Nonsulfide and sulfide-rich zinc mineralizations in the Vazante, Ambrósia and Fagundes deposits, Minas Gerais, Brazil: Mass balance and stable isotope characteristics of the hydrothermal alterations

The Vazante Group hosts the Vazante nonsulfide zinc deposit, which comprises high-grade zinc silicate ore (ZnSiO₄), and late-diagenetic to epigenetic carbonate-hosted sulfide-rich zinc deposits (e.g. Morro Agudo, Fagundes, and Ambrósia). In the sulfide-rich deposits, hydrothermal alteration involving silicification and dolomitization was related with ground preparation of favorable zones for fluid migration (e.g. Fagundes) or with direct interaction with the metalliferous fluid (e.g. Ambrósia). At Vazante, hydrothermal alteration resulted in silicification and dolomite, siderite, jasper, hematite, and chlorite formation. These processes were accompanied by strong relative gains of SiO₂, Fe₂O_3(T), Rb, Sb, V, U, and La, which are typically associated with the nonsulfide zinc mineralization. All sulfide-rich zinc ores in the district display a similar geochemical signature suggesting a common metal source from the underlying sedimentary sequences.Oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of hydrothermally altered rocks reveal a remarkable alteration halo at the Vazante deposit, which is not a notable feature in the sulfide-rich deposits. This pattern could be attributed to fluid mixing processes involving the metalliferous fluid and channelized meteoric water, which may control the precipitation of the Vazante nonsulfide ore. Sulfide deposition resulted from fluid–rock interaction processes and mixing between the ascending metalliferous fluids and sulfur-rich tectonic brines derived from reduced shale units.     

Fluid-pressure controlled soft-bed deformation sequence beneath the surging Breiðamerkurjökull (Iceland, Little Ice Age)

The general subject of this paper is subglacial deformation beneath Breiðamerkurjökull, a surging Icelandic glacier. More specifically it discusses the evolution and the role of fluid pressure on the behaviour of subglacial sediments during deformation. During Little Ice Age maximum, the two outcrops studied, North Jökulsarlon (N-Jk) and Brennhola-Alda (BA), were located at 2550 m and 550 m respectively from the front of the Breiðamerkurjökull. Sedimentological analysis at the forefield of the glacier shows thick, coarse glaciofluvial deposits interbedded with thin, fine-grained shallow lacustrine/swamp deposits, overlain by a deformed till unit at N-Jk. BA outcrop shows fine-grained shallow lacustrine/swamp deposits overlain by a deformed till unit. The sequence of deformation events from one outcrop to the other is similar. First, major thrust planes, which were rooted in shallow lacustrine/swamp deposits developed by glacially induced simple shear. Next, the thrusts were folded, indicating the deformation of hydroplastic sediment assisted by moderate fluid pressure. Then clastic dyke swarms crosscut the sedimentary succession, proving that fluid overpressure caused hydrofracturing associated with fluidisation. Finally, as water escaped from the glacier bed, fluid pressure dropped, and normal faulting occurred in brittle-state subglacial sediments. Fluid-pressure variations are related to glacier dynamics. They control the deformation sequence by modifying subglacial rheological behaviour and the nature of the subglacial tectonism.     

南秦岭古生代热水沉积盆地与热水沉积成矿

扬子地块北部被动边缘的南秦岭古生代沉积盆地中,发育一套自早古生代—中生代以来的碳酸盐岩夹细碎屑岩沉积建造,形成规模巨大独具特色的以铅锌金为主的多金属成矿带。伸展构造体制下形成的裂陷或断陷型盆地中,正常水成沉积与热水沉积同盆共存。正常水成沉积中叠加的热水沉积是一个"突发事件或灾变事件",具有特殊的物质组成和产态。通过对区内沉积成矿盆地的识别、分级,二级沉积盆地中边缘部位常发育多个三级构造热水沉积成矿盆地,它受控于沉积盆地中的同生断裂,具有沉积岩相、热水沉积岩组合、显著成矿作用及物化探异常广布的特点。三级构造热水沉积成矿盆地是矿床定位的构造空间,四级热水沉积洼地为矿体(矿层)的容纳空间。区内热水沉积岩主要为重晶石(毒重石)岩、硅质岩、钠长石岩和铁碳酸盐岩类,铅锌重晶石等矿产多产于热水沉积岩中或上盘。热水沉积形成一般由早期的热水喷发交代→主期热水喷流→晚期热水喷气演变。早期的热水喷发交代往往沿矿液喷发通道,形成网脉状、角砾状矿化;主期热水喷流主要形成多金属及热水喷流相,形成块状、条带状、层纹状矿石或热水沉积岩;晚期热水喷气主要形成浸染状矿石和热水喷气岩石。     

