Carboniferous Orogenic Gold Deposits at Pataz, Eastern Andean Cordillera, Peru: Geological and Structural Framework, Paragenesis, Alteration, and Ar/ Ar Geochronology

©2004 by Economic Geology
Vol. 99, pp. 73–112
Carboniferous Orogenic Gold Deposits at Pataz, Eastern Andean Cordillera, Peru:

Geological and Structural Framework, Paragenesis, Alteration,
and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology
YVES HAEBERLIN,† ROBERT MORITZ, LLUÍS FONTBOTÉ,
Section des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Rue des Maraîchers 13, 1205 Genève, Switzerland
AND MICHAEL COSCA

Institut de Minéralogie et Géochimie, Université de Lausanne, BFSH 2, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract
The Pataz province forms the central part of a ≥160-km-long orogenic gold belt extending along the Eastern
Andean Cordillera in northern Peru and has produced a total of 6 million ounces (Moz) gold from vein-type
deposits during the last 100 yr. The deposits present several recurrent and typical field characteristics, includ-
ing (1) at a regional scale, location of the mineralization in low-order structures within a 1- to 5-km-wide struc-
tural corridor east of a major north-northwest–striking lineament and in spatial association with the north-
northwest–striking margins of the 330 to 327 Ma Pataz batholith; (2) at the mine scale, strong lithological
controls of the vein geometries and styles, the lodes occurring as fairly continuous ≤5-km-long quartz veins in-
side or along the margins of the batholith or as branching and bedding-concordant narrow ore shoots within
adjacent folded Ordovician turbidite sequences; (3) consistent orientations of veins, in particular within the
batholith, where more than 80 percent of the quartz veins are emplaced in north- to northwest-striking, east-
dipping, brittle-ductile deformation zones; (4) a consistent Au, Ag, As, Fe, Pb, Zn, ±Cu, ±Sb, ±Bi-Te-W metal
association and a sulfide-rich paragenetic sequence, with a first stage composed of milky quartz, pyrite, ar-
senopyrite, and ankerite and a second stage of blue-gray microgranular quartz, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite,
Sb sulfosalts, electrum, and native gold, followed by barren calcite-dolomite-quartz veinlets; and (5) hy-
drothermal alteration of the vein wall rocks, consisting of pervasive muscovite alteration with minor chlorite,
carbonate minerals, and pyrite associated with strong bleaching in plutonic rocks, and of weak muscovite and
chlorite alteration in sedimentary rocks.
Structural analysis of the deposits outlines four synchronous sets of mineralized fractures in the Pataz dis-
trict. The predominant north- to northwest-striking, east- to northeast-dipping system, which is generally lo-
cated in reactivated reverse faults, accounts for more than 80 percent of the gold resource of the district. Three
subordinate systems include, in decreasing order of economic importance, (1) east-west–striking flat exten-
sional veins, (2) bedding-concordant veinlets in east-west–striking and north-dipping to north-south–striking
and east-dipping limbs of long wavelength folds in Ordovician sedimentary rocks, and (3) weakly mineralized
roughly east-west–striking, sinistral vertical faults. The vein orientations of the four structural sets are compat-
ible with a triaxial strain model, with the main shortening axis P oriented at 080°/15°, an intermediate axis ori-
ented at 165°/00°, and a subvertical extensional T axis oriented at 255°/80°. Under these conditions, the rich-
est ore shoots are preferentially sited in sinistral pull-aparts, which occur at the intersection of either
north-south–striking lodes or extensional lodes with roughly east-west–striking vertical faults.
40
Ar/39Ar dating of the granodiorite-monzogranite bodies of the Pataz batholith provides good plateau ages
at 329.2 ±1.4 and 328.1 ± 1.2 Ma for biotite separates, which are similar to a published 329 Ma U/Pb age for
the granodiorite. A muscovite and a biotite sample from an aplite dike yielded plateau ages at 322.1 ± 2.8 and
325.4 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. Muscovite samples from alteration intimately associated with the gold mineral-
ization yielded three 40Ar/39Ar spectra with low-temperature staircase-shaped patterns followed by plateau seg-
ments at 314 to 312 Ma. These ages, analytically indistinguishable at the 2σ level, are considered to be the most
probable ages for the mineralization event. Three other plateaulike ages between 305 and 288 Ma have been
obtained and are interpreted to reflect partial argon loss during late fluid circulation associated with the intru-
sion of Late Cretaceous monzonite porphyries.
The age determinations are inconsistent with a genetic link between the 314 to 312 Ma Pataz gold deposits
and the 330 to 327 Ma calc-alkaline Pataz batholith, or with the 327 to 319 Ma aplite dikes, or the Late Creta-
ceous porphyry magmatism. Instead, the overall homogeneity of the structural, mineralogical, and geochemi-
cal characteristics of the deposits over the ≥160-km-long mineralized belt and the geotectonic evolution sug-
gest that gold mineralization is linked to a large-scale thermal event that occurred in a thickened collisional belt
undergoing uplift tectonics.
Introduction terranes that were deformed along the circum-Pacific margin

OROGENIC gold deposits, also referred to as mesothermal de- (Goldfarb et al., 1998, 2001; Bierlein and Crowe, 2000) but
posits (Groves et al., 1998), are widely distributed in accreted remain relatively unrecognized on the western margin of
South America. The reevaluation of several historical Peru-
† Corresponding author: e-mail, [email protected] vian, Bolivian, and Argentinean gold deposits (Zappettini and
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74 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
Segal, 1998; Haeberlin et al., 1999; Skirrow et al., 2000; Hae- (1998) suggested that the gold deposits were coeval with a
berlin, 2002) has revealed that this class of deposits is actually late pulse of the composite batholith and tentatively classified
widely distributed in the eastern Central Andes and its fore- the Pataz-Parcoy gold deposits as intrusion related.
land, along the exposures of early to middle Paleozoic mobile In this paper, we examine the deposits of the Pataz district
belts, such as the Eastern Andean Cordillera and the Sierras and the Culebrillas deposit in the southern Parcoy district
Pampeanas (Fig. 1; Haeberlin et al., 2003). Only a limited (Fig. 1). We report the structural and geometric framework of
number of metallogenic and regional geologic studies exist on the deposits, describe the ore and gangue mineralogy and the
these deposits, in part because few among them are presently alteration styles, discuss the regional, lithological, and struc-
being mined and because most of them are located in areas tural features that controlled the distribution of gold veining,
that are largely difficult to access. An exception is the Pataz and propose reconstructions of the syn- and postmineraliza-
orogenic gold province, situated on the eastern side of the tion strain orientations that are responsible for the present-
Marañón Valley in the Eastern Cordillera of northern Peru, day deposit geometry. We also present new 40Ar/39Ar dating
where three medium-sized mining corporations are active on the plutonic host rocks and the alteration related to the
and where ~6 Moz gold have been extracted during the 20th gold lodes that permit a reevaluation of the possible genetic
century. This province encompasses, from north to south, the links between the batholith and the gold mineralization and
Pataz, Parcoy, and Buldibuyo districts and contains sulfide the presently conflicting orogenic (Bohlke, 1982; Groves et
mineral-rich quartz lodes hosted by the giant calc-alkaline al., 1998, and references therein) versus intrusion-related
Pataz batholith and, to a lesser extent, its immediate metsed- (Sillitoe, 1991; McCoy et al., 1997; Sillitoe and Thompson,
imentary rocks (Fig. 1; Schreiber, 1989; Schreiber et al., 1998; Thompson et al., 1999; Lang et al., 2000; Thompson
1990a, b; Vidal et al., 1995; Macfarlane et al., 1999; Haeber- and Newberry, 2000) models for the deposits.
lin, 2002, Haeberlin et al., 2003).
The first written record of auriferous veins in the Pataz area Local Geology
dates back to the second part of the 18th century, but histori-
cal studies quoted in De Lucio (1905) place their discovery Pre-Silurian units
during the Inca (15–16th centuries) or even earlier. De Lucio In the Pataz-Parcoy region, the Eastern Cordillera (Fig. 1)
(1905), in a descriptive work, first pointed out the economic is characterized by a pre-Silurian metamorphic basement and
potential of the region. Tarnawiecki (1929) described the cover sequences intruded by Mississippian calc-alkaline plu-
mining feasibility with an inventory of the gold occurrences tons, overlain in the uppermost part of the mountain belt by
and proposed a preliminary genetic model, relating the for- Miocene to Pliocene volcanic rocks (Wilson and Reyes, 1964;
mation of the gold lodes to the emplacement of Tertiary por- Schreiber, 1989; Haeberlin, 2002). The pre-Silurian strata en-
phyries that cut the Pataz batholith. In the 1960s, Wilson and compass, from bottom to top, the three following units: (1) a
Reyes (1964) and Wilson et al. (1967) published geologic tightly deformed metapelite member, the Marañón Complex
maps of the Pataz and Parcoy-Buldibuyo regions with limited sensu stricto, (2) a volcaniclastic unit, locally named the Vijus
metallogenic information but including the comment that the Formation, and (3) a turbiditic sequence, stratigraphically
gold veins occur only in pre-Mississippian rocks. equivalent to the Contaya Formation (Schreiber, 1989; Hae-
Two decades later, following the renewal of mining activi- berlin, 2002). The Marañón Complex appears as the continu-
ties in the province, Lochmann (1985), Schreiber (1989), and ation of the Upper Proterozoic to Lower Cambrian polyde-
Schreiber et al. (1990a-c) conducted extensive investigations formed paraschists and paragneisses outcropping between
of the lodes of the Pataz and Parcoy districts, characterizing 9°45' and 13°S in central Peru (Dalmayrac et al., 1980). The
their structural framework, the ore and alteration paragene- roughly 1-km-thick succession of gray phyllites with minor in-
sis, and the petrography, geochemistry, and age of their main tercalations of mica and graphitic schists is characterized by
host, the Pataz batholith. Based on fluid inclusion data, regional greenschist to lower amphibolite metamorphism
Schreiber et al. (1990b) argued that the auriferous veins are with four superimposed stages of deformation (Schreiber,
temporally and genetically related to the cooling stage of the 1989) that probably occurred during the Early to Middle
Pataz batholith and proposed that gold was leached from the Cambrian (Haeberlin, 2002). The Marañón Complex is un-
Precambrian and Paleozoic country rocks by a convecting hy- conformably overlain by rocks of the Vijus Formation, includ-
drothermal system. In the Parcoy district, Vidal et al. (1995) ing purplish-gray sandstone at the base, followed by ign-
and Macfarlane et al. (1999) examined the source(s) of the imbrite of rhyolitic to dacitic composition interfingered with
metals in the veins by comparing the lead and neodymium thin layers of black shale and andesitic to basaltic lavas at the
isotope geochemistry of the lodes and their country rocks. top (Haeberlin, 2002). In the absence of fossils, only an im-
They drew attention to a 287 Ma K/Ar muscovite age of the precise age of Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician can be sug-
mineralization that significantly postdated the 329 Ma em- gested for the Vijus Formation. The volcaniclastic rocks are in
placement of the Pataz batholith and to the similarities of the turn covered by alternating massive quartzite, dark sandstone
Parcoy lodes with worldwide shear zone-hosted gold deposits. and gray slate, a rock sequence attributed in central Peru to
However, they did not exclude the possibility that the forma- the Arenigian part of the Contaya Formation (Dalmayrac et
tion of the veins could have been driven by the emplacement al., 1980). Stratigraphically higher parts of the Contaya For-
of a later, yet undated, magmatic event responsible for the fel- mation display the traditional Llandvirnian facies described in
sic dikes or porphyritic monzonites that cut the Pataz Peru and consist of turbiditic cycles with graptolite-rich black
batholith. Owing to the age ambiguity and the relatively high slate, sandstone, and rare quartzite. Silurian and Lower De-
base metal content of the lodes, Sillitoe and Thompson vonian rocks are not represented near Pataz, but during this
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OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS AT PATAZ, PERU 75
FIG. 1. Geologic map of the Pataz province with the location of the main gold deposits (modified after Schreiber, 1989).
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 75

76 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
period, the Cambro-Ordovician lithologies, in particular the were thrusted and folded during the Late Cretaceous Peru-
slates, underwent two moderate folding phases and lower vian phase of the Andean orogen (Mégard, 1978, 1984) and
greenschist metamorphism. The early deformation phase re- were unconformably covered by the Upper Cretaceous-
sults from a northwest-southeast compression and might cor- Eocene continental clastic red beds of the Chota Formation.
respond to the poorly constrained low-grade metamorphic The entire Andean cover, including the rocks of the Chota
event that Macfarlane (1999) defined as Late Ordovician on Formation, underwent at least two additional Cenozoic de-
the basis of his strontium isochron results. The second tec- formation phases: a collisional event with long-wavelength
tonic phase, a northeast-southwest compression is consistent folds and strong thrusting, responsible for the fan imbrication
with the orientation of the main “Eohercynian” phase, de- of the Marañón thrust sheets during the late Eocene-
fined as Late Devonian by Mégard (1978) and Dalmayrac et Oligocene Incaic phase of the Andean orogen (Dalmayrac et
al. (1980). al., 1980; Janjou et al., 1981; Mégard, 1984), and widespread
extensional tectonics forming half-graben structures during
Permo-Carboniferous and Mesozoic units the late Miocene (Schreiber, 1989).
To the west, the Eastern Cordillera is bordered by the
north-northwest–striking Marañón tectonic trough, a succes- Magmatism in the Pataz-Parcoy region
sion of semigrabens, which contain Permo-Carboniferous Pataz batholith: The ≥90-km-long Pataz batholith, the main
rock sequences and an incomplete Mesozoic section (Fig. 1; host rock of the gold lodes, is part of a giant calc-alkaline in-
Wilson and Reyes, 1964; Schreiber, 1989). These Permo-Car- trusion belt, which extends along the Eastern Cordillera
boniferous units are composed of (1) Mississippian epiconti- mostly north of 12°S (Fig. 2; Laubacher and Mégard, 1985).
nental molasse sequences (Ambo Group) with pillow-lava It intrudes the Upper Proterozoic to Lower Cambrian poly-
basalt and grabbroic sill intercalations, (2) a reduced Pennsyl- metamorphic phyllite basement and its overlying Cambro-
vanian(?)-Lower Permian carbonate shelf sequence (Copaca- Ordovician volcaniclastic and turbiditic cover sequences
bana Group?), and (3) Upper Permian-Lower Triassic red along a north-northwest–striking fracture system (Fig. 1; Wil-
continental molasse sequences (Mitu Group). The overlying son and Reyes, 1964; Schreiber, 1989). The small dioritic to
Mesozoic-Cenozoic lithostratigraphic sequence (Wilson and tonalitic apophyses at the margins of the pluton represent the
Reyes, 1964) has major erosion gaps and consists of Upper earliest intrusions. The major component of the batholith is a
Triassic-Lower Jurassic limestones and dolomites of the Pucará medium-grained granodiorite, which toward the batholith
Group, Neocomian grayish sandstones of the Goyllarisquizga core grades into or is in sharp contact with a coarse-grained
Group, and Albian marls and limestones of the Crisnejas For- monzogranite. In the apical part of the batholith, the gran-
mation (Fig. 1). The upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic units odioritic-monzogranitic bodies are cut by tilted two-mica
79° 75°
Dating methods and minerals
U/Pb zircon
40 39
Ar/ Ar biotite
Chiclayo 347±7.3 Ma (a)
K/Ar biotite (minimum ages)
338±8 & 329±10 Ma (b)
BRAZIL
321±1 Ma (c) 328.1±1.2 & 329.2±1.4 Ma (d) Late Devonian-Early
8° Carboniferous plutons
Trujillo
Pataz Batholith 329±1 Ma (e) References

Balsas pluton
PERU (a) Sánchez, 1983
Callagante pluton
PA
(b) Sánchez, 1995

CI
Pataz Batholith
FI
346±10 Ma (f)
C
N (c) Schreiber et al., 1990c

(d) this study
OC
(e) Vidal et al., 1995

EA
12°
Lima Pacococha adamellite
N
330±10 Ma (g) (f) Mégard et al., 1978

Amparaes granite
(g) Marocco, 1978
S Cuzco
FIG. 2. Map of the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous calc-alkaline plutons in northern and central Peru with the loca-
tion of the published isotopic ages. Hornblende ages (Schreiber et al., 1990c; this study) are not reported in this map be-
cause the dated material is too altered and considered to be unsuitable for accurate 40Ar/39Ar dating.
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 76

aplite dikes and some small pink granite stocks. Rare north- cordillera are two younger magmatic events. Field relation-
south–striking, east-dipping lamprophyre dikes, representing ships indicate that they cut the Andean structures and overly
late hypabyssal melts of the system, were injected after the the Upper Cretaceous-Eocene Chota Formation, respec-
aplite dikes and granite stocks and are, in turn, crosscut and tively, which suggests a Miocene to Pliocene age for their em-
strongly altered by the gold-bearing veins. placement (Wilson and Reyes, 1964; Schreiber, 1989).
The Pataz batholith and its northern extensions, the
Callangate pluton near Bolívar and the Balsas pluton near Gold Metallogeny in the Pataz-Parcoy Region
Balsas (Sánchez, 1983, 1995) have been dated between 347.0 The auriferous lodes of the Pataz-Parcoy region have been
± 7.3 and 321 ± 1 Ma, using K/Ar, 40Ar/39Ar, and U/Pb meth- known at least since the Inca (15–16th centuries) and Colonial
ods (Fig. 2). Trace and rare earth element geochemistry indi- (16–19th centuries) periods, during which gold had been
cates a calc-alkaline affinity with an I-type signature mainly exploited from oxidized zones. The mineralized gold
(Schreiber, 1989; Haeberlin, 2002). Strontium and belt (7°20'–8°50' S) is at least 160 km long and 1 to 5 km wide,
neodymium isotopes (initial Sr of 0.708–0.709, initial εNd be- extending along the Marañón Valley from the Bolívar to the
tween –6.1 and –4.7) as well as the U-Pb systematics indicate Pataz district (Schreiber, 1989; Schreiber et al., 1990a, b;
an extensive incorporation of crustal material by a mantle-de- Haeberlin et al., 1999; Haeberlin, 2002) and then southeast to
rived magma (Vidal et al., 1995; Macfarlane et al., 1999; Hae- the Parcoy (Vidal et al., 1995; Macfarlane et al., 1999) and
berlin, 2002). Buldibuyo districts. The latter three districts are part of the
Andean magmatism: Mesozoic and Cenozoic igneous rocks Pataz province (Fig. 1). A northern extension of this belt is
in the Pataz-Parcoy region consist of small porphyritic bodies, most likely into the Balsas district (6°50' S), where similar
scarce dioritic plutons, and an overlying volcanic cover (Wil- gold occurrences are documented (Sánchez, 1995). The Pataz
son and Reyes, 1964; Schreiber, 1989). The monzonite to lodes, hosted by second- and third-order structures on the
tonalite porphyries, which Vidal et al. (1995) linked to the eastern side of a major north-northwest–striking lineament,
gold mineralizing event, occur as plugs and dikes up to 1-km appear mainly as arrays of 1- to 5-km-long parallel quartz
wide in diameter, cropping out along the margins of the Pataz veins located within the margins of the Pataz batholith and
batholith within the lower Paleozoic volcano-sedimentary less commonly as branching and bedding-concordant ore
units (Haeberlin, 2002) and, west of the Buldibuyo district, shoots in the adjacent Upper Proterozoic phyllites and Or-
crosscutting the Permo-Triassic Pucára and Neocomian Goyl- dovician turbidites (Fig. 1).
larisquizga Groups (Schreiber, 1989). Outside of the study Over the past 100 yr, more than 16 underground mines, dis-
area, similar dacite intrusions are reported to the north near tributed over the entire Pataz province (Fig. 1) produced a
Leimebamba (Sánchez, 1995) and to the southeast in the total of 6 Moz gold, mainly from 1925 to 1960 and from 1980
Upper Marañón Valley (Allende, 1996; Jacay, 1996), suggest- onward (Table 1). Of that amount, 38 percent comes from the
ing that the porphyry intrusion belt extends at least from Pataz, 55 from the Parcoy, and 7 from the Buldibuyo district.
6°30' to 9°30' S. In the latter region, Jacay (1996) describes In 2000, the annual production of the Pataz province, includ-
these “dacite” intrusions crosscutting rock units as young as ing small-scale mining, amounted to 380,000 oz and repre-
the Albian limestones of the Crisnejas Formation, an obser- sents ~9 percent of the gold produced in Peru. Grades in the
vation which indicates that the porphyry intrusions are Late mined ore shoots vary between 7 to 15 g/t Au and locally
Cretaceous. The injection of small hypabyssal diorite and reach about 120 g/t Au. In a conservative view that only 15
monzodiorite bodies and the deposition of a thick volcanic percent of the veins have been exploited, additional gold re-
cover (Lavasén Formation) on the uppermost part of the sources can be estimated at ≥40 Moz for the ≥160-km-long
TABLE 1. Estimated Gold Production in the Pataz Province during the 20th Century
Company District Period Metric tonnage (t) Au Grade (g/t) Gold production (oz)
Cía. Minera Poderosa S.A. 1 Pataz 1982–2000 2,127,361 13.66 934,307

