Petrography and provenance of silicified early Archaean volcaniclastic sandstones, eastern Pilbara Block, Western Australia

Intense post-depositional alteration has profoundly affected sandstones in the volcanic portions of Early Archaean (3·5–3·3 Ga) greenstone belts. The mineralogy and bulk compositions of most grains have been completely destroyed by pervasive metasomatism, but grain textures are commonly well preserved. Consequently, microtextural information coupled with present alteration compositions as determined petrographically can be used to estimate original framework modes. Silicified Early Archaean volcaniclastic sandstones assigned to the Panorama Formation and Duffer Formation, Warrawoona Group, eastern Pilbara Block, Western Australia, were originally composed of volcanic (VRF) and sedimentary (SRF) rock fragments, volcanic quartz, feldspar, traces of ferromagnesian minerals and pumice. Only volcanic megaquartz remained stable during alteration. All other primary components were replaced by granular microcrystalline quartz (GMC) and sericite. In most areas, the sandstones were composed of dacitic to rhyolitic VRFs, now totally replaced by sericite-poor GMC and recognized by preserved microporphyritic textures. In a few areas, quartz-poor dacitic to andesitic(?) VRFs dominated the detrital assemblage. Minor SRFs and mafic VRFs, now replaced by GMC, are recognized on the basis of colour, internal structures, and internal textures, including skeletal, possible spinifex textures. Detrital feldspar is represented by blocky, sericite-rich grain pseudomorphs. A semi-quantitative point-count scheme, developed for the analysis of heavily altered sandstones, indicates the following primary detrital-mode ranges for Panorama arenites: quartz, 0–28%; feldspar, 0–28%, VRFs, 58–86%, and SRFs 0–25%. In about half the point-counted samples, feldspar could not be distinguished from rock fragments. In such cases, both were counted as one grain type, Lv', which makes up from 84 to 100% of the framework modes of these rocks. These sands were derived from a terrane composed largely of fresh felsic volcanic rocks and sediments, but locally including minor mafic, ultramafic, and sedimentary rocks. Much, but not all, of the felsic volcaniclastic sand represents reworked pyroclastic debris. There is no evidence for contributions from plutonic or metamorphic sources. The Panorama modal assemblage represents a provenance that is lithologically more restricted than that of Archaean greywackes and other siliciclastic units common in the sedimentary portions of these same Early Archaean greenstone belts and younger greenstone belts (3·0–2·7 Ga).     

Climatic and tectonic influences on fan deltas and wave- to tide-controlled shoreface deposits: evidence from the Archaean Keskarrah Formation, Slave Province, Canada

The 2.6 Ga Keskarrah Formation, located in the central Slave Province, Northwest Territories, Canada, is a late-orogenic, tectonically controlled sedimentary sequence that developed under unusual climatic and depositional conditions. The formation is adjacent to the crustal-scale, north-trending Beniah Lake Fault and overlies the 3.15 Ga Augustus Granite, the 2.69–2.7 Ga mafic volcanic Peltier Formation and the turbiditic Contwoyto Formation unconformably. Principal lithofacies in the Keskarrah Formation include conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone–sandstone. The conglomerate lithofacies represents coalescing gravelly streamflow-dominated fan deltas adjacent to topographic highs. Up-section quartz-rich arenites and quartz arenites of the sandstone lithofacies are interpreted to be shallow-water shoreface deposits influenced by wave action and tides. The overlying feldspathic litharenites of the siltstone–sandstone lithofacies are consistent with a lower shoreface to proximal offshore environment dominated by wave and tide interaction. Tidal influence in both sandstone-dominated lithofacies is inferred from the presence of mudstone laminae between bedforms and on foresets of cross-beds, as well as from abundant reactivation surfaces with local mudstone drapes. Intense chemical weathering during the Archaean, resulting from elevated atmospheric levels, higher temperatures and moist climatic conditions, played an important role in the development of quartz-rich arenites that appear to be first-cycle deposits. Few lithic fragments and feldspar grains are preserved due to in-situ host rock weathering, chemical weathering during transport and wave and tide action. Hydraulic sorting and abrasion in the shoreface environment contributed to the continued breakdown and transport of labile minerals. Increased proportions of lithic fragments in sandstone beds of the conglomerate lithofacies are the result of shorter transport distances from source areas to the depositional environment. Abundant conglomerate with up to 4-m large granitic boulders derived from the adjacent Augustus Granite and mafic clasts from the Peltier Formation indicate high relief and fault-related uplift and subsidence. The intimate association of fan deltas and wave- and tide-influenced shallow-marine deposits in association with quartz-rich sandstones forming in a high-relief area make the Keskarrah Formation remarkable in the rock record.     

