Mineralium Deposita (2003) 38: 640646

DOI 10.1007/s00126-003-0359-y

L E T T ER

Roberto Oyarzun Jorge Oyarzun Jean Jacques

Menard Javier Lillo

The Cretaceous iron belt of northern Chile:

role of oceanic plates, a superplume event,
and a major shear zone
Received: 18 November 2002 / Accepted: 3 March 2003 / Published online: 17 May 2003

Springer-Verlag 2003

Abstract The Cretaceous constitutes a turning point in

the tectonic, magmatic, and metallogenic history of
Chile. The geological evidence indicates that a major
change occurred in late Neocomian time when superplume emplacement (Mid-Pacic Superplume) and plate
reorganization processes took place in the Pacic. The
superplume event resulted in a major ridge-push force
resulting in increased coupling between the subducting
and overriding plates. This completely changed the tectonic setting of Chile ending the Early Cretaceous
extensional period (aborted rifting in the back-arc basin), and increasing stress at a crustal scale. As a consequence, overpressurized dioritic magmas were pushed
up mainly along the best possible structural path in
northern Chile, i.e., the Atacama Fault Zone, eventually
forming a +500-km-long belt of Kiruna-type iron
deposits with reserves of
2,000 Mt (60% Fe), a unique
case in Chiles geological history.
Keywords Iron belt Cretaceous Chile Shear
zone Superplume

Editorial handling: Robert King

R. Oyarzun (&)
Departamento de Cristalograf a y Mineralog a,
Facultad de Ciencias Geologicas,
Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain
E-mail: oyarzun@geo.ucm.es
J. Oyarzun
Departamento de Ingenier a de Minas and CEAZA,
Facultad de Ingenier a, Universidad de La Serena,
Casilla 554 La Serena, Chile
J. J. Menard
Institut Pedagogique National,
BP 616, Nouakchott, Mauritanie
J. Lillo
Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnolog a,
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos,
Tulipan s/n, 28933 Mostoles Madrid, Spain

Introduction
Although Chile is usually regarded as a copper country (largely due to the presence of giant porphyry
copper deposits), other ores including iron are also
present in important economic concentrations. Most of
the Chilean iron deposits are of the Kiruna type, and
occur along a narrow NS trending belt stretching for
over 500 km between 25 and 30S (Fig. 1). These
deposits formed by the end of the Late Cretaceous, and
from a structural point of view, can be regarded as shear
zone related. The deposits have been largely studied
petrologically, geochemically, and economically; however, no specic attempts have been made in order to
relate the origin of the Chilean Iron Belt (CIB) to the
Pacic plate tectonic scenario. In this paper, we present
a brief account of the northern Chilean case, a realm
that underwent profound changes in tectonic, magmatic,
and metallogenic style during Cretaceous time (Oyarzun
2000). We suggest that this change happened in response
to major, distal tectonic events taking place in the
Pacic, involving the emplacement of a plate-wide superplume (Mid-Pacic Superplume; Larson 1991a,
1991b; Vaughan 1995). In the following, we present a
summarized geologic account of these processes and
their probable inuence on the development of the
unique iron metallogenic belt in northern Chile.

The tectonomagmatic scenario

The Jurassic-Early Cretaceous plate tectonic setting of
Chile was intimately linked to the southeastward directed subduction of the ancient Aluk plate (Fig. 2A). The
geological evolution of northern Chile during this time
span was characterized by a tectonic setting involving a
magmatic-arc and a back-arc basin. This setting underwent minor readjustments by the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian), when the marine basin was uplifted giving rise to
evaporitic facies. By the Tithonian, the basin had
deepened again and the system arc basin had undergone

