ReOs and UPb geochronology of the El Arco porphyry

copper deposit, Baja California Mexico: Implications for the

Jurassic tectonic setting
V.A. Valencia
a,
*
, F. Barra
a,b
, B. Weber
c
, J. Ruiz
a
, G. Gehrels
a
, J. Chesley
a
,
M. Lopez-Martinez
c
a
Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, 85721, United States
b
Instituto GEA, Universidad de Concepcion, Chile
c
Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Investigacion Cientica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada,
Km 107 Carr. Tijuana - Ensenada. Ensenada, B.C. 22800, Mexico
Received 1 July 2004; accepted 1 February 2006
Abstract
New geochronologic data from the El Arco porphyry copper deposit, Baja California, Mexico, yield a Middle Jurassic crystallization
UPb age of 164.7 6.5 Ma for zircons from a granodiorite porphyry that hosts the CuAu(Mo) mineralization, and four ReOs
molybdenite ages yield a weighted average age of 164.1 0.4 Ma. These ages disagree with previous KAr age determinations that sug-
gest a correlation of the intrusive rocks of El ArcoCalmalli area with the eastern Peninsular Ranges batholith of Cretaceous age.
Instead, the volcanicplutonic rocks of the El ArcoCalmalli area are more properly associated with the San AndresCedros volca-
nicplutonic complex (166 Ma). El ArcoCalmalli block likely was part of the intraoceanic arc system described in the VizcainoCed-
ros region and accreted to the continent during the Cretaceous (98110 Ma). The presence of a continental Jurassic magmatic arc in the
mainland and the occurrence of El ArcoCalmalli (San AndresCedros) volcanicplutonic complex indicate two Jurassic magmatic arcs
at this latitude (continental and oceanic).
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: UPb; ReOs; El Arco; Baja California; Jurassic magmatism; Porphyry copper deposits
1. Introduction
During the Mesozoic, multiple orogenies aected the
western area of the North American continent, resulting
in a complex mountain belt (Umhoefer, 2003). As a conse-
quence of one of these orogenies, the Laramide, a series of
porphyry copper deposits were emplaced in southwest
North America, making this region one of the most impor-
tant porphyry copper provinces in the world (Fig. 1a) with
more than 50 known deposits (Titley and Anthony, 1989).
Although most of these deposits are Laramide in age
(i.e., 5070 Ma), older porphyry copper mineralization
from Early to Late Jurassic has been recognized in Nevada
(165 Ma, Yerington district Dilles and Wright, 1988) and
Arizona (175200 Ma, Bisbee and Courtland-Gleeson
areas, Lang et al., 2001). These deposits are associated with
a continental Jurassic magmatic arc (Tosdal et al., 1989).
Early Cretaceous porphyry copper mineralization has also
been described in Baja California (El Arco deposit, Bart-
helmy, 1975; Echavarri-Perez and Rangin, 1978; Coolb-
augh et al., 1995) and Michoacan (La Verde-Inguaran
deposit Coochey and Eckman, 1978; Sawkins, 1979;
Damon et al., 1981; Solano-Rico, 1995). El Arco and La
Verde have been interpreted as associated with the Creta-
ceous coastal batholith (locally known in Baja California
as the Peninsular Range batholith) or the accretion of the
Guerrero Terrane (Campa and Coney, 1983). The Bisbee
0895-9811/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2006.08.005
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 520 621 2365; fax: +1 520 621 2672.
E-mail address: victorv@geo.arizona.edu (V.A. Valencia).
www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames
Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951
and El Arco deposits have copper and important gold con-
tents, whereas the La Verde-Inguaran deposit has tungsten
as a byproduct (Coochey and Eckman, 1978; Osoria et al.,
1991).
El Arco porphyry CuAu deposit is of particular inter-
est because of its tectonic formation environment (oceanic
island arc) and its unique hydrothermal and magmatic
characteristics compared with other classic porphyry cop-
per deposits of mainland Mexico and the US southwest.
Furthermore, dierent age determinations of El Arco rocks
have been used in studies and interpretations of the Meso-
zoic tectonic evolution of northwest Mexico and Baja Cal-
ifornia (i.e., Gastil et al., 1975, 1981; Rangin, 1978b; Gastil
and Miller, 1984; Radelli, 1989; Gastil and Girty, 1993;
Schmidt et al., 2002; Wetmore et al., 2003). However, the
age of El Arco porphyry copper deposit is poorly con-
strained, with KAr dates ranging from 93 to 138 Ma.
Recently, Lopez-Martinez et al. (2002) reported a
40
Ar
39
Ar isochron age of 137 1.4 Ma on single pyrite
grains. Prior to the ReOs and UPb results reported
herein, this
40
Ar
39
Ar age has been taken as the most
probable age of formation of El Arco porphyry copper
deposit.
We present new geochronological data from two robust
isotopic methods, ReOs in molybdenite and UPb in zir-
cons, to elucidate the mineralization and crystallization
ages of El Arco porphyry copper deposit.
