K–Ar Ages of Adularia-Quartz Veins from the Tutkhlivayam Ore Occurrence (Kamchatka)

Kamchatka is one of the promising gold-mining provinces of Russia. As deposits in the South Kamchatka and Central Kamchatka ore districts are being exploited, the potential for industrial development of the North Kamchatka (Ossora) ore district increases. For a fundamental understanding of Kamchatka’s metallogeny and for prospecting and exploration, it is important to study the age and forming duration of ore objects and their relationship to magmatic events. Based on the K–Ar isotope ages of adularia-quartz veins from the Tutkhlivayam ore occurrence, this article presents the first data on the age of epithermal mineralization in the Ossora ore district of Kamchatka. The formation of the Tutkhlivayam ore occurrence took place in the interval of 7.9–5.3 Ma, which is comparable with the ages of products of the Tolyatovayam volcanic complex (10.2–4.0 Ma) and may indicate a relationship between the ore-forming processes and its emplacement. The chronological sequence of ages for the adularia-quartz veins supports the hypothesis that the Tutkhlivayam ore occurrence formed as a result of a single hydrothermal system operating for ∼ 2.6 million years, which is comparable with similar epithermal deposits in suprasubduction zones. The data obtained can be used to predict mineralization in similar settings.