The structural analysis of Boshruyeh Kooh-e-Ahan area, South Khorasan

Kuh-e-Ahan is a high-standing single relief within a rather flat plain, which is located in the north of the Tabas block, near the intersection of the Nayband and Kalmard faults and there are  great outcrops of  fe-oxide, along with eastern-western faults and fractures in Kooh-e-Ahan area.. The present study uses structural and remote sensing methods to discover the mechanism for evolution of the Kuh-e-Ahan, and to understand style of mineralization in the mountain, emphasizing on the role of fractures and major faults. In our remote sensing approach, we used DEM data and Aster satellite images and their filtering in main directions to detect displacements and sudden offsets of lithologic units and changes in drainage patterns. In our field studies, we studied mechanism of the faults, emphasizing on the faults within the Kuh-e-Ahan mining district. The results show N-S faults (Nayband fault trend) and NE-SW faults (Kalmard trend) have a general right-lateral mechanism, and the E-W faults are left-lateral with a reverse component. Structural model developed in this study suggest that strike-slip displacement on conjugate fault provided the space required for ascend and development of hydrothermal mineral deposits within the mine district.