Shock brecciation around the Kidd Creek deposit, Abitibi belt, Canada

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 871-878
Author(s):  
I. K. Pitcairn ◽  
N. T. Arndt

The Kidd–Munro assemblage, Abitibi belt, Canada, is an ultramafic–mafic–felsic volcanic sequence that contains the giant Kidd Creek volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VMS) deposit. The Kidd basin, 1.6 km northeast of the deposit, contains pervasively brecciated pillowed and massive basalts. The breccia is distinctly different from most breccias in volcanic rocks, which form through volcanic processes or during later deformation or alteration. The Kidd Creek breccia occurs pervasively through otherwise undeformed pillow interiors and margins, and also in localized corridors of particularly intense brecciation. Clasts are angular, up to 4 cm wide, hosted in a very fine-grained matrix, and commonly show jig-saw fit texture. The chemical compositions of the breccia fragments and matrix are generally similar, although the matrix is slightly enriched in high field-strength elements (HFSE) and heavy rare-earth elements (HREE) and depleted in some mobile elements, such as Rb and Ba. The breccia contains altered basaltic clasts and fragments of in-filled amygdales and is crosscut by late-stage quartz–carbonate–sulfide veins. The observations imply that the breccia was formed in-situ, with minimal transport of material, and developed after solidification of the volcanic rocks. In-situ breccias, such as these, are known to form proximal to major fault zones, but no such structure occurs in the vicinity of the Kidd Basin. We suggest the brecciation was caused by the propagation of shock waves from explosive volcanic eruption, perhaps related to the emplacement of felsic volcanic rocks observed in the Kidd Creek Mine. The breccia was subject to enhanced hydrothermal fluid flow, perhaps linked to the formation of the ore deposit.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 1116-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.B. Whalen ◽  
A. Zagorevski ◽  
V.J. McNicoll ◽  
N. Rogers

The Buchans Group, central Newfoundland, represents an Ordovician continental bimodal calc-alkaline arc sequence that hosts numerous volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) occurrences, including both in situ and mechanically transported sulfide breccia–conglomerate orebodies. Diverse lithic clasts associated with transported deposits include rounded granitoid clasts. Earlier workers have suggested that Buchans Group VMS-hosting felsic extrusive units, small granodiorite intrusions (e.g., Wiley’s Brook), and granitoid cobbles associated with transported ore represent co-genetic products of the same magmatic system. The granitoid cobbles and small granodiorite intrusions are geochemically similar and closely resemble Buchans Group felsic volcanic units. U–Pb zircon age determinations show a (i) 466.7 ± 0.5 Ma crystallization age for the Wiley’s Brook granodiorite (WBG), (ii) 464 ± 4 Ma crystallization age for a granitoid cobble, and (iii) 466 ± 4 Ma maximum deposition age for a conglomerate–sandstone sequence associated with transported ore. Thus, Buchans Group felsic plutonic rocks are within experimental error of felsic volcanism and VMS deposition. Furthermore, εNd (T) (T, time of crystallization) values of four granitoid cobbles (–1.95 to –4.0) overlap values obtained from Buchans Group felsic volcanic units. Our results are compatible with plutonic and volcanic rocks being related through fractional crystallization or partial melting processes but do not support a petrogenetic link between VMS deposition and exposed felsic plutons. Comparisons to modern arc analogues favour exhumation of plutonic rocks by extension along caldera or rift walls and (or) subaerial erosion. Enigmatic rounding of Buchans granitoid clasts was likely accomplished in a subaerial or shallow marine environment, and the clasts transported into a VMS-active basin by mass flows.



1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1349-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Barrett ◽  
S. Cattalani ◽  
L. Hoy ◽  
J. Riopel ◽  
P.-J. Lafleur

