Identifying Laurentian and SW Gondwana sources in the Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Sierras Pampeanas: Paleogeographic and tectonic implications

The provenance of Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the Sierras Pampeanas has been established using U–Pb SHRIMP age determination of detrital zircons in twelve metasedimentary samples, with supplementary Hf and O isotope analyses of selected samples. The detrital zircon age patterns show that the western and eastern sectors of the Sierras Pampeanas are derived from different sources, and were juxtaposed during the Early Cambrian ‘Pampean’ collision orogeny, thus defining initiation of the supercontinent stage of southwestern Gondwana. The Western Sierras Pampeanas (WSP), which extend northwards to the southern Puna (Antofalla) and the Arequipa Massif (Peru), constitute a single large continental basement of Paleoproterozoic age — the MARA block — that was reworked during the Grenvillian orogeny. The MARA block probably extends eastwards to include the Río Apa block (southern Brazil), but in this case without a Mesoproterozoic overprint. Detrital zircons from the WSP and Antofalla yield age peaks between 1330 and 1030 Ma, remarkably similar to the range of ages in the Grenville province of eastern Laurentia. The WSP Neoproterozoic sedimentary cover to this basement shows the same 1330–1030 component, but also includes important 1430–1380 Ma zircons whose juvenile Hf and O isotopic signatures strongly suggest derivation from the Grenville and the Southern Granite–Rhyolite provinces of eastern Laurentia. In contrast the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas metasedimentary rocks have a typically bimodal detrital zircon pattern with peaks at ca. 1000 and 600 Ma, which respectively indicate sources in the Natal–Namaqua belt and the East African orogen and/or the Dom Feliciano belt of SE Brazil and Uruguay. Sedimentary rocks in the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas and Patagonia deposited during the Late Early Cambrian–Early Ordovician interval, after the Pampean orogeny, have detrital patterns common to many sectors along the Terra Australis orogen, reflecting increasingly dominant input to the Paleozoic basins from the Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian orogenic belts of the Gondwana margin.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000711

The West Junggar region,located in the loci of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt,is a highly endowed metallogenic province with >100 tonnes Au,>0.7 Mt Cu,>0.3 Mt Mo,and >2.3 Mt chromite as well as significant amounts of Be and U.The West Junggar region has three metallogenic belts distributed systematically from north to south:(1) late Paleozoic Saur Au-Cu belt;(2) early Paleozoic XiemisitaiSharburt Be-U-Cu-Zn belt;(3) late Paleozoic Barluk-Kelamay Au-Cu-Mo-Cr belt.These belts host a number of deposits belonging to at least eight economically important styles,including epithermal Au,granite-related Be-U,volcanogenic massive sulfide(VMS) Cu-Zn,podiform chromite,porphyry Cu,hydrothermal quartz vein Au,porphyry-greisen Mo(-W),and orogenic Au.These deposit styles are associated with the tectonics prevalent during their formation.Five tectonic-mineralized epochs can be recognized:(1) Ordovician subduction-related VMS Cu-Zn deposit;(2) Devonian ophiolite-related podiform chromite deposit;(3) early Carboniferous subduction-related epithermal Au and porphyry Cu deposits;(4) late Carboniferous subduction-related granite-related Be-U,porphyry Cu,and hydrothermal quartz vein Au deposits;and(5) late Carboniferous to early Permian subduction-related porphyry-greisen Mo(-W) and orogenic Au deposits.     

Polymetallic (Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag ± Au) vein-type deposits in brittle-ductile transtensional shear zones,Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Argentina): Age constraints and significance for the Late Paleozoic tectonic evolution and metallogenesis

This paper discusses new structural, kinematic and geochronological data from polymetallic (Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag ± Au) vein-type deposits hosted in the metamorphic basement of the southern Sierras de Córdoba. A Carboniferous age was established for the hydrothermal event between ∼329 and 315 Ma (Late Mississippian-Early Pennsylvanian) by the K/Ar fine-fraction dating method of sericitic alteration related to metallic ore deposition in the Las Guindas and Oro districts. The obtained ages postdate the spatially associated Devonian magmatism and overlap the A-type Early Carboniferous magmatism defined for the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. The presence of non-exhumed granitic bodies at shallow depths, possibly related to mineralization, is supported by available geophysical and field evidence.The strain fabric and 3-D kinematic analyses constitute first kinematic data for the Carboniferous basement of the Southern Sierras Pampeanas demonstrating that mineralization was controlled by NNW- and ENE-trending brittle-ductile transtensional shear zones that overprint the earlier high-strain deformation fabrics of the basement. Transtensional deformation has accommodated large amounts of strike-slip movements and subordinated extensional components. The calculated kinematic axes indicate a coherent kinematic pattern of the mineralized systems in the two studied districts, with a maximum extension direction oriented NNE- to NE and maximum shortening direction oriented WNW- to NW. This deformation regime, active during mineralization, point to a non-compressive setting at the Late Mississippian-Early Pennsylvanian boundary. In line with other regional evidence, we propose a distinctive Carboniferous deformational phase in the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas, dominated by transtension. This period would have occurred after the transition with the Devonian compressional/transpressional orogenic regime.     

