EconomicG•ololy

Vol. 61, 1966, pp. 1205-1213

STUDIES IN THE PROVIDENCIA AREA, MEXICO, II,

K-AR AND RB-SR 'AGES OF INTRUSIVE ROCKS
AND HYDROTHERMAL MINERALS

H. OHMOTO, S. R. HART, AND H. D. HOLLAND

ABSTRACT

In the Providencia-Concepcion del Oro district, Mexico, hydrothermal

Pb-Zn sulfideand iron oxide ores occurin Upper Jurassicand Cretaceous
limestonenear early Tertiary granodioritestocks. Three types of sam-
ples were studied by K-Ar and Rb-Sr methodsin order to determine the
relationship between the granodiorite stocks and the hydrothermal ore
minerals: I) four biotite samples and a whole rock sample of grano-
diorite, II) three muscovitesamplesintergrownwith sulfideore from the
Providencia Mine, and III) three albite-adulariamixtures from late hy-
drothermalveins in the Concepciondel Oro area. The K-Ar age of the
biotite from the granodioritestocksis 40.0 m.y.; of the muscoviteasso-
ciatedwith sulfideore 34.5 m.y.; and of the adulariafrom the late hydro-
thermal veins 38.0 m.y., all with an analytical uncertainty of less than
2 m.y. The Rb-Sr studyshowedthat, with the exceptionof one slightly
older biotite age of 44.0 m.y., all the sampleslie on a single isochron
with an age of 41.0 m.y., calculatedwith a rubidium decay constant of
1.39 X 10-n yr-•. We therefore concludethat the time interval between
the emplacementof the granodioritestocksand the hydrothermalminer-
alization was no more than some 3 m.y., most probablybetween 1 and
3 m.y.
The initial value of the isotopiccompositionof Sr in the granodiorite
stocks,in muscoviteassociatedwith sulfide ore and in late albite-adularia
mixtures was shown to be identical within the limits of error of the
measurements:Srs*/Sr 86-- 0.705_+0.001. The close temporal associa-
and the identicalinitial isotopiccompositionof strontiumbetweengrano-
diorite and ore suggeststhat there is a genetic associationbetween
intrusiverocksand hydrothermalmineralsin the Providencia-Concepcion
del Oro area.

INTRODUCTION

A GREAT many metallicore depositsare closelyassociated spatiallywith

intrusives,andthe questionof the geneticrelationship
betweensuchore bodies
and intrusiveshas beena durableone in the history of economicgeology.
Unequivocalproof of a geneticrelationshipbetweenores and intrusivesis
difficultto establish;but the hypothesisthat a geneticrelationshipexists
betweena given ore bodyand an associated intrusiveis subjectto testing,
becauseit impliesa closecorrespondence betweenthe isotopiccomposition of
such elementsas strontium, lead, and sulfur of the ores and of the associated
intrusivesas well as a geologicallyshort time interval betweenintrusion and
ore deposition. If an ore bodyand an associated intrusivedo not fulfill these
criteria,then it is mostunlikelythat they are geneticallyrelated. However,
fulfillmentof thesecriteriadoesnot necessarily establisha geneticconnection
1205
1206 OHMOTO,HART, AND HOLLAND

