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Relationship between Porphyry Copper Occurrences, Crustal Preservation Levels, and Amount of Exploration in Magmatic Belts of the Central Tethys Region
Author(s) -
ZÜRCHER Lukas,
BOOKSTROM Arthur A.,
HAMMARSTROM Jane M.,
MARS Lyle John C.,
LUDINGTON Steve,
ZIENTEK Michael L.,
DUNLAP Pamela,
WALLIS John C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/1755-6724.12374_35
Subject(s) - geology , geological survey , mineral resource classification , geochemistry , geologic map , earth science , library science , geophysics , geomorphology , computer science
A probabilistic assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in the Central Tethys region of Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, western Pakistan, and southern Afghanistan was conducted as part of a U.S.G.S. global mineral resource assessment. The purpose was to delineate areas as permissive tracts for the occurrence of porphyry Cu-Mo and Cu-Au deposits, and to provide estimates of amounts of Cu, Mo, and Au likely to be contained in undiscovered porphyry deposits (Zürcher et al., 2013; Zürcher et al., in review). Tectonic, geologic, geochemical, geochronologic, and ore deposits data compiled and analyzed for this assessment show that magmatism in the region can be rationalized in terms of fundamental plate tectonic principles, including mantle-involved post-subduction processes. However, uplift, erosion, subsidence, and burial of porphyry copper deposits also played an important role in shaping the observed metallogenic patterns.