The significance of syngenetic and epigenetic graphite occurrences from the Variscan high-temperature/low-pressure Aracena Metamorphic Belt is discussed in the framework of the tectono-thermal evolution of this southern zone of the Iberian Massif. Syngenetic graphite is associated with both low- to medium-grade metamorphic rocks (La Umbría series, Precambrian in age) and high-grade, granulite facies rocks (the Precambrian Fuente del Oro series and a Cambrian calc-silicate series). Epigenetic, fluid-deposited occurrences correspond to overgrowths on existing metamorphic graphite grains and vein-type mineralization. Two types of graphitized particles with remarkable differences in reflectance, anisotropy and size can be distinguished in the Precambrian metapelites of the La Umbría series. Large, >150 μm length, platy crystals with high reflectance and anisotropy are interpreted as detrital and are considered indirect evidence of an old orogenic cycle prior to the Cadomian Orogeny, during which metamorphism exceeded greenschist facies. The coexistence of two types of particles explains the scattering of values of the c parameter of graphite determined by XRD (c = 6.72–6.74 Å), and the anomalously high temperatures of the DTA exothermic peak (close to 600 °C) of graphite with respect to that inferred from mineral assemblages in these rocks. The presence of graphite-rich quartzites and gneisses within the Fuente del Oro series and the calc-silicate series is evidence of sedimentation under reducing conditions in a continental shelf. The characteristics of graphite reflect the high-grade metamorphic conditions attained in the southern area of the Aracena Metamorphic Belt. Pervasive flow of fluids related to a major Variscan extensional event resulted in overgrowths on the pre-existing graphite in the gneisses and quartzites of the calc-silicate series, as evidenced by the heterogeneous isotopic composition of graphite single crystals in these rocks. A later stage of graphite precipitation is represented by scarce vein-type occurrences in mafic granulites that document channelled flow of fluids.

A multiple basic to intermediate sill is reported for the first time in the south-eastern Iberian Ranges. It is composed of several tabular to irregular levels intercalated within the fluvial sediments of the Alcotas Formation (Middle-Upper Permian). The sill could represent the youngest Paleozoic subvolcanic intrusion in the Iberian Ranges. The igneous rocks are classified as basaltic andesites. They show a subophitic microstructure constituted by plagioclase (An62 – An6), augite (En48Wo44Fs7 –En46Wo39Fs15), pseudomorphosed olivine, minor amounts of oxides (magnetite and ilmenite) and accessory F-apatite. According to the mineralogy and whole-rock composition, their geochemical affinity is transitional from subalkaline to alkaline. Radiometric dating of the sill is not feasible due to its significant alteration. Field criteria, however, suggest an emplacement coeval to the deposition of the Alcotas Formation (Middle-Upper Permian). This hypothesis is supported by the transitional affinity of these rocks, similar to other Middle-Upper Permian magmatisms in the western Tethys, e.g., from the Pyrenees. Taking into account their isotopic signature (εSr: -6.8 to -9.2; εNd: +1.7 to +8.3), an enriched mantle source with the involvement of a HIMU component has been identified. This interpretation is supported by the trace element contents. Some of these HIMU characteristics have been recognised in the Middle-Upper Permian magmatisms of the Central Pyrenees (Anayet Basin) and the High Atlas (Argana Basin). However, none of these source features are shared with other Middle-Upper Permian magmatisms of the western Tethys (Catalonian Coastal Ranges, Corsica-Sardinia and southern France), nor with the Lower Permian magmatism of the Iberian Ranges. These differences support the presence of a heterogeneous mantle in the western Tethys during the Permian.