Control estructural sobre el plutón Los Ratones y la mineralización de uranio en la Sierra de Fiambalá, Sierras Pampeanas, Catamarca

The Carboniferous Los Ratones pluton is composed by two main facies: equigranular and porphyric. The uranium mineralization hosted by the metamorphic rock on the NW border of the pluton is related to a fluor- rich greisen related to the equigranular facies. The detailed mapping of the pluton host rock and the uranium mineralization shows a well-defined structural control on both the granite emplacement, particularly on the porphyric facies, and on the migration of the mineralized fluids. Four sets of fractures participate on this control. The two main with N and NE trends coincide clearly with the west and northwest border of the pluton as well as with the high-grade uranium manifestations. The third and fourth ones respectively corresponds to E-W and NW striking fractures, which are less developed in relation to the main fractures considering their frequency and size. Fractures of the four sets are high dipping close to vertical, attitude corroborated by geophysical studies in the area where the NE fractures are the best developed. In addition to the mentioned features, granite-related acidic and basic dikes follow mainly these orientations. The fracture sets seem to be related to a high-east dipping meridian fault system with right horizontal main movement component and subordinate normal displacement. These faults partially reactivated heterogeneities of the metamorphic rocks, mainly the dominant foliation. Changes on the strike of these fractures formed dilatant zones where magmatism and related mineralization were concentrated. (authors)