UNIVERSITÉDEGENÈVE FACULTÉDESSCIENCES

DépartementdeMinéralogie Prof.UrsSchaltegger
 Dr.MassimoChiaradia




Geochronology,Geochemistry,andIsotopicComposition(Sr,Nd,Pb)
ofTertiaryPorphyrySystemsinEcuador



THÈSE

présentéeàlafacultédessciencesdel'UniversitédeGenève
pourobtenirlegradedeDocteurèssciences,mentionSciencesdelaTerre

par
PhilipSCHÜTTE
de
Allemagne





GENÈVE
2010


Schütte, P.: Geochronology, geochemistry, and isotopic composition (Sr, Nd, Pb) of Tertiary porphyry systems in Ecuador.
Terre & Environnement, vol. 87, xviii + 182 pp. (2010)

ISBN 2-940153-86-8
Section des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, 13 rue des Maraîchers, CH-1205 Genève, Suisse
Téléphone ++41-22-702.61.11 - Fax ++41-22-320.57.32
http://www.unige.ch/sciences/terre/
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................................iii
Abstract ..............................................................................................................................................................v
Resumen ...........................................................................................................................................................vii
Résuméétendu..................................................................................................................................................xi

CHAPTERI–THEORETICALBACKGROUNDANDAIMSOFTHESIS
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 1
References ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER II – GEODYNAMIC CONTROLSON TERTIARY ARC MAGMATISMIN ECUADOR: CONSTRAINTS

FROM UPB ZIRCON GEOCHRONOLOGY OF OLIGOCENEMIOCENE INTRUSIONS AND REGIONAL AGE
DISTRIBUTIONTRENDS
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 6
RegionalGeologyofEcuador ............................................................................................................................ 6
Tertiaryarcsegmentationandgeologyofinvestigatedmagmaticcenters...................................................... 8
Analyticaltechniquesandsamplematerial .................................................................................................... 14
Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 18
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................ 25
Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................... 34
References ....................................................................................................................................................... 34
AppendixI–AccommodationofconvergenceobliquityattheEcuadorianmarginthroughout
theTertiary ...................................................................................................................................................... 39
AppendixII–OverridingplatestructuralcontrolsonthespatiotemporaldistributionofTertiary
plutonsinEcuador........................................................................................................................................... 42
AppendixIII–AccuracyofpublishedKAr(andZFT)agesofTertiaryintrusionsinEcuador.......................... 48
AppendixIV–Datatables ............................................................................................................................... 54

CHAPTER III  THE MIOCENE METALLOGENIC BELT OF ECUADOR: CONSTRAINTS FROM NEW REOS
MOLYBDENITEANDUPBTITANITEAGESOFPORPHYRYRELATEDOREDEPOSITS
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................... 65
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................... 66
Regionalgeologyandgeodynamicsetting...................................................................................................... 68
LocalgeologyofMioceneEcuadorianoredepositsinvestigatedinthisstudy............................................... 69
Samplingandanalyticaltechniques ................................................................................................................ 73
Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 74
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................ 76
Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................... 92
References ....................................................................................................................................................... 92

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CHAPTER IV  CRUSTAL BASEMENT ARCHITECTURE IN ECUADOR EXPLORED BY SR, ND, AND PB
ISOTOPICCOMPOSITIONSOFTERTIARYQUATERNARYARCMAGMAS
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................... 97
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................... 98
Geologicalframework ................................................................................................................................... 100
Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 100
Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 103
Discussion ...................................................................................................................................................... 106
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................... 112
References ..................................................................................................................................................... 112
Appendix:Datatables ................................................................................................................................... 115

CHAPTER V  ADAKITELIKE FEATURES IN LATE OLIGOCENE TO LATE MIOCENE ECUADORIAN ARC
MAGMASANDTHEIRSIGNIFICANCEFORPORPHYRYRELATEDOREDEPOSITS
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 119
Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 120
TertiaryQuaternaryadakitelikemagmatisminEcuador............................................................................. 120
Regionalgeologyandgeodynamicsetting.................................................................................................... 122
Samplingandanalyticaltechniques .............................................................................................................. 126
Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 128
Rareearthelementdistributionpatterns ..................................................................................................... 134
AdakitelikefeaturesofLateTertiaryEcuadorianarcmagmas .................................................................... 139
Isotopicconstraintsonshallowvs.deepcrustalmagmaevolution.............................................................. 144
SignificanceofadakitelikefeaturesforLateOligocenetoLateMioceneporphyryrelated
mineralizationinEcuador.............................................................................................................................. 151
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................... 152
References ..................................................................................................................................................... 153
AppendixI–Rockalterationandelementmobilityinporphyryrelatedhydrothermalsystems ................ 157
AppendixII–Datatables............................................................................................................................... 159

CHAPTERVIGENERALCONCLUSIONSANDOUTLOOK
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................... 179
Outlook .......................................................................................................................................................... 180


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Acknowledgements
BigthankstoMassimoChiaradiaforinitiatingthisproject,forhiscontinuousandpatientsupportthrough
outitslifetime(bothinthelabandintheoffice),andfordoingasuperbjobwithconstructiveandcritical
thesisreviewingwhichwashighlyappreciated.SuccessfulfieldworkinEcuadorwouldhavebeenimpossi
ble without the organizational support of Bernardo Beate whose personal commitment to this project is
gratefullyacknowledged.UrsSchaltegger,KalinKouzmanov,andOthmarMüntenerarethankedforaccept
ingtobepartofthecommitteeofthisPhDproject,andforvaluablediscussionsandcriticalcommentsre
gardingvariousaspectsofthematerialpresentedinthisthesisduringallstagesofitscompilationoverthe
lastcoupleofyears.Urs'administrativesupportisalsogratefullyacknowledged.
ManyindividualsattheUniversitiesofGeneva,Lausanne,andArizona,contributedtothesuccessofthis
project.AsfarasGenevaisconcerned,myknowledgeofthegeologyofEcuadorimprovedfromvaluable
discussions with Richard Spikings, Miguel "No More Mr. Nice Guy" Ponce, and, in particular, Diego Vil
lagómez,whoareallgratefullyacknowledged.IalsothankAldoBendezúforgooddiscussionsandforpos
ingcriticalquestionswhichstimulatedmetolookatgeologicalproblemsofallsortsfromadifferentper
spective,andtothinkagainonmanyaspectsofmetallogenesis,magmatism,andtectonics.
BigthankstoMariaOvtcharova,BlairSchoene,andUrsforincrediblesupportintheGenevazirconlab,with
massspectrometricanalysis,andwithUPbdatareduction.IfurtherthankFabioCapponiforXRFanalysis
andJeanMarieBoccardforthinsectionpreparation;Ihadquitealotofsamplesforbothofthem,andthey
alwaystookitongoodhumoredandprovidedexcellentresultswhichwerehighlyappreciated.Thanksfor
analyticalsupportarefurtherduetoAlexUlianov(MCICPMS,Lausanne)andRosannaMartini(SEM,Ge
neva).AttheUniversityofArizona,FernandoBarraandVictorValenciadidagreatjobinprovidingReOs
molybdeniteandUPbzirconanalysesforthisstudy,andbotharegratefullyacknowledgedfortheirvalu
ablecontributions.ManyadministrativeaspectsofthisprojectweretakencareofbySofiaSaldana,Jacque
lineBerthoud,andUrsulaEigenmann,andIwarmlythankeachofthem.
IgratefullyacknowledgeSEG(SocietyofEconomicGeologists),EDSM(EcoleDoctoraleenSciencesdesMi
néraux), and the Bourse Lombard for providing travel grants to support congress participation and field
workofthisproject.ThanksinparticulartoMikeDunganforinvestingalotoftimeandpersonaleffortinto
EDSMandfororganizinganumberoftoplevelshortcourses,aswellasforrepeatedtechsupportbribery.
Furthermore,IamgratefultoLluísFontbotéforencouragingmetoparticipateinseveralexcellentcourses
andexcursionsonoredepositswhoseinformativevaluewaspriceless.
ManystudentsatGenevaUniversityprovidedhelpandadvicethroughoutallstagesofthisproject.Inpar
ticular,IthankDiegoVillagómez,JennySkoog,ThierryBineliBetsi,andRégineBaumgartnerforlabsupport
in the beginning, Léo Mastrodicasa for advice during the initial stages of computer administration, and
ToufikBekaddourandDiegoVillagómezforhelpwitheditingtheFrenchandSpanishabstractswhichwas
highlyappreciated.
This project benefited substantially from countless helpful people and exploration companies in Ecuador
whoseenthusiasticsupportwithlogisticsandknowledgewaskeytoitssuccess,particularlyinapolitically
sometimes challenging climate. These include (with their affiliations back then): Patricio Salazar (Escuela
Politécnica Nacional & Ascendant Copper), Carlos Moncayo and James Stonehouse (Ascendant Copper),
Luis Bravo and Edgar Almeida (Dynasty Metals & Mining), Francisco Soria and Miguel Ponce (IMC), Luis
Lucero and Patricio Perez Salazar (Iamgold), John Bolaños and Danilo Ortega (Ecuagold), Graeme Smith,
Don Allen, and Eduardo Vaca (Atlas Moly), Osman Poma (Channel Resources), and Christian Vallejo
(Curimining);apologiesforanymissingnameshere.ThanksarealsoduetotheSwissEmbassyinQuitofor
providingquickandefficienthelpwithsampleexport,andtheMinisteriodeEnergíayMinasdelEcuador
(especiallyLuisPilatasigandFabiolaAlcocer)forprovidingotherwiseinaccessiblemapsandliterature.
Lastbutnotleast,Ithankmyfamilyfortheircontinuoussupportinalltheseyears.

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iv 
Abstract
ThisPh.D.thesispresentsgeochronologicdataonLateTertiaryarcmagmatismassociatedwithporphyry
relatedoredeposits(Chapter2),andthetimingofintrusionrelatedmineralizationandalterationinEcua
dor(Chapter3),aswellasontheisotopic(Chapter4)andgeochemical(Chapter5)compositionofOligo
ceneMiocenearcvolcanicandplutonicrocksspatiallyassociatedwithporphyrysystems.Chapterspecific
abstractsprecedeeachpartofthethesisandshouldbeconsultedformoredetailedinformationoneach
topic. A general introduction (Chapter 1) explains some of the ideas this project was originally based on,
andgeneralconclusionsjoiningitsindividualpartscanbefoundinChapter6.
EcuadorhostsalargenumberofTertiaryarcrelatedgranitoidsandvolcanicswhosegeochronologicchar
acterization is mostly based on KAr (and zircon fission track) data. Chapter 2 presents the first regional
scaledatasetofUPbzirconagesformultipleplutonsandporphyryintrusionsoftheEcuadorianWestern
CordilleraandsouthernSierraregion,allowingarobusttimecalibrationoftheTertiaryintrusivehistoryof
Ecuador. Zircons were dated either by means of isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry
(TIMS)orbylaserablationmulticollectorinductivelycoupledplasmamassspectrometry(LAMCICPMS).
Exceptforasinglesample,allinvestigatedintrusionscompletelylackexternallyinheritedzirconssuggesting
adominantlyzirconpooroceanicbasement;antecrysticzirconcomponentsarerelativelyabundantinsev
eralplutonsindicatingthatrecyclingofolderarcgranitoidstookplace.WherebothKArandUPbdataex
istforagivenintrusivesystem,agesobtainedbythedifferentmethodsareusuallyconcordantwithin14
m.y.implyingthatKArdatamaybeusedasasemiaccurateproxyforTertiaryarcmagmatisminEcuador
onaregionalscale.SpatiotemporaldistributiontrendsofTertiaryintrusions andarcvolcanicsindicate a
Late Oligocene to Early/MidMiocene arc magmatic flareup event in Ecuador comprising widespread ig
nimbriteeruptionand batholith constructionwithinanoveralltensionalregionalstressfield.Initiation of
theregionalflareupeventcoincidesintimewithasignificantaccelerationofFarallon/NazcaSouthAmer
ica convergence rates suggesting a positive feedback between faster plate convergence, asthenospheric
meltproduction,mantlecrustmeltflux,anduppercrustalarcmagmaticproductivityinEcuador.
Chapter3presentsReOsmolybdeniteandUPbtitaniteagesrelatedtomineralizationandalterationfea
turesoflatestOligoceneandMioceneporphyryrelatedoredepositsinEcuador.Thenewgeochronologic
dataallowustoinferthattheMiocenemetallogenicbeltofnortherncentralPeruextendsnorthwardsinto
southernEcuador,andpotentiallyfurthernorthuntilColombia.Miocenemineralizationcloselyfollowsthe
distributionofMiocenearcmagmatisminEcuador.Theregionalspatiotemporaldistributionofporphyry
Cu and associated epithermal mineralization within the Ecuadorian and Peruvian metallogenic belt seg
ments is similar. Intersections of Andean (NNE) trending structures with arctransverse faults and linea
mentsrelatedtosuturezonegeometriesandblockrotationinsouthernEcuadorrepresenthighlyprospec
tivesitesforMiocenemineralization.ThelackofQuaternaryarcvolcaniccoversequencesandoverallfa
vorable erosion levels are key parameters to preserve and expose widespread Miocene porphyryrelated
mineralizationinsouthernEcuador.IntheWesternCordilleraofEcuadorporphyryrelatedmineralization
haslocallybeenpreserved,whereasthedeeplyerodedcoresofporphyrysystemsareexposedatotherlo
cationsandsignificantpartsofthemineralizationhavebeenremoved.Porphyrysystemsareoftenspatially
associatedwithintrusiveclustersofbatholithdimension,andformedtowardsthefinalstagesofbatholith
assembly.Extensiveshallowcrustalmagmatismduringpeaksofbatholithconstructionmaythusbedisad
vantageousfortheformationandpreservationofporphyryrelatedoredeposits,whereasfavorablepetro
geneticpreconditioningofpotentialporphyryparentalmeltsmayoccurtowardsthefinalphaseofbatho
lithconstruction.AdirectspatiotemporalassociationofMioceneporphyryrelatedoredepositsandridge
(seamount chain) subduction or pulses of regional compression, as proposed elsewhere in the South
AmericanAndes,isnotobservedinEcuador.
The crustal basement of Ecuador comprises a collage of mostly PaleozoicMesozoic tectonostratigraphic
units of both continental and oceanic affinity in the Eastern Cordillera, and oceanic plateau units in the
Western Cordillera and forearc region which were accreted in the Late Cretaceous. The diffuse paleo

 v
continental suture zone is situated between the Eastern and Western Cordillera ranges where basement
unitsarecoveredbyTertiaryQuaternaryarcvolcanics.Chapter4presentsasetof58newwholerockSr,
Nd,andPbisotopiccompositionsofLateOligoceneandyoungerarcvolcanicsandassociatedintrusionsof
theWesternCordillera,itswesternfoothills,andthecentralsouthernEcuadorianSierraregion.Combining
thisnewdatasetwithexistingdataonQuaternaryarcvolcanoesallowsustotracebasementunitsofthe
LateCretaceoussuturezoneatdepth.Quaternaryarcvolcanicsdefinedistinctisotopic(Sr,Nd,Pb)groups
for volcanoes situated east and west of the regional, roughly marginparallel Peltetec Fault, respectively.
LateOligocenetoLateMiocenearcvolcanicsandintrusionsofthesouthernEcuadorSierraregionoverlap
isotopically with recent arc volcanics in northern Ecuador suggesting alongarc continuity of similar base
mentunitsatdepth.CrustalisotopiccontaminationofTertiaryQuaternaryarcmagmasmainlytakesplace
atdeeptomidcrustallevelsexceptforgranitoidsoftheCangrejosZarumaintrusivebeltinsouthernEcua
dor, where additional prominent shallow crustal assimilation is recorded. Isotopic compositions of arc
magmas in northerncentral Ecuador follow a systematic acrossarc pattern where they evolve towards
progressively more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and 207Pb/204Pb, and less radiogenic 143Nd/144Nd compositions at
deeptomidcrustallevelswithincreasingdistancefromthetrench.Thisisconsistentwithregional,east
directedunderthrustingofaccretedoceanicplateaumaterialalongabroadsuturezonebelowthepaleo
continentalmarginaspreviouslyinferredfromseismicstudies.
Chapter 5 presents a comprehensive dataset of the geochemical composition of Late Oligocene to Late
Mioceneintrusionsandarcvolcanicsassociatedinspaceandtimewithporphyryrelatedmineralizationin
Ecuador,focusingonthespatiotemporaldistributionpatternofadakitelikegeochemicalfeaturesandex
ploring their significance for porphyryrelated mineralization. The overall spatiotemporal distribution of
adakitelike features in Ecuadorian arc magmas associated with porphyry systems is semisystematic; the
relative proportion of adakitelike (high Sr/Y) magmas increases with decreasing age, and is higher in
northerncentralthaninsouthernEcuador.BroadlyincreasingSr/YandSm/Dyratiosthroughtimearecon
sistentwithprogressivelyincreasinghighpressurecrustalmagmadifferentiation.HighSr/Ymagmatismin
theLateTertiaryismainlyduetostrongY(andheavyREE)depletionofparentalmeltsatbroadlyconstant
Srcontents,wheretheformerisrelatedtofractionation/restiteequilibrationeffectsofamphibole,garnet,
andtitanite.Whileamphibole(±accessorytitanite)fractionation/restiteequilibrationcausedsilicicmeltsto
evolve towards adakitelike compositions in the Early to MidMiocene, combined amphibole and garnet
fractionation/restiteequilibrationinEcuadorianarcmagmashasonlybeenwidespreadsincetheLateMio
ceneandcontinuestothepresentday.
Apreferentialassociation ofadakitelikefeatureswithaspecific basementlithologycannotbeobserved.
Increasingcrustalthicknessfavorablyinfluencestheoccurrenceofadakitelikefeaturesonaregionalscale,
but thelatterarefurther modulatedbyasetofparameterswhichdynamicallycontrolmineralstabilities
andmineralmeltpartitioningcoefficientsatalocalscale.Theseincludemagmaevolutiondepth(pressure)
in a given crustal column and melt composition (degree of differentiation and melt water content). Por
phyryrelateddepositsinEcuadorareoftenassociatedwithintrusiveclustersrecordingmultim.y.precur
sor magmatism where porphyry emplacement commonly represents a late intrusive event. Porphyry pa
rental melts tend to evolve towards more adakitelike compositions than precursor intrusions if a signifi
cantrelativeagedifferenceswithrespecttotheiremplacementexist.Incontrast,systematiccompositional
changes between porphyry and precursor intrusions are not recorded if the relative age difference be
tween their respective emplacement events is small. As such, compositional changes between porphyry
andprecursormagmatismmostlyreflectbroad changesinarc magma compositionthrough timeat are
gionalscale.ThefactthatporphyryrelatedoredepositsinEcuadorformedthroughouttheLateOligocene
toLateMiocene(246Ma)overalargelatitudinalrange(c.0°to3°30’S)supportsthenotionthatanyarc
magma of a sufficient volume has the potential to form porphyryrelated mineralization. In some cases
adakitelike magmatism may, however, reflect favorable tectonomagmatic preconditioning of porphyry
parentalmeltsforsubsequentporphyryrelatedmineralization.

vi 
Resumen
Esta tesis de PhD presenta resultados geocronológicos en rocas del arco magmático del Terciario Tardío
asociadasadepósitosdepórfidosyepitermales(Capítulo2)yeltiempodelamineralizaciónyalteraciones
asociadasalasintrusiones(Capítulo3)asícomodatosisotópicos(Capítulo4)ygeoquímicos(Capítulo5)de
rocas volcánicas y plutónicas del arcoOligocenoMioceno asociadas con sistemas porfiríticos. Resúmenes
específicosdecadacapítuloprecedencadapartedelatesis.Unaintroduccióngeneral(Capítulo1)explica
algunasdelasideasgeneralesdelproyectoylasconclusionesgeneralesseencuentranenelCapítulo6.
Ecuador presenta un gran número de granitoides y rocas volcánicas relacionadas con el arco magmático
TerciariocuyascaracterísticasgeocronológicoshansidomayormentebasadasenedadesK/Aryentrazas
defisiónenzircón.EnelCapítulo2sepresentaelprimersetdedatosU/Pbenzircónrealizadoaescalare
gional,obtenidosenmúltiplesplutoneseintrusionesporfiríticasenlaCordilleraOccidentaldelEcuadory
enlaSierraAustral,loquenoshapermitidounacalibraciónrobustadelahistoriaintrusivaduranteelTer
ciarioenEcuador.Lasdatacionesenzircónfueronobtenidasapartirdeanálisisdeespectrometríademasa
a partir de disolución isotópica  ionización termal y también a partir de ablación laser. Excepto por una
muestra,todaslasdemásanalizadascarecencompletamentedezirconesheredadosloquesugiereunba
samentooceánicopobreenzircones;lapresenciadeantecristalesesrelativamenteabundanteenmuchos
plutonesloqueindicaquegranitoidesmasantiguospudieronhabersidoreciclados.
EnrocasplutónicasdondesehanobtenidoedadesK/AryUPbsepuedeobservarquelosresultadosson
concordantes entre 14 Ma, lo que sugiere que las edades K/Ar pueden ser usadas como un proxi semi
exactoparalasrocasdelarcomagmáticoenEcuadoraescalaregional.Distribucionesespaciotemporales
de la rocas magmáticas terciarias indican un evento de "flareup" desde el Oligoceno Tardío al Mioceno
Temprano/Medioelqueconsistióenunaimportanteyampliaerupcióndeignimbritayasímismounain
tensaformacióndebatolitosduranteunperiododedistensiónregional.Lainiciacióndelevento"flareup"
coincideeneltiempoconunaimportanteaceleracióndelaconvergenciaentrelasplacasFarallón/Nazca–
Sudamérica sugiriendo que hay una relación directa entre la convergencia rápida de placas tectónicas, la
produccióndefundidosastenosféricos,flujodefundidosmantocortezayactividadmagmáticaenlacorte
zasuperiordelarco.
EnelCapítulo3sepresentaedadesReOsenmolibdenitayUPbentitanitalascualesestánrelacionadasa
mineralizaciones y alteraciones de los depósitos de tipo pórfido y epitermales del Oligoceno Tardío y del
Mioceno. Estos nuevos resultados geocronológicos nos permiten inferir que el cinturón metalogénico de
los Andes Norcentrales del Perú se extendieron al norte hacia el Sur de Ecuador e incluso posiblemente
hastaColombia.LamineralizacióndelMiocenosiguenunpatróndedistribuciónmuyparecidoaladistribu
cióndelarcomagmáticoMicénicoenEcuador.LadistribuciónespaciotemporaldelospórfidosdeCuymi
neralizaciones epitermales asociadas dentro de los cinturones metalogénicos del Ecuador y Perú es muy
similar.LaszonasdondeseintersecanestructurasderumboAndino(NEE)confallastransversalesalarcoy
lineacionesrelacionadasconzonasdesuturay/obloquesrotadosenelSurdeEcuador,representanzonas
altamenteprospectivasparamineralizacionesmiocénicas.
Laausenciadecoberturavolcánicascuaternariaysobretodolaactividaderosivasonfactoresclavesparala
preservaciónylaexposicióndelasrocasmiocénicasdetipopórfidoenelSurdeEcuador.EnlaCordillera
OccidentaldelEcuadorlasmineralizacionesasociadasalpórfidohansidolocalmentepreservadas,mientras
enunaszonassepuedeobservarelnúcleodelsistemadepórfido,enotraszonaslaspartesmásimportan
tesdelsistemahansidoremovidasdebidoaunamayorerosión.Lossistemasdepórfidosestánamenudo
asociadosconintrusivosdispersosqueseformaronenlasetapasfinalesdelaformacióndegrandesbatoli
tos. Un magmatismo intenso en la corteza superior durante los mayores picos construcción de batolitos
posiblemente no es favorable para la formación y preservación de los depósitos asociados con pórfidos,
masbienlasmejorescondicionespetrogenéticassedancuandolosfundidosqueformanlospórfidospue

 vii
denocurrirhacialapartefinaldelaformacióndelosbatolitos.EnEcuadornoseobservaunarelaciónes
paciotemporaldirectaentrelaedaddelosdepósitostipopórfidoylasubducciónderidgesoceánicosy/o
pulsodecompresiónregional,comosehapropuestoenmuchasotraspartesenSudamérica.
ElbasamentocorticalenEcuadorconsistedeunaseriedeunidadestectonoestratigráficasdelPaleozoico
MesozoicodeafinidadcontinentalyoceánicaenlaCordilleraOrientalyrocasrelacionadasconunplateau
oceánicoenlaCordilleraOccidentalylacostadelEcuadorlascualesfueronacrecionadasenelCretácico
Tardío.LasuturapaleocontinentalesmuydifusayestaríasituadaentrelaCordilleraOrientalyOccidental
dondelasunidadesdelbasamentoestáncubiertasporrocasvolcánicasdelArcoTerciarioCuaternario.En
elCapitulo4sepresentaunsetde58datosisotópicosdeSr,Nd,Pbenrocatotalllevadasacaboenrocas
volcánicaseintrusivasdelOligocenoTardíoymásjóvenes,expuestasenlaCordilleraOccidentalyenlaSie
rraCentralyAustraldelEcuador.Alcombinarestosdatosisotópicoscondatosexistentesenrocasvolcáni
casdelCuaternarionosdaindiciosdelbasamentoquenospermitentrazarposibleszonasdesuturaenla
profundidad.
RocasvolcánicasCuaternariasdefinendistintosgruposisotópicos(Sr,Nd,Pb)paravolcanesqueestánsi
tuadosyaseaalesteyaloestedelafallaregionaldePeltetec.RocasvolcánicaseintrusivasdelOligoceno
TardíoalMiocenotardíoenlaSierraSurdelEcuadorsesobrelapanisotópicamenteconrocasvolcánicasdel
arcoactualpresentesolamenteenelNortedeEcuador,sugiriendoestoqueexisteunacontinuidadenlas
unidadesprofundasdelbasamentoalolargodelarco.Contaminaciónisotópicacorticalderocasdelarco
TerciarioCuaternariotomalugaranivelesdelacortezamediaprofunda,exceptoparalosgranitoidesdel
cinturónintrusivodeCangrejosZarumadondeseregistraunaprominentecontaminacióncorticaldecorte
zasuperior.ComposicionesisotópicasdelarcomagmáticoenlaSierraNorteyCentrosiguenunasistemáti
caatravésdelarcodondeestasevolucionanprogresivamentehaciavalores 87Sr/86Sry 207Pb/204Pbmasra
diogénicosycomposicionesde 143Nd/144Ndmenosradiogénicasaprofundidaddecortezamediaconforme
seincrementaladistanciadesdelafosa.Estaobservaciónesconsistenteconlapresenciaderocasdelpla
teauoceánicoalolargodeunaampliazonadesuturabajoelmargenpaleocontinentalcomohasidoinferi
doyaporestudiossísmicos.
EnCapítulo5sepresentaunsetdedatoscompletoyexhaustivoconsistenteencomposicionesgeoquími
casdelasintrusionesyrocasvolcánicasdearcodelOligocenoTardíoMiocenoTardío,lascualesestánaso
ciadosenelespaciotiempoconmineralizacionestipopórfidoenEcuador,elcualseenfocaenelpatrónde
distribución espaciotemporal de características geoquímicas adakíticas y explora además la importancia
queestastienenparalasmineralizacionestipopórfido.Ladistribucióntotalespaciotemporaldelascarac
terísticas adakíticas en las rocas magmáticas de arco que tienen sistemas porfiríticos asociados es semi
sistemática;laproporciónrelativademagmasadakíticos(valoresdeSr/Yelevados)seincrementacuando
laedaddecreceyesmayorenlaregiónNorteyCentroencomparaciónconlazonaSur.Unamplioincre
mentoenlosvaloresSr/YySm/Dyatravésdeltiempoesconsistenteconunincrementoprogresivodela
diferenciaciónmagmáticaanivelescorticalesdepresiónelevada.
ValoresaltosdeSr/YenrocasmagmáticasdelTerciarioTardíoesprincipalmentedebidoaunfuerteempo
brecimientodeY(ydeHREE)enlosfundidosparentalescuandosetieneconcentracionesaproximadamen
teconstantesdeSr,enlascualeselYestárelacionadoconlosefectosdefraccionamiento(y/oequilibrioen
larestita)deanfíbol,granateytitanita.Mientraselfraccionamiento(y/oequilibrioenlarestita)delanfíbol
(+/titanitacomoaccesorio)causaquelosfundidossilícicosevolucionenhaciacomposicionestipoadakíti
casenelMiocenoTempranoMedio,elfraccionamiento(y/oequilibrioenlarestita)delanfíbolyelgranate
combinados,hasidosoloampliamenteexistentedesdeelMiocenoTardíoycontinuahastalaactualidad.
Noseobservaunaasociaciónpreferencialdelascaracterísticasadakíticasconuntipoespecíficodelitología
delbasamento.Unincrementodelgrosordelacortezainfluenciafavorablementelaocurrenciadecarac
terísticasadakíticasaescalaregional,peroestaúltimaesposteriormentemoduladaporunaseriedepará
metrosloscualescontrolandinámicamentelasestabilidadesmineralesyloscoeficientesdeparticiónmine
ralfundidoaunaescalalocal.Estosparámetrosincluyenlaprofundidaddeevolucióndelmagma(presión)

viii 
enunacolumnacorticaldadayademásincluyelacomposicióndelfundido(gradodediferenciaciónycon
tenidodeaguadelfundido).DepósitosdetipopórfidoyepitermalesenEcuadorestánamenudoasociados
conintrusivosdispersosloscualesgrabanunmagmatismoprecursor(alaescaladevariosmillonesdeaños)
dondeelemplazamientodelpórfidonormalmenterepresentaelúltimoeventodeintrusión.Losfundidos
parentalesqueformanlospórfidostiendenaevolucionarhaciacomposicionesmasadakíticasquelasintru
sionesprecursorassihayunadiferenciasignificativaenlasedadesdesuemplazamiento.
Alcontrario,nohayevidenciadeuncambiocomposicionalentreelpórfidoysusintrusionesprecursorassi
es que la edad relativa entre sus respectivos emplazamientos es pequeña. De esta manera, los cambios
composicionalesentreelpórfidoyelmagmatismoprecursor,reflejamayormentecambiosgrandesalolar
godeltiempoenlacomposiciónmagmáticadelarco.Elhechodequelosdepósitosdetipopórfidoyepi
termalesenEcuadorseformaronduranteelOligocenoTardíoMiocenoTardío(246Ma)alolargodeun
granrangolatitudinal(c.0°a3°30’S),soportalaideadequecualquiermagmadearcoconunvolumensufi
cientetieneelpotencialdeformarmineralizacioneseconómicas.Enalgunoscasoslosmagmasadakíticos
pueden sin embargo, reflejar precondiciones tectonomagmáticas favorables de los fundidos parentales
delpórfidoparaunasubsecuentemineralizaciónrelacionadaconelpórfido.

 ix
x 
Résuméétendu
Le travail de cette thèse présente des données
géochronologiques concernant la mise en place
des intrusions d’âge Tertiaire supérieures en
Equateur, et sur les événements de minéralisa
tion et d'altération hydrothermale liés à ses in
trusions, ainsi que la composition isotopique et
géochimique des roches volcaniques et plutoni
quesassociéesàl’arcd’âgeOligocèneMiocène.
Les granitoïdes d'âge Oligocène
Miocène et l'influence des facteurs
géodynamiques pour l'arc magmati
queenEquateur
L’Equateur hôte un très grand nombre de grani
toïdes et des roches volcaniques liées à l’arc
d’âge Tertiaire, dont les caractéristiques géo
chronologiques sont principalement basées sur
les données de la méthode de datation KAr (et
lestracesdefissionssurdeszircons).Lechapitre
1decettethèseprésentelespremièresdonnées
régionales des âges UPb des zircons provenant
des intrusions plutoniques et porphyriques de la
cordillère Ouest et le sud de la région de Sierra
(Fig. 1), permettant une calibration temporale
robuste de l’histoire intrusive d'âge Tertiaire en
Equateur.
Les zircons étaient datés avec deux méthodes,
soit par TIMS (spectrométrie de masse par ther
moionisation), soit par LAMCICPMS (émission
en plasma induit couplée à la spectrométrie de
masseetlaserablation).Dunordausud,lesâges
suivantsontétéobtenus:12.87±0.05Mapourla
batholite d’Apuela à Cuellaje, pénétrée par des
dykes porphyriques de 9.01±0.06 Ma à Junin;
25.5±0.7MapourleplutondeTelimbelacentra
le;21.46±0.09Maet21.22±0.17Mapourleplu
tonBalsapambaetuneintrusiondudykeporphy
riquedanslazoned’ElTorneadorespectivement;
14.8415.33 Ma pour le batholite de Chaucha et
9.79±0.03 Ma pour une intrusion porphyrique à
Tunas;20.26±0.07Maet19.89±0.07Mapourles
deux porphyres à GabyPapa Grande; 7.13±0.07
Mapourundômeintracaldeiraducentrevolca
nique de Quimsacocha; 30.7±0.7 Ma pour une
roche subvolcanique de Saraguro à Tres Chorre
ras; 16.04±0.04 Ma pour une intrusion porphyri
que à El Mozo ; 26.0±0.7 Ma pour un pluton à
 xi
Cangrejos; 20.7±0.9 Ma pour un pluton au nord
d’Zaruma; 24.04±0.07 Ma pour une intrusion
porphyrique à Portovelo, et 92.0±1.6 Ma pour
uneintrusionporphyriqueàCuriplaya.
Sauf l'échantillon de Tres Chorreras, dans toutes
les intrusions (ou les roches subvolcaniques)
étudiées, les zircons hérités sont complètement
absents suggérant la base de la croûte est océa
niqueetappauvrieenzircons;leszirconsdetype
"antecryst" sont relativement abondants dans
plusieursplutonsindiquantquelerecyclaged’un
ancien arc avait pris place. Lorsque les données
des deux méthodes de datation géochronologi
ques, KAr et UPb, coexistent pour un système
intrusif, les âges obtenus par les différentes mé
thodes sont généralement concordant et dévoi
lent une différence d'âge entre 14 Ma au maxi
mum, ce qui implique que les âges de KAr peu
vent être utilisé comme des données semi
précisespourl’arcmagmatiqued’âgeTertiaireen
Équateuràl'échellerégionale.
Larépartitionspatiotemporelledesintrusionset
rochesvolcaniquesd'âgeTertiairesindiqueunvif
échauffement de magmatisme d’âge Oligocène
terminal jusqu’au Miocène inférieure et moyen
en Équateur, comprenant l'éruption régionale
des ignimbrites et la construction des batholites
dansunchampdecontraintedetension,généra
lementàunepenteconstanteduslab.L’initiation
del’événementd’échauffementrégionalecoïnci
de dans le temps avec une accélération impor
tante dans le taux de convergence des plaques
Sud Amérique et Farallon/Nazca, suggérant une
relation positive entre une convergence très ra
pidedesplaques,générationdelafusionpartielle
dans l'asthénosphère, le flux de la fusion entre
manteau et croûte, et la productivité de l'arc
magmatiqueenÉquateur.
Celapourraitêtreenvisagéeparuntauxpluséle
védufluidegénéréduslabsubductédansunvo
lume donné dans le coin mantellique, et/ou par
un changement dans la dynamique des flux as
thénosphériques où des anomalies thermiques
positivessedéveloppentdanslecoinmantellique
etlestauxdereconstitutiondumatérielduman
teau fertile augmente en réponse du retour
 

Figure 1: Carte géologique de la région des Cordillères d'Equateur, montrant les éléments géologiques principaux de 
l'Equateur et l'arc magmatique d'âge Tertiaire. La figure au‐dessous à gauche montre la situation géodynamique du 
bassin de Panama. Adapté par Litherland et al. (1994), Steinmann (1997), Dunkley & Gaibor (1997), McCourt et al.
(1997), Pratt et al. (1997), Hughes et al. (1998), Meschede & Barckhausen (2001), et Palacios et al. (2008). 

xii   
du flux induit. L'intensification des transferts de
chaleur de la conduction et l’advection dans la
croûtepourraitdéclencherunprocessusderela
tion positive tectonomagmatique et thermique,
quipeutfaciliterl’intensificationdelafusionpar
tielle de la croûte et le volumineux stockage du
magma à des niveaux supérieurs, menant à la
construction des batholites, et/ou l’éruption des
ignimbrites en Équateur au cours de l'Oligocène
terminalàMiocèneinferieurmoyen.
La ceinture métallogénique d'âge
MiocèneenEquateur
Lechapitre2présentelesâgescalculésgrâceaux
méthodesgéochronologiquesdanslamolybdéni
teselonlesystèmeReOsetdanslatitaniteselon
lesystèmeUPb;cesâgessontliésàlaminérali
sation/altération hydrothermale associée avec
des intrusions des gisements de porphyre cupri
fèreouépithermauxd’âgeOligocèneetMiocène
enÉquateur.

Figure2:Distributionspatiotemporelledesgisementsd'âgeMiocèneassociésauxintrusionsd'âgeOligocèneMiocène
enEquateur.IlyadepicsdelaminéralisationdansleMiocèneinférieuravecundeuxièmepicdansleMiocènesupé
rieur. Dans un système batholitique donné (Apuela, BalsapambaTelimbela, Chaucha) la minéralisation se manifeste
dansunstagefinaldel'évolutionmagmatiquedubatholiteparrapportàsonconstructioninitiale(aprèsc.515m.y.).
Pourcomparaisonlespulsescompressives(I=Inca;Q=Quechua) enEquateur(boxesnoires;Hungerbühleretal.2002)
etenPérou(boxesgrises:Noble&McKee1999;boxesblanches:BenavidesCáceres1999)sontmontréesàdroite.

 xiii

Lamolybdéniteassociéeàl’altérationpotassique
etphylliteuseàJunin(gisementporphyreCuMo)
a donné des âges de 6.63±0.04 Ma et 6.13±0.03
Ma.Lesâgescalculésselonlesystèmechronolo
gique ReOs dans les molybdénites associées à
l’altérationpotassiquedanslessystèmesporphy
riques de Telimbela et Balsapamba sont de
19.2±0.1 Ma et 21.5±0.1 Ma, respectivement.
Dans les systèmes porphyriques de CuMo à
Chaucha,lesâgesobtenusdansdesmolybdénites
associées aux altérations potassiques et phylli
teusesselonlesystèmeReOssontde9.92±0.05
Ma(àTunasNaranjos)et9.5±0.2Ma(àGurGur),
respectivement. Dans le système porphyrique
AuCudeGaby,unâgede20.6±0.1aétécalculé
pourlamolybdéniteselonlesystèmechronologi
queReOspourdesbrècheshydrothermalessul
furées(éventuellementassociésàune altération
phylliteuse),etunâgede20.17±0.16Maselonle
système chronologique UPb pour une titanite
associé à l’altération de type NaCa a été obte
nue. Au gisement polymétalliques de Tres Chor
reras,lesâgesobtenusselonlesystèmechrono
logique ReOs dans les molybdénites sont à
12.93±0.07 Ma et 12.75±0.07 Ma, et sont asso
ciées à une brèche hydrothermale liée à une in
trusion et une veine polymétalliques, respecti
vement.Lamolybdéniteassociéeàl'altérationde
type NaCa dans le système porphyrique AuCu
deCangrejosadonnéunâgede23.5±0.1Ma.
Les nouvelles données géochronologiques nous
permettent de déduire que la ceinture métallo
géniqued’âgeMiocèneaunordduPérous'étend
dunordverslesuddel'Équateur,etpotentielle
mentplusaunordjusqu'àlaColombie.Laminé
ralisation d’âge Miocène suit de près la réparti
tiondel’arcmagmatiqued’âgeMiocèneenEqua
teur,quisecaractérisesouventpardesdéforma
tions synmagmatiques. Sur une échelle régiona
le, la distribution spatiotemporelle des gise
ments de porphyre cuprifères et épithermaux
associéedanslessegmentsdelaceinturemétal
logénique équatorienne et péruvienne est simi
laire.
L’intersectiondesstructuresAndines(NNE)avec
de failles transversales et des traits liés à des
géométriesdezonesdesuturesetderotationde
blocsdanslesuddel'Equateurreprésententdes
xiv 
sites très favorables pourla minéralisation. L'ab
sence de la couverture volcanique quaternaires
et l'érosion globale des niveaux favorables sont
des paramètres clés pour préserver et exposer
généralement les gisements de porphyres cupri
fères et épithermaux d’âge Miocène dans le sud
de l'Équateur. Dans la Cordillère de l'Ouest de
l'Équateur la minéralisation des porphyres cupri
fères à été localement préservée, tandis que les
cœurs profonds érodés des systèmes porphyri
quessontexposésàd'autresendroitsetdespar
tiesimportantesdelaminéralisationontétéen
levés.
Alors que les complexes de batholites peuvent
marquerstructurellementlessitesfavorablesàla
minéralisation, de vaste magmatisme dans la
croûte supérieure pendant les pics de la cons
truction des batholites peut être désavantageux
pour la formation et la préservation des gise
ments de porphyre cuprifères. En revanche, le
préconditionnement pétrogénétique favorable
desliquidesporphyriquesparentauxpeutsepro
duire vers la phase finale d'assemblage des ba
tholites.Maispeutêtreapplicablepourquelques
gisements, une générale association spatio
temporelleentrelaformationdegisementsetles
pulsesdecompressionrégionaloulasubduction
des chaînes montagneuses sousmarines n'est
pasobservéeenl'Équateur(Fig.2).
La composition isotopique des mag
mas d'âge OligocèneMiocène et les
domaines isotopiques de la croûte
équatorienne
EnEquateur,danslaCordillèreOrientale,labase
delacroûtecomprendunensembled’unitéstec
tonostratigraphiques de la plupart d’âge Paléo
zoïque et Mésozoïque d'affinité à la fois conti
nentale et océanique. Des unités du plateau
océanique accumulés au Crétacé supérieur for
mentlabasedelacroûtedanslaCordillèreOcci
dentaleetlarégiond’avantarc.Lazonedesutu
re paléocontinentale est située entre l'Est et
l'OuestdelasériedeCordillèreoùdesunitésde
labasedelacroûtesontcouvertspardesroches
volcaniquesduTertiaireetQuaternaire.Ungrand
nombre d'information sur la géochimie des ro
ches volcaniques du Quaternaire existe pour l'arc 
de  la  Zone  Volcanique  du  Nord  dans  le  nord  de 
l'Equateur, alors que les séquences de la couver‐
ture  Tertiaire  en  Équateur  centrale  et  sud  sont 
mal  caractérisées  isotopiquement.  Le  chapitre  3 
présente  un  ensemble  de  58  nouveaux  résultats 
de roche totales des compositions isotopiques de 
Sr,  Nd  et  Pb  des  échantillons  Tertiaire  de  l’arc 
volcanique  et  des  intrusions  associées  de  la  Cor‐
dillère  Occidentale  et  du  sud  de  la  région  de  la 
Sierra équatorienne. La combinaison de ce nouvel 
ensemble  de  données  avec  les  données  existan‐
tes sur l’arc volcanique Quaternaire nous permet 
de suivre les unités basales de la croûte de la zo‐
ne de suture du Crétacé terminal en profondeur. 
L’arc  volcanique  d’âge  Quaternaire  définit  des 
groupes  isotopiques  distincts  pour  des  volcans 
situés à l'est et à l'ouest de la faille Peltetec. Les 
roches  volcaniques  et  les  intrusions  de  la  région 
sud  équatorienne  de  Sierra  d’âge  Oligocène  ter‐
minal‐Miocène  terminal  chevauchent  isotopi‐
quement avec des roches volcaniques récentes à 
l’est  de  la  faille  Peltetec  dans  le  nord  de  l'Equa‐
teur  suggérant  ainsi  une  continuité  des  unités 
basales de la croûte similaires en profondeur. 
Les  granitoïdes  d’âge  Oligocène‐Miocène  de  la 
Cordillère Occidentale et sur ses contreforts occi‐
dentaux  montrent  des  compositions  isotopiques 
les plus primitives de Sr et Nd identifiées à ce jour 
dans  l’arc  magmatique  équatorien  d’âge  Tertiai‐
re‐Quaternaire;  les  unités  primitives  du  plateau 
océanique du Crétacé constituent leurs assimilant 
en  profondeur,  entraînant  de  ces  magmas  d’arc 
de  devenir  plus  primitifs  isotopiquement  avec 
l'assimilation de la croûte. 
La  contamination  isotopique  crustale  du  magma  Figure 3: Diagrammes de 87Sr/86Sr, εNdinitial, 206Pb/204Pb, 
d’arc  d’âge  Tertiaire‐Quaternaire  a  lieu  principa‐ et  207Pb/204Pb  vs.  Sr/Y;  Sr/Y  est  utilisé  comme  indica‐
teur d'évolution magmatique dans le croûte supérieur 
lement  à  des  niveaux  profonds  à  moyens  de  la 
vs. inférieur (Sr/Y >30 pour le dernier). Dans l'ordre de 
croûte  à  l'exception  de  la  ceinture  intrusive  des 
leurs  distribution  géographique,  les  centres  magmati‐
granitoïdes  du  Cangrejos‐Zaruma  dans  le  sud  de  ques  forment  des  groupes  isotopiques  subparallèles 
l'Équateur, où plus éminente assimilation de ma‐ pour  des  valeurs  de  Sr/Y  >30  ce  qui  implique  que  les 
tériau de la croûte supérieure est caractérisé par  processus  de  AFC  (assimilation  et  cristallisation  frac‐
une  composition  de  Sr  et  Pb  très  radiogéniques,  tionnelle) incluent des unités différents à la base de la 
et  une  composition  isotopique  de  Nd  peu  radio‐ croûte. En plus, il y a d'évolution magmatique dans la
géniques  (Fig.  3).  Les  compositions  isotopiques  croûte supérieur pour le Tertiaire supérieur (particuliè‐
du  Sr,  Nd  et  Pb  des  magmas  d'arc  dans  le  nord‐ rement pour les intrusions de Cangrejos‐Zaruma) dont 
central de l'Équateur suivent un schéma systéma‐ l'assimilation  comprend  des  lithologies  caractérisées 
par  des  compositions  plus  radiogéniques  en  Sr  et 
tique  dans  l'ensemble  d’arc  où  ils  évoluent  pro‐
87 moins radiogéniques en Nd. 
gressivement  vers  Sr/86Sr  et 

  xv
207
Pb/204Pb  plus  radiogéniques,  et  une  composi‐ sions  associées  dans  l'espace  et  dans  le  temps 
tion  moins  radiogénique  en  143Nd/144Nd  du  pro‐ avec les porphyres cuprifères et la minéralisation 
fond au moyen niveau de la croûte avec la crois‐ épithermal  en  Equateur,  complétées  par  des 
sance  de  la  distance  depuis  la  tranchée.  Ceci  est  données en plusieurs formations de l'arc volcani‐
cohérent  avec  la  poussée  régionale  du  matériel  que du même âge. Notre objectif est de décrire la 
des plateaux océanique accrété le long d'une vas‐ distribution  spatio‐temporelle  des  compositions 
te zone de suture en dessous de la marge paléo‐ "adakite‐like"  dans  le  contexte  de  l'évolution 
continentale  comme  précédemment  déduit  à  géochimique  d'arc  du  Tertiaire  terminal,  et  d'ex‐
partir des études sismiques.  plorer  son  importance  pour  les  intrusions  asso‐
ciées  à  la  minéralisation  cuprifère/aurifère  en 
La  géochimie  des  granitoïdes  et  ro‐ Équateur. 
ches  volcaniques  d'âge  Oligocène‐ La plupart des intrusions représentent des tonali‐
Miocène  et  la  distribution  temporelle  tes,  granodiorites  et  diorites  quartzeuse  modé‐
rément  à  fortement  différenciées  et  portant  de 
des compositions "adakite‐like" 
l'hornblende  ±  biotite,  et  font  souvent  partie  de 
Enfin,  le  chapitre  4  présente  un  ensemble  de  plus grands complexes batholitiques d’âge Oligo‐
données  de  l’Oligocène  terminal  au  Miocène  su‐ cène‐Miocène;  les  roches  volcaniques  allant
périeur de la composition géochimique des intru‐

Figure 4: Diagrammes des éléments de traces et leurs rapports vs. l'âge. La distribution des éléments de traces impli‐
que  un  épaississement  progressif  de  la  croûte  pendant  l'Oligocène‐Miocène. En  plus,  des  facteurs  pétrogénétiques 
(fractionnement de l'amphibole) contrôlent l'appauvrissement extrême en Y pour les compositions magmatiques silici‐
ques. 

xvi   
d'une  composition  andésitique  à  dacitique‐
rhyolitique.  L'ensemble  spatio‐temporel  de  la 
distribution  des  magmas  de  type  "adakite‐like" 
dans  l'arc  équatorien  est  semi‐systématique;  la 
proportion  relative  des  magmas  "adakite‐like" 
augmente avec la diminution de l'âge, et est plus 
élevé  dans  le  centre‐nord  que  dans  le  sud  de 
l'Équateur. Les centres magmatiques caractérisée 
par,  en  partie,  un  magmatisme  "adakite‐like" 
sont  principalement  encaissés  par  la  Cordillère 
Occidentale  et  comprennent  Balsapamba  (c.  21 
Ma),  Apuela‐Junin  (13‐6  Ma),  Chaucha  (vers  10 
Ma), et Quimsacocha (7 Ma). Les caractéristiques 
"adakite‐like"  (haute  Sr/Y)  des  magmas  d’arcs 
équatoriens  d’âge  Tertiaire  terminal  sont  princi‐
palement  dues  à  un  fort  appauvrissement  en  Y 
(et  les  terres  rares  lourdes)  de  leurs  liquides  pa‐
rentaux  en  gardant  les  teneurs  plus  ou  moins 
constantes  en  Sr,  et  sont  liés  au  fractionne‐
ment/effets d’équilibration de restite d'amphibo‐
le, grenat, et titanite. 
Du  Miocène  inférieur  au  moyen,  le  fractionne‐
ment/l'équilibration  de  restite  d’amphibole  (± 
titanite comme accessoire) a causé l’évolution du 
liquide  silicique  vers  une  composition  "adakite‐
like".  La  combinaison  du  fractionnement/ 
l’équilibration  de  restite  d’amphibole  et  grenat 
dans les magmas d'arc équatorien n'a été généra‐
lisée  que  depuis  le  Miocène  supérieur.  L'appau‐
vrissement de Y par fractionnement/équilibration 
de restite d'amphibole est très efficace mais seu‐
lement  pour  les  liquides  de  compositions  silici‐
ques. Par contre, le fractionnement/équilibration 
de restite de grenat produit un appauvrissement 
fort  de  Y  déjà  dans  les  liquides  de  compositions 
plus mafiques, c'est à dire, pendant la  phase ini‐
tiale  de  différenciation.  Le  fractionnement  des 
plagioclases  dans  la  croûte  supérieure  affecte 
certains,  mais  pas  tous  les  magmas  d’arc  d’âge 
Tertiaire  dans  le  sud  de  l'Equateur;  il  est  d'une 
importance  pétrogénétique  mineure  pour  les  in‐
trusions d’âge Miocène de la Cordillère Occiden‐
tale dans le nord‐centre de l'Equateur. Une asso‐
ciation  de  caractéristiques  préférentielles  des

Figure 5: Distribution de  Sr/Y vs. Y pour les intrusions
porphyriques d'âge Tertiaire tardif et les roches intru‐
sives  phanéritiques  associées  avec  les  porphyres
e  n Equateur. Sauf le porphyre de Cangrejos, tous les porphyres ne montrent pas d'évidence pour l'évolution des liqui‐
des parentaux dans la croûte supérieure (fractionnement de plagioclase). Par contre, les liquides parentaux (sauf Can‐
grejos et Gaby) sont caractérisé par le fractionnement de l'amphibole ± titanite ± grenat aux niveaux plus profonds de 
la croûte (et/ou les liquides parentaux sont plus riches en H2O) en montrant des compositions "adakite‐like". 

  xvii
compositions "adakitelike" avec une lithologie
delabasedelacroûtenepeutêtreobservée.
Une variation systématique des éléments traces
(Sr, Y, REE) dans le temps sont révélateurs d’un
progressif épaississement de la croûte équato
riennedel'OligocèneterminalauMiocènetermi
nal(Fig.4).Toutenaugmentantl'épaisseurdela
croûte influence favorablement l'apparition des
compositions "adakitelike" à l'échelle régionale;
ces derniers sont en outre modulées par un en
semble de paramètres qui contrôlent dynami
quementlesstabilitésdesminérauxetlescoeffi
cients de partage minéralliquide à l'échelle plu
tôt locale. Il s'agit notamment de l'évolution du
magma en profondeur (pression) dans une co
lonne donnée de la croûte et la composition du
liquide (degré de différenciation et la teneur en
eau).Celuiciindiquenotammentlamigrationdu
magmatisme crustal à une plus grande profon
deur,et/ouenaugmentantlecontenueneaudu
systèmemagmatique.
Des changements systématiques dans la compo
sition entre les intrusions porphyriques et des
précurseursintrusifsnesontpasenregistréssila
différencedetempsentreleurmiseenplaceest
faible(Fig.5).Lefaitquelaminéralisationdetype
porphyre cuprifère et épithermal "high sulfida
tion" en Équateur existe de l'Oligocène terminal
entieràMiocènesupérieur(246Ma)etunelar
ge latitude de grande taille (c. 0° à 3° 30'S) sou
tient l'idée que toutes les magmas d'un arc de
volume suffisant ont le potentiel pour causer de
minéralisation liée aux intrusions. Le magmatis
me de composition "adakitelike" peut, cepen
dant, indiquer un favorable environnement tec
tonomagmatique et un préconditionnement fa
vorabledesliquidesporphyriquesparentauxpour
laminéralisationdetypeporphyrecuprifère.
Hughes, R.A., Bermudez, R., Espinel, G. (1998): Mapa
geológicodelaCordilleraOccidentaldelEcuadorentre
0°1°S, escala 1:200.000. CODIGEMMinisterio de En
ergíayMinasBGSpubls.,Quito.
Hungerbühler, D., Steinmann, M., Winkler, W., Sew
ard,D.,Egüez,A.,Peterson,D.E.,Helg,U.,Hammer,C.
(2002):NeogenestratigraphyandAndeangeodynam
icsofsouthernEcuador.EarthScienceReviews57;75–
124.
Litherland, M., Aspden, J. A., Jemielita, R. A. (1994):
ThemetamorphicbeltsofEcuador.OverseasMemoir
11.BGS,Keyworth.
McCourt, W. J., Duque, P., Pilatasig, L. F. and Villago
mez, R. (1997): Mapa geológico de la Cordillera Occi
dental del Ecuador entre 1°  2° S., escala 1/200.000.
CODIGEMMin.Energ.Min.BGSpubls.,Quito.
Meschede,M.&Barckhausen,U.(2001):Therelation
shipoftheCocosandCarnegieridges:ageconstraints
from paleogeographic reconstructions. International
JournalofEarthSciences90;386392.
Noble,D.C.&McKee,E.H.(1999):TheMiocenemet
allogenic belt of central and northern Perú. SEG Spe
cialPublication7;155193.
Palacios,O.,Pilatasig,L.,Sanchez,J.,Gordon,D.,Shaw,
R., Feininger, T. (2008): Mapa geologico binacional
regionsurdelEcuadorynortedelPeru.Ingeomin,1:
500,000.
Pratt,W.T.,Figueroa,J.F.,Flores,B.G.(1997):Mapa
geologicodelaCordilleraOccidentaldelEcuadorentre
3°4°S. escale 1/200.000. CODIGEMMin. Energ. Min.
BGSpubls.,Quito.
Steinmann, M. (1997): The Cuenca basin of southern
Ecuador:tectonosedimentaryhistoryandtheTertiary
Andean evolution. PhD Thesis, Institute of Geology
ETHZürich,Switzerland,176p.

Références
BenavidesCáceres, V. (1999): Orogenic evolution of
thePeruvianAndes:TheAndeancycle.In:Skinner,B.
J.(ed.),GeologyandoredepositsofthecentralAndes.
SEGSpecialPublication7;61–107.
Dunkley,P.N.&Gaibor,A.(1997):Mapageologicode
la Cordillera Occidental del Ecuador entre2°3°S. es
cale 1/200.000. CODIGEMMin. Energ. Min.BGS
publs.,Quito.

xviii
CHAPTERI
THEORETICALBACKGROUNDANDAIMSOFTHESIS

Introduction
Porphyry Cu deposits and associated epithermal
and polymetallic vein mineralization, hereafter
referred to as "porphyryrelated ore deposits",
formaspartsofhydrothermalsystemsrelatedto
fluid exsolution from shallow crustal intrusions
(e.g.,Seedorffetal.2005).Theycanbefoundin
subduction zone settings worldwide, and are re
garded as the product of a series of common
place geologic processes which have to combine
favorablytoeventuallyresultineconomicminer
alization (e.g., Tosdal & Richards 2001). Parental
melts to porphyry intrusions ultimately derive
from the supraslab mantle wedge, the latter
fluxed by a volatilerich slab component. Subse
quent lower to midcrustal magma evolution of
porphyry parental melts produces volatile
enriched andesitic or more differentiated melt
compositionswhichthenascendtouppercrustal
levels where porphyry intrusive and associated
hydrothermalsystemsmayform.Thelocalization
ofthelatterisoftenstructurallycontrolled(e.g.,
Richards 2003), although this is not always the
case(Sillitoe2000).
Asfarasmagmasourcesandearlydifferentiation
stagesareconcerned,ahighfO2isofteninferred
forporphyryparentalmeltswiththepotentialto
form hightonnage ore deposits (e.g., Sillitoe
2000; Mungall 2002). Depending on the prevail
ingfO2,Sasacomponentofasilicatemeltcom
monly occurs in variable proportions of sulfide
and sulfate where the melt S solubility is signifi
cantlyhigherifsulfate,ratherthansulfide,forms
the dominant S species (e.g. Jugo et al. 2005). If
the S content of a silicate melt at supraliquidus
conditions exceeds the melt S solubility, Srich
immiscible liquids will form, which scavenge
lithophileandchalcophileelementsfromthesili
catemelt(Jugoetal.2005).If,byvirtueoftheir
higher density, Srich immiscible melt globules
coalesce and fractionate from a given silicate
 1
melt batch, the silicate melt will become de
pletedinchalcophilemetals(suchasCuandAu),
thusdecreasingitspotentialforsubsequentpor
phyry CuAu mineralization. Although mass bal
ance calculations indicate that, in principle, any
arcmagma(averageandesiteCucontent60ppm;
Cline&Bodnar1991)maycontribute tothefor
mationofaporphyryrelatedoredepositaslong
as the integrated magmatic system comprises a
sufficient volume (100 km3; Cline & Bodnar
1991), parental melts related to large porphyry
related ore deposits may be expected to be
highly oxidized, sulfatedominated silicate melts
whose metal budget has not been substantially
depletedbymetallosstoimmisciblesulfidemelts
in or close to the magma source region (Sillitoe
2000;Mungall2002).
Porphyryrelatedoredepositdistributionandsize
isdiachronousthroughtimeandspace,implying
that certain tectonomagmatic environments are
particularlyprolific(orunfavorable)formaximiz
ing the potential of intrusionrelated mineraliza
tion. Spatiotemporal clusters of porphyry
relatedoredepositsmaybeduetofavorableex
posure and preservation conditions, and/or in
creased rates of deposit formation (Wilkinson &
Kesler 2009). Considering the latter, the in
creased abundance of porphyryrelated ore de
posits(ortheiroveralllargertonnage)mayreflect
favorable tectonomagmatic settings which, in
part,mightderivefromspecialgeodynamicenvi
ronments (Tosdal & Richards 2001). Amongst
others, the subduction of seamount chains has
been proposed to show a positive spatio
temporal correlation with porphyrystyle miner
alization(e.g.,inthesouthernandcentralAndes;
Rosenbaum et al. 2005; see also Cooke et al.
2005). Constraining potentially favorable condi
tions for porphyryrelated mineralization is of
major interest for the design of regional mineral
exploration campaigns for this type of ore de
posit.
In this context, Thieblémont et al. (1997) note
that intrusions associated with porphyrystyle
mineralization often tend to be of "adakitic"
composition, potentially implying that “adakitic”
featuresmightbeusedasalocalregionalexplo
rationtoolforporphyryrelatedoredeposits.The
term "adakite" sensu stricto refers to a special
geochemical composition of island arc magmas
indicative of parental melt evolution outside the
stability field of plagioclase, and melt equilibra
tion with residual garnet (Defant & Drummond
1990).Defant&Drummond(1990)arguethatthe
appropriatePTconditionstostabilizeordestabi
lizethesemineralphases inanisland arcsetting
associated with a thin layer of continental crust
would apply to slab melting. Modern island arc
subduction zones are usually characterized by
lowgeothermalgradientssuchthatthedowngo
ing slab dehydrates before it melts; augmenting
thelocalgeothermalgradientsufficientlytofacili
tateslabmeltingpriortosignificantslabdehydra
tion may only apply to a number of special geo
dynamic settings such as subduction zone initia
tion, subduction of young, hot oceanic litho
sphere (<25 Ma), or, possibly, flat subduction
(e.g., Defant & Drummond 1990; Gutscher et al.
2000).
The empirical observation of Thieblémont et al.
(1997) might imply that special geodynamic set
tingsfacilitatingslabmelting(ofwhich“adakitic”
chemical compositions may be indicative of, but
see below) favor the formation of porphyry
related ore deposits. As slab melting may be a
highly effective means of oxidizing the upper
mantleinthesupraslabregion,apositivecorrela
tion between slab melting and porphyryrelated
ore deposit formation had also been envisaged
from theoretical considerations based on ther
modynamic modeling (Mungall 2002). Indeed,
Oyarzun et al. (2001) speculate that large por
phyryrelatedoredeposits(partlyassociatedwith
"adakitic"intrusions)ofLateEocenetoEarlyOli
gocene age in Chile formed in a special geody
namic setting (flat subduction) allowing slab
meltingtotakeplace;incontrast,non“adakitic”
Paleocene to Early Eocene porphyryrelated ore
deposits in Chile are smaller in tonnage, and
might be related to "standard" arc magmatism
where slab melting does not contribute to arc
magmagenesis(Oyarzunetal.2001).
2 
SincetheworksofThieblémontetal.(1997)and
Oyarzun et al. (2001), the notion to associate
"adakitic" magmatism with porphyryrelated ore
depositshasgainedsomeappealintheeconomic
geologyliterature(seereviewbyRichards&Ker
rich2007,andreferencestherein).However,the
conclusions of Oyarzun et al. (2001) have been
vigorously debated (Oyarzun et al. 2002; Rabbia
et al. 2002; Richards 2002; see also Richards &
Kerrich 2007), in part because a straightforward
"adakite"slab melt correlation cannot be unam
biguously demonstrated in a continental arc set
ting where similar chemical signatures (referred
to as adakitelike) may also be acquired through
crustal magma evolution (Richards & Kerrich
2007).Moreover,eveninislandarcsettingsada
kitelike features of arc magmas may be pro
duced by other processes than slab melting, ei
ther in the mantle wedge (e.g., Castillo et al.
1999) and/or in the crust (AlonsoPerez et al.
2009).Consequently,the(occasionally)observed
association of adakitelike magma chemistry and
porphyryrelatedoredepositsdoesnotnecessar
ily relate to a specific process in the magma
source,butmayalsoreflectcertainpetrogenetic
processes of crustal magma evolution such as
progressive volatile enrichment, which are
equally regarded as favorable for porphyrystyle
mineralization (Sillitoe 2000; Rohrlach & Loucks
2005;Richards&Kerrich2007).
The Late Tertiary Ecuadorian arc system at the
NW South American margin hosts a number of
moderatetonnageporphyryrelatedoredeposits
(Prodeminca 2000a, b), and regionally connects
with the centralnorthern Peruvian Tertiary arc
whose Miocene metallogenic belt is of major
economic importance (e.g., Noble & McKee
1999). Porphyryrelated ore deposits along the
Ecuadorianmarginformedonthebackgroundof
ageodynamicsettingcharacterizedbyahighde
gree of complexity involving Late Cretaceous
oceanic terrane collision and major strikeslip
partitioningintheupperplate(e.g.,Vallejoetal.
2006), the Late Oligocene breakup of the Faral
lon plate and subsequent subduction of newly
formed Nazca seafloor, abandoned spreading
centers, and oceanic fracture zones at the Ecua
doriantrench(e.g.,Lonsdale2005),andcollision
of the Carnegie Ridge seamount chain with the
margin since the Late Miocene (e.g., Michaud et
al.2009).Theoverallcharacterofarcmagmatism
seems to shift from dominantly nonadakitic to
adakitelike in the Late Miocene, possibly in re
sponse to the changing geodynamic regime, al
though the timing of the change is only loosely
constrained(Chiaradiaetal.2004,2009).
The highly dynamic nature of the Tertiary Ecua
dorianmarginrepresentsanopportunitytostudy
the complex interactions between geodynamic
setting, arc magmatism, and ore deposit forma
tion.Theprincipalaimofthisthesisistoevaluate
the mutual relevance of these different factors
foreachother.Astheamountofavailablestate
oftheart geochronologic and geochemical data
(outsideofthisthesis)onTertiaryarcmagmatism
and ore deposits in Ecuador is very limited, the
present work can only serve as a first step to
wards a better understanding of the Tertiary Ec
uadorianarcmagmaticevolution.
Indetail,thisthesisaimstoaddressthefollowing
issues:
(1) Arobust,regionalgeochronologicframework
(asopposedtopotentiallydisturbedagesre
lyingontheKArisotopicsystem)fortheEc
uadorian arc segment and its porphyry sys
temshasnotbeenestablishedyet.Thiswork
presents robust zircon and titanite UPb (ID
TIMS, LAMCICPMS), molybdenite ReOs,
andbiotiteaswellasalunite40Ar/39Ar(results
were pending during thesis compilation, but
will be available for subsequent manuscript
editing)massspectrometricdataallowingthe
dating of intrusive and hydrothermal pulses
ofseveralEcuadorianporphyrysystemsona
regional scale. These data are presented in
Chapters2(magmatism)and3(hydrothermal
systems).
(2) Building on a pilot study by Chiaradia et al.
(20004),thisthesisprovidesnewandextends
existingdatasetsonTertiaryporphyryrelated
arcmagmaisotopiccompositions(Sr,Nd,Pb;
Chapter 4) and geochemistry (multielement
XRF, LAICPMS; Chapter 5). These data may
be used to track heterogeneous crustal
basementunitsatdepth,andtobroadlycon
strain the petrogenetic features of Tertiary
arcmagmatism.Particularemphasisisplaced
on the generation of adakitelike features,
 3
andontheirsignificanceforporphyryrelated
oredeposits.
(3) Whereappropriateinagivenchapterofthis
thesis, I test spatiotemporal correlations of
ore deposit formation, variations in arc
magma chemistry, and geodynamic changes
at the Late Tertiary Ecuadorian margin to
identifypotentialfeedbackmechanisms.This
includesacriticalreviewoftheinferredgeo
dynamicevolutionoftheTertiaryEcuadorian
arc system, and an adjustment of published
convergence parameters to the Ecuadorian
margin (parts of chapters 2 and 3; see also
Appendix of Chapter 2). A short synthesis of
the results of this analysis is presented in
Chapter6.
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neousgarnetandamphibolefractionationintheroots
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(2009):AdakitelikevolcanismofEcuador:lowercrust
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Cooke, D. R., Hollings, P., Walshe, J. L. (2005): Giant
porphyry deposits: characteristics, distribution, and
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some modern arc magmas by melting of young sub
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(2000):Canslabmeltingbecausedbyflatsubduction?
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Jugo, P. J., Luth, R. W., Richards, J. P. (2005): An ex
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(2001):Giantversussmallporphyrycopperdepositsof
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(2002): Reply to Discussion on "Giant versus small
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4 
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CHAPTERII
GEODYNAMIC CONTROLS ON TERTIARY ARC MAGMATISM IN ECUA
DOR: CONSTRAINTS FROM UPb ZIRCON GEOCHRONOLOGY OF OLI
GOCENEMIOCENE INTRUSIONS AND REGIONAL AGE DISTRIBUTION
TRENDS
Abstract
WeobtainedUPbzirconagesofLateTertiaryintrusionsinthenorthernAndestoproviderobusttimecali
brationpointsfortheintrusivegeochronologicframeworkofEcuadorwhichismostlybasedonKArdata.
Intrusion emplacement ages range from about 31 to 7 Ma, and mainly pool in the Late OligoceneEarly
Miocene.WherebothKArandUPbdataexistforagivenintrusivesystem,agesobtainedbythedifferent
methodsareusuallyconcordantwithin14m.y.implyingthatKAragesmaybeusedasproxiesforthetim
ing of Tertiary arc magmatism on a regional scale. Except for a single sample, the investigated intrusions
completely lack externally inherited zircons, in agreement with dominantly zirconpoor, oceanic crustal
basementdomains.
SpatiotemporaldistributiontrendsofTertiaryarcmagmatisminferredfromscreenedUPb,KAr,andzir
confissiontrackgeochronologicdataallowtrackingoftheprogressivebroadeningofaflatslabregionbe
low southernmost Ecuador in the Mid to Late Miocene, and of moderate slab shallowing in northern
centralEcuadorintheLateMiocene.Theseregionalarcmigrationpatternscorrelateintimewiththesub
ductionofthebuoyantIncaPlateauandtheCarnegieRidgeseamountchain.Thetemporaldistributionof
TertiaryEcuadorianarcmagmatismindicatesaLateOligoceneEarlyMiocenearcmagmaticflareupevent
comprisingwidespreadignimbriteeruptionandbatholithconstruction.Initiationoftheflareupeventcoin
cidesintimewithaccelerating,lessobliqueFarallon/NazcaSouthAmericaplateconvergence,suggestinga
positivefeedbackbetweenconvergencerates,asthenosphericmeltproduction,mantlecrustmeltflux,and
uppercrustalarcmagmaticproductivityinEcuador.


 5
Introduction RegionalGeologyofEcuador
Ecuador’s fundamental physiographic elements
The spatiotemporal distribution of arc magma
coincide with major geologic domains and com
tism, typically manifested as distinct belt seg
prise the flatlying western Costa forearc and
mentsattheEarth'ssurface,iscontrolledbythe
eastern Oriente foreland regions, enclosing be
interplay of multiple tectonomagmatic parame
tween them the central Andean chain which
ters which derive from the complex interactions
splits into the Western and Eastern Cordillera,
of descending slab, overriding plate, and the
separated by the Interandean Depression (IAD;
mantlewedge(e.g.,Hamilton1995).Anumberof
Litherlandetal.1994;Fig.1).Allochthonousma
studiesevaluatefeedbackprocessesbetweenthe
ficultramafic oceanic basement domains, inter
geodynamic evolution and subductionrelated
preted as hotspotderived oceanic plateau frag
MesozoicCenozoic arc magmatism along the
ments and mainly accreted in the Late Creta
westernplateedgeofSouthAmerica(e.g.Jaillard
ceous, floor the presentday forearc and frontal
& Soler 1996; Kay et al. 2005), but data for the
arc regions of Ecuador (e.g., Vallejo et al. 2009).
Late Tertiary tectonomagmatic evolution of the
Locally, especially in the Western Cordillera and
northern Andes are lacking. In this contribution,
its western foothills, these oceanic plateau units
wearepresentingthefirstdatasetofrobustUPb
host or are tectonically juxtaposed against sev
zircon ages of Late Tertiary intrusions in the
eral pre and postaccretionary island arc com
northern Andes of Ecuador which to date have
plexes of Late CretaceousEarly Tertiary age
only been characterized by KAr geochronologic
(Vallejoetal.2009).Thepresentdaymainarcis
data.
built upon IAD basement units which are likely
Our new data, combined with previously pub heterogeneous in nature, comprising tectonized
lished radiometric age information, allow us to slices of Eastern Cordillera and oceanic plateau
discusstherelationshipsbetweenarcmagmatism material(Feininger&Seguin1983;Spikingsetal.
and changes in the Tertiary geodynamic regime 2005; Chiaradia et al. 2009). Older Tertiary
of the northern Andean margin. Because a side subaerial arc volcanic formations are exposed in
outcome of this study (discussed in Chapters 3 the Interandean region south of 2.5°S where ac
and5)istoinvestigatelinksbetweenthegeody tive volcanism of the Northern Volcanic Zone
namic setting, magma chemistry, and intrusion ceases(Hungerbühleretal.2002).Characteristics
related mineralization in Ecuador, our study fo of the major Tertiary arc volcanic formations of
cusesonintrusionsspatiallyassociatedwithpor EcuadorarelistedinTable1.
phyryrelated ore deposits and their respective
TwoprominentNtoNNEtrendingregionalfault
host rocks. Mineralized porphyry intrusions are
zones structure the Western Cordillera (Fig. 2).
typically small (few km2 outcrop area), but are
The CalacalíPujiliPallatanga fault zone (CPPF)
thought to represent the uppermost crustal
forms the Cordillera's eastern structural limit; it
manifestations of significantly larger magmatic
intersects the Western Cordillera at 3°S to splay
systems at depth, which constitute the major
offtowardstheGulfofGuayaquil(Winkleretal.
source of the mineralizing fluids (e.g., Sillitoe
2005). The ChimboToachi shear zone (CTSZ)
1973). Therefore, knowledge of the age of em
formstheeasternlimitoftheMacuchiislandarc
placement of porphyry stocks can serve as a
proxyforthetimingofmorevoluminous,notyet
unroofedplutonismatdepth.

Figure1(nextpage):SimplifiedgeologicalmapoftheCordilleraregionofEcuador,focusingonTertiaryarcmagmatic
units;magmaticcentersinvestigatedinthisstudyaremarked.Insetshowspresentdaygeodynamicsituationofthe
EcuadorianColombianmarginandthePanamabasin;darkgrayareasoutlineseamountchains(offshore)andCordil
leraranges(onshore);seafloorfeaturesincludeactivespreadingcenters(thicklines),extinctspreadingcenters(thin
lines),activefaults(hairlines),andtransformfaults/scarps(dashedhairlines).InsetadaptedfromMeschede&Barck
hausen(2001);mainmapadaptedfromLitherlandetal.(1994),Steinmann(1997),Dunkley&Gaibor(1997),McCourt
etal.(1997),Prattetal.(1997),Hughesetal.(1998),andPalaciosetal.(2008).

