A new key pole for the East European Craton at 1452 Ma: Palaeomagnetic and geochronological constraints from mafic rocks in the Lake Ladoga region (Russian Karelia)

Palaeomagnetic and geochronological studies on mafic rocks in the Lake Ladoga region in South Russian Karelia provide a new, reliably dated Mesoproterozoic key paleopole for the East European Craton (Baltica). U–Pb dating on baddeleyite gives a crystallisation age of 1452 ± 12 Ma for one of the studied dolerite dykes. A mean palaeomagnetic pole for the Mesoproterozoic dolerite dykes, Valaam sill and Salmi basalts yields a paleopole at 15.2°N, 177.1°E, A₉₅ = 5.5°. Positive baked contact test for the dolerite dykes and positive reversal test for the Salmi basalts and for the dykes confirm the primary nature of the magnetisation. Comparison of this Baltica palaeopole with coeval paleomagnetic data for Laurentia and Siberia provides a revised palaeoposition of these cratons. The results verify that the East European Craton, Laurentia and Siberia were part of the supercontinent Columbia from the Late Palaeoproterozoic to the Middle Neoproterozoic.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of Dolerite Dykes, West Gar0 Hills, Meghalaya: A Preliminary Study

The Precambrian gneissic basement of West Gar0 hills, Meghalaya has been traversed by dolerite, metadolerite and basaltic rocks. The dolerite and basaltic rocks are tholeiites and show basic to intermediate composition with Mid- Oceanic Ridge Basalt (MORB) chemical affinity. These dolerite dykes are slightly older than the Sylhet traps and do not indicate genetic relationship with the latter. Relative age relationships suggest that the dykes are Jurassic in age and different from the dykes related to Sylhet volcanism and other ultrabasic and basic dykes in the area. Geochemical data suggest that these dykes have formed from a differentiated product of primary picritic magma of upper mantle source. This dyke activity may be related to the extensional tectonism during the Jurassic period due to the breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent.     

SHRIMP baddeleyite age for the Fraser Dyke Swarm,southeast Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia

Recent high‐resolution aeromagnetic data have delineated an extensive swarm of undeformed northeast‐trending dolerite dykes in the southeastern Yilgarn Craton, known previously only from isolated exposures in surface mining operations. Owing to parallelism of the dykes to the Fraser Mobile Belt, the eastern segment of the Albany‐Fraser Orogen, the swarm is referred to here as the Fraser Dyke Swarm. Ion‐microprobe dating of baddeleyite from a granophyric segregation in the centre of one dyke yields a mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 1212 ± 10 Ma (95% confidence limits). The location of the Fraser Dyke Swarm, adjacent and parallel to the Fraser Mobile Belt, suggests that the dykes may have been emplaced into lines of weakness that originated during tectonic loading and downwards flexure of the craton margin. This is the first evidence of ca 1210 Ma mafic dykes and associated crustal‐scale extension in the southeast Yilgarn Craton, although the age is similar to those reported recently for dolerite and quartz diorite dykes in the central and southern part of the craton, suggesting that a genetic relationship may exist between intrusions in the two areas.     

Editor's note

Postcratonization intrusions in the Yilgarn Block of Western Australia are predominantly dykes with high length/width ratios and sharp contacts with minimal thermal metamorphism of country rock. Dyke frequency and number of relative age relationships increase towards the exposed margins of the Yilgarn Block. Dykes in the northern, southern and western margins of the Yilgarn Block are mafic, ranging from gabbro to magnetite‐rich leucodolerite, and have apparently been intruded over a long time interval in response to periodic reactivation of the tectonically active craton margins. Dykes in the central Yilgarn Block range from porphyritic olivine picrite to magnetite‐rich quartz dolerite and display a spectrum of chemical compositions with an overall trend of tholeiitic iron‐enrichment. The concentration of both Archaean and Proterozoic rocks of high‐Mg nature in the central Yilgarn Block is suggestive of a fundamental control, perhaps in the mantle source area, and also indicates that ultramafic magmas were generated in the area over an extensive time interval. Dykes in the central Yilgarn Block were emplaced in tensional fractures from the Late Archaean until the culmination of a major marginal crust‐forming event at about 2000 Ma. On the basis of the limited data available, the dykes are similar to poststabilization swarms in other cratonic nucleii.     