Consorcio Minero Horizonte S.A. 2 Parcoy 1990–2000 646,270
Cía. Minera Aurífera Retamas S.A. 2 Parcoy 1990–2000 1,180,350
Cía. Aurífera Real Aventura S.A. 2 Parcoy 1995–2000 16,701
Northern Peru Mining Smelting Co. 3 Pataz 1929–1947 910,800 30.00 725,718
Cía. Aurífera Buldibuyo 3 Buldibuyo 1936–1960 1,435,500 11.00 437,658
Sindicato Minero Parcoy 3 Parcoy 1938–1960 2,227,500 12.00 763,913
Small-scale mining 4 Pataz and Parcoy 1901–2000 1,257,620
Cumulated production 5,962,537
1 Source:
Cía. Minera Poderosa S.A., Lima, Peru
2 Source:
Ministerio de Energía y Minas, Lima, Peru
3 Tonnages were calculated for 330 d/yr based on a daily production of 120, 150, and 250 t for Northern Peru Mining Smelting Co., Cía. Aurifera
Buldibuyo and Sindicato Minero Parcoy, respectively (plant capacities according to company reports)
4 Gold production from small-scale mining (vein deposits) is estimated at 6,172 kg for the period 1991–2000 (source: Ministerio de Energía y Minas,
Lima, Peru) and at 360 kg/yr before 1991 (own estimates)
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78 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
auriferous belt. In addition to gold in quartz veins, secondary economic importance: (1) north- to northwest-striking shear
gold is recovered at a very small scale by local people from al- zones, (2) flat extensional fractures, (3) north- to east-dipping
luvial deposits along the Marañón River and its tributaries bedding in the Ordovician turbidite sequences, and (4) re-
(estimated production: 60 oz/yr Au, source: Cía Minera gional east-west–striking vertical faults (Table 2, Figs. 3–7).
Poderosa S.A.). Lodes in shear zones: In the Pataz district, mineralization is
A number of other, less significant gold deposit types occur most commonly present as arrays of quartz veins displaying
near the Pataz-Parcoy region. Subeconomic gold skarn and brittle-ductile deformation within north- to northwest-trend-
epithermal vein occurrences are documented in spatial asso- ing faults, dipping 30° to 60° to the east-northeast (Figs.
ciation with Cenozoic mafic plutonic rocks and volcanic rocks. 3–5A-B, 6A-B, 7A). The dips of the veins decrease toward the
The main example, in the southern part of the province above center of the batholith, creating a fanlike pattern of the lodes.
Huaylillas (Fig. 1), is the La Estrella Fe ± Au skarn, with gold Macfarlane et al. (1999) reported similar orientations in the
grades of as much as 10 g/t. This skarn was emplaced close to deposits of the Parcoy district, however, with northwest-
a pyroxene diorite body in the adjacent Pucará Limestone. southeast strikes and lower dips for the main lode system and
Gold occurs as microscopic grains within massive magnetite the presence of some conjugate veins dipping to the west
and pyrrhotite and may be coeval with retrograde chalcopy- (Fig. 7B). These shear zone-hosted veins (La Lima 1 and 2 in
rite and hematite (Schreiber, 1989). In rocks of the Lavasén the La Lima deposit; Karola in the Papagayo deposit;
Formation, some quartz veinlets containing Fe-Mn oxides, Choloque, Luz, and Pencas piso in the El Tingo deposit; Con-
carbonates, and barite also show weak gold anomalies suelo in the Consuelo deposit; Table 2, Fig. 3) account for
(Schreiber, 1989). These veinlets, coupled with argillitization, more than 50 percent of the gold produced in the Pataz dis-
sericitization, and silicification of the volcanic rocks, are re- trict and close to 90 percent in the Parcoy district.
garded as part of a low-sulfidation epithermal system related Most of the shear zone-hosted gold veins are within grani-
to the Miocene-Pliocene volcanic activity (Angeles, 1994). Fi- toid bodies of the Pataz batholith; some are in the nearby
nally, gold was also recently discovered in stockwork veinlets hornfels. A few of the veins occur along lithological contacts,
hosted by Late Cretaceous porphyritic monzonite intrusions, in particular those separating granitoids and hornfels or black
the adjacent Pataz batholith, and conglomerates of the Mitu phyllites and those along aplite or lamprophyre dikes; such lo-
Group in the Parcoy district. This mineralization is probably cations may host high-grade ore shoots (up to 120 g/t Au).
related to Late Cretaceous magmatism and consists of quartz- The mineralized shear zones range in thickness from a few
chlorite veinlets with magnetite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite, centimeters to more than 8 m and contain rich ore shoots,
intense hydrothermal brecciation, and potassium-rich alter- particularly where they intersect the east-west–striking verti-
ation (A. Miranda V., oral commun., 2000). cal faults. Their strike lengths may reach 5 km when individ-
ual fault-displaced segments are combined, their downplunge
Structural Framework of the Gold Deposits
continuity is as much as 1.5 km, and the lodes are open at
Regional controls depth (Figs. 3–4). Veins in a granodiorite or diorite are mainly
Structural control of the Pataz orogenic gold deposits is ob- filled by sulfide-rich, banded to massive, partly brecciated
served from the province down to the vein scale. Regionally, quartz, which is in sharp contact with an almost undeformed
the lodes occupy second- and third-order structures in the wall rock (Fig. 8A-B), and usually have an asymmetric geom-
hanging walls of a complex set of north-northwest–striking etry, with a 10- to 40-cm-wide shear zone along the hanging
faults that occur a few kilometers west of the deposits and lo- wall and abundant hydraulic breccias and Riedel veinlets in
cally border the eastern margin of the Pataz batholith (Fig. 1). the footwall (Fig. 8B). In contrast, the monzogranite-hosted
These faults are exposed at least from Llaupuy to Huaylillas structures consist generally of low-grade quartz veining (3–10
within a ~6-km-wide corridor and are interpreted as the sur- g/t Au) within a ≤8-m-wide shear zone containing muscovite
face expression of a major north-northwest–striking linea- grains, crushed and altered wall-rock slivers, hydrothermal
ment. Janjou et al. (1981) and Mégard (1984) described the quartz fragments, and minor sulfide mineral lenses (Figs. 5A,
Marañón Valley, from about 7° to 12°30' S, as a major zone of 8C; Picaflor vein at the Culebrillas deposit). Lodes emplaced
weakness that is bound to the western margin of the western along segmented aplite dikes (e.g., the La Lima 2 vein in the
Amazonian craton. In addition to being localized along this La Lima deposit) consist of massive, ribbon and brecciated
major structure, the distribution of the Pataz gold deposits is quartz and sulfide minerals and display sharp wall-rock con-
strongly influenced by the north-northwest–striking margins tacts, thin shear zones, and locally subvertical Riedel struc-
of the Pataz batholith, with mineralized fractures developing tures in the hanging wall. Finally, in the lamprophyre dikes, a
within a 2-km-wide zone inside the intrusion, at the contacts section across the main vein at the Consuelo deposit shows
with the hornfels and, to a lesser extent, heterogeneously in that mineralization consists of a chlorite-rich shear zone, a
the adjacent slates, sandstones, and phyllites (Figs. 3–4). central massive quartz sulfide vein, and a basal 2-m-wide hy-
Most of the economic lodes occur along the western margin draulic breccia (Figs. 5B, 6A).
of the batholith but some, particularly in the southern part of Lodes in extension fractures: Extensional veins occur as flat
the belt (Parcoy and Buldibuyo districts), are also emplaced to shallowly north- or south-dipping relay structures between
along its eastern margin (Fig. 1). lodes in the shear systems (e.g., the Inca vein in the Culebril-
las deposit) or between the ~east-west–striking vertical faults
Deposit orientations and styles (e.g., the Mercedes vein in the Papagayo deposit: Figs. 3–4,
The mineralized areas in the Pataz province occur in the 7A). In the Pataz district, the Mercedes vein alone accounts
four following structural settings, in decreasing order of for more than 40 percent of the modern gold production
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 78

TABLE 2. Geologic Setting, Structural Style, Ore, Gangue, Alteration Mineralogy, and Economic Data of the Studied Gold Lodes in the Pataz Province
Vein, Class1 Strike, Host rock(s) Structural style Ore/gangue paragenesis 2,3 Alteration 3,4 Outcrop Gold Cumm.
Deposit Dip length grade 5 Au cont.5
py as gn sl cp Au el fh other ser chl carb sil pyr fuch (m) (g/t) (oz)

Poderosa sector, northern Pataz district
La Lima 1, S N 12°E Granodiorite- Brittle-ductile • • • • • • • • 700 12.6 92,590
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
La Lima 40°E monzogranite quartz vein
and lamprophyre dike
La Lima 2, S N-S Granodiorite, aplite Brittle-ductile +++ + – ++ – + ank, ca +++ ++ + ++ – – 500 12.8 139,740
La Lima 45°E dike and hornfels quartz vein
enclaves
Mercedes S, T E-W Granodiorite-tonalite- Hybrid extensional +++ + ++ ++ + + – ank, ca +++ ++ + + + 950 17.7 481,210
Papagayo 35°S diorite and brittle-
ductile quartz vein
Karola S N 10°W Tonalite-granodiorite Brittle-ductile ++ + + + ca +++ ++ – + + 250 13.6 27,210
Papagayo 45°SE and monzogranite quartz vein
Luz, S N 34°E Monzogranite Ramified quartz + – +++ + + + 320 – –
El Tingo 44°SE structure
Choloque, S N 35°E Granodiorite- Brittle-ductile • • • • • • • • 500 14.2 63,790
El Tingo 58°SE monzogranite and quartz vein
lamprophyre dike

Pencas piso, S N 40°W Granodiorite- Brittle-ductile ++ + ++ ++ + ++ + ca +++ + – – – 350 11.8 33,170
El Tingo 80°NE monzogranite quartz vein
Carhuacoto, B ~N-S Black phyllite Shear zone, +++ – + ++ – + + ++ + 50 – –
79
Estrella stockwork and
disseminated ore
Consuelo, S N-S Diorite-granodiorite Brecciated quartz +++ + + + + – + ca, dol + ++ ++ + +++ 950 11.2 167,090
Consuelo 45°E and lamprophyre vein with
dike shear zones
Pataz mines, central Pataz district
Irma, B N 80°W Hornfels, granodiorite Bedding-concordant +++ – + – ank, ca ++ – + – 1,400 12.0 24,950
OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS AT PATAZ, PERU
Santa Maria 45°N (contact) quartz vein

Maria Rosa, B N 12°W Hornfels, granodiorite Bedding-concordant +++ + ++ + ank, ca ++ – ++ – 900 12.6 6,980
Santa Maria 47°E (contact) branching quartz vein
Culebrillas mine, northern Parcoy district
Inca, T N 70°W Hornfels enclave in Brecciated quartz +++ – ++ + + – +++ + 350 – –

Culebrillas 5°NE monzogranite vein
Picaflor, S N-S Monzogranite Thick gouge zone ++ + – + + + ca +++ + ++ + 550
Culebrillas 40°E with quartz lenses
1 Vein class abbreviations: B = bedding-concordant, S = shear zone, T = extensional

2 Ore/gangue mineral abbreviations: ank = ankerite, as = arsenopyrite, Au = free gold, ca = calcite, cp = chalcopyrite, dol = dolomite, el = free electrum, fh = falhore, gn = galena, py = pyrite,
sl = sphalerite
3 Frequency symbols: +++ = very abundant, ++ = abundant, + = common, – = scarse, • = present, but not quantified
4 Alteration abbreviations: carb = carbonitization, chl = chloritization, fuch = fuchsite alteration, pyr = pyritization, ser = sericitization, sil = silicification
5 Economic data reflect the state of the ores mined from 1982 to 2000 (source: Cia Minera Poderosa S.A.)
79
80 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
FIG. 3. Simplified local geologic maps of studied deposits in the Pataz province. A. Poderosa sector with La Lima, Papa-
gayo, El Tingo, and Consuelo deposits, northern part of the Pataz district. B. Culebrillas mine, northern part of the Parcoy
district (inset).
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 80

A WNW-ESE section, looking to NNE A'

2400 m
2200 m
2000 m
Mer
ced
es
1800 m
Karola
1600 m
1400 m
250 m
B W-E section, looking to N B'

3200 m
3000 m
Co 2800 m
ns
ue
lo
2600 m
2400 m
Choloque
2200 m
PATAZ BATHOLITH Mississippian LATE DIKES Late Cretaceous?

aplite dikes and stocks andesite dikes
monzogranite
GOLD-BEARING STRUCTURES 314-312 Ma
granodiorite
N- to NW-striking veins in shear zones
diorite and tonalite
extensional veins
CONTAYA FORMATION Ordovician bedding-concordant vein(let)s
slates, graywackes and quartzites ~E-W-striking syn-mineralization faults
FIG. 4. Representative longitudinal sections in the Poderosa sector. Their locations are shown in Figure 3. A-A' section
through the Papagayo deposit, B-B' section through the Consuelo deposit.
(Table 2) and, together with the other extensional veins, it 6C). In the upper part of the deposit, where dips are moder-
contains about 15 percent of the remaining gold resources. ate (20°–40°), both laminated textures and shear zones are
These extensional veins generally occur along lithological common, contrasting with the almost purely extensional fea-
contacts, bedding planes, and other zones of weakness, such tures observed in the lower part of the deposit where the vein
as enclave-rich areas between the more major structures. becomes flatter (20°). These observations highlight that, in
They typically contain wall-rock slivers and laminations of sul- addition to an extensional component, a shear component is
fide minerals, indicating several increments of vein opening also present.
and filling (Fig. 5C). Lodes concordant with bedding: Vein distribution in the
A detailed examination of the main lode at the Papagayo pre-Silurian metasedimentary units is dominantly controlled
deposit suggests that its internal structure is far more com- by preexisting discontinuities. In the Ordovician turbidite
plex, apparently evolving as a function of the dip angle (Fig. sequences, most of the veins and veinlets are emplaced
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82 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
1. Lodes in shear zones

2. Lodes in extension fractures
40
°E wallrock
slivers
40°SE
e
on
W E
rz
ea
sh
SW pyrite NE
monzogranite ribbons
A
45
granodiorite
°E
C
W E
4. Ore shoots in vertical faults
lamprophyre
B
3. Lodes concordant to bedding

49°E
S0 syn-mineral-
ization fault
hornfels S N
80°N
55°E
S N
shear C S
zone granodiorite
C
E
D
FIG. 5. Mine photographs illustrating the four different types of mineralized fractures at Pataz. A. North-south–striking,
east-dipping shear zone containing abundant sericite and chlorite material and, in its upper part, a massive quartz sulfide
vein (Picaflor vein). B. Hydrothermal breccias and strong muscovite alteration at the footwall of a north-south–striking, east-
dipping lode inserted along a lamprophyre dike (Consuelo vein). C. Extensional vein showing multiple open-space filling tex-
tures with milky quartz and pyrite ribbons enclosing elongated wall-rock slivers (Mercedes vein). D. Weakly mineralized, 40-
cm-thick, dextral shear zone with S and C fabrics cutting a hornfels xenolith (view taken toward the gallery roof, La Lima 2
vein). E. Intersection between an uneconomic east-west–striking vertical fault filled with sheared alteration material and a
north-south–striking, east-dipping, 30-cm-thick quartz vein (La Lima 2 vein).
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 82

A
N
Nv. 2700 Consuelo vein Quartz lodes
Vertical section
Sulfides (pyrite)
Shear-zones
Hydraulic breccias
Aplite dikes S
20 m
Faults
Nv. 2650
B Karola vein
Plan view
50°
Nv. 2600
Plan view 45°
700
Nv. 2
44°
60°
Ch. 450
Nv. 2650
Nv. 1780
0
Nv. 260
C
Nv. 1727
30°
Mercedes vein
20° 45°
Plan view 40°
28°
25°
25°
21°
25°
Nv. 1697
15°
Nv. 1717
Nv. 1687
20°
18°
20°
Nv. 1707
FIG. 6. Geologic maps and section from underground mines showing the synmineralization brittle-ductile features and
the postmineralization faulting. A. and B. Typical north-south–striking, east-dipping veins hosted in reverse-dextral fractures.
C. S-shaped dilational zone along an extensional vein coinciding with the intersection of synmineralization ~east-west–
striking faults.
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84 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
N N
A B
Mineralized veins (Pataz district) Mineralized veins (Parcoy district)

La Lima & Papagayo deposits n = 22 Retamas deposit n = 29
El Tingo & Consuelo deposits n = 15 Culebrillas deposit n=6
Santa Maria deposits n = 25
lamprophyre dikes
N N
C D
Structural elements in the Contaya Formation Second-order quartz veinlets

S0 bedding poles Fp fold axes linked to the ~N-S-striking veins n = 126
Sp+1 cleavage poles Fp+1 fold axes linked to the Mercedes vein n = 51
mineralized veins (Santa Maria deposits) in the Contaya Formation n = 55
FIG. 7. Equal area projection of the mineralized quartz veins and related structural elements in the Pataz province. A.
Mineralized veins in the Pataz district. B. Mineralized veins in the Parcoy district. C. Comparison of the orientations of the
mineralized veins to the schistosities and fold axes of their host Contaya Formation (Santa Maria deposits, central part of the
Pataz district). D. Distribution of the second-order quartz veinlets according to the structural set (Pataz district).
concordant to the bedding in the north- to east-dipping limbs these mineralized structures commonly have an anastomos-
of long-wavelength northeast-trending folds (Fig. 7C); some ing morphology and a ductile fabric (Fig. 5D). They are less
are along the cleavage planes related to northwest-oriented than 1 m thick and have a 100-m-long strike, making them
folds. A preferred mineralization site is the interface between presently mainly subeconomic.
lithologies with competency contrasts, such as slate-sandstone The only presently mined deposit of this structural style
contacts. Compared to the batholith-hosted shear zones, (Santa Maria), which accounts for less than 5 percent of the
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 84

