The relationship between Archaean gold mineralization and spatially associated minor intrusions at the Kambalda and Norseman gold camps,western Australia: Lead isotope evidence

Many Archaean mesothermal gold deposits are spatially associated with felsic to lamprophyric minor intrusions and it has been suggested that magmatic processes related to such intrusions may be important in the genesis of these deposits. A comparison of the Pb-isotopic signature of gold-related galenas from Kambalda and Norseman with that of spatially associated minor intrusions (at the time of mineralization) indicates that the ore-fluid Pb cannot have been derived solely from the intrusions or their source regions. For both study areas, the galena Pb-isotopic compositions are bracketed by those of local volcanic (mafic) and intrusive (largely felsic) rock types. This is consistent with the ore fluid having derived metallic components from the crust (or crustally derived granitic rocks) and the mantle (or mantle-derived rocks of the greenstone succession) via metamorphic dewatering or mantle/crustal degassing. Interaction of granite-derived magmatic fluids with greenstone lithologies could plausibly produce a similar array of Pb-isotopic signatures. The Norseman data, as a whole, are more radiogenic than the Kambalda data for broadly synchronous mineralization, reflecting the greater abundance of older granitic rocks with respect to mafic/ultramafic rocks in the Norseman district. The provinciality exhibited by the Pb-isotopic composition of the ore fluid indicates that the gold-mineralizing process formed galena whose Pb-isotopic composition was very sensitive to local variations in crustal Pb-isotopic composition, either within the source region of the fluid or along fluid conduits.     

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.     

An overview of the relationship between granitoid intrusions and gold mineralisation in the Archaean Murchison Province,Western Australia

In the Archaean Murchison Province of Western Australia, granitoid batholiths and plutons that intruded into the ca. 2.7–2.8 Ga and ca. 3.0 Ga greenstone belts can be divided into three major suites. Suite I is a ca. 2.69 Ga monzogranite-granodiorite suite, which was derived from anatexis of old continental crust and occurs as syn-tectonic composite batholiths over the entire province. Suite II is a trondhjemite-tonalite suite (termed I-type) derived from partial melting of subducted basaltic crust, which intruded as syn- to late-tectonic plutons into the greenstone belts in the northeastern part of the province where most of the major gold deposits are situated. One of the Suite II trondhjemite plutons has a Pb−Pb isochron age of 2641±36 Ma, and one of the structurally youngest tonalite plutons has a minimum Pb−Pb isochron age of 2630.1±4.3 Ma. Suite III is a ca. 2.65–2.62 Ga A-type monzogranite-syenogranite suite which is most abundant in the largely unmineralised southwestern part of the province. Gold deposits in the province are mostly hosted in brittle-ductile shear zones, and were formed at a late stage in the history of metamorphism, deformation and granitoid emplacement. At one locality, mineralisation has been dated at 2636.8±4.2 Ma through a pyritetitanite Pb−Pb isochron. Lead and Sr isotope studies of granitoids and gold deposits indicate that, although most gold deposits have initial Pb isotope compositions most closely similar to those of Suite II intrusions, both Suite I and Suite II intrusions or their source regions could have contributed solutes to the ore fluids. These preliminary data suggest that gold mineralisation in the Murchison Province was temporally and spatially associated with Suite II I-type granitoids in the northeastern part of the province. This association is consistent with the concept that Archaean gold mineralisation was related to convergent-style tectonic settings, as generation of both Suite II I-type granitoids and hydrothermal ore fluids could have been linked to the dehydration and partial fusion of subducted oceanic crust, and old sialic crust or its anatectic products may also contribute solutes to the ore fluids. Integration of data from this study with other geological and radiogenic isotope constraints in the Yilgarn Block argue against direct derivation of gold ore fluids from specific I-type granitoid plutons, but favour a broad association with convergent tectonics and granitoid magmatism in the late Archaean.     

