扎布耶盐湖位于西藏高原腹地,是一个现代盐湖矿床。对扎布耶地区地球化学背景的研究表明:变质岩及蚀变岩石中硼锂含量很高以及电气石脉的出现,暗示着扎布耶地区深部曾产生含硼锂高的热流体;沉积岩中除晚石炭世砂岩含硼锂稍高外,其他岩石均低于同类岩石的平均含量;火山岩中除早白垩世基性岩的硼锂含量高于基性岩平均含量外,其他均很低;该区大量发育的第四纪钙华含硼锂非常高,表明早期的热水系统曾提供过大量的成矿物质;河流及泉水中的硼锂含量是世界河水平均含量的数倍至数百倍,表明地表和近地表条件下的水-岩相互作用的产物也是成矿物质来源之一。
Located in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau, Zabuye Salt Lake is a modern salt lake deposit. Study of the geochemistry of the Zabuye Salt Lake area indicates that: very high Li and B contents and appearance of tourmaline veins in metamorphic rocks and altered rocks imply lithium- and boron-rich hydrothermal fluids occurred at depths in the Zabuye area; the Li and B contents in sedimentary rocks of all ages are lower than the average contents of their analogues except for Late Carboniferous sandstone which has slightly higher lithium and boron contents; the Li and B contents in volcanic rocks are lower than the average contents in basic igneous rocks except for Early Cretaceous basic igneous rocks which have higher lithium and boron contents; Quaternary travertine, which occurs in large amount in the area, has very high lithium and boron contents, which suggests that the early-stage hydrothermal system afforded substantial amounts of ore-forming materials such as lithium and boron; the lithium and boron contents in rivers and springs are a few to a few hundred times the average contents of the world river water, suggesting that the product of water-rock interaction at the surface and in the subsurface is also one of the sources of ore-forming materials.