Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345

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Ore Geology Reviews

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Tectonic, magmatic, and metallogenic evolution of the Tethyan orogen:

From subduction to collision
Jeremy P. Richards ⁎
Dept. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper reviews the tectonic, magmatic, and metallogenic history of the Tethyan orogen from the Carpathians
Received 1 April 2014 to Indochina. Focus is placed on the formation of porphyry Cu ± Mo ± Au deposits, as being the most character-
Received in revised form 14 November 2014 istic mineral deposit type formed during both subduction and collisional processes in this region. Relatively little
Accepted 20 November 2014
is known about the history of the Paleotethys ocean, which opened and closed between Gondwana and Eurasia in
Available online 27 November 2014
the Paleozoic, and few ore deposits are preserved from this period. The Neotethyan ocean opened in the
Keywords:
Permian–Early Triassic as the Cimmerian continental fragments (the cores of Turkey, Iran, Tibet, and Indochina)
Paleotethys rifted from the northern Gondwana margin and drifted northwards. These microcontinents docked with the
Neotethys Eurasian margin at various points in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and formed a complex archipelago involving
Metallogeny several small back-arc basins and remnants of the Paleotethyan ocean. The main Neotethyan ocean and these
Tectonics smaller basins were largely eliminated by collision with India and Africa–Arabia in the early Eocene and early-
Magmatism mid Miocene, respectively, although Neotethyan subduction continues beneath the Hellenic arc and the Makran.
Subduction The majority of porphyry-type deposits are found in association with Neotethyan subduction (mainly in the
Collision
Mesozoic and Paleogene), and syn- to post-collisional events in the mid-Paleogene to Neogene. They are found
Ore deposits
throughout the orogen, but some sections are particularly well-endowed, including the Carpathians–Balkans–
Rhodopes, eastern Turkey–Lesser Caucasus–NW Iran, SE Iran–SW Pakistan, southern Tibet, and SE Tibet–
Indochina. Other sections that appear barren may reflect deeper levels of erosion, young sedimentary cover, or
lack of exploration, although there may also be real reasons for low prospectivity in some areas, such as minimal
subduction (e.g., the western Mediterranean region) or lithospheric underthrusting (as proposed in western
Tibet).
Over the last decade, improved geochronological constraints on the timing of ore formation and key tectonic
events have revealed that many porphyry deposits that were previously assumed to be subduction-related are
in fact broadly collision-related, some forming in back-arc settings in advance of collision, some during collision,
and others during post-collisional processes such as orogenic collapse and/or delamination of subcontinental
mantle lithosphere. While the formation of subduction-related porphyries is quite well understood, collisional
metallogeny is more complex, and may involve a number of different processes or sources. These include melting
of: orogenically thickened crust; previously subduction-modified lithosphere (including metasomatized mantle,
underplated mafic rocks, or lower crustal arc plutons and cumulates); or upwelling asthenosphere (e.g., in
response to delamination, slab breakoff, back-arc extension, or orogenic collapse).
The most fertile sources for syn- and post-collisional porphyry deposits appear to be subduction-modified litho-
sphere, because these hydrated lithologies melt at relatively low temperatures during later tectonomagmatic
events, and retain the oxidized and relatively metalliferous character of the original arc magmatism. Unusually
metallically enriched lithospheric sources do not seem to be required, but the amount of residual sulfide phases
in these rocks may control metal ratios (e.g., Cu:Au) in subsequent magmatic hydrothermal ore deposits. Rela-
tively Au-rich deposits potentially form in these settings, as observed in the Carpathians (e.g., Roşia Montană),
Turkey (Kisladag, Çöpler), and Iran (Sari Gunay, Dalli), although the majority of syn- and post-collisional porphy-
ries are Cu–Mo-rich, and resemble normal subduction-related deposits (e.g., in the Gangdese belt of southern
Tibet). This similarity extends to the associated igneous rocks, which, being derived from subduction-modified
sources, largely retain the geochemical and isotopic character of those original arc magmas. While still retaining
a broadly calc-alkaline character, these rocks may extend to mildly alkaline (shoshonitic) compositions, and may
display adakite-like trace element signatures (high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios) reflecting melting of deep crustal gar-
net amphibolitic sources. But they are otherwise hard to distinguish from normal subduction-related magmas.

⁎ Tel.: +1 780 492 3430.

E-mail address: Jeremy.Richards@ualberta.ca.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2014.11.009
0169-1368/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
324 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
Small, post-collisional mafic, alkaline volcanic centers are common throughout the orogen, but for the most part
appear to be barren. However, similar rocks in other post-subduction settings around the world are associated
with important alkalic-type porphyry and epithermal Au ± Cu deposits, and the potential for discovery of such
deposits in the Tethyan orogen should not be overlooked.
1. Introduction
The Paleotethys and Neotethys ocean basins formed in the Paleozoic
and Mesozoic, respectively, between the Laurentian/Laurasian conti-
nental masses to the north, and the Gondwana continents to the
south. Plate tectonic reconstructions for the Paleotethys are the subject
of considerable debate, and models from, for example, C.R. Scotese
(PALEOMAP Project, www.scotese.com) and Stampfli and Borel
(2004) disagree in many details such as subduction polarity and the
locations of individual continental fragments. Nevertheless, there is
general agreement that the Paleotethys ocean basin was first formed
in the mid-Paleozoic, and was then progressively destroyed by conver-
gence between Laurentia and Gondwana, culminating in formation of
the supercontinent Pangea in the late Paleozoic (Fig. 1A). Stampfli and
Borel (2004) indicate that by the Late Triassic, only small remnants of
the Paleotethys remained. Meanwhile, the Neotethyan ocean basin
had begun forming in the Permian–Early Triassic by rifting of the
Cimmerian continental fragments from the northern margin of
Gondwana (Fig. 1A). These fragments include the cores of present-day
Turkey, Iran, Tibet, and Indochina, which swept northwards as the
Paleotethys closed, eventually to accrete to the southern margin of
Laurasia in the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic. From this point forward,
the history of the Neotethys involves northward subduction below the
accretionary Laurasian margin (Figs. 1B and 2), the opening of small
back-arc basins along that margin (e.g., the Pindos and Vardar oceans),
and eventual (ongoing) closure by collision with Africa–Arabia and
India (Fig. 2D).
Relatively few known mineral deposits are convincingly associated
with the Paleotethys ocean, and its geological record is not well
preserved. In contrast, the record is much better for the Neotethys,
and numerous world class mineral deposits are associated with its
formation and closure. Consequently, the focus of this paper is largely
on the Neotethys ocean, and in particular Neotethyan subduction- and
collision-related magmatism on the Laurasian margin. Porphyry Cu ±
Mo ± Au and related epithermal Au ± Cu deposits are the predominant
mineral deposit type in the orogen, and, while some of these deposits
appear to be related to normal subduction-related magmatism
(e.g., Clark and Ullrich, 2004; von Quadt et al., 2005), there has been in-
creasing recognition that many are related to post-subduction collision-
al processes (e.g., C.R. Harris et al., 2013; Harangi et al., 2007; Heinrich
and Neubauer, 2002; Hou et al., 2003, 2004; Hou et al., 2009; J.X. Li
et al., 2011; Janković, 1997; Lu et al., 2013a,b; Moritz et al., 2010;
Neubauer, 2002; R. Wang et al., 2014a, 2014b, 2014c; Richards, 2009;
Richards et al., 2006; Roşu et al., 2004; Shafiei et al., 2009; X.-S. Wang
et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2009). The wide range of tectonic settings repre-
sented along the Neotethyan orogenic belt thus provides a good
opportunity to study porphyry ore formation in response to different
geodynamic processes.
The Neotethyan orogen stretches for over 12,000 km from the Alps,
through the Carpathians–Balkans, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, Tibet, and
Indochina, and includes sections where Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere
is still being subducted (the eastern Mediterranean and the Makran) to
advanced continental collision (the Alps and Himalayas). In order to
organize the presentation of material in this review, I have separated
the orogen into three main sections, based on their predominant
geodynamic context: (1) the collided arcs of the Carpathians and
Balkans; (2) the incipient Afro-Arabian collision zone of Turkey–Iran–
Western Pakistan; and (3) the advanced Indian collision zone of the
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Pamir–Himalayas–Indochina. The Alpine section of the orogen is
excluded because few significant porphyry deposits are located in this
part of the belt, likely due to deeper levels of erosion and smaller total
volumes of subduction in the western Tethys. The text is kept intention-
ally brief, and tectonic reconstructions are simplified where possible, so
that focus can be maintained on the high-level processes controlling
magmatism and ore formation at different times and places along
the belt. An extensive bibliography is provided where more detailed
information can be found.
2. Sources of data
In order to visualize the spatio-temporal information being
reviewed here, I have compiled paleogeographic reconstructions of
the Tethyan region from the Cretaceous to Neogene, using maps gener-
ated from the Ocean Drilling Stratigraphic Network's Plate Tectonic
Reconstruction Service (www.odsn.de/odsn/services/paleomap/
paleomap.html; Fig. 2). I also reproduce, with permission, two paleo-
geographic maps for the Permian and Late Jurassic from C.R. Scotese's
PALEOMAP Project (Scotese, 2007; Fig. 1). For present-day locations of
major Tethyan suture zones and ore deposits, I have synthesized a
map from numerous sources that are indicated in the caption to Fig. 3.
In several cases, especially for the traces of older sutures, there is
disagreement within the literature. Consequently, in attempting to
introduce some consistency and continuity along the length of this ex-
tensive belt, it has been necessary to take some liberties with individual
published interpretations. The maps shown should therefore not be
considered definitive for any given region, but merely illustrative of
the general structure of the overall belt.
Figs. 2 and 3 also show the locations of selected porphyry-type de-
posits, drawn mainly from the databases of Singer et al. (2005, 2008),
and color coded by broad age group. Major deposits (with N~ 100 Mt
resource) are named in Fig. 3, with their ages shown where known;
smaller deposits in Singer's databases are shown as smaller symbols,
and are mostly not named for clarity. Readers are referred to these data-
bases for grade and tonnage figures, which are not repeated or updated
here because these data change rapidly and are readily available for
most deposits on the internet.
3. Carpathians and Balkans
3.1. Mesozoic
In the Mesozoic, the Carpathians and Balkans were located close to
a hinge zone between the Laurasian and Gondwanan continental
masses, such that the Neotethyan ocean was never very wide at this
point (Figs. 1B and 2A). As the central Atlantic ocean began to open
in the Jurassic (Fig. 1B), the Gondwanan continental block rotated an-
ticlockwise northwards towards the eastern Laurasian margin, and
the Carpathian–Balkan region was characterized by microcontinent
and arc collisions, and the opening and closure of small, likely back-
arc basins such as the Vardar ocean (Fig. 2). The history of these basins
is widely debated (e.g., Channell and Kozur, 1997): Robertson et al.
(2013b) suggest that the Vardar ocean formed in the Late Triassic–
Early Jurassic between the Korabi-Pelagonian and Serbo-Macedonian
continental blocks, whereas Stampfli and Borel (2004) indicate that
this ocean basin was partially a remnant of the Paleotethys, and was
expanded by back-arc extension in the Jurassic. Subduction of the
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345 325

B) Late Jurassic – 152 Ma

Siberia
Alaska Ural
Mts. North
LAURASIA China
Europe South
Sierra Nevada North China Southeast
America Turkey Iran Tibet
Asia
Indochina
PACIFIC T eth
yan
Tr
OCEAN ench
Gulf of
Mexico NEOTETHYS
Africa OCEAN
Central
South Arabia
Atlantic
America
Ocean
GONDWANA
India
Australia
Antarctica

Ancient landmass
Modern landmass
Subduction zone
A) Late Permian – 255 Ma
Mid-ocean ridge

Siberia

PANTHALASSIC OCEAN Kazakhstania

North China

Mts.
al Pa ngean
PANGEA Centr PALEO-TETHYS
OCEAN South China
South Africa Indochina
America Turkey
IranCIMM Malaya NEOTETHYS
GONDWANA Tibet
OCEAN
South
Africa India
Australia
Antarctica
C. R. Scotese, (c) 2012, PALEOMAP Project
(www.scotese.com)

Fig. 1. A. Paleogeography of the Paleotethys ocean in the Late Permian; note the incipient rifting of the Cimmerian continental fragments from the northern Gondwana margin to form the
Neotethys ocean. B. Paleogeography of the Neotethys ocean at its maximum extent in the Late Jurassic; initiation of rifting to form the central Atlantic ocean at this time, followed by south
Atlantic rifting in the Cretaceous, resulted in anticlockwise rotation and northward drift of Africa–Arabia (and later India) to progressively close the Neotethys ocean in a scissor-like
motion around an axis close to the western Mediterranean. Images reproduced with permission from Scotese (2007). Abbreviation: CIMM = Cimmerian continental fragments (parts
of Turkey, Iran, Tibet, Indochina).