An overview of anorthosite-bearing layered intrusions in the Archaean craton of southern West Greenland and the Superior Province of Canada: implications for Archaean tectonics and the origin of megacrystic plagioclase

Anorthosite-bearing layered intrusions are unique to the Archaean rock record and are abundant in the Archaean craton of southern West Greenland and the Superior Province of Canada. These layered intrusions consist mainly of ultramafic rocks, gabbros, leucogabbros and anorthosites, and typically contain high-Ca (>An₇₀) megacrystic (2–30 cm in diameter) plagioclase in anorthosite and leucogabbro units. They are spatially and temporally associated with basalt-dominated greenstone belts and are intruded by syn-to post-tectonic granitoid rocks. The layered intrusions, greenstone belts and granitoids all share the geochemical characteristics of Phanerozoic subduction zone magmas, suggesting that they formed mainly in a suprasubduction zone setting. Archaean anorthosite-bearing layered intrusions and spatially associated greenstone belts are interpreted to be fragments of oceanic crust, representing dismembered subduction-related ophiolites. We suggest that large degrees of partial melting (25–35%) in the hotter (1500–1600 °C) Archaean upper mantle beneath rifting arcs and backarc basins produced shallow, kilometre-scale hydrous magma chambers. Field observations suggest that megacrystic anorthosites were generated at the top of the magma chambers, or in sills, dykes and pods in the oceanic crust. The absence of high-Ca megacrystic anorthosites in post-Archaean layered intrusions and oceanic crust reflects the decline of mantle temperatures resulting from secular cooling of the Earth.     

Seismic evidence for preservation of the Archean Uchi granite–greenstone belt by crustal-scale extension

In the westernmost Superior Province of Canada, the east–west alignment of granite–greenstone belts and the adjacent, highly deformed gneiss belts led to the first proposals that plate tectonics existed before 2.5 Ga ago, with the belts thrust against one another by east–west-oriented subduction zones. Here, we present seismic reflection data, which demonstrate that in this region the present juxtaposition of the Uchi granite–greenstone belt and the North Caribou gneiss terrane occurred along a late southeast-dipping extensional shear zone that extends from the surface into the lower crust. The preservation of the Uchi belt and probably the English River metasedimentary belt is directly related to their dropping along extensional shear zones, which limited subsequent erosion. The relative lateral transport of these greenstone rocks implies that they were neither derived from the immediately underlying crust, nor preserved by vertical crustal movements as might occur in the absence of plate tectonics. Extension may have been associated with the emplacement of mantle-derived magmas at 2700 Ma, which has been linked to slab break-off or lithospheric delamination, making the extension approximately coeval with local gold mineralisation. Since crustal-scale faults can facilitate the circulation of gold-bearing fluids, we suggest that greenstone rocks preserved in the hanging walls of syn- to post-accretion extensional shear zones may preferentially host Archean lode-gold deposits. In the westernmost Superior Province, our seismic observations imply that some of the late structures in the well-developed belts defined by surface mapping arose through the collapse of a collage of laterally accreted terranes.     

The temporal variation of Mesoarchaean volcanism in the Suomussalmi greenstone belt,Karelia Province,Eastern Finland

International Journal of Earth Sciences - This study concentrates in the Kiannanniemi area, situated in the Archaean Suomussalmi greenstone belt, the Karelia Province, Fennoscandian Shield. A...     

