The development of a Meso- to Neoarchean rifting-convergence-collision-collapse cycle over an ancient thickened protocontinent in the south São Francisco craton, Brazil

The south São Francisco craton (SSFC) in Brazil is one of the few areas that are key to unveiling the Archean evolution of South America. Despite economic interest since the 18th century, the SSFC was not studied in detail until the beginning of the present decade. The two main greenstone belts in the SSFC, namely, the Rio das Velhas (RVGB) and the Pitangui (PGB), have traditionally been considered to represent a single Archean basin. Here, new...