Petrography and geochronology of the Furquim Quartzite, an eastern extension of the Itacolomi Group (Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais)

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 Quadrilátero Ferrífero (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 p...