Geochemical identification of episodes of gold mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt,South Africa

The morphology and mineral chemistry of gold and associated sulphides at Sheba, Fairview, and New Consort gold mines in the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB) identify two main types of mineralization. The first type occurs associated with sulphides (mainly pyrite), either as inclusions (10–30 μm) or as sub-microscopic gold. The second gold type consists of large gold grains (≥ 100 μm) within the silicates (mostly quartz).LA-ICP-MS studies reveal that some gold and associated sulphide grains contain high values of Cl, Br, Na, and I. The elemental relationships reflect the different chemistry and precipitation processes of possible source fluids, and identify several episodes of mineralisation in the study area, one of them formed due to a boiling process in a supercritical hydrothermal environment. This paper reports on the compositional characteristics of these gold grains, the significance of the halogen contents, and the implications for possible sources of the gold and associated sulphides.     

Carbonaceous cherts of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: Isotopic, chemical and structural characteristics of individual microstructures

Carbonaceous matter occurring in chert deposits of the 3.4-3.2 Ga old Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB), South Africa, has experienced low grade regional metamorphism and variable degrees of local hydrothermal alteration. Here a detailed study is presented of in situ analysis of carbonaceous particles by LRS (laser Raman spectroscopy) and SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry), reporting degree of structural disorder, carbon isotope ratio and nitrogen-to-carbon ratio. This combination of in situ analytical tools is used to interpret the δ¹³C values of only the best preserved carbonaceous remains, enabling the rejection of non-indigenous (unmetamorphosed) material as well as the exclusion of strongly hydrothermally altered carbonaceous particles. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that all carbonaceous cherts studied here have experienced a regional sub- to lower-greenschist facies metamorphic event. Although this identifies these organics as indigenous to the cherts, it is inferred from petrographic observations that hydrothermal alteration has caused small scale migration and re-deposition of organics. This suggest that morphological interpretation of these carbonaceous particles, and in general of putative microfossils or microlaminae in hydrothermally altered early Archean cherts, should be made with caution. A chert in the Hooggenoeg Formation, which is older than and has been hydrothermally altered by a volcanic event 3445 Ma ago, contains strongly altered carbonaceous particles with a uniform N/C-ratio of 0.001 and a range of δ¹³C that is shifted from its original value. Cherts of the Kromberg Formation post-date this volcanic event, and contain carbonaceous particles with a N/C-ratio between 0.002 and 0.006. Both the Buck Reef Chert and the Footbridge Chert of the Kromberg Formation have retained fairly well-preserved δ¹³C values, with ranges from −34‰ to −24‰ and −40‰ to −32 ‰, respectively. Abiologic reactions associated with hydrothermal serpentinization of ultramafic crust (such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis) were an unlikely source for carbonaceous material in these cherts. The carbonaceous matter in these cherts has all the characteristics of metamorphosed biologic material.     

The origin of large varioles in flow-banded pillow lava from the Hooggenoeg Complex,Barberton Greenstone Belt,South Africa

Exceptionally well-preserved pillowed and massive phenocryst-free metabasaltic lava flows in the uppermost part of the Palaeoarchaean Hooggenoeg Complex of the Barberton Greenstone Belt exhibit both flow banding and large leucocratic varioles. The flow banding is defined by blebs and bands of pale and dark green metabasalt and was the result of mingling of two types of basalt (Robins et al. in Bull Volcanol 72:579–592, 2010a). Varioles occur exclusively in the dark chlorite-, MgO- and FeO-rich metabasalt. Varioles are absent in the outermost rinds of pillows and increase in both abundance and size towards the centres of pillows. In the central parts of some pillows, they impinge to form homogeneous pale patches, bands or almost homogenous cores. Individual varioles consist essentially of radially orientated or outwardly branching dendritic crystals of albite. Many varioles exhibit concentric zones and finer-grained rims. Some varioles seem to have grown around tiny vesicles and vesicles appear to have been trapped in others between a core and a finer-grained rim. The matrix surrounding the ocelli contains acicular pseudomorphs of actinolite and chlorite after chain-like, skeletal Ca-rich pyroxenes that are partly overgrown by the margins of varioles. Varioles are enriched in the chemical constituents of feldspar but contain concentrations of immobile TiO₂, Cr, Zr and REE that are similar to the host metabasalts. The shape, distribution, texture and composition of the varioles exclude liquid immiscibility and support an origin by spherulitic crystallisation of plagioclase from severely undercooled basalt melt and glass. Nucleation of plagioclase was strongly inhibited and took place on vesicles, on the bases of drainage cavities and along early fractures. Eruption in deep water and retention of relatively high concentrations of volatiles in the melt may be the principal cause of spherulitic crystallisation in the interiors of pillows rather than only in their margins as in younger submarine flows.     

