K-Ar Dating for Determining the Age of Mineralization as Alteration Product: A Case Study of Antimony Mineralization Vein Type in Granitic Rocks of Gümüşhane Area, Turkey

Abstract

Is it feasible to use K-Ar dating method in determination of the age of mineralization by utilizing alteration minerals? The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the K-Ar dating method to accurately determine the age of mineralization. In ideal circumstances, dating of alteration products, such as illite and serisite minerals, gives the age of alteration event, which is indirectly associated with mineralization. In the study site, referred to as Avliyana, antimony mineralization (Gümüşhane, Turkey), stibnite (antimony) mineralizations of hydrothermal vein type were observed in granitic young intrusive rocks and the host rocks. In the study area, alteration was observed in the form of a small amount of weak silicification, argillitization (sericitization and illitization), hematitization, limonitization close to the mineralization and of epidotization and chloritization far from the mineralization. In order to determine the limits of the age of antimony mineralizations of the area, the K-Ar method was used to date illite and serisite minerals, which are alteration products related to mineralization. Two samples containing sericite and illite were collected from Avliyana antimonite mineralization. The alteration origin of these minerals was confirmed by supporting petrographic, XRD and scanning electron microscope studies. These samples were analysed for K-Ar dating.

Liveyda İntrüzyonu’nun (Trabzon, KD Türkiye) Jeolojik, Mineralojik ve Petrografik Özellikleri

“…Geç Kretase yaşlı birimler, başlıca plütonik, tortul ve volkanik kayaçlardan oluşurlar [18], [34]- [40]. Senozoyik yaşlı birimleri ise başlıca volkanik, plütonik ve tortul kayaçlar oluşturur [11], [41], [50]- [58], [42] Liveyda İntrüzyonu'nu oluşturan tonalitler, intruzyonun kuzey ve kuzeydoğu kısımda yer alıp, granodiyoritlerin dış kısımlarında yer alırlar. Genellikle koyu gri, koyu yeşilimsi gri renklerde görülürler (Şekil 2).…”

Evaluation of Soil Geochemistry Data of Canca (Gümüşhane-Ne Turkey) by Processing Inverse Distance Weighting and Kriging Interpolation Methods-First Findings

“…These units are called as the Alibaba formation in the region (Tokel, 1972). Alibaba formation is cut by the synchronous calc-alkaline granitoids (Eyüboğlu et al, 2011;Karslı et al, 2013) called the Gözeler granite (Vural, 2017(Vural, , 2014 which outcrops in close vicinity of the study area.…”

Whole-Rock Geochemistry of Host Rocks and K/Ar Age of Hydrothermal Mineral of the Co-O Epithermal Gold Deposit, Mindanao, Philippines

“…In principle, for ideal settings (closed system), age dating of alteration products indicates the age of hydrothermal activity or alteration event, which is typically associated with the mineralization event forming the deposit system (e.g., [21]). Age dating of the hydrothermal minerals therefore gives the age of the hydrothermal activity associated with the mineralization.…”