Evolution of orogenic gold mineralization in the southern and eastern framing structures of the Siberian craton

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to compare the evolution of gold ore mineralization in the structures of the Baikal-Patom and Verkhoyansk-Kolyma marginal continental orogenic belts that arose on the passive margin of the Siberian continent in the Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic and Paleozoic-Mesozoic, and hosting the largest gold deposits in Russia. The similarities are noted as they reveal themselves in the characteristics of the mineralization stages, and in the typomorphism of pyrite that is the main mineral of ore formations. The study demonstrated the role of polychronic orogenic events of the Paleozoic and late Mesozoic times, which led to the formation of large fold belts in the development of large-scale gold mineralization of the southern and eastern framing of the Siberian craton. These events caused precious metals to mobilize and redistribute from precious metal-rich stratigraphic horizons as corresponding orogenic plutonometamorphic belts were formed. A comparative analysis of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic and Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic metallogenic profiles of the southern and eastern margins of the Siberian craton demonstrates the influence of the formation processes of orogenic gold mineralization, regardless of the composition of the host strata and mineralization age. General metallogenic characteristics of paleogeodynamic formation settings of noble metal mineralization of the orogenic-type, regardless of its age, can serve as the basis for geological-genetic and forecasting predictions as well as for the development of integrated assessment criteria for their prospects within the regions under investigation.