Geological Outline of the Noril’sk Region

Abstract Present studies of the Noril’sk ore-bearing region permit one to re-evaluate its geological setting, the deep structure and the unique characteristics of the magmatism which contributed to the development of the sulfide copper-nickel deposits. At present the traditional view of the geological setting of the region as being a part of the boundary zone of the northwestern portion of the Siberian platform seems to be inadequate; this is because it is known that there is no evidence of large mineral deposits outside the region, in other boundary areas of the Siberian platform, despite the widespread nature of the copper-nickel mineralization. The need to identify the factors that determine the characteristics of the copper-nickel deposits of the Noril’sk region and the regional setting in which they are localized, as well as a valid explanation of the absence of similar deposits associated with trap magmatism elsewhere within the Siberian platform, is necessary and requires interpretation of additional geological, geophysical and petrological data in adjacent areas. Recent multifaceted studies that have been devoted to understanding the evolution of the structure of the Noril’sk and other regions of the northern part of the Siberian platform [15, 26, 44, 59, 84, 106, 146, etc.] allow one to evaluate the formational conditions of the unique concentration of metals with respect to the geodynamic setting. They also allow one to be more confident in interpreting a structural development for this terrain in terms of the superposition on mature continental crust of tectonic movements that activated basalt