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Petrogenetic and metallogenetic responses to Miocene slab flattening: new constraints from the El Indio-Pascua Au–Ag–Cu belt, Chile/Argentina

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Abstract

The Eocene–Miocene volcanic and hypabyssal rocks of the El Indio-Pascua Au–Ag–-Cu belt in the southern central Andean flat-slab region are medium–high-K calc-alkaline arc suites, ranging in composition from andesite to rhyolite. A significant transition in magmatic trace element chemistry, coinciding with a pronounced reduction in magma output, occurred in the late-Middle Miocene as documented by 40Ar–39Ar geochronology. The upper Eocene–lower-Middle Miocene rocks exhibit low Sr/Y ratios (<50), minor heavy REE fractionation with Sm/Yb ratios not exceeding 3.5 and, in some cases, minor negative Eu anomalies. In contrast, the largely dacitic rocks erupted after ca. 13 Ma are depleted in Y (≤10 ppm), have generally high, but variable Sr/Y ratios (30–200), exhibit moderate middle and heavy REE fractionation (Sm/Yb: 3.7–5.9) and lack negative Eu anomalies. The latter features are characteristic of adakitic suites (i.e. slab-melts), but the regional temporal and spatial distribution of arc magmatism precludes a major magma source in the downgoing slab. This evolution is interpreted as reflecting a progressive increase in pressure and the availability of water in the lower-crustal site of magma generation, establishing both garnet and hornblende as major stable phases in the residuum. The pressure in the lower crust increased in response to episodic crustal thickening related to the shallowing of the slab, a process recorded by the incision of three regional pediplains over the period 17–6 Ma. Elimination of the subarc asthenospheric mantle and much of the lithospheric mantle by ca. 10 Ma permitted direct incursion of slab-derived, highly oxidised metal- and volatile-rich supercritical fluids into the lower crust, stimulating melting of mafic, garnet amphibolitic and eclogitic assemblages.

The igneous suites emplaced from 36–11 Ma were associated with widespread, and locally intense, epizonal hydrothermal activity, but this was barren of base and precious metals. The shallow-crustal availability of abundant water highlighted in earlier models was therefore not a metallogenetic determinant. Moreover, economic Au–Ag–Cu mineralization, associated with small volumes of dacitic magma, was restricted to the interval 9.5–5 Ma, and was not initiated until at least 3.5 my after the inception of high-pressure magma generation. In contrast to previous metallogenetic studies, we therefore suggest that this petrochemical transition was not inherently favourable for ore formation. We propose that the incursion of highly oxidized supercritical fluids from the slab into the lower crust was ultimately responsible for the brief Late Miocene metallogenetic episode.

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Acknowledgments

This study, a contribution to the Queen's University Central Andean Metallogenetic Project (CAMP), originated as part of the senior author's doctoral dissertation. Field work and one-half of the analytical research was funded by Barrick Gold Corporation, Toronto, and Barrick Exploraciónes Argentina S.A., through the good offices of C. Jay Hodgson and David Heberlein. Barrick further contributed a bursary to T.B. Additional funds for laboratory research and support were provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada as personal grants to A.H.C. and J.K.W.L. Assistance from the geological and support staff of Barrick Chile Ltda. and Barrick Exploraciónes Argentina S.A. is acknowledged. Doug Archibald, Jerry Grant and Tom Ullrich assisted in the Queen's University Geochronology Laboratory. Joan Charbonneau expertly typed the manuscript. We thank Jeremy Richards for a constructive and stimulating review. Suggestions by Andor Lips and editor Larry Meinert helped to reduce the length of this paper. Barrick Gold Corporation has given permission for publication.

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  1. Thomas Bissig

    Present address: Mineral Deposit Research Unit, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Thomas Bissig, Alan H. Clark & James K. W. Lee

  2. Institute for Isotope Geology and Mineral Resources, ETH-Zentrum NO, 8092 , Zurich, Switzerland

    Albrecht von Quadt

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Bissig, T., Clark, A.H., Lee, J.K.W. et al. Petrogenetic and metallogenetic responses to Miocene slab flattening: new constraints from the El Indio-Pascua Au–Ag–Cu belt, Chile/Argentina. Miner Deposita 38, 844–862 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-003-0375-y

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