New Rb-Sr age determinations on the Archaean basement of Eastern Sierra Leone

The Archean basement of Sierra Leone is a typical example of granite-greenstone terrains found in ancient continental nucleii. Reconnaissance field mapping showed that the area can be subdivided into old gneiss, which predates the greenstone belts, and young granite which is later than the greenstone belts.New Rb-Sr whole-rock age determinations on two suites of old tonalitic gneiss yield ages of 2786 ± 49 Ma and 2770 ± 137 Ma, which either reflect the time of formation of the original tonalites or their metamorphism. Three new Rb-Sr whole-rock age determination on young granites yield ages of 2786 ± 143 Ma, 2780 ± 79 Ma and 2770 ± 50 Ma, which are interpreted as the time of emplacement. The widespread occurrence of similar young granites, throughout the Archaean of West Africa, suggests that these results date a major event in the evolution of this segment of the crust.A published Pb-Pb age of the old gneiss and the new ages of the young granite bracket the age of the greenstone belts to 3000-2770 Ma. However, if the Rb-Sr ages of the old gneiss reported in this paper reflect the time of their formation, the age of the greenstone belts is tightly bracketed to ca. 2770 Ma. There is no isotopic evidence for rocks substantially older than 3000 Ma in the West African Archaean.     

A horizontal tectonic regime in the Archaean of Greenland and its implications for early crustal thickening

The Archaean complex of Greenland consists of a layered sequence of gneisses whose history can be traced back from 2,600 m.y. to before 3,750 m.y. ago. Quartzo-feldspathic gneisses that are considered to be derived from intrusive granitic rocks make up more than 80% of the complex. They were emplaced during at least two separate periods of plutonism. The remainder of the complex consists of supracrustal rocks, mainly amphibolites and semipelitic gneisses with smaller amounts of quartzite and calcarous rocks, and metamorphosed basic igneous rocks dominated by leucogabbros and anorthosites. Lithologic units of different ages and provenances were intercalated by nappe-like folding and thrusting and were intruded by syntectonic sheets of calc-alkaline granitic rocks. The resulting sequence was repeatedly folded and deformed under high grade metamorphic conditions and the layering was further emphasised. This combination nappe-like folding, thrusting and granite injection is considered to have resulted in a considerable amount of crustal thickening. Granulite facies metamorphism ensued at depth as the base of the thickened sialic mass dried out. In this way a stable continental mass was formed with a refractory base of high grade rocks depleted in radioactive elements. It is suggested that the driving force responsible for the folding, thrusting and generation and intrusion of calc-alkaline magmas was some form of sub-horizontal movement within the mantle and between the mantle and thin crust. This dominantly horizontal tectonic regime is contrasted with the dominantly vertical tectonic regime described from the greenstone belt—granite terrain of southern Africa.     

A catalytic delamination-driven model for coupled genesis of Archaean crust and sub-continental lithospheric mantle

