Enriched mantle – Dupal signature in the genesis of the Jurassic Ferrar tholeiites from Prince Albert Mountains (Victoria Land, Antarctica)

The major, trace (including rare earth) element abundances, and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions, have been analysed for andesitic basalt and andesitic sills and lavas of the Jurassic Ferrar Magmatic Province, Prince Albert Mountains, Antarctica. The typical “crustal signature” of the Ferrar magmatism, characterized by relatively high SiO₂, LREE and LILE contents in these samples, is associated with high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd. Systematic correlations of major and trace elements indicate that fractional crystallization was important. However, increases in incompatible elements are positively correlated with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, suggestive of crustal assimilation processes. The observed correlations between initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and LREE enrichments have been modelled by an AFC process, starting from the least evolved sample and assuming the compositions of the orthogranulites of Victoria Land as contaminants. The REE patterns of the least evolved Ferrar rocks approach those of E-type MORB, differing only by higher LREE/IREE. The enrichment in LREE, accompanying high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd compared with E-type MORB, can be explained by interaction of “primary Ferrar basalt” with crystalline basement. We propose a petrological model whereby Ferrar magmas were generated through high degrees of melting of an E-type MORB mantle source, and subsequently these “primary” melts underwent AFC processes inheriting a crustal signature. The Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions required by the AFC model for the primary Ferrar basalt are similar to those of the Dupal signature of the oceanic basalts of the Southern Hemisphere (Hart 1984). Transantarctic Mountains would have been located inside the Dupal anomaly in pre-Gondwana dispersion times. Received: 21 April 1998 / Accepted: 25 January 1999     

南美地台中生代活化的火成岩记录(英文)

在冈瓦纳大陆裂解的同时及其后,出现了岩浆作用过程,它影响到远离安第斯山链的南美地台的大部分。这个岩浆作用过程构成了几种类型的记录:(1)拉斑玄武质侵入岩和喷出岩,如沉积盆地中的熔岩流、岩床、岩墙和基底中的岩墙。最大活动强度出现于中侏罗世至前阿普第阶早白垩世。在大陆的北部,出现局部的二叠—三叠纪拉斑玄武质岩墙。(2)碱性和过碱性镁铁质至长英质岩浆活动和共生的碳酸盐岩,它们出现于巴西Serra do Mar、巴拉那盆地周边以及在亚马孙地盾周边和玻利维亚,呈孤立的小面积出现,时代上大部分属后阿尔必阶。由于此期岩浆作用发生于南美和非洲移开之时,所以一直延续至中新世。少量的侵入岩是与侏罗纪—始自垩纪火山活动同时的。(3)在前寒武纪末期结束造山作用的地区以及在时代为中元古代的巴西克拉通区,已找到了几个金伯利岩体,少量的同位素资料指出其年龄属中生代。 地质构造影响了中新生代岩浆活动。玄武质熔岩流和岩床在克拉通内盆地中下沉较大的内部更常见,厚度也较大。许多前寒武纪断裂受到辉绿岩墙的影响,这些岩墙可以构成岩墙群。其它岩墙明显与古老断裂无关,但是它们位于大陆分离过程中遭受张应力的地区。巴拉那盆地周边的碱性岩浆作用通常受穹窿和断开的单褶的控制。相似的机制——也发现     

Relative timing of igneous intrusion in the Eucalyptus area,northeastern Yilgarn Block,Western Australia

Field studies in the Eucalyptus area, northeastern Yilgarn Block have shown intrusive and extrusive rocks in an Archaean greenstone sequence to be comagma‐tic, and have suggested the sequence of subsequent granitoid intrusion and gold mineralisation. Andesitic volcanic rocks and related subvolcanic granodiorite porphyry and epiclastic sediments were followed by tholeiitic basalt with gabbro/dolerite sills and dykes, which were in turn succeeded by high‐Mg basalt with associated peridotite intrusions. Large, irregular gabbro and peridotite intrusions, which are inferred to represent subvolcanic magma chambers, occur in lower stratigraphic levels, whereas comformable subvolcanic sills occur in higher stratigraphic levels. Granodiorite plutons were followed by adamellite plutons; at least some gold mineralisation was contemporaneous with granitoid emplacement.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987115000924

