Neogene–Quaternary Magmatism in Eastern Balkaria (North Caucasus, Russia): Evidence from the Isotope–Geochronological Data

An isotope-geochronological study for a number of young volcanic localities in the eastern part of Balkaria (North Caucasus, Russia), referred to the Neogene–Quaternary stage in the evolution of the Greater Caucasus by previous researchers, was carried out. The results of the K–Ar dating obtained have proved for the first time that volcanic activity was intense in the Late Cenozoic within the territory of modern Eastern Balkaria. It has been established that the young igneous rocks of the Pliocene (4.7–4.0 Ma) Tsana Formation with various compositions (basaltic trachyandesite, dacite, and granodiorite-porphyry) are the most common in the considered region. The area of presence of the rocks of the Tsana Formation was specified within the Russian territory of the North Caucasus. Based on the new isotopic data, the territory that is prospective for exploration of Au–As–Sb–Sn–Mo deposits often associated with young plutonic bodies of potentially ore-bearing Tsana Formation was localized. A new locus of Late Quaternary magmatism where the andesite lava flow was formed ~800–700 ka in the paleovalley of the Udursu River (near the foot of Mt. Cheget-Dzhora) was identified within the Greater Caucasus.