Petrologic and Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Gusui Cherts,Guangdong Province,China

The characteristic structures of the Precambrian cherts from the Gusui section, Guangdong ,Chi-na, include bedded structure ,laminated structure ,massive structure and pseudobrecciated structure.The chert is characterized by consistently low abundance of TiO2,Al2O3 and most trace elements.Howevver ,it is enriched in Ba,As,Sb,Hg and Se.In Al-Fe-Mn ternary diagrams,it falls into the “hydrothermal field“ .Correspondence analysis and factor analysis show that many elements show up in the factor that represents the leaching of country rocks by hydrothermal solutions,and are the very characteristic element association fo the geochemically anomalous South China basement.Petrologic and geochemical evidence suggests a hydrothermal origin for the chert.The chert may have been formed in a Precambrian fift or an extension zone developed within the Yunkai marginal geosyncline, with a fault system linking it to an unknown heat source at depth.     

粤西古水剖面震旦系顶部层状硅岩的热水成因属性:岩石学和地球化学证据

古水剖面震旦系顶部硅岩主要发育层状构造、纹理状构造、块状构造和假角砾状构造,化学成份以ＴｉＯ_２、Ａｌ_２Ｏ_３和大部分微量元素亏损（相对地壳克拉克值）为特征。但Ｂａ、Ａｓ和Ｓｂ等少数已知的热水沉积特征元素显示富集。在Ａｌ－Ｆｅ－Ｍｎ三元图上,古水硅岩投映在“热水沉积”域内。因子分析和对应分析显示了大部分金属元素在代表热水淋滤作用的因子上均有反映。稀土元素以低含量为特征,在对北美页岩组合样（ＮＡＳＣ）正规化后的稀土配分模式落在典型热水沉积的上、下限之间,而在正常沉积的之外。各种岩性和地球化学证据表明,古水硅岩具有热水成因。     

Hydrothermal venting and basin evolution (Devonian,South China): Constraints from rare earth element geochemistry of chert

This paper presents rare earth element (REE) geochemistry of siliceous deposits from which hydrothermal activity and basin evolution are elucidated, in the Late Devonian, in the Yangshuo basin, South China, where siliceous deposits widely occurred as nodular chert in the deep-water limestones and bedded chert interbeded with tuffaceous chert in the early Late Devonian. Both nodular and bedded cherts are characterized by very low La abundances (avg. 2.07 and 2.49 ppm, respectively), intermediate negative Ce anomalies (Ce/Ce*: avg. 0. 69 and 0.61), slight to intermediate positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*: avg. 1.33 and 1.57), and low to intermediate shale-normalized La_n/Yb_n values (avg. 0.86 and 0.52) and intermediate La_n/Ce_n values (avg. 1.61 and 1.72). These suggest both nodular and bedded cherts formed in the open marine basin of South China, rather than in the intracontinental rift basin as previously assumed, with involvement both with seawaters as indicated by intermediate negative Ce anomalies and generally LREE-depleted patterns, and hydrothermal vent fluids as indicated by convex, less LREE-depleted patterns with apparent positive Eu anomalies. In comparison with nodular and bedded chert, the tuffaceous chert has the highest La abundances (avg. 17.11 ppm), similar ranges of Ce anomalies (avg. 0.63) and La_n/Ce_n values (avg. 1.77), but lower La_n/Yb_n values (avg. 0.48) and no apparent positive Eu anomalies (avg. 0.97). This suggests that the tuffaceous fallouts were also significantly modified by the hydrothermal fluid and seawater. Rapid spatial variations of Eu/Eu* values and degree of LREE-depletions in the studied basin are recognized, characterizing a spatially differential hydothermal activity that is not well discriminated by major element features. Such a difference in hydrothermal activity is interpreted as having been related to the intensity and depth of syndepositional tectonic activity, reconciling the structural pattern unraveled by stratigraphic packages.     

