Temporal relationship between granite cooling and hydrothermal uranium mineralization at Dalongshan in China: a combined radiometric and oxygen isotopic study

A combined study using multi-radiometric dating and oxygen isotopic geothermometry was carried out for Mesozoic quartz syenite, alkali-feldspar granite and associated hydrothermal uranium mineralization at Dalongshan in the Middle-Lower Yangtze valley of east-central China. Radiometric dating of the quartz syenite yields a whole-rock Rb–Sr isochron age of 135.6±4.3 Ma, a zircon U–Pb isochron age of 132.9±2.2 Ma, and K–Ar ages of 126±2, 118±3 and 94±4 Ma for hornblende, biotite and orthoclase, respectively. The alkali-feldspar granite yields a whole-rock Rb–Sr isochron age of 117.3±3.3 Ma, a zircon U–Pb isochron age of 114.7±2.1 Ma, and K–Ar ages of 112±2, 109±3 and 88±4 Ma for hornblende, biotite and orthoclase, respectively. Oxygen isotope thermometry for both granites gives temperatures of 685 to 720, 555 to 580, 435 to 460 and 320 to 330 °C, for hornblende, magnetite, biotite and orthoclase respectively, when paired with quartz. The systematic differences among the ages by the different techniques on the different minerals are used to reconstruct the cooling history of the granite. The results yield rapid cooling rates of 27.4 to 58.6 °C/Ma from 800 to 300 °C in the early stage, but slow cooling rates of 6.3 to 7.2 °C/Ma from 300 to 150 °C in the late stage. The regular sequence of oxygen isotope temperatures for the different quartz–mineral pairs demonstrates that diffusion is a dominant factor controlling the closure of both radiometric and O isotopic systems during granite cooling. Pitchblende U–Pb isochron dating yields an uranium mineralization age of 106.4±2.9 Ma, which is younger than the age of the granite emplacement and thus considerably postdates the time of magma crystallization, but is close to the closure time of the K–Ar system in the biotite. This points to a close relationship between granite cooling and ore-forming process. It appears that hydrothermal mineralization took place in the stage of slow cooling of the granite, whereas the rapid cooling of the granite was concurrent with the migration of hydrothermal fluids along fault structures. Therefore, the activity of the ore-forming hydrothermal system is temporally dictated by the cooling rates of the granite and may lag about 25 to 30 Ma behind the crystallization timing of associated granite.     

Age of Cu(-Fe)-Au mineralization and thermal evolution of the Punta del Cobre district, Chile

The Punta del Cobre belt is located 15?km south of Copiapó, northern Chile. It comprises several Cu(-Fe)-Au deposits in the Punta del Cobre and Ladrillos districts, east of the Copiapó river, and the Ojancos Nuevo district, with the new Candelaria mine, and Las Pintadas district, west of the river. The mineralization in the Punta del Cobre belt is characterized by a simple hypogene mineral assemblage of chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite, and hematite. Average ore grades are 1.1 to 2% Cu, 0.2 to 0.6?g/t Au, and 2 to 8?g/t Ag. Massive magnetite occurs as veins and irregularly shaped bodies. The ore is spatially associated with alkali metasomatism and in particular with potassic alteration. The Cu(-Fe)-Au deposits are hosted mainly in volcanic rocks of the Punta del Cobre Formation (pre-upper Valanginian) that underlie Neocomian limestones of the Chañarcillo Group. This region experienced backarc basin formation in the Neocomian, uplift and granitoid intrusions in the middle Cretaceous, and eastward migration of the magmatic front of about 30?km between middle Cretaceous and Paleocene. To determine the timing of ore deposition and to reconstruct parts of the thermal history of the Punta del Cobre district, in the eastern part of the belt, we have obtained ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental-heating and Rb-Sr analyses of mineral and whole-rock samples. An ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental-heating experiment on hydrothermal biotite, formed synchronous with the Cu(-Fe)-Au mineralization, yielded an inverse isochron age of 114.9?±?1.0 Ma (all errors reported at ±2σ), consistent with a Rb-Sr isochron of 116.8?±?2.7 Ma calculated from 7 whole-rock samples. These data are interpreted to represent the age of potassic alteration that accompanies mineralization. Ore formation temperatures of 400?°C to 500?°C were previously estimated based on paragenetic relationships. Shearing at the Candelaria deposit occurred after ore deposition and before the main stage of batholith emplacement. Published K-Ar ages for the middle Cretaceous batholith near the Punta del Cobre belt range from 119 to 97?Ma. Our data suggest that the mineralization is related to the earlier stages of batholith emplacement. The biotite age spectrum indicates that the Punta del Cobre district was not affected by temperatures above ～300?°C–350?°C, the closure temperature for argon in biotite, during the contact metamorphic overprint produced by later emplaced batholithic intrusions. Whole-rock ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are considerably younger; incremental-heating experiments yielded an inverse isochron age of 90.7?±?1.2?Ma and weighted mean plateau ages of 89.8?±?0.6?Ma and 89.5?±?0.6?Ma. These samples are dominantly K-feldspar, for which we assume an argon closure temperature of ～150?°C, thus they give the age of cooling below ～150?°C–200?°C.     

