Metamorphism of sulfides and gangue quartz at the Degdekan and Gol’tsovsky gold deposits, Magadan oblast

The Degdekan and Gol’tsovsky gold-quartz deposits are located in the southeastern Yana-Kolyma gold belt. The orebodies occur as quartz veins hosted in metaterrigenous rocks and cut by postmineral basic-intermediate dikes. It was established that metamorphism of sulfides and gangue quartz was restricted to a few centimeters off the dike contact. According to sulfide geothermometers, the metamorphic temperatures close to the contact of dikes attained 700°C at the Degdekan deposit and were no higher than 491°C at the Gol’tsovsky deposit. The formation of the forbidden assemblage of quartz and loellingite and its fine-grained texture indicate that the thermal effect on the Degdekan ore was short-term. The prolonged heating of the ore at the Gol’tsovsky deposit gave rise to the aggradation recrystallization of quartz and the formation of equilibrium sulfide aggregates that show only insignificant differences in composition from the primary phases. The average homogenization temperature of primary and pseudosecondary fluid inclusions is 206 ± 40°C in the unmetamorphosed veins and 257 ± 33°C in the metamorphosed veins. The salinity of fluids in the primary and pseudosecondary inclusions in quartz veins of both types varies from 0.5 to 14.0 wt % NaCl equiv. The melting temperature of liquid CO₂ in the carbon dioxide inclusions, ranging from ?57.0 to ?60.8°C, suggests an admixture of CH₄ and/or N₂. The unmetamorphosed quartz veins were formed at a fluid pressure varying from 0.7 to 1.3 kbar, while quartz veins at the contact with dikes crystallized at a pressure of 0.8–1.5 kbar. The results of gas chromatography showed the presence of CO₂ and H₂O, as well as N₂ and CH₄. The average bulk of volatiles contained in the fluid inclusions in quartz from the metamorphosed veins is 1.5–2 times lower than in the unmetamorphosed veins; this proportion is consistent with the occurrence of decrepitated gas inclusions in the heated quartz.     

Gold mineralization in the West Hoggar shear zone,Algeria

The Amesmessa gold prospect is located along a vertical N-S-trending crustal-scale ductile shear zone; stretching lineations are subhorizontal. This major shear zone is a Late Pan African dextral strike-slip fault of the Pharusian Belt of the Tuareg Shield (Algeria). The Amesmessa shear zone is asymmetric: strong thermal and deformational gradients are present along its western border where biotitic ultramylonites are in contact with a rigid Archean complex (In Ouzzal block), whereas there is a progressive gradation, through mylonite then protomylonite, to the Proterozoic gneiss of the Eastern block which displays co-axial Pan African structures. The Amesmessa shear zone is characterized by the presence of a felsic dike complex emplaced during shearing, and forming the most important parent material for ultramylonites. Basic magmas and carbonatites also intruded within the shear zone. The gold-rich quartz veins are located within the ultramylonitic western part of the shear zone. These N-S-trending laminated quartz veins formed during the late increments of shearing (plastic/brittle transition), by repeated syntectonic hydraulic fracturing along zones of rheological contrast parallel to foliation. The ore mineral association (pyrite, galena, native gold, sphalerite) crystallized in the deformed quartz matrix along late shear planes. Undeformed E-W trending banded quartz veins are present in the mylonitic eastern part of the shear zone; their gold content is low and no native gold has been observed. A strong hydrothermal alteration resulted in the development (along the walls of the N-S gold-bearing quartz veins) of a 5-m-wide carbonate-sericite-albite-pyrite secondary mineral association which implies an important CO₂ supply and moderate temperature conditions. There is no alteration halo around the E-W quartz veins. Ultramylonites, hydrothermally altered rocks and quartz veins display similar REE patterns characterized by strong LREE enrichments. Shear-related fluids could be likely parental fluids for the Amesmessa gold mineralization and the associated hydrothermal alteration. Hydrothermal fluids were drawn into dilation zones and filled opening fractures along the main planar discontinuity of the most deformed rocks. The supply of CO₂ may come from a deep-seated source as suggested by the presence of carbonatite dikes in the shear zones and the existence of CO₂-H₂O-rich fluid inclusions in quartz. The location of the gold-bearing quartz veins in the western part of the shear zone can be explained by the presence of strong thermal and rheological gradients.     

Growth of subcontinental lithosphere: evidence from repeated dike injections in the Balmuccia lherzolite massif, Italian Alps