Gliding and overthrust nappe tectonics in the Barberton Greenstone Belt

Regional recumbent folds, inverted stratigraphy, nappes and olistostromes are described from the southern part of the 3.3–3.5 Ga Barberton Greenstone Belt. Overthrusting of thin rigid silicified slabs with minimum dimensions of 25 km² and up to 500 m in thickness, occurred over minimum distances of 86 km. More ductile and coherent units were overfolded up to at least 2 km during their emplacement. The glide planes on which these nappes travelled were zones of high fluid pressures related to hydrothermal fluid circulation patterns, driven by heat sources from igneous intrusions. The upwelling areas of the geothermal convection cells were sites of mud-pools and hydrothermal vents which may mark the trailing edges (pull aparts) of the overthrust units. Progressive silica and carbonate precipitation due to decreasing temperatures, within the zones of fluid migration distant from the areas of high heat flow, probably acted as built-in braking systems below the travelling slabs. Active sedimentation and metasomatism during this tectonism indicates a protracted history for the evolution of the greenstone belt. The recognition of nappe and overthrust tectonics in the Barberton Belt, processes which may have been commonplace in Archaean terrains, necessitates a re-evaluation of the stratigraphy of this belt.     

Accretionary history of the Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt (3.55-3.22 Ga), southern Africa

The 3.55-3.22 Ga Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa and Swaziland, and surrounding coeval plutons can be divided into four tectono-stratigraphic blocks that become younger toward the northwest. Each block formed through early mafic to ultramafic volcanism (Onverwacht Group), probably in oceanic extensional, island, or plateau settings. Volcanism was followed by magmatic quiescence and deposition of fine-grained sediments, possibly in an intraplate setting. Late evolution involved underplating of the mafic crust by tonalitic intrusions along a subduction-related magmatic arc, yielding a thickened, buoyant protocontinental block. The growth of larger continental domains occurred both through magmatic accretion, as new protocontinental blocks developed along the margins of older blocks, and when previously separate blocks were amalgamated through tectonic accretion. Evolution of the Barberton Belt may reflect an Early Archean plate tectonic cycle that characterized a world with few or no large, stabilized blocks of sialic crust.     

Trace element zoning of sulfides and quartz at Sheba and Fairview gold mines: Clues to Mesoarchean mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt,South Africa

The Fairview and Sheba mines are two of the major gold mines in the Paleoarchean Barberton Greenstone Belt of Southern Africa. At these mines, gold is associated with quartz–carbonate ± rutile veins and occurs both as “invisible” gold finely dispersed in sulfides (primarily pyrite and arsenopyrite), and as visible electrum grains hosted in pyrite. Up to approximately 1000 ppm Au are contained in pyrite, and up to approximately 1700 ppm in arsenopyrite. Mapping of trace element distribution in sulfide minerals using electron microprobe and proton probe techniques revealed multiple events of ore formation and Au mineralisation. At Fairview mine, three stages of pyrite formation were identified, the last of which is associated with arsenopyrite, electrum and other sulfide minerals (sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, gersdorffite, and Sb-sulfides). At Sheba mine, pyrite was deposited in two stages, and electrum is associated with the second stage. At both mines, the last stage of sulfide formation is the main stage of Au deposition, and is associated with mobilisation of Au, As, Sb, Cu, Zn, and Ni. The host rock composition seems to have affected the composition of pyrite, since higher Ni and Co concentrations (up to 1.4 and 1.6 wt.%, respectively) have been measured in meta-(ultra)mafic host rocks in comparison with chert and metagreywacke. Arsenopyrite is chemically zoned, and has Sb- and S-rich cores and As- and Ni-rich rims. This zoning indicates variations in fluid compositions (decreasing Sb and increasing Ni), and crystallisation conditions (increasing As content for increasing temperature). Geothermometric estimates based on the As content of arsenopyrite (As ≤ 32 at.%) indicate temperatures up to ~ 420 °C for the crystal rims. Petrographic and cathodoluminescence observations of quartz associated with gold mineralisation show only local brittle deformation, and no plastic deformation. This supports the notion that the ore-transporting veins were emplaced late in the deformation history. Variations of cathodoluminescence of quartz are correlated with changing Al contents (Al ≤ 0.16 wt.%), and can be related to fluctuations in the pH of the mineralising fluids.     