贵州渣拉沟剖面下寒武统黑色硅质岩微量元素富集机制

华南早寒武世发育了一套富有机质黑色硅质岩,其成因尚有较大争议。选择贵州省三都县渣拉沟剖面早寒武世牛蹄塘组底部硅质岩段进行研究,发现该硅质岩具有微量元素富集的特征。其可能的原因包括,静海环境、上升流和热液活动。Ce/Ce*比值显示硅质岩沉积时水体为次氧化条件,不支持静海环境;而Ba、Zn、Cu、Ni、Cd、P与有机碳含量不存在相关关系,也不支持上升流为微量元素富集的主要原因。Al-Fe-Mn三角图、Al2O3/(Fe2O3+Al2O3)、REY配分模式等指标则表明存在热液活动。上述认识与现代上升流、静海环境的微量元素富集系数对比结果相吻合。与华南地区早寒武世初期不同沉积环境硅质岩对比,发现:深海环境并不富集Ba、Zn、Cu、Ni等氧化还原敏感元素,而沿着斜坡相带同沉积断层分布的热液活动,更有可能造成这些微量元素的富集。     

Petrology and geochemistry of chert on the marginal zone of Yangtze Platform,western Hunan,South China,during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition

The Ediacaran–Cambrian transition was one of the most critical intervals in Earth history. During this interval, widespread chert was precipitated, commonly as a stratal wedge in carbonates, along the southern margin of the Yangtze Platform, South China. The chert wedge passes into a full chert succession further basinward to the south‐east. Four lithotypes of chert are identified across the marginal zone in western Hunan: mounded, vein, brecciated and bedded chert. The mounded chert is characterized by irregular to digitiform internal fabrics, generally with abundant original vesicles and/or channels that mostly are lined by botryoidal chalcedony cements with minor quartz and barite crystals. The host chert (or matrix) of these mounds is dominated by amorphous cryptocrystalline silica, commonly disseminated with pyrite. The vein chert, with minor quartz locally, generally cross‐cuts the overlying dolostone and chert horizons and terminates under the mounded and/or bedded chert bodies. The brecciated chert commonly occurs as splayed ‘intrusions’ or funnel‐shaped wedges and cross‐cuts the topmost dolostones. The bedded chert, the most common type, generally is thin to medium‐bedded and laminated locally; it is composed of amorphous silica with minor amounts of black lumps. Microthermometry of fluid inclusions from vein and void‐lining minerals (mainly quartz and barite) revealed homogenization temperatures from 120 to 180°C for the trapped primary fluids. Compositionally, these chert deposits generally are pure, with SiO₂ > 92 wt%, and only minor Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ contents, most of which show positive Europium anomalies in rare earth element patterns, especially for the mounded chert. All these data suggest that the marginal zone chert deposits resulted from a low‐temperature, silica‐rich hydrothermal system, in which the mounded chert was precipitated around the releasing vents, i.e. as silica chimneys. The vein and splayed brecciated chert, however, was formed along the syndepositional fault/fracture conduits that linked downward, while the bedded chert was precipitated in the quieter water column from the fallout of hydrothermal plumes onto the sea floor. These petrological and geochemical data provide compelling evidence and a new clue to the understanding of the extensive silica precipitation; rapid tectono‐depositional and oceanic changes during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in South China.     

华南热水沉积硅质岩建造及其成矿效应

华南地区热水沉积建造发育。文中介绍该地区热水沉积建造 ,特别是震旦系顶部、泥盆系榴江组和二叠系当冲组 3个重要层位的硅质岩建造 ,分析它们的地质地球化学特征。研究表明 ,华南三层位沉积硅质岩的共同特征是TiO2 、Al2 O3 和K2 O含量一致偏低 ,大部分微量元素含量偏低 (与地壳克拉克值相比 ) ,但Ba、As、Sb富集 ,具有较为典型的热水沉积成因特点。多元统计分析显示 ,大部分微量元素在第一个主因子上均有显著因子载荷 ,与它们在基底的富集或亏损无关 ,代表了古地热系热水循环中的淋滤因子。华南三层位热水成因硅质岩具有相似的REE地球化学特征。REE总量低 ,稀土配分模式落在典型热水沉积物的上、下限之间 ,多数样品呈现δCe和δEu负异常。正常沉积的混入使部分硅质岩的REE配分模式复杂化。最后 ,讨论了与热水沉积建造相关的成矿效应 ,为金属矿床成因和评价提供约束条件     

信江盆地石炭纪硅质岩地球化学特征及沉积环境意义

在信江盆地中存在数层和石炭纪海相火山岩及其海底块状硫化物矿层相伴生,与石炭纪地层整合产出的层状硅质岩。由对硅质岩常量元素、微量元素、稀土元素、硅和氧同位素等地球化学特征研究表明,本区硅质岩具有一定的热水沉积硅质岩地球化学特征。在Al-Fe-Mn和Fe-Mn-(Ni+Co+Cu)三角图上,本区硅质岩属热水沉积硅质岩。由硅质岩MnO/TiO₂比值、δCe值和δ³⁰Si值分析表明,信江盆地石炭纪硅质岩的沉积环境主要为浅海。     