Qinling Orogenic Belt: Its Palaeozoic-Mesozoic Evolution and Metallogenesis

The formation, development and evolution of the Qinling erogenic belt can be divided into three stages: (1) formation and development of Precambrian basement in the Late Archaean-Palaeoproterozoic (3.0-1.6 Ga), (2) plate evolution (0.8-0.2 Ga), and (3) intracontinental orogeny and tectonic evolution in the Mesozoic.The Devonian (D) and Triassic (T) were the key transition period of the tectonic evolution of the Qinling orogenic belt. That is to say, in the Devonian, the Qinling micro-plate was separated from the northern margin of the Yangtze plate (passive continental margin). This period witnessed transition of the micro-plate from the compressional to ex-tensional state, and consequently three types of sedimentary basins were formed, namely, the rift hydrothermal basin in the micro-plate, restricted ocean basin in the south, and residual ocean basin resulting from collision on the northern margin. In the Triassic the Qinling area was turned into the intracontinental orogen.The Devonian and Triassic w     

Facies analysis of tertiary alluvial fan deposits in the Jundiaí region, São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

This article presents an analysis of facies of sedimentary sequences that occur as discontinuous bodies in the Jundiaí region, west of the main Tertiary continental basins of the southeastern Brazil continental rift. Nine identified sedimentary facies, grouped into four associations, suggest the existence of an ancient alluvial fan system whose source area was the Japi mountain range (Serra do Japi). The deposits are considered Tertiary in age and chronocorrelated with those identified in the Atibaia region and at other sites up to 100 km east and northeast of Jundiaí. The depositional model adopted to explain the filling of the basin proposes that the alluvial fans, which directly derive from the source area, terminated in a braided channel longitudinal to the basin axis that flowed to northwest, in a similar configuration to that of the present day. This basin may have extended to the Atibaia region or formed a set of small basins laterally contiguous to the faults associated with the rift. Such occurrences show that the formation of rift basins was broader than the area presently occupied by the main deposits.     

陕西安康—石泉北部金矿成矿地质背景浅析

安康—石泉北部金成矿带位于南秦岭早古生代裂谷盆地次级单元牛山—赤岩地垒,南北两侧分别以安康断裂和麻坪河断裂为界,典型金矿床有羊坪湾、黄龙、鹿鸣等.早古生代裂谷盆地以发育黑色岩系为特征,普遍沉积碎屑岩—碳酸盐岩夹火山岩,特别是浅变质志留系砂泥质岩和印支—燕山期脆韧性剪切带控制着金矿床的形成,前者提供金矿源层,后者促使含金热液运移富集成矿.该地区是金矿成矿带有利区段.     

华北陆块北缘西段中元古代与裂谷作用有关的铁、稀土、多金属矿床特征及成因

华北陆块北缘西段狼山—白云鄂博裂谷系中元古代形成的大型多金属矿床 ,是我国重要的铁、稀土、铜、铅、锌矿产地。矿床为产于沉积岩中热水沉积型多金属矿床。其形成受地层、构造控制 ,与裂谷作用有着密切的关系。裂谷系内外分支的地质环境及矿床矿种不同 ,导致矿床特征及成因具有一定差异。白云鄂博铁、稀土矿床为钾、钠、磷等含量较高的热水沉积型 ,霍各乞铜、铅、锌多金属矿床为与中基性火山岩有关的过渡热水沉积型 ,东升庙和甲生盘等铅、锌多金属矿床为热水沉积型。文中将对上述矿床分别进行论述。     

Hydrothermal Mineralization on the Mesoproterozoic Passive Continental Margins of China： A Case Study of the Langshan-Zha＇ertaishan Belt, Inner Mongolia, China