大龙山岩体冷却史及其成矿关系的同位素研究

根据全岩Rb-Sr、锆石U-Pb和角闪石、黑云母、钾长石K-Ar同位素年龄综合测定结果,再造了安庐石英正长岩带中大龙山岩体的冷却史。矿物对氧同位素地质测温结果证实,扩散作用是控制同位素体系封闭的主导因素。假定岩体冷却与地温梯度(100℃/Ma)同步降低,以二维热模式为参照,可以推算出大龙山岩体的原始侵位深度约为8km,成岩温度为800±50℃。早阶段石英正长岩体在136Ma侵位结晶后开始快速的冷却上升,冷却速率为27.4℃/Ma,上升速率为0.27mm/a;经过约18Ma后,岩体上升至地下约3km深处,温度为300±50℃,转为缓慢冷却上升,冷却速率为6.3℃/Ma,上升速率为0.06mm/a.晚阶段碱长花岗岩体于117Ma侵位结晶,嗣后开始快速的冷却上升,冷却速率为58.6℃/Ma,上升速率为0.59mm/a;经过约8Ma后,岩体转为缓慢冷却上升,冷却速率为7.2℃/Ma,上升速率为0.07mm/a.结合对国内外其它深成岩体冷却历史的研究,可见这类岩体的侵位上升一般经历了两个阶段:(1)早期高温岩体快速上升至定位,冷却速率显着大于区域地温梯度降低幅度;(2)晚期低温岩体与区域地质体一起缓慢隆起上升,冷却速率与区域地温梯度降低幅度一致。对形成于大龙山岩体接触带的热液铀矿床进行了沥青铀矿U-Pb同位素年龄测定,得到的矿化时间与黑云母K-Ar体系的封闭时间相近。气液包裹体测温结果指示,矿化温度与黑云母的Ar封闭温度相一致;脉石矿物氧同位素组成研究得到,成矿流体为岩浆期后热液。因此,该热液铀矿床的形成与岩浆结晶分异及嗣后的岩体缓慢冷却密切相关。     

New thermochronologic constraints on the evolution of the Zaldívar porphyry copper deposit,Northern Chile

Life spans and thermal evolution of hydrothermal systems are of fundamental metallogenic importance. We were able to establish the chronology and cooling history of the Zaldívar porphyry copper deposit (Northern Chile) by applying a combination of different isotopic dating methods in minerals with different closure temperatures, including ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and zircon fission track thermochronology, together with fluid inclusion thermometry and previous published U–Pb zircon geochronology. The hydrothermal mineralization in the Zaldívar deposit is genetically related to the Llamo Porphyry unit. Samples of igneous biotites from this intrusion yielded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages between 35.5 ± 0.7 and 37.7 ± 0.4 Ma defining a weighted average of 36.6 ± 0.5 Ma (2σ). In contrast, one sample from the Zaldívar porphyry, one from the andesites, and two from the Llamo porphyry yielded considerably younger fission track ages of approximately 29 Ma with a weighted mean for all ages of 29.1 ± 1.7 Ma (2σ). Thermal and compositional constraints for the hydrothermal system in the Zaldívar deposit from fluid inclusions thermometry show that at least three fluid types broadly characterize two main hydrothermal episodes during the evolution of the deposit. The main mineralization and alteration event is characterized by high temperature (above 320°C) hypersaline fluids (salinity between 30 and 56 wt.% NaCl equivalents) coexisting with low-density gas-rich inclusions (salinity less than 17 wt.% NaCl equivalents) that homogenizing into the gas phase at temperatures above 350°C. The second episode corresponds to a low-temperature event which is characterized by liquid-rich fluid inclusions that homogenize into the liquid phase at temperatures ranging from 200°C to 300°C with salinities lower than 10 wt.% NaCl equivalents. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data (36.6 ± 0.5 Ma, weighted average) obtained from igneous biotites represent the minimum age for the last high-temperature (above 300°C) hydrothermal pulse. When compared with previously published U–Pb ages (38.7 ± 1.3 Ma) in zircons from the Llamo porphyry, a close temporal relationship between crystallization of the parental intrusion and the thermal collapse of the last high-temperature hydrothermal event is evident. Cooling took place from approximately 800°C (crystallization of the intrusive complex defined by zircon U–Pb ages) to below 300 ± 50°C (biotite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar closure temperature) within approximately 1.5 m.y. Because the thermal annealing of fission tracks in zircons occurs at temperatures of 240 ± 30°, the zircon fission track (ZFT) ages of 29.1 ± 1.7 Ma (2σ) mark the end of the thermal activity in the Zaldívar area, specifically the time when the whole area cooled below this temperature, well after the collapse of the main hydrothermal event in the Zaldívar porphyry copper deposit. This cooling age roughly coincides with the age defined for the emplacement of dacitic dikes at 31 ± 2.8 Ma (2σ) (published K–Ar whole rock), 5 km south of the Zaldívar deposit, in the Escondida area. This late magmatic pulse probably is responsible for high heat flow in the Zaldívar deposit as late as 29 Ma. There is no evidence that the low temperature hydrothermal pulse recognized by fluid inclusion studies is related to this thermal event. The zircon fission track cooling ages are interpreted to be related to the time lag required for complete relaxation of the perturbation of the isotherms in the geothermal field imposed by the intrusion of magmatic bodies, with or without any association with low temperature hydrothermal activity.     