641

Fig. 1 The Lower Cretaceous Chilean Iron Belt (CIB) along the
southern segment of the Atacama Fault Zone (AFZ). The ve large
iron deposits (2830S) have reserves (before mining) in the order
of 200400 Mt (60% Fe): Boqueron Chanar (BO), Los Colorados
(CO), Algarrobo (AL), Cristales (CR), and El Romeral (RO). The
rest of the deposits are in the order of 10020 Mt and even less.
Lower Cretaceous Cu(Fe) deposits/districts: Talcuna (TAL),
Candelaria (CAN), Punta del Cobre (PC), Manto Verde (MV).
The Domeyko Fault System (DFS) and the southern segment of the
Late EoceneEarly Oligocene porphyry copper belt (PCB) can be
observed on the upper right of the gure. Porphyry copper
deposits: El Salvador (ES), Potrerillos (PO). According to Menard
(1995), Sillitoe et al. (1996), Vila et al. (1996), Taylor et al. (1998),
Oyarzun (2000). See inset for location (SA South America)

minor changes in orientation. However, by the end of

the Late Cretaceous, a drastic modication occurred.
The magmatic activity along the arc decreased dramatically and the basin was uplifted; and, since then there
has been no more record of marine episodes in northern
Chile. This marked the onset of the cooling and uplifting
of the arc which eventually shifted to an eastward position by Mid-Cretaceous time (Scheuber et al. 1995).
These processes occurred when a major superplume
event was taking place in the Pacic (Fig. 2B; Table 1).
The superplume event developed during the EarlyMidCretaceous (Larson 1991a; Vaughan 1995) and led to
Table 1 Age constraints for
major geologic processes during
NeocomianMid-Cretaceous
time. AFZ Atacama Fault
Zone; CIB Chilean Iron Belt

Fig. 2 Conguration of continental and oceanic plates just before

130 Ma (A) and at 120 Ma (B). Plates: Aluk, Africa (AFR),
Antarctic (ANT), Farallon (FAR), Pacic (PAC), South America
(SA). CIB Chilean Iron Belt. As shown in the legend, the area
depicted for the superplume is the maximum, and has been
superimposed on plate conguration at 120 Ma for simplication.
Observe the disruption of spreading centers and plate reorganization (Aluk-Farallon-Pacic) from 130 Ma (A) to 120 Ma (B), and
the onset of plate breakdown-drifting (AfricaSouth America) (B).
Plate conguration according to Zonenshayn et al. (1984) and
Turner et al. (1994). Mid-Pacic Superplume (B) according to
Larson (1991a)

the formation of the Earths most outstanding submarine volcanic plateaus, including among others those
of Ontong Java, Manihiki, and Nauru (Larson 1991a).
For example, Ontong Java alone, involved the extrusion
of >50106 km3 of basalts, i.e., more than ve times the
volume of the Deccan basalts in India (Con and Eldholm 1993). Plateau formation in the area aected by
the Mid-Pacic Superplume (Fig. 2B) began at 130 Ma
(Mid-Pacic Mountains) and ended at 75 Ma (Mid-Pacic Mountains, Line Islands; Larson 1991a). This time

Geologic events

Age (Ma)

Reference

Mid-Pacic Superplume; older

and younger oceanic plateaus
Peak production rates of oceanic crust
Opening of the South Atlantic (onset)
Ductile (d) and brittle (b) behavior
of the AFZ
Iron deposits (CIB): range (r), peak (p)

13075

Larson (1991a)

120100
120100
130125 (d)125105 (b)

Larson (1991a)
Turner et al. (1994)
Taylor et al. (1998)

128100 (r)115110 (p)

See Table 2

642

span can also be regarded as a period of high production

of oceanic crust at mid ocean ridges (Larson 1991a;
Vaughan 1995). Along the circum-Pacic rim, the superplume event also had far-reaching tectonic eects
including uplift, deformation, and metamorphism
(Vaughan 1995). The superplume may have aected an
area as large as 6,00010,000 km (Larson 1991a) (Fig.
2B) and induced increased ridge-push force and coupling
between the subducting and overriding plates (Vaughan
1995).
At a regional scale, the main Late Jurassic-Cretaceous structural element in northern Chile, with major
metallogenic implications, is the so-called Atacama
Fault Zone (AFZ; Fig. 1), a NS trending megashear
zone extending for about 1,000 km along the coastal
block (Scheuber and Andriessen 1990; Scheuber and
Reutter 1992; Taylor et al. 1998; among others). This
megashear zone formed in response to SE-directed, oblique subduction of the ancient Aluk plate (Scheuber
and Andriessen 1990; Fig. 2).