between
thetwo. Ore deposition
canalmostinvariably
be shownon purely
geologicgroundsto have followedintrusion,but the time interval between
intrusionand ore depositioncan usuallynot be established with sufficient
accuracyon the basisof geologicevidencealoneto permit or to rule out the
hypothesisof a geneticassociationbetweenthe two.
In the courseof geologic
and geochemical work on the ore depositsat
Providenciain north-centralMexico, hydrothermalmuscovitewas discov-
eredintimatelyintergrown with sulfideore. Sawkins(8, 9) in his study
of thetemperatureof formationof thesedeposits
showedthat the temperature
patternduringore deposition couldbe interpretedmost readily if a time
intervalof roughly106yearselapsedbetweenthe emplacement of the Provi-
denciastockandthe endof sulfidemineralization.The implicationof a close
association in time between ore and associated intrusive seemed well worth
checking,
especially
as somegeologists
(N. Snively,personal
communication)
haveexpressedthe opinionthat the ore depositsare'relatednot to the Provi-
denciaStockbut to the muchlater rhyolites.
In near-by Concepcion deI Oro, Buseck (1) has recentlystudiedthe
relationship
betweenthe stockand the contactmetasomatic iron and copper-
iron deposits.A K-Ar date by Hart (Buseck,1) on biotite from the
Concepcion del Oro stockand an age measurement on late stageadularia
from the Promontoriopit indicatedthat the adulariawas of the sameage
as the biotite within the limits of analyticalerror. The closeassociationof
the Providenciaand Concepcion del Oro depositssuggested that theseages
shouldbe confirmedby additionalmeasurements to establishwith certainty
the relationshipbetweeneventsat Providenciaand at Concepciondel Oro,
andthe timeintervalbetweenintrusionandore deposition in bothcamps.

GEOLOGIC SETTING

The Providenciaand Concepcion del Oro campsare locatedin the Sierra

Madre Oriental on the southwestern borderof a belt of NW-SE trending
folds. Both are a part of the Sierra de La Caja, an antidine containing
ca. 3,700m of Upper Jurassicto Upper Cretaceous limestones, limy shales,
and shalesthat have been intrudedby the Providenciaand Concepcion del
Oro stocks (Fig. 1). The two stocksare probablycontinuousat depth.
The generalgeologyof the areahasbeendescribed by Rogerset al. (6), and
the ore depositshave beenstudiedmostrecentlyby Sawkins (8, 9), Buseck
(1), andRye (7). In bothcampsthe ore deposits are nearlyall locatednear
the contact between the stock and the sediments. Around the Concepcion
del Oro stock the ore consistslargely of magnetite,hematite,pyrite, and
chalcopyrite,whereasin the Providenciadepositsiron oxidesare absent,and
the predominantsulfidesare sphalerite,galena, and pyrite. The ores at
Concepciondel Oro are intimately associatedwith skarn, and were deposited
at temperatures
in excessof 350ø C, mostprobablybetween350ø and 500ø C
(1). At Providenciathe massivesulfideores were probablydepositedbe-
tween350ø and 400ø C. The later, vuggy,parts of the Providenciadeposits
were formedbetween350ø and 190ø C (8, 9, 7).
 STUDIES IN THE PROVIDENCIA AREA, MEXICO 1207

The monzonitic-granodioritic stockswere probablyemplacedduring or

shortlyafter the foldingof the sediments. The rocksare rather variablein
mineralogical composition,but in generalplagioclase
(Anao_•0)predominates
and is accompanied by variableamountsof orthoclase,quartz, biotite, dino-

N ø
+++xl
4. .+ 4- 4'- 4'- 4'- 4-

i Solo
P•rovidencio
++ + + +

4-5

-.* LEGEND

J:• Rhyolite
Mozopil congl.

• [ +1--•Gronodiorit, 9, .4. 4- Concepcion

:•, del Oro

Indidura fm.
4- 4- 4-

4- 4- 4-

La Pe•a fm. +

+ + 4-
Taraisesand Cupidof•.
+

+ +
Zuloogo •ms.
+
• •ajor ore deposits
•+ + + + , ..
• •ault
+ + + '...:.**
•-7x Sample
Iocolities -- 24'

I Km

Fro. 1. Geologicmap of the Providencia-Concepcion

del Oro area modified
after Rogers et al. (6), Sawkins (8), and Buseck (1). Numbers indicate
locationof dated samples.

