The Russian-Kazakh Altai Orogen: an Overview and Main Debatable Issues

Geoscience Frontiers xxx (2013) 1e16

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Focus paper The Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen: An overview and main debatable issues

Inna Safonova a,b,* a Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, Koptyuga Ave. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia b Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova St., 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia article info abstract

Article history: The paper reviews previous and recently obtained geological, stratigraphic and geochronological data on the Received 3 August 2013 Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen, which is located in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), between Received in revised form the Kazakhstan and Siberian continental blocks. The Russian-Kazakh Altai is a typical Paciﬁc-type orogen, 13 November 2013 which represents a collage of oceanic, accretionary, fore-arc, island-arc and continental margin terranes of Accepted 4 December 2013 different ages separated by strike-slip faults and thrusts. Evidence for this comes from key indicative rock Available online xxx associations, such as boninite- and turbidite (graywacke)-bearing volcanogenic-sedimentary units, accreted pelagic chert, oceanic islands and plateaus, MORB-OIB-protolith blueschists. The three major tectonic Keywords: Altai-Mongolian terrane domains of the Russian-Kazakh Altai are: (1) Altai-Mongolian terrane (AMT); (2) subduction-accretionary Gorny and Rudny Altai terranes (Rudny Altai, Gorny Altai) and collisional (Kalba-Narym) terranes; (3) Kurai, Charysh-Terekta, North-East, Kalba-Narym Irtysh and Char suture-shear zones (SSZ). The evolution of this orogen proceeded in ﬁve major stages: (i) late Island arcs Neoproterozoiceearly Paleozoic subduction-accretion in the Paleo-Asian Ocean; (ii) OrdovicianeSilurian Paleo-Asian Ocean passive margin; (iii) DevonianeCarboniferous active margin and collision of AMT with the Siberian continent; (iv) late Paleozoic closure of the PAO and coeval collisional magmatism; (v) Mesozoic post-collisional deformation and anarogenic magmatism, which created the modern structural collage of the Russian- Kazakh Altai orogen. The major still unsolved problem of Altai geology is origin of the Altai-Mongolian terrane (continental versus active margin), age of Altai basement, proportion of juvenile and recycled crust and origin of the middle Paleozoic units of the Gorny Altai and Rudny Altai terranes. Ó 2014, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Okhotsk Sea in the Russian Far East (Fig. 1). It is one of the largest accretionary orogens on Earth and evolved over some 800 Ma thus The Altai orogenic belt is a north-western part of the Central representing an ideal natural laboratory to unravel geodynamic Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), which is located between the East processes during voluminous Phanerozoic continental growth (e.g., European, Siberian, North China and Tarim cratons and encom- S¸ engör and Natal’in, 1996; Vladimirov et al., 1998; Buslov et al., passes an immense area from the Urals in the west, through Altai- 2001; Windley et al., 2007; Kruk et al., 2011; Safonova et al., Sayan and Transbaikalia in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbe- 2011b; Kröner et al., 2014). The diverse terranes of different geo- kistan, north-western China, Mongolia, and Northeast China to the dynamic origin have been accreted to active continental margins of the above four cratons during the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). The Altai orogen is a foldbelt formed between the collided Kazakhstan, Siberian and Tarim continental blocks. * Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, Koptyuga Ave. 3, Novosibirsk Geographically, it is located in south-western Siberia (Russian 630090, Russia. Tel.: þ7 383 330 84 03. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]. Altai), East Kazakhstan (Kazakh Altai), western Mongolia (Mongo- lian Altai) and north-western China (Chinese Altai). The Russian- Peer-review under responsibility of China University of Geosciences (Beijing) Kazakh part of Altai formed at the southern margin of the Sibe- rian continent and represents the ﬁrst stage of CAOB tectonic evolution. Most tectonic reconstructions on the CAOB, despite different approaches, consider its oceanic units as fragments of the Production and hosting by Elsevier Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). All scientists who ever been working in

1674-9871/$ e see front matter Ó 2014, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003

Figure 1. The north-western part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: junction zone between the Kazakhstan composite continent and the Siberian continental margins across the territories of East Kazakhstan, Russia (Altai-Sayan), NW China and western Mongolia (modified from Safonova and Buslov, 2010). the Altai accept that its tectonic structure is a collage of terranes of Santosh, 2014). The Charysh-Terekta SSZ separates the Altai- different ages and origins separated by numerous large thrusts, Mongolian and Gorny Altai terranes, the Kurai SSZs separates the strike-slip faults and nappes. The region contains well-preserved Gorny Altai terrane from West Mongolia terranes, the Irtysh (or late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic subduction-accretion com- Erqis in China) SSZs separates the Rudny Altai and Kalba-Narym plexes incorporating both oceanic and active margin units terranes. The Gorny and Rudny Altai terranes are separated by including accretionary complexes, fore-arc sediments, primitive- the north-western segment of the dextral Charysh-Terekta SSZ and normal island-arc rocks (e.g., Buslov et al., 2001, 2002, 2004; including the sinistral North-East strike-slip fault (Fig. 2; Buslov Dobretsov et al., 2003; Safonova et al., 2008, 2011a,c; Kruk et al., et al., 2004). 2011). All this makes it similar to the recent tectonic settings of This paper reviews main geological, lithological and geochro- the western Pacific(Buslov and Watanabe, 1996; Ota et al., 2007). nological features of different terranes of the Russian-Kazakh Altai, The Altai orogen is a geologically important area for recon- discusses the main debatable questions of the origin of the Altai structing the formation of the late Neoproterozoiceearly Paleozoic orogen with a focus on the presence/absence of a Gondwana- continental crust of the CAOB, specifically, the proportions of ju- derived microcontinent in the Altai orogen and formation of juvenile versus recycled crust. A key question for understanding the venile and recycled crust and describes the main stages of Russian- evolution of the Altai orogen is the role of continental blocks and Kazakh Altai evolution. subduction complexes in crust formation as a result of multi-stage accretion and collision (e.g., Zonenshain et al., 1990; Sengor and 2. Altai-Mongolian terrane Natal’in, 1996; Buslov et al., 2001; Kovalenko et al., 2004; Xiao et al., 2004; Windley et al., 2007). Many researchers believe that The Altai-Mongolian terrane (AMT) is about 1000 km long and the CAOB resulted from accretion of oceanic arcs and/or up to 250 km wide; it is situated at the southern borders of the Gondwana-derived continental blocks to the Siberian, Russian, and Gorny Altai and Rudny Altai terranes and extends to the Chinese North China cratons and their later collision (e.g., Zonenshain et al., and Mongolian Altai (Figs. 1 and 2). The ATM is bounded by the 1990; Didenko et al., 1994; Golonka, 2000; Buslov et al., 2001; NeE strike-slip fault in Rudny Altai, by the Irtysh SSZ in China, Laurent-Charvet et al., 2003). The second type of model views the and by the Charysh-Terekta SSZ in Gorny Altai (Fig. 3). In Russia, CAOB or made mainly of Paleozoic subduction-accretion materials the AMT is outcropped in the southern part of the Gorny Altai (S¸ engör and Natal’in, 1996; Yakubchuk, 2008; Xiao et al., 2010), terrane, northeast of Chagan-Uzun Village, near to the state which accumulated against a few magmatic arcs of extended border with Mongolia (Fig. 3). The terrane is dominated by Pre- length. However, the origin of large crustal terranes of the CAOB, cambrian rhythmically bedded quartz-feldspar or, to a lesser including the Altai orogen, is still under discussion. degree, polymictic sandstones, siliceous and phyllitic shales and There are four major tectonic areas within the Russian-Kazakh slates (Dergunov, 1989). The upper flysch horizons contain violet Altai (Buslov et al., 2001): (1) Altai-Mongolian terrane; (2) Gorny and red sediments and sparse interbeds of acid tuffs and clayish Altai subduction-accretionary terrane; (3) Rudny Altai island-arc siliceous sediments. Those rhythmic flyschoid units are isoclinally terrane; (4) Kalba-Narym collisional terrane. The terranes are folded and transgressively overlapped by OrdovicianeDevonian separated by suture-shear zones (SSZ). The Gorny Altai, Rudny units, which all are indicative of a complicated geodynamic Altai, and Kalba-Narym terranes of different ages (from east to evolution of the AMT. In southern Gorny Altai, the middle west) consist of Caledonian and Hercynian subduction- Ordovician grey marine sediments of the Biryusa Formation and accretionary and collisional units. The subduction-accretionary its analogues overlie metamorphosed and sheared basement complexes include fragments of ophiolites and seamounts units through basal conglomerates. The 207Pb/206Pb zircon age of accreted to island arcs and/or active continental margins felsic arc-type lavas of the Chinese Altai is 505 2Ma(Windley (Dobretsov et al., 2004; Safonova et al., 2004, 2009; Safonova and et al., 2002).

