Postorogenic alkali feldspar granite and associated pegmatites in West Avalonia: the petrology of the Neoproterozoic Georgeville Pluton, Antigonish Highlands, Nova Scotia

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Brendan Murphy ◽  
Alan J Anderson ◽  
Doug A Archibald

The 579.8 ± 2.2 Ma (40Ar-39Ar, muscovite) Georgeville Pluton in mainland Nova Scotia is an epizonal body consisting of alkali feldspar granite and related pegmatite. The pluton intrudes the ca. 619-608 Ma arc-related rocks of the Georgeville Group, which comprises part of West Avalonia, the largest terrane in the Canadian Appalachians. The granite is characterized by above-average SiO2, Th, Nb, Y, and Zr; very low CaO, TiO2, MgO, FeO, and MnO; and most notably by positively sloped rare earth element (REE) profiles generated by extreme light REE depletion. Tectonic discrimination diagrams suggest a within-plate environment, with many, but not all, geochemical and mineralogical features resembling A-type granites. Numerous local and regional geological constraints indicate that the pluton was intruded in a trancurrent setting following the cessation of Neoproterozoic arc-related magmatism along the West Avalonian portion of the Gondwanan continental margin. Geochemical data are consistent with derivation by partial melting of depleted crust or upper mantle followed by extreme fractionation, including REE-rich accessory phases.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1027-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Canil ◽  
D J Schulze ◽  
D Hall ◽  
B C Hearn Jr. ◽  
S M Milliken

This study presents major and trace element data for 243 mantle garnet xenocrysts from six kimberlites in parts of western North America. The geochemical data for the garnet xenocrysts are used to infer the composition, thickness, and tectonothermal affinity of the mantle lithosphere beneath western Laurentia at the time of kimberlite eruption. The garnets record temperatures between 800 and 1450°C using Ni-in-garnet thermometry and represent mainly lherzolitic mantle lithosphere sampled over an interval from about 110–260 km depth. Garnets with sinuous rare-earth element patterns, high Sr, and high Sc/V occur mainly at shallow depths and occur almost exclusively in kimberlites interpreted to have sampled Archean mantle lithosphere beneath the Wyoming Province in Laurentia, and are notably absent in garnets from kimberlites erupting through the Proterozoic Yavapai Mazatzal and Trans-Hudson provinces. The similarities in depths of equilibration, but differing geochemical patterns in garnets from the Cross kimberlite (southeastern British Columbia) compared to kimberlites in the Wyoming Province argue for post-Archean replacement and (or) modification of mantle beneath the Archean Hearne Province. Convective removal of mantle lithosphere beneath the Archean Hearne Province in a "tectonic vise" during the Proterozoic terminal collisions that formed Laurentia either did not occur, or was followed by replacement of thick mantle lithosphere that was sampled by kimberlite in the Triassic, and is still observed there seismically today.



2019 ◽  
Vol 114 (8) ◽  
pp. 1569-1598
Author(s):  
Ryan D. Taylor ◽  
Anjana K. Shah ◽  
Gregory J. Walsh ◽  
Cliff D. Taylor

Abstract The iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits of the eastern Adirondack Highlands, New York, are historical high-grade magnetite mines that contain variable concentrations of rare earth element (REE)-bearing apatite crystals. The majority of the deposits are hosted within sodically altered Lyon Mountain granite gneiss, although some deposits occur within paragneiss, gabbro, anorthosite, or potassically altered Lyon Mountain granite gneiss. The IOA deposits and the waste and/or tailings piles associated with them have potential as an unconventional resource for REEs. Reprocessing of these piles would have the advantage of partial recycling of the waste material to produce a set of critical elements. Thirty-four ore, nine rock, 25 waste-pile, and four tailings-pile samples were collected and analyzed for major, minor, and trace elements. At the tailings- and waste-pile sites, composite samples were collected by combining 30 to >50 subsamples randomly distributed over each pile. The total REE content of the waste and tailings piles varied from approximately 10 to 22,000 ppm, whereas the ore sample concentrations ranged from approximately 15 to 48,000 ppm total REEs. A positive correlation exists between the total REE content of ore and its associated waste pile. Median light REE/heavy REE values were 2.14 for waste/tailings piles and 2.25 for ore, which is a substantial relative enrichment in the heavy REEs in comparison to many developed REE mines, such as the mined carbonatites of Bayan Obo, China, and Mountain Pass, California. Importantly, the ore and waste samples are significantly enriched in both Y and Nd compared to other REEs in the samples. Other minor components such as Th are also elevated. Airborne radiometric surveys show large positive eTh and eU anomalies corresponding to tailings piles. Although it is a limited data set, geochemical data of unaltered and altered host rocks suggest a speculative new model for IOA ore formation in the Adirondack Highlands that is consistent with the geology and previously published data. The ferroan ore-hosting Lyon Mountain granite gneiss underwent localized potassic alteration that enriched the altered rock in Fe, REEs, Th, and other metals. A later sodic alteration event affected the previously potassically altered Lyon Mountain granite gneiss, which increased rock porosity and remobilized Fe, REEs, and other elements from the host rock into the iron ore seams. The sodic fluids responsible for ore formation were enriched in F and Cl.