A Ore shoots in vertical faults: The regional east-west– to

east-southeast–west-northwest–striking vertical faults in the
Host rock: tonalite
Pataz district are uneconomic pre- to synmineralization
110 cm
strike-slip sinistral fractures (Figs. 3–4, 7A) filled with abun-

dant and sheared alteration material composed of muscovite
Hanging wall shear zone and chlorite (1–3 g/t Au; Fig. 5E). These structures sporadi-
cally host small segmented and crushed quartz pods, gener-
Laminated to massive quartz vein ally less than 20 m long. Similar discontinuous quartz lenses
with sulfide ribbons (py, sl, gn) are encountered in the ~east-west–striking faults in the Par-
coy district (Fig. 7B). At the El Tingo deposit, minor lenses
with barren quartz, sericite, and chlorite are also observed
Sericitized and chloritized wall rock along north-northeast–south-southwest–striking vertical, ap-
parently dextral faults. During the postmineralization history,
these vertical faults were reactivated and filled with gouge.
B Structural analysis of the deposits
Host rock: granodiorite
To determine the strain history of the lodes, we examined
35 cm
the orientations of the productive lodes with respect to all the

measured hydrothermal veins, the morphology of the lodes
Hanging wall shear zone and faults in the mine maps, and the microtectonic data col-
lected in the underground mines (Fig. 9A-D). The proposed
Brecciated milky quartz vein with sulfide infill (py, structural interpretation is synthesized in a three-dimensional
sl, gn) and, at the wall-rock interface, with free Au block diagram (Fig. 10), defining the spatial distribution and
Sericitized wall rock with Riedel structures
crosscutting relationships of the lodes and other structural el-
ements in the Pataz district and the inferred shortening and
extension fields (Z and X in Fig. 10, respectively).
C The following critical observations can be made:
Host rock: monzogranite
1. No vein-bearing structures, not even second-order
quartz veinlets, dip to the west in the Pataz district (Fig. 9A).
The productive lodes plot in a crescent-shaped pattern, with
230 cm
Massive lenses of fine-grained pyrite a cluster of poles toward 90°/45°. In contrast, the poles to
and arsenopyrite closed and weakly mineralized structures, such as the roughly
Shear zone containing sericitic material, east-west–striking vertical faults, plot at the periphery of this
crushed quartz and milled sulfides cluster (Fig. 9A). In combination, these observations are in-
dicative of a compressional field oriented to N 78° E/<30°.
2. Following a method initially proposed by Wallace
Footwall breccia with sericitized wall rock (1951), the axis of extension associated with all the productive
fragments
mineralized veins in the Pataz district (Fig. 9B) can be deter-
mined by placing a cone of >45° close to the vertical axis and
tangent to all the plotted lodes. The axis of this cone was
graphically positioned at 254°/78° and is considered as an ex-
FIG. 8. Vein profiles illustrating the control of the different plutonic host
rocks on the mineralization styles. A. Mercedes vein (level 1,735 m) in a tensional axis.
tonalite host. B. Pencas piso vein (level 1,825 m) in a granodiorite host. C. Pi- 3. In the mine maps (Fig. 6), the vein inflections to the
caflor vein (level 2,610 m) in a monzogranite host. Ore mineral abbreviations: northeast or east along the north-south–striking veins are sig-
gn = galena, py = pyrite, sl = sphalerite. moidal relays in the continuity of the main structure and are
interpreted as indicating dextral and reverse slip during frac-
ture opening. By contrast, the dilational areas close to the
gold produced in the Pataz district (Table 2), consists of mas- east-west–striking faults, where the veins present complex
sive to highly banded quartz veins. In places where the slates segmented and twisted patterns (such as small pull-aparts),
and sandstones are metamorphosed to hornfels, these veins were probably created during synmineralization sinistral
become thicker and more continuous because of higher rock strike-slip movements along these vertical faults. Based on
competency. The Upper Proterozoic-Lower Cambrian phyl- these observations, the northeast and southwest quadrants of
lites are almost devoid of gold-bearing veins. The only miner- the stereographic projection appear in a simplistic analysis as
alized veins are hosted in black shale layers that look similar areas under compression (Fig. 9C).
to mylonites (e.g., the Carhuacoto vein). This mineralization 4. The three north-south–oriented veins—La Lima 2,
displays variable geometries, with disseminated ores in the Karola, and Consuelo—provided overlapping and consistent
sheared wall rock, strongly sheared massive sulfide mineral microstructural data (Fig. 9D). The ductile S-C fabrics mea-
lenses, and stockworks filled with brecciated quartz and sured along the hanging wall and footwall of these veins indi-
sulfide. cate a reverse-dextral sense of slip (Fig. 5D), in agreement
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86 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
N N
A B
closed stru
ct.
second-order veinlets (n=232) bedding-concordant

vein set
0
078/<3
Z axis ≈
pro
IN X axis = 254/78
duc
AREA N
ESSIO
gle
tiv
R
COMP
e an 5°
e lo
Con >X>4 N-S-striking

75°
des
vein set
(n=
62)
Mercedes vein
closed stru
ct.
Method I - Vein distribution Method II - Wallace technique
N N secondary quartz veinlets

C D types of host fracture
R = principal Riedel
R' = conjugate Riedel
P = synthetic
R’ type ? T = tensional
C shear
CO
AR ESS
~E-
MP
W-s
EA
tri
R
king U
IN N
faul U D
ts D R type?
IO
T type?
CO
S schistosity
AR ESS
MP
EA
R
P type ?
IN N
IO
N-S-striking ductile S-C fabrics

veins
schistosity surfaces (S)
shear surfaces (C)
Method III - Structural elements on mine maps Method IV - Microstructural data (N-S-striking veins)
FIG. 9. Different methods of structural analysis of the mineralized veins in the Pataz district (equal area projections). A.
Specific distributions of the second-order quartz veinlets and the productive lodes and their implications for the location of
the compressive field (small circle containing an inferred shortening axis Z). B. Conic distribution of the mineralized vein
planes with the inferred extensional axis X (method according to Wallace, 1951). The relationship to the strain axis derives
from the radius angle of the cone, which is greater than 45°. C. Simplistic structural interpretation from the dextral-reverse
openings observed along the north-south–striking lodes and from the sinistral offsets observed on the east-west–striking ver-
tical faults with the apparent location of the compressive quadrants. D. Interpretation of the microstructural data (S-C duc-
tile fabrics and secondary quartz veinlets hosted by Riedel R, R', P and tensional T fractures) from the north-south–striking
veins (data from the La Lima 2, Karola, and Consuelo veins).
with the map observations. The numerous low-angle, second- strain ellipsoid for the Pataz district. This ellipsoid is charac-
order quartz veinlets are mainly compatible with both P and terized by a subhorizontal shortening axis P (=Z) oriented
R Riedel structures, the subhorizontal ones with extensional 80°/15°, a graphically determined intermediate Y axis at
structures, and the high-angle ones with antithetic Riedel R' 165°/00°, and a subvertical extensional axis T (=X) at 255°/80°
fractures in typical brittle-ductile shear zone geometries (Fig. (Fig. 10). In this model, the north-south–striking, east-dip-
9D). ping structures that host productive lodes, such as the La
Lima 2, Karola, and Consuleo veins, acted as reverse, slightly
The combination of these observations yields coherent dextral fractures with mainly shear behavior. The shallow-dip-
shortening and extension axes, which define a regional finite ping Mercedes vein behaved as a hybrid shear and extension
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 86

1-2
ima
La L
Z
rita
N Glo
2 900 m
M
er
ce
de
S
s
ola
Kar
e
loqu 1 200 m
Cho Z N-
09 000 Luz 9
E-2 14
6
00
0
1 km
X
N-S-striking roof vein system (La Lima-Choloque veins)
N-S-striking footwall vein system (Glorita-Karola-Luz veins)
500 Extensional veins (Mercedes vein)

N-9
12
E-2
143
Syn-mineralization E-W- to ESE-WNW-striking faults

500
FIG. 10. Three-dimensional representation of the distribution and crosscutting relationships of the major auriferous veins
and faults in the northern Poderosa sector. The Mercedes vein appears as an extensional-oblique relay vein between two
major north-south–striking vein systems hosted by shear zones (Lima-Choloque and Glorita-Karola-Luz). The synmineral-
ization sinistral faults displace the vein offsets. Z and X are the inferred shortening and extension axes, respectively. Drawn
using Gemcom software with mine data from Cía Minera Poderosa S.A.
fracture with a small dextral component. Owing to its partic- The inferred strain orientations prevailing during vein em-
ular location and orientation, this vein can be interpreted as a placement in the Pataz district, with an ~east-northeast short-
giant oblique-extensional relay, similar to an en echelon ten- ening axis and a subvertical extension axis, are compatible
sion gash vein between two main north-south–trending, east- with the available structural data for the Parcoy district. In
dipping mineralized structures, one in the footwall (the Lima- the mines of the Parcoy district, Macfarlane et al. (1999) pro-
Choloque system) and the other in the hanging wall (the posed that vein filling occurred along faults of limited sinistral
Glorita-Karola-Luz system: Figs. 3–4, 10). Under the inferred oblique thrust slip, apparently under an ~east-west compres-
strain conditions, the lodes hosted by the turbidite sequences sion. The predominant reverse-sinistral movements observed
opened as reverse faults with either limited sinistral or dextral in the lodes south of Parcoy, contrasting with the reverse-
slips for north to east-northeast and east-northeast to east dextral motion in the north-south–oriented lodes of the
dips, respectively. Lastly, the fourth mineralization style (i.e., Poderosa sector of Pataz, could be explained simply by the
the roughly east-west–striking vertical faults) fits with the re- counterclockwise rotation of the mineralized structures with
gional finite strain ellipsoid. As expected from the model, mainly northwest-southeast–striking veins in the southern
their unfavorable orientation with respect to the extensional Parcoy district. Comparable strain conditions can be deduced
axis is expressed by the closed nature of the faults, the pure from the examination of the stereographic distribution of the
strike-slip movements, and the low metal contents. lodes (Fig. 7B); the conjugate system with predominantly
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88 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
east-dipping and minor west-dipping, reverse, mineralized displacements, and duplications of the mineralized struc-
fractures is indicative of vein opening under an east-west to tures. Three deformation stages linked to the Andean cycle
northeast-southwest subhorizontal shortening axis. The ab- were recognized (Fig. 11): a northeast-southwest and then a
sence of any of these west-dipping structures in the Pataz dis- northwest-southeast compressional event, followed by an
trict, although they would be consistent with the strain condi- overprinting east-northeast–west-southwest extensional event.
tions, is best attributed to the preexisting geologic weakness The latest faulting coincides with late Miocene extensional
zones or planes, such as the eastward-plunging corridor tectonics that created the Marañón semigrabens along a N
linked to the batholith contact and the moderately east- to 30° W strike (Schreiber, 1989). The timing of the two reverse
north-dipping bedding in rocks of the Contaya Formation. movements is uncertain and only a very broad age range from
Late Cretaceous to Miocene can be proposed. One could ten-
Postmineralization events tatively correlate the first compressional event with the Late
The final geometry of the auriferous deposits is strongly af- Cretaceous thrusting of the Mesozoic units (Peruvian phase
fected by postmineralization brittle deformation (Fig. 6). The of the Andean orogen) and the second with the Oligocene
apparent sinistral throws, which may reach some tens to hun- event that caused the fan imbrication of the Marañón thrust
dreds of meters, along the ~east-west–oriented vertical faults sheets (Incaic phase of the Andean orogen; Mégard, 1984).
are the result of three or more superimposed strike-slip Alternatively, these compressional events could correspond to
movements subsequent to sinistral synmineralization shear brittle reverse faulting in the Miocene, related to the
(Figs. 3, 6C). These movements most probably occurred dur- Quechua phases of the Andean orogen (Mégard, 1984).
ing Permo-Triassic block tectonics (Kontak et al., 1985; Sem-
pere et al., 2002) and later during the brittle deformation Ore and Gangue Mineralogy
stages related to the Andean orogen (Mégard, 1984). The re- The Pataz gold lodes are notable for their elevated iron and
activations of these ~east-west–oriented structures are re- base metal sulfide contents, which in places may reach about
sponsible for the segmentation of the north-south–striking 10 vol percent of the vein, as well as the vertical and lateral
mineralized structures orthogonal to their strike directions homogeneity of their ore paragenesis over the entire metallo-
(Fig. 3). Reconstructions removing this segmentation show genic belt (Table 2; Schreiber, 1989; Schreiber et al., 1990a,
that differently named veins on either side of these major b; Miranda, 1994; Vidal et al., 1995). The veins are character-
faults belong to the same and unique structures, which may ized by a consistent Au, Ag, As, Fe, Pb, Zn, ±Cu, ±Sb, ±Bi-
extend laterally for as much as 5 km. For example, in the Te-W metal association (Table 3) and have a two-stage ore se-
Poderosa sector, the principal mineralized structure, sited in quence (Fig. 12), with the precipitation of pyrite,
the footwall of the system, hosts from north to south the La arsenopyrite, ankerite, and milky quartz first, followed by Zn-
Lima, El Tingo (Choloque vein), and Consuelo deposits (Fig. Pb-Cu ± Sb ± As–bearing sulfide minerals and gold with fine-
3). Similarly, Macfarlane et al. (1999) described in the south- grained blue-gray quartz. A postore stage consists of white
ern Parcoy district sinistrally displaced vein segments that are quartz, calcite, and dolomite in crosscutting veinlets.
offset parts of a major N 20° W-striking structure.
Unlike the regional east-west–striking faults, the other Ore mineralogy
fracture systems have had little effect on the present-day Pyrite is the dominant ore-related mineral and forms rib-
vein geometry and created only small-scale discontinuities, bons of millimeter-sized dodecahedral crystals disseminated
P σ 1 = 308/02 σ 2 = 337/04
σ 1 = 044/06 σ 2 = 038/13
P σ 3 = 068/17
T T
P
σ 3 = 296/70 T
σ 3 = 208/77 σ 1 = 236/73
σ 2 = 136/19
φ = 0.70 φ = 0.62 φ = 0.21
First reverse faulting - NE-SW compression Second reverse faulting - NW-SE compression Normal faulting - ESE-WNW extension
Late Cretaceous (Peruvian phase) ? Oligocene (Incaic phase) ? Late Miocene
FIG. 11. Stereographic plots illustrating the three successive Andean brittle deformation stages that overprint the miner-
alization. On the basis of fault planes and their slip striations, strain directions were graphically determined using the P and
T dihedra method of Angelier and Goguel (1979) and a paleostress tensor ( = σ1, = σ2, = σ3) with the relative ratio
of principal stresses (φ = (σ2 – σ 3)/(σ1– σ3)) was calculated using the inversion algorithm developed by Etchecopar et al.
(1981).
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TABLE 3. Multielement Geochemical Analyses of Ores from the Pataz Province
Sample no. Deposit Vein Au Ag As Bi Cd Cu Fe Pb Sb Te W Zn

(ppm) (ppm) (wt %) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (wt %) (wt %) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (wt %)
YLL 06 La Lima La Lima 2 76 22.9 0.48 <5 <1 72.7 5.25 6.6 10 - <4 0.074
YLL 09C La Lima La Lima 2 4.7 1.8 0.033 <5 <1 7.6 3.66 0.004 1.2 - <4 <0.005
YPP 12 Papagayo Mercedes 12 2.5 0.14 17 <1 20.6 14.3 0.010 1.4 - <4 <0.005
YPP 16D Papagayo Mercedes 49 67.8 2.7 47 1580 163 22.5 3.6 67 - <4 6.9
YPP 21 Papagayo Karola 14 6.1 5.6 <5 <1 15.6 7.4 0.035 22 - - 0.072
YSF 48 Estrella Carhuacoto 2.8 392 0.22 <5 544 381 21.4 5.7 430 1.0 13 4.4
YTN 06 El Tingo Pencas 3.8 213 0.1 <5 161 18.9 2.58 6.6 230 0.1 <4 1.1
YTN 09 El Tingo Pencas 200 286 2.7 <5 942 46.6 10.3 7.2 190 3.2 - 5.1
YTN 18 Consuelo Consuelo 12 82 1.4 6 85 128 13.7 3.6 100 - <4 0.85
YTN 19 Consuelo Consuelo 45 204 2.5 <5 775 400 15 7.3 210 - 20 6.1
YEX 11 Santa Maria Irma 25 51.3 2.2 10 <1 250 26 2.1 58 - <4 0.052
YEX 14 Santa Maria Maria Rosa 140 134 1.7 <5 332 1650 22.2 3.0 59 2 <4 2.6
YEX 21C Culebrillas Picaflor 5.6 2.8 1.5 10 <1 6.5 3.96 0.039 10 - <4 0.008
YEX 22 Culebrillas Inca 140 85 0.75 8 172 573 17.3 3.6 30 - <4 2.5
Notes: Au, As, Sb, W, and Zn were measured by neutron activation analysis (NAA); Ag by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS); Bi, Cd, Cu, Fe,
and Pb by inductively coupled-plasma emission spectrometry (ICP); and Te by graphite furnace atomic absorption (GFAA); analyses were made at XRAL
Laboratories, Toronto, Canada
- = not analyzed
in quartz. Arsenopyrite is contemporaneous with and slightly deformed, with cracking in the case of brittle deformation
postdates pyrite, occurring as intergrowths and as coarse and finely comminuted morphologies in the case of intense
grains at its boundaries. Both sulfide minerals are highly shearing. Trace amounts of wolframite, possibly predating the
Paragenesis Early Stage I Stage II Late Supergene

