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The results of comprehensive geological and metallogenic studies of the Greater Altai are presented. This project has been carried out since 1997 under the guidance of Academician G.N. Shcherba. The importance of these investigations is determined by the need to enhance and further develop mineral resources of nonferrous, noble, rare, and other metals for operating mining and metallurgical enterprises of Kazakhstan. The great body of information on the geology, geophysics, and metallogeny of the region obtained over many years has been integrated on the basis of new global tectonics. The Greater Altai embraces the Hercynides of the Rudny Altai, Qalba-Narym, West Qalba, Zharma-Saur, and the adjacent territories of Russia and China. The present-day tectonic units are considered to be detached blocks of ancient continental massifs that drifted in the Paleoasian ocean and then amalgamated into the structure of the Greater Altai during the Hercynian collision. The tectonic and metallogenic demarcation of the studied territory made possible the recognition of the Rudny Altai, Qalba-Narym, West Qalba, and Zharma-Saur ore belts, different in geology, geodynamic evolution, and metallogeny. The formation conditions and localization of volcanic-hosted massive sulfide, gold, and rare-metal deposits pertaining to certain ore-bearing geochronological levels were specified, and the potential of the region for various mineral resources was estimated.

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The authors analyze the geodynamic settings of large fields of spodumene pegmatites hosting Li and complex (Li, Cs, Ta, Be, and Sn) deposits of rare metals within the Central Asian Fold Belt. Most of the studied fields show a considerable time gap (from few tens of Myr to hundreds of Myr) between the spodumene pegmatites and the associated granites, which are usually considered parental. This evidence necessitates recognition of an independent pegmatite stage in the magmatic history of some pegmatite-bearing structures in Central Asia. The Precambrian–Late Mesozoic interval is marked by a close relationship between the large fields of spodumene pegmatites and extension settings of continental lithosphere. They occur either as (1) zones of long-lived deep faults bordering on trough (rift) structures experiencing the tectonic-magmatic activity or as (2) postcollisional zones of shearing and pull-apart dislocations. Thus, large fields of spodumene pegmatites might serve as indicators of continental-lithosphere extension. Important factors favoring the formation of rare-metal pegmatites both in collision zones and continental-rift settings are the presence of thick mature crust dissected by long-lived, deeply penetrating (down to the upper mantle) fault zones. They ease the effect of deep sources of energy and substance on crustal chambers of granite and pegmatite formation.