There is no consensus on the processes responsible for near-coeval formation of Archaean continental crust (dominantly tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite: TTG), greenstone belts dominated by komatiitic to tholeiitic lavas (KT), and sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The Douglas Harbour domain (2.7-2.9 Ga) of the Minto Block, northeastern Superior Province, has two TTG suites, the western and eastern Faribault-Thury (WFT and EFT), with embedded KT greenstones. Tonalites of both suites have high light/heavy rare-earth element ratios (L/HREE), high large ion lithophile element (U-Th-Rb-Cs-La: LILE) contents, positive Sr-Pb anomalies, and negative Nb-Ta-Ti anomalies. Such typical Archaean TTG signatures are commonly explained by melting of subducted oceanic crust, but could also originate by melting the base of thick basaltic plateaux formed above mantle upwellings (plumes), leaving behind restites containing pyroxene, garnet, and rutile. Field relationships (in situ segregation veins), phase equilibria (hornblende stabilized at lower crustal pressure), petrography (corroded epidote and muscovite phenocrysts, rare plagioclase phenocrysts), and trace element models, all imply that FT tonalite to trondhjemite evolution reflects hornblende-dominated fractional crystallization, not partial melting of subducted crust. The geochemistry of parental FT tonalites can be modeled by 15-30% melting of FT tholeiitic metabasalts, with residues of eclogite, garnet-websterite, or hornblende-garnet websterite. A minor residual Ti-phase such as rutile is also needed to generate negative Ti-Nb-Ta troughs in the TTGs. However, large volumes of eclogitic restites complementary to TTG are not observed either at the base of Archaean crustal sections, or in the SCLM. Additional problems with slab-melting models include: (a) the rarity of lithologies and associations characteristic of active margins (ophiolites, andesites, blueschists, accretionary mélanges, molasse, flysch, high-pressure belts, and thrust-and-fold belts); (b) the need to deliver plume-derived KT melt through the slab; and (c) extracting enough TTG melt from a subducting slab in the time available (200-300 my). In the plateau-melting model, heat for crustal anatexis is supplied by ongoing KT magma derived from mantle upwellings. However, SCLM rocks differ from predicted 1-stage mantle melting residua; and the voluminous residual eclogites complementary to TTG generation somehow need to be removed. These two problems might solve one another if the dense crustal restites disaggregated and mixed into the underlying depleted mantle. Mantle melting slows upon exhaustion of Ca-Al-rich phases, with large temperature increases needed to extract more melt from harzburgite residua. Physical addition of delaminated crustal restites would refertilize the refractory mantle, allowing extraction of additional melt increments, and might explain the ultra-depleted and orthopyroxene-rich nature of the SCLM. A hybrid source composed of 10% eclogitic restite of EFT tonalite generation, mixed with harzburgitic residues from 25% melting of primitive mantle, yields model melts with trace element signatures resembling typical Munro komatiites. Variations in the mineralogy and geochemistry of the delaminated component might account for the diversity of komatiite types. Degassing of hornblende-rich delaminated restites would transfer LILE to surrounding depleted mantle and could generate boninites. Fusion of undepleted metabasalt sandwiched among denser restites could generate sanukitoids. Mantle melt pulses generated by catastrophic delamination events would underplate nascent TTG crust and trigger renewed crustal melting, followed by delamination of newly formed eclogitic restites, triggering additional mantle melting, and so on. I posit that delamination of crustal restites catalyzed multi-stage melting of the SCLM and maturation of the Archaean continental crust. Thus, Archaean crust and SCLM are genetically inter-linked, and both form above major mantle upwellings.     

Salinity of the Archaean oceans from analysis of fluid inclusions in quartz

Fluids trapped in inclusions in well-characterized Archaean hydrothermal quartz crystals were analyzed by the extended argon–argon method, which permits the simultaneous measurement of chlorine and potassium concentrations. Argon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of the trapped fluids were also determined by static mass spectrometry. Fluids were extracted by stepwise crushing of quartz samples from North Pole (NW Australia) and Barberton (South Africa) 3.5–3.0-Ga-old greenstone belts. The data indicate that fluids are a mixture of a low salinity end-member, regarded as the Archaean oceanic water, and several hydrothermal end-members rich in Cl, K, N, and radiogenic parentless ⁴⁰Ar. The low Cl–K end-member suggests that the salinity of the Archaean oceans was comparable to the modern one, and that the potassium content of the Archaean oceans was lower than at present by about 40%. A constant salinity of the oceans through time has important implications for the stabilization of the continental crust and for the habitability of the ancient Earth.     