Fe-As stage Pb-Zn-Au stage (stage III)
Pyrite
Arsenopyrite
Wolframite1
Sphalerite
Galena
Chalcopyrite
Pyrrhotite
Freibergite
Electrum
Gold
Jamesonite
Iron hydroxides
Milky quartz
Comb quartz
Blue-gray quartz
White quartz
Muscovite (sericite)
Chlorite
Ankerite
Dolomite
Calcite
Sphene
1Only recognized in the pyrite ores sampled at La Lima deposit (Miranda, 1994) and in the Parcoy district (Macfarlane et al., 1999)
FIG. 12. Paragenetic sequence of ore, gangue, and alteration minerals in the Pataz gold deposits. Modified after Schreiber
et al. (1990b).
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90 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
iron-bearing sulfide minerals, are present in some lodes (Mi- In the oxidation zone of the lodes, there is a supergene en-
randa, 1994; Macfarlane et al., 1999). richment of free gold (20–30 g/t Au). The secondary gold is
Multiple microfractures cutting milky quartz and the iron- macroscopic and occurs in hollow quartz with iron oxides and
bearing sulfide minerals are filled with a second stage of min- hydroxides (Schreiber, 1989). Arsenopyrite, and to a lesser ex-
erals, consisting of, in decreasing order of, abundance, blue- tent, pyrite, and sphalerite are weathered to goethite, lepi-
gray microgranular quartz, iron-poor sphalerite containing docrocite, and jarosite.
chalcopyrite exsolutions and some pyrrhotite, deformed galena
containing tiny freibergite and jamesonite inclusions, and a late Gangue mineralogy
generation of small cubic pyrite and scalenoedric arsenopyrite. The most common gangue mineral is quartz with multiple
Electrum, with silver contents from 24 to 40 wt percent generations that account for more than 80 vol percent of the
(Schreiber, 1989), is mainly hosted as inclusions in poikilitic vein fillings. Subordinate carbonate minerals, including
sphalerite (Fig. 13A) or in fractures in pyrite and arsenopyrite; ankerite, dolomite, and calcite account for as much as 10 vol
native gold precipitates later, generally within galena or along percent of the lode. Other constituents include muscovite,
fractures within arsenopyrite or attached to its surface (Fig. chlorite, and minor sphene (Fig. 12). Minerals such as
13B-D). The size of the gold and electrum particles varies typ- scheelite and tourmaline, typical of many orogenic gold de-
ically between 1 and 300 µm, but large visible grains are abun- posits (McCuaig and Kerrich, 1998; Hagemann and Cassidy,
dant in some “bonanza” ore shoots with low-sulfide mineral 2000), were not identified in the deposits of the Pataz
contents (e.g., the Pencas piso vein, Fig. 3A). Free gold prefer- province.
entially grows at the interface between the quartz lodes and the Quartz textures are excellent indicators of the nature and
wall rock or attached to wall-rock slivers. There is no strong intensity of deformation prevailing during vein formation
correlation between any metal and gold in the Pataz ores (r = (Jébrak, 1992; Vearncombe, 1993; Bouchot et al., 1994).
0.2–0.5 for Au with Ag, Pb, Sb, and Zn; Haeberlin, 2002). Their analysis is also a useful indication of gold grades. The
py I Au
as I cp
el
Au
py I
gn gn
sl
A 50µm B 50 µm
Au
Au
gn
qz II
Au
as II
Au Au
as I
C 50 µm D 200 µm
FIG. 13. Photomicrographs of gold and base metal sulfide textural relationships in the Pataz ores. Abbreviations: as = ar-
senopyrite, Au = native gold, el = electrum, gn = galena, py = pyrite, qz = quartz, sl = sphalerite. A. Sphalerite veinlet with
chalcopyrite, galena, and electrum crosscutting arsenopyrite and pyrite of stage I (Mercedes vein). B. Galena and gold fill-
ing cracks in strongly fractured pyrite I (La Lima 2 vein). C. Galena crystal with coeval inclusions of gold grains and small
crystals of second-stage arsenopyrite (Mercedes vein). D. Gold in the cracks of an isolated idiomorphic arsenopyrite I in a
sulfide-poor lode (Pencas piso vein).
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following varieties of quartz, in order of appearance, have comb quartz (qz 1b) in crack-and-seal textures in extensional
been observed in thin section (Figs. 12–14): (1) abundant eu- veins and also early in the paragenetic sequence; (3) micro-
hedral milky quartz (qz 1a), showing little deformation to in- granular blue-gray quartz (qz 2) in cracks with Pb-Zn-Cu ±
tense fracturing or shearing, similar to the pyrite grains; (2) Ag ± Sb ± As–bearing sulfide minerals, gold, and fine-grained
def qz 1a def qz 1a
qz2
py I
py I ser
gn
py I
def qz 1a
def qz 1a
2 cm qz 2 2 mm
A B
qz2
qz 1a qz 2
py qz 1a
sl
gn
ser sliver sl
ser sliver
C 1 cm D 1 mm
qz 1b
qz 1b
ser qz 1b
sericitized ank
ank ank
diorite
ser
E 1 cm F 2 mm
FIG. 14. Photographs of vein samples with corresponding photomicrographs in crossed nicols, showing textural relation-
ships in the Pataz lodes. Abbreviations: ank = ankerite, def qz = deformed quartz, gn = galena, py = pyrite, qz = quartz, ser
= sericite (hydrothermal muscovite), sl = sphalerite. A and B. Ductilely deformed quartz vein with sheared milky quartz (qz
1a) and pyrite grains, surrounded by later microcrystalline quartz (qz 2) infilling, muscovite, galena, and free gold (not visi-
ble; La Lima 2 vein). C. and D. Gold-rich brecciated vein with sericitized wall-rock slivers among a polygonal quartz assem-
blage (qz 1a), with fine-grained quartz (qz 2), sphalerite and galena developed between breccia clasts (Inca vein). E. and F.
Crack-and-seal texture with coarse ankerite crystals growing on comb quartz (qz 1b), itself having grown on thin sericitized
wall-rock slivers (Mercedes vein).
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92 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
muscovite; (4) late, white, coarse quartz (qz 3), accompanying pyrrhotite, are overprinted by pervasive muscovite and weak
calcite and dolomite in crosscutting barren veinlets. carbonate development.
In the Pataz lodes, assemblages composed of sulfide-im-
pregnated blue-gray quartz (qz 2) that form delicate networks 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology
in brecciated or sheared milky quartz grains (qz 1a) are the
most high grade material (30–120 g/t Au; Fig. 14A-D). Simi- Analytical method
larly, comb quartz (qz 1b) and euhedral milky quartz (qz 1a) Incremental-heating analyses on multigrain mineral sam-
with crack-and-seal textures may carry ore but only parts of ples were performed at the University of Lausanne 40Ar/39Ar
the layered openings are auriferous (Fig. 14E-F). Massive Geochronology Laboratory. The mineral concentrates were
milky quartz (qz 1a), either in unfractured or strongly sheared prepared from crushed and sieved bulk-rock samples, using a
habits, is typically barren. The late generation of quartz-car- shaking table and a magnetic separator. They were further
bonate minerals is also barren. cleaned by ultrasonic treatment, and approximately 20 mg of
The presence of carbonate minerals (Fig. 12) and their pure material was selected by manual picking and then
compositions are host-rock dependent. Whereas calcite is loaded in copper foils. The separates meet the following con-
ubiquitous, ankerite and dolomite preferentially precipitate ditions: (1) a purity of 99 percent or greater, (2) a total ab-
in the most mafic host rocks, such as diorite and lamprophyre. sence of chlorite, (3) a grain size between 200 and 500 µm for
Ankerite is an early carbonate in the ore sequence and grows the magmatic minerals and between 50 and 200 µm for the
toward the end of the first stage as euhedral, millimeter-sized, hydrothermal muscovite. Samples together with the stan-
light-colored crystals with open-space filling textures on the dards were irradiated for 18 MWH with cadmium shielding
comb quartz (Fig. 14E-F). Dolomite has two different habits: in the CLICIT facility of the Oregon State Triga reactor. All
infilling of cracks between iron sulfide mineral boundaries as analyses were made using a low-blank, double-vacuum resis-
a minor phase together with second-stage microgranular tance furnace and metal extraction line connected to a MAP
quartz; more commonly, growing with barren quartz as mil- 215-50 mass spectrometer using an electron multiplier. The
limeter-sized crystals in crosscutting veinlets belonging to the samples were incrementally heated in the furnace and the gas
postsulfide mineral stage. Calcite and dolomite have a similar was expanded and purified using activated Zr/Ti/Al getters
paragenesis and accompany white quartz in veinlets or form and a metal cold finger maintained at liquid nitrogen temper-
monomineralic veinlets. ature. Time-zero regressions were fitted to data collected
from eight scans over the mass range of 40 to 36. Peak heights
above backgrounds were corrected for mass discrimination,
Hydrothermal Alteration isotopic decay, and interfering nucleogenic Ca-, K- and Cl-
At Pataz, similar alteration patterns are found at the lode derived isotopes of Ar. Blanks were measured at temperature
scale and over the entire province, with limited variation ac- and subtracted from the sample signal. For mass 40, blank
cording to the host rock. Where the lodes crosscut plutonic values ranged from 4 × 10–15 moles below 1,350°C to 9 ×
rocks, such as those of the Pataz batholith, a 10-cm- to 10-m- 10–15 moles at 1,650°C. Blank values for masses 36 to 39 were
wide alteration halo is marked by a pervasive bleaching of the below 2 × 10–17 moles for all temperatures. Isotopic produc-
wall rock. The proximal alteration is characterized by an in- tion ratios for the Triga reactor were determined from analy-
tense muscovite-rich halo, with subsidiary chlorite, carbon- ses of irradiated CaF2 and K2SO4 and the following values
ate, or pyrite (Table 2). Farther from the vein, the muscovite have been used in the calculations: 36Ar/37Ar (Ca) =
alteration grades sharply over a few centimeters to minor 0.0002640 ± 0.0000017, 39Ar/37Ar (Ca) = 0.0006730 ±
chlorite alteration and then into fresh rock. The igneous tex- 0.0000037, and 40Ar/39Ar (K) = 0.00086 ± 0.00023. A mass
tures of the bleached granitoids are still preserved, but the discrimination correction of 1.008 amu was determined by
primary mineralogy is replaced by recrystallized quartz and online measurement of air and was applied to the data. Cor-
fine-grained white mica and cut by late carbonate veinlets. rection for the neutron flux was determined using the biotite
Muscovite grows as mingled flakes (<0.2 mm) at the expense standard HD-BI (Fuhrmann et al., 1987), assuming an age of
of feldspars and as idiomorphic crystals (<2 mm), pseudo- 24.21 Ma (Hess and Lippolt, 1994). For this investigation, an
morphous after relict biotite. Chemically, the pale-green vari- uncertainty on the neutron flux (J) was determined with a
ety has a nearly pure muscovite composition and the emerald precision of 0.5 percent, and this uncertainty is propagated
one, typical of lodes hosted by lamprophyre dikes (e.g., the throughout the uncertainties on the reported ages. All ages
Consuelo vein), is a Cr-rich muscovite (≤1.0 wt % of Cr2O3; and regressions in this article are reported at the 95 percent
fuchsite in App. 1). Within the lode, the coexistence of mus- confidence level.
covite and chlorite with blue-gray quartz in microfractures in- The criteria used for the identification of the plateau are
dicates that their precipitation occurred mostly during the the existence of three or more contiguous gas fractions with
second paragenetic stage (Figs. 12, 14). analytically indistinguishable ages (2σ level) and all together
Alteration is less developed in metasedimentary host rocks representing more than 50 percent of the total 39Ar released
(Table 2). In slates and sandstones almost no alteration is vis- (Fleck et al., 1977). Where there are nearly concordant seg-
ible, except for a slight bleaching. In phyllites, a ≤50-cm-wide ments that do not strictly conform to the ideal plateau defin-
alteration rim is characterized by a high degree of deforma- ition, a weighted mean age of the flattest part of the spectra
tion and contains abundant chlorite alteration with minor is calculated. Such ages are potentially geologically meaning-
pyrite. In hornfels, the primary contact metamorphic assem- ful and provide more accurate geochronologic information
blages, consisting of biotite, garnet, epidote, and minor than the total fusion ages. The uncertainty in the plateau and
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plateaulike segment ages comprises the error in the J value
(Ma ± 2σ) ages (Ma)

Plateau ages1 Total gas
but does not include an error in the age of the flux monitor or
323.3
322.2
322.9
320.6
307.1
314.8
312.9
313.2
151.8
the decay constant—errors which should be included when
comparing to other dating techniques (Min et al., 2000).
328.1 ± 1.2 1
321.8 ± 1.2
323.0 ± 4.0
329.2 ± 1.4
325.4 ± 1.4
322.1 ± 2.8
321.4 ± 3.8
319.6 ± 3.2
137.4 ± 3.4
Age of the Pataz batholith
Diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, monzogranite, and aplite in-
trusions were sampled for geochronology from surface out-
crops and underground mines within a radius of 10 km
around Pataz (Table 4). The chemical compositions of the
released
% 39Ar
42.8
83.6
66.4
63.2
68.4
86.2
92.6
88.2
61.2
dated minerals were examined with an electron microprobe
TABLE 4. Descriptive Table of the Dated Magmatic Minerals and Summary Results of 40Ar/39Ar Incremental Heating Analyses
(App. 1), and the mineral grains were carefully checked for
impurities with scanning electron microscopy and/or X-ray
1,000–1,050
1,000–1,150
1,000–1,130
1,000–1,200
850–1,225
975–1,150
850–1,150
800–1,100
900–1,200
diffraction. Primary magmatic biotite (Fig. 15A-C), a major
T (ºC)
Steps
mineral in granodiorite and more evolved rocks, has a fairly
homogeneous composition, with a narrow range of Mg/(Mg +
Fe) ratios (0.31–0.37) and a low AlVI content (<0.13), except
Spectra shape
in the aplite, in which it has higher AlVI (>0.40), reflecting the
Disturbed
Disturbed
Disturbed
Disturbed
peraluminous chemistry of the whole rock (Haeberlin, 2002).
Plateau
Plateau
Plateau
Plateau
Saddle
Under the microscope very minor chlorite sheets are occa-
sionally observed along the biotite cleavages (Fig. 15C). Sim-
ilarly, the white mica, which is present only in the aplite, is ho-
Magnesiohornblende
mogeneous with a nearly ideal composition of muscovite and
Hornblende (zoned)
does not show any alteration feature. According to the
Ferrohornblende
Ferrohornblende
nomenclature proposed by Leake (1978), the amphiboles Dated mineral
(Fig. 15D-H) are magnesiohornblendes in diorite and
K-feldspar
ages considered as accurate and reliable estimates of the intrusion ages are underlined (see text for details)
Muscovite
tonalite and ferrohornblendes in granodiorite. Most of the
Biotite
Biotite
Biotite
amphibole grains contain relict hornblende cores enriched in
AlIV and Fe2+, particularly in sample YPP 08, in which the
{
{
hornblende exhibits a strong concentric zonation from tscher-
Elevation (m)
makitic cores to magnesian rims (Fig. 15D). Among these

amphiboles, there is a minor but non-negligible proportion
(up to 15 vol %) that is partially altered to secondary biotite
1,785
1,785
1,770
1,650
2,420
2,420
3,460
and chlorite (Fig. 15D-E, G-H).
The step-heating spectra of the biotite samples display
broad plateau ages (Fig. 16A-C) at 328.1 ± 1.2 Ma for the gra-
N–9,146,870
N–9,146,590
N–9,146,630
N–9,146,690
N–9,147,850
N–9,147,830
N–9,150,090
Coordinates
nodiorite, 329.2 ± 1.4 Ma for the monzogranite, and 325.4 ±

E–211,300
E–211,610
E–211,150
E–211,160
E–210,560
E–210,460
E–214,200
1.4 Ma for the aplite dike (Table 4, App. 2). The ages of the
granodiorite and monzogranite overlap at the level of uncer-
tainty in agreement with their close spatial association in the
field. Furthermore, they are fully in agreement with the 329
Ma U/Pb zircon age of Vidal et al. (1995) obtained for a gra-
Papagayo mine,
Papagayo mine,
Papagayo mine,
Papagayo mine,
Cerro Charpas,
nodiorite near Parcoy and thus may approximate crystalliza-

Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
tion ages of the Pataz batholith. On the other hand, the 4- to

Locality
Paraiso,
Paraiso,
5-m.y. difference in the aplite age is significant and suggests

that this pulse represents a late event in the evolution of the
Pataz batholith.
Medium-grained hornblende
Medium-grained hornblende
The YSF 19 muscovite separate, from a late aplite dike, dis-

Coarse-grained hornblende
Porphyritic monzonite dike
plays a well-defined plateau, representing 86.2 percent of

Medium- to fine-grained
tonalite (slightly altered)
biotite granodiorite with
microgranular enclaves
Fine-grained two-mica
39
Ar released (Table 4, App. 2) and a corresponding age of
with millimeter-sized
biotite monzogranite
Material description
biotite granodiorite
hornblende diorite
322.1 ± 2.8 Ma (Fig. 16D). This muscovite date is analytically

Medium-grained
indistinguishable at the 2σ level from the 325.4 ± 1.4 Ma age

of its neighboring biotite. It also confirms the time gap be-
phenocrysts
aplite dike
tween the emplacement of the granodiorite and/or monzo-

granite bodies and the aplite dikes.
The four hornblende separates had disturbed 40Ar/39Ar age
spectra (Fig. 16E-H). Their intermediate heating steps, rep-
Sample no.
resenting from 42.8 to 68.4 percent of 39Ar released, exhibit

1 The
YPP 01
YPP 02
YPP 03
YPP 08
YSF 22
YSF 19
YSF 45
relatively flat segments, whose weighted means correspond to

ages ranging from 323.0 ± 4.0 to 319.6 ± 3.2 Ma (Table 4,
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94 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
YSF 22 YSF 22
kf qz bi
bi bi
qz
bi
kf plg
plg
bi kf
B qz 100 µm
bi
A kf 100 µm
YPP 08
sec bi
kf YPP 02
chl sec bi
rim
bi
qz Mg hb
bi core
bi tsch hb
chl bi
bi
ser kf qz
qz
C 100 µm D 100 µm
bi kf
YPP 01 YPP 02
Fe-hb
Fe-hb
kf bi
relict relict cores
kf
core sec bi Fe-hb
Fe-hb
bi
Fe-hb
Fe-hb
bi qz
E 100 µm Fkf 100 µm
kf YPP 03 YPP 08
sec bi
qz
sec bi Mg-hb Mg-hb
Mg-hb clz chl
Mg-hb sec bi
qz
sec bi
sec bi & chl
kf
G kf 100 µm H 100 µm
FIG. 15. Photomicrographs in plane-polarized light (A and D) and backscattered electron (BSE) images (B-C, E-H) of
40
Ar/39Ar dated biotite and hornblende in the Pataz batholith rocks. Primary mineral abbreviations: bi = biotite, Fe-hb = fer-
rohornblende, kf = K-feldspar, Mg-hb = magnesiohornblende, plg = plagioclase, qz = quartz, tsch hb = tschermakitic horn-
blende; alteration mineral abbreviations: chl = chlorite, clz = clinozoisite, sec bi = secondary biotite, ser-kf = sericitized K-
feldspar. A. Aggregate of primary magmatic biotite crystals surrounded by a quartz-K-feldspar-plagioclase assemblage. B.
Primary magmatic biotite with tiny iron oxide and zircon inclusions. C. Idiomorphic biotite crystals containing, in variable
proportion, sheets of chlorite along their cleavages. D. Strongly zoned subhedral hornblende crystal with overprinting biotite
alteration on its rims. E. Euhedral hornblende crystal surrounding a relict core and showing weak alteration to secondary bi-
otite. F. Aggregate of uniformly sized ferrohornblende crystals, some containing relict cores. G. Subhedral hornblende grains
juxtaposed to skeletal grains replaced by biotite, clinozoisite, and minute aggregates of chlorite. H. Magnesiohornblende
crystal showing advanced alteration to secondary biotite. BSE images were acquired on a scanning electron microscope
JEOL JSM 6400 at the University of Geneva, operated at an accelerating voltage of 15 KV with a 14 mm working distance.
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MICAS HORNBLENDES
400
328.1 ± 1.2
A 4 E
K/Ca
300 2
0
321.8 ± 1.2
200
YPP 02 - biotite 300
Granodiorite
100
Age (Ma)
Total age = 323.3 Ma 200
0 YPP 01 - ferrohornblende
329.2 ± 1.4 Granodiorite
B 100
300 Total age = 307.1 Ma

0
200 4 F
K/Ca
YSF 22 - biotite 2
Monzogranite
100 0
323.0 ± 4.0
Total age = 322.2 Ma
Age (Ma)
0 300 329.0 ± 3.4
C 325.4 ± 1.4
Age (Ma)
300 200
YPP 02 - ferrohornblende
Granodiorite
200 100
YSF 19 - biotite Total age = 314.8 Ma
Aplite dike
100 0
Total age = 322.9 Ma 4 G
K/Ca
0 2
D 322.1 ± 2.8
0
321.4 ± 3.8
300
300
200
Age (Ma)
YSF 19 - muscovite 200

Aplite dike
100 YPP 03 - magnesiohornblende
Diorite
Total age = 320.6 Ma 100
0 Total age = 312.9 Ma

