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Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary granitic plutons associated with W skarn or Sn greisen-skarn occur interspersed in a belt 70 × 200-km-long just northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. All plutons intrude the late Precambrian–early Paleozoic Yukon-Tanana terrane and are similar in major-element compositions (dominantly granodiorite to monzogranite), initial Sr isotopic ratios (0.710 to 0.719), and Pb isotopic signatures ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 19.17 to 19.37). Biotite compositions and opaque mineral abundances indicate both types of plutons crystallized along a buffered path intermediate between nickel–nickel oxide and quartz-magnetite-fayalite. Both suites contain multiple igneous units, with younger, usually equigranular, units spatially related to mineralized zones. Isotopic, trace-element, and mineralogical data suggest an “I-type,” “ilmenite-series” classification for both pluton suites. Because the W and Sn plutons appear to represent magmas with similar origins and source materials, differences in observed metallogeny are thought to be related to differences in environment of crystallization and vapor loss. Such differences include: age (102 to 87 Ma for W plutons, 73 to 50 Ma for Sn plutons), crystallization pressure (1 to 2 kbar for W plutons, <0.5 kbar for Sn plutons), vapor loss history (late for the W plutons and early + late for the Sn plutons), and fluorine trends (decreasing F with increasing differentiation for the W plutons and increasing F for the Sn plutons). Differences in confining pressure (depth) and vapor loss history are associated with differences in age: the younger (Sn) plutons are shallower, and the older (W) plutons are deeper. Trace-element patterns (e.g., Rb, B, Be, W, Sn, Li) are similar for least differentiated units of both pluton types, increasing modestly with increasing differentiation for the W plutons and increasing strongly for the Sn plutons. Data are most compatible with 80 to 95 percent fractionation (crystal-liquid) followed by vapor loss for the W plutons and 80 to 90 percnt fractionation (crystal-liquid) for the Sn plutons, with early vapor loss followed by (liquid-liquid?) “ultrafractionation.” Ultrafractionation and subsequent ore element enrichment occurs in the Sn plutons by early vapor loss and subsequent F enrichment in the residual magma. The data suggest that metallogeny differences for W vs. Sn plutons in our study area are not a function of differences in initial metal contents of the magmas but are more likely due to differences in magmatic evolution.

Abstract The Upper Chulitna region of Alaska is on the south flank of the centralAlaska Range on the southeast side of Denali National Park (Fig. 1). It was first recognized as an unusual entity by S. R. Capps, who mapped a belt of Triassic rocks (1919) during a reconnaissance of mineral deposits; he called the area the Upper Chulitna region. The Chulitna River forms a barrier to access, but once across the Chulitna the country is open and ranges from rolling, easily hikeable country to rugged and difficult. Some of the key sections of the Chulitna region are strikingly exposed in canyon walls, and flybys from either fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft provide excellent overviews of the geology (Figs. 2, 3).

Abstract The Upper Chulitna region of Alaska is on the south flank of the centralAlaska Range on the southeast side of Denali National Park (Fig. 1). It was first recognized as an unusual entity by S. R. Capps, who mapped a belt of Triassic rocks (1919) during a reconnaissance of mineral deposits; he called the area the Upper Chulitna region. The Chulitna River forms a barrier to access, but once across the Chulitna the country is open and ranges from rolling, easily hikeable country to rugged and difficult. Some of the key sections of the Chulitna region are strikingly exposed in canyon walls, and flybys from either fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft provide excellent overviews of the geology (Figs. 2, 3).