Komatiites of the Onverwacht Group,S. Africa: REE geochemistry,Sm/Nd age and mantle evolution

Komatiites of the Tjakastad Subgroup of the Onverwacht Group (S. Africa) were dated by the Sm/Nd method. A whole-rock isochron yields an age of 3.56±0.24 (2) AE, with initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio of 0.50818±23 (2), corresponding to _Nd(T)= + 1.9±4.5. This age is interpreted as the time of initial Onverwacht volcanism. This result agrees with earlier Sm/Nd data of Hamilton et al. (1979) and is consistent with the Rb-Sr result of Jahn and Shih (1974).Komatiites may be divided into 3 groups based on the typology of heavy REE distributions (Jahn and Gruau 1981). According to this scheme, the Onverwacht komatiites of the present study belong to two groups: the predominant Group II rocks showing (Gd/Yb)_N1.4, CaO/Al₂O₃ = 1.33, Al₂O₃/TiO₂10.6; and the subordinate Group III rocks with (Gd/Yb)_N<1.0; CaO/Al₂O₃0.6 and A1₂O₃/ TiO₂40. This contrasting feature is best explained by garnet fractionation within the mantle sources.Younger komatiites (2.7 AE) from Finland, Canada, Rhodesia, and Australia have (Gd/Yb)_N1.0, CaO/ Al₂O₃<1.1 and Al₂O₃/TiO₂21 based on 58 analyses. These ratios are nearly chondritic or of the bulk earth value (Anders 1977). It appears that some late Archean komatiites are different in chemistry from many early Archean komatiites. This may imply that the upper mantle chemistry has evolved through Archean times. However, the age connotation of the chemical parameters, such as CaO/Al₂O₃, (Gd/Yb)_N or Al₂O₃/TiO₂ ratio has not been firmly established. The characteristic high CaO/Al₂O₃ or (Gd/Yb)_N ratios in many Onverwacht Group rocks can also be explained as a result of local short-term mantle heterogeneity.     

On the age of the Onverwacht Group,Swaziland Sequence,South Africa

Some rocks of the Onverwacht Group, South Africa, have been analyzed for Rb and Sr concentrations and Sr isotopie composition. These rocks include volcanic rocks, layered ultramafic differentiates and cherty sediments. Whole rock data indicate that the Rb-Sr isotopie systems in many samples were open and yield no reasonable isochron relationships. However, the data of mineral separates from a basaltic komatiite define a good isochron of $\text{t = 3.50 ± 0.20}$ (2δ) b.y. with an initial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio of $\text{0.70048 ± 5}$(2δ). The orthodox interpretation of this age is the time of the low grade metamorphism. Since the basaltic komatiite is stratigraphically lower than the Middle Marker Horizon (dated as $\text{3.36 ± 0.07}$ b.y. Hurley et al., 1972), and since it is commonly found that volcanism, sedimentary deposition, metamorphism and igneous intrusion in many Archean greenstone-granite terrain all took place in a relatively short time interval (less than 100 m.y.), it is reasonable to assume that the age of 3.50 b.y. might also represent the time of initial Onverwacht volcanism and deposition. The initial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio obtained above is important to an understanding of the Sr isotopic composition of the Archean upper mantle. If the komatiite represents a large degree of partial melt (40–80 per cent) of the Archean upper mantle material, then the initial ratio obtained from the metamorphic komatiite should define an upper limit for the Sr isotopic composition of the upper mantle under the African crustal segment.     