0 20 40 60 80 100
0
Cumulative % 39Ar released
4 H
K/Ca
ratio not recorded

2
K-FELDSPAR
500 0
I 319.6 ± 3.2
400 YSF 45 - K-feldspar 300
Porphyry monzonite dike
Age (Ma)
Age (Ma)
300
200
200 137.4 ± 3.4 YPP 08 - hornblende (zoned)
Tonalite
100
100
Total age = 151.8 Ma Total age = 313.2 Ma
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
39 39
Cumulative % Ar released Cumulative % Ar released
FIG. 16. 40Ar/39Ar step-heating spectra of magmatic minerals (Table 3). A. to D. Micas separates from the Pataz batholith
rocks. E. to H. Hornblende separates from the Pataz batholith rocks (with corresponding K/Ca plots). I. K-feldspar separate
from a monzonite porphyry intrusion.
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96 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
App. 2). Overall, the four ages are statistically indistinguish- sidered as a maximum estimate for the age of the porphyritic
able because of the large errors. However, a detailed analysis monzonite intrusion. In comparison to the supposed post-Al-
of the hornblende spectra shows that the low-temperature bian age inferred from geologic constraints, this 40Ar/39Ar
steps and the steps around 1,100°C yielding younger appar- date appears to be at least about 40 m.y. too old, consistent
ent ages correspond to high K/Ca ratios (Fig. 16E-H). These with the excess argon presumption.
steps may reflect outgassing of some K-rich contaminant
phase during the experiment. This is consistent with the pet- Age of gold mineralization
rographic evidence for secondary biotite replacing subhedral Five muscovite samples from the major lodes in the Pataz
hornblende grains and minute sericite developing on neigh- district and one from the Culebrillas mine in the southern
boring plagioclase and K-feldspar (Fig. 15D-E, G-H). In de- Parcoy district were dated by 40Ar/39Ar (Table 5; Haeberlin et
tail, there is a semiquantitative correlation between the al., 1999). Samples YTN 20 and YEX 21B were collected from
amount of secondary biotite in thin sections and the age of the core of the quartz lode, in which the muscovite occurs to-
the hornblende separates, with the freshest sample (YPP 02) gether with fine-grained, blue-gray quartz and fills cracks
having an age of 323 ± 4.0 Ma and the most altered one (YPP crosscutting the early euhedral, milky quartz. Sample YLL 10
08) yielding a younger age of 319.6 ± 3.2 Ma. Furthermore, is a pervasively altered hornfels, with an intricate, fine-
the oldest plateau segments of sample YPP 02 (Fig. 16F) give grained quartz-muscovite assemblage crosscut by euhedral
a 329.0 ± 3.4 Ma age, which overlaps the 328.1 ± 1.2 Ma age quartz and calcite in veinlets. The remaining samples (YTN
obtained for a biotite separate in the same sample, thus sup- 16, YLL 13, and YPP 13) are strongly sericitized wall-rock
porting the suggestion of partial alteration of the analyzed granodiorite. They contain hydrothermal muscovite replacing
hornblende. Given the argon loss, the hornblende ages rep- magmatic plagioclase and biotite growing among polygonal
resent minimum ages for the dated pulses. Alternatively, they quartz but preserving the original rock texture. Under the mi-
can be interpreted as mixed ages between the Pataz batholith croscope, muscovite appears undeformed and chlorite free
magmatism and the lode gold mineralization, assuming that and ranges in size from 10 to 200 µm.
the secondary biotite is of hydrothermal origin. The 40Ar/39Ar age spectra and data summary are presented
In summary, the coincidence within errors of the 40Ar/39Ar in Figure 17 and Table 5, and the complete analytical para-
plateau ages in biotites (328.1 ± 1.2 and 329.2 ± 1.4 Ma) near meters are given in Appendix 2. The six muscovite samples
Pataz and the U/Pb age in zircon (329 ± 1 Ma) near Parcoy produce monotonically rising incremental-heating spectra,
(Vidal et al., 1995) suggests that the main magmatic differen- with steps above 1,000°C yielding flat, plateaulike segments.
tiation products of the Pataz batholith were formed and Their total fusion ages range between 295 and 255 Ma, which
cooled in a short interval between 330 and 327 Ma. The are similar to a previously published K/Ar age of 286 ± 6 Ma
slightly younger aplite ages (325.4 ± 1.4 and 322.1 ± 2.8 Ma) (Vidal et al., 1995). The 40Ar/39Ar spectra are interpreted to
indicate that weaker magmatic activity lasted until 319 Ma in reflect the superposition of two events: the ore-forming event
the region. The four disturbed hornblende ages ranging from during the Carboniferous, recorded by the plateaulike steps,
323.0 ± 4.0 to 319.6 ± 3.2 Ma in the present study, as well as and an overprinting event, most likely during Late Jurassic or
the low-precision 321 ± 1 and 305 ± 8 Ma 40Ar/39Ar total fu- Cretaceous, observed in the low-temperature heating steps.
sion ages measured by Schreiber et al. (1990c) raise doubts as The weighted mean averages of the plateaulike steps, rep-
to their accuracy for constraining the geologic evolution of resenting 34 to 52 percent of the total released 39Ar, yield
the batholith. Because of the alteration of the hornblende and three ages between 314 and 312 Ma, two ages at 305 Ma, and
the unreliable dating method (total gas age), these dates can one significantly younger age at 288 Ma (Table 5). The three
be interpreted at best as minimum age estimates and are not oldest ages (samples YLL 13, YTN 20, and YTN 16, Fig. 17A-
discussed further. C) may be interpreted as the most reliable ages for the for-
mation of muscovite alteration, as they overlap at the 2σ level
Age of the late porphyry intrusions and consequently are the best ages for the quartz gold veins.
A representative sample for the porphyry event was ob- Alternatively, in view of the monotonically rising age spectra
tained from a 50-m-wide fresh subvolcanic dike, in sharp con- (Fig. 17A-C), they may represent the lower approximation of
tact with the Cambrian meta-andesites and outcropping 15 the mineralization age. The two muscovite samples at ~305
km north of the Pataz mining town. This dike is geochemi- Ma (YEX 21B and YPP 13, Fig. 17D-E) and the younger one
cally a monzonite with approximately 30 vol percent of mil- at ~288 Ma (YLL 10, Fig. 17F) probably underwent greater
limeter-sized phenocrysts of quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, argon loss during the later thermal perturbation, consistent
and minor biotite and pyrrhotite, in order of decreasing abun- with their younger fusion ages and lower apparent ages for
dance. The dated K-feldspar crystals are perthitic and euhe- the initial steps. The greater argon loss in these samples, in
dral and have K2O compositions ranging between 15.7 and the absence of macroscopic evidence, could correspond to a
16.4 wt percent and trace amounts of BaO. more proximal location with respect to an overprinting heat
The K-feldspar separate yielded a saddle-shaped spectrum source. Alternatively, these younger plateaulike ages could re-
(Fig. 16I), with a total 40Ar/39Ar fusion age of 151.8 ± 0.2 Ma. flect some problems inherent with a high variability of the
An imprecise but preferred age calculated from the interme- muscovite grain size and cooling through a variable argon re-
diate plateaulike steps, representing 61.2 percent of the re- tention temperature or possibly some argon recoil artifacts.
leased argon, is 137.4 ± 3.4 Ma (Table 4, App. 2). Because a The slowly rising shape of the intermediate step preceding
saddle-shaped incremental-heating pattern commonly re- the plateau segments, a common feature of the six spectra,
flects the presence of excess argon, the ~137 Ma age is con- could be interpreted in this way. The possibility that the 314
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 96

ages (Ma) to 312, ~305, and ~288 Ma plateaulike ages define more than
Total gas
one mineralizing event is considered as unlikely, since two

294.3
294.9
289.8
279.6
280.5
255.6
muscovite samples (YLL 10 and YLL 13) from the same lode
and representing a unique ore-forming event, yield signifi-
cantly different ages, thus reinforcing the hypothesis of vari-
Plateau ages1
312.1 ± 0.8 1
313.5 ± 1.4
314.1 ± 1.2
304.9 ± 3.0
304.8 ± 1.4
287.5 ± 2.8
(Ma ± 2σ)
able argon loss in the measured samples.

As noted above, in all six 40Ar/39Ar age spectra, the low-tem-
perature steps can be interpreted as recording a possible Late
Jurassic or Cretaceous thermal overprint. Because significant
TABLE 5. Descriptive Table of the Dated Hydrothermal Muscovite Separates and Summary Results of 40Ar/39Ar Incremental Heating Analyses
resetting is not observed in the fresh intrusive samples of the

released
% 39Ar
Pataz batholith, such resetting was probably the result of

45.2
49.6
33.7
51.2
49.0
42.9
channeled, hot fluid circulation along permeable conduits,
such as the mineralized veins. This idea is supported by the
presence of trails of large postore, polygonal H2O-NaCl-
1,000–1,100
1,000–1,200
1,000–1,100
1,000–1,100
1,000–1,200
1,000–1,100
CaCl2 secondary fluid inclusions in the ore and gangue min-
T (ºC)
Steps
erals (Schreiber et al., 1989; Haeberlin, 2002). The only

known thermal event which coincides in time and space with
these inclusion populations, and could have driven this fluid
Spectra shape
circulation, appears to be the Late Cretaceous porphyry mag-

then plateau
then plateau
then plateau
then plateau
then plateau
then plateau
Staircase,
Staircase,
Staircase,
Staircase,
Staircase,
Staircase,
matism.
segments
segments
segments
segments
segments
segments
In summary, the three 314 to 312 Ma ages measured on the

hydrothermal muscovite separates represent the most proba-
ble age of the mineralization, because (1) the hydrothermal
muscovite crystallized with the ore paragenesis at tempera-
grain size (µm)
Dated mineral
tures below or close to the expected argon closure tempera-

Muscovite
Muscovite
Muscovite
Muscovite
Muscovite
ture of the white mica (310°–380°C based on δ18O geother-

Fuchsite
50–200
80–200
mometry on muscovite-quartz pairs; Haeberlin, 2002), (2) the

<100
<200
<100
<150
higher parts of their 40Ar/39Ar spectra are significantly

ages considered as the closest estimates of the mineralization age are underlined (see text for details)
younger than both the 322.1 ± 2.8 Ma plateau age and the
320.6 Ma total fusion age obtained for the aplite muscovite,
Elevation (m)
(3) the analyzed micas are not contaminated with relict mag-
matic muscovite, as the latter is absent in the host samples,
2,000
2,655
1,810
1,870
2,610
2,000
and (4) the 40Ar/39Ar muscovite data are reproducible in at

least three different veins in the Pataz district. A slightly older
age is possible but appears less reasonable considering the
fourth argument.
N–9,148,100
N–9,142,720
N–9,145,250
N–9,146,990
N–9,117,900
N–9,148,180
Coordinates
E–210,350
E–211,750
E–211,690
E–210,810
E–225,990
E–210,350
Relationships between Mineralization and Intrusions

The new isotopic ages available for the Pataz gold mineral-
ization and the felsic intrusions in the Pataz province define
Culebrillas deposit,
three events during the Carboniferous: (1) the main granodi-

Consuelo deposit,
Papagayo deposit,
El Tingo deposit,
La Lima deposit,
La Lima deposit,
Pencas piso vein,
oritic-monzogranitic pulses of the Pataz batholith at 330 to

La Lima 2 vein,
La Lima 2 vein,
Mercedes vein,
Consuelo vein,
Parcoy district
Picaflor vein,
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
Pataz district
327 Ma, (2) the peraluminous aplite magmatism at 327 to 319

Ma, and (3) the lode gold mineralization close to 314 to 312
Locality
Ma (Fig. 18). These age determinations would imply that

there is no genetic link between the granitoids or aplites of
the Pataz batholith and the gold-bearing veins. The three
K/Ar biotite ages obtained for comparable intrusions to the
Sericitized granodiorite with
Sericitized hornfels enclave

crosscut by late calcite and
crosscut by late calcite and
north in the Callagante and Balsas plutons (Figs. 2, 18), which

slivers, coarse pyrite, and
Breccia ore with fuchsite
Breccia ore with sericite

containing disseminated
Sericitized granodiorite,
slivers and coarse pyrite

Sericitized granodiorite
pyrite and arsenopyrite
calcite veins and minor
also host Pataz-type gold occurrences, are consistent with this

Material description
interpretation, as they do not document magmatic activity

some arsenopyrite
younger than in the Pataz batholith. The porphyritic mon-

quartz veinlets
quartz veinlets
zonite intrusions crosscutting the batholith, which yield a

Late Cretaceous age based upon field criteria, are too young
pyrite
to be involved in the genesis of the Pataz gold lodes. These

data are inconsistent with models invoking ore fluids derived
from immediate felsic intrusions proposed by Schreiber
Sample no.
(1989), Schreiber et al. (1990a, b), and Sillitoe and Thompson

YEX 21B
1 The
YTN 20
YTN 16
YLL 13
YLL 10
YPP 13
(1998), and with the late magmatic component in the models

of Vidal et al. (1995) and Macfarlane et al. (1999).
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98 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
400
A 312.1 ± 0.8 B 313.5 ± 1.4
300
200
YLL 13 YTN 20
La Lima 2 vein, Consuelo vein,
La Lima deposit Consuelo deposit
100
0
C 314.1 ± 1.2 D 304.9 ± 3.0
300
Age (Ma)
200
YTN 16 YPP 13
Pencas piso vein, Mercedes vein,
El Tingo deposit Papagayo deposit
100
0
E 304.8 ± 1.4 F
287.5 ± 2.8
300
200
YEX 21B YLL 10
Picaflor vein, La Lima 2 vein,
Culebrillas deposit La Lima deposit
100
0
0 20 0 40 60 80 20 40 60 80 100
39
Cumulative % Ar released
40 39
FIG. 17. Ar/ Ar step-heating spectra of hydrothermal muscovite separates (Table 4) from alteration intimately related
to the gold lodes of the Pataz province.
Various structural and lithological observations corroborate the structural similarities between the Parcoy gold deposits
the inferred passive role assigned to the host batholith. Vein and shear zone-hosted deposits, particularly those hosted by
orientations and locations are controlled by a number of fac- granitic rocks.
tors external to the pluton, such as a ~N 80° E shortening Although the geochronological constraints exclude a ge-
axis, competency contrasts between different lithological netic relationship between the Pataz lodes and the Pataz
units, and the north-northwest–trending weakness zones bor- batholith, it is possible that the gold mineralization could be
dering the intrusion. Mineralization styles, however, vary related to a hidden intrusion even younger than the 327 to
from high-grade quartz sulfide in faults and extensional veins 319 Ma aplite dikes. However, this would seem unlikely, con-
in diorite, granodiorite, and hornfels, to weakly mineralized, sidering the continuity of the vein system, the controls on
muscovite-altered shear zones in coarse-grained monzogran- mineralization, and the mineralogical assemblages over the
ite, and narrow and branching, generally bedding-concor- ≥160-km-long mineralized belt. This is reinforced by the uni-
dant, veinlets in turbidite and phyllite sequences. Similar ob- formity in the lead isotope and fluid inclusion data in the
servations concerning the passive but crucial behavior of a Pataz and Parcoy districts (Schreiber, 1989; Schreiber et al.,
pluton in determining the style of orogenic gold systems have 1990b; Macfarlane et al., 1999; Haeberlin, 2002; Haeberlin et
been made in several other intrusion-hosted orogenic gold al., 2003). Such a regional homogeneity, with the occurrence
systems, in particular in the French Massif Central (Bouchot of strikingly similar gold lodes over the entire Pataz province,
et al., 1989), the Yilgarn craton (Cassidy and Bennett, 1993; is better explained by a large-scale tectono-thermal event
Ojala et al., 1993; Cassidy et al., 1998), the Jiaodong Penin- than by discrete intrusions. In the case of intrusion-related
sula, China (Wang et al., 1998), and in Alaska (Goldfarb et al., gold deposits, discernible zonations with respect to individual
1998). Despite the magmatic component in their model, intrusion centers would be expected over the entire belt
Vidal et al. (1995) and Macfarlane et al. (1999) also pointed to (Thompson and Newberry, 2000).
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 98

Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic
355
295
250
Early Middle Late Mississippian Pennsylvanian Early Middle Late
Orogenic Au a)
late
Intrusions granodiorite (Parcoy) b)

Pataz Batholith granodiorite (Pataz) a)
aplite (Pataz) a)
Callagante pluton
(Bolívar) c)
Balsas pluton d)
~ 90 Ma
Porphyry monzonites a)
Orogeny “Eohercynian” lower greenschist conditions

? weak NW-SE folding
? e)
emergence
continental marine molasses red continental fan
Sedimentation molasse ? ? and limestone shelf ? conglomerates
e)
1 2 3
Uplift
Compression Transtension Subsidence Extension (horst & graben)

Tectonics
400 350 300 250

Age (Ma)
Dating methods & minerals Geological units in the Pataz region References
40
Ar/39Ar biotite a)
1 Ambo Group a) Haeberlin et al. (2003) + this study
40 39
Ar/ Ar muscovite 2 Copacabana (?) Group b) Vidal et al. (1995)
40 39
Ar/ Ar sericite 3 Mitu Group c) Sánchez (1995)
K/Ar biotite d) Sánchez (1983)
U/Pb zircon unconformity e) Dalmayrac et al. (1980)
FIG. 18. Schematic representation of the main geologic events occurring in the Pataz-Parcoy region before, during, and
after the orogenic gold mineralization. From Haeberlin and Fontboté (2004) and Haeberlin et al. (2003). The location of the
dated intrusions is presented in Figure 2. For details on the event interpretations and the time uncertainties, see text.
Geotectonic Evolution and Mineralization (Fig. 19A); (2) Late Ordovician-Early Silurian deformation of
the back-arc (the same region being in the foreland during
A geotectonic interpretation of the proto-Andean margin of Siluro-Devonian; Fig. 19B), with evidence of additional de-
northern Peru has been presented by Haeberlin and Font- formation toward the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary
boté (2004) on the basis of field observations in the Pataz area (“Eohercynian” orogen in Mégard, 1978; Dalmayrac et al.,
and the available geologic literature on the Eastern Andean 1980); (3) a Mississippian-early Pennsylvanian postcollisional
Cordillera (Mégard, 1978; Noble et al., 1978; Dalmayrac et environment, characterized successively by voluminous calc-
al., 1980; Kontak et al., 1985; Laubacher and Mégard, 1985; alkaline plutonism that gave rise to the Pataz batholith, mo-
Sempere et al., 2002). They propose that the present-day con- lasse sedimentation in transtensional basins, and a late period
figuration of northern Peru, and particularly the absence in of uplift tectonics (Fig. 19C-E; Laubacher and Mégard,
this area of lower and middle Paleozoic arc and fore-arc sed- 1985); and (4) a late Pennsylvanian to Triassic progressive de-
imentary sequences and plutons and allochthonous Paleo- velopment of intracontinental rifts (Fig. 19F; Noble et al.,
zoic-accreted terranes north of the Arequipa-Antofalla ter- 1978; Kontak et al., 1985; Sempere et al., 2002), resulting in
rane (i.e., north of 13° S), can be explained by a scenario the break-up of much of the Gondwana foreland and all the
during which part of the Gondwana fore-arc composed of ter- seaward terranes and superimposed early to middle Paleozoic
ranes accreted prior to the Devonian was rifted away from arcs, and most likely the removal of the northwestern part of
South America during the late Paleozoic (Fig. 19). In detail the Arequipa-Antofalla terrane. Jaillard et al. (2000) do not
this model involves (1) a Cambro-Ordovician back-arc setting see evidence for the detachment of slices from this terrane.
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100 HAEBERLIN ET AL.
A
AAT ? EC
1
back-arc basin
Late Cambrian -
Early Ordovician
1 Vijus & Contaya Formations
B foreland
AAT ? situation
EC
?
orogenic belt
?
Silurian -
Late Devonian
C crustal ?
AAT ? plutonism EC
? 2 calc-alkaline
plutons
?
Early Mississippian
2 Pataz Batholith
D pull-apart basin
AAT ? and molasse 3 EC
?
Late Mississippian
3 Ambo Group
E
AAT ? emergence ? EC
?
uplift
?
Early Pennsylvanian
(time of mineralization)
4 Orogenic gold lodes
F
detached AAT ? WC EC
5
? ?
rift basin and red molasse
?
Late Permian -
Early Triassic
100 km 5 Mitu Group
FIG. 19. Proposed simplified east-west sections, illustrating the supposed Paleozoic evolution of the proto-Andean mar-
gin of northern Peru after Haeberlin and Fontboté (2004). Abbreviations: AAT = Arequipa-Antofalla terrane, EC = Eastern
Cordillera, WC = Western Cordillera. A. Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician back-arc setting. B. Late Ordovician-Early Sil-
urian deformation of the back-arc and subsequent Siluro-Devonian foreland setting. C. Early Mississippian calc-alkaline plu-
tonism. D. Late Mississippian transtensional tectonism. E. Early Pennsylvanian uplift of the margin and lode gold veining.
F. Late Permian-Early Triassic rifting and supposed detachment of a microcontinent (northern prolongation of the AAT).
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However, some elements of this rifting hypothesis were pre- been dated at 425 Ma by Rb/Sr (Perkins and Kennedy, 1998).
viously suggested in the detailed analysis by Dalmayrac et al. However, the exact significance of the Charters Towers ages
(1980) in the Peruvian Andes and in the global paleogeo- is open to question, owing to the nonideal analytical condi-
graphic reconstructions by Dalziel et al. (1994) and Ramos tions and the overlapping ages for underlying plutons and
and Aleman (2000). vein alteration in the neighboring Etheridge province (Bain
According to this model, it appears that the 314 to 312 Ma et al., 1998). These ambiguities have led some authors to
old orogenic gold mineralization at Pataz took place during a classify the Charters Towers deposits as intrusion related
period of exhumation of the collisional belt, 20 to 40 m.y. after (Sillitoe and Thomson, 1998), whereas others, on the basis of
the regional Eohercynian orogen and the associated lower crosscutting criteria, prefer the orogenic model with a plu-
greenschist metamorphism and postdating the 330 to 327 Ma tonic contribution to the hydrothermal fluid (Peters and
calc-alkaline plutonism (Figs. 18, 19C-E). The gold mineral- Golding, 1989; Solomon and Groves, 1994; Perkins and
ization seems to correlate in time with a sedimentary hiatus, Kennedy, 1998). For these deposits, no direct felsic source
which fits with the general emergence that affected most of has been proven to be coeval with gold veining and, if mag-
Peru during the early Pennsylvanian (Figs. 18, 19E; Mégard, matic fluids were involved, they were presumably derived
1978; Dalmayrac et al., 1980). This suggests that uplift tec- from deep-seated sources.
tonics may have been coeval with the auriferous mineraliza- The gold lodes in the Pataz, St-Yrieix, and Charters Towers
tion, an interpretation that is consistent with the subvertical ore fields reflect similar district and mine-scale structural
extension axis in the Pataz lodes regional strain ellipsoid (Fig. controls. Vein locations are regulated by the broad orienta-
10). Crustal thickening related to the Eohercynian orogen tions of a major lineament and the batholith margins, and vein
and its abundant plutonism may have been the cause of the morphologies are host-rock dependent, displaying variable
uplift and also may have triggered the thermal anomaly that styles including brittle-ductile quartz veins, en echelon veins,
provoked the release of large amounts of base metal- and and mylonites (Table 6). Similar alteration patterns are pre-
gold-bearing fluids. Alternatively, partial melting of the as- sent in felsic rocks, including an extensively developed wall-
thenospheric mantle, metamorphic devolatilization of upper rock muscovite alteration with minor chlorite, carbonates,
plate rocks, and lithospheric delamination processes or deep- and pyrite. The three belts have a similar sulfide-rich parage-
seated magmatic sources (e.g., Goldfarb et al., 1998; Bierlein netic evolution, consisting of early As-Fe ± W–bearing min-
and Crowe, 2000) could have initiated the fluid circulation re- erals (arsenopyrite, pyrite, wolframite, scheelite) in massive
sponsible for the generation of the Pataz gold lodes. In this milky quartz, followed by blue-gray quartz with gold, Pb-, Zn-,
respect, the gold lodes in the Pataz province can be consid- Ag-, Cu-bearing sulfide minerals and/or sulfosalts, and locally
ered a thermal marker of regional uplift in a postcollisional late Sb-bearing minerals (Table 6; Bouchot et al., 1989, 1997;
environment, in the same way as the orogenic gold deposits in Peters and Golding, 1989).
the French Massif Central (Bouchot et al., 1997, 2000) and The available geotectonic data suggest that the lode gold
the gold veins in the northwestern Alps (Pettke et al., 1999). deposits at Pataz formed in a situation equivalent to the Saint-
A similar conclusion was reached for the accretionary com- Yrieix deposits, where the mineralization occurred during the
plex hosting the Juneau gold belt, Alaska, in which gold vein final exhumation of the Variscan orogenic belt, associated
emplacement occurred during a broad period of regional up- with erosion and development of intracontinental coal basins
lift or postdated uplift by a few million years (e.g., Willow (Bouchot et al., 1997, 2000; Marignac and Cuney, 1999).
Creek district; Goldfarb et al., 1998). Moreover, the ages of the geologic events in the Pataz region
are noticeably similar to the ones obtained in the French
Comparison with Other Orogenic Gold Deposits Massif Central. This coincidence might be explained by a po-
The Carboniferous Pataz gold belt has more features in sition of the Eastern Cordillera of northern Peru and its gold
common with other orogenic gold deposits in the circum- deposits during the Carboniferous at the western extremity of
Gondwana and peri-Tethys Paleozoic deposits (Goldfarb et the Variscan orogen, an interpretation that is supported by re-
al., 1998, 2001; Bierlein and Crowe, 2000) than with the clas- cent global geodynamic reconstructions (Dalziel, 1997; Kep-
sical Archean deposits of the Abitibi and Yilgarn provinces pie and Ramos, 1999; Dalziel, I.W.D., Lawver, L.A., Gaha-
(McCuaig and Kerrich, 1998; Hagemann and Cassidy, 2000) gan, L.M., Campbell, D.A., and Watson, G., 2002, Texas
or the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous deposits of Alaska Through Time: Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas,
(e.g., Goldfarb et al., 1997, 1998). In particular, the Pataz http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/plates/movies/Tex
province has similar vein styles, mineralogy, and metal asso- as_Through_Time_020312.ppt). It also suggests that the 310
ciations to the St-Yrieix district in the French Massif Central to 305 Ma peak of mineralization defined in the Massif Cen-
(e.g., Bouchot et al., 1989) and to the Charters Towers ore tral in France (Bouchot et al., 1997, 2000) and documented
field in the eastern Australian Thomson fold belt (e.g., Peters in the Hesperian Massif in Portugal (Neiva et al., 1995) and
and Golding, 1989; Table 6). Extensive isotopic dating in the in the Bohemian Massif in the Czech Republic (Stein et al.,
French Massif Central shows that the crystallization of the 1997) was not only restricted to the European Variscides but
host (leuco)granites in the St-Yrieix district (342–332 Ma can also be recognized in South America.
U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar ages; Alexandrov, 2000) is much older
than the Au-Sb mineralizing (310–305 Ma: Bouchot et al., Conclusions
1997, 2000). At Charters Towers, the auriferous mineraliza- New geological, structural, and mineralogical observations,
tion, dated by 40Ar/39Ar at ~414 Ma, also significantly post- coupled with 40Ar/39Ar age determinations and geotectonic
dates its host, the Millchester Creek Tonalite, which has considerations, indicate that the Pataz gold province belongs
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 101

