Mesoproterozoic age of metavolcanic rocks, Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province

What is it about?

Felsic metavolcanic rocks with agglomeratic textures from the Karas Mountains, Namibia, were dated by the U-Pb isotopic ratios of contained zircons as measured by the Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe. The age of 1286 +/- 11 million years is roughly coeval with similar metavolcanic rocks in the Areachap area of South Africa to the southeast.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The Mesoproterozoic age of 1286 Ma, combined with the metavolcanic rock types and textures suggest that the volcanic rocks of the Karas Mountains are lateral equivalents of the Areachap Group to the southeast. This would imply the existence of a island arc terrane along most of the northern margin of the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic belt, and the potential extension into Namibia of a prospective volcanogenic massive sulphide (Cu-Zn-Pb) mineralized district.