TECTONIC EVOLUTION AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF AFGHANISTAN

The complex geology of Afghanistan results from successive phases of subduction and accretion of continental fragments from Gondwanaland that occurred during the Cimmerian orogeny. Afghanistan is located west of the Pamir sintaxis, dominated by the Hindu Kush and Karakorum mountains. Afghanistan can be divided into seven main tectonic blocks: (1) the Tajik/Turan block, part of the Eurasian continent in the north; the accreted micro-continents of the Cimmerian orogeny including: (2) the Farah block, (3) the Helmand block and (4) the exotic Kabul block; (5) the East Nuristan island arc; (6) the intra-oceanic island arc of Kohistan; and (7) the Makran accretionary complex. Major faults include: (1) the Herat fault, a suture zone between the Eurasia continent and the terrains of the Cimmerian orogeny; (2) the Punjao suture located between the Farah and Helmand blocks; and (3) the NE-SW oriented Chaman fault, part of a transpressional plate boundary located near the border with Pakistan. We summarize the tectonic evolution of Afghanistan in a series of lithospheric cross-sections, beginning at about 400 Ma. Such a complex blend of geology and tectonics gives host to abundant mineral resources. In order to identify mineral resources in the context of the regional tectonics, the principal mineral deposits in Afghanistan were divided according to their geology and tectonic setting.