Ore deposits associated with mafic magmas in the Kaapvaal craton

Mafic and ultramafic magmatism played an important role in the 3.5 Ga long history of the Kaapvaal craton. The oldest (3.5 Ga) greenstone belts contain mafic and ultramafic volcanics that erupted in an oceanic environment, probably in oceanic plateaus. Then followed a series of continental flood basalts, from the ∼3.4 Ga old Commondale and Nondweni sequences, to the 180 Ma Karoo basalts. The history was dominated, however, by the emplacement, 2.1 Ga ago, of the Bushveld complex, an enormous layered ultramafic-mafic-felsic intrusion. Three types of ore deposits might be found in such a sequence: Ni-Cu-Fe sulfides in komatiites of the greenstone belts; “Noril'sk-type” Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the Karoo and other flood basalts; and deposits of Cr, platinum-group elements (PGE) and V in the Bushveld and other layered intrusions. Only the latter are present. It is tempting to attribute the absence of komatiite-hosted deposits to the specific character of the ultramafic rocks in Kaapvaal greenstone belts, which are older that the 2.7 Ga komatiites that host deposits in Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe, and are of the less-common “Al-depleted” type. However, a review of mantle melting processes found no obvious connection between the character of the mantle melts and their capacity to form ore deposits. The lack of this type of deposit may be due to differences in the volcanic environment, or it may be fortuitous (the Barberton and other belts are small and could fit into deposit-free parts of the much larger Australian or Canadian belts). Still more puzzling is the absence of Noril'sk-type deposits. The Karoo and older flood basalt sequences appear to contain all the important elements of the volcanic sequences that host the Siberian deposits. It is now recognised that these deposits formed through the segregation of sulfide from magma flowing rapidly through conduits en route from deeper magma chambers to the surface. An exploration approach aimed at understanding the fluid dynamics of such systems seems warranted. Although the Bushveld intrusion has been studied for decades and its deposits are taken as type examples of magmatic mineralisation, the origin of its PGE deposits remains unclear. Opinion is divided on the relative importance of sulfide segregation from magma filling a large chamber at the time of emplacement, and the scavanging of PGE from fluids circulating through cumulates at a late magmatic stage. Answers to these questions may come from studies designed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms through which the magma chamber filled and solidified. Received: 15 September 1996 / Accepted: 7 January 1997     

扎河坝蛇绿混杂岩内富铌玄武(安山)岩的地球化学特征及其地质意义

在新疆北部东准噶尔的扎河坝蛇绿混杂岩中发现的富铌玄武（安山）岩,其SiO₂含量介于46.71%~57.65%,TiO₂含量为1.00%~1.76%,与太古代绿岩带内富铌玄武（安山）岩相似,Na₂O含量为3.86%~6.64%,P₂O₅为0.34%~0.82%,明显高于太古代绿岩带富铌玄武（安山）岩。扎河坝富铌玄武岩铌含量介于7.22×10^-6~21.91×10^-6之间,大于7×10^-6,与典型的富铌玄武岩相同。该岩石轻重稀土元素分馏较明显,其分布模式为无明显铕至弱负铕异常的右倾曲线。尽管铌的绝对含量较高,但由于钍和轻稀土元素更加富集,在微量元素蛛网图中扎河坝富铌玄武（安山）岩仍表现为铌的明显亏损,同时高场强元素Zr、Hf及Ti也表现出一定程度的亏损。微量元素地球化学特征显示,扎河坝蛇绿混杂岩内富铌玄武（安山）岩形成于古亚洲洋的洋内弧,它是被埃达克质岩浆交代的地幔楔橄榄岩部分熔融的产物,同时大洋沉积物及俯冲板块释放的流体对成岩作用也有一定的贡献。富铌玄武（安山）岩作为弧前增生楔定位在扎河坝蛇绿混杂岩体内,与早前报道的超高压变质岩共存表明,该蛇绿混杂岩体至少记录了两次性质不同的古亚洲洋洋壳俯冲,这更进一步证实新疆北部晚古生代新增陆壳是古亚洲洋多次俯冲作用的产物。     

