Camprubí 2013

2013 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Special Publication 17, pp. 201243
Chapter 6
Tectonic and Metallogenetic History of Mexico
Antoni Camprub
Instituto de Geologa, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mxico, D.F. (Mexico)
Abstract
Mexico is widely known to be a richly endowed country in both metallic and industrial mineral deposits, the
exploitation of which has constituted an economic activity of paramount importance for centuries. This paper
presents an analysis of the time and space distribution of over 200 mineral deposits, which is based on the available absolute and relative ages of mineralization and constitutes a modified and updated version of the analysis
of Camprub (2009). Pre-Jurassic ore deposits are relatively scarce and of subordinate economic significance.
These include Ti-bearing anorthosites and rare element pegmatites in intracratonic environments, barite sedimentary-exhalative (sedex) deposits, and ultramafic-mafic Cr-Cu-Ni(-platinum group element [PGE]) deposits
in oceanic environments. Since the Jurassic, the metallogenic evolution of Mexico can be understood as a product of the evolution of two major regions: the Pacific margin and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mesozoic evolution of the Pacific margin is characterized by rifting and separation of the Guerrero composite terrane from the North American continent and the initiation of arc magmatism in an extensional continental margin setting. The ore deposits emplaced in this period are mostly polymetallic volcanogenic massive
sulfide (VMS) and Cr-Cu-Ni(-PGE) deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes. These occur dominantly near the boundaries of the Guerrero composite terrane. Porphyry-type deposits emplaced in the midCretaceous are subordinate and, apparently, small. These likely formed in island arcs that were later accreted
to the mainland. A shift from extensional to compressional tectonics resulted in the accretion of the Pacific terranes, most importantly the Guerrero composite terrane, to the Mexican mainland by the Late Cretaceous. This
tectonic shift gave rise to the initial stages of the Paleocene boom in porphyry-type and sulfide skarn deposits.
The continental arcs in these epochs represent the earliest stages for the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large
igneous province. The earliest known examples of epithermal deposits in Mexico are Paleocene and include,
besides intermediate to low sulfidation deposits, the La Caridad Antigua high sulfidation deposit, in association with the giant La Caridad porphyry copper deposit. The Late Cretaceous iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG)
deposits formed in northern Baja California and along the Pacific margin in southwestern and southern Mexico,
and continued forming in the latter regions into the Paleocene. Contrastingly, some Late Cretaceous IOCG
deposits formed several hundreds of km inland in northwestern Mexico, and are suspected cases for emplacement in back-arc environments. The formation of orogenic Au deposits began in the Late Cretaceous, and they
kept forming into the Eocene as compressional tectonics progressed.
The formation of porphyry-type, sulfide skarn, and epithermal deposits continued during the Eocene, and
followed the eastward progression of the magmatism of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The number of known
examples of epithermal deposits relative to porphyry-type and sulfide skarn deposits increases with time. The
formation of IOCG deposits along the Pacific margin seemingly dwindled during the Eocene, although they
began to form close to the Chihuahua-Coahuila border, possibly in association with the earliest stages of mineralization in the Eastern Mexican alkaline province. Also, a group of U-Au vein deposits in Chihuahua, in association with felsic volcanic rocks, is apparently restricted to the Eocene. The maximum geographic extension
and climactic events of the Sierra Madre Occidental (for both magmatic and ore-forming events) were attained
during the Oligocene, as the arc kept migrating eastward and southward. As magmatism reached the Mesa Central, epithermal and subepithermal, sulfide skarn, Sn veins associated with F-rich rhyolites, IOCG, and Sn-W
greisen deposits formed around the main reactivated fault zones, generating the highest concentration of ore
deposits known in Mexico. The focus of magmatism and mineralizing processes shifted progressively southward
in the Eastern Mexican alkaline province between the Oligocene and the Miocene, and intensified significantly
in northern Coahuila and Chihuahua in the Oligocene. This province also includes alkaline porphyry Cu-Mo
deposits, REE-bearing carbonatites, and polymetallic skarns.
During the Miocene, the magmatism of the Sierra Madre Occidental retracted dramatically southward and
began concentrating in an E-W arrangement that corresponds to the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, while continental extension evolved into the opening of the Gulf of California. During this time, metallogenic processes
associated with the Sierra Madre Occidental virtually ceased. From the late Miocene, the formation of epithermal deposits, sulfide skarns, and porphyry-type deposits resumed in the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt and the
Eastern Mexican alkaline province, whereas IOCG deposits seem restricted to the latter. The opening of the
Gulf of California represents the beginning of a new cycle in metallogenesis, with the formation of shallow analogues of sedex deposits and sedimentary phosphorites along the Baja California peninsula, epithermal deposits
near the cul-de-sac of the Gulf, and recent VMS deposits in passive continental margins and mid-ocean ridges.
E-mail:
camprubitaga@gmail.com
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ANTONI CAMPRUB
The sedimentary-diagenetic history of the Gulf of Mexico includes the formation of Mississippi Valley-type
(MVT) and associated industrial mineral, red bed-hosted U and Cu-Co-Ni, sedimentary phosphorite, and sedex
deposits. The emplacement of MVT and red bed-hosted deposits was associated with the emplacement of
basinal brines through reactivated faults that controlled basin inversion. These faults also played a significant
role as channelways for magmas and associated magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits of the Eastern Mexican
alkaline province.
Introduction
Mexico is well endowed in a variety of mineral deposits.
Besides petroleum and natural gas, Mexico is an important
producer of many mineral commodities: it is a top producer
of Ag (with an unsurpassed historical production) and Bi, a
major producer of Cd, As, Mo, Pb, Zn, Sb, Mn, and Au, and
an important producer of Cu and Fe. It is also an important
producer of industrial minerals such as celestine, fluorite, barite, and phosphorite. The mineral endowment of Mexico is
hosted by a vast variety of types or subtypes of ore deposits.
In order of importance, these include epithermal, porphyrytype, sulfide skarn, Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) and associated deposits, volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), orogenic
gold, sedimentary-exhalative (sedex), and iron oxide coppergold (IOCG) deposits as the most prominent types. Others
include ultramafic-mafichosted Cr(-platinum group element
[PGE]) and Cu-Ni deposits, carbonatite-hosted rare earth
element (REE) mineralization, and Sn or U-Au veins associated with felsic volcanism. These underwent specific geologic
processes and settings during their formation, such as various
oceanic environments (e.g., suprasubduction or island arc),
the obduction of oceanic crust, or continental magmatism,
which are closely confined in time.The metallogenic provinces
and epochs of Mexico have traditionally been loosely defined
through the main physiographic provinces in which they are
found (namely, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre del Sur, Sierra Madre de Chiapas, TransMexican volcanic belt, Mesa Central, and the Baja California
peninsula). As these physiographic boundaries do not necessarily coincide with tectonic entities or terranes, this paper
will describe the metallogeny of Mexico organized into major
tectonomagmatic events rather than using the traditional geographic subdivisions.
Although the oldest known Mexican ore deposits date back
to the Mesoproterozoic, the most metallogenically productive
geologic processes of the region started in the Jurassic.
Besides the early work by Gonzlez-Reyna (1956), the metallogeny of Mexico has been addressed by several authors at
regional scales (Salas, 1975; Clark et al., 1977, 1982; Clark and
de la Fuente, 1978; Fabregat-Guinchard and Corts-Guzmn,
1978; Clark and Damon, 1979; Damon et al., 1981; GonzlezPartida and Torres-Rodrguez, 1988; Miranda-Gasca, 2000;
Staude and Barton, 2001; Camprub, 2009; Clark and Fitch,
2009), or with regard to specific types of deposits (Damon et
al., 1980, 1983; Mead et al., 1988; Megaw et al., 1988; Albinson
et al., 2001; Camprub et al., 2003; Singer et al., 2005; Camprub and Albinson, 2006, 2007; Ortiz-Hernndez et al., 2006;
Valencia-Moreno et al., 2006, 2007; Gonzlez-Snchez et al.,
2007, 2009; Mortensen et al., 2008). Different criteria have
been used to characterize and categorize ore deposits in Mexico, but an approach integrating major geologic events and
associated deposit types has not been attempted. The most
comprehensive and useful review to date (Clark and Fitch,

2009) is rooted in the prodigious work of the Kenneth Clark
and Paul Damon team in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Clark
et al., 1977, 1982; Damon et al., 1981, 1983). In addition, Fabregat-Guinchard and Corts-Guzmn (1978) compiled a large
collection of data in order to produce regional commodity
maps of economically productive Mexican ore deposits.
Most ore deposits in Mexico are related to either (1) the
convergent plate margin along the Pacific coast and the resulting magmatic activity since the Jurassic or (2) the fluid dynamics and geochemical processes in the sedimentary basins that
are part of the Gulf of Mexico megabasin, which also hosts the
Mexican petroleum and natural gas fields. Although such processes probably account for the vast majority of ore deposits
in Mexico, there are other types of deposits, like orogenic gold
deposits, rare element pegmatites, or Ti-bearing anorthosites,
which formed in response to different processes. In the case
of orogenic gold deposits, despite being unrelated to magmatism, they are related to the evolution of the Pacific margin.
Significant tectonic events like the opening of the Gulf of California and the subsequent incorporation of the Baja California peninsula into the Pacific plate generated modern shallow
submarine hydrothermal Mn or Cu-Co-Ni deposits on the
western side of the Gulf (eastern coast of the Baja California
peninsula) and sedimentary phosphorites in the southern part
of the peninsula (Alatorre, 1988; Camprub et al., 2008).
The geologic configuration of Mexico can be schematized as
a grouping of accreted tectonostratigraphic terranes that
include a wide variety of volcanosedimentary series associated
with several Mesozoic magmatic arc to back-arc systems (e.g.,
Centeno-Garca et al., 2008, 2011; Martini et al., 2013). The
core subcontinental basement upon which accretion took
place is named Oaxaquia, and extends NNW-SSE from Coahuila to Oaxaca (Fig. 1). The complex structural architecture
of Mexico is characterized by fault or discontinuity zones at
different crustal scales that have acted episodically as preferential channelways for magmas and hydrothermal fluids over a
long period of time. The critical shift from dominantly extensional to compressional tectonomagmatic environments along
the Pacific margin occurred between the Early and Late Cretaceous and led to the initiation of continental arc and back-arc
magmatism, which was accompanied by the formation of
related magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits. This generally
compressional period terminated in the Miocene when rifting
and the opening of the Gulf of California commenced.
This paper has, in general, excluded those deposits that
lack radiochronometric dating or other trustworthy geologic
information. Examples include the deposits that belong to the
sedimentary and diagenetic domain in northwestern Mexico,
from which no absolute geochronological determinations
are available. In this paper, skarn deposits is used to mean
either mantos, chimneys, or skarns in the sense of Megaw
et al. (1988) and Clark and Fitch (2009), as well as distal
TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO
203
Fig. 1. General geologic configuration of Mexico based on tectonostratigraphic terranes and the distribution of the Oaxaquia subcontinental block, simplified from Centeno-Garca et al. (2008).
skarns, the metallic minerals of which are essentially sulfides,

thus excluding iron oxide skarns, which are herein grouped
into the IOCG clan instead. The morphology, structure, and
metal contents of the diverse skarn styles vary significantly
between individual deposits, but all these differences fit in
a single genetic type, as is the case for epithermal deposits
(Camprub and Albinson, 2006, 2007). The word clan in
the context of IOCG deposits is used to loosely group magmatic-hydrothermal deposit types rich in iron oxides, which
contain variable amounts of copper and gold, among other
elements. However, this grouping does not necessarily imply
that the deposits therein adhere to the specific IOCG model
as defined in Williams et al. (2005). The term subepithermal
is used in this paper for deposits that share most of their characteristics with epithermal deposits, except for their depth of
emplacement (>~1,000 m), and which may or may not be visibly associated with sulfidic skarns or porphyry-type deposits. Therefore, the use of this term is similar to that in Lefort
et al. (2011). The term carbonate replacement deposits, in
the sense of Megaw et al. (1988), is avoided, as it includes
skarns and several epithermal deposits in Mexico (those that
are emplaced in carbonate sequences; see a list of the latter
in Albinson et al., 2001). Also, it may constitute a misnomer if
mostly MVT, a few VMS, and several IOCG deposits, among

others, are also hosted by such rocks. However, the carbonate
replacement deposit label can be tentatively used for massive
to semimassive polymetallic sulfide deposits that formed by
the replacement of carbonate rocks with no evidence for hightemperature skarn mineralogy and no clear epithermal origin.
Proterozoic to Jurassic Metallogenic Epochs
Pre-Jurassic ore deposits are relatively scarce in Mexico.
Known Proterozoic ore deposits include Ti-bearing anorthosites and rare element (U-Th-Nb-Ta-REE) pegmatites in the
Oaxacan Complex, south of the Oaxaquia subcontinental
block (Fig. 2). Rare element pegmatites are found in the
region between Huitzo and Telixtlahuaca, including the El
Muerto pegmatite, formerly mined for U and Th (ProlLedesma et al., 2012). Two sets of pegmatites were dated at
1153 to 1063 Ma and 980 to 956 Ma by Solari et al. (2003) in
the Oaxacan Complex, whereas Ti-bearing anorthosites in the
Pluma Hidalgo area were dated at 1010 to 998Ma by Schulze
et al. (2000). North of the Oaxaquia subcontinental block,
there is a Neoproterozoic gold-bearing gneiss assemblage at
El Novillo (Patchett and Ruiz, 1987; Eguiluz de Antuano et
al., 2004).
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ANTONI CAMPRUB
Fig. 2. Age and geographic distribution of pre-Mesozoic ore deposits in Mexico. The extent of the Oaxaquia subcontinental block is indicated for reference.
Paleozoic ore deposits are also scarce (Fig. 2) and include

the Carboniferous (Visean) VMS deposits in Teziutln-Aire
Libre (Puebla), which have been characterized as Besshitype deposits (Miranda-Gasca, 2007). The economically most
important Paleozoic deposits are the Late Devonian barite
deposits in Sonora (Johnson et al., 2009), which are associated with hydrocarbon seepage (Canet et al., 2013). The serpentinites and refractory-grade PGE-poor chromitites in the
Tehuitzingo-Tecomatln region (Puebla) are part of a slice
of ophiolitic mantle sequence from a suprasubduction zone
(Proenza et al., 2004) that was probably obducted during the
Early Ordovician (Campa-Uranga et al., 2002; Galaz et al.,
2012) as part of a regional-scale orogenic event (Vega-Granillo
et al., 2007). Other small Paleozoic Cr-Ni-Cu-Co-PGE occurrences in ultramafic-mafic complexes are found in Sinaloa.
The Re-Os model ages in platinum group minerals (PGMs)
of the Loma Baya chromitite deposit peak at ca. 300 (Carboniferous) and ca. 130 Ma (near the Hauterivian-Barremian
limit). Such model ages are interpreted by Gonzlez-Jimnez
et al. (2012) as ages of successive melting, and the latter is also
interpreted as the ultimate age for the emplacement of the
PGE-bearing podiform chromitite bodies. The Carboniferous
melting age permits relating these deposits to similar occurrences at other times in the Paleozoic, implying recurrence of
similar mineralizing processes.
Mexicos Backbone Metallogenic Provinces:
The Accreted Pacific Margin
The present-day continental Mexico is composed of a mosaic
of tectonostratigraphic terranes that were assembled during
the Paleozoic and Mesozoic as the result of the complex interaction between Laurentia, Gondwana, and the paleo-Pacific
plate. Even though the Mexican tectonomagmatic evolution
is still a subject of debate, consensus over some principal tectonic events exists. At the end of the Paleozoic, Pangea was
assembled, resulting in the accretion of Oaxaquia and other
pre-Mesozoic Gondwanic terranes to Laurentia. Subduction
of the paleo-Pacific plate under the western margin of Pangea is documented by a continental arc developed during the
Permian and Early Triassic. During the Middle and Late Triassic, a cessation of magmatic activity was accompanied by the
deposition of wide fans of turbidites along the western margin
of Pangea, which was a passive margin at that time. By the
Jurassic, the Precambrian and Paleozoic Gondwanic terranes
underwent widespread extension triggered by the breakup

of Pangea, leading to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico and
other surrounding continental to shallow marine basins that
progressively subsided and deepened during the Early Cretaceous. Contemporaneously, subduction was reestablished
along the paleo-Pacific margin, producing magmatic activity,
as well as the accretion of oceanic terranes that resulted in
the progressive growth of the Mexican leading edge. Finally,
during the Late Cretaceous, the assembled terranes were
deformed in a fold and thrust belt, which represents the southern extensions of the Rocky Mountains belt and is controlled
by both the Sevier and Laramide structures. See the comprehensive work by Centeno-Garca (2005), Centeno-Garca et
al. (2008, 2011), and references therein for detailed accounts
on the tectonic history of the Mexican Pacific margin.
The types of ore deposits that can be genetically attributed
to a wide range of syngenetic and magmatic processes associated with the evolution of the accreted Pacific margin of
Mexico occurred dominantly in oceanic environments during
the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous and in continental arcs
during the Late Cretaceous to Recent. Principal deposit types
include (1) polymetallic or Ag-Au epithermal/subepithermal
deposits, (2) porphyry Cu, Mo, Au, W deposits, (3) polymetallic sulfide skarn deposits, (4) volcanogenic stratiform/
strata-bound massive sulfides (VMS) or barite deposits, (5)
magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide deposits (herein assigned
to the IOCG clan), (6) Sn veins associated with fluorine-rich
rhyolites, (7) U(-Au) veins in rhyolites, and (8) a range of magmatic deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes.
Subordinate types of deposits are rare element pegmatites
and carbonatites, and Sn-W greisens. The above deposit types
are located along a broad northwest-southeast magmatic belt
extending across the country that evolved from mostly submarine oceanic to incipient continental arcs in the Mesozoic,
to subaerial continental magmatic arcs since the Late Cretaceous. The latter include the silicic large igneous province of
the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra Madre del Sur, the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas (the western and southern Sierras
Madre), and the Eastern Mexican alkaline province.
The Sierra Madre Occidental is the greatest silver-producing region in the world. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic magmatic
activity in the Pacific margin can be divided into five major
episodes (Ferrari et al., 2005b, 2007a; Morn-Zenteno et al.,
2005, 2007; Centeno-Garca et al., 2008, 2011): (1) Jurassic
to Early Cretaceous, (2) Late Cretaceous to Paleocene, (3)
Eocene-Oligocene, (4) early Miocene, and (5) middle Miocene to Present. The latter corresponds to the Trans-Mexican
volcanic belt, which contains recent and presently active volcanoes. The Mesozoic metallogeny in Mexico is closely related
to almost continually active subduction-related processes that
occurred in the western Pacific margin. Geologic evidence
indicates a complex history of oceanic and/or fringed extensional arcs that experienced suprasubduction rifting, followed
by stages of compression and accretion (mainly the Guerrero
composite terrane; Centeno-Garca, 2005; Centeno-Garca et
al., 2008, 2011). Rifting was associated with the breakup of
Pangea and the subsequent opening of the Gulf of Mexico
(Centeno-Garca, 2005). Due to the geographic location of
Mexico, which forms a relatively narrow bridge between the
Atlantic and the Pacific, it was likely subject to very complex
205
interactions between the divergent and convergent plate

