A plate tectonic hypothesis for the genesis of porphyry copper deposits of the southern Basin and Range Province

Abstract

The ages and distribution of porphyry copper deposits of the southern Basin and Range Province suggest an origin influenced by a mantle hot spot as this part of the North American plate moved N35–40°W at 3.57 ± 0.65 cm/yr during the interval of the Laramide Orogeny 72 to 52 my ago. This motion coupled with that of the hot spot interpretation of the Corner Seamounts region of the North Atlantic during the same time interval suggests that the North American plate rotated clockwise at an average rate of 0.35 degrees per million years. The apparent pole of rotation is located near 50°N latitude and 64°W longitude in the region of Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The apparent diameter of the hot spot is 450 km. Northwesterly motion and clockwise rotation of the North American plate are compatible with existing concepts of plate tectonics, paleomagnetism, and paleoclimatology. The development of early Tertiary blankets of supergene enrichment and their partial destruction during the late Tertiary can be explained by a change from a warm and wet climate during the early Tertiary to a cooler and drier climate during the late Tertiary as this part of the North American plate moved northwesterly from a more tropical climate into a more temperate and arid zone. Orographic rain shadows produced by middle and late Tertiary mountain building in southern California were undoubtedly influencial in enhancing late Tertiary aridity.