40Ar/39Ar dating of the Shaxi Porphyry Cu-Au deposit in the southern Tan-Lu fault zone, Anhui Province

Four samples of plagioclase and biotite from the Shaxi porphyry in the lower part of the Yangtze metallogenic belt were analyzed for age determination with the 40Ar/39Ar method. The results yield reproducible ages of 126 Ma to 135 Ma with a high level of confidence according to the agreement between isochron and plateau ages. The four Ar-Ar ages are relatively consistent within the analytical error. These ages are also consistent with, but more precise than, previous K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages and thus provide better constraints on the time of porphyry formation and associated Cu-Au mineralization along the middle to lower part of the Yangtze metallogenic belt. The ages of 126 to 135 Ma are interpreted to represent the intrusive time of the Shaxi porphyry, so that the Cu-Au mineralization should have occurred later due to the post-magmatic hydrothermal event.