Figure 2. Main terranes and geodynamic complexes of the Russian Altai and adjacent areas (modiﬁed from Buslov et al., 2004).

The Ordovicianeearly Silurian grey marine sediments overlie schists (T ¼ 580e700 C; P ¼ 1.5e3.5 kbar) of the 2nd stage (Ar- the metamorphosed and sheared basement units through basal Ar and Rb-Sr mica and amphibole ages; Plotnikov et al., 2001, 2002) conglomerates (Fig. 3). The next geodynamic level is an early occur in the north-eastern South-Chuya complex and incorporate Devonian (Emsian) island-arc, which units transgressively overlie relicts of the 1st stage metamorphism. The 3rd stage of meta- the late Neoproterozoiceearly Cambrian and OrdovicianeSilurian morphism of middle Devonianeearly Carboniferous age was, units of the AMT and its overlapping OrdovicianeSilurian units. The possibly, related to the intrusion of granitoids (Vladimirov et al., strike-slip faults and thrusts develop parallel to ophiolitic sutures 1997) and/or formation of a middle Devonianeearly Carbonif- within the collided terranes (Buslov et al., 2001). After the middle erous fault zone and its related brittle and ductile deformations. In Devonian gap during the Eifelianeearly Givetian, the Upper Give- the northeast, the South-Chuya polymetamorphic complex is tian dark ﬁne-grained sediments transgressively overlie, through separated from early Paleozoic sandstones and shales by this fault basal conglomerates, various units of the AMT. The paleomagnetic zone (Buslov et al., 2001). The early Paleozoic rocks form a series of data from the Emsian units of the AMT suggest that it formed near isoclinally folded tectonic sheets consisting of South Chuya meta- equator, at 1e4N(Buslov et al., 2004). morphic rocks of the 1st and 2nd stages. The middle Devon- At the border between the Charysh-Terekta SSZ and the AMT, in ianeearly Carboniferous fault zone consists of chlorite-muscovite the southern Russian Altai, the metamorphosed Precambrian rocks and biotite schists, which are diaphtorites after the 1st and 2nd form zonal polymetamorphic complexes, e.g., South-Chuya and stages metamorphic rocks and formed during dextral strike-slip Kurai (Figs. 2 and 3). The South-Chuya polymetamorphic complex faulting (Plotnikov et al., 2002), as well as a narrow tectonic sheet is a NW-striking tectonic sheet of 15 km 70 km size located in the of metasandstone and metasiltstone schists. These rocks possess eastern AMT (Fig. 4). The complex consists of metapelitic schists, relict sedimentary structure and contain porphyroblasts of cordi- gneisses and migmatites, and experienced multi-phase meta- erite and andalusite (metasiltstone), crystals of biotite (metasand- morphic history (Plotnikov et al., 2001, 2002). The ﬁrst late Neo- stone) and K-rich hornblende, which Ar-Ar age is 542 16 Ma. The proterozoic stage formed metamorphic rocks in the garnet- Sm-Nd ages of protoliths of the metamorphic rocks of the South- sillimanite-kyanite and staurolite facies (T ¼ 580e670 C; Chuya complex and sandstone-mudstone rocks of the Altai- P ¼ 5e7 kbar) (Buslov et al., 1993). The late Silurianeearly Devonian Mongolian terrane are 1308 and 1353 Ma, respectively, i.e. close blastomylonitic biotite gneisses, migmatite and cordierite-biotite to each other (Plotnikov et al., 2002). Thus, the geological and

Please cite this article in press as: Safonova, I., The Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen: An overview and main debatable issues, Geoscience Frontiers (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003 4 laect hsatcei rs s aooa . h usa-aahAtiooe:A vriwadmi eaal sus esineFrontiers Geoscience issues, debatable main and overview An orogen: Altai Russian-Kazakh The I., Safonova, as: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003 press (2013), in article this cite Please .Sfnv esineFotesxx(03 1 (2013) xxx Frontiers Geoscience / Safonova I. e 16

Figure 3. Geological scheme of the south-eastern Gorny Altai terrane (Kurai zone) and western Altai-Mongolian terrane (modiﬁed from Buslov and Watanabe, 1996). Abbreviations: OPS e Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (deﬁnition from Isozaki et al., 1990; Safonova and Santosh, 2014); OIB e oceanic island basalt; MORB e mid-oceanic ridge basalt; Ga e garnet; Sil e sillimanite; Cor e cordierite. I. Safonova / Geoscience Frontiers xxx (2013) 1e16 5

Figure 4. Geological scheme of the South-Chuya Ridge (modiﬁed from Gusev et al., 2010). Abbreviations: Ky e kyanite, Sil e sillimanite, And e andalusite.

geochronological data are indicative of the Precambrian age of the emplaced into the subduction zone and overprinted by island arc sandstone-shales units of the AMT, which experienced late Neo- volcanism (Buslov et al., 2002; Ota et al., 2007). proterozoic metamorphism. In late Silurianeearly Devonian time, The island arc complex is structurally and spatially related to the the AMT was metamorphosed in the amphibolite facies, possibly, in Kurai and Katun accretionary complexes (Figs. 1e3). It formed at the sole of the Charysh-Terekta SSZ. the late Neoproterozoic Kuznetsk-Altai island arc and includes tholeiite-boninite and calc-alkaline series. The rocks of the 3. Gorny Altai terrane tholeiite-boninite series outcrop near Chagan-Uzun Village and include volcanogenic-sedimentary rocks, dikes and sills, sheeted The Gorny Altai terrane is surrounded by the Charysh-Terekta dikes, and layered gabbro-pyroxenite, which consists of gabbro, SSZ in the west, Altai-Mongolian terrane in the south and Kurai clinopyroxenite, wehrlite and serpentinite and is intruded by dikes SSZ in the southeast (Figs. 2 and 3). It formed at an active margin of of calc-alkaline quartz-diorite and plagiogranite. The clinopyrox- the Siberian continent and consists of (i) late Neo- enite yielded an age of 647 80 Ma (Dobretsov et al., 1995). The proterozoicemiddle Cambrian subduction-accretionary complex; dike, sills and sheeted dikes include dolerite, gabbro and boninitic (ii) Ordovicianeearly Devonian passive margin; (iii) Devon- rocks suggesting their relation to a primitive island arc (Dobretsov ianeearly Carboniferous active margin; (iv) CarboniferousePermian et al., 1992). Geochemically, the Chagan-Uzun boninites are similar collisional complex. to those of the western Paciﬁc(Simonov et al., 1994; Buslov et al., 1998). The calc-alkaline rocks are andesitic lava and tuff, which 3.1. Late Neoproterozoicemiddle Cambrian subduction- are associated with sedimentary rocks (siliceous mudstone, reef accretionary complex limestone, volcaniclastic sandstones, etc.), all thrust over the ophiolite complex. Gabbro, gabbro-diabase, and diabase dikes are The late Neoproterozoicemiddle Cambrian subduction- compositionally close to the calc-alkaline island-arc rocks of accretionary complex includes a late Neoproterozoic ophiolite probably early to middle Cambrian age and record the formation of massif (Chagan-Uzun), late Neoproterozoiceearly Cambrian prim- the Gorny Altai evolved island arc. In general, the magmatic rocks itive island arc with accretionary wedges of the Kuznetsk-Altai is- display temporal and lateral polarities typical of volcanic arcs: there land-arc system and high-pressure rocks and a middle Cambrian are older primitive-arc tholeiite-boninite series (late Neo- normal island arc with fore-arc and back-arc basins. proterozoiceearly Cambrian) and younger normal-arc tholeiitic The Chagan-Uzun ophiolitic massif is up to 20 km long, 2 km and calc-alkaline volcanic series. Laterally, tholeiitic island-arc va- wide and less than 250 m thick (Fig. 5). It consists of three fault- rieties (high-Mg andesite and basalt) occur in the frontal part of the bound blocks, which are dominated by peridotites, amphibolites, volcanic arc, whereas the calc-alkaline and shoshonitic varieties and basaltic rocks. Peridotite, harzburgite and dunite, are intruded occur in central and back-arc areas, respectively (Simonov et al., by dikes of basalt, gabbro and pyroxenite, which, in places, are 1994; Buslov et al., 2002). deformed. The basalts are often in the prehniteepumpellyite or The accretionary unit of the Gorny Altai terrane includes two greenschist to amphibolite facies of metamorphism. After the low- accretionary complexes, Kurai and Katun, which are located in pressure metamorphism, the ophiolitic complex was possibly southern and northern Gorny Altai (Figs. 2 and 3), respectively.

Figure 5. The structure of the Kurai accretionary complex and Chagan-Uzun ultramafic massif with eclogites (modified from Buslov and Watanabe, 1996). 1 e NeogeneeQuaternary deposits; 2 e Devonian sedimentary-volcanic rocks; 3 e early Cambrian calc-greywacke turbidites; 4e12 e late Neoproterozoic e early Cambrian accretionary prism; 4e5 e late Neoproterozoic rocks of the Baratal seamount; 4 e siliceous-carbonate rocks; 5 e volcanic rocks; 6e12 e Chagan-Uzun ophiolite massif; 6 e massive serpentinites; 7 e schistose and massive serpentinites with gabbro-diabase dykes; 8 e serpentinite mélange; 9 e eclogite; 10 e garnet amphibolite; 11 e amphibolites at the sole of the Chagan-Uzun ultramafic massif; 12 e olistostromes in the greenschist facies; 13 e thrusts; 14 e late Paleozoic strike-sleep faults; 15 e Devonian gabbro-diabase dykes.

These accretionary complexes both incorporate accreted units of sedimentary rocks and compose the Kurai paleoseamount Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy, i.e. ophiolites, seamounts and oceanic (Safonova et al., 2008). The tectonic sheets of the paleoseamount sediments, mostly seamount carbonates (e.g., Isozaki et al., 1990; alternate with olistostromes, peridotites, and serpentinitic melange Safonova, 2009; Kusky et al., 2013; Safonova and Santosh, 2014). hosting high-pressure (HP) rocks. The sedimentary rocks are typical The Kurai accretionary complex (AC) is weakly metamorphosed members of Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy or OPS (Isozaki et al., 1990), and consists of basaltic and carbonates units, which occur as tec- which is characterized by a regular transition from pelagic chert to tonic sheets. The basaltic unit consists of pillow lavas, lava ﬂows hemipelagic siliceous shale and mudstone and seamount slope and dikes of pyroxene and plagioclase porphyric and aphyric ba- facies (carbonate breccia, lime mudstone, etc.) to carbonate cap salts and dolerites and olistostromes with subordinate micritic and limestone deposited on tops of seamounts and oceanic islands. The massive limestone and limestone breccia (Arydzhan Formation). late Neoproterozoic age of basalts was estimated by the Pb-Pb The carbonate unit (Baratal Formation) consists of grey massive isochron dating of their associated limestones, which yielded an limestone with chert lenses and interbeds and carbonate breccia, age of 598 25 Ma (Uchio et al., 2004). which display Z-folding is typical of oceanic island slope facies The Katun AC is located to the north of the Kurai AC (Fig. 2) and (Fig. 6a,b). Near Kurai Village the basalts are associated with also includes OPS units. It consists of weakly metamorphosed

Figure 6. Photos from the Gorny Altai terrane. AeD, Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) units of the Kurai (A, B) and Katun (C, D) accretionary complexes. A e basalt-limestone contact (a); B e seamount slope facies Z-folded carbonate breccia; C e outcropped OIB capped by limestone and slope facies at the Katun River; D e basalt-carbonate road exposure near Cherga Village; E e Ongudai Fm. andesite complex; F e Karakudyur Fm. conglomerate; G, H e Chiketaman granitoid massif: G e outcrop at the Chiketaman pass; H e granodiorite.

