Titanium deposits of northwestern USSR (eastern part of Baltic Shield)

A certain titanium potential of the territory is definitely indicated by analysis of its vanadiferous titanium magnetite ores (table 2), concentrates (table 3), and genetic characteristics of titaniferous magmatic formations in Kola peninsula and Karelia (table 1), with recommendations for further prospecting. -- V.P. Sokoloff     

Microfossils from the Arymas and Debengda formations, the Riphean of the Olenek Uplift: Age and presumable nature

Studied assemblages of diverse organic-walled microfossils separated from the Arymas and Debengda formations of the Olenek Uplift include several paleobiological groups of microorganisms. Sufficiently large morphotypes of the first group are identified with remains of cyanobacteria. Morphotypes of variable spiral structure, which dwelt in association or in symbiosis with cyanobionts, are attributed to the same bacterial community. The other group includes a series of different acritarch genera whose characters suggest their affinity with green algae of the order Desmidiales. It is very likely that this group coexisted on siliciclastic shoals with large ancestral forms of the present-day brown algae. Several microfossil taxa have been known before from the Neoproterozoic deposits only. With due regard for the relatively gradual accumulation of sedimentary succession lacking large hiatuses and for the regular series of K-Ar dates characterizing three Riphean formations of the Olenek Uplift, it is possible to suggest that there was the Arymas-Debengda-Khaipakh cycle of long-lasted, almost uninterrupted sedimentation within the time span of 1250–900 Ma. It is also admissible that age ranges of some Late Precambrian microfossils are much larger than their distribution intervals postulated formerly.     

Perspectives of the discovery of complex (gold and platinum group metal) paleoplacers in the eastern Baltic Shield

In the eastern Baltic Shield, coastal-marine and continental sediments of the Vendian platform cover have been drilled and recovered on either side of the regional Vetrenyi Poyas Uplift. Summarization of the geological prospecting material and new data make it possible to predict the existence of complex (gold and platinum group metal) placers in basal layers of these deposits.Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 1, 2005, pp. 12–24.Original Russian Text Copyright 2005 by Konstantinovskii.     

Upper Riphean and Vendian sandstones of the Bashkirian anticlinorium

The analysis of lithogeochemical data on the Upper Riphean and Vendian sandstones from the Bashkirian anticlinorium showed that sandstone associations formed in a passive sluggish tectonic regime in the middle Late Vendian were replaced by associations accumulated in the more active tectonic settings. This is well seen in the SiO₂-K₂O/Na₂O and (Fe₂O₃^* + MgO)-TiO₂ diagrams reflecting the particular and median compositions of psammites. The lithochemical characteristics of sandstones were examined to determine the compositional variation of rock complexes eroded on paleodrainage areas. Quartz-rich sedimentary, metasedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, as well as felsic igneous rocks prevailed in the paleodrainage areas throughout the entire Late Riphean and Early Vendian, while the main sources of clastic material in the Late Vendian were igneous intermediate and basic rocks. With allowance made for the previous comparative-lithological data and some other materials, significant similarity in the position and orientation of compositional fields of psammites from the middle and upper levels of the Asha Group (Bashkirian anticlinorium) with fields of psammites from different syncollisional (flysch and molasse) basins in the SiO₂-K₂O/Na₂O, K₂O/Na₂O-SiO₂/Al₂O₃, F1–F2 and other diagrams suggests that the middle Late Vendian (beginning from the Basa level) was marked by a variation in tectonic/geodynamic settings of sandstone accumulation and in composition of the eroded paleodrainage systems. The revealed trend agrees well with concept of the existence of the Late Riphean-Vendian Pechora paleocean.     

Mid-Proterozoic magmatic arc evolution at the southwest margin of the Baltic Shield

Mid-Proterozoic calc-alkaline granitoids from southern Norway, and their extrusive equivalents have been dated by LAM-ICPMS U–Pb on zircons to ages ranging from 1.61 to 1.52 Ga; there are no systematic age differences across potential Precambrian terrane boundaries in the region. U–Pb and Lu–Hf data on detrital zircons from metasedimentary gneisses belonging to the arc association show that these were mainly derived from ca. 1.6 Ga arc-related rocks. They also contain a minor but significant fraction of material derived from (at least) two distinct older (1.7–1.8 Ga) sources; one has a clear continental signature, and the other represents juvenile, depleted mantle-derived material. The former component resided in granitoids of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt, the other in mafic rocks related to these granites or to the earliest, subduction-related magmatism in the region. Together with published data from south Norway and southwest Sweden, these findings suggest that the western margin of the Baltic Shield was the site of continuous magmatic arc evolution from at least ca 1.66 to 1.50 Ga. Most of the calc-alkaline metaigneous rocks formed in this period show major- and trace-element characteristics of rocks formed in a normal continental margin magmatic arc. The exceptions are the Stora Le-Marstrand belt in Sweden and the Kongsberg complex of Norway, which have an arc-tholeiitic chemical affinity. The new data from south Norway do not justify a suggestion that the crust on the west side of the Oslo Rift had an early to mid-Proterozoic history different from the crust to the east. Instead, they indicate that the different parts of south Norway and southwest Sweden were situated at the margin of the Baltic Shield throughout the mid-Proterozoic. Changes from arc tholeitic to calc-alkaline magmatism reflect changes with time in the subduction zone system, or lateral differences in subduction zone geometry. The NW American Cordillera may be a useful present-day analogue for the tectonomagmatic evolution of the mid-Proterozoic Baltic margin.     

