The metallic ore-deposits of the Guerrero Terrane, western Mexico: an overview

Isotopic Studies of the Guerrero Composite Terrane, West-Central Mexico: Implications for Provenance of Crustal Rocks and Genesis of Ore Metals

“…The Guerrero composite terrane has produced a large variety of economically important metals (e.g., Ag, Au, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Fe) hosted in Cretaceous and Tertiary ore bodies and generated during three main metallogenetic phases (Miranda-Gasca, 2000).…”

“…The first phase occurred during the Mesozoic and produced volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) and sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) deposits ranging in age from Middle Jurassic (Callovian) to Early Cretaceous (Valanginian; Mortensen et al, 2008). The second phase took place during the Paleocene and was related to the Laramide magmatism in the Sierra Madre Occidental; it produced the Laramide volcanic-plutonic succession of the Lower Volcanic Supergroup (calcalkaline, granodioritic to granitic batholiths that intrude volcano-sedimentary rocks) and generated porphyry copper deposits between about 53 and 63 Ma (Damon et al, 1983;Miranda-Gasca, 2000;Camprubi et al, 2003). The third phase occurred between around 28 and 36 Ma and was associated with the outpouring of volcanic rocks of the Upper Volcanic Supergroup (silicic ignimbrites, rhyolitic domes, and basaltic to andesitic lavas; Moran-Zenteno et al, 1999) in the Sierra Madre Occidental; it produced porphyry copper and epithermal deposits of Middle Eocene to Late Oligocene age (Damon et al, 1983;Camprubi and Albinson, 2007).…”

“…They are usually associated with juvenile to slightly evolved arc settings, except for a few deposits that occur in a back-arc setting . The VMS and SEDEX are stratabound within volcaniclastic and volcanic rocks, and most of them are of Zn-Pb-Cu Kuroko type (Miranda-Gasca, 2000).…”

“…The second phase generated deposits between about 53 and 63 Ma (La Sorpresa and Las Salinas; Damon et al, 1983;Miranda-Gasca, 2000;Camprubi et al, 2003). The third phase produced deposits whose ages range between around 31 and 36 Ma (La Verde, San Isidro, Inguaran, and Tiamaro; Damon et al, 1983;Miranda-Gasca, 2000).…”

“…The third phase produced deposits whose ages range between around 31 and 36 Ma (La Verde, San Isidro, Inguaran, and Tiamaro; Damon et al, 1983;Miranda-Gasca, 2000). The porphyry copper deposits are associated with intrusive rocks of variable composition between granite and diorite, but with a larger abundance of quartz-monzonites (Damon et al, 1983;Miranda-Gasca, 2000;Valencia-Moreno et al, 2007). The epithermal ore deposits, of Middle Eocene to Late Oligocene age, have been the most economically important type of deposit in Mexico, and the Guerrero terrane includes well-known deposits like Guanajuato, Fresnillo, and Zacatecas.…”