Voluminous continental growth of the Altaids and its control on metallogeny

The Altaids is generally considered to be the largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogen on Earth, but it is unclear whether it was associated with extensive continental crustal growth and whether there is a link between the crustal growth and ore mineralization. This paper reviews whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotope data for felsic–intermediate–mafic igneous rocks in the Altaids and presents Nd + Hf isotopic contour maps for this region. The maps highlight the 3D lithospheric compositional architecture of the Altaids and make it possible to quantitatively evaluate the crustal growth and its relationship with ore deposits. The Altaids hosts ∼4 107 350 km(2) and ∼184 830 750 km(3) (assuming a crustal thickness of 40–50 km) juvenile crust (ϵ(Nd)(t) > 0), accounting for 58% by isotope-mapped area (∼7 010 375 km(2)) of almost all outcrops of the Altaids (∼8 745 000 km(2)) and formed during 1000–150 Ma (mainly 600–150 Ma). The juvenile crustal, slightly juvenile-reworked crustal and slightly reworked crustal provinces controlled the Cu–Au, the Pb–Zn–Ag and the Li–Be, Nb–Ta and W–Sn ore deposits. According to the crustal architecture and background of deep compositions, we propose that the ore deposits can be grouped into three types: juvenile crust-related, mixed-source (or slightly juvenile crust)-related and reworked crust-related. This highlights the close relationship between accretion, continental growth and mineralization, and will facilitate exploration for specific ore-deposit types in the Altaids.