Vardar ocean to the northeast beneath the Serbo-Macedonian conti-
nent in the Late Jurassic led to arc magmatism in the Rhodopes dated
from 164 to 155 Ma (Fig. 2A; Anders et al., 2005; Jahn-Awe et al.,
2010). The Vardar ocean finally closed in the Late Cretaceous–early
Cenozoic, resulting in collisional tectonics (Fig. 2B, C; Robertson et al.,
2013b).
A number of large porphyry Cu–Au and related high-sulfidation Au
deposits were formed in association with Late Cretaceous calc-alkaline
arc magmatism in this region (Ciobanu et al., 2002; Clark and Ullrich,
2004; Janković, 1997; Lips, 2002), which has been variously termed
the Bananitic magmatic and metallogenic belt (BMMB; Ciobanu et al.,
2002) or the Apuseni–Banat–Timok–Srednogorie belt (ABTS; von
Quadt et al., 2005). Major porphyry Cu–Au deposits include: Moldova
Nouă in Romania; Majdanpek, Veliki Krivelj, and Bor in Serbia; and
Elatsite and Assarel in Bulgaria (Fig. 3). The large Chelopech high-
sulfidation epithermal Au deposit in Bulgaria is spatially associated
326 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345

with porphyry magmatism (Chambefort et al., 2007), and the nearby
Elatsite porphyry is unusual in having elevated platinum group element
(PGE) concentrations (Augé et al., 2005; Eliopoulos et al., 2014; Tarkian
et al., 2003). These deposits mostly have ages ranging from 92 to 84 Ma,
except for Moldova Nouă (65 Ma) (ages are from Singer et al., 2005,
2008, and references therein).
Although most researchers agree that these porphyry systems and
their generative calc-alkaline magmas were related to subduction of
the Vardar ocean (e.g., Neubauer, 2002), there is disagreement in detail,
reflecting the uncertainties of plate tectonic reconstructions in this
structurally complex region. Von Quadt et al. (2005) and Zimmerman
et al. (2008) describe the Late Cretaceous magmatism in terms of trench

D) 50°340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 110°
50°
C
15 Ma
M
Black Sea
Eurasia
R P SA
40° K
Pamir 40°
B Qiangtang
TA
SS CI L Lhasa
Z A
30° 30°
Africa Arabia Makran
India
20° 20°
Indochina

10° 10°
340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 110°
C) 50°330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100°
50°

C
50 Ma Eurasia
M Sabzevar
R Black Sea Ocean Pamir
40° P SA 40°
Qiangtang
K
Kohistan Lhasa
L
SS
B Z CI A
TA
30° 30°
Neotethys
Makran
Indochina
20° 20°
Africa Arabia India

10° 10°
330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100°
B) 310°
40°
320° 330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80°
40°
100 Ma
Eurasia
30° 30°
Vardar
M Sabzevar
Blac tang
R k Se Ocean Pamir Qiang
a
K
P
SA Lhasa
20° 20°
SS A Kohistan
L
Z CI
Indochina
10° TAB Makran 10°
Africa Neotethys

0° 0°
310° 320° 330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80°
A) 300° 310° 320° 330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70°
40° 40°
North
America
145.5 Ma g
Eurasia gtan
Qian
30° Pamir
a
30°
Black Sea Lhas
SA
Vardar M
R P L Kohistan
20° K
SS
Z CI Indochina 20°
A

Makran
10° 10°
Africa Neotethys
TAB
0° 0°
300° 310° 320° 330° 340° 350° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70°

Fig. 2. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the Neotethyan region at (A) 145.5, (B) 100 Ma, (C) 50 Ma, and (D) 15 Ma. These reconstructions are redrawn from maps generated using the
Ocean Drilling Stratigraphic Network's Plate Tectonic Reconstruction Service (www.odsn.de/odsn/services/paleomap/paleomap.html). Plate motions are modeled relative to a magnetic
reference frame, using a Mercator projection. Blue lines represent present-day coastlines, for reference. Locations of major porphyry deposits forming around the time of each image are
approximate; see Fig. 3 for more precise locations, deposit names, and ages. Abbreviations: A = Afghan block; C = Carpathians; CI = Central Iranian block; K = Kirşehir block; L = Lut
block; M = Moesian Platform; P = Pontides; R = Rhodopes; SA = South Armenian block; SSZ = Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone; TAB = Tauride–Anatolide block.
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
Fig. 3. Topographic relief map of the Alpine–Himalayan Tethyan orogenic belt, showing major structures, Tethyan sutures, and porphyry Cu ± Au deposits grouped by age; larger deposits (generally N100 Mt resource) are identified by name, with age
where known, and larger symbol sizes. Locations and ages of porphyry deposits are derived principally from Singer et al. (2005, 2008), with updated information from Richards et al. (2006, 2012), Perelló et al. (2008), Taghipour et al. (2008), and Imer
et al. (2013). Tethyan sutures and structures are derived primarily from Stampfli and Kozur (2006), with additional information from Wortel and Spakman (2000), Badarch et al. (2002), Metcalfe (2006, 2013), Piper et al. (2006), Yin (2006), Robinson
et al. (2007), Zhang et al. (2010), Yakubchuk et al. (2012), Pirajno (2013), and Deng et al. (2014). Plate velocities relative to Eurasia from Calais and Amarjargal (2000), Guillot et al. (2003), Allen et al. (2004), Vernant et al. (2004), and Regard et al.
(2005). The background topographic relief map was generated by Hans Braxmeier as a layer for Google maps, and is available from Maps-For-Free.com. Abbreviations: EAF = East Anatolian Fault; IAES = İzmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture zone; NAF =
North Anatolian Fault; SSZ = Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone; UDMA = Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic arc.

