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Moritz, Robert, Melkonyan, Rafael, Selby, David, Popkhadze, Nino, Gugushvili, Vlademir, Tayan, Rodrig, Ramazanov, Vagif (2016) Metallogeny of the Lesser Caucasus: From arc construction to postcollision evolution. Special Publication 19, 157-192

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Reference TypeJournal (article/letter/editorial)
TitleMetallogeny of the Lesser Caucasus: From arc construction to postcollision evolution
Journal Special Publication 19
AuthorsMoritz, RobertAuthor
Melkonyan, RafaelAuthor
Selby, DavidAuthor
Popkhadze, NinoAuthor
Gugushvili, VlademirAuthor
Tayan, RodrigAuthor
Ramazanov, VagifAuthor
Year2016
Page(s)157-192
Publisher Society of Economic Geologists, Inc
Classification
Not set		LoC
Not set
Mindat Ref. ID18249182Long-form Identifiermindat:1:5:18249182:9
GUID0
Full ReferenceMoritz, Robert, Melkonyan, Rafael, Selby, David, Popkhadze, Nino, Gugushvili, Vlademir, Tayan, Rodrig, Ramazanov, Vagif (2016) Metallogeny of the Lesser Caucasus: From arc construction to postcollision evolution. Special Publication 19, 157-192
Plain TextMoritz, Robert, Melkonyan, Rafael, Selby, David, Popkhadze, Nino, Gugushvili, Vlademir, Tayan, Rodrig, Ramazanov, Vagif (2016) Metallogeny of the Lesser Caucasus: From arc construction to postcollision evolution. Special Publication 19, 157-192
InLink this record to the correct parent record (if possible)
Abstract/Notes This contribution reviews the metallogenic setting of the Lesser Caucasus within the framework of the complex geodynamic evolution of the Central Tethys belt during convergence and collision of the Arabia-, Eurasia-, and Gondwana-derived microplates. New rhenium-osmium molybdenite ages are also presented for several major deposits and prospects, allowing us to constrain the metallogenic evolution of the Lesser Caucasus. The host rock lithologies, magmatic associations, deposit styles, ore controls, and metal endowment vary greatly along the Lesser Caucasus as a function of the age and tectono-magmatic distribution of the ore districts and deposits. The ore deposits and ore districts can essentially be assigned to two different evolution stages: (1) Mesozoic arc construction and evolution along the Eurasian margin, and (2) Cenozoic magmatism and tectonic evolution following Late Cretaceous accretion of Gondwana-derived microplates with the Eurasian margin. The available data suggest that during Jurassic arc construction along the Eurasian margin, i.e., the Som kheto-Karabagh belt and the Kapan zone, the metallogenic evolution was dominated by subaqueous magmatic hydrothermal systems, VMS-style mineralization in a fore-arc environment or along the margins of a back-arc ocean located between the Eurasian margin and Gondwana-derived terranes. This metallogenic event coin cided broadly with a rearrangement of tectonic plates, resulting in steepening of the subducting plate during the Middle to Late Jurassic transition. Typical porphyry Cu and high-sulfidation epithermal systems were emplaced in the Somkheto-Karabagh belt during the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, once the arc reached a more mature stage with a thicker crust, and fertile magmas were generated by magma storage and MASH processes. During the Late Cretaceous, low-sulfidation-type epithermal deposits and transitional VMS-porphyry-epithermal systems were formed in the northern Lesser Caucasus during compression, uplift, and hinterland migration of the magmatic arc, coinciding with flattening of the subduction geometry. Late Cretaceous collision of Gondwana-derived terranes with Eurasia resulted in a rearrangement of subduc tion zones. Cenozoic magmatism and ore deposits stitched the collision and accretion zones. Eocene porphyry Cu-Mo deposits and associated precious metal epithermal systems were formed during subduction-related magmatism in the southernmost Lesser Caucasus. Subsequently, late Eocene-Oligocene accretion of Arabia with Eurasia and final closure of the southern branch of the Neotethys resulted in the emplacement of Neogene collision to postcollision porphyry Cu-Mo deposits along major translithospheric faults in the southernmost Lesser Caucasus. The Cretaceous and Cenozoic magmatic and metallogenic evolutions of the northern Lesser Caucasus and the Turkish Eastern Pontides are intimately linked to each other. The Cenozoic magmatism and metal logenic setting of the southernmost Lesser Caucasus can also be traced southward into the Cenozoic Iranian Urumieh-Dokhtar and Alborz belts. However, contrasting tectonic, magmatic, and sedimentary records during the Mesozoic are consistent with the absence of any metallogenic connection between the Alborz in Iran and the southernmost Lesser Caucasus.