6 
  7
sequence (Hughes & Pilatasig 2002). Seismic
studies suggest that, while subvertical in their
uppermost portions, both fault zones extend
down to middeep crustal levels where they are
defined by 35° Edipping fault planes (Guillier et
al.2001).TertiaryintrusionsoftheWesternCor
dilleraarealignedalongtheCTSZand,towardsits
southerntermination,theCPPF(Fig.1,2).InSW
Ecuador the Amotape terrane forms a distinct
tectonic unit which extends further south into
northern Peru (Mitouard et al. 1990; Litherland
et al. 1994). Its Paleozoic basement units, ex
posedintheElOromassifinEcuador,aremostly
covered by volcanicsedimentary sequences of
the Cretaceous CelicaLancones basin (Jaillard et
al.1996).TheElOromassif,interpretedasami
crocontinental block accreted to South America
intheearliestCretaceous(Litherlandetal.1994),
represents a major structural break from the
mainAndeanstrikefurthernorthinthatitaddsa
prominent ESEWNW structural trend to the re
gional tectonic framework which structurally fo
cused intrusion emplacement in acrossarc di
mension(Figs.1,2).
Assembly of multiple exotic terrane fragments,
syn and postaccretionary block rotation and
fragmentation, largescale forearc sliver dis
placement, and an oblique subduction setting,
concentratedinanarrowrangeoflatitudes,pro
duced a tectonically heterogeneous Tertiary arc
system in Ecuador (e.g., Mitouard et al. 1990;
Hungerbühler et al. 2002; Spikings et al. 2005;
Vallejo et al. 2009). Therefore, it is useful to in
spectthearcinitsregionalcontextalongtheNW
South American margin. Based on their spatial
distribution and tectonic context, three major
Tertiary arc segments (northern, central, and
southern Ecuador) can be distinguished in Ecua
dor(Fig.2).TheregionaloutcroppatternofTer
tiary arc magmatic units of NW South America
demonstrates an essentially uninterrupted mag
matic chain developed along the northern Peru
vian (Calipuy) and southern Ecuadorian margin,
geometrically continuous with the central
northern Ecuadorian arc segments. The north
wards continuation of the northern arc segment
into southern Colombia is less obvious, as this
area, the Naranjal block, is characterized by a
highdegreeofstructuralcomplexityincludingthe
appearance of additional Late Cretaceous island
8 
arc units (Rio Cala arc; Vallejo 2007; Chiaradia
2009).
TheTertiaryarccutsacrossafundamentalbase
ment contrast in the Saraguro arc segment, the
exactlocationofwhichisnotknown(cf.Chapter
4). It might be located close to the CPPF at ca.
3°S, or further south towards the Jubones or Pi
ñasPortovelo faults, and corresponds to the
northern limit of Amotape basement units vs.
allochthonous Cretaceous oceanic plateau mate
rial(Litherlandetal.1994;Prattetal.1997;Spik
ings et al. 2005). Petrologically, most pre
Miocene arc units north of 2.53°S and west of
the CPPF represent a progressively maturing is
land arc system emplaced in a submarine envi
ronment on oceanic plateau basement. In con
trast, subaerial arc magmatism taking place east
oftheCPPFandinsoutherncentralEcuadorpro
ducedtypicalcontinentalarcsequences.
Tertiary arc segmentation and
geologyofinvestigatedmagmatic
centers
ThenorthernEcuadorianarcsegment
The northern Ecuadorian arc segment comprises
thewholeTertiaryarcsystemofcentralnorthern
Ecuador (Fig. 2). Its main outcrop unit is the Pa
leoceneEocene Macuchi Unit, representing a
submarine sequence of pillow lavas and hyalo
clastites, and their redistributed sedimentary
equivalents (Hughes & Pilatasig 2002; Vallejo
2007).DuetodeeperosionlevelsintheWestern
Cordillera, postMacuchi arc volcanics are spa
tially underrepresented. Aerially extensive Oligo
ceneMiocene volcanic cover sequences can be
inferred from prominent coeval batholith intru
sions in central and northern Ecuador (see be
low). Locally preserved postMacuchi volcanic or
volcaniclasticrockscomprise:(1)minorSaraguro
Group volcanics cropping out in small, isolated
patchesinthecentralWesternCordilleracloseto
the CPPF. In southern Ecuador, the Saraguro
Group is mainly of OligoceneEarly Miocene age
(Hungerbühler et al. 2002; Tab. 1), but Saraguro
Group(OcañaFormation)volcanicsoverlyingthe
Paleogene Yunguilla turbidites at the eastern
edge of the Western Cordillera have KAr and
 9
zircon  fission  track  (ZFT)  ages  of  36‐39  Ma,  thus  rocks  of  the  Zumbagua  Unit  in  central  Ecuador 
overlapping  in  age  with  the  youngest  Macuchi  unconformably overlie Eocene turbidites (Hughes 
Unit (Dunkley & Gaibor 1997; Tab. 1); (2) the Oli‐ et  al.  1998);  (4)  Pliocene‐Holocene  volcanism  in 
gocene‐Early Miocene San Juan de Lachas Forma‐ Ecuador  and  Colombia,  constituting  the  present‐
tion, contemporaneous with the Saraguro Group,  day Northern Volcanic Zone of the Andes, covers 
crops out in small areas close to the Ecuadorian‐ part of the older arc units of the Western Cordil‐
Colombian border, where it overlies the Macuchi  lera  and  is  prominently  exposed  further  east‐
Unit  (Vallejo  2007);  (3)  Miocene  volcaniclastic  wards  in  the  IAD.  Considering  the  relatively 

Figure  2:  Regional  Tertiary 

arc  outcrop  pattern  along 
the  NW  South  American 
margin  showing  arc  seg‐
ments  as  discussed  in  the 
text  (Northern,  Central,  and 
Southern  Ecuador,  and 
Calipuy,  Peru),  and  major 
fault  systems  which  con‐
trolled  Tertiary  intrusion 
emplacement  in  Ecuador. 
Tertiary  intrusions  (italics) 
are  aligned  along  major 
structures  (thick  lines)  or 
inferred  major  structures 
(dashed  thick  lines).  The 
Raspas  complex  of  the  NW 
El  Oro  range  indicates  prox‐
imity  to  the  ancient  Amo‐
tape  suture  zone  (Bosch  et 
al. 2002). Age ranges of vol‐
canic‐volcaniclastic  forma‐
tions  referenced  in  the  leg‐
end  are  approximate,  and 
refer to the base of the cor‐
responding  unit;  Calipuy 
Group  volcanism  extends 
throughout most of the Ter‐
tiary  (Navarro  et  al.  2008). 
Also  shown  are  Wadati‐
Benioff  zones  (Gutscher  et 
al.  1999a,  b;  Guillier  et  al. 
2001)  outlining  the  flat  slab 
segment  below  northern 
Peru  and  southern  Ecuador. 
Map  compiled  from  same 
sources  as  Fig.  1,  plus 
Gómez  Tapias  et  al.  (2006), 
and Winkler et al. (2005). 

10   

narrowwidthoftheMacuchiarcsegmenttothe
west of the CPPF (mostly 50 km or less) com
pared to a typical average arc width of 97 km
(Stern2002),oneexpectsPliocenerecentvolcan
icstoconcealthelandwardextentofMioceneor
oldervolcanicsequencesspatiallyassociatedwith
the northern Ecuadorian arc segment which, for
example,mightconstitutethesourceareaforthe
PaleoceneSilanteortheMioceneZumbaguavol
caniclasticunitsoftheWesternCordillera.
Large,mainlyMacuchiUnithostedintrusionsare
unroofedinEcuador'sWesternCordilleraandits
foothills. Relatively few, mostly smallsized Eo
cene stocks and plutons are exposed, with the
Santiago pluton close to the Ecuadorian
Colombian border representing the only major
Eoceneplutonicbody(Bolandetal.1998).Incon
trast,severallargeOligoceneMiocenebatholiths
form two regional intrusive clusters and were
investigatedinthisstudy.
In northern Ecuador the Junin and Cuellaje por
phyry systems are emplaced in the Apuela
Nanegalbatholith,whichinturnishostedbyvol
caniclasticunitsascribedtotheLateCretaceous
EarlyTertiaryRioCalaandMacuchiislandarcse
quences (Boland et al. 1998; Prodeminca 2000a;
Chiaradia 2009). The ApuelaNanegal batholith
covers an area of 750 km2 thus forming one of
the largest Tertiary intrusive complexes in Ecua
dor. It dominantly comprises hornblende and
biotitebearing quartzdiorites and granodiorites
which are punctured by several porphyry stocks
anddikesofvariable,mainlydacitic,composition.
Available geochronological data (hornblende,
biotiteandwholerockKAr;VanThournout1991;
MMAJ/JICA 1992; Boland et al. 1998) indicate a
period of protracted magmatism from 19 to 6
Ma,althoughsomeKAragesmightreflect ther
mal resetting caused by intense hydrothermal
alteration associated with porphyry stock em
placement.
InnortherncentralEcuadorthehornblendeand
biotitebearing tonaliticgranodioritic plutonic
complexes of TelimbelaChazo Juan and Balsa
pambaLasGuardiashostseveralporphyryintru
sionsandassociatedhydrothermalsystems;they
are situated at a close distance to the western
EcheandiaLaIndustriaandthenorthernCorazon
 11
plutons (McCourt et al. 1997; Prodeminca
2000a).Combined,theseintrusivecomplexesare
of batholithic dimension and form the most
prominentclusterofplutonsexposedinwestern
centralEcuador.AvailableKArages(hornblende
or biotite) for the TelimbelaChazo Juan pluton
rangefrom2115MawhereasagesfortheBalsa
pambaLasGuardiasplutonaremostlyolder(34
30 Ma) except for two hornblende KAr ages of
19.8±3.0 Ma and 25.7±0.9 Ma (Kennerley 1980;
MMAJ/JICA 1989, 1991; McCourt et al. 1997).
Furthermore, the hydrothermal system of a por
phyryintrusionhostedbytheBalsapambapluton
has been dated at 19.7 ± 0.3 Ma (ReOs molyb
denite; Chiaradia et al. 2004). Ages reported for
thenearbyplutonsofEcheandiaLaIndustria(27
23Ma)andCorazon(1614Ma)closelycorrelate
in time with these ages (Kennerley 1980;
MMAJ/JICA1989,1991;McCourtetal.1997).
ThecentralEcuadorianarcsegment
The central Ecuadorian arc segment, structurally
bracketed between the PiñasPortovelo Fault at
c.3°45'S,andtheCPPFatc.2°10'S(Fig.2)hosts
mainly subaerial volcanic formations spanning
the whole Tertiary (Tab. 1), with the Oligocene
EarlyMioceneSaraguroGroupformingthemajor
outcrop unit. Several Miocene basins filled with
volcaniclasticsedimentary sequences overlie the
Saraguro Group volcanics and form prominent
outcrop units in this arc segment (Steinmann
1997;Hungerbühleretal.2002).
TheoldestvolcanicformationisthePaleocene(?)
Sacapalca Formation which mainly occurs in the
northwards projection of the Catamayo graben
(Hungerbühler et al. 2002), but also well to the
westofit(Prattetal.1997).TheEoceneChinchín
Formation forms the base of the local Quingeo
basin SW of Cuenca (Steinmann 1997; Hunger
bühler et al. 2002). PostSaraguro volcanism is
represented by the Sta. Isabel and Quimsacocha
formations which overlie older volcanics in the
southwestern prolongation of the Cuenca basin.
The Late MiocenePliocene Tarqui Formation
represents the youngest major volcanic forma
tion in southern Ecuador, with outcrop areas
concentrated along the eastern border of the
Saraguro arc segment, where it overlies Saca
palca, Chinchín, and Saraguro volcanics (Pratt et
al.1997;Hungerbühleretal.2002).
Two major and one minor intrusive centers of
this arc segment were investigated in this study.
Tonalite,quartzdiorite,andgranodioriteunitsof
the Chaucha batholith, exposed adjacent to the
CPPF, intrude or are tectonically juxtaposed
against undifferentiated metasedimentary rocks,
mafic lavas of the Pallatanga Unit, sedimentary
rocks of the Late CretaceousEocene Yunguilla
and Angamarca turbidite series, and Saraguro
Group volcanics (Dunkley & Gaibor 1997;
Prodeminca2000a).TheChauchabatholithhosts
severalporphyryintrusionsanditsSEportionhas
beendatedat13.39.8Ma(KArvariousminerals;
Kennerley 1980; INEMINAGCD 1989; additional
referencesinProdeminca2000a).
AlongthenorthernlimitoftheAmotaperangea
seriesofmainlydiorite,quartzdioriteandgrano
dioriteintrusionsformsaWNWESEtrendingbelt
hereafter referred to as CangrejosZaruma intru
sive belt. These plutons intrude the southern
flankandpartlythehingeofaWNWESEtrending
regional antiform. Amongst others, the plutonic
complexes comprise, from west to east, Cangre
jos,Paccha,andElPoglio,andareassociatedwith
severalmineralizedporphyryintrusionsaswellas
a large epithermal vein system at Zaruma and
Portovelo(Prattetal.1997;Spenceretal.2002).
The regional basement is mostly obscured by
overlying Saraguro Group volcanics which form
the major host lithology for the Tertiary intru
sions, but it is exposed as several metamorphic
inliers along the intrusive belt. Towards the east
the belt is disrupted by a network of Andean
trending (NNE) regional faults, which juxtapose
unitsoftheSaraguroGroupagainsttheSacapalca
Formation further east (Pratt et al. 1997).
Spenceretal.(2002)regardtheSacapalcahosted
Fierro Urcu porphyry center as the eastern pro
longationoftheCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelt.
The beltisinferredto be mainly Mioceneinage
butonlyasingleKArageof16.9±0.2Maforthe
Paccha intrusion has been reported so far (Pratt
etal.1997).ThePaleoceneEarlyEoceneSanLu
caspluton(6652Ma;Aspdenetal.1992),occur
ringattheeasternterminationoftheCangrejos
Zaruma intrusive belt at the border to the Saca
palca arc segment (Fig. 2), significantly predates
westernbeltplutonism.
12 
In a tectonized zone characterized by regional
CPPF splay faults, the GabyPapa Grande por
phyry system forms a minor intrusive complex.
The porphyry system is hosted by basalts of the
Pallatanga oceanic plateau unit and consists of
several small (few km2 in total) intrusive units
comprising a tonalite pluton as well as plagio
clasehornblende porphyry stocks and dikes.
Prodeminca (2000a) report a KAr age of 19.3 ±
1.0 Ma for the Gaby porphyry without providing
further details as to which mineral was used for
dating.
Apart from these deeply eroded intrusive cen
ters, a number of subvolcanic domes and plugs
associated with epithermal ore deposits were
investigated in this work. These comprise the
high sulfidation type epithermal systems of
Quimsacocha and El Mozo, as well as the poly
metallic vein deposit of Tres Chorreras; spatially
associatedsubvolcanicsaredescribedorinferred
foreachofthesedeposits(Prodeminca2000b).
Quimsacocha forms a topographically prominent
calderaofc.5kmdiameter,surroundedbycoge
netic andesitic lavas and breccias, and rhyolitic
ignimbrites(Beateetal.2001).Thecalderahosts
several rhyodacitic domes whose emplacement
postdatestheepithermalmineralizationeventat
the caldera flank. Zircon fission track ages ob
tained on ignimbrites (5.24.9 Ma) and subvol
canic intracaldera domes (3.6 Ma) indicate a
LateMiocenephaseofvolcanicactivity(Beateet
al. 2001). Polymetallic veins and mineralized
brecciabodiesassociatedwiththeTresChorreras
diatreme complex, situated between the
Chaucha,Gaby,andQuimsacochamagmaticcen
ters, are hosted by silicic volcanic units ascribed
to the Saraguro Group (Pratt et al. 1997).
Prodeminca (2000a) mentions the occurrence of
syn to postmineral intrusions, but we failed to
clearly identify these in the field due to intense
hydrothermal alteration. The El Mozo high sulfi
dation type epithermal mineralization occurs at
thewesternflankoftheEasternCordillera.TheEl
Mozo complex includes strongly altered volcanic
units which are hosted by rhyolitic tuffs of the
uppermost Saraguro Group (La Paz Formation).
Exploration drill cores encountered altered
granodiorite porphyry intrusions occurring at
shallow depth below the epithermal high
 13
sulfidation mineralization; an alunite KAr age of
15.4±0.7 Ma is thought to date the high
sulfidation alteration and mineralization event
(Prodeminca2000b).
ThesouthernEcuadorianarcsegment
Outcropunitsofthisarcsegmentsouthof3°45'
Saremainly preservedin theNStrendingCata
mayograbenattheborderbetweentheEastern
Cordillera and the Amotape terrane in southern
Ecuador (Figs. 1, 2). An inferred Late Maas
trichtianPaleoceneageofthevolcanicSacapalca
Formationispoorlyresolvedandbasedonasin
gle ZFT age of 67±6 Ma (Hungerbühler et al.
2002), in conjunction with the Paleocene
Miocene ages of several plutons intruding the
Sacapalca Formation, including the major Paleo
ceneEarlyEoceneSanLucasplutonattheborder
totheSaraguroarcsegment(Aspdenetal.1992;
Jaillardetal.1996).Locally,volcanicsoftheLate
EoceneEarly Oligocene Loma Blanca Formation,
forming the base of the Saraguro Group, overlie
the Sacapalca Formation (Hungerbühler et al.
2002). The major Early to MidMiocene
Portachuela batholith is exposed in the Eastern
Cordillera directly to the east of the Las Aradas
fault (Aspden et al. 1992). In combination with
several minor, Sacapalcahosted intrusions, it
demonstrates Early to MidMiocene arc magma
tism in this region where the young volcanic
coverhasnotbeenpreserved.
We did not study any magmatic centers directly
associated with this arc segment in the present
work,butweinvestigatedtheCuriplayaporphyry
system,whichislocatedc.60kmWoftheCata
mayograbenandc.25kmWofthewesternmost
Loma Blanca and Sacapalca Formation outcrops.
The Curiplaya porphyry intrusions are hosted by
CretaceousvolcanicrocksoftheCelicaFormation
in the CelicaLancones basin and crop out proxi
mal to the major Tangula batholith of MidLate
Cretaceousage(Hall&Calle1982;Palaciosetal.
2008). The quartzdiorite porphyry intrusions
wereinferredtobeTertiaryinageandarepartly
overlain by dacitic tuffs tentatively assigned to
theLomaBlancaFormation.Theyarestructurally
disruptedbyacomplexnetworkofNNESSWand
ESEWSW trending faults (Howe International
2006). However, anticipating our results, a
Curiplaya porphyry intrusion dated in this study
14 
yieldedaLateCretaceousage.TheCuriplayapor
phyrysystemisthusassociatedwithmagmatism
of the Tangula batholith, rather than with Terti
arySacapalcaLomaBlancamagmatism.
Analyticaltechniquesandsample
material
Weusedbothisotopedilutionthermalionization
massspectrometry(IDTIMS;inthefollowingre
ferred to as TIMS) and laser ablation multi
collector inductively coupled plasma mass spec
trometry (LAMCICPMS) for UPb isotopic
measurements to obtain age information on our
samples. Samples where, based on the regional
geological setting (i.e., proximity to basement
units with a high potential for recycled crustal
components; e.g., Noble et al. 1997; Vallejo
2007), we suspected significant external zircon
inheritance were dated by LAMCICPMS
whereas all other samples were dated by TIMS.
Samples were crushed and milled to <350 m,
and inclusionfree zircons suited for isotopic
analysis were handpicked from the nonmagnetic
heavymineral(>3.32g/cm3)fractionusingabin
ocular.Theobtainedzirconfractionswereeither
processed for annealing (TIMS) or mounted in
epoxyandpolishedsuchthatgraininteriorswere
exposed for scanning electron microscopy and
cathodoluminescence (SEMCL) imaging and,
whereapplicable,LAMCICPMSanalysis.
Samplematerial
SamplingdetailsaresummarizedinTable2.Out
cropsamplingforzircondatingcomprisedc.5kg
of rock material; proximal lithologic contact
zones or rock heterogeneities (xenoliths, en
claves) were avoided as far as possible. In addi
tion, a number of drill core samples were col
lectedforthisstudy;duetoitslimitedavailability
drillcoresamplequantitiesaresmaller(c.12kg).
Where not directly avoidable during sampling,
rockheterogeneitieswereremovedlaterusinga
diamondbladediscsaw.ForsampleswhereTIMS
single grain analyses were performed we indi
viduallyimagedca.2030zircons/samplebySEM
CL. For zircons where UPb measurements were
carriedoutbymeansofLAMCICPMSonlybulk
sample (2550 zircons) SEMCL images were ob
tainedwhichdonotprovidesufficientresolution
todiscusszircontexturesindetail.ZirconSEMCL
characteristics are summarized in Table 2 and a
selectionofSEMCLimagesispresentedinFigure
3.
TIMSanalysis
Zirconsinglegrain(and,inonecase,atwograin
fraction) dissolution and UPb separation at the
DepartmentofMineralogy,UniversityofGeneva,
followedthetechniquesdescribedbyOvtcharova
et al. (2006). An initial annealing/leaching
"chemical abrasion" zircon treatment step (Ov
tcharova et al. 2006, based on Mattinson 2005)
served to minimize effects of post
crystallizationalradiogenicPblosswhichareoth
erwise expected to be significant given the high
degree of zirconfluid interaction displayed by
somezircons(Fig.3).Sampleswerespikedusing
amixed 205Pb233U235Uspikesolution,andzircon
dissolutionin63lconcentratedHFwithatrace
of 7N HNO3 took place at 180°C for seven days,
followed by evaporation and overnight re
dissolutionin36l3NHCl.
Isotopic analyses at the University of Geneva
were performed using a Thermo Fisher TRITON
mass spectrometer equipped with a MasCom2
electronmultiplierandadigitalioncountingsys
tem. Loading of U and Pb on previously out
gassedsingleRefilamentstookplaceusing1lof
a silica gelH3PO4 mixture (Gerstenberger &
Haase 1997). Lead isotopes were measured by
peakhopping on the MasCom2 electron multi
plier, and U isotopes as oxides were measured
either by peakhopping on the MasCom2 elec
tron multiplier or, at signal intensities of >3 mV,
simultaneously (static mode) on Faraday cups
linked to amplifiers equipped with 1012 Ohm re
sistors. Mass fractionation of Pb
(0.08±0.05%/amu) was controlled by SRM981
standardmeasurements.MassfractionationofU
wascorrectedonlinebyusingadouble 233U235U
spikesolution.
The total procedural common lead blank was
2.07 ± 1.97 pg (average of 20 total blank meas
urements in the 20072008 period) and has the
followingisotopiccomposition(at2uncertainty,
fractionationcorrected): 206/204Pb: 18.36±0.34;
207/204
Pb: 15.59±0.20; 208/204Pb: 38.00±0.69; the
totalblankisotopiccompositiondidnotvarysys
 15
tematicallyovertherangeoftotalblankcommon
Pbamounts(0.57.4pg).Followingtheinitialan
nealing/leaching step sample common Pb con
tents were identical within error to total blank
common Pb amounts and were thus solely at
tributedtolaboratorycontaminationexceptfora
minornumberofsampleswherepart(<1.2pg)of
the common Pb was corrected with the isotopic
compositionofStacey&Kramers(1975)usingan
appropriate sample age estimate based on geo
logicalfieldrelationshipsandpublishedgeochro
nologic data. Whole rock Th and U contents
measured by multielement ICPMS analysis
(Chapter 5) were used as a proxy to estimate
meltTh/UratiosforThdisequilibriumcorrection.
EstimatedTh/Uratiosaretypicallyintherangeof
23,andarbitrarymodificationofthisratiotoup
to four (a commonly assumed Th/U ratio if geo
chemical information is lacking; e.g., Ovtcharova
et al. 2006) does not change the obtained UPb
agesbeyondanalyticaluncertainties.
The uncertainties of spike and blank Pb isotopic
composition, mass fractionation correction, and
tracer calibration were propagated to the final
uncertainties of isotopic ratios and ages of each
individual analysis. In addition, uncertainties in
thedecayconstantsof 238Uand 235U(238U:0.16%,
235
U:0.21%;Jaffeyetal.1971valueswithanad
ditionaluncertaintyfactorof1.5assuggestedby
Mattinson (1987) to ensure direct compatibility
withLAMCICPMSdata)werepropagatedsepa
ratelyandaddedquadraticallytoweightedmean
or single zircon uncertainties discussed in the
text. 207Pb/235U age information is only used to
evaluate the concordancy of individual zircon
analyses. Concordia plots and weighted average
agecalculationswerepreparedusing theIsoplot
v.3.31 Excel macro of Ludwig (2003). All uncer
tainties and error ellipses are reported as 2
,
and weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages are pre
sentedat95%confidencelevel.
LAMCICPMSanalysis
Epoxy grain mounts of sample zircons and SL1
standard zircon fragments for controlling inter
elementfractionation(TIMSage563.5±3.2Ma;
Gehrelsetal.2008)werepreparedattheUniver
sity of Geneva, and isotopic measurements took
place at the Arizona LaserChron Center, Univer
sity of Arizona. Zircons measured by
Figure3:ZirconSEMCLimagesofsamplesdocumentingroundedcoredomains,incrementalzircongrowthstages,
andvariabledegreesofzirconfluidinteraction;whitescalebaris100m.Notethatnoneofthezirconsdatedby
TIMSshowedmajorexternal(i.e.,xenocrystic)inheritedagecomponents.A–Continuousoscillatoryzoningpattern
(OZP) with resorbed lowCL internal zone and concordant lowCL rim; several melt inclusions disturb OZP pattern
(E06140).B–ZirconinteriorwithlargerehomogenizedlowCLdomainsandhighCLfracturesinterpretedasaltera
tionbyzirconhydrothermalfluidinteraction;thinovergrowthrimwithwelldevelopedOZP.HighCLfracturestermi
nateagainstthefreshovergrowthrimpossiblyindicatingalterationoftheantecrysticcoretookplacepriortozircon
reimmersionintothemeltandfinalintrusionsolifidication(E07032).C–ContinuousOZPwithminorresorptiontex
tures(E05090).D–MultipleresorbedOZPdomainsandovergrowthzones(E06206).E– Zirconwithpartlyresorbed
andrecrystallizedinternaldomains,aswellasconspicuousalterationoftheouterrim(E07005).F–WelldefinedOZP
domainswhichareslightlyresorbedinplaces,andalterationalonggrainmargins(E07018).

16 
LAMCICPMS were not annealed/leached prior
toanalysisandarethuspotentiallymorelikelyto
display Pb loss features than annealed/leached
zircons measured by TIMS. However, in most
cases the magnitude of this effect is probably
smaller than the analytical LAMCICPMS preci
sion, such that zircon ages obtained by LAMC
ICPMS are not supposed to be systematically
biased outside of their analytical uncertainty
range.
Analytical procedures and measurement condi
tions for LAMCICPMS analysis on a GV Instru
ments Isoprobe with an attached New
Wave/Lambda Physik DUV193 Excimer laser are
outlined in Gehrels et al. (2008). Laser ablation
spotdiameterswere25or35m.Measurements
were carried out in static mode using Faraday
detectors for 238U, 232Th, 208Pb, 207Pb and 206Pb,
and an ioncounting channel for 204Pb. Back
ground onpeak measurement for 20s with the
laseroffwasfollowedby20onesecondintegra
tions with the laser on; delay time between two
sampleswas30s.Theanalyseswerecorrectedfor
commonPbusingthemeasured 204Pbandanas
sumedinitialleadisotopiccompositionofStacey
&Kramers(1975).
Random measurement errors at 2 level were
propagated into individual analyses. As the used
standard material is of significantly older age
thantheunknownzircons,relativerandomerrors
of unknowns are typically 23 times higher than
random errors of the standard zircon. Measured
low 207Pb intensities (<0.4 mV) resulted in very
large errors in the 207Pb/235U and 206Pb/207Pb ra
tios producing poorly reliable ages calculated
from these isotopic ratios; we therefore exclu
sively use 206Pb/238U age information. Additional
systematic errors, discussed in detail by Gehrels
etal.(2008),compriseuncertaintiesoftheUde
cay constants (cf. TIMS analytics), SL1 standard
zirconage,fractionationcorrection,andcommon
Pbcorrection.Systematicerrorswerepropagated
separately yielding an average 2 error of
1.42±0.54%on 206Pb/238Uages;thisaverageerror
was added quadratically to final weighted mean
ageuncertainties.
 17
LAMCICPMSdatareduction
TheMSWDisusuallyusedforpopulationcontrol
ofzirconLAMCICPMSdata:iftheMSWDofall
analyzedzirconssignificantlydeviatesfromunity,
histograms or cumulative probability plots are
used to statistically evaluate the number of zir
con populations present. To explain polymodal
age distributions investigators often invoke ra
diogenicPblosscausedbyzirconfluidinteraction
to reject young zircon ages (e.g., Maksaev et al.
2004), and zircon inheritance or ‘subtle inheri
tance’torejectoldzirconages(e.g.,Campbellet
al.2006).Zirconagesatthelowerandupperage
range are then progressively rejected until the
MSWD is decreased to a statistically acceptable
value, typically on the order of the analyzed
standard zircons (e.g., Bryan et al. 2008). How
ever, unless a large number of zircons are ana
lyzed, the usage of histograms or cumulative
probabilityplots,whereinflectionpointsareused
to identify different zircon populations expected
to follow a Gaussian distribution, can fail to
clearlyresolvemultipleormixedagepopulations.
If the magnitude of assigned analytical random
errorsiscorrect,theexpectedMSWDvaluefora
singlezirconpopulationfollowingaGaussiandis
tribution is always unity. Deviation from unity
either indicates underestimation of analytical
random errors or reflects real geological scatter
which might be caused by analytically irresolv
able external inheritance, antecrystic compo
nentsorPblossfeatures.AsoutlinedbyWendt&
Carl(1991)astandarddeviationcanbeassigned
to the MSWD, the size of which depends on the
system's degrees of freedom, f, equaling the
numberofunknownsminustwo.At2level,the
maximum statistically acceptable value of the
MSWDis1+2(2/f)1/2(Wendt&Carl1991).
AsdemonstratedbyrepeatedSL1standardzircon
analyses (weighted mean age of 566.3±2.7 Ma
withanMSWD=0.81,n=31),ourassignedana
lyticalrandomerrorsizeisnotoverorunderes
timated.Yet,MSWDvaluesforagivensampleof
our dataset without major external inheritance
features are commonly higher than the statisti
callyacceptablevalueunlessasignificantnumber
ofzirconsareexcludedfromtheweightedmean
age calculation (see below). Following the rea
soning of Wendt & Carl (1991) sample MSWD
valuesexceedingits2rangethusshouldreflect
real geological scatter due to external zircon in
heritance,antecrysticcomponents,orradiogenic
Pb loss; elevated MSWD values may also reflect
incorporation of mixed signals ('subtle inheri
tance'), i.e., ablating and mixing different age
domains of a given zircon, as the dated zircons
are commonly small (<100 m in the longest di
mension)comparedtoappliedlaserspotdiame
ters(2535m).Mostofoursamplesshowbroad
unimodal age peaks in histogram plots and do
not allow a clear distinction of multiple popula
tionsoncumulativeprobabilityplots.Thus,zircon
age scatter from the sources outlined above in
fluences our dataset, but cannot be clearly re
solved at our analytical precision; consequently,
zirconsatthelowerandupperagerangecannot
beunambiguouslyexcludedwhencalculatingthe
weightedmeanageforagivensample.
For these reasons, we prefer to include a rather
largenumberofzirconanalysesinthecalculation
of weighted mean ages, unless analyses are
clearlyrejectablebasedonhistogramdistribution
criteria or significant age offsets. This practice
avoidsbiasingweightedmeanagesbybiasedzir
con age selection aimed at decreasing the
MSWD. Weighted mean ages built from a broad
zircon population are negligibly susceptible to
age bias by radiogenic Pb loss, as these ages of
ten show increased individual errors and thus
contribute less to the weighted mean age. As it
will be shown below, excluding zircons at the
lower and upper age range of a given sample of
ourdataset(wheretheMSWDofthewholesam
ple zircon population exceeds the statistically
acceptable value) generally allows driving down
the MSWD to a statistically acceptable value
withoutaffectingtheweightedmeanagebeyond
analytical errors. Weighted mean ages obtained
in this manner thus correspond to a mixture of
auto and antecrystic age components reflecting
the terminal stages of incremental pluton
growth.
Results
Terminology
In the following sections we repeatedly use the
terms zircon ‘autocryst’, ‘antecryst’ and
18 
‘xenocryst’ which are defined as follows: ‘auto
crysts’ refer to zircons grown from the youngest
meltbatchparticipatinginmagmachambercon
structionpriortoeruptionorfinalplutonsolidifi
cation(Milleretal.2007).Incontrast,‘antecrysts’
crystallized from earlier melt batches contribut
ing to incremental pluton growth (Miller et al.
2007). The maximum age difference between
antecrystsandautocrystsrelatestotheduration
of magmatism at a single volcanic center or plu
ton(uptoafewm.y.;Milleretal.2007),orona
regionalscale(upto>10m.y.;Bryanetal.2008).
‘Xenocrysts’ are incorporated into the magma
fromgeneticallyunrelatedwallrockunits(Miller
etal.2007;Bryanetal.2008).
It is important to note that porphyry intrusions
(dikesorstocks,asapplicableforseveralsamples
below)areconsideredtorepresentsingle,rapidly
quenched melt batches (e.g., Seedorff et al.
2005).Whiletheythusmightcontainantecrystic
orxenocrysticzirconsderivedfromtheirparental
melts,theyarenotaffectedbylatermeltreplen
ishment, protracted residual melt crystallization,
and incremental pluton growth as large phan
eritic intrusions potentially are (e.g., Schaltegger
etal.2009).
TIMSanalysis
A combined TIMS and LAMCICPMS results
summary is presented in Table 3 whereas de
tailed TIMS results are shown in Table A1 (Ap
pendix). Concordia plots of individual samples,
togetherwithweightedmean 206Pb/238Uagedia
grams are shown in Figure 4. For the following
results presentation reported single grain and
weighted mean ages are always 206Pb/238U ages
where errors include decay constant uncertain
ties such that these ages can be compared to
ages obtained from other isotopic systems. Due
toextremelylowradiogenicPbcontents,sample
zircons analyzed by TIMS generally show low ra
diogenic/commonPbratios(<1formostzircons)
producing comparatively high age uncertainties
on single zircon analyses. As the MSWD of most
ofour 206Pb/238Uagesissignificantlybelowunity,
themagnitudeofouranalyticalerrorsmightpos
sibly be overestimated. However, MSWD values
presented below always overlap with the ex
pected MSWD uncertainty range (Wendt & Carl
1991) and are thus statistically acceptable.
 19
Zircons of the Gaby and Papa Grande horn
blendeplagioclase porphyry intrusions (samples
E05083andE05090)yieldweightedmeanagesof
20.26±0.07 Ma (n=5) and 19.89±0.07 Ma (n=6)
withMSWDvaluesof0.10and0.11,respectively.
Fourzirconsobtainedfromadaciticintracaldera
domeatQuimsacocha(E06017)yieldaweighted
mean age of 7.13±0.07 Ma (MWSD = 0.23). All
zircon analyses are concordant and overlap
within error; we interpret the weighted mean
ages to approximate the final emplacement of
therespectiveintrusions.
Three zircons of the plagioclasehornblende por
phyryexposedinundergroundworkingsoftheLa
Abundancia Mine at Portovelo (E06112) overlap
within error and define a weighted mean age of
24.04±0.06 Ma (MSWD = 0.52). Zircon PO2 dis
plays negative discordance; the analysis is offset
to the left of the Concordia curve (Fig. 4). Re
cordedisotopicratioswerestablethroughoutthe
whole measurement of this sample and do not
indicateanykindofmassspectrometricanalytical
problem.Astheanalysisisstillconcordantwithin
errorandthe 206Pb/238Uagedoesnotseemtobe
significantly affected by this disturbance we in
cludethisanalysisintheweightedmeanage.
FourzirconsoftheBalsapambapluton(granodio
rite; E06140) overlap within error and yield a
weighted mean age of 21.46±0.09 Ma (MSWD =
0.23) which we interpret to approximate final
emplacementpulseoftheintrusion.Asinglezir
con gives an age of 21.13±0.28 Ma possibly re
flecting postcrystallization radiogenic Pb loss
caused by hydrothermal alteration and is there
foreexcluded;allanalysesareconcordant.Seven
zircons of a hornblende quartzdiorite porphyry
dike(E06131)intrudingtheplutonwereanalyzed
yielding a somewhat scattered age distribution
(Fig.4):zirconsBA5andBA6showagesof21.39
21.41Mawhichisidenticaltotheageofthehost
rock (E06140); we thus consider them as ante
crysts derived from the latter which is in agree
ment with resorbed core domains observed in
some zircon CL images of this sample (Fig. 3).
Four slightly younger zircons from this sample
(BA14)wouldthendefineaweightedmeanage
of 21.22±0.17 Ma (MSWD = 0.09). The two
slightly older zircons could also be included in a
6grain weighted mean age for sample E06131
(dashed line in Fig. 4) yielding a weighted mean
20 
age of 21.34±0.11 Ma with a statistically accept
able MSWD (MSWD = 0.70), indicating that they
couldbetreatedasasinglepopulation.Thus,al
thoughthereisnostatisticaljustificationfordis
carding these two zircon analyses as antecrysts
from the weighted mean age, we do exclude
them based on crosscutting field relationships
and the high precision age obtained on the host
lithology. Consequently, we prefer the first op
tion and use the age of 21.22±0.17 Ma as em
placementageestimateoftheporphyrydike,but
note that both ages are identical within error.
Finally,asinglezircon(BA7)ofthissampleyields
anageof20.86±0.11Ma,whichweinterpretasa
postcrystallizationradiogenicPblossfeature.
Six zircon analyses of the Apuela batholith at
Cuellaje (granodiorite; E06206) overlap within
error and yield a weighted mean age of
12.87±0.05 Ma (MSWD = 0.26), interpreted to
approximate the final emplacement pulse of the
granodiorite pluton. Three of these zircon analy
sesdiscordantlyplottotherightoftheConcordia
curve(Fig.4)possiblyreflectinganimperfectiso
topic composition used for common Pb blank
correction for this sample. To some extent, this
offset might also represent an effect of Pa dis
equilibriumnotaccountedforduringdatareduc
tion(Parrish&Noble2003).The 206Pb/238Uageis
not significantly affected, however, and the
weighted mean age when excluding these three
zirconanalysesisidenticaltotheweightedmean
ageofallsixzircons.
IndividualzirconagesobtainedfromtheChaucha
batholith (granodiorite; E07003) do not overlap
withinerrorandshowacontinuousagedistribu
tion along the Concordia curve ranging from
15.33±0.06 Ma to 14.84±0.07 Ma (Fig. 4). This
age distribution might be produced by mixing
variable proportions of antecrystic zircon core
domainsandautocrystic overgrowthrims.Inad
dition (or alternatively), antecrystic components
ofvariableagemightbepresent.Zirconcrystalli
zation over a time range of c. 0.5 m.y. is consis
tent with protracted incremental pluton growth
as observed elsewhere (e.g., Schaltegger et al.
2009).Amaximumageforthefinalpulseofplu
ton emplacement may be estimated form the
twoyoungest(i.e.,closesttoautocrystic)zircons
which overlap within error and yield a weighted
mean age of 14.84±0.07 Ma. Five concordant
Figure4:UPbConcordiadiagramsandweightedmean 206Pb/238UageplotsofsamplesdatedbyTIMS.Errorbars
anderrorellipsescorrespondto2sigmaerrorranges.Individualweightedmeanagesarepresentedat95%confi
dencelimitwithrelativeandabsoluteuncertaintiesasindicated;foradditionalpropagationofthedecayconstant
uncertaintyseeTable3.DashedlineinplotforsampleE06131correspondstoweightedmeanageifanalysesBA5
andBA6areincluded;seetextforfurtherexplanation.AlldiagramsweregeneratedusingtheIsoplotv.3.31Excel
macro(Ludwig2003).

 21
 Figure4(continued)

22 
zirconsofagranodioriticporphyrydike(E07005)
intruding the batholith overlap within error and
define a weighted mean age of 9.79±0.03 Ma
(MSWD = 1.09) which we interpret to approxi
mate the age of porphyry dike emplacement. A
singlezircon(CH2)plotsslightlyoffthemainage
cluster (Fig. 4); excluding this zircon from the
weighted mean does not have any effect on the
age but leads to a decrease of the MSWD from
1.09to0.26.ZirconCH1hasanageof10.26±0.19
Ma, not overlapping within error with the main
agecluster(Fig.4),andisthusinterpretedasan
tecryst.
FourzirconsoftheElMozogranodioriteporphyry
dike (E07018) overlap within error and define a
weighted mean age of 16.04±0.04 Ma (MSWD =
0.53)whichweinterprettoapproximatetheage
of emplacement of the porphyry dike. Two zir
consdatedat16.16±.0.09Maand16.36±0.06Ma
do not overlap within error with the main age
cluster(Fig.4)andareinterpretedasantecrysts.
Four concordant zircon analyses of the Junin
granodiorite porphyry stock (E07032) overlap
within error and yield a weighted mean age of
9.01±0.06Ma(MSWD=0.36)whichweinterpret
to approximate the age of porphyry stock em
placement. A single zircon (JU1) shows an older
ageof9.48±0.20Ma(Fig.4)andisconsideredas
anantecryst.
LAMCICPMSanalysis
Results are presented as weighted mean
206
Pb/238U age plots and corresponding histo
gramsinFigure5andinTable3;detailedanalyti
cal results are listed in Table A2 (Appendix). In
the following results presentation we only refer
to random measurement errors; additional sys
tematicerrorsareconsideredforweightedmean
agespresentedinTable3.
Zircons obtained from a biotitebearing quartz
diorite intrusion at Cangrejos (sample E06066)
display a broadly unimodal histogram age distri
butionwithtwominorpeaksattheflanksofthe
major age peak, skewed towards younger ages
(Fig.5).Weinterpretthispatternasanantecrys
ticagecomponentinthetwooldestgrains,anda
group of zircons which suffered radiogenic Pb
loss at the younger age range. When excluding
the two oldest and three youngest analyses the
 23
weighted mean age is 26.0±0.6 Ma (MSWD =
2.9).Furtherexclusionofthenextthreeyoungest
grainsproducesawithinerroridenticalweighted
mean age of 26.2±0.5 Ma with a statistically ac
ceptable MSWD of 1.7. As Pb loss or the ante
crystic cutoff age cannot be clearly analytically
resolvedinthesegrainsweuse26.0±0.6Maasa
robust estimate for the final pulse of intrusion
emplacement.
Sample E07011, a strongly altered Saraguro
Group felsite, contains a xenocrystic zircon core
at446Mawitha34.7Maovergrowthrim;asec
ondzirconhasaxenocrystic(orantecrystic)core
age of 37.1Ma vs. a 30.3 Ma tip age. The histo
gramagedistributionisclearlypolymodal(Fig.5).
Excludingthe446Macoreasxenocrystplusthe
next six oldest analyses as xeno/antecrystic zir
consweobtainaweightedmeanageof30.7±0.5
Ma (MSWD = 4.8) for 22 zircon analyses which
weinterpretasdatingthetimingoffinalmagma
chamberassemblypriortoeruptionofthefelsite;
there might be a small age difference to the de
positional age of the tuff. Treating the seven
youngest ages as Pb loss results in a weighted
mean age of 30.9±0.3 Ma for the remaining 15
zircons, with a statistically acceptable MSWD of
0.83;bothagesareidenticalwithinerror.
The histogram plot of sample E07023, a horn
blendebiotite granodiorite intrusion north of
Zaruma, shows a bimodal age distribution with
peaks around 21 Ma and 29.5 Ma (Fig. 5). The
latter comprises the five oldest analyses and
seemstorepresentanendmemberxenooran
tecrystic component yielding a weighted mean
ageof29.5±1.0Ma.The15youngestzirconages
defineaweightedmeanageof20.7±0.8Mawith
astatisticallyacceptableMSWDof1.07whichwe
useasaproxyforthelastpulseofintrusionem
placement. Five analyses are transitional be
tweenthetwoagegroupsandmightreflectvari
able proportions of the older and younger age
groups, and/or antecrystic zircon components of
variableage.
Sample E07030, a Curiplaya hornblende quartz
dioriteporphyrystock,showstwozirconanalyses
clearlyoffsetfromthebulkofthezirconanalyses
(Fig. 5). We interpret these two ages as strongly
influenced by radiogenic Pb loss and exclude
them from further discussion. Otherwise, the
24 
histogram age distribution is unimodal, albeit
slightlyskewedtowardsyoungeragessuggesting
subtle radiogenic Pb loss for some younger
grains.Thebulkofsamplezircons(n=26)givesa
weighted mean age of 92.0±1.0 Ma (MSWD =
3.3). Progressively narrowing down the range of
analyses by excluding the three oldest and eight
youngest ages produces a within error identical
weightedmeanageof92.4±0.7Mawithastatis
ticallyacceptableMSWDof1.3.Weprefertouse
thefirstvalueof92.0±1.0Mawhichweuseasa
proxyforemplacementoftheporphyryintrusion.
The zircon age histogram of sample E07045, a
hornblendebearinggranodioriteintrusionofthe
TelimbelaChazo Juan pluton, shows a broadly
unimodal age distribution which is slightly
skewed towards younger ages, possibly as a re
sult of radiogenic Pb loss (Fig. 5). Where meas
uredseparately,zirconcoreandtipagesoverlap
within error. Excluding the four oldest grains of
this sample, the 24 remaining zircons yield a
weighted mean age of 25.5±0.6 Ma with an
MSWD of 2.2, where the maximum statistically
acceptableMSWDis1.6;weinterpretthisageto
approximatefinalintrusionemplacement.Reject
ingthefiveyoungestand threeoldest zirconsof
thisgroupyieldsawithinerroridenticalweighted
mean age of 25.5±0.5 Ma with a statistically ac
ceptable MSWD of 1.2 for the remaining 16 zir
cons.
Discussion
Causes for limited external zircon in
heritanceinTertiaryintrusions
Zircon xenocrysts can become incorporated into
arc magma either in its source region, in which
casetheyarereferredtoas"inherited"(weaddi
tionally use the qualifier "external" to stress the
xenocrysticcharacterofthesezircons,andtoset
them apart from recycled antecrysts related to
the same magmatic system), as well as during
magma ascent and laterstage midshallow
crustal differentiation. The presence of inherited
xenocrystic zircon cores with thick magmatic
overgrowth rims is usually indicative of constant
zirconmelt immersion and zircon saturation of
melts from the magma source region onwards.
Duetorapiddissolutionkinetics,preservationof
inheritedzirconstosignificantamountsinzircon
undersaturatedmeltsisotherwiseonlypossibleif
thesezirconsbecomeencapsulatedinothercrys
tallizingminerals(e.g.,Hansmann&Oberli1991;
Miller et al. 2003). In a study of a wide range of
granitoidintrusionsindifferentgeodynamicenvi
ronments,Milleretal.(2003)observeabimodal
distribution pattern with either external zircon
inheritancepoor or rich granitoids; the former
are mainly of calcalkaline type, mostly meta
aluminous,andsourcemelttemperaturesareon
averageatleast837°C.
Our TIMS and LAMCICPMS age data suggest
thattheoccurrenceofexternallyinheritedzircon
coresinallintrusionsinvestigatedinthisstudyis
extremely limited. This is in marked contrast to
some Paleozoic intrusions in Ecuador where ex
ternal zircon inheritance is an abundant feature
(Noble et al. 1997). Zircon textural analysis by
SEMCL imaging prior to TIMS analysis demon
stratestherelativelyabundantoccurrenceofdis
tinct zircon core domains in some Tertiary intru
sions(Fig.3; Tab.2). Thesedomains donotrep
resentxenocrystic,externallyinheritedcores,but
instead seem to reflect antecrystic zircon, or

Figure5(previouspage):Weightedmean206Pb/238Uageplots,histograms,andcumulativeprobabilitydensityfunction
curvesofsamplesandSL1standardzirconanalyzedbyLAMCICPMS.Effectsofexcludingcertaingroupsofzircons
fromthecalculationoftheweightedmeanageareillustratedintheplot(outlinedwithredlines)anddiscussedfurther
in the text. Preferred weighted mean ages are marked by thin black horizontal lines. Empty boxes = rejected zircon
analysesbasedonhistogramagedistribution(xenocrysts,Pbloss);grayboxes=zirconanalysespotentiallyinfluenced
by analytically not clearly resolvable antecrystic components or Pb loss; black boxes = zircon analyses accepted for
weightedmeanagecalculation.Weightedmeanagesdisplayedinbold,calculatedfromzirconanalysesmarkedingray
andblack,arepreferredasproxiesforthefinalphase ofintrusionemplacement(ormagmachamberassemblypriorto
eruption);theirMSWDvaluesarenotalwaysstatisticallyacceptableforasinglezirconpopulation(Wendt&Carl1991).
Weightedmeanagesnotdisplayedinboldarecalculatedonlyfromzirconanalysesmarkedinblackandalwayscorre
spondtostatisticallyacceptableMSWDvalues.Notethatbothweightedmeanagesforagivensamplearegenerally
identicalwithinerror.AlsoshownareConcordiaplotandweightedmeanageofSL1standardzircon;theMSWDof
0.81fortheSL1weightedmean206Pb/238Uagesuggestsanalyticalrandomerrorsareestimatedaccurately.Errorbars,
error ellipses, and weighted mean uncertainties correspond to analytical random errors at 2
 level; see Table 3 for
propagationofadditionalsystematicerrors.AlldiagramsgeneratedusingtheIsoplotv.3.31Excelmacro(Ludwig2003).
 25
distinct autocrystic zircon growth sequences cons such that (if zircons were present; see
whichdonotshowsignificantlydifferentisotopic above) assimilation of zircon antecrysts (sensu
age domains, and do not change UPb age con Bryan et al. 2008) originating from arc intrusive
cordancy between the 238U/206Pb and 235U/207Pb roots was favored. This scenario is in agreement
isotopic systems. Zircon core and tip ages ob with the relatively common occurrence of ante
tained by LAMCICPMS are mostly indistin crysticzircondomainsinseveralsamplesinvesti
guishable within error. Zircon selection for TIMS gatedinthisstudy,andisfurthercompatiblewith
analysis in this study was restricted to picking the reasoning of Dungan & Davidson (2004)
freshlooking, inclusionfree zircons to minimize where crustal contamination of arc magmas in a
alterationinduced Pb loss and high common Pb broadly stationary magmatic arc complex tends
contents.Singlegrainhandpickingformassspec to be restricted to arc intrusive root zones of
trometric analysis did not discriminate zircons similarisotopiccomposition.
based on their morphologies, such that a rela
(3) Hot, mantlederived melts are often zircon
tivelyrepresentativecutofthesamplezirconin
undersaturated(Milleretal.2003).Inthecaseof
ventorywasobtained.Thus,theobserveddeficit
Ecuador, this could apply to deepmid crustal
of externally inherited zircon components sug
domains where hot, mantlederived melts tem
gested by TIMS age data does not seem to be a
porally stall and evolve, i.e., the MASH zone of
function of morphologyselective zircon hand
Hildreth & Moorbath (1988), or the hot zone of
picking, and is mirrored by our LAMCICPMS
Annen et al. (2006). Granitoid parental melts
results. The extremely limited occurrence of ex
would only become zirconsaturated with de
ternal zircon inheritance in Tertiary intrusions
creasing temperature shortly prior to or during
mightbeduetothefollowingreasons:
theirfinalemplacementintheshallowcrust.
(1)Oceanicplateaubasementunits(orislandarc
Inasinglesampledatedinthisstudy,afelsiteat
intrusiveroots)oftheWesternCordilleraandthe
Tres Chorreras assigned to the Saraguro Group
Interandean region of Ecuador are dominantly
(E07011; 30.7±1.6 Ma), a few Early Oligocene
primitive and thus zirconpoor (e.g., Spikings et
xeno or antecrystic zircons are present, and a
al. 2005; Chiaradia et al. 2009; Vallejo et al.
singleOrdovicianxenocrysticzirconcoreagewith
2009). For the most part, detrital zirconbearing
a thick Early Oligocene overgrowth rim was de
sedimentary formations partly sourced from
tected.Thelatterindicatesprolongedmeltexpo
landward metamorphic regions constitute the
sureofthexenocrysticcore,suggestingthemelt
only potentially effective assimilant source for
waszirconsaturated.Asonlyasinglecoreofthis
zircon xenocrysts in the Western Cordillera, as
age was identified, it likely does not represent
hasbeendemonstratedfortheYunguillaandSa
external source inheritance but rather contami
guangal formations, as well as for the sedimen
nationduringmagmaascent.Vallejo(2007)stud
taryportionsoftheMacuchiUnit(Vallejo2007).
ied detrital zircons of the Yunguilla Formation
A Late Cretaceous Curiplaya porphyry intrusion,
and identified five populations spanning a total
situatedintheCelicaLanconesbasinnorthofthe
agerangefromtheMesozoictothePrecambrian.
Tangula batholith (Fig. 1), does not contain any
His subpopulation B1 (384639 Ma) overlaps in
inherited zircon component indicating a domi
age with the inherited Ordovician core at Tres
nantlyprimitivecrustalbasement,asopposedto
Chorreras. Given that the Cretaceous Yunguilla
the mature continental basement in the El Oro
turbiditesweredepositedinawidepaleoforearc
rangefurthernorth(seealsoChapter4).
basin corresponding to the presentday Western
(2) Ascending melts repeatedly exploited the CordilleraandInterandeanregion(Vallejo2007),
samestructuresthroughtime(Tab.4,andfurther this formation could likely constitute an assimi
discussionintheAppendix).Crystallizationofarc lant for the Tres Chorreras (Saraguro) parental
intrusive root zones along these structures melt.
shielded ascending and accumulating melt
batches from contamination by xenocrystic zir

26 
Geodynamic controls on Tertiary arc
magmatism
Inordertoevaluatefeedbackreactionsbetween
arc magmatism and the geodynamic regime at
theTertiaryEcuadorianmargin,wecompiledKAr
andZFTdatafromalargenumberofsourcesfor
TertiaryvolcanicandplutonicrocksinEcuador,in
addition to UPb data presented in this study
(Tab. A3 in the Appendix). As discussed in the
Appendix,KArdatacanlargelyserveasanaccu
rate proxy for arc magmatism on a regional,
multim.y.scale,althoughatindividualmagmatic
centersdisturbedKAragesmayoccasionallyoc
cur(e.g.,atApuela/Junin).WhereKArandUPb
data for the same lithology are available, maxi
mum age differences between the two methods
are on the order of 14 m.y. Potentially inaccu
rate and disturbed ages were omitted from the
data base (Tab. A3) such that the data used for
the following discussion are thought to be accu
rate for the timing of magmatism on a regional
scale.
Tertiaryconvergenceratesandobliquitiesatthe
Ecuadorianmargin
We computed Mid to Late Tertiary (400 Ma)
convergence velocities and obliquities at
2°S/82°W,correspondingtotheCentralEcuador
ian trench (Fig. 6), using the most recent set of
available Farallon/NazcaSouth America rota
tional parameters (Somoza 1998) and the
UNAVCO online plate motion calculator
(http://sps.unavco.org/crustal_motion/dxdt/mod
el). Alongarc variations in convergence velocity
andobliquityduetotheagespecificpositionofa
given rotation pole are negligible for the small
latitudinal difference between southern and
northernmostEcuador(5°Sto1°N).Convergence
parametersinFigure6areplottedwithoutuncer
tainty ranges because Somoza (1998) does not
quantify the uncertainties associated with his
rotationpoles.PardoCasas&Molnar(1987)pre
sentrelativeconvergencerateuncertaintiesofc.
25% for Miocene Farallon/NazcaSouth America
convergence rates around 100 mm/y at 10°S.
SinceSomoza’s(1998)studyisbasedonthesame
platereconstructionsystematicsastheapproach
ofPardoCasas&Molnar(1987)itseemsjustified
toapplyidenticalrelativeuncertaintiesasafirst
order estimate, although Somoza (1998) notes
 27
that he expects his rotational parameters to be
slightly more precise, mainly due to improved
accuracy and resolution of the geologic time
scale.
Assuming 25% relative uncertainties for conver
gence rates plotted in Figure 6 results in within
error overlapping rates throughout most of the
Miocene, but allows identification of a peak of
nearly orthogonal plate convergence at >120
mm/yintheLateOligoceneEarlyMiocene.Com
pared to Late EoceneEarly Oligocene conver
gence rates, the significant acceleration and
obliquity change starting at 28.325.8 Ma and
culminating in the 25.820.2 Ma period is in
agreement with the postulated change in Faral
lonplatemotionpriortoitsfissionat24Maand
initiationofCocosNazcaseafloorspreadingat23
Ma(Lonsdale2005;Barckhausenetal.2008).The
changeinbothconvergencerateandobliquityin
the 20.216.0 Ma period cannot be clearly re
solvedat25%relativeuncertainty.Itmightrelate
to a shortterm variation caused by the estab
lishmentofpostfissionindependentNazcaplate
motion commencing at c. 20 Ma when the east
wardpropagating plate rupture eventually inter
sectedthe MesoSouthAmericantrenchsystem;
Figure6: Convergenceparametersfrom400Maatthe
Ecuadorian margin. Calculated at 2°S/82°W (present
daycentralEcuadoriantrenchposition)usingtheFaral
lon/NazcaSouth America rotational poles of Somoza
(1998). Note discussion of associated uncertainties in
thetext.Alsoshownaremajortectoniceventsaffect
ingtheFarallon/Nazcaplateduringtheplatereorgani
zation in the OligoceneMiocene (Lonsdale 2005;
Barckhausen et al. 2008) which comprise: 1  Farallon
platefissioninitiatesatFarallonPacificspreadingcen
terandpropagatestowardsSouthAmerica;2–Cocos
Nazca seafloor spreading initiates; 3 – plate rupture
intersects South American trench; independent Nazca
andCocosplatemotionstarts.










Figure
 7: Pluton and volcanic radiometric age versus latitude plot of southern Ecuador (SE of the CPPF) illustrating
alongarcmigrationpatternsofarcmagmatism.ScreenedradiometricagereferencesareshowninTableA3(Appen
dix);geologicallyinaccurateagesandduplicatesampleswereomittedfromthedatabase.Minimumagesprogressively
youngnorthwards(redarrow) fromthePeruvianborderregion(Portachuelabatholith)towardsthesouthernendof
thepresentdayNorthernVolcanicZone(Sangayvolcano),likelyreflectingnorthwardsslabflatteningduetothec.14
10 Ma inception of the Inca plateau at the northern Peruvian/southern Ecuadorian margin (Gutscher et al. 1999a;
Rosenbaumetal.2005)followingaperiodofprotractedarcmagmatismthroughoutmostoftheTertiary.

thisprocesswasaccompaniedbyareorientation 2.3±0.8 Ma for pyroclastic rocks of the Salapa
of the young CocosNazca spreading center Formation near Loja in southern Ecuador (Hun
(Barckhausenetal.2008). gerbühler et al. 2002) could be in conflict with
thismodelifaccuratelydatingamagmaticevent.
AlongarcdistributionofTertiaryarcmagmatism The mixed average ZFT age of this sample is
The Tertiary latitudinal migration pattern of arc 16.4±7.4Ma(n=23)witha2probabilityof0%,
magmatism through time for southern Ecuador leadingtheseauthorstoinferadepositionalage
(SE of the CPPF) is shown in Figure 7. Minimum of 2.3±0.8 Ma based on the youngest zircon.
agesofexposedvolcanicandplutonicrockspro Given these statistical ambiguities and the in
gressively young northwards. The youngest tensealterationfeaturesdisplayedbytheSalapa
phasesofactivearcmagmatisminsouthernmost volcanics(Hungerbühleretal.2002)theinferred
Ecuador are recorded by the Portachuela batho Salapaagemightbyinaccurateandwetherefore
lith (c. 4°30'5°S) and the Tarqui Formation (c. excludeitfromourdatabase.
3°30'S)withagesaround1012Ma;youngerTar
qui units occur only further north (e.g., Hunger Acrossarc distribution of Tertiary arc magma
bühler et al. 2002). The cessation of active arc tism
magmatisminnorthernPeruandsouthernEcua Bulk acrossarc migration patterns may be used
dor is temporally and spatially associated with totrackchangesinslabdip,althoughstructurally
the establishment of a flat slab subduction set controlled magma ascent and emplacement, as
ting due to subduction of the buoyant Inca pla well as crustal thickening additionally influence
teaustartingat1410Ma(Gutscheretal.1999a; arcmagmaticoutcroppatterns(e.g.,Trumbullet
Rosenbaumetal.2005).Thenorthwarddecrease al.2006).Figure8illustratesTertiarylongitudinal
inminimumagesofarcmagmatismtowardsthe migration patterns of arc magmatism through
southernmostactivearcvolcanoinEcuador,San time, combinedwithradiometricage histograms
gay, thus probably reflects the progressive (UPb, KAr, and ZFT data from screened data
northwardbroadeningoftheflatslabregion(see base; see discussion below) for two major Ecua
Fig.2forpresentdayextent).AsingleZFTageof dorian arc segments. Data for southern and

28 
northernmost Ecuador (45°S and 1°N1°S, re
spectively) are not shown in Figure 8 as for the
former the scarcity of available data does not
allow a reliable analysis of acrossarc migration
patterns, and for the latter the presentday
trench obliquity is high and partly irregular, the
paleotrench configuration cannot be predicted
with confidence, and, consequently, the age
longitude distribution of this arc segment is not
directlycomparabletotheothers.
TheradiometricagebaseinnortherncentralEc
uador(100kmarcstrikelength)isdominatedby
plutonic rock samples. Regional Andean (NNE)
trendingstructures(mainlytheCTSZ)exertama
jor control on pluton emplacement in Ecuador
(Fig. 2 and Tab. 4; further discussion in the Ap
pendix)suchthattherelativestabilityoftheOli
goceneMiocene acrossarc position (Fig. 8) may
partlyrelatetostructurallycontrolledplutonem
placement,andtheoverallarcmagmaticoutcrop
pattern may be biased trenchwards as major
structures dip 35°E at deep to midcrustal levels
(Guillier et al. 2001). Figure 8 shows that signifi
cant eastward frontal arc migration occurred in
the Mid to Late Miocene; major rear arc east
ward broadening is recorded for the Late Mio
cenePliocene.
The radiometric age database for southern
central Ecuador (200 km arc strike length) com
prisesalargenumberofwidespreadvolcanicand
plutonic samples in subequal proportions. Data
for this arc segment are thus potentially more
sensitive to record arc migration patterns than
data for northerncentral Ecuador. The age
longitudedistributionofplutonsandvolcanicsin
southerncentralEcuadorsuggestsc.50kmofarc
broadeningbyawestwardfrontalarcjumpinthe
Late Oligocene while the rear arc position re
mainedrelativelyfixed(Fig.8).Arcbroadeningis
reversed by progressive (?) eastward frontal arc
migration in the MidMiocene and culminates in
a Late MiocenePliocene period of eastward arc
migration comprising both the frontal and rear
arcregions,andmirroringtheLateMioceneage
longitude distribution trend in northerncentral
Ecuador.
Although partly structurally controlled, major
westwardarcbroadeninginsoutherncentralEc
uador in the Late Oligocene (Fig. 8) might thus
 29
relatetoslabsteepening(increasinghotastheno
sphere convection into the mantle wedge, and,
ultimately, increased crustal melting; see discus
sionbelow),similarlytowhatisinferredinparts
of the central and southern Andes at that time
(e.g.,Mamanietal.2010).However,thereararc
position in all Ecuadorian arc segments remains
relatively stable (Fig. 8) until the Late Miocene
insteadofsystematicallymigratingwestwardsas
mightbeexpectedfromslabsteepening.
Eastward arc migration and broadening during
the Late MiocenePliocene in all Ecuadorian arc
segmentsisconsistentwithminormoderateslab
flattening, although eastward arc migration (but
notbroadening)couldinadditionpartlyrelateto
subductionerosionwhichaffectsthepresentday
Ecuadorian margin (e.g., Sage et al. 2006). The
timingofthelandwardarcfrontmigrationinthe
LateMiocenecanbetracedbytheyoungestplu
tons exposed in deeply eroded parts of the
Western Cordillera: c. 6 Ma marks the youngest
magmatism in northern Ecuador (Junin porphyry
intrusions),whereastheyoungestmajorplutonic
activity in central Ecuador occurred at c. 1415
Ma (TelimbelaChazo Juan and Corazon intru
sions), either indicating Late MiocenePliocene
eastward arc migration might have proceeded
slightlydiachronouslyalongthearc,and/orpost
14Maplutonsexist,buthavenotbeendatedyet
intheWesternCordilleraofcentralEcuador.The
ageoflandwardarcmigrationinnortherncentral
Ecuadorbroadlycoincidesintimewiththearrival
oftheCarnegieRidgeseamount chain atthe Ec
uadorianColombiantrenchatc.8Ma(Daly1989;
Gutscher et al. 1999b; Chapter 2); the latter
mightinducemoderateslabshallowingbyvirtue
ofitsbuoyancy(e.g.,vanHunenetal.2004).Arc
migrationpatternsdonotindicateanysignificant
pulses of preLate Miocene subduction erosion
affectingtheEcuadorianmargin.
ProductivityofTertiaryarcmagmatism
Radiometric age histograms (Fig. 8) have been
used as proxies for plutonic and volcanic rock
volumes(e.g.,Glazner1991).Theycanonlyserve
as firstorder proxies for arc magma production
because they reflect arc exposure and erosion
conditionsaswell.
Both major Ecuadorian arc segments display age
peaks initiating in the Late OligoceneEarly Mio
cene (yellow boxes in Fig. 8). Only in the northern  that,  as  we  do  not  attempted  to  quantify  arc 
part of the northern Ecuadorian arc segment (not  magma  production  rates  at  these  times,  this 
shown),  the  peak  initiates  slightly  later  in  the  flare‐up event may not correspond to the scale of 
Early to Mid‐Miocene. The peak in volcanism es‐ an  arc  magmatic  flare‐up  event  in  the  sense  of, 
sentially corresponds to the widespread eruption  for example, Ducea & Barton (2007) with magma 
of  upper  Saraguro  Group  volcanics  which  mainly  production  rates  >  75‐100  km3/m.y.  arc  km‐1. 
comprise ignimbrites in its upper portion (Tab. 1).  Here,  we  are  using  the  term  flare‐up  to  indicate 
The  peak  in  plutonism  dominantly  reflects  the  qualitatively  a significant increase in arc magma‐
construction  of  the  central  Ecuadorian  batholith  tism  compared  to  the  Eocene‐Early  Oligocene.  A 
system, the Cangrejos‐Zaruma intrusive belt, and  second peak in volcanism occurs in the Late Mio‐
associated  smaller  intrusions.  Combined,  this  cene and probably reflects the increasing preser‐
peak  distribution  suggests  a  relative  arc  mag‐ vation potential of young volcanic sequences, and 
matic  flare‐up  event  in  Ecuador  during  the  Late  eastward arc broadening associated with moder‐
Oligocene‐Early  Miocene.  It  is  important  to  note  ate slab flattening. 

Figure  8:  Pluton  and  volcanic  radiometric  age  versus  longitude  plots  and  age  histograms  illustrating  the  Tertiary  arc 
position (migration marked by red arrows) and arc magmatic intensity in Ecuador (from 1‐4°S). Used radiometric ages 
(U‐Pb, K‐Ar, ZFT) were carefully screened, and potentially inaccurate or duplicate ages have been removed from the
database (Appendix Table A3). The Paleocene‐Eocene arc position is relatively stable in all arc segments. Arc broaden‐
ing occurs by a c. 50 km westwards jump of the frontal arc during the Late Oligocene in southern‐central Ecuador; this 
is not clearly observed in the arc segment further north because of structurally controlled pluton emplacement (along 
the CTSZ and CPPF) and almost complete erosion of Oligocene‐Miocene volcanic rocks. Progressive eastward migration 
of the frontal arc at constant rear arc positions during the Early to Mid‐Miocene is followed by a Late Miocene‐Pliocene 
period of significant eastward broadening of the rear arc. Age histograms show Late Oligocene‐Early Miocene peaks in 
arc magmatism in all arc segments indicative of a regional arc magmatic flare‐up event (yellow boxes). 

30   
Glazner (1991) suggests that periods of intense
plutonismmightbeassociatedwithobliquecon
vergence settings as the latter result in crustal
strikeslip deformation and thus space creation
forplutonemplacement.Wedonotobserveany
systematic correlations between convergence
obliquity(Fig.6)andplutonism(Fig.8)inTertiary
Ecuadorian arc magmatism. However, as the Ec
uadorian margin represents an oblique subduc
tion system (where obliquity is variably accom
modated by oblique subduction slip and crustal
strainpartitioning;Egoetal.1996andAppendix)
the Tertiary margin has probably undergone
largescale crustal strikeslip deformation
throughouttheTertiarysuchthatplutonismwas
principally continuous. Peak periods of pluton
emplacement might in part, however, relate to
reactivationoflargestrikeslipfaultsystems.
Asthenospheric controls on a Late Oligocene
Early Miocene flareup event in Ecuadorian arc
magmatism
Mamani et al. (2010) attribute widespread Late
OligoceneEarly Miocene ignimbrite eruptions in
the central Andes to increased crustal melting
and asthenospheric melt production in response
to slab steepening. As discussed above, Late Oli
goceneEarly Miocene arc broadening in south
erncentral Ecuador, and the correlated peaks in
arcvolcanismandplutonismmightalsobeasso
ciated with slab steepening, although a system
atic migration of the reararc position is not ob
served.
In addition, the flareup event in Ecuador coin
cideswithamajoraccelerationinFarallon/Nazca
SouthAmericaconvergenceratesattheEcuador
ian trench (Fig. 6). This suggests a feedback
mechanism between the arc magmatic flareup
eventandplatetectonicsoperatesatanastheno
spheric scale. The same has been proposed for
the southern Chilean margin for the same time
interval during which neither subducting slab
properties nor overriding plate motion under
wentanymajorchanges(Jordanetal.2001).
Melt production in the mantle wedge is concen
trated in the region where slab dehydration
derived volatiles first encounter fertile mantle
materialofasufficiently hightemperaturetoin
ducepartialmelting(e.g.,Cagnioncleetal.2007;
note that, additionally, decompression melting
mighttakeplaceinotherregions).Subsequently,
themeltfractionmaybemodifiedbyinteraction
oftheascendingmeltwiththesurroundingman
tle peridotite (e.g., Grove et al. 2003). Several
parameters control increased mantle melting
and, by inference, increased arc magma produc
tion and development of a broader arc at faster
convergenceratesand/orduringslabsteepening.
These essentially comprise variations in slab
derivedvolatileflux,thevolatilefractionreaching
the zone of partial melting in the supraslab

Table 4: Regional structures in Ecuador associated with Tertiary intrusions investigated or

referenced in this study
Structure associated intrusions
Chimbo-Toachi Santiago, Apuela-Nanegal
shear zone (-Junin/Cuellaje), Corazon,
(CTSZ) Telimbela-Chazo Juan,
Balsapamba-Las Guardias,
Echeandia
remarks
extends to deep to mid-crustal levels (c. 35°E dip; Guillier et al.
2001); originally regarded as suture zone for Macuchi island arc
(Hughes & Pilatasig 2002), but more recently dismissed as suture
with autochtonous Macuchi origin (Vallejo 2007; Vallejo et al. 2009)

Calacalí-Pujili- Chaucha extends to deep to mid-crustal levels (c. 35°E dip; Guillier et al.
Pallatanga fault 2001); western limit of regional suture zone between accreted oce-
zone (CPPF) anic plateau units and the paleocontinental margin (Spikings et al.
2005; Vallejo et al. 2009)

northern Amo- Cangrejos-Zaruma intrusive bracketed between Piñas-Portovelo and Jubones fault systems;
tape suture zone belt Piñas-Portovelo fault joins westwards with La Palma-El Guayabo
and Tahuin Dam (Naranjos) faults, delimiting the deeply exhumed
metamorphic Raspas complex whose structural position has been
related to the ancient Amotape suture zone (Bosch et al. 2002)

See Appendix for a more detailed discussion on structurally controlled intrusion emplacement.

 31
mantle  wedge  by  porous  flow,  mantle  wedge  mantle  wedge  is  balanced  by  forced  return  flow 
temperatures and the (lateral) extent of the zone  of  hot,  fertile  mantle  material  sourced  from  a 
where  wet  melting  occurs,  as  well  as  the  supply  lower backarc region (Kincaid & Sacks 1997); in a 
rate  of  fertile  mantle  material  from  induced  re‐ more  realistic  three‐dimensional  environment 
turn flow (Fig. 9). The relative importance of each  return  flow  sources  could  additionally  be  dy‐
parameter may vary depending on which bound‐ namically distributed in along‐arc dimension (e.g., 
ary conditions apply (Cagnioncle et al. 2007).  Behn  et  al.  2007).  The  return  flow  rate,  coupled 
to  the  slab  velocity,  thus  directly  controls  two 
In a simplified two‐dimensional numerical mantle 
main  parameters  for  partial  melt  production  in 
flow model of a slice oriented parallel to the sub‐
the  mantle  wedge,  namely  the  supply  of  fertile 
duction  slip,  Kincaid  &  Sacks  (1997)  show  that  a 
mantle material and mantle wedge temperatures 
temperature‐controlled  viscous  boundary  layer 
(Cagnioncle et al. 2007). 
forms  in  the  asthenosphere  adjacent  to  the 
downgoing  slab,  where  mantle  material  is  Kincaid  &  Sacks  (1997)  demonstrate  that  the 
dragged  downwards  parallel  to  the  slab  at  rates  maximum  mantle  wedge  temperature  increases 
proportional  to  the  subduction  slip.  Removal  of  as a function of subduction slip; the effect is not 
asthenospheric boundary layer material from the  linear, but becomes more significant for changes 

Figure 9: Simplified schematic subduction zone cross section of the Ecuadorian margin as broadly applicable for Late 
Oligocene‐recent  times  illustrating  multiple  stages  of  arc  magma  petrogenesis.  Progressive  slab  dehydration  takes 
place below the forearc and main arc regions. Temperature‐controlled formation of a viscous boundary layer couples 
asthenospheric  material  with  slab  motion,  and  induces  return  flow  into  the  mantle  wedge.  In  simplified  two‐
dimensional models, melt production in the mantle wedge is controlled by the amount of slab‐derived fluids reaching 
the region of partial melting in the mantle wedge, and by asthenospheric return flow rates providing fertile mantle ma‐
terial and possibly increasing mantle wedge temperatures (e.g., Cagnioncle et al. 2007). These processes operate more 
vigorously at higher subduction slip velocities and may thus increase partial melt production in the mantle wedge. Note
that in a three‐dimensional environment additional along‐arc controls may influence the productivity of partial melting
and arc magmatism (e.g., Tamura et al. 2002). Major fault geometries shown in the Figure correspond to the present‐
day configuration based on Guillier et al. (2001); fault systems of the sub‐Andean zone and the Eastern Cordillera are 
not  shown.  Upper plate  Tertiary  pluton distribution  suggests  strong  structural  control  of  major  structures  (partly  su‐
tures) on magma ascent (possibly in part non‐vertical) and pluton emplacement (see Tab. 4 and further discussion in
the Appendix). General petrogenetic aspects of cross section adapted from Kincaid & Sacks (1997), Stern (2002), Grove 
et al. (2003), Annen et al. (2006), and Cagnioncle et al. (2007). 

