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Petrology, geochemistry and mineralization of the Las Águilas and Virorco mafic–ultramafic bodies, San Luis Province, Argentina

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Abstract

The layered mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Sierras de San Luis, Argentina (Las Águilas, Las Higueras and Virorco), constitute a 3–5-km-wide belt that extends over 100 km from NE to SW. They carry a sulphide mineralization consisting of pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite, in veins and as disseminated to massive ore. Disseminated spinels are frequently associated with the sulphide minerals as well as platinum group minerals. A strong correlation between S, Ni, Co, Cu, Cr, Pt and Pd indicates the presence of one to three levels of mineralization within the ultramafic units. The maximum concentration of these elements coincides with the units containing platinum group minerals (PGM) and spinel group minerals. This clear relationship constitutes a good prospecting guide in the search for layers with high-grade ore, probably associated with deeper stratigraphic levels where ultramafic rocks are dominant. The bulk rock chemistry and concentrations of metals and platinum group elements as well as textural evidence suggest that the parental magma was mafic with tholeiitic affinities and MgO rich. The Las Águilas layered mafic–ultramafic body and the remaining bodies in the area bear similar characteristics to well-known stratified complexes developed in extensional tectonic regimes, as it is the case of Jinchuan (China), Kabanga (Tanzania) and Fiambala (Argentina).

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Acknowledgments

This work was financed with projects 24/H085—Secretaria General de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Universidad Nacional del Sur (SGCyT-UNS), and PIP112-200801-02306—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Argentina, granted to EAB and project PICT 2008-0025—Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica granted to GF. The authors thank Dr. Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, Dr. Frank Melcher and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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  1. Departamento de Geología, INGEOSUR (CONICET-UNS), Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, B8000ICN, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

    Gabriela Ferracutti & Ernesto Bjerg

  2. Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Aberra Mogessie

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  1. Gabriela Ferracutti
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  2. Ernesto Bjerg
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Correspondence to Gabriela Ferracutti.

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Ferracutti, G., Bjerg, E. & Mogessie, A. Petrology, geochemistry and mineralization of the Las Águilas and Virorco mafic–ultramafic bodies, San Luis Province, Argentina. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 102, 701–720 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-012-0834-8

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