40^Ar／39^Ar Ages of Auriferous Quartz Veins from the Fengyang and Zhangbaling Regions and Their Geological Significance

Geotectonically the Fengyang and Zhangbaling regions belong to the North China craton and the Dabie-Sulu oragene, respectively. Neo-Archean gneiss and amphibolite and metamor-phosed sea-facies sodic volcanic rocks axe the main outcrops in the two regions, respectively. The Zhangbaling terrane strike-skipped along the Tancheng-Lujiang fault zone in Mesozoic and Cenozo-ic eras and got close to the Fengyang terrane. Mesozoic Yanshanian intrusions occur broadly in thetwo regions. Gold-beating quartz veins occur in the metamorphic rocks in the Fengyang region and in the granodiorite and metamorphosed sea-facies sodic volcanic rocks in the Zhanghaling region.Generally, the formation of the auriferous quartz veins involved three stages. At the first stage,gold-poor sulfide quartz veins were formed; at the second stage gold-rich quartz sulfide veins wereformed; and at the third stage gold-poor barite and/or carbonate veins were formed. The 40^Ar/29^Ar step-heating plateau ages of the first-stage and the second-stage quartz aggregates from the Zhuding, Maoshan and Shangeheng gold deposits range between 116.1 0.6 Ma and 118.3 0.5 Ma and are pretty close to their least apparent ages and isoehronal ages, respectively. All plat-eau, least apparent and isoehronal ages range between 113.4 0.4 Ma and 118.3 0.5 Ma,which are considered as the formation age range of the quartz. It is reasonable and reliable to takethe 40^Ar/39^Ar age range of the quartz as the formation age range of gold-bearing quartz veins onthe basis of spatial relationship between gold-bearing quartz veins and their country rocks. Thegold deposits in the two regions were formed in Aptian, Cretaceous, when the Tancheng-Lujiangfault zone moved as a normal fault with slightly right-lateral strike-skip, was extensional and expe-rienced very strong magnmtic process. It is shown that the magnmtic hydrothermal fluid is a veryimportant part of the gold ore-forming hydrothermal fluid in the Fengyang and Zhanghaling re-gions. The formation of the gold ore deposits in the Fengyang and Zhanghaling regions had genetic relations with the extensional movement of the Tancheng-Lujiang fault zone and magmatic activities and took place under the extensional dynamic condition in Late Cretaceous. Therefore, the exten-sional movement of the Tancheng-Lujiang fault zone presented the energy and space for magmatic and gold ore-forming processes.     

张八岭地区中生代岩体中黑云母的40Ar-39Ar年龄及其地质意义

张八岭地区顺郯庐断裂带由北向南出露了管店、瓦屋刘和瓦屋薛3个岩体,岩性分别为花岗闪长岩、石英二长岩和花岗岩。对其中两个侵入岩体中黑云母进行了⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar定年研究。张八岭隆起北段瓦屋刘石英二长岩和瓦屋薛花岗岩中黑云母的⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar坪年龄分别为127.84±0.77Ma和119.97±0.64Ma,表明岩浆活动主要发生在早白垩世中期。结合最近断裂带内走滑糜棱岩中角闪石143.3±1.3Ma的⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar年龄,暗示了早白垩世中期断裂带内出现岩浆活动时,郯庐断裂带已转变成正断层活动,而不是以往认为由断裂带走滑诱发的岩浆活动,与华北地块东部岩石圈减薄的峰期时间基本一致。     

铜陵地区中酸性侵入岩年代学研究

本文选择了铜陵地区主要岩石类型的代表性岩体中黑云母为测定对象，准确地测定了侵入岩的４０Ａｒ／３９Ａｒ同位素年龄。测定结果表明，区内侵入岩的年龄均小于１４０Ｍａ，属燕山晚期的产物，后期热事件为成矿时代，晚于岩浆侵入时代，在此基础上，分析了ＫＡｒ法、ＲｂＳｒ法同位素年龄产生偏差的原因     

郯庐断裂带张八岭隆起北段的左旋走滑挤压变形及其~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar定年