Multimillion year thermal history of a porphyry copper deposit: application of U–Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and (U–Th)/He chronometers, Bajo de la Alumbrera copper–gold deposit, Argentina

Application of multiple chronometers (including U–Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology and zircon and apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronology) to porphyry intrusions at the Bajo de la Alumbrera porphyry copper–gold deposit, Argentina, reveals a complex history of reheating that spans millions of years. Previous U–Pb geochronology, combined with our new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data, shows that the multiple porphyritic intrusions at Bajo de la Alumbrera were emplaced during two episodes, the first at about 8.0 Ma (P2 and associated porphyries) and the second about a million years later (Early and Late P3 porphyries). Complex overprinting alteration events have obscured the earliest hydrothermal history of the deposit. By contrast, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data reveal the close temporal relationship of ore-bearing potassic alteration assemblages (7.12 ± 0.13 Ma; biotite) to the emplacement of the P3 intrusions. Consistent with low closure temperatures, younger ages have been determined for associated hydrothermal alkali feldspar (6.82 ± 0.05 Ma and 6.64 ± 0.09 Ma). The temperature-sensitive Ar data also record an unexpected prolonged cooling history (to below 200°C) extending to 5.9 Ma. Our data suggest that the Bajo de la Alumbrera system underwent protracted cooling, after the collapse of the main hydrothermal system, or that one or more low-temperature (~100–200°C) reheating events occurred after emplacement of the porphyritic intrusions at Bajo de la Alumbrera. These have been constrained in part by our new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data (including multidomain diffusion modeling) and (U–Th)/He ages. Single-grain (U–Th)/He ages (n = 5) for phenocrystic zircon from P2 and P3 intrusive phases bracket these thermal events to between 6.9 (youngest crystallization of intrusion) and 5.1 Ma. Multidomain modeling of alkali feldspar data (from both igneous and hydrothermal crystals) is consistent with the deposit cooling rapidly from magmatic temperatures to below about 300°C, with a more protracted history down to 150°C. We conclude that the late-stage low-temperature (150 to 200°C) thermal anomaly localized at Bajo de la Alumbrera resulted from radiation of heat and/or fluids sourced from deeper-seated magma bodies, emplaced beneath the deposit. To produce the observed thermal longevity of the porphyry system, magma bodies underlying the Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit must have been repeatedly replenished by new magma batches. Without replenishment, crystallization of the source magma will occur, and heat release will stop, leading to rapid cooling (in less than ten thousand years). The influx of deep-seated magma may have caused the development of late low-temperature hydrothermal alteration assemblages at Bajo de la Alumbrera, at the same time that mineralization formed at Agua Rica, some 25 km away. All available chronologic data for the Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit suggest that the hydrothermal system was active episodically over at least a three-million and possibly up to a four-million-year period. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

哈萨克斯坦阿克斗卡特大型斑岩铜矿床成矿时代与剥露历史研究

哈萨克斯坦阿克斗卡特大型斑岩型铜矿床产在中亚成矿域巴尔喀什成矿带阿克斗卡矿田。本文根据花岗岩类岩石的锆石U-Pb、40Ar/39Ar和裂变径迹(FT)热年代学研究,结合前人研究成果,给出了阿克斗卡斑岩铜矿床从深成岩浆活动、成矿作用、区域冷却到剥露作用的全过程。阿克斗卡矿床及附近花岗岩类锆石SHRIMPU-Pb定年结果,给出科尔达尔岩体早期英云闪长岩的结晶年龄为335.7±1.3Ma;主成矿期的含矿二长花岗斑岩结晶年龄为327.5±1.9Ma,反映了阿克斗卡矿床斑岩型铜成矿作用的年龄。花岗岩类角闪石、黑云母、钾长石40Ar/39Ar热年代学分别给出矿物冷却年龄为310.6Ma、271.5Ma和274.9Ma,进一步限定了深成斑岩型铜成矿作用的时代和区域冷却的历史。磷灰石FT测年数据揭示,受区域构造作用的影响,阿克斗卡铜矿田在晚白垩世(91～68.0Ma)发生地块的差异隆升和剥露作用。     