西天山金、铜矿地质特征简述

西天山是我国古生代造山带重要的金、铜矿成矿单元之一,具有Au、Cu地球化学场.各种地球物理场也显示具有良好的金、铜矿成矿地质背景.金、铜矿主要生成于海西期的构造岩浆地质热事件中,形成了浅成低温热液型和韧性剪切带型金矿以及海底火山喷气热水沉积型、矽卡岩型、斑岩型、陆相火山热液充填型铜矿.可划分出赛里木铜金成矿带、吐拉苏也里莫墩金成矿带、察布查尔铜成矿带及胜利达坂金成矿带.主要矿床有阿希金矿、望峰金矿、喇嘛苏铜矿和预须开普台铜矿.     

Gold mineralization in China: Metallogenic provinces,deposit types and tectonic framework

We present a review of major gold mineralization events in China and a summary of metallogenic provinces, deposit types, metallogenic epochs and tectonic settings. Over 200 investigated gold deposits are grouped into 16 Au-metallogenic provinces within five tectonic units such as the Central Asian orogenic belt comprising provinces of Northeast China and Tianshan-Altay; North China Craton comprising the northern margin, Jiaodong, and Xiaoqinling; the Qinling-Qilian-Kunlun orogenic belt consisting of the West Qingling, North Qilian, and East Kunlun; the Tibet and Sanjiang orogenic belts consisting of Lhasa, Garzê-Litang, Ailaoshan, and Daduhe-Jinpingshan; and the South China block comprising Youjiang basin, Jiangnan orogenic belt, Middle and Lower Yangtze River, and SE coast. The gold deposits are classified as orogenic, Jiaodong-, porphyry–skarn, Carlin-like, and epithermal-types, among which the first three types are dominant.The orogenic gold deposits formed in various tectonic settings related to oceanic subduction and subsequent crustal extension in the Qinling-Qilian-Kunlun, Tianshan-Altay, northern margin of North China Craton, and Xiaoqinling, and related to the Eocene–Miocene continental collision in the Tibet and Sanjiang orogenic belts. The tectonic periods such as from slab subduction to block amalgamation, from continental soft to hard collision, from intracontinental compression to shearing or extension, are important for the formation of the orogenic gold deposits. The orogenic gold deposits are the products of metamorphic fluids released during regional metamorphism associated with oceanic subduction or continental collision, or related to magma emplacement and associated hydrothermal activity during lithospheric extension after ocean closure. The Jiaodong-type, clustered around Jiaodong, Xiaoqinling, and the northern margin of the North China Craton, is characterized by the involvement of mantle-derived fluids and a temporal link to the remote subduction of the Pacific oceanic plate concomitant with the episodic destruction of North China Craton. The Carlin-like gold metallogenesis is related to the activity of connate fluid, metamorphic fluid, and meteoric water in different degrees in the Youjiang basin and West Qinling; the former Au province is temporally related to the remote subduction of the Tethyan oceanic plate and the later formed in a syn-collision setting. Porphyry–skarn Au deposits are distributed in the Tianshan-Altay, the Middle and Lower Yangtze River region, and Tibet and Sanjiang orogenic belts in both subduction and continental collision settings. The magma for the porphyry–skarn Au deposits commonly formed by melting of a thickened juvenile crust. The epithermal Au deposits, dominated by the low-sulfidation type, plus a few high-sulfidation ones, were produced during the Carboniferous oceaic plate subduction in Tianshan-Altay, during Early Cretaceous and Quaternary oceanic plate subduction in SEt coast of South China Block, and during the Pliocene continental collision in Tibet. The available data of different isotopic systems, especially fluid D–O isotopes and carbonate C–O systems, reveal that the isotopic compositions are largely overlapping for different genetic types and different for the same genetic type in different Au belts. The isotopic compositions are thus not good indicators of various genetic types of gold deposit, perhaps due to overprinting of post-ore alteration or the complex evolution of the fluids.Although gold metallogeny in China was initiated in Cambrian and lasted until Cenozoic, it is mainly concentrated in four main periods. The first is Carboniferous when the Central Asian orogenic belt formed by welding of micro-continental blocks and arcs in Tianshan-Altay, generating a series of porphyry–epithermal–orogenic deposits. The second period is from Triassic to Early Jurassic when the current tectonic mainframe of China started to take shape. In central and southern China, the North China Craton, South China Block and Simao block were amalgamated after the closure of Paleo-Tethys Ocean in Triassic, forming orogenic and Carlin-like gold deposits. The third period is Early Cretaceous when the subduction of the Pacific oceanic plate to the east and that of Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate to the west were taking place. The subduction in eastern China produced the Jiaodong-type deposits in the North China Craton, the skarn-type deposits in the northern margin (Middle to lower reaches of Yangtze River) and the epithermal-type deposits in the southeastern margin in the South China Block. The subduction in western China produced the Carlin-like gold deposits in the Youjiang basin and orogenic ones in the Garzê-Litang orogenic belt. The Cenozoic is the last major phase, during which southwestern China experienced continental collision, generating orogenic and porphyry–skarn gold deposits in the Tibetan and Sanjiang orogenic belts. Due to the spatial overlap of the second and third periods in a single gold province, the Xiaoqinling, West Qinling, and northern margin of the North China Craton have two or more episodes of gold metallogeny.     