boundaries throughout the Mesozoic. Therefore, the continental crust of western Mexico can be understood as having
grown by the generation of oceanic and continental margin
arcs followed by accretion of these Mesozoic tectonostratigraphic terranes to the Proterozoic subcontinental block of
Oaxaquia and its satellite and already accreted Paleozoic
terranes.
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
Subduction in the Pacific region can be traced back to the
Early Jurassic, and formed several island arcs and other subduction-related submarine volcanic or volcanosedimentary
assemblages (Centeno-Garca et al., 2008, 2011). Several VMS
deposits are found in these assemblages, which extend into the
Cretaceous. Examples include the Tizapa-Santa Rosa, Campo
Morado-Suriana, Tlanilpa-Azulaquez, Cuale-Bramador, and
San Nicols-El Salvador deposits (Fig. 3). The latter constitute
the largest VMS deposits in Mexico, with estimated reserves
at over 100 Mt. Another set of VMS or syngenetic deposits
(La Minita and Sapo Negro in Michoacn) contain sulfides
at their base, overlain by massive barite, and, finally, Mn and
Fe oxides at the top. This reflects a progressive increase in
the oxidation state of the deposition site. Some VMS deposits formed in back-arc settings between the volcanic arcs and
the subaerial terranes of eastern Mexico, and others formed
within juvenile and slightly evolved arcs (Mortensen et al.,
2008). In the case of the Ag-rich Cuale-Bramador deposits
in Jalisco, a shallow submarine epicontinental environment is
suggested (Bissig et al., 2008). This is the most likely environment for the La Minita deposits as well, provided that VMS
deposits are syngenetic to rudist reefs. The overwhelming
majority of Mesozoic VMS deposits in Mexico have been classified as Kuroko-type deposits, although Copper King is arguably representative of the Cyprus type (Miranda-Gasca, 2000;
Mortensen et al., 2008). These deposits formed in association
with either calc-alkaline, tholeiitic and alkaline submarine
volcanic, or volcanosedimentary rock assemblages (GonzlezPartida, 1993), although the time and space distribution of
these rock types in relation to mineralization is hitherto still
poorly constrained.
VMS deposits in the Guerrero composite terrane occur
in two distinct belts (Fig. 3): one of them is found near the
present Pacific coast (e.g., Cuale-Bramador, La Minita-Sapo
Negro, Arroyo Seco), and the other one lies relatively far
inland, near the eastern boundary of this terrane (San Nicols-El Salvador and the deposits in the Guanajuato ranges
Tizapa-Santa Rosa, Tlanilpa-Azulquez, Rey de Plata, and
Campo Morado-Suriana). The latter constitutes the region
where VMS deposits are more abundant. The eastern part of
the Guerrero composite terrane is separated from ancestral
North America by the Arperos basin. This basin is likely paraautochthonous, suggesting that the Guerrero composite terrane is a rifted piece of North America rather than an exotic
terrane (Martini et al., 2013). VMS deposits were emplaced
around the margins of the Guerrero composite terrane in
rifted arc or back-arc settings, which also included deposits
associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes. According to this
model, VMS deposits near the eastern boundary of the Guerrero composite terrane could be explained as deposits formed
206
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Centeno-Garca et al. (2011)
El Remolino-La Ftima
(Early Jurassic)
El Fenmeno
(Early Cretaceous)
Prosperidad
(und. age)
Erndira
(Early Cretaceous)
El Babal
(Early Cretaceous)
Francisco I. Madero
Los Gavilanes & La Paz
M
rra
Sie
(Early Cretaceous?)
(Late Jurassic)
e te
a dr
ne
rra
Carmen
(und. age)
San Ignacio
Timaro
(Late Jurassic)
Dios Me Ayuda
(und. age)
(Early Cretaceous)
El Encino
Aquila
Tlanilpa-Azulquez
(Early Cretaceous)
500 km
Mixteco terrane
Xola
pa
Terrane boundaries
Cuicatln-Concepcin Ppalo
(Early Cretaceous?)
San Juan Mazatln
terra
ne
Zapoteco
terrane
(Early Jurassic)
Maya terrane
Cuicateco
terrane
Ixcuinatoyac Campo Morado-Suriana

(Triassic?)
(Late Jurassic)
Fig. 3. Space distribution of ore deposits formed from the Triassic to the Early Cretaceous in the Pacific convergent
margin of Mexico, showing terrane names and other significant geologic features. Modified from Camprub (2009). See
available ages in Table 1. The und. age labels indicate those deposits with ages that are undetermined but that have been
inferred from their stratigraphic position or from various sources, as cited in Miranda-Gasca (2000) and in Ortiz-Hernndez
et al. (2006). The Baja California peninsula is depicted at its approximate prerifting position. Paleotectonic reconstructions
from this period were taken from Centeno-Garca et al. (2011). Following these, the area of Jurassic-Albian arc undergoing
synvolcanic extensional unroofing (green) is extended northward into known similar areas, and the Jurassic-Albian back-arc
basin is extended southward into the Petatln-Papanoa region, as data from the Loma Baya deposit (Gonzlez-Jimnez et al.,
2011, 2012) confirm that it formed in suprasubduction zone back-arc ophiolites.
in arc to back-arc environments, although only the San Nicols-El Salvador deposits have been satisfactorily identified as
having formed in a back-arc setting (Mortensen et al., 2008).
Most of the ultramafic-hosted Cr-Ni-Cu deposits formed
during the Early Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous in island
arcs and suprasubduction zones (Ortiz-Hernndez et al.,
2006), although such deposits require detailed studies to
define their tectonomagmatic affinity. The Loma Baya chromitite deposits in Guerrero clearly show evidence for formation in back-arc ophiolites (Gonzlez-Jimnez et al., 2012).
Evidence for primitive arc development is found at the
Early Cretaceous El Arco-Calmall porphyry Cu-Au deposit
(Weber and Lpez-Martnez, 2006), which constitutes the
oldest porphyry-type deposit known in Mexico. However, no
deposits that formed in continental arcs older than the Late
Cretaceous have been documented. The IOCG clan deposits
are particularly abundant in the Alisitos terrane in the northern
Baja California peninsula (Fig. 3), and also in southwestern

Mexico. All of these deposits occur in a narrow strip of land
that lies within a few hundreds of km east of the inferred location of the former subduction zone, similar to IOCG deposits
in the Andean coastal ranges (see Sillitoe, 2003).
Late Cretaceous to Paleocene
Porphyry deposits, low to high sulfidation epithermal
deposits, sulfidic skarns, and IOCG-type mineralization
formed in a series of Late Cretaceous to Paleocene continental arcs (Valencia-Moreno et al., 2006, 2007; Fig. 4). Epithermal deposits are subordinate and include El Barqueo (mostly
low sulfidation mineralization) and Caridad Antigua (high sulfidation). The latter was stacked on the La Caridad porphyry
Cu deposit, and was preserved from erosion by being downthrown by faulting (Valencia et al., 2008). The giant porphyry
Cu-Mo(-W) deposits in northern Sonora (e.g., Cananea, La
Late Cretaceous to Paleocene
Laramide Belt
Quitovac
Los Humos
Bella Esperanza
Hupac
Cerro del Oro
La Huertita
Carnaval & Cerro Mariachi
Sauzalito
El Milagro
207
El Pilar
Milpillas
Mariquita
Capote Basin
Black symbols: Late Cretaceous

White symbols: Paleocene
Cumobabi
Guaynopa & Guaynopita
La Esperanza
Tres Piedras San Antonio de la Huerta & Aurora
Piedras Verdes
Tarachi
La Reforma
lamos
El Batamote
TSMAFZ
San Pedro
SLTFZ
Cerro Tnel
Cerro San Pedro
Los Uvares
Concordia-Paredones Amarillos
Comanja de Corona
Talpa de Allende (El Rub, La Amrica, Amaltea)

Arteaga
Los Cimientos
El Limn
Las Truchas
Aquila
Zaniza
500 km
Fig. 4. Distribution of magmatism and ore deposits formed from the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene in the Pacific
convergent margin of Mexico. Modified from Camprub (2009). See available ages in Table 1. The distribution of volcanic
and intrusive rocks was taken from Ferrari et al. (2005a, 2007a) for the Sierra Madre Occidental and Morn-Zenteno et al.
(2005, 2007) and Martnez-Serrano et al. (2008) for the Sierra Madre del Sur. Abbreviations: SLTFZ = San Luis-Tepehuanes
fault zone, TSMAFZ = Taxco-San Miguel de Allende fault zone.
Caridad) are part of the province that also contains the porphyry deposits in southeastern Arizona and southwestern
New Mexico. Porphyry deposits in Mexico are apparently
cogenetic with their host batholiths, which may have been
derived from variable sources and magmatic processes, and
display different degrees of crustal contamination and assimilation of sedimentary materials (for detailed accounts, see
Valencia-Moreno et al., 2006, 2007; Zrcher and Titley, 2007;
Potra and Macfarlane, 2013). In southwestern Mexico there is
a significant concentration of mostly skarn hosted iron deposits (the iron belt of Damon et al., 1981; Clark et al., 1982)
such as Mezcala or Cerro Nhuatl, and more IOCG type magmatic-hydrothermal magnetite-apatite deposits such as Pea
Colorada, El Encino, or Zaniza. The available age constraints
in southwestern Mexico (Camprub et al., 2006a, 2011) indicate that an early Paleocene magmatic episode was responsible for such concentration of deposits, and might have
generated other types of deposits as well. Hernndez-Barosio
(1989) explained the formation of iron oxide deposits in
southeastern Mexico mostly as due to magmatic segregation
and injection during the Paleocene-Eocene. Iron oxide
skarns are considered as part of the broad and loosely characterized IOCG-type or magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide
deposits, in much the same fashion as similar deposits in the
Andean coastal ranges (e.g., Sillitoe, 2003). The coeval occurrence of tholeiitic gabbrodiorites in southwestern Mexico
and most iron deposits indicates continental extension and
crustal thinning in the region during the Paleocene, thus supporting an Andean-like IOCG setting. Tholeiitic and calcalkaline rocks were emplaced in the same region
simultaneously (Zrcher et al., 2001; Corona-Esquivel and
Henrquez, 2004). In the Alisitos arc, Baja California (Fig. 5),
gabbros are also reported in association with parental magmatic rocks for the Early Cretaceous San Fernando IOCG
deposit, which probably formed during the short-lived continental rifting period at 111 to 110 Ma described by Busby et
al. (2006) or later during a compressional event (Cruise et al.,
2007). Other iron oxide deposits in southwestern Mexico (see
Fig. 6), such as Las Truchas, La Guayabera, Aquila, Tibor,
and Plutn, are interpreted to belong to the Paleocene IOCG
cluster on the basis of key geologic characteristics. These
include (1) association with gabbros, diorites, and/or
208
ANTONI CAMPRUB
TECATE
California
MEXICALI
Pino Surez
TIJUANA
Arizona
SAN LUIS RO COLORADO
Los Gavilanes
Cinco Hermanos
Cerro El Topo
El Fenmeno
Corte de Madera
Altar Desert
Olivia
Ojos Negros
Mixzy
Lower Cretaceous volcanosedimentary sequences

Lower Cretaceous marine sequences
ENSENADA
La Grulla
Busby et al. (2006)
Cretaceous batholiths
32
Beltrn
Colorado River
delta
El lamo
Western belt:
oceanic arc
(Alisitos Group)
Mesozoic metamorphic rocks
La Prosperidad
Magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide(-Cu-Au) deposits

Porphyry-type deposits
W(-Au-Ag) skarn deposits
Erndira
La Envidia
117 Guadalupe Sols
VMS deposits
Agua Blanca Fault
Deposits in ultramafic-mafic complexes
San Isidro
Orogenic gold deposits (?)
SAN FELIPE
Unknown type (Au-Ag)
Turquoise deposits (supergene alteration of MHIO?)
Mineralized areas during the Cenozoic
El Babal
La Brjula
Agua Chiquita
Palma del Gringo
El Morro
PUERTECITOS
El Taraicito
El Manzano
Caada del Gringo

Campo Rodrguez
SAN QUINTN
La Huertita
Sauzalito, La Alejandra & La Trtola
La Tinaja
El Gato
I
F
San Pedro y San Pablo
Santa rsula, El Salto & La Caramallola
Cerro Blanco
La Cochalosa
San Fernando
Cerro Peln
Pcale & Yesenia

Santa Catarina
F
N
I
I
C
ngel de la Guarda
Island
BAHA DE LOS NGELES
2 9
Palomas
116
C
E
A
N
San Jernimo
Cedros
Island
28
Calmall
El Arco
115
114 Baja California Sur
113
Fig. 5. Distribution of Mesozoic rocks in the state of Baja California (simplified from the updated Geological Map of
Mexico by Ferrari et al., 2007b) showing the occurrences of ore deposits that formed during the Mesozoic or that are likely
of Mesozoic age, with special attention to the occurrence of magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide deposits. The types of ore
deposits are interpreted from the descriptions of Juvera-Gaxiola et al. (1962), Andrade-Pulido and Estrada-Barraza (1965),
Ojeda-Rivera et al. (1965), Gastil et al. (1975), Krummenacher et al. (1975), Amaya-Martnez (1977), Pesquera-Velzquez
(1981), Martn-Barajas and Monjaraz (1989), Bon-Aguilar et al. (2001), Ortega-Rivera (2003), Arellano-Morales et al. (2005),
Servicio Geolgico Mexicano (2005, 2011), Clark and Fitch (2009), and Torres-Carrillo et al. (2011). See ages in Table 1.
MHIO = magmatic hydrothermal iron oxide.
209
Fig. 6. Distribution of Mesozoic rocks and Cenozoic(?) batholiths in southwestern Mexico (simplified from the updated
Geological Map of Mexico by Ferrari et al., 2007b) showing the occurrences of ore deposits that formed during the Mesozoic
or that are likely of Mesozoic age, with special attention to the occurrence of magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide deposits, of
which type the early Cenozoic deposits are also shown. The distribution of the majority of magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide
deposits was taken from Flores-Aguilln (2005), and additional information from Crdenas-Vargas et al. (1992, 1994), WerreKeeman and Estrada-Rodarte (1999), and Castro-Rodrguez and Mrida-Cruz (2008); the possible examples of orogenic
gold deposits were inferred based on information from Ruiz-Marqus and Nez-Espinal (1993). See the inset of the map of
Mexico in Figure 3, and ages in Table 1.
monzogranites assigned to the Paleocene by geologic and

limited absolute age constraints, (2) complex interactions in
the associated intrusive rocks, including evidence for magma
mingling or mixing, (3) iron oxide-dominated, sulfide-poor
ore deposits, (4) apatite-rich intrusives and iron oxide-bearing associations, and/or (5) potassic or sodic alteration assemblages commonly associated with carbonate-rich propylitic
alteration.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of IOCG-type deposits that formed during this period occur in settings similar to
those in the Andean Coastal ranges, within a few hundred
km from the trench, a few others (Guaynopa, Cerro del Oro;

Fig. 4) formed several hundred km farther inland. Although
no solid case for these IOCG deposits being emplaced in a
back-arc environment can be made on the basis of the current knowledge, given their locations inland, this hypothesis is
worth testing in future research.
Eocene to early Miocene
The climactic magmatism in the Sierra Madre Occidental
is represented by ignimbritic silicic volcanism in two main
pulses: (1) from late Eocene to early Oligocene along the
210
ANTONI CAMPRUB
entire Sierra Madre Occidental and the Mesa Central, and

(2) during the early Miocene in the central and southern
Sierra Madre Occidental. The late Eocene to early Oligocene
(~3530 Ma) magmatic episode constitutes the rst bimodal
andesitic-rhyolitic volcanic event of the early volcanic complex of the Sierra Madre Occidental (McDowell and Keizer,
1977). The early volcanic complex is largely formed by andesites and, locally, rhyolitic volcanic centers, which are generally
associated with economically relevant epithermal deposits. A
myriad of intermediate sulfidation polymetallic to low sulfidation Au-Ag epithermal deposits formed in association with the
early volcanic complex (Figs. 7, 8). This metallogenetic period
includes the world-class epithermal Ag Guanajuato and Fresnillo deposits, the latter of which is currently the largest active
silver mine in the world in terms of historical production
and proven reserves. In fact, this period constitutes the most
prospective one for epithermal deposits in the Sierra Madre
Occidental of Mexico (Camprub and Albinson, 2006, 2007).
The magmatism migrated eastward from the Pacific margin
inland during the Eocene (Fig. 7), and calc-alkaline magmas
intruded into the carbonate platform sequences that formed
in epicontinental basins related to the passive margin of the

