Examination of the structural controls of the lineaments on the distribution of the Cu deposits and prospects using the photolineament factor in the southern part of the Kerman Cu belt

Structural examination of the southern part of the Kerman Cu belt revealed the structural linkage between the lineaments and the distribution of the Cu deposits and prospects in this area. Surveying the linear structures of the region indicates that the studied linear structures can be divided into three broad groups, including: 1) the crustal scale lineaments controlling the regional distribution of the large Cu ore deposits, 2) the large lineaments following the general and the regional tectonic NW-SE trends controlling the distribution of the Cu deposits, also, the large stratovolcanoes, and 3) the linear structures identified by several characteristics including the more sporadically distributed patterns, shorter lengths and diversified patterns. Quantification of the proposed relationship through application of the photolineament factor (PF), and therefore, using the obtained contours on the compiled map showed that 20 of 34 Cu deposits and prospects fall on the areas with PF≥3. The other deposits or prospects fall outside the drown contours. All the recent characteristics indicate the third group to be similar to surficial fractures. The areas showing high concentration of these linear structural forms seem to be affected by hydrothermal alteration activities. Traces of the intruded subvolcanic bodies are also identified at the intersection of some of these linear structures. The achieved results indicate that although the linear structures seem to control the localization of the Cu deposits and prospects in local scales, but the discussed localization also seem to be controlled by another regional scale structural forms, outside the scope of this paper.