Augen gnaisses riacianos no domínio Rio Piranhas-seridó - Província Borborema, Nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

Augen gneisses occurring at the Fazenda Genezaré in the Serra da Formiga east of Caicó, at the border of the São Vicente-Florânia (RN) nucleus, and in exposures SW and NW of São José do Seridó (RN) were studied by geologic mapping, petrography, lithogeochemistry and U-Pb dating. These rocks consist of biotite augen gneisses, and granitic/granodioritic orthogneisses, with porphyro-granoblastic textures and light gray to pink colors. Their mineralogy consists of perthitic mi-crocline, oligoclase, quartz, besides biotite and amphibole, with epidote, titanite, chlorite, opaque minerals, apatite, zircon and allanite as accessory minerals. Petrography indicates that these rocks were affected by amphibolite facies metamorphism, and a later greenschist facies retrometamorphism. They have a prominent low-angle NW-SE foliation containing a high rake stretching lineation. Lithogeochemistry indicates high-K, metaluminous to peraluminous and calc-alkaline geochemical signatures related to a collisional environment. U-Pb dating of zircon (LA-ICP-MS) provided an upper intercept age of 2252 ± 17 Ma and 2171 ± 20 Ma, for the rocks found north of Florânia (RN), and east of Genezaré, respectively. In the latter values of 2.84 Ga TDM and εNd(0) of -20.76 were also obtained. The data allow attribution of the augen gneisses to the Rhyacian period, and are consequently associated with to the magmatism which formed the Caicó Complex.