2. Geological background
2.1. Regional geology
The Pacic margin of Baja California is part of the large
mosaic of accreted tectonostratigraphic terranes that make
up much of the North America Cordillera and Circum-Pa-
cic Rim. Westward growth of the North American Craton
occurred as fragments of ocean basins, volcanic arcs, and
subduction complexes were accreted onto the Pacic
margin of North America (Bonini, 1994). The geology of
the Baja California peninsula is characterized by three
main geological units (Fig. 1a). The rst unit is the preba-
tholitic basement that includes Franciscan Formation
Fig. 1. (a) Geographic overview of northwestern Mexico, showing the location of El Arco porphyry copper deposit (big star). Circles represent the
locations of other porphyry copper deposits from mainland Mexico and southern Arizona (after Damon et al., 1983; Titley and Anthony, 1989). Dashed
lines indicate boundaries between the following terranes: (1) Seri, (2) Yuma, and (3) Cochimi (Sedlock et al., 1993). Small stars CI = Cedros Island,
IN = Inguaran. (b) Simplied geological map of central Baja California modied after Martin-Barajas and Delgado-Argote (1996) showing pre-Cenozoic
rocks and El Arco location.
40 V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951
equivalents of the VizcainoCedros region, a Mesozoic vol-
canic and volcaniclastic belt (Choyal and Alisitos forma-
tions), a TriassicJurassic shale-sandstone belt, and a
Paleozoic metasedimentary belt. The second unit is the
Mesozoic Peninsular Range batholith, and the third
includes sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Tertiary age
that overlie the prebatholitic and batholitic units (Gastil
et al., 1975).
El ArcoCalmalli area is located in central Baja Califor-
nia, approximately 40 km east of the city of Guerrero
Negro (Fig. 1b). El Arco porphyry deposit is located tec-
tonostratigraphically in the Alisitos terrane of Campa
and Coney (1983) or the Santa Ana terrane of Coney
and Campa (1987) and the Yuma terrane of Sedlock
et al. (1993). This terrane with dierent names is character-
ized by a Lower Cretaceous volcanosedimentary sequence
that crops out discontinuously from Punta Chinos to El
ArcoCalmalli, with a length of 500 km and width of
50 km on average (Almazan-Vazquez, 1988). The Vizcaino
(Campa and Coney, 1983) or Cochimi (Sedlock et al.,
1993) terrane is located west of El ArcoCalmalli area
and comprises oceanic island arc rocks, ophiolites, melange
and blueschist of TriassicJurassic age, and JurassicCreta-
ceous forearc basin sediments (Rangin, 1978a; Campa and
Coney, 1983; Sedlock et al., 1993; Kimbrough et al., 2001).
The boundary between these terranes is not exposed, but a
gravimetric anomaly in the area has been interpreted by
Sedlock et al. (1993) as the possible boundary (Fig. 1b).
El ArcoCalmalli area has a prebatholitic basement
(Gastil et al., 1975) composed of antigorite-bearing ser-
pentinite with blocks of olivinepyroxene peridotite, pyrox-
enite, and amphibolite, overlain tectonically by hornblende
diorites, gabbros, and possibly pillow lavas (Radelli, 1989)
that are strongly deformed (Fig. 2a). These units are over-
lain by foliated metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks
that include metavolcanic agglomerates, metagraywackes,
thin-bedded lenticular marble, meta-andesitic ows, and
breccias (Barthelmy, 1975; Farias-Garc a, 1978). The upper
part of the sequence is composed of massive volcanic rocks
aected by greenschist facies metamorphism and hosts the
granodioritic porphyry intrusions responsible for the Cu
Au mineralization at El Arco (Farias-Garc a, 1978). On
the basis of KAr cooling ages of 10793 Ma for these
intrusions (Barthelmy, 1975; Farias-Garc a, 1978) and gen-
eral stratigraphic similarities, the metavolcanic and metase-
dimentary rocks have been correlated with the Cretaceous
Alisitos Formation (Barthelmy, 1975, 1979; Rangin, 1978a;
Echavarri-Perez and Rangin, 1978; Farias-Garc a, 1978;
Coolbaugh et al., 1995).
2.2. Deposit geology
The CuAu(Mo) mineralization at El Arco qualies as
a large porphyry deposit (Mutschler et al., 1999), with
reserves of 600 million tons at a grade of 0.60% Cu and
0.2 g/ton Au (Coolbaugh et al., 1995). The porphyry
copper deposit is hosted in hornblende andesite ows that
are intruded by a porphyry described as a granodiorite
(Coolbaugh et al., 1995) or monzodiorite (Echavarri-Perez
and Rangin, 1978). This stock is directly related to the Cu
Au mineralization. According to eld geology and petro-
graphic studies, mineralization seems to be the product of
a single intrusive event (Echavarri-Perez and Rangin,
1978). Barren diabase dikes cut the andesites and granodi-
orite porphyry units. All rocks have been aected by later
greenschist facies regional metamorphism, characterized
by chloriteepidotecalcitequartz (Gastil et al., 1975).