Map of Localities

Locality Pages

LocalityCitation Details
Akhtala deposit, Akhtala, Lori Province, Armenia
Alaverdi mining district, Lori Province, Armenia
Alaverdi Mine, Alaverdi, Lori Province, Armenia
Teghut Cu-Mo deposit, Teghut, Lori Province, Armenia
Bartsravan prospect, Goris, Syunik Province, Armenia
Kapan mining district, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armenia
Shahumyan Mine, Kapan, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armenia
Mashkit prospect, Gedebey District, Azerbaijan

Mineral Occurrences

LocalityMineral(s)
Akhtala deposit, Akhtala, Lori Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Acanthite, β“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Baryte, β“˜ Basalt, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Calcite, β“˜ Cassiterite, β“˜ Chalcocite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Dacite, β“˜ Dickite, β“˜ Electrum, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Marcasite, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Pyrophyllite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup, β“˜ Tetrahedrite Subgroup
Shamlugh deposit, Shamlugh, Akhtala, Lori Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Acanthite, β“˜ Albitophyre, β“˜ Baryte, β“˜ Basalt, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Calcite, β“˜ Chalcocite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Dacitic tuff, β“˜ Electrum, β“˜ Emplectite, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Hematite, β“˜ Marcasite, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Rhyolite, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Stannite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup, β“˜ Volcanic breccia, β“˜ Zircon
Alaverdi mining district, Lori Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Actinolite, β“˜ Albite, β“˜ Albitophyre, β“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Andesite-basalt, β“˜ Anhydrite, β“˜ Baryte, β“˜ Basalt, β“˜ Bismutite, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Cassiterite, β“˜ Chalcocite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chert, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Conglomerate, β“˜ Dacite, β“˜ Dickite, β“˜ Electrum, β“˜ Epidote, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Granite, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Hematite, β“˜ Ignimbritic tuff, β“˜ Kaolinite, β“˜ Keratophyre, β“˜ Limestone, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Prehnite, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Pyroclastic-rock, β“˜ Pyrophyllite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Quartz-feldspar porphyry, β“˜ Rhyolite, β“˜ Sandstone, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Stannite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup, β“˜ Tetrahedrite Subgroup, β“˜ Tuff, β“˜ Tuff-breccia, β“˜ Volcanic breccia, β“˜ Zeolite Group, β“˜ Zircon
Alaverdi Mine, Alaverdi, Lori Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Acanthite, β“˜ Agglomerate, β“˜ Anhydrite, β“˜ Arsenopyrite, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Calcite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Dacitic tuff, β“˜ Dolomite, β“˜ Electrum, β“˜ Emplectite, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Stannite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup
Teghut Cu-Mo deposit, Teghut, Lori Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Actinolite, β“˜ Anhydrite, β“˜ Biotite, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup, β“˜ Chalcocite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Covellite, β“˜ Diorite, β“˜ Enargite, β“˜ Epidote, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Hornblende, β“˜ Kaolinite, β“˜ Leucogranite, β“˜ Luzonite, β“˜ Magnetite, β“˜ Molybdenite, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Porphyry, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Quartz-diorite, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tetrahedrite Subgroup, β“˜ Tonalite, β“˜ Zircon
Centralni East, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Baryte, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Colusite, β“˜ Covellite, β“˜ Dacite, β“˜ Diaspore, β“˜ Dickite, β“˜ Enargite, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Hematite, β“˜ Luzonite, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Specularite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tennantite-Tetrahedrite Series, β“˜ Tuff
Centralni West, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Breccia, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Epidote, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup, β“˜ Tennantite-Tetrahedrite Series
Kapan mining district, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Alunite, β“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Andesite-basalt, β“˜ Baryte, β“˜ Basalt, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Colusite, β“˜ Covellite, β“˜ Dacite, β“˜ Diaspore, β“˜ Dickite, β“˜ Diorite, β“˜ Enargite, β“˜ Epidote, β“˜ Gabbro, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Granodiorite, β“˜ Gypsum, β“˜ Hematite, β“˜ Hyaloclastite, β“˜ Kaolinite, β“˜ Limestone, β“˜ Luzonite, β“˜ Monzodiorite, β“˜ Monzogabbro, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Pillow lava, β“˜ Plagiogranite, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Pyroclastic-rock, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sandstone, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Specularite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tennantite Subgroup, β“˜ Tennantite-Tetrahedrite Series, β“˜ Tonalite, β“˜ Tuff, β“˜ Tuff-breccia, β“˜ Volcanic breccia, β“˜ Zircon
Shahumyan Mine, Kapan, Kapan, Syunik Province, Armeniaβ“˜ Alunite, β“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Anhydrite, β“˜ Bornite, β“˜ Breccia, β“˜ Chalcocite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Chlorite Group, β“˜ Dacite, β“˜ Dickite, β“˜ Digenite, β“˜ Enargite, β“˜ Epidote, β“˜ Galena, β“˜ Hematite, β“˜ Kaolinite, β“˜ Muscovite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Native Silver, β“˜ Plagioclase, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Sericite, β“˜ Sphalerite, β“˜ Tennantite-Tetrahedrite Series
Goshian deposit, Tovuz District, Azerbaijanβ“˜ Andesite, β“˜ Arsenopyrite, β“˜ Chalcopyrite, β“˜ Kaolinite, β“˜ Native Gold, β“˜ Pyrite, β“˜ Quartz, β“˜ Rhyodacite

See Also

These are possibly similar items as determined by title/reference text matching only.