藏南彭错林硅质岩地球化学特征及沉积环境分析

通过野外地质调查和系统的岩石化学、常量元素、微量元素以及稀土元素等研究,探讨了藏南彭错林硅质岩的地球化学特征及其沉积环境。研究表明,呈厚层状产出的绿色、棕褐色硅质岩具有较高的SiO₂含量,局部受Fe、Mn矿化,Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)比值小,在Fe-Mn-Al三角成因判别图解中,大部分硅质岩样品落入热水沉积区域,微量元素Sr、Zr、Cu、Zn和Ba含量较高,稀土元素∑REE较低,Ce负异常,Eu正异常,北美页岩标准化后配分模式稍向左倾,体现出热水沉积特征;在沉积环境判别图100×Fe₂O₃/SiO₂-100×Al₂O₃/SiO₂、Fe₂O₃/(100-SiO₂)-Al₂O₃/(100-SiO₂)和Fe₂O₃/TiO₂-Al₂O₃/(Al₂O₃+Fe₂O₃)中,硅质岩样品投影到洋中脊和深海区域,说明形成于大洋中脊和深海盆地环境;硅质岩常量和稀土参数变化特征图显示,在剖面中PCL-1、PCL-5和PCL-7采样位置更接近热液中心;硅质岩的形成与板块的汇聚消减产生的以洋中脊和海底热点为中心的洋壳热水系统有关。     

Volcanic degassing,hydrothermal circulation and the flourishing of early life on Earth: A review of the evidence from c. 3490-3240 Ma rocks of the Pilbara Supergroup,Pilbara Craton,Western Australia

New data gathered during mapping of c. 3490–3240 Ma rocks of the Pilbara Supergroup in the Pilbara Craton show that most bedded chert units originated as epiclastic and evaporative sedimentary rocks that were silicified by repeated pulses of hydrothermal fluids that circulated through the footwall basalts during hiatuses in volcanism. For most cherts, fossil hydrothermal fluid pathways are preserved as silica ± barite ± Fe-bearing veins that cut through the footwall and up to the level of individual bedded chert units, but not above, indicating the contemporaneity of hydrothermal silica veining and bedded chert deposition at the end of volcanic eruptive events. Silica ± barite ± Fe-bearing vein swarms are accompanied by extensive hydrothermal alteration of the footwall to the bedded chert units, and occurred under alternating high-sulphidation and low-sulphidation conditions. These veins provided pathways to the surface for elements leached from the footwall (e.g., Si, Ba, Fe) and volcanogenic emissions from underlying felsic magma chambers (e.g., CO₂, H₂S/HS⁻, SO₂).Stratigraphic evidence of shallowing upward and subsequent deepening associated with the deposition of Warrawoona Group cherts is interpreted to relate to the emplacement of subvolcanic laccoliths and subsequent eruption and/or degassing of these magmas. Heat from these intrusions drove episodes of hydrothermal circulation. Listric normal faulting during caldera collapse produced basins with restricted circulation of seawater. Eruption of volcanogenic emissions into these restricted basins formed brine pools with concentration of the volcanogenic components, thereby providing habitats suitable for early life forms.Fossil stromatolites from two distinct stratigraphic units in the North Pole Dome grew in shallow water conditions, but in two very different geological settings with different morphologies. Stratiform and domical stromatolites in the stratigraphically lower, c. 3490 Ma, Dresser Formation of the Warrawoona Group are intimately associated with barite and chert precipitates from hydrothermal vents, suggesting that component microbes may have been chemoautotrophic hyperthermophiles. Evidence of shallow water to periodically exposed conditions, active growth faulting and soft sediment deformation indicates that the volcanogenic emissions were erupted into a shallow water, tectonically active caldera and concentrated therein to produce an extreme habitat for early life.Widespread conical and pseudocolumnar stromatolites in the c. 3400 Ma, Strelley Pool Chert at the base of the unconformably overlying Kelly Group occur in shallow marine platform carbonates. Silicification was the result of later hydrothermal circulation driven by heat from the overlying, newly erupted Euro Basalt. The markedly different morphology and geological setting of these only slightly younger stromatolites, compared with the Dresser Formation, suggests a diversity of microbial life on early Earth.The biogenicity of putative microfossils from this and younger hydrothermal silica veins in the Warrawoona Group remains controversial and requires further detailed study.     

