Importance
The importance of shear zones lies in the fact that they are major zones of weakness in the Earth's crust, sometimes extending into the upper mantle. They can be very long-lived features and commonly show evidence of several overprinting stages of activity. Material can be transported upwards or downwards in them, the most important one being water circulating dissolved ions. This can bring about metasomatism in the host rocks and even re-fertilise mantle material.
Shear zones can host economically viable mineralizations, examples being important gold deposits in Precambrian terranes.
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