Figure 7. Geological scheme of the Devonian active margin units of the Gorny Altai terrane (modified from Buslov et al., 1993). basalt, limestone, mudstone, and minor amount of chert, sandstone consists of crystallized and foliated serpentinite (antigorite schist) and shale (Fig. 6aed), which, like in the Kurai AC, occur as tectonic with lens-like blocks of metabasaltic rocks and pelitic, calcareous sheets. This volcanogenic-sedimentary unit is interpreted as early and siliceous schists. The metamorphosed mafic rocks are green- Cambrian lithological facies with one or more paleoseamounts and stones (metabasalts in the greenschist facies of metamorphism), underlying late Neoproterozoiceearly Cambrian rocks of oceanic amphibolite, garnet-amphibolite, and eclogite. The greenschists are floor and ophiolites (Dobretsov et al., 2004; Safonova et al., 2009, highly deformed to form tight folds of variable size. Southwest of 2011a). There are three groups of rock associations of former OPS Chagan-Uzun Village, the metamorphic complex occurs as a slab units: (1) paleoseamount/island basalt-siliceous-clay rocks; (2) bounded by a low-angle fault from underlying basaltic rocks of the carbonate-siliceous-terrigenous-basaltic breccia slope facies; and accretionary complex. The high-P/T metamorphic complex also (3) massive and micritic limestones at the top of the island (car- outcrops near Kurai Village. The metamorphosed mafic rocks of bonate cap). Fragments of the Katun paleoseamount occur in as- both localities frequently preserve igneous textures, suggesting sociation with olistostromes similar to those of the Kurai AC (Buslov that they were originally basaltic lavas, and volcaniclastics, and et al., 2001). The early Cambrian age of the paleo-oceanic island is dolerites (Buslov et al., 2002; Ota et al., 2007). reliably constrained from the occurrences of microphytolites, algae and siliceous sponge spicules in the slope facies sediments 3.2. OrdovicianeSilurian passive margin (Postnikov and Terleev, 2004). Within individual sheets, basaltic rocks are directly covered by limestones (Fig. 6c,d). The block-in- The OrdovicianeSilurian was a period of passive margin regime, matrix relationship of the basalts, limestones and clastic sedi- which resulted in accumulation of terrigenous and carbonate sed- ments suggests a secondary mixing of the intra-oceanic rocks and iments and formation of carbonate platform at the margin of the continent- or arc-derived terrigenous clastics in an active trench Siberian continent. Passive margin sediments accumulated in a (Buslov et al., 2001; Ota et al., 2007). Both accretionary complexes shallow-water shelf setting. Laterally, the OrdovicianeSilurian are overlapped by middleelate Cambrian sedimentary rocks of the passive margin sedimentary units outcrop in the northern and Anui-Chuya fore-arc trough (Buslov et al., 2001, 2002). southern parts of the Gorny Altai terrane (Figs. 1 and 3) and change The high-P/T metamorphic complex of late Neoproterozoic age from deeper abyssal slope sediments to shallower carbonate plat- (the age of metamorphism) is part of the accretionary prism of the form reefal limestones, marine shallow-water terrigenous deposits Kuznetsk-Altai island-arc. Near Chagan-Uzun Village it occurs as a and molasse, and finally to sea-beach sediments (Yolkin et al., subhorizontal thrust sheet bounded by low-angle faults (Fig. 5). The 1994). The Ordovician part of the section (lower Trem- high-P/T complex is underlain by Chagan-Uzun peridotites and adocianeupper Ashgillian) is dominated by terrigenous and serpentinite and limestone blocks of the Kurai AC. The complex carbonate-terrigenous sediments. The sedimentary facies change

Figure 8. Active margin (Devonian) and collisional (CarboniferousePermian) granitoids of the Gorny Altai terrane: Chiketaman, Yaloman and other granitoid massifs (modiﬁed from Buslov et al., 1993).

from Tremadocian coarse-clastic deposits, namely, molassoid units 3.3. Devonianeearly Carboniferous active margin (conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and limestone lenses) and shallow-water marine (carbonate platform marginal slope) sedi- In Devonian time, the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean ments (sandstones, shales, lime siltstones, marls), to Arenigian beneath the Siberian continent recommenced and the geodynamic conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones, and to Ashgillian car- environment changed to an active continental margin. The active bonate platform limestones. The thickness of the Ordovician sedi- continental margin units are dominated by rhyolite-dacitic lavas mentary package ranges from 4.5 to 6 km. and tuffs, which formed in three stages. In Emsian time, a magmatic The Silurian part of the section (late Llandoveryelate Wenlock) arc formed in Gorny Altay. The magmatic arc units occur in the is dominated by carbonates with subordinate terrigenous sedi- Gorny Altai terrane and in the Uimen-Lebed’ zone located to the ments. The Silurian sediments conformably overlie the Ordovician east (Figs. 1e3). They are dominated by bi-modal volcanic series units. The Silurian section consists of three parts: lower, middle and and rifting-related maﬁc intrusions. During the early Givetian, the upper. The lower part (Llandovery) is dominated by reefal lime- magmatic arc moved to the west (see section “Rudny Altai stones underlain by graptolite shales. The middle and upper parts terrane”). In late Givetianelate Devonian time, the magmatic arc consist of limestones with benthic fauna and motley terrigenous continued moving westwards, towards the Ob’-Zaysan oceanic rocks, respectively. The Silurian reefal limestones contain Llando- basin (Buslov et al., 2001; Safonova et al., 2011c) resulting in the verian and Wenlockian tabulates and helyoritides (Yolkin et al., opening of marginal sea basins and accumulation of shallow-water 1994). The thickness of Silurian sediments is 1.5e2 km. grey sediments and deeper water turbidites (Yolkin et al., 1994).

Please cite this article in press as: Safonova, I., The Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen: An overview and main debatable issues, Geoscience Frontiers (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003 10 laect hsatcei rs s aooa . h usa-aahAtiooe:A vriwadmi eaal sus esineFrontiers Geoscience issues, debatable main and overview An orogen: Altai Russian-Kazakh The I., Safonova, as: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003 press (2013), in article this cite Please .Sfnv esineFotesxx(03 1 (2013) xxx Frontiers Geoscience / Safonova I. e 16

Figure 9. The Zaysan folded area separating the Kazakhstan and Siberian continental blocks (from Vladimirov et al., 2008). SZ e shear zone; SSZ e suture-shear zone. I. Safonova / Geoscience Frontiers xxx (2013) 1e16 11

The occurrence of these late Devonianeearly Carboniferous fine- (i) The Silurianeearly Devonian (400e425 Ma) Andean-type grained sediments suggests their riftogenic origin, possibly collision of the Altai-Mongolian and Gorny Altai terranes related to the strike-slip faulting along the margin of the Siberian (Glorie et al., 2011) formed the middleelate Devonian continent (Buslov et al., 2004). The rifting resulted in the formation (360e395 Ma) granitoids of the Kurai zone (Fig. 3) and Silur- of big clusters of gabbro-dolerite dikes and sills, which extend from ianemiddle Devonian zonal metamorphic complexes. The central Gorny Altai to Rudny Altai (Yolkin et al., 1994), and in the metamorphic rocks are in the epidote-amphibolite facies and intrusion of voluminous granitoids (Vladimirov et al., 1997). The formed in the base of tectonic sheets of the Altay-Mongolian Emsian active margin units, namely, sandstones and tuffs of terrane. The granitoid intrusions occur as narrow lenses in Taldykurgan Fm., formed at 27e30N. The early Givetian active the Charysh-Terekta SSZ. The older (Eifelian) intrusions occur margin units, Kuratin Fm. lavas, tuffs and sediments, formed at east of the Kurai segment of the Charysh-Terekta SSZ. 23e26N(Buslov et al., 2001). (ii) In the late Devonianeearly Carboniferous, the collision of the The Hercynian active margin includes volcanic and plutonic Kazakhstan composite continent, including the Altai- complexes (Fig. 7; Buslov et al., 1993). The main volcanic complexes Mongolian terrane, with the Siberian continent induced of Gorny Altai are Ongudai andesite complex (early Devonian) and strike-slip and thrust faulting (Buslov et al., 2004; Glorie et al., Kurata rhyolite-dacite complex (middle Devonian). The Ongudai 2011). This collision event was accompanied by the intrusion complex consists of a 2500 m thick sequence of mafic lavas, lav- of granitoids (360e350 Ma; Vladimirov et al., 2001 and ref- abreccia, conglomerate (Fig. 6e, f), coarse-grained andesitic tuff, erences therein) into the late NeoproterozoiceCambrian and pyroclastics (Ongudai Fm.). The Kurata complex consists of the accretionary complexes of Gorny Altai (Kurai and Katun ACs). Kurata Fm. and subvolcanic intrusions. The Kurata Fm. is divided Late Devonian granitoids exist as a large Yaloman complex into volcanic-dominated lower subsuite, volcanic-medium middle including the Chiketaman pluton, which granodiorites yielded subsuite and non-volcanic upper subsuite. Up the section, andesitic a U-Pb age of 372 2Ma(Vladimirov et al., 2001) and Sm-Nd lavas and tuffs are replaced by felsic rocks. The middle subsuite is characteristics suggest melting of upper crust material dominated by felsic pyroclastics. The rocks of Kurata Fm. are ( 3 Nd(t) ¼þ2.7) of a late Neoproterozoic protolith (TNd(DM) ¼ complicatedly folded and visually look very thick. Volcanic vent 0.9 Ga) (Kruk et al., 2011). bodies as 300e500 m wide necks and smaller lens-like subvolcanic (iii) In the late Carboniferouseearly Permian, strike-slip faults intrusions are common. The necks typically consist of porphyric dominated in the Kurai zone as a result of the final amal- rhyolite-dacite (top) and porphyric microgranite (bottom). In plane gamation of the Kazakhstan composite continent and its the central parts of the bodies are rhyolitic porphyries and the subsequent collision with the Siberian continent. The peripheral parts are dacitic porphyries. Geochemically, the Devo- Carboniferous granites and adamellites of the Kadrin massif nian volcanic rocks range from (older to younger) andesitic basalts (Fig. 8) were possibly related to this collisional event, although and andesites of the Ongudai complex to dacites and felsic sub- the evidence is still vague (Glorie et al., 2011). The late Car- volcanics of the Kurata complex. boniferouseearly Permian granitoids also outcrop at the The volcanic rocks are associated with lime sandstones, shale, Zmeinogorsk and Savvushki massifs (Kruk et al., 2011). marl and limestone. The terrigenous varieties contain Franian (late Devonian) brachiopods (Buslov et al., 1993). The terrigenous rocks In PermianeTriassic time, the collision of the Kazakhstan, Si- dip to the west at 50e60 and display two cleavage systems: (1) berian and East European continents resulted in activation of dipping to the west at an angle of 75 and (2) dipping to the east at strike-slip faulting. Late PermianeTriassic (255e220 Ma) granitoids an angle of 15. The first-type cleavage network is seen in the occur as small bodies over the entire Altai-Sayan, i.e. north-western schists with ripple surfaces containing abundant pyrite grains only. CAOB, including the Gorny Altai, Rudny Altai and Kalba-Narym The plutonic rocks of the Hercynian active margin are best terranes (Figs. 1 and 2), however they formed after the collision represented by the Chiketaman complex, which consists of tonal- finished, probably, in an intra-plate setting, and therefore their ities, quartz diorites and biotite-hornblende granodiorites (Figs. 6g, origin is still uncertain (Glorie et al., 2011). There are two main h and 8)(Buslov et al., 1993). The granitoids intrude Cam- models for their origin. One group of authors regards the brianeOrdovician rocks to form hornfels at the contact and contain PermianeTriassic intraplate granitoids of the Russian Altai to the xenoliths of metamorphic rocks, which are metasedimentary and Siberian mantle-plume activity (Dobretsov, 2005; Pirajno, 2010). metabasaltic. The hornfels gradually change from higher to less The second group considers a model of slab break-off, which has metamorphosed terrigenous rocks of the Gornoalyaiskaya Series been suggested previously for the origin of post-collisional gran- and are intruded by younger quartz diorites, monzonites, and itoid massifs hosted by orogenic belts, which could have been granodiorites. The dominant continental margin tonalities, diorites derived in from subduction-related metasomatized melts of mantle and granodiorites of the Chiketaman pluton are intruded by late wedges (e.g., Cai et al., 2010; Yuan et al., 2010; Su et al., 2012). Carboniferouseearly Permian collision-related granitoids of Vladimirov et al. (1997) recognized two stages of anorogenic or adamellite-alaskite composition. The recent isotope dating of Chi- rifting-related granitoid magmatism: PermianeTriassic and Tri- ketaman granite-granodiorite samples yielded U-Pb zircon ages of assiceJurassic. In the Gorny Altai terrane, the late Permian granit- 382 4 and 375 10 Ma (Glorie et al., 2011). oids are present in the Yaloman massif (Fig. 8), whereas the Talista, batholith, Belokurikha and Tigerek massifs include early Triassic 3.4. Collisional and post-collisional granitoid complexes granites. Late Triassiceearly Jurassic granitoids occur in the Kor- ovikhin, Beloubin, Chindagatui, Kalguty and Salakhin massifs Three collisional events have been recorded in igneous com- (Vladimirov et al., 1997). plexes and shear zones of the Gorny Altai terrane: (1) middleelate Devonian collision of the Altai-Mongolian and Gorny Altai terranes; 4. Rudny Altai terrane (2) late Devonianeearly Carboniferous collision of the Kazakhstan composite continent with the Siberian continent; (3) late Carbon- The Rudny Altai terrane is separated from the Gorny Altai iferousePermian collision of the Kazakhstan, Siberian and East terrane by the NeE strike-slip fault, the western border of the European continents (Buslov et al., 2001; Dobretsov, 2003; Glorie Charysh-Terekta SSZ (Fig. 2). Many authors regard it an island-arc et al., 2011). terrane formed at a younger active continental margin of the

