Metallogeny and tectonic evolution of the Cenozoic Ahar–Arasbaran volcanic belt, northern Iran
The Cenozoic Ahar–Arasbaran volcanic belt (AHAVB) in northern Iran is part of the Alborz–Azerbaijan magmatic zone, which developed along the southern margin of Eurasia. Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous flysch deposits and platform carbonates were deposited adjacent to this margin, are overlain by Eocene volcanic rocks, and are intruded by Oligo-Miocene, shallow-crustal to hypabyssal plutons that collectively make up the AHAVB. The volcanic and plutonic rocks have medium- to high-K, calc-alkaline to alkaline compositions and show similar geochemical features, indicating a common subduction-metasomatized continental lithospheric mantle source. Granodioritic, tonalitic, and quartz monzonitic plutons provided the heat flux and magmatic fluids that played a major role in the precipitation of porphyry, skarn, and epithermal copper, molybdenum, and gold deposits. The distribution of mineralization shows three major zones parallel to the general NW–SE trend of the AHAVB. Most of the major Cu ± Mo porphyry and skarn depo...