Gulf of Mexico. Intrusions within the carbonate rocks are spatially associated with some of the largest Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag skarn
deposits in the country. These include the Zimapn, Mapim,
Charcas, Concepcin del Oro, and San Martn deposits.
This group of deposits also includes known skarn deposits at
Mazapil (Fig. 7). This district contains the giant Au-Ag-PbZn Peasquito deposit (with proven and probable reserves of
~1200 Mt, which correspond to >10 Moz Au and ~600 Moz
Ag; see recent reports by Goldcorp), which is the largest Au
deposit and the largest currently operating mine in Mexico.
The deposits at Peasquito are hosted mainly by two breccia
pipes that crosscut carbonate rocks, with no Ca silicate assemblages so far recognized. Some Paleocene to Oligocene skarn
and porphyry-type deposits in Sonora, like the Pilares deposit,
are rich in tungsten (Mead et al., 1988; Valencia-Moreno et
al., 2006, 2007). West of the carbonate platform, porphyrytype deposits formed in portions of the magmatic belt that
were more proximal to the trench.
Tin vein deposits associated with the emplacement of
high-fluorine rhyolitic domes or granitic intrusions (greisen)
Well-recognized fault zones
500 km
Fig. 7. Distribution of magmatism and ore deposits emplaced during the Eocene in the Pacific convergent margin of
Mexico. Modified from Camprub (2009). See available ages in Table 1. The Talamantes Mn deposit is identified by a gray star
identifying it as epithermal type, although the author could not confirm such affiliation. See magmatic centers of the Eastern
Mexican alkaline province in figure 7 of Camprub (2009).
211

zones
500 km
Fig. 8. Distribution of magmatism and ore deposits emplaced during the Oligocene in the Pacific convergent margin of
Mexico. Modified from Camprub (2009). Available ages are listed in Table 1. See magmatic centers of the Eastern Mexican
alkaline province in figure 7 of Camprub (2009).
of Oligocene age are restricted to the borders of the Mesa

Central (especially to the San Luis-Tepehuanes fault system;
Nieto-Samaniego et al., 2005, 2007; Fig. 8) and formed during the Oligocene crustal extensional period as well. Examples
include the Tlaquicheros, Villa de Reyes, Villa de Arriaga,
Ahualulco, Coso, Sierra de Chapultepec, La Ochoa, Juan
Aldama, Cerro de los Remedios, Sombrerete, Avino, and El
Naranjo-Los ngeles deposits (Table 1; Fig. 8). During the
Oligocene, new IOCG-type deposits were emplaced in the
southern Sierra Madre Occidental and near the western edge
of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province (Fig. 8; Cerro de
Mercado and the La Perla-Hrcules cluster, respectively).
The Paleocene IOCG deposits are interpreted to have been
emplaced at greater depth than their Oligocene counterparts.
The former contain coarse euhedral magnetite and pegmatoid magnetite-apatite-pyroxene veins and are interpreted to
have formed from hypabyssal iron oxide-rich melts (e.g., Pea
Colorada; Camprub and Canet, 2009; Camprub et al., 2011),
whereas the latter show volcanic features (e.g., La Perla,
Cerro de Mercado; Crdenas-Vargas and del Castillo-Garca,
1964; Lyons, 1988a). The potential for deeper deposits for the
Oligocene is unknown.
Miocene to Present
The early Miocene magmatic pulse, known as the Upper
Volcanic series, corresponds to the last volcanic episode in the
Sierra Madre Occidental that is clearly ignimbritic (McDowell and Keizer, 1977). This igneous pulse is associated with
mainly epithermal (Au-Ag and polymetallic) deposits (Fig. 9).
Most Miocene epithermal deposits are found in Nayarit or
in the states nearby (southwestern Mexico), along with some
tin vein deposits associated with Miocene calderas (Fig. 10).
Polymetallic deposits are probably associated with the continuous volcanism that occurred between 19.55 and 12.6 Ma
(Aguilar-Nogales, 1987a, b). The second important prospective area for Miocene deposits is found near the eastern limit
of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (Figs. 10, 11), and includes
epithermal deposits like those in the Pachuca-Real del Monte
district, as well as precious metal and polymetallic skarn, porphyry, and IOCG-type deposits. The Pachuca-Real del Monte
district (inactive) has traditionally been regarded as the largest single silver-producing district of all time (~45,000 t Ag,
220 t Au). The reason for such an exceptional amount of silver
in a single district, especially in such an uncommon place and
212
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1. Compilation of the Known
Deposit
State
Deposit type
Proterozoic (2500542 Ma)

Huitzo (El Muerto) Telixtlahuaca
Pluma Hidalgo
Novillo
La Panchita
La Joya (San Andrs Nuxio)
Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Tamaulipas
Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Rare element (U-Th-Nb-Ta-REE) pegmatites

Ti-bearing anorthosites
Au veins in gneiss
Pegmatites
Pegmatites
Paleozoic (542251 Ma)

Tehuitzingo Tecomatln
Puebla
Cr-PGE in ophiolites

TeziutlnAire Libre
Puebla
Zn-Pb-Ag VMS (possible Besshi type)
Cerro Cobachi Sierra El Aliso
Sonora
Barite deposits associated with hydrocarbon seepage
Barita de Sonora Mazatn
Triassic (251.0199.6 Ma)
Vizcano Peninsula (several deposits)
La Dicha La Esperanza (Ixcuinatoyac)
Baja California Sur

Guerrero
Cr-Ni-Co-Cu-Au-PGE in ophiolites
Cu and barite VMS
Early and Middle Jurassic (199.6161.2 Ma)

El Remolino La Ftima
Sonora
PGE in ultramafic-mafic complex (pyroxenites)

San Juan Mazatln
Oaxaca
Porphyry Cu
Cedros Island
Baja California
Magnesites in ophiolites
El Arco Calmall
Baja California
Porphyry Cu-Au (with IOCG roots?)
Late Jurassic (161.2145.5 Ma)

Cuale
Jalisco
Polymetallic VMS
Tizapa
State of Mxico
Polymetallic VMS

San Nicols El Salvador
Zacatecas
Polymetallic VMS
Campo Morado Suriana
Guerrero
Polymetallic VMS
El Gordo
Guanajuato
Polymetallic VMS
San Ignacio (Los Mexicanos)
Guanajuato
Polymetallic VMS
Molango
Hidalgo
Mn sedex
La Caja & La Casita formations
Zacatecas / Coahuila /
Sedimentary phosphorites
(many locations)
San Luis Potos
Early Cretaceous (145.599.6 Ma)

Francisco I. Madero
Zacatecas
Polymetallic VMS (?) overprinted by a Cenozoic skarn

Timaro
Michoacn
Porphyry Cu
Tlanilpa Azulquez district
State of Mxico
Polymetallic VMS
Magdalena and Margarita Islands
Baja California
Magnesite and Cr in ultramafic-mafic complex
Concepcin Ppalo
Oaxaca
Asbestos in ultramafic-mafic complex
Loma Baya
Guerrero
Cr-Ni-PGE in back-arc ultramafic-mafic complex

Dos Hermanas La Virgen
Zacatecas
Polymetallic VMS

San Fernando
Baja California
Fe-Cu-Au IOCG deposit

Palmar Chico San Pedro Limn
State of Mxico
Cr-Ni-Co in island-arc ultramafic-mafic complex
Erndira Guadalupe Sols Tepuxtete
Baja California
Fe-Cu-Au IOCG deposits
San Isidro
San Juan de Otates
Guanajuato
Cr-Ni in island-arc ultramafic-mafic complex
El Tamarindo
Guerrero
Cr-Ni in island-arc ultramafic-mafic complex
Santa rsula La Cochalosa
Baja California
Fe-Cu IOCG deposit

El Babal
Baja California
Fe-Cu IOCG deposit
La Minita La Blanca Sapo Negro
Michoacn
Zn-Pb-Ba-Ag VMS
213
Ages of Ore Deposits in Mexico

Age (Ma)
Dating method
10631053
1010998
<1000?
980
930770
U/Pb
U/Pb
Sm-Nd
Pb-a
K-Ar; Rb-Sr
>481478
U/Pb*

345327
U/Pb
Late Devonian
221.0220.0
U/Pb
Late Triassic-Early Jurassic
Selected references and comments

Solari et al. (2003)
Schulze et al. (2000), Weber et al. (2010); source area for recent Ti-rich coastal placers
Patchett and Ruiz (1987), Eguiluz de Antuano et al. (2004)
Cited in Salas (1975); mined for collector-quality minerals
Cited in Salas (1975); unknown aim for mining
The orebodies are part of the Xayacatln Formation, which is crosscut by the Tetcic
metagranitoids, dated at 478 Ma (Campa-Uranga et al., 2002); the youngest detrital zircon
cluster in the low-grade rocks yielded U-Pb ages of 481 16 Ma (Galaz et al., 2012); such
ages would represent the upper threshold for the obduction of the ophiolites, the formation
of which would be much older
ngeles-Moreno et al. (2003)
Johnson et al. (2009), Canet et al. (2013)
Kimbrough and Moore (2003), Kimbrough and Ledesma-Vazquez (2008)

Klesse (1968)
Early Jurassic
Biostratigraphy

190.6
K-Ar*
173.0
U/Pb
164.1
Re-Os
Rodrguez-Castaeda et al. (2003); the pyroxenites are hosted by the Caracahui and
Santa Rosa formations
Damon et al. (1983)
Kimbrough and Moore (2003)
Weber and Lpez-Martnez (2006), cited in Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
157.2154.0
U/Pb*
156.7103.4
Pb-Pb

151.3147.9
U/Pb*
146.2142.3
U/Pb*
146.1
U/Pb*
145.0
U/Pb*
Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian?
Kimmeridgian-early Berriasian
Bissig et al. (2008)

JICA-MMAJ (1991); other Pb-Pb model ages by Elas-Herrera et al. (2000) span 227 to
188 Ma; setting aside technical considerations, Late Jurassic ages are considered here to
be the likeliest due to the regional geologic context
Mortensen et al. (2008); largest VMS deposits in Mexico
Mortensen et al. (2008)
Martini et al. (2011)
Okita (1992); largest Mn deposit in North America
Soto-Pineda (1960), Rogers et al. (1961), Vivanco-Flores (1976)
141133?
U/Pb*

140.0131.0
U/Pb; Ar/Ar
139.7138.8
U/Pb*
138134
K-Ar
138.0123.0
Ar/Ar
~130.0
Re-Os

117.94?
Ar/Ar

114.8111.9? 100?
U/Pb*, Re-Os

114.0104.0
Ar/Ar
113.498.6
Ar/Ar*
Escalona-Alczar et al. (2009); these ages correspond to the enclosing volcanosedimentary

complex, and are not restricted to the deposit; if this deposit were definitely ascribed to a
VMS model, the likeliest period for its formation would be closer to the 141 Ma age than the
133 Ma age, in accordance with the period with the highest production of VMS deposits
regionally; a late skarn overprint (Canet et al., 2009) remains undated, but it is likely to be of
Late Cretaceous or Cenozoic age
Garza-Gonzlez et al. (2006), Garza Gonzlez-Vlez (2007)
Cited in Arellano-Morales et al. (2005)
Delgado-Argote et al. (1992)
Gonzlez-Jimnez et al. (in prep.); Re-Os model ages display two peaks at ca. 300 and ca.
130 Ma: the former is interpreted as a previous remelting age and the latter as the last
remelting episode that led to the emplacement of PGE-bearing chromitites; no reasonable
age estimates for obduction are available so far
It is assumed that the nearby basaltic andesite dated by Iriondo et al. (2003) is likely to be
associated with the mineralizations
Staude and Barton (2001) and Lopez et al. (2005) argued for an Early Cretaceous age; here,
the ages for the Misin San Fernando pluton by Busby et al. (2006) are used, plus Re-Os ages
by Duncan et al. (2011)
Cited in Ortiz-Hernndez et al. (2006)
Ortega-Rivera (2003)
112.8
K-Ar
112.0
?
111.59?
Ar/Ar*

101.095.0?
Ar/Ar*
100.4
Rb-Sr

Busby et al. (2006); this age corresponds to the La Burra pluton, with which the Santa rsula
and nearby deposits are possibly associated
Cited in Ortega-Rivera (2003, supplementary material on CD)
Ortigoza-Cruz et al. (1994)
214
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1.
Deposit
State
Deposit type
El Fenmeno Corte de Madera

Baja California
W-Au skarns
Cerro El Topo Los Gavilanes

Bacubirito
Sinaloa
PGE-Cu-Co-Ni in ultramafic-mafic complex (ophiolites),

and late Au-Ag veins
Late Cretaceous (99.665.5 Ma)

Las Truchas
Michoacn
Fe skarn (IOCG clan)

Aquila
Michoacn

San Pedro
Sinaloa
Cu-PGE-Au in ultramafic-mafic complex
La Huertita
Baja California
W-Au skarn
Sauzalito Minitas
Baja California
Porphyry Au-Cu?
Guaynopa
Chihuahua
El Encino
Jalisco
Fe Kiruna type (IOCG clan)

Guaynopita
Chihuahua
Porphyry Cu-Au
Concordia Paredones Amarillos
Baja California Sur
Orogenic Au

La Esperanza
Sonora
Cu-Zn-Ni-Co skarn
Tobora
Sinaloa
W skarn
Los Uvares
Baja California Sur
Orogenic Au

Bacamacari
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu
La Parrilla
Durango
Polymetallic skarn
Metates
Durango
Porphyry Au-Ag
El Milagro
Baja California
El Pilar
Sonora
Porphyry Cu
Talpa de Allende
Jalisco
Polymetallic VMS
(El Rub, La Amrica, Amaltea)
Caborca
Sonora
Porphyry Cu
El Promontorio
Sonora
Porphyry Cu
Quitovac
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Comanja de Corona
Guanajuato
Polymetallic skarn
Capote Basin
Sonora
Zn-Cu skarn
Los Naranjos
Sinaloa
Porphyry Mo-Cu
Pea Colorada
Colima
Fe skarn and Kiruna type (IOCG clan)
Los Humos
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Santa Mara Zaniza
Oaxaca
Fe-Cu IOCG (?) deposit
El Limn
Guerrero
Au skarn
Mezcala
Guerrero
Fe-Au skarn (IOCG clan?)

Agua Dulce (Talpa de Allende)
Jalisco
Fe IOCG (?) deposit
Los Pilares (Mina Nyco)
Sonora
Wollastonite skarn
Verde Grande
Sonora
Cu skarn
Cerro del Oro
Sonora
Fe-Cu skarn (IOCG clan)
San Javier (Badiraguato)
Sinaloa
Ni-Cr-Co in diatremes (described as kimberlites) in an

ultramafic-mafic complex
Paleocene (65.555.8 Ma)
Carnaval
El Violn (Mochitln)
Cerro Mariachi
El Coralillo
Cerro San Pedro
Lucy (Cananea district)
Milpillas
La Mariquita
Cumobabi (San Judas)
Los Cimientos
La Herradura
Sierra del Alo
Tarachi
El Alacrn
Los Alisos (La Caridad district)
Mara (Cananea district)
Piedras Verdes
Sonora
Guerrero
Sonora
Sonora
San Luis Potos
Sonora
Sonora
Sonora
Sonora
Michoacn
Sonora
Jalisco
Sonora
Sonora
Sonora
Sonora
Sonora
W skarn
Magnetite-apatite deposit (IOCG clan)
W skarn
Porphyry Cu
Porphyry Au-Ag
Porphyry Mo-Cu
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Mo-Cu-W porphyry (breccia pipes)
Porphyry Cu-Au
Orogenic Au
Porphyry Mo-Au
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Porphyry Cu-Mo
215
(Cont.)
Age (Ma)
Dating method
100.083.0
Ar/Ar*

Probably Albian
Gastil et al. (1975), Krummenacher et al. (1975), Ortega-Rivera (2003); such ages can be
protracted to 108 Ma, with regard to the ages of productive plutons; some deposits cited in
Salas (1975) and Clark and Fitch (2009)
Cerecero-Luna et al. (1984), cited in Ortiz-Hernndez et al. (2006)
99.0?
?
27.74
Ar/Ar
98.6
K-Ar*

96.0
?
9689
K-Ar*
9573
K-Ar*, Ar/Ar*, U/Pb*
98.1295.42
Ar/Ar
93.1
K-Ar

92.484.4
U/Pb
91.0
K-Ar*

91.089.0
U/Pb
91.088.0
K-Ar*
90.080.0
K-Ar*, FT*

88.0
K-Ar*
87.479.2
K-Ar*
85.0
K-Ar
~79.0?
Ar/Ar*
73.9
Re-Os
71.9
K-Ar*

70.967.6
K-Ar*
69.651.8
K-Ar*
69.5161.29
Ar/Ar
69.0
K-Ar*
69.064.0
U-Pb*
68.565.0
K-Ar*
68.048.18
Ar/Ar, K-Ar
67.966.6
K-Ar*
<67.0?
K-Ar*
66.665.4
Ar/Ar, Re-Os
66.262.2
U/Pb, Ar/Ar, Re-Os