32   
from slowmoderate to fast subduction slips,
whereasitbecomesnearlynegligibleforvelocity
increasestakingplaceatalreadyhighsubduction
slips(>c.100mm/y,dependingontheoverriding
plate thickness). Calculating the dueeast Faral
lon/NazcaSouth America convergence rates
(fromFig.6)asafirstorderproxyforsubduction
slip at the Ecuadorian margin reveals a Late Oli
goceneEarlyMioceneincreasefrom6070mm/y
to 120140 mm/y thus representing a critical in
crease from moderate to high subduction slips
where a significant effect on maximum mantle
wedgetemperaturewouldbeexpected.
Higher plate convergence rates (and more
trenchorthogonal convergence), if proportional
tolocalsubductionslipvelocities,mightincrease
theamountofvolatilesintroducedintotheman
tle wedge by slab dehydration, but at the same
time decrease the volatile fraction reaching the
regionofpartialmeltingbyincreaseddownwards
volatile advection due to more vigorous return
flow; the latter effect becomes less pronounced
at higher mantle wedge permeability, i.e., faster
volatile migration rates (Cagnioncle et al. 2007;
seealsoZellmer2008).Intwodimensionalmod
els, faster convergence rates result in higher
ratesofmantlepartialmeltproductionwherethe
proportionality between the two may vary as a
function of the interplay of various control pa
rameters (Cagnioncle et al. 2007). Consequently,
the arc magmatic flareup event observed in Ec
uador during the Late OligoceneEarly Miocene
mightultimatelyreflectincreasedasthenospheric
meltinputintothearccrustdrivenbyincreased
plate convergence rates, possibly further accen
tuatedbyslabsteepening.Withincreasingreturn
flow rates, mantle wedge partial melts may be
advected closer towards the trench, thus princi
pally causing trenchward arc broadening as ob
served in the Saraguro arc segment during the
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene; however, the vol
canic front position might also be controlled by
additionalfactorssuchasmeltcollectioninade
compactionchannel(Cagnioncleetal.2007).Itis
importanttonotethatalongarcheterogeneities
in mantle wedge partial melt production are
likely to further influence arc magmatic distribu
tionpatterns(e.g.,Tamuraetal.2002);thelatter
 33
are not considered in the simplified two
dimensionalmodelsdiscussedabove.
Crustmantle wedge feedback impacts on arc
magmatism
Increased partial melt production in the mantle
wedgeheatsthecrustoftheoverridingplateby
advection (due to a larger volume of ascending
partial melts) and by increased conductive basal
heat flow into the overlying South American
lithosphere.Thisimpliesahighermeltfractionin
a deep crustal hot zone (Annen et al. 2006) and
could increase the crustal contribution to arc
magmatism by lowering the relative thermal
thresholdforassimilation.Increasedcrustalmelt
ing is inferred for arc magmatic flareup events
elsewhere,andmightalsobedrivenbyadditional
factors such as crustal thickening or lithospheric
delamination (e.g., Ducea & Barton 2007). The
widespread occurrence of Late OligoceneEarly
Miocene silicic ignimbrites as part of the upper
Saraguro Group (Tab. 1) is consistent with in
creased crustal melting. Wholerock isotopic
compositions of Tertiary arc units do not show
any straightforward systematic variations in the
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene indicative of bulk
increased continental crust contributions (Chap
ter 4). However, this is anticipated as mid to
deepcrustalbasementunitsoftheTertiaryarcin
Ecuador are mostly composed of isotopically
primitive oceanic material, and spatiotemporal
isotopic variations mainly relate to the tectoni
cally controlled occurrence of continental base
ment units, and the vertical level of arc magma
differentiation in the crust, instead of the total
amountofcrustalcontamination(Chapter4).
Increasedheatflowintotheoverridingplatetrig
gered a regional uplift event and resulted in re
gional horizontal extension along the Chilean
main arc in the Late OligoceneEarly Miocene
(Jordan et al. 2001). This tectonic setting is con
sistent with the inferred tensional environment
during deposition of the Saraguro Group (e.g.,
Steinmann 1997) and correlates in time with
widespread elevated cooling and exhumation
rates along the Ecuadorian margin in the Mio
cene,asinferredfromthermochronologicmodel
ing(e.g.,Spikingsetal.2005).
Conclusions
ThisstudypresentsthefirstdatasetofrobustU
PbzirconagesonLateTertiaryintrusiverocksof
Ecuador. The regional distribution trends of Ter
tiaryplutonsattheEcuadorianmarginmirrorthe
along and acrossarc orientations of deeply
rooted major fault zones suggesting crustal
magma ascent and intrusion emplacement were
principallycontrolledbythesestructures,further
modulated by distributed (mainly transpres
sional) shear in the upper crust. External zircon
inheritance in Tertiary intrusions of the Western
CordilleraandtheInterandeanregionofEcuador
isveryminor,likelyreflectingdominantlyzircon
pooroceanicbasementunitsaspotentialassimi
lants. In addition, zircon assimilation during
magmaascentandmidtoshallowcrustaldiffer
entiation was mainly restricted to antecrysts de
rived from intrusive root zones, likely as a result
of continuous preferential channeling of arc
magmas through the same, deeplyrooted struc
turalconduits.
WherebothKArandUPbdataexistforagiven
lithology,agesobtainedbythedifferentmethods
are usually concordant within 14 m.y. implying
that KAr data may be used as a semiaccurate
proxyforthetimingofTertiaryarcmagmatismin
Ecuador on a broad, regional scale. Combining
previously published KAr and ZFT age informa
tionwithnewlyobtainedzirconUPbagesofTer
tiary intrusions allows us to identify a pro
nounced pluton emplacement peak in the Late
Oligocene to Early (Mid) Miocene. The peak in
plutonism temporally coincides with the aerially
extensive eruption of Saraguro Group ignim
brites,andseemstoindicatearegional,transient
arcmagmaticflareupeventinEcuadorinvolving
significant westward arc broadening in central
Ecuador. At the time scale resolvable by plate
tectonic reconstructions, initiation of the arc
magmaticflareupeventcoincideswithachange
inFarallonplatemotionpriortoitsfissioninvolv
ing a significant acceleration of Farallon/Nazca
SouthAmericaconvergencerates,andsuggesting
a positive feedback operating between faster
plate convergence rates, asthenospheric melt
production and arc magmatic productivity in Ec
uador. This might be envisaged by a higher
amount of slabderived fluids introduced into a
34 
givenmantlewedgevolume,andbyachangein
asthenosphericflowdynamicswherewidespread
positivethermalanomaliesdevelopinthesubarc
mantlewedgeandreplenishmentratesoffertile
mantle material increase in response to more
vigorous induced return flow. The latter might
additionallybeinfluencedbyslabsteepening.
Therefore, we attribute the flareup event in arc
magmatism to increased melt production in the
mantle wedge causing increased mantlecrust
melt flux and increased heat transfer into the
crust of the overriding plate. As elsewhere (e.g.,
Ducea & Barton 2007) a positive tectonomag
maticthermal feedback mechanism may be in
duced, facilitating increased partial crustal melt
ing, voluminous magma storage at upper crustal
levels leading to batholith construction, and/or
ignimbrite eruption at the Earth’s surface. How
ever,theLateOligocenetoEarly(Mid)Miocene
arcmagmaticflareupeventinEcuadorseemsto
be mainly triggered by increased asthenospheric
power input into the lithosphere, instead of
compressioninducedcrustalthickeningorexten
sionrelatedlithosphericdelaminationasinferred
forflareupeventsinotherplaces(Ducea&Bar
ton2007).
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38 
Appendix I – Accommodation of
convergence obliquity at the Ec
uadorian margin throughout the
Tertiary
The occurrence of nonorthogonal plate conver
gence implies two endmember geodynamic
situations where convergence obliquity is either
accommodated by oblique subduction slip or
overriding plate strain partitioning possibly in
cluding forearc sliver displacement (McCaffrey
1992). Whereas the former is likely to influence
asthenospheric flow dynamics, the latter consti
tutes an important factor for crustal magma as
centandplutonemplacementmechanisms(e.g.,
Glazner 1991). Therefore, the mode of conver
gence obliquity accommodation at a convergent
plate margin has to be critically evaluated in or
der to discuss potential controls on overriding
platemagmatism(cf.AppendixII).
Egoetal.(1996)showthatthepresentdayEcua
dorianmarginisweaklydecoupledwhere7590%
oftheconvergenceobliquityaretransferredinto
trenchoblique, due east (87°) subduction slip,
whereas only 1025% obliquity are accommo
datedbytheupperplate.Currentdextralforearc
sliver displacement rates along the CPPF can ac
count for most of the northwards increasing up
per plate trenchparallel component (Ego et al.
1996), although a number of additional Andean
trending fault systems (including the CTSZ and
thePeltetecfaultinEcuador)alsoaccommodate
convergence obliquity and currently act as a re
gionalrestrainingbend(Winkleretal.2005).The
highlyobliquesubductionslipoftheEcuadorian
Colombian margin is uncharacteristic for the
southerncentral Andes where subduction is
mostly trenchnormal; Sébrier & Bellier (1993)
suggest that the allochthonous, rheologically
strongoceanicplateaubasementofthenorthern
Andes might control the degree of margin de
couplingofthisregionalarcsegment.
Using slip rates comparable to Pliocenepresent
day values Hungerbühler et al. (2002) obtain a
totaldisplacementestimateof100130kmalong
the CPPF since the MidMiocene which they use
to perform a palinspastic forearc sliver recon
 39
struction.Theseauthorsshowthatintherecon
structedsettingtheManabiandProgresoforearc
basins are juxtaposed against Interandean re
gions of Miocene marine transgressions; these
depositional environments are correlatable in
terms of a continuous proximaldistal basin fa
cies, thus indicating that the scale of their dis
placement estimate is accurate. Consequently,
using CPPF slip rates as a proxy for the oblique
convergence component accommodated by the
upperplate,onewouldassumethattheEcuador
ian margin must have been constantly weakly
decoupledsincetheMidMiocene.
However, the direction of plate convergence at
theEcuadorianmarginhasbeenalmostdueeast
since 28.3 Ma (Chapter 2: Fig. 6), paralleling the
presentday subduction slip (instead of the pre
sentdaydirectionofconvergence).Ifpresentday
subductionslipdirectionswereapplied,thecen
tral Ecuadorian margin would be almost com
pletely coupled during most of the Late Oligo
ceneMiocene, and weakly to moderately de
coupledonlyfrom20.216.0Maandfrom4.9Ma
until the present day. Significant convergence
obliquity accommodated by major forearc sliver
displacement would thus be restricted to these
periods. Clearly, these considerations are in dis
agreementwiththeexpectedupperplatestrike
slip displacement from the reconstruction of
Hungerbühler et al. (2002), as displacing the
forearc sliver for 100130 km since only 4.9 Ma
required unrealistically high displacement rates,
whichwouldbedifficulttoreconcilewithPleisto
cenevalues(Trenkampetal.2002).
Consistentevidenceforstrainpartitioningwitha
significant dextral strikeslip component along
the repeatedly reactivated major fault systems
belowtheWesternCordilleraduringtheTertiary
exists, although the exact time periods are not
always well constrained. Dextral shearing along
theCTSZinnorthernEcuadorhasaminimumage
of 48.3±0.6 Ma (hornblende KAr age of foliated
diorite emplaced within the CTSZ; Hughes & Pi
latasig2002).Ashortdistancetothewestofthe
CTSZ, Chiaradia et al. (2008) show SC fabrics in
alteredrocksassociatedwiththeMacuchihosted
La Plata oredeposit; these authors interpret the
structures as indicative of Late Eocene dextral
transpression related to distributed shearing
along the CTSZ. MidLate Eocene wholescale
dextral strikeslip motion of the Ecuadorian
forearcsliveralongtheprotoCPPFandCTSZfur
ther produced intraforearc block rotations
whereindividualblocksareseparatedbyasetof
NNWtrendingsinistraldipslipfaults(Daly1989).
The whole structure of the Western Cordillera is
interpretedasapositiveflowerstructureformed
in response to dextral transpressional reactiva
tionofthe35°Edippingsuturezoneformingthe
root of the CPPF, as well as the deeplyrooted
CTSZ(Guillieretal.2001,andreferencestherein).
Finally, Winkler et al. (2005) infer that dextral
transpressionalongarestrainingbend(including
the CTSZ, CPPF, Peltetec fault, and ChingualLa
Sofia fault in Ecuador) has been active since at
least 15 Ma, with a pulse of increased activity
since6Mabeingresponsiblefortheinceptionof
theIADasafull,andlocallyhalframpbasin.
Four possible explanations for the discrepancy
between convergence obliquitybased predicted
limited strikeslip motion since the MidMiocene
and upper plate geological evidence for more
significant strikeslip motion exist, and might all
beapplicabletosomedegree:
(1) Computation of Somoza’s (1998) rotation
poles for the Ecuadorian margin (Chapter 2: Fig.
6)slightlyunderestimatesconvergenceobliquity.
However, using convergence parameters calcu
lated from PardoCasas & Molnar (1987) instead
yields an even less oblique direction of conver
gencewithrespecttothepresentdaysubduction
slip. While Somoza (1998) does not present any
rotation pole uncertainties, the uncertainty
ranges shown by PardoCasas & Molnar (1987)
indicatethattheprecisionoftherotationpolesis
insufficient to further evaluate temporal varia
tions in obliquity at this time scale, as was al
ready noted by Daly (1989). Generally, recon
structedconvergenceparametersalwaysaverage
plate motion over multim.y. periods such that
any shortterm variations are smoothened out
andthusdifficulttodetect.
(2) The Tertiary paleosubduction slip deviated
fromthedirectionofthepresentdaysubduction
slip.Consideringamultim.y.lagtime,thiswould
be a likely response to changes of the conver
gencedirection,especiallygiventheproximityof
40 
the EcuadorianColombian margin to the Nazca
CocosCaribbean plate boundary to the north,
the transition to the northern Peruvian flat slab
segmenttothesouth,andthepotentialinfluence
of Carnegie Ridge subduction, which all likely in
creases the Miocene subducting slab geometric
complexity(e.g.,Gutscheretal.1999;Taboadaet
al.2000).Thecomplexmargingeometryandout
crop pattern of Tertiary arc units in Ecuador
(Chapter2:Figs.1;2)preventsanarcgeometry
based discussion of paleosubduction slip direc
tionsevenif,forsimplicity,subverticaltranslitho
sphericmagmaascentwasassumed.Overall,one
expects a regionally more homogenous subduc
tion geometry along the NW South American
marginpriortotheLateOligoceneFarallonplate
fission.
(3) The Ecuadorian margin and trench geometry
changed through time; the margin geometry
couldobviouslybestronglyinfluencedbyforearc
sliver displacement. Daly (1989) estimates a
minimum clockwise trench rotation of 20° since
the Oligocene, but does not present any argu
mentsinfavorofthisestimate.
(4) The timedependent correlation of sedimen
tary basin facies by Hungerbühler et al. (2002)
basedoncontinuousdisplacementsincetheMid
Miocene is inaccurate and overestimates the to
talforearcsliverdisplacementinthelatestTerti
ary; instead, forearc sliver displacement of 100
130kmalongtheprotoCPPFrepresentscumula
tive, noncontinuous displacement processes
throughoutthewholeTertiary(Wittetal.2006).
Inconclusion,ifthepresentdaymodeofconver
gence partitioning at the Ecuadorian margin
holds some significance for the Tertiary subduc
tion system, and at the same time substantial
forearc sliver displacement took place since the
MidMiocene,itseemslikelythatthemarginge
ometryandthedegreeofmargindecoupling,i.e.,
thecomponentofupperplateaccommodationof
oblique plate convergence, varied through time.
Therefore, overriding versus downgoing plate
strain partitioning in response to changing con
vergenceobliquitiescannotbereliablypredicted
with currently available data, but geological evi
dence for multiple phases of Tertiary strikeslip
deformation in the overriding plate exists. From
the Eocene to the Late Oligocene, plate conver
gencewassignificantlymoreobliquewithrespect convergent subduction: the Andean case. Extended
to the presentday subduction slip (Chapter 2: conferenceabstracts,ISAG1993,Oxford,139142.
Fig.6)makingshorttermvariationsinsubduction Somoza, R. (1998): Updated Nazca (Farallon)—South
slip less likely, such that consistently increased Americarelativemotionsduringthelast40My:impli
margin decoupling was a likely consequence. cations for mountain building in the central Andean
These considerations are in general agreement region.JSAmEarthSc11;211215.
with the notion of Witt et al. (2006) discussed Taboada,A.,L.A.Rivera,A.Fuenzalida,A.Cisternas,H.
above, and would thus be equally applicable if Philip,H.Bijwaard,J.Olaya,andC.Rivera(2000),Geo
theMidMiocenesedimentarybasinfaciescorre dynamics of the northern Andes: Subductions and
lation of Hungerbühler et al. (2002) was incor intracontinental deformation (Colombia), Tectonics,
rect. 19(5),787–813.
Trenkamp,R.,Kellog,J.N.Freymueller,J.T.Mora,H.
References P. (2002): Wide plate margin deformation, southern
Chiaradia,M.,Tripodi,D.,Fontboté,L.,Reza,B.(2008): Central America and northwestern South America,
Geologicsetting,mineralogy,andgeochemistryofthe CASA GPS observations: Journal of South American
Early Tertiary Aurich volcanichosted massive sulfide EarthSciences,v.15,p.157171.
depositofLaPlate,WesternCordillera,Ecuador.Eco
Winkler, W., Villagomez, D.,Spikings,R.,Abegglen, P,
nomicGeology103;161183.
Tobler, S, Eguez, A. (2005): The Chota basin and its
Daly, M. C. (1989): Correlation between significance for the inception and tectonic setting if
Nazca/Farallonplatekinematicsandforearcbasinevo the interAndean depression in Ecuador. Journal of
lutioninEcuador.Tectonics8:769–790. SouthAmericanEarthSciences19;519.
Ego, F., Sébrier, M., Lavenu, A., Yepes, H., Egues, A. Witt,C.,J.Bourgois,F.Michaud,M.Ordoñez,N.Jimé
(1996):QuaternarystateofstressintheNorthernAn nez,andM.Sosson(2006):DevelopmentoftheGulfof
desandtherestrainingbendmodelfortheEcuadorian Guayaquil (Ecuador) during the Quaternary as an ef
Andes.Tectonophysics259;101116. fect of the North Andean block tectonic escape, Tec
tonics,25,TC3017,doi:10.1029/2004TC001723.
Glazner, A. F. (1991): Plutonism, oblique subduction,
and continental growth: an example from the Meso
zoicofCalifornia.Geology19;784786.
Guillier, B. Chatelain J.L. Jaillard, E., Yepes, H.,
Poupinet, G., Fels, J.F. (2001): Seismological evidence
on the geometry of the orogenic system in central
northern Ecuador (South America): Geophysical Re
searchLetters,v.28,p.37493752.
Hughes R. A., Pilatasig L. F. (2002): Cretaceous and
TertiaryterraneaccretionintheCordilleraOccidental
oftheAndesofEcuador.Tectonophysics345:29–48.
Hungerbühler, D., Steinmann, M., Winkler, W., Sew
ard,D.,Egüez,A.,Peterson,D.E.,Helg,U.,Hammer,C.
(2002):NeogenestratigraphyandAndeangeodynam
icsofsouthernEcuador.EarthScienceReviews57;75–
124.
McCaffrey,R.(1992):ObliquePlateConvergence,Slip
Vectors, and Forearc Deformation, J. Geophys. Res.,
97(B6),8905–8915.
PardoCasas, F. & Molnar, P. (1987): Relative Motion
of The Nazca (Farallón) and South American Plates
sinceLateCretaceousTime.Tectonics6;233248.
Sébrier,M.&Bellier,O.(1993):Howisaccommodated
the paralleltothetrench slip component in oblique

 41

Appendix II – Overriding plate
structuralcontrolsonthespatio
temporal distribution of Tertiary
plutonsinEcuador
Overriding plate tectonics, stress regime and arc
magmatismshowcoupledbehavioronaregional
to local scale: strikeslip deformation as a result
of strain partitioning in the overriding plate is
mainly localized in the rheologically weak arc
magmatic zone (Dewey et al. 1998). Melt ascent
and emplacement in the crust can be efficiently
focusedbystructuresandissignificantlyaidedby
deformation (Saint Blanquat et al. 1998; Vigner
esse & Clemens 2000), and may in turn induce
further strikeslip partitioning (Saint Blanquat et
al.1998).Detailedrecentreviewsofthecomplex
mechanisms of arc magma ascent and emplace
mentarepresentedbyRichards(2003)andCem
brano & Lara (2009). In the following, we focus
oninvestigatingwhetherandhowthespatialand
temporal distribution of Tertiary plutonism in
Ecuador is affected by: (1) the regional signifi
cance of structural control for localizing intru
sions; and (2) the role of synintrusive deforma
tion and the localregional stress field on pluton
emplacement. Plutons mapped as Tertiary intru
sions in the Eastern Cordillera have Late Creta
ceousEarly Tertiary KAr ages which are poten
tially thermally disturbed on a regionalscale
(Peltetec event; Litherland et al. 1994), and are
thusexcludedfromanyfurtherdiscussionhere.
Afewgeneralconsiderationsapplyforthesetwo
points.Duetointrinsicoverpressuringarcmagma
isprincipallyabletoascendandreachtheEarth’s
surface irrespective of the prevailing local
regional stress regime (e.g., Paterson & Fowler
1993; Saint Blanquat et al. 1998; Cembrano &
Lara 2009); a compressional stress component
does not prevent magma from ascending along
preexisting ornewlyformedstructuresbutmay
in fact enhance magma ascent by tectonic over
pressuring (especially at lower crustal levels;
SaintBlanquatetal.1998).Localtranspressional
or transtensional stress settings (e.g., associated
with restraining or releasing bend geometries of
large strikeslip systems; Sylvester 1988) prefer
entially localize rapid magma ascent, because
42 
they commonly provide subvertically oriented
highpermeability structures (e.g., Richards
2003). However, particularly in the upper crust,
ascending magma may use any available struc
turalweaknesssuchthatascentisnotnecessarily
vertical(SaintBlanquatetal.1998;Kalakayetal.
2001). Furthermore, the stress regime prevailing
at a given time does not control the orientation
of preexisting structures (Cembrano & Lara
2009).Spacecreationforintrusionemplacement
in the upper crust involves displacement of the
crustal host rocks, either by means of deforma
tion where fault kinetics control emplacement
rates(Glazner1991;Grocottetal.1994;Acocella
et al. 2008) or/and by ballooning and roof uplift
(Paterson & Fowler 1993; Saint Blanquat et al.
2006). Thus, emplacement of intrusions along
preexisting or newly formed structures com
bined with synintrusive deformation does not
seem to be a general requirement for crustal
magmaascentorplutonemplacement,butthese
processes are expected to be positively corre
lated, and possibly feedbackrelated with each
other.
The spatial distribution of Tertiary intrusions in
EcuadorcloselyfollowsthemajorNNEandESE
trends of upper plate structures (Fig. 2). In this
context, plutons are not expected to be directly
localized along major firstorder structures but
should rather be emplaced in associated periph
eral areas of dilation (Richards 2003). Major in
trusive belts center on deeplyrooted faults and
translithospheric suture zones between the
mainlandandtheallochthonouswesternoceanic
domain or the southern Amotape terrane, re
spectively:
ƒ TheNtoNEtrendingCTSZatthewestern
flank of the Western Cordillera is spatially
associated and aligned with the northern
batholithsofSantiagoandApuelaNanegal,
the central Ecuadorian batholith system
(Corazon, TelimbelaChazo Juan, Balsa
pambaLas Guardias, EcheandiaIndustria)
as well as multiple small intrusions. Until
recently,theCTSZusedtoberegardedasa
suture zone (Hughes & Pilatasig 2002) al
thoughVallejoetal.(2006,2009)proposed
a geodynamic model for the Ecuadorian
margin where the Macuchi island arc is
autochthonousdismissingthesutureorigin
 of the CTSZ. Nonetheless, the great strike
length of the shear zone and seismic stud
ies (Guillier et al. 2001) indicate that the
structure extends to deep crustal (possibly
transcrustal) levels, although it might not
be a translithospheric transform fault such
astheCPPF.Asdescribedabove(Appendix
IIofChapter2),geologicevidencesuggests
multiple phases of dextral transpressional
movement along the shear zone since the
Eocene.
ƒ The NE to NNEtrending CPPF represents
the western limit of a Late Cretaceous su
ture zone below the Western Cordillera
(e.g.,Vallejoetal.2006);ithasbeenreacti
vated as the presentday CPPF with a dex
tral transpressional sense of movement
and accommodates a significant compo
nent of the presentday convergence
obliquity(Egoetal.1996).Itisspatiallyas
sociated with the Chaucha batholith and
multiple smaller intrusions at its southern
end where it splays off and intersects the
Western Cordillera towards the Gulf of
Guayaquil. The preferential emplacement
of Tertiary intrusions along the CPPF and
CTSZ was already noted by Litherland &
Aspden (1992), although the tectonomag
matic model presented by these authors
doesnotwithstandmodernconceptsofarc
magma genesis (e.g., Stern 2002; Richards
2003).
ƒ The CangrejosZaruma intrusive belt occu
pies a central axial position between the
PiñasPortoveloandJubonesfaultsystems,
probably in the vicinity of the northern
limit of Amotape basement (Litherland et
al. 1994). Towards the west, the Piñas
Portovelo fault joins with the La PalmaEl
GuayaboandTahuinDam(Naranjos)faults;
these faults delimit the deeply exhumed
metamorphicRaspascomplexwhosestruc
tural position has been related to the an
cient Amotape suture zone (Bosch et al.
2002).Thus,whiletheexactlocationofthe
northern Amotape suture is concealed be
low Tertiary cover sequences, the Cangre
josZarumabeltseemstobeemplacedina
proximal and subparallel position with re
specttothesuturezone.Furthersouth,the
 43
voluminous Portachuela batholith is em
placed and exhumed along the NS trend
ingLasAradasfaultbetweentheAmotape
terrane and the Eastern Cordillera (Lither
landetal.1994).
TheAndeantrendingCTSZandCPPFshowasub
parallel orientation with respect to the central
northern Ecuadorian margin and the downgoing
slab, and are thus potentially favorably aligned
withzonesofasthenosphericpartialmeltingand
lithospheric magma ascent. In contrast, the Can
grejosZaruma intrusive belt forms a transverse
structurewithrespecttothemargintrend,char
acterizedbyroughlycoeval(onatimescaleofa
fewm.y.)plutonemplacementatitseasternand
western end and, by inference, along its whole
strikelength.Whilethepresentdayslabgeome
try below this arc segment is likely contorted or
discontinuous as a result of the flatsteep slab
transition between northern Peru and central
Ecuador (Gutscher et al. 1999), such geometric
complexities are unlikely to have existed in the
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene when most of the
intrusions formed; a continuous subduction of
theFarallonplatecanbeassumedforthattime.
Slabgeometryandtheorientationofthezoneof
asthenospheric partial melting alone thus fail to
explaintheintrusivebeltalignment,suchthatthe
arctransverse pluton emplacement trend must
havebeensignificantlystructurallycontrolled.
The concentrated occurrence of Oligocene
Miocene plutons along the flanks of the CTSZ
suggests this structure in partcontrolledmagma
ascent and pluton emplacement. Subvertical
transcrustal structures are expected to channel
ize ascending magma (e.g., Cembrano & Lara
2009).However,atc.1°30’Slatitude,Guillieret
al. (2001) show presentday seismicity patterns
defining 35°E dipping planes at mid to deep
crustal levels which these authors interpret as
the traces of the CTSZ and CPPF fault planes, as
they intersect these structures at surface levels.
Reactivation of the faults caused deformation of
their upper portions resulting in subvertical dips
closetothesurface(Guillieretal.2001).Ifasimi
lar,nonverticaldiphadalreadybeenestablished
duringtheOligoceneMiocenethisscenariocould
beinterpretedinthefollowingways:(1)anaddi
tionaldeepersubverticalportionoftheCTSZex
istsandwasexploitedbyascendingmagmas,but
isnotseismicallyactiveatpresent;(2)theproto
CTSZ only controlled pluton emplacement (by
tectonicspacecreation)atshallowcrustallevels,
but did not significantly influence magma ascent
at depth; (3) significant nonvertical magma as
centalongtheprotoCTSZatdeeptomidcrustal
levels took place. Given the deep crustal nature
oftheCTSZ,weexpectittobeprincipallyableto
efficientlychannelizemagmasthroughthewhole
crust, in particular as the maficultramafic oce
anicbasementunitsoftheWesternCordilleraare
rheologically strong and require a high differen
tial stress to fracture. Repeated transpressional
reactivation of the shear zone throughout the
Tertiary might have aided magma ascent by tec
tonicoverpressuring.Nonverticalmagmaascent
along thrust ramps has been documented in a
number of settings and can be a viable mecha
nism for magma ascent in an overall transpres
sionalcompressional stress regime (e.g., Kalakay
etal.2001).IfmagmaascentinthenorthernEc
uadorian arc segment during the Oligocene
Miocene was partly controlled by eastdipping
thrust geometries, the zone of partial melting at
depth could extend well to the east of the pre
sentday CTSZ, in agreement with the broad
landwardsextentofarcmagmatisminthesouth
erncentral Ecuadorian arc segments further
south.
While detailed kinematic structural studies of
Tertiary pluton emplacement in Ecuador’s West
ernCordilleraarelacking,itcanbeinferredfrom
the discussion above that distributed shear re
lated to forearc sliver displacement along the
CPPF and CTSZ, combined with strikeslip reacti
vation of the older suture zones further east
(Litherland et al. 1994; Winkler et al. 2005) has
been intermittently active throughout the Terti
ary,andprobablyresultedinpartiallysyntectonic
intrusiveactivity.Descriptivestudiesavailablefor
the major intrusions of the Western Cordillera
aresummarizedinProdeminca(2000a)andgen
erally support this notion. Prodeminca (2000a)
notethatmostintrusionsarespatiallyassociated
with secondorder NE to ENEtrending faults
which under dextral transpression should pro
ducelocaldilation.
In the northern Western Cordillera voluminous
magmatism of the ApuelaNanegal batholith
might be related to its structural position be
44 
tween two major structures, the CPPF and the
CTSZ, and secondorder lineaments associated
withthesestructures(butseediscussiononaddi
tionalacrossarclineamentsinChapter2).While
the batholithic intrusions in central Ecuador
(BalsapambaLasGuardias,TelimbelaChazoJuan,
plus associated intrusions) are spatially associ
ated with lineaments of various orientations
mostly trending subparallel to the CTSZ
(Prodeminca 2000a), none of these have been
mapped as faults on regional Western Cordillera
maps (Fig. 1; McCourt et al. 1998; Hughes et al.
1998).AtthesouthernendoftheWesternCordil
lera, Chaucha batholith emplacement is inferred
to be generally related to the Bulubulu fault
whichformspartoftheCPPF;anumberofasso
ciatedNEandNWtrendingfaultsarethoughtto
havecontrolledindividualintrusionemplacement
andporphyrymineralization(Prodeminca2000a).
Rapid unroofing of the relatively young Chaucha
batholith was associated with regional contrac
tionleadingtobasininversionintheInterandean
regionatc.9Ma(Hungerbühleretal.2002).
IntheZarumaregionclosetotheeasternendof
the Late OligoceneEarly Miocene Cangrejos
Zarumaintrusivebelt,growthsequencesofintru
sionhosting Saraguro Group volcanics form
thickening wedges towards the southern Piñas
Portovelo fault, indicative of synvolcanic normal
fault slip (Spencer et al. 2002). Further north, a
normal slip component, albeit of unconstrained
age, is detected at the EWtrending Jubones
fault (Litherland et al. 1994). These observations
are in agreement with Steinmann’s (1997) pro
posalofregionalhorizontalextensionduringthe
OligoceneEarly Miocene deposition of Saraguro
Group ignimbrites, which are inferred to have
beensourcedfromfissureeruptionsandcaldera
formingevents.
Horizontal extension in southern Ecuador was
followed by transpression which is recorded by
inversionofthePiñasPortovelofaultandfolding
in the area north of the fault producing a major
anticline subparallel to the CangrejosZaruma
intrusivebelt(Spenceretal.2002),aswellasbya
conjugatesetofNEtrendingfaultswithevidence
for dextral movement (Prodeminca 2000a). Fur
thermore, wholescale tilting of the Saraguro
Group volcanic sequence north of the Piñas
Portovelo fault is observed (now dipping 30° to
theSW;Spenceretal.2002).Plutonsnorthofthe more likely that plutonic activity increased con
PiñasPortovelo fault which, based on the radio comitant with volcanism during the Late Oligo
metric ages obtained in this study, can be in cene to MidMiocene as part of the flareup
ferred to be of mainly Early Miocene age, show event in arc magmatism discussed in Chapter 2,
asymmetric sigmoidal planview geometries in for which larger geodynamic controls are ulti
dicative of syntectonic intrusion into a dextral matelyinferred.
transpressional stress field. Further, Aubearing
On a local scale, Prodeminca (2000a) note that
hydrothermalquartzcalciteveinsintheZaruma
periodsofintensemagmatismandmineralization
Portovelo mining district are related to NW
tend to be associated with inferred changes in
striking faults moderately dipping to the SW;
the local stress regime, particularly at the onset
these faults show SC fabrics and shear banding,
of postcompressional tensional periods. As dis
in agreement with vein formation under dextral
cussed above, however, local variations in stress
transpression.Theveinsareinterpretedaspartly
regime might in part reflect coupling between
originatingfrommagmaticfluidsthusnecessitat
magmatic and tectonic processes such that local
ing roughly coeval and hence syntectonic mag
extension might in part be induced by intrusive
matism (Spencer et al. 2002). These considera
activity.Clearly,detailedstructuralstudiesofTer
tions indicate that Late OligoceneEarly Miocene
tiaryintrusionshostedbytheWesternCordillera
magmatismformingtheCangrejosZarumaintru
are needed to further discuss the relationships
sivebeltisatleastinpartsyntectonicinnature.
between plutonism and the regional and local
Transpressionaldeformationinthisregionmight
tectonicenvironment.
either be related to the oblique subduction set
ting, or, possibly, to the postPaleocene 25±12° Significant Tertiary forearc sliver displacement
clockwise block rotation inferred for the Amo impliesthattheplutonsoftheWesternCordillera
tape terrane from paleomagnetic studies (Mi intruded at more southern latitudes than their
touardetal.1990). presentday position, relative to the Ecuadorian
mainland and the “fixed” Tertiary intrusions
Theredoesnotseemtobeafirstorderrelation
hosted by the southerncentral Ecuadorian arc
ship between the intensity of plutonism, in par
segments.Iftheforearcsliverdisplacementesti
ticular the significant increase in the Late Oligo
mate of 100130 km since the MidMiocene by
cene, and changes of the regional stress regime
Hungerbühleretal.(2002)iscorrect,mostintru
in Ecuador. Steinmann (1997) and Hungerbühler
sionswillhaveundergonesignificantwholescale
etal.(2002)inferaregionaltensionalstressfield
latitudinal displacement, as their timing of em
from4020Ma,withacompressionalpulseatc.
placement predates the displacement period.
19 Ma, followed by another period of horizontal
Alternatively, following the reasoning of Witt et
tensional stress in the Interandean region from
al.(2006),latitudinaldisplacementcouldincrease
1511 Ma, and compression from 98 Ma. How
with pluton age significantly beyond the Mid
ever, compared to their detailed studies of Mid
Miocene. A forearc sliver displacement of 100
Late Miocene sedimentary basins, the geologic
130kmsincetheMidMioceneimpliesjuxtaposi
evidencepresentedbytheseauthorstoconstrain
tion of the OligoceneEarly Miocene batholithic
theOligoceneEarlyMiocenestressfieldisrather
intrusions of central Ecuador with the volumi
limited, as it is solely based on extensional
nous, slightly younger intrusions in the Chaucha
forearc deformation at that time described by
area at the limit between the northern and cen
Daly (1989), combined with an inferred cause
tral Ecuadorian arc segments. The concentration
effect relationship of regional extension and
of intrusive activity in this presently highly tec
Saraguro Group ignimbrite eruption. Conse
tonized region could reflect a concentration of
quently, the lack of correlation between varia
strikeslip deformation potentially favorable for
tions in the regional stress field and the peak in
crustal magma ascent, space creation, and thus
shallow crustal arc magmatism initiating in the
pluton emplacement (e.g., Glazner 1991; Rich
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene might be due to
ards 2003). Alternatively, or in addition to the
insufficientknowledgeofthepaleostressfieldat
preceding point, a positive asthenospheric heat
the Ecuadorian margin. Overall, however, it is
anomaly might have locally persisted below the

 45
region of the central Ecuadorian arc segment,
further accentuating (or causing?; cf. discussion
inChapter2)thegeneralpeakinarcmagmapro
ductivityintheLateOligocenetoMidMiocene.
In conclusion, Tertiary intrusions are preferen
tially localized along deeplyrooted fault zones,
most of them sutures, between the Ecuadorian
mainlandandtheAmotapeterrane,orthealloch
thonousforearcsliverflooredbyoceanicplateau
basement, suggesting a fundamental control of
these structures on magma ascent and pluton
emplacement. Overriding plate deformation in
response to oblique plate convergence and par
tial decoupling of the Ecuadorian margin was
mainly transpressionaltranstensional, and is ex
pected to have been intermittently active
throughout large parts of the Tertiary until the
present day. Transpressional reactivation of ma
jor fault zones and the associated distributed
shear might have aided magma ascent and con
tributed to space creation for intrusion em
placement. The inferred middeep crustal thrust
geometry of the CTSZ and CPPF (Guillier et al.
2001) implies that magma ascent along these
structures was not necessarily subvertical. The
high spatial concentration of cogenetic Oligo
ceneMiocene intrusions and volcanics in the
central Ecuadorian arc segment, bracketed be
tweentwosuturezones,mightberelatedtocon
centrated deformation along the margins of this
arcsegment,and/orapronouncedlocalastheno
sphericheatanomalybelowit.
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Chew, D., Page, L., (2006): The early interaction be

 47

Appendix III – Accuracy of pub
lishedKAr(andZFT)agesofTer
tiaryintrusionsinEcuador
Before the present work the geochronologic
frameworkonthetimingofTertiaryplutonismin
EcuadorexclusivelyreliedonKAr(mostlybiotite
andhornblendefractions,orwholerocksamples)
plus few ZFT datations. An exception is Bineli
Betsi (2007) who presents two zircon UPb ages
of intrusions spatially associated with the Rio
Blanco low sulfidation epithermal deposit in the
central Western Cordillera of Ecuador. The clo
sure temperature range (e.g., Chesley 1999) for
the KAr isotopic systems of hornblende (490
570°C) and, particularly, biotite (260350°C)
makesthesemineralssusceptibletothermaldis
turbancebyeitherburial,proximalemplacement
ofyoungerintrusions,or,especially,byporphyry
related hydrothermal alteration where initial
fluid temperatures of >500°C for early potassic
alteration are common (e.g., Seedorff et al.
2005). This issue is even more pertinent for
wholerock KAr ages, where a reliable closure
temperature is difficult to estimate, or for ZFT
data(closuretemperature260±25°C;Fosteretal.
1996). A field example illustrating this effect is
the small El Tingo pluton in southern Ecuador
with KAr hornblende and biotite ages of 4750
Ma (Kennerley 1980) where Hungerbühler et al.
(2002)obtainedaMioceneZFTageof21±3Ma.
Zircon UPb age data acquired on Late Tertiary
intrusions allow us to evaluate whether previ
ously reported ages obtained by these methods
represent magmatic cooling, or whether they
havebeenthermallydisturbed,thuspartlyoffset
towards a younger intrusive or hydrothermal
event,orplutonexhumation.Furthermore,most
Kbearing minerals are highly susceptible to al
teration,andalreadysmallamountsofsecondary
replacement minerals may suffice to produce K
Ar ages of uncertain geological significance, an
issue which also pertains to ArAr ages (Snee
2002).Asdifferenttypesofhydrothermalaltera
tionofvariableintensityareacommonfeatureof
most intrusive complexes of Ecuador's Western
Cordillera(e.g.,Prodeminca2000a),theaccuracy
ofKAragescanbetestedwitharelativelyaltera
tionresistantmineralsuchaszircon.
48 
Hornblende KAr ages of granodiorites of the
ApuelaNanegal batholith are 18.5±0.9 Ma (Van
Thournout 1991), 16.5±0.8 Ma (Prodeminca
2000a),and14.5±0.2Ma(MMAJ/JICA1992),with
additional biotite KAr ages of 16.0±0.8 Ma
(Prodeminca 2000a), 15.8±0.6 Ma (Van
Thournout 1991) and 13.0±0.6 Ma (MMAJ/JICA
1992). The latter age, reported by MMAJ/JICA
(1992)fortheCuellajeprospectarea,isidentical
within error with our zircon UPb age of
12.87±0.08 Ma on the same lithology, i.e., por
phyryhosting hornblendebiotitebearing grano
diorite, and is thus inferred to represent a mag
maticcoolingage.Thisindicatesthat theyoung
est pulse of batholith emplacement at Cuellaje
occurred at relatively shallow crustal levels at
wallrocktemperatures<260350°C(thebiotiteK
Ar closure temperature range). Batholith mag
matic cooling rates were very high as evidenced
by identical zircon and biotite ages; subsequent
burialandreheatingtotemperatures>260350°C
did not take place. Similarly, we consider the
olderhornblendeKAragesreferredtoaboveto
define distinct pulses of batholith emplacement
at shallow crustal levels, since the KAr horn
blendeandbiotiteagesofMMAJ/JICA(1992)are
identical within error. Geochronologic data thus
suggest a composite, multiintrusive nature of
thebatholithwhichisinagreementwithdetailed
geologicandpetrographicinvestigationsbySala
zar (2007), defining various, often faultbounded
batholith lithologies including tonalite, quartz
monzonite, quartzdiorite and monzogranite, in
additiontoamajorgranodioritelithology.
Age data for the multiple porphyry stocks and
dikesintrudingthebatholithdefineagerangesof
11.18.8MafortheporphyriesatCuellaje(whole
rock KAr; MMAJ/JICA 1992) and 7.95.6 Ma at
Junin(wholerockKAr,MMAJ/JICA1992;biotite
hornblende KAr, Prodeminca 2000a). While we
cannot assess the accuracy of the Cuellaje ages,
agesreportedfortheJuninporphyries,classified
as"quartziferousporphyry"byMMAJ/JICA(1992)
and Prodeminca (2000a), are significantly
younger than our hornblende granodiorite por
phyrydikezirconUPbageof9.01±0.05Ma.The
lithological classification as "quartziferous por
phyry" used by MMAJ/JICA (1992) and
Prodeminca (2000a) is somewhat ambiguous as
evidenced by their reported 2 m.y. KAr age dif
ference for "quartziferous porphyry" exceeding
analytical errors, and we infer that these KAr
agesdatecoolingor(partial)thermalresettingof
one or more younger porphyry intrusive events
and/or their associated hydrothermal systems.
Fieldevidenceindicatesatleastthreemajorand
severalminorporphyryphasesarepresentatthe
Junin prospect (Salazar 2007). The 9 Ma horn
blende granodiorite porphyry age presented in
this study seems to define the earliest timing of
porphyryemplacement,butolderpulsesofactiv
ity are likely to have occurred, as indicated by a
9.5±0.2 Ma zircon antecryst. Younger pulses ap
parentlycenteronthe7.97.3Maand6.15.6Ma
timeranges;furtherresolvingthetimingofthese
multipleintrusiveeventsiscomplicatedbypetro
graphic evidence of highT potassic alteration
overprinted by pervasive phyllic alteration (Sala
zar2007).Thermaldisturbanceisevidencedbya
7.5±0.2 Ma biotite KAr age of altered host
granodiorite (Prodeminca 2000a). Continuous
multim.y.magmatismfocusedontheJuninarea
mightgenerallyhaveledtoalocalshallowcrustal
heatanomaly,suchthattheyoungKAragesmay
not be used as accurate estimates for intrusive
eventsoftheJuninporphyrystocksanddikeson
alocalscale,althoughtheymaybebroadlyused
as proxies for the latter. A further discussion of
theJuninporphyrysystemisprovidedinChapter
3,wheretwoReOsmolybdeniteages(6.13±0.03
Maand6.63±0.04Ma)arepresented,whichsup
porttheoccurrenceofseveralyoungerporphyry
intrusiveeventsasinferredfromKArdata.
Previousstudiesbasedonhornblendeandbiotite
KAr ages, and UPb data presented in this work
define two age clusters for the BalsapambaLas
Guardias batholith in central Ecuador. In the Las
Guardias area an earlier peak comprises three
hornblendeandbiotiteagesrangingfrom34.3to
30.1Ma(MMAJ/JICA1989;McCourtetal.1997).
In addition, Henderson (1979) reports ages of
30.8±1 Ma (KAr biotite) and 19.2±3 Ma (KAr
hornblende)onaquartzdioritesamplefromthe
same area where he prefers the latter as esti
mate for the age of pluton emplacement. These
ageswererecalculatedbyKennerley(1980)using
decay constants of Steiger & Jäger (1977) to
31.7±1 Ma and 19.8±3 Ma. The fact that his
hornblendeKArageissignificantlyyoungerthan
thebiotiteKArageofthesamesamplesuggests
 49
hydrothermal alteration affected the biotite
and/or hornblende thus rendering these ages
potentiallyinaccurate.IntheBalsapambaarea,K
Arhornblendeagesof33.1±0.4and25.7±0.9Ma
are reported (MMAJ/JICA 1989; McCourt et al.
1997). There, the younger age cluster is more
dominant including our new zircon UPb ages at
21.46±0.08 Ma (batholith) and 21.22±0.17 Ma
(porphyry dike), and hydrothermal molybdenite
ReOsagesof19.9±0.3Ma(Chiaradiaetal.2004)
and 21.5±0.1 Ma (Chapter 3) related to the
Balsapambaporphyrysystem.
Preservationofbiotiteagesoftheolderageclus
terindicatesthebatholithhasresidedatshallow
crustallevelsbelowthebiotiteKArclosuretem
peraturesincethen.Furthermore,asasystematic
younging from hornblende to biotite KAr ages
withintheolderageclusterisnotobserved,and
biotite KAr ages show intracluster scattering
outsideoftheirreporteduncertaintyrange,initial
batholith emplacement should have taken place
atrelativelyshallowcrustallevelswheretheage
scatter reflects magmatic cooling from multiple
intrusionsand/orhydrothermalresetting.Ashal
low crustal emplacement environment at least
fortheyoungerpartofthebatholithisinagree
ment with our field observations of intrusive
brecciationalong21.2Maporphyrydikemargins,
requiring brittle deformation mechanisms. The
19.9±0.3MamolybdeniteReOsagereportedby
Chiaradia et al. (2004) is indicative of the addi
tional presence of a younger, post21.2 Ma por
phyry intrusion at Balsapamba, since the maxi
mum estimate for the lifetime of a large, single
intrusiondriven hydrothermal system is 0.8 m.y.
(Cathlesetal.1997),andtypicallifetimesaresig
nificantly shorter still (e.g., Shinohara & Heden
quist 1997). This is in agreement with published
lithologicaldataindicatingacompositenatureof
the batholith (MMAJ/JICA 1989). We attribute
the limited scatter of ages within a given age
cluster to multiple intrusions with two batholith
emplacement peaks during the Early Oligocene
and Early Miocene, where magmatism might
have been semicontinuous in between these
peakevents,assuggestedbyasingleLateOligo
ceneKArhornblendeageatBalsapamba.
Our zircon UPb emplacement age of 25.5±0.7
Ma for the central part of the Chazo Juan
Telimbela batholith significantly predates pub
lished biotite ± hornblende KAr ages of several
batholith facies which range in age from 14.5 to
17.5 Ma and 19.1 to 21.4 Ma across the whole
batholith (MMAJ/JICA 1989; MMAJ/JICA 1991;
McCourt et al. 1997), again reflecting a multi
intrusive batholith assembly. A ReOs molyb
deniteageof19.2±0.1Ma(Chapter3)relatesto
the younger phase of intrusive activity inferred
fromKArdata.Themainpulseofplutonicactiv
ityoftheChazoJuanTelimbelabatholithandthe
youngest pulse of the BalsapambaLas Guardias
batholith overlap in age. Likewise, the youngest
plutonicpulseofChazoJuanTelimbelaseemsto
coincide with the age of the Corazon intrusion
further north. Antecrystic zircons of Early Oligo
ceneageidentifiedinthepresentstudycouldbe
related to an earlier phase of the Chazo Juan
Telimbelabatholithconstruction,contemporane
ouswith,orslightlypostdatingthefirstintrusive
peak of BalsapambaLas Guardias. These age re
sults, in conjunction with petrographic similari
ties, and the spatial proximity and continuity in
mapviewsuggestthattheintrusivecomplexesof
BalsapambaLas Guardias and Chazo Juan
Telimbela, combined with the adjacent Corazon
and EcheandiaLa Industria complexes and sev
eralsmallersatelliteintrusions,mightrepresenta
single large batholithic system assembled from
EarlyOligocenethroughMidMiocenetimes.
Ages reported for the Chaucha batholith range
from 13.3±0.5 Ma and 13.2±0.5 Ma (KAr horn
blende and biotite; INEMINAGCD 1989),
12.8±0.6 Ma (biotite KAr; Kennerley 1980),
12.0±0.6 Ma (Snelling 1970), to 9.8±0.3 (whole
rockKAr;MüllerKahle&Damon1970).Inaddi
tion, INEMINAGCD (1989) provide an age of
11±1 Ma for a dacitic porphyry intrusion.
Prodeminca (2000a) note that these ages might
be disturbed and could significantly postdate
main batholith emplacement. Our new zircon
ages confirm this notion, and provide a new ba
tholithminimumemplacementageof14.84±0.06
Ma. Ubiquitous zircon antecrysts ranging in age
from 15.3 to 14.8 Ma testify older pulses of
magmatism, and a closeby intrusion at the Rio
Blancoprospect,datedat15.75±0.04Ma(zircon
UPb TIMS; Bineli Betsi 2007) might represent a
stillolder,geneticallyrelatedbatholithfacies.The
KAr batholith age of MüllerKahle & Damon
(1970) is identical to our age of 9.79±0.03 for a
50 
granodiorite porphyry dike intruding the batho
lith suggesting that the porphyryrelated hydro
thermal system might have thermally reset the
surrounding batholith facies, but this cannot be
verified due to uncertainties in the sample loca
tion of MüllerKahle & Damon (1970). Wide
spread porphyryrelated hydrothermal activity is
documented by two ReOs molybdenite ages of
9.92±0.05 Ma and 9.5±0.2 Ma (Chapter 3). Age
scatterinthe1510Maperiodmightreflectmul
tiple intrusive events as evidenced by the occur
rence of an antecrystic zircon in the quartz
diorite porphyry intrusion dated at 10.3±0.2 Ma
in the present study. The identical hornblende
and biotite ages reported by INEMINAGCD
(1989) indicate that individual intrusive pulses
wereemplacedatwallrock temperaturesbelow
the KAr biotite closure temperature and cooled
relatively rapidly. Taken in concert, these results
suggestthatamainphaseoftheChauchabatho
lith construction occurred during the Mid
Miocene although still earlier intrusive pulses
(e.g., in the Early Miocene; Prodeminca 2000a),
similartoChazoJuanTelimbela,cannotberuled
out.
AKArageof16.9±0.2MareportedbyPrattetal.
(1997)forthePacchaintrusioninthecentralpart
oftheCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelthas,sofar,
been the only available age for the whole belt.
The scarcity of available data prevents further
discussionoftheaccuracyofthisKArage.Inthis
study,arelativelytightclusterofLateOligocene
Early Miocene emplacement ages was obtained
fromzirconsforintrusionsatCangrejos,Zaruma,
and Portovelo attesting coeval pluton emplace
ment along the whole strike length of the belt.
The intrusions at Zaruma and Cangrejos contain
antecrysticzirconsofMidOligoceneagedemon
strating slightly older magmatic activity in this
region. Combined with mainly Late Oligocene
Early Miocene KAr and ZFT ages for volcanic
rocksoftheSaraguroGroupinthearea(Prattet
al. 1997; Hungerbühler et al. 2002, and refer
encestherein)thissuggeststhewholeregionun
derwent widespread coeval plutonism and vol
canism in the Late Oligocene and Early (Mid)
Miocene.
Emplacementagesofaround20Maobtainedfor
theporphyryintrusionsofGabyandPapaGrande
overlap within error with a 19.3±1.0 Ma KAr
(wholerock?) age for the Gaby porphyry stock
reportedbyProdeminca(2000a),andarefurther
in agreement with ReOs molybdenite (20.6±0.1
Ma) and UPb hydrothermal titanite (20.2±0.2
Ma) ages obtained for various porphyryrelated
hydrothermalsystemsatGaby(Chapter3).These
agescoincidewiththeyoungestphasesofbatho
lithconstructionfurthernorthatBalsapambaLas
Guardias, and testify a significant Early Miocene
peakofplutonicactivityintheWesternCordillera
ofEcuador.
Ourageof16.04±0.02Maforemplacementofa
biotitebearing granodiorite porphyry dike at El
Mozo, hosted by tuffs of the La Paz Formation
assigned to the uppermost Saraguro Group
(Prodeminca 2000b) is contemporaneous with
the time range of Sta. Isabel volcanism further
north(Hungerbühleretal.2002).Furthermore,it
istemporallyclosetothe16.9±0.2Maageofthe
Pacchaintrusion(Prattetal.1997)andthe15.3
14.8 Ma zircon ages for the Chaucha batholith
(this study) suggesting relatively widespread
postSaraguromagmatisminsouthernEcuador.A
previously reported hydrothermal alunite KAr
age at El Mozo is 15.4±0.7 Ma (a second age of
12.3±0.7Maissupposedtobeinaccuratedueto
significant alunite concentrate contamination by
barite;Prodeminca2000b).The15.4±0.7MaKAr
aluniteageoverlapswithinerrorwith ourzircon
age, in agreement with the general notion that
porphyry intrusions and highsulfidation epi
thermalsystemsaregeneticallylinkedandclosely
correlated in time (e.g., Shinohara & Hedenquist
1997).
Volcanic formations genetically related to the
Quimsacocha volcanic center were not specifi
cally addressed by Hungerbühler et al. (2002) in
theirstratigraphicsummaryofsouthernEcuador.
Ourageof7.13±0.07MaforaQuimsacochacal
derahosted biotitehornblendebearing dacite
dome,interpretedasemplacementage,overlaps
withthetimerangeproposedbyHungerbühleret
al.(2002)andPrattetal.(1997)fortheLateMio
cene, regionally widespread Tarqui Formation,
and coincides on a regional scale with several
shallowlevelintrusionsinthearea (cf.summary
by Hungerbühler et al. 2002). Our new zircon U
Pbagefurtherallowsabsolutetimecalibrationof
the volcanic stratigraphic sequence provided by
Beateetal.(2001)wheretheearlyphasesofthe
 51
Quimsacocha volcanic center comprise andesite
daciteflowsandbreccias,followedbyignimbrite
eruption and caldera formation; daciticrhyolitic
calderahosted domes represent the final phase
of activity of the volcanic center. Typical dura
tions of volcanic activity at longlived arc volca
noes are on the order of c. 1 m.y. (e.g., Tatara
SanPedro;Dunganetal.2001).AsignimbriteZFT
agesof5.24.9MaandanintracalderadomeZFT
ageof3.6±0.3Ma(Beateetal.2001)significantly
postdatethezirconUPbageobtainedforadac
itic dome in the present study, the ZFT ages
shouldeitherreflectexhumation,orthermaldis
turbance by a younger hydrothermal system.
SincetheQuimsacochavolcaniccalderaoutlineis
wellpreserved,formingaprominentpositiveto
pographicfeatureatabout4kmaltitude,signifi
cant burial is not a likely option for the caldera
hosted facies, and hydrothermal fluids, possibly
relatedtoablindporphyryintrusion,mighthave
causedresettingoftheZFTsystem.Alternatively,
theseZFTagescouldbeinaccurateandmightnot
have any geological significance, or their preci
sionmightbeoverestimated.
ThezirconUPbageof30.7±0.5Maforastrongly
alteredfelsiteintheTresChorrerasprospectarea
assignedtotheSaraguroGroup(Prattetal.1997)
places it at the base of the stratigraphic time
range for the Saraguro Formation provided by
Hungerbühleretal.(2002),andoverlapswiththe
time range given by the same authors for the
LomaBlancaFormationwhichtheyregardasthe
baseoftheSaraguroGroupinsouthernEcuador.
It overlaps with the Late EoceneEarly Oligocene
ZFTagesofSaraguroGroupunitsfurthernorthin
thenorthernEcuadorianarcsegment(Dunkley&
Gaibor 1997). Taken in combination with an age
of 35.77±0.06 Ma (UPb TIMS; Bineli Betsi 2007)
for a voluminous quartzmonzodiorite intrusion
inferredtointrudeolderSaraguroGroupvolcan
icsattheclosebyRioBlancoprospect(M.Ponce,
International Minerals Corporation, pers. comm.
2009),thissuggeststhatEarlyOligocenemagma
tismmighthavebeenmorewidespreadinsouth
erncentralEcuadorthanpreviouslyinferredfrom
spatially isolated outcrops of the Loma Blanca
Formation, although it is clearly subordinate to
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene volcanism of the
Saraguro Formation and the associated intrusive
activity(Hungerbühleretal.2002).
The dismembered Curiplaya porphyry intrusions
hosted by the Albian Celica Formation in south
ernmost Ecuador were of uncertain age before
this work; we therefore included them in this
studyofTertiarymagmatism.Theporphyryintru
sions occur only a short distance from the com
posite Tangula batholith, and thus might repre
sentacomagmaticequivalentofthisvoluminous
intrusive complex. A major batholith emplace
ment pulse is inferred at c. 110 Ma based on
hornblende KAr ages of 111±30 Ma for the
Macaráintrusionand110±3MafortheColaisaca
intrusion, where an additional plagioclase KAr
age of 108±3 Ma is available (Kennerley 1980).
Younger KAr ages obtained on biotite from the
same locations yielded 48±2 Ma and 93±1 Ma,
respectively (Kennerley 1980). Due to their high
potentialforthermaldisturbancethesignificance
of these biotite ages for batholith emplacement
isuncertain.OurnewzirconUPbageof92.0±1.0
Ma for a Curiplaya porphyry intrusion demon
strates the occurrence of post110 Ma magma
tisminthearea,inagreementwiththeagerange
expected from the inferred correlation of the
Tangula and Peruvian Coastal batholiths (Hall &
Calle1982).
Inconclusion,comparisonofourUPbzirconage
datawithexistingKAragesonTertiaryintrusive
rocks in Ecuador shows that several biotite and
whole rock KAr ages were likely disturbed by
younger intrusions and their associated hydro
thermal systems thus failing to detect slightly
older magmatic pulses (e.g., at Chaucha, Junin,
Telimbela) with age offsets of 14 m.y. Alterna
tively, our zircon ages for these intrusions were
derived from previously unsampled lithologies
within a given batholith; inconsistencies in pub
lishedpetrographicrockdescriptionsandsample
locations make it difficult to evaluate this issue.
Inotherplaceshornblende,biotiteorwholerock
KAr ages coincide within error with UPb zircon
ages (e.g., at Gaby, Balsapamba, Cuellaje). Re
gionally disturbed Neogene KAr age systematics
in the Western Cordillera and Interandean re
gion, such as documented for the Late Creta
ceous to Early Tertiary in the Eastern Cordillera
(PelteteceventofLitherlandetal.1994),arenot
observed. We infer that most KAr ages, espe
ciallywhenobtainedonhornblende,canbeused
as a proxy for magmatism on a regional scale,
52 
although they may be of doubtful accuracy at a
local scale to resolve intrusive emplacement
events at higher precision. A similar conclusion
can be drawn from a detailed geochronologic
study conducted at the Jurassic Nambija skarn
deposit in southern Ecuador: while existing KAr
age data on feldspar and sericite are shown to
yielddisturbedages, zirconUPbdatationsover
lap within error with hornblende KAr ages
(Chiaradiaetal.2009,andreferencestherein).
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AppendixIV–Datatables

TableA1:ResultsofUPbagedeterminations(TIMS)
TableA2:ResultsofUPbagedeterminations(LAMCICPMS)
TableA3:AgereferencesusedforconstructionofFig.7&Fig.8

54 


 55
 

56 


Table A2: Results of U-Pb age determinations (LA-MC-ICP-MS)

concentrations isotopic ratios apparent ages [Ma]

sample U Th Th/U 206 206 ±2 207 ±2 206 ±2 corr. 206 ±2 207 ±2 207 ±2

[ppm] [ppm] 204 207 [%] 235 [%] 238 [%] coef. 238 235 206

E07030
PS10-12 21 7 0.36 348 26.7 71 0.06 72 0.0110 12 0.17 70.7 8.7 56 39 -528 1946

PS10-10A 26 8 0.31 504 18.2 83 0.09 84 0.0123 14 0.17 78.5 11 90 73 415 1937

PS10-13 43 16 0.37 600 18.6 155 0.10 156 0.0134 16 0.10 85.7 13 96 143 357 4256
-
PS10-10 26 7 0.29 468 35.4 126 0.05 128 0.0135 22 0.17 86.2 19 52 65 1345 4437

PS10-20 54 34 0.63 1002 20.3 45 0.09 45 0.0137 6.0 0.13 87.7 5.2 90 39 162 1060

PS10-5 51 19 0.37 834 24.0 95 0.08 95 0.0137 2.0 0.02 87.8 1.7 77 71 -247 2534
-
PS10-25 35 17 0.49 720 33.9 77 0.06 78 0.0137 16 0.21 87.8 14 55 42 1214 2457

PS10-4 38 13 0.33 672 19.8 111 0.10 112 0.0137 6.8 0.06 87.8 5.9 93 99 220 2788

PS10-11 41 18 0.42 474 8.0 41 0.24 48 0.0138 24 0.51 88.3 21 218 93 2038 731

PS10-6 128 98 0.76 1542 19.5 16 0.10 16 0.0139 2.3 0.14 89.2 2.0 95 15 249 376

PS10-17 42 27 0.63 660 20.5 57 0.09 58 0.0140 5.8 0.10 89.6 5.2 91 51 141 1373

PS10-15 43 15 0.36 810 26.0 108 0.07 109 0.0140 6.9 0.06 89.8 6.1 73 76 -449 3053

PS10-19 148 128 0.87 1740 17.4 39 0.11 40 0.0141 4.0 0.10 90.4 3.6 108 40 509 873

PS10-8 84 38 0.45 1242 20.4 22 0.10 22 0.0141 2.3 0.10 90.5 2.1 93 20 147 519

PS10-22A 58 22 0.39 1038 27.9 73 0.07 73 0.0142 2.0 0.03 90.7 1.8 69 48 -646 2058

PS10-2 31 12 0.38 456 30.7 107 0.06 108 0.0144 5.4 0.05 92.2 5.0 64 66 -909 3327

PS10-16 114 91 0.79 1536 22.0 25 0.09 25 0.0144 2.0 0.08 92.4 1.9 88 21 -35 607

PS10-22 44 13 0.30 918 19.6 64 0.10 65 0.0145 9.4 0.14 92.6 8.6 99 61 247 1514

PS10-23A 70 34 0.48 1404 25.7 57 0.08 57 0.0145 2.8 0.05 93.1 2.6 76 42 -428 1525
-
PS10-3 30 11 0.36 570 37.4 159 0.05 159 0.0146 7.8 0.05 93.2 7.2 53 82 1530 6311

PS10-9 51 18 0.35 858 18.5 53 0.11 54 0.0146 3.8 0.07 93.4 3.5 105 53 370 1224

PS10-14 94 49 0.52 1230 17.8 63 0.11 63 0.0146 2.0 0.03 93.5 1.9 109 65 463 1435

PS10-1T 158 145 0.92 1920 21.3 18 0.09 18 0.0147 2.0 0.11 93.9 1.9 92 16 42 423

PS10-18 49 28 0.58 702 15.4 46 0.13 46 0.0147 2.9 0.06 94.2 2.7 126 55 777 985

PS10-24 147 111 0.76 2556 22.2 32 0.09 33 0.0148 3.6 0.11 94.4 3.3 89 28 -53 795

PS10-7 53 22 0.42 636 12.1 34 0.17 34 0.0149 2.0 0.06 95.6 1.9 159 50 1257 673

PS10-21 82 32 0.39 1554 25.8 49 0.08 49 0.0150 2.6 0.05 95.7 2.5 78 37 -437 1303

PS10-23 104 94 0.90 2358 25.5 54 0.08 55 0.0152 7.5 0.14 97.1 7.3 80 42 -406 1433

E07011
PS9-5 465 189 0.41 2184 16.0 25 0.04 27 0.0042 11 0.42 26.9 3.1 36 10 696 528

PS9-16 80 42 0.53 420 7.2 73 0.08 74 0.0042 11 0.15 27.1 3.0 79 56 2206 1321

PS9-4 77 42 0.54 582 18.7 127 0.03 128 0.0043 9.6 0.08 27.5 2.6 31 40 345 3217

PS9-18 311 242 0.78 1932 19.5 26 0.03 27 0.0045 4.8 0.18 28.9 1.4 32 8 256 604

PS9-22 417 409 0.98 1992 19.7 26 0.03 26 0.0046 2.0 0.08 29.4 0.6 32 8 228 612

PS9-14 433 552 1.28 2388 19.2 16 0.03 17 0.0046 3.7 0.22 29.5 1.1 33 5 292 373

PS9-3 724 624 0.86 4392 19.9 15 0.03 16 0.0046 2.7 0.17 29.7 0.8 32 5 201 358

PS9-20 1026 1315 1.28 5742 22.6 11 0.03 11 0.0047 3.6 0.31 30.3 1.1 29 3 -98 268

PS9-2 269 238 0.88 1338 17.1 58 0.04 58 0.0047 2.9 0.05 30.3 0.9 38 22 552 1285

PS9-8 741 812 1.10 2352 16.5 13 0.04 16 0.0047 9.9 0.62 30.4 3.0 39 6 621 270

PS9-15 198 160 0.81 1182 17.2 30 0.04 30 0.0048 3.9 0.13 30.7 1.2 38 11 531 665

PS9-6A 420 300 0.71 2778 18.6 22 0.04 23 0.0048 2.0 0.09 30.7 0.6 35 8 356 509

PS9-17 1439 1348 0.94 4830 18.4 10 0.04 11 0.0048 2.0 0.19 30.8 0.6 36 4 390 234

PS9-23 1497 2013 1.34 5970 19.9 8 0.03 8 0.0048 2.5 0.31 30.9 0.8 33 3 210 180

PS9-6 190 134 0.70 462 6.1 29 0.11 30 0.0048 7.3 0.25 31.0 2.3 106 30 2510 486

PS9-13 1678 1701 1.01 10938 20.7 9 0.03 10 0.0048 3.2 0.33 31.0 1.0 32 3 115 212

PS9-24 193 120 0.62 1056 15.8 41 0.04 41 0.0049 3.3 0.08 31.5 1.0 42 17 716 873


 57


Table A2 (continued)
concentrations isotopic ratios apparent ages [Ma]

sample U Th Th/U 206 206 ±2 207 ±2 206 ±2 corr. 206 ±2 207 ±2 207 ±2

[ppm] [ppm] 204 207 [%] 235 [%] 238 [%] coef. 238 235 206

PS9-25 441 476 1.08 1296 12.5 57 0.05 57 0.0049 3.9 0.07 31.5 1.2 53 29 1189 1142

PS9-9A 103 61 0.60 618 15.0 81 0.05 82 0.0049 6.4 0.08 31.6 2.0 45 36 825 1768

PS9-21 182 126 0.69 786 16.8 86 0.04 86 0.0050 4.1 0.05 32.0 1.3 41 34 591 1951

PS9-7 609 488 0.80 3102 17.0 41 0.04 41 0.0051 2.0 0.05 32.5 0.6 41 16 560 901

PS9-10 1180 1354 1.15 6990 20.3 10 0.03 13 0.0051 7.5 0.58 32.9 2.5 35 4 160 245

PS9-19 126 134 1.06 390 4.3 32 0.17 37 0.0052 19 0.50 33.6 6.3 156 54 3055 523

PS9-12 1404 1875 1.34 6540 17.9 54 0.04 54 0.0053 2.4 0.04 33.9 0.8 40 21 442 1224

PS9-1 399 236 0.59 1356 12.7 34 0.06 34 0.0054 2.3 0.07 34.7 0.8 58 19 1160 673

PS9-9 271 150 0.55 570 5.2 77 0.15 79 0.0056 19 0.24 35.9 6.8 141 105 2769 1323

PS9-2A 133 107 0.80 390 4.5 28 0.18 30 0.0058 8.9 0.30 37.1 3.3 167 46 3011 457

PS9-11 220 173 0.79 1116 12.7 32 0.07 32 0.0066 2.0 0.06 42.3 0.8 70 21 1164 631

PS9-1A 244 86 0.35 12534 15.5 9 0.64 10 0.0716 4.4 0.44 445.7 19 500 39 759 188

E06066
-
PS6-14 119 61 0.51 108 58.3 463 0.01 463 0.0029 24 0.05 18.8 4.5 7 32 3374 0

PS6-13 126 59 0.47 876 16.1 865 0.03 865 0.0032 11 0.01 20.3 2.1 27 233 682 0

PS6-12 253 128 0.50 1332 21.1 48 0.02 49 0.0033 8.6 0.18 21.4 1.8 22 11 74 1161
-
PS6-4 64 34 0.54 330 35.6 143 0.01 145 0.0034 26 0.18 22.0 5.6 13 19 1364 5208
-
PS6-9 78 56 0.73 444 44.8 178 0.01 178 0.0036 14 0.08 23.4 3.4 11 20 2184 2817

PS6-18 217 92 0.42 1026 14.3 36 0.04 36 0.0037 5.0 0.14 23.9 1.2 36 13 922 741

PS6-18A 254 131 0.52 702 8.3 38 0.06 39 0.0039 8.9 0.23 25.1 2.2 64 24 1961 688

PS6-6 87 62 0.71 426 12.1 118 0.05 118 0.0040 2.0 0.02 25.6 0.5 45 52 1258 2551

PS6-2 117 51 0.43 468 10.8 60 0.05 61 0.0040 10 0.16 25.9 2.6 51 30 1484 1172

PS6-10 101 57 0.57 378 11.0 100 0.05 101 0.0040 16 0.16 25.9 4.1 50 49 1442 2049

PS6-20 160 122 0.76 372 7.5 25 0.07 26 0.0040 6.5 0.25 26.0 1.7 72 18 2136 447

PS6-17 144 174 1.21 300 5.3 34 0.11 35 0.0042 8.9 0.25 26.9 2.4 105 35 2731 560

PS6-11 238 124 0.52 660 8.5 35 0.07 35 0.0042 3.8 0.11 26.9 1.0 67 23 1930 632

PS6-19 148 50 0.34 510 6.7 53 0.09 53 0.0042 4.1 0.08 27.1 1.1 84 43 2334 924

PS6-8 97 52 0.53 408 6.0 63 0.10 66 0.0042 20 0.30 27.1 5.4 94 59 2532 1083

PS6-7 116 83 0.72 486 10.8 64 0.05 64 0.0042 3.6 0.06 27.2 1.0 53 33 1477 1237

PS6-3 92 49 0.53 288 3.1 45 0.22 51 0.0049 24 0.47 31.5 7.6 200 94 3583 3265

PS6-1 108 58 0.53 246 4.1 44 0.17 45 0.0051 12 0.26 32.5 3.8 159 66 3136 704

E07023
PS7-19 66 42 0.63 378 12.0 160 0.03 164 0.0026 37 0.23 16.5 6.1 29 48 1276 14

PS7-21 51 37 0.74 270 28.3 225 0.01 230 0.0026 46 0.20 16.7 7.7 13 29 -686 3557
-
PS7-19A 57 43 0.75 354 43.4 176 0.01 185 0.0027 55 0.30 17.3 9.6 9 16 2057 2786

PS7-15 71 63 0.90 396 17.3 87 0.02 89 0.0028 17 0.19 18.3 3.1 23 20 525 1996

PS7-8 81 64 0.78 414 29.5 195 0.01 196 0.0029 19 0.10 18.4 3.4 13 26 -800 3372
-
PS7-13 82 51 0.63 444 52.7 366 0.01 366 0.0030 15 0.04 19.0 2.8 8 29 2872 0
-
PS7-3A 62 44 0.71 348 37.1 139 0.01 140 0.0030 21 0.15 19.1 3.9 11 16 1502 5173
-
PS7-20 80 52 0.65 570 39.1 81 0.01 82 0.0032 15 0.19 20.7 3.2 11 9 1675 2890

PS7-1 85 78 0.93 408 23.3 107 0.02 109 0.0032 18 0.17 20.8 3.8 19 21 -171 2854

PS7-3 60 49 0.82 294 27.5 273 0.02 273 0.0033 8.1 0.03 21.4 1.7 17 46 -604 4008

PS7-5A 89 91 1.03 486 26.9 161 0.02 162 0.0034 13 0.08 22.0 2.8 18 28 -539 5262

PS7-10 62 47 0.76 324 11.7 42 0.04 45 0.0034 16 0.35 22.1 3.5 40 18 1326 830

PS7-20A 75 52 0.70 474 29.0 129 0.02 131 0.0034 21 0.16 22.1 4.6 16 21 -752 4004
-
PS7-10A 73 66 0.91 360 44.2 140 0.01 141 0.0035 9.4 0.07 22.3 2.1 11 15 2127 1093


58 


Table A2 (continued)
concentrations isotopic ratios apparent ages [Ma]

sample U Th Th/U 206 206 ±2 207 ±2 206 ±2 corr. 206 ±2 207 ±2 207 ±2

[ppm] [ppm] 204 207 [%] 235 [%] 238 [%] coef. 238 235 206

PS7-5 117 88 0.75 300 5.0 57 0.10 65 0.0036 33 0.50 22.9 7.5 95 60 2836 944

PS7-17 355 536 1.51 582 6.0 67 0.09 68 0.0038 6.2 0.09 24.6 1.5 85 55 2526 1166

PS7-6 62 50 0.81 330 24.7 122 0.02 123 0.0039 15 0.13 25.0 3.8 22 27 -317 3433

PS7-18 344 325 0.94 1230 12.9 51 0.04 53 0.0040 14 0.26 26.0 3.6 43 22 1138 1030

PS7-14 94 56 0.60 612 18.0 79 0.03 79 0.0042 8.1 0.10 26.7 2.2 32 25 435 1820
-
PS7-9 75 54 0.73 498 38.8 124 0.02 128 0.0043 32 0.25 27.6 8.7 15 20 1655 4677
-
PS7-11 139 89 0.64 780 37.2 49 0.02 49 0.0044 4.0 0.08 28.5 1.1 17 8 1511 1637

PS7-16A 302 416 1.38 1668 18.4 19 0.03 20 0.0045 3.5 0.18 28.8 1.0 34 6 390 433

PS7-7 178 107 0.60 1134 22.5 54 0.03 54 0.0045 4.5 0.08 29.0 1.3 28 15 -84 1340

PS7-16 142 124 0.87 786 17.9 44 0.03 44 0.0045 6.1 0.14 29.1 1.8 35 15 446 982

PS7-2 457 801 1.75 2262 18.3 24 0.04 24 0.0047 2.0 0.08 30.2 0.6 35 8 400 541

E07045
PS8-8 45 20 0.44 276 18.0 56 0.03 60 0.0033 21 0.36 21.0 4.5 25 15 437 1280

PS8-7A 73 56 0.76 408 17.6 120 0.03 123 0.0034 30 0.24 21.8 6.5 27 32 484 2908

PS8-10 53 21 0.39 384 19.4 254 0.03 254 0.0036 14 0.05 23.1 4.5 90 57 2725 1061

PS8-12 28 14 0.51 156 5.3 63 0.09 66 0.0036 19 0.30 23.1 3.1 25 64 257 2127

PS8-24 129 69 0.54 615 16.4 62 0.03 63 0.0037 5.0 0.08 24.1 1.2 31 19 640 1374

PS8-14 72 34 0.47 576 10.3 29 0.05 30 0.0038 9.5 0.31 24.4 2.3 50 15 1574 540

PS8-26 100 29 0.29 535 11.5 70 0.05 70 0.0039 5.2 0.07 24.8 1.3 46 32 1354 1401

PS8-25 136 77 0.57 670 14.3 32 0.04 34 0.0039 9.8 0.29 24.9 2.4 37 12 921 669

PS8-23 134 42 0.31 755 15.7 34 0.03 34 0.0039 2.4 0.07 25.0 0.6 34 11 734 716

PS8-15 89 40 0.45 400 6.5 43 0.08 44 0.0039 10 0.23 25.0 2.5 80 34 2379 736

PS8-18A 69 27 0.39 430 16.3 83 0.03 86 0.0039 23 0.27 25.3 5.8 33 28 652 1863

PS8-7 64 30 0.47 396 15.2 51 0.04 56 0.0039 22 0.40 25.4 5.7 36 20 794 1090

PS8-28 75 27 0.36 440 13.1 74 0.04 75 0.0040 8.3 0.11 25.5 2.1 42 31 1108 1540

PS8-5 71 48 0.68 390 14.0 67 0.04 67 0.0040 7.5 0.11 25.6 1.9 39 26 970 1396

PS8-8A 37 21 0.57 300 15.0 219 0.04 219 0.0040 20 0.09 25.9 5.1 37 79 817 993

PS8-9 59 34 0.58 612 10.9 50 0.05 52 0.0041 13 0.26 26.2 3.5 51 26 1460 967
-
PS8-6 30 13 0.43 204 46.4 169 0.01 170 0.0041 17 0.10 26.4 4.6 12 21 2327 2225

PS8-13 55 30 0.55 402 6.2 45 0.09 49 0.0042 19 0.39 26.6 5.1 90 42 2474 778

PS8-18 77 31 0.40 475 16.0 85 0.04 85 0.0042 3.7 0.04 27.1 1.0 36 30 695 1885

PS8-19 86 48 0.56 315 4.8 74 0.12 77 0.0042 22 0.29 27.2 6.1 116 84 2882 1245

PS8-17 86 35 0.41 320 4.4 71 0.14 74 0.0043 20 0.27 28.0 5.6 131 91 3048 1188

PS8-16 80 35 0.43 315 5.5 59 0.11 60 0.0044 6.2 0.10 28.1 1.7 106 60 2684 1004

PS8-22 54 22 0.41 280 5.9 68 0.10 68 0.0044 9.0 0.13 28.2 2.5 100 65 2567 1171

PS8-20 84 36 0.43 315 6.9 54 0.09 55 0.0044 8.3 0.15 28.5 2.3 86 45 2289 946

PS8-2 56 28 0.50 300 5.2 41 0.13 42 0.0049 11 0.27 31.5 3.6 124 49 2759 674

PS8-1 94 65 0.69 288 4.6 58 0.15 59 0.0049 14 0.23 31.8 4.4 139 77 2947 956

PS8-3 49 22 0.45 282 5.3 133 0.13 139 0.0051 38 0.28 33.1 13 127 166 2719 1839

PS8-4 63 33 0.53 246 3.9 59 0.20 69 0.0059 37 0.53 37.6 14 189 120 3208 959

206 238
All errors are random errors at 2-sigma level; the additional systematic error of 1.42+/-0.54% for Pb/ U ages is considered
for weighted mean ages presented in Table 3.