Magmatic and metallogenic implications: basis

for a discussion
At 128100 Ma numerous intrusion-related Kiruna-type
Fe deposits and stratabound Cu deposits (several of
them rich in magnetite or hematite) were formed in
volcanic or sedimentary rocks of the Neocomian magmatic arc and basin. The tectonomagmatic setting of the
Neocomian basin corresponds to a case of aborted rifting (Levi and Aguirre 1981). Magmatism along the arc
was characterized by extrusion of the so-called Ocoite
Group (Berriasian-Albian), consisting of a ca. 313 km
thick sequence of marine and continental sedimentary
rocks, and high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic basalts
and basaltic andesites, morphologically equivalent to
ood lavas (Levi et al. 1987; Aguirre et al. 1989). Mineralization during this time span comprises the iron
deposits of the coastal belt in Chile (Fig. 1) such as Los
Colorados, El Algarrobo (Table 2), and several stratabound copper deposits such as El Soldado and Lo
Aguirre in central Chile (Munizaga et al. 1988), and
Punta del Cobre, Candelaria, and Talcuna in the
northern part of the country (Marschick and Fontbote
1996; Oyarzun et al. 1998; Fig. 1).

Table 2 Age of iron deposits

along the Chilean Iron Belt

From a metallogenic point of view, the most important

magmatic activity was of the plutonic type (dioritic
magmatism), and led to formation of the Chilean Iron
Belt (CIB; Kiruna-type deposits) (Fig. 1). The CIB forms
a +500-km-long and narrow NS trending belt along the
Coastal Range, and the largest deposits, Boqueron Chanar, Los Colorados, El Algarrobo, Cristales, El Romeral,
are located between 2830S (Fig. 1). Their reserves (before mining) are in the order of 200400 Mt (60% Fe),
whereas the reserves for the whole belt are about 2,000 Mt
(60% Fe). The mineralized complexes consist of volcanic
and subvolcanic andesitic rocks intruded by dioritic
bodies (Oyarzun and Frutos 1984; Menard 1995). At the
regional scale, the alignment of the CIB coincides with the
Atacama Fault Zone (AFZ) (Fig. 1). Mineralization
processes along the CIB took place between
128 and
100 Ma, with a peak at
115110 Ma (Tables 1, 2).
An important point regarding iron mineralization in
the CIB relates to the type of magmatism. Intermediate
magmatism is one of the typical features of the early
evolution of the Chilean arc (Jurassic-Early Cretaceous), and may be one of the key factors that led to
Kiruna-type iron mineralization along the AFZ. For
example, as indicated by Hildebrand (1986), Kirunatype deposits are typically associated with high-level
plutons of intermediate composition (dioritic magmatism), and aected by sodic metasomatism, which matches the CIB case. Additionally, it is worth also
mentioning here the spatial relationships between the
dioritic intrusive bodies and the volcanic rocks in the
CIB case. Although the host-rocks for the iron mineralization in the CIB are andesites, more dierentiated
volcanic rocks may be also present, for example rhyolites at Los Colorados (Fig. 1). In this respect, a similar
setting is observed at Great Bear (Canada) (Hildebrand
1986), and at Bafq (central Iran), although the latter
represents a much more complex scenario (Forster and
Jafarzadeh 1994). Whether this spatial relationship between co-magmatic dioritic-andesitic/rhyolitic rocks
has genetic connotations or not goes beyond the scope
of this paper. However, one may not only speculate
about the need for mac magmas as a primary source of
iron, but also about the need of a certain degree of
dierentiation as to liberate the iron from the parent
magmatic source. For a comprehensive discussion on
these topics, see for example Hildebrand (1986).