Rare Earth Element Enrichment in Late Archean Manganese Deposits from the Iron Ore Group,East India

The major, trace and rare earth element (REE) composition of Late Archean manganese, ferromanganese and iron ores from the Iron Ore Group (IOG) in Orissa, east India, was examined. Manganese deposits, occurring above the iron formations of the IOG, display massive, rhythmically laminated or botryoidal textures. The ores are composed primarily of iron and manganese, and are low in other major and trace elements such as SiO₂, Al₂O₃, P₂O₅ and Zr. The total REE concentration is as high as 975 ppm in manganese ores, whereas concentrations as high as 345 ppm and 211 ppm are found in ferromanganese and iron ores, respectively. Heavy REE (HREE) enrichments, negative Ce anomalies and positive Eu anomalies were observed in post‐Archean average shale (PAAS)‐normalized REE patterns of the IOG manganese and ferromanganese ores. The stratiform or stratabound shapes of ore bodies within the shale horizon, and REE geochemistry, suggest that the manganese and ferromanganese ores of the IOG were formed by iron and/or manganese precipitation from a submarine, hydrothermal solution under oxic conditions that occurred as a result of mixing with oxic seawater. While HREE concentrations in the Late Archean manganese and ferromanganese ores in the IOG are slightly less than those of the Phanerozoic ferromanganese ores in Japan, HREE resources in the IOG manganese deposits appear to be two orders of magnitude higher because of the large size of the deposits. Although a reliable, economic concentration technique for HREE from manganese and ferromanganese ores has not yet been developed, those ores could be an important future source of HREE.     

Compositional heterogeneity of the continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Early Precambrian and Phanerozoic structures: Evidence from mantle xenoliths in kimberlites and alkaline basalts

Data on the petro- and geochemical characteristics of mantle xenoliths in kimberlites, which sampled the mantle beneath Early Precambrian tectonic structures (Archean cratons: the basement of the Eastern Siberian Platform, Karelian, Kaapvaal, Wyoming, Western Dharvar; Early and Middle Proterozoic foldbelts: Western Olenek, Natal, and Halls Creek), and xenoliths in alkaline basalts, which sampled the mantle benath Late Proterozoic-Phanerozoic structures (foldbelts: Central Asian, Mozambique, southern tip of South America, and Central German) indicate the following: (1) The major and trace element and REE composition of the mantle is different beneath Early Precambrian structures and Late Proterozoic-Phanerozoic foldbelts and reflects the degree of partial melting of the primitive mantle and its depletion in magmaphile components beneath ancient structures compared to young ones. (2) The original composition of the mantle was different beneath the Early Precambrian and Late Proterozoic structures in terms of both major oxides and incompatible trace elements and REE and their ratios; the composition of the mantle beneath the Eastern Siberian Platform, Wyoming, and Karelian cratons is different in terms of Zr/Y, La/Sm, Ce/Sm, Gd/Yb, and Lu/Hf. (3) The degree of melting of the primitive mantle decreases with depth, as follows from the negative correlation between the MgO/SiO₂ ratio and pressure (i.e., depth) and the positive correlation between the Al₂O₃/MgO ratio and pressure in the xenoliths. (4) The Y, Zr, Ti, Sm, Gd, and Yb conncentrations and the sum of HREE in the mantle decrease with increasing degree of melting; correspondingly, the material most strongly depleted in these incompatible trace elements and REE composes the upper levels of the lithospheric continental mantle.     

大厂锡—多金属矿床热液喷气沉积成因的证据——容矿岩石的微量元素及稀土元素地球化学

对大厂锡矿床容矿岩石稀土元素地球化学研究表明，本矿区主要容矿岩石——硅质岩、富长石岩及电气石岩稀土元素总量低，具弱的Ce亏损，明显的Eu负异常。这些特点与某些 有代表性矿床中的热液喷气沉积岩一条带状燧石岩及电气石岩十分相似，证明了它们属于喷气沉积成因。相反，与主要容矿岩石互成条带的部分绢云母岩，含绢云母的长石岩等则稀土总量高，轻重稀土分馏明显，与北美页岩相似，具有陆源沉积或混合成因的特征。运用聚类分析的方法，这些岩石的微量元素地球化学分类与上述结果完全一致，为其成因进一步提供了佐证。     

