Mineralogy, geochemistry and sulfur isotope characterization of Cerro de Maimón (Dominican Republic), San Fernando and Antonio (Cuba) lower Cretaceous VMS deposits: Formation during subduction initiation of the proto-Caribbean lithosphere within a fore-arc

Abstract

The volcanic-arc Lower Cretaceous Maimón (Dominican Republic) and Los Pasos (Cuba) Formations, representative of the oldest magmatism recorded in the Caribbean island arc, host most of the known volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits in the Greater Antilles. On the basis of new lithogeochemical data, basalts of the Maimón Formation are classified as fore arc basalts (FAB), boninites and less abundant low-Ti (LOTI) and normal island-arc tholeiites (IAT), and those of the Los Pasos Formation as LOTI and IAT. Felsic volcanics from the two formations are geochemically analogous and present mantle-type (M-type), boninitic and tholeiitic signatures, classifying as FIV-type, typical of post-Archaean VMS-bearing juvenile volcanic suites. This lithogeochemical data is indicative of formation in a fore-arc environment just after subduction initiation in association with initial extensional regimes and associated boninitic and tholeiitic melts that originated in the shallow mantle. Within this tectonic framework, rocks of the Los Pasos Formation and associated VMS deposits likely formed at a slightly later stage than those of the Maimón Formation