327
328 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
retreat (slab rollback) and orogenic collapse during oblique subduction,
whereas Chambefort and Moritz (2006) suggest that the Panagyurishte
ore district in Bulgaria formed in a transtensional strike-slip fault
system, possibly in a back-arc setting or in response to slab breakoff.
The plate reconstructions shown in Fig. 3A and B certainly imply
highly oblique convergence along the Serbo-Macedonian margin
at this time, which may have contributed to the formation of favorable
transtensional or transpressional structural loci for shallow crustal
magma emplacement and porphyry formation (e.g., Tosdal and
Richards, 2001).
3.2. Paleogene
Closure of the Vardar ocean in the Paleogene resulted in a shift of
subduction to the Hellenic trench, the onset of extension in the Aegean,
and a switch to collisional tectonics along the former Balkan arc
(Dumurdzanov et al., 2005; Georgiev et al., 2010; Jolivet and Brun,
2010; Jolivet et al., 2013; Kaiser-Rohrmeier et al., 2013). Post-
subduction or collision-related magmatism with minor associated Late
Eocene–Oligocene porphyry and epithermal mineralization occurred
in the Balkans (e.g., Buchim; Fig. 3) and eastern Rhodopes (Heinrich
and Neubauer, 2002; Janković, 1997; Moritz et al., 2010). Marchev
et al. (2005) relate these Paleogene ore deposits in the Rhodopes to
late orogenic extension and metamorphic core complex formation,
perhaps triggered by lithospheric mantle delamination (Schefer et al.,
2011).
The Recsk porphyry Cu, skarn, and epithermal deposits in the
Carpathians of Hungary also formed during this period (35.5 Ma;
Baksa et al., 1980; Baksa, 1986; Singer et al., 2005, 2008; K–Ar ages of
~ 28 Ma are reported for adularia and illite from low sulfidation
epithermal parts of the system by Molnár et al., 2008). Molnár (2007)
relates the generative calc-alkaline magmatism at Recsk to oblique col-
lisional processes as the Adriatic microplate contacted the European
margin.
3.3. Neogene
The distinctive curvature of the Carpathians is thought to have
developed in response to post-collisional deformation and rotation
since 13 Ma (Ciobanu et al., 2002; Csontos et al., 1992; Dupont-Nivet
et al., 2005; Nemcok et al., 1998). Seghedi et al. (1998, 2004) and
Neubauer et al. (2005) suggest that the key tectonic process was
rollback of the remnant intra-Carpathian oceanic slab as the Adriatic
microplate collided with the European foreland. Several important ore
deposits formed in the Carpathians at this time, including the Roşia
Poieni porphyry Cu–(Au) deposit, and low-sulfidation epithermal
Au deposits such as Roşia Montană and Sacarimb (Heinrich and
Neubauer, 2002; Manske et al., 2006).
Miocene calc-alkaline magmatism in the Carpathians is not thought
to be directly related to subduction, but was generated during post-
collisional extension by partial melting of subduction-modified
lithospheric mantle and crust (Harangi et al., 2007; Neubauer et al.,
2005; Roşu et al., 2004). C.R. Harris et al. (2013) specifically suggest
that lithospheric metasomatism occurred during Mesozoic Neotethyan
subduction, and that this subduction-modified material was re-
mobilized by collisional processes to generate fertile magmas.
Of significance also is the Miocene formation of the Skouries Pt–Pd–
Au-rich porphyry Cu deposit on the Chalkidiki peninsula of northern
Greece (19 Ma; Frei, 1995). This deposit is unusual in terms of its high
Au and PGE contents (Eliopoulos and Economou-Eliopoulos, 1991;
Eliopoulos et al., 2014), and its shoshonitic affinity (Kroll et al., 2002).
The geodynamic setting for this deposit is not clear but it appears
again to be post-subduction or collision-related (Economou-Eliopoulos
and Eliopoulos, 2000) and as such it may fit the model of precious
metal-enriched post-subduction porphyry deposits proposed by
Richards (2009).
4. Afro-Arabian collision zone
The Afro-Arabian collision zone runs through Turkey, Armenia/
Azerbaijan, Iran, and western Pakistan. Although the geology and
tectonic history are broadly similar along this length of the Tethyan
orogen, they are sufficiently different in detail to merit subdividing the
following descriptions by country, while attempting where possible to
correlate across international borders.
The level of documentation also varies by country, with the most
detailed information being available for Turkey, followed by Iran, and
least for Pakistan and Armenia/Azerbaijan. Key references are provided
below to support detailed geological and tectonic events, but the
following sources are also used as general references: central Tethyan
paleogeography: Şengör and Yilmaz (1981), Dixon and Robertson
(1984), Dercourt et al. (1986), Şengör (1987), Stampfli (2000),
Stampfli and Borel (2004), Moix et al. (2008), and Robertson et al.
(2013a); Turkish geology and mineral deposits: Bozkurt and
Mittwede (2001), Boztuğ et al. (2003), and Yigit (2006, 2009); Iranian
geology and mineral deposits: Berberian and King (1981), and
Richards (2003b).
4.1. Paleotethys
The geological record of the Paleotethys is slight in this region. Cam-
brian calc-alkaline granites occur in the Bitlis Massif of southeastern
Turkey, and are thought to have formed in response to Paleotethyan
subduction beneath the northern margin of Gondwana, prior to separa-
tion of the Cimmerian continental fragments (Ustaömer et al., 2009).
In contrast, Early Carboniferous granites from the eastern Pontides
of Turkey do not have subduction-related geochemical signatures,
although they are generally thought to be related to northward subduc-
tion of the Paleotethys beneath the southern Eurasian continental
margin (Ustaömer and Robertson, 2010). No significant porphyry
deposits are reported in association with these Paleozoic rocks.
4.2. Mesozoic
The central part of the Tethyan belt now occupied by Turkey,
Iran, and western Pakistan is made up of a collage of island arcs and
continental fragments (Cimmerian continents) originally rifted from
the northern margin of Gondwana in the Permian (Fig. 1). These
fragments (including Tibet and parts of Indochina) collided with the
southern Eurasian margin in the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic along the
Paleotethys suture (Figs. 1 and 2). Remnants of the Paleotethys ocean
may be preserved in the Caspian and Black Sea basins (e.g., Eyuboglu
et al., 2011, 2012), although localized back-arc rifting in the Mesozoic
and Cenozoic confuses this picture.
4.2.1. Turkey
Closure of the Paleotethys ocean in the Early Jurassic sutured the
Pontides to the Eurasian margin, and was followed by initiation of
northward subduction of a branch of the Neotethys beneath the newly
accreted margin (Fig. 1B; Dokuz et al., 2010). Early Jurassic to Late
Cretaceous calc-alkaline granitoid intrusions in the Pontides are related
to this period of subduction (Boztuğ et al., 2006; Kaygusuz et al., 2008;
Ustaömer and Robertson, 2010), but mostly appear to be eroded
below the levels of preservation of porphyry and epithermal deposits.
Numerous ophiolites were accreted to the southern Pontide margin
during this period, and a small back-arc basin, the Artvin Basin, opened
in the eastern Pontides in the Early–Middle Jurassic (Ustaömer and
Robertson, 2010). Back-arc spreading may also have occurred in the
western Black Sea basin in the Late Cretaceous (Espurt et al., 2014;
Okay et al., 2013) or earlier (Zonenshain and Le Pichon, 1986).
Collision of the small Kırşehir micro-continental block (also called
the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex) with the Central Pontide
margin along the İzmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture zone (Fig. 3) occurred
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
in the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene (Espurt et al., 2014; Kaymakci et al.,
2009; Lefebvre et al., 2013; Meijers et al., 2010; Robertson et al., 2009).
However, the paleogeographic reconstructions shown in Fig. 2 suggest
that the Kırşehir block may have only been separated from the Pontides
by a small back-arc basin, and collision may have been relatively “soft”.
The more substantial (or “hard”) collision of the Tauride–Anatolide
block (TAB; Fig. 3) in the late Paleocene–early Eocene is discussed in
Section 4.3.
Late Cretaceous–Eocene calc-alkaline magmatism on the southern
margin of the TAB (SE Anatolia) is thought to reflect northward subduc-
tion of the main Neotethyan ocean along the Bitlis–Zagros subduction
zone (Parlak, 2006; Rızaoğlu et al., 2009; Robertson et al., 2007;
Şengör and Yilmaz, 1981; Yilmaz, 1993).
4.2.2. Lesser Caucasus
Relatively little is known about the geology of the Lesser Caucasus
region of Armenia and Azerbaijan, where deformation was caused
by collision between the South Armenia block with Eurasia in either
the Late Cretaceous (Rolland et al., 2009) or Paleocene (Sosson et al.,
2010). The paleogeographic reconstruction shown in Fig. 2 suggests
that a back-arc basin linked to the Black Sea opened between these
blocks in the Cretaceous, and progressively closed in the Cenozoic.
Several porphyry Cu–Mo deposits of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Paleogene
age occur in the South Armenian block, including Tekhut (Figs. 2 and 3),
while other deposits such as Agarak formed in the Eocene. Mederer
et al. (2014) suggest that Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous porphyry Cu
deposits in this region were formed in an island arc setting above a
northeast-directed Neotethyan subduction zone (the Somkheto–
Karabakh island arc), although an accreted arc margin seems more
likely from Fig. 2.
4.2.3. Iran
Mesozoic rocks related to subduction of Neotethyan ocean basins are
preserved in the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone (which runs NW–SE across cen-
tral Iran; Fig. 3), the eastern Alborz–Kopeh Dagh (Sabzevar zone, NE
Iran), and the Central Iranian microcontinent (eastern Central Iran).
There is considerable debate regarding the detailed history of
Neotethyan basin opening and closure in Iran, but evidence from several
ophiolite belts across the country strongly suggests that several small
(back-arc?) basins existed in addition to the main Neotethyan ocean,
which was finally eliminated by collision between Iran and Arabia
along the Zagros suture zone in the Neogene.
The main Neotethyan ocean opened when the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone
and Central Iranian microcontinent (Lut and Tabas blocks) rifted from
the northeastern margin of Gondwana in the Early Triassic (Hooper
et al., 1994; Fig. 1). By the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic these Cimmerian
continental fragments had collided with the southern margin of Eurasia,
and northward-directed subduction of the Neotethys ocean began be-
neath this accreted margin (Fig. 2A; Horton et al., 2008; Masoodi et al.,
2013; Mirnejad et al., 2013a). Late Triassic–Cretaceous I-type arc plu-
tons relating to this period of subduction occur throughout the Iraqi
Zagros Suture Zone, the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone, and the Makran (Agard
et al., 2005; Ahmadi Khalaji et al., 2007; Ali et al., 2013; Aliani et al.,
2012; Arvin et al., 2007; Azizi and Jahangiri, 2008; Mahmoudi et al.,
2011; Mohajjel and Fergusson, 2014; Shahabpour, 2010; Shahbazi
et al., 2010). However, as in the Pontides of Turkey, no significant
porphyry deposits of this age are preserved, likely due to erosion
down to batholithic levels. Small orogenic gold deposits of Late
Cretaceous–Paleogene age have been reported in the Sanandaj–Sirjan
Zone, analogous to other convergent margin mesothermal gold deposits
worldwide (Aliyari et al., 2012).
Back-arc rifting along the accreted margin opened several small
ocean basins such as the Sabzevar and Sistan oceans in northeast and
eastern Iran, respectively (Fig. 2B). Closure of these basins in the Late
Cretaceous–Oligocene gave rise to calc-alkaline arc magmatism in the
Arghash Massif (Alaminia et al., 2013; Jafari et al., 2013) and Lut block
329
(Arjmandzadeh et al., 2011; Kaz'min and Tikhonova, 2008). However,
in a situation analogous to the highly oblique subduction of the Vardar
ocean in the Balkans, the polarity of subduction of the Sistan ocean is
disputed (Bröcker et al., 2013; Saccani et al., 2010; Tirrul et al., 1983).
Considerable debate surrounds the history of collision(s) between
the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone, Central Iran, and Arabia. The paleogeographic
reconstructions in Fig. 2 indicate that the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone docked
with Eurasia in the Mesozoic (although a small back-arc basin may have
opened between these blocks in the Middle Cretaceous; Ghasemi and
Talbot, 2006), and suggest that collision with Arabia in the Neogene
was the last phase of Neotethyan closure. However, several authors
contend that the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone collided first with Arabia in the
Cretaceous (Alavi, 1980, 1994, 2004) or Oligocene (Hooper et al.,
1994), prior to collision with Central Iran in the late Cenozoic
(e.g., Ghalamghash et al., 2009; Glennie, 2000). Part of the confusion
may relate to the shift of arc magmatism from the Sanandaj–Sirjan
Zone in the Mesozoic to the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic belt in Central
Iran in the Late Cretaceous–Paleogene. Glennie (2000) relates this
switch to the closure of two separate Neotethyan basins to the south
and north of the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone. However, an alternative expla-
nation may be that the angle of Neotethyan subduction shallowed in
the Cretaceous, leading to a shift in the axis of arc magmatism from
the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone to the parallel but more northeasterly
Urumieh–Dokhtar belt in the Paleogene (Fig. 3; Verdel et al., 2011;
Mohajjel and Fergusson, 2014). Ophiolitic fragments found between
the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone and Urumieh–Dokhtar belt may relate to
closure of a small back-arc basin (e.g., Ghasemi and Talbot, 2006), but
there does not seem to be time or space to open up a large ocean
basin between these blocks in the Cretaceous (see Fig. 2). Collision
with small island arc terranes (rather than the Arabian continent)
may explain the evidence of moderate collisional deformation on the
southern margin of the Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone in the Late Jurassic–
Early Cretaceous (Azizi and Asahara, 2013).
4.2.4. Makran (Pakistan)
Late Cretaceous–late Paleocene basaltic andesitic to andesitic
volcanism in the Chagai region of southwestern Pakistan (Fig. 3) is part-
