The pre-Sinian basement on the southwestern margin of the Yangtze paraplatform consists of threemetamorphic rock series of different ages. Being products of different tectonic events and environments, theydiffer markedly in original rock sequences, metamorphism. tectonic style and characteristics of granitoids andmineral deposits. The Late Archean Kangdian cration mainly comprises the Kangding and Julin Groups with ametamorphic age of nearly 2500 Ma. They are supracrustal rocks dominated by mafic volcanics enclosed introndhjemitic rocks The craton is believed to represent a granite-greenstone terrane of Late Archaean age.There occur mineral deposits such as graphite and kyanite deposits of metamorphic origin, muscovite depositsin pegmatites and gold quartz veins in gneissic granites, banded hornblende-magnetite mineralization and cop-per and zinc mineralizations related to felsic volcanics. Large V-Ti-bearing magnetite deposits were also formedin the mafic. ultramafic stratiform intrusions emplaced on the margins of the craton during the MiddleProterozoic. Copper and nickel deposits are found in several ultramafic intrusions. Extending in a north-southdirection, the Proterozoic mobile belt consists mainly of the Early Proterozoic Hekou Group and MiddleProterozoic Huili and Kunyang Groups. and they are thought to be accumulations in a Proterozoic rift troughor aulacogen. During the Early Proterozoic, the rift trough was characterized by intense volcanism and pres-ence of iron ore deposits of volcano-magmatic type, iron-copper deposits of exhalative-sedimentary type. TheMid-Late Proterozoic of the rift trough mainly witnessed the formation of sedimentary stratiform copper de-posits and submarine sedimentary iron deposits. In the wake of the emplacement of the Jinningian andChengjiangian granites in the Late Proterozoic, skarn-type tin and tin-iron ore deposits were formed.