郯庐断裂带张八岭隆起北段,自西向东分别出露北北东向的韧性滑脱变形带、脆-韧性过渡带和脆性的前陆褶断带。韧性滑脱变形带内的张八岭群片岩,广泛发生了低绿片相背景下的糜棱岩化。其中呈现为平缓的糜棱面理和近南北向的矿物拉伸线理。显微构造及石英C轴组构分析显示,该韧性滑脱带一致为上盘向南的运动。该带以东依次变为上盘向南南东→南东的逆冲活动,总体上为左旋走滑挤压变形带。张八岭群所在的韧性变形带为深部陡立走滑构造与浅部脆性构造之间的滑脱变形带,其间的差异走滑变形,造成了该滑脱层在总体向北运动中出现上盘向南的剪切变形。对6处张八岭群片岩中15个不同粒级白云母的40Ar/39Ar定年指示,变形发生在(236.2±0.5)~(238.0±0.4)Ma的中三叠世晚期。这表明郯庐断裂带的左行平移发生在华北与华南板块碰撞的深俯冲阶段,起源于陆内转换断层。     

郯庐断裂带早白垩世火山岩的K-Ar年龄及其构造意义

安徽肥东龙山和山东沂水道托火山岩的K-Ar全岩年龄分别为119.2±2.3Ma和114.8±1.0Ma,明显晚于郯庐断裂带左行平移时间(143.3±1.3Ma),与断裂带内张八岭隆起北段侵入岩中黑云母的⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar坪年龄(120~128Ma),以及南段肥东—巢湖地区的花岗岩中锆石定年结果(106.9~121.4Ma)一致,可能是断裂带伸展活动的产物。     

40Ar/39Ar and K–Ar geochronology of magmatic and hydrothermal events in a classic low-suphidation epithermal bonanza deposit: El Peñon, northern Chile

The epithermal El Peñon gold–silver deposit consists of quartz–adularia veins emplaced within a late Upper Paleocene rhyolitic dome complex, located in the Paleocene–Lower Eocene Au–Ag belt of northern Chile. Detailed K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology on volcano–plutonic rocks and hydrothermal minerals were carried out to constrain magmatic and hydrothermal events. The Paleocene to Lower Eocene magmatism in the El Peñon area is confined to a rhomb-shaped basin, which was controlled by N–S trending normal faults and both NE- and NW-trending transtensional fault systems. The earliest products of the basin-filling sequences comprise of Middle to Upper Paleocene (～59–55 Ma) welded rhyolitic ignimbrites and andesitic to dacitic lavas, with occasional dacitic dome complexes. Later, rhyolitic and dacitic dome complexes (～55–52 Ma) represent the waning stages of volcanism during the latest Upper Paleocene and the earliest Eocene. Lower Eocene porphyry intrusives (～48–43 Ma) mark the end of the magmatism in the basin and a change to a compressive tectonomagmatic regime. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of hydrothermal adularia from the El Peñon deposit yields ages between 51.0±0.6 and 53.1±0.5 Ma. These results suggest that mineralization occurred slightly after the emplacement of the El Peñon rhyolitic dome at 54.5±0.6 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age) and was closely tied to later dacitic–rhyodacitic bodies of 52 to 53 Ma (K–Ar ages), probably as short-lived pulses related to single volcanic events.     

楼子店变质核杂岩韧性变形作用的40Ar/39Ar年代学约束

楼子店变质核杂岩以拆离系中韧性剪切与脆性拆离运动学不一致,有别于北美科迪勒拉变质核杂岩。构造分析表明,核杂岩两侧拆离系中韧性剪切具有统一的上盘向北东的剪切特征。采自核杂岩两侧韧性剪切带中的3个黑云母单矿物^40Ar／^39Ar年龄介于126～128Ma之间,西侧韧性剪切带中1个角闪石单矿物^40Ar／^39Ar年龄为134Ma,4个样品的坪年龄与对应的等时线年龄一致。角闪石和黑云母坪年龄记录的韧性剪切作用的时限为126～134Ma,并且显示出韧性伸展的特点。研究表明楼子店变质核杂岩两侧的韧性剪切带形成时间一致并具有相同的运动学,韧性剪切作用是核杂岩形成演化的一个重要阶段,这为核杂岩形成的韧性伸展阶段的约束提供了年代学证据。     

云南北衙矿区富碱斑岩正长石和白云母的40Ar-39Ar年龄

云南北衙矿区石英正长斑岩岩体在空间上与金、铅锌矿体共生。红泥塘岩体地表岩石正长石的⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar坪年龄和等时线年龄为25.89±0.13Ma和25.72±0.7Ma,万洞山岩体地表以下382m钻孔中岩石的正长石坪年龄和等时线年龄为25.53±0.25Ma和25.50±0.07Ma,分别为两个岩体的形成年龄。但是,万洞山岩体地表团块状白云母的坪年龄和等时线年龄为32.50±0.09Ma和32.34±0.04Ma,为白云母的结晶年龄,也可能是主岩的结晶年龄     

