Volcano tectonic setting of the Salares Norte Au–Ag epithermal belt, central Andes of northern Chile
Clavero, J., Pérez-Flores, P., Rojas, F., Huete-Verdugo, D., Droguett, B., Ramírez, V.
Abstract
Defines the Salares Norte Belt, a Miocene–Pliocene Au–Ag metallogenic belt about 200 km long, distinct from the Maricunga Belt. Its high-sulfidation epithermal systems are spatially and temporally associated with maar fields controlled by NW- and NE-trending structures.
Based on geological and volcanological mapping (1:50,000 to 1:10,000), new U-Pb ages and structural fault analysis, the study divides the belt into three segments (Laguna de la Azufrera–Aguas Calientes, Salar de Gorbea–Plato de Sopa and the Salares Norte district).
At least four phreatomagmatic volcanic events are recognised (≈14–15, 12–13, 8–9 and 5–6 Ma), synchronous with hydrothermal alteration events. In the Salares Norte district alone, more than 20 maar-diatreme structures were identified, with craters 500 to 1,500 m across.
