New geochronological tool for Cu-Au mineralisation in the Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia: Testing in-situ Rb-Sr dating via LA-ICP-MS/MS

Abstract

A laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) is a powerful tool for in-situ Rb-Sr dating of geological materials. However, the technique has some limitations that impact on the accuracy and precision of acquired ages, due to elemental fractionation and matrix effects.This thesis quantified the above effects, based on several reference materials that were tested to further improve the quality and precision of in-situ dating; and applied this novel dating technique to constrain the timing of multiple geological and tectono-thermal events that formed Cu-Au mineralisation along major shear zone in the Southern part of Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia.