First U-pb (CA-ID-TIMS) Radioisotopic Dating of the Uppermost Permian Coal Interval in the Minusinsk Coal Basin (Siberia, Russia)

This study presents the first U-Pb (CA-ID-TIMS) radioisotopic dating of zircon grains extracted from tonsteins (altered volcanic ashfalls) within the uppermost Permian coal interval of the Minusinsk Coal Basin (Siberia, Russia). Petrographic, structural, and mineralogical analyses confirm the volcanic ash origin of the tonsteins. The parent pyroclastic material is identified as rhyolite-pantellerite for tonstein I-22 and dacite-rhyodacite for tonstein I-12. Morphological analysis of zircon crystals, along with cathodoluminescence and melt inclusion studies, confirms their volcanic origin and crystallisation temperatures of 700–900ºC. New radioisotopic dates of 261.4 ± 0.7 Ma and 261.3 ± 0.4 Ma clarify the age of the Izykh Formation, enabling its direct correlation with the Capitanian Stage of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart. The results emphasise the possible discontinuity of the coal-bearing succession of southern Angaraland and highlight the potential for further stratigraphic refinement through continued radioisotopic dating of tonsteins.