Timing of granitic magmatism in the northern Borborema Province, Brazil: a U–Pb study of granitoids from the Alto Pajeú Terrain

The Alto Pajeú Terrain (APT) is a SW–NE trending fold belt in the Neoproterozoic Borborema Province (NE Brazil), formed by metasedimentary sequences interlayered with metavolcanosedimentary units, both intruded by granitic rocks of different compositions and ages. The tectonic evolution of the APT involves Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic transtensional and contractional tectonic events. In this study, we present U–Pb zircon ages of five granitoids selected according to a generally accepted relative chronology: (a) the Tuparetama granite and Tuparetama migmatitic granite with low angle gneissic foliation represent syn-tangential rocks presumably related to a Transamazonian event; (b) the Amparo granite with high angle gneissic foliation related to the Brazilian/Pan-African event; and (c) the Tabira and Jabitacá post-strike-slip granites. The results obtained do not confirm the generally accepted chronology of events. Granites previously classified in different groups (Tuparetama, Amparo, and Jabitacá) belong to the same orogenic cycle (Brazilian). Large batholiths, previously suspected to have been emplaced after the strike-slip deformation, represent older crustal remnants within them. In each case they consist of particular rock types — an alkaline high-temperature granite (Tabira) and a ‘granulite’ (Tuparetama migmatitic granite). These older ages imply that pre-Brazilian crust-forming events such as the Transamazonian Orogeny (Tuparetama migmatitic granite estimated at ca. 2050 Ma) and Cariris Velhos event (Tabira granite at ca. 972 Ma) occurred in the APT, and their records survived the intense recycling which characterizes the Brazilian/Pan-African orogeny.