Exhumation and uplift of the Sierras Pampeanas: preliminary implications from K–Ar fault gouge dating and low-T thermochronology in the Sierra de Comechingones (Argentina)

The Sierras Pampeanas in central and north-western Argentina constitute a distinct morphotectonic feature between 27°S and 33°S. The last stage of uplift and deformation in this area are interpreted to be closely related to the Andean flat-slab subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. K–Ar fault gouge dating and low-temperature thermochronology along two transects within the Sierra de Comechingones reveal a minimum age for the onset of brittle deformation about 340 Ma, very low exhumation rates since Late Paleozoic time, as well as a total exhumation of about 2.3 km since the Late Cretaceous. New Ar–Ar ages (7.54–1.91 Ma) of volcanic rocks from the San Luis volcanic belt support the eastward propagation of the flat-slab magmatic front, confirming the onset of flat-slab related deformation in this region at 11.2 Ma. Although low-temperature thermochronology does not clearly constrain the signal of the Andean uplift, it is understood that the current structural relief related to the Comechingones range has been achieved after the exhumation of both fault walls (circa 80–70 Ma).     

Magnetostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of early and middle Miocene synorogenic strata: basement partitioning and minor block rotation in Argentine broken foreland

Magnetostratigraphic and paleomagnetic studies on early Andean synorogenic strata (Del Crestón Fm.), in the Famatina Belt (28.7°S, 67.5°W) clarify details of chronology that permit calculation of sedimentation rates within the broken foreland of west Argentina. The Del Crestón Fm represents the first record of broken foreland sedimentation within the southern Central Andean belt and the earliest retroarc volcanic rocks exposed several hundred kilometers from the trench. Twenty-five out of 49 sites collected along the succession presented a primary remanence, as determined through positive fold and reversal tests. Correlation of the local magnetic polarity section with the global polarity time scale indicates that the sedimentation of Del Crestón Fm started at ~16.7 Ma and continued until ~14.5 Ma. The youngest strata are represented by conglomerates bearing abundant Lower Paleozoic granite boulders indicating unroofing of the crystalline basement within the NW Sierras Pampeanas. This result supports the hypothesis of an early broken foreland stage at these latitudes of the Andes, with involvement of the basement in deformation and coeval retroarc volcanism, common attributes of flat-subduction regimes. A mean site paleomagnetic direction of Dec: 6.3°, Inc: ?43.6° (α95: 8.0°, N = 24) confirm our earlier intrepretation that the central part of the Famatina Belt within the Sierras Pampeanas did not undergo large vertical axes rotations since the Middle Miocene.     

