40 Ar- 39 Ar age data for andesitic magmatism and hydrothermal activity in the Timok Massif, eastern Serbia: implications for metallogenetic relationships in the Bor copper-gold subprovince

Abstract

The first laser-induced 40Ar-39Ar incremental-heating mineral age data for the Timok Massif of the Banatitic Magmatic and Metallogenetic Belt (BMMB) demonstrate that the main mineralization stage at the giant Majdanpek Cu–Au(–Mo) porphyry deposit took place at 83.6–84.0±0.6 Ma (2σ), coinciding with the later, 83±1–89.0±0.6 Ma, stages of the first cycle of andesitic volcanism. The earliest-Campanian age for hydrothermal activity precludes an association with the later history of the BMMB, and discounts the metallogenetic role of “Laramide” plutonism for the dated deposits.