New Promising Gold-Ore Objects in the Strelna Greenstone Belt,Kola Peninsula

Data on gold ore objects in the Strelna Greenstone Belt in the southeastern Kola Peninsula are presented in the paper. The studied Vorgovy and Sergozero ore occurrences are localized in the zone of tectonic contact of the Neoarchean complexes making up the greenstone belt and the volcanic–sedimentary sequences of the Paleoproterozoic Imandra–Varzuga Zone. The Vorgovy gold occurrence is related to stockwork of carbonate–quartz veins and veinlets hosted in a biotite gneiss transformed into chlorite–sericite–quartz metasomatic rock with pyrrhotite–arsenopyrite dissemination. The Sergozero occurrence is localized in amphibolites corresponding to komatiitic and tholeiitic basalts hosted in biotite gneiss (metapelite). Mineralization is confined to the zone of tectonized contact between komatiitic and tholeiitic basalts, where it is controlled by a strip of metasomatic biotite–calcite rock with gersdorffite–arsenopyrite dissemination. The native gold grains medium to high in fineness are up to 0.1 mm in size and mainly localized at the contact of arsenopyrite and gersdorffite with gangue minerals. Gold mineralization is of superimposed character, and, as indicated by isotopic geochronology, was formed at the retrograde stage of the Svecofennian regional metamorphism. Comparison of ore occurrences localized in the Strelna Greenstone Belt with gold deposits in greenstone belts of the western Fennoscandian Shield and the Superior Province in Canada allows us to suggest a high perspective of the entire Strelna Belt for gold.     

Gold-bearing iron-formation in a granulite terrane of the Canadian Shield: a possible deep-level expression of an Archean gold-mineralizing system

Gold occurs in metamorphosed iron-formation within a migmatized paragneiss terrane in the Eastern Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. The main gold prospect, which is located 100 m from a tonalite pluton, has undergone skarn-like metamorphism that occurred late during the granulite grade metamorphism. Despite its occurrence in a high-grade metamorphic host-rock, the mineralization shares many of the characteristics of lowergrade Archean greenstone belt gold mineralization, such as: (1) enrichment in Au, As, S, Sb, W, U and FeO; (2) a low base-metal/gold ratio; (3) the inclusion of gold in arsenopyrite; (4) the proximity to a felsic pluton; (5) an iron-rich, fractured host-rock; and (6) a similar mineralization time (around 2650 Ma). This gold occurrence occurs near the metamorphic peak and represents a deep level expression of the widespread crustal-scale mineralizing system documented for the late Archean. The main conclusion of this work is that the principal characteristics of Archean gold mineralization are present in the deep crust, and do not come from the leaching of upper-level rock piles, such as greenstone belts.     

The Thelon front: A cryptic suture in the Canadian shield?

The Thelon metamorphic front is generally regarded as marking the boundary between the Slave and Churchill structural provinces of the Canadian Shield. It is bounded on either side by coextensive negative (Slave side) and positive (Churchill side) arcuate gravity anomalies. These paired gravity anomalies can be interpreted as an edge-effect between juxtaposed crustal blocks of different mean density and thickness. According to this model the density discontinuity penetrates the whole crust and could represent a cryptic suture between collided cratons. The model is compared with a similar model and interpretation derived from the gravity anomaly associated with the Grenville Front which marks the boundary between the Superior and Grenville provinces of the Canadian Shield.     

A model of ocean-crust accretion for the Superior province, Canada

One of the keys to understanding the origin of Archaean greenstone belts lies in the geological relationships between mafic and ultramafic greenstones, felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks and terrigenous sediments. Traditional models for greenstone belt evolution have been based on in-situ stratigraphic relationships. Most of these models, for example an oceanic island-arc developed on oceanic basement, back-arc basins, and the recently popular plume model, predict concordant stratigraphic relationships among the various greenstone belt lithologies. However, rather than being depositional in nature, several authors have indicated that many of the relationships between the different lithologies in greenstone belts are in fact tectonic, suggesting an allochthonous origin for most greenstone sequences. All of these latter models make analogies to Phanerozoic tectonic processes involving accretion of oceanic materials with volcanism related to both plate subduction and rifting.

