AFTER the discovery of lateritic gold deposits in the world during the 1980s, many similar oxidized golddeposits have been discovered in southern China since 1989. Because the incomplete lateritization ofthe regolith compared with the laterite, these oxidized gold deposits were called the red-clay type gold deposits by Prof. Tu Guangzhi. The Shangmanggang gold deposit is a typical representative of the red-claytype gold deposit in western Yunnan Province. 1 Geology, climate, and geomorphology The Shangmanggang red-clay gold deposit is located in Luxi region, between Zhefang and LuxiCenozoic basins along the Longling-Runli Fault trending northeast. The northwestern flank of the basinsconsists of the Proterozoic Gaoligong Group composed of greenschist to amphibolitic metamorphic rocks AFTER the discovery of lateritic gold deposits in the world during the 1980s, many similar oxidized gold deposits have been discovered in southern China since 1989. Because the incomplete lateritization of the regolith compared with the laterite, these oxidized gold deposits were called the red-clay type gold deposits by Prof. Tu Guangzhi. The Shangmanggang gold deposit is a typical representative of the red-claytype gold deposit in western Yunnan Province. 1 Geology, climate, and geomorphology The Shangmanggang red-clay gold deposit is located in Luxi region, between Zhefang and LuxiCenozoic basins along the Longling-Runli Fault trending northeast. The northwestern flank of the basinsconsists of the Proterozoic Gaoligong Group composed of greenschist to amphibolitic metamorphic rocks