Heavymineralswithasizerangeof0.125～0.250mminthesurficialsedimentofMinjiangEstuaryarestudied.Thirty-fourheavymineralshavebeenidentified,withanaveragecontentof1.92%.Majormineralsincludemagnetite,epidote,hematite,hornblende,ilmenite,andzirconmica.Thesetypesarethesameasthoseinthe0.063～0.125mmrange;however,theaveragecontentislower,whichrevealsthattheheavymineralsinMinjiangEstuaryaremainlyenrichedinthevery-finesandfraction.Accordingtothecontentanddistributioncharacteristicsofthemajorheavyminerals,MinjiangEstuarycanbepidedinto4mineralassemblagezones.Ineachzonetheassemblageofheavymineralsisgreatlyaffectedbythehydrodynamicconditionandthesedimentaryenvironment.HeavymineraltypesalsoshowthatdetritalmattersinMinjiangEstuaryareoriginatedfromtheweatheringanderosionofthebedrockintheMinjiangRiverdrainagearea.