The Oyu Tolgoi cluster of seven porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposits in southern Mongolia,define a narrow,linear,12 km long,almost continuously mineralised trend,which contains in excess of 42 Mt of Cu and1850 t of Au,and is among the largest high grade porphyry Cu-Au deposits in the world.These deposits lie within the Gurvansayhan island-arc terrane,a fault bounded segment of the broader Silurian to Carboniferous Kazakh-Mongol arc,located towards the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt,a collage of magmatic arcs that were periodically active from the late Neoproterozoic to PermoTriassic,extending from the Urals Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.Mineralisation at Oyu Tolgoi is associated with multiple,overlapping,intrusions of late Devonian(~372 to 370 Ma) quartzmonzodiorite intruding Devonian(or older) juvenile,probably intra-oceanic arc-related,basaltic lavas and lesser volcaniclastic rocks,unconformably overlain by late Devonian(~370 Ma) basaltic to dacitic pyroclastic and volcano sedimentary rocks.These quartz-monzodiorite intrusions range from earlymineral porphyritic dykes,to larger,linear,syn-,late- and post-mineral dykes and stocks.Ore was deposited within syn-mineral quartz-monzodiorites,but is dominantly hosted by augite basalts and to a lesser degree by overlying dacitic pyroclastic rocks.Following ore deposition,an allochthonous plate of older Devonian(or pre-Devonian) rocks was overthrust and a post-ore biotite granodiorite intruded at~365 Ma.Mineralisation is characterised by varying,telescoped stages of intrusion and alteration.Early A-type quartz veined dykes were followed by Cu-Au mineralisation associated with potassic alteration,mainly K-feldspar in quartz-monzodiorite and biotite-magnetite in basaltic hosts.Downward reflux of cooled,late-magmatic hydrothermal fluid resulted in intense quartz-sericite retrograde alteration in the upper parts of the main syn-mineral intrusions,and an equivalent chlorite-muscovite/illite-hematite assemblage in basaltic host rocks.Uplift,facilitated by syn-mineral longitudinal faulting,brought sections of the porphyry deposit to shallower depths,to be overprinted and upgraded by late stage,shallower,advanced argillic alteration and high sulphidation mineralisation.Key controls on the location,size and grade of the deposit cluster include(i) a long-lived,narrow faulted corridor;(ii) multiple pulses of overlapping intrusion within the same structure;and(iii) enclosing reactive,mafic dominated wall rocks,focussing ore.     

Development of heterogeneities in the subcontinental Mantle: Evidence from the Ferrar Group,Antarctica

Tholeiitic lava flows (Kirkpatrick Basalts) and dolerite sills and dikes (Ferrar Dolerites) of the Jurassic Ferrar Group from Antarctica and dolerite sills from Tasmania, Australia are characterised by initial strontium isotope ratios ranging from 0.7089 to 0.7153. The mean and standard deviation of 85 analyses is 0.7115±0.0012. Some of the scatter in the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios can be attributed to sample inhomogeneity, analytical uncertainties and sample alteration. The published major element data show well-defined trends that are consistent with an evolution by fractional crystallization. Recognition of a parental magma is difficult due to the fractionated nature of the rocks. Trace element analyses, particularly the rare earth elements (REE) support a differentiation model. Compared to mid-ocean ridge basalts, Ferrar Group rocks are enriched in light REE. Kirkpatrick Basalts from the central Transantarctic Mountains show significant correlations between initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and major elements only for SiO₂ and CaO. The general lack of strong correlation is the basis for rejecting the possibility of wholesale contamination by sialic material as a possible cause of the high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. Selective contamination of the basaltic magmas is a possibility and cannot be completely discounted. It would probably involve a fluid phase in order to transport and mix the light REE, Rb, ⁸⁷Sr, and other elements. By analogy with selective contamination of ocean ridge basalts by sea water it is difficult to envisage a similar process acting on magma emplaced in a non-marine environment. Because of the elevated values of the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, their similar average value over 2,500 km and the large volume of magma involved (4× 10⁵ km³) a mantle origin for the high Sr ratios is preferred. Models to account for the enrichment of Rb and light REE in the Antarctic mantle during or prior to the Jurassic include:

1. addition of continental material from a Palezoic Mesozoic subduction zone;
2. metasomatism of volatile elements from the lower mantle; and
3. evolution of a mantle with a high Rb/Sr ratio.