Local amphibolite facies metamorphism is also present
(Echavarri-Perez and Rangin, 1978).
Detailed geological and petrographic descriptions from
El ArcoCalmalli area have been reported by Barthelmy
(1975, 1979), Farias-Garc a (1978), and Echavarri-Perez
and Rangin (1978). These studies indicate that El Arco dif-
fers signicantly from other porphyry copper deposits in
mainland Mexico and the southwestern United States.
These dierences include the tectonic formation setting
(island arc), the nature of the intrusion, and the lack of
quartzsericite (phyllic) hydrothermal alteration. All these
characteristics suggest that El Arco corresponds to a dio-
rite-type porphyry model (Barthelmy, 1979) rather than a
classic type (Lowell and Guilbert, 1970; Titley and Beane,
1981; McMillan and Panteleyev, 1988).
Hydrothermal alteration patterns show that a propylit-
ic assemblage is more intensely developed in the andesitic
rocks at the periphery of the deposit. This alteration is
characterized by epidote, chlorite, and calcite with minor
sphene, rutile, and apatite occurring in veinlets or as selec-
tive replacements of primary minerals (Echavarri-Perez
and Rangin, 1978; Coolbaugh et al., 1995). The potassic
assemblage (K-feldspar, biotite, quartz, and anhydrite) is
centered at the core of the stock and observed as veinlets
and K-feldpar replacing the groundmass (Fig. 2b). Sodic
calcic alteration is also present in the stock and at the
contact with the andesite. This alteration is represented
by oligoclase veins (An 26) associated with quartz, epi-
dote, calcite, and sphene (Echavarri-Perez and Rangin,
1978). This type of alteration (sodiccalcic) has also been
recognized in Yerington, Nevada (Jurassic porphyry Cu
deposit) and interpreted to result from the ow of brines
heated by the stock and therefore exchanging alkalis with
the wallrocks to produce a strong sodium and calcium
metasomatism (Dilles et al., 2000). Sericitic and argillic
alteration are absent in El Arco (Echavarri-Perez and
Rangin, 1978). Hydrothermal alteration decreases with
distance from the intrusion until it is indistinguishable
from the regional metamorphism.
Copper mineralization is present in veins and as dissem-
inations of chalcopyrite with subordinate bornitemolyb-
denitenative gold; it is restricted to the inner zone of
potassic alteration, where magnetite is widespread. In the
potassic core, the chalcopyrite:pyrite ratio is 1:1.4, but in
the outer propylitic zone, where pyrite dominates over
chalcopyrite, it reaches a ratio of 1:14 with 9 wt% pyrite
(Echavarri-Perez and Rangin, 1978).
V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951 41
2.3. Analytical procedures
2.3.1. UPb systematics
A hornblendebiotite-bearing granodiorite porphyry
sample was collected from an old shaft entrance of El Arco
mine for UPb zircon analysis. The sample location is
shown in Fig. 2b. Approximately 15 kg of rock were
crushed and milled. Heavy mineral concentrates were sep-
arated from the sieve fraction smaller than 350 lm. Zircons
were concentrated using di-iodomethane heavy liquid and
magnetic techniques. Inclusion-free zircons were hand-
picked under a binocular microscope from the nonmagnet-
ic fraction. Approximately 50 zircons were mounted in
epoxy and polished for UPb analysis.
The single zircons crystals were analyzed with a Micro-
mass Isoprobe multicollector ICP-MS equipped with nine
Faraday collectors, an axial Daly detector, and four ion-
counting channels (Dickinson and Gehrels, 2003; Valencia
et al., 2005). The Isoprobe was linked with an ArF Excimer
laser with an emission wavelength of 193 nm, used for laser
ablation. The analyses were conducted on 50 lm diameter
spots with an output energy of approximately 32 mJ and a
repetition rate of 9 Hz. Each analysis consisted of one 30-s
integration on the backgrounds (mass peaks with no laser
Fig. 2. (a) Simplied geologic map of El ArcoCalmalli area, modied from Barthelmy (1975) and Echavarri-Perez and Rangin (1978). (b) Hydrothermal
alteration map from El Arco porphyry copper deposit with sample locations. Modied from Barthelmy (1975), Echavarri-Perez and Rangin (1978), and
Coolbaugh et al. (1995).
42 V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951
ring) and twenty 1-s integrations on peaks with laser r-
ing. The depth of each ablation pit is approximately
15 lm. Total measurement time was 90 s per analysis.
The collector conguration allows for the simultaneous
measurement of
204
Pb in an ion-counting channel while
206
Pb,
207
Pb,
208
Pb,
232
Th, and
238
U are measured with Far-
aday detectors. All analyses were conducted in static mode.