New geochronological results and structural evolution of the Pataz gold mining district: Implications for the timing and origin of the batholith-hosted veins

The Paleozoic Pataz–Parcoy gold mining area is located in a right-stepping jog on the regional Cordillera Blanca fault, in northern Peru. Most of the 8 million ounces of gold production from this area has come from quartz–carbonate–sulfide veins hosted by the Pataz batholith. Despite a subduction zone setting since at least the Cambrian, the area records several periods of extension and its present structure is that of a rift and graben terrain. The Pataz district (the northern part of the Pataz–Parcoy area) is dominated structurally by northwest to north northwest-striking (NW–NNW) faults and northeast to east northeast-striking (NE–ENE) lineaments, both of which have been active periodically since at least the Mississippian (Early Carboniferous). NW–NNW faults control the margins of a central horst that exposes basement schist and the Pataz batholith, and step across NE–ENE lineaments. The Lavasen graben, to the east of the central horst, contains the Lavasen Volcanics, and the Chagual graben, to the west, contains an allochthonous sedimentary sequence derived from the Western Andean Cordillera.New SHRIMP zircon geochronological data indicate emplacement of the Pataz batholith during the Middle Mississippian, at around 338–336 Ma, approximately 10 Ma earlier than previous estimates based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology. The calc-alkaline, I-type batholith comprises diorite and granodiorite, the latter being the major component of the batholith, and was emplaced as a sill complex within the moderately NE-dipping sequence of the Eastern Andean Cordillera. Moderate- to high-temperature ductile deformation took place on the batholith contacts during or shortly after emplacement. Following emplacement of the batholith, differential uplift occurred along NW–NNW faults forming the Lavasen graben, into which the Lavasen Volcanics were deposited. SHRIMP U–Pb in zircon ages for the Lavasen Volcanics and the Esperanza subvolcanic complex, which was intruded into the western margin of the graben, are within error of one another at ca 334 Ma. The ductile batholith contacts were cut by renewed movement on NW–NNW faults such that the margins of the batholith are now controlled by these steep brittle-ductile faults. The NW–NNW faults were oriented normal to the principal axis of regional shortening (ENE–WSW) during formation of the batholith-hosted, gold-bearing quartz–carbonate–sulfide veins. The misoriented faults were unable to accommodate significant displacement, leading to high fluid pressures, vertical extension in the competent batholith and formation of gold-bearing veins. Brittle failure of the batholith was most extensive in the northern Pataz district where the fault-controlled western contact of the batholith is offset by a swarm of NE–ENE lineaments.The timing of vein formation is not established, despite published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 312 to 314 Ma for metasomatic white mica, which are interpreted as minimum ages of formation. Gold-bearing veins formed during or shortly after uplift of the Pataz batholith and formation of the Lavasen graben; they were therefore broadly coeval with deposition of the Lavasen Volcanics and emplacement of the Esperanza subvolcanic complex. These K-rich, weakly alkalic, ferroan (A-type) magmas may provide a viable source for the ore fluid that deposited gold in the Pataz batholith.     

智利北部—阿根廷西北部两类斑岩铜矿成矿方式

智利北部和阿根廷西北部的中新生代斑岩铜矿形成于古生代地体拼贴造山带背景。随着大西洋的张开,南美大陆向西漂移,中新生代期间,南美克拉通块体俯冲到古生代造山带之下形成加厚或双倍地壳。智利北部作为南美活动大陆边缘的组成部分,不断"吞食"向东俯冲的太平洋（纳斯卡）板块,斑岩铜矿成矿作用发生在俯冲板块断离后导致的大规模岩浆活动,并沿再活化岩石圈不连续（先存的古生代拼接带、区域断裂）反复就位,形成安第斯型斑岩铜矿。阿根廷西北部大规模铜（金、钼）成矿与加厚的造山带垮塌有关,大规模成矿受控于造山岩石圈去根、软流圈物质和热上涌引发的大规模岩浆活动。总体而言,智利北部、阿根廷西北部安第斯型和造山带垮塌型斑岩铜矿,乃至南美安第斯山铜（金）矿成矿带形成,与中新生代以来南美大陆向西漂移、大西洋张开事件关系密切。     

Early Paleozoic and Andean structural evolution in the Rio Jáchal section of the Argentine Precordillera