Chronology of multiphase emplacement of the Salmi rapakivi granite-anorthosite complex, Baltic Shield: implications for magmatic evolution

The U-Pb dating of 18 samples, representing the principal rock types of the 4000 km² Salmi anorthosite-rapakivi granite complex and its satellite Uljalegi pluton, southeastern Baltic (Fennoscandian) Shield, reveals that six temporally distinct episodes of igneous activity occurred in a timespan of 17 million years. From oldest to youngest they are: (1) gabbronorite and monzonite at 1546.7 Ma; (2) syenogranite at 1543.4 Ma; (3) early wiborgite and pyterlite at 1540.6–1537.9 Ma; (4) biotite granite and more evolved granite at 1538.4–1535 Ma; (5) late pyterlite at 1535.2 Ma; (6) olivine gabbro and biotite-amphibole granite at 1530 Ma. The resolvable intervals between magmatic episodes are 3.5–5.0 million years. Early wiborgite and pyterlite (3, above) and biotite granite (4, above) probably crystallized from multiple magma intrusions. Age differences of 3.4±1.5 million years between zircon and baddeleyite in olivine gabbro (6, above) are probably a result of xenocrystic origin of baddeleyite extracted from an earlier mafic phase of the Salmi complex. The ages and chemical features of early and late zircon populations, together with our modeling of magma crystallization and zircon growth, show that the duration of magma crystallization and Pb-diffusion in zircon was short lived and insignificant compared to the precision of dating of about ±1–2 million years. Hence, the range of U-Pb ages for each of the major rock types may approximate the emplacement intervals of their respective magmas. Average rate of magma emplacement was about 0.01 km³/year for the most voluminous phase of early biotite-amphibole rapakivi granite, and about 0.0024 km³/year for the Salmi complex as a whole. Compositional changes of the Salmi magmas over time are in agreement with the model of magmatism related to lithospheric extension. Received: 2 August 1996 / Accepted 19 December 1996     

Age range of formation of sedimentary-volcanogenic complex of the Vetreny Belt (the southeast of the Baltic Shield)

As a result of studying the Vetreny Belt greenstone structure (the southeast of the Baltic Shield), zircons from terrigenous deposits of the Toksha Formation, underlying the section of the sedimentary-volcanogenic complex, and zircons of the Vetreny Belt Formation, deposits of which crown the section, were dated. The results of analysis of age data of detrital zircons from quartzites of the Toksha Formation indicate that Mesoarchean greenstone complexes and paleo-Archean granitogneisses of the Vodlozero Block (Karelia) were the provenance area from which these zircons were derived. The occurrence of the youngest zircons with age of 2654.3 ± 38.5 Ma is evidence that the formation of the Vetreny Belt, including the Toksha Formation, began no earlier than this time. Zircons from volcanic rocks of the Vetreny Belt yielded the age of 2405 ± 5 Ma. Thus, the age interval of the formation of the sedimentary-volcanogenic complex of the Vetreny Belt ranges from 2654.3 ± 38.5 to 2405 ± 5 Ma.     

阿尔泰南缘克朗盆地铁木尔特花岗岩体年龄、地球化学特征及成因

铁木尔特黑云母花岗岩出露于阿尔泰造山带南缘克朗盆地北西侧,岩体主要为黑云母花岗岩。锆石的SHRIMPU-Pb定年结果表明该岩体结晶年龄为459±4.9Ma。岩石具有高的SiO_2(71.92%～76.58%)和Al_2O_3(12.92%～14.55%)含量,富碱(K_2O+Na_2O=7.09%～8.11%)、高钾(K_2O/Na_2O=1.1～1.62)、低P_2O_5(0.14%)和MgO+FeO(5%)含量,强过铝质(ACNK=1.13～1.34);富集LREE和Th、U、Pb,贫Ba、P、Sr、Ti、Nb,呈现明显的Eu负异常(δEu=0.33～0.53);并具有低的Al_2O_3/TiO_2(100)比值和高的CaO/Na_2O(0.3)比值。以上特征表明该岩体属高钾钙碱性高温型强过铝花岗岩。同时岩石具有低的Sr初始值(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr=0.701727～0.709951)和相对高的ε_(Nd)(459Ma)(-1.43～-0.98)值,两阶段Nd模式年龄较为均一(t_(2DM)=1.2～1.3Ga)。岩体的原始岩浆可能是富含白云母和黑云母的变泥质岩在大于875℃的条件下脱水熔融的产物,在部分熔融过程中有磷灰石、斜长石、钛铁矿等矿物的残留,并混入少量的幔源物质。结合阿尔泰南缘的区域地质背景综合分析,推测岩体形成于俯冲作用的初期,可能是在挤压背景下由于局部伸展减压以及异常地幔和深部热流不均匀上升提供的热影响发生的部分熔融产生。     