Interelement fractionation was monitored by analyzing
fragments of SL-1, a large concordant zircon crystal from
Sri Lanka (SL-1) with a known (ID-TIMS) age of
564 4 Ma (2r) (Gehrels, unpublished data). The reported
ages for zircon grains are based on
206
Pb/
238
U ratios
because errors in the
207
Pb/
235
U and
206
Pb/
207
Pb ratios
are signicantly greater, primarily because of the low inten-
sity (commonly <1 mV) of the
207
Pb signal from these
young, low-U grains. The
206
Pb/
238
U ratios are corrected
for common Pb according to measured
206
Pb/
204
Pb, a com-
mon Pb composition (Stacey and Kramers, 1975), and
uncertainties of 1.0 on the common
206
Pb/
204
Pb and 0.3
for
207
Pb/
204
Pb.
The weighted mean of 21 individual analyses was calcu-
lated according to Ludwig (2003). The mean age consid-
ered only the measurement or random errors (errors in
206
Pb/
238
U and
206
Pb/
204
Pb of each unknown). For this
sample the random error is 4.4 Ma (2r) and represents
2.7%. Age of standard, calibration correction from stan-
dard, composition of common Pb, and decay constant
uncertainty also contributed to the error in the nal age
determination. These uncertainties are grouped and known
as systematic error. For this sample, the systematic error is
approximately 2.9%. The error of the age for the sample is
calculated by adding the two components (random or mea-
surement and systematic error) quadratically; for this sam-
ple, it is 3.97% (6.5 Ma). All age uncertainties are reported
at the 2r level.
2.3.2. ReOs systematics
For ReOs analyses, four molybdenite samples were
selected from dierent areas and mineral assemblages of
the deposit (Fig. 2b). Molybdenite from EAD-131 and
EAD-277 samples were separated from 20 mm
quartz + molybdenite + chalcopyrite + pyrite veins. The
EAD-131 sample is located in the intrusive and EAD-277
in the andesites; molybdenite from the EAD-279 sample
was collected from a 4 mm quartz + molybdenite vein in
the intrusive and molybdenite from sample EAD-275 was
separated from a 1 cm quartz + molybdenite vein. About
2550 mg of ne-grained molybdenite was loaded in a
Carius tube and dissolved with 8 ml of reverse aqua regia.
While the reagents, sample, and spikes were frozen, the
Carius tube was sealed and left to melt at room tempera-
ture. The tube was placed in an oven and heated to
240 C overnight. The solution was processed in a two-
stage distillation process for osmium separation (Nagler
and Frei, 1997). Osmium was further puried using micro-
distillation techniques (Birck et al., 1997) and loaded on
platinum laments with Ba(OH)
2
to enhance ionization.
After osmium separation, the remaining acid solution
was dried and dissolved in 0.1 HNO
3
. Rhenium was
extracted and puried through a two-stage column using
AG1-X8 (100200 mesh) resin and loaded on platinum l-
aments with BaSO
4
.
Samples were analyzed by negative thermal ion mass
spectrometry (N-TIMS) (Creaser et al., 1991) on a VG 54
mass spectrometer. Molybdenite ages are calculated using
a
187
Re decay constant of 1.666 10
11
year
1
(Smoliar
et al., 1996). Uncertainties are calculated using error prop-
agation, considering the error in the decay constant
(0.31%), errors in spike calibrations (0.08% for
185
Re and
0.15%
190
Os), and analytical and weighting errors (Barra
et al., 2003; Valencia et al., 2005).
3. Results
3.1. ReOs ages
Four analyses from four dierent molybdenite samples
are reported in Table 2. Sample locations are shown in
Fig. 2b. Total Re and
187
Os concentrations vary from 67
to 497 ppm and 115 to 858 ppb, respectively. All four
ReOs ages are consistent and overlap within error. The
ages range from 163.8 to 164.6 Ma and have a weighted
average age of 164.1 0.4 Ma (Fig. 3). This age is inter-
preted as the time of molybdenite crystallization and hence
measures the age of the formation of the porphyry copper
deposit at El Arco.
3.2. UPb ages
Twenty-one zircons from a single granodiorite porphyry
sample were analyzed (Table 1). Zircons were studied opti-
cally under a petrographic microscope and with SEM in
back-scattered electron mode and cathodoluminescence.
The zircons from El Arco are euhedral with prominent,
sharp, pyramidal terminations, clear, and transparent.
They display no detectable optical zoning, which is typical
of igneous morphologies (Pupin, 1980). In addition, the U/
Th ratio of <3 indicates a magmatic origin (Rubatto,
2002). The sample yields a
206
Pb/
238
U weighted mean age
of 164.7 6.5 Ma (n = 21 zircons, MSWD = 0.45, 2r;
Fig. 4a), interpreted as the age of igneous crystallization
of El Arco stock. No inherited components are recognized
in the sample (Fig. 4b).