1.2 Ga Mafic dyke near York,southwestern Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia

A SHRIMP ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon age of 1204 ± 10 Ma is reported for an east west trending dolerite dyke from near York in the southwestern Yilgarn Craton. This age is identical within analytical uncertainty to previously reported ages of ca 1210 Ma for dykes from the central Wheatbelt and the Western and Eastern Goldfields. The consistency of the dyke ages and the wide areal extent of the dykes suggests that emplacement occurred as a single magmatic pulse at ca 1210 Ma throughout the southwestern Yilgarn Craton. The similarities between the age of the dykes and the ages of late events in the Albany Fraser Orogeny, and the approximate parallelism of the east west trending dykes to the margin of the orogen, raises the possibility that these events are related.     

Geochronology and petrogenesis of the mafic dykes from the Purang ophiolite:Implications for evolution of the western Yarlung-Tsangpo suture zone,southwestern Tibet

The>2000 km Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone(IYSZ)is composed of the Neo-tethys oceanic remnants,flysch units and related continental rocks,which has been regarded as the boundary between the Eurasian and Indian terranes.Among the ophiolitic complexes,the Purang ophiolite is the biggest massif in the IYSZ,and many studies have been conducted on this ophiolite.However,previous studies have mainly focused on harzburgite,clinopyroxenite and dunite.Field observations show that mafic dykes were emplaced within the Purang ophiolite.However,petrogenetic evolutions of those mafic dykes are poorly understood.In this study,we present new LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results,whole-rock geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope analyses for microgabbro,gabbro and dolerite dykes from the Purang ophiolite of the southwestern IYSZ,respectively.Three samples yielded zircon U-Pb ages of144.2±2.1 Ma.127.9±2.3 Ma and 126.5±0.42 Ma,suggesting two different phases of magmatic activities distinctly.Whole-rock geochemical results suggest that the gabbro samples show alkaline features marked by enrichments of light rare earth elements(LREE)and large-ion lithophile elements(LILE),as well as Nb-Ta elements,suggesting an oceanic island basalt-like(OIB-like)geochemical affinity.However,the dolerite and microgabbro samples demonstrate sub-alkaline characteristics with normal mid-oceanic ridge basalt-like(N-MORB-like)geochemical features.Three distinct mafic dykes show significant Rb element depletion.The geochemical data and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic features suggest that the microgabbro and gabbro rocks were derived from a depleted mantle that had been metasomatized by partial melts of sediments and enriched slab-derived fluids.The dolerite was also originated from a depleted mantle marked by significantly depleted Sr-Nd-Hf compositions,which was not influenced by enriched slab-derived fluids and sediments contamination during subsequent evolution.The isotope and geochemical data and tectonic diagrams suggest a tectonic transition from a within-plate to a midoceanic ridge basalt-like(MORB-like)setting during the period from ca.144 Ma to 127 Ma.Combined with regional background and this study,we propose that these mafic dykes were formed in an oceanic back-arc basin setting.Additionally,integrated with previous studies,we suggest that the geodynamic evolution of the southwestern and central parts of the Neo-Tethys oceanic basin is comparable in Early Cretaceous.     

Mineralogical and chemical characteristics of newer dolerite dyke around Keonjhar,Orissa: Implication for hydrothermal activity in subduction zone setting

The newer dolerite dykes around Keonjhar within the Singbhum Granite occur in NE–SW, NW–SE and NNE–SSW trends. The mafic dykes of the present study exhibit several mineralogical changes like clouding of plagioclase feldspars, bastitisation of orthopyroxene, and development of fibrous amphibole (tremolite–actinolite) from clinopyroxene, which are all considered products of hydrothermal alterations. This alteration involves addition and subtraction of certain elements. Graphical analyses with Alteration index and elemental abundances show that elements like Rb, Ba, Th, La and K have been added during the alteration process, whereas elements like Sc, Cr, Co, Ni, Si, Al, Fe, Mg and Ca have been removed. It is observed that in spite of such chemical alteration, correlation between major and trace elements, characteristic of petrogenetic process, is still preserved. This might reflect systematic Alteration (addition or subtraction) of elements without disturbing the original element to element correlation. It has also been established by earlier workers that the evolution of newer dolerite had occurred in an arc-back arc setting which may also be true for newer dolerites of the present study. This is evident from plots of pyroxene composition and whole rock composition of newer dolerite samples in different tectonic discrimination diagrams using immobile elements. The newer dolerite dykes of the Keonjhar area may thus be considered to represent an example of hydrothermal activity on mafic rocks in an arc setting.     