pyroxene,and oxides. Pyrite occursas disseminated

grainsand stringers
throughoutmuch of the igneousmass.
The Mazapilconglomerate,whichis correlated
with late Eoceneto early
Oligocene sediments
(6), andthe post-Mazapil
rhyoliteflowsunconformably
overliethefoldedsediments.Todaya numberof the hillsin the Providencia
area are cappedby remnantsof a rhyoliteflow or flows.
1208 OHMOTO, HART, AND HOLLAND

SAM PLES

Threetypesof samples weredated:(I) biotiteandwholerocksamples of

the granodiorite;(II) muscoviteintergrownwith sulfide ores in the
Providencia Mine; and (III) albite-adulariamixturesfromlatehydrothermal
veinsin the Concepcion del Oro area. Samplelocalitiesare shownin Figure
-1,anddetaileddescriptions of the samplesare givenin the appendix.
The muscovite fromsamples 4 and5 (seeappendix)wasveryfine-grained,
and specialprecautions weretakenduringsamplepreparation to avoidargon
leakageandcontamination.The powderymixturesof muscovite, calcite,and
sulfideswere first carefullyseparatedby hand. The muscovite-rich fraction
was placedin distilledwater, and the material that floated (fine-grainedsul-
fides, etc.) was skimmedoff. A further purificationof muscovitewas
achievedby meansof panningin alcohol. Sample5 and fraction (a) of
sample4 werepreparedin thismanner. Fraction (b) of sample4 is a portion
of fraction (a) treated with dilute nitric acid for two hours at room tem-
peratures.
ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES

The analyticalprocedures in generalare similarto thosedescribedby

Hart (3), and Steiger(10).
Argon.-•0.5 to 2 gr sampleswerefusedin a sodiumhydroxideflux in an
evacuatedsystem. The gasesemitted during fusion were mixed with Ar 38
spike, purified, and measuredby a 6-inch Nier type mass spectrometer.
Standard Bern 4M muscovitewas used for comparisonpurposes. The ana-
lytical uncertaintyin the radiogenicAr 4øcontentis lessthan 3 percent.
Potassium, Rubidium, and Strontium.--The potassium, rubidium, and
strontiumcontentof the sampleswere determinedby isotopedilution tech-
niquesusingK4•-Rbs7and Sr86-SrS•enrichedspikes. The isotopiccomposi-
tion of the potassiumand rubidium was measuredon a single filament
9-inch Nier type mass spectrometer. Repeatedanalysisof several samples
and the standardsampleindicatethat the analyticaluncertaintyfor potassium
is less than 3 percentand for rubidium less than 2 percentof the amount
present.
The isotopiccompositionof the strontium was determinedon a single
filament6-inch Nier type massspectrometer.The Sr88/Sr*6,Sr**/Sr *•, and
Srs•/Srsoratioswere measured10 to 20 times,were correctedfor fractiona-
tion effects,and were normalizedto Srs*/Sr•6 -- 8.375. The standarderror of
the massspectroscopic measurements of the isotopicratios are less than
0.3 percent,and the total uncertaintyin the Sr8*/Sr86ratio is within 1 to 2
partsin 700. The uncertaintyin the strontiumcontentis lessthan 2 percent
of the amount present.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION

The resultsof the potassium-argon measurements on samplesfrom the

Providencia-Concepciondel Oro are shownin Table 1, andthoseon the stand-
ard Bern muscovitein Table 2. The agreementbetweenthe three biotiteages
 STUDIES IN THE PROVIDENCI•I AREA, MEXICO 1209

I-a, 2-a, and3 is satisfactory.The ageof biotite1-b is somewhatuncertain.

