Fluid inclusion and thermobarometric study of interaction between mafic xenoliths and plagiogranites in the Lotta River Area, Lapland Granulite Belt

<p>Thermobarometric data and fluid inclusions data of conditions of interaction between mafic granulite xenoliths and plagiogranites in the Lotta river area, Lapland Granulite Belt, confirm the conclusion that leucocratic garnet-bearing plagiogranites of the Lapland complex are associated with the anatexis of country khondalites during peak of metamorphism.</p><p>The formation of plagiogranitic magmas, probably, occurred at depths of about 25-30 km. As they ascended, they captured numerous xenoliths (Kozlov, Kozlova, 1998). The most remarkable of them are two-pyroxene-plagioclase granulite xenoliths (orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene + plagioclase ± quartz + magnetite + ilmenite + pyrrhotite). The xenoliths show extensive amphibole formation, which is manifested as coronas of K-bearing pargasite-edenite amphibole and coarse-grained amphibole-quartz symplectites in contacts of pyroxenes, magnetite, ilmenite and pyrrhotite with plagioclase.</p><p>The more calcic composition of plagioclase and the lower Mg-number of pyroxenes in the amphibolized portions of xenoliths correspond to the amphibole formation via reaction: Opx + Ilm + Mt + Pl = Amph ± Qtz. Amphibole formation is locally accompanied by biotite, indicating the addition of potassium into the xenoliths.</p><p>A pressure of 6.0-6.4 kbar was estimated from the equilibrium of clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene + plagioclase + quartz in non-amphibolized portions of xenoliths. The corresponding temperatures 800-860°C are within the range of temperatures estimated for the plagiogranite crystallization (Kaulina et al., 2014) as well as peak temperatures of the M2 tectonic-thermal event in the Lapland complex (Mints et al., 2007). Amphibole-plagioclase equilibrium (Blundy, Holland, 1990) recorded the temperatures of the amphibole formation 740-780°C at a pressure of 5.0-5.5 kbar. Compositional variations of amphibole toward tremolite indicate further cooling. It was, probably, due to the interaction of an essentially aqueous fluid issued from plagiogranitic magma with xenoliths as they were captured and transported.</p><p>Indeed, xenoliths are crossed by plagiogranitic veins. Abundance of aqueous-salt (17-20 wt. % NaCl eq.) inclusions and the subordinate amount of carbon dioxide inclusions in plagiogranite minerals confirm this assumption. Thus, plagiogranites of the Lapland complex and associated fluids were formed inside the complex at P-T parameters comparable to the peak conditions of granulite metamorphism. During ascension, these granite magmas could only produce fluid effects on the country rocks including xenoliths.</p>

Metallogenic Setting and Evolution of the Pados-Tundra Cr-Bearing Ultramafic Complex, Kola Peninsula: Evidence from Sm–Nd and U–Pb Isotopes

The article presents new Sm–Nd and U–Pb geochronological data on rocks of the poorly studied Pados-Tundra Cr-bearing complex. It is part of the Notozero mafic–ultramafic complex (western Kola Peninsula) and occurs at the border of the Paleoproterozoic Lapland Granulite Belt and the Archean Belomorian composite terrain. The Pados-Tundra complex hosts two major zones, the Dunite and Orthopyroxenite Blocks. Dunites are associated with four levels of chromite mineralization. Isotope Sm–Nd studies of dunites, harzburgites, and orthopyroxenites from the central part of the complex have been carried out. The isochron Sm–Nd age on 11 whole-rock samples from a rhythmically layered series of the complex is 2485 ± 38 Ma; the mineral Sm–Nd isochron for harzburgites shows the age of 2475 ± 38 Ma. It corresponds with the time of large-scale rifting that originated in the Fennoscandian Shield. When the rhythmically layered series of the intrusion and its chromite mineralization were formed, hornblendite dykes intruded. The U–Pb and Sm–Nd research has estimated their age at ca. 2080 Ma, which is likely to correspond with the occurrence of the Lapland–Kola Ocean. According to isotope Sm–Nd dating on metamorphic minerals (rutile, amphibole), the age of postmetamorphic cooling of rocks in the complex to 650–600 °C is 1872 ± 76 Ma. The U–Pb age on rutile from a hornblendite dyke (1804 ± 10 Ma) indicates further cooling to 450–400 °C. The conducted research has determined the early Proterozoic age of rocks in the rhythmically layered series in the Pados-Tundra complex. It is close to the age of the Paleoproterozoic ore magmatic system in the Fennoscandian Shield that developed 2.53–2.40 Ga ago. Later episodes of alterations in rocks are directly related to main metamorphic episodes in the region at the turn of 1.9 Ga. Results of the current study expand the geography of the vast Paleoproterozoic East Scandinavian Large Igneous Province and can be applied for further studies of similar mafic–ultramafic complexes.

Using Petrogeochemical Modeling to Understand the Relationship between Paleozoic Magmatism in the Kola Region and Its Precambrian History

The Kola region hosts numerous Paleozoic massifs of ultrabasic alkaline rocks and carbonatites with deposits of commercially valuable metals, such as iron, tantalum, niobium, and rare earth elements. These magmatic complexes are characterized by high contents of alkaline elements at generally low contents of SiO2 and/or Al2O3. In this study, we examined the precursors to the formation of the unique Paleozoic alkaline province through studying the early Precambrian stages in the evolution of the Kola collision area, from where these unique features probably originated. We mathematically modeled the changes in the chemical composition of these rocks. The obtained data can be used for metallogenic forecasting, which indicated a number of Precambrian objects in the region, namely, the Lapland Granulite Belt of the Kola region and granulite belts in Eurasia. The mathematical modeling performed during this research depicted a linear trend that defined the style of the changes in the chemical composition at the transition from the metaultrabasic-basic rocks of the Lapland granulite belt to the group of belts in Eurasia. These differences are statistically significant with respect to the obtained trend (chemical composition projected on the trend), mainly manifested as increased SiO2 and Al2O3 contents with a decreasing total alkalis content, which is opposite to the indicated trends of the changing chemical composition in the Paleozoic alkaline rock units of the Kola region. We concluded that one of the reasons for the unique composition of the Paleozoic magmatism products could be a specific feature of the earlier Neoarchean stages of the tectonic-magmatic activity in the northeastern Baltic Shield, which implies a close relationship between later geological events and the early Precambrian history, at least in the study area.