Abstract

ABDULLIN, Fanis; SOLE, Jesús  and  SOLARI, Luigi. Fission track age and multielemental analysis performed by LA-ICP-MS of the fluorapatite from Cerro de Mercado (Durango, Mexico). Rev. mex. cienc. geol [online]. 2014, vol.31, n.3, pp.395-406. ISSN 2007-2902.

This paper presents the fission track age and multielemental analysis of the Durango fluorapatite (Cerro de Mercado, Durango, Mexico) performed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). A mean age of 31.2 ± 0.2 Ma (1σ) was obtained from 104 fission-track ages determined in 12 different fragments, which is in close agreement with the accepted value of 31.4 ± 0.5 Ma (1σ). The literature about the chemical composition and age of the Durango apatite was also reviewed and the results obtained in this study (REE, trace elements and fission-track ages) are consistent with the published data. This study also presents a new equation for calculating the uncertainty of fission-track ages taking into account all analytical errors. These results validate the procedure used and allow this methodology to be used routinely in other apatites.

Keywords : laser ablation; Rare Earth elements; trace elements; fission-track; apatite; Durango.