During the periodin whichthis sampleand samples 4-a and 6-b were ana-
lyzedthemassspectrometer hadregistered275 ratherthanthenormal298 for
the ratio Ar4ø/Araøin atmospheric argon. No reasonable explanationfor
this behaviorhasbeenfound; thus,the data for thesethree sampleshavebeen
calculatedin two alternativefashions. In the first, the observedpeculiarityof
the systemhasbeenignored,and the quantityof radiogenicargonhas been
calculatedby subtracting298 Ar aøfrom the total measuredargon. In the
second,the quantityof radiogenicargon has beencalculatedby subtracting
275 Ar aøfrom the total measuredargon. We believethat the secondmethod
is the more correctof the two, as the agreementbetweenthe age for samples
1-a and 1-b and betweenthe calculatedand acceptedvalue for the age of the

Table 1. K-A and Rb-Sr •ta on 8u•le8 ffro• the Providencia-Co•cepcion del Oro district, Mexico

K Ah0e Ah0e Ab0e K/l•b l•b Ziormal

Sr87 l•b
87 K-AAge(n.y.)
Scruple
Ho. mner• (•. •) (lO*See
•/g) • • (,ton)(p•) Sr S•
.l-a bi•tte •.63 .910 .796 .•37 2• k• ............. bO.2* 2.0

1-b bi•t• 7.• { 1.lb

z.o3 .•zo .•z•
.hSh .•35 •3 530 3s.•:•.o
63.5 .717 2•.3 •0.0 (z)
3.0 (2)

• I 2-a bi•tte 7.• 1.107 .713 .00230303 509 19.0 .752 75.6 39.2a 2.0
• 2-b whole
•ck 2.h3 ............... 575 92.h7•3 .705 .35 .....
•3 bt•tte 6.08 .•3 .•60 .•39 26h 503 ............. hO.h * 2.0

•ß •-a •te 5.71 • .785

.773 .8h9 .8• .•198
.o02• 2• h•3 28.3.730h5.33•.5
33.8 a
* 2.0 (1)
2.0 (2)

• z• •-b n•o• 7.z• ............... 3o• s• 7.•o.•o • .....

5 •eovite 6.7• ............... 318 •6• 20.• .7•2 65.9 .....

• 6-a •bite 2.73 ........ ß ß..... •8 162 hh.2 .710 10.• .....

II] 6-b albite

+•ia 2.h9 .3hO
.375 .h20
.•71 .00201
.0•20 379 lb3 ............ 3h.3
37.5 ** 3.0 (1)
3.0 (2)

• •7 •a 13.57 2.10 .910 .00227533 556 7.92 .•1 205 38.5* 2.0
i

Bern muscoviteis much more satisfactoryif this methodof computationis

used. The most probableK-Ar age of the biotitesfrom the Providencia-
Concepcion del Oro stockis therefore40.0 m.y., the mostprobableK-Ar age
of the adulariafrom the Promontoriopit is 38.0 m.y. and the mostprobable
K-Ar ageof muscovite from the Salavernaore bodyis 34.5 m.y., all with an
analyticaluncertaintyof lessthan 2 m.y.
The analyticaland isotopicdata for rubidium and strontium are sum-
marizedin Table 1 andplottedon an isochrondiagramin Figure 2.
With the exceptionof the biotitesample2-a, the data all lie on a single
isochronwith an age of 41.0 m.y. An isochronthroughonly the intrusive
samples(l-b, 2-a, 2-b) wouldgive an age of about44 m.y. The difference
betweentheseages lies within the limits of uncertaintyof the individual
1210 OHMOTO, HART, AND HOLLAND
TABLE 2

K-A•t DXTX ON BEP, N 4M S?•DX•D MUSCOVITE

Analyst K(wt. %) Ar•( X10-e cc STP/g) K-At age (m.y.)

Steiger (10) 8.635 :!: 0.259 6.18 :!: 0.12 17.9 :!: 0.7
Ohmot o 8.67 6.00 17.4
5.75 16.7(1)
6.11 17.7 (2)
Hart m 6.33 --

Ar •ø*: radiogenic component.

