SHRIMP U–Pb geochronology from Mount Kirkby, northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica

Abstract

Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon dating of pegmatites from Mount Kirkby, northern Prince Charles Mountains, east Antarctica indicates felsic intrusive activity at 991 ± 22 Ma and 910 ± 18 Ma. Pegmatite emplacement occurred during prolonged high-grade early Neoproterozoic tectonism. These ages correlate well with previously published U–Pb zircon ages obtained from felsic intrusive bodies elsewhere within the northern Prince Charles Mountains. Early Palaeozoic activity at Mount Kirkby is restricted to the emplacement of minor planar pegmatites at 517 ± 12 Ma, which provide a maximum age for local development of discrete extensional mylonites. No conclusive evidence of tectonic or metamorphic events at c. 800 Ma and c. 500 Ma, which have been recently postulated for the region, can be identified from the presently available U–Pb zircon data.