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The Santa María and Antares Zn-Pb(-Ag) skarn deposits in the Velardeña Mining District are located in central–NW Mexico. They lie 470 m apart along the contact between Oligocene felsic intrusions and Cretaceous limestones, and were developed during prograde, retrograde, post-ore (Santa María), and late stages. Firstly, the prograde stage was formed by fluids at¿~¿600 °C and 15 wt% NaCl equiv., and consists of garnet¿+¿wollastonite¿±¿clinopyroxene and biotite¿±¿K-feldspar assemblages. Secondly, the retrograde/ore stage was formed by fluids at 300–500 °C with salinities of 20–30 wt% CaCl2 (Santa María) and¿>¿40 wt% NaCl equiv. (Antares). It comprises assemblages of chlorite, amphibole, epidote, calcite, scapolite, quartz, sericite, adularia, fluorite, and muscovite associated with sphalerite, pyrite, galena, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and Pb-Bi-Sb sulfosalts. Thirdly, the post-ore stage was formed by fluids at¿~¿400 °C and 20–30 wt.% CaCl2 and comprises poorly mineralized calcite veins. Fourthly, the late stage was formed by fluids at¿<¿300 °C and 20–30 wt.% CaCl2 (Santa María) and¿~¿15 wt% NaCl equiv. (Antares), and crystallized tetrahedrite-group minerals and pyrite¿+¿marcasite. d18Ofluid between¿~¿14‰ and 23‰ at Santa María and between¿~¿12‰ and 17‰ at Antares show a less-modified magmatic affinity for mineralizing fluids at Antares; d13Cfluid between 0‰ and –6‰ register recycling of sedimentary C. Moreover, sulfides with d34SVCDT between –3‰ and 2‰ reveal a magmatic source for S. Altogether, these data suggest that, at Santa María, magmatic-derived fluids actively interacted with the wall rocks, whereas at Antares the fluid-rock interaction was milder. In both deposits, metal deposition was triggered by the cooling and neutralization of ore-bearing fluids with carbonate rocks. Our 40Ar/39Ar dates for adularia of ca. 37.5 Ma place the deposits within the Eocene–early Miocene metallogenetic epoch of central–NW Mexico, during which other world-class skar, The Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Teconología (CONAHCyT) supported N.C. with a grant during his M.Sc. studies, and this paper constitutes a substantial part of his associated research. This study was financially supported by means of personal allocations to UNAM academicians. Additional funding was provided by the CONACyT-SENER PT. 4.1 Gemex-EU research grant to E.G.P., and CONACyT-Ciencia Básica A1-S-14574 and PAPIIT IA-101419 research grants to Vanessa Colás Ginés (Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, University of Zaragoza)., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Despite progress in understanding seafloor accretion at ultraslow spreading ridges, the ultimate driving force is still unknown. Here we use 40Ar/39Ar isotopic dating of mid-ocean ridge basalts recovered at variable distances from the axis of the Gakkel Ridge to provide new constraints on the spatial and temporal distribution of volcanic eruptions at various sections of an ultraslow spreading ridge. Our age data show that magmatic-dominated sections of the Gakkel Ridge spread at a steady rate of ~11.1 ± 0.9 mm/yr whereas amagmatic sections have a more widely distributed melt supply yielding ambiguous spreading rate information. These variations in spreading rate and crustal accretion correlate with locations of hotter thermo-chemical anomalies in the asthenosphere beneath the ridge. We conclude therefore that seafloor generation in ultra-slow spreading centres broadly reflects the distribution of thermochemical anomalies in the upper mantle.

Supervolcanoes like Toba Caldera, Sumatra, produce the largest eruptions on Earth. However, the magmatic conditions and processes during the period of recovery after catastrophic supereruptions, known as resurgence, are poorly understood. Here we use Bayesian statistical analysis and inverse thermal history modelling of feldspar argon-argon and zircon uranium-thorium/helium ages to investigate resurgence after the 74-thousand-year-old Youngest Toba Tuff eruption. We identify a discordance of up to around 13.6 thousand years between older feldspar and younger zircon ages. Our modelling suggests cold storage of feldspar antecrysts prior to eruption for a maximum duration of around 5 and 13 thousand years at between 280 °C and 500 °C. We propose that the solidified carapace of remnant magma after the Youngest Toba Tuff eruption erupted in a subsolidus state, without being thermally remobilized or rejuvenated. Our study indicates that resurgent uplift and volcanism initiated approximately 5 thousand years after the climactic caldera forming supereruption.