Neoproterozoic ultramafic and mafic magmatism in the Eastern Cordillera of the Central Peruvian Andes: the Tapo massif

Abstract

A highly dismembered assemblage of ultramafic and mafic rocks is exposed in the Eastern Cordillera of the Central Peruvian Andes, extending along a discontinuous NW-SE belt over some 250 km between 12° and 9° S of latitude. One of the most important occurrences is the Tapo Mafic-Ultramafic Complex, which occurs at 3750 to 4200 m above sea level, 2 km to the west of Tapo locality, in the Tarma province, about 200 Km west of Lima. The Tapo complex is a lens-shaped body, 5 km long and 1-2 km wide, that consists mainly of strongly serpentinized peridotites and some gabbros. Several small open pits won chromite from podiform chromitite lenses (≥ 60% chromite) and from disseminated chromite in serpentinite. The main structural trend of the Tapo Complex is NW – SE and the massif is tectonically emplaced upon Lower Carboniferous sedimentary rocks. The rocks of the Tapo massif are overprinted by metamorphism reaching amphibolite facies (see Willner et al, 2010, for more information on the metamorphic condi tions). The main purpose of this work is to constrain the age determination of the Tapo Complex, using Sm-Nd technique direct dating of chromites and, also, amphibole, plagioclase and whole-rock samples from the host gabbro. In addition K-Ar age determination on amphibole is presented to date the metamorphic overprint.