Datación Ar39 / Ar40 de mineralizaciones de mercurio de Sinclinal de Almadén

Abstract

Mercury mineralizations in the Almaden district can be grouped in two main categories: i) strata-bound mineralizations hosted in Criadero quartzite (Lower Silurian) and ii) veins and stockworks in Silurian and Devonian hosting rocks. The 39Ar/40Ar dating of illite, probably related with the hydrothermal activity responsible of the second type of mineralizations, yields 361 ± 2 Ma. This age is some 25-50 Ma older than the age of granitic intrusions in the area, and could be the age of the epigenetic mercury mineralizations