Petrography and geochemistry of granitoid and metamorphite pebbles from the early Archaean Moodies Group,Barberton Mountainland/South Africa

Pebbles of potassic granitoids and metamorphites constitute up to 5% of the basal conglomerate of the Moodies Group in a ratio of 2 : 1. The granitoid pebbles frequently show micrographic quartz–feldspar intergrowth, whereas the metamorphites—of a modal composition similar to that of the granitoids—are characterized by large quartz grains which could represent original quartz phenocrysts in felsic volcanic precursors.The granitoids show high K₂O, Sr, K₂O/Na₂O, and K/Rb, small enrichment of light REE, large negative Eu-anomalies, and slightly depleted and fractionated heavy REE. Compared to the granitoids the metamorphites show higher Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, and Cr concentrations, greater enrichment of light REE, and also large negative Eu-anomalies.There is little similarity between the Moodies pebbles and the majority of the rocks of the Ancient Gneiss Complex of Swaziland (AGC). There is only some similarity of the REE distribution patterns between the pebbles and the Mkhondo Metamorphic Suite, possibly an areally restricted phase of the AGC. The geochemical data, and especially the large negative Eu-anomalies suggest that the Moodies pebbles were derived from granites which represent residual magmas from which much plagioclase had been removed. The granites crystallized at depths of < 7 km from magmas with low H₂O-pressures in a rather thick sialic crust. It appears possible that the pre-Moodies granitoids originated through partial melting of low-Al₂O₃ siliceous gneisses of the AGC. A chronologic connection of the formation of the granitoids with the late Onverwacht Group volcanicity is possible.     

Gold Mineralization in Banded Iron Formation in the Amalia Greenstone Belt,South Africa: A Mineralogical and Sulfur Isotope Study

The Blue Dot gold deposit, located in the Archean Amalia greenstone belt of South Africa, is hosted in an oxide (± carbonate) facies banded iron formation (BIF). It consists of three stratabound orebodies; Goudplaats, Abelskop, and Bothmasrust. The orebodies are flanked by quartz‐chlorite‐ferroan dolomite‐albite schist in the hanging wall and mafic (volcanic) schists in the footwall. Alteration minerals associated with the main hydrothermal stage in the BIF are dominated by quartz, ankerite‐dolomite series, siderite, chlorite, muscovite, sericite, hematite, pyrite, and minor amounts of chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. This study investigates the characteristics of gold mineralization in the Amalia BIF based on ore textures, mineral‐chemical data and sulfur isotope analysis. Gold mineralization of the Blue Dot deposit is associated with quartz‐carbonate veins that crosscut the BIF layering. In contrast to previous works, petrographic evidence suggests that the gold mineralization is not solely attributed to replacement reactions between ore fluid and the magnetite or hematite in the host BIF because coarse hydrothermal pyrite grains do not show mutual replacement textures of the oxide minerals. Rather, the parallel‐bedded and generally chert‐hosted pyrites are in sharp contact with re‐crystallized euhedral to subhedral magnetite ± hematite grains, and the nature of their coexistence suggests that pyrite (and gold) precipitation was contemporaneous with magnetite–hematite re‐crystallization. The Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio of the dolomite–ankerite series and chlorite decreased from veins through mineralized BIF and non‐mineralized BIF, in contrast to most Archean BIF‐hosted gold deposits. This is interpreted to be due to the effect of a high sulfur activity and increase in fO₂ in a H₂S‐dominant fluid during progressive fluid‐rock interaction. High sulfur activity of the hydrothermal fluid fixed pyrite in the BIF by consuming Fe²⁺ released into the chert layers and leaving the co‐precipitating carbonates and chlorites with less available ferrous iron content. Alternatively, the occurrence of hematite in the alteration assemblage of the host BIF caused a structural limitation in the assignment of Fe³⁺ in chlorite which favored the incorporation of magnesium (rather than ferric iron) in chlorite under increasing fO₂ conditions, and is consistent with deposits hosted in hematite‐bearing rocks. The combined effects of reduction in sulfur contents due to sulfide precipitation and increasing fO₂ during progressive fluid‐rock interactions are likely to be the principal factors to have caused gold deposition. Arsenopyrite–pyrite geothermometry indicated a temperature range of 300–350°C for the associated gold mineralization. The estimated δ³⁴S_ΣS (= +1.8 to +2.5‰) and low base metal contents of the sulfide ore mineralogy are consistent with sulfides that have been sourced from magma or derived by the dissolution of magmatic sulfides from volcanic rocks during fluid migration.     

