Main deposit styles and associated tectonics of the West Junggar region, NW China

The West Junggar region, located in the loci of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is a highly endowed metallogenic province with >100 tonnes Au, >0.7 Mt Cu, >0.3 Mt Mo, and >2.3 Mt chromite as well as significant amounts of Be and U. The West Junggar region has three metallogenic belts distributed systematically from north to south: (1) late Paleozoic Saur Au-Cu belt; (2) early Paleozoic Xiemisitai-Sharburt Be-U-Cu-Zn belt; (3) late Paleozoic Barluk-Kelamay Au-Cu-Mo-Cr belt. These belts host a number of deposits belonging to at least eight economically important styles, including epithermal Au, granite-related Be-U, volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) Cu-Zn, podiform chromite, porphyry Cu, hydrothermal quartz vein Au, porphyry-greisen Mo(-W), and orogenic Au. These deposit styles are associated with the tectonics prevalent during their formation. Five tectonic-mineralized epochs can be recognized: (1) Ordovician subduction-related VMS Cu-Zn deposit; (2) Devonian ophiolite-related podiform chromite deposit; (3) early Carboniferous subduction-related epithermal Au and porphyry Cu deposits; (4) late Carboniferous subduction-related granite-related Be-U, porphyry Cu, and hydrothermal quartz vein Au deposits; and (5) late Carboniferous to early Permian subduction-related porphyry-greisen Mo(-W) and orogenic Au deposits.