4. Discussion
4.1. Age of mineralization
Fig. 5 summarizes our new age and previous geochro-
nology for El Arco. Previous geochronological studies of
El ArcoCalmalli reported AptianAlbian ages
(93.4127 Ma) on the basis of KAr determinations on
K-feldspar and whole rock of the intrusive bodies (Bart-
helmy, 1975; Farias-Garc a, 1978). More recent studies
V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951 43
Table 1
LA-MC-ICPMS UPb zircon data
Sample Concentration Isotopic ratio Apparent ages (1r)
U
(ppm)
Th
(ppm)
U/Th U
206
Pbm/
204
Pbc
207
Pb/
235
U
%
206
Pb/
238
U
% Error corr
206
Pb/
237
U
%
206
Pb/
238
U
Ma
207
Pb/
235
U
Ma
206
Pb/
207
U
Ma
1 101 49 2.0 225 0.155 60.43 0.0264 8.28 0.14 23.48 59.86 168.3 14.1 146.5 91.1 NA NA
2 260 151 1.7 956 0.182 23.52 0.0247 4.46 0.19 18.77 23.09 157.5 7.1 169.4 42.5 340 261
3 260 148 1.8 868 0.227 27.89 0.0269 3.29 0.12 16.39 27.69 171.4 5.7 207.4 62.2 639 298
4 93 18 5.2 329 0.276 41.2 0.0254 5.89 0.14 12.69 40.78 161.7 9.6 247.5 109.4 1167 404
5 72 29 2.5 301 0.232 53.57 0.0271 8.97 0.17 16.11 52.82 172.6 15.7 212.0 119 676 565
6 112 37 3.0 464 0.163 45.47 0.0254 5.25 0.12 21.48 45.17 162.1 8.6 153.7 72.8 26 542
7 114 74 1.5 425 0.138 52.32 0.0248 7.18 0.14 24.87 51.83 158.3 11.5 131.1 70.7 NA NA
8 85 31 2.7 385 0.168 47.47 0.0254 6.67 0.14 20.89 47.00 162.2 11.0 157.8 78.0 92 557
9 103 47 2.2 424 0.204 35.63 0.0244 5.19 0.15 16.49 35.25 155.6 8.2 188.8 71.4 627 380
10 128 70 1.8 553 0.176 38.68 0.0247 6.95 0.18 19.38 38.05 157.5 11.1 164.6 66.9 267 436
11 288 189 1.5 1281 0.208 20.45 0.0264 3.66 0.18 17.88 20.12 168.3 6.2 188.5 41.5 449 224
12 174 88 2 547 0.228 36.14 0.0297 6.78 0.19 18.02 35.49 189.2 13.0 208.4 80.3 431 395
13 99 43 2.3 362 0.165 56.84 0.0259 8.52 0.15 21.67 56.2 165.4 14.3 155.4 91.2 NA NA
14 147 61 2.4 581 0.139 48.74 0.0263 7.05 0.14 26.13 48.23 167.3 11.9 131.9 66.4 NA NA
15 141 76 1.9 567 0.117 46.38 0.0249 8.07 0.17 29.55 45.67 159.1 13.0 112.0 53.5 NA NA
16 181 105 1.7 699 0.140 34.45 0.0255 7.08 0.21 25.19 33.71 162.9 11.7 133.1 47.9 NA NA
17 143 77 1.8 668 0.178 35.86 0.0258 10.45 0.29 20.006 34.30 164.5 17.4 166.5 62.9 194 399
18 90 41 2.2 464 0.152 50.95 0.0258 10.47 0.21 23.466 49.86 164.2 17.4 143.3 75.5 NA NA
19 159 82 1.9 607 0.182 33.13 0.0258 10.89 0.33 19.526 31.29 164.3 18.1 170.0 59.5 250 360
20 295 225 1.3 801 0.158 32.58 0.0260 9.45 0.29 22.682 31.18 165.4 15.8 149.0 51.0 NA NA
21 481 786 0.6 1077 0.157 24.59 0.0260 9.55 0.39 22.830 22.66 165.7 16.0 148.3 38.5 NA NA
Notes: U concentration and U/Th are calibrated by comparison with NBS SRM 610 and have uncertainty of approximately 25%. Isotope ratios are corrected for Pb/U fractionation by comparison with
standard zircon with an age of 564 4 Ma (2r). Initial Pb composition interpreted from Stacey and Kramers (1975), with uncertainty of 1.0 for
206
Pb/
204
Pb, 0.3 for
207
Pb/
204
Pb, and 2.0 for
208
Pb/
204
Pb.
Decay constants:
235
U = 9.8485 10
10
,
238
U = 1.55125 10
10
,
238
U/
235
U = 137.88. Discordance is calculated from comparison of
206
Pb/
238
U and
206
Pb/
207
Pb ages. UTM sample coordinates:
3103,028N, 12R264,528E.