Archaean lode gold mineralisation in banded iron formation at the Kalahari Goldridge deposit, Kraaipan Greenstone Belt, South Africa

The Kalahari Goldridge Mine is located within the Archaean Kraaipan Greenstone Belt, about 60 km southwest of Mafikeng in the North West Province, South Africa. The ore body thickness varies from 15 to 45 m along a strike length of about 1.5 km within approximately N–S striking banded iron formation (BIF). The stratabound ore body is hosted primarily by BIF, which consists of alternating chert and magnetite–chlorite–stilpnomelane–sulphide–carbonate bands of millimetre- to centimetre scale. A footwall of sericite–carbonate–chlorite schist underlain by mafic amphibolite occurs to the west and carbonaceous metapelites in the hanging wall to the east. Overlying the hanging wall, carbonaceous metapelites, units of coarse-grained metagreywackes fining upwards, become increasingly conglomeratic up the stratigraphy. Small-scale isoclinal folds, brecciation, extension fractures and boudinage of cherty BIF units reflect brittle-ductile deformation. Fold axial planes have foliation, with subvertical plunges parallel to prominent rodding and mineral lineation in the footwall rocks. Gold mineralisation is associated with two generations of quartz–carbonate veins, dipping approximately 20° to 40° W. The first generation consists of ladder-vein sets (group IIA) preferentially developed in centimetre-scale Fe-rich mesobands, whereas the second generation consists of large quartz–carbonate veins (group IIB), which locally crosscut the entire ore body and extend into the footwall and hanging wall. The ore body is controlled by mesoscale isoclinal folds approximately 67° E, orthogonal to the plane of mineralised, gently dipping veins, defining the principal stretching direction and development of fluid-focussing conduits. The intersections of the mineralised veins and foliation planes of the host rock plunges approximately 08° to the north. Pervasive hydrothermal alteration is characterised by chloritisation, carbonatisation, sulphidation and K-metasomatism. Gold is closely associated with sulphides, mainly pyrite and pyrrhotite, and to a lesser extent, with bismuth tellurides and carbonate minerals. Mass balance transfer calculations indicate that hydrothermal alteration of BIF involved enrichment of Au, Ag, Bi, Te, S and CO₂ (LOI), MgO, Ba, K and Rb, but significant depletion of SiO₂ and, to a lesser extent, Fe₂O₃. Extensive replacement of magnetite and chlorite in BIF and other pelitic sedimentary rocks by sulphide and carbonate minerals, both on mesoscopic and microscopic scales, is evidence of interaction of CO₂- and H₂S-bearing fluids with the Fe-rich host rocks. The fineness of gold grains ranges from 823 to 921, similar to that of other epigenetic Archaean BIF-hosted gold deposits, worldwide.     

Geological evolution of the Ishpeming Greenstone Belt,Michigan, U.S.A.

The Ishpeming Greenstone Belt is an Archean belt in the southern part of the Canadian Shield in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S.A. Two volcanic cycles are preserved in it. The oldest formation, and basal to the first cycle (the Kitchi Schist), consists of mafic metavolcanics, has a major serpentinized ultramafic body near its base, and grades upward to a coarse felsic volcanic breccia at the top of the cycle. This unit in turn is overlain by a sequence of mafic flows that grades upward to interbedded mafic flows and exhalites of the Mona Schist. This sequence has been intruded by the Dead River Pluton.The Ishpeming Greenstone Belt probably represents the keel of a previously much more extensive Greenstone Belt.Gold mineralization occurs associated with mafic basaltic volcanic rocks and serpentinized ultramafics low in the succession, and with carbonate-rich quartz-chlorite-sericite schists and exhalites higher in the sequence. No mineral deposits are now being exploited here.     

Evidence of graphite from the Onverwacht series Precambrian cherts,Swaziland system of South Africa

Examination of insoluble organic matter by X-ray diffraction has revealed the presence of graphite in a number of chert and carbonate samples from the Kromberg Formation of the Onverwacht Group (more than 3.2·10⁹ years old).In one sample, shear stress appears to have given rise to modified rhombohedral graphite, indicating that the Lower Onverwacht may have been metamorphosed.     

