The Great Altai region, located at the boundary of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan, belongs to the system of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. It has undergone a long complex geological and metallogenic history. Extremely rich resources of base, precious, and rare metals (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, Li, Cs, Ta, Nb, REE, etc.) maintain developed mining and metallurgical industry, especially in East Kazakhstan, which is the key metallogenic province. The East Kazakhstan province comprises the Rudny Altai, Kalba-Narym, West-Kalba, and Zharma-Saur metallogenic belts, each having its typical mineralization profiles and deposits. The reconstructed geodynamic and metallogenic history of the Great Altai province, along with the revealed relationships between tectonic settings and mineralization patterns, allowed us to formulate a number of geodynamic, structural, lithostratigraphic, magmatic, mineralogical, and geochemical criteria for exploration and appraisal of mineral potential in Eastern Kazakhstan. Geodynamic criteria are based on the origin of different mineralization types in certain geodynamic settings during the Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic orogenic cycle. Structural criteria mean that the location of base-metal deposits in Rudny Altai, gold deposits in the West Kalba belt, rare and base metals in the Kalba-Narym and Zharma-Saur zones is controlled by faults of different sizes. Lithostratigraphic criteria consist of the relation of orebodies with certain types of sedimentary or volcanic-sedimentary rocks. Magmatic criteria are due to the relation between mineralization types and igneous lithologies. Mineralogical and geochemical criteria include typical minerals and elements that can serve as tracers of mineralization. The joint use of all these criteria will open new avenues in prospecting and exploration at a more advanced level.

The main geological-industrial types of gold deposits in East Kazakhstan

Purpose. Study on the processes contributing to the formation of pyrite-polymetallic mineralization in the Rudny Altai, development of recommendations for directions for further research. Methodology. Analysis of literature and fund materials, field studies within known ore fields and deposits, sampling and laboratory studies: spectral analysis, studies on the chemical composition of host rocks (ISP-MS Agilent 7500cx), study on the mineral composition of the main types of mineralization (JSM 6390LV)). Findings. A model of pyrite-polymetallic mineralization genetically related to the Devonian basalt-andesite-rhyolite Early Hercynian riftogenic volcanism (D1e-D3fr) was developed. Originality. The spatial confinement of a number of industrial deposits, areas of sulfide mineralization and near-ore-hydrothermally altered rocks to the areas of pinching out of inter- and sub-stratal subvolcanic porphyries of the Middle Upper Devonian and overlying porphyrites, creating a kind of ore-magmatic systems (OMS), has been established. Practical value. A new stage of deep geological study on the territory of the Rudny Altai and promising ore-bearing structures with the introduction of modern methods of deep geological and mineragenic mapping is recommended.

The Rudny Altai belt of Kazakhstan, Russia, and China is a major volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) province of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, hosting numerous Zn–Pb–Cu deposits within Devonian volcanic and volcano-sedimentary successions. This study in-tegrates geological and metallogenic data from 29 VMS deposits to quantify regional metal specialization and evaluate its relationships with stratigraphy and volcanic setting. Indi-vidual Zn/(Zn+Pb) values range from 0.56 to 0.93, whereas district means vary from 0.663 to 0.803, indicating a persistent regional Zn-rich tendency superimposed on substantial deposit-scale variability. Stratigraphic analysis demonstrates that mineralization occurs at several discrete Devonian lithochronological levels rather than along a single continuous ore-bearing horizon. Major deposits are commonly associated with felsic volcanic and volcano-sedimentary successions; however, variations in Cu/(Cu+Zn) and compiled δ³⁴S data demonstrate substantial deposit-scale variability in metal distribution. Comparison with major VMS provinces shows that Rudny Altai district-scale Zn/(Zn+Pb) values over-lap with reference values for the Bathurst district and Green Tuff Belt. The results define the Rudny Altai as a Zn–Pb–Cu-dominated VMS province characterized by a regional as-sociation between mineralization and felsic-bearing Devonian successions rather than a simple direct control of felsic magma composition on Zn enrichment. The proposed prov-ince-scale framework provides a quantitative basis for metallogenic comparison and iden-tification of favourable stratigraphic intervals for VMS exploration.