Exhalation ore mineralization is developing in the crater part of the active Kudryavy volcano. Lithogeochemical sampling results have revealed that Re, Au, Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Ge, In, Mo, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Sn, Te, Tl, W, Zn, Rb, and Cs accumulate in solid fumarole formations. These elements are transported by high-temperature volcanic gases and are deposited in mineral phases in the near-surface horizons of fumarole fields under decreasing temperature conditions. The contents of rhenium and other metals in volcanic deposits of fumarole fields locally reach values characteristic of ore deposits. Zoning of lithogeochemical anomalies in ore element associations has been revealed, expressed by the series Re, Mo, W, Au, Cu, Ag, Zn, Cs, Ge → In → Bi, Cd, Pb, Sn, Tl → As, Sb, Se, Te, (Cu, Ag, Au) in the direction from the highest-temperature fumarole fields to less hot, reflecting their temperature zoning. It is demonstrated that lateral geochemical zoning is caused both by the ore element contents in fumarole gases, which depend on temperature, and by differences in the optimal temperature ranges in which various elements precipitate from gases. Signatures for similar exhalation mineral formation processes have been revealed that occurred in the recent geological past at the neighboring extinct Sredny volcano. This suggests the occurrence of similar processes within other volcanic systems of Iturup Island, which increases the prospects for detecting complex exhalation-related manifestations of rare, base, and noble metals.

A high-temperature (up to 940°C) fumarolic activity at Kudriavy volcano had been studied during 1990–1999. The maximum gas temperatures of the fumaroles were measured in 1992 as 940°C, then gradually decreased with time and reached to 907°C in 1999. Gas composition of the high-temperature fumarole became enriched in H2O and depleted in other gas components, in particular in CO2. Hydrogen isotopic compositions of the high-temperature fumarolic gases were gradually depleted in deuterium. The gradual and continuous decrease in temperature and changes in gas composition observed during the last 10-year suggest that a magmatic melt have been degassing in a relatively steady-state manner from a single magma chamber. The detail investigations in 1998 and 1999 revealed short-term changes in gas composition characterized by sporadic increases in H2, CO2, and Stotal after intense precipitations. Small-scale eruptions occurred on October 7, 1999 at the summit. The ratios of major gas components (C/S, C/Cl, S/Cl, C/F, S/F, and Cl/F) significantly increased just prior to the eruption. The eruption at the Kudriavy volcano in 1999 was likely a phreatic eruption as a result of the intense precipitations after unusually long dry period. Meteoric water penetrated into the hot zone of volcano edifice and rapidly boiled causing the eruption.

Direct experiments on high-temperature (910 and 620°C) fumaroles of Kudryavy Volcano have demonstrated that low-density volcanic gas interacts with rock-forming and ore minerals (12 minerals were studied). The mechanism of the interaction is determined by gas metasomatism reactions: (a) at given conditions, sphalerite, calcite, barite, and gypsum are either dissolved and removed by gas or replaced with other minerals (calcite → anhydrite); (b) reactions with silicates (feldspars, olivine, and biotite) proceed owing to diffusion cation exchange. Structural rearrangements in biotite are possible due to dehydration and loss of alkalis and aluminum. The kinetics of interaction between hot gas and silicates is governed by the rate of cation diffusion in the mineral at given conditions. Precipitation of sublimates on the surfaces of minerals does not affect much the process of reactions. Interaction between volcanic gas and minerals results in albitization of feldspars and ferruginization of olivine and biotite. The scale of metasomatism in the crystalline rocks of Kudryavyi Volcano has been estimated as about 3 mm in 115 years.