Constants used: XK•ø-- -- 5.30 X 10-•øyr-•, XeK•ø= 0.585 X 10-Xøyr-•, K•ø/K'-0.000119,
RbS7/Rb•-- 0.386, Sr normalized to Sr•/Sr as-- 8.375.
q-q-: samplespreviously dated by Hart and reported by Buseck (1).
(1):
(2) alternate
method
ofcalculating
K-Arage;
forexplanation
seetext.
measurements.The Rb-Sr data are thus in goodagreementwith the K-Ar
agesof the biotiteand adularia,and suggesta time intervalbetweenintrusion
of the granodioriteand formationof the muscoviteand the adulariaof no
morethan some3 m.y. (If a rubidiumdecayconstantof 1.47 x 10-n yr-• is
usedinsteadof 1.39 x 10-n yr-•, the ageof the isochronin Figure 2 wouldbe
38.5 m.y. insteadof 41.0 m.y.)
These resultssupportthe geologicevidencebearingon the age of the
intrusivesand of the ore deposits. The Laramide orogenyin this part of
Mexicoprobablystartedin latestCretaceous and continuedinto Eocenetime.
.84C
[ I [ I ] I [ I ] I I I ] I [ I [ I I I [

.820

.800 •2x.'5.•
Sr8•/Sr
86

•,• , gronodiorite
.mples
.740 Initial • %•
•,• 5 , muscovite
rampies
from
.705•.001 g•/ Providencia
(4 - 5]
/
.720 • /.• • odulorio
•mplesfrom
•' I-b Con•pcion
del
Oro
(6-•)
,7000
-b, 20I , 40I , • I , 80I , 100
4 , 120
[ [ 140
I • 160
I [ 180
I • 2•I 22C

87/ 86
Rb/Sr

Fro. 2. Strontium isochrondia•am for intrusive rocks (1-3), hydrotherm•

ores (•5), and late stagevein miner,s (•?) from the Providencia-Concepcion
del Oro area.
 STUDIES IN THt• PROI,"IDI•NCI.d .dRiP.d,Mt•XICO 1211

Toward the end of the orogenythe area was invadedby granodioriteand

diorite stocks. The Mazapil conglomerate, which is definitelypost-orogenic,
has beencorrelatedtentativelywith the late Eoceneto early Oligocenecon-
glomeratesat Guanajuato(6). As the boundarybetweenthe Eoceneand
Oligoceneis 40 4-2 m.y. accordingto Holmes'time scale (4), an age of
41 to 44 m.y. for the Providencia-Concepcion del Oro stockplacesits time
of intrusionin the Upper Eocene,in agreementwith the geologicinterpreta-
tion. An interpretationof the age data in termsof the recrystallization of
mucholderstocksand ore mineralsby a post-orogenic deformationor a mild
metamorphism ca. 41 m.y. ago, or an interpretationin termsof the recrystalli-
zationof slightlyolder intrusivesduringthe periodof hydrothermalminerali-
zationis possible. However, the petrologyof the granodioritestocksand of
the adjacentcountryrocksgivesno indicationof sucha recrystallization.
The smalltime gapindicatedby the Rb-Sr and K-Ar agedatabetweenthe
intrusionof the stockand the periodof ore depositionis in satisfactoryagree-
mentwith the conclusions reachedby Sawkins(9) and Buseck(1) basedon
the evidencefrom a study of fluid inclusionsin ore and ganguemineralsat
Providenciaand at Concepciondel Oro. Thus, it seemsprobablethat the
hydrothermalmineralizationtook place between1 and 3 m.y. after the em-
placementof the granodioritestocks. The slightlysmallerK-At age of the
hydrothermalmuscovitesampleis probably due to argon leakagefrom the
very small crystals. We believethat the 16 m.y. age obtainedby Mauger
and Damon (5) is probablydue to the samecause. The similarityin miner-
alogy,chemistry,andthermalhistoryof the Animasand Salavernaore bodies
virtually rules out the possibilityof a significantdifferencein age between
the two ore bodies.
Together with approximatesimultaneity,the identicalinitial Sr isotopic
ratios (within better than 1 part in 700) of the granodioritestocks,the
muscovite associated with sulfideore, and the adulariain the late hydrothermal
veins lends supportto the hypothesisof a geneticassociationof the grano-
diorite and the ore mineralization. The initial value of the Srs7/Srs6 ratio,
0.705, in all of our samplesis rather lower than that of mostmagmaticrocks
of crustalorigin, and is similarto the ratio proposedby Faure (2) for upper
mantlerocks. A mantleorigin for the granodioriteand for the ore-forming
fluids would be compatiblewith the evidencefrom the isotopiccomposition
of sulfur,carbon,hydrogen,and oxygenin the ore formingfluids (8, 9, 7)
but is not, of course,a proof of mantle origin.