65.6
K-Ar*
Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene
Vzquez et al. (1986), uncertain age; unpublished Ar/Ar age by A. Camprub and
M. Lpez-Martnez (2013)
Ruvalcaba-Ruiz (1983); Camprub (2009) referred to some ages at 63.0 to 61.24 Ma, which
might also be associated with part of the deposit; see Camprub and Gonzlez-Partida (in prep.)
Rodrguez-Castaeda et al. (2003)
Gastil et al. (1975), Krummenacher et al. (1975), Ortega-Rivera (2003)
Ortega-Rivera (2003), and references therein
Gonzlez-Partida et al. (in prep.)
Cited in Corona-Esquivel and Henrquez (2004); this age corresponds to a magnetite-bearing
gabbro, the association of which with the main Fe orebodies is uncertain; later granitic rocks,
with which the Fe mineralizations have been traditionally associated, were dated at 65 3 Ma
Gonzlez-Partida et al. (in prep.)
Echo Bay (1997), cited in Cendejas-Cruz and Aldana-Hernndez (2008), and Clark and Fitch
(2009)
Prez-Segura et al. (2009)
Henry (1985), cited in Clark and Damon (1979)
Carrillo-Chvez et al. (1999) advocate an epithermal model, whereas Clark and Fitch (2009)
propose an orogenic gold model instead, which is the position taken in this paper
Damon et al. (1980)
Clark et al. (1979)
Warnaars and Girn-Garay (1999)
Ortega-Rivera (2003)
Del Ro-Salas (2011)
Zrate del Valle et al. (2000); this age is unlikely to correspond to the formation of these
deposits, which are expected to be synchronous with those at Cuale (see above)
Damon et al. (1980)
Roldn-Quintana (1991)
Iriondo (2001), Iriondo et al. (2005)
Gross (1975)
Meinert (1982)
Cited in Bustamante-Yez (1993)
Camprub et al. (2011), and references therein; largest iron deposit in Mexico
Damon et al. (1983), E. Prez-Segura (pers. comm., 2012)
Murillo-Muetn et al. (1986)
Canela-Barboza (2005)
Meza-Figueroa et al. (2003), Levresse et al. (2004); listed among typical skarns, though such
labeling should be tested by the IOCG hypothesis; this district is one of the largest recent
mining developments for gold in Mexico
Jurez-lvarez et al. (1985)
Cendejas-Cruz and Pea-Leal (1999), Saitz-Sau (2009)
Prez-Segura (1985), Barton et al. (1995)
Gonzlez-Gallegos et al. (1991)
Bustamante-Yez (1985), Servais et al. (1985)
64.9
64.962.1
64.149.6
64.0
64.0
63.863.0
63.159.0
63.060.4
63.040.0
62.8
61.0
61.053.0
60.9960.0
60.956.7
60.460.2
60.457.4
~60.0
K-Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar*
U/Pb
K-Ar
Re-Os
Re-Os, K-Ar
Re-Os
?
K-Ar
Re-Os
K-Ar*
U/Pb*, Re-Os
Re-Os, K-Ar
U/Pb
Re-Os, K-Ar
Re-Os
Mead et al. (1988)

Miranda-Gasca and Roldn-Martnez (2003), Zamora et al. (1975)
Mead et al. (1988)
Anderson and Silver (1977)
Petersen et al. (2001)
Barra et al. (2005), Del Ro-Salas et al. (2012)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007), Valencia et al. (2006)
Barra et al. (2005); Del Ro-Salas et al. (2012)
Cited in Mead et al. (1988), Singer et al. (2005), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Quintanar-Ruiz et al. (2008)
Mungua-Rojas and Prez-Vargas (1989)
Greig (2012) and T. Bissig, written communication, 2013
Cited in Salas (1975) and Barra et al. (2005)
Rascn-Heimpel and Valencia-Moreno (2007), Rascn-Heimpel et al. (2012)
Barra et al. (2005)
Barra et al. (2005)
216
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1.
Deposit
State
Deposit type
Cananea
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo-Zn

La Azulita
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Mo
La Reforma
Sinaloa
Polymetallic skarn
San Jos del Desierto
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Mo-W
Chutla
Guerrero
Magistral (Choix)
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Mo-W
Cosal
Sinaloa
Fe skarn (IOCG clan), telescoped by IS polymetallic epithermal
Cuatro Hermanos
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
San Manuel (Altar)
Sonora
Porphyry Au/LS Au epithermal
El Barqueo
Jalisco
LS-IS Au-Ag epithermal
San Antonio de la Huerta
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Moctezuma
Sonora
Polymetallic skarn and IS epithermal; gossan
Santo Toms Cuchicari
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
Arteaga
Michoacn
Suaqui Verde
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Tameapa
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo and polymetallic skarn

El Batamote
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
La Caridad
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
Huepac (Padercitas Washington)
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-W-Mo-Ag (veins, breccia pipes)
San Alberto (lamos)
Sonora
W-Cu skarn
Los Chicharrones
Sinaloa
Porphyry Mo
Tres Piedras
Sonora
Porphyry Mo-W-Cu (breccia pipes)
Cerro Tnel
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu (breccia pipes)
Cerro Mazomique
Sinaloa
IOCG (hematite-magnetite-Au-Cu)
Bella Esperanza
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Aurora
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Ojos Negros
Baja California
Ni-Co in ultramafic-mafic complex
San Francisco (Autln)
Jalisco
Mn lacustrine sedex
Eocene (55.833.9 Ma)
El Chacn
Sonora
Orogenic Au
La Caridad Antigua
Sonora
HS Cu-Au epithermal
El Maguey
Guanajuato
W-Bi skarn
Malpica
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Sierra Pinta
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Tamcapa
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu
La Guadalupana
Chihuahua
Porphyry W-Cu-Mo
Sonoita (El Desierto)
Sonora
W-Cu-Ag pegmatite
La Sorpresa
Jalisco
Porphyry Cu
Campo Bustamante
Sonora
Orogenic Au
La Colorada (Chalchihuites)
Zacatecas
Polymetallic skarn/IS epithermal veins and mantos
El Crestn
Sonora
Porphyry Mo
Pilares
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Mo-W
La Toita
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Florida-Barrign
Sonora
Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo
Satev (Batopilas district)
Chihuahua
Porphyry Au-Ag-Cu
La Guadalupana
Chihuahua
Porphyry W-Cu-Mo
Las Higueras
Sinaloa
Porphyry Mo-Cu
Villa Jurez
Hidalgo
Fe-Cu-wollastonite skarn
La Negra
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Tlayca
Morelos
Cu skarn
Badiraguato
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu (breccia pipes)
Jacala
Hidalgo
Ag-Au skarn
Los Verdes (Ycora, Buenavista district)
Sonora
Porphyry W-Mo-Cu
La Choya
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Santa Rosa (San Felipe de Jess district)
Sonora
Polymetallic skarn
Las Higueras
Sinaloa
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Mala Noche
Durango
Epithermal
Doa Marcia
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Piedras Verdes
Sonora
Cu in supergene enrichment zone
Palo Verde (El Tungsteno)
Sonora
W skarn
Batopilas
Chihuahua
IS Ag deep epithermal or subepithermal
Tronco de Peras
Durango
Polymetallic skarn
Charcas
San Luis Potos
Polymetallic skarn
Baviacora
Sonora
W-Cu-Mo skarn
Cerro Colorado
Chihuahua
Porphyry Cu-Mo
San Martn
Zacatecas
Polymetallic skarn/deep IS Ag epithermal or subepithermal

217
(Cont.)
Age (Ma)
Dating method
59.9
K-Ar

59.5
K-Ar
59.258.6
K-Ar
59.1
K-Ar
59.0
K-Ar*
59.056.0
?*
58.557.7 (skarn)
K-Ar
58.055.7
K-Ar, Re-Os
<58.0
K-Ar*
57.9
Ar/Ar
57.4
K-Ar
130Te-130Xe
57.3
57.2
K-Ar
57.0
K-Ar*
57.0
Re-Os
57.053.0 (porphyry)
Re-Os
54.152.2 (skarn)
?*
56.8
K-Ar
56.851.3
K-Ar, U/Pb, Re-Os
56.845.7
K-Ar
56.4
Ar/Ar
56.2
K-Ar
<56.155.7
Ar/Ar
<56.0
K-Ar*
<56.0?
?
55.9
K-Ar
55.853.5
K-Ar
Paleocene?
55.54
55.0
55.0
54.1
54.8
54.1
54.051.5
54.0
54.0
53.68
53.6 (skarn)
53.5
~53.0
52.43
52.4
51.6
51.0
51.0
51.049.0
50.24
50.0?
50.049.0
<50.0
49.6
49.5946.26
49.5
49.0
48.9
48.5545.81
48.4
48.1
48.045.0?
47.2
46.6
46.635.2
46.3
46.2 (skarn),
44.043.7 (molybdenite)
Ar/Ar
U/Pb
K-Ar*
Re-Os
K-Ar
K-Ar*
K-Ar
K-Ar
?
Ar/Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar
?
Ar/Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar*
K-Ar
Ar/Ar
?
K-Ar*
K-Ar*
K-Ar
Ar/Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar*
Ar/Ar
K-Ar
Ar/Ar, Rb-Sr
K-Ar*
K-Ar*
?
K-Ar
K-Ar
K-Ar, Re-Os
Cited in Singer et al. (2005) and Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007); one of the largest Cu
deposits in North America
Cited in Clark and Damon (1979), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Bustamante (1978), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Clark and Damon (1979), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Bastida et al. (1988)
Cited in Bustamante (1978), Clark and Damon (1979)
Cited in Bustamante (1978), Clark and Damon (1979), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005), Barra et al. (2005)
Cited in Carrillo et al. (1984)
Camprub et al. (2006a)
Srinivasan et al. (1972)
Cited in Clark and Damon (1979), Singer et al. (2005), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005) and Barra et al. (2005)
Cited in Bustamante (1978), Clark and Damon (1979), Singer et al. (2005), Barra et al. (2005)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005), Barra et al. (2005); one of the largest Cu deposits in North America
Clark et al. (1979), Mead et al. (1988), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Mead et al. (1988)
Mead et al. (1988)
Bustamante and Soberanes (1978)
Cited in Salas (1975) and Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Zantop (1978)
Valencia et al. (2008)
Zrate del Valle (1986)
Barra et al. (2005)
Araux-Snchez et al. (2001)
Damon et al. (1983)
Cited in Mead et al. (1988) and Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Mead et al. (1988)
Cited in Singer et al. (2005), Valencia-Moreno et al. (2006, 2007)
Clark et al. (1979)
Cited in Bustamante (1978), Clark and Damon (1979)
Flores et al. (2003)
Alam-Hernndez et al. (2000)
Flores-Castro et al. (2006)
Cited in Salas (1975); Mead et al. (1988)
Clark et al. (1979)
Cited in Castro-Escrrega (2007)
Mead et al. (1988)
Cited in Wilkerson et al. (1988)
Clark et al. (1979)
Cited in Megaw et al. (1988)
Mead et al. (1988)
Damon et al. (1983), unpublished data by V.A. Valencia and A. Camprub (2013)
218
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1.
Deposit
State
Deposit type
San Marcos Caldera

Chihuahua
Continental volcanogenic-hydrothermal U
Geras de Fernando
Durango
Ag-Au epithermal
Real de ngeles
Zacatecas
IS polymetallic epithermal
Candelero
Sinaloa
LS Au-Ag epithermal
La Vasca
Coahuila
Polymetallic skarn
Cerro Mercado
Coahuila
Tibor
Michoacn
Sierra Pea Blanca
Chihuahua

Topia
Durango
IS(?) polymetallic epithermal
Zimapn
Hidalgo
Polymetallic skarn
Gaviln
Durango
Porphyry Au
El Burro La Minita
Coahuila
Fe-Co-Ni skarns (IOCG clan?)
Talamantes
Chihuahua
Mn veins (epithermal?)
Las Fraguas (Poliutla)
Guerrero
LS Hg-Cu epithermal
Bismark
Chihuahua
Polymetallic skarn
El Meln
Chihuahua
Epithermal (?) barite veins
San Francisco
Sonora
Orogenic Au
San Dimas (Tayoltita)
Durango
IS-LS Ag-Au and polymetallic epithermal
Providencia Concepcin del Oro
Zacatecas
Porphyry Zn/polymetallic skarn
Real de Guadalupe
Guerrero
La Negra (Macon)
Quertaro
Polymetallic skarn
Orin
Durango
Epithermal
Guanacev
Durango
LS-IS polymetallic epithermal
Cerro Panuco
Coahuila
Porphyry Cu-Mo
Promontorio
Durango
Epithermal
Ind Cieneguillas (Cerro Blanco)
Durango
Intrusion-related fluorite and polymetallic deposit (skarn?)
Taxco
Guerrero
Polymetallic skarn/IS epithermal
Dolores
Chihuahua
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Jilotln
Jalisco
IS-LS polymetallic epithermal
Sierra del Gallego
Chihuahua
Los Reyes
Chihuahua
Cu-W skarn
Placeres del Oro Pinzn Morado Piedra Imn
Guerrero
LS Ag-Au epithermal and Fe veins (IOCG clan?)
Mapim
Durango
Polymetallic skarn
Sombrerete
Zacatecas
Sn veins & IS polymetallic epithermal
Placer de Guadalupe (La Virgen Puerto del Aire)
Chihuahua
Continental volcanogenic-hydrothermal U-Au-REE-Cd-Ge-V
San Ignacio (Villa Ahumada)
Chihuahua
Polymetallic skarns and REE-bearing carbonatites
El Cuarenta
Durango
Disseminated Hg (shallow epithermal?)
Sierra de Aconchi
Sonora
Rare element pegmatites/continental volcanogenic-hydrothermal

U deposits
Real de Catorce
San Luis Potos
Santa Mara de la Paz
San Luis Potos
Polymetallic skarn/IS deep epithermal or subepithermal
Inguarn
Michoacn
Porphyry Cu-W
Buenavista de Cullar
Guerrero
Zacatecas
Zacatecas
IS to LS, polymetallic to Au-Ag epithermal
Villa Pasqueira (La Venada)
Sonora
W-Cu-Mo skarn
El Anteojo
Chihuahua
Huautla
Morelos
Los ngeles
Chihuahua
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Concheo
Chihuahua
LS Au-Ag epithermal
La Cinega
Durango
Oligocene (33.923.03 Ma)

La Verde
Michoacn
Porphyry Cu-Co
Velardea
Durango
Temascaltepec (La Guitarra)
State of Mxico
Chorreras
Chihuahua
Aguachile
Coahuila
Fluorite-Be in ring-dike complex (skarn?)
La Azul (Taxco district)
Guerrero
Fluorite mantos, inconclusive type (MVT? epithermal?)

San Isidro
Michoacn
Porphyry Cu
Rancho Blanco
Chihuahua
Fe veins (IOCG clan)
Ro Verde
Durango
Rhyolite-hosted Sn deposits
La Pasta
Chihuahua
IS Zn epithermal(?)
La Morena
Coahuila
Puerto Rico (Sierra del Carmen)
Coahuila
Pb-Zn MVT or skarn(?)
Hrcules
Coahuila
Tepetate Villa de Arriaga
San Luis Potos
Rhyolite-hosted Sn veins and gem-quality topaz deposits
El Tigre
Sonora
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Mulatos
Sonora
HS Au-Cu epithermal
219
(Cont.)
Age (Ma)
Dating method
<46.045.0
K-Ar*
<45.5
K-Ar*
45.2
FT
<44.6
K-Ar*, U/Pb*
44.59
Ar/Ar*
44.3?
Ar/Ar*
44.0
K-Ar*
44.037.3 (32.0 8)
FT, K-Ar*, U/Pb

43.8
K-Ar
43.640.8
K-Ar*
>43.2
K-Ar
42.5141.13
Ar/Ar*
<42.5
K-Ar*
<42.3
K-Ar*
~42.0
K-Ar*
<41.88
Ar/Ar*
~41.0
Ar/Ar*
40.9, 38.631.9
K-Ar
40.038.8
K-Ar, Rb-Sr
40.037.0
K-Ar*
39.638.1
K-Ar*
39.5
K-Ar*
<38.7?
K-Ar*
38.64
Ar/Ar
38.5
K-Ar
38.4
Ar/Ar*
38.036.0?
K-Ar*
38.035.0?
<38.0
K-Ar*
>37.0
K-Ar*
36.6
K-Ar
<36.6
K-Ar*
36.1
?
36.0
K-Ar*
36.035.0
U/Pb
36.0
Ar/Ar
36.032.0
K-Ar*, Ar/Ar*
<35.9 (pegmatites)
K-Ar*
35.7?
K-Ar*
37.035.7 (skarn)
Ar/Ar*, U/Pb
35.6
K-Ar
35.534.7
Ar/Ar
35.530.8
K-Ar
34.834.1
Ar/Ar
34.7
K-Ar*
34.533.0?
Ar/Ar*, U/Pb*
<34.0?
<34.0?
<34.0?
K-Ar*
33.4
K-Ar
33.430.2
K-Ar, FT
33.332.9
Ar/Ar
33.1332.69
Ar/Ar*
~33.0
?*
33.030.0
(U-Th)/He

32.5
K-Ar
<32.34
Ar/Ar*
32.3
Rb-Sr
<32.77
Ar/Ar*
<32.71
Ar/Ar*
32.0?
K-Ar*
32.0?
?
32.030.0?
<31.7
K-Ar*
<31.6>25.0
K-Ar*, Ar/Ar*

Cited in Ferriz (1981), Reyes-Corts et al. (2009)
Clark et al. (1977)
Cited in Pearson et al. (1988)
Henry et al. (2003)
Iriondo et al. (2004)
Molina-Garza et al. (2008)
George-Aniel et al. (1991) and Fayek et al. (2006) provided preliminary wide-dispersion data
(in parenthesis)
Loucks et al. (1988)
Vassallo et al. (2008)
Warnaars and Girn-Garay (1999)
Clark et al. (1979)
Pantoja-Alor (1986)
Baker and Lang (2003)
Prez-Segura et al. (1996)
Enrquez and Rivera (2001), Henry et al. (2003)
Albinson and Parrilla (1988)
Vassallo et al. (2008)
Clark et al. (1979)
Clark et al. (1979)
Fries and Rincn-Orta (1965)
Tuta et al. (1988)
Cited in Camprub et al. (2003)
Cited in Overbay et al. (2001)
Grajales-Nishimura and Lpez-Infanzn (1984)
Bockoven (1981)
Pantoja-Alor (1986)
Albinson (1988)
Gonzlez-Reyna (1956), Fries (1962)
Nandigam et al. (1999), Nandigam (2000)
Tuta et al. (1988)
Cited in Martnez et al. (1979)
Tuta et al. (1988), Gunnesch et al. (1994)
Tuta et al. (1988), Gunnesch et al. (1994), Pinto-Linares et al. (2008)
Meza-Figueroa et al. (2003)
Cited in Camprub and Albinson (2007)
Mead et al. (1988)
Clark et al. (1979)
Gonzlez-Torres et al. (2008)
Cited in Albinson et al. (2001)
de la Garza et al. (2001)
Cited in Gilmer et al. (1988)
Camprub et al. (2003)
Takeda (1977)
Ages by Pi et al. (2005); these authors advocate an epithermal model, whereas Tritlla and
Levresse (2006) advocate an MVT model
Huspeni et al. (1984)
Takeda (1977) describes it as a skarn, and Gonzlez-Snchez et al. (2009) as an MVT deposit
Cited in Corona-Esquivel and Henrquez (2004)
Aguilln-Robles et al. (1994)
Montao (1986)
Staude (2001)
220
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1.
Deposit
State
Deposit type
La Perla La Negra
Chihuahua

Cerro de Mercado
Durango
El Tovar
Durango
Epithermal
Pen Blanco
Durango
LS-IS Au-Ag epithermal
La Ochoa
Durango
Cerro de los Remedios
Durango
San Carlos
Chihuahua
Ro Verde (El Realito, El Refugio)
Guanajuato
Fluorite MVT

Guanajuato
Guanajuato
IS to LS polymetallic to Au-Ag epithermal

San Francisco del Oro Santa Brbara Parral
Chihuahua
Gavilanes La Negra
Durango
LS-IS Ag-Au and polymetallic epithermal
San Nicols
Tamaulipas
Polymetallic skarn to IS epithermal (?)