桂西北地区石英斑岩脉白云母40Ar/39Ar 年龄及其地质意义

华南西部右江褶皱带内部燕山晚期岩浆岩主要为成群分布的基性- 超基性岩墙群和超酸性岩脉带。本文对桂西北巴
马-凤山-凌云一带的石英斑岩脉进行了斑晶白云母40Ar/39Ar 法测年,获得凤山弄黄北东向岩脉的40Ar/39Ar 坪年龄为（95.59
±0.68）Ma,相应的等时线年龄为（95.0±1.0）Ma;巴马北西向岩脉的坪年龄为（96.54±0.70）Ma,相应的等时线年龄为
（95.91±1.1）Ma。上述年龄代表了岩脉的侵位年龄。这些年龄数据进一步证明右江褶皱带及其周缘燕山期岩浆活动集中于
80~100 Ma 之间,暗示该区晚白垩世发生了大规模的岩石圈伸展减薄事件。华南西部晚白垩世花岗质岩浆活动与大规模的
锡多金属成矿有关,因此桂西北地区石英斑岩集中出露的地方是否具有寻找深部锡多金属矿的前景值得关注。同时,该期
岩浆活动是否与以卡林型金矿为代表的低温热液矿床有成因上的联系尚需更多矿床地质和年代学资料的证实。     

40Ar/39Ar geochronology constraints on the Middle Tertiary basement extensional exhumation,and its relation to ore-forming and magmatic processes in the Eastern Rhodope (Bulgaria)

The interaction of distinct geologic processes involved during late orogenic extensional exhumation history of the metamorphic units in the Eastern Rhodope is refined by new and reviewing ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological and structural data. Minerals with different closure temperatures from metamorphic rocks investigated in this study are combined with those from magmatic and ore-forming hydrothermal rocks in two late stage metamorphic domes – the Kesebir-Kardamos and the Biala reka-Kehros domes. The 38-37 Ma muscovite and biotite cooling ages below 350°-300°C characterize basement metamorphic rocks that typified core of the Kesebir-Kardamos dome, constraining their exhumation at shallow crustal levels in the footwall of detachment. These ages are interpreted as reflecting last stage of ductile activity on shear zone below detachment, which continued to operate under low-temperature conditions within the semi-ductile to brittle field. They are close to and overlap with existing cooling ages in southern Bulgaria and northern Greece, indicating supportively that the basement rocks regionally cooled between 42-36 Ma below temperatures 350°-300°C. The spatial distribution of ages shows a southward gradual increase up structural section, suggesting an asymmetrical mode of extension, cooling and exhumation from south to the north at latitude of the Kesebir-Kardamos dome. The slightly younger 36.5-35 Ma crystallization ages of adularia in altered rocks from the ore deposits in the immediate hanging-wall of detachments are attributed to brittle deformation on high-angle normal faults, which further contributed to upper crustal extension, and thus constraining the time when alteration took place and deformation continued at brittle crustal levels. Silicic dykes yielded ages between 32-33 Ma, typically coinciding with the main phase of Palaeogene magmatic activity, which started in Eastern Rhodope region in Late Eocene (Priabonian) times. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages from the above distinct rock types span time interval lasting approximately ca. 6 Ma. Consequently, our geochronologic results consistently indicate that extensional tectonics and related exhumation and doming, epithermal mineralizations and volcanic activity are closely spaced in time. These new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age results further contribute to temporal constraints on the timing of tectonic, relative to ore-forming and magmatic events, suggesting in addition that all above mentioned processes interfered during the late orogenic extensional collapse in the Eastern Rhodope region.     