Siberian continent compared to the Gorny Altai terrane (Vladimirov 15,000 km2 (Fig. 9). The Kalba-Narym belt includes the early et al., 1998; Buslov et al., 2001, 2004; Kruk et al., 2010), although the Carboniferous granitoids (Bukhtarma and Kaldjir; Glorie et al., others believe it evolved as a back-arc basin (Yolkin et al., 1994). 2012), early Kalba granodiorite-granite (early Permian), late Kalba Name “Rudny” came from “ore” in Russian because this terrane is granite-leucogranite (early Triassic), and Monastyr (late Triassic) famous for numerous ore deposits. The terrane consists of four leucogranite complexes (Lopatnikov et al., 1982; Ponomareva and main units: (1) pre-Emsian metamorphic; (2) middle Paleozoic Turovinin, 1993; Vladimirov et al., 2008). The group of granodio- oceanic; (3) EmsianeFammenian island-arc (or active margin) and rites is dominated by peralkaline and potassic varieties. The Kalba ore belt; (4) collisional. granitoids are characterized by high concentrations, above the The pre-Emsian unit consists of metamorphic schists and met- average crust, of Li, Be, Sn, and Nb. The early Kalba complexes host asediments similar to those of the Gorny Altai terrane. The oldest Li-Ta-Nb rare-metal pegmatite and greisen mineral deposits are poorly documented mafic schists, possibly, metamorphosed accompanied by hydrothermal veins with Sn-W mineralization sedimentary-volcanogenic rocks of an OrdovicianeSilurian or while the late Kalba complexes are practically ore barren. Zircons Silurianeearly Devonian (Gritsuk et al., 1995; Gutak, 1997) oceanic from the early Kalba, late Kalba and Monastyr complexes yielded a crust or back-arc basin (Buslov et al., 2004). The mafic schists are wide range of U-Pb ages: 295e274, 253e245 and 231e225 Ma, overlain by ortho- and para-schists formed after magmatic and respectively (Vladimirov et al., 2001). The Ar-Ar ages of rare-metal sedimentary rocks, respectively. The metamorphic schists are mineralization are 294 4 and 292 4 Ma on muscovite from overlapped by weakly metamorphosed sandstones and mudstones greisens and on lepidolite from Li-bearing pegmatite, respectively. of the Korbalikha Formation of early Devonian age (Lokhovian and The Nd model ages of the Kalba granitoids are 0.77e1.0 Ga (tNd,2-st) Pragian). The age is constrained by phytoplankton and pollen re- with 3 Nd(t) ranging from 0 to þ3. The mafic basement of the Kalba- mains (Gutak, 1997). The middle Paleozoic oceanic unit is overlain Narym terrane and its sedimentary cover are characterized by by EmsianeFammenian fore-arc sediments, reef limestones, lime 3 Nd(t) ¼þ6.7 and 3 Nd(t) ranging from 0.9 to 2.2, respectively. The mudstone, polymictic sandstones, tuffs and basalt-andesite-rhyolite model age of the cover (tNd,2-st)is1.18e1.34 Ga (Vladimirov et al., volcanic rocks (Yolkin et al., 1994; Gritsuk et al., 1995). The Emsian- 2008). The Rudny Altai and Kalba-Narym terranes were probably Fammenian unit developed either as island-arc or as a rifted active offset many hundreds kilometres relative each other along strike- continental margin and it hosts numerous deposits of Fe, Mn, Cu, slip faults probably due to the middle CarboniferousePermian Zn, Pb, Au, and Ag ores (Buslov et al., 2004; Dyachkov et al., 2009). collision of the Kazakhstan and Siberian continents (Buslov et al., There are three main periods of ore formation, Emsian, Eifelian, and 2001). Givetian, which formed two types of deposits, stratiform or volcano-sedimentary (e.g., Ridder, Nikitinsky) and hydrothermal- 6. The origin of the Altai-Mongolian terrane and the age of metasomatic (e.g., Zyryanovsk, Maleevskiy, Belousovskiy). The the basement of the Russian-Kazakh Altai multi-stage ore mineralization formed the complicated structure of the ore belt including numerous in ore zones, clusters and fields at There has been much discussion about the evolution of the depths of 1000e1500 m (Dyachkov et al., 2009). CAOB over the last 20 years. Most hypotheses may be classified into The Rudny Altai terrane is overlain by DevonianeCarboniferous two groups. Many researchers regard the southern margin of the sediments and intruded by collisional and post-collisional granit- Siberian continent a result of accretion of oceanic arcs and/or oids (Buslov et al., 2004). The middle Carboniferouseearly Permian Gondwana-derived continental blocks to the Siberian, Russian, and collision of the Siberian and Kazakhstan continents separated North China cratons (e.g., Zonenshain et al., 1990; Mossakovsky Rudny Altai from Gorny Altai along the sinistral NeE fault, et al., 1993; Didenko et al., 1994; Xiao et al., 2004, 2010; Parfenov which reactivated the middle Paleozoic dextral Charysh-Terekta et al., 2006; Windley et al., 2007). The second type of model SSZ. The collisional granitoids are middleelate Carboniferous views the Central Asian collage to be made mainly of Paleozoic gabbroegranodioriteegranites of the Sekisovsky complex, hosting subduction-accretion materials (S¸ engör and Natal’in, 1996), which mineral deposits of Au, Ag, and Te ores, and the late Carbon- accumulated against a few magmatic arcs of extended length. The iferousePermian Zmeinogorsk and Savvushki granitoid massifs. most of recent geological, tectonic, geodynamic and metallogenic maps and reconstructions of the CAOB are based on the one or the 5. Kalba-Narym terrane other model. Consequently, there are two major models for the origin of the The Kalba-Narym terrane is located west of the Rudny Altai AMT: microcontinent or Andean-type active margin. The first model terrane, geographically mostly in the territory of the Kazakh Altai is based on abundant geologic, lithologic, stratigraphic and paleo- (East Kazakhstan). It is bounded by the Irtysh shear zone on the east magnetic data on the Russian Altai and on limited Sm-Nd isotopic and by the Char suture-shear zone on the west (Fig. 9). The terrane data and suggests that the AMT split off the Gondwana supercon- probably formed over an oceanic turbidite basin (Kruk et al., 2008, tinent in the Neoproterozoic and later, in the early Paleozoic, it 2011) overlapped by late Devonianeearly Carboniferous sedimen- accreted to the Siberian Craton (Berzin et al., 1994; Hu et al., 2000; tary rocks of the Takyr Formation. The Takyr Formation consists of Buslov et al., 2001; Li et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2009; Glorie et al., black shales and siltstones with thin interbeds of fine-grained 2011). The second model is based on the recent bulk rock polymictic sandstones, which gradually increase in thickness up geochemical and isotope data and U-Pb zircon ages and Hf isotopes the section giving a total thickness of over 1500 m. There are two in zircons from a limited collection of metasedimentary rocks of the points of view about the origin of the Takyr Formation: (1) some Chinese Altai and suggests that the AMT, at least its southern part, authors (Rotarash et al., 1982; Yolkin et al., 1994) believe it is a part lacks an ancient continental basement. According to the second of fore-arc trough and accretionary wedge units, which are litho- model the metasediments of the AMT formed by erosion of late logically similar to the Rudny Altai terrane (Buslov et al., 2001); (2) Neoproterozoiceearly Paleozoic island-arc terranes of western Buslov et al. (1993) and Berzin et al. (1994) suggested that the Takyr Mongolia (juvenile crust) or older rocks units of the Tuva-Mongolian Formation is a passive margin and its analogues occur in the Tom’- microcontinent (recycled crust) (e.g., Sun et al., 2008; Long et al., Kolyvan and Salair zones of the CAOB. 2010; Kruk et al., 2010; Xiao et al., 2010; Jiang et al., 2011). The passive margin sediments are intruded by granitoids of The age of the basement of the Russian-Kazakh Altai is conse- the Kalba-Narym batholith belt, which occupies an area over quently also under hot debate. Precambrian metamorphic rocks in

