Sedimentary and U-Pb detrital zircons provenance of the Paleoproterozoic Piracicaba and Sabará groups, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Southern São Francisco craton, Brazil

Abstract

The Quadrilatero Ferrifero is an important mineral province located in Southern Sao Francisco craton, SE Brazil. Its prominent feature is the Gandarela syncline that was formed as part of the regional deformation event in the southernmost part of the craton at ca. 2,000 Ma. The syncline exposes several economically important units of Rio das Velhas and Minas supergroups, widely known for their gold and iron ore mineral deposits. This work focused on the upper Minas Supergroup — Cercadinho Formation and Sabara Group in the Gandarela syncline. We showed detail stratigraphic surveys combined with U-Pb detrital zircon analysis. Data reveal the development of high- to low-density turbidity systems. The first one is related to the deposition of Cercadinho Formation that marks the siliciclastic infilling of the Minas basin. For the Sabara Group, a fine turbidite system of foredeep depocenter is inferred. The detrital zircon analysis indicates that their sediments were derived from Archean, Rhyacian, and Orosirian exhumed terrains, besides granitoids positioned to the south and east of Quadrilatero Ferrifero. We proposed the age of 2,036 ± 25 Ma as the maximum age of deposition of Sabara Group, whose sedimentation occurs in the first stages of Minas accretionary orogeny.