胶东谢家沟金矿床蚀变钾长石40Ar-39Ar年龄及地质意义

谢家沟金矿床位于胶西北焦家断裂带和招平断裂带之间。在系统观察坑道各类蚀变现象的基础上,发现围岩蚀变主要有钾长石化、硅化、黄铁矿化、绢云母化,其次可见绿泥石化和碳酸盐化等;基于蚀变的叠加和穿插关系查明了不同阶段的主要热液作用记录,从早到晚依次为钾长石化、黄铁绢英岩化、陡立石英硫化物细脉;蚀变具有明显的空间分带现象,从中心到两侧分别为陡立石英硫化物细脉带、黄铁绢英岩化带、钾长石化带。本次研究对蚀变钾长石开展了⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar精细测年工作,获得的坪年龄为（112.79±0.62）Ma（MSWD=5.76）,与等时线年龄（（115.56±1.72）Ma（MSWD=4.59））一致,限定了谢家沟金矿床的钾化蚀变年龄,与胶东地区获得的金成矿事件年龄相近,说明谢家沟金矿床与胶东地区金矿床是在同一成矿-热事件下形成的。结合区域岩浆演化特征,胶东地区在郭家岭岩体形成之后、在（120±10）Ma还存在一期与金成矿关系密切的岩浆活动。     

云南个旧锡铜多金属矿区云母~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄及其地质意义

云南个旧是全球最大的锡铜多金属矿区,主要成矿作用是与燕山期花岗岩密切相关的岩浆-热液体系。矿区内铜矿的主要矿床类型为变玄武岩型层状铜矿和接触带型铜矿。赋存于花岗岩体的凹陷部位,接触带型铜矿体和氧化型矿体的精确年龄尚未有报道。以老厂矿田内与铜矿体同期的等粒花岗岩脉中的黑云母和与氧化矿同时形成的白云母作为研究对象,利用常规~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar同位素定年方法,获得了黑云母和白云母的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar坪年龄分别为82.47±0.49Ma和76.17±0.42Ma,相应的正等时线年龄为82.38±0.48Ma和76.07±0.66Ma,反等时线年龄为82.38±0.49Ma和76.07±0.73Ma。结合野外地质接触关系和矿区内其他年代学结果认为,黑云母的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄82.38±0.48Ma可以代表接触带型铜矿体的形成年龄,也揭示了新山花岗岩体形成后的快速冷却作用过程;白云母的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄76.07±0.73Ma指示了氧化型矿体的形成年龄,也记录了矿区内与甲介山同期的南北向断裂的晚期活动时限。该年龄与个旧锡铜多金属矿床的成矿时代一致。     

豫西铁炉坪银铅矿床矿脉构造解析及近矿蚀变岩绢云母40Ar-39Ar年龄测定

河南省洛宁县铁炉坪大型脉状银铅矿床地处华北陆块南缘熊耳山中生代变质核杂岩构造西部,由一组主要的NNE走向陡倾斜矿脉和一组次要的NW走向陡倾斜矿脉有规律地组成.矿脉以条带状、角砾状和晶洞-晶簇-梳状三种主要形式多阶段充填而成,按照主要矿脉的矿物共生序列可以分为四个阶段:铁镁碳酸盐阶段(I)、烟灰色石英-贱金属硫化物-银矿...     

Amphibole Ar/Ar Geochronology from the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt, South Korea and its Tectonic Implications

An understanding of the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB) in South Korea is central to unraveling the tectono-metamorphic evolution of East Asia. Amphibole-bearing rocks in the OMB occur as calcsilicate layers and lenses in psammitic rocks, in the psammitic rocks themselves, and in the mafic volcanic layers and intrusives. Most amphiboles fail to show ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages; those that do have ages ranging from 132 to 975 Ma. The disturbed age pattern and wide variation in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages can be related to metamorphic grade, retrograde chemical reactions, excess Ar and amphibole composition. The oldest age (975 Ma) can be interpreted either as an old igneous or metamorphic age predating sedimentation or a false age caused by excess Ar. The youngest age of 132 Ma and the disturbed age pattern found in amphiboles from rocks located close to Jurassic granitoids are the result of retrograde thermal metamorphic effects accompanying intrusion of the granitoids. Some medium- or coarse-grained amphiboles in the calcsilicates are aggregates of fine-grained crystals. As a result, they are heterogeneous and prove to be readily affected by excess Ar. A disturbed age pattern in amphiboles from the calcsilicates occurring in the high-grade metamorphic zone may also be the product of excess Ar. On the other hand, the disturbed pattern of amphiboles present in the calcsilicates from the low-grade metamorphic zone could arise from both excess Ar and mixed ages. However, amphiboles from psammitic rocks and some calcsilicates in the high-grade metamorphic zone and in intrusive metabasites display real plateau ages of 237 to 261 Ma. The temperature conditions in the high-grade metamorphic zone were higher than the argon closing temperature for amphibole, and the amphiboles in this zone give plateau ages only when they are homogeneous in composition, lack excess Ar, and have not been thermally affected by intrusion of the granitoids. The unmodified ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages prove rather younger than the age of the Late Paleozoic metamorphic event of 280 to 300 Ma, but they are close to muscovite K-Ar ages of 263 to 277 Ma. These ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages are interpreted as the time of cooling that followed the main regional, intermediate-P/T metamorphic climax. The results demonstrate that interpretation of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole ages in an area subjected to several metamorphic events can be accomplished only by undertaking a thorough tectono-metamorphic study, accompanied by detailed chemical analysis of the amphiboles.     