Dating Magmatic Hornblende and Biotite and Hydrothermal Sericite by Laser Probe Technique：Constraints on Genesis of Wangershan Gold Deposit, Eastern Shandong Province, China

INTRODUCTIONEasternShandongProvincerepresentsthelargestgoldconcentrationregioninChina ,withannualproduc tion >5 5 - 6 0tgoldandpresentreserveofmorethan90 0tgold ,accountingforaquarterofthetotalgoldproductioninthecountry .Amajorityofthegoldde positsishostedintheJurassic Cretaceousgranitoidin trusions .TimingofgoldmineralizationineasternShan donghasbeenamajorfocusofmanypreviousstudies .K Ar,Rb SrandconventionalU Pbisotopicdatinginthelasttwodecadeshaveyieldedawiderangeofminer alizationag…     

Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd Geochronology of the Eppawala Metamorphic Rocks and Carbonatite,Wanni Complex,Sri Lanka

Petrological studies on the surrounding metamorphic rocks of the Eppawala carbonatite body, Wanni complex, Sri Lanka, revealed that these rocks had been metamorphosed under amphibolite to granulite facies conditions. Garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss shows lower range of metamorphic temperature (730–770°C) than the migmatite gneiss (750–780°C) and the pressure varies from 6.6–7.8 kbar to 5.6–6.4 kbar respectively. The metamorphic age of the garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss and migmatite gneiss dated 607±23 Ma and 626±16 Ma, respectively for mineral — whole rock isochron in Sm-Nd system. These ages are compatible with the ages of regional high-grade metamorphism occurred 610–550 Ma in the three crustal units in Sri Lanka.Rb-Sr system for biotite, apatite and whole-rock fractions suggests 493±5 Ma for the Eppawala carbonatite body. This age indicates the cooling age of the biotite. The presence of non-crystalline carbonatite matrix and large hexagonal apatite crystals suggests a slow cooling history. Further, low closure temperature of biotite in Rb-Sr system suggests that the intrusion age of carbonatite body should be more than 493 Ma, but non-metamorphosed nature provides evidence that the intrusion age of the carbonatite body should be less than the period of regional metamorphism 610–550 Ma. Therefore, Eppawala carbonatite body has a strong possibility to be a late to post magmatic intrusion. The other late to post magmatic intrusions in the Wanni complex and Highland complex are dated between 580–550 Ma. Therefore, the most probable intrusion age of the Eppawala carbonatite body is suggested to be around 550 Ma.     

UPb emplacement and 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages of the eastern Mont-Louis granite massif (Eastern Pyrenees,France)

Zircon UPb dating by SIMS of the Mont-Louis granite yields an age of 305±5 Ma, intrepreted to reflect the igneous emplacement age of the massif. It is in agreement with the Hercynian syntectonic character of Pyrenees granite. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar on hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar permit, to estimate the massif cooling. A rapid temperature decrease (≈30 °C/Ma) is revealed from Westphalian to Late Stephanian, coeval with the emplacement of a laccolithe in the upper crust. Then, the cooling rate decreases to ≈1 °C/Ma. This would be consistent with a long time residence for the pluton from the Late Palaeozoic to the Early Cainozoic at 6–8 km depth. To cite this article: O. Maurel et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Radiometric constraints on hydrothermal circulation in cooling granite plutons

Improved precision of radiometric dating of ore deposits can provide information about the thermal history of hydrothermal circulation in cooling plutons. In Jales a Hercynian porphyritic two-mica granite and pre-Ordovician mica schists are cut and intensely altered by the Campo gold-quartz vein. The unaltered granite must be younger than 320 ± 6 Ma, and gives mica Rb-Sr ages of 308.5 ± 2.4 (1) Ma (muscovite) and 294.5 ± 1.1 Ma (biotite). Alteration muscovites from the granite give a weighted mean Rb-Sr age of 308.1 ± 1.5 Ma, and a mean ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar age of 300.7 ± 2.8 Ma. Alteration muscovites from the mica schists give similar ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages, averaging 303.0 ± 2.8 Ma. The results suggest that circulation of the Campo mineralising fluids took place no more than 2–4 Ma after the granite cooled through the muscovite Rb-Sr closure temperature, about 500 °C, and that subsequent cooling to biotite closure at about 300 °C took place at less than 14°C/Ma. The mean cooling rate following emplacement was 15 to 25 °C/Ma. The most detailed comparable published data, for the Cornubian ore field, imply much faster cooling rates.     