ly submarine and island arc in character (Arthurton et al., 1982;
Nicholson et al., 2010; Richards et al., 2012; Siddiqui, 2004). Although
this is not evident in the paleogeographic reconstruction shown in
Fig. 2A, it appears that the Chagai arc was initially oceanic, and collided
with the Afghan (Helmand) block in the Late Cretaceous, whereafter the
arc changed to continental in character (Nicholson et al., 2010). No
mineralization is known to be associated with the Mesozoic arc history
of this belt, but major porphyry deposits formed in the Cenozoic conti-
nental arc (see Sections 4.3.3 and 4.4.3).
4.3. Paleogene
4.3.1. Turkey
The main events that affected Turkey in the Paleogene were sub-
duction of Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere attached to the African
plate along the Crete and Cyprus trenches, and collision of the
Tauride–Anatolide block (TAB) with the Pontide and Kırşehir blocks in
the late Paleocene–early Eocene to eliminate the Ankara–Erzincan
branch of the northern Neotethys (Fig. 2C; Aldanmaz et al., 2000;
Ilbeyli et al., 2004; Boztuğ and Jonckheere, 2007; Kaymakci et al.,
2009; Arslan et al., 2013).
Tectonic readjustments following this collisional event in the Eocene
caused inversion in the Pontides (Espurt et al., 2014), and triggered a
major flare-up of calc-alkaline magmatism across northern Turkey in
response to slab rollback and breakoff (Boztuğ and Arehart, 2007;
Boztuğ and Harlavan, 2008; Boztuğ et al., 2006; Kaygusuz et al., 2008;
Kaymakci et al., 2010; Keskin et al., 2008; Önal et al., 2005). Post-
collisional extensional tectonics and upwelling of asthenospheric
mantle caused partial melting of previously subduction-modified
330 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
lithosphere throughout Anatolia (Altunkaynak, 2007; Altunkaynak and
Dilek, 2013; Sarıfakıoğlu et al., 2013), whereas delamination of sub-
continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Pontides caused
crustal melting (Arslan and Aslan, 2006; Arslan et al., 2013; Aslan
et al., 2014; Aydin et al., 2008; Karsli et al., 2010; Temizel et al., 2012;
Topuz et al., 2011). Several small porphyry and epithermal deposits
are associated with Paleocene–Eocene post-collisional calc-alkaline
magmatism in the Pontides, but no economic deposits have been dis-
covered to date (Akçay and Gündüz, 2004; Yigit, 2009).
To the north of the Pontides, back-arc extensional tectonics are
thought to have widened the Black Sea during the early Paleogene
(Shillington et al., 2008), although controversy remains over the history
of this basin (e.g., Arslan et al., 2013; Eyuboglu et al., 2011, 2012).
In southern Turkey, northward subduction of the main Neotethyan
ocean continued along the Bitlis–Zagros subduction zone (Fig. 3), giving
rise to Late Cretaceous–Eocene magmatism in the Maden-Helete arc of
SE Anatolia, and back-arc magmatism along ENE-trending strike-slip
faults in the Central and Eastern Taurides (Robertson et al., 2007).
Distinguishing between a back-arc and collisional origin for late
Paleogene calc-alkaline magmas in the TAB is difficult but not unimpor-
tant, because this magmatism is associated with major porphyry Cu–Au
and epithermal Au mineralization in the Çöpler–Kabataş district
(~44 Ma; Imer et al., 2013; Kuşcu et al., 2013), and Oligocene porphyry
Cu–Au–Mo deposits in the Tunceli region (~25 Ma; Imer et al., in press)
(Figs. 2C and 3). Deposits of slightly younger age but equivalent
geodynamic setting occur to the southeast along the orogen in Iran
(see Section 4.3.2).
From the Oligocene through the Neogene and Quaternary,
magmatism throughout central and eastern Turkey became increasing-
ly localized and alkaline in character, reflecting final closure of the
Bitlis–Zagros subduction zone in the Miocene, and a transition to fully
post-collisional tectonics (Akay, 2009; Boztuğ and Jonckheere, 2007;
Yılmaz et al., 2001).
In contrast, extensional tectonics in the Aegean and western Anato-
lia since the late Oligocene are related to slab rollback or differential
upper plate advance on the Hellenic trench (Agostini et al., 2010). This
distinct tectonic setting gave rise to structurally localized calc-alkaline
magmatism and significant porphyry Cu–Mo–Au and high-sulfidation
epithermal Au mineralization in the Biga Peninsula (e.g., the TV Tower
epithermal Au deposit, and the Halilaga Cu–Au and Tepeoba porphyry
Cu–Mo–Au deposits; Yigit, 2012). This mineralization is thought to be
correlative with the Serbo-Macedonian–Rhodope metallogenic belt in
the Balkans.
4.3.2. Iran
Arc magmatism in the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone largely ceased at the
end of the Cretaceous, and shifted to the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic
belt, approximately 100 km to the northeast (Fig. 3). As noted above,
researchers disagree about the relationship between the Sanandaj–
Sirjan and Urumieh–Dokhtar arcs, but the simplest explanation would
appear to be that the angle of subduction flattened, and the NW–SE
axis of magmatism shifted inland to the northeast, to form a new arc
(the Urumieh–Dokhtar arc) in the Paleogene (Mohajjel and Fergusson,
2014; Whitechurch et al., 2013). Verdel et al. (2011) have suggested
that the Paleocene–Eocene magmatic flare-up in the Urumieh–Dokhtar
arcs occurred as a previously flat-subducting slab rolled back prior to
Miocene collision, exposing hydrated lithosphere to an influx of hot as-
thenospheric material in the re-opened mantle wedge. Alternatively,
Ahmadian et al. (2009) and Allen (2009) have suggested that middle
Eocene magmatism in the Urumieh–Dokhtar belt and in Central Iran
was related to back-arc extension in advance of final collision. A small
back-arc basin between the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone and Urumieh–
Dokhtar belt may also have closed at this time (Ghasemi and Talbot,
2006).
Cenozoic magmatism in the Urumieh–Dokhtar belt has been the
focus of considerable study, because it is related to several large
porphyry Cu deposits, mainly of Miocene age. Eocene magmatism was
initially calc-alkaline in character, but changed to more potassic
(shoshonitic) compositions in the Oligocene and early-middle Miocene,
and then to even more alkaline compositions in the late Neogene
(Hassanzadeh, 1993). This transition is believed to reflect the onset of
final collision between Arabia and the accreted Eurasian margin,
whose timing has been estimated to be anywhere between Late Creta-
ceous to mid-Miocene. A Miocene age for final collision is preferred by
most recent authors, and is consistent with the Miocene age of collision
along the Bitlis subduction zone in Turkey. However, the irregular shape
of the Arabian indentor suggests that collision was likely diachronous
along the belt (Agard et al., 2005), which may account for some of the
variability in estimates for the timing of collision. It also seems likely
that the collision was initially relatively “soft” (Ballato et al., 2011), per-
haps beginning in the Eocene (Agard et al., 2005; Allen and Armstrong,
2008; Dargahi et al., 2010; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Horton et al., 2008;
Mazhari et al., 2009), with final “hard” collision occurring in the late Ol-
igocene (McQuarrie and van Hinsbergen, 2013) or early-middle Mio-
cene (Ali et al., 2013; Allen et al., 2004; Ballato et al., 2011; Förster,
1978; Karagaranbafghi et al., 2012; Mohajjel and Fergusson, 2014;
Stoneley, 1981). In particular, Mouthereau et al. (2012) suggest that col-
lision began in the late Eocene at ~35 Ma, and was followed by crustal
thickening in the Oligocene, and uplift of the central Iranian plateau in
the middle Miocene (15–12 Ma) prior to slab breakoff. This timing is
consistent with thrust-driven uplift of the High Zagros (Arabian mar-
gin), which had developed by the Oligocene or early Miocene (Fakhari
et al., 2008; Gavillot et al., 2010).
Behind the main Neotethyan destructive margin, Eocene volcanism
also occurred in the Alborz of north and northeastern Iran, as well as
the Lut block in eastern Iran. Although the detailed tectonic history of
this area is not well known, it appears to have involved the formation
and destruction of one or more small back-arc ocean basins, such as
the Sabzevar and Sistan oceans. Calc-alkaline Eocene magmatism has
thus variably been interpreted to be of subduction (Alaminia et al.,
2013; Arjmandzadeh and Santos, 2014; Richards et al., 2012; Spies
et al., 1984), back-arc (Asiabanha and Foden, 2012), or post-collisional
origin (Castro et al., 2013; Nabatian et al., 2014; Pang et al., 2013b).
Several small porphyry deposits occur in association with these Eocene
sequences, including the Shadan and Maherabad prospects in the Lut
block (Figs. 2C and 3; Richards et al., 2012; Siahcheshm et al., 2012,
2014), and a few small intermediate-sulfidation epithermal gold
deposits are reported in the Alborz (Shamanian et al., 2004).
By the Oligocene, magmatism in northeastern Iran had a clear
collisional character (Asiabanha et al., 2012), and oroclinal bending
and uplift had begun in the Kopeh Dagh (Hollingsworth et al., 2010).
A similar transition is recognized in northwest Iran, where calc-
alkaline magmatism in the early Oligocene gives way to shoshonitic
plutonism in the late Oligocene (Aghazadeh et al., 2011).
4.3.3. Makran (Pakistan)
The Chagai island arc appears to have accreted to the Afghan
(Helmand) block by the Eocene–Oligocene, and subsequent Oligocene–
Quaternary magmatism is of continental arc affinity (Siddiqui, 2004).
The axis of the arc remained fixed, however, such that successive se-
quences or volcanic rocks overlie each other, and intrusions overlap.
This spatial coincidence may explain the progressive increase in size
of porphyry Cu–Au deposits as the arc evolved, with no known deposits
associated with Cretaceous–Paleocene rocks, only small prospects in
the middle-late Eocene (Ziarate; Perelló et al., 2008), but several large
deposits such as Saindak and Reko Diq occurring in the Miocene
(Perelló et al., 2008; Richards et al., 2012; Sillitoe, 1979; Sillitoe and
Khan, 1977).
The Makran accretionary complex developed to the south of the
Chagai arc over a shallow-dipping subduction zone since the Late
Cretaceous (Jacob and Quittmeyer, 1979), and is one of the largest
sedimentary prisms on Earth (McCall, 1997; White, 1979). In the late
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
Oligocene or early Miocene, fold-and-thrust deformation began in this
belt, and dextral strike-slip motion was initiated on the Chaman trans-
form zone to the east (Fig. 3) as the effects of the Indian plate collision
began to be felt along the eastern Eurasian margin (Lawrence et al.,
1981).
4.4. Neogene–Quaternary
4.4.1. Turkey
Final collision of Arabia with Turkey along the Bitlis–Zagros sub-
duction zone likely occurred in the early-middle Miocene (Fig. 2D;
Şengör and Yilmaz, 1981; Pearce et al., 1990; Yilmaz, 1993;
Robertson et al., 2007; Hüsing et al., 2009; Çolakoğlu and Arehart,
2010; Okay et al., 2010). This was followed by crustal thickening of
the Turkish–Iranian plateau, and subsequent westward strike-slip es-
cape of Turkey (Allen, 2010; Allen et al., 2004). Uplift in Anatolia has
been interpreted to be due to delamination of subcontinental mantle
lithosphere (Göğüs and Pysklywec, 2008; Sandvol et al., 2003), and/
or slab breakoff and asthenospheric upwelling (Lei and Zhao, 2007;
Schildgen et al., 2014; Şengör et al., 2008; Zor, 2008). The result has
been to thin the lithosphere in this region (to 60–80 km) while
thickening the crust (to 30–55 km), and to trigger widespread post-
collisional volcanism (Angus et al., 2006). Oroclinal bending in the
eastern Pontides and Lesser Caucasus at this time (late Miocene–
Pliocene) was caused by the irregular shape of the Arabian indentor
(Hisarlı, 2011).
Post-collisional magmatism ranged from calc-alkaline to shoshonitic
in the early-middle Miocene, to progressively more alkaline com-
positions in the late Miocene to Quaternary (Aldanmaz et al., 2000;
Altunkaynak and Dilek, 2006; Altunkaynak and Genç, 2008). These
younger alkaline volcanic centers are commonly localized by major
extensional or transtensional structures, reflecting E–W tectonic adjust-
ments in response to N–S collision. They are found throughout Turkey,
including along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Temel et al., 2010),
northwest Anatolia (Aldanmaz, 2002; Ersoy et al., 2010, 2012; Yılmaz
et al., 2001), southwest Anatolia (Prelevic et al., 2012), central Anatolia
(Kuşcu and Geneli, 2010; Ocakoğlu, 2004; Şen et al., 2004), eastern
Anatolia (Karsli et al., 2008; Kürüm et al., 2008; Özdemir et al., 2006;
Pearce et al., 1990; Yilmaz et al., 1998), the eastern Pontides (Aydin
et al., 2008; Keskin, 2003; Kheirkhah et al., 2009), and northeast Syria
(Lease and Abdel-Rahman, 2008). In most cases, the geochemical and
isotopic compositions of these magmas indicate derivation from previ-
ously subduction-modified lithosphere, with variable contributions
from asthenospheric melts. Melting is generally attributed to slab
rollback and breakoff (op. cit., and Reilinger et al., 2006; Le Pichon and
Kreemer, 2010; Karaoğlu and Helvacı, 2014).
Few of these post-collisional volcanic centers in central and eastern
Turkey are known to be associated with mineralization, although
it might be speculated that unexposed alkalic-type porphyry and
epithermal deposits could exist below the current shallow levels of
exposure (e.g., Richards, 1995, 2009). In contrast, in the extensional
tectonic environment of western Anatolia, Miocene calc-alkaline
volcanic complexes are associated with several major low-sulfidation
(Ovacik), intermediate-sulfidation (Efemçukuru, Kucukdere), and
high-sulfidation porphyry-related (Kisladag) Au deposits (Figs. 2D and
3; Yilmaz, 2003; Yilmaz et al., 2007; J.W. Hedenquist, personal commu-
nication, 2014). These volcanic systems and gold deposits developed in
an E–W extensional environment related to Aegean tectonics, as noted
above.
4.4.2. Iran
The controversy over the timing of collision between Arabia and
Eurasia along the Zagros section of the Bitlis–Zagros subduction zone
has been discussed above. The most likely timing seems to be in the
Miocene, perhaps propagating diachronously from early Miocene in
the northwest of Iran, to late Miocene in the southeast (Chiu et al.,
331
2013; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Hooper et al., 1994; Robertson et al.,
2009). Neogene dextral strike-slip faulting lengthened the orogen
until ~5 Ma, when eastward extension was blocked by collision of the
