Age of ultramafic high-K rocks from Planalto da Serra (Mato Grosso, Brazil)

The Planalto da Serra ultramafic-alkaline rocks are represented by several plugs, lava-flows and N60–80E trending dykes which are mainly represented by glimmerites, harzburgites and carbonatites. These rocks intrude the Cryogenian basal unit of the Northern Paraguay Belt in the Rio dos Cavalos rift (southeastern part of the Amazonian Craton). 40Ar/39Ar dating on the phlogopite from glimmeritic dykes and plugs yielded an age of ca. 600 Ma, which is consistent with Rb/Sr and Sm/Nd determinations on the other rock-types. These age determinations make it difficult to establish a geochronological and genetic relationship between the Planalto da Serra rocks and the Cretaceous bodies of the “Azimuth 125° Lineament”, and it suggests there is a relationship between its emplacement and the beginning of the extensional tectonics responsible for the separation of the Amazonian and Laurentia Cratons. This age also indicates that the onset of the deformation of the Cuiaba Group may be older than 600 Ma.