Ar–Ar Ages of Hydrothermal Muscovite and Igneous Biotite at the Guposhan–Huashan District,Northeast Guangxi,South China: Implications for Mesozoic W–Sn Mineralization

The Guposhan–Huashan district is an important W–Sn–Sb–Zn–(Cu) metallogenic area in South China. It is located in the middle‐west segment of the Nanling Range. Granitoids in the Guposhan–Huashan district possess certain properties of A‐type or I‐type granites. The W–Sn–Sb–Zn mineralization in the district is closely associated with magma emplacement. Two igneous biotite and seven hydrothermal muscovite samples from skarn, veins and greisenization ores were analyzed by Ar–Ar methods. Two igneous biotite samples from fine‐grained quartz monzodiorite and fine‐grained biotite granite show plateau ages of 168.7 ± 1.9 Ma and 165.0 ± 1.1 Ma, respectively. Seven hydrothermal muscovite samples from ores yield plateau ages as two groups: 165 Ma to 160 Ma and 104 Ma to 100 Ma. These data suggest that the emplacement of fine‐grained granitoids in this district is coeval with the main phase magma emplacement, different from previous studies. The W–Sn–Sb–Zn mineralization took place in two stages, i.e. the Middle–Late Jurassic and early Cretaceous. W–Sn mineralization in the Guposhan–Huashan district is closely related to the magmatism, which was strongly influenced by underplating of asthenospheric mantle along trans‐lithospheric deep faults and related fractures.     

Thermochronology and the three-dimensional cooling pattern of a granitic pluton: an example from the Toki granite,Central Japan

The three-dimensional spatial variations in the cooling pattern of the Toki granitic body, a zoned pluton in Central Japan, have been evaluated quantitatively by thermochronology using cooling age determination based on the different closure temperatures for target mineral species. The Toki granite has hornblende K–Ar ages of about 74.3 ± 3.7 Ma (N = 2; closure temperature of 510 ± 25°C), biotite K–Ar ages of 78.5 ± 3.9 to 59.7 ± 1.5 Ma (N = 33; 300 ± 50°C), and zircon fission-track ages of 75.6 ± 3.3 to 52.8 ± 2.6 Ma (N = 44; 240 ± 50°C). The spatial variation in the biotite K–Ar age is similar to that in the zircon fission-track age in samples collected from 11 boreholes and seven outcrop sites in the Toki granite, indicating that cooling was effectively from the roof and also from the northwest margin. This cooling pattern shows a strong correlation with the Alumina Saturation Index (ASI) distribution of the body. Larger ASI values correspond to earlier and more rapid cooling after emplacement and smaller value to slower cooling. Toki granite was effectively cooled from the peraluminous regions where assimilation of country sedimentary rock was most extensive.     

Cooling of a Late-Syn Orogenic Pluton: Evidence from Laser K-feldspar Modelling of the Carion Granite,Madagascar

Since the late 1980s, it has been hypothesized that the wide range of apparent argon ages seen within single K-feldspar samples might be due to a distribution of diffusion domain sizes within the mineral. To test and apply this idea, an analytical technique that combines conventional laboratory degassing experiments (resistance heating) with numerical inversion procedures has been developed to extract cooling history information from feldspars. A key part of the method involves careful control of temperature in the laboratory to constrain the diffusion parameters of the feldspar samples. In our study, we have K-feldspar data from single crystals that mimic the types of data seen in classic resistance heater fusion experiments. Our step-heating data are based on using a continuous argon-ion laser with no direct control on temperature. However, with only a single added free parameter in the model, we show that it is possible to analyze this data in the multi-domain style, and make some simple inferences on the nature of the cooling history of the Carion pluton in central Madagascar. The Carion granitic pluton in central Madagascar was intruded into warm continental crust following orogenic events related to the final amalgamation of Gondwana. U-Pb SHRIMP dating of the pluton yields an emplacement age of 532.1 ± 5.2 Ma followed by relatively slow cooling as constrained by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar. Four hornblende samples yielded a mean ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 512.7 ± 2.6 Ma. A biotite sample yielded an age of 478.9 ± 1.0 Ma and modeled K-feldspar ages show cooling from 350° C at 466 Ma to 100° C by 410 Ma. Collectively, the data suggest that the pluton cooled from 850° C at 532.1 ± 5.2 (U-Pb zircon) Ma to 500° C at 512.7 ± 2.6 Ma (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar hornblende), or approximately 18 °C/Ma slowing to ∼4 °C/Ma between 512 Ma and 478 Ma and finally to about 3°C/Ma between 478 and 410 Ma.     