Afghan (Helmand) plate with India (Allen et al., 2011). Allen et al.
(2013b) suggest that crustal thickening has occurred by shortening
across the orogen (~68 km across the Zagros, and ~120 km across the
Arabian plate; see also Regard et al., 2005).
Slab breakoff following collision is widely considered to have caused
uplift and post-collisional magmatism throughout Iran, although the
timing of breakoff is debated (mid-late Miocene: van Hunen and
Allen, 2011; Mouthereau et al., 2012; Plio-Pleistocene: Snyder and
Baranzangi, 1986; Molinaro et al., 2005). Whether or not there has
been delamination of the SCLM below the Zagros orogen is also debated
(yes: Shomali et al., 2011; no: Paul et al., 2010).
Neogene–Quaternary mafic post-collisional volcanism across Iran
(from the northwest to the Lut block) is potassic to ultrapotassic in
character, and is generally thought to have a subduction-modified
mantle lithosphere origin (Ahmadzadeh et al., 2010; Allen et al.,
2013a; Kheirkhah et al., 2013; Pang et al., 2013a), perhaps with an
asthenospheric component in the case of the isolated Damavand strato-
volcano (Davidson et al., 2004; Liotard et al., 2008; Mirnejad et al., 2010;
Shabanian et al., 2012). In many cases, the volcanism is localized along
transtensional structures (e.g., Ahmadzadeh et al., 2010). Pang et al.
(2012) have proposed that alkali basaltic volcanism associated with
N–S strike-slip faults in eastern Iran (Neh and Nayband faults, Fig. 3;
Meyer and Le Dortz, 2007) formed in response to extension following
delamination of thickened SCLM (a delayed response to Late Cretaceous
collision between the Lut and Afghan blocks).
In the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic belt, bimodal felsic and
mafic alkalic magmatism occurred in the Miocene, following earli-
er calc-alkaline (Eocene) and shoshonitic (Oligocene) magmatism
(Hassanzadeh, 1993). Omrani et al. (2008) have suggested slab breakoff
as a cause for adakite-like Pliocene–Quaternary magmatism in this belt,
and Shafiei et al. (2009) and Shafiei (2010) have proposed that Miocene
post-collisional calc-alkaline magmas involved a significant fraction
of remobilized subduction-modified lower crust in their formation.
Shafiei et al. (2009) in particular argue that this process is key to the
fertility of these mid-Miocene magmas, which host most of the largest
porphyry Cu–Mo deposits in Iran (e.g., Sar Cheshmeh, Meiduk;
Figs. 2D and 3; McInnes et al., 2003; Taghipour et al., 2008; Mirnejad
et al., 2013b). Mirnejad et al. (2013b) report an age range of
15.1–9.8 Ma (Re–Os on molybdenite) for porphyry deposits in the
Kerman section of the Urumieh–Dokhtar belt, which brackets the ages
of Sar Cheshmeh (13.6 ± 0.1 Ma, zircon U–Pb; McInnes et al., 2003)
and Meiduk (12.5 ± 0.1 Ma, zircon U–Pb, McInnes et al., 2003;
12.23 ± 0.07 Ma, molybdenite Re–Os, Taghipour et al., 2008).
Several smaller porphyry Cu (e.g., Darreh-Zerreshk and Ali-Abad;
~ 16 Ma; Zarasvandi et al., 2005, 2007) and porphyry Au deposits
(e.g., Dalli; ~20 Ma; Ayati et al., 2013) formed in the early Miocene in
Central Iran, and the large Sungun porphyry Cu–Mo deposit in NW
Iran (Fig. 3) formed at 21.1–19.5 Ma (Aghazadeh et al., 2012). All of
these deposits are variably attributed to post-collisional magmatic
processes (e.g., Jamali et al., 2010), and the increasing ages along the
orogen to the northwest are consistent with the diachronous collision
of Arabia noted above.
Epithermal Au mineralization also formed in the middle-late
Miocene in NW Iran, including the Sari Gunay alkalic-type Au deposit
(Fig. 3; ~ 10.7 Ma; Richards et al., 2006), and the Zarshuran (14.2 ±
0.4 Ma; Mehrabi et al., 1999) and Agdarreh sediment-hosted Au
deposits (Asadi et al., 2000; Daliran, 2008).
Oroclinal bending (analogous to the Caucasus) began in the Kopeh
Dagh of NE Iran in the early-to-middle Oligocene (Hollingsworth et al.,
2010), followed by uplift and shortening in both the Alborz and Kopeh
Dagh in the Miocene (Allen et al., 2003; Guest et al., 2006). These
mountain belts effectively mark the northern limit of deformation in
the Eurasian margin caused by the Arabian collision. The region has
332 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
subsequently been affected by transpressional tectonics with strike-slip
faulting in the Pliocene–Quaternary (Bachmanov et al., 2004; Bonini
et al., 2003; Hollingsworth et al., 2006; Shabanian et al., 2010).
In the Makran of southeast Iran, subduction of the Neotethys con-
tinues, as reflected by the recently active Bazman and Taftan volcanoes,
which both tap an arc source. The Bazman volcano is located very close
to the margin between continental collision and normal subduction,
and Quaternary basalts erupted from parasitic cones around this volca-
no may be derived from subduction-modified lithospheric mantle
(Saadat and Stern, 2011). The more easterly Taftan volcano shows a
stronger arc signature (Biabangard and Moradian, 2008), and is likely
correlative with the Koh-i-Sultan volcano in the Chagai arc of Pakistan
(Jacob and Quittmeyer, 1979). A small low-sulfidation epithermal Au
deposit occurs near Bazman (Chahnali; Daliran et al., 2005), and
subeconomic (but minimally explored) porphyry and high-
sulfidation-style epithermal mineralization occurs around the Taftan
volcano.
4.4.3. Makran (Pakistan)
Calc-alkaline to mildly alkaline volcanic rocks were erupted in the
Chagai arc from the Miocene to Quaternary, with recent volcanism
being recorded in the large Koh-i-Sultan stratovolcano (Richards et al.,
2012; Siddiqui, 2004). The arc extends for ~450 km from the Bazman
volcano in Iran to the eastern end of the Chagai belt. Siddiqui (2004),
Perelló et al. (2008), and Richards et al. (2012) describe the evolution
of this arc, and the formation of a series of porphyry Cu–Au–Mo deposits
of increasing size from the mid-Eocene to the mid-Miocene, culminat-
ing in the giant Reko Diq cluster of porphyries at ~ 11 Ma (Fig. 3;
Perelló et al., 2008; Razique et al., 2014). Reko Diq is one of the world's
largest unmined Cu–Au deposits (resources of 5.9 Gt @ 0.41% Cu and
0.22 g/t Au1), while the nearby Saindak porphyry Cu–Mo deposit
(22.30 ± 0.05 Ma; Richards et al., 2012) is currently being mined by
Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd., with an estimated resource of
440 Mt @ 0.41% Cu, 0.002% Mo (Singer et al., 2008) plus a significant
amount of Au.
5. Pamir–Himalayas–Indochina
The Himalayan orogenic belt has been studied in a somewhat frag-
mental way from the perspectives of Pakistan, India, Tibet, and Indochi-
na, such that it can sometimes be difficult to correlate across these
national borders. Political and security concerns in northwestern
Pakistan, Kashmir and Tibet have further limited the extent of modern
geological research, although there has been a recent surge of publica-
tions relating to Tibet and its porphyry deposits. In reviewing the
tectonics and metallogeny of this belt, I have drawn from several
key overview papers (Beaudoin et al., 2005; Bierlein et al., 2009;
Chatterjee et al., 2013; Dewey et al., 1988; Metcalfe, 2013; Pirajno,
2013; Qin et al., 2012; Yin and Harrison, 2000), as well as individually
cited papers.
Although the Pamir–Himalayas–Indochina segment of the Tethyan
orogen is unified by the effects of the Paleogene Indian continental col-
lision, the belt is heterogeneous, and its pre-collisional history is more
easily described in terms of two contiguous sections, Kohistan–Pamir
and Tibet–Indochina, during the Mesozoic.
5.1. Paleotethys
As for most of the Tethyan orogen, the history of the Paleotethys
ocean is not well known in the Himalayan region and Indochina.
Dewey et al. (1988), Yin and Harrison (2000), Metcalfe (2006, 2013),
and T.N. Yang et al. (2014) describe a complex assemblage of terranes
in southern and southeast Asia, which were initially rifted from
1
Data from Tethyan Copper Company Ltd. (http://www.tethyan.com/
TheRekoDiqProject/RekoDiqResource.aspx; accessed 10 February, 2014).
Gondwana in the Paleozoic (Zhu et al., 2011b), and then accreted
progressively to the Asian margin from the Paleozoic to Cenozoic by
closure of multiple Tethyan ocean basins. Related to these ocean clo-
sure events, Schwab et al. (2004) describe several periods of arc
magmatism in the Pamir region, beginning in the early Paleozoic
(~ 575–410 Ma) and continuing until the Triassic in the north-facing
Kunlun arc. Similarly, Hu et al. (2013) report the occurrence of Cambrian
arc volcanism in the Lhasa terrane of southern Tibet, and Guo et al.
(2012) describe Middle Triassic arc magmatism (244–234 Ma) related
to northward Paleotethyan subduction along the northeastern margin
of Tibet. The latter magmatism may correlate with Triassic volcanism
in the Kunlun arc to the west, and the Mianlue arc in the Qinling terrane
further east.
No porphyry deposits are known to be associated with Paleozoic
sequences in this section of the Tethyan orogen, although numerous
deposits of Paleozoic age occur in the Central Asian orogenic belt to
the north (Fig. 3), including the giant Oyu Tolgoi porphyry Cu–Au–
(Mo) deposit (372 Ma; Perelló et al., 2001; Crane and Kavalieris, 2012).
Tibet consists of several terranes of Gondwanan affinity that accret-
ed to the Asian margin from the late Permian through the Mesozoic
through closure of multiple Paleotethyan and Mesotethyan ocean
basins (Metcalfe, 2006). The most northerly of these is the Songpan-
Ganzi terrane (Fig. 3), which was accreted to Kunlun (Tarim–North
China) in the Late Permian. The Qiangtang terrane (which has an
internal suture, suggesting that it is itself a compound terrane; Zhao
et al., 2014) was then accreted to Songpan-Ganzi in the Late Triassic
along the Jinshajiang suture (Fig. 3). The Lhasa terrane then collided
with Qiangtang along the Bangong-Nujiang suture (Fig. 3) in the
Late Jurassic (Dewey et al., 1988; Yin and Harrison, 2000) or Late
Cretaceous (Liu et al., 2013; Y. Li et al., 2013; Zhu et al., 2011a)
(Figs. 2A, B, and 3).
Early Permian–Early Triassic (275–248 Ma) calc-alkaline volcanic
rocks in the Qiangtang terrane (Wang et al., 2008a; Yang et al., 2011)
and Triassic–Jurassic (225–193 Ma) calc-alkaline plutons in the Hoh-
Xil–Songpan-Ganzi complex (Zhang et al., 2014) relate to closure of
at least two ocean basins prior to or during suturing of the Lhasa
terrane (Roger et al., 2010). Although these older arc sequences are
not widely preserved, a number of Jurassic and Cretaceous porphyry
deposits have been found in these terranes. The largest of these occur
in the Middle Jurassic Xiongcun porphyry Cu–Au district in the
southern Lhasa terrane (which includes the Xietongmen and
Newtongmen deposits; ~ 174 Ma; Tafti et al., 2009; Lang et al.,
2014), and the Early Cretaceous Bangongco metallogenic belt in the
southern Qiangtang terrane (which includes the Duolong porphyry
Cu–Au deposit (~ 115 Ma; J. Li et al., 2011 J. Li et al., 2012; J.-X. Li
et al., 2013)) (Fig. 3). These deposits are thought to be normal arc
porphyry systems, related to subduction of Mesotethys oceanic
lithosphere.
Early Mesozoic porphyry deposits also occur in the Indosinian por-
phyry belt of SE China, which formed in the Triassic Zhongdian island
arc (see T.N. Yang et al., 2014, for a detailed description of the geological
history of this complex late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic collisional belt).
These include the large Pulang (~213 Ma; W. Li et al., 2011) and Yangla
porphyry Cu and skarn deposits (~233 Ma; X.-A. Yang et al., 2014; Zhu
et al., in press) (Fig. 3), and are suggested to have formed in response to
westward subduction of the Ganzi-Litang and Jinshajiang ocean basins,
respectively, beneath the Yidun terrane (Wang et al., 2011; Zhu et al., in
press).
5.2. Late Mesozoic
5.2.1. Kohistan–Pamir
The Kohistan arc of northern Pakistan is relatively well studied
(e.g., Bignold et al., 2006; Coward et al., 1982, 1987; Jagoutz and
Schmidt, 2012; Jagoutz et al., 2006, 2007, 2009; Khan et al., 1989,
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
1993; Petterson, 2010; Searle et al., 1999), although much less is known
about the Mesozoic history of the Pamir.
The Kohistan terrane is considered to have formed as a Cretaceous
(~134–90 Ma) intra-oceanic arc overlying a north-directed subduction
zone (Fig. 2A, B; Bard, 1983; Bignold and Treloar, 2003; Petterson and
Treloar, 2004; Petterson, 2010; Bouilhol et al., 2011). It is of significant
geological interest because subsequent collisional uplift has exposed
an almost complete section of oceanic arc crust, from upper crustal
volcanic sequences (the Chalt Volcanic Group) and coeval tonalitic in-
trusions of the early Kohistan batholith, through gabbroic intrusions
and layered mafic cumulates of the lower crustal Chilas Complex, to
the lowermost mafic–ultramafic Kamila amphibolites and Jijal Complex
(Bignold et al., 2006). The petrology of these unique lower crustal rocks
has been studied in detail by Jagoutz and co-workers (op. cit.) and
Dhuime et al. (2009).
While the origin of the Kohistan arc is relatively well established,
debate arises concerning its collisional history, with some authors pro-
posing accretion first to the Indian plate margin in the Late Cretaceous
at ~ 85 Ma or later (Bard, 1983; Bouilhol et al., 2013; Chatterjee et al.,
2013; Khan et al., 2009), and others arguing for initial accretion to the
Asian margin at ~ 100–75 Ma (Bignold et al., 2006; Petterson, 2010;
Petterson and Treloar, 2004; Rehman et al., 2011; Searle et al., 1999;
Treloar et al., 1996). Whichever interpretation is correct, the collision
caused Late Cretaceous crustal thickening, amphibolite to granulite
facies metamorphism of the lowermost crustal sequences (Bouilhol
et al., 2011; Jan and Howie, 1981; Petterson, 2010; Petterson and
Treloar, 2004), and partial melting to form calc-alkaline gabbro–
granodiorite plutons (85–40 Ma; Bignold et al., 2006).
Despite preservation of upper crustal volcanic and subvolcanic se-
quences, no porphyry-type deposits are known in Kohistan. However,
small deposits of Cu–Au–PGE-bearing sulfides occur in dunites in the
Chilas Complex (author's unpublished data), and chromite is mined
from layers or pods in the ultramafic Jijal Complex.
5.2.2. Tibet–Indochina
The Cretaceous period saw widespread arc magmatism across the
Tibetan plateau, with uplift beginning as an Andean-type margin in
the Late Cretaceous (~ 85 Ma), and reaching its maximum extent by
~ 45 Ma (Ding et al., 2014; Rohrmann et al., 2012). Early Cretaceous
adakite-like calc-alkaline intrusions in the northern Lhasa terrane
have been related to slab breakoff in the south-directed Bangong–
Nujiang subduction zone (H. Wu et al., in press), whereas similar Early
