Structural–Tectonophysical Approach to Interpreting Lineament Analysis Results for the Prediction of Ore-Forming Mineral Systems Using the Example of the Tuyukan Ore Cluster Area

Abstract—For the Tuyukan ore cluster area located in Russia in the Mamsko-Chuisk district of Irkutsk region and identified as promising for the discovery of new uranium, gold, and iron ore objects, an original approach based on geoinformation technologies and processing of Earth remote sensing data, including structural–geomorphological, spatial–geometric, spatial–density, and tectonophysical methods to identify specific stages of the development of the framework of faults that determine the location of ore mineralization, has been applied. The possibility of using the morphological features of the terrain for reliable reconstruction of the framework of both neotectonic and ancient faults using a special method of lineament analysis based on a digital elevation model created using SRTM data has been proven. It has been shown that the zones of dynamic influence of the northeastern and northwestern faults play a decisive role in the localization of mineralization. Based on the tectonophysical approach, the orientations of the main axes of compression and extension of the regional stress–strain field (SSF), as well as the kinematics of the main types of faults formed for the supposed period of ore formation, have been reconstructed. Taking into account the established orientation of the main axes of the regional SSF when calculating the slip tendency made it possible to identify the most hydraulically active segments of fault structures. Within the zones of dynamic influence of the established faults, the parameters of local SSFs, as well as the stage-by-stage formation of these structures, have been reconstructed. The information that was obtained must be taken into account when compiling a metallogenic essay and predicting minerals in the region.