Petrochemical investigation of volcanic-hosted massive sulphides in the Magnitogorsk zone, southern Urals: new insights into the geotectonic setting of ore formation

摘要

The Magnitogorsk zone of the southern Urals contains over 85 percent of the Cu-Zn massive sulphide reserves of the Uralides. The region's deposits can be divided into two principal types-the small, polymetallic Baimak type and the large to giant, Cu-Zn-dominated Ural type. These two deposit types occur in distinct provinces, the Baimak deposits being located in the western sector of the zone and the bulk of the Ural type deposits being located in the eastern parts. Preliminary geochemical and petrological data are reported from the volcanic rocks that are spatially and temporally associated with these differing deposit types. Such data will allow reconstruction of the fundamental geological environment at the time of their formation, thus enabling examination of the effect of local crustal architecture on the ore-forming process.