On Electrical Conductivity at Depth in the Shanuch Copper–Nickel and the Aginskoe Gold-Ore Fields, Kamchatka

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the method of interpretation and with the results of magnetotelluric sounding (MTS) along the line connecting the Shanuch copper–nickel and the Aginskoe gold ore deposit. The interpretation revealed that the upper section divides into two blocks according to the electrical resistivity. The western block has a high resistivity, which is due to the metamorphic and igneous basement rocks that are exposed at the ground surface. The eastern block has a low resistivity, which is due to the presence of a conductive sedimentary–volcanogenic cover involving a wide network of discontinuities. A low resistivity layer was identified at depths of 30–60 km. The deep-seated faults that have been identified by interpretation in the eastern block penetrate through the lithosphere as far as the conductive layer; fluids can move along these faults upward into the upper crust where at lower temperatures they release minerals whose accumulations make up ore deposits of nonferrous and noble metals.