Thermal Evolution of the Tanlu Fault Zone on the Eastern Margin of the Dabie Mountains and Its Tectonic Implications

Five samples of muscovite from mylonites of the earlier Tanlu ductile shear zone on the eastern margin of the Dabie Mountains yield 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 178 Ma to 196 Ma. Three of them have reliable plateau ages of 188.7±0.7 Ma, 189.7±0.6 Ma and 192.5±0.7 Ma respectively, which indicates a syn-orogenic, sinistral strike-slip thermal event. This displacement movement derived from the continent-continent collision of the North and South China blocks took place in the Early Jurassic and after uplifting of high-pressure to ultrahigh-pressure slabs to the mid-crust. It is suggested that during the collision the Tanlu fault zone was an intracontinental transform fault caused by differential subduction speeds. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of mylonite whole-rock and muscovite from the later Tanlu ductile shear zone suggest another sinistral strike-slip cooling event at 128 Ma. During this strike-slip faulting, large-scale intrusion and doming uplift occurred in the eastern part of the Dabie orogenic belt. Data o     

内蒙古沙麦钨矿白云母40Ar/39Ar年龄及其地质意义

内蒙古沙麦钨矿床位于中亚造山带东段（或称兴蒙造山带）,矿体主要赋存在黑云母二长花岗（斑）岩内,主要矿化类型为伟晶岩型和云英岩型。本文利用40Ar/39Ar同位素测年方法对沙麦钨矿成矿阶段形成的白云母进行了年龄测定,获得白云母Ar-Ar坪年龄为138.4 ± 0.84 Ma,对应的正、反等时线年龄分别为137.32 ± 0.73 Ma和137.35 ± 0.73 Ma。所测坪年龄与正反等时线年龄具有很好的一致性,可以代表矿床钨矿体的形成年龄,表明该矿床的形成与沙麦地区燕山晚期的岩浆活动有关,这与区域上的成矿事件相吻合。结合区域地球动力学背景的研究成果,认为沙麦钨矿床形成于陆-陆碰撞造山后的陆内伸展环境。     

Structural setting,style and timing of vein-hosted gold mineralization at the Pogo deposit,east central Alaska

Gold-bearing veins within the Liese zone of the Pogo deposit display a two-stage evolutionary history that records temporal variation in kinematics, fluid chemistry and temperature. Several stacked shallow northwest-dipping shear veins are developed at Pogo, and collectively comprise the Liese Zone. Veins consist of: (1) early, narrow biotite-bearing shear veins; (2) white quartz veins with pyrite-arsenopyrite bands, referred to as main stage quartz veins, that have sericite-Fe-Mg carbonate alteration envelopes and which exploit the early shear veins; and (3) extension veins that form as steeper offshoots from the main stage veins. The presence and orientation of oblique fabrics developed in the older biotite-bearing shear veins are indicative of top-to-the-south displacement under ductile to semi-brittle conditions at higher temperatures. In contrast, the orientation of the extension veins and local sigmoidal shapes indicate a component of top-to-the-northwest normal displacement on the main stage veins in their present orientation, and brittle to semi-brittle conditions of formation. Dolomite-sericite alteration surrounding main stage veins may represent late to post-mineral hydrothermal fluid exploitation of vein margins during ongoing normal displacement along vein systems. All types of veining overprint 107–106 Ma, post-metamorphic granitic dykes. Molybdenite in main stage quartz assemblages has returned Re-Os ages of 104.2±1.1 Ma, significantly older than 96 to 91 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained from vein alteration assemblages that may reflect thermal resetting during post-mineral fault related hydrothermal activity, magmatism and/or retrograde cooling of the lithologic sequence. Unlike typical mesothermal shear vein hosted gold systems, Pogo is temporally and tectonically separated from metamorphic deformation events, and has a comparable kinematic and geometric architecture to Cretaceous plutonic gold deposits in the region. We interpret the deposit to have formed during a regional Cretaceous extensional event during multi-stage exploitation of extensional fault surfaces by hydrothermal fluid from a cooling magmatic source.Editorial handling: S.G. Hagemann     