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9

5
1
using
40
Ar
39
Ar systematics on pyrite suggest an older age
of 138 2.5 Ma, interpreted as the time when tiny, K-bear-
ing inclusions were trapped by pyrite crystals (Lopez-Mar-
tinez et al., 2002). These authors also report a whole-rock
40
Ar
39
Ar age of 95.2 0.8 Ma from a low-grade meta-
morphosed, unmineralized diabase dike cross-cutting El
Arco porphyry intrusive stock. This age was interpreted
as the time of cooling after regional metamorphism
(Fig. 5).
The new ReOs and UPb data presented herein pro-
vide strong evidence that a Middle Jurassic (Callovian)
magmatic event is responsible for the porphyry intrusion
and copper mineralization at El Arco. Furthermore, the
consistency of the ReOs ages from four dierent samples
suggests that molybdenite mineralization occurred during a
short period of time (<1 m.y.). The previously reported
Albian KAr and ArAr ages (Barthelmy, 1975; Farias-
Garc a, 1978; Lopez-Martinez et al., 2002) do not reect
ages of primary crystallization or mineralization at El
Arco. The KAr ages probably reect the inuence of later
metamorphic overprinting that may have caused Ar loss
and/or partial resetting of the KAr system, possibly asso-
ciated with the accretion of the oceanic arc terrane to the
North American continent.
The new ReOs and UPb ages for El Arco porphyry
copper properly reassigns this deposit to the Middle Juras-
sic period, not to the Cretaceous as previously thought
(Fig. 5). The new age determination for El Arco has strong
metallogenetic implications because no Jurassic age por-
phyry, epithermal, or replacement-type deposits have been
previously reported in Mexico (Barton, 1996). These nd-
ings provide new insights for porphyry copper exploration
in the region.
4.2. AlisitosEl Arco correlations
The marine sedimentary sequences (nely bedded mar-
ine shale and limestones), volcanic, and volcaniclastic rocks
from El ArcoCalmalli area were previously correlated
with the Alisitos Formation on the basis of the erroneous
Cretaceous age and arc-related rock types (Barthelmy,
1975). The Alisitos Formation has an Albian age, as
assigned by mollusk fossils (Allison, 1974) and volcanic
and plutonic UPb ages (Carrasco et al., 1995; Johnson
et al., 1999; Wetmore et al., 2005). The new UPb age
for El Arco granodiorite does not support a correlation
between the intruded rocks from El ArcoCalmalli and
the Alisitos Formation. However, the geochronological
data and similar stratigraphies suggest the rocks from El
ArcoCalmalli could be associated with the San Andres
Cedros volcanoplutonic complex (Rangin, 1978a). This
complex is a MiddleLate Jurassic arc with granitoids that
intrude Jurassic volcanic and volcaniclastic strata, which in
turn overlies pillow lavas and sedimentary rocks that cover
a Triassic ophiolite sequence of Franciscan-like rocks
(Rangin et al., 1981; Kimbrough and Moore, 2003).
More specically, the Punta Norte arc plutonic complex
located in the northern part of Cedros Island (Figs. 1b and
6) intruded the Choyal Formation volcanic arc assemblage
(Kimbrough and Moore, 2003). The stocks range in com-
position from hornblendepyroxene diorite to granodiorite
(Kilmer, 1984). Intrusive bodies have intense hydrothermal
alteration (albitic, potassic, and propylitic), in addition to
local disseminated copper and gold mineralization (Kilmer,
1984). The hydrothermal alteration and mineralization
style are similar to those described at El Arco. Further-
more, geochronological data from granodiorites at Punta
Norte yield
206
U/
238
Pb ages that range from 163.0 to
167.5 Ma (Kimbrough and Moore, 2003), in agreement
with the new ages determined from El Arco porphyry cop-
per deposit. However, stratigraphic and provenance studies
are required to establish a coherent correlation among El
ArcoCalmalli area, Punta Norte at Cedros Island, and
the San Andres region (Fig. 6).
162.8
163.2
163.6
164.0
164.4
164.8
165.2
165.6
R
e
-
O
s

a
g
e

(
M
a
)
Fig. 3. Weighted mean average of four ReOs molybdenite ages. Data
collected from four vein samples. Bars show two sigma uncertainties.
Table 2
ReOs ages from molybdenite
Sample Total Re
187
Re (ppm)
187
Os (ppb) ReOs age
a
(2r)
EAD-277 (262.5 m) qtz + mo + cpy py vein 497.1 312.5 858.2 164.6 0.8
EAD-131 (175.8 m) qtz + mo + py + cpy vein 430.7 270.7 739.1 163.8 0.8
EAD-275 qtz + mo vein 67.0 42.1 115.3 164.2 0.8
EAD-279 (481.2 m) qtz + mo vein 277.5 174.5 477.4 164.0 0.8
Weighted mean average 164.1 0.4
a
Uncertainties in age (2r) are calculated using error propagation and include error in the Re decay constant (0.31%),
185
Re and
190
Os spike calibration
(0.08% and 0.15%, respectively), weighting and analytical errors. UTM coordinates: EAD-277 (3102,639N, 12R264,944E); EAD-131 (3103,306N,
12R264,917E); EAD-275 (3103,069N, 12R264,167E); EAD-279 (3102,683N, 12R264,650E).