 59

Table A3: Age references used for construction of Fig. 7 & Fig. 8. Disturbed
ages and duplicate samples were removed.
Reference Lithology UTM UTM datation age ±2
east north method [Ma] [Ma]
Aspden et al 1992 Catamayo - bt granodiorite pluton 690000 9560000 K-Ar bt 58 2
Aspden et al 1992 Ishpingo pluton ("unnamed") pluton 765000 9666300 K-Ar bt 39 4
Aspden et al 1992 Pichinal pluton - bt granodiorite pluton 704500 9599900 K-Ar bt 54 4
Aspden et al 1992 Portachuela batholith - bt-bearing felsic pluton 677300 9472300 K-Ar bt 12 1
porphyry
Aspden et al 1992 Portachuela batholith - hbl bt granodio- pluton 675500 9474400 K-Ar hbl 20 7
rite
Aspden et al 1992 Portachuela batholith - hbl bt granodio- pluton 674500 9476500 K-Ar hbl 24 5
rite
Aspden et al 1992 Pungala pluton - hbl bt granodiorite pluton 768000 9800000 K-Ar hbl 42 2
Aspden et al 1992 Pungala pluton - hbl bt granodiorite pluton 768000 9796500 K-Ar bt/hbl 45 4
Aspden et al 1992 San Lucas pluton - bt granodiorite pluton 698500 9574000 K-Ar bt 59 2
Aspden et al 1992 San Lucas pluton - hbl bt granodiorite pluton 694800 9578500 K-Ar hbl 66 4
Aspden et al 1992 San Lucas pluton - hbl granodiorite pluton 692800 9585700 K-Ar bt 52 2
Aspden et al 1992 San Lucas pluton - porphyritic bt pluton 693300 9584900 K-Ar bt 58 2
granodiorite
Barberi et al 1988 Cojitambo andesite-dacite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 5.2 0.2
Barberi et al 1988 Mangan Fm. - dacitic lava flow volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 8.0 0.1
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - andesite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 12.2 0.4
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - andesitic lava flow volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 7.1 0.3
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - andesitic lava flow volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 8.1 0.1
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - dacite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 6.1 0.6
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - dacitic ignimbrite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 11.2 0.4
Barberi et al 1988 Pisayambo Fm. - ignimbrite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 15.4 0.7
Barberi et al 1988 Saraguro Fm. - andesite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 28.9 1.4
Barberi et al 1988 undefined andesite volcanic n/a n/a K-Ar 6.3 0.1
Beate et al 2001 Quimsacocha ignimbrites volcanic 697400 9662500 ZFT 4.9 0.3
Beate et al 2001 Quimsacocha ignimbrites volcanic 697400 9662500 ZFT 5.2 0.3
Bineli- Betsi 2006 Rio Blanco - microdiorite pluton n/a n/a zircon TIMS 15.8 0.04
Bineli- Betsi 2006 Rio Blanco - qtz monzodiorite pluton n/a n/a zircon TIMS 35.8 0.06
Boland et al 1998 Apuela: Cuellaje - qtz-diorite pluton 772702 38721 K-Ar 16.5 1.1
Boland et al 1998 Cachaco intrusion, E of Santiago pluton 789383 94048 K-Ar 34.7 1.7
batholith
Boland et al 1998 Chical-Maldonado (intrusion in San pluton 811656 99597 ZFT 7.5 0.4
Juan Unit) - bt-rich porphyry
Boland et al 1998 La Merced (Apuela satellite intrusion) - pluton 789396 71919 K-Ar 15.6 1.1
qtz-diorite
Boland et al 1998 Rio Naranjal gabbro intrusion pluton 722591 38709 K-Ar 47 2
Boland et al 1998 San Eduardo intrusion, NE of Santiago pluton 783814 95151 K-Ar 42 2
batholith
Boland et al 1998 San Juan de Lachas Fm. - andesitic volcanic 796700 91900 ZFT 23.5 1.5
breccia
Boland et al 1998 San Juan de Lachas Fm. - andesitic volcanic 796700 91900 ZFT 25 3
breccia
Boland et al 1998 Santiago batholith - granodiorite- pluton 761551 77437 K-Ar 35.8 1.8
tonalite
Boland et al 1998 Santiago batholith - granodiorite- pluton 778256 77445 K-Ar 42 2
tonalite
Boland et al 1998 Santiago batholith - granodiorite- pluton 778246 94041 K-Ar 45 2
tonalite
Boland et al 1998 small diorite pluton S of San Miguel de pluton 733730 0 K-Ar 29 3
Los Bancos
Bourgeois et al 1990 Apagua pluton - andesitic porphyry pluton 725501 9891151 K-Ar WR 24.7 1.2
Bourgeois et al 1990 Apagua - dacite volcanic 731254 9893145 K-Ar WR 21.3 1.1
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Cisarán - andesite volcanic 730900 9777600 K-Ar 6.9 0.7
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Cisarán - andesite volcanic 742900 9744100 K-Ar 7.2 0.4
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Molleturo diorite stock pluton 716855 9745631 K-Ar 7.6 0.4
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 688700 9701200 ZFT 25.7 1.1
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 722800 9720800 ZFT 27.0 1.0
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 690700 9679300 ZFT 29.8 1.2
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 721700 9719200 ZFT 30.2 1.1
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 699900 9691800 ZFT 34.1 1.3
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 699800 9725200 ZFT 37.0 1.5
Dunkley & Gaibor 1997 Saraguro Group volcanic 716400 9769200 ZFT 38.6 1.3

60 

Table A3 (continued)
Reference Lithology UTM UTM datation age ±2
east north method [Ma] [Ma]
Eguez 1986 La Esperie (St. Domingo) diorite pluton 700326 9972354 K-Ar WR 38.6 1.9
Eguez 1986 Pilaló-Zumbagua - porphyritic diorite pluton 733695 9889395 K-Ar WR 24.7 1.2
Eguez 1986 syntectonic intrusions in Mulaute Unit - pluton 733727 9966819 K-Ar hbl 48.3 0.6
foliated diorite
Eguez et al 1992 Saraguro Group volcanic 728500 9762000 K-Ar plag 21.0 1.0
Eguez et al 1992 Saraguro Group volcanic 728500 9764800 K-Ar plag 27.0 0.9
Eguez et al 1992 Saraguro Group volcanic 724000 9746700 K-Ar 35.9 0.9
Herbert & Pichler 1983 Amaluza pluton - granodiorite pluton 792500 9712314 K-Ar bt 34 1
Herbert & Pichler 1983 San Lucas pluton - bt granite pluton 694355 9588998 K-Ar bt 52 2
Hughes et al 1998 Chaupicruz - granodiorite pluton 717002 9900465 ZFT 7.0 0.3
Hughes et al 1998 El Tigre, R. Hugshatambo - granodio- pluton 711443 9917057 K-Ar hbl 38.1 0.4
rite
Hughes et al 1998 R. Quindigua - granodiorite pluton 728141 9911519 K-Ar bt/hbl 14.8 0.14
Hughes et al 1998 Zumbagua - porphyritic tonalite volcanic 733698 9894925 K-Ar bt/hbl 6.3 0.7
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Chinchin Fm. volcanic 739467 9680826 ZFT 43 4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 678920 9562364 ZFT 25 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 685992 9538147 ZFT 27 4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 680590 9544440 ZFT 29 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 646676 9558934 ZFT 31 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 685900 9538200 ZFT 33 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 687184 9537098 ZFT 33 4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 699139 9546868 ZFT 36 7
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 700498 9519437 ZFT 41 5
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Loma Blanca Fm. volcanic 647582 9559391 ZFT 42 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Rodanejo pluton pluton 672059 9546653 ZFT 39 6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Sacapalca Fm. volcanic 646051 9555116 ZFT 67 6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 10365 24540 ZFT 19 6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 9820 25430 ZFT 19 4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 681315 9630791 ZFT 19.1 1.4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 10450 27840 ZFT 20 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 735092 9706274 ZFT 21 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 671534 9632381 ZFT 21 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 735732 9702400 ZFT 21.2 1.6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 695744 9693134 ZFT 23 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 13480 31070 ZFT 23 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 697035 9625187 ZFT 23 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 735533 9699850 ZFT 23.2 1.8
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 697311 9624303 ZFT 23 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 726472 9673198 ZFT 26 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 730250 9675252 ZFT 26.0 1.8
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 680200 9630300 ZFT 26 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 714257 9685269 ZFT 26 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 12250 29500 ZFT 26 5
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 698991 9674203 ZFT 27 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 730307 9675184 ZFT 27 4
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 730062 9675245 ZFT 27 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 729721 9675308 ZFT 28 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 720997 9667853 ZFT 28 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 725302 9693138 ZFT 29 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 698813 9656909 ZFT 8 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 699931 9642136 ZFT 15.9 1.6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 688300 9629400 ZFT 18 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 689714 9631727 ZFT 18 3
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 683296 9633982 ZFT 18.4 1.6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 St. Isabel Fm. volcanic 698428 9640804 ZFT 19 2
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 732155 9672200 ZFT 5.1 0.6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 729094 9687475 ZFT 5.5 0.6
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 731940 9672631 ZFT 5.8 0.8
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 728773 9664281 ZFT 6.0 1.0
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 720818 9672195 ZFT 6.1 1.0
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 729453 9664218 ZFT 6.3 0.8
Hungerbühler et al 2002 Tarqui Fm. volcanic 13550 28200 ZFT 6.3 1.0

 61

Table A3 (continued)
Reference Lithology UTM UTM datation age ±2
east north method [Ma] [Ma]
Hungerbühler et al Tarqui Fm. volcanic 728865 9663789 ZFT 6.6 0.8
2002
Hungerbühler et al Tarqui Fm. volcanic 744998 9700442 ZFT 6.7 0.8
2002
Hungerbühler et al Tarqui Fm. volcanic 723285 9725220 ZFT 6.8 0.8
2002
INEMIN-AGCD 1989 Chaucha batholith - tonalite pluton 666734 9690407 K-Ar bt 13.2 0.5
INEMIN-AGCD 1989 Chaucha batholith - tonalite pluton 666734 9690407 K-Ar hbl 13.3 0.5
INEMIN-AGCD 1989 Chaucha dacitic porphyry pluton 666734 9690407 K-Ar bt 11.0 1.0
Jaillard et al 1996 Palo Blanco pluton - granodiorite pluton 669200 9541800 K-Ar plag 26.6 1.6
Kennerley 1980 Amaluza pluton - granodiorite pluton 770575 9712820 K-Ar hbl 49 2
Kennerley 1980 andesite; Hungerbühler (1997) assigns to pluton 736041 9686336 K-Ar WR 19.7 0.5
El Descanso intrusion
Kennerley 1980 andesite; Hungerbühler (1997) assigns to pluton 736690 9686612 K-Ar WR 21 0.6
El Descanso intrusion
Kennerley 1980 andesite; Hungerbühler (1997) assigns to volcanic 673135 9632347 K-Ar WR 19.5 0.4
St. Isabel Fm.
Kennerley 1980 andesitic porphyry; Hungerbühler (1997) volcanic 698160 9643179 K-Ar WR 14.2 0.5
assigns to St. Isabel Fm.

Kennerley 1980 Chaucha batholith - granodiorite pluton 675428 9679338 K-Ar bt 12.8 0.6
Kennerley 1980 El Tingo pluton - granodiorite pluton 678559 9558619 K-Ar bt 50 3
Kennerley 1980 Las Guardias pluton - qtz-diorite pluton 711358 9800935 K-Ar hbl 20 3
Kennerley 1980 Portachuela batholith - granite pluton 674723 9493201 K-Ar bt 29.0 0.8
Kennerley 1980 rhyolite; Hungerbühler (1997) assigns to St. volcanic 700010 9641978 K-Ar WR 21.4 0.8
Isabel Fm.
Kennerley 1980 San Lucas pluton - granodiorite pluton 702191 9573316 K-Ar bt 63 1
Kennerley 1980 Saraguro Group - rhyolite volcanic 672821 9632716 K-Ar WR 26.8 0.7
Lavenu et al 1992 Biblian Fm - rhyolitic tuff volcanic 735300 9701400 K-Ar plag 22.0 0.8
Lavenu et al 1992 Cojitambo - andesite; Hungerbühler (1997): pluton 735300 9695800 K-Ar plag 7.1 0.3
this Cojitambo sample is intrusive, whereas
younger Cojitambo ages are from extrusive
rocks
Lavenu et al 1992 Mangan Fm. - rhyolitic tuff volcanic 733500 9697700 K-Ar plag 16.3 0.7
Lavenu et al 1992 Pisayambo Fm - andesite volcanic 739100 9760300 K-Ar WR 7.9 0.4
Lavenu et al 1992 Pisayambo Fm - andesite volcanic 694400 9596400 K-Ar plag 8.2 0.4
Lavenu et al 1992 Pisayambo Fm - andesite volcanic 737400 9893100 K-Ar plag 9.1 0.5
Lavenu et al 1992 Saraguro Fm - andesite volcanic 728000 9764100 K-Ar WR 21.0 1.0
Lavenu et al 1992 Saraguro Fm - andesite volcanic 724300 9747500 K-Ar plag 35.5 1.3
Lavenu et al 1992 Saraguro Fm. - andesite volcanic 733500 9686600 K-Ar plag 35.3 0.9
McCourt et al 1997 Balsapamba - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 700235 9806476 K-Ar bt/hbl 33.1 0.4
McCourt et al 1997 Chaso Juan - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 708060 9845175 K-Ar bt/hbl 19.5 0.3
McCourt et al 1997 Chaso Juan - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 708060 9845175 K-Ar bt/hbl 20.7 0.2
McCourt et al 1997 Corazon batholith - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 722548 9868388 K-Ar bt/hbl 14.1 0.3
McCourt et al 1997 Corazon batholith - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 728113 9867278 K-Ar bt/hbl 14.8 0.2
McCourt et al 1997 Corazon batholith - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 728117 9872808 K-Ar bt/hbl 14.8 0.4
McCourt et al 1997 Corazon batholith - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 728117 9872808 K-Ar bt/hbl 16.1 0.2
McCourt et al 1997 La Industria tonalite-granodiorite pluton 694671 9806481 K-Ar bt/hbl 23.1 0.8
McCourt et al 1997 La Industria tonalite-granodiorite pluton 694676 9812010 K-Ar bt/hbl 25.6 0.3
McCourt et al 1997 La Industria tonalite-granodiorite pluton 689108 9806486 K-Ar bt/hbl 26.5 0.7
McCourt et al 1997 Las Guardias tonalite-granodiorite pluton 705788 9795411 K-Ar bt/hbl 33.4 0.3
McCourt et al 1997 Las Guardias tonalite-granodiorite pluton 705788 9795411 K-Ar bt/hbl 34.3 0.8
McCourt et al 1997 stock intruding Yunguilla Unit at Juan de pluton 733615 9800911 K-Ar 10.1 0.2
Velasco - porphyritic granodiorite
McCourt et al 1997 Tambana pluton pluton 705776 9784352 K-Ar bt/hbl 25.4 0.2
McCourt et al 1997 Telimbela - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 705811 9818635 K-Ar bt/hbl 19.1 0.8
McCourt et al 1997 Telimbela - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 700246 9817534 K-Ar bt/hbl 20.0 0.4
McCourt et al 1997 Telimbela - tonalite-granodiorite pluton 700246 9817534 K-Ar bt/hbl 21.4 0.2
McCourt et al 1997 tonalite dike cutting Apagua Formation pluton 728125 9883869 K-Ar bt/hbl 23.7 0.5
MMAJ/JICA 1989 Balsapamba - qtz-diorite pluton 707560 9807830 K-Ar hbl 25.7 0.9
MMAJ/JICA 1989 Chaso Juan - granodiorite pluton 706170 9845140 K-Ar bt 20.9 0.7
MMAJ/JICA 1989 La Industria - qtz-diorite pluton 690970 9825260 K-Ar hbl 25.5 0.9
MMAJ/JICA 1989 Telimbela - qtz-diorite pluton 703680 9816010 K-Ar bt 19.4 0.6
MMAJ/JICA 1989 Las Guardias - qtz-diorite pluton 708140 9798660 K-Ar hbl 30.1 1.1
MMAJ/JICA 1991 Chaso Juan - diorite pluton n/a n/a K-Ar 17.5 0.6
MMAJ/JICA 1991 Telimbela - hbl qtz-diorite pluton n/a n/a K-Ar 15 3
MMAJ/JICA 1991 Telimbela - qtz porphyry pluton n/a n/a K-Ar 15.7 1.0

62 

Table A3 (continued)
Reference Lithology UTM UTM datation age ±2
east north method [Ma] [Ma]
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Apuela: Cuellaje - granodiorite pluton 778270 42042 K-Ar bt 13.0 0.6
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Apuela: Junin - granodiorite pluton 767136 27657 K-Ar hbl 14.5 0.2
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Cuellaje andesite porphyry pluton 778270 42042 K-Ar WR 11.1 0.6
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Cuellaje qtz porphyry pluton 778270 42042 K-Ar WR 8.8 0.4
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Junin diorite porphyry pluton 767136 27657 K-Ar WR 7.3 0.3
MMAJ/JICA 1992 Junin qtz porphyry pluton 767136 27657 K-Ar WR 6.1 0.2
Müller-Kahle & Chaucha batholith pluton 675053 9676574 K-Ar WR? 9.8 0.3
Damen 1970
OLADE 1980 Cojitambo andesite-dacite volcanic 735316 9695831 K-Ar 6.3 0.2
Pichler & Aly 1983 Pungala pluton - granodiorite pluton 770721 9802708 K-Ar bt 41.3 1.6
Pratt et al 1997 NE Uzhcurrumi - qtz-diorite volcanic 661100 9635129 K-Ar 19.9 0.2
Pratt et al 1997 Paccha granitoid pluton 644386 9601984 K-Ar 16.9 0.2
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 650200 9591600 ZFT 21.5 1.6
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 632400 9635400 ZFT 23.2 1.6
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. volcanic 661900 9650900 ZFT 28 2
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. - dacitic tuff volcanic 690200 9629700 ZFT 22 2
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. - dacitic tuff volcanic 690700 9629300 ZFT 27 2
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. - ignimbrite volcanic 702934 9614065 ZFT 22.5 1.8
Pratt et al 1997 Saraguro Fm. - ignimbrite volcanic 703862 9618808 ZFT 25.0 1.8
Pratt et al 1997 Shagli intrusion - granodiorite pluton 683353 9651682 K-Ar 17.6 0.6
Pratt et al 1997 Tarqui Fm. - dacite lava flow volcanic 694100 9595400 ZFT 9.6 1.0
Pratt et al 1997 undefined intrusion pluton 658700 9651500 ZFT 13.9 1.0
Prodeminca 2000 Apuela batholith: granodiorite pluton n/a n/a K-Ar hbl 16.5 0.8
Prodeminca 2000 Junin - qtz porphyry pluton n/a n/a K-Ar bt/hbl 5.9 0.1
Prodeminca 2000 Junin - qtz porphyry pluton n/a n/a K-Ar bt/hbl 7.9 0.3
Rivera et al 1992 Saraguro Fm. - ignimbrite volcanic 697700 9675200 K-Ar bt 26.0 0.8
Rivera et al 1992 Saraguro Fm. - ignimbrite volcanic 696300 9676200 K-Ar bt 27.0 0.7
Snelling 1970 Chaucha batholith - granodiorite-tonalite pluton 666734 9690407 K-Ar 12.0 0.6
Spikings et al. 2005 Saraguro Group volcanic rock volcanic 698100 9724200 ZFT 36 3
Steinmann 1997 Calera pluton - granite pluton 650061 9591480 ZFT 26.5 1.8
Steinmann 1997 Cisarán - andesite volcanic 725300 9693000 ZFT 6.8 0.8
Steinmann 1997 El Prado pluton - granite pluton 658870 9578475 ZFT 24 2
Steinmann 1997 Porotillos pluton - granite pluton 653857 9632490 ZFT 20 4
Steinmann 1997 San Antonio pluton - granite pluton 662162 9634470 ZFT 20 3
this study Apuela: Cuellaje granodiorite (E060206) pluton 772701 44253 zircon TIMS 12.87 0.08
this study Balsapamba granodiorite (E06140) pluton 708028 9809786 zircon TIMS 21.46 0.08
this study Balsapamba granodiorite porphyry pluton 708028 9809786 zircon TIMS 21.22 0.17
(E06131)
this study Cangrejos qtz-diorite (E06066) pluton 633163 9614248 zircon 25.7 1.0
ICPMS
this study Chaucha dacitic porphyry (Tunas; E07005) pluton 675055 9677495 zircon TIMS 9.79 0.03
this study Chaucha granodiorite batholith (E07003) pluton 675055 9677495 zircon TIMS 14.84 0.06
this study El Mozo granodiorite porphyry (E07018) pluton 714415 9618449 zircon TIMS 16.04 0.02
this study Gaby plag-hbl porphyry (E05083) pluton 644460 9657265 zircon TIMS 20.26 0.06
this study Junin granodiorite porphyry (E07032) pluton 755998 33186 zircon TIMS 9.01 0.05
this study Papa Grande plag-hbl porphyry (E05090) pluton 645570 9656158 zircon TIMS 19.89 0.06
this study Portovelo plag-hbl porphyry (E06112) pluton 653987 9589516 zircon TIMS 24.04 0.06
this study Quimsacocha altered dacite dome pluton 697346 9662472 zircon TIMS 7.13 0.07
(E06017)
this study Saraguro at Tres Chorreras - felsite volcanic 663344 9649685 zircon 30.7 0.6
(E07011) ICPMS
this study Telimbela granodiorite (E07045) pluton 714543 9834663 zircon 25.5 0.7
ICPMS
this study Zaruma granodiorite (E07023) pluton 653270 9599944 zircon 20.9 1.1
ICPMS
Vallejo 2007 Cizaran Fm. - andesite volcanic 740461 9806100 Ar-Ar gm 12.2 2.2
Vallejo 2007 Macuchi Unit - andesite volcanic 784106 95939 Ar-Ar gm 35.1 1.7
Vallejo 2007 Macuchi Unit - andesite volcanic 725129 9965028 Ar-Ar plag 42.6 1.3
Vallejo 2007 Pilalo Fm. - andesite volcanic 771610 9996629 Ar-Ar px 64.3 0.4
Vallejo 2007 Pilalo Fm. "intrusion" - andesite volcanic 733838 9919774 Ar-Ar hbl 34.8 1.4
Vallejo 2007 Rio Cala Unit - basaltic andesite volcanic 787170 27797 Ar-Ar px 67 7
Vallejo 2007 San Juan de Lachas Fm. - andesite volcanic 806395 83179 Ar-Ar 32.9 1.2
Vallejo 2007 Silante Fm. - basalt volcanic 763379 9995871 Ar-Ar gm 66 2
Vallejo 2007 Silante Fm. - andesite volcanic 766935 2688 Ar-Ar gm 58 2
Vallejo 2007 Silante Fm. - andesite volcanic 768285 1600 Ar-Ar gm 61.0 1.1
Vallejo 2007 Silante Fm. - basalt volcanic 763379 9995871 Ar-Ar gm 66 2

 63

Table A3 (continued)
Reference Lithology UTM UTM datation age ±2
east north method [Ma] [Ma]
van Thournout 1991 Apuela pluton - granodiorite pluton 776600 30100 K-Ar bt 15.8 0.6
van Thournout 1991 Apuela pluton - granodiorite pluton 776600 30100 K-Ar hbl 18.5 0.9
van Thournout 1991 hbl-rich intrusion hosted by San Juan de Lachas pluton n/a n/a K-Ar 20 3
Fm.
van Thournout 1991 hbl-rich intrusion hosted by San Juan de Lachas pluton n/a n/a K-Ar 36 2
Fm.
van Thournout 1991 Macuchi Unit. - gabbro pluton 791000 91500 K-Ar hbl 45 9
van Thournout 1991 Maldonado pluton - granodiorite pluton 822200 101500 K-Ar bt 8.9 0.4
van Thournout 1991 Rio Babosa granodiorite pluton 784100 98500 K-Ar hbl 40 3
van Thournout 1991 Tandapi Unit - diorite pluton 806400 83600 K-Ar hbl 32.6 1.3

Acronyms: qtz - quartz, plag - plagioclase, px - pyroxene, hbl - honrblende, gm - groundmass, WR - whole rock, ZFT - zircon fission track


References
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facies associations of these authors were significantly reinterpreted by Hungerbühler (1997)
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56.
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Hughes, R.A., Bermudez, R. & Espinel, G. (1998): Mapa geológico de la Cordillera Occidental del Ecuador entre 0°-1°S, escala 1:200.000. CODIGEM-Ministerio de Energía y
Minas-BGS publs., Quito, Nottingham.
Hungerbühler, D. (1997): Tertiary basins in the Andes of southern Ecuador (3º00´-4º20´): Sedimentary evolution, deformation and regional tectonic implications. PhD Thesis,
Institute of Geology ETH Zurich, Switzerland, p. 182.

Hungerbühler D, Steinmann M, Winkler W, Seward D, Egüez A, Peterson DE, Helg U, Hammer C (2002): Neogene stratigraphy and Andean geodynamics of southern Ecuador.
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INEMIN-AGCD (1989): Estudio del yacimiento de cobre porfídico de Chaucha. Instituto Ec-uatoriano de Minería, Informe final, 339 p, Quito.
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Universiteit Leuven, 150 pp.

64 
CHAPTERIII
THE MIOCENE METALLOGENIC BELT OF ECUADOR: CONSTRAINTS
FROM NEW ReOs MOLYBDENITE AND UPb TITANITE AGES OF
PORPHYRYRELATEDOREDEPOSITS
Abstract
ThisstudypresentsReOsmolybdeniteandUPbtitaniteagesrelatedtohydrothermalpulsesofmineraliza
tionandalterationoflatestOligoceneandMioceneporphyryrelatedoredepositsinEcuador.Molybdenite
associatedwithpotassicphyllicalterationattheJuninCuMoporphyrydeposityieldedagesof6.63±0.04
Maand6.13±0.03Ma.ReOsagesofmolybdeniteassociatedwithpotassicalterationattheTelimbelaand
Balsapambaporphyrysystemsare19.2±0.1Maand21.5±0.1Ma,respectively.AttheChauchaCuMopor
phyrysystem,ReOsagesof9.92±0.05Ma(TunasNaranjos)and9.5±0.2Ma(GurGur)wereobtainedfor
molybdeniteassociatedwithpotassicphyllicalteration.AttheGabyAuCuporphyry,aReOsmolybdenite
ageof20.6±0.1Maforasulfidecementedhydrothermalbreccia(possiblyrelatedtophyllicalteration),and
aUPbageof20.17±0.16MafortitaniteassociatedwithNaCaalterationwereobtained.AttheTresChor
reraspolymetallicdeposit,ReOsmolybdeniteagesare12.93±0.07Maand12.75±0.07Ma,andareassoci
atedwithanintrusionrelatedhydrothermalbrecciaandapolymetallicvein,respectively.Molybdeniteas
sociatedwithNaCaalterationattheCangrejosAuCuporphyrysystemyieldedanageof23.5±0.1Ma.
OurnewgeochronologicdataallowustoinferthattheMiocenemetallogenicbeltofnortherncentralPeru
extends northwards into southern Ecuador, and potentially further north until Colombia. Intersections of
theAndean(NNE)trendingmagmaticarcwitharctransversefaultsandlineamentsrelatedtosuturezone
geometries and block rotation in southern Ecuador represent highly prospective sites for Miocene por
phyryrelatedmineralization.
Porphyryrelated ore deposits in Ecuador are often associated with intrusive clusters of batholith dimen
sions,whereporphyryrelatedpulsesofhydrothermalactivityoftenoccurtowardstheendofbatholithas
sembly.Thus,whilebatholithcomplexesmaymarkstructurallyfavorablesitesformineralization,extensive
shallowcrustalmagmatismduringpeakperiodsofbatholithconstructionmaybedisadvantageousforthe
formationandpreservationofporphyryrelatedoredeposits.
ThelackofQuaternaryarcvolcaniccoversequencesduetoalocalflatslabsetting,andoverallfavorable
erosionlevelsarekeyparameterstopreserveandexposewidespreadMioceneepithermalandporphyryCu
mineralization in southern Ecuador. In the Western Cordillera of Ecuador porphyry Cu mineralization has
locallybeenpreserved,whereasthedeeplyerodedcoresofporphyrysystemsareexposedatotherloca
tions where significant parts of the mineralization have been removed. Although possibly applicable for
singleoredeposits,ageneral,directspatiotemporalassociationbetweenMioceneoredepositformation
andseamountchain("ridge")subductionorregionalcompressivepulses,assometimesproposedforparts
ofthecentralandsouthernAndes,isnotobservedinEcuador.

 65

Introduction
Porphyryrelated (porphyry Cu, epithermal, and
Cordilleran vein type) ore deposits in western
SouthAmericatypicallyoccurinelongatedmetal
logenic belts of several 100 km strike length
whichregionallylinkdepositsofasimilarage(Sil
litoe 1988). Additional subbelts may be defined
where the density of ore deposits and geochro
nologic control on the timing of mineralization
are sufficiently high (e.g., centralnorthern Peru;
Noble & McKee 1999). Porphyryrelated ore de
positsoftheAndesareintimatelyassociatedwith
arc magmatism resulting from the subduction of
the Farallon/Nazca plate at the South American
margin (Sillitoe 1988). Consequently, metal
logenic belts tend to follow the overall spatio
temporaldistributionofarcmagmatismwhichis
mainlydictatedbythesubductingslabgeometry
andupperplatestructures(e.g.,Kayetal.1999;
Tosdal&Richards2001;Richards2003).
Further geodynamic and tectonomagmatic con
trols may operate, causing particularly prolific
intervals of mineralization in certain belt seg
ments, where it is important to distinguish in
creased rates of porphyryrelated ore deposit
formation from optimum conditions of ore de
posit exposure and preservation (at constant
rates of deposit formation; Wilkinson & Kesler
2009). Possible factors which have been pro
posedtoshowapositivefeedbackwithporphyry
related mineralization at regional to local scales
includethesubductionofbathymetricanomalies
suchasseamountchains("ridges"),andtheiref
fectsoncrustaldeformation(e.g.,Rosenbaumet
al.2005;Cookeetal.2005),intensehydrationof
the crust and evolving arc magmas by flat slab
dehydration (James & Sacks 1999) or amphibole
breakdown (Kay et al. 1999), and a broadly fa
vorable stress regime and its bearing on the ge
ometry of crustal structures and transcrustal
magmaascent(Tosdal&Richards2001;Richards
2003). Furthermore, progressive volatile enrich
mentofporphyryintrusiveparentalmeltsatmid
todeepcrustallevelsmightrepresentafavorable
magmatic preconditioning stage for subsequent
intrusionrelated mineralization at shallower lev
els (Rohrlach & Loucks 2005; Chiaradia et al.
2009a).
66 
While the broad extent of the Miocene metal
logenic belts of Peru and Chile is relatively well
established,thenorthwardbeltcontinuationinto
Ecuador is less certain. In fact, in his seminal in
vestigation of intrusionrelated metallogenic
beltsoftheAndes,Sillitoe(1988)depictedapro
nounced metallogenic gap for Ecuador as only a
single Miocene porphyry Cu deposit (Chaucha)
wasrelativelywell knownat thattime.Over the
last two decades, Ecuador has increasingly
moved into the focus of exploration activities of
publicandprivatelyownedcompaniesaswellas
several government agencies, resulting in the
discovery and reassessment of a significant
number of Miocene and older porphyryrelated
ore deposits (Prodeminca 2000a, 2000b; USGS
2009).IncombinationwiththeirJurassicequiva
lents,theMioceneoredepositscontainthebulk
ofthecountry'sresourcesinCu,Mo,Au,andAg
(Prodeminca 2000a). Miocene mineralization
typesmainlycompriseporphyrystyle(e.g.,Junin,
Chaucha,Gaby),highsulfidation(e.g.,Quimsaco
cha), intermediate sulfidation (e.g., Portovelo
Zaruma), and low sulfidation (e.g., Rio Blanco)
epithermaldeposits.Althoughsomeoftheseore
depositshavealongstandinghistoryofartisanal
production, partly since Inca times, many of Ec
uador's mineral resources remain undeveloped
todate(Prodeminca2000a,2000b;Spenceretal.
2002;USGS2009).Wherequantitativelyassessed
(e.g., Tab. 1, for deposits investigated in this
study),theirtonnageseemstolagbehindthatof
somegiantoredepositsoftheMiocenePeruvian
metallogenic belt (e.g., Noble & McKee 1999;
Rosenbaumetal.2005).
In this contribution we present ten new ReOs
molybdenite ages related to porphyrystyle or
epithermal mineralization (complemented by a
UPbtitaniteagerelatedtohydrothermalaltera
tion)atseveralMioceneoredepositsinsouthern,
central, and northern Ecuador (Figs. 1, 2). Com
bined with recent geochronologic works on Late
Tertiary igneous rocks (Chapter 2) and available
literature data (Prodeminca 2000a, 2000b, and
referencestherein),ournewgeochronologicdata
allowustoassesstheMiocenemetallogenicpo
tential of Ecuador, its connectivity with the
northerncentral Peruvian Miocene metallogenic
belt,anditsrelationwiththegeodynamicevolu
tionoftheEcuadorianmargin.
Figure  1:  Simplified  geological 
map  of  Tertiary  arc  magmatic 
units at the NW South American 
margin,  location  of  irregular
bathymetric features of the sub‐
ducting  Nazca  plate,  and  Late
Oligocene‐Miocene  intrusion‐
related  ore  deposits.  Only  ore
deposits  dated  in  this  study  are
displayed  for  Ecuador;  deposit 
data  for  northern  Peru  and
southern  Colombia  from  Sillitoe
(1988)  and  Noble  et  al.  (2004),
slightly  modified  to  account  for 
recent  discoveries.  Major  struc‐
tures  (undifferentiated;  mostly 
thrust  faults  which  have  been
variably  reactivated  during  the
Tertiary)  from  references  com‐
piled in Chapter 1, and addition‐
ally Mégard (1984) and McNulty
et  al.  (1998)  for  northern  Peru;
major  structures  of  the  Eastern 
Cordilleras  of  Ecuador  and  Peru 
are  not  shown.  Ore  deposits  in
Peru all plot in the Mid‐Miocene 
to  Early  Pliocene  Cu  metal‐
logenic belt of Sillitoe (1988); ore
deposits  in  southern  Ecuador  fit
well  into  the  northward  projec‐
tion  of  this  belt  in  space  and 
time. Ore deposit density further
north is lower, but suggests that 
the  Miocene  Cu  belt  might  be
broadly  continuous  into  Colom‐
bia,  following  the  magmatic  arc.
Hypothetic  positions  of  older,
already  subducted  oceanic  fea‐
tures  such  as  the  Inca  plateau 
are  not  shown,  but  might  be  of
metallogenetic  significance  (e.g.,
Rosenbaum  et  al.  2005).  The 
Curiplaya  porphyry  intrusions  in
southernmost  Ecuador  are  of 
Late  Cretaceous  age  (Chapter  1)
and do not form part of the Mio‐
cene metallogenic belt. 

  67
Regional  geology  and  geody‐ sively  produced  since  the  break‐up  of  the  Faral‐
lon  plate  in  the  Early  Miocene  (Lonsdale  2005). 
namic setting  The  ENE‐trending  scarp  currently  intersects  the 
Since  the  Late  Cretaceous  the  Ecuadorian  sub‐ Ecuadorian trench at 3°S implying that old Faral‐
duction system has been influenced by a series of  lon crust is now subducted below southern Ecua‐
major geodynamic events starting with the c. 75‐ dor  (and  further  south  in  Peru)  whereas  young 
70  Ma  accretion  of  oceanic  plateau  fragments  Nazca  crust  is  subducted  below  central‐northern 
which  floor  the  present  day  forearc  region  and  Ecuador  (and  further  north  in  Colombia);  Mio‐
possibly  parts  of  the  Interandean  Depression  cene  plate  motions  (Somoza  1998)  dictate  that 
(e.g., Vallejo et al. 2009). Throughout the Tertiary  the  scarp  progressively  swept  southwards  along 
oblique  plate  convergence  between  the  Faral‐ the  margin  (Gutscher  et  al.  1999).  The  Carnegie 
lon/Nazca  and  the  South  American  plates  has  Ridge seamount chain collided with the Ecuador‐
been  accommodated  by  combined  oblique  sub‐ ian  margin  in  the  Late  Miocene  (‐Pliocene?)  al‐
duction slip and trench‐parallel forearc sliver dis‐ though the exact timing of initial collision is still a 
placement  where  the  former  is  the  dominant  matter  of  debate,  and  complicated  by  jumps  of 
mechanism at the present day (Daly 1989; Ego et  the Cocos‐Nazca spreading center and a possibly 
al.  1996).  The  offshore  Grijalvas  scarp  separates  segmented  seamount  track  (Lonsdale  &  Klitgord 
Farallon  and  Nazca  seafloor,  the  latter  progres‐ 1978;  Daly  1989;  Gutscher  et  al.  1999; 

Figure 2: Geological map of the southern Ecuadorian Sierra region showing position of mineral deposits investigated in
this study (Ar‐Ar data is still pending and will be supplemented as it becomes available). Note that a larger number of 
ore  deposits  occurs  in this  area  (Prodeminca  2000a, b). Black  diamonds  correspond  to  U‐Pb  zircon intrusive  ages (in 
Ma: Chapter 1, and Bineli Betsi, 2007, for Rio Blanco intrusions). White diamonds correspond to intrusive ages obtained
by K‐Ar (and in one case zircon fission track) geochronology (Aspden et al. 1992; Pratt et al. 1997). Only ages consid‐
ered as relevant for intrusion emplacement are shown. Ages of Saraguro Group volcanics are mostly 19‐29 Ma (ZFT; 
Hungerbühler et al. 2002). Adapted from Litherland et al. (1994), Pratt et al. (1997) and Dunkley & Gaibor (1997).

68   

Spikingsetal.2001;Wittetal.2006).Ridgecolli
sionseemstohavecausedshallowingofthesub
ductionanglefromc.3035°to2530°belowcen
tralnorthern Ecuador in the Late Miocene
Pliocene,whereasthesubductionanglehadbeen
broadly constant during the OligoceneMiocene
(Guillieretal.2001;Chapter2).Establishmentof
a flat slab geometry below northern Peru and
southernmost Ecuador, associated with a gap in
arcmagmatism,initiatedintheMidtoLateMio
cene (e.g., James & Sacks 1999; Gutscher et al.
1999; Chapter 2). The flat slab segment and the
accompanyingcessationofarcmagmatismseem
to have broadened progressively towards south
erncentral Ecuador where Quaternary arc vol
canismisrestrictedtotheareanorthofc.2.5°S,
and Late Miocene arc volcanic formations cover
smallareasbetweenc.2.5°and4°S(Gutscheret
al.1999;Chapter2).
The Andean chain hosts the bulk of Tertiary arc
magmaticproductsandsplitsintoawesternand
eastern Cordillera in centralnorthern Ecuador,
which are separated by a number of elongated
basins referred to as Interandean Depression
(Litherland et al. 1994; Winkler et al. 2005). In
southern Ecuador, the Andean structural NNE
trend is disrupted where the Western Cordillera
swings towards the Gulf of Guayaquil and is re
placed by the El Oro microcontinental block
which underwent clockwise rotation during the
CretaceousTertiaryresultinginanarctransverse
structural trend at the present day (Mitouard et
al.1990;Litherlandetal.1994).
Late OligoceneMiocene arc volcanics are mostly
eroded in the Western Cordillera of central
northern Ecuador such that their deeperseated
plutonic equivalents are unroofed (Chapter 2).
Theseplutonsarealignedalongmajorfaultzones
of several 100’s km strike length which extend
down to mid to deep crustal levels where they
aredefined by35°Edippingfaultplanes(Guillier
et al. 2001). The possible eastward continuation
of Late OligoceneMiocene arc magmatism is
concealed below Quaternary arc volcanic cover
sequencesoftheInterandeanDepression(Fig.1;
Chapter2).MioceneoredepositsoftheWestern
Cordillera and its western foothills mostly repre
sent moderately to deeply eroded porphyry sys
 69
tems such as Junin, Balsapamba, and Telimbela,
partlyassociatedwithminorepithermalminerali
zation (Prodeminca 2000a). Older porphyry sys
tems have not been described, but a number of
Aurich Eocene volcanichosted massive sulfide
deposits occur (Chiaradia & Fontboté 2001;
Chiaradiaetal.2008).
The Late Oligocene to Early Miocene Saraguro
Group constitutes the major outcrop unit of the
southern Ecuadorian Sierra north of the Piñas
Portovelofault(Fig.2).Itoverlapsinagewiththe
Calipuy Group in northern Peru and is partly
overlainbyvolcaniclasticsedimentaryformations
of the Cuenca and associated intramontane ba
sins, and by Mid to Late Miocene arc volcanic
formations (Sta. Isabel, Quimsacocha, Tarqui;
Chapter 2). As in northern Peru, extensive Qua
ternary volcanic cover sequences are absent in
southern Ecuador creating a favorable erosion
levelfortheexposureofMiocenemineralization
(Fig.2).
The Saraguro Group volcanics are punctured by
numerousintrusionsincludingthemajorCangre
josZaruma intrusive belt, and host a large num
ber of epithermal and porphyry Cu deposits
which are, as shown below, mainly of Miocene
age(Fig.2).TheoredepositsofsouthernEcuador
define two main districts referred to as Azuay
and El Oro districts, respectively (Prodeminca
2000a,b;Fig.1,2).AdditionalpreMioceneTerti
ary mineralization in the southern Ecuadorian
Sierrawasnotidentifiedinthepresentstudybut
cannotberuledout.PreTertiarymineralizationis
evidenced by the Late Cretaceous Curiplaya por
phyry intrusions in SW Ecuador (Fig. 1; Chapter
2), and the highly prolific Jurassic period of min
eralization in the Eastern Cordillera, including,
amongst others, the Fruta del Norte, Mirador,
andNambijadeposits(Gendalletal.2000;Stew
art&Leary2007;Chiaradiaetal.2009b).
Local geology of Miocene Ecua
dorian ore deposits investigated
inthisstudy
Seven ore deposits of northern, central and,
mainly, southern Ecuador were sampled for Re
Os molybdenite dating in this study. These
70 
comprise deposits with porphyrystyle minerali
zation (from north to south: Junin, Telimbela,
Balsapamba,Chaucha,Gaby,Cangrejos)andone
brecciarelatedepitomesothermaldeposit(Tres
Chorreras) whose metallogenic classification is
not entirely clear (Prodeminca 2000a). In addi
tion,hydrothermaltitanitewassampledforUPb
datingattheGabyporphyrysystem.Generalgeo
logicalfeaturesofthesedepositsaresummarized
in Table 1. Typical alteration and mineralization
characteristics of these deposits are shown in
Figure3,andgeologicalmapsareprovidedfora
number of key deposits where more detailed
geochronologic studies were carried out (Fig. 4
7).
The Junin CuMo porphyry system is hosted by
the MidMiocene Apuela batholith (Fig. 1; Chap
ter 2). It occurs in the center of a belt of three
porphyry deposits (including El Pacto to the SW
and Cuellaje to the NE; plus a meso (?) to epi
thermal Au deposit at El Corazon) which are
aligned in NE directions parallel to the Chimbo
Toachi shear zone, and are collectively referred
to as Imbaoeste district (MMAJ/JICA 1998;
Prodeminca2000a;Micon2005a;Chapter2).The
Junin prospect comprises a well developed zone
of phyllicpotassic alteration partly extending
downwardsto600mdepth,centeredonmultiple
hornblende granodiorite porphyry dikes of vari
able thickness striking NNE to ENE and dipping
4570°totheSE(Fig.4;Salazar2007).Localstruc
tures show a major ~NE trend and secondary N
NW structures which were repeatedly active at
pre, syn, and postmineral times, and are in
ferred to have controlled porphyry dike em
placement by facilitating local dilation (Micon
2005a).
The Balsapamba and Telimbela CuMo porphyry
systems define the Bolivar district in central Ec
uador and occur in the western foothills of the
WesternCordillera(Fig.1);theyrepresentdeeply
eroded porphyry systems hosted by various fa
ciesofthecentralEcuadorianOligoceneMiocene
batholith (MMAJ/JICA 1991; Prodeminca 2000a;
Chapter 2). Hydrothermal alteration (mainly
potassic ± sodiccalcic) is centered on multiple
hornblende quartzdiorite porphyry dikes which
are aligned with mainly NE, but also N, NW,
andENEtrendingstructures(Prodeminca2000a).
Local advanced argillic alteration has been ob
 71
served in places (MMAJ/JICA 1991). Overall, Cu
mineralization related to the Balsapamba por
phyry systems (mainly the El Torneado zone)
seems to have been mostly eroded, whereas
various exploration targets in the Telimbela por
phyrysystemhaveahighermineralizationpoten
tial, especially in brecciated areas (MMAJ/JICA
1991).
The Chaucha CuMo porphyry system is one of
the earliest described porphyry Cu deposits in
Ecuador (e.g., Goossens & Hollister 1973). It is
situatednexttothemajorBulubulufaultsystem
at the SE end of the MidMiocene Chaucha ba
tholith and comprises at least two major por
phyry intrusions (Tunas and GurGur) hosted by
preTertiarymetapelites,SaraguroGroupvolcan
ics, and older intrusive phases of the Chaucha
batholith (Figs. 2, 6; Prodeminca 2000a; Micon
2005b;Chapter2).Thespatialdistributionofhy
drothermalalterationreflectsthetrendsofprin
cipal tectonic structures and overall affects an
area of several km2; highest ore grades are en
counteredinzonesoftransitionalpotassicphyllic
alteration both in porphyry stocks and batholith
hostunits(Micon2005b).
The GabyPapa Grande AuCu porphyry system
comprises multiple Early Miocene porphyry and
phaneriticintrusions(stocksanddikes)emplaced
in oceanic plateau basalts (Pallatanga Unit), oc
curringatashortdistancetotheepithermalBella
RicaAuveinsystem(Fig.2,7;Prodeminca2000a;
Srivastavaetal.2008;Chapter2).Gold(Cu)por
phyrymineralizationseemstobeassociatedwith
sodiccalcic alteration (mostly as free Au) and is
particularly well developed in previously frac
tured porphyry intrusions and hydrothermal
breccias which show an overall NW distribution
trend (Srivastava et al. 2008). Local highgrade
mineralizationisstructurallycontrolledandasso
ciatedwithphyllicalteration(e.g.,Tamavein;Fig.
7; Srivastava et al. 2008). The Gaby and Papa
GrandeporphyrysystemsareseparatedbytheE
W striking Guanache normal fault resulting in a
deeperexposureleveloftheGabyrelativetothe
PapaGrandesector(Prodeminca2000a).
TresChorrerasconstitutesthenorthernmostend
memberofaseriesoftourmalinebearingbreccia
piperelated deposits emplaced along the NE
trending La Tigrera fault in the southern
Figure 3: Typical alteration and mineralization features of Late Tertiary porphyry systems of Ecuador (A‐D = macro‐; E‐H 
= micro‐photographs). A – Multiple veinlets of cp‐qtz and qtz‐ms‐py‐mo cross‐cutting granodiorite porphyry with per‐
vasive potassic and phyllic alteration (Junin). B – Hydrothermal breccia with subangular hbl‐plag porphyry clasts (with 
sodic‐calcic  alteration)  and bt‐qtz  cement (related  to  Tama  vein;  Gaby).  C  –  Multiple  mt  and qtz‐mt  veinlets  with  ep 
haloes cross‐cutting hbl qtz‐diorite porphyry (Cangrejos). D – Reopened mt‐qtz vein filled with later qtz and ser halo 
cross‐cutting  tonalite  with  bt‐chl  alteration,  plus  multiple  thin  cp‐qtz  veinlets  (Chaucha  batholith  at  Tunas).  E  –  hbl‐
bearing granodiorite porphyry with pervasive potassic alteration where bt flakes completely replace hbl phenocrysts

72   
EcuadorianSierra.Itspositioncorrespondstothe
projected intersection of three regional linea
ments, namely the La Tigrera fault, the SE
trending Galena fault, and the NNEtrending Bu
lubulufault(Fig.2;Prodeminca2000a).Lithologi
calunitsatTresChorrerascompriseanumberof
dioritegranodiorite intrusions emplaced in silicic
Saraguro Group volcanics and volcaniclastics,
which are associated with several breccia pipes
andasubcirculartoirregularlyshapedagglomer
atefilled structure interpreted as a large dia
treme (Prodeminca 2000a). Gold mineralization
in quartz veinlets is partly hosted by various
breccia bodies and by the diatreme structure. In
addition, a younger set of polymetallic veins oc
cur(Prodeminca2000a).Whilebroadlyclassified
as meso to epithermal mineralization
(Prodeminca 2000a), some of the deposit's geo
logic features such as tourmalinebearing hydro
thermal breccias are typically porphyryrelated
(e.g., Seedorff et al. 2005), whereas other fea
tures such as polymetallic vein mineralogy are
similar to Cordilleran veintype deposits (e.g.,
Fontboté&Bendezú2009).
The Late OligoceneEarly Miocene Cangrejos Au
Cuporphyrysystemoccursatthewesternendof
theCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelt(Fig.2;Chap
ter 2). It comprises multiple nested intrusions
puncturedandintrudedbyanumberofporphyry
dikesandbrecciapipes(Potter2004).Goldisas
sociatedwithsulfidesoroccursinquartzveinlets
whose distribution is structurally controlled and
includes all intrusive lithologies; highest Au
grades are associated with quartztourmaline
veinlets(Potter2004).
Sampling and analytical tech
niques
SamplingdetailsarelistedinTable2andfurther
illustrated on Figures 4 to 7. Molybdenite sam
plesusedforReOsdatationareshowninFigure
8. Pure molybdenite concentrates of 1060
mg/sample were obtained from massive molyb
deniteorquartzmolybdeniteveinletsofsamples
listed in Table 2 using a microdrill, followed by
handpicking to purify the concentrates. Where
molybdenite occurred as finegrained flakes in
the matrix of hydrothermal breccias (Gaby,
Balsapamba; Fig. 9) samples were crushed to
<300 m and washed to remove clay particles,
followed by molybdenite handpicking from the
heavy (> 3.32 g/cm3) nonmagnetic mineral frac
tion>80m.RheniumandOswereseparatedat
theUniversityofArizonaaccordingtotheproce
dures described in Barra et al. (2003, 2005).
Weighted molybdenite fractions were spiked
with 185Re and 190Os and dissolved in a Carius
tubeusing8mlinverseaquaregia(3 16NHNO3
+1 10NHCl);23mlofhydrogenperoxide(30%)
were added to the mixture to ensure complete
sample oxidation and spike equilibration. The
tubewasheatedto240°Cforc.8h,andthesolu
tion subsequently treated in a twostage distilla
tion process for Os separation (Nägler & Frei
1997). Osmium was further purified using a mi
crodistillation technique, similar to that of Birck
et al. (1997), and loaded on Pt filaments with
Ba(OH)2 to enhance ionization. After Os separa
tion, the remaining acid solution was dried and
later dissolved in 0.1 N HNO3. Rhenium was ex
tractedandpurifiedthroughatwostagecolumn
using AG1X8 (100–200 mesh) resin and loaded
onPtfilamentswithBa(SO)4.
Sampleswereanalyzedbynegativethermalioni
zationmassspectrometry(Creaseretal.1991)on
a VG 54 mass spectrometer at the University of
Arizona. Rhenium and Os were measured with
Faradaycollectors.Molybdeniteageswerecalcu
lated using an 187Re decay constant of
1.666 1011year1(Smoliaretal.1996).Errorsare
reported at the 2 level and cmprise the propa
gated uncertainties of the Re decay con

Figure3(captioncontinuedfrompreviouspage): andform"shreddy"disseminationsintheporphyrymatrix(GurGur
porphyry,Chaucha).F–Sodiccalcicalterationrelatedveinwithttn,act,ep,andpocpcrosscuttingplaghblporphyry
(Gaby).G–Plagqtzporphyrywithchlbackgroundalteration,crosscutbyeppycpveinlet(Telimbela).H– Porphyritic
granodiorite with pervasive silicification and ms alteration (GurGur porphyry, Chaucha. Mineral abbreviations: ab –
albite,act–actinolite,bt–biotite,chl–chlorite,cp–chalcopyrite,ep–epidote,hbl–hornblende,jsp–jasperlike
silica;mo–molybdenite,mt–magnetite,ms–muscovite,plag–plagioclase,po–pyrrhotite,py–pyrite,qtz– quartz,
rt–rutile,ser–sericite,slsphalerite;tm–tourmaline,ttn–titanite.).Scalebaris2cmformacro,and1mmformi
crophotographs.

 73
stant (0.31%), spike calibration for 185Re (0.08%)
and 190Os (0.15%), and individual weighting and
analytical random errors. Weighted mean ages
were calculated using the Isoplot v3.31 Excel
macro(Ludwig2003).
Hydrothermal titanite forms part of the sodic
calcic alteration assemblage at the Gaby por
phyry system (Tab. 2). Titanite from the crushed
andmilled<400mgrainsizefractionofsample
E05077wasseparatedusingstandardWilfleyta
ble and heavy mineral (> 3.32 g/cm3) separation
techniques, and handpicked from the slightly
magneticfraction(0.81.25A@20°sidetilt)us
ing a Frantz magnetic separation table. The ti
tanitefractionunderwentabulk twostepwash
ing process at 140°C (30 m in. each) using (1) a
mixtureofconcentratedHFand7NHNO3,and(2)
6NHCl,followedbyrinsinginultrapureH2Oand
acetone. Titanite multigrain fractions (n = 47)
were spiked using a mixed 205Pb233U235U spike
solution, and were dissolved in 63 l concen
trated HF with a trace of 7N HNO3 at 110°C for
seven days. Uranium and Pb were separated us
ing an HClbased anion exchange chromatogra
phy, and loaded individually on separate Re fila
ments using the Sigel technique (Gerstenberger
& Haase 1997). Measurement routines on a Tri
tonthermalionizationmassspectrometeratthe
UniversityofGenevawereidenticaltothoseout
linedforzirconanalysisinChapter2.
Total analytical common Pb (Pbc) was attributed
tobothlaboratoryblank(isotopicallyconstrained
by repeated measurements as 206Pb/204Pb =
17.87±0.36, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.16±0.34, 208Pb/204Pb
= 36.75±1.11) and Pbc included in titanite (iso
topiccompositionestimatedatt=20Maaccord
ing to Stacey & Kramers 1975). Lab blanks were
highly variable (1581 pg), but constant in iso
topic composition; therefore, individual propor
tionsoftitanitePbcvs.Pbcintroducedbylabora
tory contamination were calculated assuming a
constant Pbc concentration in titanite which was
obtained iteratively by balancing the weight of
the titanite fraction vs. the total amount of Pbc,
yielding an average titanite Pbc concentration of
229±14 pg/mg. The uncertainties of spike and
blankPbisotopiccomposition,massfractionation
correction, and tracer calibration were propa
74 
gated to the final uncertainties of isotopic ratios
and ages of each individual analysis. Uncertain
tiesinthedecayconstantsof238Uand235U(Jaffey
et al. 1971) were propagated separately and
added quadratically to the weighted mean age.
Concordia plots and weighted mean age calcula
tionswerepreparedusingtheIsoplotv.3.31Excel
macro of Ludwig (2003). All uncertainties and
error ellipses are reported as 2 and weighted
mean 206Pb/238U ages are presented at 95% con
fidencelevel.
Results
Table 3 shows ReOs data for the ten molyb
denite concentrates analyzed in this study. Total
Re and 187Os concentrations range between 35
1019ppmand4.7250ppb,respectively.TwoRe
Os molybdenite ages of 6.63±0.04 Ma and
6.13±0.03 Ma were obtained for quartz
molybdenite veinlets at the Junin porphyry sys
tem. This veinlet type is related to potassic or
transitional potassicphyllic alteration at Junin
(Salazar 2007). The new ReOs molybdenite age
at Telimbela (19.2±0.1 Ma) was obtained on a
molybdenitequartz veinlet related to potassic
alteration. A ReOs molybdenite age of 21.5±0.1
fortheElTorneadozoneoftheBalsapambaplu
ton relates to molybdenite as part of a hydro
thermal breccia matrix consisting of mineral
phases of a potassic alteration assemblage (Tab.
2). Two ReOs molybdenite ages at Chaucha
comprise the TunasNaranjos sector (9.92±0.05
Ma)andtheGurGursector(9.5±0.2Ma;Fig.6).
The former age was obtained on molybdenite
associatedwithpotassicphyllicalterationhosted
bybiotitebearinggranodiorite,andthelatterage
was obtained on molybdenite hosted by grano
diorite porphyry with phyllic alteration. A ReOs
molybdeniteageof20.6±0.1Mawasobtainedat
the Gaby porphyry system where molybdenite
formspartofahydrothermalbrecciamatrix(Tab.
2). At Tres Chorreras we dated molybdenite as
part of a hydrothermal breccia matrix
(12.93±0.07 Ma), and as part of a massive poly
metallic vein (12.75±0.07 Ma). Finally, a molyb
denitequartzveinletassociatedwithsodiccalcic
alterationatCangrejosgaveaReOsmolybdenite
ageof23.5±0.1Ma.
Table 2: Description of samples used for molybdenite Re-Os and titanite U-Pb datation
Deposit/sample Location/drill core Description
Junin
E06194 35050 N, 761383 E; hbl granodiorite porphyry (potassic, overprinted by phyllic alteration);
0° 19' 1'' N, 78° 39' 6'' W; qtz-mo (-cp) veinlet with fine-grained mo flakes
MJJ-29 @ 305m

E06199 35050 N, 761383 E; hbl granodiorite porphyry (potassic, overprinted by phyllic alteration);
0° 19' 1'' N, 78° 39' 6'' W; mo-qtz veinlets with coarse-grained mo flakes
MJJ-29 @ 498m

Telimbela
E07037 9817260 N, 705670 E; hbl tonalite (potassic, overprinted by propylitic alteration); multiple
1° 39' 9'' S, 79° 9' 5'' W; mo-qtz veinlets with coarse-grained mo flakes
MJE-9 @ 49m
Balsapamba
E08003 9808050 N, 707840 E; brecciated hbl granodiorite (potassic-phylic alteration) with breccia
1° 44' 9'' S, 79° 7' 54'' W; matrix (+veinlets?) of chl-bt-qtz-mt with mo-cp-py; fine-grained mo
MJE-3 @ 42m flakes in breccia matrix
Chaucha
E07006 (Naranjos 9676800 N, 676140 E; altered host tonalite (potassic-phyllic) with intense qtz, qtz-cp, cp-mt-
sector, adjacent to 2° 55' 23'' S, 79° 24' 55'' qtz veining, and thick qtz vein with mo concentrated at vein margins
Tunas porphyry) W; NA-30 @ 53m (fine-grained mo flakes)
E06175 (Gur-Gur 9676700 N, 677800 E; altered granodiorite porphyry (phyllic) with py-qtz and qtz-py-mo
porphyry) 2° 55' 26'' S, 79° 24' 1'' W; veinlets (fine-grained mo flakes)
core-5 @ 80m
Gaby-Papa
Grande
E05075 9661850 N, 643400 E; hydrothermal breccia with altered (qtz-ser), subangular porphyry
3° 3' 31'' S, 79° 42' 35'' W; clasts; breccia matrix comprises qtz, po, cp±mo, and goe, hm, jar
GD-08 @ 151m (later oxidation?); mo as fine-grained flakes
E05077 9661850 N, 643400 E; hbl-plag porphyry with strong pervasive Na-Ca alteration including
3° 3' 31'' S, 79° 42' 35'' W; act, chl, ep, ttn, and sulfides (mainly po); anhedral-euhedral ttn
GD-08 @ 340m grains of c. 50-500 m size in porphyry matrix or replacing hbl (along
with other minerals)
Tres Chorreras
E07010 9650150 N, 663591 E; hydrothermal breccia with subangular clasts of altered volcanics and
3° 9' 51'' S, 79° 31' 40'' W matrix of tm, mt (repl. by hm + goe), mo, jsp; mo as coarse-grained
flakes
E07012 9650052 N, 663543 E; massive polymetallic vein with cp-mo-jsp-sl; host rock = completely
3° 9' 54'' S, 79° 31' 42'' W replaced by clay minerals (pyrophyllite?); mo as coarse-grained
flakes
Cangrejos
E06065 9614000 N, 633200 E; bt-bearing qtz-diorite with weak pervasive Na-Ca alteration; abun-
3° 29' 29'' S, 79° 48' 3'' W dant qtz veinlets and single mo-qtz veinlet (coarse-grained mo
flakes)
Same mineral abbreviations as in Table 1, plus goe (goethite), jar (jarosite). Coordinates as PSAD-56 projection.
 

Hydrothermal titanite is associated with sodic
calcic alteration at the Gaby porphyry system
whereaUPbtitaniteageof20.17±0.16Mawas
obtained (Fig. 9; Tab. 4). High scatter between
individual 207Pb/235U ages for Gaby titanite sug
gests an imperfect characterization of the Pbc
isotopic composition, but the homogeneous dis
tributionof206Pb/238Uagesimpliesthat206Pb/238U
agesystematicswerenotsignificantlyaffectedby
thisissue.

 75
Discussion
IntegrationofReOsmolybdeniteand
UPb titanite ages into the geochro
nologic framework of individual ore
deposits
The new ReOs molybdenite ages at Junin
(6.63±0.04 and 6.13±0.03 Ma) are significantly
younger than the UPb zircon age of 9.01±0.06
Ma of a hornblende granodiorite porphyry dike
fromthesamedrillcore(Fig.5;Chapter2).Asthe
relative ReOs age difference of 0.5 m.y. is out
side the maximum life span of a moderately
sized, single intrusiondriven hydrothermal sys
tematshallowdepth(e.g.,Marshetal.1997)this
age distribution suggests that widespread potas
sicphyllicalterationisrelatedtoseveral(atleast
two) post9 Ma porphyry systems. Published
whole rock and biotite/hornblende KAr ages of
Juninporphyryintrusionsare7.9±0.3Ma,7.3±0.3
Figure4:GeologicalmapoftheJuninCuMo±Agporphyrysystem(adaptedfromMMAJ/JICA1998).
76 
Ma, 6.1±0.2 Ma, and 5.9±0.1 Ma (MMAJ/JICA
1992; Prodeminca 2000a). The youngest ReOs
age thus overlaps (within error) with and con
firmstheyoungestKArages,whereasthe6.6Ma
ReOs molybdenite age evidences an additional
hydrothermalpulsepreviouslynotdetectedbyK
Ar dating. In agreement with geological and
petrographic studies (Salazar 2007), the variable
age range reflects multiple intrusive events and
hydrothermalsystemsatJunin.Followingamajor
period of host batholith construction from c. 19
to12Ma(Chapter2,andreferencestherein)re
peated porphyry dike emplacement associated
with several hydrothermal systems occurred be
tween9and6Ma.PreviouslyobtainedKArages
of 7.9 and 7.3 Ma (overlapping with each other
within error) might either reflect an additional
intrusive event at that time, or might relate to
olderintrusiveevents(suchasporphyrydikeem
placement at 9.01 Ma) and subsequent distur
banceoftheKArisotopicsystembyyoungerin
trusive/hydrothermalpulses.

Table 3: Re-Os data for molybdenite of Miocene Ecuadorian ore deposits
187 187
Deposit/sample weight Total Re Re Os age ± 2
[mg] [ppm] [ppm] [ppb] [Ma]
Junin
E06199 39 294.4 184.3 18.8 6.13 ± 0.03
E06194 16 408.8 255.9 28.3 6.63 ± 0.04
Telimbela
E07037 60 312.8 195.8 62.6 19.2 ± 0.1
Balsapamba
E08003 14 580.1 363.1 130.4 21.5 ± 0.1
Chaucha
E07006 30 354.6 222.0 36.7 9.92 ± 0.05
E06175 11 70.4 44.1 7.0 9.5 ± 0.2
Gaby-Papa Grande
E05075 44 442.9 277.3 95.0 20.6 ± 0.1
Tres Chorreras
E07010 55 641.0 401.3 86.4 12.93 ± 0.07
E07012 52 35.3 22.1 4.7 12.75 ± 0.07
Cangrejos
E06065 50 1019 637.9 249.9 23.5 ± 0.1
185
Propagated total age uncertainties (c. 0.5%) include uncertainties in the Re decay constant (0.31%), Re (0.08%) and
190
Os (0.15%) spike calibration, weighting, and analytical random errors.
Weighted mean ages were calculated using the Isoplot v.3.31 Excel macro (Ludwig 2003).

A ReOs molybdenite age of 19.2±0.1 Ma over reference ages were also obtained within the El
laps with several KAr ages obtained on various Torneado zone of the northern Balsapamba plu
facies of the Telimbela pluton (19.119.4 Ma; ton. These ages are significantly younger than
MMAJ/JICA1989;McCourtetal.1997)wherethe previouslypublishedKAragesoftheBalsapamba
total age range of the Telimbela pluton is 25.5 pluton(33.125.7Ma;MMAJ/JICA1989;McCourt
14.5 Ma (KAr hornblende, biotite, and whole et al. 1997) and show that the Balsapamba and
rockdata;MMAJ/JICA1989,1991;McCourtetal. Telimbela plutons, along with the spatially asso
1997;Chapter2).Thissuggeststhatformationof ciatedplutonsofChasoJuan,LasGuardias,ElCo
the porphyry system occurred after some 6 m.y. razon, and La Industria, were formed at broadly
of pluton construction, and was still followed by similartimesandconstituteanintrusivecomplex
youngerplutonicactivity. AKArageof15.7±1.0 of batholith dimension (cf. Chapter 2). The inte
Ma was obtained on a “quartzporphyry” gratedgeochronologicresultsfortheBalsapamba
(MMAJ/JICA1991)possiblyindicatingfurtherde andTelimbelaplutonsdemonstratethatmultiple
velopmentofporphyrysystemstowardstheend porphyryrelated hydrothermal pulses occurred
ofplutonassembly. in a relatively short time span during the Early
Miocene,followingamultim.y.historyofbatho
Our new ReOs molybdenite age of 21.5±0.1 Ma
lithconstruction.
fromtheElTorneadozoneofthenorthernBalsa
pamba pluton significantly predates a previously Molybdenite associated with hydrothermal al
obtained ReOsmolybdeniteageof19.7±0.3Ma terationattheTunasNaranjosandGurGurpor
from the same area (Chiaradia et al. 2004). It is phyry systems at Chaucha yields different ReOs
identical with the UPb zircon age of the major ages (9.92±0.05 Ma vs. 9.5±0.2 Ma). Both por
pluton lithology (hornblendebearing granodio phyry systems comprise different intrusive
rite;21.5±0.1Ma;Chapter2),andoverlapswithin lithologies, alteration characteristics, and host
errorwiththeUPbzirconageofaquartzdiorite rocks,andoccurat>2kmdistancetoeachother
porphyry dike (21.2±0.2 Ma; Chapter 2); both (e.g., Prodeminca 2000a; Fig. 6). Combined with

 77
the ReOs relative age difference of 0.4 m.y. 
(again,asinJunin,welloutsidethemaximumlife
span of a single intrusiondriven hydrothermal
system at shallow depth) these characteristics
suggest that the Tunas and GurGur intrusions
define two distinct porphyry systems separated
intimeandspace,althoughtheymightultimately
berelatedtothesameparentalmagmaticsystem
atdepth.
The9.92±0.05MaReOsageobtainedonmolyb
denite hosted by biotitebearing granodiorite
withpotassicphyllicalterationdatedat14.8±0.1
Ma (UPb zircon; Chapter 2) closely approaches
butpredatestheUPbzirconage(9.79±0.03Ma;
Chapter 2) of a closeby granodiorite porphyry
dike in the Tunas sector at Chaucha whose em
placement might have been associated with a
hydrothermal porphyry system. The age differ
ence between the nonoverlapping zircon and
molybdeniteagesmightbeduetoanoverestima
tionofthemolybdeniteagebyminoralteration
inducedReloss(e.g.,Barraetal.2003),underes
timated analytical uncertainties, or, possibly, an
underestimation of the zircon age by subtle ra
diogenicPbloss(Chapter2).SimilartoJuninand
BalsapambaTelimbela, porphyry deposit forma
tion at Chaucha postdates the major batholith
constructionperiod.
MultipleintrusivephasesarepresentatGabyand
Papa Grande (Fig. 7) where the main lithologies,
represented by hornblendeplagioclase porphyry
stocks,havebeendatedat20.26±0.07Ma(Gaby)
and 19.89±0.07 Ma (Papa Grande; UPb zircon;
Chapter 2). At Gaby, the dated main porphyry
body is additionally cut by multiple porphyry
dikes. The age of hydrothermal titanite
(20.17±0.16 Ma) associated with sodiccalcic al
teration at Gaby overlaps within error with the
age of the main porphyry intrusion, consistent
with a close relationship between intrusion em
placement and fluid circulation causing sodic
calcicalteration.

