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.