In this paper, we have evaluated the geological relationships between volcanic rocks and sediments in three regions in the Superior province, where the accretion of oceanic material can be documented, and direct comparisons are made to geological processes in Phanerozoic accretionary complexes. In the Malartic area in the southeastern Abitibi Subprovince, 3 to 4 km thick slices of komatiite and tholeiite, with intercalated terrigenous sediment, are tectonically imbricated and are overlain by calc-alkaline volcanics which postdate tectonic stacking. In both the Larder Lake region of the southwestern Abitibi belt and in the Beardmore-Geraldton belt, at the south-eastern limit of the Wabigoon belt, slices of iron-rich tholeiite and chemical sediments of an oceanic origin are tectonically imbricated with terrigenous sediment.

The Malartic-Val d'Or area is considered to be an example of accretion of an Archaean oceanic plateau, while the Larder Lake and the Beardmore-Geraldton regions are potentially typical of accretion of normal oceanic crust in an arc-environment. Phanerozoic accretion of oceanic crust is accompanied by a step-back in subduction, and in this paper we suggest that oceanic crust accretion may have been the principal mechanism by which the locus of subduction migrated towards the south of the Superior province. Asthenospheric upwelling associated with the isolated sinking plate may have been responsible for widespread late-magmatism. This scenario requires that magmas be erupted through previously accreted volcanic, plutonic and sedimentary material. Furthermore, later ridge subduction will result in transpressional tectonics and eruption of mafic sequences over mature and immature volcano-plutonic sequences. The combined result of the plate tectonic scenario envisaged would result in the well-described “cyclic stratigraphy” of many granite greenstone sequences.     

Heat flow and heat generation in the Churchill Province of the Canadian Shield, and their palaeotectonic significance

Six new heat flow determinations are presented for Proterozoic mobile belts of the Churchill Province of the Canadian Shield, an area that was affected by several stages of the Hudsonian orogenic sequence (1.9-1.6 Ga ago). With other, previously published, values the mean of eight determinations considered reliable and representative and corrected for the effects of Pleistocene glaciation is 44 ± 7 mW m⁻². Heat generation measurements have also been made; values range from 0.1–1.04 μW m⁻³.A linear relation between heat flow and heat production is apparent. The heat flow axis intercept is 37 mW m⁻², and the scale depth is 11 km, compared with 28 mW m⁻² and 13.6 km for the Archaean Superior Province. Approximately 20% of the Churchill heat flow appears to be derived from radioactive decay in the upper crust, compared with 30% for the Superior Province and shields as a whole. The observations imply that the heat flow-heat production relation for the Churchill Province should be written as Q = Q_c + Q_e + A₀b where Q_c is equivalent to the reduced heat flow for the Archaean terrain, b is similar for the two, and Q_e is an additional component of heat flow in the Proterozoic mobile belts of the Churchill Province.A speculative tectonic model is presented. It is suggested that rifting along two axes of an original craton, which had lateral variations in near surface radiogenic element concentration, followed by erosion of the radiogenic layer and subsequent reconvergence of the cratonic segments, led to widespread redistribution of radioactive elements into the reactivated inter-rift crustal block. One result would be that crustal temperatures are higher in that part of the Churchill Province than in the Superior.     