Dinamita
Durango
Fe-Cu skarn (part of the IOCG clan?)
Amrica-Sapiors
Durango
El Sauzal
Chihuahua
HS Au-Cu epithermal
El Presn Leones
Chihuahua
HS Au-Cu epithermal
Villa de Arriaga
San Luis Potos
Villa de Reyes
San Luis Potos
Tlayca
Morelos
Au-Ag skarn
Las Cuevas
San Luis Potos
Fluorite MVT

Sain Alto
Zacatecas
Hg veins (shallow epithermal?)
Fresnillo
Zacatecas
Avino-Zaragoza
Durango
Ahualulco
San Luis Potos
Rhyolite-hosted Sn-Hg deposits and polymetallic (epithermal?)

veins
Ocampo
Chihuahua
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Ajoya
Sinaloa
Pueblo Nuevo
Durango
Epithermal
San Carlos
Tamaulipas
REE-bearing skarns and pegmatites (alkaline magmatism)
El Rincn (La Gloria)
Tamaulipas
Au-Ag-Co-Ni-Cr skarns

Lluvia de Oro
Sonora
Orogenic Au
El Pilote
Coahuila
Fluorite skarn
Guadalczar
San Luis Potos
Granite-hosted Sn-W greisen, partly skarn, late Ag-Hg veins

(epithermal?)
Comanja de Corona
Guanajuato
Cusihuiriachic
Chihuahua
IS polymetallic & HS Au-Cu epithermal
San Jos de Gracia
Sinaloa
Ag-Au epithermal
San Martn
Quertaro
LS Au-Ag epithermal
La Encantada
Coahuila
Polymetallic skarn
Bacs
Durango
El Oro-Tlalpujahua
State of Mxico/Michoacn
Canoas
Zacatecas
Hg breccias and veins (shallow epithermal?)
Santa Eulalia
Chihuahua
Polymetallic skarn
Naica
Chihuahua
Polymetallic skarn
El Rodeo
Durango
LS(?) Ag-Au-fluorite epithermal
San Antonio
Sonora
LS(?) Au epithermal
Los Vasitos
Sinaloa
Cinco Minas (Hostotipaquillo)
Jalisco
LS(?) Au-Ag epithermal
El Picacho
Tamaulipas
Th-Y-Nb-REE carbonatites
La Colorada
Sonora
LS(?) Au epithermal
Granaditas (Arizpe)
Sonora
Volcanogenic U veins
Coneto de Comonfort
Durango
Sn veins in rhyolites, Ag veins (IS epithermal?)
Monterrey Formation (San Hilario)
Baja California Sur
Miocene (23.035.33 Ma)
Lluvia de Oro
Almagres
Magdalena basin (Mesa del lamo)
Altagracia
Bolaos
Tubutama basin
San Pedro Analco
El Indio-Huajicori
El Zopilote
El Pinabete
Durango
Veracruz
Sonora
Oaxaca
Jalisco
Sonora
Jalisco
Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Synsedimentary shallow submarine Fe
Lacustrine-hydrothermal borates
LS-IS(?) Ag-Au epithermal
Lacustrine-hydrothermal borates
221
(Cont.)
Age (Ma)
Dating method
31.527.2?
K-Ar*

31.429.7
FT, Ar/Ar, (U-Th-Sm)/He
31.3
K-Ar*
31.3
Ar/Ar
31.129.6
K-Ar*
31.128.6
K-Ar*
31.0 (skarn)
?
<30.930.5
K-Ar*

30.727.0, 30.2, 28.47
K-Ar, Ar/Ar, Rb/Sr

30.626.5
K-Ar
<30.5
K-Ar*
<30.45?
Ar/Ar*

30.4
K-Ar*
30.3
Rb-Sr
<~30.0
?
<~30.0
K-Ar*
30.029.0
K-Ar*
30.029.0
K-Ar*
30.0
Pb-a
29.929.2?
K-Ar*

29.728.4
K-Ar*
29.7
Ar/Ar
29.6
Rb-Sr
<29.3
K-Ar
Cited in Labarthe-Hernndez and Tristn-Gonzlez (1988), Corona-Esquivel and Henrquez

(2004)
Lyons (1988a), Iunes et al. (2002), McDowell et al. (2005)
Clark et al. (1979)
Unpublished data by A. Camprub and A. Iriondo (2013)
Tuta et al. (1988)
Tuta et al. (1988)
Immitt (1985)
Tuta et al. (1988) seem to advocate a skarn model, whereas surveys carried out by this papers
author suggest a fault-controlled MVT deposit
Gross (1975), Saldaa-Alba (1991), Randall et al. (1994); unpublished data by A. Camprub,
A. Iriondo, and T. Uysal (2013)
Grant and Ruiz (1988)
Clark et al. (1977), Henry et al. (2003)
It is assumed that the nearby diorite dated by Iriondo et al. (2003) is likely associated with the
mineralizations
Clark et al. (1979)
Sellepack (1997), Feinstein and Goodell (2007)
Padilla-Palma et al. (1995)
Torres-Hernndez et al. (2001)
Torres-Hernndez et al. (2001)
Pantoja-Alor (1983)
Vassallo et al. (2008); Tuta et al. (1988) favor a skarn model, whereas Levresse et al. (2003)
advocate an MVT model; largest fluorite mine in the world
Tuta et al. (1988)
Velador et al. (2010); largest active silver mine in the world
Tristn-Gonzlez et al. (2009)
<29.227.8
K-Ar*
<29.1?
K-Ar*
29.0
K-Ar*
28.8
K-Ar
28.78
Ar/Ar*

28.5
Ar/Ar
28.4
U/Pb
28.328.0
Ar/Ar*, K-Ar*
Clark et al. (1979); Swanson and McDowell (1985)

Henry et al. (2003)
Clark et al. (1979)
Cepeda-Dvila et al. (1975)
It is assumed that the nearby monzonite dated by Iriondo et al. (2003) is likely to be associated
with the mineralizations
Rothemund et al. (2001)
Levresse et al. (2006, 2011)
Tuta et al. (1988)
>28.2
K-Ar*
28.1
K-Ar
27.6
K-Ar*
27.5
K-Ar*
27.4
?
27.0
K-Ar
27.0
K-Ar
27.026.3
K-Ar*; Ar/Ar*
26.6
?
26.225.9
?
<26.0
?
<25.59?
Ar/Ar*
25.3
K-Ar*
24.521.65
Ar/Ar
24.017.5?
K-Ar
23.822.5
Ar/Ar
>23.5
Ar/Ar*
Oligocene to Miocene
Late Oligocene to early Miocene
23.020.0
K-Ar*
<23.0
Pollen
22.721.5
K-Ar*
<22.317.09 (~1516?)
Ar/Ar*
22.2
K-Ar*
22.0
K-Ar*
~21.0?
~21.0?
Ar/Ar*
~21.0?
Ar/Ar*
~21.0?
Nieto-Samaniego et al. (1996)

Clark et al. (1979)
Clark et al. (1979)
Albinson et al. (2001)
Tuta et al. (1988)
Cited in Clark et al. (1977)
Clark et al. (1979)
Unpublished data by A. Camprub, A. Iriondo, and M. Lpez-Martnez (2013)
Ramrez-Fernndez et al. (2000)
Zawada et al. (2001)
Gonzlez-Len et al. (2000)
Ponce-Sibaja and Gutirrez-Tapia (1978)
Alatorre (1988)
Martnez-Hernndez et al. (2001)
Miranda-Gasca et al. (1998)
Lyons (1988b)
Gmez-Caballero et al. (1980)
Nieto-Obregn et al. (1981)
Cited in Camprub et al. (2003) **
Cited in Camprub et al. (2003) **
Nieto-Obregn et al. (1981)
222
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Table 1.
Deposit
State
Deposit type
Nuevo Milenio
Nayarit
Los Nopalitos
Nayarit
Sn veins in rhyolites
Los Espejos Las Cruces
Nayarit
Sn veins in rhyolites
Mezquital del Oro
Zacatecas
San Martn de Bolaos
Jalisco
Pachuca-Real del Monte
Hidalgo

Angangueo
Michoacn
La Yesca
Nayarit
Santa Mara del Oro
Nayarit
Cebadillas (Compostela)
Nayarit
LS Au-Ag epithermal
Cerro Colorado
Chiapas
IOCG clan?
Ixtacamaxtitln (Sotoltepec Tuligtic)
Puebla
Porphyry Au/polymetallic skarn/LS epithermal
Santiago Zacatepec Mixes
Oaxaca
Polymetallic skarn
San Antonio
Sonora
Orogenic Au
Caballo Blanco
Veracruz
Porphyry Cu-Au / HS Au-Ag epithermal

Tzitzio
Michoacn
LS Ag-Au epithermal
El Carmen
Chiapas
IOCG clan?
Cerro Colorado Cerro Bustillo
Chiapas
IOCG clan?
Tatatila Las Minas
Veracruz
Polymetallic and Fe-Cu-Au skarns (IOCG clan) / stacked by

IS polymetallic epithermal?
Sina La Escondida (Sierra Pinta)
Baja California
HS-IS-LS(?) Au-Ag-Cu epithermal
San Felipe
Baja California
HS-IS-LS(?) Ag-Au epithermal
El Boleo
Baja California Sur
Shallow Cu-Co-Zn and Mn sedex

Tolimn
Chiapas
Porphyry Cu
Xoconostle
Michoacn
HS Au-Ag-Hg epithermal
Sierra de Chapultepec
Zacatecas
Sn veins in rhyolite domes
El Naranjo Los ngeles (Sombrerete district)
Zacatecas
Sn-W-In-Ga veins in rhyolite domes
El Gaviln
Baja California Sur
Shallow Mn sedex(?)
El Chico
Hidalgo
IS-LS(?) polymetallic epithermal
Lucifer
Baja California Sur
Shallow Mn sedex
PliocenePresent (5.330 Ma)
Sierra Pea Blanca
Ixhuatn
Santa Fe
Punta Mita
La Victoria Knoll
Guaymas basin

Concepcin Bay
21N East Pacific Rise

Popocatpetl stratovolcano
Colima stratovolcano
Path Yexth (Tecozautla)
Los Azufres
Barra de Colotepec Mazunte La Colorada
La Ventosa
Amrica-Sapiors
Coneto de Comonfort
Guadalczar
Placer de Guadalupe
El Tambor
El Boludo
Xicotepec de Jurez
Tenejapa
Chihuahua
Chiapas
Chiapas
Nayarit
Baja California
Offshore Sonora /
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur
Offshore Nayarit /
Baja California Sur
Puebla / State of Mxico
Jalisco
Hidalgo / Quertaro
Michoacn
Oaxaca
Supergene oxidation and reduction events

Porphyry Au-Ag and Cu-Au-Mo, and alkaline LS Au epithermal
Cu-Au skarn
Hg-Ba in shallow submarine vents, passive margin
Hg-Ag-Cr in Fe-Mn submarine crusts
Cu-Co-Zn-Ni-Au-Ag VMS
Durango
Durango
San Luis Potos
Chihuahua
Sinaloa
Sonora
Puebla
Chiapas
Sn and topaz alluvial and fluvial placers

Sn-Au alluvial and fluvial placers
Sn-Au-Ag alluvial and fluvial placers
Au-U alluvial and fluvial placers
Au alluvial and fluvial placers
Au alluvial and fluvial placers
Bauxites
Bauxites
Mn-Ba-Hg in coastal vents, passive margin

Cu-Co-Pb-Ag-Cd-Mn-Ba Cyprus-type VMS
HS Au-Ag-Cu mineralization
Au in high-temperature sublimates
LS kaolinite epithermal in geothermal field
LS polymetallic-bearing epithermal fluids in geothermal field
Ti(-REE-Ag) fluvial and beach placers
Notes: Asterisks (*) denote age determinations on rocks hosting or postdating rocks of ore deposits and are to be interpreted accordingly; age determinations
were carried out in host and overlying rocks (*), and are considered to yield reasonable age ranges for the formation of the epithermal deposits, correlating
their age with the local geology (**); Aguilar-Nogales (1987a), based on several geochronological determinations in country rocks, suggested a preferential
range of ages for epithermal deposits in Nayarit between 19.55 and 12.60 Ma; in many deposits, the cited authors did not assign the deposits to the types noted
here; the author of this paper did so by interpreting the data provided in the existing publications; also, in many cases the authors used the ages they obtained
for purposes other than characterizing ore deposits and may not refer to them explicitly; thus, again, the author of this paper must be held responsible for the
interpretation given here; the Laramide age spans ~80 to ~40 Ma in northwest Mexico (Late Cretaceous to Eocene; Staude and Barton, 2001); some of the
recent deposits, none of them dated so far, may have started forming during the Pliocene-Pleistocene or before; the term polymetallic stands for metal
associations that generally include base (Zn-Pb-Cu Cd Sn) and precious (Ag-Au) metals; different metal associations are otherwise noted
223
(Cont.)
Age (Ma)
Dating method
~21.0?
~21.0?
~21.0?
~21.0?
Ar/Ar*
20.8
FT
20.3
K-Ar

<20.0
Ar/Ar
<19.5
Ar/Ar*, K-Ar*
<19.5
Ar/Ar*, K-Ar*
<19.0
?
18.0
?
17.8 (porphyry Au)
Ar/Ar
17.5217.33
Ar/Ar*
17.32
Ar/Ar
17.07.48
K-Ar*

<14.0
K-Ar*
13.012.0
K-Ar*
<12.7
K-Ar*
11.0? (intrusive rocks)
K-Ar*
<9.5
K-Ar*
~9.0
?
7.16.76 (Cu-Co-Zn),
Ar/Ar, magneto-
7.0 (Mn)
stratigraphy, K-Ar
5.75
K-Ar
<5.45
K-Ar
Miocene?
Miocene?
Middle Miocene to Pliocene
Late Miocene
Late Miocene to early Pliocene
3.1, 1.6, 0.085, 0.041

U series
~2.8
K-Ar, Ar-Ar
2.292.24
K-Ar
Recent
Recent
Recent

Speculative age**
Speculative age
Speculative age
Cited in Scheubel et al. (1988)
McKee et al. (1992); historically, largest silver mine in the world, long inactive and now possibly
surpassed by Fresnillo
Corona-Chvez et al. (2001)
Cited in Aguilar-Nogales (1987a,b), Camprub et al. (2003)**
Cited in Aguilar-Nogales (1987a,b), Camprub et al. (2003)**
Cited in Motolinia-Garca and Zaldvar-Ruiz (1980)
Cited in Clark and Fitch (2009)
Tritlla et al. (2004); presently under intensive exploration for epithermal veins
Unpublished data by A. Camprub and M. Lpez-Martnez (2013)
Negendank et al. (1985), Ferrari et al. (2005a); the likeliness of one of the ages is disputed, and
no clear association can be established between the ores and the dated rocks
Cited in Bentez et al. (1977)
Montesinos and Virgen-Magaa (1983)
Negendank et al. (1985); presently under intensive exploration
Gastil et al. (1975), Krummenacher et al. (1975)
Holt et al. (2000), Conly et al. (2011)
Pasquar et al. (1988)
Bracho-Valle (1960)
Bracho-Valle (1960)
Camprub et al. (2008)
Nolasco-Vargas and Huitrn-Esquivel (1977)
Fayek et al. (2006)

Miranda-Gasca et al. (2005)
Prol-Ledesma et al. (2002)
Hein et al. (2005)
Lonsdale et al. (1980)
Recent
Recent
Canet et al. (2005), Camprub et al. (2008)

Bischoff et al. (1983)
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Larocque et al. (2007)

Taran et al. (2000)
Aguilera (1907)
Gonzlez-Partida and Torres-Rodrguez (1997)
Carranza-Edwards et al. (1988)
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Recent
Smith et al. (1957), Fabregat (1966)

Smith et al. (1957), Fabregat (1966)
Fries and Schmitter (1948)
Gonzlez-Reyna (1956)
Gonzlez-Reyna (1956)
Wilson et al. (2009)
Wing-Morales (1987)
Wing-Morales (1987)
Abbreviations: FT = fission track dating, HS = high sulfidation, IOCG = iron oxide copper-gold deposits, IS = intermediate sulfidation, LS = low sulfidation,
MVT = Mississippi Valley-type deposits, sedex = sedimentary-exhalative deposits, VMS = volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits
224
ANTONI CAMPRUB

0
500 km
Fig. 9. Distribution of magmatism and ore deposits emplaced during the early Miocene, before the establishment of the
Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (TMVB), at the Pacific convergent margin of Mexico. Modified from Camprub (2009). See
available ages in Table 1.
time for epithermal deposits in Mexico, is unknown. East of