     

New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age for the Schurwedraai alkali granite: Implications for pre-impact development of the Vredefort Dome and extent of Bushveld magmatism, South Africa

The Schurwedraai alkali granite is one of a number of prominent ultramafic-mafic and felsic intrusions in the Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic sub-vertical supracrustal collar rocks of the Vredefort Dome, South Africa. The alkali granite intruded the Neoarchaean Witwatersrand Supergroup and has a peralkaline to peraluminous composition. A new zircon SHRIMP crystallization age of 2052 ± 14 Ma for the Schurwedraai alkali granite places it statistically before the Vredefort impact event at 2023 ± 4 Ma and within the accepted emplacement interval of 2050–2060 Ma of the Bushveld magmatic event. The presence of the alkali granite and associated small ultramafic-mafic intrusions in the Vredefort collar rocks extends the southern extremity of Bushveld-related intrusions to some 120 km south of Johannesburg and about 150 km south of the current outcrop area of the Bushveld Complex. The combined effect of these ultramafic-mafic and felsic bodies may have contributed to a pronouncedly steep pre-impact geothermal gradient in the Vredefort area, and to the amphibolite-grade metamorphism observed in the supracrustal collar rocks of the Vredefort Dome.     

Constraints on the formation of geochemically variable plagiogranite intrusions in the Troodos Ophiolite,Cyprus

The geochemistry and petrology of tonalitic to trondhjemitic samples (n = 85) from eight different plagiogranite intrusions at the gabbro/sheeted dyke transition of the Troodos Ophiolite were studied in order to determine their petrogenetic relationship to the mafic plutonic section and the lava pile. The plagiogranitic rocks have higher SiO₂ contents than the majority of the glasses of the Troodos lava pile, but lie on a continuation of the chemical trends defined by the extrusive rocks, indicating that the shallow intrusions generally represent crystallised magmas. We define three different groups of plagiogranites in the Troodos Ophiolite based on different incompatible element contents and ratios. The first and most common plagiogranite group has geochemical similarities to the tholeiitic lavas forming the lavas and sheeted dyke complex in the Troodos crust, implying that these magmas formed at a spreading axis. The second plagiogranite group occurs in one intrusion that is chemically related to late-stage and off-axis boninitic lavas and dykes. One intrusion next to the Arakapas fault zone consists of incompatible element-enriched plagiogranites which are unrelated to any known mafic crustal rocks. The similarities of incompatible element ratios between plagiogranites, lavas and mafic plutonic rocks, the continuous chemical trends defined by plagiogranites and mafic rocks, as well as incompatible element modelling results, all suggest that shallow fractional crystallisation is the dominant process responsible for formation of the felsic magmas.     

The Permian mafic intrusive events in the northwestern margin of the Tarim Basin and their tectonic significanceSCIEI北大核心CSCD

塔里木大火成岩省是我国境内发现的两个重要的二叠纪大火成省之一,不仅有大规模的溢流相玄武岩喷发,还有复杂多样的侵入岩及其组合。以往的研究主要集中在二叠系等显生宙地层发育区,对于前寒武系等古老层系中是否存在二叠纪岩浆侵入未引起重视。本文通过野外地质调查,在阿克苏地区前寒武系中识别出数条侵入南华系的基性岩墙和较大规模侵入震旦系的基性岩床。岩墙、岩床与围岩之间均显示出典型的侵入接触关系,包括岩体内部结晶粗、边部结晶细的淬冷边结构、岩床顶底面显著的切层现象以及包裹围岩团块等;显微镜下观察表明,辉绿岩具有典型的辉绿结构和嵌晶含长结构。锆石U-Pb年代学结果表明,侵入下震旦统的辉绿岩岩床和侵入南华系的辉绿岩岩墙的侵位时代在误差范围内基本一致,约为290Ma。岩石地球化学特征表明,辉绿岩岩床具有与洋岛玄武岩(OIB)相似的稀土及微量元素配分模式,结合Sr-Nb-Pb同位素测试结果,认为它们来源于碳酸盐化的富集型岩石圈地幔部分熔融,而辉绿岩岩墙具有Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf等负异常的地球化学特征,可能来自曾被俯冲相关流体/熔体交代的岩石圈地幔源区。本文的早二叠世辉绿岩岩床和岩墙的形成时代、岩浆源区和岩浆演化...     