Archaean crustal thickness of greenstone granite belts of South India

Archaean crustal thickness for the Dharwar craton is estimated using potash index and Rb?Sr crustal thickness grid. The volcanics of the Dharwar greenstone belts appear to have evolved in a less than 20 km thick crust. Whereas the tonalite-trondhjemite pebbles of the Dharwar conglomerates (3250±150 m.y.) were derived from gneisses that evolved in a crust less than 20 km thick, the bulk of the peninsular gneisses and associated granitoids were emplaced in a crust 25 to 35 km thick. The 2000 m.y. old Closepet granite suite was emplaced in a crust thicker than 30 km. It is deduced that the continental crust in the region thickened from 15 to 35 km during a span of about 1000 m.y. between 3250±150 to 2000 m.y. ago. Calculations show that Archaean gecthermal gradients in Dharwar craton were three to four times steeper when compared to the present 10.5°C/km. The thin crust and the steep geothermal gradients are reflected by the emplacement of high magnesia basalts, layered igneous complexes and the strong iron enrichment trend shown by Dharwar metavolcanics.     

Recognising early Archaean mantle: a reappraisal

This paper examines 3.8 Ga peridotites from Greenland and Labrador to test claims that these samples are unmodified early Archaean mantle. Geochemical criteria were applied in which samples were compared to the mantle array in Mg/Si versus Al/Si (wt%) space, their REE patterns were compared to those of different mantle types and their chromite compositions were compared to mantle chromite compositions as expressed by their cr# and fe#. Geochemical data were used from the previously published works of Friend et al. (2002) and Bennett et al. (2002). Only two samples, from the region south of Isua satisfied all criteria, indicating that the area south of the Isua Greenstone Belt in west Greenland is a suitable place to search for early Archaean mantle. This study also confirms the observation by Friend et al. (2002) that early Archaean mantle from south of Isua is of a different character from Archaean mantle from the subcontinental lithosphere. Calculations presented here show that some mantle fragments from south of Isua experienced a lower degree of melt extraction and were probably more oxidising than early Archaean mantle preserved in the subcontinental lithosphere. Elemental concentrations of Os in early Archaean mantle are lower than the new estimate for the primitive upper mantle of Becker et al. (2006). Peridotites from the Isua greenstone belt are not mantle, but have an affinity with the layered intrusions found south of Isua.     

The episodic development of intermediate to silicic volcano-plutonic suites in the Archaean West Pilbara, Australia

Four felsic igneous rock suites in the Archaean West Pilbara have been identified based on geochemistry and geochronology. A voluminous TTG suite formed at ca. 3260 Ma, which appears to be from melting of a mafic-subducted oceanic slab and thus represents generation of new continental crust. A tholeiitic to calc-alkaline volcanic assemblage and coeval granitoids formed at ca. 3120 Ma in an extensional environment. Further TTG magmatism occurred at ca. 3000 Ma, generating both large granitoid complexes and small plutons, again adding new continental crust to the West Pilbara. At 2930-Ma crustal reworking, most likely of the 3000-Ma rocks, generated small plutons that are coeval with layered ultramafic-mafic intrusions in the region. The changes from new crustal material to crustal reworking infer changing tectonic regimes, which is important for models of Archaean continental crust generation. The data presented here indicate that crustal generation mechanisms varied and were episodic in the West Pilbara, implying that early crustal evolution was a result of periodic changes in tectonic regime, which is reflected in the geochemistry of the rocks.     

Petrogenesis of Archaean Trondhjemites, Tonalites, and Granodiorites from Eastern Finland: Major and Trace Element Geochemistry