V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951 45
4.3. Evidence of Jurassic magmatism
Postdating the Permo-Triassic Sonoma Orogeny, an ear-
ly Mesozoic, west-facing Andean-type arc developed along
the western margin of North America (Dilles and Wright,
1988). This Jurassic magmatic arc, which extended from
California to Sonora (Anderson and Silver, 1978; Tosdal
et al., 1989), was the result of the subduction of the Kula
plate under the North America plate (Brass et al., 1983).
In Mexico, this arc has been identied as a NWSEorient-
ed belt (Fig. 1) extending from NW-central Sonora state
(Rangin, 1978b) to Zacatecas state (Jones et al., 1990,
1995). This Jurassic arc is manifested by volcanic and vol-
canoclastic rocks of andesitic to rhyolitic composition,
metamorphosed to greenschist facies, and with occasional
biotite granite porphyry intrusions (Perez-Segura and
Echavarri, 1981; Nourse, 2001). Intrusive ages range from
165 to 175 Ma (Anderson and Silver, 1978; Stewart, 1988;
Anderson et al., 2005). In addition, several intrusives of
EarlyMiddle Jurassic age with UPb ages of 163
200 Ma have been reported in the Bisbee and Courtland-
Gleeson porphyry copper districts in Arizona on the north-
ern extension of the belt. This evidence suggests that at
least part of the arc remained static relative to its associated
trench during the EarlyMiddle Jurassic (Lang et al., 2001)
and later shifted to the Pacic coast during the Late Juras-
sic (Coney and Reynolds, 1977; Damon et al., 1983). This
belt represents a continental arc.
I-, S-, and transitional IS-type gneissic granites of Mid-
dle Jurassic age (161170 Ma,
206
Pb/
238
U age in zircons)
0.0 0.2 0.4
2
0
6













2
3
8
Pb/ U
207 235
Fig. 4.
206
Pb/
238
U age of granodiorite porphyry. Weight average mean and Concordia diagram showing the absence of inherited components and
interpreted crystallization age.
46 V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951
have been recognized in San Diego, southern California
(Todd and Shaw, 1985; Shaw et al., 2003). The zircons have
an inherited Precambrian component (Gastil and Girty,
1993). North of El Arco, an orthogneiss unit in the Sierra
San Pedro Martir yielded an UPb age of 164.4 1.2 Ma
with a Precambrian inherited component (Schmidt, 2000).
In addition, the Agua Caliente tourmaline-bearing biotite
tonalite in the same region has an age of 164 2.3 Ma. Sim-
ilar JurassicCretaceous magmatism, deformation struc-
tures, and metamorphic geobarometry have been described
in both areas (Schmidt and Paterson, 2002; Shaw et al.,
2003). Furthermore, Jurassic magmatic island arc activity
has been recognized in Punta Norte in Cedros Island
(166 Ma). In addition to the island arc assemblages and
our geochronological data, this activity indicates the pres-
ence of two magmatic arcs (the oceanic CedrosEl Arco
and a continental arc fromNevada, USA, to Nazas, Mexico)
that acted at the same time during the Middle Jurassic
(Fig. 7). However, the positionof the oceanic arc withrespect
to the North American continent remains unknown (Busby
Fig. 6. Generalized stratigraphic sections from Punta Norte at Cedros Island, San Andres volcano-plutonic complex, and El ArcoCalmalli region.
Modied after Barthelmy (1975) and Kimbrough and Moore (2003).
Fig. 5. Diagram showing geochronological ages from El Arco porphyry copper deposit. Solid diamonds are KAr ages from biotite and whole rock; solid
squares are ArAr ages from pyrite (older) and whole rock (younger) (Lopez-Martinez et al., 2002); solid triangles are ReOs ages from molybdenite; and
solid circle is UPb in zircons. Error bars are 2rLight gray shade represents mineralization duration. Abbreviations: qtz, quartz; mo, molybdenite; py,
pyrite; cpy, chalcopyrite; K-Feld, potassic feldspar; W.R., whole rock. Superscript indicates source: (1) Barthelmy (1975); (2) Farias-Garcia (1978); (3)
Lopez-Martinez et al. (2002).
V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951 47
et al., 1998; Schmidt et al., 2002). This continental-oceanic
arc model has been proposed for the early Cretaceous for
the Baja California Peninsula but not for the Middle Jurassic
(Johnson et al., 1999; Wetmore et al., 2003).