Figure5:Simplifiedlithologyalterationdrillcorelogof
JunincoreMJJ29showingmultipleporphyryintrusive
phases and locations of samples dated in this study
andinChapter2.Theminingcompany'sinternallithologicclassification,asappliedhere,doesnotstrictlycorrespond
totheclassificationusedthroughoutthisstudysuchthatminordifferencesinthedistributionofintrusivebodiesexist.
For example, "coarsegrained quartzfeldspar porphyry" corresponds to "hornblende granodiorite porphyry" in our
(BGSbased)classificationscheme.Hornblendegranodioriteporphyrywasdatedat9.01Ma(E07032;Chapter2)and
seems to represent the oldest porphyry intrusion at Junin dated so far, where the wall rock (Apuela batholith) is
>12.9Ma(Chapter2).MolybdeniteReOsandvariousKAragesindicateyoungerporphyryintrusionswereemplaced
untilc.6Ma.AdaptedfromSalazar(2007).

78 
 In contrast, our new ReOs molybdenite age
(20.6±0.1 Ma) is older than the previously dated

porphyry intrusion. The age difference might be
 duetoanoverestimateoftheReOsmolybdenite
 age caused by Re loss ofmolybdenite which, for
example, might accompany crystallographic
 transformations from 3R to 2H polytypes
 (McCandless et al. 1993; see also Barra et al.
2003).Alternatively,oneormoreadditionalpre
 20.6Maporphyryintrusionsmightbepresentat
 Gaby, which exsolved fluids responsible for mo
lybdenite precipitation. Earlier intrusive activity

atGabyisevidencedbytheoccurrenceofanun
 dated tonalite intrusion closely associated with
and (according to field relationships) predating

theporphyryintrusions(Fig.7).

The two ReOs molybdenite ages at Tres Chor
 reras(12.93±0.07Maand12.75±0.07Ma)donot
 overlapwithinerror.Theolderagedatesthetim
ing of hydrothermal brecciation possibly related
 to the emplacement of spatially associated por
 phyry intrusions for which no ages are available
atpresent(Prodeminca2000a).Theyoungerage
 dates the timing of polymetallic mineralization.
 Both ages are significantly younger than their
volcanichostunits(30.7±0.7Ma;Chapter2).The
 smallagedifference(180k.y.)betweenporphyry
 style and polymetallic mineralization might indi
cate that both events ultimately relate to the

same magmatichydrothermal system, but more
 detailed geologic studies of the Tres Chorreras
 depositarerequiredbeforeanyqualifiedconclu
sionscanbedrawn.

A quartzdiorite of the Cangrejos intrusive com
 plexhasaUPbzirconageof26.0±0.7Ma(Chap
 ter 2) and is intruded by plagioclasehornblende
porphyry (Potter 2004). The new molybdenite
 age of 23.5±0.1 Ma might thus be related to a
 hydrothermal system generated by the post26
Ma porphyry intrusion. These ages are signifi
 cantly older than a KAr age of 16.9±0.2 Ma ob
 tained on the Paccha intrusion in the center of
theCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelt(Fig.2;Pratt

etal.1997)whichhadpreviouslybeenproposed
 as an age reference for the Cangrejos porphyry
 system(Potter2004).Incontrast,theseagesare
broadly similar to UPb zircon ages of intrusions
 inthePortoveloZarumaminingdistrict(20.7±0.9
Ma and 24.0±0.1 Ma; Chapter 2) at the western
endoftheCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelt.

 79
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 6: Geological map of the Chaucha Cu‐Mo porphyry system showing locations of dated samples. Samples for U‐
Pb zircon datation (Chapter 1) were collected from surface outcrop exposure whereas samples for Re‐Os molybdenite 
 
datation (this study) are drill core samples (cf. Tab. 2). Adapted from Micon (2005b). 
 
A  quartz‐diorite  of  the  Cangrejos  intrusive  com‐ in the Portovelo‐Zaruma mining district (20.7±0.9 
plex has a U‐Pb zircon age of 26.0±0.7 Ma (Chap‐ Ma  and  24.0±0.1  Ma;  Chapter  2)  at  the  western 
ter  2)  and  is  intruded  by  plagioclase‐hornblende  end of the Cangrejos‐Zaruma intrusive belt. 
porphyry  (Potter  2004).  The  new  molybdenite 
age  of  23.5±0.1  Ma  might  thus  be  related  to  a  Magmatic  characteristics  of  the  Mio‐
hydrothermal  system  generated  by  the  post‐26  cene metallogenic belt of Ecuador 
Ma  porphyry  intrusion.  These  ages  are  signifi‐
cantly  older  than  a  K‐Ar  age  of  16.9±0.2  Ma  ob‐ Miocene  Ecuadorian  ore  deposits  investigated  in 
tained  on  the  Paccha  intrusion  in  the  center  of  this  study  are  always  intimately  associated  with 
the Cangrejos‐Zaruma intrusive belt (Fig. 2; Pratt  intrusive  activity  (e.g.,  Fig.  2;  Chapter  2).  Several 
et al. 1997) which had previously been proposed  porphyry  Cu  deposits  in  Ecuador  (Junin,  Balsa‐
as  an  age  reference  for  the  Cangrejos  porphyry  pamba‐Telimbela,  Chaucha)  are  associated  with 
system (Potter 2004). In contrast, these ages are  the  final  pulses  of  batholith‐scale  intrusive  sys‐
broadly  similar  to  U‐Pb  zircon  ages  of  intrusions  tems, which record protracted periods of precur‐
sor  magmatism  over  several  million  years.  To 

80   
visualizethis,wehaveplottedthedistributionof
intrusive and mineralization/alterationrelated
radiometric ages for several Ecuadorian arc seg
ments (Fig. 10). All major batholith systems of
Ecuador associated with ore deposits show a
similarpatternwhereporphyrydepositsformc.5
m.y.(Chaucha),1013m.y.(Junin),or1315m.y.
(BalsapambaTelimbela) after initialization of ba
tholith magmatism. A similar precursor intrusive
history might be inferred for the Cangrejos por
phyry system, although available geochronologic
dataistooscanttoquantifythis.Similarobserva
tionshavebeenmadeelsewhereintheMiocene
metallogenicbeltsofChileandPeru(e.g.,Sillitoe
1988)andintheJurassicmetallogenicbeltofEc
uador(Chiaradiaetal.2009b).Theonlypotential
deviationfromthispatternisrepresentedbythe
Gaby porphyry system, where geochronologic
evidence points to a rather shortlived intrusive
system and directly associated large intrusive
bodiesareabsent.
Multimillionyearbatholithassemblysignalseffi
cient channeling of arc magmas ascending
through the crust resulting in large, repeatedly
replenished mid to shallow crustal magmatic
systems;catastrophic,calderaformingignimbrite
eruptions often accompany voluminous batho
lithrelated magmatism (e.g., Bachmann et al.
2007).Thus,shallowcrustalbatholithsitesrepre
sent a potentially favorable environment for the
formation of porphyryrelated ore deposits as
they provide large volumes of magma and ther
mal energy to drive hydrothermal systems (e.g.,
Cline & Bodnar 1991). However, intense shallow
crustal magmatism might have negative implica
tionsformineralization(e.g.,duetodispersedor
catastrophicvolatilelossinsteadoffocusedfluid
exsolution) or its preservation (e.g., destruction
ofmineralizationbysubsequentintrusivepulses).
During the waning stages of batholith assembly,
on the other hand, less vigorous magma replen
ishment and downwards migration of the focus
ofmagmaticactivitymightrepresentafavorable
tectonomagmatic environment to form and pre
serve porphyryrelated ore deposits where pro
gressive melt volatileenrichment at midcrustal
levels takes place (e.g., Rohrlach & Loucks 2005;
Chiaradia et al. 2009a). In this context, the ton
nage of potentially formed ore deposits is not
expectedtodirectlycorrelatewiththetotaldura
 81
tionofprecursorintrusivemagmatism(e.g.,Har
risetal.2004;Barraetal.2005).
Systematic acrossarc variations with respect to
the timing of magmatism and mineralization do
notseemtoexistinsouthernEcuador(Fig.2,10).
Instead, both magmatism and metallogenesis
seemtospanthewholewidthofthearcsegment
at a given time, in agreement with an inferred
period of arc broadening in the Early Miocene
(Chapter2).MidMioceneintrusionemplacement
(c.16Ma;Chapter2)andadvancedargillicaltera
tion(15.4Ma;KAralunite;Prodeminca2000b)at
the El Mozo highsulfidation epithermal deposit,
situated at the easternmost margin of the Mio
cene metallogenic belt, broadly coincide in time
withMidMioceneChauchabatholithmagmatism
(1510 Ma; Chapter 2), polymetallic mineraliza
tion at Tres Chorreras (12.912.8 Ma), and mag
matism(15.7Ma,UPbzircon)andhydrothermal
alteration (18.9 Ma, ArAr sericite) at the Rio
Blancolowsulfidationdeposit(BineliBetsi2007),
all situated at the western side of the belt. The
timingofmineralizationmaydifferprofoundlyat
agivenpositionwithinthemetallogenicbelt:for
example, the neighboring (at c. 40 km distance)
GabyandChauchaporphyrysystemsformedatc.
20Maand10Ma,respectively.Theseconsidera
tions corroborate recent results of Noble et al.
(2004) for the northerncentral Peruvian metal
logenicbeltwheremineralizationwaspartlycoe
valatthewesternandeasternbeltextremities.
Structural characteristics of the Mio
cenemetallogenicbeltofEcuador
TheprincipalspatialdistributionofTertiaryintru
sions in Ecuador mimics the major upper plate
structures(Chapter2);theseincludetheChimbo
Toachi shear zone in centralnorthern Ecuador
(associated with the Apuela batholith including
theJuninporphyrysystem,andtheBalsapamba
Telimbela intrusions), the CalacaliPallatanga
Pujili fault zone in central Ecuador (associated
with the Chaucha batholith), and the diffuse
northern limit of the Amotape terrane, probably
bracketed between the PiñasPortovelo and
Jubones faults (associated with the Cangrejos
Zarumaintrusivebelt;Fig.2).
ThelocationsofsingleMioceneoredepositsand,
especially,oredepositclustersinPeruarepartly
82   
controlled by intersections of the regional mag
matic belt with variably oriented arctransverse
structures(e.g.,Noble&McKee1999).Southern
Ecuador hosts a number of first and second
orderarctransversestructureswhichrepresenta
structurally favorable environment for porphyry
related mineralization (Tosdal & Richards 2001;
Richards 2003). Arctransverse structures might
relate to collision tectonics between the
parautochthonous Ecuadorian mainland and the
allochthonous forearc block, which undergoes
dextral displacement along major fault zones of
the Western Cordillera in an oblique subduction
setting (Ego et al. 1996; Prodeminca 2000a). Al
ternatively, or additionally, transpressional de
formation creating arctransverse structures in
southernEcuadormightpartlyrelatetothepost
Paleocene 25±12° clockwise block rotation in
ferred for the Amotape terrane from paleomag
neticstudies(Mitouardetal.1990).
The identification of possible arctransverse
structures in centralnorthern Ecuador is ham
pered by Quaternary volcanosedimentary cover
sequencesoftheInterandeanDepression.Apos
sibletoolforidentifyingconcealedarctransverse
structures might be the structural correlation of
TertiaryintrusionsoftheWesternCordillera(e.g.,
theApuelabatholith)withTertiaryintrusionsex
posed in the Eastern Cordillera (Aspden et al.
1992), analogous to the structural grain of the
Late OligoceneEarly Miocene CangrejosZaruma
intrusive belt in southern Ecuador, which con
nects eastwards with the PaleoceneEocene San
Lucas pluton (Fig. 2). However, the existing geo
chronologic framework for Ecuador’s Eastern
Cordillera is largely based on KAr data, which
commonly show thermally disturbed Late Creta
ceoustoEarlyTertiaryages(Aspdenetal.1992).
Therefore, further UPb zircon geochronologic
studies of undeformed Eastern Cordillera intru
sions are required to unambiguously confirm
their Tertiary age before meaningful structural
correlationsarepossible.
Shortlived compressional Quechua events have
been proposed to control the onset or termina
Figure7(previouspage):GeologicalmapoftheGabyandPapaGrandeAuCuporphyrysystems,andsamplingloca
tionsforgeochronology.SamplesforUPbzircondatation(Chapter1)werecollectedfromsurfaceoutcropexposure
whereassamplesforReOsmolybdeniteandUPbtitanitedatationaredrillcoresample(cf.Tab.2).AdaptedfromSri
vastavaetal.(2008).
 83
tion of Miocene subbelt metallogenesis in
northerncentral Peru (Noble & McKee 1999;
note,however,thatsomedisagreementastothe
timingofthedifferentQuechuaphasesinnorth
erncentralPeruexists,withdifferenttimeranges
proposedbyBenavidesCáceres,1999,andNoble
&McKee,1999)andmightthereforebeofsimilar
importance in southern Ecuador. A number of
tectonicstudiesassesstheMiocenedeformation
historyofsouthernEcuador.TheLateOligocene
Early Miocene stress field was probably mostly
characterized by horizontal extension, as evi
denced by growth sequences of Saraguro Group
volcanicsformingthickeningwedgestowardsthe
southern PiñasPortovelofault, indicative of syn
volcanicnormalfaultslip(Spenceretal.2002).
Horizontal extension in southern Ecuador was
followed by transpression which is recorded by
inversionofthePiñasPortovelofaultandfolding
in the area north of the fault producing a major
anticline subparallel to the CangrejosZaruma
intrusivebelt(Spenceretal.2002),aswellasbya
conjugatesetofNEtrendingfaultswithevidence
for dextral movement (Prodeminca 2000a). A
compressivepulseat19Maisconstrainedbythe
age of Saraguro Group volcanics unconformably
overlying deformed sedimentary rocks of the
Jacapa Formation in southern Ecuador (Hunger
bühler 1997). Furthermore, wholescale tilting
(30° to the SW) of the Saraguro Group volcanic
sequence north of the PiñasPortovelo fault is
observed (Spencer et al. 2002). Small plutons
north of the PiñasPortovelo fault which, based
on the radiometric age systematics discussed in
Chapter 2, can be inferred to be of mainly Early
Miocene age, show asymmetric sigmoidal plan
view geometries indicative of syntectonic intru
sion into a dextral transpressional stress field
(Spencer et al. 2002). Geologic evidence thus
documentsachangefromadominantlytensional
toatranspressionalstressfieldinsouthernEcua
dor in the Early Miocene, which is broadly cor
relativeintimewiththeQuechua1eventofNo
ble & McKee (1999). Following a period of Mid
Miocene extension a second, major compressive
84   
pulseatc.9Maledtowidespreadbasininversion
in southern Ecuador (Hungerbühler et al. 2002)
and is approximately correlative with the
Quechua2eventofNoble&McKee(1999).
Ages obtained in this study show that Miocene
mineralizationinEcuadorclearlypredates,partly
overlaps with, and postdates the regional
“Quechua 1” and “Quechua 2” events (Fig. 10).
The“Quechua3”eventseemstoterminateMio
cene mineralization in Ecuador. This relationship
is rather coincidental, however, as it correlates
withthecessationofarcmagmatisminsouthern
Ecuador where minimum ages progressively
young northwards until the southern end of the
activeNorthernVolcanicZoneinresponsetoslab
flatteningbelowsouthernEcuador(andnorthern
Peru; Chapter 2). We therefore argue that re
gionalcompressiveeventsdonotseemtosignifi
cantly control Miocene metallogenesis in Ecua
dor. Rather, favorable conditions for intrusion
emplacement and mineralization at structurally
favorablesites(seeabove)mightbeassociatedin
time with local stress regime changes, particu
larlyattheonsetoflocalpostcompressionaldila
tion(Prodeminca2000a).
The connectivity between the Mio
cene metallogenic belts of northern
centralPeruandEcuador
Sillitoe (1988) popularized the concept of seg
mented metallogenic belts in the Andes and
placed a fundamental segment boundary at 5°S,
corresponding to the Huancabamba Deflection
(Fig.1).Duetoalackofgeochronologicdatafor
Ecuadorian ore deposits at that time Sillitoe
(1988)notedthatthecontinuityofthenorthern
central Peruvian Miocene metallogenic belt to
wardsEcuadorisuncertain.Geochronologicdata
presentedinthisstudyaswellasgeometriccon
tinuity in map view (Fig. 1) strongly suggest that
the Miocene metallogenic belt of northern
centralPeruiscontinuousatleastuntilsouthern
Ecuador.Duetotherelativelysparseoccurrence
of Miocene ore deposits in centralnorthern Ec
uador and southern Colombia, the northward
continuation of the belt is less well defined.
However, given the continuous distribution of
Miocene magmatism along the Ecuadorian mar
gin (Chapter 2), and the punctual occurrence of
Miocene ore deposits in centralnorthern Ecua
dor (Junin, Balsapamba, Telimbela), the metal
logenic belt might continue further northwards
and connect with the metallogenic belt segment
ofColombia(Fig.1;Sillitoe1988).
The typically vertically stacked environments of
epithermalvs.porphyrystylemineralization(e.g.,
Fontboté&Bendezú2009)implythattheerosion
levelatthedepositscaleconstitutesamajorcon
trolfactorfortheexposedoredeposittype.This
iswellexemplifiedinthewesternfoothillsofthe
Western Cordillera in Ecuador which are deeply
erodedandmostlypresentthecoresofMiocene
porphyry systems (Prodeminca 2000a). In con
trast,largepartsoftheAzuaydistrictinsouthern
Ecuador are less deeply eroded and preserve
abundant Miocene epithermal mineralization
(Prodeminca2000b).Quaternaryvolcanicsofthe
northerncentralEcuadorianInterandeanDepres
sion can be expected to conceal Tertiary arc
magmaticunits(Chapter2)and,potentially,Mio
cenemineralizationatrelativelyshallowdepth.
TheclosegeometricsimilaritybetweenthePeru
vian and Ecuadorian belt segments calls for a
closer inspection of their respective geologic
characteristicswhicharesummarizedinTable5.
Both belt segments essentially host ore deposits

Figure 8 (previous page): Typical mineralization/alteration assemblages for molybdenite samples dated in this study
(red rectangles mark used vein type). A – hornblende granodiorite porphyry with pervasive potassic, overprinted by
phyllicalteration,cutbymultiplemoqtzveinlets(Junin).B–hblbtgranodioritewithweakpervasivechlactalteration,
veinlikeaggregatesofbteppycp,andthinqtzpymocpandmoqtzveinlets(Telimbela).C–Veinbrecciaofgrano
diorite with weak chlepabrt alteration; breccia matrix = msbtqtz with disseminated cppymo (Balsapamba). D –
Hydrothermalbrecciawithplagporphyryclasts(withstrongseralteration)andmatrixofqtzchlrtgoesulfides(pocp
mo);ser(phyllic)alterationseemstopostdatebrecciationsuchthatthebrecciamatrixmineralogymightnotbeoriginal
(Gaby).E–Tonalitewithstrongchlser/msalterationandhydrothermalrt(possiblyresidualfromearlierpotassical
teration?);cutbymultipleveinletsofqtzpy(withserhalo),mtcpqtzmo,andqtzmo(Chaucha).F–Bandedcpmo
jspslveinswithpervasiveclayalteration(TresChorreras).G– Jigsawbrecciawithangular,silicifiedvolcanicclastsin
jsptmmomtmatrix(TresChorreras).Scalebaris2cm.SamemineralabbreviationsasinFig.3.

 85
ofthesametypesandagerangewiththepossi
ble exception of skarn and Cordilleran vein type
deposits; the latter, although very common in
Peru(Noble&McKee1999;Fontboté&Bendezú
2009), are not clearly described as such in Ecua
dor. This difference might only be an apparent
one,causedbydifferentoredepositclassification
standardsinEcuador,and/orcouldberelatedto
the scarcity of reactive limestone host units in
Ecuadorcomparedtotheirabundantoccurrence
in Peru (e.g., the Pucará Group; Noble & McKee
1999) where they host economically important
polymetallic replacement bodies (Fontboté &
Bendezú 2009). Contrasting deep crustal base
mentcompositionsinEcuadorandPeru(oceanic
vs. continental; Tab. 5) do not seem to produce
major differences in metallogenesis between
these arc segments, although crustal contribu
tions may influence commodity proportions of
porphyry Cu deposits elsewhere (e.g., Mo; See
dorffetal.2005).
The temporal distribution pattern of the north
erncentral Peruvian Miocene metallogenic belt
showstwomaximaforradiometricmineralization
ages at 1513 Ma and 107 Ma (Noble & McKee
1999; note that these maxima are not weighted
by tonnage). A few Ecuadorian porphyry Cu de
positssuchasChaucha(c.9.59.9Ma)andJunin
(several events between 9 and 6 Ma) overlap in

Figure 9: Concordia plot and weighted mean 206Pb/238U average age for hydrothermal titanite related to sodiccalcic
alterationattheGabyporphyrysystem.
86 
agewiththeyoungeragepeakidentifiedinPeru,
andpolymetallicmineralizationatTresChorreras
(12.912.8Ma)andadvancedargillicalterationat
El Mozo (15.4 Ma; Prodeminca 2000b) tend to
overlap with the older age peak in Peru. In gen
eral,however,dataforEcuadoraretooscarceto
allow a representative statistical treatment at
thispoint.Qualitatively,depositformationinthe
Ecuadorian belt segment additionally tends to
peak in the Early Miocene, comprising the por
phyry Cu deposits of Telimbela, Balsapamba,
GabyPapa Grande, and Cangrejos; there is no
equivalentpeakinthenortherncentralPeruvian
belt segment at that time. One might speculate
that this age difference partly relates to a sam
pling bias due to differential exposure levels in
variousoredepositdistricts.
As noted above, Early Miocene ore deposits in
the Western Cordillera and in the Cangrejos
Zaruma intrusive belt of Ecuador represent rela
tively deeply eroded porphyry systems domi
nated by sodiccalcic and potassic alteration zo
nes (e.g., Prodeminca 2000a; Fig. 3). In contrast,
the younger Ecuadorian porphyry deposits such
as Chaucha and Junin consistently display wide
spread phyllic alteration zones indicating that
theyhavebeenlessdeeplyeroded.Spikingsetal.
(2005) show that increased Mid to Late
Miocene cooling rates inferred from thermo
chronologicmodelingrelatetotherapidexhuma
tion of fault blocks in the Western Cordillera of
Ecuador. Similarly, NS contraction (see discus
sionabove)mighthavedrivenMidtoLateMio
ceneexhumationoftheCangrejosZarumaintru
sive belt which intrudes the hinge and southern
flankofaregionalantiformnorthoftheinverted
PiñasPortovelo fault (Prodeminca 2000a;
Spenceretal.2002).Itmightthusbespeculated
that younger ore deposits in deeply eroded
blocks were completely removed by erosion; a
higher density of geochronologic studies on Ec
uadorianoredepositsinlessdeeplyerodedfault
blocks might preferentially reveal younger min
eralization ages. This includes, for example, a
large number of potentially younger epithermal
deposits in the Azuay district of Ecuador (e.g.,
Prodeminca2000b).
Geodynamic impacts on the spatio
temporal distribution of Miocene ore
depositsinEcuador
Two geodynamic factors have been proposed to
influence the formation of porphyryrelated ore
deposit in the Andes and elsewhere: slab shal
lowingflattening (e.g., James & Sacks 1999; Kay
et al., 1999; see also review by Richards, 2003,
and references therein) and the subduction of
bathymetrichighs,i.e.seamountchains(“ridges”;
e.g., Rosenbaum et al. 2005; Cooke et al. 2005).
As they represent overthickened oceanic crust,
thesubductionofseamount chains maycontrib
ute to slab shallowing by virtue of their relative
buoyancy, thus mutually linking ridge collision
andflatsubduction(e.g.,vanHunenetal.2004).
Slab dehydration during periods of flat subduc
tionmayleadtointensehydrationoftheoverly
ing crust; subsequent slab resteepening and
trenchward migration of hot asthenosphere
leaves the thus rheologically weakened crust
highly susceptible to deformation and melting
which is potentially favorable for metallogenesis
(James & Sacks 1999). Shallowing of the slab
principally results in the landward migration of
the locus of arc magmatism on the upper plate,
and may result in porphyryrelated ore deposit
formation at the end of a given tectono
 87
magmatic cycle under favorable exposure levels
(Kayetal.1999;Richards2003).
The distribution pattern of Tertiary arc magma
tism in northerncentral Ecuador suggests a
broadly stable slab dip until the Late Miocene
when minor slab shallowing occurred, possibly
relatedtosubductionoftheCarnegie Ridgesea
mount chain (Chapter 2). Slab shallowing might
thus contribute to generating a favorable expo
surelevelforyoungoredepositsinnorthernEc
uador(suchasJunin)bycausinganeastwardmi
gration of Late Miocene to Quaternary arc vol
canism. Similarly, progressive broadening of the
flat slab region below southern Ecuador (and
northernPeru)sincetheMidMiocenegenerated
a favorable exposure level for porphyryrelated
oredepositsinthisarcsegmentwherepostLate
Miocene volcanic cover sequences are lacking
(Chapter2).
Rosenbaum et al. (2005) present geodynamic
reconstructionsconstrainingthecollisionaltiming
of anomalous oceanic bathymetric features, the
IncaplateauandtheNazcaridge,withrespectto
the Peruvian margin. These authors observe an
apparent spatiotemporal coincidence between
bathymetric high collision and Miocene ore de
posit formation (note, however, that these au
thors do not quantify any uncertainties for their
reconstructionmodels),andproposethatadirect
link exists between the two. In this context it is
interesting to investigate the metallogenic re
sponsetocollisionoftheCarnegieRidgewiththe
ColombianEcuadorianmargin.
The timing of initial collision of the Carnegie
Ridge with the ColombianEcuadorian margin
cannotbeaccuratelydeterminedbecause,unlike
for other ridges such as the Nazca Ridge, a sym
metricmirrorhotspottrackoftheCarnegieRidge
doesnotexist.WhiletheCocosRidgewasformed
atthesametimeattheGalapagoshotspotasthe
Carnegie Ridge, it does not represent a direct
mirror image due to repeated jumps of the
NazcaCocosspreadingcenteracrossthehotspot
position (Barckhausen et al. 2008). Furthermore,
the leading edge of both ridges has been sub
ducted(e.g.,Gutscheretal.1999).Consequently,
theshapeofthesubductedpartoftheCarnegie
 Figure10:SpatiotemporaldistributionofMioceneoredepositsandassociatedOligoceneMioceneplutonsofEcuador.
MineralizationessentiallycomprisesthewholeMiocene(andthelatestOligocene:Cangrejosporphyry,23.5±0.1Ma)
andseemstopeakintheEarlyMiocene,withasecond,broaderpeakintheMidtoLateMiocene.Ageneralspatio
temporalcorrelationbetweenoredepositformationandCarnegieRidgesubductionorcompressivepulsesisnotob
served.Inagivenbatholithsystem(Apuela,BalsapambaTelimbela,Chaucha)preservedporphyryrelatedmineraliza
tiontendstooccurafterasignificantlagtimewithrespecttoinitiationofbatholithconstruction(c.515m.y.);miner
alization is concomitant with the lastpulse of magmatism and final batholith assembly for Apuelaand Chaucha,but
followed by minor ongoing magmatism at BalsapambaTelimbela (though note that the latter observation is solely
based on KAr ages which are susceptible to disturbance by younger hydrothermal alteration events). Mineraliza
tion/alterationagescompiledfromthisstudyorreferencesdiscussedinthetext;magmaticagesfromcompilationin
Chapter2.Notethatonlyintrusionsspatiallyassociatedwithmineralizationareshown.CompressivepulsesinEcuador
(blackboxes;Hungerbühleretal.2002andreferencestherein),andnortherncentralPeru(grayboxes:Noble&McKee
1999;whiteboxes:BenavidesCáceres1999)areshownforcomparison(I=Inca;Q=Quechua).Notethatminimum
sizeofboxes,correspondingto1m.y.,wasarbitrarilychosenanddoesnotreflecttheactualdurationofcompressive
event.Seetextforfurtherdiscussion.

88 
 Table 5: Comparison of geological features of the Miocene metallogenic belts of Peru and Ecuador
northern-central Peru Ecuador
Main commodities Au, Cu, base metals
Mineralization age range 23 - 6 Ma
Mineralization peaks 15 - 13 Ma; 8 - 7 Ma
Ore deposit types porphyry Au-Cu, porphyry Cu-Mo,
high-sulfidation epithermal, Cordil-
leran vein, skarn
Main host lithologies of ore Mesozoic shelf carbonates and
deposits sediments
Neogene volcanics-intrusions
Deep crustal basement units Mature continental crust
Data for Ecuador from this study and Prodeminca (2000a, 2000b). Data for Peru from Noble & McKee (1999) and Noble et al.
(2004).
Note that the age of the oldest deposit dated in this study (Cangrejos: 23.5 Ma) corresponds to the latest Oligocene

Ridgeisnotknown,althoughitseemstobevisi
bleinseismicitydistributionpatternsbycausinga
seismicgap(Gutscheretal.1999).
Predicting the initial collision of the Carnegie
RidgewiththeEcuadorianmarginthusrequiresa
kinematic reconstruction of the ridge track
throughtimeassumingafixedoriginattheGala
pagos hotspot, followed by progressive stepwise
rotationusingrotationpolesforagivenplatetec
tonic reference system. Previous reconstructions
inthismannerobtainedinitialcollisionestimates
around8Ma(usingrotationpolesofPilger1984;
e.g., Daly 1989; Gutscher et al. 1999), although
Lonsdale & Klitgord (1978) estimated a more re
cent collision at c. 1 Ma. Using minimum/ maxi
mum plate convergence rates of PardoCasas &
Molnar(1987)insteadofrotationpoledata,Spik
ings et al. (2001) estimated an initial collision of
theCarnegieRidgewiththeEcuadorianmarginat
9or15Ma,respectively,forastartingreference
timeof22Ma.
We have performed a kinematic Carnegie Ridge
reconstructionusingthesamestartingreference
time (22 Ma) as Spikings et al. (2001), and the
mostrecentsetsofavailablerotationpolesofthe
NazcaSouth America reference system (Somoza
 89
Au, Cu
24 - 6 Ma
not enough data available to evaluate
porphyry Au-Cu, porphyry Cu-Mo, high-,
intermediate-, low-sulfidation epithermal
Late Cretaceous-Paleogene island arc vol-
canics (northern Ecuador) and oceanic pla-
teau units (central Ecuador)
Paleozoic-Mesozoic metasediments (south-
ern Ecuador)
Neogene volcanics-intrusions
(southern Ecuador)
Oceanic plateau crust (Western Cordillera)
Oceanic ± continental crust (southern Ecua-
dorian Sierra)
Continental crust (Cangrejos-Zaruma intru-
sive belt)
1998) and of the hotspotSouth Amer
ica/Farallon/Nazca reference systems (Müller et
al. 1993; Rosenbaum et al. 2005). This approach
enables us to reconstruct the ridge assuming ei
therafixedhotspot,orafixedSouthAmericaas
reference. Results are presented as a series of
time slices in Figure 11 and yield initial collision
estimates of 8±3.5 Ma (hotspotFarallon/Nazca
andFarallon/NazcaSouthAmericareferencesys
tems)and5±4.5Ma(hotspotFarallon/Nazcaand
hotspotSouth America reference systems). Er
rors include a 25% relative uncertainty estimate
for the angular velocity of a given rotation pole
(cf. Chapter 2) and a ±50 km uncertainty for the
hotspot location. Both ages overlap within error
andareingoodagreementwithpreviouspropo
sitions of initial Carnegie Ridge collision at c. 8
Ma. It should be noted, however, that (1) these
calculations (like all plate tectonic reconstruc
tions)arebasedontheassumptionofaplatebe
havingasarigidentitywhichmightnotbestrictly
trueatplatemargins(e.g.,Cox&Hart1986),and
(2) the reconstructions model a linear hotspot
track whereas spreading center jumps (Barck
hausenetal.2008)mighthavecausedridgeseg
mentation.
Figure11:TotalreconstructionsofthepositionofareferencepointoriginatingatcoordinatesofthecentralGalapagos
hotspotatdifferenttimes(boxesintheupperleft)throughouttheMioceneusingthemethodsdescribedinCox&Hart
(1986).ThereferencepointservesasaproxyfortheleadingedgeoftheoffshoreCarnegieRidgeseamountchain.Two
different reference frames were used: a fixed South American plate and the relative motions of hotspots and the
Nazca/Farallonplate(Mülleretal.1993;Somoza1998),orafixedhotspotandtherelativemotionsofSouthAmerica
andtheNazca/Farallonplate(Mülleretal.1993;Rosenbaumetal.2005).Thedifferentreferenceframesconstrainini
tialCarnegieRidgecollisionat8±3.5Maor5±4.5Ma,respectively.NotethatinthefixedSouthAmericabasedrecon
struction, reference point positions are theoretical and only become geologically relevant at the trench where the
Nazca/Farallon and South American plates are in direct contact. In contrast, for fixed hotspotbased reconstructions
offshore locations have geological relevance. Carnegie Ridge seamounts dated by Christie et al. (1992) were rotated
back to theirorigin to test rotation pole accuracy; theymostly overlap with the hotspot starting position suggesting
thattheformerareaccuratelyestimated.

90 



























Figure11(continued)

The timespace distribution of Ecuadorian por speculate that ridge collision causes increased
phyryrelatedoredepositsshowsthatthereisno deformation in the upper plate which might aid
spatiotemporalcoincidencebetweenoredeposit oredepositformation.AsdiscussedbyMacMillan
formationandCarnegieridgecollision,exceptfor etal.(2004)andMichaudetal.(2009),however,
the Junin porphyry CuMo deposit (Fig. 10). Ore a direct causative relation between ridgetrench
deposits in southern Ecuador also predate the collision and geological features (such as defor
arrival of the inferred Inca plateau at the Peru mation)oftheoverridingplateusuallycannotbe
Ecuador trench, which Rosenbaum et al. (2005) demonstrated unambiguously. An exception is
estimateatc.1412Ma.Rosenbaumetal.(2005) the forearc region where, depending on its

 91
rheologicalstrength,ridgecollisioneitherinduces
uplift, or indentation and conjugated strikeslip
faulting(Hampeletal.2004).Cookeetal.(2005)
note that ridge collision (and flat subduction) is
norequirementfortheformationofaveragesize
porphyryrelated ore deposits, but might consti
tuteapositivetriggermechanismfortheforma
tion of giant ore deposits. More detailed studies
exploring the potential connection between Car
negie Ridgemargin collision, tectonomagmatic
processes,andporphyryrelatedmineralizationat
Junin might contribute to unravel these mecha
nismsinmoredetail.
Conclusions
We have presented the first regionally extensive
dataset of radiometric ages on Miocene ore de
posits of Ecuador based on the ReOs (molyb
denite) and UPb (titanite) isotopic systems.
These new data allow us to infer that the Mio
cene metallogenic belt of northerncentral Peru
extends northwards into southern Ecuador, and
potentiallyfurthernorthuntilColombia.Theages
ofintrusionsandtheirrelatedhydrothermalsys
tems in Ecuador coincide with the age range of
porphyryrelatedoredepositsinnortherncentral
Peruandrangefrom6to23.5Ma.
Miocene porphyryrelated mineralization is rela
tivelywidespreadinsouthernEcuador,andfacili
tated by metallogenetically favorable factors in
cluding (1) a structural setting providing abun
dant arctransverse structures to channelize
magmas and fluids; (2) widespread Miocene
magmatism and synmagmatic deformation; (3)
erosionlevelssuitabletopreserveMiocenemin
eralization; and (4) lack of extensive Quaternary
coversequencesinaflatslabsegment.Miocene
porphyry systems in the Western Cordillera and
its western foothills may be deeply eroded such
that the bulk of the ore body is eroded, but are
wellpreservedinsomefaultblocks.
Porphyryrelated ore deposits in Ecuador are of
ten (at Junin, Telimbela, Balsapamba, and
Chaucha) associated with variably longlived
magmaticcyclesofbatholithconstructionwhere
batholithicprecursormagmatismhaslifetimesof
515 m.y. Batholithic complexes are associated
withelevatedtranscrustalmeltfluxandaccumu
lation,andmaythusrepresentpotentiallyfavor
92 
able sites for porphyryrelated mineralization.
However, extensive shallow crustal magmatism
associated with peaks in batholith construction
(potentially including catastrophic voluminous
ignimbrite eruptions) might prove disadvanta
geous from a metallogenic perspective. In con
trast, during the waning stages of batholith as
sembly when thermal relaxation occurs and the
focus of magmatism migrates from upper to
wards deeper crustal levels favorable petroge
netic preconditioning of potential porphyry pa
rental melts for subsequent porphyryrelated
mineralizationmighttakeplace.
A general direct relationship in space and time
betweenseamountchainsubductionorpulsesof
regional compression and ore deposit formation
is not observed in Ecuador except, perhaps, for
the Junin porphyry CuMo deposit in NW Ecua
dor. The subduction of bathymetric anomalies
such as the Carnegie Ridge or the Inca Plateau
may, however, have a metallogenetically favor
able effect by their influence on slab dip (with a
potential lag time of several m.y.) and thus sur
facemigrationpatternsofarcmagmatismculmi
natinginanarcmagmaticgap.Thelatterresults
in favorable exposure levels of Miocene por
phyryrelated ore deposits in southern Ecuador
andnorthernPeru.
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96 
CHAPTERIV
CRUSTAL BASEMENT ARCHITECTURE IN ECUADOR EXPLORED BY Sr,
Nd, AND Pb ISOTOPIC COMPOSITIONS OF TERTIARYQUATERNARY
ARCMAGMAS
Abstract
The crustal basement of Ecuador comprises a collage of mostly PaleozoicMesozoic tectonostratigraphic
units of both continental and oceanic affinity in the Eastern Cordillera, and oceanic plateau units in the
Western Cordillera and forearc region which were accreted in the Late Cretaceous. The diffuse paleo
continental suture zone is bracketed by the regional Andean (NNE) trending Peltetec and Calacali
PallatangaPujili fault zones, and is situated between the Eastern and Western Cordillera ranges where
basementunitsarecoveredbyTertiaryQuaternaryarcvolcanics.Anextensivebodyofisotopegeochemi
calinformationexistsforQuaternaryarcvolcanicsoftheNorthernVolcanicZoneinnorthernEcuador,whe
reas Tertiary cover sequences in southerncentral Ecuador are poorly characterized isotopically. In this
studywearepresentingasetof58newwholerockSr,Nd,andPbisotopiccompositionsofLateOligocene
andyoungerintrusionsandarcvolcanicsoftheWesternCordillera,itswesternfoothills,andthecentral
southernEcuadorianSierraregion.CombiningthisnewdatasetwithexistingdataonQuaternaryarcvolca
noesallowsustotracebasementunitsoftheLateCretaceoussuturezoneatdepth.
QuaternaryarcvolcanicsdefinedistinctisotopicgroupsforvolcanoessituatedeastandwestofthePeltetec
Fault, respectively. Late Oligocene to Late Miocene arc volcanics and intrusions of the southern Ecuador
Sierra region overlap isotopically with recent arc volcanics east of the Peltetec Fault in northern Ecuador
suggestingalongstrikecontinuityofsimilarbasementunitsatdepth.LateOligocenetoLateMiocenegrani
toidsoftheWesternCordilleraanditswesternfoothillsshowthemostprimitiveSrandNdisotopiccompo
sitions identified in TertiaryQuaternary Ecuadorian arc magmas so far; primitive Cretaceous oceanic pla
teau units constitute their assimilants at depth, causing these arc magmas to become isotopically more
primitive while assimilating crustal material. Crustal isotopic contamination of TertiaryQuaternary arc
magmasmainlytakesplaceatdeeptomidcrustallevelsexceptforgranitoidsoftheCangrejosZarumain
trusivebeltinsouthernEcuador,whereadditionalprominentshallowcrustalassimilationproduceshighly
radiogenicSrandPb,andlowradiogenicNdisotopiccompositionsofevolvingarcmagmas.
IsotopicSr,Nd,andPbcompositionsofarcmagmasinnortherncentralEcuadorfollowasystematicacross
arcpatternwheretheyevolvetowardsprogressivelymoreradiogenic 87Sr/86Srand 207Pb/204Pb,andlessra
diogenic 143Nd/144Ndcompositionsatdeeptomidcrustallevelswithincreasingdistancefromthetrench.
Thisisconsistentwithregionalunderthrustingofaccretedoceanicplateaumaterialalongabroadsuture
zonebelowthepaleocontinentalmarginaspreviouslyinferredfromseismicstudies.

 97
Introduction
Geochemical studies in the southern and central
AndeshaverevealedpronouncedvariationsinSr,
Nd,andPbisotopiccompositionsofarcmagmas.
These variations are mainly attributed to crustal
contamination effects where lateral and vertical
basement heterogeneity (Davidson & de Silva
1992;Wörneretal.1992),crustal thickness(Hil
dreth&Moorbath1988),andtheextentofdirect
magmacrust interaction (Dungan & Davidson
2004)areinferredtobethemajorcontrolfactors
fortheisotopicvariabilityofarcmagmas.Crustal
isotopic imprints on arc magmas may be super
posed on continentscale mantle wedge isotopic
variability (Chiaradia & Fontboté 2002) which
might,forexample,involvesourcecontamination
by subduction erosion (e.g., Stern & Skewes
2005). In a given arc segment, the isotopic char
acteristics of TertiaryQuaternary arc magmas
may be used to outline different crustal base
mentdomains(e.g.,Wörneretal.1992;Mamani
etal.2008,2010).
In the northern Andes, significant crustal base
mentvariationsoccurbothinalongandacross
arc dimension. The TertiaryQuaternary arc sys
tem of Ecuador is constructed on a basement
collage of multiple tectonostratigraphic units
separatedbymajorNNEtrendingfaultzones(Li
therlandetal.1994).Juxtaposedagainstthecra
tonic basement of the Amazon foreland basin,
severalPaleotoMesozoiccontinentalandisland
arc units form the major basement units of the
Eastern Cordillera (Fig. 1; Litherland et al. 1994),
alternativelyinterpretedasautochthonousconti
nental margin (Pratt et al. 2005). Exotic Creta
ceousoceanicplateaufragmentsfloortheWest
ernCordilleraandforearcregion(e.g.,Mamberti
etal.2003;Vallejoetal.2009).Geophysicalstud
iesyieldcontradictoryresultswithrespecttothe
geometryoftheboundarybetweentheaccreted
oceanic plateau material and the parautochtho
nous paleocontinental domain below the Inter
andean Depression (IAD) between Ecuador’s
Eastern and Western Cordilleras. Based on gra
vimetric data Feininger & Seguin (1983) suggest
that continental Eastern Cordillera basement
floors the IAD; in contrast, Guillier et al. (2001)
provide seismic evidence for regionalscale un
derthrusting of oceanic plateau material below
theIAD.
While isotopic data for individual arc volcanic
centers and the accreted oceanic domains are
readilyavailable(seereferencesinFigs.1,2),on
ly a single study has attempted to comprehen
sively assess the Pb isotopic composition of the
different terrane basement units on a regional
scale(Chiaradiaetal.2004a).Inthiscontribution,
wearepresenting58newwholerockSr,Nd,and
Pb isotopic compositions of Late Oligocene and
younger granitoids and volcanic formations (and
some of their host lithologies) of the Western
Cordillera, its western foothills, and the central
southern Ecuadorian Sierra region. We are com
bining these new data with published isotopic
compositions of basement units and Quaternary
arc volcanoes to discuss tectonic implications of
isotopicvariationsinthecrustalbasementofthe
IADandthesouthernEcuadorianSierra,andhow

Figure1(nextpage):Left:TopographicmapofnorthernAndeanmarginshowinggravityanomalyisolines[mgal]of
Feininger &Seguin(1983) inthe Cordillera region(thickwhite lines). Note the overall lower elevation in southern
EcuadornorthernPerucomparedtocentralnorthernEcuadorwhereoceanicplateauunitsareunderthrustingthe
continentalmargin.Right:SimplifiedgeologicalmapoftheEcuadorianAndesshowingcrustalbasementunits,major
faultsystems(straightlines;dashedwhereinferred;adaptedfromWinkleretal.2005),LateCretaceousTertiaryarc
volcanicunitsandintrusions,andQuaternaryarcvolcanoesrelevantforthisstudy.NewSr,Nd,andPbisotopicdata
presentedinthisstudywereobtainedonLateTertiarygranitoidsandvolcanics(andtheLateCretaceousCuriplaya
intrusions). Arc volcanoes and intrusions are colorcoded according to their isotopic composition reflecting crustal
basement domains as discussed in the text (yellow: Ndinitial >5, 87Sr/86Sr <0.7038, 206Pb/204Pb <18.9, 207Pb/204Pb
<15.62;blue:Ndinitial=46, 87Sr/86Sr=0.70380.7044, 206Pb/204Pb<19.03, 207Pb/204Pb<15.60;green:Ndinitial=36,
87
Sr/86Sr=0.70400.7043,206Pb/204Pb<19.14,207Pb/204Pb<15.64;brown:Ndinitial>2,87Sr/86Sr<0.7049,206Pb/204Pb
<19.08,207Pb/204Pb<15.70;darkgray:Ndinitial<1,87Sr/86Sr>0.7047,206Pb/204Pb>18.9,207Pb/204Pb>15.62).Volcanoes
whereonlyasingleisotopicanalysisisavailable(Quilotoa,Sangay,Chalupas)aremarkedwithaquestionmarkand
notcolorcodedunlesstheisotopicsignatureisunambiguous.Notethesystematicacrossarcdistributionpatternof
arcmagmaisotopiccompositionsinnorthernEcuadorasdiscussedinthetext.Generalgeologicalfeaturesofmap
modifiedfromChapter2.
98 
 

  99
they relate to the proposed suture zone geome
triesofoceanicplateauunitsandthepaleoconti
nental Ecuadorian margin. No attempt is being
madeheretoextendthediscussiontowardsiso
topically discerning the complex Eastern Cordil
lerabasement(Litherlandetal.1994;Prattetal.
2005).
Geologicalframework
Paleozoic and subordinate Precambrian base
mentunitsofEcuador’sEasternCordillerahosta
numberofmajorbatholithsandvolcanicsresult
ing from intense TriassicJurassic arc magmatism
(Litherland et al. 1994). While Litherland et al.
(1994)tendtointerpretmajorbatholithbounda
riesassuturezonesdelineatinganumberofboth
oceanic and continentalaffinity allochthonous
terranes(Fig.1),Prattetal.(2005)regardmostof
these contacts as intrusive and infer an autoch
thonous crustal basement for Ecuador’s Eastern
Cordillera. Overthickened oceanic crust, partly
associated with the CaribbeanColombian oce
anic plateau (CCOP) and mainly accreted in the
Late Cretaceous, is juxtaposed against the East
ern Cordillera basement along a suture zone
comprisingpartsoftheIAD(e.g.,Mambertietal.
2003;Jaillardetal.2005;Spikingsetal.2005;Val
lejo et al. 2009). The allochthonous oceanic pla
teauunitshostseveralpreandpostaccretionary
island arc systems of Late Cretaceous to Early
Tertiary age (Rio Cala and Macuchi units; e.g.,
Chiaradia2009;Vallejoetal.2009).MidtoLate
Tertiary arc magmatism in northerncentral Ec
uador,resultingfromthesubductionoftheFaral
lon/Nazca plate below the accreted oceanic pla
teaumaterial,focusedontheWesternCordillera
regionandonlysporadicallyaffectedtheEastern
Cordillera until the Late Miocene, when major
landwards arc broadening towards the Eastern
Cordilleraisrecorded(Chapter2).Activearcvol
canism of the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in
EcuadorcoversthewholerangefromtheEastern
to the Western Cordillera, and from the Colom
bianborderuntilSangayvolcanoatc.2°S(Fig.1).
TertiaryQuaternary volcanosedimentary cover
sequences conceal the basement of the IAD and
thecentralEcuadorianSierraregionbetweenthe
100
Eastern and Western Cordillera ranges. Major
arcparallel fault systems thought to bracket the
diffuse suture zone between oceanic plateau
unitsandthepaleocontinentalmarginbelowthe
IAD (CalacaliPallatangaPujili fault zone, CPPF,
and Peltetec fault, PF; Winkler et al. 2005) tend
to dip subvertically at the surface, but define c.
35°Edipping faultplanesatmidtodeepcrustal
levels implying that oceanic material forms the
deepcrustalrootoftheIAD(Guillieretal.2001;
Jaillardetal.2005);atectonizedmélangeofcon
tinental crust and oceanic plateau units is in
ferred at shallow crustal depth (e.g., Spikings et
al.2005).Incontrast,IADbasementunitssimilar
totheparautochthonousEasternCordillerahave
been inferred in previous studies (Chaucha ter
rane; Feininger & Seguin 1983; Litherland et al.
1994).
Seismicstudiesconstrain the crustal thicknessin
Ecuador to 4050 km below the Western Cordil
lera in the presentday frontal arc, and to 5075
km below the IAD and the Eastern Cordillera in
the presentday main arc region (Guillier et al.
2001). The significantly lower mean elevation of
the Ecuadorian Andes compared to the Central
Andean Altiplano region of only slightly higher
crustalthicknessmightbeisostaticallysupported
by a column of continental crust underthrusted
byhighdensityoceanicplateaumaterial,follow
ing the inferred suture zone geometry at depth
(Guillieretal.2001).Periodsofcrustalthickening
in Ecuador are not as well constrained as in the
southerncentral Andes; tectonic crustal thicken
ingbywestwardsbasalforearcwedgingseemsto
haveoccurredthroughouttheTertiarywithama
jor period of thickening affecting the Andean
main arc region since the Late Miocene (Jaillard
etal.2005).
Methodology
Samplesforisotopicanalysiswerecollectedfrom
outcrop exposures or drill cores in Ecuador ac
cordingtothelocationsmarkedinFigure1.Gra
nitoids and arc volcanic formations investigated
inthisstudyareofLateOligoceneoryoungerage
(Fig. 1; Chapter 2). Intrusive rocks comprise
hornblendeandbiotitebearingtonalites,grano
diorites, quartzdiorites, and granodiorite por
phyries emplaced along major fault zones of the
Western Cordillera, its western foothills, and in
the Sierra region of centralsouthern Ecuador.
SampledvolcanicrocksoftheIADandthesouth
ern Ecuadorian Sierra comprise (1) the wide
spreadLateOligocenetoEarlyMioceneSaraguro
Group, composed of andesiticdacitic lava flows
and tuffs, and daciticrhyolitic ignimbrites; and
(2) the Late Miocene Quimsacocha volcanic cen
ter which forms a caldera with associated ande
siticdacitic lava flows and daciticrhyolitic
domes.Inaddition,wecompiledisotopicdataof
NVZvolcaniccenterswhich,fromnorthtosouth,
comprise Imbabura, Cayambe, Pululagua, Pichin
cha, Chacana, Ilalo, Atacazo, Antisana, Cotopaxi,
Chalupas,Quilotoa,andSangayvolcano.Sumaco
volcano, occupying a backarc position 380 km
fromthetrench,wasnotincludedinthecompila
tion because its magmas are significantly en
riched in Sr and Nd, minimizing the isotopic lev
erage of potential crustal assimilants (Chiaradia
etal.2009).
All sample preparation steps and isotopic analy
seswereperformedattheDepartmentofMiner
alogy, University of Geneva. Samples were
cleaned with water, crushed using a steel jaw
crusher, and powdered (<70 m) using an agate
disc mill. Preparation for isotopic analysis used
the techniques of Chiaradia (2009) and refer
ences therein. Powdered samples (100150 mg
each)wereloadedintoscrewsealed20mlTeflon
vialsandleachedovernightatroomtemperature
using3MHCltodissolvealterationmineralssuch
as carbonates with potential isotopic disequilib
riumcompositions.Sampleleachatemixturecen
trifugation and subsequent leachate discarding
was followed by twofold sample residue rinsing
and centrifugation using deionized water. Sam
pleswerethendissolvedinamixtureof4mlcon
centrated HF and 1 ml 15 M HNO3 at 140°C for
seven days, followed by sample drying on a hot
plate,redissolutionin3ml15MHNO3at140°C
for three days, and a final drying step on a hot
plate. Strontium and Nd separation was carried
out using cascade columns with Srspec, TRU
spec and Lnspec resins following a modified
method after Pin et al. (1994). Lead was further
purifiedwithanAGMP1Manionexchangeresin
inhydrobromicmedium.
 101
Lead,SrandNdisotoperatiosweremeasuredon
aThermoTRITONmassspectrometeronFaraday
cupsinstaticmode.Lead wasloadedonRefila
mentsusingthesilicageltechniqueandallsam
ples(andstandards)weremeasuredatapyrome
tercontrolled temperature of 1220 °C. Lead iso
toperatioswerecorrectedforinstrumentalfrac
tionationbyafactorof0.07%peramubasedon
more than 90 measurements of the SRM981
standardandusingthestandardvaluesofTodtet
al. (1996). External reproducibilities (2) of the
standard ratios are 0.05% for 206Pb/204Pb, 0.08%
for 207Pb/204Pb and 0.10% for 208Pb/204Pb. Stron
tiumwasloadedonsingleRefilamentswithaTa
oxide solution and measured at a pyrometer
controlled temperature of 1490 °C. 87Sr/86Sr val
ues were internally corrected for fractionation
using a 88Sr/86Sr value of 8.375209. Raw values
werefurthercorrectedforexternalfractionation
by a value of +0.03‰, determined by repeated
measurements of the SRM987 standard
(87Sr/86Sr=0.710250).Externalreproducibility(2)
of the SRM987 standard is 7 ppm. Neodymium
was loaded with 1 M HNO3 and measured with
the double filament technique. 143Nd/144Nd val
ues were internally corrected for fractionation
usinga 146Nd/144Ndvalueof0.7219andthe 144Sm
interferenceon144Ndwasmonitoredonthemass
147
Smandcorrectedusinga 144Sm/147Smvalueof
0.206700.Theexternalreproducibility(2)ofthe
JNdi1 standard (Tanaka et al. 2000) is 4 ppm.
PartoftheNdisotoperatiosweremeasuredona
sevencollectorFinniganMAT262thermalioniza
tionmassspectrometerwithextendedgeometry
andstigmaticfocusingusingdoubleRefilaments
where 143Nd/144Nd was measured in a semidy
namicmode(quadruplecollectors,measurement
jumpingmode).
Neodymium isotopic ratios were agecorrected
and recalculated to initial 143Nd/144Nd values us
ing appropriate age estimates (Tab. 1) and sam
ple compositions (Chapter 5). Strontium isotopic
ratios were not agecorrected because of signifi
cant alterationinduced modifications of whole
rock Rb contents rendering Rbbased 87Sr/86Sr
corrections to hypothetic initial values geologi
cally meaningless. Most samples are character
ized by Rb/Sr ratios of 0.1 or below, and age

Table 1: Whole rock 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb com-
positions of investigated magmatic centers in Ecuador
87 143 206 207 208
Sample Magmatic center Sr Nd Nd Ndin Pb Pb Pb age age
86 144 204 204 204
Sr Nd Pb Pb Pb [Ma] ref.*
Neogene intrusions
E06209 Apuela (Junin) 0.70365 0.51298 6.7 6.8 18.769 15.595 38.442 15 1
E06200 Apuela (Cuellaje) 0.70374 0.51295 6.0 6.1 18.754 15.565 38.394 13 2
E06202 Apuela (Cuellaje) 0.70379 0.51296 6.3 6.4 18.875 15.594 38.548 13 2
E05127 Junin 0.70376 0.51297 6.4 6.5 18.853 15.602 38.533 9 2
E06211 Junin 0.70378 0.51295 6.1 6.2 18.856 15.583 38.474 9 2
E07032 Junin 0.70377 0.51296 6.3 6.4 18.876 15.601 38.537 9 2
E06127 Balsapamba 0.70366 0.51293 5.6 5.8 18.863 15.592 38.510 22 2
E06136 Balsapamba 0.70368 0.51297 6.5 6.7 18.793 15.603 38.502 22 2
E06131a Balsapamba 0.70369 0.51296 6.3 6.5 18.692 15.583 38.358 21 2
E06132 Balsapamba 0.70369 0.51297 6.5 6.7 18.719 15.619 38.457 21 2
E06135 Balsapamba 0.70370 0.51294 6.0 6.1 18.716 15.587 38.361 21 2
E06138 Balsapamba 0.70371 0.51294 6.0 6.1 18.710 15.589 38.396 21 2
E07045 Telimbela 0.70366 0.51297 6.5 6.7 18.879 15.611 38.572 26 2
E06150 Telimbela 0.70371 0.51299 6.8 6.9 18.823 15.617 38.553 21 3
E06153 Telimbela 0.70372 0.51297 6.5 6.7 18.800 15.604 38.500 16 4
E05070 Gaby 0.70422 0.51290 5.1 5.2 18.900 15.587 38.570 20 2
E05078 Gaby 0.70421 0.51289 5.0 5.1 18.760 15.607 38.461 20 2
E05083b Gaby 0.70416 0.51292 5.5 5.7 18.679 15.598 38.436 20 2
E05088 Gaby 0.70440 0.51286 4.4 4.5 18.848 15.603 38.564 20 2
E05090 Gaby/Papa 0.70427 0.51288 4.7 4.9 19.043 15.634 38.706 20 2
Grande
E06049 Gaby 0.70420 0.51287 4.5 4.7 18.972 15.642 38.731 20 5
E06052 Gaby 0.70427 0.51289 5.0 5.0 18.889 15.600 38.578 20 5
E07002 Chaucha: Naran- 0.70441 0.51270 1.2 1.3 19.017 15.648 38.781 10 2
jos
E07005 Chaucha: Tunas 0.70445 0.51269 1.0 1.1 19.032 15.636 38.761 10 2
E07001 Chaucha: Naran- 0.70430 0.51275 2.2 2.3 18.968 15.617 38.667 15 5
jos
E07003 Chaucha: Tunas 0.70430 0.51276 2.4 2.5 19.054 15.677 38.885 15 2
E07008 Chaucha: Tunas 0.70434 0.51274 2.0 2.1 19.012 15.630 38.724 15 2
E06158 Chaucha: Gur-Gur 0.70464 n/a n/a n/a 19.012 15.642 38.764 15 5
E06071 Cangrejos 0.70646 0.51253 -2.2 -2.0 19.067 15.682 38.974 26 2
E05-M4 Cangrejos 0.70546 0.51265 0.2 0.4 19.033 15.660 38.894 26 2
E06069 Cangrejos 0.70541 0.51255 -1.7 -1.5 18.923 15.631 38.745 23 6
E06070 Cangrejos 0.70560 0.51253 -2.1 -1.8 19.055 15.646 38.889 23 6
E06090 Portovelo 0.70549 0.51261 -0.6 -0.4 18.955 15.661 38.823 24 5
E06112 Portovelo 0.70567 0.51263 -0.3 0.0 19.040 15.666 38.922 24 2
E06115 Portovelo 0.70588 0.51266 0.4 0.5 18.988 15.665 38.847 21 5
E06123 Portovelo 0.70474 0.51271 1.4 1.5 18.888 15.643 38.716 21 5
E07023 Zaruma 0.70482 0.51269 1.1 1.2 18.991 15.639 38.791 21 2
E07016 El Mozo 0.70478 0.51267 0.6 0.7 18.949 15.629 38.730 16 2
E07017 El Mozo 0.70488 0.51266 0.4 0.5 18.972 15.669 38.858 16 2
E07020 El Mozo 0.70461 0.51269 1.0 1.1 18.934 15.634 38.735 16 2

102

Table 1 (continued)
87 143 206 207 208
Sample Magmatic center Sr Nd Nd Ndin Pb Pb Pb age age
86 144 204 204 204
Sr Nd Pb Pb Pb [Ma] ref.*
Neogene volcanics
E05102 Quimsacocha 0.70455 0.51269 1.0 1.1 18.990 15.642 38.761 7 2
E06020 Quimsacocha 0.70457 0.51270 1.1 1.2 18.999 15.650 38.783 7 2
E05099 Quimsacocha 0.70440 0.51272 1.6 1.7 18.960 15.649 38.744 7 5
E06022 Quimsacocha 0.70430 0.51272 1.6 1.7 18.917 15.582 38.630 7 5
E06157 Saraguro at 0.70476 0.51275 2.1 2.2 n/a n/a n/a 25 7
Chaucha
E06166 Saraguro at 0.70707 0.51266 0.4 0.5 19.173 15.690 39.026 25 7
Chaucha
E06010 Saraguro at Cani- 0.70443 0.51274 1.9 2.2 n/a n/a n/a 20 7
capa
E06012 Saraguro at Cani- 0.70440 n/a n/a n/a 18.975 15.665 38.837 20 7
capa
E06082 Saraguro at Por- 0.70534 0.51261 -0.5 -0.4 18.990 15.667 38.871 25 7
tovelo
E07013 Tres Chorreras 0.70477 0.51274 2.1 2.3 19.038 15.664 38.858 31 2
Late Cretaceous intrusions
E07029 Curiplaya 0.70412 0.51279 2.9 3.6 18.848 15.665 38.744 92 2
E07027 Curiplaya 0.70450 0.51282 3.5 4.3 18.962 15.622 38.781 92 2
E07031 Curiplaya 0.70419 0.51287 4.5 5.1 18.890 15.640 38.680 92 2
E07028 Curiplaya 0.70420 0.51277 2.6 3.4 18.996 15.643 38.833 92 2
Host rocks
E05123 Macuchi (?) at 0.70371 0.51298 6.6 6.8 18.550 15.593 38.243 40 5
Junin
E06148 Macuchi at Balsa- 0.70402 0.51301 7.2 7.4 n/a n/a n/a 40 5
pamba
E06145 Macuchi at Balsa- 0.70535 0.51301 7.2 7.4 n/a n/a n/a 40 5
pamba
E06035 CCOP basalt 0.70367 0.51301 7.3 7.5 19.012 15.631 38.768 90 5
*Age references: 1 - MMAJ/JICA 1992; 2 - this study (Chapter 2); 3 - McCourt et al. 1997; 4 - MMAJ/JICA 1991; 5 - estimated
from field relationships and regional geology; 6 - this study (Chapter 3); 7 - Hungerbühler et al. (2002)


corrections using measured, alteration
influenced Rb contents typically affect the
87
Sr/86Sr ratio by ±0.0001or less; thismagnitude
is below the uncertainty range relevant to the
discussioninthisarticle,andnosignificantbiasof
our interpretations based on differences be
tween measured and initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios is ex
pected.
Results
Compiled Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic data allow the
distinction of three groups of Quaternary volca
noes (group 1: Ndinitial = 46, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7038
0.7044, 206Pb/204Pb < 19.03, 207Pb/204Pb < 15.60;
group2:Ndinitial=36, 87Sr/86Sr=0.70400.7043,
206
Pb/204Pb<19.14, 207Pb/204Pb<15.64;group3:
Ndinitial > 2, 87Sr/86Sr < 0.7049, 206Pb/204Pb <
19.08,207Pb/204Pb<15.70),followingasystematic
acrossarcdistributiontrendinnorthernEcuador
(Figs. 1, 2; Appendix Tab. A1). The range of iso
topiccompositionsdefinedbymultiplevolcanoes
in a given group is homogeneous for about 100
kmstrikelength,correspondingtothewholearc
segmentforwhichisotopicdataisavailable.
The least radiogenic SrPb and most radiogenic
Ndcompositionscommontoallthreegroupscor
respondtotheisotopiccompositionofthepetro
logically most primitive samples identified by
Chiaradia(2009)andChiaradiaetal.(2009)based
onisotopeandwholerockchemicalcorrelations,

 103
 

Figure 2: Diagrams of εNdinitial vs.  87Sr/86Sr (plus magnified area),  207Pb/204Pb vs.  206Pb/204Pb (plus magnified 

area),  87Sr/86Sr vs.  206Pb/204Pb, εNdinitial vs.  206Pb/204Pb, and  208Pb/204Pb vs.  206Pb/204Pb isotopic compositions 
of Late Tertiary (except for Curiplaya) samples analyzed in this study, and isotopic fields for potential crustal
assimilants and NVZ magmas. Orange X marks the isotopic composition of the most primitive melts identi‐
fied by Chiaradia (2009) and Chiaradia et al. (2009), and serves as a proxy for parental melt isotopic compo‐
sitions of Late Tertiary‐Quaternary arc magmas derived from an isotopically broadly homogeneous mantle
wedge.  Individual  Quaternary  arc  volcanoes  (see  Fig.  1  for  references)  span  a  relatively  narrow  field  in  Sr
isotopes, and show increased isotopic diversity in Nd and Pb isotopes reflecting an oceanic plateau compo‐
nent as main assimilant for volcanic edifices situated west of the Peltetec fault.

104  
suggesting that all magmas originated in an iso
topically homogeneous mantle wedge. The iso
topicarraysdefiningthethreegroupsarecharac
terizedbyvariableincreasesinradiogenicSrand
Pb,andnonradiogenicNdcomponentsfrommi
nor (frontal arc, close to the CPPF) to slightly
higher(mainarc,westofthePF),andsignificant
(rear main arc, east of the PF); 143Nd/144Nd and
207
Pb/204Pb are the most powerful isotopic dis
criminatorsbetweenthethreegroups.Theseiso
topic distribution characteristics suggest that
mantlederivedarcmagmasacquiretheirdistinct
isotopic signatures either by variable degrees of
assimilation (or mixing with partial melts) of a
crustal component with constant isotopic com
position, by assimilation (or mixing with partial
melts) of crust of different isotopic composition,
oracombinationofboth.WhileQuaternaryvol
canoessituatedtothewestofthePFcompletely
overlap with the range of isotopic compositions
of the Macuchi Unit (Eocene islandarc; Fig. 2),
volcanoes east of the fault are characterized by
significantlymorecontinentalcrustlikeSrNdPb
isotopiccompositions.
Tertiary samples measured in this study (Tab. 1)
define homogenous groups in uranogenic and
thorogenic Pb isotope and combined SrNdPb
isotope plots for given intrusive suites (Fig. 2).
LateTertiarygranitoidsoftheWesternCordillera
foothills (ApuelaJunin, BalsapambaTelimbela)
aresignificantlylessradiogenicinSrandPb,and
moreradiogenicinNdisotopiccompositionsthan
the most primitive Quaternary NVZ samples
(Ndinitial>5,87Sr/86Sr<0.7038,206Pb/204Pb<18.9,
207
Pb/204Pb < 15.62); they isotopically overlap
with the most primitive Macuchi and Rio Cala
units (their immediate host rocks), and parts of
the CCOP (the regional basement unit at depth;
Fig. 2). Given the low thickness of the Macuchi
Unit(<2.5km;Kerretal.2005)granitoidparental
melts likely assimilated primitive CCOP material
whiletheyweredifferentiatingatdepth.Inaddi
tion, their very limited isotopic variability is con
sistent with assimilation of older (Macuchi?) arc
intrusiverootswithasimilarisotopiccomposition
(Dungan&Davidson2004).UnlikeRioCalamelts
(Chiaradia2009),granitoidparentalmeltsdidnot
interact with seawateraltered CCOP lithologies
characterized by high radiogenic Sr values. Fur
ther south, the CCOP basalthosted Gaby intru
sivecentershowsslightlymoreradiogenicSrand
Pb,andlessradiogenicNdisotopiccompositions
than Western Cordillera granitoids to the north,
and overlaps completely with isotopic composi
tionsofNVZfrontalarcvolcanoes.
LateTertiaryintrusionsandvolcanicrocksofthe
southern Ecuadorian Sierra are characterized by
variably higher radiogenic Sr and Pb, and lower
radiogenic Nd isotopic compositions than West
ernCordilleragranitoids.Theypartlyoverlapwith
theisotopiccompositionsoftheCretaceousTan
gulabatholithandanumberofminorPaleogene
intrusions in southern Ecuador, as well as with
rearmainarcNVZmagmaseastofthePF(group
3 above); they consistently plot between poten
tialassimilantendmemberisotopiccompositions
(CCOP and Eastern Cordillera or Amotape base
ment; Fig. 2). Several granitoids and volcanics in
southernEcuadorcompletelyoverlapisotopically
withtheisotopiccompositionsofmainarcvolca
noes west of the PF in northern Ecuador. This
includes the Midto Late Miocene Chaucha ba
tholith,MidMioceneSaraguroGroupvolcanicsat
Cañicapa, and the Late Miocene Quimsacocha
volcanic center. The El Mozo intrusions, situated
atthelimitbetweentheLojaandAlaoterranesof
Litherlandetal.(1994),andSaraguroGroupvol
canics at Tres Chorreras overlap with this group
inNdandPbisotopiccompositions,butarechar
acterizedbyaslightlymoreradiogenicSrcompo
sition,althoughtheyarestillmoreprimitivethan
the bulk Earth (Fig. 2). A significant contribution
of Loja (highly radiogenic Sr and Pb) or Alao

Figure2(captioncontinuedfrompreviouspage):Quaternaryvolcanoesdefinedistinctisotopicgroupsasdefinedin
Fig.1;LateTertiaryintrusionsandvolcanicsofthesouthernEcuadorianSierraregionpartlyoverlapwiththesecom
positionalgroupssuggestingassimilationofsimilarbasementunits.Isotopicreferencefieldsasfollows:CCOP(Mam
bertietal.2003;onlyWesternCordilleraoutcropsconsidered);RioCalaandMacuchi(Chiaradia2009);RaspasCom
plex(Boschetal.2002);WesternCordillerashallowbasement(micaschistofAmortegui2007;singlePichinchaxeno
lithofChiaradiaetal.2009);WesternCordilleraamphibolites/granulites(amphibolitesofAmortegui2007;Pichincha
granulitexenolithsofChiaradiaetal.2009);Amotape,Loja,Alao(Pb;Chiaradiaetal.2004a);Alao,Loja,Cretaceous
Paleogeneintrusions(Sr,Pb;Chiaradiaetal.2004b).ErrorbarsforPbisotopes(±2)showninlowerrightcorner;Sr
andNdisotopeerrorbarsarebelowsymbolsize.