TABLE 6. Compararison of the Geologic Setting, Structural Characteristics, Ore, Gangue, and Alteration Parageneses, and
Quartz Varieties of the Pataz Gold Deposits with Other Middle to Late Paleozoic Intrusion-Hosted Gold Provinces
Pataz province, Eastern Andean St-Yrieix-La Perche district, Charters Towers goldfield,
Provinces Cordillera, northern Peru Massif Central, France Queensland, eastern Australia
Major deposits La Lima-Choloque-Consuelo (Pataz), Bourneix, Cheni, Lauriéras, Day Dawn, Brilliant,
Mercedes (Pataz), San Francisco Les Biards (Sb) Towers Hill, Queen
(Pataz), Lastenia-Cabana-El Gigante-
Pomachay (Parcoy)
Host rocks Carboniferous granitoids, Ordovician Devonian para- and orthogneisses, Proterozoic to Devonian granitoids,
slates, Upper Proterozoic phyllites Carboniferous granitoids pre-Ordovician metasediments
Age of veining 314–312 Ma (40Ar/39Ar) 305 ± 10 Ma, 294 ± 4 Ma, 287 ± 9 ~414 Ma (40Ar/39Ar)
Ma (K/Ar); Au-Sb event: 310–305 Ma
Host pluton ages Pataz batholith: 329 ±1 Ma (U/Pb) St-Yrieix leucogranites and granites: Millchester Creek tonalite:
342–332 Ma (U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar) 425 Ma (Rb/Sr)
Regional structural controls NNW-striking lineament and Close to the boundary Argentat fault, N-trending lineaments and
Pataz batholith border and related to the Meuzac antiform batholith hinges
(deepseated dome)
Structural style Brittle-ductile and extensional quartz Brecciated veins, brittle-ductile veins, Brittle-ductile quartz carbonate veins,
veins, bedding-concordant veins black mylonites, en echelon veins mylonitic zones
Ore minerals I: Pyrite-arsenopyrite ± wolframite I: Pyrrhotite-berthierite-arsenopyrite- I: Pyrite-arsenopyrite?

pyrite ± scheelite
II: Galena-sphalerite-pyrite- II: Sphalerite-pyrite-jamesonite- II: Sphalerite-galena-chalcopyrite-

arsenopyrite-Au ± chalcopyrite- chalcopyrite-Au-galena Au-fahlore
pyrrhotite-electrum-fahlore
III: Galena-fahlore-electrum-
sulfosalts-antimonite
Economic metals Au ± Ag Au ± Ag ± Sb Au ± Ag
and Au grades 5–30 g/t 5–14 g/t 14–55 g/t
Cumulated Au production ~190 t (1901–2000) 30 t (1913–1997) > 200 t (1872–1917)
Quartz varieties I: Milky and comb quartz I: Milky quartz I: Buck and comb quartz
II: Microgranular blue-gray quartz II: Microsaccharoidal blue-gray quartz II: Breccia quartz
III: Hyaline quartz
III: White quartz IV: White fibrous quartz III: Late quartz
Gangue Muscovite, chlorite, fuchsite, Muscovite, chlorite, dolomite, Muscovite, ankerite, chlorite, calcite,
ankerite, dolomite, calcite, sphene calcite, rutile hematite, rutile, epidote
Wall-rock alteration Sericitization, chloritization, Sericitization, chloritization, Sericitization, propylitization,

pyritization, silicification, silicification, carbonatization, chloritization
carbonatization organic matter
References Schreiber (1989); Bouchot et al. (1989, 1997); Peters and Golding (1989)
Schreiber et al. (1990a-c); Touray et al. (1989); Solomon and Groves (1994);
Vidal et al. (1995); Bitri et al. (1999); Perkins and Kennedy (1998);
Macfarlane et al. (1999); Alexandrov (2000) Bain et al. (1998)
Haeberlin (2002)
to the orogenic (mesothermal) gold class and is one of the Paleozoic rock sequences, resulted in the development along
first known examples of this deposit type in the Andes. their margins of regional zones of weakness during subse-
Widespread calc-alkaline plutonism and molasse sedimen- quent deformation and fracturing. The intrusions provided a
tation in transtensional basins took place in the Eastern suitable structural trap with adequate mechanical contrasts
Cordillera of northern Peru toward the end of the Late De- and regional low-mean stress corridors, factors that are es-
vonian-Early Carboniferous Eohercynian orogen, with the sential for the formation of epigenetic lodes.
emplacement of granite-monzogranite bodies at 330 to 327 The gold mineralization, dated at 314 to 312 Ma, took place
Ma and minor aplites until 319 Ma at Pataz and Parcoy. The during a period of exhumation of the host collisional belt. An
existence of these voluminous rigid intrusions, such as the increase of heat flow in a thickened crust may have triggered
Pataz batholith, within heterogeneous Proterozoic to lower the release of large amounts of ore-bearing fluids, which
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 102

subsequently were focused at the brittle-ductile transition Allende, T., 1996, Geología del cuadrángulo de San Pedro de Chonta (hoja
into low-order structures along the batholith margins. Under 18-j): Lima, Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico, Boletín Serie A,
Carta Geológica Nacional, v. 68, 218 p.
an ~N °80 E shortening strain, fluid flow was preferentially Angeles, C., 1994, Geología del prospecto Misquichilca (provincía Bolívar,
focused along preexisting faults, contacts, dikes, and bedding departamento La Libertad): Lima, Cía. Minera Minehold, unpublished re-
planes, creating quartz sulfide veins in east- to northeast-dip- port, 20 p.
ping shear zones and in flat extensional fractures. Along these Angelier, J., and Goguel, J., 1979, Sur une méthode simple de détermination
des contraintes pour une population de failles: Comptes Rendus
conduits, the ore-bearing fluids produced an intense wall- Hebdomadaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, v. 288, p.
rock alteration, which, in granitic rocks, consists mainly of 307–310.
muscovite. Bain, J.H.C., Withnall, I.W., Black, L.P., Etminan, H., Golding, S.D., and
The available isotopic ages, together with structural and al- Sun, S.S., 1998, Towards an understanding of the age and origin of
teration observations, provide no evidence for a genetic rela- mesothermal gold mineralisation in the Etheridge Goldfield, Georgetown
region, North Queensland: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 5, p.
tionship between the Pataz gold lodes and the Pataz 247–264.
batholith. Hidden plutons are also unlikely to have been re- Bierlein, F.P., and Crowe, D.E., 2000, Phanerozoic orogenic lode gold de-
sponsible for the gold, considering the overall uniformity, posits: Reviews in Economic Geology, v. 13, p. 103–140.
over the ≥160-km-long mineralized belt, of the structural, Bitri, A., Truffert, C., Bellot, J.-P., Bouchot, V., Ledru, P., Milési, J.-P., and
Roig, J.-P., 1999, Imagerie des paléochamps hydrothermaux As-Au-Sb
mineralogical, and geochemical features of the deposits. d’échelle crustale et des pièges associés dans la chaîne varisque: sismique
From these observations and the inferred geotectonic con- réflexion verticale (GéoFrance 3D: Massif central français): Comptes
text, it is apparent that the lode gold mineralization at Pataz Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, v. 329, p. 771–777.
formed in response to a large-scale thermal event in a thick- Bohlke, J.K., 1982, Orogenic (metamorphic-hosted) gold deposits: U.S. Ge-
ened collisional belt undergoing regional uplift. The postcol- ological Survey Open-File Report, v. 795, p. 70–76.
Bouchot, V., Gros, Y., and Bonnemaison, M., 1989, Structural controls on the
lisional timing of gold veining, the uplift conditions, the re- auriferous shear zones of the Saint Yrieix district, Massif Central, France:
gional scale of the fluid migration, and the passive role of the Evidence from the Le Bourneix and Lauriéras gold deposits: ECONOMIC
plutonic host with respect to the auriferous lodes are in good GEOLOGY, v. 84, p. 1315–1327.
agreement with the characteristics described in many Bouchot, V., Gros, Y., and Piantone, P., 1994, Dynamics of shallow late-
Variscan gold mineralization: The Le Châtelet Au-arsenopyrite quartz
Phanerozoic orogenic gold systems. veins, Massif Central, France: Mineralium Deposita, v. 29, p. 461–473.
Bouchot, V., Milési, J.-P., Lescuyer, J.-L., and Ledru, P., 1997, Les
Acknowledgments minéralisations aurifères de la France dans leur cadre géologique autour de
Our research on the Pataz deposits was launched under the 300 Ma: Chronique de la Recherche Minière, v. 65, p. 13–62.
proposal of W. Sologuren and benefited from the assistance of Bouchot, V., Milési, J.-P., and Ledru, P., 2000, Crustal-scale hydrothermal
palaeofield and related Variscan Au, Sb, W orogenic deposits at 310-305
the Peruvian mining company Compañía Minera Poderosa Ma (French Massif Central, Variscan belt): Society for Geology Applied to
S.A., Lima. M. Santillana and L. Seijas should receive our Mineral Deposits News, v. 10, p. 1, 6–12.
best thanks for providing financial support and full access to Cassidy, K.F., and Bennett, J.M., 1993, Gold mineralization at the Lady
the mines in the Pataz district. Thanks are also due to the staff Bountiful mine, Western Australia: Mineralium Deposita, v. 28, p.
388–408.
of the geological office, in particular F. Cueva and L. Ruiz for Cassidy, K.F., Groves, D.I., and McNaughton, N.J., 1998, Late-Archean
their help during the field campaigns. We would like to grate- granitoid-hosted lode-gold deposits, Yilgarn craton, Western Australia: De-
fully acknowledge A. Arias, from Compañía Aurífera Real posit characteristics, crustal architecture and implications for ore genesis:
Aventura S.A., who allowed us access to the Culebrillas Ore Geology Reviews, v. 13, p. 65–102.
mines, and the companies Consorcio Minero Horizonte S.A. Dalmayrac, B., Laubacher, G., and Marocco, R., 1980, Géologie des Andes
péruviennes. Charactères généraux de l’évolution géologique des Andes
and Compañía Minera Aurífera Retamas S.A., who gave us péruviennes: Travaux et Documents de l’Office de la recherche scientifique
the authorization to visit their respective underground opera- et technique outre-mer, v. 122, 501 p.
tions in the Parcoy district. We would especially like to thank Dalziel, I.W.D., 1997, Neoproterozoic-Palezoic geography and tectonics: Re-
V. Bouchot, M. Sartori, and U. Schaltegger for many stimu- view, hypothesis, environmental speculation: Geological Society of America
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lating discussions and valuable input on the structural and ge- Dalziel, I.W.D., Dalla Salda, L., and Gahagan, L.M., 1994, Paleozoic Lau-
otectonics aspects of this paper. Technical support was gener- rentia-Gondwana interaction and the origin of the Appalachian-Andean
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del Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Minas del Perú, v. 21, p. 7–60.
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APPENDIX 1. Representative Microprobe Compositions of 40Ar/39Ar-Dated Mica, Hornblende, and Hydrothermal Muscovite
106
Sample YPP 02 - biotite YSF 22 - biotite YSF 19 - biotite YSF 19 - muscovite
Point no. no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 no. 5
Oxides SiO2 36.04 35.42 35.17 35.11 35.41 36.22 36.63 36.62 35.44 36.50 35.09 34.95 34.32 35.19 35.24 46.76 46.40 47.03 46.43 46.61
(wt %) TiO2 4.12 4.21 3.89 4.35 4.28 3.97 4.05 3.17 4.23 4.04 2.09 3.10 3.10 2.39 3.55 0.14 0.23 0.29 0.34 0.02
A12O3 13.74 13.63 13.84 13.76 13.69 13.81 13.65 13.92 13.73 14.08 19.78 19.73 18.94 19.46 19.26 35.97 35.72 35.71 35.96 36.31

FeO tot 24.52 25.01 25.49 24.92 25.06 24.41 24.24 25.70 24.00 23.87 23.44 23.01 23.77 23.42 22.40 1.83 2.16 2.09 1.95 2.07
MnO 0.57 0.53 0.51 0.48 0.49 0.67 0.61 0.66 0.59 0.59 0.66 0.62 0.60 0.59 0.66 - - - - -
MgO 7.91 7.94 7.77 7.94 7.69 7.97 7.75 7.89 7.61 7.93 6.10 5.65 5.87 6.06 5.52 0.53 0.43 0.50 0.46 0.61
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
Na2O 0.09 0.13 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.22 0.12 0.06 0.19 0.15 0.30 0.11 0.17 0.28 0.31 0.65 0.48 0.65 0.57 0.60
K2O 9.54 9.61 8.97 9.56 9.67 9.49 9.58 9.07 9.55 9.52 9.33 9.67 9.27 9.65 9.54 10.76 10.84 10.56 10.78 10.72
Cl 0.13 0.12 0.10 0.16 0.12 0.05 0.07 0.08 0.20 0.15 0.13 0.08 0.15 <0.01 0.13 - - - - -
F 0.12 0.13 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.20 0.33 0.12 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.06 0.12 0.10 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.02 0.13
O=C1 -0.03 -0.03 -0.02 -0.07 -0.05 -0.01 -0.02 -0.02 -0.08 -0.06 -0.03 -0.02 -0.03 - -0.06 - - - - -
O=F -0.05 -0.05 -0.03 -0.02 -0.02 -0.08 -0.14 -0.05 -0.02 -0.02 -0.03 -0.01 -0.03 -0.03 -0.02 -0.03 -0.03 -0.04 -0.01 -0.06
H2O 3.77 3.74 3.75 3.73 3.75 3.76 3.69 3.80 3.69 3.79 3.84 3.89 3.80 3.89 3.83 4.52 4.49 4.52 4.53 4.49
Total 100.46 100.39 99.57 100.09 100.26 100.68 100.56 101.02 99.21 100.62 100.77 100.81 100.01 100.99 100.45 101.21 100.79 101.40 101.03 101.52
Cations Si4+ 2.801 2.769 2.768 2.751 2.771 2.807 2.836 2.831 2.790 2.818 2.685 2.671 2.659 2.690 2.696 3.077 3.073 3.089 3.064 3.061
AlIV 1.199 1.231 1.232 1.249 1.229 1.193 1.164 1.169 1.210 1.182 1.315 1.329 1.341 1.310 1.304 0.923 0.927 0.911 0.936 0.939
T site 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000
AlVI 0.060 0.024 0.052 0.256 0.252 0.068 0.083 0.099 0.250 0.235 0.468 0.449 0.388 0.137 0.204 1.867 1.860 1.853 1.861 1.871
Ti4+ 0.241 0.248 0.230 0.022 0.034 0.231 0.236 0.185 0.064 0.100 0.120 0.178 0.180 0.443 0.433 0.007 0.011 0.014 0.017 0.001
Fetot 1.594 1.635 1.678 1.633 1.640 1.582 1.570 1.662 1.580 1.541 1.499 1.471 1.540 1.497 1.433 0.101 0.119 0.115 0.108 0.114
Mn 2+ 0.038 0.035 0.034 0.032 0.032 0.044 0.040 0.043 0.040 0.039 0.043 0.040 0.039 0.038 0.043 - - - - -
Mg 2+ 0.917 0.925 0.911 0.928 0.898 0.921 0.894 0.909 0.894 0.912 0.695 0.644 0.678 0.690 0.630 0.052 0.042 0.049 0.045 0.059

