The Triassic carbonate-hosted Komsheche deposit of Central Iran, in the central segment of the AlpineHimalayan orogen, is an ideal test site for tectonic-controlled ore formation processes. The mineralization consists of barite, fluorite, minor galena, and subordinate pyrite and chalcopyrite, and gangue minerals of dolomite, quartz, siderite, organic material, and calcite. Radiogenic isotopes point to multiple sources. The Pb composition in galena indicates an origin of Pb from upper crustal material. Barite generations II and III have 87 Sr/86Sr = 0.709147 to 0.709595, higher than those of the Triassic host rocks, but more similar to the composition of Paleozoic basement and Miocene seawater. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns of fluorite crystals are subhorizontal with slightly negative or no Eu anomalies and weak enrichment of the MREE. The composition of fluorite, combined with the Pb and Sr isotopic data, reflects a process of fluid-rock interaction for the mineralizing fluids along favorable lithological and structural sites. The anatomy of the Komsheche deposit is dominantly controlled by the fault architecture. The (U-Th)/He thermochronology of fluorite grains from Komsheche yields a range of ages from Early Cretaceous to Pliocene, in concordance with the multistage tectonic evolution of the Zagros orogen. Our proposed model is that the barite-fluorite deposits of Central Iran formed during alternating tectonic episodes, including Early Cretaceous extension, post-Cretaceous - Oligocene compression, Oligo-Miocene extension, and finally Miocene and younger compression. The spatial-temporal correlation of our results with those of other studies along the Alpine-Himalayan and Atlas Mountains domains reveal a tight coupling between tectonism and formation of sediment-hosted fluorine-bearing (±Ba, Pb±Zn) deposits throughout the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Incipient deposits formed in the Mesozoic along extension-related basement faults and subsequent deposit generations formed during reactivation / inversion of pre-existing structures.

Keywords