Cimmeria (continent)

Cimmeria was an ancient microcontinent that existed about 200 million years ago. It rifted north from Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous and collided against eastern Laurasia (the Siberian continent) during the Late Triassic together with the Chinese continents. The collision created new mountain ranges between Siberia and Cimmeria. Cimmeria consisted of parts of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, Indochina and Malaya. Cimmeria was on the Cimmerian Plate, an ancient tectonic plate that was subducting under Laurasia.

The present remains of Cimmeria, as a result of the massive uplifting of its continental crust, are unusually rich in a number of rare chalcophile elements. Apart from the Altiplano in Bolivia, almost all the world’s deposits of antimony as stibnite are found in Cimmeria, with the major mines being in Turkey, Yunnan and Thailand. The major deposits of tin are also found in Malaysia and Thailand, whilst Turkey also has major deposits of chromite ore.