Tectonic controls on ore-bearing intrusions of the Talnakh Ore Junction: Position, morphology, and ore distribution

Analysis of fifteen hundred deep boreholes permits understanding of Noril'sk-type, ore-bearing intrusions with respect to stratigraphic position, thickness, and ore distribution, and provide insights into the evolution of the Talnakh and Noril'sk ore junctions. Weakly miner-alized, Lower Talnakh-type intrusions were emplaced early in each ore junction, followed by emplacement of the ore-bearing intrusions. The morphology of the Lower Talnakh-type intrusions appears to have been controlled largely by inferred, arcuate faults; tight, N-S-trend-ing folds in the Noril'sk-Kharaelakh fault zone; and pre- Tungusskaya anticlines. The spreading and morphology of the ore-bearing intrusions were influenced by these features, but were more strongly controlled by the Noril'sk-Kharaelakh fault zone and by arcuate, thickened lenses within the Lower Talnakh-type intrusions. Host-rock characteristics strongly influenced the shapes of the ore-bearing intrusions in section and plan, the configurations of their flanking and frontal parts, and the attitudes of their peripheral sills.