The Balmuccia alpine lherzolite massif is a fragment of subcontinental lithospheric mantle emplaced into the lower crust 251 Ma ago during the final, extensional phase of the Hercynian orogeny. The Balmuccia massif consists largely of lherzolite, with subordinate harzburgite and dunite, and an array of dike rocks formed in the mantle before crustal emplacement. Dike rocks include websterite and bronzitite of the Cr-diopside suite, spinel clinopyroxenite and spinel-poor websterite of the Al-augite suite, gabbro and gabbronorite of the late gabbro suite, and hornblendite of the hydrous vein suite. The dike rocks display consistent intrusive relationships with one another, such that Cr-diopside suite dikes are always older than dikes and veins of the Al-augite suite, followed by dikes of the late gabbro suite and veins of the hydrous vein suite. Phlogopite (phl) veinlets that formed during interaction with the adjacent crust are the youngest event. There are at least three generations of Cr-diopside suite dikes, as shown by crosscutting relations. Dikes of the Al-augite suite form a polybaric fractionation series from spinel clinopyroxenite to websterite and feldspathic websterite, which crystallized from aluminous alkaline magmas at relatively high pressures. The late gabbro suite of dikes intruded at lower pressures, where plagioclase saturation occurred before significant mafic phase fractionation. Hornblendite veins have distinct compositional and isotopic characteristics, which show that they are not related to either the Al-augite suite or to the late gabbro dike suite. Cr-diopside suite dikes have Nd and Sr isotopic compositions similar to those of the host lherzolite and within the range of compositions defined by ocean–island basalts. The Al-augite dikes and the hornblendite veins have Sr and Nd isotopic compositions similar to those of Cr-diopside suite lherzolite and websterite. The late gabbro dikes have Nd and Sr isotopic compositions similar to mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) asthenosphere. Lead isotopic compositions for all of the samples fall in the present-day MORB field on the ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb vs. ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram but are displaced above this field on the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb vs. ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram. There is overlap in the data between the Cr-diopside suite and the Al-augite and hydrous vein suites, with the exception that the Cr-diopside websterite dikes have more radiogenic Pb than any of the other samples. In Pb–Pb space as well, the late gabbro suite has the least radiogenic isotopic compositions, reflecting a change in magma source region during uplift. These data show that tectonic thinning of subcontinental lithospheric mantle during extension caused a change in the source regions of mantle-derived magmas from an ocean island basalt (OIB)-like lithosphere to the underlying MORB asthenosphere. They also demonstrate that the upper mantle acquires its heterogeneous isotopic character through several different processes, including in situ radiogenic growth, addition of asthenospheric melts, dike-wall rock ionic exchange, redistribution of the lithospheric dike and vein materials by melting, and in the late stages of emplacement, assimilation of crustal materials.     

A comparative fluid inclusion study of the Waterville and Sangerville (Vassalboro) Formations,south-central Maine

 Petrologic and oxygen isotope data indicate that water-rich fluids infiltrated metasedimentary rocks of the Waterville and Sangerville (formally Vassalboro) Formations, south-central Maine, during peak metamorphism, and depleted Sangerville rocks in alkalis but not equivalent Waterville rocks. Fluid inclusion data from two outcrops, ∼1 km apart, one of the Waterville and the other of the Sangerville Formations, suggest a cause for the geochemical difference between the two units. Postulated peak metamorphic inclusions, the texturally earliest of aqueous inclusions in the metasediments, approximate the water-rich compositions of peak fluids predicted by mineral-fluid equilibria, and have average salinity in the Sangerville Formation ∼ three times that of equivalent Waterville inclusions. The higher salinity in the Sangerville fluids could explain the greater alkali depletion in these rocks. Probable pre-peak or prograde inclusions are preserved in metasediments as the texturally earliest carbonic inclusions which contain CO₂, CH₄, N₂±H₂O, as determined by microthermometry and Raman spectrometry. They may have formed by breakdown of organic matter. Probable retrograde inclusions occur as texturally late aqueous inclusions in healed fractures with salinity ranges indistinguishable between the two formations. Synmetamorphic granitic dikes present in the two outcrops were ruled out as a source for fluids in metasediments because composition and density ranges of inclusions in dikes and metasediments are fundamentally different, and because there is no correlation between the abundance or composition of inclusions in a sample and proximity to dikes. Isochores for many of the inclusions in both metasediments and dikes are not consistent with the inferred P−T conditions of their trapping, but intersect at ∼300° to 400° C and 1 to 2 kbar. The intersections probably resulted because inclusion densities continued to equilibrate during uplift and cooling until quartz became rigid. The present densities are those at the last equilibration, not the time of trapping. In contrast, the clear distinctions in inclusion compositions between dikes and between dike and country rock show that the original compositional differences generally have been preserved. Received: 4 February 1994 / Accepted: 22 June 1994     

The geochemistry,geochronology and paleomagnetism of dikes and sills associated with the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift near Thunder Bay,Ontario, Canada

The Midcontinent Rift (MCR) of North America comprises a series of basaltic sheets, flows and intrusive rocks emplaced in the Lake Superior region during the Mesoproterozoic. The mafic rocks preserved on the northern flank of Lake Superior represent the older portions of the rift sequence and offer insights into the early development of the rift. New geochronological, geochemical and paleomagnetic data are presented for the dikes and sills located in and south of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Three sill suites are recognized within the study area; an earlier, spatially restricted ultramafic unit termed the Riverdale sill, the predominant Logan sills and Nipigon sills in the north of the study area. In addition three dike sets are recognized, the north-east trending Pigeon River swarm, the north-west trending Cloud River dikes and the Mt. Mollie dike. The geochemical data demonstrate that the majority of sills south of Thunder Bay are of Logan affinity and distinct from those of broadly similar age in the Nipigon Embayment to the north. The Pigeon River dikes that intrude the sills are geochemically coherent but distinct from the Logan sills and could not be feeders to the sills. The new age of 1109.2 ± 4.2 Ma for the Cloud River dike and its R polarity are consistent with published magnetostratigraphy. The Mt. Mollie dike age (1109.3 ± 6.3 Ma) indicates that it is not coeval with the spatially associated Crystal Lake gabbro as previously thought. The complexity of the dike and sill suites on the northern flank of suggests that the early phases of rifting occurred in distinct and changing stress fields prior to the main extensional rifting preserved in younger rocks to the south. The geochemistry and geochronology of the intrusions suggest a long-lived and complex magmatic history for the Midcontinent Rift.     