Geochemistry of basal Cambrian black shales and cherts from the Northern Tarim Basin,Northwest China: Implications for depositional setting and tectonic history

Black shales and thin-bedded cherts in the basal Cambrian are widespread worldwide and they carry important information on the formation of sedimentary basins and on the tectonic history. We studied the geochemical signatures of the early Cambrian black shales and bedded cherts from the Northern Tarim Basin, China, with the objectives of understanding the depositional setting of these rocks and inferring the tectonic history in the region. Twenty two black shales, ten cherts, and two nodular phosphorites were collected from two outcrops at Xiaoerbulake and Sugaitebulake in the Northern Tarim Basin, spanning vertical sections of 8.8 and 7.5 m, respectively. A suite of techniques, including field investigations, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, trace element, rare earth element (REE), and isotope geochemistry, were employed to characterize the geochemical signatures of these rocks. Field evidence indicates that the black shales and bedded cherts are over- and underlain by dolomites, suggesting a shallow marine depositional environment. Mineralogical and trace element data suggest that the Tarim black shales and cherts were deposited in a suboxic continental shelf environment, and hydrothermal activity may have extracted certain trace elements from mafic continental crust and concentrated them in the sedimentary basin. REE characteristics for the cherts are very similar to those that are known to be deposited in pelagic ocean floor settings, suggesting that the hydrothermal fluids may be derived from the infant southern Tianshan Ocean in the north of the Tarim Basin. Os isotope signatures at the time of deposition (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os_i = 1.1–2.7) are typical of crustal signatures, and the radiogenic Os isotope signatures rule out the mantle as a possible source of Os and other metals. A positive correlation between ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ε_Nd is consistent with upper crust-derived basin sediments that contain a variable contribution of hydrothermal fluids possibly derived from ancient mafic continental crust. These trace element, REE, and isotope systematics collectively suggest that incorporation of hydrothermal fluids derived from ancient, mafic continental crust combined with deposition in relatively reducing conditions may have controlled the chemical and isotopic compositions of these rocks. We infer that the hydrothermal fluid was carried to the continental shelf by upwelling during the initial stages of formation of the southern Tianshan Ocean, where the fluid interacted with thinned, mafic crustal basement lithologies and was subsequently incorporated into the black shales and bedded cherts in the Northern Tarim Basin. This study provides important geochemical evidence for the creation of the Tianshan Ocean, which is a result of break-up of the Rodinia Supercontinent during the early Cambrian.     

甘肃北山地区红山铁矿硅质岩的地球化学特征及沉积环境

通过野外地质调查和系统的岩石主量元素、微量元素、稀土元素等的研究,探讨红山铁矿床硅质岩的地球化学特征及其沉积环境。红山铁矿床中广泛发育一套与铁矿体呈共生关系的硅质岩。研究表明,与铁矿密切共生的呈层状和透镜状产出的灰色、紫红色硅质岩总体属于低硅类型的硅质岩。在SiO2-Al2O3判别图解中,SiO2与Al2O3负相关,样品数据点均落入热水沉积区域;稀土元素配分模式经北美页岩标准化后呈平缓型,与东太平洋热泉水、红海热卤水具有相似的正Eu异常和配分模式,δEu值均大于1,显示热水沉积的特征;硅质岩中的V、Ni、Cu、Ba等微量元素的含量具有陆缘海盆热水沉积的特征。     

甘肃北山地区红山铁矿硅质岩的地球化学特征及沉积环境

通过野外地质调查和系统的岩石主量元素、微量元素、稀土元素等的研究,探讨红山铁矿床硅质岩的地球化学特征及其沉积环境。红山铁矿床中广泛发育一套与铁矿体呈共生关系的硅质岩。研究表明,与铁矿密切共生的呈层状和透镜状产出的灰色、紫红色硅质岩总体属于低硅类型的硅质岩。在SiO2-Al2O3判别图解中,SiO2与Al2O3负相关,样品数据点均落入热水沉积区域;稀土元素配分模式经北美页岩标准化后呈平缓型,与东太平洋热泉水、红海热卤水具有相似的正Eu异常和配分模式,δEu值均大于1,显示热水沉积的特征;硅质岩中的V、Ni、Cu、Ba等微量元素的含量具有陆缘海盆热水沉积的特征。     