吉林夹皮沟金矿成矿时代的研究

吉林夹皮沟金矿是我国与太古宙绿岩带有关的典型脉型金矿之一。根据岩脉与矿脉的穿插关系及单颗粒水热锆石Ｕ－Ｐｂ同位素年龄和石英的Ｋ－Ａｒ，＾４０Ａｒ－＾３９Ａｒ，Ｒｂ－Ｓｒ年龄测定，表明夹皮沟金矿的主成矿期为２４６９－２４７５Ｍａ，并有１８００－２０００Ｍａ和２７２－１３０Ｍａ的矿化叠加现象，构成了夹皮沟乃至中国与绿岩带有关的脉型金矿“一老（晚太古代－早元古代）一新（中生代）”的成矿格架。     

Unscrambling the stratigraphy of an Archean greenstone belt; a U---Pb geochronological study of the Favourable Lake belt, northwestern Ontario, Canada

New zircon and baddeleyite U---Pb ages show that the major units of the Archean Favourable Lake greenstone belt in the northern Superior Province were formed by episodic magmatism spanning more than 250 Ma and demonstrate that the original stratigraphy is disrupted by thrusts that juxtaposed older supracrustal rocks on top of younger ones. The oldest rocks of the area are a 2950 Ma gneissic tonalite and a 3000-2960 Ma granodiorite clast from a ca. 2725 Ma conglomerate. Five distinct volcanic (and sedimentary) groups formed during presumably short-lived episodes at 2925 Ma (I), 2870 Ma (II), 2858 Ma (III), 2734 Ma (IV), and 2725 Ma (V). The youngest group contains the thickest sedimentary unit, a turbiditic and alluvial-fluvial sequence. Compression caused thrusting that placed Groups I and V on top of IV, III on V, and II on III. The thrust complex was subsequently isoclinally folded. Compression was accompanied by major plutonism that emplaced the bulk of the bounding batholiths between 2732 and 2711 Ma ago. The late tectonic, Mo-mineralized Setting Net Lake Stock in the centre of the belt has an age of about 2708 Ma and was overprinted by younger hydrothermal events that produced monazite (2706 Ma), titanite (ca. 2695-2690 Ma) and rutile (the youngest rutile at 2657 Ma). Similar late hydrothermal pulses are recorded by secondary titanite elsewhere in the belt and within the batholiths. The protracted magmatic evolution of the belt is typical of that observed in a number of greenstone belts of the northern Superior Province but is uncommon farther to the south. In contrast, the structural complications and put-of-sequence stratigraphy appear to be a quite common tectonic characteristic of greenstone belts of the whole Superior Province.     

Mineralization Ages of the Jiapigou Gold Deposits,Jilin

The Jiapigou gold deposits are typical vein type deposits associated withArchaean greenstone belts in China. According to the crosscutting relationships between dykesand auriferous veins, single hydrothermal zircon U-Pb dating and quartz K-Ar,~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar andRb-Sr datings, the main mineralization stage of the Jiapigou deposit has been determined to be2469-2475 Ma, while mineralization superimposition on the gold deposit occurred in1800-2000 Ma and 130-272 Ma. They form a mineralization framework of one oldermetallogenic epoch (Late Archaean-Early Proterozoic) and one younger metallogenic epoch(Mesozoic) of gold deposits in Archaean greenstone belts in China.     

双山子太古代绿岩带金矿的基本特征

文章简要介绍了双山子太古代绿岩带的基本特征,指出双山子绿岩带同加拿大阿比提比绿岩带有许多相似之处;论述了绿岩带中三期不同类型金矿的各自主要成矿地质特征,指出早期含金石英脉是太古代的产物,为冀东地区典型的太古代绿岩带金矿;毒砂型金矿可能是太古代最晚期的产物;晚期石英脉型金矿形成于燕山期.在该区东部南北长约30km的矿带中...     

Geological,petrologic, isotopic,and geochemical constraints of geodynamic models simulating formation of the archean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite associations in ancient cratons

The geological setting, geochemistry, and Nd isotopic systematics of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiortite (TTG) series in ancient cratons are considered. It is shown that the TTG series were formed from ∼4.2 to 2.6 Ga ago in the oldest continental cores; many TTG series do not reveal chronological links to greenstone belts. This follows from the evolution of the Slave Craton in the Canadian Shield, the Vodlozero Craton in the Baltic Shield, and the Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons in the Australian Shield, where greenstone associations postdated TTG series. As has been established at the Baltic Shield, the primary melts of the Mesoarchean TTG associations were formed at a shallower depth (P < 15 kbar) compared to the Neoarchean TTG, likely, due to the increasing thickness of the continental crust beneath the Baltic Shield over time.     

