Extension and gold mineralisation in the hanging walls of active convergent continental shear zones

Orogenic gold-bearing quartz veins form in mountain belts adjacent to convergent tectonic boundaries. The vein systems, hosted in extensional structures within compressively deformed rocks, are a widespread feature of these orogens. In many cases the extensional structures that host gold-bearing veins have been superimposed on, and locally controlled by, compressional structures formed within the convergent orogen. Exploring these observations within the context of a three-dimensional mechanical model allows prediction of mechanisms and locations of extensional zones within convergent orogens. Our models explore the effect of convergence angle and mid-crustal strength on stress states and compare them to the Southern Alps and Taiwan. The dilatation zones coincide with the highest mountains, in the hanging walls of major plate boundary faults, and can extend as deep as the brittle–ductile transition. Extensional deformation is favoured in the topographic divide region of oblique orogens with mid-lower crustal rheology that promotes localisation rather than diffuse deformation. In the near surface, topography influences the stress state to a depth approximately equal to the topographic relief, bringing the rock closer to failure and rotating σ1 to near vertical. The distribution of gold-bearing extensional veins may indicate the general position of the topographic divide within exhumed ancient orogens.