南秦岭铧厂沟金矿床铬云母~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年代学及其大地构造意义

南秦岭铧厂沟金矿床位于勉略缝合带以南的逆冲推覆带内,矿体呈透镜体或脉状产于新元古界蚀变细碧岩及泥盆系灰岩中,受控于近EW向叠瓦状逆冲断层及韧脆性剪切带。为了准确厘定其成矿时代,对矿区蚀变细碧岩型矿石和含矿石英脉中的铬云母进行了年龄测定。2件铬云母样品的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar坪年龄分别为209.4±2.3 Ma和211.5±2.5 Ma,相应的等时线年龄211.4±3.6 Ma和215.3±3.9 Ma,与坪年龄在误差范围内一致。因此,铧厂沟金矿床的成矿年龄为212~209 Ma。结合铧厂沟金矿床的大地构造位置、矿床地质特征及成因类型,推测铧厂沟金矿床形成于扬子板块与秦岭微板块的碰撞过程,其成矿年龄代表了两板块发生碰撞的下限。     

江苏溧水观山高硫型铜铅金矿床40Ar/39Ar 定年及其地质意义

位于江苏溧水盆地的观山铜铅金矿是典型的高硫型浅成低温热液矿床,但一直缺少精确的成矿年龄数据。对观山矿床近矿围岩绢云母化粗安斑岩中的2件绢云母样品进行40Ar/39Ar定年,得到的年龄分别为（120.8±1.0） Ma和（116.0 ± 1.3） Ma,显示观山铜铅金矿形成于中国东部中生代大规模成矿作用时期。距今125 Ma~115 Ma,整个中国东部地区处于伸展背景下, 发生了大规模的岩浆活动,并形成了包括溧水火山盆地在内的一系列的断陷盆地。溧水盆地在构造运动的强烈影响下,深部岩浆上涌, 形成浅部岩浆房。在热动力的驱动下,富含成矿物质的岩浆水不断与大气降水混合,在近地表形成与粗安斑岩次火山岩有关的浅成低温热液铜多金属矿床。     

Geochronological Constraints Using 40Ar/39Ar Dating on the Mineralization of the Hishikari Epithermal Gold Deposit, Japan

Abstract. Ages for thirty adularia samples collected from various veins were in the Hishikari gold deposit determined by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating to constrain the timing of adularia‐quartz vein formation and to determine the temporal change in temperature of hydrothermal fluid. Plateau ages were obtained from all adularia samples, and significant excess ⁴⁰Ar is not recognized from inverse isochrones. The duration of mineralization within individual veins was determined by adularia ages from the early and late stages of mineralization within the same vein. The durations of mineralization in the Daisen‐1, Daisen‐3, Hosen‐2 and Keisen‐3 veins in the Honko‐Sanjin zone were 7,000, 140,000, 160,000 and 170,000 years, respectively. The durations of mineralization in the Seisen‐2 and Yusen‐1–2 veins in the Yamada zones were 360,000 and 320,000 years, respectively. Mineralization lasted for a relatively longer period in individual veins at the Yamada zone. Mineralization ages from the Honko‐Sanjin zone range from 1.04 to 0.75 Ma, and most mineralization ages are concentrated in a short period from 1.01 to 0.88 Ma. In contrast, mineralization ages for the Yamada zone range from 1.21 to 0.64 Ma. These results indicate that fracturing and subsequent vein formation lasted for a longer period in the Yamada zone (about 570,000 years) compared with those events in the Honko‐Sanjin zone (about 290,000 years). The homogenization temperatures of liquid‐rich fluid inclusions in columnar adularia used for age determination were determined to be 223°C on average, and most of these temperatures range from 180 to 258d?C. No significant temporal change in homogenization temperature is recognized in this study. However, adularia in the Keisen veins indicated higher homogenization temperatures compared with elsewhere in the deposit, suggesting that the principal ascent of mineralizing hydrothermal fluid was via the Keisen veins.