Cretaceous intrusions in the southern Gangdese magmatic belt of the
Lhasa terrane are interpreted to have been generated by melting of
Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere (Zhu et al., 2009). In contrast, Late
Cretaceous adakite-like intrusions in the Gangdese belt are interpreted
to have been derived by partial melting of juvenile mafic lower crust,
underplated during Cretaceous subduction, and thickened by flat
subduction from ~ 80–70 Ma (Wen et al., 2008a,b). In SE China (close
to Pulang), a late- or post-collisional origin (with respect to collision
between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes) has been proposed for
Late Cretaceous adakite-like intrusions and associated Mo–Cu mineral-
ization (X.-S. Wang et al., 2014).
5.3. Paleogene
It is now generally agreed that India began to collide with the
accretionary Asian margin in the early Eocene at ~ 55–50 Ma (Guillot
et al., 2003; Khan et al., 2009; Meng et al., 2012; Rehman et al., 2011;
Searle et al., 1999; Treloar et al., 1996; Zhang et al., 2012), although
some authors call for an earlier onset (e.g., ~ 70–65 Ma; Cai et al.,
2011), and others for a later event (e.g., ~40 Ma; Bouilhol et al., 2013;
~ 34 Ma; Aitchison et al., 2007; Fig. 2C, D). Some of the disagreement
in these estimates may arise because collision was likely not a single
event, and may have been diachronous along the orogen (White and
Lister, 2012). The Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere slab is thought to
333
have broken off at ~45 Ma (Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Replumaz et al.,
2010; van der Voo et al., 1999).
Initial collision of the Indian plate is thought to have involved a wide
passive continental margin known as Greater India (Ali and Aitchison,
2005; van Hinsbergen et al., 2012), which subducted below Tibet until
final contact with the Indian craton in the late Eocene (~34 Ma; Meng
et al., 2012). Upper crustal shelf sediment sequences were scraped off
the Greater India plate and accreted to form the Himalayas, while the
underlying dense lower crust and mantle lithosphere were subducted
(Capitanio et al., 2010). This early Eocene collisional event has been
termed a “soft collision”, in advance of the later “hard collision” with
the main Indian continental mass (Fig. 2C, D; Meng et al., 2012; van
Hinsbergen et al., 2012).
The Greater India collision resulted in slowing of the India–Asia con-
vergence rate from ~ 18 cm/yr (Capitanio et al., 2010) to ~ 4.7 cm/yr
(Guillot et al., 2003). Rapid convergence in the Late Cretaceous may
have been caused by impact of the Morondova mantle plume (which
split Madagascar from India at this time), and was sustained through
the Paleocene–early Eocene by increased slab-pull and ridge-push
forces (van Hinsbergen et al., 2011).
I-type calc-alkaline arc magmatism continued during the run-up to
the initial collision, with Paleocene volcanosedimentary sequences
forming in central and northern Kohistan (Dir Group and Shamran
volcanics; Sullivan et al., 1993), widespread Paleocene–early Eocene
Linzizong volcanic sequences being erupted across southern Tibet
(Coulon et al., 1986; Mo et al., 2008), and Paleocene–early Eocene gab-
broic–granitic intrusions being emplaced along the length of the orogen
to form the Kohistan, Ladakh, and Gangdese batholiths (Bignold et al.,
2006; White et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2013). In detail, the Ladakh bath-
olith appears to have formed episodically between 68–45 Ma, with the
bulk being emplaced between 63–55 Ma (White et al., 2011).
Despite the good preservation and exposure of these shallow crustal
volcanic sequences and subvolcanic plutons, few porphyry-type de-
posits are known from this period in the central and western parts of
Tibet; only two small porphyry Cu (Jiru; ~ 45 Ma; Zheng et al., 2014)
and porphyry Mo (Sharang; ~52 Ma; Zhao et al., 2012, 2013) deposits
are reported in the literature. R. Wang et al. (2014b,c) have suggested
that relatively low magmatic water contents and oxidation states in
these Paleogene magmas, resulting from late-stage subduction process-
es during the onset of collision, may explain their low metallogenic
potential.
In comparison, the early-middle Eocene Yulong porphyry belt in the
Qiangtang terrane of eastern Tibet (Fig. 3) hosts several large Cu–Au de-
posits, including Yulong (40.1 ± 1.8 Ma), Machangqing (35.8 ± 1.6 Ma),
Habo (35.5 ± 0.2 Ma; Zhu et al., 2013), and Xifanping (32.1 ± 1.6 Ma)
(ages from Hou et al., 2003, 2006, except where otherwise indicated).
Associated potassic magmatism with adakite-like trace-element charac-
teristics is interpreted to have formed by partial melting of previously
subduction-modified lithospheric mantle (Jiang et al., 2006) or juvenile
lower arc crust (G. Li et al., 2012; Lu et al., 2013a, 2013b), and to have
been emplaced in pull-apart basins along collision-related NNW–SSE
dextral strike-slip faults (Hou et al., 2003; Lu et al., 2013b).
Compressional forces between ~ 45–30 Ma in the upper Tibetan
plate caused crustal thickening (Chung et al., 2009; Searle et al., 2011),
possible delamination or erosion of the Tibetan SCLM (Chung et al.,
2009), and uplift of the Tibetan plateau to its maximum levels by
~45 Ma (Rohrmann et al., 2012). These tectonic changes are reflected
in the character of magmatism, which became distinctly more alkaline
in the late Eocene. Potassic–ultrapotassic lavas and adakite-like mafic–
intermediate and granitoid plutons formed at this time (46–30 Ma),
and are generally thought to reflect partial melting of thickened Tibetan
mafic lower crust (Chen et al., 2013; Chung et al., 2009; Searle et al.,
2011; Wang et al., 2008b), possibly heated by upwelling asthenosphere
following breakoff of the Greater India slab (Hou et al., 2012; Zheng
et al., 2012a,b). However, Gao et al. (2010a) have proposed a subducted
sediment source for alkaline igneous rocks in southern Tibet.
334 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
Hard collision with the Indian craton in the latest Eocene–early
Oligocene (~ 34 Ma; Meng et al., 2012; van Hinsbergen et al., 2012;
Tripathy-Lang et al., 2013; Fig. 2D) resulted in thrust stacking and uplift
of the northern margin of the Indian plate, with attendant metamor-
phism (Treloar et al., 1989) and lower crustal anatexis to form
adakite-like granitoids and leucogranites in southern Tibet (Bignold
et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2011; Chung et al., 2003; Guo et al., 2007;
Zheng et al., 2012a). At the same time (Oligo-Miocene), Tibet was also
being underthrust to the north by Tarim lithosphere of the Eurasian
plate, resulting in metamorphism, granite plutonism, and uplift in the
Pamir (Burtman and Molnar, 1993; Robinson et al., 2007).
5.4. Neogene
Despite the continued (albeit slower) convergence between India
and Asia in the Miocene, the predominant Neogene structural features
in Tibet and the Pamir are N–S extensional faults and grabens, reflecting
gravitational collapse and E–W extension of the orogen since ~ 14 Ma
(Blisniuk et al., 2001; Chen et al., 2010; Coleman and Hodges, 1995;
England and Houseman, 1989; Robinson et al., 2007; Styron et al.,
2013; Xu et al., 2013), or earlier (Wang et al., 2010). These extensional
structures controlled the upper crustal emplacement of a suite of
high-Sr/Y (adakite-like) plutons and potassic to ultrapotassic intru-
sive and extrusive rocks in southern Tibet (Liu et al., 2014), and
leucogranites derived from partial melting of the underthrust Indian
crust in the Greater Himalaya (Searle et al., 2009). Most authors identify
the lower Tibetan crust or mantle as the source of Miocene magmas in
Tibet (e.g., Chen et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2005), perhaps with some con-
tribution from upwelling asthenospheric melts following rollback and
breakoff of the Greater Indian slab, or melts from the underthrust
Indian lithosphere (e.g., Ding et al., 2003; Guo et al., 2013; Jiang et al.,
2012; R. Wang et al., 2014a; Xu et al., 2010).
The debate as to the origin of these Miocene magmas is important,
because they are the source of several of the largest porphyry Cu–Mo
deposits in Tibet (Fig. 3), including Qulong (~16 Ma; Yang et al., 2009;
Xiao et al., 2012), Jiama (~15 Ma; Ying et al., 2014), Bangpu (~15 Ma;
Wang et al., 2012), and Dabu (~ 15 Ma; S. Wu et al., 2014). The high
high-Sr/Y (adakite-like) character of these otherwise normal high-K
calc-alkaline magmas has led some authors to propose an oceanic slab
melting model for their origin (e.g., Gao et al., 2007, 2010b; Qu et al.,
2004), but it seems unlikely that any oceanic lithosphere was present
beneath Tibet by this time, the former Neotethyan slab having detached
and sunk away into the deep mantle shortly after early Eocene soft
collision (Gao et al., 2008; Hafkenscheid et al., 2006; Replumaz et al.,
2010; van der Voo et al., 1999). Most recent authors concur that these
magmas were generated in the Tibetan lower crust, which had been
modified (underplated by mafic magmas and/or metasomatized)
during Neotethyan subduction. Their adakite-like high-Sr/Y and La/Yb
geochemical signatures are attributed to partial melting of these
eclogitized or garnet amphibolitic lower crustal rocks (e.g., Hou et al.,
2004, 2009; J.-X. Li et al., 2011). In particular, Hou et al. (2013) and S.
Wu et al. (2014) have suggested that these magmas acquired their
metal content by resorbing residual sulfide phases during partial melt-
ing of amphibolitic arc cumulates. Furthermore, R. Wang et al. (2014b,
c) have shown that the relatively high oxidation states and water con-
tents of these partial melts made them particularly favorable for the
generation of porphyry-type magmatic–hydrothermal ore deposits
upon upper crustal emplacement.
R. Wang et al. (2014a) have also argued that underthrusting of the
Indian continental lithosphere beneath western Tibet in the Miocene
accounts for the restriction of porphyry deposits to the eastern
Gangdese belt (east of ~89°E). To the west of ~89°E, Indian lithosphere
was directly contacting the base of the Tibetan lithosphere by this time,
displacing hot asthenospheric mantle and thereby reducing the poten-
tial for partial melting. Those magmas that are found to the west in
the Miocene are mostly ultrapotassic in character, and carry isotopic
indications of derivation (at least in part) from the underthrust Indian
crust (Zhao et al., 2009). Indian lithosphere now underlies the entire
Gangdese belt and most of southern Tibet, while Asian lithosphere has
been underthrust from the north (Kumar et al., 2006; Li et al., 2008;
Nábělek et al., 2009; Zhao et al., 2011). Consequently, volcanism has
largely been extinguished in this region.
6. Convergent and collisional margin tectonics, magmatism, and
metallogeny
The Mesozoic–Cenozoic Tethyan orogen is an ideal location to
explore the transition in tectonomagmatic and metallogenic processes
from the (relatively well understood) conditions encountered during
oceanic lithosphere subduction to pre-, syn- and post-collisional
geodynamic settings. Perhaps one of the most remarkable features
of this transition is that the general characteristics of much of the
magmatism and most of the resultant ore deposits do not change very
much. Thus, apart from some subtle trace element characteristics
(e.g., higher Sr/Y ratios in some cases), subduction-related and collision-
al magmas are broadly calc-alkaline to mildly alkaline (shoshonitic),
with broadly similar isotopic compositions. Likewise, the nature of asso-
ciated porphyry-type deposits changes little: Miocene post-collisional
porphyry Cu–Mo deposits in Tibet are very similar to Mesozoic
subduction-related deposits from the same region or in the Balkans
(or Chile), although in some settings syn- to post-collisional deposits
may be more Au-rich (e.g., Roşia Montană in the Carpathians; Kisladag
and Çöpler in Turkey; Sari Gunay and Dalli in Iran). This implies that,
while magmas and metals for these systems might ultimately be de-
rived from the mantle, it is lithospheric processes, and more specifically
deep crustal processes that ultimately control the compositions and
metal loads of magmas reaching the upper crust during both subduction
and post-subduction tectonomagmatic events. Where mantle-derived
magmas are found in such settings, such as the Neogene mafic, alkaline,
post-collisional volcanic rocks observed from Turkey to Tibet, these
systems are generally barren (although they deserve close examination
for their potential to host alkalic-type Au deposits; Richards, 1995,
2009; Jensen and Barton, 2000; A.C. Harris et al., 2013).
The role of lower crustal MASH processes (melting, assimilation,
storage, homogenization) in generating relatively homogeneous
andesitic arc magmas by interaction between mantle-derived hydrous
basalts and upper-plate crust is well understood (Annen et al., 2006;
Dufek and Bergantz, 2005; Hildreth and Moorbath, 1988), and seems
also to generate globally uniform porphyry Cu ± Mo ± Au and associat-
ed high-sulfidation epithermal Cu–Au deposits (Fig. 4A; Gustafson,
1979; Mitchell, 1992; Tosdal and Richards, 2001; Richards, 2003a,
2005, 2011; Candela and Piccoli, 2005; Sillitoe, 2010). For example,
Mesozoic arc-related porphyry deposits from the Balkans such as
Majdanpek, Elatsite, and Assarel related to subduction of the Vardar
ocean (e.g., Ciobanu et al., 2002; von Quadt et al., 2005), are directly
comparable to mid-Cenozoic deposits in Chile related to subduction of
the Nazca plate (e.g., Sillitoe, 1989). Similarly, high-sulfidation Cu–Au
deposits such as Chelopech in Bulgaria (Moritz et al., 2005) are directly
comparable to deposits in the El Indio belt of Chile/Argentina
(e.g., Chouinard et al., 2005).
Processes that control post-subduction or post-collisional
magmatism and associated ore deposits are less well understood
(Fig. 4B–D). However, most researchers agree that, in the absence of a
subduction-enriched asthenospheric mantle source, an origin must be
sought in the lithosphere, and that lithospheric “fertilization” by precur-
sor arc magmatism is important. Potential source regions include
subduction-modified lower crust (e.g., Chiaradia et al., 2009; Richards,
2009), sub-continental lithospheric mantle (e.g., Jiang et al., 2006;
Mair et al., 2011), or juvenile lower crust formed by underplated arc ba-
salts (e.g., Hou et al., 2004, 2009; Shafiei et al., 2009). These lithospheric
sources can commonly be identified from radiogenic and stable isotopic
signatures (e.g., Aitcheson et al., 1995; Chiaradia et al., 2004; Jiang et al.,
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345 335