Rb–Sr and <Superscript>147</Superscript>Sm–<Superscript>143</Superscript>Nd systematics of gabbro and dolerites from fragments of ophiolite complexes of the Middle Urals

The Rb–Sr and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd age data obtained for sheeted dolerite dykes and rocks of the Platinum Belt of the Urals within the Tagil segment of the paleoceanic spreading structure (Middle Urals) are discussed. The study of the Rb–Sr isotope systematics of gabbro allowed us to reveal errochronous dependencies, which yielded ages of 415 and 345 Ma at (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)₀ = 0.70385 ± 0.00068 and 0.7029 ± 0.0010, correspondingly. The ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd isotope age data demonstrate a specific coincidence of the chronometric ages of the sheeted dolerite dyke complex (426 ± 54, 426 ± 34, and 424 ± 19 Ma) and gabbro from the Revda gabbro–ultramafic massif (431 ± 27 Ma) and from screens between dolerite dykes in the sheeted dyke complex (427 ± 32 Ma, 429 ± 26 Ma). The proximity of the ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd ages of gabbro and dolerite can be explained by the thermal effect of the basaltic melt, which is the protolith for the dyke complex, on the hosting gabbro.     

Aspects of the magmatic geochemistry of bismuth

Bismuth has been determined in 74 rocks from a differentiated tholeiitic dolerite, two calc-alkaline batholith suites and in 66 mineral separates from one of the batholiths. Average bismuth contents, weighted for rock type, of the Great Lake (Tasmania) dolerite, the Southern California batholith and the Idaho batholith are, 32, 50 and 70 ppb respectively. All three bodies demonstrate an enrichment of bismuth in residual magmas with magmatic differentiation. Bismuth is greatly enriched (relative to the host rock) in the calcium-rich accessory minerals, apatite and sphene, but other mineral analyses show that a Bi-Ca association is of little significance to the magmatic geochemistry of bismuth. Most of the bismuth, in the Southern California batholith at least, occurs in a trace mineral phase (possibly sulfides) present as inclusions in the rock-forming minerals.     

Petrographic and structural analysis of the Precambrian rocks in the Zalbi Sector,northwest Léré, Chad

The northwestern part of southwest Chad is one of the best regions to find exposed Precambrian terrains and their Phanerozoic cover. In this area, it is easy to establish the lithostratigraphic and structural relationships between sedimentary and granitic rocks, greenstone belts and dolerite dykes. Based on petrographic and structural studies, we distinguished the greenstone belts that belong to the Neoproterozoic Zalbi Series. The Neoproterozoic greenstone belts that are intruded by three generations of Pan-African granitoids (gabbro-diorite, biotite monzogranite and leucogranite) host the mineral resources in the region. The Precambrian rocks are covered by Cretaceous shale, sandstone and microconglomerate in the Kebbi Basin, and intruded by dolerite dykes. These late dolerite dykes, have a continental tholeiitic composition, which is supported by the presence of orthopyroxene in the mineralogical assemblage. Structurally, two major deformation events are present in the Zalbi Series. The earliest D₁ event is the most intensive and is associated with vertical to subvertical north-trending S₁ foliation, a vertical L₁ lineation and P₁ folds; the metamorphism associated with this phase is equilibrated in greenschist facies conditions. The second D₂ event is discrete and is characterised by large-amplitude folds and fractures.     

