Raúl E. de Barrio

Late Cenozoic Mineral Resources of Argentine Patagonia

Publisher Summary The Late Cenozoic mineral resources of Argentine Patagonia represent a group of deposits of varied characteristics, intimately related to the geology of the existing morphostructural units and to the sequence of geological, geomorphological, and paleoclimatic processes that took place during the Late Cenozoic times. The prevailing climatic conditions during the last 10 Ma in this region have played a significant role in the genesis of some of the mineral concentrations discussed in this chapter. The mineral deposits have been subdivided into three main groups according to the geological environment in which they have been formed: (1) detritic, (2) evaporitic, and (3) volcanic. The Quaternary gold-bearing detritic deposits are found both along the Atlantic coast and in the fluvial drainage systems at the Andean foothills. Their importance is related to their probable economic use and as a prospective tool in the search for older primary mineralization areas. The detritic iron-titaniferous deposits in the southern coast of Buenos Aires Province are the sole titanium resources of Argentina. However, their actual economic importance is still unknown. Evaporitic deposits are the most important economic Holocene mineral resources of Argentine Patagonia and show a wide regional distribution.