Thermal alteration of coal in the Khasyn coalfield, Magadan region, Russia

The Early Cretaceous coal deposits of the Khasyn coalfield are intruded by Palaeogene diabase dikes. The coal has vitrinite reflectance values of 2.0–2.5% R_o, and characteristics of normal anthracite at some distance from the dikes, but at direct contact with the dike two morphological coal varieties occur: coal inclusions in the diabase dike and dispersed carbonaceous matter within the dike rock. Both types of coaly matter have properties typical of anthracites: strong anisotropy, altered internal structure and high vitrinite reflectance values ranging from 3.8 to 5.5% R_o. The X-ray diffraction measurements of the interplanar spacing d(002) and the crystallite sizes Lc and La show rather similar values for coal inclusions in the dike and dispersed carbonaceous matter. The additional reflection at 3.37 Å, corresponding to semi-graphite admixture, occurs in the coal and carbonaceous matter inside the dike and is absent in the natural coal outside the dike.     

下庄矿田“交点”型铀矿床成矿机理研究及勘查思路探讨

文章通过岩石学、主微量地球化学、岩脉定年和实际勘查成果的对比研究,表明下庄矿田的中基性岩脉对铀成矿的控制作用在岩性上没有专属性。通过对中基性岩脉进行U_Pb锆石同位素测年,发现"交点"型铀矿床成矿时代与中基性岩脉成岩时代存在着巨大的矿岩时差,岩脉成岩过程中不能为铀成矿提供热源及矿化剂CO_2。对流体作用敏感的U/Th、Pb/Ce、Ba/La、Cs/Rb比值和对流体作用不敏感元素Ce/Yb比值研究为"交点"型铀成矿存在地幔流体作用提供了佐证;通过Fe~(3+)、Fe~(2+)、K_2O、Na_2O和Al_2O_3等与SiO_2线性关系的研究表明,矿化与硅化和碱交代关系密切,与其他常量元素的关系不明显。研究结果显示,中基性岩脉对铀成矿的控制作用通过对构造裂隙的控制实现,所谓的"交点"控矿本质是硅化带型铀矿化通过"界面效应"控矿的特殊表现形式,其本质是由于不同岩浆岩的产状和机械强度有所不同所致。     

Geochemical and petrological aspects of dike intrusions in the Lycian ophiolites (SW Turkey): a case study for the dike emplacement along the Tauride Belt Ophiolites

Lycian ophiolites located in the Western Taurides, are cut at all structural levels by dolerite and gabbro dikes. The dolerite dikes from this area are both pristine and metamorphosed. The non-metamorphosed dikes are observed both in the peridotites and in the metamorphic sole rocks. Accordingly, the non-metamorphosed dikes cutting the metamorphic sole were generated after cooling of the metamorphic sole rocks. The metamorphosed dolerite dikes are only observed in the peridotites. The physical conditions and timing of the metamorphism for the metamorphosed dolerite dikes are similar to those of the metamorphic sole rocks of the Lycian ophiolites suggesting that the metamorphosed dolerite dikes were metamorphosed together with the metamorphic sole rocks. Therefore, the dike injections in the western part of the Tauride Belt Ophiolites occurred before and after the generation of the metamorphic sole rocks. All metamorphosed and non-metamorphosed dikes are considered to have the same origin and all of them are subduction-related as inferred from whole-rock geochemistry and lead isotopes. Lead isotope compositions of whole rocks of both dike groups cluster in a narrow field in conventional Pb isotope diagrams (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.40–18.64; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.56–15.58; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.23–38.56) indicating a derivation from an isotopically homogeneous source. On the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb versus ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram, isotope compositions of the dikes plot slightly below the orogen curve suggesting contributions from mantle reservoir enriched by subducted oceanic lithosphere. Such a signature is typical of island arc magmatic rocks and supports the formation of the investigated rocks in a subduction-related environment.     

Calcite strains, kinematic indicators, and magnetic flow fabric of a Proterozoic pseudotachylyte swarm, Minnesota River valley, USA

Near Granite Falls, Minnesota sub-parallel pseudotachylyte, mafic dikes, and calcite veins crosscut Archean granulite facies rocks in the Minnesota River valley adjacent to the north-dipping Yellow Medicine Shear Zone (YMSZ; N80°E) that separates the Montevideo and Morton tectonic terranes. The docking of these two Archean terranes occurred prior to intrusion of the 2.067 Ga Kenora-Kabetogama dike swarm as demonstrated by aeromagnetic anomalies (correlated with field exposures) that cross the YMSZ without offset. Tectonic adjustments along the YMSZ associated with the Penokean Orogeny ( 1.8 Ga) are likely responsible for pseudotachylyte formation.Pseudotachylyte is exposed in 22 sub-parallel veins ( N80°E, 90°) each less than 2 cm wide across an outcrop width of 45 m. The pseudotachylyte matrix is commonly banded, and contains crystal fragments (quartz, plagioclase, amphibole, rutile, apatite, ilmenite, ulvöspinel), magnetite microlites, flow banding swirls, amygdules (filled with calcite, ankerite and siderite), collapsed vesicles, and abundant lithic clasts. Pseudotachylyte formed in a number of phases. Kinematic reconstruction is complex, utilizing winged porphyroclasts, S-C structures in the country rock, and fault drag indicators along the pseudotachylyte zones. Dextral motion along the YMSZ is the most common observation. Mechanically twinned calcite within amygdules in the pseudotachylyte preserves horizontal shortening normal to the pseudotachylyte strike. Calcite veins are apparently contemporaneous with the pseudotachylyte; one set preserves twinning strains identical to the calcite amygdule strains, and the second set contains a horizontal, vein-parallel (N70°E) shortening strain. The pseudotachylyte contains a flow fabric, as determined by AMS techniques, that is a proxy for vertical flow (K_max is vertical). The Kenora-Kabetogama dikes, identified geochemically, are locally parallel to the pseudotachylyte and the adjacent YMSZ tectonic suture and preserve a vertical-to-horizontal, dike-parallel AMS fabric from east (Franklin) to west (Granite Falls). Hornblende andesite dikes (055°, 1.8 Ga) are not found south of the suture, are not associated with pseudotachylyte and have a different paleopole and AMS fabric.     

Middle Paleozoic basic magmatism of the northwestern Vilyui Rift: Composition, sources, and geodynamics

Middle Paleozoic magmatism at the eastern Siberian platform was related to riftogenic processes, which were most clearly expressed in the Vilyui Rift and led to the formation of rift depressions filled with sedimentary-volcanogenic rocks and extended basaltic dike belts in rift shoulders. Two fields of diamondiferous kimberlites were found along with basaltic dikes in the Vilyui-Markha dike belt surrounding rift in the northwest. Active subalkali basaltic magmatism predated the emplacement of kimberlite bodies, which occasionally (Nyurba pipe) are cut by dikes of potassium alkali basalts. Based on geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics, deep-seated sources were determined for the intrusive and volcanic basalts of the northwestern shoulder of the Vilyui rift. The REE distribution patterns of the studied rocks normalized to the primitive mantle are close to that of OIB, except for somewhat higher HREE. In the diagrams of indicator ratios of trace and rare-earth elements, the basalts are also plotted in the OIB field, being located between the end member of plume composition (FOZO) and enriched mantle sources. The rocks have positive ε_Sr (+3.5 and +28.6) and ε_Nd (+1.3 and +5.3). In a diagram ε_Nd(T)-ε_Sr(T), two fields with distinct content of radiogenic Sr are distinguished, which can be regarded as derived by mixing of the moderately depleted PREMA-type mantle and a source enriched in radiogenic Sr. Available isotope-geochemical data confirm that OIB type basalts of the region were generated by plume activity. The geodynamic setting of Middle Paleozoic magmatism and rifting in the eastern part of the Siberian platform is considered in light of plume-lithosphere interaction. The sequence of tectonomagmatic events during evolution of the Vilyui rift is consistent with the model of plume-lithosphere interaction or the model of active rifting.     

Relationship between CO2-dominated fluids,hydrothermal alterations and gold mineralization in the Red Lake greenstone belt,Canada

The Red Lake greenstone belt is one of the foremost Au mining camps in Canada and hosts the world-class Campbell-Red Lake Au deposit. Belt-scale hydrothermal alteration is characterized by proximal ferroan dolomite zones associated with Au mineralization surrounded by distal calcite zones, both being accompanied by potassic alterations (sericite, muscovite, and biotite). At the Campbell-Red Lake and Cochenour deposits Au mineralization (in particular high-grade ore) is associated with silica and sulfides (especially arsenopyrite) that replace carbonate ± quartz veins and the host rocks. The prevalence of carbonic fluid inclusions and rare occurrence of aqueous-bearing inclusions in carbonate–quartz–Au veins in the Campbell-Red Lake deposit, and the consistency of homogenization temperatures of carbonic inclusions within individual fluid inclusion assemblages (FIA), have been interpreted to indicate that H₂O-poor, CO₂-dominated fluids were responsible for the carbonate veining and Au mineralization. Further studies of fluid inclusions in carbonate–quartz veins within and outside the deformation zone hosting the Campbell-Red Lake deposit (the Red Lake Mine trend) including the Cochenour Au deposit, the Redcon Au prospect, and outcrops in the distal calcite zone also reveal the dominance of carbonic fluid inclusions in vein minerals. These studies indicate that CO₂-dominated fluids were flowing through fractures during carbonate vein formation and Au mineralization both within and outside major structures. The carbonic fluid may have been initially undersaturated with water, or it may have resulted from phase separation of an H₂O–CO₂–NaCl fluid. In the latter case, phase separation modeling indicates that the initial fluid likely had XCO₂${\text{X}}_{{\text{CO}}_2}$ values larger than 0.8. Calculations based on hydrothermal mineral assemblages indicate XCO₂${\text{X}}_{{\text{CO}}_2}$ values in the host rocks from 0.025 to 0.85, reflecting a change from CO₂-dominated fluids in the fractures (veins) to H₂O-dominated fluids in the host rocks away from the fractures. The CO₂-dominated fluids were likely advected from granulite facies in the deeper crust, whereas the H₂O-dominated fluids were derived from the ambient host rocks of amphibole to greenschist facies. Calculations based on CO₂ requirements and source constraints indicate that the mineralizing fluids were likely two orders of magnitude more enriched in Au than the commonly assumed values of a few μg/L, which may explain why the Campbell-Red Lake deposit has a very high-grade of Au (average 21 g/t for the whole deposit and 81 g/t for the Goldcorp High-Grade zone). Fluid inclusion data suggest that the carbonate veining and Au mineralization likely took place at depths from 7 to 14 km. The development of crustiform–colloform structures in the carbonate ± quartz veins, which was previously interpreted to indicate relatively shallow environments, may alternatively have been related to extremely high fluid pressures and the CO₂-dominated nature of the fluids, which could have enhanced the brittle properties of the rocks due to their high wetting angles.     

