Argon thermochronology of mineral deposits; a review of analytical methods, formulations, and selected applications

40Ar/39Ar geochronology is an experimentally robust and versatile method for constraining time and temperature in geologic
processes. The argon method is the most broadly applied in mineral-deposit studies. Standard analytical methods and formulations
exist, making the fundamentals of the method well defined. A variety of graphical representations exist for evaluating
argon data. A broad range of minerals found in mineral deposits, alteration zones, and host rocks commonly is analyzed to provide age, temporal duration, and thermal conditions for mineralization events and processes. All are discussed in this report. The usefulness of and evolution of the applicability of the method are demonstrated in studies of the Panasqueira, Portugal, tin-tungsten deposit; the Cornubian batholith and associated mineral deposits, southwest England; the Red Mountain intrusive
system and associated Urad-Henderson molybdenum deposits;
and the Eastern Goldfields Province, Western Australia.