1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav V. Akinin ◽  
Julia Apt ◽  
Michael F. Roden ◽  
Don Francis ◽  
Elizabeth Moll-Stalcup

Nephelinites and basanites of the Enmelen volcanic field, Chukchi Peninsula, Russia, contain upper mantle xenoliths of relatively calcium- and magnesium-rich spinel lherzolites, pyroxenites, and megacrysts. The phase assemblages of the lherzolites require equilibration near 1.5 GPa, and calculated equilibration temperatures for most inclusions are in the range 850–1030 °C. These temperatures are similar to those calculated for lherzolite inclusions from other Bering Sea localities (Nunivak Island and Seward Peninsula) and are higher than temperatures expected for likely conductive geotherms beneath these volcanic fields. The relatively high temperatures may be the result of magma intrusion into the mantle lithosphere and consequent perturbation of the geotherm shortly before entrainment of the xenoliths in basalt. Two Enmelen lherzolites equilibrated at higher temperatures (1230–1240 °C) and provide further evidence for heating due to intrusive magmas. Some spinel lherzolite inclusions have flat rare earth element patterns and major and trace element abundances close to that of the bulk silicate earth. Based on the occurrence of similar fertile peridotites at Nunivak Island and Seward Peninsula, near-primitive mantle compositions appear to be common in the upper mantle beneath the Bering Sea. These peridotites may represent recent additions to the mantle lithosphere from mantle plumes related to the volcanism. Other Enmelen inclusions are relatively light rare earth element-enriched group I lherzolites metasomatized by a silicate melt, group II pyroxenites precipitated from a variety of melts, and augite megacrysts with convex-upward rare earth element patterns consistent with precipitation from the host basalts at high pressures.



Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 798
Author(s):  
Alvar Soesoo ◽  
Johannes Vind ◽  
Sigrid Hade

We provide a compilation of geology of uranium and thorium potential resources in the Ordovician black shale (graptolite argillite), Cambrian–Ordovician shelly phosphorite and in the secondary resources (tailings) of Estonia. Historical and new geological, XRF and ICP-MS geochemical data and ArcGIS modeling results of elemental distribution and tonnages are presented. The Estonian black shale contains 5.666 million tons of U, 16.533 Mt Zn, 12.762 Mt Mo, 47.754 Mt V and 0.213–0.254 Mt of Th. The Estonian phosphate resources, altogether about 3 billion metric tons of phosphate ore, contain about 147,000 to 175,000 tons of U. Rare earth element concentrations in the phosphorite ore average at 1200–1500 ppm of ΣREE. Thorium can also be a possible co-product. The mining waste dump at the Maardu contains at least 3650 tons of U and 730 tons of Th. The Sillamäe radioactive waste depository contains about 1200 tons of U and 800 tons of Th. Due to the neighboring geological positions, as well as environmental constraints and mining technologies, the black shale and phosphorite can be treated as a complex multi-resource, possibly at the continental scale, which needs to be extracted together.



1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2465-2478 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Rouer ◽  
H. Lapierre ◽  
C. Coulon ◽  
A. Michard

The mid-Paleozoic volcanics of northern Sierra Nevada consist of the Sierra Buttes rhyolites, the Taylor basalts and andesites, and the Keddie Ridge basalt–latite–rhyolite suite. The Sierra Buttes calc-alkaline rhyolites display strong light rare-earth element enrichment and negative εNd values. The Taylor basalts and andesites in the northern Hough and Genesee blocks exhibit calc-alkaline affinities (REE rare-earth element patterns highly enriched in LREE), whereas in the southern Hough block they are tholeiitic (flat rare-earth element patterns). The abundance of silicic lavas, the low εNd values of both the Sierra Buttes and Taylor volcanics and the δ18O values of the Sierra Buttes rhyolite and Bowman Lake trondjhemite provide evidence that the northern Sierra Nevada island arc was continent based. The Keddie Ridge differentiated volcanics, characterized by high Zr, Y, Nb, K, and light rare-earth elements, are geochemically similar to a shoshonite suite. Their eruption at the end of the mid-Paleozoic volcanic episode suggests a reversal of subduction, uplift, and block faulting in the island arc.The mid-Paleozoic volcanics of the northern Sierra Nevada are thought to represent the remnant of a mature island arc because calc-alkaline rocks predominate over tholeiitic ones, the lavas display a K enrichment with time, and the volcanics are evolved in their isotopes, compared with rocks erupted in young or primitive island arcs.