The dunite bodies, websterite and orthopyroxenite dikes of the Leka ophiolite complex, Norway

Summary The investigated mantle section of the Leka ophiolite complex extends 1.4 km from and 1.1 km along the exposed Moho. The foliated peridotite contains numerous tabular and elongated dunite bodies, orthopyroxenite dikes, websterite veins, and dikes. The foliation of the peridotite is inclined by about 45° to the Moho. The dunite bodies and the dikes cut the foliation at low angles. The dunite bodies vary in width from 0.1 to 50 m and in length from 10 m to more than 1 km. Wider dunite bodies are commonly surrounded by 0 to 1.0 m wide margins of dunitized peridotite. Websterite veins may be present outside these margins. Apart from sporadic chromite layers the dunite is very homogenous. The dunite bodies are considered to have formed by deposition of olivine along the walls of dikes originally containing tholeiitic melt. The tholeiitic melt at first heated the peridotitic sidewalls so that they became partially molten and dunitized. The ascending magma then eroded the sidewalls and removed olivine as xenocrysts. When the ascent rate decreased, the temperature of the sidewalls decreased, so that olivine (Fo_89–92) began to crystallize along the dike walls. There is also evidence for percolative melt migration along foliation planes, however, the largest proportion of the melts intruded along dikes. The websterite dikes are mostly 1 to 4 cm wide and 3 to 20 m long and dispersed with mutual distances of 20–50 m. The websterite veins and dikes probably originated from melts that were generated along the heated sidewalls of the dunite bodies. The 0.02 to 10 m wide orthopyroxenite dikes have exceptionally high MgO contents for their SiO₂ contents; about 36 wt.% MgO and 50 wt.% SiO₂. They may have formed as segregates from a SiO₂-rich magma, although the parent magma does not appear to have been boninitic. The parent magma may instead have formed by second stage partial melting of depleted lherzolite.     

The nature of fluids during pegmatite development in metamorphic terrains: Evidence from Hamadan complex,Sanandaj-Sirjan metamorphic zone,Iran

In the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone of metamorphic belt of Iran, the area south of Hamadan city comprises of metamorphic rocks, granitic batholith with pegmatites and quartz veins. Alvand batholith is emplaced into metasediments of early Mesozoic age. Fluid inclusions have been studied using microthermometry to evaluate the source of fluids from which quartz veins and pegmatites formed to investigate the possible relation between host rocks of pegmatites and the fluid inclusion types. Host minerals of fluid inclusions in pegmatites are quartz, andalusite and tourmaline. Fluid inclusions can be classified into four types. Type 1 inclusions are high salinity aqueous fluids (NaCl_eq >12 wt%). Type 2 inclusions are low to moderate salinity (NaCl_eq <12 wt%) aqueous fluids. Type 3 and 4 inclusions are carbonic and mixed CO₂-H₂O fluid inclusions. The distribution of fluid inclusions indicate that type 1 and type 2 inclusions are present in the pegmatites and quartz veins respectively in the Alvand batholith. This would imply that aqueous magmatic fluids with no detectable CO₂ were present during the crystallization of these pegmatites and quartz veins. Types 3 and 4 inclusions are common in quartz veins and pegmatites in metamorphic rocks and are more abundant in the hornfelses. The distribution of the different types of fluid inclusions suggests that CO₂ fluids generated during metamorphism and metamorphic fluids might also contribute to the formation of quartz veins and pegmatites in metamorphic terrains.     

Jurassic kimberlites from Picton and Varty Lake,Ontario: Geochemical and stable isotopic characteristics

Micaceous ultramafic dikes of Jurassic age from Picton and Varty Lake, Ontario, consist mineralogically of olivine — phlogopite — serpentine — calcite-spinel. The rocks are characterized by abundant Ba-rich phlogopite (up to 6.5 wt.% BaO) and spinels with a diagnostic kimberlite trend-1. Compositionally the dikes are characterized by extreme silica-undersaturation (21–30 wt.% SiO₂), primitive Mg/(Mg + Fe^T) ratios (0.75–0.83), large enrichments of volatile components (CO₂ and H₂O), and relatively high abundances of both incompatible and compatible trace elements. The dikes exhibit pronounced enrichments of light rare earth elements (LREE) (La_N=320–1330) combined with strongly fractionated patterns (La_N/Yb_N=45–108). Calcite in the dikes is a primary magmatic phase, from textural relations and C-isotopic compositions ( ¹³C= –4.0 to –8.3). A calcite-rich aphanitic phase of the Picton dike is interpreted to be a late stage magmatic differentiate, which possibly involved olivine fractionation. Although the dikes lack most of the macrocrysts generally considered to be important diagnostic minerals of kimberlite magmatism, the geochemical, mineralogical and C- and O-isotopic characteristics collectively indicate that the dikes are evolved varieties of hypabyssal facies kimerlite.     

