The Narryer Gneiss Complex of the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia: a segment of Archaean lower crust uplifted during Proterozoic orogeny

The Narryer Gneiss Complex of the Yilgarn Block is a key segment of the Western Australian Precambrian Shield. It is a regional granulite facies terrain comprised of predominantly quartzo-feldspathic gneisses derived from granitic intrusions c. 3.6–3.4 Ga old. Granulite facies metamorphism occurred c. 3.3 Ga ago, and conditions of 750–850°C and 7–10 kbar are estimated for the Mukalo Creek Area (MCA) near Errabiddy in the north. The P–T path of the MCA has been derived from metamorphic assemblages in younger rocks that intruded the gneisses during at least three subsequent events, and this path is supported by reaction coronas in the older gneisses. There is no evidence for uplift immediately following peak metamorphism of the MCA, and a period of isobaric cooling is inferred from the pressures recorded in younger rocks. Pressures and temperatures estimated from metadolerites, which intruded the older gneisses during ‘granite–greenstone’tectonism at about 2.6 Ga and during early Proterozoic thrusting show that the Errabiddy area remained in the lower crust, although it was probably reheated during the younger events. Isothermal uplift to upper crustal levels occurred at c. 1.6 Ga ago, and was followed by further deformation and patchy retrogression of high-grade assemblages. The effects of younger deformation, cooling and reheating can be discerned in the older gneisses, but as there has been no pervasive deformation or rehydration, the minerals and microstructures formed during early Archaean granulite facies metamorphism for the most part are retained. The MCA remained in the lower crust for about 1700 Ma following peak metamorphism and some event unrelated to the original metamorphism was required to exhume it. Uplift occurred during development of the Capricorn Orogen, when some 30–35 km were added to the crust beneath the Errabiddy area. The recognition of early Proterozoic thrusting, plus crustal thickening, suggests that the Capricorn Orogen is a belt of regional compression which resulted from convergence of the Yilgarn and Pilbara Cratons.