Thermobarometry and Thermochronology: Applications to the Study of the La Caridad and Suaqui Verde Porphyry Copper Deposits
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36790/epistemus.v15i31.206Keywords:
apatite U-Pb , Al-in-hornblende thermobarometry , fission-track , exhumationAbstract
Classically, porphyry-type copper deposits are considered to form between 2 and 4 km depth. However, in the Basin and Range province, some of them, as the La Caridad and Suaqui Verde deposits, have been preserved in the footwall of normal faults. This study addresses this paradox by taking the aforementioned deposits as an example by combining thermobarometry and thermochronology analyses to quantify the emplacement depth and cooling history of the plutons, respectively. The results suggest that the emplacement depth of the porphyry copper could be greater than 4 km. In addition, they show that eastern Sonora did not experience a clear increase in exhumation rate during the Basin and Range extension, which may explain the good preservation of Cretaceous-Eocene deposits in this region.
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