Scientific publications

Gold mineralization in Karelian greenstone belts was formed during the Late Archean (2,7–2,6 Ga) and Proterozoic (1,86–1,8 Ga) orogenic epochs of endogenous ore formation, correlatable with global orogenic events – the formation of the biggest gold deposits on the Earth's Precambrian shields. The geodynamic position of orogenic gold deposits and occurrences in Karelia and other regions of the world is related to the evolution of geological structures above subduction zones, and is due to the formation of shear zones as a result of collision. At the accretion stage of evolution, a pyrite family of deposits is formed in connection with volcanic processes. At the collision stage, gold-quartz and gold-sulphide-quartz deposits, associated with granitoids and a porphyric dyke complex, are formed, and gold-sulphide and gold-sulphide-quartz deposits develop in zones of shear strain and metasomatism located in various rocks.
The primary factors that control ore mineralization are lithological pyrite ore horizons, sulphide-bearing carbonaceous units, quartzites and tuffaceous-sedimentary rocks enriched in carbonate and sulphide dissemination. Secondary factors that contribute to gold localization are schistosity zones at the contacts of dykes and granite bodies and directly in them and zones of resilient-ductile deformations accompanied by low- to medium-temperature metasomatic rocks and veins in primary syngenetic accumulation patches and in various rocks.