Journal de géologie et géophysique
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Major Types and Characteristics of the Late Paleozoic Ore Deposits in the East Tianshan Orogenic Belt, Central Asia

Chunming Han, Wenjiao Xiao, Benxun Su, Patrick Asamoah Sakyi, Guochun Zhao Songjian Ao, Bo Wan, Jien Zhang and Zhiyong Zhang

One of the most largest known and important metallogenic provinces in China is East Tianshan, where seven major types of Late Paleozoic metal deposits have been recognized: (1) porphyry-type Cu-Mo-(Au) ore deposit, (2) volcanic Fe-Cu deposit, (3) orogenic lode gold deposit, (4) magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposit, (5) epithermal gold deposit, (6) volcanic hydrothermal Cu deposit, and (7) skarn Cu-Ag deposit. Tectonically, the development of these Late Paleozoic metal mineral deposits was closely associated with the subduction and closure of the ancient Tianshan Ocean intervening between the Tarim craton and the Junggar-Kazakhstan block. In the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous, the northern margin of the Tarim craton existed as a passive-type continental margin, whereas the ancient Tianshan ocean was subducted beneath the southern margin of the Junggar-Kazakhstan block, resulting in the formation of the Dananhu-Tousuquan magmatic arc and associated porphyry-type Cu-Mo-(Au) deposits. In the Middle Carboniferous, the ancient Tianshan ocean began to subduct beneath the northern margin of the Tarim craton, leading to the formation of the Aqishan-Yamansu magmatic arc and associated volcanic Fe-Cu deposits. In the Late Carboniferous, the ancient Tianshan ocean was closed, and a continent-arc collision occurred, leading to the formation of the Tianshan orogen. Following the collision was an extensional event, which was associated with the emplacement of large amounts of ultramafic-mafic complexes and the formation of a number of large- to medium-scale magmatic copper-nickel ore deposits along the Kangger suture zone. In the Early Permian, East Tianshan entered into a post-collosion stage, associated with the widespread emplacement of granitoid bodies and eruption of within-plate volcanism, which led to the formation of volcanic hydrothermal copper deposits, skarn-type Cu-Ag deposits, post-orogenic gold deposits, and epithermal gold deposits in East Tianshan.