M sites 2.849 2.867 2.905 2.872 2.856 2.846 2.822 2.898 2.828 2.827 2.826 2.782 2.826 2.806 2.743 2.027 2.033 2.031 2.031 2.046
Na+ 0.013 0.020 0.010 0.013 0.015 0.033 0.018 0.009 0.030 0.022 0.044 0.016 0.026 0.041 0.045 0.083 0.061 0.083 0.072 0.076
106
K+ 0.945 0.958 0.901 0.956 0.965 0.938 0.946 0.895 0.959 0.938 0.911 0.943 0.916 0.941 0.931 0.904 0.916 0.885 0.907 0.898
A site 0.959 0.979 0.911 0.969 0.980 0.971 0.965 0.904 0.989 0.960 0.955 0.959 0.942 0.981 0.976 0.987 0.977 0.967 0.980 0.974
O 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
HAEBERLIN ET AL.
Cl– 0.017 0.016 0.014 0.039 0.029 0.007 0.009 0.010 0.050 0.037 0.017 0.011 0.020 0 0.032 - - - - -
F– 0.029 0.032 0.016 0.009 0.011 0.048 0.082 0.029 0.010 0.011 0.020 0.006 0.015 0.015 0.013 0.014 0.017 0.018 0.005 0.027
OH– 1.955 1.953 1.970 1.951 1.960 1.945 1.909 1.961 1.940 1.952 1.964 1.983 1.965 1.983 1.955 1.985 1.983 1.981 1.994 1.970
Analyses were performed on a Cameca SX50 electron microprobe at the University of Lausanne, operated at an accelerating voltage of 15KV and a beam current of 15 nA
Mineral formulae are for both micas on the basis of 11 oxygen equivalents, ignoring H2O
Sample YPP 01 - Fe-hornblende YPP 02 - Fe-hornblende YPP 03 - Mg-hornblende YPP 08 - hornblende (zoned)
Oxides SiO2 45.43 44.71 43.94 44.57 46.38 45.18 43.14 44.05 44.73 43.91 43.93 46.93 44.63 47.35 45.90 44.07 46.88 50.18 50.56 53.56
(wt %) TiO2 1.34 1.33 1.42 1.34 1.32 1.11 1.76 1.36 1.10 1.42 1.85 1.15 1.32 1.14 1.35 2.54 1.77 1.14 0.68 0.56
A12O3 8.13 8.27 8.85 8.30 7.58 7.36 9.04 8.13 8.72 8.82 9.31 7.82 8.11 7.38 8.15 10.45 8.40 6.48 5.65 4.32
Fe2O3 4.52 4.91 6.23 5.52 5.02 5.38 4.28 6.24 5.12 4.24 3~72 4.34 2.40 2.88 3.49 5.49 7.60 5.15 9.84 2.46
FeO 17.74 17.59 16.59 16.70 16.76 17.12 18.80 17.08 18.14 18.84 17.64 15.95 17.50 16.93 16.93 11.30 8.85 9.75 5.56 11.63
MnO 0.85 0.82 0.85 0.83 0.83 0.91 0.98 1.03 0.96 0.91 0.65 0.54 0.51 0.58 0.57 0.31 0.41 0.30 0.40 0.32
Mgo 8.13 8.00 8.03 8.19 8.74 8.03 7.10 7.74 7.31 7.23 8.24 9.54 8.63 9.76 9.48 11.01 12.40 13.56 14.57 14.27
CaO 11.38 11.46 11.60 11.38 11.30 11.03 11.41 11.34 11.35 11.50 11.98 11.73 11.70 12.05 12.21 11.56 11.20 11.59 11.04 11.96
Na2O 1.36 1.27 1.17 1.21 1.30 1.36 1.51 1.27 1.24 1.33 1.18 0.97 0.99 0.91 1.02 1.26 1.09 0.77 0.60 0.38
K2O 0.89 0.92 0.88 0.85 0.74 0.74 1.03 0.92 0.95 1.04 0.76 0.58 0.83 0.74 0.83 0.49 0.33 0.28 0.20 0.44
Cl 0.14 0.12 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.10 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.09 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03
F 0.05 0.08 0.07 <0.0 1 0.04 0.03 <0.0 I <0.0 1 0.04 <0.0 I <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01
O=C1 -0.03 -0.03 -0.02 -0.02 -0.02 -0.02 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 -0.02 -0.02 -0.01 -0.01 -0.01 -0.01 -0.01
O=F -0.02 -0.03 -0.03 - -0.02 -0.01 - - -0.02 - - - - - - - - - - -
APPENDIX 1. (Cont.)
Sample YPP 01 - Fe-hornblende YPP 02 - Fe-hornblende YPP 03 - Mg-hornblende YPP 08 - hornblende (zoned)
H2O 1.96 1.94 1.96 1.96 1.99 1.94 1.94 1.95 1.96 1.95 1.97 2.01 1.94 2.01 2.01 2.03 2.07 2.09 2.11 2.12
Total 101.86 101.37 101.63 100.93 102.05 100.25 101.08 101.21 101.69 101.28 101.32 101.64 98.62 101.79 102.01 100.53 101.03 101.33 101.23 102.04

Cations Si4+ 6.781 6.720 6.588 6.708 6.865 6.847 6.562 6.656 6.718 6.649 6.589 6.910 6.832 6.974 6.787 6.470 6.766 7.155 7.157 7.553
AlIV 1.219 1.280 1.412 1.292 1.135 1.153 1.438 1.344 1.282 1.351 1.411 1.090 1.168 1.026 1.213 1.530 1.234 0.845 0.843 0.447
T site 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000 8.000
AlVI 0.210 0.185 0.153 0.180 0.187 0.161 0.182 0.104 0.261 0.222 0.235 0.266 0.295 0.255 0.206 0.277 0.196 0.243 0.099 0.270
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Ti4+ 0.151 0.151 0.160 0.151 0.146 0.126 0.201 0.154 0.124 0.162 0.209 0.128 0.152 0.126 0.150 0.281 0.192 0.123 0.073 0.059
Fe3+ 0.508 0.556 0.703 0.625 0.559 0.613 0.490 0.710 0.578 0.483 0.420 0.481 0.276 0.319 0.388 0.607 0.826 0.552 1.048 0.261
Fe2+ 2.214 2.211 2.080 2.102 2.074 2.170 2.391 2.158 2.278 2.386 2.212 1.963 2.240 2.085 2.093 1.387 1.068 1.163 0.658 1.371
Mn2+ 0.108 0.104 0.108 0.106 0.104 0.117 0.126 0.131 0.122 0.117 0.082 0.068 0.066 0.072 0.072 0.039 0.050 0.037 0.048 0.038
Mg2+ 1.810 1.793 1.796 1.836 1.929 1.814 1.609 1.743 1.636 1.631 1.841 2.094 1.970 2.143 2.090 2.410 2.668 2.883 3.075 3.001
M1,2,3 sites 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000 5.000
Ca2+ 1.819 1.845 1.863 1.834 1.792 1.792 1.859 1.836 1.826 1.866 1.925 1.851 1.918 1.901 1.934 1.817 1.731 1.770 1.675 1.807
Na+M4 0.181 0.155 0.137 0.166 0.208 0.208 0.141 0.164 0.174 0.134 0.075 0.149 0.082 0.099 0.066 0.183 0.269 0.212 0.164 0.104
M4 site 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 1.982 1.839 1.911
Na+A 0.211 0.217 0.204 0.187 0.165 0.192 0.305 0.209 0.188 0.257 0.268 0.127 0.213 0.160 0.228 0.175 0.035 - - -
K+ 0.169 0.176 0.168 0.163 0.140 0.143 0.199 0.177 0.181 0.200 0.145 0.109 0.162 0.140 0.156 0.092 0.061 0.052 0.037 0.079
A site 0.380 0.393 0.372 0.350 0.304 0.335 0.504 0.386 0.369 0.457 0.413 0.237 0.375 0.300 0.384 0.267 0.097 0.052 0.037 0.079
O 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
Cl– 0.034 0.029 0.022 0.028 0.023 0.026 0.031 0.030 0.029 0.030 0.030 0.023 0.017 0.019 0.018 0.008 0.007 0.011 0.007 0.008
F 0.013 0.019 0.017 0 0.010 0.009 0 0 0.009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OH- 1.952 1.951 1.960 1.972 1.968 1.965 1.969 1.970 1.961 1.970 1.970 1.977 1.983 1.981 1.982 1.992 1.993 1.989 1.993 1.992
XMg 0.45 0.45 0.46 0.47 0.48 0.46 0.40 0.45 0.42 0.41 0.45 0.52 0.47 0.51 0.50 0.63 0.71 0.71 0.82 0.69
107
Mineral formulae are for amphiboles on the basis of 13 cations except Ca, Na and K. Charge deficit is compensated by creation of Fe3+ at the expense of Fe2+
Sample YLL 13 - muscovite YTN 20 - fuchsite YTN 16 - muscovite YPP 13 - muscovite YEX 2 1 B - muscovite YLL 10 - muscovite
Point no. no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3
Oxides SiO2 48.18 48.98 49.48 50.36 50.74 50.59 49.65 50.68 50.82 49.29 48.60 49.16 48.52 48.22 49.48 48.23 49.05 48.53
OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS AT PATAZ, PERU
(wt %) TiO2 0.09 1.04 0.20 0.26 0.23 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.18 0.05 0.25 0.19 0.14 0.20 0.34 0.34 0.35
A12O3 31.88 30.26 31.67 31.32 31.42 31.93 32.68 32.55 31.99 32.46 32.48 32.62 33.18 32.86 32.75 32.10 32.04 32.10
Cr2O3 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.44 0.86 0.04 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01
FeOtot 2.44 3.40 2.44 0.41 0.52 0.54 1.09 1.08 1.20 2.07 2.22 1.31 2.19 2.04 2.24 2.95 2.98 2.71
MgO 1.55 1.60 1.61 2.36 2.47 2.30 1.95 1.82 1.80 1.54 1.54 2.02 1.17 1.28 1.23 1.29 1.40 1.71
BaO 0.13 0.12 0.07 0.09 0.03 0.06 0.12 0.06 0.05 0.12 0.12 0.06 0.13 0.06 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.09
Na2O 0.11 0.16 0.13 0.12 0.14 0.19 0.06 0.11 0.20 0.13 0.13 0.09 0.15 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.15 0.12
K2O 11.08 10.73 10.99 11.10 10.70 10.29 11.05 10.47 10.50 11.12 10.89 11.17 11.17 10.66 10.67 11.21 11.03 11.19
F 0.21 0.16 0.21 0.05 0.11 0.05 0.19 0.16 0.09 0.15 0.18 0.26 0.30 0.27 0.23 0.17 0.15 0.24
O=F -0.09 -0.07 -0.09 -0.02 -0.05 -0.02 -0.08 -0.07 -0.04 -0.06 -0.08 -0.11 -0.13 -0.11 -0.10 -0.07 -0.06 -0.10
H2O 4.38 4.43 4.45 4.55 4.56 4.56 4.49 4.54 4.55 4.49 4.44 4.44 4.40 4.37 4.46 4.42 4.48 4.42
Total 99.97 100.79 101.16 101.06 101.73 100.59 101.24 101.43 101.20 101.49 100.56 101.27 101.28 99.92 101.39 100.87 101.65 101.36
Cations Si4+ 3.223 3.260 3.262 3.295 3.293 3.304 3.249 3.291 3.311 3.237 3.221 3.225 3.198 3.209 3.243 3.207 3.230 3.207
AlIV 0.777 0.740 0.738 0.705 0.707 0.696 0.751 0.709 0.689 0.763 0.779 0.775 0.802 0.791 0.757 0.793 0.770 0.793
T site 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000 4.000
AlVI 1.736 1.633 1.723 1.711 1.697 1.762 1.769 1.782 1.767 1.748 1.759 1.746 1.776 1.786 1.773 1.723 1.716 1.707
Ti4+ 0.005 0.052 0.010 0.013 0.011 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.002 0.009 0.003 0.012 0.009 0.007 0.010 0.017 0.017 0.018
Cr3+ 0 0 0 0.023 0.044 0.002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fetot 0.136 0.189 0.134 0.022 0.028 0.030 0.060 0.059 0.065 0.114 0.123 0.072 0.121 0.114 0.123 0.164 0.164 0.150
Mg 2+ 0.155 0.159 0.158 0.230 0.239 0.224 0.190 0.176 0.175 0.151 0.152 0.197 0.115 0.127 0.121 0.128 0.138 0.169
107
APPENDIX 1. (Cont.)
108
Sample YLL 13 - muscovite YTN 20 - fuchsite YTN 16 - muscovite YPP 13 - muscovite YEX 2 1 B - muscovite YLL 10 - muscovite
Point no. no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 no. 1 no. 2 no. 3
M sites 2.032 2.033 2.025 1.999 2.019 2.021 2.021 2.019 2.009 2.022 2.036 2.027 2.021 2.034 2.026 2.032 2.035 2.044
Ba 2+ 0.003 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.003 0.003 0.002 0.003 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.002
Na+ 0.014 0.020 0.017 0.015 0.018 0.024 0.008 0.014 0.025 0.017 0.017 0.012 0.019 0.015 0.016 0.016 0.019 0.015

K+ 0.946 0.911 0.924 0.927 0.886 0.857 0.922 0.867 0.872 0.931 0.920 0.934 0.940 0.905 0.892 0.951 0.927 0.943
A site 0.964 0.934 0.943 0.944 0.904 0.883 0.933 0.883 0.898 0.951 0.940 0.948 0.962 0.922 0.910 0.970 0.948 0.961
O– 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
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F– 0.045 0.033 0.043 0.011 0.022 0.010 0.040 0.032 0.019 0.030 0.037 0.055 0.063 0.057 0.049 0.036 0.031 0.049
OH– 1.955 1.967 1.957 1.989 1.978 1.990 1.960 1.967 1.980 1.969 1.962 1.945 1.936 1.941 1.949 1.964 1.968 1.951
XMg 0.53 0.46 0.54 0.91 0.89 0.88 0.76 0.75 0.73 0.57 0.55 0.73 0.49 0.53 0.50 0.44 0.46 0.53
Mineral formulae are for hydrothermal muscovites on the basis of 11 oxygen equivalents, ignoring H2O

108
HAEBERLIN ET AL.
APPENDIX 2. Argon Release Data for the Plutonic Mica and Hornblende Separates of the Pataz Batholith for a K-feldspar Separate
from a Monzonite Porphyry Intrusion and for Hydrothermal Muscovite Separates from the Pataz Gold Lodes
36
Temp Ca/K Ar/ 39Ar 40*
Ar/ 39Ar 40
Ar 39
Ar %40*Ar Apparent ages
(°C) (× 10–14 mole) (× 10–14 mole) (Ma ± 2σ)
YPP 02 Biotite 600 1.0998 0.02790 24.971 39.4 1.2 75.3 183.2 ± 2.4
700 0.3252 0.00831 33.849 218.6 6.0 93.3 244.1 ± 2.8
Host: Granodiorite 800 0.0500 0.00533 45.672 1,128.0 23.9 96.7 322.1 ± 3.7

Wt = 17.5 mg 850 0.0288 0.00072 46.442 1,129.4 24.2 99.5 327.1 ± 3.7
J = 0.00428 900 0.0338 0.00066 46.541 680.2 14.6 99.6 327.7 ± 3.6
Total age = 323.3 Ma 925 0.0648 0.00077 47.044 497.0 10.5 99.5 331.0 ± 3.8
Plateau age = 328.1±1.2 Ma 950 0.0789 0.00061 46.900 429.4 9.1 99.6 330.0 ± 3.7
PLATEAU 975 0.0823 0.00052 46.869 461.3 9.8 99.7 329.8 ± 3.6
1,000 0.0963 0.00039 46.539 540.1 11.6 99.8 327.7 ± 3.6
1,025 0.0858 0.00032 46.411 856.2 18.4 99.8 326.9 ± 3.6
1,050 0.0726 0.00036 46.275 1,150.5 24.8 99.8 326.0 ± 3.6
1,100 0.1238 0.00031 46.530 1,295.5 27.8 99.8 327.6 ± 3.7
1,150 0.6022 0.00081 46.376 292.1 6.3 99.5 326.7 ± 3.7
1,200 0.5760 0.00443 46.317 50.6 1.1 97.3 326.3 ± 4.0
1,225 0.5227 0.01293 47.589 21.1 0.4 92.6 334.5 ± 4.1

YSF 22 Biotite 600 0.6368 0.01360 26.533 87.2 2.9 86.9 191.9 ± 2.3
700 0.1294 0.00662 43.397 157.6 3.5 95.7 304.1 ± 3.4
Host: Monzogranite 800 0.0375 0.00530 46.157 974.5 20.4 96.7 321.8 ± 3.7

Wt = 16.7 mg 850 0.0247 0.00071 47.039 980.0 20.7 99.6 327.4 ± 3.7
J = 0.00423 900 0.0278 0.00098 46.841 655.2 13.9 99.4 326.1 ± 3.7
Total age = 322.2 Ma 925 0.0399 0.00189 47.100 436.0 9.1 98.8 327.8 ± 3.7
Plateau age = 329.2 ± 1.4 Ma 950 0.0527 0.00226 47.880 403.3 8.3 98.6 332.7 ± 3.7
PLATEAU
975 0.0458 0.00475 47.732 571.5 11.6 97.1 331.8 ± 3.8

1,000 0.0496 0.00477 47.437 567.8 11.6 97.1 329.9 ± 3.7
1,025 0.0474 0.00175 47.374 831.2 17.4 98.9 329.5 ± 3.7
1,050 0.0488 0.00134 47.374 1,069.3 22.4 99.2 329.5 ± 3.7
1,100 0.0981 0.00106 47.496 1,311.4 27.4 99.4 330.3 ± 3.7
1,150 0.5005 0.00418 47.179 393.9 8.1 97.5 328.3 ± 3.7

1,200 0.5553 0.01508 44.587 92.1 1.9 91.0 311.7 ± 3.6

1,225 0.3466 0.03203 41.411 39.5 0.8 81.4 291.2 ± 3.7
1,250 0.0590 0.05737 40.369 27.0 0.5 70.4 284.4 ± 4.8
1,282 0.3728 0.12280 30.511 20.4 0.3 45.7 219.0 ± 7.6
1,549 0.2553 0.06933 22.239 91.2 2.1 52.1 162.2 ± 5.5
YSF 19 Biotite 600 0.3005 0.00518 36.451 176.2 4.6 96.0 257.0 ± 3.0
700 0.0536 0.00525 46.346 377.1 7.9 96.8 320.9 ± 3.6

Host: Aplite dike 800 0.0202 0.00262 47.194 1,674.9 34.9 98.4 326.2 ± 3.7
Wt = 13.5 mg 850 0.0259 0.00085 46.854 798.0 16.9 99.5 324.1 ± 3.6
J = 0.00420 900 0.0565 0.00120 46.316 388.2 8.3 99.2 320.7 ± 3.6
Total age = 322.9 Ma 925 0.1398 0.00120 46.745 261.3 5.5 99.3 323.4 ± 3.6
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 325.4 ± 1.4 Ma 950 0.1484 0.00079 47.234 296.2 6.2 99.5 326.5 ± 3.7
975 0.0610 0.00043 47.118 481.5 10.2 99.7 325.8 ± 3.7
1,000 0.0417 0.00033 47.367 619.3 13.0 99.8 327.3 ± 3.7
1,025 0.0443 0.00035 47.337 609.0 12.8 99.8 327.1 ± 3.7
1,050 0.0608 0.00060 47.407 471.8 9.9 99.6 327.6 ± 3.7
1,100 0.1535 0.00043 47.196 316.7 6.7 99.7 326.3 ± 3.7

1,150 0.2883 0.00089 45.693 98.9 2.2 99.4 316.7 ± 3.6

1,200 0.1818 0.00065 45.355 54.6 1.2 99.6 314.6 ± 3.6
1,225 0.2139 0.00033 44.039 22.3 0.5 99.8 306.2 ± 3.6
1,250 0.2602 0.00127 43.376 14.1 0.3 99.2 301.9 ± 3.9
YSF 19 Muscovite 700 0.5522 0.01314 33.429 112.7 3.0 89.6 238.6 ± 2.9
800 0.1415 0.03416 41.584 276.1 5.3 80.5 292.3 ± 3.5
Host: Aplite dike 850 0.0572 0.00378 45.174 709.8 15.3 97.6 315.5 ± 3.6

Wt = 17.3 mg 900 0.0185 0.00099 46.712 2,430.0 51.7 99.4 325.3 ± 3.7
J = 0.00423 950 0.0231 0.00102 46.427 1,102.2 23.6 99.4 323.5 ± 3.7
PLATEAU
Total age = 320.6 Ma 1,000 0.0309 0.00174 45.561 864.4 18.8 98.9 318.0 ± 3.6
Plateau age = 322.1 ± 2.8 Ma 1,025 0.0382 0.00228 45.617 395.1 8.5 98.5 318.3 ± 3.6
1,050 0.0377 0.00179 45.804 363.6 7.8 98.9 319.5 ± 3.6
1,100 0.0343 0.00107 46.791 693.9 14.7 99.3 325.8 ± 3.7
1,200 0.0298 0.00059 46.795 2,145.9 45.7 99.6 325.8 ± 3.7

