Abstract
This paper presents the results of a petrographic and geochronological investigation of the Furquim Quartzite (FQ) to establish its stratigraphic correlation to quartzitic units of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero (QF) province. The Quartzite comprises a ca. 20km long and 1-6km wide ridge overlying discordantly the Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneissic basement and rocks of the Archean Rio das Velhas Supergroup between the city Mariana and the town Furquim, southeast of the QF. Despite the discordant contacts, previous field-based stratigraphic studies considered the Furquim Quartzite as part of the Archean Maquine Group – top unit of the Rio das Velhas Supergroup. U-Pb zircon geochronology via LA-ICP-MS identified several detrital populations ranging from Paleoproterozoic to Archean age. The youngest population of 2087±19 Ma defines the maximum age for the sedimentation of the precursor sandstone. This age can be correlated to be the age of the youngest zircon population of the Itacolomi Group quartzites in the QF. Thus, in contrast to previous studies, the results indicate that the FQ is an eastern extension of the Itacolomi Group, the youngest unit of the Paleoproterozoic Minas Supergroup.
Highlights
The Furquim Quartzite is exposed along a ca. 20 km long and 1 to 6 km wide ridge some 10 to 20 km southeast of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Fig. 1a)
This paper presents the results of the petrographic and geochronological investigation of the Furquim Quartzite in order to enable the discussion of its stratigraphic correlation to quartzite units of the wellknown Maquiné, Moeda and Itacolomi quartzites in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero
The youngest Paleoproterozoic population dated at 2087±19 Ma defines the maximum age of deposition of the precursor sandstones of the Furquim Quartzite
Summary
The Furquim Quartzite is exposed along a ca. 20 km long and 1 to 6 km wide ridge some 10 to 20 km southeast of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Fig. 1a). 20 km long and 1 to 6 km wide ridge some 10 to 20 km southeast of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Fig. 1a). Baltazar et al (1993) correlated this quartzite unit to the Maquiné Group of the Archean Rio das Velhas Supergroup. The postulated correlation with the Rio das Velhas quartzite is not corroborated by the mode of occurrence, since in a great part of the area, the quartzite ridge overlies discordantly the Rio das Velhas schists and the Santa Bárbara gneisses, suggesting an allochtonous origin. This paper presents the results of the petrographic and geochronological investigation of the Furquim Quartzite in order to enable the discussion of its stratigraphic correlation to quartzite units of the wellknown Maquiné, Moeda and Itacolomi quartzites in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero
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