Ore deposit

Whole rock/mineral

Age (Ma)

Reference

Boqueron Chanar
Cerro Iman
El Algarrobo

Biotite
Greisen
Monzodiorite
Diorite
Diorite
Biotite
Post mineral dyke
Andesite
Diorite

1284
1023
99.65
115.65.8
1286.4
1103
110
111
108

Zentilli (1974)
Zentilli (1974)
Montecinos (1985)
Montecinos (1985)
Montecinos (1985)
Munizaga et al. (1985)
Oyarzun and Frutos (1984)
Pichon (1981)
Pichon (1981)

El Romeral
Los Colorados

643

The CIB andesitic host-rocks are rich in FeO(tot)

(912 wt%; Menard 1988, 1995), and the main mineralogy includes labradorite and augite-diopside. The
major part of the primary iron is in the form of
Ti-magnetite, which was later partly remobilized during
mineralization and deposited as Ti-poor hydrothermal
magnetite (Ruiz et al. 1965; Menard 1995). The mineralization (Bookstrom 1977, Oyarzun and Frutos 1986;
Pincheira 1986, Menard 1988; Menard 1995, among
others) consists of veins and veinlets of magnetite,
breccias, disseminations, and massive replacements of
the andesites by magnetite ore. The mineral paragenesis
includes magnetite tremolite apatite, followed by
albite/oligoclase clinozoisite chlorite sphene
scapolite tourmaline pyrite, and pyrophyllite.
According to Menard (1995), the hydrothermal system
evolved under high oxygen fugacity, high water pressure,
and high temperature. Iron was leached from the host
rock, transported as FeCl2 and deposited as Fe3O4.
Deposition took place when PT conditions dropped
to allow for dissociation of the chloride complex at
relatively shallow depths (
4 km) and temperatures of
450550 C. The supercritical uid phase was exsolved
during cooling and consolidation of the plutons
(800900 C), which resulted in hydrogen, chlorine, and
sodium metasomatism, and in the sequential leaching of
Fe (at less than 700 C), and Ca and Mg (between 600
and 500 C) from minerals of the primary magmatic
diorite assemblage: titanomagnetite-ilmenite, plagioclase, augite, and hypersthene. The residual altered
dioritic rocks present a mineral assemblage evolving
down to boundary conditions of the greenschistamphibolite facies (450 C). Similar to the leaching
process, deposition is also selective: rst Fe deposition
occurs at less than 550 C, which is followed by Ca and
Mg down to 450 C. The precipitation of magnetite may
be represented as follows:
3 FeCl2 4 H2 O ! 6 HCl Fe3 O4 H2
Meteoric and magmatic sources have been suggested
for the origin of the Cl brines that allowed iron leaching
and transport (Menard 1995). Recent studies (Kelley
and Fruh-Green 2001) indicate that the mac dierentiated plutonism has a high potential for generating
brines (up to 50 wt% NaCl). Since the iron deposits
formed along the main magmatic arc, it is dicult to
envisage major participation of uids from the eastward
located Early Cretaceous basin.
A problematic fact regarding iron mineralization
along the CIB is its late character in the Neocomian
evolution of the extensional back-arc setting. To provide
a working hypothesis for the CIB, we must rst review
the series of events that took place in the Lower Cretaceous time (Fig. 2; Table 1). At a very large scale, the
central Pacic was recording the largest known superplume event in modern times of the Earths history
(Fig. 2B). As suggested by Vaughan (1995), this event
resulted in a major ridge-push force, with the nal result
of increased coupling between the subducting and