Table 1 previously interpreted as Precambrian continental slivers, but Main stages of formation and evolution of the Russian-Kazakh Altai Orogen. recent data suggest that it is a part of an early Paleozoic arc system Age Geodynamic setting (Jiang et al., 2012). The paragneisses and granitic gneisses of the Late Neoproterozoice Kuznetsk-Altai island-arc at the active margin of southern Mongolian Altai formed in the early Paleozoic ages, at early Cambrian the Siberian continent: formation of subduction- 550e450 Ma and 420 Ma, respectively. The high-grade magmatic accretionary belts consisting of intra-oceanic arc, gneisses formed in the middle Devonian (w385 Ma), probably the accretionary and normal arc units same event that has been recorded in the Chinese Altai (Jiang et al., Middleelate Cambrian Deposition of fore-arc flysch sediments Late Cambrianeearly Collision of the Kuznetsk-Altai island-arc island 2012). Thus, although a certain portion of Precambrian basement is Ordovician arc with the Siberian continent obviously present beneath the Russian-Kazakh Altai, the existence Earlyemiddle Ordovician Rudny Altai island arc at the active margin of the of terranes of Gondwana affinity and the portion of the Precam- Altai-Mongolian terrane brian basement beneath the Russian-Kazakh Altai are still under Early Ordoviciane Passive margin of the Siberian continent discussion. Silurian Earlyemiddle Devonian Andean-type active margin of the Altai- Mongolian terrane (basalt-andesite-rhyolite 7. A problem of juvenile versus recycled crust in the CAOB and volcanism) Altai Middleelate Devonian The Altai-Mongolian terrane collided with the Siberian continent; collisional granitoid magmatism (Yaloman complex) The problem of the age of Altai basement is closely linked to the Late Devonianeearly Main stage of the collision of the Altai-Mongolian problems of juvenile crust in the CAOB. Previously many scientists Carboniferous terrane and Siberian continent; Rudny Altai thought that most of the continental blocks in Central Asia have collisional granitoids; dextral shearing along the early Precambrian basements. Several global reconstructions and Charysh-Terekta SSZ new recently obtained geochronological (mainly numerous detrital Early Carboniferous The Altai-Mongolian terrane got squeezed between the Gorny and Rudny Altai terranes; the zircon U-Pb ages) and Sm-Nd data showed the episodic character of Kalba-Narym fore-arc turbidite basin; started crustal growth and revealed the Neoarchean (2.5e2.7 Ga) and collision of the Kazakhstan and Siberian Paleoproterozoic (1.8e2.0 Ga) maximums of U-Pb detrital zircon continents (Kalba-Narym early granitoids) ages (McCulloch and Bennet, 1994; Rino et al., 2008; Condie et al., Late Carboniferouseearly Collision of the Siberian and Kazakhstan blocks; Permian Kalba-Narym collisional granitoids; sinistral 2009; Safonova et al., 2010). On the contrary, the major peak of strike-slip faulting and shearing along the North- crustal growth and granitoid magmatism in the CAOB was during East fault and Irtysh SSZ the late NeoproterozoicePhanerozoic (e.g., Kovalenko et al., 2004; Early Permian Post-collisional granitoid magmatism which Windley et al., 2007; Vladimirov et al., 2008; Kruk et al., 2010, formed the Kalba-Narym batholith belt (Early 2011; Safonova et al., 2010; Kröner et al., 2014). However, the Kalba complex) Late Permianeearly Post-collisional granitoid magmatism which question about the portion of juvenile crust in the CAOB has not Triassic formed the Kalba-Narym rare-metal granitoid been solved yet, because it comprises both late Neo- belt (Late Kalba complex) proterozoicePhanerozoic subduction-accretionary complexes and e Late Triassic early Anarogenic granitoid magmatism which formed ancient continental blocks. Evidence for the presence of abundant Jurassic the Kalba-Narym (Monastyr) and Rudny Altai batholiths juvenile crust in the CAOB comes from the presence of numerous Pacific-type orogenic belts, isotope data on granitoids and U-Pb This compilation is based on data from Buslov et al. (2001, 2002), Vladimirov et al. ages of detrital zircons (e.g., Buslov et al., 2002; Dobretsov et al., (2008), Kruk et al. (2010, 2011), Glorie et al. (2011, 2012). 2003; Jahn, 2004; Kovalenko et al., 2004; Safonova et al., 2010). Several smaller continental blocks of the CAOB do have early Pre- the Irtysh shear zone of the Kazakh Altai were mentioned by cambrian basement (e.g., Baydrag, Gargan, Tarvagatay in central- Yakubchuk (1997) with poor age constrains though. Buslov et al. northern Mongolia and Kokchetav in northern Kazakhstan (e.g., (2001) suggested several old cratonic (Gondwana-derived) micro- Letnikov et al., 2001; Kovach et al., 2004; Kozakov et al., 2007; continents in the western CAOB, including the Altai-Mongolian Turkina et al., 2011). However, according to Sm-Nd isotope data, microcontinent in the Russian-Mongolian-Chinese Altai based on the crust in others, e.g., Arzybei, Derba and South Gobi blocks, is geological and lithological data. For the Russian-Kazakh Altai, the late Neoproterozoic (Yarmolyuk et al., 2005; Turkina et al., 2007). U-Pb zircon ages of 1450 Ma in the Kurchum block (Rudny Altai) Evidence for the presence of both ancient/recycled and juvenile and 1500 and 1800 Ma from the Irtysh shear zone (Kazakh Altai) crust in the CAOB comes from the wide range of the Nd model ages were reported by Bespaev et al. (1997). Kruk et al. (2011) discussed of metasedimentary rocks (from the Neoarchean to the Neo- Meso- and Neo-proterozoic bulk rock Nd model ages for the proterozoic) and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from sediments and Russian (Gorny) Altai, which suggest 70e75% of juvenile crust. xenogenic zircons from magmatic rocks (Letnikov et al., 2001; Glorie et al. (2011) reported many new U-Pb zircon ages for the Kozakov et al., 2005; Dmitrieva et al., 2006; Safonova et al., 2010; Russian Altai, which are mostly late Neoproterozoiceearly Paleo- Kruk et al., 2011; Kröner et al., 2014). Moreover, it has been zoic, and still use term “Gondwana-derived Altai-Mongolian shown that the major part of the tonalite-trondhjemite crust of the microcontinent”, although few Precambrian ages probably came CAOB could have been subducted (Yamamoto et al., 2009) to pro- from recycled zircons. For the Chinese Altai, Hu et al. (2002 and duce a large amount of recycled crust (Kröner et al., 2014) in spite of references cited therein) reviewed the ages of metamorphic rocks, dominating P-type orogens in the CAOB (Safonova et al., 2011b). but pointed out that many zircon ages and Nd model ages are Therefore, the problem of the proportion of the juvenile to recycled dubious and need to be checked again by further work. Another crust in the CAOB is far from being solved. group of Chinese scientists (e.g., Sun et al., 2008; Long et al., 2010, The recent geochemical and isotope data on the Chinese Altai, 2011; Jiang et al., 2011) reported new U-Pb ages and first Hf isotope which is the probable southern extension of the AMT, showed that data for the Chinese Altai, which do not support the existence of the sources of detrital zircons are dominated by late Neo- Precambrian basement, but suggest rather a wide Paleozoic proterozoicePaleozoic zircon populations with subordinate early accretionary system at the SW margin of the Tuva-Mongolian block Precambrian ages (Sun et al., 2008; Long et al., 2010; Jiang et al., and that the Chinese Altai was not a separate microcontinent. The 2011). The whole set of isotope, geochemical and geochronolog- high-grade metamorphic rocks in the nearby Mongolian Altai were ical data allowed the authors to suggest the subduction-

