Heavy clastic minerals from the Far East island-arc complexes

The results of the study of heavy clastic minerals from the Cretaceous-Paleogene terrigenous complexes of Sikhote-Alin and Kamchatka, as well as from the Cenozoic sediments of the deepwater Vanuatu Trench, are summarized. The data obtained have been interpreted on the basis of their comparison with heavy mineral assemblages of recent sediments deposited in known geodynamic settings. It is shown that the heavy clastic minerals of sedimentary rocks, their relative quantities, and chemical compositions may serve as reliable indicators of different island-arc settings and magmatic processes; these indicators may also be used for identification of such settings in paleobasins of orogenic regions.