Phanerozoic gold metallogeny in the Colombian Andes

Colombia, located within the northern Andean domain, is a well-recognized and historically important gold-producing nation. The Colombian Andes however suffer from a lack of controlled regional-scale metallogenetic studies. Based upon our six-year investigation of numerous Colombian gold districts, accompanied by widespread radiometric age dating, and detailed petrochemical and geochemical studies, we present a temporal - tectono-magmatic analysis of gold mineralization in Colombia. Results reveal a close relationship between gold mineralization and Phanerozoic tectono-magmatic evolution, especially with respect to the development of subduction-related calc-alkaline arcs. Seven principal gold-forming periods are identified during the 1) Pre-Jurassic, 2) Jurassic, 3) Cretaceous, 4) Paleocene-early Eocene 5) middle Eocene, 6) early Miocene, and 7) late Miocene.