Crustal Evolution, Global Tectonics and Mineral Deposits

Abstract

The theory of sea-floor spreading and the “new” global tectonics, including the more recent ideas on accretionary tectonics, has permitted a much clearer understanding of the genesis of mineral deposits. This understanding is essentially provided by a unifying framework within which processes of ore genesis can be integrated. In this way mineralisation types can be related to time-space positions, in specific lithospheric plate settings, and within continuously evolving crustal geodynamic patterns. The spatial distribution of mineral deposits as related to plate tectonic processes has been widely discussed in many papers, especially during the 1970–1980 decade. Consequently, excellent textbooks on the topic were published soon after, which in spite of subsequent advances in more recent years, remain important texts for providing the geologist with an essential background in the study of mineral deposits. The books referred to are those published by Mitchell and Garson (1981), Hutchison (1983) and Sawkins (1990). Equally important in models of ore genesis is an understanding of the evolutionary trends of mineral deposits through the geological ages. This field of study is obviously connected with the evolution of plate configurations and their interactions through time. The works of Watson (1973,1978), Reed and Watson (1975), Cloud (1976), Goodwin (1981), Lambert and Groves (1981), Meyer (1981, 1988), Hutchinson (1980), and Windley (1984) all deal with these evolutionary trends.