Classification of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic metallogenic series and belts in Mexico and its tectonic significance

Mexico is a great production country in mineral resources such as in silver, copper, iron, lead and zinc with the highest output of these resources. The generation of these minerals is mainly attributed to a variety of types and all kinds of mineralization types of ore deposits. Among these types, the epithermal type, porphyry type, skarn type, IOCG type are the most prominent types. The formation of these deposits is related to the formation of the cordilleras, which embodies some stages of long-term accumulation or disintegration of the united continent. The spatial distribution characteristics of Mesozoic-Cenozoic metallogenic belts, in particular, are closely related to the tectonic environment. The authors recognized nine tectonic-magmatic metallogenic belts, which respectively form three subductional metallogenic serie:from the coast to the inland, they are the IOCG iron-copper mineralization zone, the porphyry gold-copper-molybdenum mineralization zone and the epithermal gold-silver polymetallic metallogenic belt, which represent the plate tectonic magmatic metallogenic environment from subduction, extrusion to post-collision stretching of the Pacific plate, Farallon plate and Cocos plate towards the North American plate. Mexican subduction boundary metallogenic systems are mainly reflected in the porphyry copper-molybdenum metallogenic system of the magmatic arc in the west Madre orogenic belt and the silver-gold hypothermal metallogenic system controlled by volcanic rocks in the basin-ridge province.