P–T and structural evolution during exhumation of high-T, medium-P basement rocks in the Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa

The P–T evolution of amphibolite facies gneisses and associated supracrustal rocks exposed along the northern margin of the Paleo to MesoArchean Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, has been reconstructed via detailed structural analysis combined with calculated K(Mn)FMASH pseudosections of aluminous felsic schists. The granitoid‐greenstone contact is characterized by a contact‐parallel high‐strain zone that separates the generally low‐grade, greenschist facies greenstone belt from mid‐crustal basement gneisses. The supracrustal rocks in the hangingwall of this contact are metamorphosed to upper greenschist facies conditions. Supracrustal rocks and granitoid gneisses in the footwall of this contact are metamorphosed to sillimanite grade conditions (600–700 °C and 5 ± 1 kbar), corresponding to elevated geothermal gradients of ～30–40 °C km^?1. The most likely setting for these conditions was a mid‐ or lower crust that was invaded and advectively heated by syntectonic granitoids at c. 3230 Ma. Combined structural and petrological data indicate the burial of the rocks to mid‐crustal levels, followed by crustal exhumation related to the late‐ to post‐collisional extension of the granitoid‐greenstone terrane during one progressive deformation event. Exhumation and decompression commenced under amphibolite facies conditions, as indicated by the synkinematic growth of peak metamorphic minerals during extensional shearing. Derived P–T paths indicate near‐isothermal decompression to conditions of ～500–650 °C and 1–3 kbar, followed by near‐isobaric cooling to temperatures below ～500 °C. In metabasic rock types, this retrograde P–T evolution resulted in the formation of coronitic Ep‐Qtz and Act‐Qtz symplectites that are interpreted to have replaced peak metamorphic plagioclase and clinopyroxene. The last stages of exhumation are characterized by solid‐state doming of the footwall gneisses and strain localization in contact‐parallel greenschist‐facies mylonites that overprint the decompressed basement rocks.     

Sedimentology of the Middle Marker (3.4 Ga), Onverwacht Group,Transvaal, South Africa

The Middle Marker is a thin (3–6 m) sedimentary unit at the base of the Hooggenoeg Formation in the 3.4 Ga old Onverwacht Group, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. The original sediments consisted largely of current-deposited volcaniclastic detritus now represented by green to buff-colored silicified volcaniclastic rock and fine-grained gray chert. Black chert, possibly formed by the silicification of a non-volcaniclastic precursor, makes up a significant part of the unit. The Middle Marker is underlain and overlain by mafic and commonly pillowed volcanic flowrock. Although the original sediment has been replaced by and/or recrystallized to a microquartz, chlorite, sericite, carbonate and iron oxide mosaic under lower greenschist-grade metamorphism, sedimentary textures and structures are remarkably well preserved. Textural pseudomorphs indicate the primary volcaniclastic sediment consisted of a mixture of crystal, vitric and lithic debris. Middle Marker sediments were deposited as a prograding, cone-flanking volcaniclastic sedimentary platform in a relatively-shallow and locally current/wave-influenced subaqueous sedimentary environment. Available paleocurrent data indicate a largely bimodal, orthogonal distribution pattern which is quite similar to both ancient and modern shallow marine/shelf systems. Diagnostic evidence for tidal activity is lacking. As felsic volcanic activity waned, an extensive airfall blanket of fine-grained volcanic ash and dust was deposited in a low-energy subaqueous environment. The sedimentary cycle was terminated with a renewal of submarine mafic volcanism. Middle Marker volcaniclastic sediments accumulated in an anorogenic basin removed or isolated from the influence of continental igneous and metamorphic terranes. Although compositionally dominated by a volcanic source, Middle Marker sediments owe their final texture and sedimentary structures to subaqueous sedimentary rather than volcanogenic processes.     

The geochemistry and petrogenetic relationships of two granites and their inclusions in the Keimoes Suite of the Namaqua mobile belt,South Africa

