The Ukrainian Shield, as the principal constituent of the Sarmatia, comprises the south-western counterpart in the triad of crustal segments that constitute the oldest basement of the Eastern-European Platform.
Excursion is devoted to the principal features of geology, geochronology and metallogeny of greenstone belts developed in the eastern part of Ukrainian Shield. This is a key region in the understanding of the Archean and Proterozoic history of the Shield. Besides, and it is also the major mineral producing region of Ukraine accounting for the gross-country output of the iron and manganese ores, uranium, mineral sands, and the principal region of mineral prospecting and exploration for gold, copper, nickel, molybdenum, rare metals, rare earths, and diamonds.
The length of the excursion, net of access and leave sections, is about 350 km and within the four full-working days the route will cross two Mega-Blocks of the Shield — Middle-Dniprean tonalite- greenstone and Azovian granulite-greenstone. In view of the excursion goals, the major attention will be paid to the greenstone rock complexes providing most information on the Archean and Proterozoic magmatism, sedimentation, tectonics and mineralization in the time span 3.2-2.1 Ga, while the rocks developed in the greenstone basement (various granite-gneisses, migmatites etc.) will be briefly examined in conjunction with the issues of geochronology.
Excursion under auspices of the 33rd International Geological Congress is organized by the State Geological Survey of Ukraine (SGSU), Ukrainian State Geological Research Institute (UkrSGRI) and is supported by the International Association on Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD).