Geología y análisis metalogénico de la Sierra de Catorce, S.L.P.

http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM1982v43n1a1

Pedro F. Zárate del Valle*

*Consejo de Recursos Minerales

Abstract

The present paper refers to the antimony deposits (stratabound and fissure veins) located in Sierra de Catorce, San Luis Potosí. México. The paleozoic metamorphic basement, the triassic (red beds with volcanic-clastic facies), jurassic, cretacic and tertiary limestone are descríbed.

The tectonic of Sierra de Catorce is complicated; there are field evidences of five deformation phases superposed in time and space. The composition and age of Sierra de Catorce igneous rocks are pretriasic (dolerite), jurassic (dacite), tertiary (granodioritic porphyry) and plio-quaternary (basanites and dacites).

Antimony ore deposits (sulphur and oxydes) morphology is represented by stratabound (mantos: oxfordien limestone strata recrystallized) and fissure veins (in oxfordien and cretacic limestone). The source of the antimony mineralization is triassic red beds. Heritage and persistance notions can be applied to the antimony deposits ofSierra de Catorce. A new program of exploration based on fracturation trend and limited to the cretacic limestones is proposed.