Petroi Metabasalt: Alkaline within‐plate mafic rocks from the Nambucca Slate Belt,northeastern New South Wales

The Petroi Metabasalt comprises approximately 2000 m of massive and pillowed metabasalt flows, breccias, and metadolerite sills that overlie and are intercalated with Early Permian epiclastic rocks of the Nambucca Slate Belt. Both the basaltic rocks and associated sedimentary material were multiply deformed and metamorphosed to pumpellyite‐actinolite facies grade at about 255 Ma. Metamorphism and earlier sea‐floor alteration of these mafic rocks have led to hydration, carbonation and oxidation and considerable redistribution of the major elements and the more labile traces, notably Rb, Ba and Sr. However, abundances of TiO₂, the high field strength trace elements, Ni, Cr and V, the light rare earths and yttrium are interpretable as being the largely unmodified magmatic abundances of mildly alkaline within‐plate basalts. This interpretation is supported by the composition of relic Ca‐rich pyroxenes in the metadolerites which fall in the fields of mildly alkaline basalts. The field relationships, age and composition of these rocks suggest either eruption on oceanic crust covered by a thick sequence of epiclastic rocks and subsequent incorporation into an accretionary subduction complex, or generation during rifting of the eastern part of the New England Fold Belt and accumulation, together with the associated sedimentary rocks, in a graben. The chemical and mineral characteristics of the igneous rocks indicate that the volcanism was not related to magmatic arc activity, and their presence demonstrates the rocks of the Nambucca Slate Belt are neither fore‐arc basin nor slope‐basin deposits.     

Risk analysis and assessment of overtopping concerning sea dikes in the case of storm surge

Risk analysis and assessment relating coastal structures has been one of the hot topics in the area of coastal protection recently. In this paper, from three aspects of joint return period of multiple loads, dike failure rate and dike continuous risk prevention respectively, three new risk analysis methods concerning overtopping of sea dikes are developed. It is worth noting that the factors of storm surge which leads to overtopping are also considered in the three methods. In order to verify and estimate the effectiveness and reliability of the newly developed methods, quantified mutual information is adopted. By means of case testing, it can be found that different prior variables might be selected dividedly, according to the requirement of special engineering application or the dominance of loads. Based on the selection of prior variables, the correlating risk analysis method can be successfully applied to practical engineering.     

Origin of the Miocene porphyries and their mafic microgranular enclaves from Dabu porphyry Cu–Mo deposit,southern Tibet: implications for magma mixing/mingling and mineralization

The origin of magmas that are linked to economic mineralization in porphyry deposits formed in continental collisional belts is controversial. In this paper, we studied the mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) and their host monzogranite porphyries (HMPs) from the Dabu porphyry Cu–Mo deposit in southern Tibet. Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb ages indicate coeval formation for the MMEs and HMPs in middle Miocene time (~15 Ma). The MMEs have high Mg# (50.7–60.8), low SiO₂ (53.2–62.5 wt.%), and high Cr (95–175 ppm) contents, with positive εHf(t) values ranging from +3.4 to +9.4. These results, along with the presence of phlogopite, suggest that the MMEs were most likely generated by partial melting of a metasomatic lithospheric mantle source region. The HMPs have high Sr/Y (88.2–135.7), La/Yb (25.0–31.9) ratios, and moderate Mg# (46.2–49.3) values. They have the same εHf(t) values (+3.3 to +7.7) with arc-like Palaeogene rocks. The HMPs also show typical arc magma characteristics such as enrichment in LILEs (e.g. Rb, Ba, Sr, and K) and depletion in HFSEs (e.g. Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, and P). These results suggest a possible origin involving high-pressure remelting of thickened lower crustal arc cumulates related to earlier Neo-Tethyan subduction. The lower crustal arc cumulates dominated by garnet-bearing amphibolite facies could be the potential copper sources of the Dabu porphyry Cu–Mo deposit. Underplating of the mantle-derived mafic magmas could have provided heat input for melting of the hydrous lower crust. Reaction between the mafic and felsic magmas might have further increased Cu concentrations and contributed to subsequent mineralization.     

砂岩侵入复合体的建筑结构要素及其特征

砂岩侵入复合体是指沉积砂质母岩,在未固结时由于某种机制而积累了异常高压,产生液化、流化、再活动,向上覆细粒沉积物侵入的各种砂体的总和。目前已经在全球50多个深水盆地中(Braccinietal,2008)及所有的年代地层中都发现了从毫米到千米级别的砂岩侵入体。砂岩侵入复合体包含母岩、侵入体系和喷出体系三部分,通过对目前报道的一些砂岩侵入复合体实例分析,对其各建筑要素的外部几何形体和边界特征、内部沉积构造和显微结构进行了总结。不规则的几何形态,突变的边界特征,与液化作用相关的无构造砂岩、碟状构造、管状构造以及独特的泥岩碎屑表现出来的粒序性、条带等沉积构造,形状各异的矿物颗粒以及泥岩碎屑中砂岩裂缝切割等显微结构都可以作为识别砂岩侵入复合体的标准。加强砂岩侵入复合体的研究,为侵入圈闭的勘探和开发提供理论基础。     

