Apatite fission track dating of fluorite ore veins from Santa Catarina state, Brazil: a complex hydrothermal evolution

The fluorite of Santa Catarina that occurs in veins cutting Precambrian granitic rocks of coastal Brazil has been difficult to date by Rb/Sr, K/Ar and Sm/Nd methods. New fission track dating of apatite in granites next to the veins yields ages of 144–76 Ma, which are related to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. Four groups of fission track ages were identified: the ca 145 Ma group is a hydrothermal event that preceded fluorite mineralization; the second group of ages, 131–107 Ma, records the first hydrothermal mineralizing event; the third group, 98–93 Ma, represents the second hydrothermal mineralizing event; and the fourth group, 89–76 Ma, dates the last hydrothermal mineralizing event. As shown by previous studies, the temperatures of these events varied from 170° to 70°C, but the last hydrothermal event occurred during a gradual cooling. The smaller lengths of the confined fission tracks from the fourth event support this interpretation. These results are based on sixteen carefully selected samples from four veins ranging from 1 to 4 m in thickness. The ages of these samples were established using the standard methods of fission track dating. Our study clearly demonstrates the value of apatite fission track dating for deposits whose mineralization occurred over a long time span at a wide range of temperatures.