overriding plates, i.e., increased convergence rates. Thus,

we may infer that a drastic change in stress conditions
must have begun operating in Chile by the end of Late
Cretaceous time. We suggest that this process may have
been enhanced by the beginning of the opening of the
South Atlantic (Hauterivian), and the consequent onset
of the westward drifting of the South American plate
(Turner et al. 1994) (Fig. 2B; Table 1). The change in
stress conditions along the Cretaceous arc is well-supported by stratigraphic data (Mid-Cretaceous unconformity; Charrier et al. 2002), ssion tracks (Coastal
Cordillera; 130100 Ma) and radiometric data for the
AFZ (126125 Ma) (Scheuber et al. 1995). In turn, these
compressional conditions can adequately explain the
emplacement of the plutonic rocks along the AFZ,
which eventually led to Kiruna-type iron mineralization
in northern Chile. Buoyancy and transpressional
dynamics induce magma overpressuring, which in turn
expels plutonic bodies upwards following the vertical
pressure gradient along the shear zone (Saint Blanquant
et al. 1998; Fig. 3A). In other words, within a compressional regime, a vertical shear zone becomes the
main structural path along which magmas can ascend.
The higher the pressure, the more pronounced the vertical gradient. This would explain why the iron belt
formed by the end of Early Cretaceous, a time when
enough pressure had accumulated in the continental
crust as to channelize magma emplacement mainly along
the AFZ (Fig. 3A). A decisive factor contributing to
transpressional conditions along part of the iron belt is
the curvature of the AFZ. The system formed an arc
(concave seaward), which under the oblique SE-directed
subduction of the Aluk plate, created both transtensional and transpressional conditions (for example see
Lin and Jiang 2001; Fig. 3B). In this respect, Taylor et al.
(1998) describe transtensional conditions along the AFZ
in the N to NNW striking segment of 2725S during the
time span of
130 to 105 Ma. Based on the geometry of
the AFZ, the obvious result is that a drastic change in
the stress conditions must have occurred from Copiapo
southward (Copiapo inexion point: transtension
transpression) (Fig. 3B). This change coincides with the
southern appearance of the CIBs ve large deposits
(
200 Mt at 60% Fe): Boqueron Chanar, Los Colorados, El Algarrobo, Cristales, and El Romeral, which
crop out within a short segment of the belt between 28
30S (Figs. 1, 3B). Another structural factor that may
have decisively contributed to mineralization processes,
was the passage from ductile to brittle conditions along
the AFZ at
125 Ma, a regime that prevailed until

105 Ma (Taylor et al. 1998), coinciding with the peak
in formation of iron deposits along the CIB (Table 1).
Given the depth of formation of the CIB deposits
(
4 km; Menard 1995), we may infer suprahydrostatic
uid pressures (
60 MPa) resulting from the combined
action of tectonic loading, plutonism-enhanced metamorphic dehydration (Sibson 1990), and the expulsion
of magmatic brines (Kelley and Fruh-Green 2001).
Brittle conditions imply a seismogenic regime, which

644

ting greater chances of generating copper deposits

(Menard 1992). This idea is supported by the presence of
major copper deposits/districts immediately to the east
of the AFZ (Punta del Cobre, Candelaria, Talcuna;
Fig. 1). Alternatively, we may speculate about the possibility that shallow-seated copper deposits (porphyry
copper type?) formed along the CIB, but, however,
cannot be observed at present because they were wiped
out by erosion. This would imply that the CIB was also a
copper system, an idea supported by the presence of the
fault-related Manto Verde copper(iron) deposit (Vila
et al. 1996; Fig. 1). However, although Manto Verde can
be regarded as a transitional CuFe deposit, its position in the CIB (northern segment), and its tectonic
conditions of emplacement (transtensional), make it a
dicult case to compare with the large iron deposits of
the southern segment of the belt.