1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1412-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsai-Way Wu ◽  
Robert Kerrich

Oxygen isotopic compositions of whole rocks and coexisting quartz–feldspar pairs have been determined for nine pre-, and syn- to late-kinematic granitoid plutons in the Grenville Province of Ontario. These new data demonstrate that granitoid rocks (Algonquin, Mulock) in migmatite terrain of the Ontario Gneiss Segment possess normal δ18O values (<9.0‰), whereas mesozonal to epizonal plutons (Elphin, Coe Hill, Deloro, Barber's Lake) in the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB) are characterized by significantly higher 18O contents (δ18O > 9.0‰), in accord with previous results.In the Algonquin sodic suite, a gross covariance of δ18O with compositional indices is present, from 6.4‰, SiO2 = 50.5 wt. % (gabbro) to 8.7‰, SiO2 = 72 wt. % (trondhjemite), resulting from combined assimilation–fractional crystallization. Mafic members of the sodic suite are 18O enriched overall (5.8–7.9‰) relative to fresh tholeiites (5.7 + 0.3‰), implicating some 18O contamination of the protolith. The dispersion of δ18O values in the Algonquin potassic suite, from 4.3 to 9.3‰, is independent of composition and attributed to isotopic exchange with low-18O thermal waters during emplacement. Biotite–hornblende granite of the Mulock batholith is characterized by a limited oxygen isotope compositional range, where the average δ18O = 8.1 ± 0.5‰; δ18O correlates with SiO2 but not with the zonal distribution of Ba, Rb, and Sr abundances.The Union Lake quartz diorite (δ18O = 8.5 ± 0.1‰) and White Lake trondhjemite (δ18O = 7.3 ± 0.6‰) have oxygen isotope compositions comparable to those of other trondhjemitic suites in the CMB. A systematic enrichment of ~1.2‰ in the Union Lake pluton, together with enhanced Ca, Mg, Fe, and Sr, can be accounted for by assimilation of ~5% marbles and 10% amphibolites from the country rock. Uniformly high δ18O values of 11.5 ± 0.8‰ characterize the Elphin granite–syenite complex. The largest values (11.7–12.7‰) and lowest SiO2 (54–56 wt. %) are in the partially assimilated host gabbro–diorite complex, endorsing the presence of 18O-enriched source regions. The Cheddar biotite–hornblende granite, one of a population of intrusions within the alkalic belt of the western CMB, has a restricted isotopic span, where δ18O = 8.8 ± 0.9‰. An unusual concave rare-earth-element (REE) distribution may result from interaction with a heavy rare-earth -element (HREE) enriched volatile phase. The Coe Hill biotite granite (δ18O = 10.4 ± 0.4‰) is isotopically in compliance with other granites and syenites of the CMB. Covariance of δ18O and SiO2, in conjunction with smooth and continuous geochemical trends, is interpreted in terms of assimilation–fractional crystallization.Peralkaline granite of the Deloro pluton includes a hypersolvus phase with high, scattered δ18O values (9.1–11.8‰) and a subsolvus counterpart attributed to late influx of water that induced isotopic reequilibration toward a more constrained range (δ18O = 9.2–10.2‰). REE distributions of a calcic syenite phase are compatible with its evolution by fractional crystallization of a low-K tholeiitic magma, and the high-18O character (δ18O = 11.1–12.6‰) requires 18O enrichment of the protolith and (or) 18O contamination of the magma. Peralkaline rhyolitic volcanics, compositionally coherent with the Deloro pluton and possibly representing extrusive equivalents, possess significantly higher and more variable δ18O values, from 11.7 to 14.2‰; this is attributed to 18O enrichment during low-temperature exchange with thermal waters, superimposed on a primary high-18O magma. The Barber's Lake two-mica granite contains enhanced abundances of U (15 ppm) and Th (36 ppm) in conjunction with systematically elevated δ18O values (10.4 ± 0.5‰). Geochemical constraints are compatible with its evolution from a trondhjemitic magma, but the isotopically enriched nature requires extensive 18O contamination of the protolith and (or) magma. These nine granites variously retain "memory" of primary and (or) secondary features, including δ18O of the source region, covariance of isotopic and compositional parameters, and sporadically superimposed disturbance by exchange with thermal waters. During metamorphism, quartz and feldspar were systematically reset to high-temperature fractionations, but the extent of open-system exchange with rock reservoirs was limited.Despite some probable disturbance by metamorphism and the limited data available, O–Sr isotope systematics of the Grenville granitoids indicate that (1) high-18O granites from the Frontenac Axis were derived from in situ anatexis of Grenville Supergroup metasediments, (2) synkinematic granites were derived by mixing of a primary magma generated at a lower crustal (granulite facies) or upper mantle level with the fusion products generated by partial melting of the Archean–Early Proterozoic type metasediments, and (3) the tonalite–trondhjemite suite in this part of the Grenville Province was derived from a similar lower crustal or upper mantle primary magma by direct fractional crystallization.





2018 ◽  
Vol 486 ◽  
pp. 166-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. Behrens ◽  
Katharina Pahnke ◽  
Ronja Paffrath ◽  
Bernhard Schnetger ◽  
Hans-Jürgen Brumsack


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