Occurrence of an Alaskan-type complex in the Middle Tianshan Massif,Central Asian Orogenic Belt: inferences from petrological and mineralogical studies

The Xiadong mafic–ultramafic complex lies in the central part of the Middle Tianshan Massif (MTM), along the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This complex is composed of dunite, hornblende (Hbl) clinopyroxenite, hornblendite, and Hbl gabbro. These rocks are characterized by adcumulated textures and variable alteration. Orthopyroxene is an extremely rare mineral in all rock units and plagioclase is absent in dunite and Hbl clinopyroxenite. Hbl, Fe-chromite, and Cr-magnetite are common phases. Olivines have forsterite (Fo) contents ranging from 92.3 to 96.6. Clinopyroxenes are Ca-rich, Ti-poor diopsides, and mostly altered to tremolites or actinolites. Chromites display low TiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents and high Cr# and Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺ + Mg) values. Primary and secondary Hbls show wide compositional variations. These petrological and mineralogical features as well as mineral chemistry are comparable to typical Alaskan-type complexes worldwide, which are widely considered to have formed above subduction zones. The chemistry of clinopyroxene and chromite supports an arc plate-tectonic origin for the Xiadong complex. Its confirmation as an Alaskan-type complex implies that the MTM, with Precambrian basement, was probably a continental arc during oceanic plate underflow and further supports the hypothesis of southward subduction of the Palaeozoic Junggar Ocean.     

Geochemical constraints on the tectonic setting of basaltic host rocks to the Windy Craggy Cu-Co-Au massive sulphide deposit,northwestern British Columbia

Windy Craggy is an approximately 300 Mt Cu-Co-Au volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The Windy Craggy deposit is hosted by the Middle Tats Volcanics (MTV), a Late Triassic volcano-sedimentary sequence of intercalated mafic pillowed to massive volcanic flows and sills and calcareous argillite that are part of the Alexander terrane. The host footwall and hangingwall flows and sills are predominantly alkalic basalts (Nb/Y > 0.70). MTV alkali basalts at Windy Craggy are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) >100X chondrite compared to chondrite, have steep REE patterns [(La/Yb)_cn = 7.1–25.4], and generally lack the Ta and Nb depletions relative to primitive mantle (e.g. [Nb/Th]_pm = 0.68–1.94) characteristic of arc environments, although most have [Nb/La]_pm < 1. By contrast, volcanic rocks away from the deposit (and regionally; Lower Tats Volcanics, LTV) as well as late dikes that cross-cut all lithologies including metamorphic and deformational fabrics are sub-alkalic tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalts and basaltic andesites that are less enriched in the LREEs (10–100X chondrite), have less steep REE patterns [(La/Yb)_cn = 0.41–10.6], and show well-developed Ta and Nb depletions (arc signatures; [Nb/Th]_pm = 0.20–0.79), consistent with formation in an oceanic arc environment. The co-occurrence of tholeiitic/calc-alkaline arc rocks with alkalic rocks indicates that the LTV (former) and MTV (latter) formed from melts that were influenced to varying degrees by subducted oceanic crust, and likely formed within a back-arc basin setting formed on a rifted oceanic arc. There is no geochemical or isotopic evidence for major involvement of continental crust. The LTV basalts likely were produced by progressive depletion in the source by partial melting of mantle overlying the subducting oceanic crust. The presence of the MTV alkalic Windy Craggy rocks overlying the LTV is consistent with the presence of a slab-window, perhaps related to subduction of a spreading centre, which allowed more enriched magmas to reach the surface with only minimal interaction with subduction-modified mantle. The presence of this slab-window might have provided the mechanism for the generation of anomalously high heat flow close to the seafloor, which initiated and sustained vigorous, long-lived hydrothermal activity necessary for the precipitation of large accumulations of massive sulphide. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a large VMS deposit associated with a slab-window.     

Geochemical Characteristics and Metallogenesis of the Qingkuangshan Ni‐Cu‐PGE Mineralized Mafic‐Ultramafic Intrusion in Huili County,Sichuan Province,SW China

