Dolomías brechoides ornamentales (Marrón Emperador) del Cretácico superior de la Sierra del Cuchillo (Albacete)

Abstract

The Sierra del Cuchillo is part of a NNE-SSW morphostructural alignment located in the Prebetic zone (Jumilla-Yecha region, SE Spain). It is constituted basically by Cretaceous carbonates, including the dark brecciated medium- to coarse-crystalline dolostones that constitute the lithtectonic domain of the ‘Marron Emperador’ comercial marble. These materials show high textural heterogeneity and in their petrophysic behavior. Breccia fabrics, such as cemented mosaic or crackle packbreccias are related to high quality marbles attending to both chromatic and mechanical characteristics. However, a close correlation between textural features and parameters of quality cannot be established. Other brown-coloured brecciated dolostones outcrop in Cretaceous sequences in the Prebetic zone, even in the own Sierra del Cuchillo. The stable isotopic composition (d13C, d18O) of all these dolostones indicate the existence of several styles and episodes of dolomitization in the region, so the stable isotopic signature could constitute a prospecting approach.