The Colston and Straussburg plutons consist of two dissimilar granites belonging to the Proterozoic (1100–1200 Ma) Keimoes Suite along the eastern margin of the Namaqua mobile belt. The intrusives and their enclaves were investigated to establish their genetic relationships. The peraluminous Colston granite exhibits S-type characteristics while the Strausaburg intrusive shows marked similarity with I-type granites. One set of quartz-rich melanocratic inclusions are present in the Colston granite. The corresponding melanocratic enclaves in the Straussburg pluton are comprised of a porphyritic type and a non-porphyritic type, while leucocratic inclusions are also abundant.Field relationships, mineralogical and chemicál compositions as well as REE-patterns, point to a strong genetic relationship between the granites and their enclaves. Genetic models involving fractional crystallization, wall-rock assimilation, two-magma mixing, and minimum melt-restite mobilisation, were considered to explain the nature and origin of the inclusions and the host granites, and the observed REE-characteristics make most of the models unlikely. It is concluded that the quartz-rich melanocratic inclusions in both plutons formed as products of partial batch melting from a common source, possibly a basic or intermediate gneiss or granulite, under relatively high XCO₂ conditions. After the intrusion and consolidation of the first melts, water-undersaturated granitic magmas intruded as a secondstage, incorporating the first melt products as melanocratic inclusions. The different crystallization conditions of the melanocratic inclusions and the host granites are highlighted by the difference in chemical composition of the biotites, as for instance illustrated in Ti-Al diagrams. The biotite is accompanied by hornblende in all the rock types with the exception of the Colston granite and the leucocratic inclusions of the Straussburg granite.The leucocratic enclaves in the Straussburg granite are interpreted as depleted restite material which formed at a pressure near 5 kbar, and which was transported to the surface by the granite magma. When the compositions of the granitic rocks are compared with the experimental results for the haplogranitic (Ab-Or-An-Q) system, they prove to be quite near the expected minimum melt compositions for a total pressure of 5 kbar.     

Silver and mercury in single gold grains from the Witwatersrand and Barberton,South Africa

The contents of silver and mercury in 323 spots on gold grains from seven localities of the Witwatersrand palaeo-placer and Archaean vein deposits from Barberton were measured using an electron microprobe. The objective was to obtain information on the extent of gold alteration during fluvial transport and post-depositional geological processes. The results, however, show that Ag and Hg are distributed homogeneously in the gold grains studied. No indications were found that the gold was transported in solution nor that leaching took place in an oxidizing fluvial environment. This strongly suggests that the Ag and Hg contents in Witwatersrand gold grains represent geochemical ‘fingerprints’ inherited from their eroded primary sources. Combined analysis for Ag and Hg in Witwatersrand gold grains by electron microprobe can therefore be a valuable tool in establishing the types of primary sources for the gold.     

南非巴伯顿绿岩带条带状铁建造岩石磁学及磁性矿物的组成特征

条带状铁建造(BIFs)中含有大量的亚铁磁性矿物,其组成及来源是认识BIF成因的重要依据。本文研究了南非巴伯顿绿岩带无花果树群(距今约32亿年)恩圭尼亚组的BIFs样品的磁学和矿物学特征。通过测量富铁层与富硅层的磁滞回线、等温剩磁获得曲线与退磁曲线、矫顽力谱分析、一阶反转曲线(FORC)、低温(20～300K)有场/无场冷却曲线以及k-T曲线、Lowrie三轴热退磁曲线,结合扫描电镜观测,揭示出研究样品中磁性矿物主要为赤铁矿和磁铁矿。基于矫顽力谱分析,富铁层中磁铁矿主要是多畴及假单畴颗粒,相对含量平均为2. 1%;赤铁矿的相对含量平均为97. 9%。富硅层中磁铁矿主要为假单畴及超顺磁性颗粒,相对含量平均为4. 6%;赤铁矿相对含量平均为95. 4%。测试样品具有Morin转变特征,转变温度介于250～260K,说明BIFs中主要为赤铁矿(0. 5～6mm)。富硅层样品出现～107K、～125K两个Verwey转变温度,表明其中可能存在生物成因和非生物成因两种类型磁铁矿。     

Sm-Nd dating of Fig Tree clay minerals of the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa

Sm-Nd isotopic data from carbonate-derived clay minerals of the 3.22-3.25 Ga Fig Tree Group, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, form a linear array corresponding to an age of 3102 +/- 64 Ma, making these minerals the oldest dated clays on Earth. The obtained age is 120-160 m.y. younger than the depositional age determined by zircon geochronology. Nd model ages for the clays range from approximately 3.39 to 3.44 Ga and almost cover the age variation of the Barberton greenstone belt rocks, consistent with independent evidence that the clay minerals are derived from material of the belt. The combined isotopic and mineralogical data provide evidence for a cryptic thermal overprint in the sediments of the belt. However, the highest temperature reached by the samples since the time of clay-mineral formation was <300 degrees C, lower than virtually any known early Archean supracrustal sequence.