This paper is the result of mineral exploration engineering.

Objective As a kind of metal mineral, manganese ore is used in many fields of national economy. Qianyang manganese-forming basin is an important manganese ore base in China. Th type of manganese deposit is a set of marine manganese carbonate deposits occurring in the strata of Datangpo Formation of Nanhua System, with large resource reserves and long mining history, but its metallogenic model is still unclear.

Methods This paper takes Jingzhou area of Hunan Province as an example, where manganese deposits are concentrated. On the basis of field profile measurement and geochemical data analysis, the sources of manganese in manganese ores are analyzed by Co/Zn-(Cu+CO+Ni) diagram, Fe-Mn-(Cu+CO+Ni)×10 three-terminal discriminant diagram, (Zr + Ce + Y) × 100- (Cu + Ni) × 15- (Fe + Mn)/4 ternary diagram, Al/(Fe + Mn + Al) ratio, (Fe + Mn)/Ti ratio and Fe/Ti ratio. The paleoenvironment of manganese ore deposition was analyzed by using V/Cr, Th/U, Ce/La and Ce markers of manganese ore.

Results The manganese element in the manganese ore in Jingzhou area of Qianyang manganese basin mainly comes from the seafloor hydrothermal system, and the water body is in the oxygen-poor-anoxic environment at the time of deposition. The fault zone formed in the early stage provided a channel for manganese migration.

Conclusions The manganese ore in Jingzhou area of Qianyang manganese basin is formed by the enrichment of the combination between manganese and CO₃^2- in interglacial period, and the manganese in the sea basin were from the deep crust through fault zones in the glacial period.