Laser probe 40Ar-39Ar ages of metasomatic K-feldspar from the Hougou gold deposit, northwestern Hebei Province, China

The Hougou gold deposit in northwestern Hebei is a typical K-metasomatism-related gold deposit hosted by K-altered rocks overprinting alkali intrusive rocks. In order to determine the age and pulse intervals of K-metasomatism in this gold deposit, some metasomatic K-feldspars from K-altered rocks are selected to measure their formation time by laser probe 40Ar-39Ar dating method. The new analyzing data show that these metasomatic K-feldspar formed during 202.6 Ma and 176.7 Ma, and the corresponding K-metasomatism and associated gold mineralization occurred in the early stage of Mesozoic era. The pulse intervals of K-metasomatism in the Hougou area are estimated to be about 4 Ma.