Deformation structures associated with the Trachyte Mesa intrusion,Henry Mountains,Utah: Implications for sill and laccolith emplacement mechanisms

Deformation structures in the wall rocks of igneous intrusions emplaced at shallow crustal depths preserve an important record of how space was created for magma in the host rocks. Trachyte Mesa, a small Oligocene age intrusion in the Henry Mountains, Utah, is composed of a series of stacked tabular, sheet-like intrusions emplaced at 3–3.5 km depth into sandstone-dominated sedimentary sequences of late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic age. New structural analysis of the spatial distribution, geometry, kinematics and relative timings of deformation structures in the host rocks of the intrusion has enabled the recognition of distinct pre-, syn-, and late-stage-emplacement deformation phases. Our observations suggest a two-stage growth mechanism for individual sheets where radial growth of a thin sheet was followed by vertical inflation. Dip-slip faults formed during vertical inflation; they are restricted to the tips of individual sheets due to strain localisation, with magma preferentially exploiting these faults, initiating sill (sheet) climbing. The order in which sheets are stacked impacts on the intrusion geometry and associated deformation of wall rocks. Our results offer new insights into the incremental intrusion geometries of shallow-level magmatic bodies and the potential impact of their emplacement on surrounding host rocks.     

Two orogenies in the Meatiq area of the Central Eastern Desert,Egypt

The Pan-African basement exposed in the Meatiq area west of Quseir, Egypt, consists of an infracrustal basement overthrusted by a supracrustal cover. The infracrustal rocks were developed as a result of an old orogeny referred to as the Meatiqian orogeny where granite—gneiss, migmatitic gneisses and migmatized amphibolites were formed. The granite—gneiss represents a deformed granite pluton emplaced at 626±2 Ma, whereas the migmatitic gneisses and amphibolites are of mixed igneous and sedimentary parentage. In view of the data so far available, the nature of the Meatiqian orogeny could not be deciphered. In spite of the young isotopic ages, it is suggested that at least the metasedimentary gneisses represent older rocks in the stratigraphic sequence of the infracrustal basement.The supracrustal cover represents a part of an extensive ophiolitic mélange obducted onto the infracrustal basement during the next orogeny (Abu Ziran orogeny) which culminated at 613±2 Ma. An active continental margin-type regime can adequately explain the evolution of such a supracrustal cover. During obduction, the ophiolitic mélange and the upper 2 km thick part of the infracrustal basement were intensely deformed and metamorphosed under PT conditions of the greenschist—epidote amphibolite facies. The deformed infracrustal basement was converted into mylonitic—blastomylonitic rocks and schists composing five thrust sheets, and subsequently intruded by synkinematic granitoid sheets. Later, both the infracrustal basement and the overlying supracrustal cover were isostatically uplifted, subjected to complex shallow folding giving rise to the major Meatiq domal structure, and were intruded by a postkinematic adamellite pluton at 579±6 Ma.     

Layered Jurassic intrusions in Antarctica

The paper addresses the current understanding of the inner structure of the layered intrusions at Dufek Massif in the Pensacola Mountains and the Utpostane and Muren intrusions in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, which are still poorly known to Russian geologists. The magmatic events at approximately 180 Ma, including the emplacement of layered intrusions, are thought to had predated the breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent. The spatiotemporal similarities of the intrusions determine the importance of the problem of whether they were produced by a single or more than one parental magmas, which are thought to have been derived under the effect of a superplume.     

