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Application of Thermochronology to Hydrothermal Ore Deposits

CSIRO Exploration and Mining, P.O. Box 1130, Bentley, WA, Australia, brent.mcinnes@csiro.au, noreen.evans@csiro.au

Frank Q. Fu

School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Steve Garwin

Geoinformatics Exploration, 57 Havelock St., West Perth, WA, 6005, Australia, Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, University of Western, Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

	INTRODUCTION

 
Thermochronology finds many applications in economic geology. Utilizing temperature-sensitive radiometric dating techniques to reveal low-temperature, upper crustal processes can elucidate many aspects of deposit genesis, including timing and duration of mineralization processes, rate of exhumation and erosion of intrusive ore deposits and comparative preservation potential. The tools are utilized to best advantage when combined with other thermochronometry techniques that provide complementary information. In addition, when thermochronometers are combined with geochronometers (e.g., zircon U/Pb), over 800 °C of thermal history is revealed from emplacement to erosion (Fig. 1). With the advent of computational algorithms that provide more accurate and detailed models of thermochronology results, the economic geologist has a powerful tool to use when assessing economic favorability of a region or prospect.

View larger version (17K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the time-temperature relationship between various chronometers and geologic processes. Nominal closure temperatures are plotted but, in the case of the lowest temperature thermochronometers, closure temperature is dependant on various assumptions regarding grain size and shape, chemical zonation and cooling rate. In mineralized systems, high closure temperature systems like zircon U/Pb delineate igneous emplacement while hornblende 40Ar/39Ar and zircon fission track is applied to dating the timing of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization. The timing of post-mineralization processes like exhumation and erosion is revealed using low closure temperature systems like (U-Th)/He and apatite fission track.

	THERMOCHRONOLOGY AND MINERALIZED SYSTEMS – AN INTRODUCTION

 
In this section we review the fundamental application of (U-Th)/He, fission track and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronometry methods to mineralized systems. We then present a synopsis of how these . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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