 105
(highly radiogenic Pb) basement units is thus
unlikely for parental melts of the El Mozo intru
sions. Rather, along with other southern Sierra
intrusions and volcanics, they define an isotopi
cally homogeneous group suggesting that their
parentalmeltsevolvedbyassimilationprocesses
ofsimilarcrustalbasementunits.
Theregional distributionofIADandsouthernSi
erra basement units is relatively, but not com
pletelyisotopicallyhomogenous,asevidencedby
a Saraguro Group tuff collected in the Chaucha
area,whichshowsthemostradiogenicSrandPb
isotopic compositions of the whole dataset. The
latter notion is in agreement with the surface
exposure of several metamorphic inliers around
ChauchawhichmightrepresentAmotape(ElOro)
basementfragments(Litherlandetal.1994;Pratt
et al. 1997) implying that a definite northern
Amotape basement border cannot be accurately
drawn and rather corresponds to a northwards
extendingtectonizedzone(Spikingsetal.2005).
Further south, plutons of the CangrejosZaruma
intrusive belt compositionally extend towards
significantly more radiogenic Sr and Pb, and less
radiogenic Nd values (Ndinitial <1, 87Sr/86Sr
>0.7047, 206Pb/204Pb >18.9, 207Pb/204Pb >15.62)
suggesting they assimilated continental crust
dominated basement lithologies in the range of
theElOromassifsouthoftheJubonesfault.The
Late Cretaceous Curiplaya intrusive center,
hosted by the CelicaLancones basin in south
ernmost Ecuador, compositionally overlaps with
theCCOPhostedGabyintrusionsin 87Sr/86Srand
143
Nd/144Nd,butplotsathigherradiogenicPbiso
topicratios.
Discussion
Isotopiccompositionalchangesinthe
Ecuadorian mantle wedge along
strike, and from the Late Tertiary to
thepresentday
Differences or similarities in the isotopic compo
sition of Late Tertiary and Quaternary arc mag
masinEcuadorcanbeattributedtotheinfluence
ofcrustalbasementassimilationifthearcmagma
source,i.e.,themantlewedge,stayedisotopically
106
homogeneousatthistimescale.Thelatterseems
a plausible assumption if related discussions in
the Central Andes are taken into account. Sub
duction erosion is proposed to have influenced
the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic composition of the
Central Andean mantle wedgeimplyinga chang
ing source composition through time (Stern &
Skewes 2005). However, these isotopic changes
in source composition are shown to be mostly
negligible compared to crustal contamination
effects,suchthattheisotopiccompositionofthe
mantle wedge can be assumed as broadly con
stant during TertiaryQuaternary times (Mamani
etal.2010).
While the Ecuadorian margin has been partly
erosivesincetheLateMiocenecollisionwiththe
Carnegie Ridge seamount chain (e.g., Sage et al.
2006),therelativestabilityoftheEcuadorianarc
position during the Tertiary excludes significant
earlier subduction erosion (Chapter 2). Poten
tiallycontaminatingeffectsofsubductionerosion
ontheSr,Nd,andPbisotopiccompositionofthe
mantlewedgearethusexpectedtobeofamuch
lowermagnitudethaninpartsoftheCentralAn
des (Stern & Skewes 2005). This is confirmed by
studies of Eocene Macuchi arc magmatism
(Chiaradia 2009) and Quaternary arc volcanoes
(e.g., Chiaradia et al. 2009) which show that the
mantle wedge below Ecuador represents an iso
topicallybroadlyhomogeneousreservoir,slightly
enriched by a sedimentary component, and has
notchangedsystematicallyinitsisotopiccompo
sitionthroughouttheTertiary.Latitudinalmantle
wedgePbisotopicheterogeneityalongtheSouth
American margin only applies at a larger scale,
andTertiaryEcuadorianarcmagmasdefineasin
gle regression line in uranogenic and thorogenic
Pb diagrams (Chiaradia & Fontboté 2002). This
notion is supported by overlapping isotopic
ranges for specific groups of NVZ volcanoes in
northern Ecuador and Late Tertiary granitoids in
southernandcentralEcuadorasdescribedabove
(Fig.2).
We therefore argue that similarities or differ
encesintheisotopiccompositionofLateTertiary
arc magmas in the Western Cordillera and the
southern Ecuadorian Sierra, and Quaternary arc
volcanoesinnortherncentralEcuadoraremainly
caused by assimilation of specific crustal base
ment lithologies, additionally influenced by vari
ablecrustalthickness.Secondordermodulations
of isotopic ratios originating from variations in
source (mantle wedge) composition cannot be
ruledout,butarenotconsideredassignificantat
the isotopic scale relevant for the following dis
cussion.
The role of crustal thickness on iso
topic compositions of Tertiary
QuarternaryEcuadorianarcmagmas
Assimilation of oceanic plateau units may drive
TertiaryQuaternary arc magmas in Ecuador to
wardsmoreprimitiveSrandNdisotopiccompo
sitionsthantheirmantlewedgederivedparental
melts (Chiaradia 2009); assimilation of (partly)
continental Eastern Cordillera basement may
have the reverse effect, producing complex iso
topic patterns of crustmagma interaction (Chia
radia et al. 2009). A thick crust maximizes the
likelihood of crustal contamination of arc mag
mas (e.g., Hildreth & Moorbath 1988; Annen et
al.2006).However,inaverticallyheterogeneous
crustal column bulk crustal thickness does not
directlyscalewithaspecificcontaminationsignal.
Rather, the relative thickness of crustal material
of contrasting isotopic composition (here: oce
anicplateauvs.EasternCordillerabasement)and
tectonomagmaticcontrolsonthedepthofcrustal
magma evolution in a given crustal column con
stitute the dominant control factors for the final
isotopic composition of TertiaryQuaternary Ec
uadorianarcmagmas.
AtwhatcrustalleveldidLateTertiary
and Quaternary arc magmas acquire
theirisotopiccharacteristics?
Bulk crustal contamination of evolving arc mag
mas by assimilation of crustal lithologies or mix
ingwithcrustalpartialmeltsprincipallyoccursin
hot zones at lower to midcrustal levels; shallow
crustalmagmaevolutiondoesnotinvolvesignifi
cant compositional modification of arc magmas
by crustal contamination (or, more general, as
similation and fractional crystallization; AFC)
unless large, suprasolidus magmatic systems
formwhichneedtobesustainedbyhighmagma
supply rates (Annen et al. 2006). Potential shal
low crustal assimilants may be of significantly
moreradiogenicisotopiccompositionsthandeep
to midcrustal lithologies, and thus may leave a
distinct isotopic fingerprint on arc magmas (Hil
dreth & Moorbath 1988; Dungan & Davidson
2004).Consequently,discriminatingbetweenthe
upper and lower crustal contributions to whole
rock isotopic compositions of arc magmas is of
majorimportancetodelineatethedeepthrough
shallowcrustalbasementarchitecture.
Petrologic studies (e.g., Chiaradia et al. 2009)
demonstrate that Quaternary NVZ magmas in
northern Ecuador mostly evolved in the stability
fields of garnet and amphibole, and outside the
stabilityfieldofplagioclase,suggestingthatthese
magmas dominantly acquired their crustal iso
topic signatures through polybaric evolution at
lower to midcrustal levels, although minor peri
odsofsubsequentshallowcrustalmagmaevolu
tiondooccurforsomevolcaniccenters.LateTer
tiary arc magmas evolved in an overall thinner
crustthanpresentdayarcmagmas(Jaillardetal.
2005) and form two distinct groups (Chapter 5):
thedominantgroupcomprisesmostgranitoidsof
the Western Cordillera (Apuela, Junin, Balsa
pamba, Telimbela, Gaby, Chaucha), as well as
volcanicformations(SaraguroGroupatCañicapa
and Tres Chorreras; Quimsacocha) in the south
erncentral Ecuadorian Sierra. REE patterns of
thisgroupcommonlylacknegativeEuanomalies
indicating that the parental magmas of these in
trusionsand volcanicsdidnotfractionatesignifi
cant amounts of plagioclase at shallow crustal
levels (e.g., at <0.4 GPa, corresponding to the
maximum pressure where plagioclase precedes
amphiboleontheliquidusforwaterrichbasaltic
andesiticmelts;Groveetal.2003).Rather,paren
tal melts to these intrusions and volcanics seem
to have evolved at deep to midcrustal levels
without major compositional overprinting by
shallow crustal magma evolution (Chapter 5). A
second group comprises some intrusions of the
CangrejosZaruma intrusive belt, the bulk of the
Saraguro Group (here: at Portovelo and
Chaucha), as well as some minor intrusions at El
Mozo. REE patterns of this group are usually
characterized by minormoderate negative Eu
anomalies suggesting that these intrusions and
volcanics derive from parental magmas which
underwentsignificantplagioclasefractionationat

 107
shallow  crustal  levels  (Chapter  5).  Late  Tertiary  does not directly scale with the absolute depth of 
arc  magmas  thus  variably  acquired  their  crustal  magma  evolution,  as  it  can  also  be  affected  by 
isotopic  signatures  at  deep,  mid‐,  and  shallow  pressure‐insensitive  accessory  phase  fractiona‐
crustal levels.  tion  (Chapter  5).  Figure  3  shows  the  Sr,  Nd,  and 
Pb isotopic compositions of NVZ volcanic centers 
Shallow vs. deep to mid‐crustal magma evolution 
and  Late  Tertiary  samples  as  a  function  of  Sr/Y 
can  be  qualitatively  discriminated  using  the  Sr/Y 
ratios, and Sr isotopic compositions as a function 
ratio (e.g., Bachmann et al. 2005); in our dataset, 
of  SiO2  (SiO2,  Sr,  and  Y  concentrations  for  Late 
Sr/Y  ratios  >30  indicate  the  absence  of  pro‐
Tertiary  samples  from  Chapter  5).  Individual 
nounced shallow crustal magma evolution in Late 
groups  of  Quaternary  arc  volcanoes  identified  in 
Tertiary Ecuadorian arc magmas (Chapter 5). It is 
the  previous  section  mostly  define  subparallel 
important  to  note,  however,  that  the  Sr/Y  ratio 
 

Figure  3:  Diagrams  of  87Sr/86Sr,  εNdinitial,  206Pb/204Pb,  and  207Pb/204Pb  vs.  Sr/Y,  and  87Sr/86Sr  vs.  SiO2.  The  Sr/Y  ratio 
serves as a proxy for shallow crustal vs. mid‐ to deep crustal (>30) magma evolution. Arc magmas color‐coded ac‐
cording to the isotopic classification scheme of Figs. 1 and 2, except for southern Ecuadorian Sierra units which are 
uniformly shown in black. The various groups define broad subparallel isotopic arrays at Sr/Y >30 suggesting that 
specific groups of arc magmas undergo AFC (assimilation and fractional crystallization) ± mixing processes at deep to 
mid‐crustal levels involving variable proportions of different basement units. In addition, Late Tertiary arc magmas 
of the Cangrejos‐Zaruma intrusive belt undergo significant shallow crustal AFC processes and assimilate crustal ma‐
terial  characterized  by  more  radiogenic  Sr  and  less  radiogenic  Nd  isotopic  compositions  than  deep  to  mid‐crustal 
basement units. Distinct crustal AFC trends exist in a  87Sr/86Sr vs. SiO2  plot, in agreement with the notions above. 
Sr/Y and SiO2 data from Chapter 5 (Tertiary magmas), and references given in Fig. 1 (NVZ). See text for discussion.

108  
isotopicarraysforSr/Yratios>30(thedistinction
betweengroups1and2issomewhatambiguous:
whilemostlyoverlappingin 87Sr/86SrandNdinitial,
they systematically differ in 207Pb/204Pb vs. Sr/Y
plots,butthelatterdifferenceisclosetotheana
lytical resolution). Parental melts to these arc
volcanics thus variably assimilated deep to mid
crustal basement lithologies of distinct isotopic
compositions.Magmadifferentiationbyassimila
tion of different crustal lithologies is further
demonstrated by an 87Sr/86Sr vs. SiO2 plot show
ingdistinctcrustalAFCtrendsforvariousisotopic
groups(Fig.3).
Asnotedabove,Quaternaryarcvolcanoesmerge
atacommonisotopiccomposition(Fig.2)corre
spondingtothemostprimitivemagmacomposi
tions.ThisisnotdirectlyvisiblefromFigure3be
cause the Sr/Y ratio of mantlederived primitive
melts may show a higher variability both across
and along the arc, e.g., due to variable amounts
of mantle wedge fluxing by slabderived fluids,
and different degrees of partial melting (Chiara
diaetal.2009).
Western Cordillera granitoids define a further
isotopic subgroup at Sr/Y ratios >30; as noted
above, these magmas acquire their crustal iso
topicsignaturesbyassimilationofprimitiveCCOP
units at depth. Late Tertiary intrusions and vol
canics of southern Ecuador overlap with the iso
topic range defined by arc volcanoes east of the
PF (group 3) at Sr/Y ratios >30, but show more
radiogenicSrandlessradiogenicNdratiosatSr/Y
<30(Fig.3).Consequently,weinferthattheiso
topic characteristics of Late Tertiary magmas in
southern Ecuador partly reflect deep to mid
crustal assimilation of basement units similar to
arcvolcanoeseastofthePFinnorthernEcuador,
buttheymayadditionallyacquiredistinctisotopic
signaturesbyfurthershallowcrustalmagmaevo
lution.Notethattheisotopiccompositionofthe
ElMozointrusionsisratherprimitive(Fig.2)sug
gesting that, despite showing minor negative Eu
anomalies, isotopic contamination of El Mozo
parental magmas by upper crust material was
limited such that their lower to midcrustal iso
topicsignatureswerepreserved.
 109
Tectonic implications of SrNdPb iso
topicsystematicsinLate Tertiaryand
Quaternaryarcmagmas
The isotopic similarities between Quaternary
northernEcuadorianvolcaniccenterseastofthe
PF and Late Tertiary southern Ecuadorian intru
sionsandvolcanicsatSr/Y>30(Figs.13)suggest
that the isotopic compositions of lower to mid
crustalIADbasementunitsnorthandeastofthe
Jubones fault (Fig. 1) are broadly homogeneous
inalongarcdimension.Incontrast,isotopicdata
for the CangrejosZaruma intrusive belt record
bothshallowanddeeptomidcrustalassimilation
ofcontinentalcrustdominatedbasementlitholo
gies (high radiogenic Sr and low radiogenic Nd);
thelatterdatasupportthenotionthatthenorth
ernlimitofdeepcrustalbasementunitsoftheEl
Oro microcontinental block is bracketed be
tween the PiñasPortovelo and Jubones faults as
significantlymoreprimitiveisotopiccompositions
occuronlynorthoftheJubonesfault.
Isotopic compositions show a systematic across
arcdistributioninnorthernEcuador.Intheframe
of a basement architecture characterized by jux
taposed oceanic and continental basement do
mains (as applicable for Ecuador; e.g., Jaillard et
al. 2005) of strongly contrasting isotopic compo
sitions(comparereferencefieldsinFig.2),more
radiogenic Sr and less radiogenic Nd isotopic
compositionsofarcmagmasaremainlyindicative
of increasing continental signatures imposed on
evolvingmagmasbyahigherproportionofconti
nentalversusoceanicbasementassimilationina
given crustal column. The role of Pb isotopes is
moredifficulttodefineasoceanicplateaumate
rialinEcuadorischaracterizedbyawiderangein
206
Pb/204Pb (Fig. 2) such that the latter isotopic
ratio cannot discriminate oceanic vs. continental
material on a regional scale; more radiogenic
207
Pb/204Pbcompositions,ontheotherhand,are
indicative of a stronger continental basement
signature, but isotopic variations are of such a
small scale that they approach the analytical
resolutionlimit(Fig.2).
Figure 4 illustrates a schematic cross section of
the Ecuadorian arc at c. 0.5°S based on seismic
studies (Guillier et al. 2001; Jaillard et al. 2005).
Eastward underthrusting of highdensity oceanic
plateau material below the IAD results in east
ward thickening of the proportion of Eastern
Cordillera basement (simplified here as a single
unit) relative to oceanic plateau material in a
givencrustalcolumn.Consequently,thepotential
roleofCordilleraRealbasementasanassimilant
forNVZmagmasevolvinginlowertomidcrustal
hotzonesprogressivelyincreaseseastwards.This
regionalunderthrustingofoceanicplateaumate
rial below the IAD is mirrored by acrossarc
trendsinSr,Nd,andPbisotopiccompositionsof
NVZ arc volcanoes which get progressively more
continentalincharactertowardstheeast(Figs.1,
4). Initial magma differentiation in a hot zone at
thebaseofthecrust(orintheuppermostlitho
spheric mantle) would mostly include oceanic
plateau material, whereas subsequent mid
crustal magma processing should progressively
involve increasing amounts of Eastern Cordillera
basementunits.Incontrast,parentalmagmasto
Western Cordillera granitoids were entirely con
finedtooceanicplateaumaterial(orarcintrusive
root zones) during their crustal transit such that
arc magmas evolve towards less radiogenic Sr
and more radiogenic Nd isotopic compositions
(compareFig.2). Tertiary andNVZisotopiccom
positions in northern Ecuador, therefore, are
consistent with the crustal structure inferred
from seismic studies involving regional under
thrusting of oceanic plateau material below the
paleocontinentalmargin(Guillieretal.2001).
In addition to considering the differing isotopic
characteristics of main arc volcanoes east and
west of the Peltetec fault zone purely as a func
tion of a transitional change of deep to mid
crustal, continental versus oceanic basement
units, the presence of different continental (Li
therland et al. 1994) or oceanic terrane units
(such as a second, preLate Cretaceous oceanic
plateau fragment; e.g., Mamberti et al. 2003)
might further influence the isotopic signature of
arc magmas produced at these volcanoes, al
thoughthegeometryoftheirdeeptomidcrustal
extensions cannot be predicted with the current
dataset.
Ecuadorian frontal arc volcanoes such as Pichin
cha are characterized by the presence of crustal
xenolithswhosehighgrade(granulite)metamor
phiccharacterimpliesamidtolowercrustalori
gin (Chiaradia et al. 2009). Most xenoliths are
characterized by low radiogenic Sr and high ra
110
diogenic Nd isotopic compositions overlapping
withbasementunitscroppingoutintheWestern
Cordillera (amphibolites of Amortegui 2007; Fig.
2). A single Pichincha xenolith detected by
Chiaradia et al. (2009) has an isotopic composi
tion resembling shallow crustal metapelites of
theWesternCordillera(“WesternCordillerashal
lowbasement”inFig.2;Amortegui2007).Incor
poration of this type of xenolith into Pichincha
meltsmightthushaveoccurredatshallowcrustal
levels. Alternatively, if this xenolith type repre
sents a deep to midcrustal lithology, its occur
rence might be reconciled with the generalized
model presented in Figure 4 if nonvertical
magma ascent along transcrustal fault systems
suchastheCPPFistakenintoaccount.Structur
ally controlled melt ascent including significant
nonvertical components has been documented
elsewhere, e.g., by pluton emplacement along
faultrampsintheSevierfoldandthrustbelt(Ka
lakayetal.2001).
Highresolution seismic data imaging crustal
structuresarenotavailableinsouthernEcuador,
butafundamentalchangeinbasementarchitec
ture is implied by a major change in structural
trendsfromNS(centralnorthernEcuador)toE
W (El Oro massif south of the Jubones fault in
southern Ecuador; Fig. 1), and is further clearly
visible in the isotopic compositions of granitoids
of the CangrejosZaruma intrusive belt (see
above).Inthisarea,thewesternsurfacetraceof
the oceanic plateaubounding suture zone (the
CPPF)splays offandintersectsthe WesternCor
dillera towards the Gulf of Guayaquil. Instead of
displaying a transition in isotopic compositions
across the arc as in northern Ecuador, there
seemstobearathersharpchangeinSr,Nd,and
Pb isotopic compositions from the west (Gaby
intrusions) to the east (Quimsacocha volcano,
Chaucha intrusions, Saraguro volcanics) of the
CPPF. This might suggest that, concomitant with
its change in strike direction, the mid to deep
crustal structure of the suture zone possibly
changes from 35° Edipping in northerncentral
Ecuador towards a more subvertical orientation
in southern Ecuador. An alternative interpreta
tion of the relatively sharp isotopic contrast
acrosstheCPPFinsouthernEcuadormightbethe
absence of an additional terrane unit equivalent
to  the  NVZ  basement  west  of  the  Peltetec  fault 
zone as discussed above. 
Based  on  gravimetric  data,  Feininger  &  Seguin 
(1983)  modeled  crustal  thickness  profiles  in  Ec‐
uador  using  a  strictly  vertical  dip  for  the  CPPF 
(their “Romeral” fault), and confined oceanic pla‐
teau  material  to  the  west  of  the  CPPF.  Conse‐
quently,  these  authors  identified  the  absence  of 
the IAD in southern Ecuador (with its low‐density 
volcaniclastic  infill)  as  a  major  influence  on  the 
gravimetric anomaly pattern, and suggested that 
the  crustal  thickness  in  southern  Ecuador  might 
exceed the thickness in northern Ecuador. When 
taking  into  account  a  more  realistic  35°  E  dip  of 
the  CPPF  in  northern  Ecuador  implying  regional 
underthrusting  of  high‐density  oceanic  plateau 
material, highly negative gravity anomalies (down 
to  ‐292  mgal)  in  the  Andean  region  east  of  the 
CPPF  might  necessitate  an  even  thicker  crustal 
root in northern Ecuador, making it unlikely that 
the  crustal thickness of southern  Ecuador gener‐
ally exceeds northern Ecuador (50‐70 km; Guillier 
et  al.  2001).  Rather,  the  crustal  thickness  of  the 
main Andean root in southern Ecuador might be 
similar to or slightly thinner than in northern Ec‐
uador,  in  agreement  with  data  from  northern 
Peru  where  a  maximum  crustal  thickness  of  45 
km below the Western Cordillera is inferred (Fu‐
kao et al. 1989). 

Figure  4:  Schematic  crustal  cross  section  of  northern 

Ecuador,  and  87Sr/86Sr,  εNdinitial,  206Pb/204Pb,  and
207
Pb/204Pb  across‐arc  distribution  trends  for  NVZ  vol‐
canoes,  the  Apuela  batholith  and  the  Junin  porphyry 
intrusions  between  1°S  to  0.5°N,  orthogonally  pro‐
jected  onto  the  cross  section  shown  in  Fig.  1;  same
symbol  key  as  in  Fig.  3.  Crustal  section  simplified  and 
modified  from  Jaillard  et  al.  (2005)  sketching  under‐
thrusting of oceanic plateau units (v pattern) below the
paleo‐continental margin (gray). For simplicity, Eastern
Cordillera basement is visualized  here as a  single unit,
 but  in  detail  consists  of  multiple  meta‐sedimentary  and  meta‐igneous  units  possibly  representing  different  ter‐
ranes of both oceanic and continental affinity (Litherland et al. 1994). Orange bars indicate deep to mid‐crustal hot 
zones where major magma evolution occurs (Fig. 3; Annen et al. 2006), progressively including a higher component 
of Eastern Cordillera basement towards the east, and most clearly reflected by decreasing εNdinitial, and increasing 
207
Pb/204Pb across the arc. Note that transcrustal magma ascent might partly be focused along non‐vertical struc‐
tures such as the Chimbo‐Toachi shear zone (CTSZ) and the Calacali‐Pujili‐Pallatanga fault (CPPF), and, possibly, the 
Peltetec fault (PF), allowing incorporation of crustal xenoliths of continental crust affinity into frontal arc (Pichin‐
cha) magmas. Section not vertically exaggerated. 

  111
Conclusions
Late TertiaryQuaternary arc magmas in Ecuador
derivefromanisotopicallybroadlyhomogeneous
mantle wedge, and acquire variable deep, mid,
andshallowcrustalSr,Nd,andPbisotopicsigna
tures during subsequent magma evolution
stages. These isotopic imprints provide insights
into the crustal basement architecture of Ecua
dor’sWesternCordillera,theIAD,andthesouth
ernEcuadorianSierraregion.
The Ecuadorian crust in the investigated areas
seems to be vertically heterogeneous where the
relative thickness of crustal material of contrast
ing isotopic composition (oceanic plateau vs.
Eastern Cordillera basement) and tectonomag
matic controls on the depth of crustal magma
evolutioninagivencrustalcolumnconstitutethe
dominantcontrolfactorsfortheisotopiccompo
sition of Ecuadorian arc magmatic products.
Eastern Cordillera basement) and tectonomag
matic controls on the depth of crustal magma
evolutioninagivencrustalcolumnconstitutethe
dominantcontrolfactorsfortheisotopiccompo
sition of Ecuadorian arc magmatic products.
Crustal imprints on arc magmas are mostly rela
tively primitive in Sr and Nd, and highly variable
inPb,anddefinearegionallysystematicdistribu
tionpattern,consistentwiththenotionoflarge
scale underthrusting of allochthonous oceanic
plateau material below the paleocontinental
margin of northerncentral Ecuador as inferred
from seismic studies (Guillier et al. 2001). With
increasing distance from the trench, Late Terti
aryQuaternary arc magmas evolve towards pro
gressively more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and
207
Pb/204Pb,andlessradiogenic 143Nd/144Ndcom
positionsatdeeptomidcrustallevels.
Late Tertiary arc magmas of the southern Ecua
dorian Sierra east of the CPPF overlap with iso
topic compositions of Quaternary arc volcanoes
east of the PF in northern Ecuador suggesting
alongstrike continuity of similar deep to mid
crustal basement units. Similarly, frontal arc vol
canoes in northern Ecuador isotopically overlap
withthecompositionoftheGabyintrusivecenter
in southern Ecuador west of the Bulubulu fault
system(aneasternsplayfaultoftheCPPF).
112
GranitoidsoftheCangrejosZarumaintrusivebelt
in southern Ecuador are characterized by highly
radiogenicSrandPb,andlowradiogenicNdiso
topic compositions, which have no equivalent in
centralnorthern Ecuadorian arc magmas. Their
isotopic compositions relate to the mostly shal
low crustal assimilation of basement units form
ing part of the El Oro block of continental crust
affinity,whoseconcealednorthernlimitseemsto
be bracketed between the PiñasPortovelo and
Jubonesfaults.
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Appendix:Datatables

TableA1:Wholerock 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb,and 208Pb/204PbcompositionsofNorth
ernVolcanicZonevolcanoes

 115

87 86 143 144 206 204 207 204 208 204
Table A1: Whole rock Sr/ Sr, Nd/ Nd, Pb/ Pb, Pb/ Pb, and Pb/ Pb compositions of
Northern Volcanic Zone volcanoes
87 143 206 207 208
Sample Magmatic Sr Nd Nd Pb Pb Pb latitude ref*
86 144 204 204 204
center Sr Nd Pb Pb Pb (projected)

Frontal arc
E05001 Pululagua 0.70420 0.51286 4.4 18.889 15.587 38.552 78.60 1
E05003 Pululagua 0.70416 0.51289 4.8 18.868 15.596 38.565 78.60 1
E05007 Pululagua 0.70417 0.51290 5.0 18.906 15.604 38.619 78.60 1
E05008 Pululagua 0.70415 0.51293 5.7 18.912 15.587 38.566 78.60 1
E05042 Pululagua 0.70412 0.51291 5.4 18.933 15.609 38.645 78.60 1
Pul-9 Pululagua 0.70412 0.51291 5.4 18.934 15.605 38.610 78.60 2
Pul-11 Pululagua 0.70414 0.51292 5.5 18.893 15.606 38.562 78.60 2
Pul-4 Pululagua 0.70414 0.51295 6.2 18.921 15.595 38.572 78.60 2
Pul-7 Pululagua 0.70414 0.51289 5.1 18.921 15.596 38.572 78.60 2
E05016 Pichincha 0.70408 0.51287 4.6 18.957 15.575 38.690 78.60 1
E05017 Pichincha 0.70399 0.51286 4.4 19.018 15.589 38.728 78.60 1
E05018 Pichincha 0.70410 0.51287 4.5 18.884 15.596 38.578 78.60 1
E05130 Pichincha 0.70409 0.51293 5.8 18.927 15.596 38.638 78.60 1
E05131 Pichincha 0.70407 0.51286 4.3 18.934 15.597 38.631 78.60 1
E05010 Pichincha 0.70404 0.51290 5.2 19.017 15.593 38.780 78.60 1
E05012 Pichincha 0.70400 0.51289 4.9 18.957 15.575 38.690 78.60 1
E05013 Pichincha 0.70401 0.51287 4.5 18.999 15.577 38.738 78.60 1
E05014 Pichincha 0.70404 0.51292 5.5 18.945 15.589 38.654 78.60 1
E05015 Pichincha 0.70410 0.51289 4.9 18.933 15.582 38.630 78.60 1
PICH 4C Pichincha 0.70404 0.51288 4.7 19.001 15.591 38.723 78.60 3
PICH 9C Pichincha 0.70407 0.51288 4.8 18.984 15.577 38.670 78.60 3
PICH 10 Pichincha 0.70406 0.51289 5.0 19.000 15.584 38.708 78.60 3
Gp-1 Pichincha 0.70395 0.51289 4.9 18.958 15.597 38.698 78.60 2
Ql-12 Quilotoa 0.70403 0.51286 4.4 18.985 15.644 38.750 78.65 2
ATAC 2C Atacazo 0.70420 0.51289 5.0 18.878 15.589 38.521 78.55 3
ATAC 8 Atacazo 0.70422 0.51286 4.4 18.962 15.601 38.627 78.55 3
ATAC 12B Atacazo 0.70434 0.51286 4.4 18.967 15.600 38.604 78.55 3
AT01 Atacazo 0.70419 0.51285 4.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.55 4
8557 At Atacazo 0.70430 0.51289 4.9 n/a n/a n/a 78.55 4
At-02 Atacazo 0.70408 0.51289 5.0 18.933 15.602 38.619 78.55 2
957 g Atacazo 0.70430 0.51288 4.7 n/a n/a n/a 78.55 2
Frontal arc basement xenoliths
E05008a Pululagua 0.70415 0.51289 4.9 18.862 15.552 38.473 78.60 1
E05130a Pichincha 0.70392 0.51288 4.8 18.861 15.588 38.587 78.60 1
E05011 Pichincha 0.70686 0.51260 -0.7 18.607 15.651 38.548 78.60 1
E05015a Pichincha 0.70401 0.51290 5.1 18.945 15.611 38.699 78.60 1
Main arc (west of Peltetec fault)
Imb-1 Imbabura 0.70408 0.51290 5.2 19.098 15.600 38.770 78.40 2
Imb-3 Imbabura 0.70408 0.51291 5.3 19.099 15.606 38.786 78.40 2
Imb-11 Imbabura 0.70407 0.51293 5.7 19.072 15.611 38.766 78.40 2
Imb-26 Imbabura 0.70412 0.51288 4.7 18.921 15.607 38.614 78.40 2
Imb-28 Imbabura 0.70406 0.51292 5.5 18.953 15.616 38.657 78.40 2
Imb-29 Imbabura 0.70411 0.51289 5.0 18.974 15.629 38.717 78.40 2
Imb-30 Imbabura 0.70420 0.51282 3.7 18.913 15.622 38.677 78.40 2
Imb-36 Imbabura 0.70402 0.51291 5.3 19.123 15.617 38.833 78.40 2

116

Table A1 (continued)
87 143 206 207 208
Sample Magmatic Sr Nd Nd Pb Pb Pb latitude ref*
86 144 204 204 204
center Sr Nd Pb Pb Pb (projected)

Imb-38 Imbabura 0.70425 0.51282 3.6 18.900 15.630 38.712 78.40 2

Imb-45 Imbabura 0.70402 0.51290 5.1 19.073 15.618 38.784 78.40 2
E05132 Ilalo 0.70414 0.51282 3.5 18.951 15.612 38.695 78.40 1
E05133 Ilalo 0.70409 0.51296 6.2 18.955 15.621 38.717 78.40 1
E05134 Ilalo 0.70405 0.51285 4.0 18.940 15.606 38.647 78.40 1
E05046 Ilalo 0.70406 0.51284 3.9 18.940 15.607 38.652 78.40 1
Il-2 Ilalo 0.70406 0.51286 4.4 n/a n/a n/a 78.40 2
Cx-9 Cotopaxi 0.70414 0.51282 3.7 18.963 15.631 38.710 78.30 2
Cx-10 Cotopaxi 0.70419 0.51284 4.0 18.951 15.637 38.716 78.30 2
Main arc (east of Peltetec fault)
CAY56 Cayambe 0.70431 0.51274 2.0 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY55B Cayambe 0.70441 0.51274 2.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY106B Cayambe 0.70442 0.51264 0.0 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY107 Cayambe 0.70442 0.51272 1.6 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY31 Cayambe 0.70446 0.51273 1.7 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY80A Cayambe 0.70451 0.51271 1.3 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY78A Cayambe 0.70454 0.51262 -0.4 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY168D Cayambe 0.70434 0.51280 3.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY98 Cayambe 0.70432 0.51280 3.2 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY8 Cayambe 0.70432 0.51277 2.5 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY179A Cayambe 0.70445 0.51268 0.9 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY39 Cayambe 0.70439 0.51276 2.3 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY87 Cayambe 0.70443 0.51274 2.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY44A Cayambe 0.70437 0.51281 3.3 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY46B Cayambe 0.70442 0.51277 2.6 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
CAY45C Cayambe 0.70408 0.51270 1.3 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 5
ANT 54 Antisana 0.70454 0.51273 1.8 18.895 15.637 38.711 78.20 3
ANT 26 Antisana 0.70441 0.51274 2.0 18.886 15.654 38.758 78.20 3
ANT 29C Antisana 0.70449 0.51275 2.2 18.974 15.691 38.914 78.20 3
ANT8 Antisana 0.70424 0.51276 2.4 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT10 Antisana 0.70440 0.51273 1.8 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT14C Antisana 0.70440 0.51274 1.9 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT28 Antisana 0.70439 0.51275 2.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT32 Antisana 0.70445 0.51273 1.7 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT36 Antisana 0.70431 0.51273 1.9 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT37 Antisana 0.70432 0.51275 2.2 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT46 Antisana 0.70438 0.51273 1.8 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT47 Antisana 0.70437 0.51274 1.9 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT60 Antisana 0.70434 0.51273 1.7 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT61 Antisana 0.70437 0.51272 1.6 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
ANT62 Antisana 0.70426 0.51276 2.4 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 6
3.2An Antisana 0.70421 0.51280 3.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 4
HHJ-An Antisana 0.70419 0.51280 3.1 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 4
GS-3 Antisana 0.70420 0.51289 5.0 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 4
3D2 Antisana 0.70424 0.51289 5.0 n/a n/a n/a 78.20 4
3D1 An Antisana 0.70414 0.51285 4.1 18.936 15.618 38.728 78.20 2
2G3T-A Antisana 0.70437 0.51275 2.3 18.924 15.643 38.762 78.20 2
HHV Antisana 0.70416 0.51279 3.1 18.985 15.703 38.978 78.20 2

 117

Table A1 (continued)
87 143 206 207 208
Sample Magmatic Sr Nd Nd Pb Pb Pb latitude ref*
86 144 204 204 204
center Sr Nd Pb Pb Pb (projected)

E05035 Chacana 0.70434 0.51273 1.9 18.979 15.617 38.705 78.15 1

E05137 Chacana 0.70428 0.51277 2.6 18.933 15.625 38.704 78.15 1
E05138 Chacana 0.70427 0.51277 2.6 18.920 15.641 38.762 78.15 1
E05142 Chacana 0.70430 0.51278 2.7 18.880 15.612 38.640 78.15 1
E05143 Chacana 0.70423 0.51276 2.4 18.901 15.633 38.722 78.15 1
E05144 Chacana 0.70423 0.51279 2.9 18.889 15.604 38.631 78.15 1
E05147 Chacana 0.70426 0.51273 1.8 18.912 15.610 38.675 78.15 1
E05141 Chacana 0.70445 0.51270 1.3 18.953 15.602 38.671 78.15 1
E05030 Chacana 0.70409 0.51281 3.3 18.977 15.632 38.781 78.15 1
E05036 Chacana 0.70414 0.51280 3.2 18.911 15.626 38.723 78.15 1
E05135 Chacana 0.70426 0.51275 2.2 18.938 15.639 38.768 78.15 1
E05136 Chacana 0.70419 0.51273 1.8 18.927 15.638 38.769 78.15 1
E05019 Chacana 0.70430 0.51276 2.4 18.897 15.624 38.688 78.15 1
E05021 Chacana 0.70430 0.51274 2.0 18.953 15.646 38.799 78.15 1
E05032 Chacana 0.70427 0.51276 2.5 18.916 15.634 38.743 78.15 1
E05025 Chacana 0.70464 0.51255 -1.8 19.057 15.654 38.872 78.15 1
E05028 Chacana 0.70456 0.51275 2.2 18.933 15.624 38.748 78.15 1
E05139 Chacana 0.70465 0.51269 1.1 19.008 15.650 38.833 78.15 1
E05140 Chacana 0.70465 0.51271 1.4 19.026 15.626 38.763 78.15 1
Ch-3 Chacana 0.70404 0.51284 4.0 18.956 15.613 38.680 78.15 2
Ch-6 Chacana 0.70432 0.51277 2.6 18.983 15.633 38.755 78.15 2
Ch-7 Chacana 0.70423 0.51276 2.5 19.028 15.688 38.947 78.15 2
Ch-8 Chacana 0.70427 0.51280 3.3 18.925 15.646 38.694 78.15 2
Ch-4 Chacana n/a 0.51271 1.5 18.925 15.646 38.775 78.15 2
Ch-5 Chacana 0.70434 0.51278 2.7 18.918 15.632 38.732 78.15 2
Sg-13 Sangay 0.70437 0.51274 2.0 18.816 15.644 38.754 n/a 2
Cl-11 Chalupas 0.70443 0.51274 2.0 18.993 15.668 38.873 78.10 2
*References: 1 - Chiaradia et al. (2009); 2 - Bryant et al. (2006); 3 - Bourdon et al. (2003); 4 - Barragan et al.
(1998); 5 - Samaniego et al. (2005); 6 - Bourdon et al. (2002)

118
CHAPTERV
ADAKITELIKE FEATURES IN LATE OLIGOCENE TO LATE MIOCENE EC
UADORIAN ARC MAGMASANDTHEIR SIGNIFICANCEFOR PORPHYRY
RELATEDOREDEPOSITS

Abstract
This study presents a comprehensive dataset of the geochemical composition of Late Oligocene to Late
Miocene intrusions associated in space and time with porphyryrelated ore deposits in Ecuador, supple
mentedbycompositionaldataonseveralarcvolcanicformationsofthesameage.Ouraimistodescribe
the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of adakitelike geochemical features related to Late Tertiary arc
magmatism,andexploreitssignificanceforporphyryrelatedmineralizationinEcuador.Mostinvestigated
intrusions are moderately to highly differentiated hornblende ±biotitebearing tonalites, granodiorites,
and quartzdiorites, and often form part of larger OligoceneMiocene batholith complexes; arc volcanics
representmostlyflowsandsubordinatetuffsofandesiticanddaciticrhyoliticcomposition.
The overall spatiotemporal distribution of adakitelike features in Ecuadorian arc magmas is semi
systematic;therelativeproportionofadakitelikemagmasincreaseswithdecreasingage,andishigherin
northerncentralthaninsouthernEcuador.Magmaticcenterscharacterizedby(partly)adakitelikemagma
tismaremainlyhostedbytheWesternCordilleraandcompriseBalsapamba(c.21Ma),ApuelaJunin(136
Ma),Chaucha(c.10Ma),andQuimsacocha(7Ma).HighSr/Yratios(thecommonlyusedmaincriteriato
signaladakitelikemagmacompositions)ofLateTertiaryEcuadorianarcmagmasaremainlyderivedfrom
strongY(alongwithheavyREE)depletionoftheirparentalmeltsatbroadlyconstantSrcontents,andare
relatedtofractionation/restiteequilibrationeffectsofamphibole,garnet,andtitanite.
In Early to MidMiocene Ecuadorian arc magmas, amphibole (± accessory titanite) fractionation/restite
equilibration caused silicic melts to evolve towards adakitelike compositions; combined amphibole and
garnetfractionation/restiteequilibrationisonlyobservedintheLateMioceneQuimsacochavolcaniccen
ter,andcontinuestothepresentday.WhileYdepletionbyamphibolefractionation/restiteequilibrationis
particularlyefficientforsilicicmeltcompositions,garnetfractionation/restiteequilibrationproducesstrong
Y depletion already in more mafic melt compositions, i.e, during earlier differentiation stages. Significant
shallowcrustalplagioclasefractionationaffectssome,butnotallLateTertiaryarcmagmasinsouthernEc
uador;itisofminorpetrogeneticsignificanceforMioceneintrusionsoftheWesternCordillerainnorthern
centralEcuador.Apreferentialassociationofadakitelikefeatureswithaspecificbasementlithologycan
notbeobserved.
Systematictraceelementvariations(Sr,Y,REE)throughtimeareindicativeofprogressivelyincreasinghigh
pressurearcmagmadifferentiationfromtheLateOligocenetotheLateMiocene,eitherbycrustalthicken
ing,or/andbythedownwardsmigrationofcrustalhotzones.However,adakitelikefeaturesarealsolocally
observed in the Early Miocene in a regional petrogenetic setting otherwise dominated by lowpressure
magmaevolution.
Whereporphyryrelatedoredepositsareassociatedwithbatholithcomplexesrecordingmultim.y.precur
sormagmatism,porphyryemplacementcommonlyrepresentsalateintrusiveevent;inthatcaseporphyry
parentalmeltstendtoevolvetowardsmoreadakitelikecompositionsthanprecursorbatholithintrusions
indicatingdownwardmigrationofthefocusofcrustalmagmaevolutiontowardsgreaterdepthand/orin
creasingwatercontentsinthemagmaticsystem.However,itisimportanttonotethatthesecompositional
changes between porphyry and host intrusions mostly reflect broad changes in arc magma composition
throughtimeataregionalscale.Systematiccompositionalchangesbetweenporphyryandprecursorintru

 119
sionsarenotrecordediftheirrelativeemplacementagedifferenceissmall.Thefactthatporphyryrelated
oredepositsinEcuadorformedthroughouttheLateOligocenetoLateMiocene(246Ma)overalargelati
tudinalrange(c.0°to3°30’S)supportsthenotionthatanyarcmagmaofasufficientvolumehasthepoten
tialtoformporphyryrelatedmineralization.Insomecasesadakitelikemagmatismmay,however,reflect
favorable tectonomagmatic preconditioning of porphyry parental melts for subsequent porphyryrelated
mineralization.


Introduction TertiaryQuaternary adakitelike
ActivearcvolcanismintheAndeanchain,where magmatisminEcuador
theNazcaplateissubductingbelowthewestern
Amainaspectaddressedbymoststudiesonpre
plate edge of South America, clusters in three
sentday NVZ volcanism is the mechanism to
majorzonesreferredtoasNorthern,Central,and
generate adakitelike geochemical signatures in
Southern Volcanic Zone (NVZ, CZV, and SVZ, re
Ecuadorianarcvolcanics.Adakitelikemagmatism
spectively). These zones are separated by arc
ischaracterizedbyaspecificgeochemicalcompo
segmentsextendingalongarcforseveral100km
sition indicative of, amongst others, parental
whicharecharacterizedbytheabsenceofactive
meltequilibrationwithaY(andheavyrareearth
arc volcanism (Fig. 1). Voluminous Tertiary arc
element; HREE) retentive mineral phase, and
magmatic products extend beyond the present
absence of significant plagioclase fractionation
dayNVZbothinalongandacrossarcdimension.
(seereviewbyRichards &Kerrich2007,andref
While the geochemical features of Pleistocene
erences therein). The term “adakitelike” was
HoloceneNVZvolcanismoftheEcuadorianAndes
introduced by Richards & Kerrich (2007) for arcs
have been extensively studied (e.g., Bourdon et
builtonthickcontinentalcrustsuchastheAndes
al. 2003; Garrison & Davidson 2003; Samaniego
to avoid confusion with adakite sensu stricto
et al. 2005; Bryant et al. 2006; Garrison et al.
whichisexclusivelydefinedforislandarcsettings
2006; Chiaradia et al. 2009a), geochemical data
(Defant & Drummond 1990). In this context, the
on Tertiary arc magmatism are sparse. Building
term "adakitelike" does not carry any specific
on a pilot study by Chiaradia et al. (2004), this
petrogenetic implication with respect to the
contributionpresentsnewgeochemicaldatafora
magma source. In particular, adakitelike chemi
number of Late Tertiary intrusions and volcanic
calfeaturesofcontinentalarcrocksarenotnec
formations of the northerncentral Ecuadorian
essarily associated with slab melting as adakites
Western Cordillera and the Interandean Sierra
sensu stricto potentially are (Richards & Kerrich
region of southern Ecuador, representing the
2007).
mostextensivedatasettodateforTertiaryigne
ous rocks in the northern Andes. We focus on Generationofadakitelikegeochemicalcomposi
investigating the occurrence of adakitelike fea tions in presentday NVZ magmas is envisaged
tures in Tertiary arc magmas associated with either by slab melting and mantle wedge con
porphyryrelatedoredeposits,andevaluatetheir tamination by slab melting of the subducting
metallogeneticsignificance. young(<24Ma),hotNazcaslab(e.g.,Gutscheret
al. 2000; Bourdon et al. 2003; Samaniego et al.
2005),orhighpressureequilibrationofarcmag
mas at deep to midcrustal levels (e.g., Garrison

Figure1(nextpage):GeologicalmapofTertiaryQuaternaryEcuadorianarcunits andmagmaticcentersinvestigatedin
thisstudy.InsetshowsdistributionoftheNorthern(NVZ),Central(CVZ),andSouthernVolcanicZone(SVZ)resulting
fromsubductionoftheNazcaplatebelowSouthAmerica;graybarsindicatepositionsofmajorseamountchainspres
entlycollidingwiththecentralsouthernAmericanmargin(fromNtoS:Cocos,Carnegie,Nazca,andJuanFernandez
Ridge).SimplifiedfromvariousreferencesinChapter2.

120
  121
&Davidson2003;Garrisonetal.,2006;Chiaradia
et al. 2009a). Bryant et al. (2006) note the diffi
cultytoclearlydiscriminatethesetwoprocesses,
and present intramantle wedge partial melting
processesinthegarnetstabilityfieldasanaddi
tional option. The Late Miocene collision of the
CarnegieRidgeseamountchainwiththenorthern
Ecuadorianmarginisconsideredtoexertamajor
influenceonarcmagmatismeitherbyincreasing
the geothermal gradient along the subducting
slab surface thus facilitating slab melting (Sama
niegoetal.2005),orbypotentiallyaffectingfar
fieldstressandtranscrustalmagmaascentkinet
ics(Chiaradiaetal.2009a).Seismicstudiesatthe
Ecuadorian margin demonstrate a continuously
subductingNazca/Farallonslab,subductingatan
angle of 2530° down to at least 150200 km
depth (Guillier et al. 2001) such that earlier sug
gestions proposing slab melting due to slab flat
tening in response to Carnegie Ridge subduction
(e.g.,Gutscheretal.2000;Beateetal.2001)can
beexcluded.
Theoccurrenceofadakitelikemagmaticfeatures
in the Ecuadorian subduction system through
time is not clearly understood. Beate et al.
(2001), Somers et al. (2005), and Amortegui
(2007) demonstrate that adakitelike rock com
positions already occur in Late Miocene intru
sions and volcanics. Chiaradia et al. (2004) show
that a number of Tertiary, preLate Miocene in
trusionsandvolcanicformationslackadakitelike
features,andnoteanapparentmutualexclusivity
ofmainlyEarlytoMidMioceneporphyryrelated
mineralization and Late Miocene to Holocene
adakitelike magmatism in Ecuador. Recently,
Chiaradia(2009)presentedevidenceforadakite
like features of small intrusive bodies of the Eo
cene Macuchi island arc sequence of central
northernEcuador.
Thepresentstudyaimstocontributetoabetter
understandingofthespatiotemporaldistribution
ofadakitelikemagmatismaspartofthegeneral
petrogenetic evolution of OligoceneMiocene
Ecuadorian arc magmatism. In particular, we ex
plorethemetallogenicsignificanceofadakitelike
magmatism for porphyryrelated mineralization
in Ecuador, as spatial associations of intrusions
with adakitelike geochemical features and por
phyryrelated ore deposits have been observed
elsewhere(e.g.,Thiéblemontetal.1997).Conse
quently,magmaticcentersofthisstudywerese
lected based on their spatial association with
porphyryrelated ore deposits. The widespread
occurrence of this ore deposit type in Ecuador
(Prodeminca2000)ensuresaregionallyrepresen
tative coverage of Late Tertiary arc magmatism.
Parallel geochronologic (Chapters 2, 3) and iso
topic (Chapter 4) studies provide age and base
mentcontrol,enablingustocalibrategeochemi
cal changes in arc magmatism through time and
acrossdifferentcrustalbasementdomains.
Regional geology and geody
namicsetting
The Ecuadorian margin is characterized by the
typical principal geologic features of a collisional
continental arc comprising a foreland basin
hostingbackarcregion,amajororogen,splitinto
theEasternandWesternCordillera,andaforearc
sliver which undergoes trenchparallel, dextral
strikeslip displacement relative to the continent
asaresultofobliqueplateconvergencebetween
theNazcaplateandSouthAmerica(Litherlandet
al.1994;Egoetal.1996).Basementunitsofthe
backarcregionandtheEasternCordilleraareof
PrecambrianPaleozoic age; they are intruded by
a voluminous TriassicJurassic arc sequence

Figure2(nextpage):Macrophotographs(A,G)andmicrophotographs(BF,H)illustratingmineralogicalfeaturesrep
resentative for analyzed samples of Late Tertiary magmatic centers in Ecuador. A – hornblende and biotitebearing
granodiorite with weak sericitechlorite alteration (Chaucha batholith). B – plagioclase and hornblendephyric dacite
withfreshglassymatrix(Quimsacocha).C–plagioclasehornblendeporphyrywithresorbedquartzandweakpropylitic
alteration(Cangrejos).D–hornblendeplagioclaseporphyrywithsodiccalcicalteration(Gaby).E–hornblendequartz
dioriteporphyrywithpotassicalteration(Balsapamba).F–hornblendeandbiotitebearinggranodioritewithpotassic
alterationatApuela(Cuellaje).G–hornblendegranodioriteporphyryatApuela(Junin)withpervasivepotassicaltera
tionandsericitealterationhaloesaroundquartzpyriteveinlets;notethatveinletsandtheirhaloeswereremovedprior
togeochemicalanalysis.H–hornblendegranodioriteporphyryatApuela(Junin)withpervasivepotassic,overprinted
byphyllicalterationwherefeldsparsarepartlyreplacedbysericite;thistypeofalterationsignificantlyaffectswhole
rockSrcontentsrenderingresultspetrogeneticallyinsignificant;usedonlyforalimitednumberofJuninporphyrysam
pleswhereothersampleswerenotavailable.Whitescalebaris1mmformicro,and2cmformacrophotographs.

122
  123
124
whoserootsareexposedintheEasternCordillera Miocene, and was accompanied by voluminous
(Litherland et al. 1994). The forearc sliver and arcvolcanism(Chapter2;Fig.1).
Western Cordillera basement consist of oceanic
Following the Late Cretaceous oceanic plateau
plateau fragments accreted to the paleo
accretion, oblique Farallon/NazcaSouth America
continental margin in the Late Cretaceous and
plate convergence characterized the Ecuadorian
interpreted to form part of the Colombian
margin throughout the Tertiary (Chapter 2). A
Caribbeanoceanicplateau(CCOP;e.g.,Vallejoet
major geodynamic event affected the Tertiary
al.2009).BasementunitsoftheSierraregionbe
subductionsystemwiththefragmentationofthe
tween the Eastern and Western Cordillera are
Farallon plate, followed by initiation of Cocos
obscured by NVZ and Tertiary arc volcanic prod
Nazca seafloor spreading during the Early Mio
ucts; they likely consist of a tectonized mélange
cene(Lonsdale2005;Barckhausenetal.2008).At
of oceanic plateau units and Eastern Cordillera
the ColombianEcuadorian margin, this led to a
basement where the proportion of the latter
change in subducting slab properties from old,
progressively increases towards the east (Fein
cool (Farallon) to young, hot (Nazca) oceanic
inger&Seguin1983;Litherlandetal.1994;Spik
lithosphere;theFarallonNazcaplateboundaryis
ings et al. 2005; Chapter 4). Southwestern Ecua
represented by the offshore ENEtrending Grijal
dor additionally contains a rotated micro
vas scarp progressively propagating southwards
continental block known as the El Oro massif
along the margin, and currently intersects the
whose basement units are of Eastern Cordillera
Ecuadoriantrenchat3°S(Lonsdale2005).
petrogeneticaffinity(Litherlandetal.1994).
Farallon plate motion reconstructions (Somoza
Arcmagmatismresultingfromthesubductionof
1998)imply thatseamountsformedat the Gala
the Farallon plate below South America was ac
pagoshotspotduringtheLateCretaceoustoMid
tive along the Ecuadorian margin until the Late
TertiarydidnotcollidewiththeEcuadorianmar
Jurassic (Litherland et al. 1994). Except for the
gin,situateddueeastwithrespecttothehotspot
MidCretaceous Tangula batholith (Hall & Calle
inapresentdayglobalreferenceframe;instead,
1982) and few minor backarc intrusions (Barra
they were subducted at, or docked onto the Pa
gan et al. 2005), voluminous Cretaceous arc
namaCostaRicamargintotheNE(Hoernleetal.
magmatism has not been identified in Ecuador
2002). This situation changed fundamentally in
suggesting a magmatic lull during that period.
the Late OligoceneEarly Miocene when a major
Following oceanic plateau accretion(s), arc mag
changeinFarallonplatemotionpriortoitsfission
matism resumed in the latest Cretaceous, and a
in the Early Miocene caused Galapagosderived
continuous Tertiary arc developed along the
seamounts to drift eastwards, resulting in the
whole continental margin (Vallejo et al. 2009;
collision of the Carnegie Ridge seamount chain
Chapter 2). While southern Ecuador is mostly
with the Ecuadorian margin in the Late Miocene
characterized by continental, subaerial arc mag
whereitcausedminorshallowingofthesubduc
matism throughout the Tertiary, magmatism in
tionangle,andeastwardarcmigrationandbroa
northerncentralEcuadorstartedasasubmarine
dening(Gutscheretal.1999;Guillieretal.2001;
island arc system represented by the Macuchi
Chapters 2, 3). While Gutscher et al. (1999),
Unitwhichwaseruptedonaccretedoceanicpla
basedontheerroneousassumptionofaflatslab
teau basement; this arc was juxtaposed land
geometrybelowcentralEcuador,proposedaslab
wards against a minor subaerial arc system and
tear along the projected trace of the Grijalvas
progressivelymaturedduringtheTertiary,culmi
scarp below southerncentral Ecuador, the shal
natinginthepresentdayNVZarcmagmatismon
low (2530°) subduction setting below central
substantiallythickenedcrust(Guillieretal.2001;
Ecuador inferred from highresolution seismic
Jailliard et al. 2005; Chiaradia 2009; Chiaradia et
studies(Guillieretal.2001)makesaslabcontor
al. 2009a). Emplacement of multiple intrusions
tionbelowsouthernEcuadoramorelikelyalter
alongmajorstructuresledtothedevelopmentof
native.Aslabcontortionisalsoproposedforthe
batholithsize intrusive clusters in northern, cen
flatnormalslabtransitionbetweennorthernand
tral,andsouthernEcuadorduringtheOligocene
central Peru (James & Sacks 1999). The flat slab
geometry initiating below northern Peru in the

 125

Late Miocene (e.g., James & Sacks 1999) contin
ues northwards into southern Ecuador where
Late Miocene or younger arc magmatism is con
sequentlynotobserved(Chapter2).
Sampling and analytical tech
niques
Samplesforgeochemicalanalyseswerecollected
from mineral exploration drill cores or outcrop
exposures of multiple intrusions and volcanic
formationslistedinTable1.Samplingdidnotfol
low a systematic grid pattern but reflects drill
core distribution as well as outcrop accessibility
and suitability. Sampled Quimsacocha volcanics
are all related to a single volcanic caldera, whe
reas sampling localities for Saraguro Group vol
canics show a large geographical spread (c.
100 km) comprising three areas (Chaucha, Cañi
capa, Portovelo; Fig. 1) to reflect its widespread
distribution in southerncentral Ecuador. Both
intrusive centers and Saraguro Group volcanics
integrate magmatic events of up to 1015 m.y.
(the time span for batholith construction in cen
tralandnorthernEcuador;Chapter2).
To ensure compositionally representative geo
chemical analyses, sample quantities typically
comprisedc.0.5orc.1kgofmaterialforfineor
coarsegrained samples, respectively. Lower
samplequantitieswereoccasionallyobtainedfor
drill core samples where sampling material was
limited. In areas where rocks were affected by
porphyry intrusionrelated hydrothermal sys
tems, careful outcrop selection and drill core
quicklogging ensured sampling of least altered
material for a given alteration facies. Intense
feldspardestructive phyllic and argillic alteration
was avoided where possible (essentially every
where except for some Junin porphyry intru
sions). Pervasively veined material was avoided
for sampling, and isolated hydrothermal veins
and vein alteration haloes were removed by a
diamondbladediscsawpriortosampleprocess
ing.
Sampleswerecleanedwithwater,crushedusing
a steel jaw crusher, and powdered (<70 m) us
ing an agate disc mill, where each step was fol
lowed by sample splitting into representative
126

Table 2: Hydrothermal alteration-influenced
compositional variability of exemplary refer-
ence lithologies
Elements Remarks
Low compositional variation
SiO2, TiO2,
Al2O3
scatter < ±10% for all systems
Zr, Hf scatter < ±10% for all systems
Moderate compositional variation
CaO, P2O5 scatter < ±20% for all systems
Sr scatter < ±10% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Gaby,
Balsapamba; scatter ~20% (sometimes higher)
for Saraguro
Nb, Ta scatter < ±20% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsa-
pamba, Saraguro; mostly < ±20%, but up to 35%
scatter for Gaby
Y scatter < ±20% for Gaby; variable (up to 38%)
for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsapamba, Saraguro
Sc scatter < ±20% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsa-
pamba, Saraguro; slightly higher scatter (up to
26%) for Gaby
Th scatter < ±20% for all systems
V scatter < ±10% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsa-
pamba, Saraguro; systematic bias at Gaby
caused by reference sample composition, oth-
erwise scatter at Gaby would be < ±20%
High compositional variation
Fe2O3, MgO scatter < ±20% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsa-
pamba, Saraguro; highly variable scatter for
Gaby (up to 52%)
Na2O scatter < ±10% for Apuela-Cuellaje, Balsa-
pamba, Saraguro; highly variable scatter for
Gaby
K2O highly variable scatter for all systems
Cs, Rb, Ba highly variable scatter for all systems; at Gaby
correlated with K2O (potassic alt.)
U highly variable scatter for all systems
Cr, Ni highly variable scatter for all systems
REE highly variable scatter for all systems; LREE
decoupled and La/Yb ratios potentially inaccu-
rate; coupled behavior within MREE & HREE
groups such that Eu/Eu* and Dy/Yb are poten-
tially accurate
Main alteration types for reference centers where isocons
were constructed
Apuela potassic, propylitic
(Cuellaje)
Balsapamba potassic, propylitic
Gaby sodic-calcic, potassic, propylitic
Saraguro propylitic
Single-analysis outliers are not noted, but might be significant;
refer to Table A2 (Appendix). Note that feldspar phenocryst-
destructive alteration was generally avoided as far as possible,
but is unavoidable for some samples at Junin and Chaucha; Sr
scatter is expected to increase for these centers.
proportions  to  reduce  the  sample  quantity  for  out  during  the  2006‐2008 period  at  the  Institute 
subsequent analytical steps. Reconnaissance XRF  of  Mineralogy  and  Geochemistry,  University  of 
analysis  for  major  and  trace  elements  (10‐15  Lausanne.  XRF  measurements  were  done  on 
g/sample) for a total of 139 samples was carried  pressed  powder  pellets  or  fused  glass  beads  

Figure  3:  Isocon  plots  of  representative  Tertiary  granitoids  and  volcanics  in  Ecuador,  constructed  after  Grant  (1986) 
assuming  constant  concentrations  of  Al2O3  (the  least  alteration‐affected  major  element  oxide)  between  altered  and 
least‐altered reference sample. Elemental scatter outside gray area (± 10% analytical uncertainty) reflects alteration‐
induced compositional variation (± lithologic compositional heterogeneities) of altered samples with respect to a least‐
altered reference sample of the same lithology. Note that displayed isocons correspond to average compositions of all
compared lithologies and serve only for illustrative purposes; to quantify alteration effects individual isocons were cal‐
culated for each sample and considered for relative concentrations shown in the Appendix (Tab. A2). Isocon slopes vary
according to dehydration‐induced mass loss effects. Alteration acronym key: K – potassic; Na‐Ca – sodic‐calcic; propyl. 
–  propylitic.  Feldspar‐destructive  phyllic  or  argillic  alteration  is  expected  to  increase  Sr  mobility  but  was  avoided  for
most samples. See Seedorff et al. (2005) for definitions of alteration assemblages. Refer to Appendix for discussion of 
alteration effects, and to Table 2 for a summary of expected alteration effects on sample compositions. 

  127
fluxed with Li2B4O7 using a Philips PW 2400 ana
lyzer. Data accuracy, precision, and reproducibil
itywerecontrolledusinganumberofnaturaland
synthetic international or inhouse standard ma
terials (BHVO, EMU3.14, QLO, QTW, MFTH1,
NIMG,SDC1,SY2)whichwereselectedaccord
ing to sample composition and analytical meas
urement program. Expected 2 uncertainties
fromrepeatedstandardmeasurementsare27%
for major elements and up to 10% for trace ele
ments.
Combined microscopic analysis and XRF result
screeningservedtoselectonlyleastalteredsam
ples in a given intrusive suite or volcanic forma
tion for subsequent laserablation inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LAICPMS)
analysis. LAICPMS analysis of glass bead frag
ments recovered from XRF analysis (n = 97) was
carried out at the Institute of Mineralogy and
Geochemistry, University of Lausanne, using a
193nmLambdaPhysikExcimerLasersystemas
sociated with a PerkinElmer ELAN 6100 DRC
quadrupole ICP mass spectrometer. The Laser
system was operated at 10 Hz frequency using
140or160mJoutputenergyanda120mbeam
diameter. Background measurement for c. 90 s
wasfollowedby3040ssampleablationwith34
ablationpitsforeachsample.Usedinternalstan
dard elements were CaO (for sample CaO >1
wt.%) or Al2O3 (for sample CaO <1 wt.%), refer
enced to NIST SRM610 and SRM612 standard
materials and sample major element composi
tions measured by XRF. Offline data reduction
including automatic spike correction used the
Matlabbased SILLS codec (Guillong et al. 2008).
TraceelementsmeasuredbyXRFandselectedfor
datapresentationinthisstudycompriseSr,Y,Pb,
V,Cr,Cu,Zn,andGa,whereasforallothertrace
elementsLAICPMSresultswerepreferred.Xray
fluorescenceandLAICPMStraceelementanaly
ses generally agree within error, except for Nb,
whereasystematicbiasofelevatedcontentsfor
XRF measurements was detected, and Zr, where
XRF results scattered outside of the expected
±10%analyticalerrorlimit.
Results
Combined wholerock XRF and LAICPMS major
andtraceelementcompositionsofthecomplete
128
dataset are listed in the Appendix (Tab. A1).
Samples are grouped according to localities (in
trusions) and stratigraphic units (volcanics; Tab.
1). Considering the constraints on sampling pro
cedures described above, it is important to em
phasize that samples within single and between
differentsamplegroupsaregenerallynotconsid
ered as cogenetic. Apart from sharing an overall
similarpetrogenesisintermsofLateOligoceneto
Late Miocene arc magmatism, their chemical
compositions are therefore not systematically
related to each other by a single specific petro
genetic process (such as magma mixing or AFC,
i.e.,assimilationandfractionalcrystallization).
Rockalterationandelementmobility
Depending on their spatial and temporal prox
imitywithrespecttocentersofporphyryrelated
hydrothermal systems, most rocks display vari
abledegreesofhightolowtemperaturealtera
tion comprising potassic, sodiccalcic or calcic
sodic, phyllic, (advanced) argillic and propylitic
alterationassemblages(e.g.,Seedorffetal.2005;
Fig.2).Effectsofhydrothermalalterationonrock
chemistryinourdatasetaresummarizedinTable
2 and Figure 3, and are further discussed in the
Appendix.
Element mobility and redistribution due to hy
drothermal alteration commonly strongly affects
largeionlithophileelements(LILE),whereashigh
field strength elements (HFSE) are less affected.
As shown above (Fig. 3, Tab. 2; see also discus
sionintheAppendix)certainLILE(e.g.,Cs,Rb,as
wellasKasmajorelement)arestronglyaffected
by hydrothermal alteration and are thus not
suited as petrologic tracers, whereas most HFSE
and Sr (although a LILE, and often considered as
mobile during hydrothermal alteration) tend to
stay relatively immobile in our dataset. Light,
mid,andheavyrareearthelements(LREE,MREE
andHREE,respectively)donotconsistentlyshow
chemicallycoupledbehaviorduringhydrothermal
alteration, whereas alterationinduced intra
MREEandHREEscatterappearstobecoupledin
ourreferencesamples(Fig.3,Tab.2;Appendix).
Consequently, while chondritenormalized REE
distributionpatternscanbeusedforaqualitative
petrogeneticdiscussion,LREE/HREEratiossuchas
La/Yb are potentially inaccurate; intraHREE and
MREE/HREE ratios such as Dy/Yb and Sm/Dy, on
the  other  hand,  are  more  likely  to  reflect  petro‐ in  several  of  the  investigated  magmatic  centers 
genetically  significant,  rather  than  alteration‐ though). 
biased values. We emphasize that these observa‐
tions  reflect  our  sample  selection  according  to  Rock petrography 
alteration mineralogy, and cannot be generalized  Geologic  features  of  sampled  magmatic  centers 
for  other  datasets.  Throughout  this  article  we  are  summarized  in  Table  1.  The  igneous  (as  op‐
avoid  using  any  chemical  element  for  petroge‐ posed  to  alteration‐induced  hydrothermal)  min‐
netic  discussions  whose  concentration  is  consid‐ eralogical  inventory  of  most  phaneritic  intrusive 
ered as significantly affected by alteration in one  rocks  comprises  plagioclase,  hornblende,  quartz, 
of  our  reference  magmatic  centers  (Tab.  2,  Ap‐ and  biotite  with  accessory  opaque  minerals 
pendix; some of these elements may be immobile 

Figure 4: Rock petrographic classification of Late Tertiary granitoids and volcanics in Ecuador. Upper left: plutonic rock 
classification by normative quartz‐alkali feldspar‐plagioclase (QAP) proportions (Gillespie & Styles 1999) using projec‐
tion parameters of Le Maitre (1976); due to alteration‐induced Ca depletion, normative albite was used instead of an‐
orthite to calculate the plagioclase component of Junin porphyry intrusions. CIPW norms were calculated assuming Fe2+
= 0.7 ∑ Fe. Upper right: alumina saturation index classification of plutonic rocks (Maniar & Piccoli 1989). Lower left:
Total alkali‐silica classification for plutonic and volcanic rocks (Le Bas et al. 1986). Lower right: SiO2 vs. Zr/TiO2 / 10,000 
classification for plutonic and volcanic rocks (Winchester & Floyd 1977); note that using Nb/Zr instead of SiO2 as differ‐
entiation index produces systematic inaccuracies for rock classification in our dataset and is therefore not applied. 

  129
(mostly magnetite), apatite, and zircon; most
highly differentiated intrusions additionally con
tain minor alkalifeldspar and accessory titanite.
Most of these intrusions mineralogically classify
astonalite,granodiorite,orquartzdiorite(Fig.2).
In decreasing order of abundance, phenocryst
modes of porphyry intrusions mainly comprise
plagioclase, ±hornblende, ±quartz, ±biotite, with
quartz commonly displaying rounded, resorbed
grain margins. Sampled Quimsacocha andesite
lava flows and dacite domes contain plagioclase
and hornblende phenocrysts (the latter often
opacitized), frequently embedded in a glassy,
nondevitrified matrix; clinopyroxene occurs as
additionalphenocrystinandesites.Saragurovol
canics comprise andesitic, dacitic, and rhyolitic
flowsandsubordinatetuffswheremainphenoc
ryst assemblages are plagioclase, ±hornblende,
±clinopyroxene,plusquartzwithaccessoryzircon
fordaciticrhyoliticcompositions.
Chemical classification plots based on normative
mineralproportionsofquartz,alkalifeldspar,and
plagioclase (QAP), total alkali versus silica con
tents, or ratios of immobile trace elements (Fig.
4) yield consistent results, with most samples
classifyingasandesitictorhyodaciticincomposi
tion,orastonalite,granodiorite,ormonzogranite
in normative QAP proportions. Based on com
parison with visually estimated mineral modes,
the alkalifeldspar component calculated from
normativemineralproportionsinFigure4seems
to be slightly, and in the case of Zaruma
Portovelo samples moderately, overestimated
due to hydrothermal alteration. Most intrusions
straddle the metaluminousperaluminous border
(with a tendency to plot in the peraluminous
field)withonlyGabyclassifyingasentirelymeta
luminous(Fig.4).
Majorelementcontents
Mostsamplesdefinebroadlycontinuousdistribu
tion patterns in Harker diagrams (Fig. 5) where
TiO2, Fe2O3 and CaO steadily decrease with SiO2,
i.e., they show gross compatible behavior,
whereasK2OandNa2Omainlydisplayincompati
ble behavior or constant values with increasing
SiO2. Al2O3 and CaO/Al2O3 distribution trends di
verge and show either a broad decrease or con
130
stant values with increasing SiO2. Secondorder
scatter of major elements partly reflects hydro
thermal alteration (especially for K2O). Most
samplesseemtoclassifyaslowKseriesorstrad
dle the low to mediumK series border (Fig. 5),
butrockalterationprecludesadetailedclassifica
tion. Except for Quimsacocha dacites, all mag
maticcentersplotinthecalcalkalinefieldofMi
yashiro (1974). The broad similarity of major
element trends displayed by the whole dataset
suggests that similar processes of magma evolu
tion operate in all investigated Oligocene
Miocenemagmaticcenters.
Traceelementcontents
Where appropriate, trace element Harker dia
grams (Figs. 6, 7) are plotted together with the
compositionalfieldsofthepresentdayNVZmain
and frontal arc (Chiaradia et al. 2009a), and Eo
cenelavasoftheMacuchiUnit(Chiaradia2009).
These references were chosen for increased in
ternal analytical consistency with our dataset as
they were measured in the same laboratory;
morecompositionalNVZdataareavailable(e.g.,
Bourdonetal.2003;Samaniegoetal.2005;Bry
ant et al. 2006), and mostly overlap with the
givenreferencefields.
In primitive mantlenormalized spidergrams all
Late Tertiary samples display negative NbTa
anomaliesrelativetoLILEindicativeofaslabflu
idmetasomatized mantle wedge as the magma
source (Fig. 8). With the exception of few Sara
guro Group samples, trace elements incompati
ble in basaltic melts (Th, U, Zr, Hf) consistently
plotbelowthepresentdaymainarc,butoverlap
withNVZfrontalarccompositions(Fig.6).Within
a given Late Tertiary magmatic center, these
traceelementsforthemostparteitherstaycon
stant or show decreasing contents at SiO2
>65 wt.% possibly reflecting the influence of ac
cessory phase fractionation which only become
stabilized in relatively silicic melts (e.g., Hoskins
etal.2000).Traceelementscompatibleinbasal
ticmeltsshowpetrologicallycorrelatedbehavior
withthepreviousgroupinthattheyconsistently
plot above, or overlap with, frontal (and main)
arcNVZmagmas;overall,basaltcompatibletrace
 

Figure 5: Major element oxide vs. SiO2 concentrations of investigated samples. Low‐K, medium‐K, and high‐K classifica‐
tion from Gill (1981). Tholeiitic vs. calc‐alkaline dividing line from Miyashiro (1974). 

  131
element contents (e.g., Y, Yb, Sc) decrease with orhotzone(Hildreth&Moorbath1988;Annenet
increasingSiO2. al. 2006) through differing AFC ± mixing proc
esses compared to OligoceneMiocene magmas.
Strontiumgenerallyshowsbroadlyconstantcon
These contrasting magma evolution trends can
centrations around 300 ppm for the 5565 wt.%
be bracketed in time between the Quimsacocha
SiO2 interval and major scatter (100 to
volcano (7.1 Ma; Chapter 2), whose composi
c. 800 ppm) for more evolved compositions, al
tional trend largely mirrors presentday NVZ
though average Sr contents do not shift system
magmas, and the Chaucha batholith (14.8 Ma;
atically for compositions >65 wt.% SiO2 if Quim
Chapter2).YoungerporphyryintrusionsatJunin
sacocha is excluded (Fig. 6). With the exception
andChaucha(9.0and9.8Ma;Chapter2)aretoo
of Quimsacocha, Sr contents of Late Tertiary arc
highly differentiated to confidently predict their
magmas between 5565 wt.% SiO2 overlap with,
compositional behavior in the differentiation in
orslightlyexceedtheuppercompositionalrange
tervalrelevantforNVZmagmas(<65wt.%SiO2).
defined by the less differentiated Macuchi ba
saltsandesites, but consistently plot below both Chondritenormalized REE plots (Fig. 8) display
main and frontal arc NVZ magmas, although no moderatetostrongLREEenrichmentsoverHREE,
datafor<59wt.%SiO2existforthelatter(Fig.6). except for Gaby, where relatively flat REE pat
ternssuggestparentalmagmadifferentiationwas
Traceelementratios(Fig.7)illustratethesignifi
not driven by strongly HREE/LREEfractionating
canceofthesegeneralcompositionalfeaturesfor
mineral phases. Most REE plots lack negative Eu
the development of adakitelike chemical signa
anomalies indicative of plagioclase fractionation
tures:themajorityofLateTertiaryWesternCor
(Fig.8;seealsorelativelyconstantEu/Eu*range
dillera granitoids (ApuelaJunin, Balsapamba
at c. 1.0±0.4 in Fig. 7); however, negative Eu
Telimbela, Chaucha) qualify as adakitelike in a
anomalies do characterize a number of mainly
Sr/Yvs.Ydiscriminationplot(wedonotusethe
southern Ecuadorian magmatic centers compris
additionalLa/Ybvs.Ybadakitediscriminationplot
ingSaraguroGroupvolcanicsatChauchaandPor
because of potential LREE/HREE decoupling dur
toveloZaruma (but not at Cañicapa and Tres
ing alteration as mentioned above) due to
Chorreras), several intrusions of the Cangrejos
strongly depleted Y contents (<10 ppm) and de
Zaruma intrusive belt (Cangrejos porphyries; in
spite only moderately high (mostly subadakite
trusionsnorthofZaruma),and,partly,theTelim
like, i.e., <400 ppm) Sr contents. A Sr/Y vs. SiO2
belabatholith.PositiveEuanomalies(seediscus
plot demonstrates that most presentday NVZ
sion below for their petrogenetic interpretation)
magmas acquire adakitelike Sr/Y ratios during
aredisplayedbyafractionofBalsapambabatho
relatively early differentiation stages, whereas
lith samples and the GurGur porphyry intrusion
most OligoceneMiocene magmas (excluding
at Chaucha. Several magmatic centers are
Quimsacocha) only display clear adakitelike fea
strongly depleted in HREE and display concave
tures for highly differentiated (>65 wt.% SiO2)
upwardsHREEpatternstypicalofamphibolefrac
compositions(Fig.7;note,however,thatforthe
tionation.
ApuelabatholithandJuninporphyriesSrandSr/Y
partlydecreasewithincreasingSiO2inthe6570 Chondritenormalized Dy/Yb ratios may be used
wt.% SiO2 interval; this might be an alteration aspetrologicfingerprintsforgarnetoramphibole
effect). Quimsacocha, in contrast to other Oligo fractionation (leading to strongly increasing or
ceneMiocene magmatic centers, tends to over slightly decreasing trends with increasing SiO2;
lapwithNVZmagmas,althoughitisdepletedinY Davidsonetal.2007).IndividualQuaternaryNVZ
with respect to the latter (Figs. 6, 7). These sys volcanic centers show Dy/Yb and Nb/Ta trends
tematic differences imply that Oligocene negatively correlated with SiO2 indicative of am
Miocene magmas were either derived from a phibolefractionation(Chiaradiaetal.2009a).No
source with a different trace element composi such systematic trends can be clearly discerned
tion than presentday main arc NVZ magmas, forOligoceneMiocenearcmagmas;Nb/Taratios
or/andthatthelatteracquiredtheirsurplusinSr are subchondritic and, mostly, subprimitive
(and other basaltincompatible elements) during mantle(Fig.7).
initial stages of basalt differentiation in a MASH

132
Figure 6: Trace element vs. SiO2 concentrations of investigated samples; two columns arranged in order of downwards 
decreasing trace element incompatibility in basaltic melts. Macuchi reference fields from Chiaradia (2009); NVZ main 
and frontal arc from Chiaradia et al. (2009a). 