Pyroxenes of the Dufek Intrusion, Antarctica

The Dufek intrusion is a stratiform mafic body, 24,000 to 34,000km² in area and 8 to 9 km thick, in the Pensacola Mountainsof Antarctica. Textures, structures, magmatic stratigraphy,and chemical variation indicate that layered gabbros and relatedrocks of this body developed by accumulation of crystals thatsettled on the floor of a magma chamber. The major cumulus phasesin the exposed part of the intrusion are plagioclase, pyroxene,and iron-titanium oxides. The base of the Dufek intrusion is not exposed, and both Ca-richand Ca-poor pyroxene coexist as cumulus phases in the lowerexposed rocks. The Ca-rich pyroxenes belong to an augite-ferroaugiteseries (Ca_36.4Mg_48.7Fe_14.9-Ca_30.0Mg_23.5Fe_46.5) that extendsup through the 300 m thick capping granophyre. The Ca-poor pyroxenesbelong to a bronzite-inverted pigeonite series (Ca_3.5Mg_69.1Fe_27.4-Ca_11.4Mg_34.0Fe_54.6)that extends only to about 200 m below the granophyre layer.In addition to the cumulus pyroxenes some rocks contain post-cumulusgreen calcic augite and ferrohypersthene. The compositional change of the cumulus pyroxenes with stratigraphicheight is one of general iron enrichment. Superimposed on thistrend are (1) a 1 km thick section in the lower part of thebody that shows slight to no iron enrichment and (2) a markedreversal in the Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio about 1 km below the top ofthe body. The variations from the general trend are associatedwith cyclic units and are best explained by convective overturnof the magma. In general, the pyroxene compositional trends are similar tothose of the Skaergaard and Bushveld intrusions. One significantdifference in the Dufek intrusion is the limited iron enrichmentof its Ca-rich pyroxenes, that may relate to a slower decreaseof P_O2 during crystallization of the Dufek magma.     

Age and significance of voluminous mafic–ultramafic magmatic events in the Murchison Domain,Yilgarn Craton

Mafic–ultramafic rocks in structurally dismembered layered intrusions comprise approximately 40% by volume of greenstones in the Murchison Domain of the Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton. Mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Murchison Domain may be divided into five components: (i) the ～2810 Ma Meeline Suite, which includes the large Windimurra Igneous Complex; (ii) the 2800 ± 6 Ma Boodanoo Suite, which includes the Narndee Igneous Complex; (iii) the 2792 ± 5 Ma Little Gap Suite; (iv) the ～2750 Ma Gnanagooragoo Igneous Complex; and (v) the 2735–2710 Ma Yalgowra Suite of layered gabbroic sills. The intrusions are typically layered, tabular bodies of gabbroic rock with ultramafic basal units which, in places, are more than 6 km thick and up to 2500 km² in areal extent. However, these are minimum dimensions as the intrusions have been dismembered by younger deformation. In the Windimurra and Narndee Igneous Complexes, discordant features and geochemical fractionation trends indicate multiple pulses of magma. These pulses produced several megacyclic units, each ～200 m thick. The suites are anhydrous except for the Boodanoo Suite, which contains a large volume of hornblende gabbro. They also host significant vanadium mineralisation, and at least minor Ni–Cu–PGE mineralisation. Collectively, the areal distribution, thickness and volume of mafic–ultramafic magma in these complexes is similar to that in the 2.06 Ga Bushveld Igneous Complex, and represents a major addition of mantle-derived magma to Murchison Domain crust over a 100 Ma period. All suites are demonstrably contemporaneous with packages of high-Mg tholeiitic lavas and/or felsic volcanic rocks in greenstone belts. The distribution, ages and compositions of the earlier mafic–ultramafic rocks are most consistent with genesis in a mantle plume setting.     

Palaeomagnetism of metadolerite dykes and sills from Proterozoic Shillong basin,NE India: Implications related to the age and magmatism

The basement gneiss of the Shillong plateau and the overlying rocks of the Shillong basin have been dissected by a number of mafic dyke swarms represented by older Proterozoic dolerite dykes and sills named as Khasi greenstone and the younger set of Cretaceous dykes. The older dolerites dykes of Shillong basin are partly metamorphosed and have undergone low-grade metamorphism compared to the fresh unmetamorphosed Cretaceous dykes dominantly exposed in the BGC of West Garo hills region. The Khasi greenstones are tholeiitic in composition and range from basalt to basaltic andesite. Most of the metamorphosed mafic dykes indicate continental nature with some amount of overlapping oceanic tectonic setting. Palaeomagnetic study of the metadolerite dykes show a direction of magnetization of Dm=29, Im=38 (α₉₅ = 28.84; k = 48.33; N = 2) with a palaeolatitude of 21.3° N to the Indian sub-continent that clearly support the Proterozoic dyke/dyke swarm emplacement in the region. The magnetic carrier as inferred from IRM studies is magnetite in the range of psuedosingle to multi domain (MD) states with minor contribution from hematite.     