The grey gneisses of eastern Finland form the basement on whichthe Archaean greenstone belts were developed. They are composedof orthogneisses emplaced during two distinct magmatic episodes:2.86 Ga (Kivij?rvi gneisses) and 2.65 (Naavala gneisses). Theirmodal and chemical compositions are those of trondhjemites,tonalites and granodiorites (TTG). Both suites show low-K₂Ocalc-alkaline differentiation trends (trondhjemitic). The aim of this study is to qualify and quantify the successionof different mechanisms by which the TTG series evolved. Theyoungest process was studied first, and the arguments then appliedin order to go back in time to the older ones. For each one,quantification was arrived at with the major elements, and theseresults provided a basis for calculation with the rare earthelements (REE). Finally the whole model was tested with othertrace elements. The petrogenetic model may be summarized as follows: meltingof the upper mantle to form a tholeiitic crust; melting of thesetholeiites transformed into garnet-bearing amphibolites to yieldthe parental magma of the TTG. The residue of the melt consistedof hornblende, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and garnet with minoramounts of ilmenite and magnetite (10 < F < 30); and fractionalcrystallization of hornblende, plagioclase, and ilmenite withoccasional allanite and/or zircon in small amounts ((1-F) <40). No matter when they were emplaced during the Archaean, all theTTG of this part of the Baltic Shield arose from similar parentalmagmas. The petrogenetic study has shown that garnet and hornblendewere necessarily residual phases during the melting of the Archaeantholeiites. This constraint is very important, as it impliesthat the Archaean geothermal gradients occurring in subduction-zoneswere much higher than in modern times, thus allowing the partialmelting of the subducted oceanic crust.     

Early extension in the Late Archaean northeastern Eastern Goldfields Province,Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia

A series of linked extensional detachments, transfer faults, and sediment- and volcanic-filled half-grabens that pre-date regional folding are described in the Late Archaean Margaret anticline, Eastern Goldfields Province, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Coeval structures and rock units include layer-parallel extensional detachments, transfer faults (high-angle rotational faults rooted in the detachments and linking layer-parallel shear zones with varying amounts of extension); felsic intrusions, either as granitoids emplaced in or below the detachments, or as fine-grained intrusive bodies emplaced above the detachments and controlled by the high-angle faults; and half-grabens controlled by the high-angle faults and filled with clastic sedimentary and volcanic rocks. At least 1500 m of section is excised across the detachments. The detachments and high-angle faults are folded by the east-northeast regional compression that formed the Margaret anticline. Extensional deformation in the Margaret anticline is correlated with the regionally recognised felsic magmatism and associated volcanic and volcaniclastic basin fill dated at approximately 2685–2670 Ma across the Eastern Goldfields Province. This suggests the extensional event was province-wide and post-dated initial greenstone deposition (at around 2705 Ma) but pre-dated regional compressive deformation. We suggest the extension is the result of a thermal anomaly in the crust, generated by the insulating effect of a thick pile (of the order of 10 km or greater) of mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks on precursor Archaean felsic crust. The thermal anomaly has generated renewed production of felsic and mafic volcanic rocks, coeval with uplift and extension in the upper crust.     

Crustal contamination as an indicator of the extent of early Archaean continental crust: Pb isotopic evidence from the late Archaean gneisses of West Greenland

Ph isotopic analyses are reported for 119 samples of late Archaean (ca. 3000-2800 Myr) calc alkaline orthogneisses and associated anorthosites from southern West Greenland. Over most of the area. $\text{Pb}\text{Pb}$ whole rock isotope systematics indicate derivation of the magmatic precursors of the gneisses and anorthosites from a source region with a typically mantle-type $\text{U}\text{Pb}$ ratio (μ₁ value of 7.5) at. or shortly before, ca. 3000-2800 Myr ago. In contrast, in the Godthaabsfjord region, late Archaean Nûk gneisses and associated anorthosites were emplaced into or through early Archaean (ca. 3700 Myr) Amîtsoq gneisses, and crystallised with variable proportions of two isotopically distinct types of Pb which commenced their respective crustal developments at ca. 3000-2800 Myr and at ca. 3700 Myr ago. Isotopic and other geochemical constraints demonstrate that Nûk gneisses and their temporal equivalents were not produced by reworking or melting of Amîtsoq gneisses. Mixing of early and late Archaean Pb results from contamination of the magmatic precursors of Nûk gneisses and anorthosites (characterised by mantle-type Pb at time of emplacement) with ancient, unradiogenic Pb derived from ca. 3700 Myr-old Amîtsoq-type continental crust invaded by the Nûk magmas. The contaminant is considered to be a trace-element enriched fluid phase released from dehydrating older continental crust during progressive burial and heating by emplacement of calc alkaline magmas in the late Archaean ‘accretion differentiation superevent’. This was followed by mixing of the released fluids with younger Nûk magmas.Pb isotopic compositions of late Archaean gneisses and anorthosites outside the Godthaabsfjord region provide no evidence for the presence of early Archaean Amîtsoq-type continental crust in southern West Greenland in areas more than a few tens of km outside the known outcrop of Amîtsoq gneisses. We suggest that early Archaean crust does not exist at depth in late Archaean areas with undisturbed Pb-isotope systematics, either in Greenland or elsewhere in the North Atlantic craton.Pb-isotope evidence for crust magma interaction, involving selective extraction of certain trace elements by a fluid phase from wall rock and subsequent mixing between magma and contaminant fluid, provides a powerful tool for detection, sub-surface ‘mapping’, and geochronological and geochemical characterisation of deep, ancient continental crust.     