In the fold-and-thrust belt of the northern Argentine Precordillera, Early Paleozoic basin and slope sediments are affected by a folding event which was combined with a slight greenschist facies metamorphism. The structural geometries are influenced by the former normal faulted boundary towards the eastern carbonate platform. To the east of the slope, Early Paleozoic marine deposits record a ˜ W-vergent folding without a clear metamorphic overprint. This deformation probably took place in the Devonian to pre-Upper Carboniferous interval while in the west an onset during the Late Silurian is reasonable. During Andean (Late Tertiary) compression, the escarpment was again reactivated as an important, east-directed thrust fault, and the folded strata to the east were juxtaposed along distinct, east-directed high-angle reverse faults with some ˜ N-S fold structures interfering with pre-Tertiary folds. Hence, the present architecture of this part of the orogen was largely influenced by different Early Paleozoic depositional realms and structures of one pre-Tertiary compressional event. The latter can be linked with the collision of the Sierras Pampeanas basement complex at the eastern margin of the Precordillera and be related to the collision with the Chilenia Terrane in the west.     

Post-orogenic,Carboniferous granite-hosted Sn–W mineralization in the Sierras Pampeanas Orogen,Northwestern Argentina

The Sierras Pampeanas orogen, in northwestern Argentina, hosts significant Sn–W mineralization in a variety of mostly epizonal granite stocks emplaced in variably metamorphosed country rocks. The San Blas, Huaco and El Durazno granite stocks in the Sierra de Velasco, the La Quebrada granite in the Sierra de Mazán, the Cerro Colorado granite in the Cerro Negro, and the Los Mudaderos and Sauce Guacho granite stocks in the Sierra de Ancasti, are largely peraluminous (ASI between 1.05 and 1.38) and represent S-type granites, are strongly fractionated (i.e., high Rb–Sr ratio), have a low oxidation state (low Fe₂O₃/Fe₂O₃ ratio) and are geotectonically linked to syncollisional magmatism. The U–Pb SHRIMP analyses on zircons from the Cerro Colorado and La Quebrada granites, located in the Cerro Negro and Sierra de Mazán, respectively, revealed ages from Lower Ordovician (Tremadocian) to Carboniferous. All granites display elevated LREE values, low HREE values and negative Eu anomalies. With regards to total REE values, two groups of granite stocks can be recognized. The granites with lower REE contents are highly evolved granites and are related to Sn–W mineralization. The mineralized granites display higher values of Sn, W and Rb, and lower values of Sr and Ba compared to barren granites. These trace element characteristics appear to be diagnostic for Sn–W mineralized granite stocks in the western Sierras Pampeanas. The western Sierras Pampeanas contains locally geochemically evolved Carboniferous granites, which are interpreted to be the main control of significant Sn–W mineralization. The Carboniferous age of western Sierras Pampeanas Sn–W mineralization sets it apart from the Triassic age of the Sn–W mineralization in the Eastern Tin belt of Bolivia.     

内蒙古东部二连浩特-乌兰浩特地区金矿化特征的初步研究

研究区属含古老地块并经中生代改造的中古生代造山带,存在金、锡等丰度较高的锡林浩特元古宙杂岩、古生代蛇绿岩及板块缝合带、二叠系火山岩、中生代伸展构造背景下的大规模火山-侵入活动及锡多金属成矿作用.本区金矿化类型主要有:韧性剪切带中的石英脉型、蚀变岩型金矿,产于幔源中基性侵入岩中的铜金矿,燕山晚期斑岩型铜金矿,与燕山期次火山岩浆活动有关的脉状铜矿床中的伴生金矿化,微细浸染型金矿化,浅成低温热液型金矿化等.研究区金矿成矿时代可分为242~229Ma、169~161.8Ma、132~159Ma (可能以130~140Ma为主)、127~109.2Ma四个区间.认识到存在印支期成矿、燕山期多阶段成矿等特点对于区内金矿勘查有重要意义.新发现7个矿床(点)的伴生金矿化.毛登、大井等多金属矿床的伴生金矿化具有重要的潜在工业意义.     