Most ore-forming characteristics of the Langshan-Zha‘ertaishan hydrothermal exhalation belt, which consists of the Dongshengmiao, Huogeqi, Tanyaokou and Jiashengpan large-superlarge Zn-Pb-Cu-Fe sulfide deposits, are most similar to those of Mesoproterozoic SEDEX-type provinces of the world. The characteristics include: (1) All deposits of this type in the belt occur in third-order fault-basins in the Langshan-Zha‘ertaishan aulacogen along the northern margin of the North China Platform; (2) these deposits with all their orebodies hosted in the Mesoproterozoic impure dolomite-marble and carbonaceous phyllite (or schists) have an apparent stratabound nature; ores display laminated and banded structures, showing clear depositional features; (3) there is some evidence of syn-sedimentary faulting, which to a certain extent accounts for the temporal and spatial distribution and the size of the orebodies in all deposits and the formation of intrabed conglomerates and breccias; (4) they show lateral and vertical zonation of sulfides; (5) The Cu/(Pb Zn Cu) ratio of the large and thick Pb Zn Cu orebodies gradually decreases from bottom to top; and (6) barite is interbedded with pyrites and sometimes with sphalerite. However, some characteristics such as the Co/Ni radio of the pyrites, the volcanism, for example, of the Langshan-Zha‘ertalshan metallogenic belt, are different from those of the typical SEDEX deposits of the world. The meta-basic volcanic rock in Huogeqi, the sodic bimodal volcanic rocks in the Dongshengmiao and potassic bimodal-volcanic rocks with blastoporphyfitic and blasto-glomeroporphyritic texture as well as blasto-amygdaloidal structure in the Tanyaokou deposits have been discovered in the only ore-bearing second formation of the Langshan Group in the past 10 years. The metallogeny of some deposits hosted in the Langshan Group is closely related to syn-sedimentary volcanism based on the following facts: most of the lead isotopes in sphalerite, galena, pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite plot on both sides of the line for the mantle or between the lines for the mantle and lower crust in the lead isotope composition diagram; cobalt content of some pyrites samples is much higher than the nickel content (Co/Ni= 11.91-12.19). Some volcanic blocks and debris have been picked out from some pyritic and pyrrhotitic ores. All Zn-Pb-Cu-Fe sulfide orebodies in these deposits occur in the strata overlying metamorphic volcanic rocks in the only ore-bearing second formation. In the Jiashengpan deposit that lacks syn-sedimentary volcanic rocks in the host succession only Pb and Zn ores occur without Cu ore, but in the Dongshengmiao, Tanyaokou and Huogeqi deposits with syn-sedimentary volcanic rocks in the host succession Cu ores occur. This indicates a relatively higher ore-forming temperature. The process of synsedimentary volcanic eruption directly supplied some ore-forming elements, and resulted in secular geothermal anomaly favorable for the circulation of a submarine convective hydrothermal system, which accounts for the precipitation of deep mineralizing fluids exhaling into anoxidic basins along the syn-sedimentary fault system in the Langshan-Zha‘ertai rift. The Dongshengmiao, Tanyaokou, and Huogeqi deposits hosted in the Langshan Group appear to be a transitional type of mineral deposit between SEDEX and VMS-types but with a bias towards SEDEX, while the Jiashengpan deposit hosted in the Zha‘ertai Group is of a characteristic SEDEX type. This evidence, together with other new discoveries of Mesoproterozoic volcanic rocks and the features of lithogeny and metallogeny of the Bayun Obo deposit in the neighborhood emphasize the diversity, complexity and uniqueness of the Mesoproterozoic Langshan-Zha‘ertal-Bayun Obo ore belt.     

Hydrothermal petroleum in the sediments of the Andaman Backarc Basin,Indian Ocean

Recent sediments of the Andaman Backarc Basin, Indian Ocean, between the Andaman Nicobar islands and the Malay Peninsula have been analyzed for biomarker lipids. Three cores were selected: one each from the fault zone in a deep basin (a graben between two fault systems), another from a location adjacent to the fault, and the third from the topographic high in the rift valley. The molecular composition of the lipid classes (n-alkanes, isoprenoids, alkylbenzenes, alkylcyclohexanes, hopanoids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, steranes, alcohols, sterols and fatty acids) was examined by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry to understand the nature and source of the hydrocarbons present and the processes of maturation of organic matter. The data show that the hydrocarbons are of hydrothermal origin, derived from thermal alteration of sedimentary organic matter, consisting of a mixture predominantly of marine-derived components with some terrestrial inputs. Normal alcohols and fatty acids also corroborate the distribution of n-alkanes. The distribution profiles and various parameters computed from the concentration of the target compounds suggest that oxidative reactions and microbial degradation in this environment are insignificant. Triterpane and PAH compositions indicate that the thermal maturity of the bitumen in the samples is comparable to or lower than that found at other hydrothermal regions such as the Northern Juan de Fuca Ridge, Guaymas Basin and Escanaba Trough.     