Conclusions

Fig. 3 A Block diagram depicting the tectonomagmatic scheme for

the end of the Late Cretaceous, and the ascent of overpressurized
magmas along the shear zone. B Schematic view of the Atacama
Fault Zone depicting relationships between size of iron mineralization and zones of transpression/transtension. AFZ Atacama
Fault Zone, CIB Chilean Iron Belt. Upper block diagram and
magma ascent based on Saint Blanquant et al. (1998). For the
relationships between curved shear zones and transpression
transtension, see Lin and Jiang (2001). Box A in B Location of
zone depicted in A

together with suprahydrostatic uid pressure gradients

are the key prerequisites for fault valve type mechanisms that allow for both the upward pumping of uids
in fault systems, and mineralizing processes (Sibson
1990).
A last point relates to the Early Cretaceous copper
deposits located either within or immediately to the east
of the CIB, some of which are very rich in magnetite
(Candelaria; Ryan et al. 1995; Fig. 1). Although a full
discussion on the relationships between the CIB and
these deposits is beyond the scope of this paper, we
would like to suggest that the Fe and Cu signatures may
be related to the structural setting. While the iron
deposits developed within a highly fractured environment (AFZ; increased crustal permeability), the copper
deposits formed within a zone where the intensity of
fracturing was of lesser importance (as compared to that
of the AFZ) (Fig. 1). Reduced fracturing (i.e., decreased
crustal permeability) would have resulted in increased
retention of the gaseous sulfur phase at depth, permit-

The relationships between plate-wide tectonic processes

(e.g., superplume events) and ore deposits may look
obscure or even non-existent in many cases. However,
a recognized guiding principle of science tells us that
the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
(Carl Sagan). We believe that the Chilean case proves
this to be true. If the dierent pieces of the tectonic,
magmatic, and metallogenic puzzle are put together, we
may conclude that unique global tectonic events may in
turn lead to unique results. For example, no deposits
equivalent to those of the CIB formed before or after
in the geological history of Chile. This is curious for a
country in which metallogeny tends to be recurrent
(Oyarzun 2000). The Mid-Cretaceous constitutes a
turning point in the geologic history of central and
northern Chile, dening a before and an after. We
suggest that the ultimate cause of the major tectonic
processes that operated at that time, was the
emplacement of the Mid-Pacic Superplume (Fig. 2B).
This superplume played a crucial role in the geologic
evolution of Chile, increasing convergence rates between Aluk and South America and therefore increasing the stress regime along the Chilean margin. As a
consequence of the latter, the magmas were pushed up
mainly along the main structural feature of the magmatic arc: the AFZ (Fig. 3A), thus creating a long and
narrow belt of intrusions and associated Kiruna-type
iron deposits. Curvature of the AFZ, brittle conditions,
and transpression along the southern segment of the
CIB are the key geodynamic elements that controlled
formation of the large iron deposits (Boqueron Chanar,
Los Colorados, El Algarrobo, Cristales, El Romeral;
Figs. 1, 3B).
Finally, although at another scale and magmatic
setting, the CIB case resembles the tectonic structural
framework of the Late EoceneEarly Oligocene porphyry copper belt of northern Chile (Sillitoe 1988;
Maksaev and Zentilli 1988, Davidson and Mpodozis

645

1991; Oyarzun et al. 2001) (Fig. 1). Both formed under

compressional conditions along major shear zones, just
before major magmatic shifts to the east. These conditions led to large-scale mineralization processes: one
associated with dioritic plutonism (Fe, along the
southern, compressional segment of the CIB), and the
other with felsic, granodioritic intrusive bodies
(Cu-Mo) along the Domeyko Fault System (Fig. 1).
Although highly speculative, we may further suggest
that the events that led to formation of the latter may
have also been triggered by another major plate tectonic reorganization process that took place in the
Pacic, leading, for example, to the sharp bend in the
Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain about 43 million
years ago (Richards and Lithgow-Bertollini 1996). This
further stresses the importance of major plate reorganization events in the geologic evolution of active
margins, and sheds light on the origin of their nal
outputs, e.g., the development of mega shear zones,
magmatism, and metallogenic processes (among others).
Acknowledgments We would like to thank Bernd Lehmann and
Robert W. King for their constructive reviews of the manuscript.

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