Moritz, Robert, Rezeau, HervΓ©, Ovtcharova, Maria, Tayan, Rodrik, Melkonyan, Rafael, Hovakimyan, Samvel, Ramazanov, Vagif, Selby, David, Ulianov, Alexey, Chiaradia, Massimo, Putlitz, Benita (2016) Long-lived, stationary magmatism and pulsed porphyry systems during Tethyan subduction to post-collision evolution in the southernmost Lesser Caucasus, Armenia and Nakhitchevan. Gondwana Research, 37. 465-503 doi:10.1016/j.gr.2015.10.009
Popkhadze, Nino, Moritz, Robert, Gugushvili, Vladimer (2014) Architecture of Upper Cretaceous rhyodacitic hyaloclastite at the polymetallic Madneuli deposit, Lesser Caucasus, Georgia. Open Geosciences, 6 (3). doi:10.2478/s13533-012-0182-z
Moritz, Robert, Popkhadze, Nino, HΓ€ssig, Marc, Golay, Titouan, Lavoie, Jonathan, Gugushvili, Vladimer, Ulianov, Alexey, Ovtcharova, Maria, Grosjean, Marion, Chiaradia, Massimo, Dumitrica, Paulian (2020) At the crossroads of the Lesser Caucasus and the Eastern Pontides: Late Cretaceous to early Eocene magmatic and geodynamic evolution of the Bolnisi district, Georgia. Lithos, 378. 105872pp. doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105872
Hovakimyan, Samvel, Moritz, Robert, Tayan, Rodrik, Melkonyan, Rafael, Harutyunyan, Marianna (2019) Cenozoic Strike-Slip Tectonics and Structural Controls of Porphyry Cu-Mo and Epithermal Deposits During Geodynamic Evolution of the Southernmost Lesser Caucasus, Tethyan Metallogenic Belt. Economic Geology, 114 (7) 1301-1337 doi:10.5382/econgeo.4662
Rezeau, HervΓ©, Moritz, Robert, Wotzlaw, JΓΆrn-Frederik, Tayan, Rodrik, Melkonyan, Rafael, Ulianov, Alexey, Selby, David, d’Abzac, FranΓ§ois-Xavier, Stern, Richard A. (2016) Temporal and genetic link between incremental pluton assembly and pulsed porphyry Cu-Mo formation in accretionary orogens. Geology, 44 (8) 627-630 doi:10.1130/g38088.1
Şafak Utku SΓΆnmez, Robert Moritz, Jonathan Lavoie, Alexey Ulianov, FranΓ§ois Turlin, Nino Popkhadze, Malkhaz Natsvlishvili, Jorge Spangenberg (2022) Magmatic and metallogenic evolution of the Late Cretaceous Beqtakari epithermal deposit, Bolnisi District, Lesser Caucasus, Georgia. XXII International Congress of the CBGA, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 7–11 September 2022, Abstracts
Mederer, Johannes; Moritz, Robert; Zohrabyan, Sergej; Vardanyan, Arman; Melkonyan, Rafael; Ulianov, Alexey (2014) Base and precious metal mineralization in Middle Jurassic rocks of the Lesser Caucasus: A review of geology and metallogeny and new data from the Kapan, Alaverdi and Mehmana districts. Ore Geology Reviews, 58. doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2013.10.007
HΓ€ssig, Marc, Moritz, Robert, Ulianov, Alexey, Popkhadze, Nino, Galoyan, Ghazar, Enukidze, Onise (2020) Jurassic to Cenozoic Magmatic and Geodynamic Evolution of the Eastern Pontides and Caucasus Belts, and Their Relationship With the Eastern Black Sea Basin Opening. Tectonics, 39 (10) doi:10.1029/2020tc006336
Moritz, Robert, Baker, Timothy (2019) Metallogeny of the Tethyan Orogenic Belt: From Mesozoic Magmatic Arcs to Cenozoic Back-Arc and Postcollisional Settings in Southeast Europe, Anatolia, and the Lesser Caucasus: An Introduction. Economic Geology, 114 (7) 1227-1235 doi:10.5382/econgeo.4683
Grosjean, Marion, Moritz, Robert, Rezeau, HervΓ©, Hovakimyan, Samvel, Ulianov, Alexey, Chiaradia, Massimo, Melkonyan, Rafael (2022) Arabia-Eurasia convergence and collision control on Cenozoic juvenile K-rich magmatism in the South Armenian block, Lesser Caucasus. Earth-Science Reviews, 226. 103949pp. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.103949
Delibaş, Okan, Moritz, Robert, Selby, David, Gâç, Deniz, Revan, Mustafa Kemal (2019) Multiple Porphyry Cu-Mo Events in the Eastern Pontides Metallogenic Belt, Turkey: From Early Cretaceous Subduction to Eocene Postcollision Evolution. Economic Geology, 114 (7) 1285-1300 doi:10.5382/econgeo.4663
 
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