Northern Laos is at the junction of the Paleo-Tethys convergence and assemblages of several crustal blocks such as the Sibumasu, South China and the Indochina blocks, and also comprises the Houayxay-Sukhothai, the Simao-Phongsaly, the Louang Phrabang-Loei, the Truong Son and the Song Da terranes. During the amalgamation of the terranes derived from Gondwana, calc-alkaline magmatic rocks, peraluminous magmatic rocks, sub-alkaline volcanic-intrusive complexes, and alkaline rocks and related endogenetic metallogenic systems were emplaced in multiple stages during subduction-collision and post-collision events. According to chronological order, the tectonic-magmatic development processes and the metallogenic assemblages can be divided as follows: (1) Subduction arc related magmatic hydrothermal metallogenic systems, formed in calc-alkaline magmatic rocks due to the initial subduction during the late Carboniferous including porphyry Cu-Au deposits, skarn and epithermal Cu-Au deposits; (2) Arc-continent collisions and back-arc extensional settings and associated magmatic hydrothermal mineralization with calc-alkaline porphyry Cu-Au deposits, as well as alkaline porphyry and epithermal Cu-Au deposits during the early Permian; (3) Collisional orogenic magmatic hydrothermal metallogenic systems formed in the late Permian to the early to middle Triassic comprising high alumina magmatic rocks with Au-Pb-Zn(Ag)-Fe-Cu deposits associated with both orogenic type and hydrothermal vein type, and; (4) Post-orogenic extensional tectonic-hydrothermal metallogenic assemblages, which were formed in calc-alkaline to alkaline rocks within a exten 1000 sional tectonic setting during the late Triassic-early Jurassic, including: porphyry Cu-Mo-Sn deposits, porphyry-skarn and epithermal Cu-Au deposits, and also subalkaline volcanic-intrusive complex-related hydrothermal stratabound Cu-Pb-Zn and Au-Sb-Hg deposits. Further detailed studies and classification of metallogenic assemblages in Laos is of significance to understand the nature and timing of different mineralization styles in relation the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Paleo-Tethys, Terrane, Intermediate-felsic rocks, Metallogenic assemblage, Laos
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Geology
Research Field:	Resource geoscience
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences
UTAS Author:	Zaw, K (Professor Khin Zaw)
UTAS Author:	Cromie, P (Mr Paul Cromie)
ID Code:	151946
Year Published:	2020
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2022-08-09
Last Modified:	2022-09-08
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