It is now possible to bracket the age of the Minas Supergroup with reasonable precision between about2580 Ma. (base of the Moeda Formation) and 2050 Ma. (top of the Sabará Formation) on the basis of precisezircon U-Pb age determinations from both granitic rocks of the basement and detrital zircons from quartzitesand graywackes of the Proterozoic metasedimentary sequences of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero.Three major unconformities subdivide the stratigraphic column into three sequences. The first sequencecomprises the Moeda, Batatal, Cauê and Gandarela Formations from 2580 to 2400 Ma.. The second sequencecomprises the Cercadinho, Fecho do Funil, Taboões and Barreiro Formations (the Piracicaba Group) datedat 2400 to 2150 Ma.. The third sequence contains only the synorogenic sediments of the Sabará Formation,deposited during the Transamazonian Event between 2150 and 2050 Ma.. This event folded andmetamorphosed the Minas Supergroup for the first time.The Sabará Formation of the Piracicaba Group has very different sedimentological characteristics fromthe other formations of this group and is exceptionally thick (about 3500 m), we therefore propose to upgradeit to the rank of a Group.Zircon age histograms of the Moeda quartzite (sample QF-1) and Sabará graywacke are similar, indicatinga common Archean source, i.e. the Belo Horizonte Complex north of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero. This impliesthat sedimentation of the Minas Supergroup in the western Quadrilátero Ferrífero is autochthonous.Periods of carbonate and Iron Formation platform sedimentation (Cauê, Gandarela and partly Fecho doFunil Formations) coincide with minor frequency of age plots of detrital zircons, indicating also a stabletectonic environment.Comparison of the Minas Supergroup with the Transvaal Sequence of South Africa revealscorrespondence not only in age but also in thickness, position of the major unconformities, lithologicalcompositions and in the position of gold and pyrite bearing quartz-pebble conglomerates.

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Carbon isotope fluctuations in Precambrian sedimentary carbonates between 2.8 Ga and 0.60 Ga in Brazil are examined in this study. The carbonate facies of the BIF of the 2. On the light of the C isotope data discussed in this study, it seems that δ 13 C fluctuations in Paleoproterozoic carbonates in Brazil are within the range found globally for metasedimentary carbonates of this age. Carbon isotope data proved to be very useful in establishing relative chronology of Neoproterozoic carbonate formations for which precise radiometric ages are not available.

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A recently identified diamictite and silt-clay laminite, which discordantly overlie the Archaean basement and underlie the Neoproterozoic Bambui Group, have been informally named as the Moema Laminites. They are preserved at the southwestern margin of the São Francisco Basin in southeastern Brazil, and are widely distributed in the central-western Minas Gerais state. They crop out discontinuously over at least 140 km along a north–south direction. The nomenclature of and stratigraphic relationships between the Moema Laminites and other isolated Neoproterozic occurrences of similar rocks are in a state of flux. Two exceptionally good exposures of the Moema Laminites show good evidence for deposition under glacial conditions. At the Formiga locality, a single glacial advance is registered by a deformation tillite, while overlying laminite records deposition in a post-glacial, probably marine basin following deglaciation. At the SAFFRAN quarry, striations on a bedding plane may have been caused by floating sea-ice that just touched the bottom of the basin. Much additional work is needed to establish relationships between the Moema Laminites and other similar occurrences. If these and Moema Laminites are shown to be Cryogenian glacial deposits, the area covered by the Cryogenian glaciations in the São Francisco basin is much larger than formerly believed.