1,400 0.2455 0.02242 43.328 191.4 3.8 86.8 303.6 ± 3.5
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 109

APPENDIX 2. (Cont.)
36
Ar/ 39Ar 40
Ar 39
(°C) (× 10–14 mole) (× 10–14 mole) (Ma ± 2σ)
YPP 01 Fe hornblende 800 0.8675 0.01191 35.591 247.9 6.3 91.1 263.0 ± 3.0
850 0.2865 0.00812 41.039 53.9 1.2 94.5 300.1 ± 3.4
Host: Granodiorite 875 0.3761 0.00656 41.342 60.9 1.4 95.6 302.1 ± 3.3
Wt = 37.0 mg 925 0.9034 0.00889 40.837 94.7 2.2 94.0 298.7 ± 3.3
J = 0.00441 950 1.5836 0.00634 41.268 86.0 2.0 95.8 301.7 ± 3.3
Total age = 307.1 Ma 975 2.8646 0.00644 42.717 84.9 1.9 96.0 311.4 ± 3.4
Plateau age = 321.8 ± 1.2 Ma 985 4.0193 0.00661 43.649 71.4 1.6 96.1 317.6 ± 3.5

PLATEAU 1,000 6.8568 0.00619 44.378 110.4 2.4 96.6 322.5 ± 3.5
1,015 9.6412 0.00349 44.265 327.1 7.3 98.6 321.7 ± 3.5
1,025 9.9036 0.00291 44.376 364.8 8.2 99.0 322.4 ± 3.5
1,050 9.3562 0.00263 44.091 392.8 8.9 99.1 320.6 ± 3.5

1,075 6.2688 0.00212 43.168 178.3 4.1 99.1 314.4 ± 3.4

1,100 5.0840 0.00210 42.423 136.3 3.2 99.0 309.4 ± 3.4
1,150 8.9258 0.00304 42.670 361.3 8.4 98.7 311.1 ± 3.4
1,200 7.9259 0.00794 38.627 79.7 2.0 95.0 283.8 ± 3.2
1,400 5.1523 0.24452 34.476 162.1 1.5 32.3 255.3 ± 9.8
YPP 02 Fe hornblende 800 0.3173 0.00627 40.082 369.2 8.8 95.6 291.8 ± 3.6
850 0.2022 0.00433 41.710 148.0 3.4 97.0 302.7 ± 3.3
Host: Granodiorite 875 0.2734 0.00415 42.477 129.7 3.0 97.2 307.8 ± 3.4
Wt = 38.0 mg 900 0.4011 0.00366 42.527 127.1 2.9 97.6 308.2 ± 3.4
J = 0.00438 925 0.9374 0.00606 43.593 169.1 3.7 96.1 315.2 ± 3.5
Total age = 314.8 Ma 950 1.5085 0.00507 43.301 124.8 2.8 96.8 313.3 ± 3.5

Plateau age = 323.0 ± 4.0 Ma 975 2.8997 0.00525 44.544 151.3 3.3 96.9 321.5 ± 3.5
985 4.3682 0.00463 45.480 127.4 2.7 97.4 327.7 ± 3.6
4-step age* = 329.0 ± 3.4 Ma 1,000 7.2028 0.00413 45.967 185.4 4.0 98.0 330.9 ± 3.6
PLATEAU
* steps from 985° to 1,025°C 1,015 9.3831 0.00325 45.812 361.4 7.8 98.7 329.9 ± 3.6
1,025 9.1960 0.00271 45.451 341.1 7.5 99.0 327.5 ± 3.6
1,050 8.3476 0.00219 44.710 380.0 8.5 99.3 322.6 ± 3.5
1,075 4.5395 0.00153 43.962 265.7 6.0 99.4 317.7 ± 3.4
1,100 3.2296 0.00144 43.843 216.7 4.9 99.3 316.9 ± 3.5
1,150 7.0410 0.00219 43.462 497.2 11.4 99.2 314.4 ± 3.4

1,200 4.3674 0.00390 39.127 89.0 2.2 97.6 285.4 ± 3.2

1,400 7.8835 0.04464 38.648 80.9 1.6 75.0 282.1 ± 4.1
YPP 03 Mg hornblende 800 0.8002 0.02012 35.494 318.7 7.7 85.7 269.0 ± 3.1
850 0.4242 0.00532 40.235 132.3 3.2 96.3 302.1 ± 3.4
Host: Diorite 875 0.4794 0.00533 41.171 105.9 2.5 96.4 308.5 ± 3.4
Wt = 40.9 mg 900 0.6950 0.00492 40.810 108.4 2.6 96.6 306.0 ± 3.3
J = 0.00453 925 0.9545 0.00496 40.337 115.7 2.8 96.6 302.8 ± 3.3
Total age = 312.9 Ma 950 1.4202 0.00555 40.106 105.6 2.5 96.2 301.2 ± 3.2
Plateau age = 321.4 ± 3.8 Ma 975 2.3088 0.00573 41.478 116.4 2.7 96.3 310.6 ± 3.4
985 2.9059 0.00643 42.680 89.3 2.0 96.0 318.9 ± 3.5

1,000 5.6289 0.00596 43.091 118.8 2.7 96.5 321.7 ± 3.5

1,015 10.5232 0.00366 43.937 368.0 8.3 98.5 327.5 ± 3.5
PLATEAU
1,025 10.6224 0.00355 43.551 367.2 8.3 98.6 324.8 ± 3.5

1,050 9.7285 0.00275 43.539 426.0 9.7 99.0 324.8 ± 3.4
1,075 6.0978 0.00228 42.443 243.9 5.7 99.0 317.3 ± 3.4
1,100 4.3234 0.00249 41.973 153.1 3.6 98.7 314.0 ± 3.3
1,150 6.5742 0.00238 43.035 482.5 11.1 99.0 321.3 ± 3.4

1,200 9.0331 0.00810 40.441 118.3 2.8 95.2 303.5 ± 3.3
YPP 08 Hornblende (zoned) 850 - 0.01559 37.182 440.4 10.5 89.0 278.0 ± 3.2
950 1.2285 0.00338 41.408 313.5 7.4 97.8 307.0 ± 3.3

Host: Tonalite 1,000 4.2828 0.00471 43.280 302.9 6.8 97.2 319.7 ± 3.5
Wt = 36.2 mg 1,050 9.7987 0.00319 44.108 1,108.9 24.9 98.8 325.3 ± 3.5
PLATEAU
J = 0.00448 1,070 3.8813 0.00260 42.613 228.2 5.3 98.6 315.2 ± 3.4
Total age = 313.2 Ma 1,090 5.1037 0.00225 42.465 171.0 4.0 98.9 314.2 ± 3.4
Plateau age = 319.6 ± 3.2 Ma 1,110 7.4902 0.00210 43.464 172.3 3.9 99.3 321.0 ± 3.5
1,120 6.3233 0.00308 43.794 101.7 2.3 98.5 323.2 ± 3.6
1,130 6.4612 0.00336 43.639 40.8 0.9 98.3 322.2 ± 3.6

1,140 5.9115 0.02110 42.562 24.5 0.5 87.6 314.9 ± 3.7

1,175 7.3718 0.00562 42.494 28.6 0.7 96.9 314.4 ± 3.9
1,200 6.4661 0.00205 42.037 27.1 0.6 99.2 311.3 ± 3.6
1,225 6.2635 0.00391 42.287 21.4 0.5 97.9 313.0 ± 3.7
1,250 6.1609 0.01160 42.506 22.0 0.5 93.0 314.5 ± 3.6
1,300 6.7908 0.07883 42.906 51.5 0.8 65.0 317.2 ± 4.3
1,332 6.8308 0.19550 40.783 69.9 0.7 41.4 302.7 ± 7.2
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 110

APPENDIX 2. (Cont.)
36
Ar/ 39Ar 40
Ar 39
(°C) (× 10–14 mole) (× 10–14 mole) (Ma ± 2σ)
YSF 45 K-feldspar 600 0.0764 0.11592 63.459 723.2 7.4 64.9 429.9 ± 5.7
700 0.0827 0.02404 26.056 597.8 18.0 78.6 189.1 ± 2.4
Host: Monzonite dike 750 0.0833 0.02636 23.291 302.9 9.7 74.9 169.9 ± 2.2
Wt = 19.5 mg 850 0.0457 0.00620 20.569 329.2 14.7 91.8 150.9 ± 1.8
J = 0.00424 950 0.0288 0.00432 19.448 278.8 13.5 93.8 143.0 ± 1.7

Total age = 151.8 Ma 1,000 0.0201 0.00379 18.197 231.0 12.0 94.2 134.1 ± 1.6
Plateau age = 137.4 ± 3.4 Ma 1,050 0.0166 0.00453 17.897 509.2 26.5 93.0 132.0 ± 1.6
PLATEAU
1,100 0.0118 0.00495 18.452 752.4 37.8 92.7 135.9 ± 1.6
1,150 0.0114 0.00442 18.882 1,049.8 52.0 93.5 138.9 ± 1.7
1,175 0.0101 0.00415 19.230 764.4 37.4 94.0 141.4 ± 1.7
1,200 0.0081 0.00387 19.271 642.9 31.5 94.4 141.7 ± 1.7

1,225 0.0072 0.00394 19.730 597.5 28.6 94.4 144.9 ± 1.8

1,250 0.0067 0.00433 20.595 500.8 22.9 94.2 151.0 ± 1.8
1,275 0.0096 0.00623 22.403 187.9 7.8 92.4 163.7 ± 1.9
1,300 0.0773 0.04364 23.138 57.1 1.6 64.2 168.8 ± 2.5
1,325 0.1578 0.05887 22.844 23.8 0.6 56.8 166.8 ± 3.3
YLL 13 Muscovite 700 2.0803 0.00737 20.654 148.2 6.5 90.8 150.4 ± 1.8
800 8.1056 0.01050 33.792 496.0 13.6 92.4 240.0 ± 2.8
Vein: La Lima 2 850 2.2797 0.00149 39.524 596.0 15.0 99.1 277.7 ± 3.2
Wt = 17.4 mg 900 0.1909 0.00057 41.186 768.5 18.6 99.6 288.5 ± 3.3
J = 0.00421 950 0.0515 0.00041 43.199 1,966.3 45.4 99.7 301.5 ± 3.5

Total age = 294.3 Ma 1,000 0.0187 0.00033 44.723 2,240.8 50.0 99.8 311.2 ± 3.6
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 312.1 ± 0.8 Ma 1,025 0.0151 0.00016 44.900 625.5 13.9 99.9 312.4 ± 3.5
1,050 0.0188 0.00038 44.899 794.4 17.6 99.8 312.4 ± 3.5
1,100 0.0418 0.00026 44.895 418.7 9.3 99.8 312.3 ± 3.5

1,200 0.2809 0.00087 43.890 164.7 3.7 99.4 305.9 ± 3.5

1,400 0.2706 0.00557 44.507 281.6 6.1 96.5 309.8 ± 3.5
1,649 0.1641 0.14243 42.697 92.3 1.1 50.4 298.2 ± 8.8
YTN 20 Fuchsite 700 0.6593 0.00871 22.517 248.6 9.9 89.8 163.0 ± 1.9
800 5.0054 0.01094 38.305 496.8 12.0 92.7 269.1 ± 3.1
Vein: Consuelo 850 0.3674 0.00204 39.737 560.8 13.9 98.5 278.5 ± 3.2
Wt = 16.9 mg 900 0.0403 0.00119 41.817 707.5 16.8 99.2 291.9 ± 3.3
J = 0.00420 950 0.0251 0.00085 43.959 1,301.1 29.4 99.4 305.7 ± 3.5

Total age = 294.9 Ma 1,000 0.0134 0.00067 44.994 1,762.7 39.0 99.6 312.3 ± 3.5
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 313.5 ± 1.4 Ma 1,025 0.0147 0.00090 44.954 1,000.1 22.1 99.4 312.0 ± 3.5
1,050 0.0174 0.00104 45.282 609.3 13.4 99.3 314.1 ± 3.6
1,100 0.0394 0.00139 45.420 296.9 6.5 99.1 315.0 ± 3.6
1,200 0.1936 0.00492 45.301 111.7 2.4 96.9 314.2 ± 3.6

1,400 1.7582 0.04135 48.225 175.2 2.9 79.9 332.7 ± 4.0
YTN 16 Muscovite 700 1.2284 0.00452 24.854 321.8 12.3 95.1 179.9 ± 2.1
800 2.4426 0.00680 36.693 821.2 21.3 95.0 259.7 ± 3.0
Vein: Pencas piso 850 0.4595 0.00121 41.311 977.6 23.5 99.2 289.9 ± 3.3
Wt = 16.2 mg 900 0.0770 0.00110 42.815 860.4 19.9 99.3 299.6 ± 3.4
J = 0.00422 950 0.0403 0.00085 43.885 1,171.7 26.5 99.4 306.5 ± 3.4

Total age = 289.8 Ma 1,000 0.0195 0.00096 44.832 1,215.6 26.9 99.4 312.6 ± 3.5
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 314.1 ± 1.2 Ma 1,025 0.0178 0.00154 45.192 632.5 13.9 99.0 314.9 ± 3.5
1,050 0.0245 0.00210 45.174 400.5 8.7 98.6 314.8 ± 3.5
1,100 0.0534 0.00309 45.075 277.8 6.0 98.0 314.2 ± 3.5

1,200 0.3016 0.01396 42.391 117.5 2.5 91.2 296.9 ± 3.4

1,400 0.4315 0.06491 42.500 182.7 3.0 68.9 297.6 ± 4.6
YPP 13 Muscovite 700 0.2775 0.01354 18.497 144.9 6.4 82.3 135.9 ± 1.7
800 0.0657 0.01106 28.248 365.6 11.6 89.6 203.6 ± 2.4
Vein: Mercedes 850 0.0324 0.00268 35.059 403.2 11.2 97.8 249.5 ± 2.8
Wt = 15.2 mg 900 0.0263 0.00199 37.589 572.9 15.0 98.5 266.2 ± 3.0
J = 0.00423 950 0.0113 0.00100 40.511 1,312.7 32.2 99.3 285.4 ± 3.2

Total age = 279.6 Ma 1,000 0.0091 0.00083 42.961 1,843.0 42.7 99.4 301.2 ± 3.4
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 304.9 ± 3.0 Ma 1,025 0.0104 0.00173 43.444 906.4 20.6 98.8 304.4 ± 3.4
1,050 0.0127 0.00180 43.697 588.9 13.3 98.8 306.0 ± 3.4
1,100 0.0201 0.00274 44.033 433.8 9.7 98.2 308.2 ± 3.4

1,200 0.2037 0.01438 40.045 132.8 3.0 90.4 282.3 ± 3.6

1,400 0.4760 0.07061 47.264 181.6 2.7 69.4 328.8 ± 5.5
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 111

APPENDIX 2. (Cont.)
36
Ar/ 39Ar 40
Ar 39
(°C) (× 10–14 mole) (× 10–14 mole) (Ma ± 2σ)
YEX 21B Muscovite 700 0.1267 0.01007 23.137 288.0 11.0 88.6 167.3 ± 2.0
800 0.0308 0.00283 32.243 486.8 14.7 97.5 229.1 ± 2.7
Vein: Picaflor 850 0.0217 0.00198 36.435 506.7 13.7 98.4 256.9 ± 3.0
Wt = 14.8 mg 900 0.0135 0.00154 39.031 694.1 17.6 98.8 273.9 ± 3.2
J = 0.00420 950 0.0106 0.00085 41.946 1,364.9 32.3 99.4 292.7 ± 3.4

Total age = 280.5 Ma 1,000 0.0070 0.00073 43.689 1,727.9 39.4 99.5 303.9 ± 3.5
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 304.8 ± 1.4 Ma 1,025 0.0106 0.00125 43.635 985.8 22.4 99.2 303.6 ± 3.5
1,050 0.0193 0.00201 43.691 627.5 14.2 98.7 304.0 ± 3.5
1,100 0.0109 0.00235 44.157 402.1 9.0 98.4 306.9 ± 3.5
1,200 0.0640 0.01659 43.985 79.6 1.6 90.0 305.8 ± 3.8

1,400 0.1796 0.15919 45.211 64.0 0.7 49.0 313.7 ± 7.0
YLL 10 Muscovite 700 0.5088 0.00577 14.631 185.6 11.4 89.7 108.1 ± 1.3
800 1.6069 0.01273 25.995 335.9 11.3 87.5 187.8 ± 2.3
Vein: La Lima 2 850 0.6892 0.00209 31.263 417.9 13.1 98.1 223.6 ± 2.6
Wt = 16.5 mg 900 0.0786 0.00108 34.657 946.8 27.1 99.1 246.3 ± 2.9
J = 0.00422 950 0.0348 0.00092 38.390 1,531.3 39.6 99.3 270.9 ± 3.1

Total age = 255.6 Ma 1,000 0.0187 0.00088 40.467 1,605.3 39.4 99.4 284.4 ± 3.3
PLATEAU
Plateau age = 287.5 ± 2.8 Ma 1,025 0.0213 0.00127 40.892 846.6 20.5 99.1 287.2 ± 3.3
1,050 0.0252 0.00150 41.420 507.2 12.1 98.9 290.6 ± 3.3
1,100 0.0668 0.00252 40.808 222.8 5.4 98.2 286.6 ± 3.4

1,200 0.3592 0.00996 39.009 93.7 2.2 93.0 274.9 ± 3.3

1,400 1.0084 0.06320 40.924 211.6 3.6 68.7 287.4 ± 3.9
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 112


Carboniferous Orogenic Gold Deposits at Pataz, Eastern Andean Cordillera, Peru: Geological and Structural Framework, Paragenesis, Alteration, and Ar/ Ar Geochronology

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©2004 by Economic Geology

Vol. 99, pp. 73–112

Carboniferous Orogenic Gold Deposits at Pataz, Eastern Andean Cordillera, Peru:

AND MICHAEL COSCA

Introduction terranes that were deformed along the circum-Pacific margin

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Pataz Batholith 329±1 Ma (e) References

(b) Sánchez, 1995

N (c) Schreiber et al., 1990c

(e) Vidal et al., 1995

330±10 Ma (g) (f) Mégard et al., 1978

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Cía. Minera Poderosa S.A. 1 Pataz 1982–2000 2,127,361 13.66 934,307

Small-scale mining 4 Pataz and Parcoy 1901–2000 1,257,620

Cumulated production 5,962,537

Lima, Peru) and at 360 kg/yr before 1991 (own estimates)

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by Society of Economic Geologists user

La Lima 1, S N 12°E Granodiorite- Brittle-ductile • • • • • • • • 700 12.6 92,590

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Pataz mines, central Pataz district

Santa Maria 45°N (contact) quartz vein

Culebrillas mine, northern Parcoy district

Inca, T N 70°W Hornfels enclave in Brecciated quartz +++ – ++ + + – +++ + 350 – –

1 Vein class abbreviations: B = bedding-concordant, S = shear zone, T = extensional

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A WNW-ESE section, looking to NNE A'

B W-E section, looking to N B'

PATAZ BATHOLITH Mississippian LATE DIKES Late Cretaceous?

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1. Lodes in shear zones

3. Lodes concordant to bedding

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Mineralized veins (Pataz district) Mineralized veins (Parcoy district)

Structural elements in the Contaya Formation Second-order quartz veinlets

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A Ore shoots in vertical faults: The regional east-west– to

strike-slip sinistral fractures (Figs. 3–4, 7A) filled with abun-

the orientations of the productive lodes with respect to all the

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second-order veinlets (n=232) bedding-concordant

Con >X>4 N-S-striking

Method I - Vein distribution Method II - Wallace technique

N N secondary quartz veinlets

N-S-striking ductile S-C fabrics

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N-S-striking roof vein system (La Lima-Choloque veins)

N-S-striking footwall vein system (Glorita-Karola-Luz veins)

500 Extensional veins (Mercedes vein)

Syn-mineralization E-W- to ESE-WNW-striking faults

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TABLE 3. Multielement Geochemical Analyses of Ores from the Pataz Province

Sample no. Deposit Vein Au Ag As Bi Cd Cu Fe Pb Sb Te W Zn

Paragenesis Early Stage I Stage II Late Supergene