新疆阿尔泰—准噶尔北缘晚古生代构造演化和内生金属矿床成矿系列

阿尔泰是中亚成矿域重要的内生金属矿产集中区,该矿集区晚古生代发育有 5类内生摘金属要矿床：1）块状硫化物Cu-Pb-Zn矿床,2）斑岩型Cu-Au矿床,3）岩浆 Cu-Ni硫化物矿床,4）矽卡岩型Cu-Mo-Fe矿床,5）造山型金矿床和伟晶岩型稀有金属矿床。在构造上,这些矿床的形成与阿尔泰造山带俯冲—增生作用密切相关。阿尔泰晚古生代矿床的形成可以划分为3个主要阶段：Ⅰ）早-中泥盆世,沿阿尔泰南缘古生代活动大陆边缘弧后伸展,导致在阿尔泰西部琼库尔—塔拉特地质体中形成的多金属火山成因块状硫化物矿床,以及阿尔泰东段铁—铜矽卡岩矿床;Ⅱ）石炭纪—二叠纪的地体增生和弧岩浆作用,在布尔津—二台和额尔齐斯地体中形成了广泛分布的斑岩型矿床、岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床,在额尔齐斯地体中形成的铜铁矽卡岩矿床;Ⅲ）早二叠世的持续增生导致阿尔泰南部的杜拉特岛弧形成,并伴随有矽卡岩铜钼矿床和造山型金矿的形成;晚二叠世阿尔泰地区进入造山带演化阶段,并发生区域动力热流变质作用和片麻岩穹隆,伴随有花岗岩化和重熔岩浆活动和大量伟晶岩矿床的形成。晚古生代阿尔泰南缘的俯冲—增生构造演化过程,导致了不同类型内生金属矿床的形成,构成了我国重要的内生金属矿集区和矿山后备基地。     

新疆晚古生代大陆边缘成矿系统与成矿区带初步探讨

新疆地处中亚成矿域的中段，古生代大陆边缘增生明显、构造和岩浆活动强烈、矿产资源丰富。古生代大陆边缘成矿作用主要集中在两个时期，即以阿尔泰南缘为主的早中泥盆世和以天山为主的早石炭世。本文在综合研究及与境外对比的基础上，按照北疆地区晚古生代大陆边缘的构造动力学和成矿特征，将研究区大陆边缘成矿系统划分为：活动大陆边缘海相火山岩-盆地流体成矿系统，活动大陆边缘火山岛弧-岩浆活动成矿系统和被动大陆边缘沉积盆地-热水活动成矿系统三类。同时对形成于大陆边缘的成矿区带进行划分，主要包括：阿勒泰南缘晚古生代活动大陆边缘块状硫化物成矿带；阿尔泰南缘-东准噶尔活动大陆边缘卡拉先格尔岛弧斑岩铜金成矿带；东天山晚古生代活动大陆边缘铜钼锌成矿区带；西准噶尔洋内弧斑岩-浅成低温热液铜金成矿区带；西天山（伊犁地块）活动大陆边缘金铜成矿区带；塔里木板块被动大陆边缘沉积型铅锌成矿带。本文认为大陆增生与成矿作用的关系是矿床学和成矿系统研究的重要内容，成矿区带是成矿系统发生成矿作用的响应，而成矿系统是成矿区带形成的本质。     

东天山大地构造演化的成矿示踪

矿床是大地构造演化的重要指示标志,矿床特征和时空分布格局为重建东天山地区大地构造演化提供了新的制约。研究表明,夹于吐哈地块和中天山地块之间的东天山古生代造山带,在空间上可分为吐哈盆地南缘铜矿带(北带)、康古尔金矿带(中带)和阿齐山—雅满苏铁(铜)-银多金属矿带(南带)3个不同的构造-地层(岩浆)-成矿带。在时间上东天山造山带具有明显的三阶段演化性:(1)吐哈盆地南缘奥陶—泥盆纪为活动大陆边缘,形成了包括VMS型铜锌矿床和斑岩型铜矿床在内的古陆缘成矿系统;晚泥盆世末—早石炭世初古洋壳向北俯冲关闭,中天山地块增生拼贴到吐哈地块(属哈萨克斯坦—准噶尔板块组成部分)南缘。(2)早石炭世(维宪期)沿康古尔缝合带再次拉张,形成石炭纪裂陷槽火山-沉积岩系及相应的层控成矿系统(VMS型铜锌矿床、火山岩型铁(铜)矿床、自然铜矿床),裂陷槽封闭过程中发育了夕卡岩型银多金属矿床。(3)早二叠世形成与幔源岩浆底侵作用有关、跨构造单元发育的铜镍硫化物成矿系统和与剪切活动有关的金矿床。依据上述认识,对东天山地区的矿产勘查提出了新建议。     

Late Tertiary Gold-Bearing Volcanic Belt in the Sierras Pampeanas of San Luis,Argentina

In the Sierras Pampeanas of San Luis, Argentina, Late Tertiary volcanic rocks extend along a 80-km NW-SE-trending belt, between La Carolina and Sierra del Morro. Several gold deposits, among which those in the western end of the belt are better known, are genetically related to the volcanic rocks, formed during a volcanic episode that occurred between 9.5 Ma and 1.9 Ma. Located 600 km from the Peru-Chile trench, the volcanic belt represents the easternmost and youngest mineralized magmatic manifestation associated with the shallowing of the Nazca plate in the flat-slab Andean segment extending from 28° to 33° S Lat.

