Vol 11, No 5 (2017)

The modern geodynamic transformations of the Amur geoblock are related to the activation of pull-apart–strike-slip and simple strike-slip movements. These movements resulted in the formation of destruction zones along ancient transregional fault systems (Nenjiang–Selemdzha, Lermontovka–Belogorsk, West Turan, Khingan, Tan Lu, and others) and young NW- and WE-trending fractures with distinctly expressed shearing displacements. These processes are fixed by earthquakes, focal magmatism, pulsed degassing of the Earth’s interior, and fluid discharge. High-permeability structures confined to the juncture of the destruction zones and young fractures served as the deep degassing drainage systems. These structures are traced by decompaction fields and anomalies of He and other gases. The most contrasting Varvarovka anomaly is located in the northeastern flank of the Yerkovtsy brown coal deposit. The paleogene coal-bearing rocks studied in the Yuzhny quarry within this deposit are characterized by high contents of noble, rare metals, and rare-earth elements, which frequently exceed their average abundances by ten orders of magnitude. Based on assay analysis, the Au content in the coals varies from trace amounts to 4.6 ppm.

Complex studies of the mineral composition and petromagnetic properties of the rocks which compose an edifice of the Minami–Khiosi submarine volcano located in the Mariana island arc are carried out for the first time. The Minami–Khiosi Volcano is a part of the Khiosi volcanic complex within the alkaline province of the Idzu–Bonin and Mariana island arcs. All of the rocks analyzed are enriched in K₂O (1.34–3.30%), Ba (370–806 ppm), and Sr (204–748 ppm). The basalt has a porhyric texture and contains mosTy olivine phenocrysts as individual crystals and growths with a size up to 2 cm; the groundmass is finecrystalline. The samples studied contain at least three Fe-bearing oxide minerals. These are predominant magnetite and less abundant ilmenite and Fe hydroxides. It is established that the samples studied are magnetically isotropic and have high values of natural remanent magnetization and Königsberger ratio. Similarly to the other island-arc Late Cenozoic submarine volcanoes in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, the samples studied are strongly differentiated by the value of natural remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility. The low-coercivity magnetic minerals (titanomagnetite and magnetite) of the pseudo-single-domain structure, as well as high-coercivity minerals (hematite) are the main carriers of magnetization. The high values of natural remanent magnetization are explained by the pseudo-single-domain structure of the titanomagnetite grains, whereas the high values of magnetic susceptibility result from the high concentration of ferromagnetic grains.

The mineral composition and geochemical characteristics of the ores of the Malinovskoe gold-ore deposit are studied by the data from mining works (ditches, cleanings, and boreholes). It is found that the ore–magma system of the deposit was formed in several stages of mineralization characterized by two phases of magmatism differing in age. In terms of the set of features (the geological–structural position of the deposit, as well as the material composition and geochemical characteristics of the ores), the deposit is attributed to the gold–tourmaline type of mineralization associated spatially and genetically with the “raremetal” granitoid magmatism. This type has not previously been found in Primorskii Krai. The studies of the material composition and geochemical characteristics of the ores allow us to ascertain the correlations between the elements along with the reasons of their origination. By analogy with other gold-ore formations of the Russian Far East, the mineralogical and geochemical model of the deposit is developed (Be–Sn–Cr–Ba–Au–Cu–Mo–Pb–V–Ti–Co–W–Ag–Bi–Ni–Mn–Sr–Zn–Sb–As modeling element series of vertical zoning), which enables us to estimate the levels of the erosion section of the ore bodies and to evaluate their prospects. It is found that the most productive associations in the deposit are the gold–bismuth geochemical association (Au–Ag–Bi–Cu–As–Co) and, to a lesser degree, the gold–tungsten association (W–Au–Ag–Cu–Bi–As).