Petrology and petrogenesis of a tertiary bimodal dolerite-peralkaline/subalkaline trachyte/rhyolite dyke association from Lundy,Bristol Channel,UK

The island of Lundy forms the southernmost igneous complex of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province (BTVP) and consists of granite (≈ 90%) emplaced into deformed Devonian sedimentary rocks (Pilton Shale) and associated with a swarm of dykes of dolerite/basalt, minor trachyte and rhyolite composition. The dolerites are of varied olivine basalt composition and are associated with peralkaline trachyte and subalkaline/peralkaline rhyolite with alkali feldspar and quartz ± alkali amphibole ± pyroxene mineralogy. The dyke swarm is therefore an anorogenic bimodal dolerite/basalt–trachyte/rhyolite BTVP association. Although the dyke association is bimodal in major element terms between dolerite/basalt and minor trachyte/rhyolite, the mineralogy and trace element geochemistry indicate that the dykes may be regarded as a cogenetic dolerite—peralkaline trachyte/rhyolite association with minor subalkaline rhyolites. Sr and Nd isotope data indicate derivation of these magmas from a similar BTVP mantle source (with or without minor contamination by Pilton Shale, or possibly Lundy granite). The petrogenesis of the Lundy dyke association is therefore interpreted in terms of extensive fractional crystallization of basaltic magma in a magma chamber of complex geometry below the (exposed) Lundy granite. Fractional crystallization of a representative dolerite magma (olivine ± clinopyroxene ± plagioclase) yields trachyte magma from which the crystallization of alkali feldspar (anorthoclase) ± plagioclase (oligoclase) + Fe–Ti oxide + apatite results in peralkaline rhyolite. Rarer subalkaline rhyolites result from fractionation from a similar dolerite source which did not achieve a peralkaline composition so allowing the crystallization and fractionation of zircon. The basalt–(minor trachyte)/rhyolite bimodality reflects rapid crystallization of basalt magma to trachyte (and rhyolite) over a relatively small temperature interval (mass fraction of melt, F = ≈ 0.15). The rapid high level emplacement of basalt, trachyte and rhyolite dyke magmas is likely to have been associated with the development of a substantial composite bimodal basalt–(minor trachytel)/rhyolite volcano above the BTVP Lundy granite in the Bristol Channel.     

Paleomagnetism of the Mesoproterozoic Gabbro–Dolerite Dykes of the Bunger Hills (East Antarctica): A Key Paleomagnetic Pole and Tectonic Implications

Geotectonics - We present paleomagnetic data acquired on 276 samples from 24 Mesoproterozoic (ca 1132 Ma) postkinematic gabbro–dolerite dykes in the Bunger Hills (Queen Mary Land, East...     

Age and origin of early Proterozoic dolerite dykes in South-West Greenland

Samples of three dolerite dykes from South-West Greenland give a pooled weighted mean Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron age of 2,130±65 Ma. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are 0.70155±0.00018 for one of the dykes (Naujat) and 0.70277±0.00012 for the other two (Torssut and Akinaq). A fourth dyke (Qaqarssuaq) did not yield an isochron. Torssut samples have significantly lower initial ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios than samples from the Naujat dyke, indicating that the Torssut dyke has been affected by crustal contamination. Samples of the dykes vary widely in chemical composition because of an uneven distribution of different primocryst phases throughout the dykes, and because of variable degrees of fractionation of the magma. For two of the dykes some constraints on the composition of the parent magma have been inferred from trace element data. Higher concentrations of K, Rb, Ba, Sr, Ce and perhaps Nb (at comparable levels of magmatic fractionation) in the dykes with higher Sr_i are probably related to crustal contamination of their parent magmas. Two of the dykes probably intruded from zoned magma chambers. The marginal zones of these dykes crystallised from a strongly fractionated magma, whereas the centres of the dykes consist of more primitive material with large proportions of olivine and plagioclase primocrysts. The central part of Torssut is less strongly contaminated with crustal Pb than the border zones. A more detailed analysis of the Pb-isotopic composition in the Torssut dyke shows that contaminant lead must have been derived from rocks in the deeper crust considerably older than the late Archaean gneisses which occur at the surface.     