The volcanic complex includes lavas and volcaniclastic rocks. Small-volume lavas were emplaced as domes, flows, and dikes. Pyroclastic deposits are associated with them in certain areas, such as at La Carolina, Cerro Tiporco, and Sierra del Morro. At La Carolina, phreatomagmatic breccias and base-surge deposits define a maar-diatreme volcanic setting. At Cerro Tiporco and Sierra del Morro, the volcaniclastic units are related to the formation of calderas. Mesosilicic magmas (SiO₂ = 59% to 68%) belong to normal to high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic magma types. At both local and regional scales, K enrichment accompanies progressively decreasing age. Although the volcanic rocks differ from the typical Andean series, some geochemical features, such as Ta and Ti depletion, high large-ion-lithophile-element (LILE) contents, and arc-like Ba/La and La/Ta ratios, indicate an arc signature.

In the La Carolina zone, the most important mineralization is the La Carolina volcanic-hosted, low-sulfidation, epithermal gold deposit. Here, several gold and base-metal-bearing epithermal veins cut basement rocks. In the Canada Honda district, the most important mineral deposits are the Diente Verde gold-rich porphyry copper deposit and low-sulfidation epithermal gold and base-metal veins hosted by both basement and coeval volcanics.

There is no strong evidence of gold-bearing mineral deposits on the eastern side of the volcanic belt. However, there are hydrothermal alteration zones at Cerros del Rosario and El Morro as well as traces of gold at the Santa Isabel calcareous onyx deposit and inside the Sierra del Morro caldera. In addition, favorable volcanic structures, such as the calderas at Tiporco, Cerro Lomita, and El Morro, make the eastern side of the belt an interesting target for mineral exploration.     

Resolving the paradigm of the late Paleozoic–Triassic Chilean magmatism: Isotopic approach

The Andean orogenic cycle and its subduction-related magmatism along the southwestern margin of South America began during the early Jurassic after an accretionary history throughout Paleozoic times. The Chilean and Argentinian Frontal Andes batholiths, together with the Coastal Batholith, represent most of the pre-Andean orogenic cycle plutonism. However, how late Paleozoic–Triassic magmatism occurred along this margin and its transition to the Andean orogenic cycle still remains unclear. Here we present a geodynamic model using all the available published Lu–Hf and oxygen isotopic data ranging from latitudes 28° to 40°S, together with 5 new Hf–O data and U–Pb zircon ages from the Chilean Frontal Andes. Data indicate that subduction began at least in the latest early Carboniferous and was continuous throughout the late Paleozoic–Triassic period. Isotopic and geochronological results show a continuous magmatic trend, from high δ¹⁸O values (continental) to mantle-like signatures, as the rocks get younger. Between latest early Carboniferous and earliest middle Permian, magmas formed in a subduction-related arc during the Gondwanide Orogeny. Later, throughout middle Permian to Triassic, magmatism occurred in a slab rollback extensional setting, triggered by low subducting plate velocities while Pangea was essentially in a static reference mode. There is no evidence for cessation of subduction during the Triassic and its renovation in the early Jurassic as previous work suggested. Therefore, we propose that Andean subduction has been a continuous tectonic process since Paleozoic times, whose initial geodynamic evolution was directly related to the Gondwanide Orogeny as part of the Pangea Assembly. Slab rollback, as well as shallowing and steepening of the subduction angle were among the triggers for the change in the type of magmatism observed among these rocks.     