2006; Shafiei, 2010), but differ little from those of the precursor arc
magmas (which themselves reflect the homogenized isotopic composi-
tion of the lower crustal MASH zone).
Precursor subduction magmatism and lithospheric metasomatism is
important for three reasons: (1) Aqueous metasomatism and addition
of lower crustal cumulates rich in hydrous minerals such as amphibole
generates lithologies that are inherently more fusible than typical
anhydrous (granulitic) lower crustal assemblages; they are therefore
easier to melt during later tectonic processes such as crustal thickening,
or thinning with mafic magma invasion. (2) The passage of arc magmas
through the crust can be expected to leave at least some metal behind in
these metasomatic and cumulate zones, which can be remobilized
during later partial melting. (3) Partial melts from such subduction-
modified source rocks will be hydrous and oxidized (unless reduced
lithologies are present in the lower crust, as perhaps in Japan; Sato, 2012;
Tomkins et al., 2012), and will therefore have the potential to form mag-
matic–hydrothermal ore deposits upon upper crustal emplacement.
It is also notable that partial melting of garnet amphibolitic sources
such as those expected to be developed in the roots of continental arcs
will produce magmas with high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios (due to the
presence of garnet and suppression of plagioclase crystallization; Kay
et al., 1991; Haschke et al., 2002; Richards and Kerrich, 2007; Richards,
2009, 2011), as observed in many of the cases discussed here. The
otherwise rather “normal” calc-alkaline to mildly alkaline compositions
of these post-collisional magmas simply reflects partial melting of the
residues of previous cycles of calc-alkaline arc magmatism. In contrast,
low degree partial melting of metasomatized SCLM generates mafic
alkaline magmas (e.g., Aydin et al., 2008; Pang et al., 2012; Pearce
et al., 1990), which for the most part seem to be barren in the Tethyan
orogen (although as noted above they are important targets for Au
exploration in other regions; Fig. 4B, D).
The role of residual sulfides in subduction-modified lithosphere
is intriguing, and has been speculated upon by several authors
(e.g., Chiaradia et al., 2009; Richards, 1995, 2009; Shafiei et al., 2009;
Solomon, 1990; Tomkins et al., 2009). Lee et al. (2012) and Chiaradia
(2014) have proposed that large amounts of Cu (up to 80% of the origi-
nal arc magma flux) may be left in lower crustal arc roots, and that this
residue constitutes a uniquely rich source of metals for subsequent
magmatism. However, in the absence of direct evidence for such unusu-
al concentrations of metal in exposed lower crustal arc sections,
Richards (2009, 2011) has proposed that the observed trace amounts
of sulfide minerals in arc cumulates from Talkeetna (Alaska) and
Kohistan serve to control metal ratios (e.g., Au:Cu) in subsequent partial
melts, rather than their overall metal content (Fig. 4B, D).