Proterozoic highlights of the Canadian Shield: A review

Stockwell's structural divisions of the Canadian Shield, and his Precambrian time‐classification based on major tectono‐thermal events are reviewed. The three main divisions of Proterozoic time, the Aphebian, Helikian, and Hadrynian Eras, follow the Kenoran, Hudsonian and Grenvillian Orogenies, whose terminations are currently dated on the U‐Pb scale at about 2550, 1750, and 1000 m.y. before present, respectively.

Proterozoic supracrustal sequences are most commonly of shallow marine or continental origin, and high‐level intrusions predominate. ‘Classical’ geosynclinal cycles have been restricted to the Aphebian Era.

High‐grade Aphebian rocks in the mid‐Churchill Province evidently mark the peak of Hudsonian tectonism. Subsequently, the Shield became relatively stable except for the Grenville Province, and deposition and deformation resulted from epeirogenesis, block‐faulting and rifting, mainly in the western Shield. Proterozoic sedimentation and volcanism likewise diminished in Helikian time and terminated in early Hadrynian time, about 800 m.y. ago.

The history of the Grenville Orogen remains obscure. The continuity of major Archaean to Helikian rock units into the Grenville from adjacent provinces constrains proposals for a marginal plate boundary and convincing evidence for Proterozoic plate boundaries within the Grenville Province is lacking, palaeomagnetic evidence notwithstanding.     

Chromite and PGE deposits of mesoarchaean ultramafic-mafic suites within the greenstone belts of the Singhbhum craton,India: Implications for mantle heterogeneity and tectonic setting

The Archaean cratonic nuclei of the continents are important as they contain the most significant evidences for the evolution of Earth e.g. the greenstone sequences. In the Indian Shield, one of the important cratons is the Singhbhum craton, where nearly 95% of the Indian chromite deposits and only PGE deposits are located which are hosted within Mesoarchaean ultramafic-mafic rock sequences. The ultramafic units occur as sill like intrusions within the Iron Ore Group (IOG) greenstone belts and often associated with gabbroic intrusions. In the Nuasahi and Sukinda mining districts of these occurrences, detailed petrological, geochemical and isotopic studies have been carried out in the last decades. Petrological and geochemical studies indicate a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) tectonic settings in Archaean for the origin of these ultramafic-mafic sequences. The Os isotopic and platinum group element (PGE) geochemical studies of chromites from the two mining districts indicate presence of a subchondritic source mantle domain beneath and within the Singhbhum craton similar to the Zimbabwean craton of southern African continent. The Os model age calculation indicates melt extraction from a subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) before 3.7 Ga which is similar to the other ancient cratons. As a whole the study supports the premise that India was part of the African continent in pre-Gondwana times and even in early Archaean and suggest possible amalgamation and building up of a supercontinent during late Archaean. However, in comparison with other occurrences, the Singhbhum craton of the Indian Shield and the Zimbabwean craton in southern Africa are characterized by the presence of subchondritic lithospheric mantle domains within the SCLM, which were developed prior to 3.7 Ga.     