Nd-isotope and geochemistry of an early Palaeoproterozoic high-Si high-Mg boninite–norite suite of rocks in the southern Bastar craton,central India: petrogenesis and tectonic significance

ABSTRACT

Nd-isotope and lithogeochemistry of an early Palaeoproterozoic high-Si high-Mg boninite–norite (BN) suite of rocks from the southern Bastar craton, central India, are presented to understand their nature, origin, and tectonic setting of emplacement. Various types of evidence, such as field relationships, radiometric metamorphic ages, and the global distribution of BN magmatism, suggest emplacement in an intracratonic rift setting, commonly around 2.4–2.5 Ga. On the basis of geochemistry these high-Si high-Mg rocks are classified as high-Ca boninites, high-Mg norites, and high-Mg diorites. Nd-isotope data indicate that the high-Mg norite and the high-Mg diorite samples are similar, whereas the high-Ca boninites have a different isotopic character. The high-Mg norite and the high-Mg diorite samples have younger T_DM model ages than the high-Ca boninites. Geochemical and Nd-isotopic characteristics of the studied rocks indicate some prospect of crustal contamination; however, the possibility of mantle metasomatism during ancient subduction event cannot be ignored. Trace-element modelling suggests that the high-Ca boninites may have crystallized from a magma generated by a comparatively greater percentage of melting of a lherzolite mantle source than the source for the other two varieties. Furthermore, the high-Ca boninite rocks are most likely derived from an Archaean subduction process (the Whundo-type), whereas the other two types are the products of the interaction of subduction-modified refractory mantle wedge and a plume, around the Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic boundary. The emplacement of the high-Mg norites and the high-Mg diorites may be linked to crustal thickening and associated cratonization at the end of the Archaean.     

Archaean greenstone belt from the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa)

The Bandas belt, one of two prominent Archaean greenstone belts in the Central African Republic (Equatorial Africa), is ca. 250 km long. At the southernmost part of the belt, a metasedimentary—metavolcanic rock suite is preserved only in brachysynclines. The suite can be divided into two lithostratigraphic units. The lower unit is composed predominantly of volcanic rocks, while the upper one contains mainly metasedimentary rocks. The volcanic rocks, which are part of a sequence ca. 3600 m thick, can be sub-divided according to stratigraphic position, lithology and geochemistry into three groups. The lowermost group includes low-K tholeiitic basalts depleted in light REE. The second group consists of tholeiitic basalts with light REE-enriched patterns and the third, uppermost, group includes andesites, which are similar in several respects to Recent calc-alkaline andesites.The tholeiitic basalts of the first two groups are probably related to different upper mantle sources. The andesites of the third group were produced either by fractional crystallization from a basaltic magma enriched in light REE or equilibrium melting of eclogite or garnet amphibolite.     