江西德兴斑岩铜钼矿床流体包裹体子矿物SEM-EDS 研究及其对成矿流体性质的制约

江西德兴斑岩铜钼矿床Q+Py±Cp±Cc脉、(黄铁)绢英岩和Q+Py+Mo±Cp脉中发育大量多相(透明、暗色子矿物)包裹体。本文以详细的显微观察和流体包裹体岩相学观察为基础,利用SEM-EDS(扫描电镜-X射线能谱仪)对多相包裹体内的子矿物进行了系统的鉴定。分析结果表明,Q+Py±Cp±Cc脉石英中发育的透明子矿物包括绢云母、石盐、水氯镁石、白云石、铁氯化物、磷灰石和含稀土元素磷酸盐;暗色子矿物包括赤铁矿、铁氧化物和黄铜矿。(黄铁)绢英岩石英和黄铁矿中透明子矿物包括石盐、(硬)石膏、绢云母、硫酸镁、菱镁矿、六水泻盐和(Fe、Cu、Mg)碳酸盐和硫酸盐,暗色子矿物包括磁铁矿、赤铁矿、金红石和黄铜矿;Q+Py+Mo±Cp脉石英包裹体中发育的子矿物相对较少,透明子矿物包括石盐、菱铁矿和钾长石;暗色矿物为赤铁矿。它们中发育种类繁多的子矿物,表明热液的化学成分非常复杂,多种盐类以及高氧化态子矿物出现指示流体具有高盐度-高氧化态的特征。此外,还鉴别出了黄铜矿、赤铁矿和磁铁矿等金属矿物,这表明热液含有丰富的成矿物质,这些成矿物质随物理化学条件的变化以黄铜矿等金属矿物从热液中沉淀下来,形成了矿床内的主要矿体。结合蚀变矿物组成观察,我们认为Q+Py±Cp±Cc脉、(黄铁)绢英岩和Q+Py+Mo±Cp脉中子矿物组成很可能不代表原始流体的化学成分,因为它们在很大程度上受到了热液蚀变作用的影响,围岩矿物由于水-岩反应被分解,同时释放出Na、Ca、Mg、Fe等元素进入热液,形成了上述种类多样的子矿物。通过流体包裹体岩相学观察发现,(黄铁)绢英岩和中Q+Py+Mo±Cp脉含石盐多相包裹体通常与富气包裹体或者CO₂包裹体紧密共生,这表明热液在被捕获前发生了相分离(或沸腾)作用,而这一过程必然会导致富液包裹体盐度的升高,因此不能排除这些高盐包裹体是由中低盐度流体发生相分离而形成的可能性。Q+Py±Cp±Cc脉中发育的稀土子矿物指示成脉流体具有高盐度-低pH-含CO₂的特征,而这类子矿物在(黄铁)绢英岩和Q+Py+Mo±Cp脉中不发育的原因可能是CO₂与液相发生了相分离作用。     

Geology and petrology of a deep crustal zone from the Famatinian paleo-arc, Sierras de Valle Fértil and La Huerta, San Juan, Argentina

The ranges of the Sierras Valle Fértil-La Huerta expose natural cross sections through a paleo-arc crust that formed in the Late Cambrian - Early Ordovician Famatinian magmatic arc, northwestern Argentina. Thick mafic sequences of amphibole gabbronorites to orthopyroxene-amphibole-biotite diorites form the lower levels of the exposed paleo-arc section. This mafic unit includes lens-shaped bodies of olivine-bearing cumulate rocks and tabular-shaped sill/dike intrusions of fine-grained chilled amphibole gabbro. The mafic magmas were emplaced into regional metasedimentary sequences at lower crustal levels, corresponding to pressure from 5 to 7 kbar. Gabbronorites likely representing the parental magmas that fluxed into the exposed paleo-arc crust differ from primitive magmatic arc rocks in having somewhat lower Mg-number (ca. 0.60) and compatible (Cr and Ni) trace element contents, and slightly higher Al₂O₃ contents. This difference is taken to indicate that a pyroxene-rich olivine-bearing assemblage with a bulk high Mg/Fe ratio and low Al₂O₃ content crystallized from mantle-derived melts before mafic magmas reached the crustal levels currently exhumed. However, some gabbronorites have incompatible trace element signatures typical of primitive mafic arc magmatism. Igneous rocks to some extent more evolved than those of the mafic unit make up a tonalite-dominated intermediate unit. The intermediate unit consists of a heterogeneous suite that ranges from orthopyroxene-bearing amphibole-rich diorites to biotite-rich amphibole-poor tonalites. Within the intermediate unit, chilled mafic rocks are found as a network of dikes, whereas metasedimentary migmatites appear interlayered as m-wide septa and km-long strips. The tonalite-dominated intermediate unit passes into a granodiorite batholith through a transitional zone that is up to 2-km wide. The boundary zone separating the tonalite-dominated and granodiorite-dominated units is characterized by mingling of tonalitic and leucogranitic magmas, which together appear multiply-intruded by mafic sill/dike bodies. Within the tonalite- and granodiorite-dominated units, the less evolved mafic rocks occur as: (1) bodies tens of meters long, (2) chilled dikes and sills, and (3) microgranular inclusions (enclaves), supporting the inference that mafic magmatism was the main source for generating a vast volume of intermediate and silicic igneous rocks. Mass balance calculations and trace element systematics are combined to demonstrate that tonalites and granodiorites formed by concurrent closed-system fractional crystallization and open-system incorporation of paragneissic migmatites and/or anatectic leucogranites into the evolving igneous sequence. This study argues that the sequence of igneous rocks from Valle Fértil-La Huerta was formed as the result of complementary petrogenetic processes that operated concurrently at different levels of the Famatinian arc crust.     

