Orogenic Gold Deposits of the Archaean Dharwar Craton: Development of Neoarchaean Greenstone Belts in a Phanerozoic-style Plate Tectonic Framework: A Synthesis

ABSTRACT This synthesis integrates five decades of regional and local structural mapping, geochemistry, geochronology, and geophysical data to propose a unified tectono-metallogenic model for Neoarchaean orogenic gold mineralisation in the Dharwar Craton (DC). The paper advocates a working hypothesis that the Craton evolved within a Phanerozoic-style convergent plate tectonic regime, characterised by westward low-angle subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath an extant Mesoarchaean continental fragment. This process drove the inversion of Neoarchaean ensialic half-graben volcano-sedimentary basins into west-verging fold-thrust belts, emplacement of tabular plutons of granitoids, followed by craton-scale sinistral shearing. These structural events provided the necessary architecture for vertical, channelised fluid flow, resulting in a craton-wide gold depositional event within a short pulse between 2.54-2.52 Ga. The proposed framework unifies diverse geological datasets and offers critical insights for future gold exploration strategies within the Craton.