西天山地区金矿床主要成因类型及找矿方向

西天山地区地处古亚洲构造域天山-兴蒙成矿带的西段，经历了漫长复杂的构造演化过程，尤其是海西期强烈的构造岩浆活动，为金成矿创造了有利的条件．近几年，本区找金工作取得了突破性的进展，相继发现了阿希、望峰、大山口等金矿床，显示了良好找金前景．根据前人和笔工作，讨论了本区主要金矿化类型浅成低温热液型(又进一步划分为冰长石-绢云母型和硅化岩型)斑岩型、韧性剪切带型穆龙套型等的成矿特征，在综合分析基础上，指出找矿方向．     

Devonian-Carboniferous unconformity in Argentina and its relation to the Eo-Hercynian orogeny in southern South America

The Devonian-Carboniferous contact in southern South America, characterized by a sharp unconformity, has been related to the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous Eo-Hercynian orogeny. The Calingasta-Uspallata basin of western Argentina and the Sauce-Grande basin (Ventana Foldbelt) of eastern Argentina have been selected to characterize this unconformity. The Eo-Hercynian movements were accompanied in western Argentina by igneous activity related to a Late Devonian—Early Carboniferous magmatic arc mainly exposed today along the Andean Cordillera. This magmatic activity is partly reflected also in eastern Argentina (Ventana Foldbelt), where isotopic dates suggest a thermal event also related to the intrusions present to the west in the North Patagonian Massif and Sierras Pampeanas. The scarcity of Lower Carboniferous deposits in the stratigraphic record of southern South America suggests that the Early Carboniferous was a time interval dominated by uplift and erosion followed by widespread subsidence during the Middle and Late Carboniferous. The origin of the Eo-Hercynian orogeny can be linked with the convergence between the Arequipa Massif, and its southern extension, and the South American continent. Its effects are best represented along the Palaeo-Pacific margin, although distant effects are discernible in the cratonic areas of eastern South America. Correspondence to: O. R. López-Gamundí     

Structural geometry of orogenic gold deposits: Implications for exploration of world-class and giant deposits

With very few exceptions, orogenic gold deposits formed in subduction-related tectonic settings in accretionary to collisional orogenic belts from Archean to Tertiary times. Their genesis, including metal and fluid source, fluid pathways, depositional mechanisms, and timing relative to regional structural and metamorphic events, continues to be controversial. However, there is now general agreement that these deposits formed from metamorphic fluids, either from metamorphism of intra-basinal rock sequences or de-volatilization of a subducted sediment wedge, during a change from a compressional to transpressional, less commonly transtensional, stress regime, prior to orogenic collapse. In the case of Archean and Paleoproterozoic deposits, the formation of orogenic gold deposits was one of the last events prior to cratonization. The late timing of orogenic gold deposits within the structural evolution of the host orogen implies that any earlier structures may be mineralized and that the current structural geometry of the gold deposits is equivalent to that at the time of their formation provided that there has been no significant post-gold orogenic overprint. Within the host volcano-sedimentary sequences at the province scale, world-class orogenic gold deposits are most commonly located in second-order structures adjacent to crustal scale faults and shear zones, representing the first-order ore-forming fluid pathways, and whose deep lithospheric connection is marked by lamprophyre intrusions which, however, have no direct genetic association with gold deposition. More specifically, the gold deposits are located adjacent to ～10°-25° district-scale jogs in these crustal-scale faults. These jogs are commonly the site of arrays of ～70° cross faults that accommodate the bending of the more rigid components, for example volcanic rocks and intrusive sills, of the host belts. Rotation of blocks between these accommodation faults causes failure of more competent units and/or reactivation and dilation of pre-existing structures, leading to deposit-scale focussing of ore-fluid and gold deposition.Anticlinal or antiformal fold hinges, particularly those of 'locked-up' folds with ～30° apical angles and overturned back limbs, represent sites of brittle-ductile rock failure and provide one of the more robust parameters for location of orogenic gold deposits.In orogenic belts with abundant pre-gold granitic intrusions, particularly Precambrian granitegreenstone terranes, the boundaries between the rigid granitic bodies and more ductile greenstone sequences are commonly sites of heterogeneous stress and inhomogeneous strain. Thus, contacts between granitic intrusions and volcano-sedimentary sequences are common sites of ore-fluid infiltration and gold deposition. For orogenic gold deposits at deeper crustal levels, ore-forming fluids are commonly focused along strain gradients between more compressional zones where volcano-sedimentary sequences are thinned and relatively more extensional zones where they are thickened. World-class orogenic gold deposits are commonly located in the deformed volcano-sedimentary sequences in such strain gradients adjacent to triple-point junctions defined by the granitic intrusions, or along the zones of assembly of micro-blocks on a regional scale. These repetitive province to district-scale geometrical patterns of structures within the orogenic belts are clearly critical parameters in geology-based exploration targeting for orogenic gold deposits.