Lateritas do Domínio Médio Coreaú - Comportamento geoquímico de mantos lateríticos do Noroeste do Estado do Cear

Abstract

In this paper it is made an evaluation over geochemistry signature of major elements in lateritic rocks on the counties of Granja, Martinópole and Parazinho, Northwest of Ceará State. Geologically, the area is located in Médio Coreaú Domain, characterized by the Granja Complex, which is the geological basement of the region, composed by gneiss, granulites and migmatitos, and supracrustal sequences formed by quartizites and filites of Martinópole and Ubajara Group, and also cenozoic sediments of Barreiras Formation. Laterites are normally found in humid weather (seasonal or not), so it is more likely that the generation process of this lateritic beds were under ancient climatic conditions, totally different from the present. The laterites are associated with gneiss, quartzites and filites. The prevailing laterization process is the metal enrichment, especially iron. Iron content varies from 34.69 to 77.85% in the altered rock samples; this trend being more evident in gneiss, in which iron enrichment exceeds 75%. Al content increases 6 to 7% in altered rocks. Sm-Nd data showed that the ratios obtained in these laterites are similar to the protoliths and can be used to define autochthonous from allocththounus laterites and also confirm Sm and Nd mobility in laterization process.