Geology and metallogenic process of large and super-large gold deposits in South America

Gold is a dominant mineral species in South America, whose importance is only second to that of copper. According to gold reserves statistics from the USGS, the gold reserves were 2800 tons in Peru and 2400 tons in Brazil in 2016, and 3900 tons in Chile in 2014. The main 31 large and superlarge gold deposits were comprehensively studied in this paper on the basis of the geological background analysis of gold deposits in South American Andean metallogenic belt and South American platform. The spatial and temporal distribution and geological characteristics of gold deposits, such as porphyry copper-gold deposits, epithermal gold deposits, IOCG gold deposits, and orogenic gold deposits, were analyzed in detail. The authors rearranged the characteristics of the metallogenic region and found out the relationship between regional tectonic magmatic and mineralization evolution, with the purpose of providing scientific basis for future exploration and exploitation of gold mines in South America. In the Andean metallogenic belt, the gold mineralization was closely related to the subduction of the Pacific plate to the South American Plate. The large and superlarge gold deposits are mainly porphyry copper-gold deposits, epithermal gold deposits, IOCG gold deposits and so on. The main gold mineralization is concentrated in the new generation, forming a number of famous gold deposits in the world. In the South America platform, the gold metallogenic belt is located at the edge of the Amazonian block and was influenced by the Trans-Amazonian cycle in Paleoproterozoic (2.5-1.8 Ga), which had undergone repeated subduction and orogeny. The large and superlarge gold deposits are main orogenic gold deposits. The metallogenic period is mainly the Archean-Late Proterozoic period. The gold resources are quite rich in South America, and it has great potential for exploration and exploitation in the future.