Explosion breccias of the Vysokogorskoe tin–porphyry deposit: Genesis and role in ore formation (Kavalerovo ore district, Primorye)

Abstract

Detailed geological observations and analytical studies make it possible to distinguish two groups of fluid-explosion breccias (FEB) in the Vysokogorskoe tin deposit of the Kavalerovo ore district. These breccias are assumed to be related to different stages of geological (geodynamic) evolution and played different roles in ore formation. The earlier breccias (79–69 Ma), which were altered by boron metasomatism and subsequent main tin mineralization, were most probably formed at the Cretaceous subduction stage. The later breccias (55–51 Ma) are syngenetic to the dacite (rhyolite) porphyry dikes of the Paleocene–Eocene transform stage. They were formed after precipitation of the majority of the cassiterite, but prior to the latest quartz–fluorite–carbonate stage of ore formation. According to the Sillitoe classification, the explosion breccias of the Vysokogorskoe deposit correspond to a magmatic–hydrothermal genetic type. They are characterized by multiple brecciation and intersection by small bodies of porphyritic rhyolites.