Type-II xenoliths and related metasomatism from the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field, Carpathian-Pannonian region (northern Hungary–southern Slovakia)

Xenoliths from the upper mantle and lower crust are abundant in Plio–Pleistocene alkali basalts of the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field (NGVF; northern Pannonian Basin, northern Hungary/southern Slovakia), representing a valuable ‘probe’ of lithospheric structures and processes. Ultramafic xenoliths have been divided into two groups: (1) Type-I, composed mostly of olivine with subsidiary orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel, and (2) Type-II, containing mostly Al- and Ti-rich clinopyroxene with subordinate olivine, spinel and plagioclase. Both types often contain amphibole and, to a lesser extent, mica. The refractory character of Type-I xenoliths suggests they represent mantle depleted by prior episodes of partial melting. In contrast, Type-II series (wehrlites, olivine clinopyroxenites, clinopyroxenites and plagioclase-bearing ultramafic lithologies), on the basis of their textural features, thermobarometric histories and major and trace element variation, appear to have formed as magmatic cumulates. Petrologic and geochemical studies of Type-II xenoliths from Nógrád-Gömör suggest they crystallized from basaltic melts emplaced within the lithospheric mantle and lower crust, prior to the onset of Plio–Pleistocene volcanic activity. After their consolidation, metasomatic agents reacted with the anhydrous cumulate phases producing amphiboles and micas at the expense of olivine and clinopyroxene. The metasomatic agents appear to have been adakitic rather than basaltic in composition, possibly linked to a retreating arc–forearc system. Large-scale contamination of the lithospheric mantle can therefore be attributed to fluid and melt fractions related to subduction beneath the outer Carpathian arc.     

盆地形成及成矿与地幔流体间的成因联系

文中共讨论以下5个问题:(1)盆地起源于幔壳溃变和膨隆,后者是地幔流体(超临界态(>375℃)HACONS流体,简称幔汁)上涌、渗入、交代、富化、致熔的产物。地幔流体造成油气盆地深部的高热流、异常超高压、伊利水云母化、硅化和地层有机碳的加氢成油作用。(2)盆地成矿可分两大阶段,先是沉积时的同生成矿;地层沉积后还有众多的后生成矿。两者组成“盆地矿套”(杜乐天,2002)。成矿无论同生还是后生,其分布均受断裂控制,都和地幔流体活动有关。(3)黑色页岩的实质是碳-硅-泥三元岩系,和热液成矿中的碳酸盐-硅质-泥质蚀变三元完全相当。此类岩系中总是有几十种亲壳亲幔亲气元素的特殊富集。奇异的是,石油、油页岩、沥青及砂岩型铀矿彼此有完全类似的继承性元素特殊富集。此等元素群不可能都是来自盆地之外蚀源区岩体的风化。研究证明,相当多的元素是地幔流体携带上来的。(4)盆地地层中广泛发育由地幔流体衍生的热液作用。(5)盆地实质上是气盆,全盆地排气。许多气田是地幔流体排气形成的。沙漠(原地型)和天然气田的共生很值得注意,两者皆源于地球强烈排气,导致地下和大气增温,过度蒸发,不易降雨,长期干旱而形成沙漠。     

盆地岩石圈结构与油气成藏及分布

本文综述了大陆岩石圈研究现状和克拉通盆地、裂谷盆地和前陆盆地的岩石圈结构特征,指出在古裂谷、褶皱带或区域性深断裂等陆壳构造薄弱带上发育起来的多期叠合盆地,具有很好的含油气前景。大型含油气盆地往往存在地幔上隆、地壳减薄和地壳内低速层,盆地基底沉降与盖层沉积厚度较大。适度的后期构造活动改造和岩浆活动有利于沉积盆地内油气生成与保存。     