Emplacement of the Ardara pluton (Ireland): new constraints from magnetic fabrics, rock fabrics and age dating

The Ardara pluton as part of the Donegal batholith was intruded into Neoproterozoic metasediments and metadolerites at mid-crustal levels. The emplacement mechanism of the Ardara granite is very controversial, and mechanisms ranging from diapirism, ballooning and stoping followed by nested diapirism have been proposed. Magnetic fabrics, rock fabrics and K/Ar dating of micas are used here to constrain the emplacement history. The compositional zoning of the Ardara pluton is clearly reflected in the different bulk magnetic susceptibilities between the outer quartz monzodiorite and the central granodiorite, whereas the intervening tonalite is of intermediate nature. The magnetic carriers are characterized by the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility (AMS), thermomagnetic measurements and through high field analyses (HFA). The separation of the ferrimagnetic and paramagnetic contributions revealed that biotite and magnetite control the AMS in the quartz monzodiorite. Both minerals are oriented in such a way that their summed contribution is constructive and originates from the shape fabric of magnetite and the texture of biotite. Biotite is responsible mainly for the AMS in the tonalite and granodiorite. The magnetic foliation can be directly related to the macroscopic foliation and also to the D4 structures in the country rocks. The foliation is consistent with the geometry of the roughly circular shape and has a mostly steep to vertical dip. Towards the central granodiorite the magnetic foliation dies out, although plagioclase texture measurements indicate a weak magmatic shape fabric. With the exception of the tail, the K_max axes (magnetic lineation) vary from steeply to gently plunging. The so-called lineation factor is approximately 1.01 and therefore points to a less significant axial symmetry. These observations coincide with strain estimates on mafic enclaves that show a very consistent pattern of K ∼0 flattening strain. Texture analyses of biotite and quartz additionally support the observations made by the strain analyses and the magnetic fabric data. Microstructural investigations give evidence that the fabrics are associated with the emplacement over a range of temperatures from truly magmatic to high-temperature solid-state conditions. The age of the intrusion is still under discussion, but a new cooling age was determined by K/Ar dating of biotite at 403.7±8 Ma corresponding to a temperature range between 450 and 300°C. For a mylonite along the southern contact between the Ardara pluton and the country rock a K/Ar muscovite age of 378.8±7 Ma indicates a minimum age for the shear zone when the Ardara pluton must have already been cooled down below 350±50°C. Received: 28 January 1999 / Accepted: 28 December 1999     

The Rožná uranium deposit (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic): shear zone-hosted, late Variscan and post-Variscan hydrothermal mineralization

Three major mineralization events are recorded at the Rožná uranium deposit (total mine production of 23,000 t U, average grade of 0.24% U): (1) pre-uranium quartz-sulfide and carbonate-sulfide mineralization, (2) uranium, and (3) post-uranium quartz-carbonate-sulfide mineralization. (1) K–Ar ages for white mica from wall rock alteration of the pre-uranium mineralization style range from 304.5 ± 5.8 to 307.6 ± 6.0 Ma coinciding with the post-orogenic exhumation of the Moldanubian orogenic root and retrograde-metamorphic equilibration of the high-grade metamorphic host rocks. The fluid inclusion record consists of low-salinity aqueous inclusions, together with H₂O-CO₂-CH₄, CO₂-CH₄, and pure CH₄ inclusions. The fluid inclusion, paragenetic, and isotope data suggest that the pre-uranium mineralization formed from a reduced low-salinity aqueous fluid at temperatures close to 300°C. (2) The uraniferous hydrothermal event is subdivided into the pre-ore, ore, and post-ore substages. K–Ar ages of pre-ore authigenic K-feldspar range from 296.3 ± 7.5 to 281.0 ± 5.4 Ma and coincide with the transcurrent reorganization of crustal blocks of the Bohemian Massif and with Late Stephanian to Early Permian rifting. Massive hematitization, albitization, and desilicification of the pre-ore altered rocks indicate an influx of oxidized basinal fluids to the crystalline rocks of the Moldanubian domain. The wide range of salinities of fluid inclusions is interpreted as a result of the large-scale mixing of basinal brines with meteoric water. The cationic composition of these fluids indicates extensive interaction with crystalline rocks. Chlorite thermometry yielded temperatures of 260°C to 310°C. During this substage, uranium was probably leached from the Moldanubian crystalline rocks. The hydrothermal alteration of the ore substage followed, or partly overlapped in time, the pre-ore substage alteration. K–Ar ages of illite from ore substage alteration range from 277.2 ± 5.5 to 264.0 ± 4.3 Ma and roughly correspond with the results of chemical U–Pb dating of authigenic monazite (268 ± 50 Ma). The uranium ore deposition was accompanied by large-scale decomposition of biotite and pre-ore chlorite to Fe-rich illite and iron hydrooxides. Therefore, it is proposed that the deposition of uranium ore was mostly in response to the reduction of the ore-bearing fluid by interaction with ferrous iron-bearing silicates (biotite and pre-ore chlorite). The Th data on primary, mostly aqueous, inclusions trapped in carbonates of the ore substage range between 152°C and 174°C and total salinity ranges over a relatively wide interval of 3.1 to 23.1 wt% NaCl eq. Gradual reduction of the fluid system during the post-ore substage is manifested by the appearance of a new generation of authigenic chlorite and pyrite. Chlorite thermometry yielded temperatures of 150°C to 170°C. Solid bitumens that post-date uranium mineralization indicate radiolytic polymerization of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons and their derivatives. The origin of the organic compounds can be related to the diagenetic and catagenetic transformation of organic matter in Upper Stephanian and Permian sediments. (3) K–Ar ages on illite from post-uranium quartz-carbonate-sulfide mineralization range from 233.7 ± 4.7 to 227.5 ± 4.6 Ma and are consistent with the early Tethys-Central Atlantic rifting and tectonic reactivation of the Variscan structures of the Bohemian Massif. A minor part of the late Variscan uranium mineralization was remobilized during this hydrothermal event.     