A) Subduction B) Terrane collision

Collision-related Back-arc
Arc porphyry porphyry Cu-Au
Cu±Mo±Au alkalic Cu-Au

Continental Continental
Ocean MASH Ocean
zone crust crust
Collided SML
terrane
Subducting Subducting
oceanic SCLM oceanic
lithosphere SCLM
Sl

lithosphere
ab
de

Asthenospheric
hy

corner flow
dr

Asthenospheric
at

convection
io

partial melting
n

Back-arc
asthenospheric
convection
Upwelling
asthenosphere

Slab breakoff

C) Continental collision D) Post-collision relaxation

± delamination
Minor mafic alkaline and felsic
with underthrusting volcanism, partly derived from
underthrust or thickened Post-collisional Post-collisional
lithosphere; few mineral deposits porphyry Cu±Mo±Au alkalic Cu-Au

Thickened Thickened
Continental SML continental continental
Continental SML
crust crust crust crust

SCLM
SCLM SCLM

Upwelling
Up
Upwelling asthe
asthenosphere
asthenosphere
SCLMM
Slab breakoff ination
delamination

Fig. 4. Schematic models of various subduction and collisional tectonic settings thought to characterize the Tethyan orogen at various times and locations, and suggested mechanisms for gen-
erating porphyry-type mineralization. (A) Normal subduction and arc magmatism generating typical calc-alkaline Cu ± Mo ± Au porphyry deposits from lower crustal melting–assimilation–
storage–homogenization (MASH) zones. (B) Terrane collision (e.g., arc or microcontinent collision) with calc-alkaline Cu ± Mo ± Au porphyry deposits formed by remobilization of sub-
duction-modified lithosphere (SML), and potential alkalic-type porphyry or epithermal Cu–Au deposits in back-arc extensional settings derived from metasomatized asthenosphere.
(C) Continental collision with lithospheric underthrusting; this setting does not appear to be conducive for porphyry-type mineralization due to exclusion of hot asthenosphere from
below much of the orogen; S-type magmatism from crustal melting might host lithophile element deposits. (D) Post-collisional orogenic collapse and/or delamination of subcontinental
lithospheric mantle (SCLM) may bring hot asthenospheric mantle into close contact with subduction-modified lithosphere (SML), generating calc-alkaline to mildly alkaline Cu ± Mo ±
Au porphyry deposits; alkalic-type porphyry or epithermal Cu–Au deposits might also potentially form in such settings, although there are few known examples in the Tethyan belt.
336 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
7. Spatial and temporal distribution of porphyry deposits along the
Tethyan orogen
The distribution of porphyry deposits along the Tethyan orogen is
not uniform either in space or time (Fig. 2). Major clusters of deposits
occur, in some cases of a singular age (e.g., the middle Eocene Yulong
belt of Tibet, the middle Miocene deposits of southeastern central
Iran), but in others with a range of ages spanning the evolution of the
orogen (e.g., the Balkans, southern Tibet). There are also significant
sections of the orogen that appear to be devoid of porphyry deposits,
despite continuation of the tectonic and geological features that are
elsewhere linked to mineralization (e.g., central Anatolia, northwestern
central Iran, and northern Pakistan–Pamir–western Tibet). However,
post-discovery, it is generally easier to explain why a mineral deposit
has formed, rather than why a deposit has not formed in a particular
area. Thus, there are numerous published explanations for the origins
of the Balkan, Iranian, and Tibetan porphyry belts (reviewed above),
but few studies have examined the cause of apparently barren sections
of the orogen.
Before seeking more complex tectonic or magmatic explanations for
the apparent lack of mineralization in a particular region, the extent of
cover rocks, depth of crustal exposure, and intensity of mineral explora-
tion must first be discounted as causes. For example, it is highly likely
that several more porphyry deposits could be found in central Iran by
using modern geophysical exploration methods that can penetrate be-
neath young cover sediments, which extensively cover this region. On
the other hand, intense tectonism, uplift, and erosion have removed
upper crustal rocks from other areas such as northern Pakistan, while
the Pamir and western Tibet are relatively unexplored.
Notwithstanding the above, there may be valid tectonomagmatic
reasons for the formation of discrete belts of porphyry deposits in
space and time, separated by barren gaps along the orogen. Bertrand
et al. (2014) have recently proposed that the irregular, clumped distri-
bution of porphyries in the Tethyan and Andean orogens can be related
to details of subduction dynamics, with folds in the downgoing slab
affecting convergence rate and magma flux. They propose that arc sec-
tions characterized by a transition from rapid convergence and high
magma production rates, to slower convergence and stress relaxation
in the upper plate may be particularly conducive to shallow crustal
plutonism and porphyry formation (e.g., Tosdal and Richards, 2001).
Similarly, Cooke et al. (2005) and Rosenbaum et al. (2005) have pro-
posed that density anomalies on the subducting plate, such as aseismic
ridges, seamounts, or oceanic plateaux, can affect mantle wedge and
upper plate dynamics, causing periods of compressional tectonism,
crustal thickening, and fertile magmatism. In many cases, however, es-
pecially in older or collided arc systems, there is little or no record of
such detailed subduction dynamics that could help guide exploration
to a specific area. Rather, the occurrence of deposits is more typically
used to interpret subduction history, instead of the other way around.
The Tethyan orogen is also dissimilar to the Andean porphyry belt in
that the majority of known deposits were formed during or after arc–
continent or continent–continent collision events. Relatively few de-
posits (e.g., the Mesozoic Balkan and Tibetan systems) are related to
simple subduction, although this is more likely to be a function of pres-
ervation than an indication that Paleo- or Neotethyan subduction was
unfavorable for porphyry formation. Nevertheless, there is an intriguing
possibility that the almost complete absence of porphyry deposits in the
western Tethys (Spain and the Alps) reflects Early Cretaceous ocean
anoxia (Westermann et al., 2013). Subduction of reduced seafloor sedi-
ments and unoxidized oceanic crust would not be optimal for forming
oxidized arc magmas and associated porphyry Cu ± Mo ± Au deposits
(Richards and Mumin, 2013). In addition, because closure of the
Tethyan ocean basins occurred by anticlockwise pivotal rotation of
Africa towards Eurasia about an axis close to Spain (Fig. 1; Schettino
and Turco, 2011), there has been relatively little subduction (in terms
of volume of subducted oceanic lithosphere) in the western Tethys,
which may further have reduced the likelihood of forming large
porphyry deposits in this part of the belt.
7.1. Post-collisional porphyry deposits
Until relatively recently, collisional orogens were not thought to be
prospective for porphyry-type mineralization, based on the assumption
that active subduction was required to generate the requisite fertile
magmas. Indeed, the occurrence of porphyry deposits (and associated
calc-alkaline magmatism) was commonly used to constrain tectonic
histories, on the basis that the deposits must be subduction-related,
and therefore must precede any collisional events. The discovery of
numerous normal-looking porphyry Cu deposits in Tibet over the last
decade (e.g., Hou et al., 2004), and their accurate dating, as well as
detailed reconstruction of the tectonic history of the Indian–Asian
collision, have demonstrated convincingly that these deposits were
post-collisional, and likely formed 30–40 m.y. after the termination of
oceanic lithosphere subduction (Hou et al., 2009, 2011). Similarly,
more detailed geochronological, geochemical, and structural studies in
southeastern Europe, Turkey, and Iran have revealed that many deposits
previously assumed to be subduction-related are in fact syn- or post-
collisional (e.g., Shafiei et al., 2009), or were formed during complex
tectonic readjustments in advance of collisional events (e.g., Imer
et al., 2013; Moritz et al., 2010). It is now clear that in fact the majority
of Cenozoic porphyry deposits in the Tethyan orogen are back-arc, post-
subduction, or collisional in origin. Thus: in the Balkans and Greece,
Cenozoic porphyry and epithermal deposits have formed in a complex
arc and micro-continent collisional environment relating to closure of
the Vardar ocean basin; in Turkey, similar deposits have formed in
response to closure of several small Neotethyan basins, with tectonic
settings ranging from back-arc to syn-collisional, and post-collisional
extension; and in Iran and Tibet, middle Miocene porphyry deposits
are thought to have formed in response to post-collisional lithospheric
melting.
The distribution of these collision-related porphyry and epithermal
deposits is more obviously related to particular (collided) sections of
the orogen. Thus, they are quite evenly scattered, albeit with some
local clustering, along the Balkan–Turkish–Iranian segments of the
Afro-Arabian–Eurasian collisional orogen. The oldest (Paleogene) de-
posits occur in the Balkans and around the Arabian indentor in Turkey,
whereas younger (Miocene) deposits occur to the southeast in Iran
due to the diachronous nature of the Arabian collision. Mineralization
also continued through the Miocene in the Balkans, Greece, and western
Turkey in response to post-Vardar closure and Aegean extension.
In southern Tibet, the Miocene collision-related porphyry Cu–Mo ±
Au belt appears to be of limited longitudinal extent (~500 km), termi-
nating westward at ~89°E. The apparent absence of Cenozoic porphyry
deposits from here to western Pakistan is intriguing, but as noted above,
may at least in part reflect preservational issues, as well as lack of de-
tailed exploration. Nevertheless, R. Wang et al. (2014a) have suggested
that underthrusting of the cool Indian plate beneath western Tibet in
the Miocene may have limited partial melting of the overthrust Tibetan
lithosphere, and hence the formation of fertile magmas. To the east, as-
thenospheric upwelling following slab breakoff may have generated
fertile partial melts from previously subduction modified (hydrated,
oxidized) Tibetan lithosphere (R. Wang et al., 2014b,c).
These considerations indicate that, while collisional orogens
can now be considered favorable targets for porphyry and epithermal
deposit exploration, local scale (relative to an entire orogen;
i.e., 500–1000 km-scale) variations in collisional history and precursor
geology can significantly affect the potential for ore formation. In partic-
ular, advanced continental collision and lithospheric underthrusting
does indeed appear to result in less favorable conditions for fertile
magma generation (as previously thought; Fig. 4C). However, arc
collisions and tectonic adjustments in advance of or following con-
tinental collision (especially where these involve transpressional or
 J.P. Richards / Ore Geology Reviews 70 (2015) 323–345
transtensional tectonics) can trigger remobilization of previously
subduction-modified lithosphere, and the formation of porphyry and
epithermal deposits that closely resemble “normal” subduction-related
deposits (Fig. 4B, D).
8. Conclusions
The Tethyan orogen stretches for over 12,000 km from the Alps to
the Himalayas, and beyond, and hosts numerous small to world-class
porphyry Cu ± Mo ± Au and related epithermal Au ± Cu deposits.
Until relatively recently, it was assumed that most of these deposits
were formed by the subduction of oceanic lithosphere and the genera-
tion of hydrous, oxidized arc magmas. While this appears to be true
for the relatively small number of Mesozoic deposits preserved in the
belt, which formed by subduction of Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere,
this does not now appear to be the case for the majority of Cenozoic
deposits. Improved geochronological constraints, both on the ore
deposits themselves and on regional tectonic history, have shown
over the past decade or so that many of these deposits in fact post-
date oceanic subduction, and many have formed during or after collision-
al orogenic events. The mid-Miocene porphyry Cu–Mo deposits in
southern Tibet are the clearest examples of post-collisional systems,
post-dating subduction and slab breakoff by ≥30 m.y. Despite the com-
plex and disputed history of the Indian–Asian collision, this time gap is
too large to allow for a direct subduction involvement in magmatism
and ore formation in any reasonable tectonic reconstructions. These
magmatic–hydrothermal systems instead appear to have formed by
remobilization of deep lithosphere modified by prior subduction process-
es (e.g., SCLM metasomatism and addition of cumulates and plutons to
the lower arc crust). Processes that can cause this remobilization by par-
tial melting include crustal thickening, crustal thinning, and SCLM delam-
ination, commonly including heating by upwelling asthenospheric melts.
Elsewhere along the Tethyan orogen the situation is not so clear,
being complicated by the fact that closure of the Tethyan ocean was
not a single event. The earliest closure events that eliminated the old
Paleotethys lithosphere were concluded in the Paleozoic, and few
deposits related to this subduction and collision event are preserved
(Pulang and Yangla in the Indosinian belt are examples). After a pulse
of Cretaceous arc magmatism and associated porphyry deposits
(e.g., in the Balkans, Caucasus, and central Tibet), the Cenozoic was
characterized by back-arc and syn- or post-collisional magmatism,
generated by complex interactions between the former Cimmerian
continental fragments and the Eurasian plate margin. The opening
of numerous small back-arc basins and closure of strands of the
Neotethyan ocean over small geographic distances and short time-
scales led to a complex geological record in which it is difficult to ascribe
particular igneous sequences to a specific subduction or collisional
events. Nevertheless, carefully constrained tectonic reconstructions
and improved geochronology have led to the conclusion that most of
the porphyry and epithermal deposits formed during this period in
the western and central parts of the orogen were not formed directly
from subduction processes, but reflect tectonomagmatic adjustments
to the onset of collision. Some deposits appear to be truly post-
collisional, as in Tibet, and may reflect lithospheric responses such as
SCLM delamination or extensional orogenic collapse (as in Anatolia).
Acknowledgments
I thank Zengqian Hou for inviting me to write this review paper, and
Ali Imer, Amir Razavi, Rui Wang, Jing-jing Zhu, and Jinxiang Li for collab-
orations on various projects throughout the Tethyan belt. Yongjun Lu
and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for helpful comments on the
manuscript. Christopher Scotese is thanked for permission to reproduce
his plate reconstruction maps in Fig. 1. This work was supported by a
337
Discovery grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada (RGPIN 203099).
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