87Sr/86Sr in Precambrian carbonates as an index of crustal evolution

The Sr isotopic composition of ‘seawater’, as measured on carbonate rocks, shows a composite pattern during geologic history. All known Archaean data are compatible with contemporaneous upper mantle ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values. This is followed by a strong increase in the radiogenic component during the 2.5–2.1 b.y. period, a less pronounced increase during the remaining portion of the Proterozoic and a decrease during the Phanerozoic. The trend closely resembles the K₂O/Na₂O secular variations in composition of igneous and sedimentary rocks (Engelet al, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 85, 843–858, 1974) and probably reflects the fractionation state of the contemporary crust. The data are compatible with recent suggestions of three major tectonic regimes during geologic history: greenstone belts during the Archaean, mobile belts during the Proterozoic and plate tectonics during the Phanerozoic. They also indicate that continental crust during the Archaean contributed only subordinate Sr into the meteoric cycle.     

Middle to late Archaean geology of the eastern Baltic shield,with a note on its similarity and contrast with the Archaean of southern India

The middle to late Archaean rocks of Kola and Karelia in the eastern Baltic shield consist of the Infracomplex overlain by the Saamian complex, and the Lopian greenstone belts. The Infracomplex which forms the basement is a polymigmatite, parts of which are at least 3100 Ma old. The Saamian in the central Belomorian region comprises granite gneiss, amphibolite, garnet-kyanite gneiss and high alumina gneisses which belong to the Keret, Hetolombina and Chupa suites. The Lopian greenstone belts ranging in age from 3000 to 2700 Ma are composed of peridotitic, pyroxenitic and basaltic komatiites, tholeiitic basalts, andesites, dacites and rhyolites, together with tuffs, graywackes and iron formations. Whereas there is a dominance of volcanic over sedimentary rocks in the greenstone belts of the Baltic shield, a significant proportion of detrital and chemogenic sedimentary rocks characterizes the Dharwar succession of approximately the same time span in the southern Indian shield. Association of mature and immature detrital sedimentary rocks with bimodal volcanic assemblages points to a back-arc setting for the Dharwar belts. This contrasts with the association of immature sediments with calc-alkaline volcanic rocks in the greenstone belts of the eastern Baltic shield, suggesting an island arc environment there.     

The case for Archaean boninites

Rare Archaean light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched mafic rocks derived from a strongly refractory mantle source show a range of features in common with modern boninites. These Archaean second-stage melts are divided into at least two distinct groups—Whundo-type and Whitney-type. Whundo-type rocks are most like modern boninites in terms of their composition and association with tholeiitic to calc-alkaline mafic to intermediate volcanics. Small compositional differences compared to modern boninites, including higher Al₂O₃ and heavy REE (HREE), probably reflect secular changes in mantle temperatures and a more garnet-rich residual source. Whundo-type rocks are known from 3.12 and 2.8 Ga assemblages and are true Archaean analogues of modern boninites. Whitney-type rocks occur throughout the Archaean, as far back as ca. 3.8 Ga, and are closely associated with ultramafic magmatism including komatiites, in an affiliation unlike that of modern subduction zones. They are characterised by very high Al₂O₃ and HREE concentrations, and their extremely depleted compositions require a source which at some stage was more garnet-rich than the source for either modern boninites or Whundo-type second-stage melts. Low La/Yb and La/Gd ratios compared to Whundo-type rocks and modern boninites either reflect very weak subduction-related metasomatism of the mantle source or very limited crustal assimilation by a refractory-mantle derived melt. Regardless, the petrogenesis of the Whitney-type rocks appears either directly or indirectly related to plume magmatism. If Whitney-type rocks have a boninitic petrogenesis then a plume related model similar to that proposed for the modern Tongan high-Ca boninites might apply, but with uniquely Archaean source compositions and source enrichment processes. Second-stage melts from Barberton (S. Africa –3.5 Ga) and ca. 3.0 Ga rocks from the central Pilbara (Australia) have features in common with both Whundo- and Whitney-types, but appear more closely related to the Whitney-type. Subduction zone processes essentially the same as those that produce modern boninites have operated since at least ~3.12 Ga, while a uniquely Archaean boninite-forming process, involving more buoyant oceanic plates and very inefficient mantle-source enrichment, may have occurred before then.