Geological characteristics of dominant mineral resources of the Tianshan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and their prospecting potential

The Tianshan Mountains area in Kyrgyzstan has experienced prolonged complex tectonic magmatic activities and thus possesses a good ore-forming condition for metal minerals. As a result, numerous metal deposits have been discovered in this area, including some dominant minerals, such as iron, gold, copper, tin, mercury, antimony, lead and zinc. Through studying the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of these dominant minerals as well as the geological features of typical deposits, the authors summed up the regional metallogenic characteristics of the study area on the basis of analyzing the data of geology and mineral resources in Kyrgyzstan. The dominant minerals formed at various stages, the relationship between magmatism or volcanism and mineral resources, and the ore-forming regularity and metallogenic conditions in the study area were investigated, and the prospecting potential of these mineral resources were evaluated. It is believed that there is a good prospecting potential in Kyrgyzstan: the exploration of gold can be conducted in whole Kyrgyzstan, the prospecting for iron, copper, lead and zinc can be performed in North and Central Tianshan Mountains, and the search for mercury, antimony, tungsten and tin should be carried out in South Tianshan Mountains.