SYDNEY, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Ancient subduction zones played a key role in forming some of the world's richest deposits of copper, zinc and lead, offering a new framework for mineral exploration, a new study reveals.
The research led by Australia's University of Sydney (USYD) opens a new way to understand where sediment-hosted copper, zinc and lead deposits form, key metals for infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy, according to a USYD statement released on Thursday.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, help explain why some ancient continental edges host abundant mineral deposits while others with similar geology do not, and could reduce uncertainty in mineral exploration and support long-term resource security.
Researchers reconstructed 1.8 billion years of plate tectonic activity and found that major sediment-hosted mineral deposits tend to cluster 800 to 1,800 km from ancient subduction zones, where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another.
Using geodynamic modelling, seismic data and a global database of more than 2,000 deposits, the team found a median distance of about 1,200 km between deposits and ancient subduction trenches.
"Deep mantle flow can transmit stress thousands of kilometers into a continent, helping to weaken craton edges and create the conditions needed for mineralization," said the study's lead author, USYD PhD student Hojat Shirmard.
Over geological time, these processes can help prepare the crust and mantle for the formation of major sediment-hosted copper, lead and zinc deposits, the researchers said. ■