These ages, together with El Arco ages, indicate the
presence of a Jurassic intrusive belt extending along and
outboard the continental border of North America (Shaw
et al., 2003). However, despite the similar Jurassic age,
the absence of inherited zircon components (xenocrysts)
in El Arco granodiorite porphyry (n = 21 zircons) and
granitoids of Punta Norte in Isla Cedros area reect the
apparent lack of continental-derived material in the base-
ment. This claim agrees with isotopic data reported by
Weber and Lopez-Martinez (2002), which provides initial
epsilon Nd values of >5, initial
87
Sr/
86
Sr ratios of <0.704
in whole rock, and lead isotopes in feldspar that come from
a source with an average e value of 9.4. Thus, the magmas
of El Arco porphyry and host rocks apparently evolved
from a moderately depleted mantle source reservoir with-
out signicant inuence by the continental crust. These iso-
topic data suggest that El Arco deposit was formed in an
outboard island arc terrane (Fig. 7). All these data support
the tectonic model of an intraoceanic arc-ophiolite system
during the EarlyMiddle Jurassic in Baja California (Busby
et al., 1998; Schmidt et al., 2002).
4.4. Terrane limit between El ArcoGuerrero Negro
transect?
El ArcoCalmalli area represents a Middle Jurassic
oceanic arc sequence whose basement comprises ophiolit-
ic rocks of Middle Jurassic age or older. These rocks
have been interpreted as the roots of the mid-Cretaceous
Alisitos Formation, using the KAr mid-Cretaceous ages
to assign possible correlations. Because the granodiorite
at El Arco is Middle Jurassic in age, this interpretation
can be discarded; the interpretation we support instead
is that the island arc sequences in the El ArcoCalmalli
area are an extension of the MiddleLate Jurassic volca-
nicplutonic (San AndresCedros arc) and Late Triassic
ophiolites of the Vizcaino Peninsula and adjacent Cedros
Island (Fig. 6).
However, a tectonostratigraphic boundary between
the Alisitos and Vizcaino terranes or Cochimi and
Yuma terranes (Sedlock et al., 1993) has been recog-
nized along the transect between El Arco and the Guer-
rero Negro area (Fig. 1b). The criteria used by Campa
and Coney (1983) to determine tectonostratigraphic lim-
its are abrupt changes in age and/or lithologies; they
interpret these boundaries between terranes as faults or
suspected faults. These authors highlight two main dif-
ferences between the Alisitos and the Vizcaino terranes:
age (AptianAlbian versus TriassicJurassic) and strati-
graphic sequences (partially continental anities versus
oceanic anities). However, the boundary between the
two terranes is not exposed, and its existence has been
inferred on the basis of reset KAr ages and an inter-
pretation of gravity anomalies. We question the exis-
tence of a tectonostratigraphic limit, because the age
and stratigraphic anities of El ArcoCalmalli are sim-
ilar to those at Cedros Island and Vizcaino Peninsula
(Fig. 6).
Unknown
distance
Mid-Late Cretaceous
Middle Jurassic
El Arco porphyry
copper deposit
El Arco porphyry
copper deposit
Western oceanic crust
Transitional crust (Suture zone)
Eastern continental crust
Active magmatism
Extinct magmatism
Oceanic crust
Collision of exotic island arc
a
b
?
Fig. 7. Schematic cross-section of proposed tectonic framework during the Middle JurassicLate Cretaceous. Modied after Schmidt et al. (2002).
48 V.A. Valencia et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 22 (2006) 3951
5. Conclusions
The granodiorite porphyry from El Arco porphyry
copper deposit has a Middle Jurassic crystallization age
(UPb) of 164.7 6.5 Ma for the intrusive body, and
quartzmolybdenite veinlets yield a mineralization age
(ReOs) of 164.1 0.4 Ma.
El ArcoCalmalli area is more properly associated with
the San AndresCedros oceanic volcanicplutonic complex
(166 Ma) instead of the Cretaceous Alisitos Formation.
This association indicates an alloctonous, distinct origin
(oceanic terrane) with respect to the Cretaceous Alisitos
terrane, which was accreted to nuclear Mexico during the
Cretaceous (98110 Ma). Therefore, the proposed terrane
limit between the CochimiYuma or VizcainoAlisitos
terranes in the transect between Vizcaino and El Arco is
not required.
The presence of a continental Jurassic magmatic arc in
mainland North America (Tosdal et al., 1989), in addition
to El ArcoCalmalli and San AndresCedros volcanicplu-
tonic complexes, suggest the presence of two independent
arcs during the middle Jurassic evolving at the same time
one continental and one oceanic with an unknown dis-
tance between arcs.
Acknowledgements
This work is the result of NSF grants EAR-9725833,
EAR-9708361, EAR-9814891, and EAR-0125773 to
Joaquin Ruiz; CICESE internal project 644111 to Bodo
Weber; and Terrones Student Research grant of the Society
of Economic Geologists to Victor A. Valencia. Valencia
was also supported by a 87199 CONACyT scholarship.
The analytical work was undertaken at the University of
Arizona in the W.C. Keck Laboratory. Special thanks to
Alex Pullen and Mark Baker for their technical support.
We are most grateful to Grupo Mexico for allowing access
to the mine. This work has beneted from the comments of
Paul Wetmore, Oscar Talavera, and Journal reviewers John
Dilles and Virginia Gillerman.
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