New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age for the Schurwedraai alkali granite: Implications for pre-impact development of the Vredefort Dome and extent of Bushveld magmatism,South Africa

The Schurwedraai alkali granite is one of a number of prominent ultramafic-mafic and felsic intrusions in the Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic sub-vertical supracrustal collar rocks of the Vredefort Dome, South Africa. The alkali granite intruded the Neoarchaean Witwatersrand Supergroup and has a peralkaline to peraluminous composition. A new zircon SHRIMP crystallization age of 2052 ± 14 Ma for the Schurwedraai alkali granite places it statistically before the Vredefort impact event at 2023 ± 4 Ma and within the accepted emplacement interval of 2050–2060 Ma of the Bushveld magmatic event. The presence of the alkali granite and associated small ultramafic-mafic intrusions in the Vredefort collar rocks extends the southern extremity of Bushveld-related intrusions to some 120 km south of Johannesburg and about 150 km south of the current outcrop area of the Bushveld Complex. The combined effect of these ultramafic-mafic and felsic bodies may have contributed to a pronouncedly steep pre-impact geothermal gradient in the Vredefort area, and to the amphibolite-grade metamorphism observed in the supracrustal collar rocks of the Vredefort Dome.     

Genesis of the Batinah mélange above the Semail ophiolite,Oman

The Batinah mélange which overlies the late Cretaceous Semail ophiolite in the northern Oman Mountains comprises mostly sedimentary rocks of deep-water facies, alkalic lavas and intrusives, all of continental margin affinities, together with smaller volumes of Semail ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks. Four intergradational textural types of mélange can be recognized. Sheet mélange has large (>1 km) intact sheets either with little intervening matrix or set in other mélange types, and with an organised sheet orientation fabric. Slab mélange is finer textured (>100 m) and more disrupted. Block mélange has smaller (> m) blocks with some matrix and a weak to random block fabric. Clast mélange is matrix-supported rudite with a weak depositional clast fabric. Structural relationships, particularly the absence of tectonic fabrics, the decreasing strength of fragment fabrics with increasing fragmentation, and the abundance of brittle fragmentation, suggest that these mélange types formed by either gravity-driven sedimentary processes or superficial sliding or thrusting of individual rock slabs.In the slab mélange, long sequences can be pieced together, passing up from Upper Triassic mafic sub-marine extrusives and sediments into radiolarian cherts, hemipelagic and redeposited limestones, and terminating in non-calcareous radiolarities with Mn-deposits of early Cretaceous age. Mafic sills are numerous. These sequences can be matched with sub-ophiolite rocks now exposed in fault corridors through the Semail. These sequences become progressively disrupted upwards in the corridors and can be traced continuously into overlying mélange, which then thins away from the corridors.We argue that, during late Cretaceous emplacement over the Arabian margin, active fault corridors split the Semail slab and acted as conduits up which sub-ophiolite rocks were supplied to the ophiolite surface. There the rocks were redisributed by superficial processes.     

Remnants of arc-related Mesoarchaean oceanic crust in the Tartoq Group of SW Greenland

The Tartoq Group, located in SW Greenland, consists of supracrustal rocks of mainly tholeiitic basaltic composition, including pillow lavas, sills/dykes and gabbros, as well as ultramafic rocks. Metamorphic grade ranges from greenschist facies to granulite facies. The Tartoq Group crops out as a series of blocks and slivers that are imbricated with originally intrusive Mesoarchaean TTG orthogneisses. The supracrustal rocks form part of a SE vergent fold and thrust belt consistent with the imbrication of TTG gneisses and supracrustal rocks along a convergent margin. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon dating of an intrusive TTG sheet yields a minimum age of 2986 ± 4 Ma for the Tartoq Group. This age is consistent with MC-ICP-MS Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd isotopic whole-rock data for mafic samples from different blocks of the Tartoq Group, which yield errorchron ages of 3189 ± 65 Ma and 3068 ± 220 Ma, respectively. The mafic supracrustal rocks of the Tartoq Group have chondrite-normalized REE patterns with La_CN/Sm_CN of 0.67–1.96 and rather flat primitive mantle-normalized multi-element patterns, except for scattered LILE contents, and generally negative Nb-anomalies with Nb/Nb* of 0.26–1.31. Th/Yb varies between 0.06 and 0.47 and Nb/Yb between 0.45 and 4.4 indicative of an arc affinity when compared to rocks from modern settings. The similar geochemistry of the different lithological units, together with their coeval formation, as evident from trace element geochemical trends, supports a co-magmatic origin for the rock assemblage and their formation as imbricated relics of oceanic crust. Accordingly, we propose that the Tartoq Group represents remnants of Mesoarchaean oceanic crust, which formed in a suprasubduction zone geodynamic environment.     