沉积盆地中金属成矿与油气成藏的耦合关系

沉积盆地中与油气密切相关的金属矿床主要包括密西西比河谷型(MVT)铅锌矿床、砂页岩型铜-铀矿床、黑色页岩中的金属硫化物矿床、沉积岩容矿的金-锑-砷-汞-铊矿床等。金属矿床与(古)油气藏在空间上的密切共生/伴生关系,暗示了二者成因上的有机联系。在许多MVT铅锌矿床和砂页岩型铜矿床中,与成矿关系密切的原油及其衍生物形成于矿化前,它们为随后的金属成矿直接提供还原硫或充当硫酸盐还原反应的还原剂。在另一些情况下,某些低温热液金属矿床,特别是Au、As、Hg、Sb、Tl矿床与油气表现出同源、同运、同聚的耦合关系,金属成矿与油气成藏同时或近同时进行。与油气具不同耦合关系的金属矿床常表现出不同的特点。与成藏和/或成矿有关的盆地流体大致可分为以碳氢化合物为主的有机流体、以含金属盐水溶液为主的无机流体以及同时富含烃类和金属组分的有机成矿流体3类,盆地中的成矿、成藏作用及其耦合关系受控于这三类流体的演化过程。沉积盆地中金属矿床与油气藏空间上密切的共生/伴生关系以及成矿、成藏过程和机理的相似性,使金属与油气矿产资源的协同勘探和综合预测成为可能。     

Early Jurassic rift structures associated with the Soapaga and Boyacá faults of the Eastern Cordillera, Colombia: Sedimentological inferences and regional implications

The NW-trending Bucaramanga fault links, at its southern termination, with the Soapaga and Boyacá faults, which by their NW trend define an ample horsetail structure. As a result of their Neogene reactivation as reverse faults, they bound fault-related anticlines that expose the sedimentary fill of two Early Jurassic rift basins. These sediments exhibit the wedge-like geometry of rift fills related to west-facing normal faults. Their structural setting was controlled further by segmentation of the bounding faults at approximately 10 km intervals, in which each segment is separated by a transverse basement high. Isopach contours and different facies associations suggest these transverse anticlines may have separated depocenters of their adjacent subbasins, which were shaped by a slightly different subsidence history and thereby decoupled. The basin fill of the relatively narrow basin associated with the Soapaga fault is dominated by fanglomeratic successions organized in two coarsening-upward cycles. In the larger basin linked to the Boyacá fault, the sedimentary fill consists of two coarsening-upward sequences that, when fully developed, vary from floodplain to alluvial fan deposits. These Early Jurassic rift fills temporally constrain the evolution of the Bucaramanga fault, which accommodated right-lateral displacement during the early Mesozoic rift event.     

稀土矿床：基本特点与全球分布规律

本文介绍了全球稀土资源供需历史、现状和对未来的展望。从矿床成因视角切入，将稀土矿床分为内生和外生两大类型，其中内生稀土矿床包括碳酸岩型、碱性岩型、碱性岩型- 碳酸岩型、氧化铁铜金型、热液脉型，外生稀土矿床包括风化壳离子吸附型、沉积岩型、沉积矿产(煤矿、铝土矿和沉积磷矿)伴生型、砂矿和现代海洋底部含稀土的锰结核、结壳和软泥型。归纳总结了主要类型矿床的基本特点和时空分布；认为内生稀土矿床产出于四类构造环境，包括裂谷环境、碰撞后伸展环境、大陆碰撞环境和后俯冲伸展环境；从构造演化入手，探讨了在外生与内生地质过程中稀土元素的迁移和富集规律，建立了涵盖主要矿床类型的构造- 成矿模型。     

沉积地层中成矿作用的碳同位素特征和含矿缺氧盆地成因新观点

沉积盆地内地层中碳的来源 ,根据其碳、氧同位素特征可归纳为 :海洋沉积碳酸盐碳、生物碳、热解非生物成因碳、大气淡水方解石碳和热卤水系统中的无机碳。热水成因的金矿及喷气 沉积矿床中的碳都具有深源成因的无机碳。深部含无机碳的热流体喷溢到海洋底部可以解释为扩张盆地底部形成的缺氧环境和含矿黑色页岩的主导原因     