Geochemistry of the Samarka terrane cherts (Sikhote-Alin) and the size of the accreted paleo-oceanic plate

We have studied the geochemistry of Late Triassic cherts from tectonic sedimentary complexes of different structural levels of the Samarka terrane. The results show that the contents and distribution patterns of major rock-forming oxides, trace elements, and REE in the cherts of the upper and lower structural levels are somewhat different, which is due to different facies environments of chert accumulation. In particular, the contents of Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and K₂O gradually decrease and the contents of Fe₂O₃ and MnO increase downsection. The contents of Zr, Rb, Hf, Th, and Cr, which were supplied into the bottom sediments with a terrigenous suspension of heavy-mineral fragments, are twice to ten-fold lower than their average contents in the upper crust. In contrast, the contents of Pb, Cu, and Ni, which got into the sediments mostly with metalliferous hydrothermal solutions, are rather high and even exceed their average contents in the middle and upper crust. That is, the contents of the first-group trace elements gradually decrease and the contents of the second-group trace elements increase from upper to lower structural level. The calculated negative Ce anomaly gradually decreases from lower (0.75) to upper (0.88) structural level. The geochemical parameters altogether indicate that the cherts accumulated in the same pelagic depositional environment but in its different parts. The Katen complex composing the lower structural level is the most remote from the continental margin, and the Amba-Matay complex forming the upper structural level is the most proximal. Based on the geochemical and biostratigraphic data and on the time of accretion of paleo-oceanic fragments, we have established the location of each complex within the not yet subducted oceanic plate and estimated the extensionof this plate. Throughout the Jurassic, about 6000 km of the oceanic lithosphere was subducted beneath the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent and partly accreted to it.     

Radiolarian Age of Chert-hosted Bedded Manganese Deposits from the Gen-otani Mine in the Tamba District, Northern Kyoto City, Japan

Abstract. Numerous bedded manganese deposits sporadically distributed throughout the Tamba district, southwestern Japan are intercalated within chert sequence. It is well known that radiolarian remains are commonly included in both bedded manganese deposits and host cherts. The Gen‐otani mine, one of these deposits, is located at Otani, Keihoku‐Shimonaka, northern Kyoto City. Chemical composition and age of the chert sequence at the mine were examined. Mainly according to SiO₂ and MnO contents together with lithology, the chert sequence is divided into three sections; lower massive chert, middle bedded manganese deposit and upper bedded chert sections. Radiolarian faunas consisting of middle Jurassic species such as Eucyrtidiellum unumaense, Dictyomitrella(?) kamoensis, Parvicingula dhimenaensis, Sethocapsa aitai, Sethocapsa kodrai, Transhsuum brevicostatum, Tricolocapsa plicarum, Unuma echinatus and others were extracted from both the middle manganese section and overlying bedded chert of the upper section. This examination reveals that the bedded manganese deposit at the Gen‐otani mine formed until Bajocian to early Bathonian (middle Middle Jurassic) in age.     

Geochemical comparison between Archaean and Proterozoic orthogneisses from the Nagssugtoqidian orogen,West Greenland

In the Palaeoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen of West Greenland reworked Archaean and juvenile Proterozoic orthogneisses occur side by side and are difficult to differentiate in the field. Archaean gneisses have tonalitic to trondhjemitic compositions with relatively low Al₂O₃ and Sr, and may have been derived from magmas formed by melting of basaltic or amphibolitic rocks at moderate pressures. The Proterozoic rocks are on average more mafic, and it is likely that they crystallised from mantle-derived magmas. Felsic varieties of the Proterozoic igneous suite probably formed from the original magma by fractional crystallisation, in which hornblende played an important role, and at SiO₂ > 65% Archaean and Proterozoic rocks have very similar major and trace element compositions (including REE), illustrating that different modes of origin may lead to very similar results.     

