| Abstract |
Based on synthesis of literature data and study of the geothermal (ore) regions of Kamchatka and the Kuril islands, the Earth's unique geological structures – giant gas-hydrothermal systems, whose depths in modern times generate the world's largest vapour-dominated geothermal deposits, are characterized. The systems form in the deep-seated faults at the junction of oceanic and continental plates, in the structures of volcanic island arcs, in the areas of tectonic-magmatic activation of the Earth's crust and, probably, in the collision areas at the boundaries of ancient platforms. Such systems are crust-penetrating (mantle-fed?) and have huge geothermal and ore potentials. In these systems, an ascending high-temperature gas-water fluid and all types of mixed waters and new mineral formations in the hypergenesis zone of geothermal anomalies participate in the processes of transportation, accumulation and redistribution of complex metal compounds (Fe, Al, Ti, Au, Ag, Hg, Cu, Zn, and other). It is hypothesized that the giant gas-hydrothermal systems and vapour-dominated geothermal deposits being formed inside them reflect the conditions for inception of meso- and epithermal gold polymetallic and (probably) Au-Ag-Cu-Mo-…porphyry deposits. This work has been carried out with a financial support from the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research (Project 13-05-00262). |