Pachuca, the Ixtacamaxtitln area in Puebla (Fig. 11) contains
small porphyry gold (dated at 17.8 Ma; Table 1) and skarn
deposits overprinted by low sulfidation epithermal deposits.
Recent deposits and modern hydrothermal activity
The geothermal fields in central Mexico and the Baja
California peninsula are modern analogues for shallow epithermal deposits. Epithermal metallic mineral associations
have been described from active volcanoes. Thus, Taran et
al. (2000) reported gold as a sublimate in the Colima volcano
and Larocque et al. (2007) described metallic mineral associations similar to those in high sulfidation epithermal deposits in
pumice fragments of the Popocatpetl volcano. These include
enargite, tennantite, base metal sulfides, kaolinite, and alunite, among several other minerals.
In addition, erosional degradation of previously formed
deposits led to the formation of numerous alluvial, fluvial, and
coastal placer deposits of Au, Sn, U, and Ti throughout western Mexico. See the exhaustive inventory of these deposits by
Clark and Fitch (2009), of which only the most significant are
noted in Table 1.
Special case: The Eastern Mexican alkaline province

The Eastern Mexican alkaline province formed between
the late Eocene and Recent times, and constitutes a belt
that runs subparallel to the Pacific margin along most of the
southern Gulf of Mexico (Figs. 7, 8, 9, 11). It comprises some
alkaline intrusive and volcanic complexes, the ages of which
decrease southward (see ages for the magmatic complexes
of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province by Sewell, 1968;
Bloomfield and Cepeda-Dvila, 1973; Nelson and GonzalezCaver, 1992; Nandigam et al., 1999; Ramrez-Fernndez et al.,
2000; Iriondo et al., 2003, 2004; Ferrari et al., 2005a; MolinaGarza et al., 2008; Viera-Dcida et al., 2009; see also fig. 7 in
Camprub, 2009). The Eastern Mexican alkaline province is
situated up to >1,000 km east of the Pacific magmatic arc.
It reflects a change in magmatism from subduction-related
to intraplate in origin due to slab rollback and continental
extension (Ramrez-Fernndez et al., 2000; Aranda-Gmez
et al., 2005, 2007; Viera-Dcida et al., 2009) related to the
southward propagation of the Rio Grande rift. The prevailing tectonic regime in the region during the formation of ore
deposits in the Eastern Mexican
225
Fig. 10. Geographic distribution of possibly Miocene epithermal deposits in southwest Mexico (after Aguilar-Nogales,
1987a, b), Oligocene-Miocene ignimbrites of the latest magmatic pulses of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the area, and
major structural features (simplified from Ferrari et al., 2005b, 2007a). Same symbols as in Figure 9.
alkaline province was extensional (Labarthe-Hernndez and

Tristn-Gonzlez, 1988). In north-central (Chihuahua) and
northeastern Mexico (Tamaulipas) at the El Picacho and
Villa Ahumada complexes, respectively, the Eastern Mexican alkaline province contains REE-bearing carbonatites
and carbonatite-related skarns, agpaites, and related alkaline
metasomatism (Rubinovich-Kogan et al., 1988; Nandigam et
al., 1999; Nandigam, 2000; Ramrez-Fernndez et al., 2000).
Considering the occurrence of the assemblage of ore deposit
types at a regional level and the arguably strong affinity
between carbonatites and the IOCG type (Groves and Vielreicher, 2001; Gandhi, 2003; Pirajno, 2009), it is likely that the
Eastern Mexican alkaline province includes the IOCG-type
group of deposits in eastern Chihuahua and western Coahuila
(e.g., La Perla and Hrcules; Table 1; Figs. 7, 8).
Further study may also explore the possible genetic link
between IOCG-type and epithermal deposits in northeastern
Chihuahua. In northern Coahuila, a group of Eocene to Oligocene polymetallic (Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au) skarn deposits (Figs.
7, 8) is related to calc-alkaline to alkaline magmatism as well,
and some of them are rich in Co-Ni-Cr assemblages. In the

southern part of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province, in the
Palma Sola region in Veracruz, an alkaline magmatic complex
(dated at 17.0 and 7.48 Ma; Negendank et al., 1985; Ferrari et
al., 2005a) hosts a group of porphyry and epithermal deposits
currently under exploration that are similar to those in the
southwest Pacific (e.g., Richards and Kerrich, 1993; Richards,
1995). In a tectonomagmatic context similar to the above, the
porphyry-type, sulfide skarn, and low sulfidation alkaline epithermal deposits (roscoelite-bearing and telluride-rich mineral associations) in the Ixhuatn region in northern Chiapas
(Miranda-Gasca et al., 2005) likely represent the southernmost end of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province metallogenic belt.
Some deposits in central Mexico (porphyry and epithermal
deposits: Caballo Blanco, Tzitzio, Xoconostle) and in Chiapas
(epithermal, porphyry, and sulfide skarn deposits: Ixhuatn,
Santa Fe) are spatially associated with Recent magmatism of
either the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt or the Eastern Mexican alkaline province (Table 1; Fig. 11).
226
ANTONI CAMPRUB
Sierra Pinta
Terrane boundaries
boundaries
Terrane
Volcanic
Volcanicrocks
rocks(outcrops)
(outcrops)
500 km
Fig. 11. Distribution of magmatism and ore deposits emplaced between the late Miocene (since the establishment of the
Trans-Mexican volcanic belt) and the Present in the Pacific convergent margin of Mexico. Modified from Camprub (2009).
Available ages are listed in Table 1. The Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (middle Miocene to Present) is shown in order to indicate the extent of older magmatic rocks that are covered by it. The Xoconostle and Tzitzio deposits are genetically associated
with the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, not with the volcanism of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The El Boleo and El Gaviln
deposits in the Baja California peninsula are not associated with arc magmatism, but instead with continental extension, and
the Monterrey Formation is composed of sedimentary phosphorites. See magmatic centers of the Eastern Mexican alkaline
province in figure 7 of Camprub (2009).
Late Miocene to Recent: The Gulf of California

The opening of the Gulf of California since the late Miocene is associated with the long-term continental extension
in the Sierra Madre Occidental (Ferrari et al., 2005b, 2007a).
Both of these phenomena are part of the southern Basin and
Range. The ore deposits in this area formed in a distinctive
metallogenetic context.
There is a group of epithermal deposits in northern Baja
California (e.g., San Felipe), of Miocene to Pliocene age,
which formed in association with the extensional regime of
the Gulf of California (Clark and Fitch, 2009) rather than arc
magmatism like those in the Sierra Madre Occidental. The
southern half of the Baja California peninsula hosts the most
important sedimentary phosphorite deposits in Mexico in the
late Oligocene-early Miocene Monterrey Formation, which
formed in a relatively shallow submarine environment (Alatorre, 1988). The tectonosedimentary setting for such phosphorites (continental rifting) is similar to the one with which
the Kimmeridgian-early Berriasian phosphorite formations

in the proto-Gulf of Mexico are associated (e.g., Rogers et
al., 1961). Phosphorites formed in both regions during early
stages of continental rifting.
Most of the deposits associated with the opening of the Gulf
of California are Miocene to Pliocene, relatively shallow, syngenetic (and partly epigenetic) stratiform deposits that can
vaguely be ascribed to a shallow analogue to the sedex-type
deposits. This is the case of the synsedimentary Co-Cu-ZnMn El Boleo deposit and the Mn Lucifer deposit, which occur
in the same stratigraphic section, and for which a hydrothermal origin in a shallow submarine environment was proposed
(Freiberg, 1983). Del Ro-Salas et al. (2008) further refined
the genetic model for these deposits to indicate an exhalativeintraformational environment restricted to isolated basins in
a diagenetic stage related to the initial evolution of the Gulf
of California. Other deposits on the western coast of the Baja
California peninsula (Fig. 11) are Mn veins and stockworks
and other Mn oxide and barite deposits like those in the Concepcin Peninsula (e.g., El Gaviln, Santa Rosa; Camprub et
al., 2008; Rodrguez-Daz et al., 2010) and smaller deposits
distributed southward along the coast (Mapes-Vzquez, 1956;
see fig. 1 in Camprub et al., 2008). Moreover, small recent
deposits and coastal hydrothermal vents that precipitate mineral associations like those in the fossil deposits occur at
Concepcin Bay (Canet et al., 2005; Camprub et al., 2008).
Such vents are dominated by meteoric water (Prol-Ledesma
et al., 2004) and the classification of all these deposits in terms
of deposit type is difficult, although they can be generically
classified as veins in rift and extensional settings.
Both shallow and deep hydrothermal systems are widespread at the Pacific passive margin (Hein et al., 2005) and
in the Gulf of California, for example, the Cu-Co-Zn-Ni-AuAg vents in the Guaymas basin (Lonsdale et al., 1980), the
Hg-Ba-Tl vents in Punta Mita (Fig. 11; Prol-Ledesma et
al., 2002), and in the black Cu-Co-Pb-Ag-Cd-Mn and white
barite smokers on the East Pacific Rise at the 21N latitude
(Bischoff et al., 1983). The latter are forming in an actualistic
Cyprus-type VMS setting.
The Gulf of Mexico Megabasin
The Gulf of Mexico opened during the Middle-Late Jurassic as a result of the breakup of Pangea (e.g., Anderson and
Schmidt, 1983). Goldhammer (1999) and Padilla y Snchez
(2007) illustrated the evolution of the major basins in the
region. A thick sedimentary sequence with terrigenous, evaporitic, and carbonate facies was deposited in the resulting passive margin and horst-and-graben marginal subbasins. Late
Cretaceous orogenic episodes produced significant shortening of most of the Mexican crust. The eastern front of these
orogenic episodes in Mexico is represented by the Sierra
Madre Oriental fold-and-thrust belt, and the deformation
styles attenuate easterly toward the passive margin of the Gulf
of Mexico. Today, part of the basin hosts oil and gas fields, but
also Mississippi Valley-type (MVT), red bed-hosted uranium
(roll-front) or Cu(-Co-Ni) (Kupferschiefer-type) deposits,
sedex Mn deposits, sedimentary phosphorites, sedimentary
iron oxide-hydroxide deposits of uncertain origin, and sulfur
deposits in cap rocks of evaporite diapirs (see fig. 4 in Camprub, 2009). As described above, the carbonate formations
also host skarn (mostly polymetallic) and other deposits associated with the magmatism of the Sierra Madre Occidental or
the Eastern Mexican alkaline province.
The mineral deposits of synsedimentary origin in this
region are relatively scarce, although they have an outstanding
economic significance. The giant Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian
(?) Molango sedex Mn deposit constitutes the largest manganese deposit in the Americas (Okita, 1992), with 35Mt of
proven and over 250 Mt of probable reserves (from recent
corporate reports of Compaa Minera Autln). Sedimentary phosphorites occur in the Kimmeridgian-Early Berriasian La Caja and La Casita formations, and are distributed
among several locations in the states of Coahuila, Zacatecas,
and San Luis Potos (Soto-Pineda, 1960; Rogers et al., 1961;
Vivanco-Flores, 1976). The epigenetic and (mostly) stratabound deposit types in northeastern and eastern Mexico are
MVT and red bed hosted (Kupferschiefer-type Cu-Co-Nietc. and roll-front uranium) deposits. These are distributed
227
in two preferential areas, both marginal epicontinental basins,

in northeastern and east-central Mexico (Fig. 12). The latter
region contains several fluorite deposits, among which the
Las Cuevas (the largest fluorite deposit in the world, with current reserves of ~50 Mt at 70% fluorite) and the Ro Verde
deposits stand out. In addition, some celestine, strontianite,
Zn-Pb, barite, red bed-hosted Cu, and sulfur deposits occur
around the margins of the San Luis-Valles platform. These
deposits and their distribution are reminiscent of the distribution of similar deposits in northeastern Mexico. The MVT
and red bed province of northeastern Mexico (GonzlezSnchez et al., 2007, 2009) formed in the basin that covered
most of the present state of Coahuila and part of the neighboring states. The likeliness of this region to host MVT deposits was early stated by Rosas-Sols and Smano-Tirado (1983)
when comparing the Appalachian structural features in the
region with those in the United States. Similar deposits are
also found along the Chihuahua trough (Caballero-Martnez
and Snchez-Rojas, 2011), northwest of the Coahuilan basins
(Fig. 12). The basins in northeastern Mexico are composed of
horsts (paleogeographic features as paleoislands and part of
the North American mainland) and grabens (main depocenters) that controlled the sedimentary regimes and the resulting sedimentary facies. Such faults later played a decisive role
(1) in governing the deformation styles of the Sierra Madre
Oriental that led to the inversion of the basin, (2) as channelways for the mineralizing basinal brines for MVT and associated deposits, and (3) as channelways for the emplacement
of magmas that led to the formation of magma-related ore
deposits of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province. GonzlezSnchez et al. (2007, 2009) catalogued over 200 occurrences
of MVT and associated deposits in this region. The epigenetic deposits in this province show regional-scale mineralogical zonation that allows the definition of the following, from
south to north: (1) the Southern MVT celestine subprovince,
associated with the Coahuila paleoisland and the Parras basin,
(2) the Cu subprovince, which contains red bed Cu-(Co-CrPb-Zn-U-fluorite) deposits hosted by clastic formations along
major faults, (3) the Central MVT Zn-Pb subprovince, partly
associated with the San Marcos fault but also distributed in
the central part of the Sabinas basin, (4) the Central MVT
barite subprovince, located in the central part of the basin,
and (5) the Northern MVT fluorite subprovince, associated
with the Burro-Peyotes paleopeninsula and the La Babia fault
(Fig. 12; see also fig. 2 in Gonzlez-Snchez et al., 2009).
The Celestine subprovince accounts for one the largest
concentrations of celestine known in the Earths crust, and
the most important deposits are found in the Sierra de Alamitos and San Agustn districts onto the Coahuila paleoisland
(Fig. 12). Other important deposits are found in Mzquiz
(barite), Buenavista (fluorite), Cuatro Palmas (fluorite, and
some U-rich bodies), Sierra Mojada (Zn-Pb), Reforma (ZnPb) in Coahuila, and Tres Maras (Zn-Pb-Ge) in Chihuahua. The Southern Cu subprovince contains several Cu-rich
deposits hosted by red beds of the Early Cretaceous San
Marcos Formation (mostly microconglomerates, sandstones,
and arkoses) along the southern shoulder of San Marcos fault,
in the Cuatrocinegas area, Coahuila. Very similarly, the Las
Vigas Cu deposits in Chihuahua are hosted by red beds of the
Las Vigas Formation (mostly sandstones), which occurs along
228
Grants mineral belt

Lee (1978), Ludwig et al. (1984),
Gabelman and Boyer (1988)
SANTA FE
New Mexico
Texas
ANTONI CAMPRUB
ALBUQUERQUE
OUACHITA-MARATHON
OROGENIC BELT
(PENNSYLVANIAN)
HOUSTON
CORPUS CHRISTI
GULF
OF
MEXICO
BROWNSVILLE
MATAMOROS
400 km
the southern shoulder of the La Babia fault. These deposits

are akin to those in Trans-Pecos Texas (Price et al., 1988) and
may share a common genesis with them. The formation of
some MVT deposits in northeastern Mexico predated orogenic deformation whereas others postdated it. The mineralizing fluids are thought to be basinal brines and fluid flow was
partially driven by either lithostatic pressure or orogenic compression. Mineralization formed mostly strata-bound deposits
within evaporites or reefal limestones (Gonzlez-Snchez et
al., 2007, 2009). The Oligocene La Coma uranium red bedhosted (roll-front) deposits occur in a context similar to that of
the deposits of the Cu subprovince, although their formation
was probably diachronic, as part of the Gulf Coast uranium
province of southern Texas (Finch, 1996).
Regional Features That Govern the Emplacement of
Ore Deposits: Controversies and Paradigms
The role of the basement on magmatism:
Which ones are failed hypotheses?
Much has been said about the influence of the Guerrero
composite terrane with regard to the chemistry of ore deposits and mineralizing fluids. It has been suggested that the
abundance of ore deposits in western Mexico is due to the
fertility of the basement, to the point that the Mesozoic
VMS deposits have been traditionally considered as preconcentrations of metals contained in Cenozoic deposits (e.g., de
Cserna, 1971). This hypothesis is still evident in several recent
geologic-mining maps edited by the Mexican Geological Survey. In general, this scenario is unlikely, due to the following
reasons:
1. The distribution of Mesozoic VMS deposits is relatively
limited, as they are largely confined to the southern portion
of the Guerrero composite terrane in two belts (east and west
boundaries of the terrane), whereas Cenozoic magmatichydrothermal deposits are vastly widespread and their occurrence does not mimic the extent of particular terranes, or the
types or ages of the basement (compare Fig. 3 with Figs. 4,
7, 8).
2. The distribution of Cenozoic deposits follows only the
distribution and migration of Cenozoic magmatism (as noticed
by Damon et al., 1981; Clark et al., 1982; Camprub, 2009)
229
and of reactivated fault zones (Nieto-Samaniego et al., 2005,