Anatomy of a world-class epizonal orogenic-gold system: A holistic thermochronological analysis of the Xincheng gold deposit,Jiaodong Peninsula,eastern China

Xincheng is a world-class orogenic-gold deposit hosted by the Early Cretaceous Guojialing granitoid in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern China. A zircon U–Pb age of 126 ± 1.4 Ma, together with previous data, constrain the emplacement of the Guojialing intrusion to 132–123 Ma. The granitoid underwent subsolidus ductile deformation at >500 °C following its intrusion. The small difference in age between the youngest zircon U–Pb age of unaltered granitoid (~123 Ma) and the ca. 120 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of sericite, associated with breccias and gold mineralization within it indicate initial rapid cooling from magmatic temperatures to those prevalent during brittle deformation and associated gold mineralization at ~220–300 °C. Evidence of a direct association between granitic magmatism and gold mineralization, such as at least localized near-magmatic depositional temperatures and metal zoning evident in undoubted intrusion-related gold deposits, is absent. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of ~120 Ma coincides with the mineralization age of many other orogenic-gold deposits along the Jiaojia Fault. Sixteen zircon fission-track (ZFT) ages across the ore and alteration zones range from 112.9 ± 3.4 to 99.1 ± 2.7 Ma. The long period of cooling to the ~100 Ma ZFT closure temperatures recorded here suggests that ambient temperatures for hydrothermal alteration systems lasted to ~100 Ma, possibly because of their focus at Xincheng within the young Guojialing granitoid as it cooled more slowly below approximately 300 °C to 220 °C. However, the restricted number of auriferous ore stages, combined with the presence of cross-cutting gold-free quartz-carbonate veins, indicate that gold itself was only deposited over a restricted time interval at ~120 Ma, consistent with studies of orogenic gold deposits elsewhere. This highlights the complex interplay between magmatism, deformation and the longevity of hydrothermal systems that cause genetic controversies. Based on apatite fission-track (AFT) ages, the Xincheng gold deposit was then uplifted and exhumed to near the surface of the crust at 15 Ma, probably due to movement on the crustal-scale Tan-Lu Fault. Recognition of such exhumation histories along gold belts has conceptual exploration significance in terms of the probability of discovery of additional exposed or sub-surface gold ore bodies as discovery is as much a function of preservation as formation of the deposits.     

LOW TEMPERATURE DATING OF HIGH MOUNTAIN ROCKS:(U-Th)/He AGES FROM HIGHER HIMALAYAN SAMPLES, EASTERN NEPAL

LOW TEMPERATURE DATING OF HIGH MOUNTAIN ROCKS:(U-Th)/He AGES FROM HIGHER HIMALAYAN SAMPLES, EASTERN NEPAL1　HouseMA ,WernickeBP ,FarleyKA .DatingtopographyoftheSierraNevada ,California ,usingapatite (U Th) /Heages[J].Nature,1998,396 (5 ) :6 6～ 6 9. 2　HubbardMS ,Harrison .4 0 Ar/ 3 9ArageconstraintsondeformationandmetamorphismintheMainCentralThrustzoneandTibetanSlab ,EasternNepalHimalaya[J].Tectonics,1989,8(4) :86 5～ 880 . 3　HubbardMS …     

Chronology and cooling history of the Tianmenshan pluton in South Jiangxi Province and their geological significance

Geochronological studies on the crust-derived Tianmenshan pluton were undertaken by SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating and Ar-Ar dating of biotite, muscovite and K-feldspar, giving a petrogenetic age of 167 Ma. Owing to the closure systems in different minerals, the cooling history of the pluton can be determined with an age-temperature diagram. The late hydrothermal event has been recognized, which is related probably with mineralization. In terms of the comparative geochronological and petrologic records, it is concluded that there are some constrains on tectonic evolution and that the formation of the Tianmenshan pluton proceeded in a transition period from Indosinian post-orogeny extension to strong compressive tectonics. And the timing of the hydrothermal event matches the compressive climax of the Yanshanian orogeny. The temporal gap between granite emplacement and wolframite mineralization could last 10-20 Ma owing to the low cooling rate of the pluton.     

