Assessing temporal relationships between foreland and hinterland deformation in foldthrust belts is critical to understanding the dynamics of orogenic systems. In the western U.S. Cordillera, the central Nevada thrust belt (CNTB) has been interpreted as a hinterland component of the Sevier fold-thrust belt inUtah. However, imprecise timing constraints on CNTB deformation have hindered evaluation of space-time patterns of strain partitioning between these two thrust systems. To address this problem, new 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping and balanced cross sections are presented through the CNTB near Eureka, Nevada, in conjunction with industry drill-hole data, conodont age determinations, and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and U-Pb ages from volcanic, intrusive, and sedimentary rocks.Our mapping redefi nes the fi rst-order structures and deformation geometry of the CNTB at the latitude of Eureka. Contractional structures include two north-striking, east-vergent thrust faults, the Prospect Mountain thrust and Moritz-Nager thrust, which are connected as the same fault in cross section, several north-striking map-scale folds, and a Cambrian over Silurian relationship observed in multiple drill holes, corresponding to repetition of ~2-2.5 km of stratigraphy, that defi nes the blind Ratto Canyon thrust. Two distinct sets of normal faults cut the contractional structures, and are overlapped by a regional late Eocene (ca. 37 Ma) subvolcanic unconformity. Retrodeformation of both sets of normal faults reveals the existence of the Eureka culmination, a 20-km-wide, 4.5-kmtall anticline with limb dips of 25°-35°, that can be traced for ~100 km north-south on the basis of Paleogene erosion levels. The culmination is interpreted as a fault-bend fold that formed from ~9 km of eastward displacement of the Ratto Canyon thrust sheet over a buried footwall ramp.The type exposure of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Newark Canyon Formation (NCF) is preserved on top of Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian rocks on the eastern limb of the Eureka culmination. We propose that the NCF was deposited in a piggy back basin on the eastern limb of the culmination as it grew, which is consistent with published east-directed paleocurrents and provenance data suggesting derivation from proximal late Paleozoic subcrop units. Syncontractional deposition of the NCF is used to defi ne the probable Aptian construction of the Eureka culmination and associated slip on the Ratto Canyon thrust at depth. After deposition, the NCF continued to be folded during late-stage growth of the culmination.Aptian deformation in the CNTB at Eureka postdated migration of the Sevier thrust front into Utah by at least ~10 m.y. and possibly as much as ~30 m.y., and therefore represents out-of-sequence hinterland deformation. CNTB deformation was coeval with emplacement of the Canyon Range thrust sheet in the type-Sevier thrust belt in western Utah, and may represent internal shortening of this orogen-scale thrust sheet that acted to promote further eastward translation.
The Refugio, Aldebarán, and La Pepa districts in the Maricunga belt of northern Chile contain advanced argillic alteration zones that locally host high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposits in proximity to porphyry gold (± copper) deposits. The spatial association suggests a genetic link. Mineralized zones are characterized by four main vein types that formed at different times and have specific zonal relationships. A-veinlets are the earliest and deepest vein type. They are restricted to potassic alteration zones in intrusive rocks. A-veinlets contain variable amounts of quartz, magnetite, biotite, and chalcopyrite and locally have K feldspar halos. They have nonmatching, irregular vein walls and lack internal symmetry. Hypersaline liquid-rich inclusions coexisting with vapor-rich inclusions in A-veinlets indicate temperatures as high as nearly 700°C and pressures between 200 and 400 bars. Assuming a lithostatic load, depths of 0.8 to 1.6 km are inferred. Zones of abundant A-veinlets contain mostly <1 ppm gold and 0.1 to 0.4 percent hypogene copper. Banded quartz veinlets occur mostly above A-veinlets and cut A-veinlets where they overlap. Dark gray bands, the color resulting from a high density of vapor-rich fluid inclusions and micron-sized grains of magnetite, commonly occur as symmetric pairs near the vein walls. Vein walls are parallel and slightly wavy, vuggy vein centers are common, and alteration envelopes are absent. Data from rare liquid-rich inclusions in banded quartz veinlets indicate temperatures ≤350°C at pressures between 20 and 150 bars. Assuming a hydrostatic load, depths of 0.2 to 1.5 km are inferred. Zones of abundant banded quartz veinlets generally contain 0.5 to 2 ppm gold and <0.1 percent hypogene copper. D-veins are pyrite veins with quartz-sericite-pyrite halos. They are widespread and crosscut A-veinlets and banded quartz veinlets. The brittle nature of D-veins and limited fluid inclusion data suggest temperatures <400°C. D-veins serve as important time lines. They are nowhere truncated or crosscut by intrusions, A-veinlets, or banded quartz veinlets. Quartz-alunite replacement veins, referred to as ledges in this paper, are typical of the high-sulfidation epithermal environment. They are mostly limited to overlying volcanic rocks. They contain local core zones of vuggy residual quartz that can contain enargite or, at higher elevations, barite. Of the three districts studied only La Pepa has mineable quartz-alunite ledges, which contain an average gold grade of about 20 ppm. A spectrum of porphyry-style deposits exists. Cerro Casale at Aldebarán shares many characteristics of porphyry copper deposits worldwide, whereas Verde at Refugio is a true porphyry gold deposit. Potassic alteration zones and A-veinlets are strongly developed at Cerro Casale, whereas they are absent at Verde. Banded quartz veinlets predominate at Verde, whereas they occur only at the upper levels of Cerro Casale. The Pancho deposit at Refugio and the Cavancha deposit at La Pepa are telescoped systems in which bande...
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