Hydrothermally altered dolerite dykes in East Greenland: implications for Ca-metasomatism of basaltic protoliths

Dolerite dykes that cut Tertiary baslats near the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland, are extensively altered to metasomatic assemblages indicating large scale mobilisation of calcium and alkalis. The alteration is characterised by replacement of the dolerite by prehnite together with lesser amounts of epidote, amphibole, salite, titanite, calcite and chlorite, resulting in a complete loss of primary igneous texture. A related type of alteration in the same dykes consists of albite, epidote, amphibole and chlorite with only partial loss of primary texture. Textural relations indicate that the albitic alteration occurs first and is progressively overprinted by the later CaAl-silicate dominated alteration with a consequent large addition of calcium and removal of sodium. Quartz is absent at all stages of alteration. The metasomatic reactions are confined to the centres of a group 10 to 20 metres wide, compound dykes, that were intruded late relative to the majority of Tertiary dykes in this part of East Greenland. These dykes contain abundant leucocratic segregations, the pegmatitic and drusy nature of which suggest volatile pressure increased at late stages in dyke cooling, possibly leading to an early episode of autometasomatism. The later CaAl-silicate alteration is localised around these segregations, but affects the surrounding dolerite. Hydrogen isotope data indicates that the fluids responsible for precipitation of the CaAl-silicates were meteoric, and derived from the surrounding basalt-hosted hydrothermal system. The physical attributes of the dykes, including their width, compound nature, and high initial porosity, are all factors that favoured the influx of surrounding pore fluids into the dyke centres, where they became isolated and reacted to form the CaAl-silicate assemblages. Fluid flow into the dyke centres may have been characterised by fluid movement orthogonal to isotherms. Changes in the relative concentrations of aqueous species in fluids coexisting with albite and CaAl-silicates as a function of temperature along such flowlines are considered an important factor in driving the observed Ca–Na exchange.     

Geochemistry of an ENE–WSW to NE–SW trending ∼2.37 Ga mafic dyke swarm of the eastern Dharwar craton,India: Does it represent a single magmatic event?

A vast tract of ENE–WSW to NE–SW trending mafic dyke swarm transects Archaean basement rocks within the eastern Dharwar craton. Petrographic data reveal their dolerite/olivine dolerite or gabbro/olivine gabbro composition. Geochemical characteristics, particularly HFSEs, indicate that not all these dykes are co-genetic but are probably derived from more than one magma batch and different crystallization trends. In most samples the La^N/Lu^N ratio is at ∼2, whereas others have a La^N/Lu^N ratio >2 and show higher concentrations of high-field strength elements (HFSEs) than the former group. As a consequence, we assume that the ENE–WSW to NE–SE trending mafic dykes of the eastern Dharwar craton do not represent one single magmatic event but were emplaced in two different episodes; one of them dated at about 2.37 Ga and another probably at about 1.89 Ga. Trace element modelling also supports this inference: older mafic dykes are derived from a melt generated through ∼25% melting of a depleted mantle, whereas the younger set of dykes shows its derivation through a lower degree of melting (∼15%) of a comparatively enriched mantle source.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Proterozoic dykes in Tamil nadu, southern India: another example of the Archaean lithospheric mantle source

Approximately 1650-Ma-old NW/SE and NE/SW-trending dolerite dykes in the Tiruvannamalai (TNM) area and approximately 1800-Ma-old NW/SE-trending dolerite dykes in the Dharmapuri (DP) area constitute major Proterozoic dyke swarms in the high-grade granulite region of Tamil nadu, southern India. The NW- and NE-trending TNM dykes are compositionally very similar and can be regarded as having been formed during a single magmatic episode. The DP dykes may relate to an earlier similar magmatic episode. The dolerites are Fe-rich tholeiites and most of the elemental variations can be explained in terms of fractional crystallisation. Clinopyroxene and olivine are the inferred ferromagnesian fractionation phases followed by plagioclase during the late fractionation stages. All the studied dykes have, similar to many continental flood basalts (CFB), large-ion lithophile element (LILE) and light rare-earth element (LREE) enrichment and Nb and Ta depletion. The incompatible element abundance patterns are comparable to the patterns of many other Proterozoic dykes in India and Antarctica, to the late Archaean (～2.72 Ga) Dominion volcanics in South Africa and to the early Proterozoic (～2.0 Ga) Scourie dykes of Scotland. The geochemical characteristics of the TNM and DP dykes cannot be explained by crustal contamination alone. Instead, they are consistent with derivation from an enriched lithospheric mantle source which appears to have been developed much earlier than the dyke intrusions during a major crustal building event in the Archaean. The dyke magmas may have been formed by dehydration melting induced by decompression and lithospheric attenuation or plume impingement at the base of the lithosphere. These magmas, compared with CFB, appear to be the minor partial melts from plume heads of smaller diameter and of shallow origin (650 km). Therefore, the Proterozoic thermal events could induce crustal attenuation and dyke intrusions in contrast to the extensive CFB volcanism and continental rifting generally associated with the Phanerozoic plumes of larger head diameter (>1000 km) and of deeper origin (at crust mantle boundary).     