APPENDIX

SAMPLES ANALYZED

(I) Biotite [rom Granodiorite

SampleNo. 1: (61-Hu-386); Locality: Terminaladit, ProvidenciaMine.
The granodioriteis fine-grained(ca. 1 mm) and consistsof plagioclase(43%),
quartz (22%), orthoclase(14%), biotite (13%), clinopyroxene(4%), pyrite
(1.5%) and minor amountsof chlorite,hornblende, apatite,zircon,and sphene,
totalling2.5%. The plagioclase is stronglyzoned,andhasan averagecomposition
near Arias. Polysynthetictwinning predominatesover albite and Carlsbadtwin-
1212 OHMOTO, HART, AND HOLLAND

ning, and alterationto chlorite is common. The orthoclaseis perthitic and fairly
altered. The biotite is light brown to brown in color, and is unaltered.
Fraction (a) of this sampleis a biotite concentratebetween120 and 250 mesh,
separatedon the Frantz isodynamicseparator. Fraction (b) was further con-
centratedby the tappingmethod.
SampleNo. 2: (65-H-118); Locality: road cut 6.4 miles from the center of
Concepcion del Oro on the way to Salaverna.
The granodioritehere is coarse-grained (ca 2.5 mm) and porphyritic. It con-
sists of plagioclase(57%), quartz (12%), orthoclase(13%), biotite (10%),
clinopyroxene(6%), hornblende(0.3%), magnetite,ilmeniteand pyrite (0.5%),
and chlorite, apatite, zircon, and sphene (0.7%). The plagioclaseis largely
unaltered,polysyntheticallytwinned, and strongly zoned. Its average composition
is near An40. The biotite is fresh and light to dark brown in color.
Fraction (a) is a 65-120 meshbiotite concentrate. Fraction (b) is a whole
rock sample.
SampleNo. 3: Is includedhere for purposesof comparison. It is the biotite
concentratefrom granodioriteof the Promontorio area dated earlier by one of us
(S. R. H.) and reportedby Buseck (1).

( H) MuscoviteIntergrownwith SulfideOre
Small quantitiesof fine-grained,white to purple 3T muscovitewere discovered
by Sawkins (8) in the Animas and Salavernaore bodiesat Providencia. It was
foundto occuras a very late mineral in vugs and as an alterationproductof the
clay minerals in unreplacedshale bandswithin the ore. Muscovitefrom such a
shaleband on the 21 level of the Animas ore body was kindly dated by the K-Ar
method by Mauger and Damon who have reported an age of 16 m.y. for their
sample (5). The muscovitesamplesdated in this study were found on the 12
level of the Salaverna ore body.
Sample No. 4: (65-H-63); Fine-grainedmuscovite(<0.1 mm diameter)
formedlargely at the expenseof thin (1-7 mm) shaly bandsin limestonereplaced
by galena, sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyriteand hydrothermal calcite (calcite-I).
Fraction (a) consistsof fine-grained muscovite concentratedby means of
flotationand hand picking. Minor calcite and sulfidecontaminantswere observed
in the X-ray diffraction chart of the samplefraction.
Fraction (b) is a portion of fraction (a) purified by an acid treatment. No
peaks other than those of muscovitewere found in the diffraction chart of this
sample fraction.
SampleNo. 5: (65-1-1-65);This samplecamefrom the samestopeas sample4.
The muscovite-calciteintergrowth was interstitial to sulfide grains rather than
located within a shale band. The X-ray diffraction chart indicated minor con-
tamination of the muscovitesamplewith calcite and sulfides.