Pan-African eclogite facies metamorphism of ultramafic rocks in the Shackleton Range, Antarctica

In the Shackleton Range of East Antarctica, garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks occur as lenses in supracrustal high-grade gneisses. In the presence of olivine, garnet is an unmistakable indicator of eclogite facies metamorphic conditions. The eclogite facies assemblages are only present in ultramafic rocks, particularly in pyroxenites, whereas other lithologies – including metabasites – lack such assemblages. We conclude that under high-temperature conditions, pyroxenites preserve high-pressure assemblages better than isofacial metabasites, provided the pressure is high enough to stabilize garnet–olivine assemblages (i.e. ≥18–20 kbar). The Shackleton Range ultramafic rocks experienced a clockwise P–T path and peak conditions of 800–850 °C and 23–25 kbar. These conditions correspond to ∼70 km depth of burial and a metamorphic gradient of 11–12 °C km⁻¹ that is typical of a convergent plate-margin setting. The age of metamorphism is defined by two garnet–whole-rock Sm–Nd isochrons that give ages of 525 ± 5 and 520 ± 14 Ma corresponding to the time of the Pan-African orogeny. These results are evidence of a Pan-African suture zone within the northern Shackleton Range. This suture marks the site of a palaeo-subduction zone that likely continues to the Herbert Mountains, where ophiolitic rocks of Neoproterozoic age testify to an ocean basin that was closed during Pan-African collision. The garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks in the Shackleton Range are the first known example of eclogite facies metamorphism in Antarctica that is related to the collision of East and West Gondwana and the first example of Pan-African eclogite facies ultramafic rocks worldwide. Eclogites in the Lanterman Range of the Transantarctic Mountains formed during subduction of the palaeo-Pacific beneath the East Antarctic craton.     

The BanskáŠtiavnica ore district: relationship between metallogenetic processes and the geological evolution of a stratovolcano