西准噶尔晚古生代花岗岩类侵入体(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar热年代学

西准噶尔成矿带夹持在天山断裂与额尔齐斯断裂之间,是中亚成矿域西部的核心区域之一,广泛发育晚古生代深成岩浆活动、走滑断裂构造和斑岩铜矿、造山型金矿成矿作用。本文在西准噶尔成矿带包古图岩体、康德岩体、加曼岩体、库鲁木苏岩体、别鲁阿嘎希岩体、哈图岩体、阿克巴斯套岩体、庙尔沟岩体、克拉玛依岩体及红山岩体采集12个样品,通过黑云母和钾长石(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar阶段升温测年,给出了该地区(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar冷却年龄。其中,黑云母(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar年龄处在326~302 Ma范围内,钾长石(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar年龄为297~264 Ma,反映了西准噶尔地区晚石炭世-中二叠世的区域中温冷却历史。结合前人报道的锆石U-Pb、角闪石(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar、辉钼矿Re-Os、磷灰石裂变径迹等年龄数据,构建了西准噶尔成矿带晚古生代岩浆侵入,成矿作用与构造抬升,以及晚中生代剥露过程的整个热历史;并与区域左行走滑断裂活动的时间进行了对比,讨论了(40)~Ar/(39)~Ar冷却年龄的构造意义。     

Effects of progressive mylonitization on Ar retention in biotites from the Santa Rosa mylonite zone,California, and thermochronologic implications

The Santa Rosa mylonite zone developed predominantly from a granodiorite protolith in the eastern margin of the Peninsular Ranges batholith. A wide variation in K−Ar biotite dates within the zone is shown to reflect the times of cooling through closure temperatures whose variability is chiefly a result of deformation-induced reduction in grain size. We suggest that such variation generally may be exploited to place constraints on the timing of deformation episodes. Previous workers have shown that deformation in the Santa Rosa mylonite zone involved the formation of mylonites and an imbricate series of low-angle faults which divide the area into structural units. Field work, petrographic studies, and TEM analysis of deformation mechanisms in biotite show that the granodiorite mylonite, the lowermost structural unit, formed below the granodiorite solidus. The granodiorite mylonite varies from protomylonite to ultramylonite, with regions of high strain distributed heterogeneously within the zone. Previously reported biotite and hornblende K−Ar dates from the granodiorite protolith below (82–89 Ma) and the Asbestos Mountain granodiorite above (61–68 Ma) the mylonite zone indicate dramatically dissimilar thermal histories for the lowermost and uppermost structural units. Other workers' fission track dates on sphene, zircon, and apatite from the granodiorite mylonite and the Asbestos Mountain granodiorite suggest thermal homogenization and rapid cooling to ∼100° C by ca 60 Ma. Within and adjacent to the mylonite zone, K−Ar dates on 5 samples of biotite from variably deformed granodiorite range from 62–76 Ma; dates are not correlated with structural depth but clearly decrease with degree of deformation and concomitant grain size reduction. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating analyses of biotite from the granodiorite protolith reveals no evidence of excess argon and produces a relatively flat age spectrum. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating analysis of biotite from the granodiorite mylonite discloses discordance consistent with ³⁹Ar recoil loss. K analysis of samples, allowing K−Ar dates to be calculated, is therefore recommended as an adjunct to ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step heating analysis in rocks that have experienced similar deformation. During mylonitization, biotite grain size reduction through intracrystalline cataclasis results in estimated grain dimensions as small as 0.05 μm locally within porphyroclasts as large as 1 mm. Because biotite compositions are relatively Uniform (Fe/[Fe+Mg+Mn+Ti+Al^VI]=0.47–0.52) and show no systematic variation with grain size, compositional dependence of activation energy and diffusivity can be eliminated as sources of variation in Ar retention. Ar closure temperatures, calculated with appropriate diffusion parameters for the observed grain sizes, are in the range ∼220–280° C and define a cooling curve consistent with a thermal history intermediate between those of the granodiorite protolith below and the Asbestos Mountain granodiorite above the mylonite zone. Changes in the slope of the cooling curve indicate that the main deformation episode initiated at or above ca 330° C (∼80 Ma), above the closure temperature for thermally activated diffusion of argon in biotite, and continued to a minimum of ca 220–260° C (∼62 Ma).