The integral model of placer formation in the Voronezh anteclise area

Integral model of Ti-Zr placer formation is proposed for the Voronezh anteclise in the following system: primary source-weathering crust-intermediate collector-placer. It is shown that zircon, the most important useful component in this system, can be zirtolitized intensely during crust formation. This process is reflected ultimately in the resource potential of placers. Creation of the integral model took into consideration abundance of the major lithostructural complexes (LSC) in the crystalline basement and their productivity, hiatus and crust formation intervals, paleofacies conditions and mechanism of the formation of intermediate collectors and placers, as well as migration direction and other factors of placer localization. The most productive Cenomanian placers were formed as triple washout products according to the panning mechanism. It is suggested that the resource potential of placers should be revised with the consideration of variation in the density characteristics of the zirtolitized zircon varieties.