中国陆相盆地油页岩成因类型及矿床特征*

针对油页岩成因类型,国内外学者做过一些有益的探讨,但尚不存在统一的分类方案。鉴于中国油页岩以陆相成因为主,作者从油页岩的沉积环境出发,总结出从深湖-半深湖到湖沼环境,油页岩中湖泊生物来源的有机质所占比例逐渐减少,陆源有机质影响变大,并以此把中国陆相盆地油页岩分为深湖腐泥型油页岩、半深湖腐殖腐泥型油页岩和湖沼腐泥腐殖型油页岩3种成因类型。通过系统梳理中国29个陆相含油页岩盆地矿床特征,发现深湖腐泥型油页岩主要赋存于大中型坳陷盆地,往往具有分布范围广、空间展布稳定、品质和厚度中等的特点;发育在小型断陷盆地中的深湖腐泥型油页岩矿床具有分布范围小、横向差异大、品质良好和厚度巨大的特点。半深湖腐殖腐泥型油页岩在断陷盆地和坳陷盆地都有分布,具有分布范围小、空间上品质和厚度差异明显。湖沼腐泥腐殖型油页岩主要沉积于断陷盆地中,具有分布局限、品质好、厚度薄的特点。     

东秦岭造山带"两阶段双带"区域成矿模式

东秦岭造山带总体上可划分为中元古代-古生代主要与裂谷、坳陷槽有关的海盆同生沉积成矿以及中生代与大规模陆内俯冲造山体制有关的后生热液成矿两大阶段,且中生代所形成的浅成和中深成两类热液矿床在横向上分带并呈相邻平行展布,成对共生,构成双成矿带,其形成机制是扬子地块及华北地块分别往秦岭发生陆内俯冲,使与挤压、转换挤压-变质变形、深成侵入-深源流体成矿系统有关的中深成热液型矿床形成于仰冲板片前缘的推覆-隆升带中;而使与伸展-高地热场(火山、浅成侵入)-地热流体成矿系统有关的浅成热液型矿床形成于推覆-隆升带后侧的同碰撞伸展带中.     

Identification and origin of bitumen in Neolithic artefacts from Demirköy Höyük (8100 BC): Comparison with oil seeps and crude oils from southeastern Turkey

Two ring-like artefacts from the aceramic Neolithic site of Demirköy Höyük in southeastern Turkey were analysed using geochemical techniques in order to determine whether they were prepared using a bitumen amalgam or not. The artefacts, dated 8100 BC, are early evidence of the innovative use of a petroleum-based material to prepare pieces of ornaments (beads, rings, etc.) for the elite of a Neolithic settlement. In order to trace the source of the presumed bitumen, two oil seeps, Boğazköy and Yeşilli, were sampled. To complete the genetic references, geochemical data on crude oils from the main oil fields from the area were compiled.Basic geochemical data show that bitumen is present in the artefacts. Sterane and terpane patterns, as well as carbon isotopic data on C₁₅₊ saturated and C₁₅₊ aromatic hydrocarbons, allowed us to conclude that the Demirköy Höyük bitumen and the Boğazköy oil seep were generated from a Silurian source rock. The detailed geochemical characteristics show, however, that the Demirköy Höyük bitumen does not correlate perfectly with the Boğazköy oil. This discrepancy suggests several explanations: the real bitumen source may be elsewhere in the vicinity and has not been discovered or was at the Boğazköy oil seep location but with slightly different properties in Neolithic times, or has disappeared. Another possibility is that the slight molecular differences are due to weathering effects, which affected the pristine bitumen within the archaeological sample.     

Crustal structure and evolution of the southern Vøring Basin and Vøring Transform Margin, NE Atlantic

The dominantly passive volcanic Vøring and Møre Margins, NE Atlantic, are separated by the 200 km long Vøring Transform Margin (VTM). The southern Vøring Basin and the VTM have been studied by use of four regional Ocean Bottom Seismograph (OBS) profiles, combined by gravity modelling. The models demonstrate a complex pattern of magmatism along the transform margin. The distribution of magmatism seems to be related to the existence and trend of a lower crustal 8+ km/s body, interpreted as eclogitized rocks, present in the southern Vøring Basin. Early Tertiary breakup related magmatic ‘leakage’ across the Continent–Ocean-Transition (COT) appears to be facilitated where this layer is absent. These results support earlier workers who have concluded that the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone originated from a Caledonian zone of weakness. We propose that partly eclogitized rocks were uplifted into the lower crust close to this zone during the Caledonian orogeny and that this body acted as a barrier to magma emplacement during the Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene phase of rifting/breakup. The eclogitized terrain also appears to have caused northeastward channeling of the Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary intrusions within the Vøring Basin. An up to 10 km thick pre-Cretaceous sedimentary basin in the southern Vøring Basin may be genetically related to the NS-trending Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic rift basins in North-East Greenland.