U–Pb Dating of Mineral Deposits: From Age Constraints to Ore-Forming Processes

Abstract

The timing and duration of ore-forming processes are amongst the key parameters required in the study of mineral systems. After more than a century of technical developments, innovations and investigation, the U–Pb system arguably is the most mature radioisotopic system in our possession to conduct absolute dating of a wide range of minerals across geological environments and metallogenic processes. Here, we review the basics of U–Pb geochronology, the key historic developments of the method, and the most commonly used analytical techniques (including data reduction, Pb-correction, uncertainty propagation and data presentation) and minerals while pointing out their respective advantages, weaknesses and potential pitfalls. We also highlight critical aspects that need to be considered when interpreting a date into the age of a geological process (including field and petrographic constraints, open-system behavior, handling and interpretation of uncertainties). While U–Pb geochronology is strongly biased toward zircon dating, we strive to highlight the great diversity of minerals amenable to U–Pb dating (more than 16 mineral species) in the context of mineral systems, and the variety of geological events they can potentially date (magmatism, hydrothermal activity, ore-formation, cooling, etc.). Finally, through two case studies we show (1) how multi-mineral geochronological studies have been used to bracket and decipher the age of multiple geological events associated with the world-class Witwatersrand gold province, and (2) how rather than the absolute age, the duration and rate of the mineralizing event at porphyry copper deposits opens new avenues to understand ore-forming processes and the main controls on the size of such deposits. The improving precision, accuracy and spatial resolution of analyses in tandem with high-quality field and petrographic observations, numerical modelling and geochemical data, will continue to challenge paradigms of ore-forming processes and contribute significant breakthroughs in ore deposit research and potentially to the development of new exploration tools.