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A sample of the Crixás-Açu gneiss in Central Brazil contains protolith and metamorphic zircons, and two generations of metamorphic titanite. SHRIMP U-Pb data of these different mineral generations indicate the following temporal sequence: tonalitic magmatism at 2817 ± 9 M.y derived from an older source region (3050 to 2930 M.y zircon cores); Archaean metamorphism at 2772 ± 6 M.y (from zircon) with cooling to the blocking temperature of titanite (at 2711 ± 34 Ma); followed by Palaeoproterozoic metamorphism and weak fabric development at 2011 ± 15 Ma, and a possible Neoproterozoic metamorphism. The field relations and these age data indicate the polymetamorphic history of the area and demonstrate the value of in situ age determinations on well-characterized rocks.

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ABSTRACT.We have carried out zircon U-Pb SHRIMP dating and Hf isotope determinations as well as geochemical analyses on three plutonic units of Gondwanan magmatism that crop out in NW Argentina. Two episodes of different age and genesis have been identified. The older one includes gabbros and diorites (Río Grande Unit) of 267±3 Ma and granitoids (belonging to the Llullaillaco Unit) of 263±1 Ma (late Permian, Guadalupian); the parent magmas were generated in an intraplate environment and derived from an enriched mantle but were subsequently contaminated by crustal components. The younger rocks are granodiorites with arc signature (Chuculaqui Unit) and an age of 247±2 Ma (middle Triassic-Anisian). Hf isotope signature of the units indicates mantle sources as well as crustal components. Hf model ages obtained are consistent with the presence of crustal Mesoproterozoic (mainly Ectasian to Calymnian (T DM(c) =1.24 to 1.44 Ga-negative Hf (T) ) and juvenile Cryogenian sources (T DM =0.65 to 0.79 Ga-positive ɛ Hf (T) ), supporting the idea of a continuous, mostly Mesoproterozoic, basement under the Central Andes, as an extension of the ArequipaAntofalla massif. The tectonic setting and age of the Gondwanan magmatism in NW Argentina allow to differentiate: a. Permian intra-plate magmatism developed under similar conditions to the upper section of the Choiyoi magmatism exposed in the Frontal Cordillera and San Rafael Block, Argentina; b. Triassic magmatism belonging to a poorly known subduction-related magmatic arc segment of mostly NS trend with evidence of porphyry type mineralization in Chile, allowing to extend this metallotect into Argentina.