Geological History of the Great Altai: Implications for Mineral Exploration

The Great Altai region, located at the boundary of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, belongs to the system of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. It has undergone a long complex geological and metallogenic history. Extremely rich resources of base, precious, and rare metals (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, Li, Cs, Ta, Nb, REE, etc.) maintain developed mining and metallurgical industry, especially in East Kazakhstan, which is the key metallogenic province. The East Kazakhstan province comprises the Rudny Altai, Kalba-Narym, West-Kalba, and Zharma-Saur metallogenic belts, each having its typical mineralization profiles and deposits. The reconstructed geodynamic and metallogenic history of the Great Altai province, along with the revealed relationships between tectonic settings and mineralization patterns, allowed us to formulate a number of geodynamic, structural, lithostratigraphic, magmatic, mineralogical, and geochemical criteria for exploration and appraisal of mineral potential in Eastern Kazakhstan. Geodynamic criteria are based on the origin of different mineralization types in certain geodynamic settings during the Late Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic orogenic cycle. Structural criteria mean that the location of base-metal deposits in Rudny Altai, gold deposits in the West Kalba belt, rare and base metals in the Kalba-Narym and Zharma-Saur zones is controlled by faults of different sizes. Lithostratigraphic criteria consist of the relation of orebodies with certain types of sedimentary or volcanic-sedimentary rocks. Magmatic criteria are due to the relation between mineralization types and igneous lithologies. Mineralogical and geochemical criteria include typical minerals and elements that can serve as tracers of mineralization. The joint use of all these criteria will open new avenues in prospecting and exploration at a more advanced level.