Please cite this article in press as: Safonova, I., The Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen: An overview and main debatable issues, Geoscience Frontiers (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003 14 I. Safonova / Geoscience Frontiers xxx (2013) 1e16 accretionary origin of the early Paleozoic flysch units of the Chinese 9. Conclusion Altai with a limited participation of old sources. For example, U-Pb zircon ages of granitoids of the central and southern Chinese Altai The Russian-Kazakh Altai represents a typical Pacific-type indicate that they were emplaced at 478e368 Ma peaked at ca. orogenic belt including intra-oceanic arc units with boninites, 400 Ma. The strong magmatism of ca. 400 Ma age possesses juve- accretionary complexes with Ocean Plate Stratigraphy units, nile isotope characteristics, which some authors regard a result of turbidite basins, ophiolites with strongly serpentinized peridotites, ridge subduction (Cai et al., 2010, 2011). Consequently the conti- blueschists and eclogites formed after MORB and OIB. The whole nental model for the origin of the AMT appeared to need revision, at Altai Orogen (Russian-Kazakh-Chinese-Mongolia) formed during least for the territory of the Chinese Altai. Moreover, the limited the late NeoproterozoicePaleozoic shrinking and closure of the Sm-Nd isotope data and U-Pb ages of granitoids and metasedi- Paleo-Asian Ocean and later experienced shearing and syncolli- ments of the Russian Altai (Vladimirov et al., 2008; Kruk et al., 2010, sional magmatism related to Siberia-Kazakhstan collision (late 2011) also suggest an important amount of juvenile crust in Altai. Paleozoic). During the Mesozoic, the area was intruded by post- Although the CAOB is considered to be an important site of juvenile collisional granitoids. The Altai orogen has been studied by many crust formation since the Neoproterozoic, there are detrital zircon research teams of Russia, former USSR republics, China, Mongolia data which may imply an important role of older crust in the oro- and Europe. However, the geological history of this region remains gen’s evolution (Safonova et al., 2010). Those controversial issues, debatable due to its extremely complicated structure and still first of all, the proportion of juvenile to recycled crust, can be limited amount of data on isotope geochronology and geochem- clarified by future studies with a special focus to zircon U-Pb ages istry, which can be obtained by up-to-date high-precision analyt- and Lu-Hf isotopes and bulk rock Sm-Nd isotopes. ical techniques. The main debatable issues, which can be solved by using those data, are as follows. 8. Main stages of Russian-Kazakh Altai evolution (1) The Gondwana-derived microcontinent versus active margin The history of the Russian-Kazakh Altai started with the sub- origin of the Altai-Mongolian terrane. The main issue if AMT duction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO), which opened at has a Precambrian (old cratonic) basement or it is dominated 750e850 Ma as a result of the breakup of Rodinia (e.g., Dobretsov by suprasubduction units. et al., 2003; Li et al., 2008). (2) Origin of the OrdovicianeSilurian passive margin of the Gorny The late Neoproterozoiceearly Cambrian subduction of the PAO Altai terrane and its provenance: was it the Altai-Mongolian beneath the active margin of the Siberian continent resulted in the terrane or Siberian craton? formation of an intra-oceanic arc and its adjacent accretionary (3) Whether the Rudny and Gorny Altai terranes once represented complexes with Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) units, turbidites a single unit (island arc?), later separated by the North-East and HP rocks (Buslov et al., 2001, 2002; Dobretsov et al., 2004; SSZ, or they formed at different active margins of the Sibe- Safonova et al., 2004, 2008, 2011a,c)(Table 1). rian continent and/or Altai-Mongolian terrane? During the middleelate Cambrian this island arc evolved into a (4) The origin of the late Devonianeearly Carboniferous terrige- normal island arc. The accretion of oceanic lithosphere and island nous sediments of the Kalba-Narym terrane: was it a passive arc was accompanied by the formation of a thick fore-arc flysch margin or active margin (fore-arc) of the Kazakhstan or Sibe- (Buslov et al., 2002; Glorie et al., 2011). rian continents? The late Cambrianeearly Ordovician collision of the island arc (5) Proportion of juvenile to recycled crust in Altai. If we prove the with the Siberian continent formed the Gorny Altai subduction- Gondwana affinity of the AMT, the portion of juvenile crust can accretionary belt and was followed by granitoid magmatism, e.g., appear rather small, from 10 to 20%. If we prove that the AMT the Sarakoksha massif (late Cambrian) and DapingianeKatian developed as Andean-type active margin origin, the amount of granitoids (middleelate Ordovician) (Kruk et al., 2008 and Glorie juvenile crust must be around 70% or even more. et al., 2011, respectively). However, the north-western Russian Altai, the Zasur’ya accretionary complex, hosts late Cambrian OPS Acknowledgements suggesting a still opened oceanic realm in that part of PAO (Safonova et al., 2011c). The study was performed in the frame of the Scientific Project of The late OrdovicianeSilurian period of passive margin was the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS. The paper accompanied by accumulation of terrigenous and carbonate sedi- benefited from discussions with M. Buslov, A. Izokh, N. Kruk, O. ments at the margin of the Siberian continent, which are present Turkina, A. Gibsher (all from IGM SB RAS), V. Kovach (IPGG RAS, St.- mainly within the Gorny Altai terrane. The passive margin regime Petersburg), M. Sun (University of Hong Kong) and P. Ermolov was changed by the birth of an active margin in early Devonian (Kazakhstan NAS). 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Please cite this article in press as: Safonova, I., The Russian-Kazakh Altai orogen: An overview and main debatable issues, Geoscience Frontiers (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2013.12.003