Geology of the San Pedro mining district, San Rafael Massif (Argentina)

GOMEZ, A, Y RUBINSTEIN, N.

Mar del Plata, Argentina

Congreso; GeoSur 2010 (INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS ON THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE); 2010

CONICET, INGEODAV, Depto. Ciencias Geológicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Argentina. Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale – Trieste. Italy. Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche

The San Pedro mining district is located in the central part of the San Rafael Massif (35º 21’ 58.6” S; 68º 23’ 22” W), province of Mendoza, Argentina. The San Rafael Massif is characterized by widespread volcanic and pyroclastic rocks of Gondwanian age, known as Choiyoi Magmatic Cycle. Two different suites can be distinguished within this volcanic sequence (Llambías et al.,1993). The Lower Permian suite (lower section) has geochemical characteristics that indicate a subduction setting and a transpressional deformation style. The Upper Permian suite (upper section) has a geochemical signature which can be interpreted as transitional between subduction and continental intraplate settings and a structural style typical of an extensional regime (Kleiman and Japas, 2009). New information provided by fieldwork and petrographic studies allow redefining the hydrothermal alteration assemblages and mapping the alteration zones.