Recognition of ancient tidal inlet sequences: an example from the Upper Silurian Keyser Limestone in Virginia

The Upper Silurian Keyser Limestone is a relatively thin (< 85 m) unit of lagoonal, barrier, and shallow offshore sediments that crops out in the central Appalachians. Lithologies include massive micritic limestones to calcarenites, calcisiltites, and calcareous quartz arenites. The barrier lithofacies is preserved predominantly as tidal inlet channel-fill. Its presence is supported by two lines of evidence: (1) the sequence of sedimentary textures and structures resembles that observed in modern inlets, and (2) the sequence occupies a position immediately above a disconformity, and is accompanied by an abrupt vertical change in faunal diversity, which is interpreted as representing the transgression of open marine over back-barrier environments The inlet channel sequence comprises fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted quartz arenites that disconformably overlie sediments deposited on carbonate tidal flats (laminated, mudcracked pelmicrites). The sandstone displays a fining-upward texture, and contains a broken and abraded mixed fauna. Cross-bedding is bipolar, with major modes oriented obliquely to depositional strike. Decimetre-scale sets of planar and trough cross-beds grade upward to centimetre-scale sets of ripple cross-lamination, washed-out ripples, and plane beds. This sequence represents the change from deep to shallow channel environments, and is attributed to lateral inlet migration. The inlet sequence was preferentially preserved during marine transgression because of its relative thickness and lower stratigraphic position with respect to overlying and adjacent barrier-beach sediments. The vertical relationships of this inlet-lagoon complex emphasize that care must be taken in interpreting shallow-water transgressive sequences. Vertical ‘jumps’ in faunal diversity accompanied by scour surfaces could be misconstrued as major unconformities. Instead, such sequences may represent the shoreface erosion normally associated with the transgressive migration of barrier islands. Whether or not the faunal jump is accompanied by a barrier lithosome is greatly dependent on the geometry, frequency, and migration rate of tidal inlets.     

Reply

The Archaean granite‐greenstone rocks of the Marymia Inlier outcrop within Proterozoic rocks forming the Capricorn Orogen. Five major deformation events are recognised in the rocks of the Plutonic Well and Baumgarten greenstone belts. The first two events were Late Archaean and synchronous with major epithermal gold mineralisation in the belts. Palaeoproterozoic extensional faulting was probably related to the early stages of the Capricorn Orogeny. The fourth event records a compressional phase of the Capricorn Orogeny associated with greenschist‐facies metamorphism, whereas the last major event involved wrench faulting associated with minor folding. The Archaean tectonic history, rock types and timing of mineralisation strongly suggest that the Marymia Inlier is part of the Yilgarn Craton, and that each of the provinces in the craton experienced the same geological history since 2.72 Ga. The inlier is now interpreted to include two components; one is the eastern or northern extension of either the Narryer Terrane, Murchison Province or Southern Cross Province, and the other is the northwestern extension of the Eastern Goldfields Province. The Jenkin Fault, which was active in Proterozoic times, separates these two components.     

The gold content of some Archaean rocks and their possible relationship to epigenetic gold-quartz vein deposits

Gold mineralization in Archaean granite-greenstone environments, especially gold-quartz veins, contributes considerably to the world's gold production. The formation of epigenetic gold mineralization in greenstone belts is generally explained by the metamorphic secretion theory. This theory is based on the assumption that the source of the gold may be komatiitic or tholeiitic lavas, pyritic chemical or clastic sediments and even granitic rocks from which, as a result of regional metamorphic overprinting, gold was extracted and concentrated in suitable structures.It has been shown that in proposed potential source rocks, gold is predominantly associated with sulfide minerals and thus relatively easily accessible to secretion and reconstitution processes.A large number of various rock types originating from granite-greenstone terranes of the Kaapvaal and the Rhodesian cratons were geochemically investigated, and the following ranges for gold determined:volcanic rocks (komatiitic and tholeiitic): 0.1–372 ppbgranitic rocks of the basement: 0.3–7.8 ppbiron-rich chemical sediments: 1.0–667 ppbStatistical treatment of the data reveals that volcanic rocks as well as iron-rich chemical sediments are favorable sources for epigenetic gold mineralization formed by metamorphic secretion, while the granitic rocks make less suitable primary gold sources. This finding explains the close spatial relationship which is common between gold-quartz veins and greenstone belts. The conspicuous abundance of epigenetic gold mineralization in the Archaean, however, is attributed to the unique geologic and metamorphic history of the granite-greenstone terranes.