  133
ThelackofsystematicDy/YbandNb/Tadistribu
tiontrendsisnotsurprisinggiventhatmostsam
plesdonotdefinecogeneticsuites,suchthatdif
ferentiation trends of individual magmatic sys
temsarenotvisible,andanylongtermbulkdis
tribution trends might additionally become
blurred by the somewhat contrasting, superpos
ingeffectsofamphiboleandgarnet(orotherin
traHREEfractionating phases; e.g., Davidson et
al. 2007) fractionation. In contrast, Sm/Dy ratios
will increase in response to both amphibole and
garnet fractionation and are thus supposed to
showamorehomogeneousdistributionpattern.
This is evidenced in Figure 7 where chondrite
normalized Sm/Dy ratios show an overall steady
increase with SiO2, albeit showing pronounced
variations between different magmatic centers
foragivendifferentiationstage.Withfewexcep
tions,Sr/YandSm/Dyshowabroadpositivecor
relation(Fig.7).
Rare earth element distribution
patterns
Four major groups of variable REE distribution
patterns can be distinguished for the Late Terti
ary Ecuadorian intrusions and volcanic rocks in
vestigated in this study (Fig. 8; Tab. 3). These
groups mainly differ in their ways of HREE frac
tionation and in the occurrence or absence of
negative Eu anomalies. The facts that (1) no Ce
anomalies are observed, and (2) the main vari
abilityintheREEpatternshapeliesintheMREE
and HREE instead of the LREE (Fig. 8) have been
used elsewhere to argue for the petrogenetic
significanceofREEpatternsofalteredrocks(Kay
etal.2005).
Group 1: REE patterns characterized
bynegativeEuanomaliesandwithout
strongHREEdepletion
Thisgroupmainlycomprisesvolcanicsandphan
eriticporphyritic intrusions in southern Ecuador
(CangrejosZaruma intrusive belt, El Mozo, Sara
guroGroupatChauchaandPortovelo).Addition
ally, few samples of the Apuela and the Balsa
pamba and Telimbela batholiths share the same
characteristics.Rocksofthisgroupuniformlydis
play minormoderate negative Eu anomalies in
134
theirREEpatterns,andhaveSiO2contentsinthe
range of 5366 wt.% (except for a single higher
differentiatedApuelasample).Forthemostpart,
theseplutonicandvolcanicrocksshowrelatively
flat MREEHREE patterns with HREE concentra
tions 10x chondrite; slightly fractionated or U
shapedHREEpatternsarerare.Allintrusionsare
characterized by high modal proportions of pla
gioclase,andtheirREE distributionpatternssug
gestthattheirparentalmeltsfractionatedplagio
clase. Although amphibole is present in signifi
cantmodalproportionsinseveralintrusions,sig
nificant amphibole fractionation did not take
place.InH2Osaturatedexperimentalrunsofba
salticandesitic bulk compositions buffered at
NNO, plagioclase appears earlier on the liquidus
than amphibole only at pressures <0.4 GPa
(Groveetal.2003;themaximumpressuremight
increase towards higher degrees of melt H2O
undersaturation) suggesting that parental melts
of intrusions and volcanics of this group under
wentasignificantevolutionstepatshallowcrus
tallevels.Priortotheirshallowcrustalevolution,
deeper parental melt evolution in a MASH/hot
zonemostlydidnotinvolvesignificantamphibole
(or garnet) fractionation. The latter condition
mightapplyforprimitivemeltevolutioninahot
zone at the base of a relatively thin crust (or a
midcrustal hot zone in a thicker crust) where
H2Oundersaturatedparentalmeltswouldmainly
crystallize pyroxene instead of amphibole
(Münteneretal.2001).
Group 2: REE patterns without nega
tive Eu anomalies or strong HREE de
pletion
This group comprises variably differentiated (52
71wt.%SiO2)intrusions(Gaby,Chaucha,Cangre
jos, Zaruma) and Saraguro Group volcanics (at
CañicapaandTresChorreras)whichneithershow
significant negative Eu anomalies nor strongly
depleted HREE contents, although slightly con
caveupwards MREEHREE patterns can be ob
served for some samples. Parental melts of this
group probably share a similar deep to mid
crustal evolutionary history with the previous
group in that parental melt evolution at depth
was dominated by pyroxene fractionation, al
though it might have included minor amphibole
 

Figure 7: Trace element ratios vs. SiO2 contents of investigated samples. Reference fields as in Fig. 6 where applicable.

  135
fractionationinsomecaseswheremorehydrous
meltswereinvolved(e.g.,thePortoveloporphyry
intrusions;Fig.8).IntraHREEfractionationdueto
garnetfractionationcannotbeobservedinanyof
thesemagmas.Incontrasttothepreviousgroup,
the absence of negative Eu anomalies is indica
tiveoftheabsenceofsignificantplagioclasefrac
tionation and thus suggests limited shallow
crustal opensystem magma evolution. Alterna
tively, plagioclase fractionation took place in
highlyoxidizedmeltswhereEuincompatibilityfor
plagioclaseincreases(e.g.,Rollinson1993).
Group 3: REE patterns with strong
HREEdepletionand concaveupwards
toflatHREEdistribution
Significant HREE depletion (<10x chondritic val
ues) combined with mostly concaveupwards or
minorrelativelyflatHREEpatternsisobservedfor
mainly porphyritic, plus some phaneritic intru
sions at Chaucha (GurGur), Balsapamba
Telimbela,andApuelaJunin(Fig.8).Allintrusive
rocks of this group are highly differentiated (64
73wt.%SiO2).InseveralcasesstrongHREEfrac
tionation coincides with the development of a
minormoderate positive Eu anomaly. The latter
samples are characterized by moderate Sr con
tents (300400 ppm; see discussion below), and
petrographic studies indicate that they do not
representplagioclasecumulates,althoughmodal
proportionsofplagioclasearerelativelyhigh.
Whileindividualmineralphases(e.g.,amphibole,
titanite,plagioclase,garnet,zircon)imposechar
acteristic fractionation signatures on REE pat
terns, their integrated (not necessarily concomi
tant) fractionation effects might in part produce
mutualoffsetsofotherwisetypicalREEcharacter
istics.Thismightbeofrelevanceforourdataset,
and the following considerations apply in this
context:
ƒ The strong HREE depletion displayed by
samples of this group (and, possibly, their
partlypositiveEuanomalies)areindicative
of amphibole and/or titanite fractionation
(or equilibration with a restite bearing
these minerals; e.g., Davidson et al. 2007).
Given the highly differentiated sample
compositions,liquidamphiboleHREEparti
tion coefficients will be fairly high (Bach
136
mannetal.2005)suchthatsmallamounts
of amphibole fractionation, or trace
amounts of titanite fractionation (Bach
mannetal.2005;Glazneretal.2008)both
succeed in explaining strong HREE deple
tion. HREE fractionation patterns do not
suggest significant garnet fractiona
tion/restiteequilibration(butseebelow).
ƒ Negative DEu anomalies for titanite or am
phibole and the resulting positive Eu ano
maliesinREEpatternsmaypartlyoffsetva
riably (depending on the prevailing fO2)
negativeEuanomaliesimposedonREEpat
terns by plagioclase fractionation; depend
ing on PT conditions, melt composition,
andfO2anintegratedfractionatingmineral
assemblageconsistingofplagioclase+am
phibole + trace amounts (<1%) of titanite
can produce relatively smooth MREE pat
terns without negative Eu anomalies
(Glazner et al. 2008). Smooth LREEMREE
patterns, and/or positive Eu anomalies
(which are probably not attributable to
plagioclase accumulation in our samples)
observedforsomeintrusionsofthisgroup
illustrate this effect (Fig. 8). Minor plagio
clase fractionation, although it is not obvi
ouslymanifestedasnegativeEuanomalies
intheREEpatternsofthisgroup,thuscan
notberuledoutforparentalmeltsofintru
sionsofthisgroup.However,asshownbe
low, nondepleted Sr contents of these
samplesindicatethatplagioclasefractiona
tionwasnotsignificant.
The absence of concaveupwards MREEHREE
patterns characteristic of amphibole (and ti
tanite) fractionation for some intrusions might
signal minor additional fractionation/restite
equilibration with a HREEfractionating residual
mineralwithDDy<DYbsuchasgarnet(orzircon),
prior to, or concomitant with amphibole (or ti
tanite) fractionation. AlonsoPerez et al. (2009)
show that garnet and amphibole are both the
firstliquidusphasesinH2Orichandesiticmeltsat
high pressures; their modal proportions vary
from garnetdominated (at 1.2 GPa) to amphi
boledominated(at0.8GPa).Whilebothminerals
drive bulk HREE depletion, their integrated frac
tionation effects (or restite equilibration) might
 

Figure 8: C1 chondrite‐normalized REE diagrams and primitive mantle‐normalized spidergrams of investigated samples.
Note that LILE scatter in spidergrams is an effect of hydrothermal alteration, such that these elements are of limited 
petrogenetic relevance. Normalization values from Sun & McDonough (1989) 

  137
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 8 (continued) 
 
partly  mask  their  characteristic  fingerprints  on 
intra‐HREE fractionation (e.g., Dy/Yb).  Group  4:  REE  patterns  with  strong 
Most  parental  melts  of  this  group  of  intrusions 
HREE  depletion  and  a  negative  HREE 
are  thus  inferred  to  have  undergone  significant  slope 
amphibole  (±  minor  titanite;  see  below)  frac‐ This group, comprising the Quimsacocha volcanic 
tionation.  Additional  effects  from  integrated,  center  and  some  Junin  porphyry  intrusions,  is 
relatively  minor  plagioclase  or  garnet  fractiona‐ characterized  by  significant  HREE  depletion  and 
tion,  as  well  as  from  pyroxene  fractionation  (as  steadily  decreasing  MREE/HREE  ratios  (Fig.  8). 
the  groups  above)  may  be  variably  superposed  Negative Eu anomalies are not observed. A single 
on  the  observed  patterns,  but  do  not  strongly  sample  of  a  Balsapamba  porphyry  intrusion 
influence REE distribution characteristics.  shows  similarly  strong  HREE  fractionation,  but 
displays a minor negative Eu anomaly; it is there‐
fore included in group 1 above, but the following 
considerations  might  apply  for  the  deep  crustal 

138  
petrogenesisofthissample.Quimsacochadacites
showflatterbulkREEpatternsthanQuimsacocha
andesitesimplyingthattheycannotdirectlyrep
resent derivative liquids from andesite differen
tiation; dacite REE patterns resemble Quimsaco
cha andesites, but both LREE/HREE and intra
HREEfractionationislesspronounced.Juninpor
phyry intrusions show similar intraHREE frac
tionation as Quimsacocha dacites, but their
LREE/HREE fractionation is slightly less pro
nounced;thelattermightbeanalterationeffect
as these samples often show pervasive phyllic
alteration,inagreement with thegeneralnotion
that LREE are more mobile in fluids than HREE
(seeaboveandAppendix).
The strongly fractionated intraHREE patterns
combinedwithmoderatestrongLREE/HREEfrac
tionationobservedinthisgroupcloselyresemble
some Quaternary arc volcanoes such as Young
Chacana, whose parental melts are inferred to
evolvethroughcombinedamphibole,clinopyrox
ene, and garnet fractionation/restite equilibra
tion(Chiaradiaetal.2009a).Thesemineralsmay
bestabilizedinvariablyH2Orichmeltsprocessed
in deep to midcrustal hot zones (e.g., at 0.81.2
GPa;AlonsoPerezetal.2009).Thesimilaritiesin
REE characteristics between some presentday
NVZmagmasandtheLateMioceneQuimsacocha
and some Junin porphyry magmas suggest that
they might share a similar petrogenesis. In the
lattercase,slabmelting(Beateetal.2001)would
not be required to explain intraHREE fractiona
tion (and other adakitelike geochemical fea
tures)oftheQuimsacochavolcaniccenter.
Adakitelike features of Late Ter
tiaryEcuadorianarcmagmas
When discussing adakitelike features, we focus
in the following on Sr and Y concentrations and
the Sr/Y ratio, the latter often representing the
most distinctive discrimination criteria for ada
kitelikemagmatismatconvergentmargins(e.g.,
Tulloch & Kimborough 2003). Furthermore, for
the majority of samples in our dataset (see dis
cussion above and Appendix) the Sr/Y ratio is
morerobustwithrespecttohydrothermalaltera
tion than other adakite discrimination criteria
(e.g.,La/Yb).WecorrelateourobservationsonSr
 139
andYdistributionswithpetrogenetic constraints
obtainedfromREEpatternsdiscussedabove.
Strontiumcontents
Despite a lack of negative Eu anomalies in the
majorityofLateOligocenetoLateMioceneintru
sionsandvolcanicssuggestinglimitedplagioclase
fractionation, wholerock Sr contents are mostly
relatively low: most samples show Sr contents
around the 348 ppm value of the average lower
crustofRudnick&Gao(2003)and<410ppm(av
erage andesite of Gill 1981); except for Quimsa
cocha, most samples invariably plot below pre
sentdaymainarcvaluesatagivenSiO2content,
and there is a broad bulk increase in Sr concen
trations through time (Fig. 9). These low Sr con
tents might reflect source and/or a crustal
magma differentiation effects. Considering the
former,thehighlyvariablegeodynamicregimeat
the northernAndeanmarginintheLateTertiary
makes source controls on the Sr budget of arc
magmas by processes operating in the mantle
wedge likely (e.g., variable degrees of mantle
wedge contamination/metasomatization, or par
tialmelting).Theseeffectscannotbeevaluatedin
this study, however, as our dataset mainly com
prises highly differentiated samples. In the fol
lowing, we therefore focus on discussing crustal
magmadifferentiation.
Mid to shallow crustal magma differentiation
(insidethestabilityfieldofplagioclase)
Low Sr contents of Late Oligocene to Miocene
samplescaninpartbeattributedtoshallowcrus
talmagmadifferentiation followinganinitialdif
ferentiationstepfrommantlederivedbasalticto
andesiticdacitic compositions in deep to mid
crustal MASH/hot zones. This is the case for a
groupofMioceneintrusionsandvolcanics(group
1intheprevioussection)characterizedbynega
tive Eu anomalies indicative of plagioclase frac
tionation. Significant Sr depletion by extended
mid to shallow crustal plagioclase fractionation
might be considered unlikely for a number of
Late Oligocene to MidMiocene magmatic cen
ters(group2intheprevioussection)unlessmelts
were highly oxidized such that negative Eu
anomalies were not produced. The latter is pos
siblysupportedbybroadlysimilarSr contentsof
groups 1 and 2 at similar degrees of differentia
tion (Tab. 3) despite significant variations in the
magnitudeofEuanomalies.
Overall,Srcontentsofgroup3areslightlyhigher
thanSr contentsofgroups1and2 (Tab.3).Pla
gioclase fractionation hence was probably minor
in parental melts of group 3 intrusions, as also
supported bytheir REEpatterns (Fig.8).Inaddi
tion, if parental melts of these intrusions were
H2Orich,assuggestedbytheamphiboleimprint
ontheirREEpatterns,plagioclasemightbeanor
thiterich. As shown by Blundy & Wood (1991),
theplagioclasemeltpartitioningcoefficientforSr
decreases with increasing molar fractions of an
orthite in plagioclase. Consequently, residual
melt Sr depletion by (minor) plagioclase frac
tionationwouldbelesspronounced.
Of further significance might be the tendency of
plutonic rocks to be slightly depleted in incom
patible elements with respect to cogenetic vol
canicrocks(Bachmannetal.2007).However,this
effect should be more pronounced for more in
compatibleelementssuchasThorU(compared
to Sr incompatibility), opposite to what is ob
served(Fig.6).Furthermore,volcanicrocksofthe
Saraguro Group have similar low Sr contents as
coevalintrusiverocks(Fig.6)suchthatasystem
atic compositional difference between volcanic
and plutonic rocks is an unlikely cause for the
observedvariationsinSrcontents.
Deeptomidcrustalmagmadifferentiation(out
sidethestabilityfieldofplagioclase)
Melts extracted from a MASH/hot zone at the
base of a thick (c. 50 km) crust variably equili
bratewithmineralphasesofbasalcrustallitholo
gies, e.g., pyroxene or garnet granulites; crustal
assimilationormixingwithcrustalpartialmeltsof
these lithologies results in elevated melt Sr con
tentsandplagioclasediminishedcrustalresidues
where the latter effect increases with crustal
thickness(Hildreth&Moorbath1988).Theover
all crustal thickness in Ecuador during the Oligo
ceneMiocenewaslowerthanatthepresentday
(Jaillardetal.2005)suchthatthebulkincreasein
Sr concentrations from Late Tertiary to Quater
naryarcmagmas(Fig.9)mightreflectstepwiseor
progressive crustal thickening. Additionally, in
creasing highpressure magma differentiation
couldalsobeenvisagedbydownwardsmigration
140
ofthefocusofcrustalhotzonemagmatism(e.g.,
Mamanietal.2010).
Crustalbasementcomposition
Basement (assimilant) composition represents a
furtherpotentialcontrolfactoronarcmagmaSr
budgets. Mature arc systems (i.e., the Late Mio
ceneQuaternary Ecuadorian arc) include arc in
trusive roots which are already enriched in in
compatibleelementsandthushaveahigherpo
tential to contaminate arc magmas of a given
starting composition in incompatible elements
thanalessmaturearcsystem(i.e.,theOligocene
to Early Miocene Ecuadorian arc; Hildreth &
Moorbath 1988; see also Davidson et al. 1987).
However, while this could drive bulk incompati
ble element enrichment in Late Miocene
Quaternaryarcmagmas,itwouldnotexplainse
lectiveSrenrichment.
Strontium contents of CCOP units as potential
assimilant are generally low (typically 11267
ppmSr;e.g.,Mambertietal.2003)comparedto
averagelowercontinentalcrustvalues(348ppm
Sr;Rudnick&Gao2003);incontrast,CCOPwhole
rockSrcontentsreportedbyAllibonetal.(2008)
are heterogeneous and extend to significantly
higher values (981123 ppm Sr; possibly in part
reflectingalterationinducedincreases),suchthat
partialmeltingandmixingofhighSroceanicpla
teaulithologieswithmantlederivedarcmagmas
inalowercrustalMASH/hotzonemightcontrib
ute to producing derivative liquids with Sr con
tentstypicalforNVZvolcanics(400to>800ppm
Sr;e.g.,Chiaradiaetal.2009a).
Significant Late Miocene eastward arc broaden
ing(Chapter2)likelyaddedfurtherlithologiesas
potential assimilants at depth (whose geochemi
cal composition is unconstrained, but might be
higherinSrthanoceanicplateauunits),andfur
ther caused arc magmatism to migrate towards
the region of maximum crustal thickness in
acrossarcdimension(Jaillardetal.2005).There
fore, the Late Miocene arc migration might con
tribute to increased Sr contents of NVZ and
Quimsacocha volcanics, relative to Oligocene to
MidMioceneEcuadorianarcmagmas.
Yttriumcontents
Maximum and minimum Y contents of Late Oli
goceneMiocene arc magmas show a broad de
creasefrom24to9Ma(iftheElMozointrusions
are excluded; Fig. 9). Extreme Y depletion
(<10ppm)canbeobservedforpartsoftheEarly
Miocene BalsapambaTelimbela batholith, and
the Mid to Late Miocene Chaucha and Apuela
Junin batholiths. It includes both phaneritic and
porphyritic intrusive rock facies, and correlates
with strong HREE depletion (groups 3 and 4 in
previoussection).StrongYdepletionfurthermore
affects the Late Miocene Quimsacocha volcanic
center.
Yttriumdepletioninarcmagmashasbeencorre
latedwithincreasingcrustalthicknessasthelat
ter favors the stability of minerals with a strong
affinity for Y (in particular, garnet; Hildreth &
Moorbath 1988; Richards & Kerrich 2007). The
broad correlations of Sr, Y, and Sm/Dy distribu
tiontrendsthroughtime(Fig.9)areinagreement
with progressively increasing highpressure
crustalmagmadifferentiationbycrustalthicken
ing. The latter does not apply for Ydepleted in
trusions at BalsapambaTelimbela, however, as
the crustal thickness in the Early Miocene was
significantly below the presentday crustal thick
nessinEcuador(Jaillardetal.2005).
A possible explanation for these compositional
anomaliesisamoreprominentroleofaccessory
titanite fractionation which might also occur at
low pressures (see below). Alternatively, the ir
regular geochemical signature of Balsapamba
Telimbela might be related to anomalies in the
subducting lithosphere such as oceanic fracture
zones. The latter may lead to a locally increased
volatilefluxintothemantlewedgegivingriseto
unusuallyH2Oricharcmagmaswhereamphibole
and garnet stability is increased (e.g., Rodriguez
etal.2007).WhileKayetal.(2005)notethatlo
cal peaks in mantle wedge contamination by
subductionerosionmayalsoexplaintheirregular
occurrence of adakitelike arc magmas, this is
ratherunlikelyforBalsapambaTelimbela,asLILE
anomalies(paralleltoYandHREEdepletion)are
notobserved,andlargescalesubductionerosion
didnotaffecttheOligoceneMioceneEcuadorian
margin(Chapter2).
 141
DifferentiationeffectscausingYdepletion
Excluding the Late Miocene Quimsacocha ande
sites,allsamplescharacterizedbyY<10ppmrep
resent silicic intrusions (SiO2 >64 wt.%). Mineral
phases whose stability field is extended in silicic
melts, and which are highly compatible for Y
comprise amphibole, zircon, and titanite. As
notedabove,amphibole(asmajormineralphase)
as well as zircon ±titanite (accessory phases)
wereobservedinalloratleastsomeoftheLate
OligoceneMioceneintrusions.Zirconandtitanite
are unlikely to saturate in bulk andesitic melts
(althoughtheymightsaturateinlocalmeltpock
ets;Hoskinetal.2000).Whileamphiboleisstable
inH2Orichmaficmeltsandmay,inconcertwith
garnet, drive Y depletion in maficintermediate
meltsatdeeptomidcrustallevels(e.g.,Richards
& Kerrich 2007), its partition coefficient for Y is
highly sensitive to melt composition and sharply
increases in silicic melts (Bachmann et al. 2005).
Fractionation (or restite equilibration) of these
minerals thus succeeds in explaining the ob
servedrestrictionofstrongY depletiontohighly
differentiatedcompositions.
Toillustrate thepetrogeneticsignificanceofam
phibole, zircon, and titanite fractionation, some
exemplary fractionation trends are displayed in
Figure10.Figure10aillustratesthat,startingata
positiontypicalforarelativelymaficrockcompo
sitioninourdataset(285ppmSr;19ppmY),the
gross Sr/Y vs. Y distribution trend of the investi
gated Late OligoceneMiocene intrusions and
volcanicscouldbeentirelydescribedbyprogres
sive amphibole fractionation using a Damphibole/melt
value for andesitic melts (Rollinson 1993). How
ever, using a constant Damphibole/melt value for an
andesitic melt requires unrealistically high F val
ues(upto70%)toexplainextremelyfractionated
Sr/Y ratios, and therefore should only apply for
moderateYdepletion(c.1020ppmY;notethat
the parental melt composition could also start
within this range and subsequently evolve to
wards higher Y concentrations by fractionating
solely Yincompatible minerals such as plagio
clase).
Startingfromapositioncorrespondingtoamore
silicic rock composition in our dataset (as proxy
for an evolved intrusive parental melt; 335 ppm
Sr; 9 ppm Y), and using D values for dacitic
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 9: Trace element and trace element ratio vs. age diagrams. Age‐trace element distribution patterns show sys‐
tematic increases (Sr, Sm/Dy, Sr/Y) or decreases (Y) in Late Oligocene to Late Miocene arc magmas suggesting progres‐
 
sively increasing high‐pressure magma differentiation (trends marked by yellow arrows). The latter might be caused by
crustal thickening, or by the downwards migration of crustal hot zones. Extreme Y and HREE depletion at Balsapamba is
 
a local, anomalous phenomenon, and produces elevated Sr/Y and Sm/Dy ratios in the Early Miocene. Sr depletion for 
 
some  Junin porphyry  intrusions  might be caused by  shallow  crustal plagioclase  fractionation or  hydrothermal  altera‐
tion. Ages estimated from geochronologic constraints summarized in Chapters 2 and 3. NVZ main and frontal arc data 
 
from Chiaradia et al. (2009a). See text for discussion. 
 
rhyolitic melts (Bachmann et al. 2005), fractional  contributions can be discerned when other trace 
crystallization of small amounts (<10%) of amphi‐ elements are considered. Fractionating only trace 
bole,  or  trace  amounts  (<1%)  of  either  zircon  or  amounts  (<1%)  of  zircon  from  a  dacitic‐rhyolitic 
titanite,  reproduces  the  observed  extreme  Y  de‐ melt results in extreme Zr depletion of derivative 
pletion.  Fractionating  subequal  amounts  of  pla‐ liquids, which is not observed in our dataset (Fig. 
gioclase and amphibole in a dacitic‐rhyolitic melt  6). Although compatible in both minerals, titanite 
results  in  Y  depletion  at  constant  Sr/Y  ratios  of  is  characterized  by  a  much  lower  D  value  for  Sc 
derivative liquids and might apply for some Junin  than  amphibole  in  silicic  melts  (6  vs.  45:  Bach‐
porphyry  intrusions  (Fig.  10a),  although  hydro‐ mann  et  al.  2005;  note  that  pyroxene,  although 
thermal  alteration‐driven  Sr  depletion  is  more  not  observed  in  these  intrusions,  is  also  highly 
probable to explain the distribution of Junin por‐ compatible for Sc, and its presence in hypothetic 
phyries in the Sr/Y vs. Y space.  parental melts cannot be  ruled out, as it is com‐
monly reacted out during late stages of intrusion 
While  amphibole,  zircon,  and  titanite  fractiona‐
development  to  form  amphibole  or  biotite; 
tion  in  silicic  melts  affects  Sr/Y  vs.  Y  distribution 
Bachmann  et  al.  2007).  Therefore,  if  Sr/Y  frac‐
trends in a similar way, their potential  individual 
tionation  was  mainly  driven  by  amphibole  frac‐

142  
tionation,itshouldbeaccompaniedbyapropor
tionally higher increase in Sr/Sc (as DSc >> DY for
amphiboleinsilicicmelts;Bachmannetal.2005).
In contrast, titanite fractionationdominated
changes in Sr/Y should have a minor effect on
Sr/Scratios.Figure10bshowsthatsmallamounts
(<5%) of combined amphiboletitanite fractiona
tion (in 95:5 proportions) closely reproduce the
compositional Sr/Y vs. Sr/Sc range of most silicic
intrusions, although a higher proportion of ti
tanite with respect to amphibole might be re
quiredforsomeintrusionsatBalsapambaTelim
bela. Several Saraguro Group volcanics (at Cañi
capa)arecharacterizedbyhighSr/Scratioswith
out a concomitant strong increase in Sr/Y sug
gesting Sr/Sc fractionation there was mainly
drivenbyamphibole(orclinopyroxene)fractiona
tion.Thelatterisinagreementwiththescarcely
reported occurrence of titanite in volcanic rocks
(Hoskinetal.2000).
WehencesuggestthatextremeY(andHREE)de
pletion of Miocene Ecuadorian intrusions was
mainly driven by amphibole ±titanite fractiona
tioninhydroussilicicmelts.Asnotedabove,sig
nificant plagioclase fractionation is not observed
for these intrusions (mostly REE group 3), such
that pronounced magma evolution at shallow
crustal levels (<0.4 GPa), where plagioclase is
stable closer to the liquidus than amphibole, is
unlikely (e.g., Grove et al. 2003). Deep crustal
(e.g., at 1.2 GPa) H2Orich magma evolution po
tentially involves significant garnet fractionation
(AlonsoPerez et al. 2009), which is mostly not
observed. Consequently, parental melts to most
Miocene intrusions might have dominantly
evolvedatpressuresofc.0.40.8GPawheream
phibole is the dominant liquidus phase (Alonso
Perezetal.2009).In contrast,Quimsacochavol
canics(andseveralothersamplesofREEgroup4)
share many compositional features with Quater
nary NVZ magmas, including a prominent garnet
signature in their REE patterns (Fig. 8). Conse
quently, Y depletion in these magmas was likely
driven by combined amphibole and garnet frac
tionation/restite equilibration, possibly at higher
pressures than inferred for most Miocene intru
sivecenters.
 143
The petrogenetic significance of Sr/Y
ratiosforcrustalmagmaevolution
Strong Y depletion at broadly constant Sr con
tents in the abovelisted Miocene intrusions im
pliesthatSr/Yratiosoftheseintrusionsaremain
ly controlled by Y depletion; Sr/Y ratios may in
crease towards adakitelike values (Fig. 7) al
thoughSrcontentsareoften<400ppm(themin
imum Sr content inferred for most adakitelike
rocks; e.g., Richard & Kerrich 2007). As outlined
above, this is mainly due to silicic melt differen
tiation by amphibole ±titanite fractiona
tion/restiteequilibration,althoughinsomecases
Ydepletionisalsoinfluencedbygarnetfractiona
tion/restite equilibration (REE group 4: Quimsa
cocha,Juninporphyries).
AdakitelikegeochemicalfeaturesofmodernNVZ
magmas in Ecuador have been shown to be
mostly the result of crustal magma evolution
(e.g., Chiaradia et al. 2009a). In the latter case,
high Sr/Y ratios commonly signal highpressure
magma differentiation, whereas low Sr/Y ratios
indicate upper crustal magmatism at low pres
sures(e.g.,Tulloch&Kimbrough2003;Bachmann
et al. 2005). High Sr/Y ratios (with a threshold
value of c. 3040) in our dataset are associated
with parental melt evolution without significant
plagioclasefractionationatshallowcrustallevels
as inferred from REE distribution patterns (Tab.
3),andcorrelatepositivelywithSm/Dy(Fig.7).In
contrast,Sr/Yratios<3040poolwithlowSm/Dy
ratiosreflectinglowpressuremagmadifferentia
tion.
Increasingmagmadifferentiationpressuresresult
in an increasing relative proportion of garnet in
an amphibolegarnet liquidus assemblage for
H2Orich andesitic melts (AlonsoPerez et al.
2009). As discussed above, considering variable,
melt compositiondependent partition coeffi
cients, extreme Y depletion by amphibole frac
tionation only applies to relatively silicic melt
compositions, whereas garnet fractionation may
produce strong Y depletion in more mafic melts
already. Late Miocene (e.g., Quimsacocha) or
younger arc magmas evolving by combined am
phibolegarnet fractionation/restite equilibration
may therefore develop towards adakitelike Sr/Y
ratiosatlesssiliciccompositions,i.e.,duringear
lier  differentiation  stages  than  pre‐Late  Miocene  ture (Chapter 4) they are shown in separate dia‐
arc magmas (Fig. 7).  grams in Figure 11. 
Trace element concentrations and ratios used as  Southern‐central Ecuadorian Sierra intrusions and 
proxies  for  increasing  high‐pressure  magma  dif‐ volcanics (“east of CPPF” in Fig. 11) in the south‐
ferentiation  (and  further  modulated  by  melt  wards projection of the NVZ main arc consistently 
composition and differentiation effects) in Figure  display low radiogenic  87Sr/86Sr values at Sr/Y ra‐
9 show a north‐south division of associated mag‐ tios  >30  (Fig.  11).  In  contrast,  magmas  in  south‐
matic  centers:  low‐pressure  differentiation  is  ern Ecuador with a significant shallow crustal dif‐
mainly inferred for southern Ecuador (Portovelo‐ ferentiation  step  (mainly  the  Cangrejos‐ 
Zaruma,  Cangrejos,  Saraguro),  whereas  high‐
pressure differentiation mostly applies for north‐
ern‐central  Ecuador  (Quimsacocha,  Apuela‐
Junin). We suggest that this is mainly an effect of 
the  spatio‐temporal  distribution  of  arc  magma‐
tism  in  Ecuador;  Mid‐  to  Late  Miocene  arc  mag‐
matism  in  southern  Ecuador  migrated  north‐
wards  in  response  to  progressive  slab  flattening, 
such  that  arc  magmatic  exposures  in  southern 
Ecuador  are  biased  towards  older  arc  units  and, 
by inference, an overall thinner crust (Chapter 2). 
However,  regional  along‐arc  differences  might 
additionally  apply,  as  the  potential  for  tectonic 
crustal  thickening  may  be  higher  in  northern‐
central  Ecuador  where  the  paleo‐continental 
margin  is  buttressed  against  the  allochthonous 
oceanic plateau block (e.g., Jaillard et al. 2005). 

Isotopic  constraints  on  shallow 

vs. deep crustal magma evolution 
Figure  11  shows  plots  of  several  radiogenic  iso‐
tope ratios (see Chapter 4 for isotope references) 
vs. Sr/Y ratio s; Paleogene intrusions and volcan‐
ics  in  central‐southern  Ecuador  (Chiaradia  et  al. 
2004)  are  shown  for  reference.  As  discussed 
above,  Sr/Y  ratios  in  our  dataset  may,  to  some 
extent,  discriminate  between  dominant  magma 
evolution at shallow (usually Sr/Y <30) or mid‐ to 
deep crustal levels (Sr/Y >30) if significant amphi‐ Figure 10: Sr/Y vs. Y (A) and Sr/Y vs. Sr/Sc (B) distribu‐
bole  ±garnet  ±titanite  fractionation  is  involved  tions of Late Tertiary Ecuadorian granitoids and volcan‐
which  is  not  always  the  case  (e.g.,  at  Gaby).  To  ics,  with  theoretical  effects  of  amphibole,  titanite,  zir‐
account  for  the  latter  we  additionally  report  the  con, and plagioclase fractional crystallization (FC) using 
partition  coefficients  of  Rollinson  (1993)  for  andesitic 
presence of negative Eu anomalies in the legend 
melts,  and  Bachmann  et  al.  (2005)  for  rhyolitic  melts. 
of  Figure  11,  indicative  of  significant  shallow 
Tick  marks  (small  white  diamonds)  on  andesitic  melt 
crustal  plagioclase  fractionation.  As  Miocene  in‐ amphibole  fractional  crystallization  trend  correspond 
trusions  emplaced  in  the  northern‐central  Ecua‐ to 10% steps in F values. Fractionation curves for am‐
dorian  Western  Cordillera  show  significant  iso‐ phibole, titanite, and zircon in silicic melts overlap and 
topic  differences  to  central‐southern  Ecuadorian  are  simplified  as  one  in  the  diagram;  whole  curve 
Sierra  intrusions  and  volcanics  reflecting  along‐  range  corresponds  to  c.  10%  amphibole,  and  <1%  ti‐
and  across‐arc  differences  in  basement  architec‐ tanite and zircon FC. See text for discussion.

144  


 145
ZarumaintrusivebeltandSaraguroGroupvolcan
ics; groups 1±2) extend towards higher 87Sr/86Sr
values, analogous to the Paleogene intrusions
and volcanics of Chiaradia et al. (2004). Plotting
Sr concentrations instead of the Sr/Y ratio (Fig.
11)resultsinthesamedistributionpatternwhere
a Sr content of c. 300 ppm corresponds to the
threshold value dividing high and low radiogenic
maximum 87Sr/86Sr values. This trend is further
reflected in a Eu/Eu* vs. 87Sr/86Sr plot (Fig. 11)
where lower Eu/Eu* values (shallow crustal
magma evolution) again tend to be associated
withhigher87Sr/86Sr.
Isotopebased discrimination between shallow
and mid to deep crustal magma evolution in
southerncentral Ecuador becomes slightly more
blurred for 143Nd/144Nd, and significantly more
blurred for 207Pb/204Pb (Fig. 11), suggesting that
MASH/hotzonehostingunitsinthemidorlower
crust have a higher variability in these isotopic
ratios. This is mirrored by systematic acrossarc
trendsin 143Nd/144Ndand 207Pb/204Pbpossiblyre
flecting changes in the mid to deep crustal
basementarchitectureandcomposition(Chapter
4).
Western Cordillera intrusions (“west of CPPF” in
Fig.11)donotdisplaysystematicisotopicdiffer
ences for samples with or without negative Eu
anomaliesandthus,byinference,withorwithout
significant shallow crustal magma evolution. The
absenceofsystematicisotopicoffsetsmightindi
cate a vertically relatively homogeneous isotopic
compositionofthecrustbelowtheWesternCor
dillera, in agreement with tectonic constraints
(e.g., Vallejo et al. 2009). There is a small differ
ence, however, between the isotopic composi
tions of the Gaby intrusive center and Western
Cordillera granitoids situated further north
(slightly more radiogenic Sr and less radiogenic
Nd at Gaby; Fig. 11) potentially indicating along
arcisotopicdifferencesofoceanicplateauunits.
Overall,theisotopiccompositionsofLateTertiary
intrusions and volcanics in southern Ecuador
clearlyreflectpolybaricmagmaevolutionatlow
ertomid,and,variably,uppercrustallevels.Up
perandlowercrustalunitsoftheWesternCordil
lera seem to be of similar isotopic composition
suchthatisotopesfailtoillustratepolybaricevo
lution stages there. The visibility of crustal con
146
tamination in arc magmas is a function of the
compositional and isotopic leverage of potential
assimilants; opensystem magma differentiation
atthebaseofthecrustmaybereflectedbyonly
subtlechangesinisotopiccompositionsofderiva
tive liquids if the arc position stays stable over
geologicallylongperiodsoftimesuchthatevolv
ing arc magmas mainly consume arc intrusive
roots(e.g.,Davidsonetal.1987).Thisisreflected
by relatively constant 87Sr/86Sr values for intru
sions and volcanics with Sr/Y >30 (Fig. 11); only
samples with Sr/Y <30 tend to extend to signifi
cantlyhigher87Sr/86Srvalues.Note,however,that
primitiveisotopicratiosofLateTertiaryEcuador
ianarcmagmasdonotnecessarilyreflectassimi
lationofarcintrusiveroots,butmightinsteador
additionally also indicate assimilation of oceanic
plateau units. The latter is clearly visible for
Western Cordillera intrusions which show quasi
constant 87Sr/86Sr values, but slight to moderate
variationsintheir 143Nd/144Ndand 207Pb/204Pbra
tios,respectively(Fig.11).
Petrogenesis of Late Tertiary arc
magmasinEcuador–summary
Building on the constraints and caveats pre
sented in the preceding sections, we combined
the available petrologic evidence to qualitatively
estimateatwhichcrustallevelsLateOligoceneto
Miocene Ecuadorian arc magmas acquired their
geochemicalandisotopiccharacteristics(Tab.3).
Variable parental magma evolutionary paths are
reflected by systematic compositional and iso
topic differences in Late Tertiary arc magmatic
products and allow the distinction of four major
groups. These comprise distinct differentiation
processes in lower to midcrustal hot zones, as
wellasvariableshallowcrustaloverprinting,and
areschematicallysketchedinFigure12.
(1) Most intrusions and volcanics characterized
by a significant shallow crustal magma evolution
stage occur in southerncentral Ecuador (Sara
guro Group volcanics and the CangrejosZaruma
intrusive belt) and have Early to MidMiocene
ages (Chapter 2). These lithologies show minor
moderate negative Eu anomalies and variable,
relativelyhighYandHREEcontents(1125ppmY,
Tab. 3; note, though, that most of these values
still qualify as adakitelike), variable Sr contents
Figure 11: Radiogenic Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic composition vs. Sr/Y (plus Sr and Eu/Eu*) distribution of Late Tertiary Ec‐
uadorian granitoids and volcanics. Plots are divided according to different upper crustal compositions (continental vs. 
oceanic, i.e., east vs. west of the Calacali‐Pallatanga‐Pujili fault zone, respectively) to better resolve isotopic variations. 
As discussed in the text, the Sr/Y ratio serves as a proxy to discriminate lower vs. upper crust‐dominated magma evolu‐
tion (threshold value for our dataset = c. 30). Paleogene intrusions and volcanics of Chiaradia et al. (2004) are shown 
for  reference;  they  consistently  overlap  with  distribution  trends  of  Late  Tertiary  magmas  where  significant  shallow
crustal magma evolution is inferred suggesting a broadly similar petrogenesis. See text for discussion. 

  147
(228459ppm),andSr/Yratiosintherangeof13
32. Their composition is consistent with H2O
undersaturated parental melt evolution at basal
to midcrustal levels of a relatively thin to mod
erately thick arc crust in the Late Oligocene to
Early Miocene where pyroxene constitutes the
dominant liquidus phase (e.g., Müntener et al.
2001), followed by shallow crustaldominated
magmaevolutioninvolvingsignificantplagioclase
fractionation.WhiletheirREEpatternsmostlydo
not show any prominent MREEHREE fractiona
tion,limitedmagmaevolutionunderinfluenceof
a Yfractionating mineral is required to explain
the variable degrees of Y depletion prior to, or
concomitantwithplagioclasefractionation.
(2)Asecondgroupofintrusionsandvolcanicsin
southern Ecuador overlaps with the previous
group in time and space (often forming part of
the same integrated intrusive center), and their
main difference to the previous group is the ab
sence of negative Eu anomalies in their REE dis
tribution patterns, suggesting the lack of signifi
cantshallowcrustalplagioclasefractionation,or,
alternatively, indicating highly oxidized melts
where plagioclase fractionation did not result in
negative Eu anomalies. The lower to midcrustal
petrogenesis of these magmas is similar to the
previous group. At roughly constant Sr and
slightlylowerYcontents,Sr/Yratiosofthisgroup
are slightly higher than in the previous group
(Tab.3).
Theintegratedverticalmagmaevolutionofthese
groups (1 and 2) is clearly recognizable in
87
Sr/86Sr,andtoalesserextentin143Nd/144Ndiso
topic compositions (Fig. 11), and supports the
principal notion of Chiaradia et al. (2009a) that
isotopic differences between Tertiary and Qua
ternary NVZ magmas (in northerncentral Ecua
dor)arepartlycontrolledbythecrustaldepthof
magma evolution. Additionally, our regionally
more representative dataset of Late Tertiary
magmasallowsustorefinethisconclusionintwo
points: (1) the Miocene magma evolution in
southerncentral Ecuador does not always in
cludesignificantshallowcrustalmagmadifferen
tiation, although it is common; and (2) the iso
topic composition of the mid to upper (and
lower?)crustmight beregionallyheterogeneous
andthuscanfurthermodulatetheobservediso
topic distribution patterns. The latter is sug
148
gestedbytheisotopiccompositionsofsomeLate
Tertiary magmas (mainly the CangrejosZaruma
intrusive belt), which are significantly more ra
diogenicthananyknownisotopiccompositionof
presentday NVZ magmas (compare Chapter 4),
in agreement with the inferred continental
basementdomainsofthesouthernEcuadorianEl
Oroblock(Litherlandetal.1994).
(3) A third group of Miocene intrusions, mainly
hostedbytheWesternCordilleraanditswestern
foothills in northerncentral Ecuador, is charac
terized by strong Y and HREE depletion (mostly
with concaveupwards HREE patterns) and con
sistentlydisplayseither minormoderatepositive
Eu anomalies, or smooth SmEuGd transitions,
indicative of amphibole ±titanite fractiona
tion/restite equilibration without significant pla
gioclase or garnet fractionation. Strontium con
tents are in the 300600 ppm range. Depending
on the degree of Y depletion, Sr/Y ratios range
from 31 up to 282 (Tab. 3) and thus qualify as
adakitelike (Fig. 7), although Sr contents are
mostlybelowthethresholdforadakitelikecom
positions(<400ppm).StrongYdepletionbyam
phibole ±titanite fractionation occurs in silicic
meltswheretitanitemaybestable(Hoskinetal.
2000) and DY values of amphibole increase sig
nificantly(e.g.,Bachmannetal.2005).
Crystallization experiments on hydrous andesitic
melts show that amphibole is the dominant liq
uidus phase at moderate crustal depth (e.g., at
0.8GPacorrespondingtoc.25kmdepth;Alonso
Perez et al. 2009). A change from pyroxene to
amphiboledominatedmagmaevolutionatdepth
(groups 1 and 2 vs. 3) is commonly associated
withincreasinghotzonedepth(e.g.,Kay&Mpo
dozis 2002). Additionally, amphibole becomes
destabilizedtowardslowermeltH2Ocontentsat
a given temperature and pressure (e.g.,
Müntener et al. 2001; AlonsoPerez et al. 2009).
Consequently, in addition to reflecting an in
creaseinhotzonedepth(bycrustalthickeningor
bydownwardshiftingofthehotzoneposition(s)
from mid towards deep crustal levels), the
change from pyroxene to amphiboledominated
magmadifferentiationbetweenthetwoarcseg
ments might also be related to overall higher
melt H2O contents. Whereas crustal thickening
canbeconsideredasaregionalscaleeffect,vari
ationsinmeltH2Ocontentscouldalsoapplyata

















Figure12:SchematicillustrationoftranscrustalpetrogenesisofLateOligocenetoMidMiocene(left)andLateMiocene

to Quaternary (right) Ecuadorian arc magmas. Arc magmas in both periods are generally processed in lower to mid

crustalMASH/hotzones(orangebars);crustalthickness,hotzonedepth,andmeltwatercontentscontrolthelower
crustal
 petrogenesis in each case and may variably include amphibole ± garnet (± titanite) fractionation or restite
equilibration,respectively.Involvementofasubsequentshallowcrustalmagmaevolutionstep(characterizedbypla

gioclase fractionation) may depend on multiple regionallocal factors such as magma supply rate and crustal heat
anomalies(duringbatholithconstruction),orstressfield.Adakitelikearcmagmasformbyhighpressurecrustaldiffer

entiationofH2Orichmagmaswithoutsubsequentsignificantlowpressuredifferentiation.Additionalvariationsmaybe

causedbycompositionalchangesofmantlewedgederivedmeltsinvadinglowercrustalhotzones,inparticularsince
theLateMiocene.TheindicatedLateOligocenetoMidMiocenecrustalthicknessisonlyaroughestimate;thepresent

day5070kmthicknessisconstrainedbyseismicstudies(Guillieretal.2001).Seetextforfurtherdiscussion.

rather local scale (e.g., Rodriguez et al. 2007). the lower to midcrustal petrogenesis for paren
Thismightpartlyexplainthecontrastinglowerto talmeltsofagivenmagmaticcenter.
midcrustal magmatic evolution at Gaby and
(4) A last group comprises Late Miocene intru
Balsapamba, where only the latter involves sig
sions and volcanics (Junin porphyries and Quim
nificantamphibolefractionationorrestiteequili
sacocha)whicharecharacterizedbystrongHREE
bration. Both intrusive systems share a number
depletion and negative HREE slopes indicating
of similar features which include age (c. 20 Ma;
combined amphibole and garnet fractiona
Chapter 2), a frontal arc position hosted by the
tion/restite equilibration during their petroge
same basement lithology (oceanic plateau), and
neticevolution(e.g.,H2Orichmeltsprocessedin
moderatelyhighly differentiated compositions
a midcrustal hot zone at 0.8 GPa; AlonsoPerez
(SiO2c.6168wt.%)whereplagioclaseandhorn
et al. 2009). Strontium contents are high at
blende constitute the main phenocrysts; these
Quimsacocha (448858 ppm), but low at Junin
broad similarities suggest that local (in addition
(<336 ppm), the latter probably influenced by
to regional) factors can exert a major control on
hydrothermal alteration. Negative Eu anomalies

 149
 are not present suggesting the absence of signifi‐
cant shallow crustal plagioclase fractionation sub‐
sequent  to  MASH/hot  zone  processing  of  Late 
Miocene arc magmas. 
The  petrogenetic  evolution  of  Late  Miocene  arc 
magmas (group 4) resembles several present‐day 
NVZ  volcanic  centers  where  Chiaradia  et  al. 
(2009a) propose that bulk arc compression caus‐
es  their  parental  melts  to  evolve  at  deep  crustal 
levels of a thick crust; a similar mechanism might 
apply  to  Late  Miocene  arc  magmas  in  northern‐
central  Ecuador.  However,  while  Chiaradia  et  al. 
(2009a)  propose  collision  of  the  Carnegie  Ridge 
with the Ecuadorian margin as the cause for bulk 
margin compression, the latter can only apply for 
arc magmas  <8 Ma, the  maximum age of the in‐
ception  of  Carnegie  Ridge  collision  (Chapter  3). 
Furthermore,  initial  ridge  collision  took  place  in 
northern  Ecuador;  the  ridge  axis  then  progres‐
sively swept southwards along the margin (Chap‐
ter  3).  Carnegie  Ridge  subduction  thus  cannot 
have  affected  the  far‐field  stress  regime  of  the 
central  Ecuadorian  arc  in  the  Late  Miocene  such 
that alternative causes of compression are neces‐
sary  to  explain,  for  example,  pronounced  deep 
crustal  magma  evolution  at  the  7  Ma  Quimsaco‐
cha volcanic center in central Ecuador. The latter 
could be related to local compression in a region‐
ally restraining bend structural setting associated 
with oblique plate convergence at the Ecuadorian 
margin  (Chapter  2).  Alternatively,  compression 
might  not  always  be  required  to  cause  pro‐
nounced  magma  evolution  at  mid‐  to  deep 
crustal levels. 

Figure  13:  Sr/Y  vs.  Y  distribution  of  Late  Tertiary  por‐

phyry intrusions and spatially associated host intrusive
units  in  Ecuador.  Except  for  the  Cangrejos  porphyry
intrusions,  all  porphyries  lack  petrogenetic  evidence
for  shallow  crustal  plagioclase  fractionation.  Amphi‐
bole  ±titanite  ±garnet  fractionation/restite  equilibra‐
tion at mid‐crustal levels drives some porphyry paren‐
tal  melts  towards  adakite‐like  compositions.  Mid‐
crustal magma evolution towards the end of magmatic 
cycles  of  batholith  construction  seems  to  represent  a
metallogenically  favorable  environment  whereas  intense shallow  crustal  magmatism  during  batholith  peak  assembly
may  be  less  favorable  to  form  and  preserve  porphyry‐related  mineralization.  Overall,  the  occurrence  of  adakite‐like 
features in porphyry intrusions follows the regional compositional characteristics of arc magmatism at a given time. If
present,  trace  element  compositional  differences  between  porphyries  and  associated  host  intrusions  are  associated
with regional arc magmatic trends through time. Intrusive ages from Chapters 2 and 3, and references therein. See text 
for further discussion. 

150  
 
Significance of adakitelike fea
tures for Late Oligocene to Late
Miocene porphyryrelated min
eralizationinEcuador
Aspatialassociationofadakitelikemagmacom
positionsandporphyryrelatedmineralizationhas
beenobservedinanumberofstudiesofcircum
Pacific subductionrelated ore deposits (e.g.,
Thiéblemont et al. 1997; see Richards & Kerrich
2007 for a comprehensive summary and an
evaluation of metallogenic implications). Petro
geneticcontrolsforthedevelopmentofadakite
like features in Late Tertiary Ecuadorian arc
magmas have been discussed above and com
prise a combination of regionalscale (hot zone
depth,totalcrustalthickness)tolocalscale(melt
H2O contents, differentiation effects in silicic
magmas including accessory phases) factors. As
noted above, adakitelike features (Sr/Y ratios
>3040) in our dataset indicate the absence of
extensive shallow crustal plagioclase fractiona
tion, and the fractionation (or restite equilibra
tion) of amphibole ±garnet ±titanite at higher
pressureoratrelativelyhigh meltH2O contents.
As such, the abovementioned observation of
adakitelike magmatism associated with por
phyryrelated mineralization would imply that
pronounced deep to midcrustal H2Orich melt
equilibrationwithmainlyamphibole,andtheab
sence of a pronounced shallow crustal magma
evolutionstepgeneratedfavorableconditionsfor
subsequentporphyryrelatedmineralizationfrom
fluids exsolved from these melts at somewhat
shallower depth. The latter has been demon
strated at the Late MiocenePliocene Tampakan
porphyry Cu/epithermal high sulfidation CuAu
ore deposit district (Mindanao, Philippines)
where parental melt evolution involves pro
nounced amphibole fractionation at moderate
crustal depth (0.50.6 GPa) whereupon the melt
becomes enriched in H2O (and Cl); the latter re
sultsinearlier,i.e.,higherpressurevolatilesatu
ration of subsequently ascending melt batches
where exsolved fluids are highly saline and Cu
rich(Rohrlach&Loucks2005).
TotestthesignificanceofthisassociationforLate
TertiaryEcuadorianporphyrysystems,weplotted
the compositions of porphyry intrusions and as
 151
sociated precursor intrusions in Sr/Y vs. Y dia
gramsforallfivemajorporphyrysystems(Junin,
BalsapambaTelimbela, Chaucha, Gaby, Cangre
jos) investigated in this study (Fig. 13). Porphyry
stocks at Junin, BalsapambaTelimbela, and
Chaucha are characterized by adakitelike signa
tures, whereas Gaby and Cangrejos are not (Fig.
13). At the individual deposit scale, the occur
rence of adakitelike magmatism seems to be
broadly temporally controlled (see Chapters 2
and3foragereferences):thereisashifttowards
adakitelike magma compositions at Junin (from
>15 Ma to 136 Ma; note that Sr contents of
Junin porphyries might have been lowered by
hydrothermal alteration such that these intru
sions would originally plot at higher Sr/Y ratios),
at Telimbela (from c. 26 Ma to 20 Ma), and at
Chaucha(from15to10Ma).Incontrast,nosys
tematic shifts are recorded at Gaby and Cangre
jos (always low Sr/Y) and Balsapamba (always
high Sr/Y) where the intrusive evolution spans a
relatively short time range of <2 m.y. (note that
Balsapambabatholithgrowthcomprisesasignifi
cantlylongertimespan,butgeochemicaldatafor
olderintrusivepulsesarenotavailable).
The distribution of adakitelike features of Late
Tertiary porphyry systems along the Ecuadorian
margin demonstrates that porphyryrelated min
eralization is not exclusively associated with a
specific geochemical signature or a specific path
of crustal magma evolution in Ecuador; any arc
magma may potentially form porphyryrelated
mineralization in a favorable tectonomagmatic
setting. The spatiotemporal distribution of ada
kitelike features in Ecuadorian porphyry intru
sions largely reflects regional temporal trends in
arc magma geochemistry. In addition, the con
trastingchemicalsignatures(adakitelikevs.non
adakitic) do not show any firstorder basement
control, as intrusions and porphyry systems of
both groups are mainly hosted by oceanic pla
teauunitsorTertiaryarcvolcanicsandgranitoids.
Only the Cangrejos igneous complex and the as
sociatedporphyrysystemshowisotopicevidence
ofsignificantmagmacontaminationbycontinen
tal crust (Chapter 4). There are a number of
broadlyapplicablesystematicdistributioncriteria
betweenthevariousporphyrysystems:
ƒ If BalsapambaTelimbela is excluded, Sr/Y
ratios tend to become broadly higher with
 decreasingintrusiveageonaregionalscale
(influencing the age distribution systemat
icsatthedepositscaleasnotedabove).
ƒ PorphyrysystemsinFigure13arearranged
from north to south; bulk Sr/Y ratios of
porphyryintrusionstendtobecomehigher
towardsthenorth.Iftheanomalousoccur
rence of adakitelike features at Balsa
pambaTelimbelaisexcluded,however,the
northsouth trend corresponds to a pro
gressively increasing age distribution, con
sistentwiththepreviouspoint.
ƒ Except for Cangrejos, porphyry intrusions
lack negative Eu anomalies indicating the
absence of significant shallow crustal pla
gioclasefractionation.
ƒ Allporphyrysystemscharacterizedbyhigh
Sr/Y ratios (Junin, Balsapamba, Telimbela,
Chaucha) represent CuMo porphyry de
posits (Prodeminca 2000), whereas AuCu
porphyry systems (Gaby, Cangrejos) show
lowSr/Yratios.
The geochemical composition of most porphyry
intrusions points to the absence of significant
shallowcrustalmagmaevolutionoftheirparental
melts; where porphyry intrusions are associated
with larger intrusive complexes, porphyry em
placement is late with respect to batholith con
struction (Chapters 2, 3). Peaking of the latter is
commonly associated with high magma supply
rates and might have allowed establishment of
large shallow crustal magma chambers involving
major plagioclase fractionation (e.g., Bachmann
etal.2005,2007).Dwindlingmagmasupplyrates
might eventually cause a downwards collapse of
the focus of magmatism towards greater depth
(pressure) where amphibole is stable closer to
the liquidus than plagioclase (e.g., Grove et al.
2003); magma subsequently intruding into the
shallowcrustcoolsrapidlybelowitssoliduswith
outsignificantfurtherdifferentiation(e.g.,Annen
et al. 2006). As discussed by Rohrlach & Loucks
(2005), progressive melt volatile enrichment by
magmaevolution(andreplenishment)atmoder
atepressurefavorablyinfluencesfluidexsolution
kinetics (and pressuredependent meltfluid par
titioningofClasamajorCucomplexingagent)of
subsequently ascending melt batches with re
spect to porphyryrelated mineralization. The
152
underrepresentationoflonglivedshallowcrustal
magmatic systems directly associated with por
phyry intrusions might relate to (1) lower H2O
solubilities of melts stalled at lower pressures
such that less parental melt preconditioning by
volatile enrichment takes place; for a given melt
volume,theoverallpotentialvolumeofexsolved
fluidfocusedinspaceandtime,andthusthesize
of the porphyryrelated hydrothermal system,
wouldthendecrease;(2)volatilelosstothesur
facebyvolcanism,andfluiddissipationinsteadof
focused flow; (3) destruction of shallow crustal
mineralization by later intrusive pulses. As such,
adakitelike compositions of porphyry intrusions
might signal favorable tectonomagmatic precon
ditioning of porphyry parental melts for subse
quentintrusionrelatedmineralization.
The observed mutual exclusivity of CuMo and
AuCuporphyrysystemswithorwithoutadakite
like magma compositions, respectively, may be
an apparent one, as adakitelike features are as
sociated with AuCu or CuAu por
phyry/epithermal mineralization elsewhere (e.g.,
Rohrlach&Loucks2005;Chiaradiaetal.,2009b).
However, it might indicate that deep to mid
crustal magma evolution and the inferred con
comitant volatile enrichment (and its bearing on
therelativetimingofvolatilesaturationandfluid
exsolutiondepth)ofporphyryparentalmeltsmay
be particularly important for the CuMo budget
of a given porphyry system, whereas additional
factors influence its Au budget. The significance
of magma chemistry for the total tonnage of a
givenoredepositinEcuadorcannotbeaccurately
evaluated as the Late Tertiary porphyry systems
arevariablydeeplyerodedsuchthattheircurrent
tonnage does not necessarily reflect the initial
depositsize(Prodeminca2000).
Conclusions
The overall spatiotemporal distribution of ada
kitelike features in Late Tertiary Ecuadorian arc
magmas is semisystematic; magmatic centers
characterized by (partly) adakitelike magmatism
are mainly hosted by the Western Cordillera in
northerncentral Ecuador and comprise Balsa
pamba(c.21Ma),ApuelaJunin(136Ma),Chau
cha(c.10Ma),andQuimsacocha(7Ma).Adakite
likefeatures(highSr/Y)ofLateTertiaryEcuador
ian arc magmas are mainly due to strong Y and
heavy REE depletion of their parental melts at
broadly constant Sr contents, and are related to
fractionation/restite equilibration effects of am
phibole,garnet,andtitanite.
IntheEarlytoMidMiocene,amphibole(±acces
sorytitanite)isthemostimportantmineralphase
forcontrollingYandHREEdepletioninsilicicarc
magmas and thus their evolution towards ada
kitelike features in Ecuador, either by fractiona
tion, or equilibration with an amphibolebearing
restite. The onset of Y and heavy REE depletion
by garnet fractionation/restite equilibration (in
concert with amphibole) seems to be restricted
totheLateMioceneandcontinuestothepresent
day.WhilestrongYdepletionbyamphibolefrac
tionation/restite equilibration is particularly effi
cient in silicic melts, Y depletion by garnet frac
tionation/restite equilibration is also efficient in
mafic melts and allows Late Miocene and
youngerarcmagmastoacquireadakitelikecom
positionsalreadyatsomewhatearlierdifferentia
tion stages than Late Oligocene to MidMiocene
magmas.Shallowcrustalplagioclasefractionation
affects some, but not all Late Tertiary arc mag
mas in southern Ecuador; it is of minor petroge
netic significance for Miocene intrusions of the
WesternCordillerainnortherncentralEcuador.A
preferential association of adakitelike features
withaspecificbasementlithologycannotbeob
served.
Systematic trace element variations (Sr, Y, REE)
through time are indicative of progressively in
creasinghighpressurecrustalmagmadifferentia
tion.Whileincreasing crustalthicknessfavorably
influences the occurrence of adakitelike fea
tures,thelatterarefurthermodulatedbyasetof
parameters which dynamically control mineral
stabilities and mineralmelt partitioning coeffi
cients. These include magma evolution depth
(pressure) in a given crustal column and melt
composition,thelattercomprisingthedegreeof
differentiation and melt H2O contents; these ad
ditionalcontrolsmayoperateataregionalorlo
calscale.
For porphyryrelated ore deposits where multi
m.y. precursor magmatism occurs at the same
site, and porphyry emplacement represents the
lastmajorintrusiveevent,wenoteatendencyof
 153
porphyry parental melts to evolve towards ada
kitelike compositions (e.g., at Junin and Chau
cha)indicativeofdownwardmigrationofthefo
cus of crustal magma evolution towards greater
depth and/or increasing melt H2O contents.
While this may reflect favorable tectono
magmatic preconditioning of porphyry parental
melts,itisimportanttonotethatthesecomposi
tional changes are of a regional arc magmatic
scale, and broadly controlled by the relative age
differencebetweenporphyryandhostintrusions.
Systematic compositional changes between por
phyry and precursor intrusions are not recorded
if the time difference between their respective
emplacementeventsissmall(<2m.y.).Inthelat
ter case, magmas may be both of adakitelike
(Balsapamba)ornonadakiticaffinity(Gaby,Can
grejos). The fact that porphyryrelated minerali
zationinEcuadorspansthewholeLateOligocene
toLateMiocene(246Ma)overalargelatitudinal
range (c. 0° to 3°30’S) supports the notion that
anyarcmagmaofasufficientvolumehasthepo
tential to form porphyryrelated mineralization.
Porphyryrelated ore deposits in Ecuador may
comprise multiple intrusive phases (Chapters 2,
3), and more detailed studies are necessary to
betterresolveindividualdepositscalegeochemi
cal trends and their significance for mineraliza
tion.

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156

AppendixI–Rockalterationand
element mobility in porphyry
relatedhydrothermalsystems
Porphyryrelated ore deposits typically comprise
multiple intrusive bodies of variable geometry
such as cylindrical stocks (commonly <1 km di
ameter, but several km in length), dikes, or
domes(Seedorffetal.2005).Theintrusivebodies
act as focal points for the flow of metalbearing
magmaticfluidsexsolvedfromamagmachamber
situated at greater depth (Sillitoe 1973). These
fluids generate hydrothermal alteration of vari
ableintensitybothinsidetheporphyrybodyand
in a significantly larger aureole surrounding the
intrusion.Fluidevolutionbyfluidascent,cooling,
mixingwithexternal(mainlymeteoric)fluidsand
fluidwall rock equilibration dictates its chemical
characterandtheresultingtypeofhydrothermal
alteration (Seedorff et al. 2005). Typical altera
tion zones associated with porphyry Cu deposits
comprise sodiccalcic and potassic alteration at
depth,givingwaytophyllicandargillicalteration
athigherormoredistantlevels,andgradinginto
propyliticalterationintheperipheralpartsofthe
porphyrysystem.Fluidphaseseparationintoco
existing vapor and brine phases additionally re
sults in concomitant advanced argillic alteration
bytheascendingvaporintheuppermostpartof
theporphyrysystem.Similaralterationzonesex
istinepithermaldeposits.Acollapseofthefluid
flow pattern driven by decreasing temperatures
and fluid supply rates can promote overprinting
of the different alteration types. For a compre
hensive summary on mineral assemblages asso
ciatedwiththesedifferenttypesofalterationsee
Seedorffetal.(2005).
Hydrothermal alteration produces metasomatic
changes of magmatic rock compositions (e.g.,
Ulrich & Heinrich 2002). As hydrothermal altera
tion is inevitable in a porphyry environment,
sampling for our study focused on “least altered
samples” which are supposed to be closest to
original magmatic compositions. In this context,
this term has a relative meaning, depending on
the local alteration style and intensity, such that
alterationinduced compositional changes in
samples labeled as “leastaltered” cannot neces
sarilybepredictedwithconfidence(Giffkinsetal.
 157
2005).Therefore,forastudyofgeochemicalfea
turesofrockssubjecttohydrothermalalteration
suchasoursitisusefultofirstevaluateelement
mobility during hydrothermal alteration stages
andtheresultingchangesinrockgeochemistryto
definethedegreetowhichelementscanbeused
as reliable tracers for petrogenetic processes.
While it is generally accepted that the group of
largeionlithophileelements(LILE)and,toaless
er extent, light rare earth elements (LREE), are
readilytransportablebyfluids,whereashighfield
strength elements (HFSE) and mid to heavy rare
earth elements (M/HREEE) tend to be fluid
immobile, detailed geochemical studies of al
teredrocksshowthatHFSEandM/HREEcanalso
be mobilized to significant extents under certain
conditions(e.g.,Lesheretal.1985;Fulignatietal.
1999;Polat&Hofmann2003;Vermaetal.2005;
Shikazonoetal.2008).
We tested the compositional scatter caused by
hydrothermal alteration for a number of litholo
gies where multiple samples of the same lithol
ogy are available (ApuelaCuellaje, Balsapamba
and Gaby intrusions; Saraguro volcanics at Por
tovelo) by calculating isocons based on least
alteredsamplesofeachlithology(Grant1986).At
Gaby, samples comprise two different porphyry
intrusions which are compositionally indistin
guishable, such that they may be treated as one
for evaluating alterationinduced compositional
changes. Isoconslopesarecalculated fromAl2O3
contents of leastaltered versus altered samples,
as this oxide consistently shows constant con
tentsirrespectiveofstyleandintensityofaltera
tion, attesting to its immobile nature. We limit
isoconcalculationstomajorelementoxidesanda
number of trace elements serving as important
tracers for certain petrogenetic processes. Some
mineralogicalfeaturesofvariablyalteredsamples
areexemplifiedinFig.2;isoconplotsareshown
in Fig. 3, and a complete overview table where
therelative,isoconbasedcompositionalchanges
arequantifiedcanbefoundinTableA2.
Compositional scatter between samples of a
given lithology only becomes statistically signifi
cantatrelativedifferencesexceeding10%corre
sponding to the analytical precision of trace ele
mentanalysis.Toaccountfortheintensealtera
tion typically associated with porphyry systems,
we double this value and define a 20% relative
scatterinelementcontentsofthesamelithology
as acceptable, while regarding elements consis
tently showing higher scatter as unreliable to
characterizemagmaticprocesses.Usingthisclas
sification scheme, we find the element behavior
patterns listed in Table 2 which we assume as
representative for our whole dataset. Elements
of the LILE (Cs, Rb, Ba, K) and REE (especially
LREE) groups show alterationinduced scatter
beyond acceptable means and are thus inappro
priate to constrain petrogenetic processes. This
inhibits usage of crustal contaminationsensitive
incompatibleelementratiossuchasRb/K,aswell
asLa/YbasanoverallindicatorofREEfractiona
tion.
Strontium, though part of the LILE group, shows
acceptable scatter and its concentrations are
therefore considered as petrogenetically signifi
cant. The relative immobility of Sr in most sam
plesislikelyaneffectofavoidingintensefeldspar
phenocrystdestructive alteration types during
sampling, although potential alteration of small
feldspar crystals in the submicroscopic porphyry
matrixcannotbeevaluated.Biotiteconstitutesa
dominant mineral in potassic alteration assem
blages in Ecuador; substitution of biotitehosted
interstitialsite K with Rb, Cs and Ba, but not Sr
(Deer et al. 1992) is consistent with the inferred
highmobilityoftheseelementscomparedtothe
relative immobility of Sr in our samples. Chemi
cally correlated behavior of MREE and HREE in
altered rocks suggests that element ratios based
on these groups (e.g., Sm/Dy, Dy/Yb) are rela
tivelynonsusceptibletoalteration.Severalmajor
elementsandtheHFSEshowonlyminortomod
eratevariationsforrocksaffectedbythevarious
alteration types listed in Table 2, such that their
concentrations in hydrothermally altered rocks
largelyreflectmagmaticprocesses.
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AppendixII–Datatables

TableA1(next15pages):ConcentrationsofmajorandtraceelementsofLateTertiarymagmaticcenters.
Analyzed elementsnotdescribed/discussedinChapter5(mostlymetalsandS)arelistedat the end of
thetable.Analysesofseveralbasementunits,xenoliths,andtheLateCretaceousCuriplayaporphyryin
trusionswhichwerecarriedoutintheframeofthisPhDprojectareshownforcomparison,butarenot
discussedinthetext.

MineralabbreviationsusedthroughoutTableA1:qtzquartz,plagplagioclase,fspfeldspar,hblhorn
blende.Otherabbreviations:CCOPCaribbeanColombianoceanicplateau;XRFanalysis:Rho.Rhodespro
gram;tr.standardtraceelementprogram.AllanalysesperformedattheUniversityofLausanne.



