Mineralogy and trace element geochemistry of the early Cambrian black shale-hosted Zhongcun vanadium deposit, southern Qinling, China

•Five V-bearing minerals are identified in the Zhongcun deposit.•Mineralogy and trace element geochemistry studies indicate that the vanadium deposit in the Shuigoukou Formation precipitated under an anoxic environment.•Metal source for the vanadium deposits in southern Qinling was predominantly ambient seawater.•Vanadium mineralization processes underwent primarily sedimentary-diagenetic enrichment and, subsequently, hydrothermal overprinting.