Microplaty hematite ore in the Yilgarn Province of Western Australia: The geology and genesis of the Wiluna West iron ore deposits

The Wiluna West small (~ 130 Mt) high-grade bedded hematite ore deposits, consisting of anhedral hematite mesobands interbedded with porous layers of acicular hematite, show similar textural and mineralogical properties to the premium high-grade low-phosphorous direct-shipping ore from Pilbara sites such as Mt Tom Price, Mt Whaleback, etc., in the Hamersley Province and Goldsworthy, Shay Gap and Yarrie on the northern margin of the Pilbara craton. Both margins of the Pilbara Craton and the northern margin of the Yilgarn craton were subjected to sub-aerial erosion in the Paleoproterozoic era followed by marine transgressions but unlike the Hamersley Basin, the JFGB was covered by comparatively thin epeirogenic sediments and not subjected to Proterozoic deformation or burial metamorphism. The Joyner's Find greenstone belt (JFGB) in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia was exhumed by middle to late Cenozoic erosion of a cover of unmetamorphosed and relatively undeformed Paleoproterozoic epeirogenic sedimentary rocks that preserved the JFGB unaltered for nearly 2 Ga; thus providing a unique snapshot of the early Proterozoic environment.Acicular hematite, pseudomorphous after acicular iron silicate, is only found in iron ore and BIF that was exposed to subaerial deep-weathering in early Paleoproterozoic times (pre 2.2 Ga) and in the overlying unconformable Paleoproterozoic conglomerate derived from these rocks and is absent from unweathered rocks (Lascelles, 2002). High-grade ore and BIF weathered during later subaerial erosion cycles contain anhedral hematite and acicular pseudomorphous goethite. The acicular hematite was formed from goethite pseudomorphs of silicate minerals by dehydration in the vadose zone under extreme aridity during early Paleoproterozoic subaerial weathering.The principal high-grade hematite deposits at Wiluna West are interpreted as bedded ore bodies that formed from BIF by loss of chert bands during diagenesis and have been locally enriched to massive hematite by the introduction of hydrothermal specular hematite. No trace of chert bands are present in the deep saprolitic hematite and hematite–goethite ore in direct contrast to shallow supergene ore in which the trace of chert bands is clearly defined by goethite replacement, voids and detrital fill. Abundant hydrothermal microplaty hematite at Wiluna West is readily distinguished by its crystallinity.The genesis of the premium ore from the Pilbara Region has been much discussed in the literature and the discovery at Wiluna West provides a unique opportunity to compare the features that are common to both districts and to test genetic models.     

Petrology and geochemistry of the banded iron-formations from Ntem complex greenstones belt,Elom area,Southern Cameroon: Implications for the origin and depositional environment

Banded iron-formations (BIFs) form an important part of the Archaean to Proterozoic greenstone belts in the Southern Cameroon. In this study, major, trace and REE chemistry of the banded iron-formation are utilized to explore the source of metals and to constraint the origin and depositional environment of these BIFs. The studied BIF belongs to the oxide facies iron formations composed mainly of iron oxide (mainly magnetite) mesobands alternating with quartz mesobands. The mineralogy of the BIF sample consists of magnetite and quartz with lesser amount of secondary martite, goethite and trace of gibbsite and smectite. The major element chemistry of these iron-formations is remarkably simple with the main constituents being SiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ which constitute 95.6–99.5% of the bulk rock. Low Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and HFSE concentrations show that they are relatively detritus-free chemical sediments. The Pearson’s correlation matrix of major element reveals that there is a strong positive correlation (r = 0.99) of Al with Ti and no to weak negative correlation of Ti with Mn, Ca and weak positive correlation of Si with Ca, suggesting the null to very minor contribution of detrital material to chemical sediment. The trace elements with minor enrichments are transition metals such as Zn, Cr, Sr, V and Pb. This is an indicator of direct volcanogenic hydrothermal input in chemical precipitates. The studied BIF have a low ΣREE content, ranging between 0.41 and 3.22 ppm with an average of 0.87 ppm, similar to that of pure chemical sediments. The shale-normalized patterns show depletion in light REE, slightly enrichment in heavy REE and exhibit weak positive europium anomalies. These geochemical characteristics indicate that the source of Fe and Si was the result of deep ocean hydrothermal activity admixed with sea water. The absence of a large positive Eu anomaly in the studied BIF indicates an important role of low-temperature hydrothermal solutions. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by LREE-enriched (Mean La_CN/Yb_CN = 8.01) and HREE depletion (Mean Tb_CN/Yb_CN = 1.61) patterns and show positive Ce anomalies. With the exception of one sample (LBR133), all of the BIF samples analyzed during this study have positive Ce anomalies on both chondrite- and PASS-normalized plots. This may indicate that the BIFs within the Elom area were formed within a redox stratified ocean. The positive Ce anomalies in the studied samples likely suggest that the basin in which Fe formations were deposited was reducing with respect to Ce, probably in the suboxic or anoxic seawaters.