Tab. A2: Relative changes in concentration compared to leastaltered reference sample concentration
calculatedfromGrant(1986);isoconconstructedassumingconstantmassofAl2O3

 159

Table A1 (continued)
Sample Method E05129 E06209 E07034 E06200 E06202 E06205A E06206A E06206B
Location Apuela batholith at Junin Apuela batholith at Cuellaje

Lithology granodiorite granodiorite qtz-diorite granodiorite granodiorite granodiorite granodiorite granodiorite

SiO2 XRF 69.52 68.27 64.38 66.22 65.69 66.49 66.67 68.12
TiO2 XRF 0.41 0.41 0.54 0.41 0.44 0.40 0.43 0.39
Al2O3 XRF 14.87 15.57 16.31 16.58 16.55 16.21 16.10 15.43
Fe2O3 XRF 3.82 4.37 5.97 3.60 3.73 3.63 3.81 3.39
MnO XRF 0.02 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.05
MgO XRF 1.58 1.70 2.31 1.69 1.89 1.86 1.85 1.62
CaO XRF 1.67 3.07 3.46 3.99 4.37 4.26 4.14 3.60
Na2O XRF 3.05 3.52 3.10 4.42 4.44 4.50 4.49 4.42
K2O XRF 3.34 2.53 1.97 1.46 1.50 1.71 1.55 1.69
P2O5 XRF 0.10 0.10 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.13
LOI XRF 1.21 0.81 0.98 1.19 0.51 0.38 0.32 0.30
Total XRF 99.6 100.4 99.2 99.7 99.3 99.6 99.6 99.2
Nb ICP-MS 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6
Ta ICP-MS 0.22 0.16 0.14 0.15
Zr ICP-MS 104 79 71 82
Y XRF-Rho. 14 14 14 5.9 7.5 6.9 7.1 7.4
Hf ICP-MS 3.0 2.1 2.0 2.2
Cs ICP-MS 3.7 1.8 1.2 1.0
Rb ICP-MS 50 29 25 28
Ba ICP-MS 211 1406 479 654
Sr XRF-Rho. 246 289 331 563 577 549 555 489
Pb XRF-Rho. <2 4 3 <2 2 4 3 4
U ICP-MS 1.7 1.0 0.78 0.84
Th ICP-MS 3.9 1.7 1.5 2.3
La ICP-MS 13 8.5 9.1 11
Ce ICP-MS 25 17 18 20
Pr ICP-MS 2.9 2.0 2.2 2.4
Nd ICP-MS 12 9.0 9.7 10
Sm ICP-MS 2.6 1.9 1.9 2.0
Eu ICP-MS 0.61 0.55 0.53 0.60
Gd ICP-MS 2.2 1.5 1.5 2.0
Tb ICP-MS 0.36 0.17 0.21 0.25
Dy ICP-MS 2.1 0.91 1.31 1.2
Ho ICP-MS 0.39 0.19 0.24 0.22
Er ICP-MS 1.4 0.47 0.69 0.74
Tm ICP-MS 0.22 0.06 0.09 0.10
Yb ICP-MS 1.3 0.52 0.62 0.82
Lu ICP-MS 0.23 0.09 0.10 0.09
Sc ICP-MS 15 8 9 9
V XRF-Rho. 84 87 126 81 84 70 81 69
Cr XRF-Rho. 18 22 29 27 28 26 40 30
Co ICP-MS 12 8.5 9.8 9.5
Ni ICP-MS 11 13 18 16
Cu XRF-tr. 176 12 191 36 8 2 63 10
Zn XRF-Rho. 28 29 46 38 38 47 54 52
Ga XRF-Rho. 14 15 18 18 18 19 19 18
As XRF-tr. <3 4 4 <3 <3 <3 4 4
Mo ICP-MS 2.1 0.47 0.36 0.31
Ag ICP-MS 0.27 <0.10 <0.06 0.08
Sn ICP-MS 1.9 0.84
Sb ICP-MS 1.0 0.32 0.16 0.17
W ICP-MS 1.1 3.0
S XRF-tr. <3 12 288 329 23 107 104 8

160

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E05120 E05127 E06183 E06211 E07032 E06186 E06197 E07035 E06127 E06130
Location Junin porphyry intrusions Balsapamba ba-
tholith
Lithology granodioritic granodioritic granodioritic granodioritic granodioritic fsp-qtz fsp-qtz porphyritic tonalite tonalite
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porpyhry porphyry microdiorite

SiO2 69.30 70.45 69.13 68.66 70.36 70.84 70.22 67.16 67.53 67.54
TiO2 0.23 0.24 0.22 0.33 0.25 0.24 0.20 0.43 0.39 0.38
Al2O3 16.26 15.94 16.70 16.33 16.54 16.01 17.02 16.75 16.53 16.48
Fe2O3 1.32 1.74 2.35 2.93 2.32 2.09 1.92 3.31 3.77 4.01
MnO 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.05 0.05
MgO 0.51 0.76 0.82 1.15 0.74 0.72 0.65 1.25 1.52 1.52
CaO 0.17 0.72 0.21 0.39 0.43 0.45 0.10 2.28 4.72 4.67
Na2O 3.39 5.69 4.00 4.67 5.07 5.61 2.80 3.63 3.89 3.83
K2O 5.77 2.91 3.39 3.99 3.44 2.74 5.15 2.85 1.05 1.17
P2O5 0.09 0.10 0.02 0.12 0.10 0.09 0.06 0.13 0.12 0.11
LOI 1.24 0.95 2.33 1.39 1.00 1.32 1.80 1.42 0.41 0.29
Total 98.3 99.5 99.2 100.0 100.3 100.1 99.9 99.2 100.0 100.0
Nb 0.7 1.7 1.8 1.4 1.8 0.7 1.7 2.7 2.0
Ta 0.06 0.13 0.10 0.09 0.12 0.04 0.08 0.22 0.13
Zr 50 68 74 63 71 53 65 61 51
Y 2.4 3.9 6.1 4.4 3.9 4.1 2.4 4.3 6.5 6.9
Hf 1.4 1.9 1.8 1.6 2.0 1.5 1.9 1.7 1.6
Cs 0.4 1.4 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.3 2.6 1.5 1.1
Rb 46 40 51 44 38 55 36 19 18
Ba 620 636 624 836 543 376 1346 222 290
Sr 129 336 210 218 297 298 87 291 402 396
Pb <2 <2 <2 <2 2 3 <2 3 3 3
U 0.46 0.70 0.88 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.38 0.40 0.58
Th 0.34 0.82 0.98 0.75 0.95 0.55 0.57 1.1 1.3
La 1.8 5.9 8.1 6.7 7.2 2.6 6.7 7.5 7.5
Ce 3.9 12 17 14 15 4.9 14 15 15
Pr 0.5 1.6 2.0 1.7 1.8 0.6 1.8 1.8 1.7
Nd 2.2 7.1 8.7 7.4 8.0 2.3 8.6 7.8 8.0
Sm 0.34 1.4 1.9 1.3 1.3 0.51 1.7 1.7 1.9
Eu 0.13 0.35 0.63 0.38 0.49 0.13 0.47 0.56 0.60
Gd 0.36 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.2 0.33 1.4 1.4 1.4
Tb 0.04 0.15 0.16 0.13 0.14 0.05 0.11 0.19 0.26
Dy 0.35 0.81 0.71 0.70 0.82 0.26 0.82 1.1 1.1
Ho 0.07 0.19 0.14 0.11 0.13 0.06 0.14 0.23 0.20
Er 0.16 0.41 0.36 0.26 0.36 0.19 0.38 0.62 0.69
Tm 0.04 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.09 0.09
Yb 0.18 0.43 0.24 0.41 0.48 0.24 0.33 0.59 0.65
Lu 0.02 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.10
Sc 2 5 5 4 5 3 6 8 8
V 36 46 37 56 40 43 50 80 68 65
Cr <2 7 7 5 5 6 3 16 12 15
Co 1.3 3.1 6.5 4.5 6.5 4.9 6.7 5.6
Ni 1.3 4.4 6.9 2.7 5.3 2.4 6.1 6.5 5.2
Cu 3536 357 370 617 127 291 775 22 62 20
Zn 20 26 28 86 22 29 12 41 38 39
Ga 18 17 18 18 18 18 20 20 17 17
As 3 <3 19 6 3 18 5 5 <3 3
Mo 64 6.3 2.0 0.54 1.2 7.7 0.35 1.3 0.45
Ag 0.43 0.38 0.23 0.15 0.22 0.16 <0.09 <0.10 <0.12
Sn 1.7 1.9
Sb 0.32 0.47 0.52 0.28 0.62 0.42 0.67 <0.12 <0.08
W 8.5 4.0 4.8 6.9 10 0.35 0.48
S 1025 22 5 458 35 938 568 88 222 82

 161

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E06140 E06144A E06136 E06139 E06138 E06131A E06132 E06135 E06141 E06134
Balsapamba batholith Balsapamba porphyry intrusions

Lithology tonalite tonalite tonalite tonalite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry

SiO2 66.26 65.68 67.65 67.85 62.02 66.06 65.62 65.63 65.85 57.63
TiO2 0.39 0.41 0.46 0.46 0.65 0.43 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.64
Al2O3 15.80 16.31 16.99 16.77 18.46 16.05 16.46 16.45 16.10 17.84
Fe2O3 3.97 4.49 2.37 2.91 3.96 5.18 4.48 5.70 5.61 7.23
MnO 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.06
MgO 1.62 1.65 2.02 1.75 3.24 2.04 1.98 2.01 2.00 3.15
CaO 4.59 5.00 4.68 4.60 4.46 4.94 4.67 4.68 4.64 5.14
Na2O 3.84 3.81 3.78 3.80 4.02 3.42 3.52 3.39 3.31 3.12
K2O 1.74 1.16 1.29 1.21 2.09 1.23 1.46 1.32 1.27 1.98
P2O5 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.05 0.07 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.13
LOI 0.15 0.41 0.72 0.41 0.84 0.44 0.49 0.60 0.70 2.76
Total 98.5 99.1 100.1 99.9 99.9 100.0 99.3 100.4 100.0 99.7
Nb 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.1 1.2
Ta 0.17 0.14 0.17 0.22 0.18 0.19 0.06
Zr 65 48 57 56 59 55 45
Y 8.6 7.5 3.5 1.4 2.4 11 8.0 8.7 9.0 11
Hf 1.7 1.4 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.3
Cs 1.3 2.2 1.8 2.6 2.5 1.9 2.2
Rb 22 39 24 28 31 27 40
Ba 282 287 262 243 202 202 213
Sr 355 379 393 395 348 333 348 340 335 344
Pb 4 4 3 2 3 <2 3 3 2 3
U 0.29 0.29 0.67 0.92 0.98 0.89 0.46
Th 0.99 0.33 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.3 0.52
La 3.5 2.0 6.3 8.3 5.3 5.5 4.9
Ce 6.6 4.0 13 17 10 10 11
Pr 0.8 0.5 1.8 2.1 1.3 1.2 1.4
Nd 3.5 2.2 7.4 8.2 5.0 5.0 7.4
Sm 0.84 0.44 1.8 1.6 1.1 0.97 2.1
Eu 0.44 0.39 0.51 0.53 0.50 0.40 0.60
Gd 0.81 0.34 1.6 1.0 1.1 1.1 2.2
Tb 0.11 0.07 0.27 0.18 0.20 0.16 0.36
Dy 0.67 0.38 1.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.8
Ho 0.12 0.08 0.33 0.24 0.30 0.28 0.34
Er 0.33 0.26 1.1 0.78 0.85 0.89 0.89
Tm 0.06 0.04 0.15 0.11 0.15 0.14 0.13
Yb 0.36 0.32 0.96 0.81 0.98 0.98 0.77
Lu 0.07 0.05 0.18 0.14 0.15 0.18 0.11
Sc 11 19 13 12 13 12 14
V 66 75 79 73 138 98 109 100 97 189
Cr 13 15 19 20 21 14 14 16 14 21
Co 3.0 6.6 5.9 5.8 24
Ni 5.7 9.0 11 9.9 9.6 8.2 13
Cu 5 12 9 8 69 40 23 24 27 658
Zn 40 48 38 45 54 55 58 60 45 49
Ga 17 18 16 17 17 16 17 16 17 19
As <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 4 <3 <3 <3 3
Mo <0.30 1.4 0.97 0.85 0.39 0.40 1.4
Ag <0.10 <0.10 <0.08 0.20 <0.11 <0.10 <0.10
Sn
Sb 0.13 <0.08 0.11 0.19 0.22 0.13 0.18
W 0.47 0.84 0.38 0.78 0.78 0.67 0.56
S 123 128 14 257 1162 61 105 66 79 11392

162

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E07044 E07045 E06150 E06149 E06153 E05070 E05072 E05073 E05076 E05078
Telimbela batholith Telimbela Gaby porphyry intrusions
porphyry
intrusion
Lithology tonalite tonalite qtz mi- qtz mi- qtz-diorite hbl-plag hbl-plag plag-hbl hbl por- hbl por-
crodiorite crodiorite porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry phyry phyry

SiO2 64.62 65.23 57.34 52.96 64.48 63.85 62.09 62.63 64.00 62.90
TiO2 0.55 0.50 0.72 0.81 0.49 0.52 0.52 0.51 0.54 0.53
Al2O3 16.16 16.37 17.58 18.03 16.47 16.56 16.66 16.26 17.34 16.24
Fe2O3 5.35 5.14 7.96 9.10 4.68 3.67 6.16 5.27 2.70 5.27
MnO 0.10 0.07 0.14 0.12 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.07
MgO 2.28 2.24 3.86 4.70 2.02 2.79 2.85 2.83 2.67 2.93
CaO 4.74 5.25 7.26 3.87 5.42 7.34 6.71 7.17 6.70 7.26
Na2O 3.36 3.59 3.60 3.18 3.88 3.94 3.78 3.84 5.20 3.87
K2O 1.94 0.52 0.82 2.79 1.02 0.18 0.55 0.23 0.19 0.17
P2O5 0.11 0.11 0.13 0.15 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.11
LOI 0.90 1.04 0.69 3.36 0.72 0.66 0.30 0.61 1.04 0.48
Total 100.1 100.1 100.1 99.1 99.4 99.7 99.8 99.5 100.6 99.8
Nb 4.2 2.5 2.2 1.8 1.8 2.2 2.1 2.1
Ta 0.29 0.15 0.13 0.09 0.17 0.18 0.17 0.18
Zr 113 107 55 41 68 65 65 66
Y 18 17 13 15 7.4 14 14 15 14 15
Hf 4.5 2.8 1.5 1.3 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8
Cs 0.9 0.7 2.5 18 3.1 0.4 0.4 0.3
Rb 53 9 13 78 18 3 4 2
Ba 593 199 202 212 147 136 164 134
Sr 309 349 400 321 393 309 302 300 256 297
Pb 13 4 3 <2 3 2 2 2 <2 2
U 1.8 0.90 0.27 0.24 0.56 0.42 0.44 0.46
Th 4.4 2.5 0.52 0.20 0.88 1.1 1.1 1.1
La 16 10 4.9 4.7 4.3 4.5 4.1 5.1
Ce 34 21 12 11 10 11 10 12
Pr 4.3 2.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6
Nd 19 13 7.5 7.7 6.0 6.5 7.1 6.7
Sm 4.8 2.6 2.0 2.0 1.2 1.7 1.8 1.9
Eu 1.2 0.69 0.59 0.65 0.51 0.64 0.65 0.58
Gd 4.8 2.8 2.3 2.4 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.8
Tb 0.75 0.45 0.38 0.42 0.19 0.29 0.35 0.32
Dy 4.6 2.8 2.2 2.5 1.3 2.2 2.3 2.3
Ho 0.88 0.54 0.45 0.54 0.25 0.46 0.50 0.50
Er 2.8 1.7 1.3 1.6 0.66 1.40 1.5 1.5
Tm 0.39 0.26 0.18 0.20 0.11 0.21 0.23 0.21
Yb 2.7 1.8 1.2 1.5 0.67 1.53 1.6 1.6
Lu 0.39 0.29 0.18 0.20 0.10 0.22 0.25 0.24
Sc 23 13 20 23 11 21 22 21
V 104 88 187 248 114 118 136 136 74 171
Cr 24 25 36 44 28 29 33 29 30 30
Co 19 9.9 21 26 9.7 9.3 10 10
Ni 20 12 22 23 16 8.9 8.2 9.6
Cu 31 8 69 1857 25 98 89 154 36 187
Zn 62 101 74 84 44 32 29 32 26 35
Ga 17 17 19 21 18 16 17 16 15 16
As 4 5 5 105 4 <3 <3 <3 5 <3
Mo 3.4 0.27 0.98 80 70 3.7 5.1 14
Ag 0.22 0.09 <0.15 0.42 0.18 <0.17 0.29 0.27
Sn 2.4 1.8
Sb 0.68 0.80 0.15 0.33 0.22 0.67 0.78 0.61
W 0.51 0.62 4.2 1.5 1.4 1.1
S 851 143 114 5627 729 1358 216 3785 561 713

 163

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E05083a E05083b E05086 E05088 E06033 E06041 E06046 E06048 E06050 E06051 E06053
Gaby porphyry intrusions

Lithology plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl hbl-plag hbl-plag plag-hbl plag plag
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry
+ enclave
SiO2 60.49 61.08 61.19 61.22 60.80 61.60 61.07 62.72 62.80 61.59 60.67
TiO2 0.54 0.53 0.55 0.53 0.54 0.55 0.53 0.52 0.55 0.53 0.57
Al2O3 16.52 16.69 17.05 17.21 17.18 17.16 16.71 16.56 16.54 16.84 16.47
Fe2O3 7.51 7.09 6.64 6.55 6.52 5.43 6.53 5.21 3.33 5.45 6.71
MnO 0.07 0.07 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.06
MgO 2.57 2.61 2.38 2.34 2.35 2.30 2.77 2.69 2.96 2.76 3.00
CaO 6.71 6.76 6.62 6.84 6.77 6.70 6.58 7.19 8.08 7.31 7.09
Na2O 4.10 4.19 3.27 3.31 3.16 3.98 3.60 3.92 3.81 3.45 3.39
K2O 0.30 0.33 0.60 0.67 0.61 0.22 0.71 0.25 0.35 0.60 0.63
P2O5 0.11 0.10 0.13 0.13 0.11 0.12 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.11
LOI 0.66 0.66 0.90 1.04 1.28 1.05 0.39 0.52 0.51 0.45 0.43
Total 99.6 100.1 99.5 100.0 99.5 99.2 99.1 99.8 99.1 99.1 99.1
Nb 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.8 2.0 2.3 2.3
Ta 0.18 0.16 0.19 0.19 0.12 0.17 0.16
Zr 65 65 73 71 67 69 66
Y 12 12 17 16 16 17 14 15 15 14 16
Hf 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8
Cs 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.4 1.1 1.4
Rb 5 6 9 11 2 14 16
Ba 96 93 425 413 125 178 147
Sr 279 283 307 308 310 292 290 293 304 294 287
Pb 3 5 4 4 5 <2 <2 <2 <2 <2 <2
U 0.42 0.44 0.44 0.42 0.63 0.94 0.77
Th 0.98 0.91 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.1
La 4.7 5.4 6.8 6.6 3.6 12 6.2
Ce 11 12 14 14 10 20 12
Pr 1.5 1.6 1.9 2.1 1.4 2.3 1.6
Nd 6.9 7.8 8.6 8.0 8.4 8.5 6.6
Sm 1.8 1.7 2.1 2.0 2.5 1.7 1.8
Eu 0.62 0.65 0.76 0.66 0.74 0.53 0.58
Gd 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.6 1.6 1.7
Tb 0.31 0.30 0.38 0.37 0.40 0.28 0.32
Dy 2.0 2.0 2.7 2.6 2.3 2.0 2.1
Ho 0.41 0.39 0.52 0.55 0.52 0.44 0.45
Er 1.2 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.4
Tm 0.16 0.17 0.25 0.23 0.23 0.20 0.22
Yb 1.1 1.2 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6
Lu 0.20 0.17 0.27 0.29 0.23 0.25 0.25
Sc 18 18 20 20 17 20 21
V 129 129 116 112 116 115 139 133 132 142 156
Cr 31 29 24 24 24 17 29 28 40 23 62
Co 7.8 8.3 13 8.3 14 10
Ni 7.9 8.7 6.1 4.6 9.8 13 11
Cu 72 128 24 21 19 479 155 440 79 822 113
Zn 32 34 82 89 83 48 30 40 28 29 30
Ga 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 17 17 18 18
As <3 7 <3 6 4 5 4 5 <3 <3 <3
Mo 3.8 13 0.97 0.56 1.3 17 5.1
Ag 0.39 0.21 <0.12 <0.12 0.33 0.38 0.16
Sn
Sb 1.2 0.85 1.3 0.95 0.69 0.39 0.50
W 2.1 1.8 0.46 0.39 0.74 1.0 1.6
S 2632 2612 169 49 160 3003 1107 1918 292 1765 1906

164

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E05090 E06044 E06042 E06043 E06049 E06052 E06054 E06055 E06056
Gaby/Papa Grande Gaby/Papa Grande tonalite
porphyry intrusions

Lithology hbl-plag plag(-hbl) tonalite tonalite tonalite tonalite tonalite tonalite tonalite
porphyry porphyry

SiO2 61.63 62.08 61.26 63.00 65.27 62.51 61.84 61.90 60.21
TiO2 0.52 0.50 0.54 0.51 0.43 0.52 0.56 0.56 0.62
Al2O3 16.87 16.27 15.96 16.11 15.74 16.22 16.33 16.49 16.33
Fe2O3 6.43 6.36 6.30 5.77 5.21 5.77 5.07 5.25 6.68
MnO 0.17 0.12 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.07
MgO 2.84 2.81 3.09 2.65 2.16 2.62 2.83 2.65 2.93
CaO 7.97 7.58 6.17 6.13 5.26 6.73 7.34 7.15 7.25
Na2O 2.18 1.95 3.46 3.80 3.55 3.77 3.55 3.44 3.95
K2O 0.18 0.38 0.71 0.69 1.02 0.52 0.35 0.51 0.28
P2O5 0.11 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.11 0.10 0.11
LOI 1.25 1.26 1.47 0.43 0.69 0.47 1.02 0.93 0.77
Total 100.2 99.4 99.1 99.3 99.5 99.3 99.1 99.1 99.2
Nb 2.5 2.5 2.7
Ta 0.14 0.21 0.18
Zr 70 69 75
Y 13 12 13 13 12 16 15 15 17
Hf 1.5 1.9 2.1
Cs 0.8 1.3 0.8
Rb 3 22 10
Ba 75 453 245
Sr 309 299 255 283 254 282 293 299 294
Pb 4 3 <2 <2 <2 2 <2 <2 <2
U 0.48 1.2 0.52
Th 1.1 2.8 1.6
La 6.3 7.2 6.3
Ce 14 14 13
Pr 1.5 1.4 1.7
Nd 7.4 6.9 6.8
Sm 1.6 1.6 1.9
Eu 0.53 0.48 0.56
Gd 1.7 1.2 2.3
Tb 0.29 0.29 0.34
Dy 1.9 1.7 2.4
Ho 0.33 0.35 0.52
Er 1.2 1.1 1.6
Tm 0.15 0.16 0.22
Yb 1.6 1.2 1.8
Lu 0.19 0.18 0.27
Sc 16 13 20
V 129 128 147 121 101 125 140 148 162
Cr 35 36 35 29 23 33 24 33 22
Co 16 11 11
Ni 10 6.5 9.4
Cu 35 31 336 101 54 166 2302 1095 775
Zn 73 49 39 46 43 34 43 42 37
Ga 18 17 17 16 16 16 17 17 18
As 5 7 <3 4 <3 <3 <3 <3 4
Mo 0.30 0.91 5.32
Ag <0.17 0.16 0.21
Sn
Sb 6.2 0.48 0.53
W 1.5 2.3 1.3
S 611 289 8228 94 1977 1769 6691 8838 3256

 165

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E07002 E07005 E06179 E06181 E07001 E07003 E07008 E06158 E05092 E05093
Chaucha porphyry intrusions Chaucha batholith Quimsacocha
(Gur-Gur/Tunas) dacite domes
Lithology dacitic dacitic granodiorite granodiorite tonalite tonalite tonalite qtz-diorite dacite dacite
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry

SiO2 64.49 68.40 73.26 73.41 64.74 68.65 65.39 67.87 69.63 69.19
TiO2 0.59 0.42 0.19 0.21 0.46 0.49 0.50 0.37 0.35 0.34
Al2O3 17.57 16.55 14.86 15.10 16.57 16.65 17.41 16.45 16.58 16.37
Fe2O3 5.20 2.99 1.05 1.13 5.18 3.10 4.77 4.30 2.09 2.17
MnO 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.02
MgO 1.51 1.23 0.77 0.92 1.96 2.09 2.20 1.53 0.25 0.64
CaO 4.89 3.34 3.38 3.30 5.04 4.04 4.22 3.79 2.74 3.50
Na2O 3.94 4.16 4.35 4.11 2.78 3.20 3.17 3.43 4.26 4.64
K2O 1.20 1.75 0.44 0.41 1.23 1.11 1.38 0.51 1.95 1.80
P2O5 0.19 0.13 0.07 0.02 0.11 0.10 0.12 0.09 0.12 0.13
LOI 0.33 1.29 1.34 1.47 1.80 0.82 0.85 1.64 1.20 0.95
Total 100.0 100.3 99.8 100.1 99.9 100.3 100.1 100.0 99.2 99.8
Nb 3.2 3.4 2.1 2.0 3.5 2.7 3.3 2.3 2.9
Ta 0.21 0.22 0.31 0.30 0.27 0.19 0.26 0.22 0.21
Zr 122 92 59 64 81 77 86 63 107
Y 8.3 7.2 4.6 1.7 13 12 13 7.8 4.8 5.1
Hf 3.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.9 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.9
Cs 2.1 1.8 1.5 2.0 2.2 1.1 2.2 2.9 0.5
Rb 40 37 10 10 44 42 52 16 34
Ba 407 198 189 170 359 686 251 291 876
Sr 611 492 329 307 409 336 356 416 466 858
Pb 4 7 5 4 9 5 5 5 13 10
U 0.58 1.6 1.8 1.6 2.7 1.1 2.2 0.90 0.82
Th 1.3 5.0 11 10.9 6.5 2.4 7.8 2.6 2.4
La 12 8.0 5.3 3.6 13 12 10 5.6 16
Ce 25 18 9.4 5.5 27 25 21 11 29
Pr 3.1 2.2 0.9 0.5 3.1 3.1 2.5 1.3 3.6
Nd 13 9.4 4.3 1.7 13 13 9.8 5.1 14
Sm 2.9 2.1 0.94 0.28 2.8 2.3 2.1 1.2 2.5
Eu 0.92 0.64 0.47 0.41 0.75 0.54 0.63 0.44 0.63
Gd 2.6 2.0 0.63 0.33 2.7 1.9 2.5 1.1 1.3
Tb 0.33 0.35 0.11 0.03 0.41 0.24 0.33 0.17 0.15
Dy 1.5 1.9 0.78 0.20 2.2 1.3 2.2 1.1 0.79
Ho 0.31 0.40 0.10 0.06 0.46 0.23 0.40 0.21 0.14
Er 0.69 1.1 0.45 0.22 1.3 0.51 1.2 0.61 0.43
Tm 0.12 0.19 0.06 0.02 0.18 0.10 0.16 0.10 0.05
Yb 0.74 1.3 0.54 0.25 1.4 0.64 1.3 0.66 0.37
Lu 0.12 0.21 0.11 0.04 0.21 0.09 0.20 0.11 0.04
Sc 9 12 5 5 12 7 12 8 5
V 79 62 41 23 89 90 111 75 36 33
Cr 5 11 7 7 18 16 18 13 4 3
Co 4.3 8.7 1.5 1.9 8.2 6.4 8.0 2.4 2.3
Ni 2.0 7.6 4.4 5.2 8.5 4.0 9.8 8.6 1.9
Cu 19 34 542 190 9 386 818 826 14 20
Zn 43 38 40 35 55 48 56 87 136 59
Ga 22 20 15 15 17 17 19 17 20 20
As 4 5 4 <3 4 6 <3 3 <3 <3
Mo 0.61 5.9 2.2 2.7 0.84 0.34 2.3 1.1 0.68
Ag 0.16 0.12 0.23 <0.23 0.11 <0.08 0.41 0.32 <0.08
Sn 1.1 1.7 1.2 0.95 1.7
Sb 0.12 0.14 <0.30 0.66 <0.12 0.67 0.12 2.1 0.31
W 3.6 3.3 8.9 0.21
S 478 123 658 371 11838 273 1460 954 <3 <3

166

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E05094 E05102 E05115 E06017 E06018 E06019 E06020 E05098 E05099 E05114 E06022
Quimsacocha dacite domes Quimsacocha andesite flows
(+subvolcanics?)
Lithology dacite dacite dacite dacite dacite dacite dacite microdiorite microdiorite andesite andesite

SiO2 69.49 69.32 70.33 68.97 69.76 68.67 67.42 62.44 61.60 62.80 61.59
TiO2 0.34 0.37 0.36 0.35 0.36 0.38 0.34 0.68 0.70 0.68 0.77
Al2O3 16.43 16.40 16.49 17.11 16.59 16.92 16.28 17.35 17.25 17.43 17.81
Fe2O3 2.16 2.30 2.14 2.38 2.42 2.44 2.17 4.74 4.76 4.63 5.15
MnO 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.05
MgO 0.56 0.23 0.22 0.18 0.15 0.18 0.64 1.87 2.06 2.23 1.98
CaO 3.39 2.84 2.66 2.53 2.65 3.05 3.37 5.56 5.26 5.21 5.82
Na2O 4.67 4.39 4.28 3.96 4.08 4.55 4.84 4.06 3.68 4.02 4.53
K2O 1.81 1.94 2.04 1.99 2.03 1.82 1.57 1.46 1.29 1.41 1.15
P2O5 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.07 0.10 0.12 0.12 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17
LOI 0.75 1.10 1.17 1.71 1.21 0.97 2.46 1.19 1.97 1.13 0.42
Total 99.8 99.0 99.8 99.3 99.4 99.1 99.3 99.6 98.8 99.8 99.4
Nb 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.3
Ta 0.19 0.17 0.18 0.17 0.14 0.14 0.11 0.13
Zr 111 115 108 103 98 90 88 84
Y 4.1 5.7 5.1 4.6 5.0 5.0 4.7 7.8 7.4 7.4 11
Hf 2.8 3.2 2.7 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.2
Cs 0.7 1.3 0.6 1.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.6
Rb 38 42 32 26 31 25 30 20
Ba 888 984 794 692 666 693 683 481
Sr 605 489 457 448 463 556 649 594 578 586 696
Pb 11 12 13 15 15 13 12 10 9 9 6
U 0.89 0.97 0.83 0.69 0.89 0.63 0.67 0.52
Th 3.3 2.7 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.0 2.0 1.5
La 28 17 15 15 14 14 14 13
Ce 49 33 28 30 27 27 28 23
Pr 5.8 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.3 2.9 2.9 3.2
Nd 21 15 14 15 14 13 13 14
Sm 3.1 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.4 3.0
Eu 0.70 0.54 0.63 0.73 0.81 0.63 0.85 0.82
Gd 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Tb 0.18 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.25 0.24 0.24 0.32
Dy 0.91 0.81 0.81 0.83 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.8
Ho 0.17 0.16 0.17 0.16 0.24 0.23 0.25 0.29
Er 0.42 0.46 0.36 0.38 0.71 0.59 0.69 0.90
Tm 0.07 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.10 0.07 0.09 0.14
Yb 0.37 0.38 0.28 0.39 0.67 0.49 0.44 0.78
Lu 0.07 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.10 0.06 0.09 0.14
Sc 5 5 5 5 11 11 10 12
V 35 35 39 32 35 38 37 127 128 125 146
Cr 2 4 4 3 4 4 4 53 12 128 19
Co 2.3 3.1 3.0 3.2 11 11 10 11
Ni 2.5 1.5 2.7 3.0 5.2 4.3 5.1 7.7
Cu 20 10 12 19 18 21 17 23 31 19 39
Zn 56 85 84 62 64 63 79 81 126 93 95
Ga 20 21 21 22 21 22 21 21 21 20 23
As 5 3 5 <3 6 3 5 6 <3 <3 3
Mo 0.84 0.44 0.29 1.0 1.2 0.43 0.55 1.4
Ag 0.15 0.20 0.17 0.18 0.24 <0.15 <0.18 0.18
Sn 1.1
Sb 0.30 0.25 0.32 0.52 0.36 <0.24 0.39 0.46
W 0.20 0.87 0.54 0.25 0.18 0.25 0.19
S <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 9 9 32 10 <3

 167

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E06157 E06166 E06172 E06004 E06009 E06010 E06011 E06012 E06015
Saraguro Group at Chaucha Saraguro Group at Canicapa

Lithology andesite andesite andesite dacite (sub- dacite dacite dacite dacite andesite
volcanic?) (flow) (flow) (subvol- (subvol- flow
canic?) canic?)
SiO2 57.16 65.79 61.36 69.86 70.59 70.07 69.37 68.69 62.03
TiO2 0.67 0.57 0.64 0.26 0.27 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.53
Al2O3 18.49 15.62 16.74 14.75 15.23 15.28 15.17 15.60 16.52
Fe2O3 7.88 5.15 6.76 2.36 2.47 2.73 2.76 2.85 5.27
MnO 0.18 0.07 0.04 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.13 0.06 0.11
MgO 3.00 2.26 3.20 0.86 0.67 0.81 1.06 1.02 2.15
CaO 7.88 4.70 4.97 2.83 2.58 2.53 3.14 2.94 5.22
Na2O 2.62 2.30 2.37 3.65 3.96 3.96 3.62 3.81 3.38
K2O 0.75 1.64 1.59 2.41 2.33 2.37 2.20 2.28 1.70
P2O5 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.10 0.12 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.14
LOI 0.60 1.14 1.56 2.03 0.98 0.92 1.30 1.45 2.25
Total 99.4 99.4 99.4 99.2 99.3 99.2 99.2 99.1 99.3
Nb 2.8 5.7 4.7 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.1
Ta 0.22 0.48 0.35 0.53 0.46 0.47 0.38
Zr 72 131 117 94 100 100 87
Y 20 20 19 15 13 12 12 12 15
Hf 2.0 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.3
Cs 1.7 5.4 9.4 1.8 2.8 2.6 0.5
Rb 20 67 70 45 42 45 36
Ba 220 534 266 723 682 702 526
Sr 395 320 270 289 340 329 417 401 424
Pb 8 2 <2 14 15 15 15 16 5
U 0.72 2.7 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.7
Th 1.8 8.1 4.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 4.9
La 7.2 17 10 17 16 17 15
Ce 15 33 21 30 30 31 28
Pr 2.0 4.0 2.6 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.3
Nd 9.4 15 11 13 13 12 13
Sm 2.5 3.4 2.8 2.4 2.1 2.5 2.5
Eu 0.77 0.80 0.67 0.68 0.61 0.59 0.72
Gd 2.8 3.32 3.12 2.2 1.9 1.6 2.5
Tb 0.43 0.47 0.40 0.28 0.26 0.30 0.35
Dy 3.0 3.1 3.1 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.3
Ho 0.66 0.63 0.64 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.46
Er 1.9 2.0 1.8 0.96 1.0 1.0 1.3
Tm 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.15 0.16 0.16 0.19
Yb 1.88 1.8 1.9 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2
Lu 0.33 0.31 0.29 0.18 0.17 0.20 0.21
Sc 23 16 22 5 5 6 11
V 156 122 138 26 22 27 25 26 95
Cr 10 25 30 2 5 9 <2 <2 10
Co 6.4 12 12 3.5 3.7 3.6 11
Ni 9.5 17 19 3.0 2.2 <1.5 5.6
Cu 49 1082 508 8 6 11 7 7 13
Zn 93 101 48 47 49 57 55 42 54
Ga 19 17 19 15 16 16 15 17 18
As 3 5 4 4 5 4 5 5 4
Mo 0.67 14 2.7 0.90 0.81 0.86 0.75
Ag 0.05 0.59 0.24 0.15 <0.10 <0.15 0.12
Sn
Sb 0.23 0.25 0.84 0.38 0.28 0.59 0.12
W 0.36 0.89 2.1 0.89 0.56 0.82 0.34
S 454 1664 308 3 10 <3 11 <3 70

168

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E06074 E06075 E06081 E06082 E06083A E06083B E06084 E06086 E06117 E06118 E06120
Saraguro Group at Portovelo

Lithology andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite andesite

SiO2 57.82 59.30 58.85 57.35 58.48 59.37 59.11 58.40 56.13 55.09 57.96
TiO2 0.72 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.71 0.69 0.69 0.71 0.94 0.83 0.73
Al2O3 16.27 16.34 16.16 16.24 16.07 15.81 16.03 15.97 19.17 19.49 16.39
Fe2O3 7.25 6.82 6.70 7.05 6.40 6.38 6.44 6.49 6.94 8.13 6.96
MnO 0.16 0.13 0.17 0.21 0.14 0.14 0.26 0.14 0.19 0.16 0.16
MgO 3.58 3.52 3.52 3.92 3.96 2.97 3.35 3.74 3.89 4.77 3.47
CaO 7.05 6.60 6.67 6.49 6.06 7.26 5.59 5.24 6.68 6.00 6.19
Na2O 2.52 2.62 2.50 2.67 2.51 2.66 2.61 3.27 2.50 2.78 2.36
K2O 1.54 1.62 1.48 1.21 1.24 0.88 2.08 1.71 0.44 0.96 2.10
P2O5 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.17 0.15 0.12
LOI 2.08 1.69 2.32 3.50 3.40 2.74 3.01 3.35 2.14 1.64 2.84
Total 99.1 99.5 99.2 99.5 99.1 99.0 99.3 99.1 99.2 100.0 99.3
Nb 4.1 3.8 4.0
Ta 0.25 0.24 0.25
Zr 122 107 113
Y 19 19 20 19 20 20 20 19 21 15 20
Hf 3.3 3.0 2.9
Cs 1.4 2.1 5.2
Rb 29 31 62
Ba 677 456 552
Sr 284 284 344 299 274 310 280 347 309 350 256
Pb 8 18 17 4 8 15 4 7 21 43 10
U 1.8 1.4 1.5
Th 5.6 4.8 4.8
La 13 12 13
Ce 28 25 26
Pr 3.3 3.0 2.9
Nd 14 13 13
Sm 3.4 3.1 2.8
Eu 0.72 0.78 0.76
Gd 3.2 3.2 3.1
Tb 0.53 0.49 0.48
Dy 3.4 3.4 2.9
Ho 0.64 0.63 0.63
Er 2.1 2.1 1.7
Tm 0.30 0.25 0.25
Yb 2.1 1.9 1.7
Lu 0.29 0.30 0.28
Sc 21 23 22
V 159 145 146 152 146 142 139 140 123 142 163
Cr 44 40 46 47 46 41 39 54 44 44 87
Co 19 17 17
Ni 19 13 17
Cu 33 31 32 26 51 11 26 30 39 25 27
Zn 71 68 124 106 128 94 104 92 152 140 79
Ga 19 19 18 18 17 18 18 17 21 23 18
As 7 7 8 6 15 22 13 20 14 <3 4
Mo 2.0 1.1 1.7
Ag 0.48 0.24 0.17
Sn
Sb 3.8 1.9 1.7
W 1.2 0.76 0.98
S 286 134 521 1806 1722 2498 178 2050 5618 1093 65

 169

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E07013 E06068 E06071 E05-M4 E05-M10 E06067 E06069 E06070 E06088 E06089
Saraguro Cangrejos host intrusive Cangrejos porphyry intrusions Zaruma-Portovelo
Group at 3 porphyry intrusions
Chorreras complex
Lithology granodioritic diorite diorite qtz- plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl plag-hbl qtz-diorite qtz-diorite
porphyry diorite porphyry porphyry porphyry (qtz eyes) porphyry porphyry
porphyry
SiO2 60.41 52.22 55.88 61.59 64.01 61.51 64.89 64.40 65.33 66.27
TiO2 0.47 0.66 0.38 0.60 0.55 0.63 0.52 0.49 0.41 0.39
Al2O3 16.37 16.07 15.29 16.25 16.29 16.55 15.76 16.50 15.35 15.04
Fe2O3 5.85 7.20 6.35 6.97 4.91 5.25 4.11 4.51 3.93 3.71
MnO 0.06 0.13 0.10 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.06 0.03 0.08 0.07
MgO 1.91 7.94 7.53 2.73 2.70 2.97 2.53 2.47 1.96 1.76
CaO 3.83 11.60 9.49 5.93 5.06 5.47 6.81 5.08 3.57 3.98
Na2O 2.14 1.75 2.15 3.27 2.86 2.89 3.22 2.96 2.61 2.88
K2O 3.61 0.48 0.86 1.30 1.62 1.73 0.20 1.50 3.36 2.60
P2O5 0.13 0.08 0.02 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.09
LOI 4.47 1.02 1.04 1.20 1.47 2.03 0.94 1.37 3.52 3.26
Total 99.3 99.2 99.1 100.0 99.6 99.2 99.1 99.4 100.2 100.1
Nb 3.0 4.8 5.0 4.1 4.8 4.9 5.1 4.7
Ta 0.21 0.29 0.35 0.24 0.29 0.36 0.40 0.32
Zr 86 41 54 118 128 118 115 113
Y 10 18 14 17 19 22 23 17 13 12
Hf 2.0 1.3 1.6 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Cs 19 0.5 0.6 0.9 1.8 0.9 0.1 1.6
Rb 109 12 26 45 63 62 3 50
Ba 584 67 94 254 281 339 108 242
Sr 210 239 229 302 285 317 308 298 201 275
Pb 3 6 5 12 5 8 7 4 10 11
U 1.3 0.63 0.71 0.87 1.7 1.2 1.4 1.5
Th 2.4 1.8 2.7 2.8 5.1 3.2 4.4 4.6
La 9 6 7 9 19 19 9.3 17
Ce 19 14 17 23 38 39 22 35
Pr 2.2 2.0 2.1 3.0 4.3 4.8 3.0 4.1
Nd 9.3 9.1 9.8 13 18 20 14 16
Sm 2.1 2.5 2.1 3.2 3.9 4.4 3.2 3.3
Eu 0.67 0.77 0.72 0.75 0.83 0.92 0.75 0.79
Gd 1.8 2.6 2.4 3.2 3.6 4.4 3.3 2.6
Tb 0.31 0.44 0.37 0.43 0.49 0.58 0.53 0.43
Dy 1.6 3.0 2.4 2.9 3.2 4.0 3.5 2.9
Ho 0.35 0.61 0.50 0.55 0.67 0.76 0.74 0.57
Er 1.1 1.9 1.3 1.7 1.8 2.1 2.2 1.5
Tm 0.18 0.25 0.22 0.19 0.27 0.30 0.33 0.25
Yb 1.1 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.7
Lu 0.16 0.27 0.20 0.24 0.25 0.28 0.32 0.25
Sc 10 45 34 16 16 20 17 15
V 75 190 154 117 102 120 95 92 70 65
Cr 9 260 103 37 42 40 34 35 19 28
Co 4.2 30 19 12 3.7 14 9.0 2.9
Ni 4.7 56 32 13 12 18 12 15
Cu 143 327 550 388 7 483 1028 8 18 13
Zn 51 101 66 48 82 49 70 72 59 53
Ga 18 16 16 18 17 18 17 19 16 15
As 10 <3 <3 6 4 6 7 <3 8 4
Mo 3.0 0.95 13 1.3 0.34 3.0 4.5 0.43
Ag 0.33 0.37 0.80 0.18 <0.14 0.38 0.34 0.64
Sn 1.3 2.3 3.2
Sb 19 0.50 0.37 1.4 0.38 2.7 0.42 0.45
W 9.4 1.4 0.98 0.98 1.9
S 168 944 928 279 <3 484 2229 16 69 21

170

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E06072 E06073 E06090 E06092 E06112 E06115 E06123 E07023 E06114 E06124
Zaruma-Portovelo porphyry intrusions Zaruma-Portovelo phaneritic intrusions

Lithology qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite qtz-diorite plag-hbl granodiorite diorite diorite qtz-diorite diorite
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry

SiO2 64.79 65.76 64.44 64.67 63.36 65.86 55.24 60.46 62.76 57.47
TiO2 0.40 0.41 0.45 0.42 0.52 0.51 0.73 0.67 0.47 0.70
Al2O3 15.29 15.86 15.97 15.75 16.55 15.56 18.79 17.41 14.52 16.11
Fe2O3 3.97 4.16 4.39 4.23 5.05 4.15 7.61 6.42 4.20 7.28
MnO 0.08 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.10 0.08 0.14
MgO 2.00 2.12 2.19 2.13 2.57 2.18 4.37 3.00 1.86 4.60
CaO 4.17 1.42 4.34 4.53 2.94 4.83 8.50 5.60 3.33 4.74
Na2O 3.13 3.83 3.45 2.96 4.42 1.83 2.98 2.98 2.35 2.27
K2O 2.18 3.70 2.06 2.37 2.47 3.46 0.55 1.56 2.60 1.84
P2O5 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.11 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.09 0.13
LOI 2.92 1.83 2.54 2.90 2.09 1.18 0.95 1.25 7.90 3.77
Total 99.0 99.3 100.0 100.1 100.2 99.8 100.0 99.6 100.2 99.1
Nb 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.7 4.3 2.6 3.8
Ta 0.33 0.31 0.33 0.26 0.32 0.17 0.24
Zr 91 85 92 100 127 66 108
Y 13 12 12 12 14 17 14 19 19 18
Hf 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6 3.5 1.9 3.1
Cs 3.4 2.8 3.4 4.6 2.7 1.4 4.5
Rb 59 64 75 82 80 14 51
Ba 586 520 573 518 868 239 463
Sr 313 293 309 291 313 228 372 329 308 228
Pb 12 9 14 12 29 26 6 22 20 14
U 1.9 2.1 2.1 1.8 2.4 0.62 1.4
Th 6.8 6.5 6.8 4.8 7.8 1.7 4.9
La 13 13 14 13 14 6.9 11
Ce 25 25 27 25 29 16 24
Pr 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.7 3.4 1.9 3.0
Nd 11 11 11 13 14 8.7 13
Sm 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.5 3.1 2.4 3.2
Eu 0.67 0.59 0.61 0.67 0.83 0.74 0.72
Gd 2.2 1.8 2.0 2.4 3.1 2.5 3.4
Tb 0.29 0.30 0.29 0.34 0.40 0.39 0.52
Dy 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.3 2.5 2.5 3.2
Ho 0.41 0.40 0.37 0.48 0.54 0.47 0.61
Er 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.8
Tm 0.18 0.16 0.18 0.21 0.23 0.21 0.28
Yb 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.8 1.4 1.7
Lu 0.21 0.20 0.21 0.22 0.28 0.20 0.26
Sc 11 12 12 15 14 26 19
V 68 76 80 76 98 100 182 121 91 158
Cr 20 25 112 67 35 28 34 26 27 90
Co 9.1 11 11 13 9.0 23 15
Ni 8.3 12 11 15 8.1 16 13
Cu 18 13 17 17 21 38 68 9 25 25
Zn 55 52 64 56 155 83 82 98 65 92
Ga 16 16 16 16 17 16 20 18 16 17
As 6 7 7 10 13 13 <3 11 11 16
Mo 0.91 1.0 0.99 1.5 1.5 0.90 0.93
Ag 0.37 <0.12 0.19 0.51 0.50 0.23 0.39
Sn 1.3
Sb 1.3 1.5 1.5 4.4 3.5 0.56 2.4
W 1.1 1.4 1.6 2.2 2.0 0.66
S 11 <3 14 41 47 562 963 173 2148 4411


 171

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E07016 E07017 E07020 E07026 E07029 E07027 E07031 E07028
El Mozo intrusions Curiplaya intrusions

Lithology dioritic dioritic plag-hbl plag-hbl microdiorite qtz dioritic hbl-plag plag porphyry
porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry porphyry (Celica flow?!)

SiO2 62.40 62.41 61.31 64.73 50.59 62.18 63.17 56.18

TiO2 0.58 0.57 0.56 0.31 0.86 0.51 0.64 0.69
Al2O3 16.83 17.53 17.02 14.72 17.30 16.48 16.10 17.49
Fe2O3 6.99 6.46 6.01 3.21 8.77 4.98 5.35 7.25
MnO 0.17 0.24 0.13 0.25 0.19 0.14 0.11 0.18
MgO 3.50 2.79 2.48 0.98 3.95 2.76 2.11 2.82
CaO 1.93 3.74 5.67 4.96 7.91 2.18 5.60 5.81
Na2O 2.15 2.56 2.81 1.87 3.35 5.43 3.97 4.79
K2O 0.91 1.22 1.70 2.46 0.38 1.78 0.44 0.48
P2O5 0.14 0.14 0.16 0.11 0.23 0.17 0.17 0.23
LOI 3.72 2.54 1.19 6.43 5.89 2.44 1.65 3.24
Total 99.3 100.2 99.0 100.0 99.4 99.1 99.3 99.2
Nb 4.6 5.0 5.2 3.0 2.1 2.5 1.9 3.0
Ta 0.32 0.41 0.41 0.17 0.14 0.12 0.09 0.14
Zr 85 87 91 89 53 65 85 76
Y 16 19 25 13 18 15 18 21
Hf 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.4 1.5 1.9 2.3 2.1
Cs 10.0 7.2 1.5 3.0 1.8 0.8 0.4 2.1
Rb 28 28 45 60 9 34 5 9
Ba 249 552 558 1233 277 1267 387 293
Sr 197 316 459 142 516 637 432 193
Pb 8 29 10 16 12 4 4 9
U 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.3 0.77 0.75 0.33 1.0
Th 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.7 2.8 2.5 1.3 3.4
La 15 16 20 18 13 14 7 17
Ce 30 31 32 34 27 30 17 36
Pr 3.5 3.5 4.1 3.7 3.4 3.7 2.3 4.4
Nd 14 15 17 15 16 16 12 19
Sm 3.0 3.4 3.7 2.9 3.7 3.3 2.8 4.1
Eu 0.83 0.93 1.1 0.75 1.1 0.99 0.94 1.4
Gd 2.6 3.2 3.9 2.2 3.4 2.8 3.2 3.9
Tb 0.45 0.49 0.52 0.30 0.48 0.40 0.51 0.53
Dy 2.6 3.0 3.5 1.8 3.0 2.5 2.9 3.4
Ho 0.47 0.59 0.71 0.37 0.53 0.44 0.62 0.66
Er 1.5 1.9 2.3 1.2 1.9 1.5 1.7 2.0
Tm 0.25 0.24 0.35 0.17 0.23 0.20 0.22 0.28
Yb 1.5 2.0 2.0 1.2 1.8 1.5 1.9 1.9
Lu 0.24 0.27 0.37 0.21 0.27 0.21 0.27 0.30
Sc 15 16 15 6 18 11 10 16
V 98 105 94 43 195 79 64 102
Cr 17 341 13 <2 9 13 8 5
Co 6.0 13 11 5.4 20 8.9 6.9 17
Ni 4.5 5.5 5.1 1.4 7.7 5.2 2.1 5.7
Cu <2 7 15 20 8 20 147 55
Zn 193 233 53 160 77 51 38 57
Ga 18 18 18 15 18 17 18 19
As <3 4 5 <3 <3 13 5 10
Mo 1.1 1.2 0.67 0.64 0.31 0.26 <0.20 0.50
Ag 0.15 0.33 0.14 0.16 <0.07 0.09 0.14 0.12
Sn 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.2 0.99
Sb <0.12 0.21 <0.14 3.9 1.5 3.0 0.61 0.92
W
S 503 6359 179 105 390 168 216 373


172

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E05122 E05123 E06148 E06145 E07040 E07042 E07043 E06144B
Basement units

Lithology Macuchi subvolcanic at Macuchi basalt at Macuchi subvolcanic at Echeandia xenolith in

Junin Balsapamba Balsapamba
tonalite (Macu-
chi?)
SiO2 64.66 63.95 50.77 52.81 49.45 56.04 57.72 49.02
TiO2 0.64 0.59 0.93 0.94 0.93 0.72 0.75 0.72
Al2O3 15.66 16.63 17.45 17.42 21.23 17.54 17.25 16.37
Fe2O3 3.22 5.44 11.27 10.71 9.10 10.61 7.71 16.82
MnO 0.02 0.05 0.29 0.58 0.19 0.27 0.13 0.28
MgO 2.40 2.87 5.42 4.54 4.97 5.35 3.89 4.58
CaO 0.20 1.21 9.17 6.90 7.95 1.33 7.48 6.86
Na2O 1.74 2.67 3.17 3.89 2.51 4.87 2.93 3.97
K2O 7.49 3.84 0.98 1.34 0.12 0.16 1.45 0.97
P2O5 0.13 0.21 0.17 0.24 0.14 0.09 0.13 0.14
LOI 1.19 2.14 0.35 0.51 2.55 3.14 -0.04 0.13
Total 97.4 99.6 100.0 99.9 99.1 100.1 99.4 99.9
Nb 3.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.6 1.6
Ta 0.15 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.13
Zr 106 66 66 44 34 88
Y 25 20 25 25 16 25 18 34
Hf 3.2 2.2 2.0 1.2 1.0 2.6
Cs 2.3 0.9 1.7 0.2 0.2 2.5
Rb 66 13 27 2 2 32
Ba 262 120 544 134 34 268
Sr 56 199 318 616 288 108 374 332
Pb <2 <2 <2 9 5 4 6 8
U 2.4 0.42 0.23 0.22 0.18 0.87
Th 5.0 0.83 0.81 0.63 0.36 1.9
La 11 5.0 5.3 4.1 2.9 6.3
Ce 23 12 12 10 8 15
Pr 2.9 2.0 1.9 1.5 1.2 2.2
Nd 14 9.6 10 7.9 6.1 11
Sm 3.0 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.1 3.0
Eu 0.62 0.83 0.90 0.89 0.75 0.77
Gd 3.1 3.9 3.8 2.8 3.2 3.2
Tb 0.51 0.57 0.59 0.39 0.55 0.51
Dy 3.2 4.1 4.1 2.7 3.7 3.0
Ho 0.69 0.90 0.88 0.59 0.81 0.60
Er 2.1 2.5 2.5 1.8 2.4 1.7
Tm 0.27 0.38 0.36 0.20 0.29 0.28
Yb 1.9 2.5 2.6 1.6 2.0 1.8
Lu 0.32 0.40 0.43 0.26 0.30 0.28
Sc 14 49 47 33 30 25
V 169 150 386 337 313 288 175 309
Cr 51 37 49 51 38 78 38 162
Co 12 33 29 21 14 20
Ni 18 17 26 22 5.2 22
Cu 3864 346 678 43 64 338 97 14
Zn 30 61 124 140 143 135 66 113
Ga 18 18 19 17 20 17 19 24
As <3 <3 <3 3 5 <3 8 5
Mo 41 0.67 0.63 0.30 0.32 1.7
Ag 0.21 <0.12 0.12 <0.12 0.14 0.10
Sn 1.81 1.5 1.6
Sb 0.17 0.44 0.28 0.59 0.34 0.79
W 5.5 0.35 0.44
S 1290 459 564 94 2437 5711 145 263

 173

Table A1 (continued)
Sample E06213 E06035 E06036
Basement units

Lithology Rio Cala CCOP basalt at Gaby

subvolc. at
Junin
SiO2 53.53 50.65 49.73
TiO2 1.08 2.01 2.11
Al2O3 18.05 13.07 13.20
Fe2O3 8.39 14.86 15.55
MnO 0.06 0.21 0.17
MgO 7.52 5.36 6.36
CaO 0.30 9.71 8.50
Na2O 0.41 1.60 1.62
K2O 7.00 0.15 0.13
P2O5 0.11 0.16 0.17
LOI 2.56 1.39 1.71
Total 99.1 99.2 99.3
Nb 3.1 5.8
Ta 0.18 0.35
Zr 60 97
Y 18 36 40
Hf 2.1 2.9
Cs 4.8 0.2
Rb 120 2
Ba 162 70
Sr 25 105 80
Pb <2 <2 <2
U 1.6 0.15
Th 1.6 0.50
La 7.0 5.8
Ce 16 15
Pr 2.1 2.0
Nd 9.8 12
Sm 2.5 3.7
Eu 0.55 1.3
Gd 3.0 5.6
Tb 0.45 0.85
Dy 3.0 5.9
Ho 0.62 1.2
Er 1.8 3.8
Tm 0.24 0.54
Yb 1.7 3.7
Lu 0.28 0.57
Sc 35 44
V 241 482 489
Cr 335 84 69
Co 28 38
Ni 94 55
Cu 1515 159 145
Zn 64 175 154
Ga 21 20 21
As <3 5 6
Mo 5.9 0.80
Ag 0.16 0.24
Sn 1.7
Sb 0.70 1.6
W 0.43
S 295 1663 1020


174

Tab. A2: Relative changes in concentration compared to least-altered reference sample concentration calculated
from Grant (1986); isocon constructed assuming constant mass of Al2O3
Sample Magmatic Lithology Alteration SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5
center

E06200* Junin-Cuellaje granodiorite propy 66.22 0.41 16.58 3.60 1.69 3.99 4.42 1.46 0.14
E06202 Junin-Cuellaje granodiorite K + propy -1% 6% 4% 12% 10% 1% 3% 1%
E06206A Junin-Cuellaje granodiorite K 4% 6% 9% 13% 7% 5% 10% 4%
E06205A Junin-Cuellaje granodiorite K 3% -2% 3% 13% 9% 4% 20% -4%
E06206B Junin-Cuellaje granodiorite K 11% 1% 1% 3% -3% 7% 25% 1%

E06135* Balsapamba qtz-diorite por. K + propy 65.63 0.43 16.45 5.70 2.01 4.68 3.39 1.32 0.10
E06131A Balsapamba qtz-diorite por. K + propy 3% 3% -7% 4% 8% 4% -4% 3%
E06132 Balsapamba qtz-diorite por. K + propy 0% -2% -21% -1% 0% 4% 11% 10%
E06141 Balsapamba qtz-diorite por. K + propy 3% 2% 1% 2% 1% 0% -2% 2%

E05078* Gaby hbl por. Na-Ca 62.90 0.53 16.24 5.27 2.93 7.26 3.87 0.17 0.11
E05070 Gaby hbl-plag por. Na-Ca 0% -4% -32% -6% -1% 0% 4% -2%
E05073 Gaby plag-hbl por. Na-Ca -1% -4% 0% -3% -1% -1% 35% 0%
E05083a Gaby plag-hbl por. Na-Ca -5% 0% 40% -14% -9% 4% 73% -2%
E05083b Gaby plag-hbl por. Na-Ca -5% -3% 31% -13% -10% 5% 89% -12%
E05086 Gaby plag-hbl por. Na-Ca -7% 0% 20% -23% -13% -20% 240% 12%
E05088 Gaby plag-hbl por. propy -8% -4% 17% -25% -11% -19% 275% 11%
E06048 Gaby hbl-plag por. Na-Ca -2% -4% -3% -10% -3% -1% 44% -11%
E06051 Gaby plag por. K -6% -4% 0% -9% -3% -14% 240% -12%
E06053 Gaby plag por. K -5% 6% 25% 1% -4% -14% 266% -1%
E05090 Gaby hbl-plag por. Na-Ca/propy -6% -4% 17% -6% 6% -46% 1% -4%
E05072 Gaby hbl-plag por. Na-Ca/propy -4% -4% 14% -5% -10% -5% 216% -2%
E05076 Gaby hbl por. Na-Ca -5% -3% -52% -14% -14% 26% 4% 2%
E06033 Gaby plag-hbl por. propy -9% -3% 17% -24% -12% -23% 242% -6%
E06041 Gaby plag-hbl por. propy -7% -1% -3% -26% -13% -3% 22% 3%
Gaby hbl-plag por. K + Na-Ca
E06046 -6% -3% 20% -8% -12% -10% 306% -12%
Gaby plag-hbl por. K + Na-Ca
E06050 -2% 2% -38% -1% 9% -3% 102% -11%
plag(-hbl) por. Na-Ca/propy
E06044 Gaby -1% -5% 20% -4% 4% -50% 121% -19%

E06081* Portovelo andesite propy 58.85 0.70 16.16 6.70 3.52 6.67 2.50 1.48 0.11
E06082 Portovelo andesite propy -3% 0% 5% 11% -3% 6% -19% -2%
Portovelo andesite propy (weak)
E06120 -3% 2% 2% -3% -9% -7% 39% 7%
E06074 Portovelo andesite propy -2% 2% 8% 1% 5% 0% 3% 0%
E06075 Portovelo andesite propy 0% -2% 1% -1% -2% 4% 8% 0%
Portovelo andesite propy (strong)
E06083A 0% 2% -4% 13% -9% 1% -16% 9%
Portovelo andesite propy (strong)
E06083B 3% 0% -3% -14% 11% 9% -40% 11%
E06084 Portovelo andesite propy 1% -1% -3% -4% -16% 5% 42% 9%
Portovelo andesite propy
E06086 0% 3% -2% 8% -21% 32% 17% 0%

Abbreviation key minerals: qtz - quartz, hbl - hornblende, plag - plagioclase; alteration: propy - propylitic, K - potassic, Na-Ca - sodic-
calcic (cf. Seedorff et al. 2005); por – porphyry intrusion.
* reference sample where concentration is given in wt.% (major element oxides) and ppm (trace elements)


 175

Tab. A2 (continued)

Nb Ta Zr Y Hf Cs Rb Ba Sr U Th
Sample

E06200* 2.4 0.2 78.8 5.9 2.1 1.8 29.5 1406 563 1.0 1.7
E06202 5% -8% -9% 27% -3% -31% -14% -66% 3% -23% -13%
E06206A 11% -1% 7% 24% 9% -43% -4% -52% 2% -15% 35%
E06205A 20% 0%
E06206B 35% -7%

E06135* 2.2 0.2 59.0 8.7 1.7 2.5 30.7 202 340 1.0 1.6
E06131A -3% -6% -1% 26% 1% -23% -21% 33% 0% -30% -13%
E06132 2% 18% -5% -8% -2% 4% -8% 20% 2% -7% -3%
E06141 -7% 5% -5% 6% -4% -20% -12% 2% 1% -8% -13%

E05078* 2.1 0.2 66.2 14.6 1.8 0.3 2.0 134 297 0.5 1.1
E05070 0% -3% -4% -7% 3% 22% 30% -1% 2% -10% -5%
E05073 -1% -5% -3% 1% 4% 13% 99% 22% 1% -3% 2%
E05083a 9% -1% -3% -18% -1% 3% 122% -30% -8% -10% -14%
E05083b 10% -15% -5% -17% -1% 7% 196% -33% -7% -7% -20%
E05086 25% 2% 4% 9% 5% 74% 325% 201% -2% -8% -11%
E05088 21% 3% 1% 5% -5% 94% 415% 190% -2% -14% -13%
E06048 -10% -35% 0% 1% 0% 9% 18% -9% -3% 36% 3%
E06051 5% -11% 0% -6% -3% 232% 569% 28% -5% 99% 5%
E06053 4% -14% -2% 5% 2% 344% 671% 8% -5% 66% 2%
E05090 10% -23% 1% -15% -20% 153% 67% -46% 0% 0% -4%
E05072 -7% -1%
E05076 -13% -19%
E06033 4% -1%
E06041 10% -7%
E06046 -7% -5%
E06050 -2% 0%
E06044 -17% 0%

E06081* 4.1 0.3 121.8 19.7 3.3 1.4 28.5 677 344 1.8 5.6
E06082 -7% -6% -12% -7% -8% 46% 10% -33% -13% -21% -16%
E06120 -3% -1% -9% -2% -14% 259% 115% -20% -27% -18% -17%
E06074 -2% -18%
E06075 -4% -18%
E06083A 1% -20%
E06083B 4% -8%
E06084 1% -18%
E06086 -1% 2%

176

Tab. A2 (continued)

La Nd Sm Eu Gd Dy Yb Sc V Cr Ni
Sample

E06200* 8.5 9.0 1.9 0.5 1.5 0.9 0.5 7.9 81 27 13.3
E06202 7% 8% -1% -2% -3% 43% 20% 10% 4% 4% 32%
E06206A 31% 18% 8% 13% 40% 40% 62% 20% 3% 53% 26%
E06205A -12% -1%
E06206B -8% 19%

E06135* 5.3 5.0 1.1 0.5 1.1 1.2 1.0 12.5 100 16 9.6
E06131A 23% 52% 64% 4% 47% 49% 1% 8% 0% -10% 16%
E06132 58% 64% 46% 7% -7% -6% -17% -5% 9% -13% 3%
E06141 6% 2% -12% -19% 4% 1% 2% 2% -1% -11% -13%

E05078* 5.1 6.7 1.9 0.6 1.8 2.3 1.6 21.3 171 30 9.6
E05070 -12% -4% -13% 8% -4% -9% -4% -2% -32% -5% -8%
E05073 -19% 6% -5% 11% 8% -1% 5% 1% -21% -3% -14%
E05083a -9% 1% -6% 5% 21% -14% -30% -15% -26% 2% -18%
E05083b 3% 14% -15% 8% 22% -16% -22% -18% -27% -6% -12%
E05086 26% 23% 6% 24% 21% 8% 12% -12% -35% -24% -40%
E05088 22% 13% -3% 6% 20% 6% -11% -13% -38% -24% -54%
E06048 -30% 24% 30% 24% 37% -2% -2% -21% -24% -8% 0%
E06051 121% 22% -16% -13% -17% -20% -5% -8% -20% -26% 29%
E06053 20% -2% -8% -2% -11% -12% 2% -5% -10% 104% 18%
E05090 19% 6% -21% -12% -10% -21% -3% -26% -27% 12% 1%
E05072 -22% 7%
E05076 -59% -6%
E06033 -36% -24%
E06041 -36% -46%
E06046 -21% -6%
E06050 -24% 31%
E06044 -25% 20%

E06081* 13.3 13.8 3.4 0.7 3.2 3.4 2.1 20.9 146 46 19.4
E06082 -12% -8% -9% 7% -1% -1% -10% 8% 4% 2% -31%
E06120 -7% -6% -19% 4% -6% -18% -20% 4% 10% 87% -13%
E06074 8% -5%
E06075 -2% -14%
E06083A 1% 1%
E06083B -1% -9%
E06084 -4% -15%
E06086 -3% 19%


 177
178
CHAPTERVI
GENERALCONCLUSIONSANDOUTLOOK

Conclusions
The main objective of this thesis was to explore
the mutual relationships of geodynamic envi
ronment, the geochemical features of arc mag
matism,andporphyryrelatedoredepositforma
tion in Ecuador at a regional scale. Organized in
four principal chapters, I describe and discuss
new geochronologic data on arc magmatism
(Chapter 2) and porphyryrelated hydrothermal
systemsinEcuador(Chapter3),aswellasonthe
isotopic(Chapter4)andmajorandtraceelement
geochemicalcomposition(Chapter5)ofLateTer
tiary porphyryrelated arc magmas. The geody
namicevolutionofthePanamabasinandtheEc
uadorianmarginasknownfrompublisheddatais
referenced where appropriate, and supple
mentedbyarecalculationofthemostrecentset
of available Farallon/NazcaSouth America plate
convergence parameters for central Ecuador
(Chapter 2), a discussion of the oblique subduc
tion system of Ecuador and its implications for
crustal strain partitioning (Appendix of Chapter
2),andanupdatedestimateofthecollisionaltim
ing of the Carnegie Ridge seamount chain with
theEcuadorianmargin(Chapter3).
As shown in Chapter 2, the regional distribution
pattern of Tertiary arc magmatism in Ecuador
showsastrongdependencyoncrustalstructures
(oftenreactivatedsuturezones)andslabdip,the
latter probably influenced by the subduction of
buoyant oceanic features such as the Inca pla
teau (southern Ecuadornorthern Peru) and the
Carnegie Ridge seamount chain (northern Ecua
dor). An arc magmatic flareup event comprising
widespread ignimbrite eruption and batholith
construction occurred in the Late Oligocene to
Early Miocene and coincides in time with an ac
celeration of Farallon/NazcaSouth America con
vergence rates. Mid to Late Miocene slab flat
teningprogressivelyshutdownarcmagmatismin
thesouthernEcuadorian(andnorthernPeruvian)
arcsegment,andmoderateslabshallowinginthe
 179
Late Miocene led to the eastward migration of
arcmagmaticactivityinnorthernEcuador.
Chapter 3 demonstrates that porphyryrelated
ore deposits in Ecuador formed throughout the
Miocene (and latest Oligocene) and follow the
general distribution of arc magmatism in space
andtime.Theseoredepositssharemanycharac
teristicswith,andmayberegardedasthenorth
ern extension of the centralnorthern Peruvian
Miocene metallogenic belt of major economic
importance.Oredepositsareoftenlocatedclose
to regional structures where focused upper
crustalmagmaascentissuggested bytheoccur
rence of batholithscale intrusive clusters. Por
phyryrelatedoredepositstendtoformtowards
thefinalstagesofbatholithassembly.
Suitable exposure (in particular, the lack of
youngervolcaniccoversequencesintheMidto
Late Miocene flat slab region of southern Ecua
dor) and preservation levels are key factors in
controlling the outcropping parts of porphyry
systems and their total tonnages (compare, for
example, the deeply eroded western foothills of
the Western Cordillera where locally only the
rootsofporphyrysystemsarepreserved,andthe
bulkoftheporphyryCumineralizationhasoften
been eroded). A firstorder spatiotemporal cor
relation between ore deposit formation and
seamount chain subduction, as proposed by
some authors for the central and southern An
des, is not observed in Ecuador. However, by its
influenceonslabdip(withapotentiallagtimeof
severalm.y.),thesubductionofbuoyantoceanic
featuresmaystronglyinfluencetheoutcroppat
tern of arc magmatism, and thus the exposure
andpreservationlevelsofolderporphyryrelated
oredeposits.
Pronounced crustal evolution of Tertiary arc
magmas can be demonstrated by systematically
changing isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb) compositions
acrossthearc,reflectingvariablebasementunits
at depth (Chapter 4). Entirely oceanic basement
domains host both AuCu and CuMo porphyry
systems suggesting that crustal basement com
positiondoesnotcontrolthetypeofmineraliza
tion encountered in a given porphyry system in
Ecuador.
AsdiscussedinChapter5,traceelementcompo
sitions of Ecuadorian arc magmas change sys
tematically through time suggesting progressive
crustal thickening, downwards migration of the
focusofcrustalmagmaevolution(i.e.,hotzones),
oracombinationofboth.Moreover,localfactors
such as different melt water contents may influ
ence variations in trace element trends through
time. Additional variations in the magma source
composition(e.g.,withthechangefromFarallon
to Nazca seafloor subduction at the Ecuadorian
trenchduringtheMiocene)arepossible,butcan
not be evaluated with the current dataset of
mostly highly differentiated compositions. With
few exceptions, Late Tertiary Ecuadorian arc
magmas are mainly nonadakitic until the Late
Miocene when adakitelike signatures are ob
servedfrequentlyonaregionalscale,atrendthat
dominatesuntilthepresentday.
Chapter5showsthat,forthemostpart,thegeo
chemical signatures of porphyry intrusions, in
particularadakitelikefeatures,aresimilartothe
regional geochemical characteristics of arc mag
matism for a given period of time. Distinct geo
chemical signatures of porphyry intrusions with
respect to spatially associated phaneritic intru
sions are occasionally observed. In the latter
case,however,thereisatimegapofseveralm.y.
between mineralizing porphyry intrusion and
phaneritic pluton emplacement, and the change
ingeochemicalcompositionthroughtimeoccurs
on a regional scale. These observations suggest
that parental melts of Tertiary porphyryrelated
ore deposits in Ecuador are related to ordinary
arc magmatism; they are not associated with a
distinctive petrogenetic source process such as
slabmeltingrequiringaspecialgeodynamicenvi
ronment. This agrees well with multiple studies
which have shown that adakitelike features of
active Ecuadorian arc volcanoes are the product
of crustal magma evolution, rather than being
exclusively related to a specific petrogenetic
source process such as slab melting. As noted
above, however, the postporphyry establish
ment of a flat slab segment may locally create
180
optimum exposure and preservation conditions
for Miocene porphyryrelated ore deposits in
southernEcuador(andnorthernPeru).
From a regional mineral exploration point of
view, the following major conclusions apply for
Ecuador:
ƒ Miocene intrusive rocks in Ecuador are inti
mately associated with porphyryrelated ore
depositsatstructurallyfavorablesites.
ƒ TheclusterofsouthernEcuadorianporphyry
related ore deposits can be regarded as the
northward extension of the Miocene metal
logenic belt of northerncentral Peru. The
beltispossiblycontinuoustowardsColombia.
ƒ Aspecialgeodynamicsetting(e.g.,ridgesub
duction) facilitating slab flattening and a
shutdown of arc magmatism may create fa
vorable exposure conditions for porphyry
related ore deposits formed earlier. This is
the case for Miocene ore deposits in south
ernEcuadorwhereLateMioceneslabflatten
ingoccurred.
ƒ Miocene porphyryrelated ore deposits in
Ecuador are not preferentially associated
with intrusions of special (in particular, ada
kitelike) geochemical compositions. Por
phyryparentalmeltsarenotpetrogenetically
related to slab melting, and thus do not re
quire a special geodynamic setting to form,
although the latter may strongly influence
the exposure conditions of porphyryrelated
mineralizationasnotedabove.
Outlook
This thesis was designed to discuss the metal
logenic and petrogenetic evolution of multiple
arc segments for which available literature data
areverysparse.Consequently,theconclusionsof
this work have to be rather general, and several
problematicissuesarise;eachofthesewaspartly
addressed in the discussion of the appropriate
chapter(s) of this thesis, but will briefly be re
addressedinthefollowing,combinedwithagen
eral outlook for future work directions. Three of
themainissuesare:
(1)Theregionalaspectofthesubjectofthisthesis
implies that, in addition to newly acquired data
within the frame of this PhD project, literature
datahadtobetakenintoaccountforvariousdis
cussions(inparticularwithrespecttothespatio
temporal distribution of arc magmatism). Are
geochronologic data used from the literature ro
bustatascalesignificantforthiswork?
The lack of robust geochronologic data in Ecua
doroftennecessitatedtheconsiderationofpub
lishedagesbasedonthepotentiallydisturbedK
Ar isotopic system for the purpose of a regional
discussionofarcmagmatism.Whererobustgeo
chronologic data were available for the same
lithology, existing KAr data show broadly (on a
multim.y. scale) similar ages. All KAr ages used
in this thesis were screened carefully and a sys
tematicdisturbancewasnotdetected;singlepo
tentiallydisturbedKArageswereexcludedfrom
thedatabase(AppendixChapter2).Asystematic
age bias and resulting significant inaccuracies in
the discussion (especially of Chapter 2) are thus
unlikely, although they cannot be entirely ruled
out.FuturegeologicstudiesinEcuadoraimingat
constructing a regionally extensive and robust
geochronologic framework, both of Tertiary and
older lithologies, would be highly desirable and
seem scientifically and economically justified,
given the geologic complexity and metallogenic
potentialofthecountry.
(2) How representative (in terms of spacetime
distribution and geochemical composition) is the
regional sampling approach of this study for Ec
uadorianarcmagmatismonaregionalscale,and
forindividualoredepositsonalocalscale?
This thesis does not comprehensively assess the
geochemical evolution of Tertiary arc magma
tism. Instead, it focuses on intrusive suites asso
ciated with the major porphyryrelated ore de
positsknownduringtheearlyplanningstagesof
this PhD project (20052007). Several major
batholiths(suchasPortachuelainsouthernEcua
dor) which are partly associated with Tertiary
porphyryrelated mineralization (e.g., the Rio
BlancoporphyryatthePeruvianEcuadorianbor
der) had to be excluded completely due to diffi
cult field logistics; arc volcanics were generally
notsampledexceptonfewoccasionswherethey
arespatiallyassociatedwithepithermalminerali
zation.Consequently,the traceelementvs.time
distribution trends shown in Chapter 5 may not
 181
necessarily be equivalent to (or representative
of) the general evolution of Tertiary arc magma
tism for which very limited reliable data exist.
Thus, although presentday Northern Volcanic
Zone (NVZ) geochemical data are used for com
parative purposes in Chapter 5, the discussed
systematic differences between NVZ and earlier
Tertiary magmatism might in part be due to in
complete coverage of the latter, in particular as
porphyryrelated intrusions were often of highly
differentiatedcompositions.
Sampling at a given deposit site was not carried
outusingasystematicgrid,butinsteadwascon
trolled by outcrop and drill core accessibility, al
thoughanattemptwasmadetoincludeallrele
vant lithologies in the sampling campaign. As
knowledge of the individual ore deposit geology
atthetimeofsampling,dependingonthedevel
opmentstageofagivendeposit,washighlyvari
able, it is further possible that sampling was
somewhatbiasedandnotalllithologieswerein
cluded (this applies to both geochemistry and
geochronology). Hence, the number of samples
for geochemical analysis for a given ore deposit
doesnotreflectthevolumeofaparticularlithol
ogy. Samples chosen for geochronologic analysis
provide snapshots of the temporal evolution of
the magmatichydrothermal system, but do not
cover its complete history, especially when mul
tiple porphyry intrusions are present. This issue
complicates comparing ages obtained from dif
ferent isotopic systems (e.g., UPb zircon vs. Re
Osmolybdenite).Moreextensivestudiesofsome
oftheseoredepositsmayonlyproveusefulonce
outcrop accessibility improves, and significant
progressinprojectdevelopmentonbehalfofthe
concessionholderhasbeenmade.
(3)Whatisthesignificanceoftheobservedgeo
chemicaltrends?
I attempt to statistically evaluate hydrothermal
alterationinducedelementmobilityinChapter5
beyond the generic "LILE are mobile, HFSE are
immobile" scheme by using isocon plots where
possible. The results of this exercise are some
what discouraging as most elements (including
HFSEsuchasY,Nb,andTa)maybevariablymo
bile, and scatter within a given lithology often
exceeds the expected 10% relative error as in
ferred from analytical precision. Although some
elements,inparticularSr,donotseemtobesig
nificantly affected by alteration in three out of
four isocon plots shown in Chapter 5, the as
sumptionthattheseisoconplotsarerepresenta
tive for the whole dataset cannot be proven.
However, individual trace elements and trace
element ratios mostly show correlated behavior
where expected (e.g., amphibole fractionation
causes increasing Sm/Yb and decreasing Y, both
ofwhichisobservedinthedatasetonaregional
scale), and trace element distributions through
time are consistent with the conclusions pre
sentedinChapter5 (cf.synthesisabove). There
fore, while alteration has undoubtedly affected
traceelementconcentrationsinmostsamplesto
a significant extent, broad regional trends seem
to hold some petrogenetic relevance. Further
more,as(accordingtoisoconplots)bothSrandY
are only moderately mobile in most cases, I ex
pectthatagenuinedistinctionofadakitelikevs.
nonadakitic features of porphyry and phaneritic
intrusions is possible (with the exception of the
Junin porphyry system where strong phyllic al
terationcausedmassivefeldsparreplacementby
sericite, and measured Sr contents probably do
notapproximatefreshrockvalues).
For future works, highresolution geochemical
studiesatthedepositscalemightallowquantify
ing petrogenetic trends for suites of cogenetic
samples,andtobetteraccountforalterationef
fectsbymoredetailedmineralogicalstudies(e.g.,
electron microprobe analysis of igneous and al
teration mineral compositions) which may be
used as a reference for regional studies under
comparableconditionsinagivenarcsegment.As
most investigated porphyry systems comprise
multiple intrusive phases, such a highresolution
study would ideally be coupled with more de
tailedgeochronologicworkbasedonasolidfield
campaign which should also include local
regional structural studies. The latter is of major
importance when evaluating geodynamic
changesandtheirfeedbackonarcmagmatismas
it might help unraveling the transitions from in
ferred regional to observed local stress field
variations, and the potential implications for
crustalmagmaevolutionandemplacement.


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