2007), regardless of the occurrence of different terranes, or
the types or ages of the basement.
3.The available geochemical data for Cenozoic deposits
(O, H, He isotopes and composition in volatile species in fluid
inclusions; e.g., Albinson et al, 2001; Camprub et al., 2006b;
Camprub and Albinson, 2007) suggest the occurrence of multiple likely sources for mineralizing fluids but also that metalcarrying hydrothermal pulses for epithermal deposits were so
well endowed because of their juvenile magmatic component.
Sulfur isotope data show both sedimentary/metasedimentary and magmatic sources of sulfur as a critical metal ligand
in most epithermal deposits (Camprub and Albinson, 2006,
2007, and references therein), and the relative amount of H2S
in solution correlates positively with the proportion of relatively oxidized magmatic fluids in inclusion fluids implied by
N2/Ar ratios (Albinson et al., 2001; Camprub et al., 2006b;
Camprub and Albinson, 2007). However, the largest metalliferous porphyry deposits in Mexico occur in regions underlain
by the North American craton in northern Sonora and have
strong crustal geochemical signatures (see Valencia-Moreno
et al., 2006, 2007), as would normally be expected for S-type
granitic rocks. The wide variety of metal associations of porphyry-type deposits of Mexico (Cu, Cu-Au, Cu-Mo, W, Cu-W,
Mo, etc.; Valencia-Moreno et al., 2006, 2007), along with their
emplacement in island or continental arcs and other locations
toward back-arc environments, suggests that their petrogenesis ranges widely from intermediate, largely mantle derived
I-type rocks to highly evolved felsic, S-type (or peraluminous?)
rocks characterized by considerable crustal assimilation.
The small El Pilote fluorite skarn is the only deposit where
the case of a direct relationship to preexisting deposits may
be made (Levresse et al., 2006, 2011). Fluorite in this deposit
may have been remobilized from strata-bound deposits similar to those in the nearby La Encantada MVT deposit.
Reactivation of preexisting faults and metallogeny,
as exemplified around the Mesa Central and
in northeastern Mexico
Tectonostratigraphic terranes (Fig. 1) controlled the
emplacement of ore deposits of the oceanic magmatic realm
during the Mesozoic independently from each other and
Fig. 12. Distribution of Late Cretaceous(?) to Paleogene epigenetic strata-bound ore deposits of the sedimentary and diagenetic realm in northwestern Mexico and southwestern United States (states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato,
Nuevo Len, San Luis Potos, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, New Mexico, and Texas). It encompasses the distinctive metallogenic
provinces of (1) northeastern Mexico, (2) the Chihuahua basin (Chihuahua trough), (3) the San Luis-Valles platform, (4) the
Rio Grande rift, (5) the Gulf Coast, (6) the Delaware basin, (7) the Grants mineral belt, and (8) a group of barite, celestine,
and Zn-Pb mineralization in salt diapir caps. The latter represents some modern mineralization similar/analogous to MVT
deposits (though not strictly so) in diapir caps and other occurrences. Uranium deposits similar to those of the Grants mineral belt also occur in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, and are also hosted by the Morrison Formation (not shown in this map).
Recent occurrences of mineralizations similar to MVT deposits are also included in this figure. The most abundant featured
types or styles of ore deposits are Mississippi Valley-type and associated barite, celestine, and fluorite deposits, epigenetic
metalliferous (Cu-Co-etc. and U) deposits hosted by clastic sequences, and speleogenetic sulfur deposits or deposits associated with diapir caps. Sulfur and Zn-Pb MVT deposits within the late Paleozoic Delaware basin in Texas and New Mexico,
related to the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene Laramide uplift, are shown for comparison due to their occurrence in an analogous sedimentary-diagenetic and orogenic setting, though host rocks are much older than those in northeastern Mexico and
the Chihuahua basin. Some sulfur thermogenic sulfate reduction-derived deposits occur in Texistepec and Jltipan in southern Veracruz (diapir caps) and Guaxcam in the San-Luis Valles platform. Also included in the map are the caverns of Sonora,
Texas, in which celestine and metatyuyamunite occur.
230
ANTONI CAMPRUB
irrespective of other geologic features. This resulted in a pattern for the distribution ore deposits in which most ultramaficmafic complexes and VMS deposits occur near the terrane
boundaries and their suture zones (Fig. 3). The configuration
of the continental crust that resulted from terrane accretion
and crustal thickening includes suture zones that ultimately
formed structurally weak areas susceptible to reactivation.
The most evident case for the above is the southern border of
the Mesa Central (the over 700-km-long San Luis-Tepehuanes fault system), as it runs almost alongside the northeastern section of the suture zone between the Guerrero
composite terrane and the Mexican paleomainland. The first
ore deposits were emplaced at this suture following the shift
from extensional to compressional tectonomagmatic environments in the Late Cretaceous (the La Parrilla skarn; Fig. 4).
The ore deposits continued to be emplaced along the San
Luis-Tepehuanes fault system until the voluminous and climactic magmatism of the Sierra Madre Occidental invaded
this region during the Oligocene and produced what arguably
constitutes the most remarkable areal concentration of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits in Mexico (Fig. 8). Additionally, several sulfide skarns or porphyry-type deposits (e.g.,
Cerro San Pedro, Charcas, Santa Mara de la Paz, and Real de
Catorce) formed along the N-Srunning Taxco-San Miguel de
Allende fault system, which constitutes the eastern boundary
of the Mesa Central. The rest of the crustal-scale fault-controlled areas that limit the Mesa Central (see Nieto-Samaniego
et al., 2005, 2007) also exert a control on the metallogeny. This
would have occurred as magmatism focused in areas that (1)
were already structurally weak, (2) contain penetrative discontinuities in the basement, or (3) experienced long-lasting
faulting that generated channelways for the upflow of both
magmas and mineralizing fluids, as suggested by MirandaGasca (2000) and Nieto-Samaniego et al. (2005, 2007). However, once the magmatism retreated southward during the
early Miocene and the main terrane suture and fault systems
were out of reach of the remaining magmatism, ore-forming
processes ceased in the Mesa Central and focused in other
regions (Fig. 9).
The northern boundary of the Mesa Central, known as the
Sector Transversal de Parras of the Sierra Madre Oriental,
constitutes a special case. Unlike the San Luis-Tepehuanes
or the Taxco-San Miguel de Allende fault systems, the Sector
Transversal de Parras is not currently associated with recent
faulting. In spite of this, several ore deposits, mostly sulfide
skarns and associated deposits (e.g., Concepcin del Oro,
Mazapil, Mapim, Velardea), formed along this geologic feature. The array of skarn deposits in the Sector Transversal de
Parras probably constitutes the most economically productive
skarn belt in Mexico, and it includes the recently discovered
giant Peasquito Au-Ag-Pb-Zn deposit (which is tentatively
labeled as a generic carbonate replacement deposit or carbonate replacement deposits) in the Mazapil skarn district,
Zacatecas. The emplacement of such deposits and their associated intrusions occurred largely during the Eocene and the
Oligocene, the most productive epochs for mineralization
along the boundaries of the rest of the Mesa Central as well
(Figs. 7, 8). The Sector Transversal de Parras may reflect the
reactivation of part of the suture zone between the Central
terrane and the Oaxaquia subcontinental block during the
Sevier and Laramide orogenies and, therefore, the polymetallic sulfide skarn deposits (and also some iron oxide skarns)
that occur along the Sector Transversal de Parras might be the
result of the forceful emplacement of their parental magmas
through reactivated boundaries in the basement. Such reactivation is reflected by Paleozoic basement rocks of the Parras
region thrusting northward onto the Mesozoic sedimentary
sequence (Tardy et al., 1974). This interpretation, albeit
speculative at this stage, would explain the concentration of
magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits, which occurs along the
narrow strip of land that delineates the Sector Transversal
de Parras, whereas immediately north and south of it no ore
deposits of magmatic-hydrothermal types are known for hundreds of km (Figs. 7, 8).
The reactivated faults of northeastern Mexico controlled
the emplacement of types of deposits that belong either to
the magmatic continental or to the sedimentary-diagenetic
realms. These faults initially formed as the result of the
breakup of Pangea and the subsequent opening of the Gulf of
Mexico, in a horst-and-graben arrangement. This is the case of
the >1,000-km-long La Babia and San Marcos faults, and the
smaller faults that limit the La Mula or Monclova basement
highs within the Sabinas basin (Chvez-Cabello et al., 2005,
2007). Such faults controlled (1) the distribution of depocenters and other sedimentary and paleogeographic features, (2)
the geometry of the Sevier and Laramide deformation (and
the subsequent inversion of the basins), and (3) the preferential emplacement sites of ore deposits. The outflow of basinal
brines and their interaction with evaporites, reefal carbonate
rocks, or red beds generated MVT and associated celestine,
fluorite, and barite deposits, and red bed-hosted Cu-Co-NiZn and U deposits (Gonzlez-Snchez et al., 2007, 2009).
The formation of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits of the
Eastern Mexican alkaline province in northeastern Mexico
began in the Eocene (Fig. 12). Such deposits and their parental magmas were emplaced in association with the La Babia
fault or near it (e.g., the La Encantada and La Vasca skarns
in northern Coahuila), with the faults that bound the Monclova paleoisland or basement high (e.g., the Cerro Pnuco
porphyry Cu-Mo deposit in the Monclova intrusive belt,
southeastern Coahuila) and, perhaps, the Tamaulipas paleoarchipelago (e.g., the cluster of REE-bearing carbonatiterelated or polymetallic skarns and pegmatites at San Carlos,
San Nicols, and La Gloria in central Tamaulipas).
Discussion
Metallogenic epochs
Epithermal, skarn, porphyry, VMS, IOCG clan, and volcanogenic tin and uranium deposits overlap in time and space during the Cenozoic and the Mesozoic (Fig. 13), and also partially
overlap deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes.
Other types of deposits, genetically unrelated to magmatism,
such as orogenic gold (associated with the Laramide orogeny), sedex, phosphorites, MVT, and red bed-hosted deposits
(associated with sedimentation and basin dynamics in epicontinental environments), do not share the same time and
space distribution as the above types. Clark and Fitch (2009)
determined six preferential time intervals in the metallogenic
history of the region: Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Permo-Triassic,
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous to early Miocene, and late Miocene to Present. However, the temporal distribution of ore deposits in Mexico is heavily skewed
toward the Cenozoic (Fig. 13). During the Cenozoic, the age
distribution of ore deposits forms several peaks that reflect
the emplacement of specific types of deposits at specific times
and in well-defined regions. Besides the ill-defined Proterozoic and Paleozoic metallogenic provinces (Fig. 2), several
time-space slices can be determined for the Mesozoic and
the Cenozoic, based on the time and space distribution of ore
deposits and on their dominant types: (1) pre-Middle Jurassic
in southern and western Mexico, mostly deposits associated
with ultramafic-mafic complexes, (2) Middle Jurassic to Early
Cretaceous in southwestern Mexico, mostly VMS deposits, (3)
Cretaceous in southwestern Mexico and the Pacific margin,
mostly deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes,
and some magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide deposits, (4)
Late Cretaceous to early Eocene in the northwestern and
Pacific areas, dominantly porphyry-type deposits, and also
with magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide deposits, and an
increasing amount of skarns with time, (5) Late Cretaceous to
late Eocene in northwest Mexico, with orogenic gold deposits,
or around the Gulf of Mexico, which contains mostly Mississippi Valley-type, Cu-U-Co-Zn red bed, and Mn sedimentaryexhalative deposits, (6) early to late Eocene in northwestern
and central Mexico, dominantly skarn and epithermal deposits, (7) Oligocene virtually everywhere, dominantly epithermal deposits, Sn veins, and greisen (in the southern portion
of the Mesa Central) and some skarns throughout Mexico, (8)
latest Oligocene to early Miocene in southwestern and central Mexico, dominantly epithermal, and (9) middle Miocene
to Present, with epithermal deposits in continental Mexico,
sedex around the Gulf of California, and supergene/residual
deposits or placers throughout Mexico.
Most types of deposits and the vast majority of dated deposits are genetically associated with magmatism of different
composition and tectonomagmatic affinity, emplaced at different crustal levels. Hence, it is no surprise that they mimic
the time and space distribution of magmatism. Orogenic gold
deposits, although not associated with magmatism, occur
along the Pacific margin as a consequence of the orogenies
that were accompanied by magmatism.
Overview of the Mexican backbone metallogeny
The metallogenic history of the Pacific convergent margin
in Mexico can be documented from the Jurassic as a succession of VMS-, porphyry-, skarn-, and epithermal-dominated
epochs that include several other types of associated deposits. The magmatic arcs of this long-lasting convergent margin
were first established on relatively thin continental or oceanic crust under epicontinental seas. At that time, submarine
hydrothermal activity led to the formation of VMS deposits.
Once the general tectonomagmatic environment shifted
from extensional to compressional, porphyry and epithermal
deposit types followed. The occurrence of IOCG-type deposits close to the subduction trench at the time of the tectonic
transition and initial establishment of a continental arc is
noteworthy and similar to those in the Andean coastal ranges.
IOCG deposits in Mexico are interpreted to have formed on
relatively thin crust. Available data suggest that they ceased
231
to form after crustal thickening through orogeny. This is supported by the fact that from the Paleocene onward, IOCG
deposits no longer formed in southwestern-southern Mexico
(compare Fig. 4 with Figs. 7, 8). Likewise, the cessation in
the formation of IOCG deposits in the Alisitos terrane during
the Late Cretaceous (Fig. 4) is concurrent with a transition to
compressional tectonics. However, IOCG deposits continued
to form between the Eocene and the Oligocene, several hundreds of km inland (Figs. 7, 8), near the southern border of
the Mesa Central (e.g., Cerro de Mercado in Durango) and in
association with the Eastern Mexican alkaline province (e.g.,
the La Perla-Hrcules cluster in Chihuaha-Coahuila, TatatilaLas Minas in Veracruz). These are similar to the Late Cretaceous IOCG-type deposits Cerro del Oro and Guaynopa in
Sonora and Chihuahua (Table 1).
The occurrence of carbonate rocks in the path of the magma
upflow determined the formation of skarn-related deposits, as
well as the style of mineralization and geometry of epithermal
deposits. Their mineralogy and metal content was seemingly
determined to a large extent by the chemistry and metal
endowment of mineralizing fluids (Albinson et al., 2001; Camprub and Albinson, 2006, 2007; Camprub et al., 2006b). The
time and space distribution of magmatism and epithermal
deposits in the Sierra Madre Occidental and other contemporaneous magmatic belts are generally coincident, especially
during the Oligocene-Miocene and around the suture zones
of the Guerrero composite terrane and the Mesa Central. This
suggests a prevailing deep-seated control on mineralization
that links ore genesis to magmatic processes (Simmons et al.,
2005, p. 512). The known relationships (in space and time;
genetic) between ore deposits suggest that they constitute a
suite that encompasses porphyry-type deposits, sulfide or
industrial-mineral skarns (excluding, in principle, iron oxide
skarns), and epithermal types, among others. Examples in
Mexico for such relationships are abundant (Deen and Atkinson, 1988; Gunnesch et al., 1994; Morales-Ramrez et al.,
2003; Valencia et al., 2005, 2008; Gonzlez-Partida and Camprub, 2006; Camprub and Albinson, 2007). These deposits,
in turn, are associated with dominantly continental arc-related
magmatism that spans calc-alkaline (including both adake-like
and fluorine-rich magmas) to alkaline assemblages. The relative abundance of porphyry-type deposits and the scarcity of
epithermal deposits during the Paleocene compared to
Eocene to Miocene may be attributed to deeper levels of erosion and lack of preservation potential for epithermal deposits
(compare Figs. 4, 7). This is consistent with the distribution of
Eocene deposits that are found at the bottom of deep canyons
that were carved into the large volcanic pile in the central
Sierra Madre Occidental (e.g., Tayoltita in Durango).
Unlike most metallogenic provinces with epithermal deposits, high sulfidation epithermal deposits are uncommon in the
Mexican backbone region, despite the presence of economically significant examples such as the deposits at El Sauzal
in Chihuahua. Instead, intermediate sulfidation deposits are
dominant, although most deposits have intermediate sulfidation roots and early stages and low sulfidation tops and
late stages, thus developing different styles of mineralization
upon different magmatic settings (see fig. 14 in Camprub
and Albinson, 2007). These deposits are typically polymetallic and/or Ag rich and some are overprinting skarn and/or
232
ANTONI CAMPRUB
7
Epithermal
deposits
Porphyry
deposits
HS in the TMVB
HS to IS-LS? around GC
LS to IS in SW & E-central Mexico
Chiapas
HS to LS in NW Mexico
IS-LS Mesa Central & SMS
Central Mexico
Skarn
Chiapas
deposits
Central Mexico
IOCG(?)
deposits
IS-LS in Durango & SMS
HS to IS in NW Mexico & Zacatecas
Central Mexico
Intersection between the SMO & SMOr
Sinaloa
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Sn
deposits
3
NW towards central Mexico
Sonora, Sinaloa, Zacatecas Sonora & SW Mexico
Intersection between the SMO & SMOr, & in Sonora
Durango & NE Mexico
Mesa Central & Nayarit

?
?
IS-LS
SW Mexico, Sinaloa, Baja California (Pacific margin)
Volcanogenic U deposits in Chihuahua
Mesa Central
"Permissive age range for MVT & red-bed deposits in NE Mexico
Orogenic / lode gold deposits in NW Mexico & Sinaloa (& SW Mexico??)

Eastern Mexican Alkaline Province Trans-Pecos
Upper Volcanic Supergroup (UVS, SMO)
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB)
Lower Volcanic Complex (LVC, SMO)
Climax of ignimbrite volcanism (SMO)

Rifting in the Gulf of California
Crustal extension, Mexican Basin and Range
Last ignimbrite flare-up (SMO)
Laramide Orogeny
Crustal extension along the Pacific margin
Largest volcanic pulse (SMS)
Extension and rifting-off of the

Baja California Peninsula begins
Pliocene
Pleistocene
Miocene
60-
50-
40-
30-
20-
10-
Holocene 0-
Basaltic-andesitic volcanism
of the TMVB begins
Eocene
Oligocene
Neogene
(Ma)
Paleocene
Paleogene
Cenozoic
Quaternary
Neogene
LVC (Sinaloa & BC)
(Ma)
Paleogene
Cretaceous
Cenozoic
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Mesozoic
Devonian
SilurianOrdovician
Cambrian
Paleozoic
0-
Phanerozoic
Neoproterozoic
Mesoproterozoic
Phanerozoic
Paleoproterozoic
Neoarchean
Mesoarchean
Proterozoic
Paleoarchean
Archean
(Ma)
Eoarch.
Hadean
Precambrian
Key to types of ore deposits

Metam orp hic -or oge ni c
Undifferentiated orogenic (shear zones), lode and mesothermal gold deposits
Se dim en tar y- sy ns e di me nt ar y
Hydrothermal-sedimentary borate deposits
Sedimentary-exhalative (SEDEX) and shallow submarine/coastal exhalative deposits
Synsedimentary shallow submarine Fe deposits (non-exhalative?)
Placers
Epi gen etic -di ag en eti c-a uthi ge ni c
Mississippi Valley type (Pb-Zn) and associated deposits (F, Sr, Ba)
Res idu al
Supergene oxidation/enrichment, gossan

Bauxites
Ma gm at ic- h yd ro th er m al
Volcanogenic massive sulphides (VMS)
Porphyry-type metalliferous deposits
Non-iron oxide skarns
Epithermal deposits
Sub-epithermal deposits
Sn veins associated with topaz rhyolites, and Sn-W greisen-hosted deposits
Deposits of the IOCG clan (including iron-oxide skarns)
Volcanogenic hydrothermal U deposits
Ma gm at ic
Miscellaneous types of deposits associated with mafic-ultramafic rocks

Rare-element deposits in carbonatites
Rare-element deposits in pegmatites
Ti-rich anorthosites
porphyry-type ores, whether they are stacked or telescoped.