The Mobrun polymetallic deposit near Rouyn–Noranda comprises two complexes of massive sulfide lenses within mainly felsic volcanic rocks of the Archean Blake River Group. The Main lens contained 3.37 Mt of massive sulfides, with 1989 reserves of 0.95 Mt at 0.81% Cu, 2.44% Zn, 30.3 g/t Ag, and 2.2 g/t Au. The 1100 complex, located ~250 m to the southeast of the Main complex, contains estimated 1989 reserves of 10.4 Mt at 0.76% Cu, 5.43% Zn, 37.4 g/t Ag, and 1.35 g/t Au.Host volcanic rocks of the Main complex are mostly massive, brecciated, and tuffaceous rhyolites. The rhyolites are commonly strongly sheared parallel to lithological contacts, which are locally displaced by high-angle faults. Immobile-element plots such as Y–Zr and Nb–Zr show a separation of rhyolite data into two distinct alteration trends that generally correspond to massive and in situ brecciated rhyolite of the footwall, and tuffaceous rhyolite of the hanging wall. The hanging wall has tholeiitic Zr/Y ratios (3–5), whereas the footwall has mildly calc-alkaline Zr/Y ratios (7–9). Several immobile-element trends indicate that there was a subtle but clear change in rhyolite composition near the time of ore deposition. Identification of chemically distinct footwall and hanging wall rhyolites allows these units to be recognized and traced along strike, even where alteration is strong. Sericitization and silicification extend at least 100 m from the orebody, with local chloritic zones in the upper footwall. Calculated mass changes indicate that the footwall generally has lost silica mass relative to the hanging wall. Alteration zones associated with mineralization have mass gains in FeO + MgO and K2O gains, but mass loss in silica.The 1100 complex, located stratigraphically below the Main complex, is hosted by rhyolite, with one main andesite interval in the footwall. The footwall contains three chemically distinct rhyolite types, all tholeiitic. Hanging-wall rhyolites are, however, mildly calc-alkaline, and thus are chemically comparable to, and correlated with, the footwall of the Main complex. Rhyolites within ~100 m stratigraphically of the Main and 1100 complexes commonly have positively shifted δ18O whole-rock values of 11–13‰. These high values are interpreted as the result of an initial, widespread phase of low-temperature hydrothermal alteration that increased δ18O values by 3–5‰ relative to unaltered rhyolites. Some footwall rhyolites, however, are relatively depleted in 18O, strongly depleted in Ca–Na and depleted in Eu2+. Rhyolites with these chemical features have been overprinted by higher temperature alteration, presumably in localized feeder zones. All four rhyolite types near the 1100 complex are chemically recognizable despite contrasting alteration.The orebodies are interpreted as synvolcanic, based on their occurrence along distinctive volcanic contacts, and the presence of primary sulfide textures where deformation is minor. The chemostratigraphic framework defined for the host rhyolite sequence can be used to trace critical volcanic contacts through lithologically monotonous, strongly altered, and faulted stratigraphy.



Author(s):  
Gejing Li ◽  
D. R. Peacor ◽  
D. S. Coombs ◽  
Y. Kawachi

Recent advances in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and analytical electron microscopy (AEM) have led to many new insights into the structural and chemical characteristics of very finegrained, optically homogeneous mineral aggregates in sedimentary and very low-grade metamorphic rocks. Chemical compositions obtained by electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) on such materials have been shown by TEM/AEM to result from beam overlap on contaminant phases on a scale below resolution of EMPA, which in turn can lead to errors in interpretation and determination of formation conditions. Here we present an in-depth analysis of the relation between AEM and EMPA data, which leads also to the definition of new mineral phases, and demonstrate the resolution power of AEM relative to EMPA in investigations of very fine-grained mineral aggregates in sedimentary and very low-grade metamorphic rocks.Celadonite, having end-member composition KMgFe3+Si4O10(OH)2, and with minor substitution of Fe2+ for Mg and Al for Fe3+ on octahedral sites, is a fine-grained mica widespread in volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic sediments which have undergone low-temperature alteration in the oceanic crust and in burial metamorphic sequences.



2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 905-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Bedeaux ◽  
Lucie Mathieu ◽  
Pierre Pilote ◽  
Silvain Rafini ◽  
Réal Daigneault

The Piché Structural Complex (PSC) extends over 150 km within the Cadillac – Larder Lake Fault Zone (CLLFZ), a gold-endowed, east-trending, and high-strain corridor located along the southern edge of the Archean Abitibi Subprovince. The PSC consists of discontinuous units of volcanic rocks (<1 km thick) that host multiple gold deposits. It is spatially associated with molasse-type Timiskaming sedimentary basins. This study describes and interprets the origin of structures and lithologies within the poorly understood PSC to unravel the tectonic evolution of the CLLFZ. Field mapping, chemical analyses, as well as interpretations of cross-sections from drill-hole data, were used to interpret the geometry and structure of the PSC. The PSC is subdivided into six homogeneous fault-bounded segments or slivers. These slivers consist mostly of ultramafic to intermediate volcanic rocks and include some felsic volcanic flows and intrusions. Volcanic facies, chemical compositions, and isotopic ages confirm that these slivers are derived from the early volcanic units of the southern Abitibi greenstone belt, which are located north of the CLLFZ. Cross-cutting relationships between volcanic rocks of the PSC and the Timiskaming-aged intrusions suggest that the slivers were inserted into the CLLFZ during the early stages of the accretion-related deformation (<2686 Ma) and prior to Timiskaming sedimentation and ductile deformation (>2676 Ma). The abundant ultramafic rocks located within the CLLFZ may have focused strain, thereby facilitating the nucleation of the fault as well as the displacements along this crustal-scale structure.