The Qingkuangshan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit, located in the Xiaoguanhe region of Huili County, Sichuan Province, is one of several Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). The ore-bearing intrusion is a mafic-ultramafic body. This paper reports major elements, trace elements and platinum-group elements in different types of rocks and sulfide-mineralized samples in the intrusion. These data are used to evaluate the source mantle characteristics, the degree of mantle partial melting, the composition of parental magma and the ore-forming processes. The results show that Qingkuangshan intrusion is part of the ELIP. The rocks have trace element ratios similar to the coeval Emeishan basalts. The primitive mantle-normalized patterns of Ni-Cu-PGE have positive slopes, and the ratios of Pd/Ir are lower than 22. The PGE compositions of sulfide ores and associated rocks are characterized by Ru depletion. The PGE contents in bulk sulfides are slightly depleted relative to Ni and Cu, which is similar to the Yangliuping Ni-Cu-PGE deposit. The composition of the parental magma for the intrusion is estimated to contain about 14.65 wt% MgO, 48.66 wt% SiO2 and 15.48 wt% FeOt, and the degree of mantle partial melting is estimated to be about 20%. In comparison with other typical Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the ELIP, the Qingkuangshan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit has lower PGE contents than the Jinbaoshan PGE deposit, but has higher PGE contents than the Limahe and Baimazhai Ni-Cu deposit, and has similar PGE contents to the Yangliuping Ni-Cu-PGE deposit. The moderate PGE depletions in the bulk sulfide of the Qingkuanghan deposit suggest that the parental magma of the host intrusion may have undergone minor sulfide segregation at depth. The mixing calculations suggests that an average of 10% crustal contamination in the magma, which may have been the main cause of sulfide saturation in the magma. We propose that sulfide segregation from a moderately PGE depleted magma took place prior to magma emplacement at Qingkuangshan, that small amounts of immiscible sulfide droplets and olivine and chromite crystals were suspended in the ascending magma, and that the suspended materials settled down when the magma passed trough the Qingkuangshan conduit. The Qingkuangshan sulfide-bearing intrusion is interpreted to a feeder of Emeishan flood basalts in the region.     

Geochronology of the Gabbro–mafic Microgranular Enclaves–granite Associations in the Gejiu District, Yunnan Province and Their Geodynamic Significance

Many igneous rocks distribute in Gejiu tin polymetallic ore-field at Yunnan province, rocks including basalt, gabbro, mafic microgranular enclaves, granites (porphyritic granite and equigranular granite) and akaline rocks. The ages of the granites and akaline rocks which are considered to have genetic connecting with the mineralization have been comfirmed, but the gabbro-mafic microgranular enclaves-granite assemblage’s ages are still unknown. By means of LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating, the data of Shenxianshui equigranular granite, the mafic microgranular enclave in Jiasha area, the host rock of the mafic microgranular enclaves and the Jiasha gabbro are around ~80 Ma. Besides the above mentioned data, a group of new ages at ~30 Ma were discovered in this study, which is from gabbro and mafic microgranular enclaves. Based on the previous data and the new data gained this time, we suggest the major geochronology framework of the magmatism and mineralization events in Gejiu area is ~80 Ma, which is consistent with the Late Cretaceous magmatism and mineralization events in the whole southeast Yunnan and west Guangxi area and they were suggested to belong to the same geotectonic setting in late Yenshannian. And the new ages of the ~30 Ma obtained in this study is considered to represent a responding to the complicate tectonic evolution history of the Tibetan orogenic events in Cenozoic.     

太行山北段石湖金矿的成岩成矿机制:U-Pb年龄及地球化学证据

为讨论石湖金矿的形成与麻棚花岗岩体、石英闪长玢岩脉之间的联系,对花岗闪长岩、石英闪长玢岩进行了U--Pb年代学研究,并分别对花岗闪长岩、石英闪长玢岩、矿化蚀变岩和围岩的地球化学进行了系统测定。麻棚花岗岩体U--Pb年龄为(124.8±1.4)Ma(MSWD=0.74),石英闪长玢岩脉年龄为(127.3±1.1)Ma(MSWD=1.15),但二者地球化学特征表现不同,应有不同起源。地球化学特征表明,麻棚花岗岩与矿化蚀变岩具有较一致的稀土、微量元素配分型式,而与围岩差别大,说明金矿的成矿流体来源与麻棚花岗岩关系密切。此外,花岗闪长岩具高钾钙碱性,且重稀土亏损、轻稀土富集、弱Eu异常、高Sr--Ba和高Sr/Y、La/Yb比值,表明麻棚岩体的形成有幔源岩浆的混入。笔者认为成矿流体和成矿物质来源为幔源岩浆底侵和混合,并以花岗岩浆为载体而迁移上升。结合矿床地质特征,初次提出闪长玢岩脉与矿体时空关系密切,这应是闪长玢岩脉作为隔流体层对来自麻棚花岗岩体的成矿流体具有一定的封闭作用,使得矿化、蚀变富集产出,即岩脉封闭作用。石湖金矿的成岩成矿机制与中生代期间岩石圈减薄的地球动力学背景密切相关,应是一种非造山型金矿。     

Mineral chemistry,P-T-t paths and exhumation processes of mafic granulites in Dinggye,Southern Tibet

Lower crustal high grade metamorphic rocks have been successively found at Pamirs nearby the western Himalayan syntaxis, Namjagbarwa and Dinggye nearby the eastern Himalayan syntaxis and the central segment of the Himalayan Orogenic Belt, respec-tively[1―4]. In particular, some researchers deduced that there were probably eclogites at some locations[5]. Moreover, some geochronological data of these lower crustal granulites also have been accumulated. For example, the high-pressure granulit…