Origin of 1.8 Ga zircons in Post Eocene mafic dikes in the Roshtkhar area,NE Iran

The Roshtkhar area is located in the Khaf-Kashmar-Bardaskan volcano-plutonic belt to the northeastern Iran along the regional E–W trending Dorouneh Fault, northeastern of the Lut Block. There are several outcrops of subvolcanic rocks occurring mainly as dikes in the area, which intruded into Cenozoic intrusive rocks. We present U–Pb dating of zircons from a diabase dike and syenite rock using LA-ICP-MS that yielded an age of 1778 ± 10 Ma for the dike, indicating this Cenozoic dike has zircon xenocrysts inherited from deeper sources; and 38.0 ± 0.5 Ma, indicating an Late Eocene crystallization age for the syenite. Geochemically, the dikes typical of high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic magmas. Petrographic observations and major and trace element variations suggest that diabase melts underwent variable fractionation of clinopyroxene, olivine, and Fe-Ti oxides and minor crustal contamination during the differentiation process. Primitive mantle-normalized multi-element diagrams display enrichment in LILE, such as Rb, Ba, Th, U, and Sr compared to HFSE, as well as negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, P, and Ti, suggesting derivation from subduction-modified mantle. Chondrite-normalized REE plots show moderately LREE enriched patterns (<3.83 La_N/Yb_N <8.27), and no significant Eu anomalies. Geochemical modelling using Sm/Yb versus La/Yb and La/Sm ratios suggests a low-degree of batch melting (~1–3%) of a phlogopite-spinel peridotite source to generate the mafic dikes. The geochemical signatures suggest that the Roshtkhar mafic dikes cannot be related directly to subduction and likely resulted from melting of upper mantle in an extensional setting where the heat flow was provided from deeper levels. These dikes presumably derived the zircon xenocrysts from the assimilation of upper crust of Gondwanian basement. Processes responsible for partial melting of metasomatized lithospheric mantle and post-collision magmatism in NE Iran was triggered by heating due to asthenospheric upwelling in an extensional setting.     

Petrology and geochemistry of the Salma dike, Raniganj coalfield (Lower Gondwana), eastern India: linkage with Rajmahal or Deccan volcanic activity?

The Gondwana (Early Permian to Early Cretaceous) basins of eastern India have been intruded by ultramafic–ultrapotassic (minette, lamproite and orangeite) and mafic (dolerite) rocks. The Salma dike is the most prominent among mafic intrusives in the Raniganj basin. This dike is tholeiitic in composition; MgO varies from 5.4 to 6.3% and the mg number from 54 to 59. In general, the major and trace element abundances are uniform both along and across the strike. There is geochemical and mineralogical evidence for fractional crystallization. The chondrite normalized REE pattern of the Salma dike (La/Yb_n=3.5) is similar to that of Deccan dikes of the Son–Narmada rift zone, western India. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr varies from 0.70552 to 0.70671 suggesting assimilation of crustal material. Some trace element abundances (e.g. Ti, Zr, Y) of the Salma dike are comparable to Group I Rajmahal basalts. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar whole rock age of 65 Ma for the Salma dike is less than the ca. 114 Ma age for the Rajmahal basalt, but is similar to the generally accepted age for Deccan volcanic rocks. Despite geographical proximity with the Rajmahal basalt, the Salma dike is believed to be related to late phase of Deccan volcanic activity.     

Petrology, geochemistry and tectonic settings of the mafic dikes and sills associated with the evolution of the Proterozoic Cuddapah Basin of south India

