Old K–Ar Mineral Ages from the Grenville Province, Ontario

Abstract

Hornblende-rich concentrates from quartz–feldspar gneisses of the Grenville Province near Brent Ontario, have yielded K–Ar apparent ages of 1570 to 1480 ± 80 m.y., while coexisting biotite- and feldspar-rich separates give 'normal' Grenville K–Ar ages near 900 ± 40 m.y. Comparison with the nearest Rb–Sr isochron dates suggests that the indicated hornblende K–Ar age represents a minimum age for time of crystallization of the gneisses in the Brent area and that the younger ages for minerals with lower blocking temperatures indicate a later thermal event in the metamorphic history of the Grenville Province.