Host felsic and intermediate meta-volcanic rocks to the Malmberget apatite iron ore (AlO) deposit have been investigated geochemically and geochronologically, the latter using the U-Pb method on a set of zircons. Results indicate emplacement age of 1.9 Ga for the felsic and intermediate volcanic rocks, potentially in an extensional environment. The zircon U-Pb radiometric ages are among the first conclusive ages with implicit constraint on the geological evolution of the northern Norrbotten ore district and Malmberget deposit.