Petrography and geochemistry of the Arroyo de la Virgen and Isla Mala plutons, southern Uruguay: Early proterozoic tectonic implications

Abstract

The Arroyo de la Virgen pluton (AVP) and the Isla Mala pluton (IMP) are relatively small zoned intrusions of Early Proterozoic age. Radiometric age determinations suggest that the IMP is a composite pluton. The composition of the AVP ranges from granodiorite to leucogranite, whereas that of the IMP ranges from hornblendite to leucogranite. Both intrusions feature hornblende (with relict clinopyroxene cores) and biotite as mafic minerals. Muscovite and garnet are present in the most evolved members of each suite. Development of secondary chlorite, epidote, and sericite is common. Quartz typically has undulose extinction. The plutons are massive except near the margins of the intrusion. Both intrusions feature a calc-alkaline chemistry, have peraluminous indices of approximately 1.0, and were emplaced at relatively high levels in the crust. Application of several tectonic discriminant diagrams suggests that the IMP formed in an active continental-margin type of tectonic environment, whereas the AVP is a subalkaline, post-orogenic pluton. The ages of the IMP leucogranite and the AVP are similar (2290 and 2225 Ma, respectively). The age of the IMP leucogranite represents the minimum reliable age of the principal metamorphic event in southern Uruguay. A number of small dikes were emplaced into both intrusions approximately 300 million years later and represent a distinct phase of intrusive activity in the region.