that the Huoqiu Group granitic pegmatite-type quartz deposit has good potential for high-purity quartz production, and that the purification process established in this study can provide a practical reference for the development and utilization of similar quartz resources. • A granitic pegmatite-type quartz deposit with high-purity quartz potential was identified in the Huoqiu Group. • Quartz from pegmatite shows high crystallinity and low inclusion abundance. • A combined purification process increased SiO2 purity from 99.921 wt% to 99.996 wt%. • The total impurity reaches the 4N6-grade high-purity quartz standard.
Zhang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.