Structural-kinematic parageneses of the basement and cover at the southeastern margin of the Baltic Shield

Through, long-lived structural-kinematic parageneses were established in the southeastern marginal part of the Baltic Shield on the basis of structural studies. These parageneses were formed and periodically rejuvenated from at least the Paleoproterozoic until the neotectonic stage of the evolution of this territory. A series of consecutive tectonic events related to the vertical and horizontal mobility of rocks of the crystalline basement and sedimentary cover had important implications for the formation of present-day structure of the southeastern margin of the Baltic Shield. These tectonic displacements developed for an extremely long time with retention of the main kinematic tendencies. At the end of the Paleoproterozoic, the volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Vetreny Belt underwent tectonic stacking as a result of the countermotion of the crystalline masses of the Vodlozero Massif and the Belomorian-Lapland Belt. The clockwise rotation and lateral displacement of the Vodlozero Massif to the northeast provided the left-lateral transpression of the Vetreny Belt. Under these conditions, the Paleoproterozoic sequences experienced squeezing in the southeastern direction. This kinematic tendency was retained at the subsequent evolutional stages and eventually was recorded in the structure of the present-day boundary between the Baltic Shield and the Russian Platform.     

Source rocks and provenances of the Ladoga Group siliciclastic metasediments (Svecofennian Foldbelt, Baltic Shield): Results of geochemical and Sm-Nd isotopic study

Siliciclastic metasediments of the Ladoga Group that is the Kalevian stratotype in Karelia correlative with the Kalevian siliciclastic succession in Finland are studied in terms of geochemistry and Sm-Nd isotopic systematics. The results obtained show that rocks in the Ladoga Group lower part are enriched, as compared to rocks of the upper part, in TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, MgO, Cr, Co, Ni, and Sc, being comparatively depleted in Al₂O₃ and Th that is a result of compositional changes in provenances. The Sm-Nd isotopic data evidence that siliciclastic sediments of the Ladoga Group have accumulated during the erosion of rocks, which originated at the time of the Archean and Early Proterozoic crust-forming processes. Siliciclastic material with the Archean and Early Proterozoic T_Nd(DM) values, which are characteristic of metasediments in the group lower part, was derived respectively from granite gneisses of the Archean basement in the Karelian megablock of the Baltic Shield and from volcanic rocks of the Sortavala Group. Volcanic rocks of island-arc terranes of the Svecofennian foldbelt represented main source of siliciclastic material that accumulated in upper part of the succession.     

Age and Sources of Dunite from the Konder Massif (Aldan Shield)

The Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr isotope characteristics were studied in clinopyroxenes (Cpx) of ultrabasic rocks (dunite, wehrlite, pyroxenite, and kosvite) from the Konder massif, which is a source of a unique placer platinum deposit. The chemical composition of the clinopyroxenes studied provides evidence for their crystallization from a single melt in the course of magmatic differentiation. The Sm–Nd isotope characteristics of Cpx in dunite from the Konder massif correspond to the regression with an age of 128 ± 40 Ma, which provides evidence for the same age of rocks of the “dunite core,” wehrlite, pyroxenite, kosvite, and alkaline rocks of the subsequent intrusive stage in the Konder massif. Variations in the Sr and Nd isotope characteristics in dunite, wehrlite, pyroxenite, and kosvite result from contamination of the picritic melt with rocks of the continental crust in the course of its cumulative evolution, which allows us to exclude the model of diapiric intrusion of mantle dunite.     

Composition and provenances of mesozoic sandstones in Sikhote Alin

The composition of sandstones constituting different structural stages of the Jurassic accretionary wedge in the Samarka (upper and middle? structural levels in the Lyamfana Creek and Katen River basins, respectively) and Nadan’khada-Bikin (lower level in the Ulitka River basin) terranes of the Sikhote Alin region reflects changes in provenances and tectonic settings of the near-continental sedimentation basin in different periods of the wedge formation. In the terminal Middle Jurassic (Lyamfana Creek), the region was dominated by the subduction regime with sedimentary material transported from the eroded part of the continental-margin magmatic arc. During the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian (Katen River), erosion of granitoid batholiths of the arc exposed blocks of the crystalline basement along strike-slip faults. In the Tithonian-Berriasian period (Ulitka River), the role of these blocks increased, suggesting intensification of oblique subduction or development of transform faults during the accretion.     

