Cráton do São Franscisco, kimberlitos e diamantes

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

The São Francisco Craton is a large stable area in the eastern portion of South America. Its basement comprises Archean terrains that were reworked and amalgamated during Paleoproterozoic tectonic events and later on affected marginally by the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano orogeny, during the amalgamation of West Gondwana. In this work the geological evolution of the São Francisco Craton is analyzed in a larger geotectonic scenario, referring to a continental paleo-plate, the limits of which are defined by gravimetric data, related to diachronic extension regimes that lead to Rodinia breakup in the early Neoproterozoic. In this context, individualization of the São Francisco Craton took place in the interior of the paleo-plate during the Brasiliano orogeny, when inversion due to collision and basin closing led to the formation of marginal orogenic belts, the evolution of which determined the limits of the São Francisco foreland. Integration of geophysical, geochronologic and geologic data of Archean terrains in the northern and southern portions of the craton allowed outlining Archean cores that were preserved from Paleo- and Neoproterozoic reworking. Electron microprobe data on minerals from kimberlites intruded into the Archean cores show chemical compositions corresponding to temperature-pressure intervals typical of the diamond stability field. Recovery of micro- and macro-diamonds corroborate the evidence. A large majority of hundreds of kimberlites and related rocks known in the São Francisco Craton were found in its southern portion, in western Minas Gerais and adjacent smaller areas in Goiás and São Paulo. Concentrated mainly in the Coromandel, Romaria and Três Ranchos areas, the intrusions are between 75 Ma and 120 Ma and are associated with the development of the Alto Paranaíba structural high. Coinciding elongated magnetic and positive gravimetric anomalies, as well as morpho-structural data suggest another extensional system in the region, striking southwest- northeast, nearly perpendicular to the Alto Paranaíba system. Discrete intrusions, kimberlite minerals and diamonds occur along this structure. Unique diamond populations from known primary sources or from sources believed to be close to diamond deposits indicate that mantle conditions in the Alto Paranaíba region varied over relatively short distances. For example, small cubic diamonds, which are typical of mantle environment close to the limit of the graphite-diamond stability fields found in Romaria and Três Ranchos, disappear completely in Coromandel, a few tenths of kilometers to the east, where a completely distinct population of large dodecahedral diamonds prevails. Southwards, the Canastra 01 kimberlite sampled an apparently different mantle region, where octahedral diamond is the dominant form. It appears that the lithosphere in the southern portion of the São Francisco Craton was reworked by collisions or closing of basins along what is now the Brasília Belt during the Neoproterozoic, and afterwards, during development of the Alto Paranaíba high, when the lithosphere was significantly thinned, as shown by analytical data from Early and Late Cretaceous intrusions. In the northern portion of the São Francisco Craton kimberlite intrusions occur in the Archean Serrinha and Gavião blocks. In contrast with the southern portion of the craton, kimberlites predominate over related rocks, and their ages are Proterozoic instead of Cretaceous. Kimberlites of the Braúna province in the central part of the Serrinha block sampled a thick lithosphere, the base of which presented favorable diamond preservation conditions at the time of intrusion. Minerals recovered from kimberlites intruded into the border zones of the block indicate lithosphere thinning, supposedly caused by reworking during Proterozoic orogenies. Exposure of kimberlites in the Gavião block, also in the northern portion of the craton, is dependent on the erosion of stratigraphic units younger than ca. 1152 Ma or at least of the rocks of the Morro do Chapéu Formation, which is the top unit of the Chapada Diamantina Group. Aside from the 5 ha kimberlite pipe outcrop and small dikes, other intrusions were identified in the area using aeromagnetic survey and drilling that intercepted the intrusions at depths of 159 and 246 m.

ASSUNTO(S)

placacontinental litosfera geofísica prospecção geologia diamante arqueano kimberlito cráton

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