The abundance of intermediate sulfidation vs. the scarcity
of high sulfidation epithermal deposits is probably a result
of the exceptionality of the volcanism of the Sierra Madre
Occidental silicic large igneous province. The Sierra Madre
Occidental is ranked third in terms of volume (>3.9 105
km3) and second in terms of magma flux (>22 km3/kyr) among
silicic large igneous provinces worldwide (Bryan, 2007). Such
exceptional magmatism, which is associated with the progression of the Sevier and Laramide orogenies, slab flattening,
and rapid subduction of the Farallon plate, accounts for the
rapid crustal thickening in Mexico during the Cenozoic. The
possible connection between such magmatism and the dominance of intermediate sulfidation over high sulfidation deposits remains hitherto an unresolved issue, at least in terms of
the likely depth of emplacement of the respective parental
intrusives (see hypothetical case scenarios in fig. 14 of Camprub and Albinson, 2007). The establishment of a dominantly
extensional regime that resulted in the Basin and Range province after the Laramide orogeny, including the Great Basin
in Nevada, the Gulf of California, the late phase extension of
the Rio Grande rift and, possibly, the Eastern Mexican alkaline province, did not stop magmatic-hydrothermal mineralizing processes but rearranged them, both geographically and
genetically. Interestingly, a case has been made for mutually
exclusive low sulfidation and high and intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposits both in time and space in the Great
basin of Nevada, within the dominantly extensional tectonomagmatic context of the Basin and Range province (John,
2001; Sillitoe and Hedenquist, 2003). As mentioned above,
this does not seem to be the case for epithermal deposits associated with the Sierra Madre Occidental (compressional tectonomagmatic context).
Future research topics and developments in
Mexican metallogeny
The regional metallogenic analysis above leaves many
unresolved issues that underline the need for further studies.
Besides persevering with obvious general topics, several specific lines of further research are listed below:
1. There is a need for detailed studies devoted to the documentation of mineralogy, fluid geochemistry, and mechanisms
of formation of ore deposits in general. This is the prerequisite for correct identification of ore deposit types and for putting solid metallogenetic models together.
2.Geochronological determinations of ore deposits and
genetically associated magmatic rocks are necessary, along
with petrogenetic determinations that may lead to more precise definition of tectonomagmatic environments. Although
233
this is needed to trace the formation of any type of deposit, it

is especially necessary for comparatively poorly studied types,
such as those included in the IOCG clan and ultramafic-mafic
complexrelated deposits.
3. Similarly, it is necessary to establish a specific program
for geochronological determinations in mineral deposits of
the sedimentary-diagenetic realm in the region adjacent to
the Gulf of Mexico, as none of them has ever been properly
dated.
4. In light of new age constraints, reevaluation of the role
of the Sevier and Laramide orogenies as plausible agents for
the mobilization of basinal brines as mineralizing fluids for
MVT and associated deposits, including red bed-hosted U
and Cu-Co-Ni deposits, is needed. Likewise, geochronological determinations for the deformation in the Mexican fold
and thrust belt are also necessary, both for the assessment of
the mobilization of basinal brines and for the determination
of the evolution of this orogen, as it constitutes the southern
termination of the Sevier and Laramide orogenies.
5.Tectonomagmatic evaluation of the Eastern Mexican
alkaline province is also needed. It is likely due to intraplate
magmatism during continental extension and slab rollback.
Or, perhaps, other hypothetical scenarios like back-arc continental extension need to be invoked. Other deposits or
regions would benefit from a similar analysis (e.g., IOCGtype deposits emplaced distally from the trench, such as those
in western Chihuahua and eastern Sonora during the Late
Cretaceous, compared to the trench-proximal Andean-type
IOCG deposits).
6. Further research assessing different metallogenic associations of VMS and other deposits in the Guerrero composite terrane and in the basin separating it from the mainland
(Arperos basin) during the Mesozoic is needed. In addition,
the striking lack of VMS deposits in the northern half of the
Guerrero composite terrane when compared to the southern
half needs to be addressed in terms of its tectonomagmatic
affiliation.
7. The various types of deposits that are currently being
labeled generally as IOCG deposits should be differentiated, especially in terms of their elemental associations,
modes of emplacement, depth and temperature of formation,
and association with well-defined tectonomagmatic settings or
other types of deposits (e.g., carbonatites).
8. The general prospectiveness or likeliness of the TransMexican volcanic belt to host economic ore deposits has
been traditionally overlooked or underestimated. However,
magmatism in the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt evolved from
intermediate to mafic, then to felsic and to compositionally
variable magmatism (Gmez-Tuena et al., 2005, 2007) and,
therefore, it is a good candidate to host ore deposits of the
Fig. 13. Histographic representation for the occurrence in time of ore deposits in Mexico with known ages, based on Table
1. The black boxes cover the time span obtained in individual deposits or overlying/underlying rocks. The time span of major
geologic events was drawn from Henry et al. (2003), Ferrari et al. (2005b, 2007a), Morn-Zenteno et al. (2005, 2007), and
Centeno-Garca et al. (2008). The two available analyses from Caballo Blanco (Veracruz) are shown in gray boxes for reasons
explained in Table 1. Although this deposit is marked here as epithermal, it is not known whether the analyzed rocks were
more closely associated with epithermal or porphyry mineralization. Also in gray are MVT deposits with poorly understood
associations with the dated rocks. Abbreviations: GC = Gulf of California, HS = high sulfidation, IS = intermediate sulfidation, LS = low sulfidation, LVC = Lower volcanic complex (SMO), MVT = Mississippi Valley-type deposits, SBC = Sinaloan
Batholithic Complex, SMO = Sierra Madre Occidental, SMOr = Sierra Madre Oriental, SMS = Sierra Madre del Sur, TMVB
= Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, UVS = Upper Volcanic Supergroup (Sierra Madre Occidental).
234
ANTONI CAMPRUB
calc-alkaline suite (e.g., Camprub and Albinson, 2006, 2007).

In fact, the ages of several ore deposits (mostly epithermal)
are in accordance with the ages of magmatism in the TransMexican volcanic belt (Fig. 11).
9. The actual distribution of orogenic gold deposits beyond
those in northern Sonora, especially along the southwestern
and southern edges of continental Mexico along the Pacific
margin and in the Baja California peninsula, should be
determined.
10. The petrogenesis and metallogeny of known types of
ore deposits that occur in association with fluorine-rich rhyolites, besides tin veins, and likeliness for the formation of ore
deposit types unknown to date should be assessed (e.g., rare
element pegmatites).
Conclusions
1.Pre-Mesozoic metallogenic provinces and epochs in
Mexico are ill defined due to scarce data and relatively scarce
rock assemblages of that age. The ore deposits that are known
to occur during such prolonged periods of time are (1) Proterozoic rare element pegmatites, Ti-bearing anorthosites,
and Au-bearing gneisses, and (2) Paleozoic VMS (Besshi
type?), sedex, and deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic
complexes. The metallogeny of Mexico from the Mesozoic
onward can be explained through the geologic evolution of
two major regions: the Pacific margin and the Gulf of Mexico.
2.The most prolific metallogenetic epoch at the Pacific
margin began early in the Mesozoic. It can be divided into
oceanic and continental magmatic environments, and the
change from one to the other occurred between the late Early
Cretaceous and the earliest Late Cretaceous. As dominantly
extensional settings shifted to compressional ones (mostly
Laramide orogenic pulses) and the continental crust thickened, the magmatic arcs (and deposit types) shifted from oceanic to continental ones, which evolved into the Sierra Madre
Occidental silicic large igneous province. This is paralleled by
a change from dominantly submarine to subaerial ore deposit
types.
3.Between the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, the
dominant environments for ore deposition are favorable for
VMS and deposits associated with ultramafic-mafic complexes. Also, a few examples of porphyry-type and IOCG clan
deposits occur during this period of time. The tectonomagmatic assemblages with which these deposits are associated
are dominantly island/primitive arcs, although the deposits in
ultramafic-mafic complexes comprise several other possible
settings (see Gonzlez-Jimnez et al., 2011).
4.Between the Late Cretaceous and the Paleocene the
production of ore deposits shifted to types typical for continental arcs, such as porphyry, sulfide skarn, IOCG clan
deposits, and a few epithermal deposits. As the continental magmatism migrated eastward and attained its climactic
magma production and areal coverage between the Eocene
and the Oligocene, so did the ore deposits. However, the relative abundance of the different types of deposits varies with
time, as the proportion of epithermal over porphyry-type and
sulfide skarn deposits increased markedly during the Eocene
and, especially, the Oligocene. This is interpreted as a result
of decreasing degrees of erosion with time. Other types of
deposits also formed during the Eocene and Oligocene, such
as volcanic rock-related uranium or tin vein deposits, greisen,

and carbonatites.
5. Magmatism and metallogeny reached regions over 1,000
km to the east of the subduction trench during the Paleogene,
with several isolated magmatic centers along a narrow strip
along the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Eastern Mexican alkaline province. The ore deposits in this region span Eocene
to relatively recent ages (younging southward), and include
REE-bearing carbonatite/skarn, volcanic rock-related uranium, and alkaline low sulfidation epithermal deposits.
6.During the early Miocene, before the establishment
of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, the magmatism of the
Sierra Madre Occidental retreated dramatically southward
and, almost exclusively, epithermal deposits formed in southcentral Mexico. Subsequent continental extension and rifting
that drove the Baja California peninsula northwestward and
initiation of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt magmatism generated two genetically different arrays of ore deposit types,
beginning in the late Miocene: (1) sedimentary phosphorites
and shallow analogues to sedex deposits that formed along the
western coast of the Gulf of California, epithermal deposits
that formed near the northern limit of the Gulf, and active
VMS examples that are forming along the oceanic ridge or
in passive-margin basins; and (2) several epithermal deposits
(plus other likely associated types) that have formed since the
late Miocene along the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt.
7. The second major metallogenic region of Mexico is the
western rim of the Gulf of Mexico megabasin, which is constituted by sedimentary-diagenetic deposits. These include Mississippi Valley-type and associated industrial mineral deposits,
red bed-hosted Cu-Co-Ni or U deposits, sedex Mn deposits,
sedimentary phosphorites, and sulfur deposits in evaporite
diapir caps. The vast majority of such deposits remain undated,
although the giant Molango sedex Mn deposits correlate with
Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian (?) sequences, the sedimentary
phosphorites in northeastern and east-central Mexico correlate with Kimmeridgian-early Berriasian sequences, and the
formation of the epigenetic types of ore deposits in the region
can be ascribed to pre-, syn-, or postorogenic epochs relative
to the Laramide (and Sevier?) orogeny. The Laramide orogenic pulses are also the driving forces for the emplacement
of orogenic gold deposits along the Pacific margin, especially
in northwestern Mexico.
8. All of the types of ore deposits mentioned above have
been subject to various degrees of erosion and/or supergene
processes since their hypogene emplacement. Such processes
generated placer deposits (Au, Sn, Ti, etc.), gossans and
supergene enrichment zones, and small magnesite, bauxite,
and laterite occurrences. Some of these secondary processes
occurred quite recently, whereas some occurred as early as
the Eocene, as in the case of the supergene enrichment zone
at Piedras Verdes, or the Pliocene, as with the oxidation and
reduction events in U deposits at Sierra Pea Blanca.
9. Besides the ill-defined Proterozoic and Paleozoic metallogenic provinces, no less than nine time-space slices can be
determined for the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic: (1) ill-defined
pre-Middle Jurassic, (2) Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous in
southwestern Mexico, (3) Cretaceous in southwestern Mexico
and the Pacific margin, (4) Late Cretaceous to early Eocene
in the northwestern and Pacific areas, (5) Late Cretaceous to
late Eocene in northwest Mexico, with orogenic gold deposits,

or around the Gulf of Mexico, with sedimentary-diagenetic
deposits, (6) early to late Eocene in northwestern and central
Mexico, with porphyry-type and sulfidic skarns as the most
abundant types, (7) Oligocene all across Mexico, with epithermal deposits as the most abundant type, (8) latest Oligocene
to early Miocene in southwestern and central Mexico, and (9)
middle Miocene to Present in several locations, with either
hypogene or supergene to sedimentary deposits.
10.It has been determined that, in some regions, the
emplacement of types of ore deposits of either the magmatic-hydrothermal or sedimentary-diagenetic realms was
controlled by reactivated large-scale faults. The fault zones
south of the Mesa Central may represent reactivated portions
of the sutures between the Guerrero composite terrane and
the mainland. Such fault zones arguably played a paramount
role as channelways for both the emplacement of magmas and
hydrothermal fluids, as magmatism extended into these areas.
The clearest example is the climactic magmatism of the Oligocene centered on the San Luis-Tepehuanes fault system,
but this association is also evident for deposits as old as Late
Cretaceous in the same region. Other remarkable examples
of reactivated faults as effective channelways for the emplacement of ore deposits include those in northeastern Mexico
(e.g., San Marcos and La Babia faults). Such faults governed
not only sedimentation and deformation features, but also (1)
the emplacement of deep basinal brines into shallower parts
of the basin, thus resulting in the formation of MVT and red
bed-hosted deposits between the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene, and (2) the emplacement of discrete magmatic centers
and a variety of associated magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits of the Eastern Mexican alkaline province since the Eocene.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study was received from the
PAPIIT-DGAPA program of UNAM through grants IN103807
and IN110810, and from CONACYT (Basic Science Research
program) through grant 155662. Additional funding was
received from the internal annual research budget of the
Instituto de Geologa of UNAM. I also wish to thank several
colleagues and friends with whom I had many fruitful discussions while writing this paper or during the process of sorting
out the ideas that led to it, especially Elena Centeno-Garca,
Michelangelo Martini, Elisa Fitz-Daz, Tawn Albinson, Carles Canet, Eduardo Gonzlez-Partida, Francisco GonzlezSnchez, Martn Valencia-Moreno, Alexander Iriondo, Aldo
Izaguirre, Jos M. Gonzlez-Jimnez, Luca Ferrari, ngel F.
Nieto-Samaniego, and Dante J. Morn-Zenteno. Massimo
Chiaradia initiated the earliest version of this paper, and he
is cordially rethanked for that. Also, Thomas Bissig is thanked
for his invitation to submit this paper; he and Alan Galley
are wholeheartedly thanked for their thorough reviews. Vctor Valencia and John Thompson also reviewed early and
late versions of the manuscript, respectively. This paper was
improved considerably through these reviews.
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Special Publication 17, pp. 201243

comprehensive and useful review to date (Clark and Fitch,

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

skarns, the metallic minerals of which are essentially sulfides,

mostly MVT, a few VMS, and several IOCG deposits, among

Paleozoic ore deposits are also scarce (Fig. 2) and include

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

underwent widespread extension triggered by the breakup

interactions between the divergent and convergent plate

Centeno-Garca et al. (2011)

Los Gavilanes & La Paz

San Juan Mazatln

Ixcuinatoyac Campo Morado-Suriana

Baja California peninsula (Fig. 3), and also in southwestern

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

Late Cretaceous to Paleocene

Black symbols: Late Cretaceous

Talpa de Allende (El Rub, La Amrica, Amaltea)

Lower Cretaceous volcanosedimentary sequences

Busby et al. (2006)

Mesozoic metamorphic rocks

Magmatic-hydrothermal iron oxide(-Cu-Au) deposits

Agua Blanca Fault

Deposits in ultramafic-mafic complexes

Orogenic gold deposits (?)

Unknown type (Au-Ag)

Turquoise deposits (supergene alteration of MHIO?)

Mineralized areas during the Cenozoic

Caada del Gringo

Sauzalito, La Alejandra & La Trtola

San Pedro y San Pablo

Santa rsula, El Salto & La Caramallola

Pcale & Yesenia

BAHA DE LOS NGELES

114 Baja California Sur

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

monzogranites assigned to the Paleocene by geologic and

km from the trench, a few others (Guaynopa, Cerro del Oro;

entire Sierra Madre Occidental and the Mesa Central, and

in epicontinental basins related to the passive margin of the

Well-recognized fault zones

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

Well-recognized fault zones

of Oligocene age are restricted to the borders of the Mesa

Proterozoic (2500542 Ma)

Rare element (U-Th-Nb-Ta-REE) pegmatites

Paleozoic (542251 Ma)

Baja California Sur

Early and Middle Jurassic (199.6161.2 Ma)

Late Jurassic (161.2145.5 Ma)

Early Cretaceous (145.599.6 Ma)

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

Ages of Ore Deposits in Mexico

Selected references and comments

Kimbrough and Moore (2003), Kimbrough and Ledesma-Vazquez (2008)

Bissig et al. (2008)

Escalona-Alczar et al. (2009); these ages correspond to the enclosing volcanosedimentary

Cited in Ortiz-Hernndez et al. (2006)

El Fenmeno Corte de Madera

Late Cretaceous (99.665.5 Ma)

TECTONIC AND METALLOGENETIC HISTORY OF MEXICO

Selected references and comments

Mead et al. (1988)