Olivine-bearing rocks of the Lapland granulite belt (Baltic Shield)

Olivine-bearing varieties of garnet–clinopyroxene crystalline schists of the Lapland granulite belt have been studied in detail for the first time. Two types of olivine (iron mole fractions of 27 and 38%) are distinguished. Olivine with lower Fe content occurs as inclusions in clino- and orthopyroxene and in terms of СаО and Cr contents is close to magmatic minerals. Olivine with high Fe content presumably suffered highand moderate-temperature metamorphism. The olivine-bearing rocks contain several grains of omphacite with 30–37 mol % jadeite and garnet with 44–50 mol % pyrope, which can be regarded as relict assemblages of the early stage of eclogitization of a magmatic protolith. The presence of symplectites indicates their retrograde transformation during decompression. The protoliths of the studied rocks could be olivine gabbronorites and pyroxenites. It was found that the rocks contain high-alumina minerals: corundum, spinel, and sapphirine. In addition, Al₂O₃ content in some amphibole grains is as high as 19 wt %. This indicates that the ascent of the deep-seated rocks was accompanied by interaction with Al-rich fluid. The positive Eu anomaly in the olivine-bearing rocks and some of their minerals is indicative of the reducing character of fluid. Activation of fluid reworking leading to the formation and transformation of the olivine-bearing rocks, transfer of alumina and its precipitation at different depths are related to the processes at the base of the Paleoproterozoic rift system of Karelides.     

Detrital zircon ages from southern Norway – implications for the Proterozoic evolution of the southwestern Baltic Shield

An ion-microprobe (SIMS) U-Pb zircon dating study on four samples of Precambrian metasediments from the high-grade Bamble Sector, southern Norway, gives the first information on the timing of discrete crust-forming events in the SW part of the Baltic Shield. Recent Nd and Pb studies have indicated that the sources of the clastic metasediments in this area have crustal histories extending back to 1.7 to 2.1 Ga, although there is no record of rocks older than 1.6 Ga in southern Norway. The analysed metasediments are from a sequence of intercalated, centimetre to 10-metre wide units of quartzites, semi-metapelites, metapelites and mafic granulites. The zircons can be grouped in two morphological populations: (1) long prismatic; (2) rounded, often flattened. The BSE images reveal that both populations consist of oscillatory zoned, rounded and corroded cores (detrital grains of magmatic origin), surrounded by homogeneous rims (metamorphic overgrowths). The detrital zircons have ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages between 1367 and 1939 Ma, with frequency maxima in the range 1.85 to 1.70 Ga and 1.60 to 1.50 Ga. There is no correlation between crystal habit and age of the zircon. One resorbed, inner zircon core in a detrital grain is strongly discordant and gives a composite inner core-magmatic outer core ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2383 Ma. Two discrete, unzoned zircons have ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 1122 and 1133 Ma, representing zircon growth during the Sveconorwegian high-grade metamorphism. Also the μm wide overgrowths, embayments in the detrital cores and apparent “inner cores” which represent secondary metamorphic zircon growth in deep embayments in detrital grains, are of Sveconorwegian age. The composite-detrital-metamorphic zircon analyses give generally discordant ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U versus ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U ratios and maximum ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 1438 Ma. These data demonstrate the existence of a protocrust of 1.7 to 2.0 Ga in the southwestern part of the Baltic Shield, implying a break in the overall westward younging trend of the Precambrian crust, inferred from the southeastern part of the Baltic Shield. Received: 8 April 1997 / Accepted: 14 July 1997     

鄂尔多斯盆地东缘煤层含气量的构造控制作用

针对鄂尔多斯盆地东缘不同地区煤层含气量分布不同的特点,通过分析三交-柳林、大宁-吉县和韩城地区的构造及其各主采煤层含气量分布特征,探讨了鄂尔多斯盆地东缘3个地区煤层含气量分布的构造控制作用。结果表明,燕山期构造运动是整个鄂尔多斯盆地东缘的关键构造事件;本区构造作用对煤层含气量分布的控制主要体现为控制煤层赋存状态,而构造部位、构造展布和构造性质,则控制煤的变质作用以及煤层气的保存条件;三交-柳林地区仅局部单斜构造为煤层气有利富集区,大宁-吉县地区煤层气赋存构造条件较好,应作为鄂尔多斯盆地东缘煤层气勘探开发的重点区域,韩城东部矿区煤层气赋存较差,且北压南拉的构造格局常造成含气量南低北高。