On Electrical Conductivity at Depth in the Shanuch Copper-Nickel and the Aginskoe Gold-Ore Fields, Kamchatka

This paper is concerned with the method of interpretation and with the results of magnetotelluric sounding (MTS) along the line connecting the Shanuch copper-nickel and the Aginskoe gold ore deposit. The interpretation revealed that the upper section divides into two blocks according to the electrical resistivity. The western block has a high resistivity, which is due to the metamorphic and igneous basement rocks that are exposed at the ground surface. The eastern block has a low resistivity, which is due to the presence of a conductive sedimentary-volcanogenic cover involving a wide network of discontinuities. A low resistivity layer was identified at depths of 30-60 km. The deep-seated faults that have been identified by interpretation in the eastern block penetrate through the lithosphere as far as the conductive layer; fluids can move along these faults upward into the upper crust where at lower temperatures they release minerals whose accumulations make up ore deposits of nonferrous and noble metals.