SHRIMP zircon U–Pb and biotite and hornblende Ar–Ar geochronology of Sungun, Haftcheshmeh, Kighal, and Niaz porphyry Cu–Mo systems: evidence for an early Miocene porphyry-style mineralization in northwest Iran

Abstract

The Cenozoic Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic belt (UDMB) extends for over 2,000 km from northwest to southeast Iran and is characterized by dominantly calc-alkaline volcanic, pyroclastic, and intrusive rocks. The UDMB hosts numerous porphyry-type Cu ± Mo deposits, mostly distributed in two separate areas, one known as the Kerman copper belt (KCB) in the south, and the other, here referred to as the Arasbaran Metallogenic Zone (AMZ), in the north, of the UDMB. The two areas are represented by two world-class Cu–Mo deposits, Sarcheshmeh (1,200 Mt of ore at 0.69 % Cu and 300 ppm Mo) and Sungun (>500 Mt of ore at 0.69 % Cu and ~250 ppm Mo), respectively. Chronology data were obtained for the Sungun, Haftcheshmeh, Kighal, and Niaz deposits in the AMZ. The Sungun deposit is associated with a suite of porphyritic granodiorite to monzodiorite stocks and late dykes intruding older andesitic lavas and limestones. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb data indicate that the host andesites were emplaced at 27.65 ± 0.51 Ma (±0.2σ). The main Sungun porphyritic intrusion crystallized at 20.69 ± 0.37 (±0.2σ) Ma. The Haftcheshmeh deposit is associated with a porphyritic granodiorite body intruding an older gabbro-diorite intrusion. Primary magmatic hornblende from the gabbro-diorite host rock yielded a 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 27.47 ± 0.17 Ma. The main porphyritic intrusion crystallized at 19.46 ± 0.39 Ma. The Kighal porphyry system is associated with a porphyritic monzonite body intruding into older andesitic and dacitic lavas, and the Niaz porphyry system is associated with a porphyritic granodiorite stock cutting through an older monzodiorite intrusion. For the Kighal and Niaz, secondary biotite concentrates collected from potassic alteration zones in the parent porphyritic bodies yielded plateau ages of 20.1 ± 1.8 and 22.14 ± 0.13 Ma, respectively. The timing of the porphyritic intrusions and the associated mineralizations in the AMZ is considerably older than that in KCB in southern UDMB (14–7 Ma). There is evidence that the AMZ formed on a separate arc related to the southern lesser Caucasus subduction zone. The arc extends from northwest Iran to Armenia and Azerbaijan to the north. Similar deposits of the same age have been discovered in Armenia, exemplified by Kajaran and Dastakert.