(HI) Albite-adularia
Mixturesfroma Late HydrothermalVein
At the Promontorio Mine in the Concepciondel Oro camp albite and adularia
crystalshave beenfound to occurin vugs and along fractureson quartz crystals.
These are apparentlyamong the latest hydrothermalminerals and post-datethe
period of ore depositionin this area (1).
SampleNo. 6: (65-H-116); Whitish, euhedral,2-5 mm crystalsof albite and
yellowishadularia crystalsof similar size were found togetherwith quartz in what
was apparentlyone side of a fissurein stronglyalteredgranodiorite. The fissure
mineralswere freed by hand from the granodiorite,and the feldsparcrystalswere
handpickedundera binocularmicroscope. The concentratewas then crushedand
sieved to 30-100 mesh size.
Fraction (a) was found on X-raying to contain ca. 80% albite, ca. 10%
adularia, and ca. 10% quartz.
 STUDIES IN THE PROVIDENCIA AREA, MEXICO 1213

Fraction (b) was found to containca. 86% albite, ca. 8% adularia,and ca.
6% quartz.
SampleNo. 7: Is includedherefor purposes
of comparison.It is the adularia
from the Promontoriopit analyzedby one of us (S. R.H.) and reportedby
Buseck(1).

The materialsfor this study were collectedby two of us (H. O. and

H. D. H.) duringthe Spring of 1965. This was possibleonly throughthe
generousassistance of MetalurgicaMexicanaPetioles,especiallyin the person
Sr. M. Camacho,geologistof the Avalos Unit.
The measurements were doneduringthe summerof 1965by Ohmotoand
Hart at the Departmentof Terrestrial Magnetismof the CarnegieInstitution
of Washington. We are greatly indebtedto Dr. L. T. Aldrich for his
constantencouragement and general supervisionof the research. Thanks
are also due to Drs. R. It. Steiger, M. Yamaguchi,and T. Krogh of the
Carnegie Institution for their great assistanceand useful advice on the
experiments.
Drs. L. T. Aldrich, P. R. Buseck,R. O. Rye, and F. J Sawkinskindly
read this manuscript.
Financial supportfor this work was suppliedin part by Contract No.
AT(30-1)-2266 betweenPrincetonUniversity and the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission.

D•,eT. oF G•,o•,oG¾,
PRINCETONUNIVERSITY,
P•INC•,TON,N•-W J•,RS•-¾,
(H•,R•) D•,e•. oF T•,RR•,S•RIA•,
MAGN•,•IS•,
CARNEGIEINSTITUTIONOFWASHINGTON•
August 9, 1966
REFERENCES

1. Buseck, P. R., 1966, Contact metasomatism and ore deposition: Concepcion del Oro,
Mexico: Ecoa. GEo•.., v. 61, p. 97-136.
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isotopic abundances of strontium, calcium, and argon and related topics: NYO-10, 517
Eleventh Annual Progress Report for 1963, Dept. of Geol. and Geophys, M.I.T.,
p. 125-126.
3. Hart, S. R., 1964, The petrology and isotopic-mineral age relations of a contact zone in
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4. Holmes, A., 1965, Principles of Physical Geology: The Ronald Press Co., New York,
p. 360.
5. Mauger, R. L. and Damon, P. E., 1965, Discussion, lead-zinc ore deposition in the light of
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p. 102.
7. Rye, R. O., 1965, The carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen isotopic composition of the hydro-
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Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University.
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