闽西南E⁃MORB型基性岩墙成因:来自地球化学、锆石U⁃Pb年代学及Sr⁃Nd同位素证据

闽西南地区发育富集洋脊玄武岩（E-MORB）地球化学特征的基性岩墙,这对研究晚中生代中国东南部的构造岩浆作用具有重要指示意义.利用岩石学、锆石U-Pb年代学、元素地球化学、同位素地球化学等方法对早白垩世闽西南基性岩墙进行研究,岩墙以辉绿岩和角闪辉长辉绿岩为主,属于中-低钾岩石系列,Mg#值为55.80~66.38.锆石U-Pb年龄为117.4±3.8 Ma,为早白垩世晚期岩浆活动的产物.样品富集Rb、Ba、U、K、LREE等元素,无明显Nb、Ta、Ti亏损,显示出E-MORB的地球化学特征;（87Sr/86Sr）_i=0.706 50~0.710 19、ε_Nd（t）=-0.9~4.0,同位素Sr中等富集、Nd弱亏损.成岩过程有少量橄榄石和单斜辉石的分离结晶作用,无明显地壳混染作用.由于太平洋板块受南岭E-W向巨厚岩石圈的阻碍,导致板片下插速率与邻区产生差异,局部撕裂形成板片窗,软流圈地幔物质沿“窗口”上涌并卷裹起板片上的海洋沉积物,在上升中发生交代作用形成具有E-MORB特征的地幔岩.在早白垩世晚期的大陆拉张-陆内初始裂谷背景下,伴随软流圈上涌富集地幔岩发生部分熔融,形成的基性岩浆上侵形成了闽西南基性岩墙.      

The 2405 Ma doleritic dykes in the Karelian Craton: A fragment of a Paleoproterozoic large igneous province

New data on the age and composition of doleritic dykes of the Karelian Craton on the Fennoscandian Shield are reported. Based on the results of U–Pb dating of baddeleyite, a new age episode (2404 ± 5 Ma) in the formation of basic rocks on the Karelian Craton is established. Comparison of the composition of the studied dolerite with that of dykes of the same age from other Archean cratons worldwide shows their essential similarity and allows us to suggest their formation within a single large igneous province. The data obtained support the current models of supercontinental reconstructions for the period of 2400 Ma.     

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

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

Ion microprobe baddeleyite and zircon ages for Late Archaean mafic dykes of the Pilbara Craton,Western Australia

Ion microprobe U–Th–Pb analyses of baddeleyite and zircon yield precise ages for several mafic intrusions in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. Baddeleyite was dated from four dolerite dykes of the north‐northeast‐trending Black Range swarm intruded into granitoid‐greenstone basement in the northern part of the craton. The mean ²⁰⁷Pb*/²⁰⁶Pb* age of 2772 ± 2 Ma, interpreted as an unambiguous age of emplacement for the dykes, is within error of previous ion microprobe U–Pb zircon ages for the Mt Roe flood basalts and confirms that the dykes acted as feeders to the volcanic rocks. The Sylvania Inlier, in the southeastern Pilbara Craton, also contains north‐northeast‐trending dykes that were correlated previously with the Black Range swarm. Based on concordant and discordant zircon analyses from samples of two dykes, the best estimate of the age of the Sylvania dykes is 2747 ± 4 Ma. The Sylvania dykes thus appear to be significantly younger than, and hence unrelated to, the Black Range swarm, but may have acted as feeders to younger volcanic units in the Fortescue Group such as the Kylena Formation.