In this article we summarize the petrological, geochemical and tectonic processes involved in the evolution of the Proterozoic intracratonic Cuddapah basin. We use new and available ages of Cuddapah igneous rocks, together with field, stratigraphic, geophysical and other criteria, to arrive at a plausible model for the timing of these processes during basin evolution. We present petrological and geochronological evidence of dike emplacement along preferred lineament directions around the basin in response to stresses, which may have been responsible for the evolution of the basin itself. Basaltic dike intrusion started on the south Indian shield around 2400 Ma and continued throughout the Cuddapah basin evolution and sedimentation. A deep mantle perturbation, currently manifested by a lopolithic cupola-like intrusion under the southwestern part of the basin, may have occurred at the onset of basin evolution and played an important role in its development. Paleomagnetic, gravity and geochronological evidence indicates that it was a constant thermal source responsible for dike and sill emplacement between 1500 and 1200 Ma both inside and out-side the basin. Lineament reactivation in the NW-SE and NE-SW directions, in response to the mantle perturbation, intensified between 1400 and 1200 Ma, leading to the emplacement of several cross cutting dikes. Fe-Mg partition coefficients of olivine and augite and Ca-Na partition coefficient of plagioclase, calculated from the composition of these minerals and bulk composition of their host rocks, indicate that the dikes outside the Cuddapah basin are cumulates. The contemporary dikes may be related by fractional crystallization as indicated by a positive correlation between their plagioclase Ca# (atomic Ca/[Ca+Na]) and augite Mg# (atomic Mg/[Mg+Fe]). A few NW-SE and NE-SW cross cutting dikes of the period between 1400 and 1200 Ma, preserve petrographic evidence of episodic magmatic intrusive activity along preferred directions. Petrological reasoning indicates that a magmatic liquid reacted with a set of cross cutting dikes, intruding into one that was already solidified and altering the composition of the magma that produced the other dike. The Cuddapah basin tholeiites may be related by fractional crystallization at 5 kb and 1019-1154‡ C, which occurred in the lopolithic cupola near the southwestern margin of the basin. Xenolith bearing picrites, which occur near the periphery of the cupola, originated by the accumulation of xenoliths in the tholeiites. This is indicated by the composition of the olivine in the xenoliths (Fo_78.7-81.9), which are closely similar to calculated olivine compositions (Fo_77.8-78.3) in equilibrium with the tholeiites under the sameP-T conditions. It is inferred that fractionation in the cupola resulted in crystals settling on its walls. Hence, the xenolith-bearing sills occur at the periphery of the lopolithic body. The tholeiites both inside and outside the basin are enriched in incompatible elements compared to mid oceanic ridge basalts. The Ba, Rb and K contents of the Cuddapah and other Proterozoic Gondwana tholeiites indicate that a widespread metasomatic enrichment of the mantle source may have occurred between R∼2.9 and R∼2.7Ga. There may be local heterogeneity in the source of the Cuddapah tholeiites as indicated by different Ba/Rb, Ti/Zr, Ti/Y, Zr/Nb and Y/Nb in samples inside and outside the basin. Large-scale differences such as the low P₂O₅-TiO₂ and high P₂O₅-TiO₂ basaltic domains of the Jurassic Gondwana basalts, however, did not exist during the Proterozoic time period under consideration. Although we are beginning to understand the tectono-magmatic processes involved in the evolution of the Cuddapah basin, much work remains to be done to obtain a complete picture. Future research in the Cuddapah basin should focus on obtaining accurate ages of the igneous rocks associated with the evolution of the basin.     

Ore Genesis and Tectonic Significance of the Xiaojiashan Tungsten Deposit,Eastern Tianshan,Xinjiang, China: Evidence from Geology,Fluid Inclusions,and Stable Isotope Geochemistry

The Xiaojiashan tungsten deposit is located about 200 km northwest of Hami City, the Eastern Tianshan orogenic belt, Xinjiang, northwestern China, and is a quartz vein‐type tungsten deposit. Combined fluid inclusion microthermometry, host rock geochemistry, and H–O isotopic compositions are used to constrain the ore genesis and tectonic setting of the Xiaojiashan tungsten deposit. The orebodies occur in granite intrusions adjacent to the metamorphic crystal tuff, which consists of the second lithological section of the first Sub‐Formation of the Dananhu Formation (D₂d ₁²). Biotite granite is the most widely distributed intrusive bodies in the Xiaojiashan tungsten deposit. Altered diorite and metamorphic crystal tuff are the main surrounding rocks. The granite belongs to peraluminous A‐type granite with high potassic calc‐alkaline series, and all rocks show light Rare Earth Element (REE)‐enriched patterns. The trace element characters suggest that crystallization differentiation might even occur in the diagenetic process. The granite belongs to postcollisional extension granite, and the rocks formed in an extensional tectonic environment, which might result from magma activity in such an extensional tectonic environment. Tungsten‐bearing quartz veins are divided into gray quartz vein and white quartz veins. Based on petrography observation, fluid inclusions in both kinds of vein quartz are mainly aqueous inclusions. Microthermometry shows that gray quartz veins have 143–354°C of T_h, and white quartz veins have 154–312°C of T_h. The laser‐Raman test shows that CO₂ is found in fluid inclusions of the tungsten‐bearing quartz veins. Quadrupole mass spectrometry reveals that fluid inclusions contain major vapor‐phase contents of CO₂, H₂O. Meanwhile, fluid inclusions contain major liquid‐phase contents of Cl^?, Na⁺. It can be speculated that the ore‐forming fluid of the Xiaojiashan tungsten deposit is characterized by an H₂O–CO₂, low salinity, and H₂O–CO₂–NaCl system. The range of hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions indicated that the ore‐forming fluids of the tungsten deposit were mainly magmatic water. The ore‐forming age of the Xiaojiashan deposit should to be ~227 Ma. During the ore‐forming process, the magmatic water had separated from magmatic intrusions, and the ore‐bearing complex was taken to a portion where tungsten‐bearing ores could be mineralized. The magmatic fluid was mixed by meteoric water in the late stage.