The Banská?tiavnica ore district is in the central zone of the largest stratovolcano in the Central Slovakia Neogene Volcanic Field, which is situated at the inner side of the Carpathian arc over the Hercynian basement with the Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary cover. Volcanic rocks of the High-K orogenic suite are of the Badenian through Pannonian age (16.5–8.5?Ma). Their petrogenesis is closely related to subduction of flysch belt oceanic basement underneath the advancing Carpathian arc and to back-arc extension processes. The stratovolcano includes a large caldera 20?km in diameter and a late-stage resurgent horst in its centre, exposing a basement and extensive subvolcanic intrusive complex. The following stages have been recognized in the evolution of the stratovolcano: (1)?formation of a large pyroxene/hornblende-pyroxene andesite stratovolcano; (2)?denudation, emplacement of a diorite intrusion; (3) emplacement of a large granodiorite bell-jar pluton within the basement; (4) emplacement of granodiorite/quartz-diorite porphyry stocks and dyke clusters around the pluton; (5) caldera subsidence and its filling by biotite-hornblende andesite volcanics, emplacement of quartz-diorite porphyry sills and dykes at the subvolcanic level; (6)?renewed activity of andesites from dispersed centres on slopes of the volcano; (7) uplift of a resurgent horst accompanied by rhyolite volcanics and granite porphyry dykes. The following types of ore deposits (mineralizations) have been identified in the Banská?tiavnica ore district: 1. Quartz-pyrophyllite-pyrite high-sulphidation system at ?obov, related to the diorite intrusion. 2. Magnetite skarn deposits and occurrences?at contacts of the granodiorite pluton with Mesozoic carbonate rocks. Magnetite ores occur as lenses in the calcic skarns. 3.?Stockwork/disseminated base metal deposit along an irregular network of fractures in apical parts of the granodiorite pluton and in remnants of basement rocks. Mineral paragenesis is simple, with leading sphalerite and galena and minor chalcopyrite and pyrite. In overlying andesites the mineralization is accompanied by metasomatic quartzites and argillites with pyrophyllite, kaolinite, illite and pyrite. 4. Porphyry/skarn copper deposits and occurrences related to granodiorite/quartz-diorite porphyry dyke clusters and stocks around the granodiorite intrusion. The mineralized zone is represented by accumulations of chalcopyrite in exo- and endo-skarns, usually of the magnesian type affected by serpentinization. Besides chalcopyrite, pyrhotite, minor bornite, chalcosite, tennantite and magnetite, rare molybdenite and gold are present. The alteration pattern around productive intrusions includes an external zone of propylitization, a zone of argillitic alteration (kaolinite – illite – pyrite) and an internal zone of phyllic alteration (quartz – sericite – pyrite). Biotitization is rare and limited to porphyry intrusions. 5. Intrusion related “mesothermal” gold deposit in an andesitic environment just above the granodiorite intrusion. Gold of high fineness with base metal mineralization is contained in brecciated and/or banded quartz veins of subhorizontal orientation, parallel to the surface of granodiorite pluton. At least the first phase of mineralization is older than quartz-diorite porphyry sills, which separate granodiorite and blocks of mineralized andesite. 6. Hot spring type advanced argillic systems in the caldera filling. Silicites and opalites accompanied by kaolinite, alunite and pyrite grade downward into smectite dominated argillites. 7. Vein type epithermal precious/base metal deposits and occurrences as a result of the long lasting interaction among structural evolution of the resurgent horst and evolving hydrothermal system, extensive intrusive complex and deep seated siliceous magma chamber serving as heat and magmatic fluid source. Three types of epithermal veins occur in a zonal arrangement: (a) base metal veins ± Au with transition to Cu?±?Bi mineralization at depth in the east/central part of the horst, (b)?Ag – Au veins with minor base metal mineralization and (c) Au – Ag veins located at marginal faults of the horst. Isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen in hydrothermal fluids indicate mixing of magmatic and meteoric component (with generally increasing proportion of meteoric component towards younger mineralization periods?). Veins are accompanied by zones of silicification, adularization and sericitization, indicating a low sulphidation environment. 8.?Replacement base metal mineralization of a limited extent in the Mesozoic carbonate rocks next to sulphide rich epithermal base metal veins.     

Geology and geochemistry of Pachmarhi dykes and sills,Satpura Gondwana Basin,central India: problems of dyke-sill-flow correlations in the Deccan Traps

Many tholeiitic dyke-sill intrusions of the Late Cretaceous Deccan Traps continental flood basalt province are exposed in the Satpura Gondwana Basin around Pachmarhi, central India. We present field, petrographic, major and trace element, and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data on these intrusions and identify individual dykes and sills that chemically closely match several stratigraphically defined formations in the southwestern Deccan (Western Ghats). Some of these formations have also been identified more recently in the northern and northeastern Deccan. However, the Pachmarhi intrusions are significantly more evolved (lower Mg numbers and higher TiO₂ contents) than many Deccan basalts, with isotopic signatures generally different from those of the chemically similar lava formations, indicating that most are not feeders to previously characterized flows. They appear to be products of mixing between Deccan basalt magmas and partial melts of Precambrian Indian amphibolites, as proposed previously for several Deccan basalt lavas of the lower Western Ghats stratigraphy. Broad chemical and isotopic similarities of several Pachmarhi intrusions to the northern and northeastern Deccan lavas indicate petrogenetic relationships. Distances these lava flows would have had to cover, if they originated in the Pachmarhi area, range from 150 to 350 km. The Pachmarhi data enlarge the hitherto known chemical and isotopic range of the Deccan flood basalt magmas. This study highlights the problems and ambiguities in dyke-sill-flow correlations even with extensive geochemical fingerprinting.