1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1048-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Frith ◽  
B. J. Fryer

The Regan Intrusive Suite of about 100 plutons of tonalite, granodiorite, and quartz diorite intruded the Yellowknife Supergroup and migmatite terrain in the northwest Slave Structural Province 2.59 Ga ago. Rare-earth-element (REE), trace-element, and major-element analyses from 39 representative whole rocks from the suite suggest it was derived by batch melting of the crust, producing a parental magma of tonalitic or granodioritic composition. By analysing REE from different parts of a zoned pluton, it was concluded that REE distribution was controlled by early separation of quartz diorite from the parent magma by flow differentiation and that the bulk of the REE were contained in early, cumulate, accessory apatite and monazite. The residual magma was further fractionated in pipelike magma chambers during ascent into more leucocratic rocks. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of single-lithology plutons are similar to lithologies in zoned plutons, and it is proposed they initially segregated during ascent. It was found that granites, which were formerly grouped with the suite, formed in three ways, only one of which is related to the Regan Intrusive Suite.Study of 2.67 Ga old synvolcanic tonalite pluton revealed a strong covariance of light REE with those of the bimodal, calc-alkaline Hackett River Group of volcanic rocks. The data imply a common crustal source, but mass balance requires larger volumes of felsic volcanic rocks than are presently preserved, suggesting that much of the erupted felsic pyroclastic rocks were eroded. Partial melts from synvolcanic tonalite during subsequent regional metamorphism differentially depleted host rocks in REE and concentrated Eu and heavy rare-earth elements (HREE) in trondhjemite pegmatites.



Author(s):  
Elena V. Vatrushkina ◽  
◽  
Marianna I. Tuchkova ◽  

Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits were formed on the South-Western margin of the Chukotka terrane in active tectonic environment. Their stratigraphic units characterized by sedimentary structures and lithology similarities, facies variation and scarcity of reliable fauna findings. Detailed lithological studies are necessary due to the absence of a unified approach to the stratigraphic division of deposits. The paper presents petrographic, geochemical, and isotope-geochemical characteristics of Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous rocks. The stages of changing the sedimentation conditions and sources, which determined the differences in sedimentological features and the composition of the studied strata, are reconstructed. The Oxford-Kimmeridgian section is composed of sandy debris flow deposits with an arcosic composition of psammitic differences. Among their sources, ancient granitoids dominated, while siliciclastic rocks, volcanites and metamorphic complexes were secondary. Volgian-valanginian interval is characterized by the accumulation of sediments in various parts of the submarine fan. In Volgian sequences fine -, medium - and coarse-grained turbidites with lenses of small-pebble conglomerates are identified. A large number of simultaneous pyroclastic material in the Volgian deposits indicates the synchronous volcanic activity. In the Volgian period, the province was dominated by volcanites, mainly of the basaltic and andesitic composition, siliciclastic rocks were present in smaller amount. The Berriasin section is composed of fine-grained turbidites with single horizons of medium-grained turbidites and gravelitic lenses, as well as slope deposits in the form of rhythmically interbedded sandstones and mudstones with slump structures. Sandstones have greywacke composition and contain an admixture of ash material in the matrix. The main sources for Berriasian deposits were siliciclastic rocks and felsic volcanic complexes. The Valanginian section is represented by fine and medium-grained turbidites with horizons of amalgamated sandstones. Sandstones are classified as arkoses by the ratio of rock-forming components. The dominant source in the Valanginian time was ancient granitoids, while siliciclastic rocks and volcanites were secondary.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengshi Gan ◽  
Yuzhi Zhang ◽  
et al.

Table S1: LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results for Early-Middle Triassic felsic volcanic rocks in the Youjiang Basin; Table S2: In-situ zircon Hf-O isotopes results for Early-Middle Triassic felsic volcanic rocks in the Youjiang Basin; Table S3: Geochemical compositions for Early-Middle Triassic felsic volcanic rocks in the Youjiang Basin.



2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 981-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Wilson ◽  
C. R. van Staal ◽  
S. Kamo

Early Silurian volcanic and subvolcanic rocks are preserved in the lower part of the Chaleurs Group at two locations in northern New Brunswick. At Quinn Point, mafic to intermediate rocks are hosted by sedimentary rocks of the Weir Formation, and at Pointe Rochette, a bed of felsic tuff occurs near the base of the Weir. These rocks are interpreted as the first evidence in New Brunswick of magmatism associated with Late Ordovician – Early Silurian subduction of Tetagouche–Exploits back-arc oceanic crust. At Quinn Point, mafic rocks include a thick basaltic flow or sill and intermediate to mafic cobbles in overlying conglomerate beds. The in situ mafic rocks and the conglomerate clasts are chemically alike and display subduction-related affinities on tectonic discrimination diagrams. At Pointe Rochette, fine-grained felsic tuff contains elevated Th and U and depleted high-field-strength elements, consistent with a subduction-influenced setting, although rare-earth element (REE) abundances are low and the REE profile is relatively flat. A U–Pb (zircon) age of 429.2 ± 0.5 Ma was obtained from the tuff, consistent with the late Llandovery to early Wenlock age of the overlying La Vieille Formation and coinciding with the latter stages of development of the Brunswick subduction complex. Volcanic rocks were emplaced in the arc to arc-trench gap region, probably reflecting local step-back of the magmatic axis due to accretion of continental back-arc ribbons. The low volume of Early Silurian subduction-influenced rocks is probably related to the relatively narrow width of the back-arc basin and the young, “warm” character of back-arc crust.



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