Abstract
This paper describes the petrology, mineralogy, alteration, structural characteristics, and geological evolution of the Darreh-Zerreshk and Ali-Abad copper deposits within the central Iranian volcano-plutonic belt, Yazd Province, central Iran. Intrusions in this area, a result of subduction magmatism, range in composition from quartzmonzodiorite to granite, yet copper-molybdenum porphyry—type mineralization is restricted to quartzmonzodioritic to granodioritic plutons. The mineralizing intrusions cut Cretaceous and Eocene strata, and have been dated as Oligocene—Miocene. Strong negative anomalies for Nb, Ta, P, and Ti and enrichment in the LREE, LILE, Ba, Rb, Sr, and Pb for the mineralizing igneous rocks suggest they are of I type and have magmatic arc affinity. REE patterns, major-, and trace-element data suggest that these rocks were derived from partial melting of enriched upper mantle, modified by variable crustal contamination. Hornblende fractionation was an important control on the evolution of copper-bearing plutonic rocks. Structural observations suggest that these deposits were emplaced in tensional pull-apart domains formed between two secondary dextral strike-slip faults of the regional Dehshir-Baft shear system. Rapid exhumation of the porphyry copper systems allowed for the development of only minor supergene enrichment.
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