U-Pb zircon age of a sheeted dike complex in ophiolites in the structure of the Revdinsky massif, Ural Рlatinum Belt

Research subject. A tectonic block of ophiolites, corresponding to the root zone of a sheeted dike complex, in the eastern part of the Revdinsky massif of the Platinum-bearing belt of the Urals (UPB).Materials and methods. Zircons for dating were collected in the first-generation dolerite dikes of the sheeted dike complex under study, which had been previously considered as Ordovician. U-Pb dating of zircons was performed by LA-ICP-MS on a NexION 300S quadrupole mass spectrometer with a laser ablation attachment NWR 213.Results. Zircons with an age of 425.6 ± 2.9 Ma are characterized by primary magmatic zoning and apparently correspond to the time of intrusion of the sheeted dike complex. In zircons with an age of 404.0 ± 2.9 Ma, inclusions of metamorphogenic minerals (amphibole, chamosite, quartz, clinozoisite) were discovered. This age reflects rock recrystallization or metamorphism, for example, during the intrusion of later vein rocks of the diorite-tonalite series or dolerite dikes of the second generation. Three points of determination showed a younger age of 362 ± 5.6 Ma, probably reflecting the time of metamorphism at the beginning of collisional processes. Conclusions. For the first time, the Silurian U-Pb age of zircons (LA-ICP-MS) was obtained for the ophiolite block (root zone of the sheeted dike complex) in the structure of the Revdinsky massif UPB. The obtained age of intrusion of the sheeted dike complex (425.6 ± 2.9 Ma) coincides with the age of zircons (428.5 ± 3.7 Ma) from gabbro screens in sheeted dikes of the East Ural zone determined earlier (Smirnov, Ivanov, 2010) and corresponds to the time of spreading over the subduction zone in the Middle Urals.

Aggregate mining on Mount Zion, Clayton, California

ABSTRACT Two construction aggregate companies, Cemex and Hanson Aggregates, operate respective crushed stone quarries on the east and west slopes of Mount Zion in Clayton, California. These sidehill quarries utilize a single highwall and mine Jurassic diabase of the Coast Range ophiolite that formed as a sheeted dike complex. Hydrothermal veins, some containing 20%–30% disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite, cut the diabase. The east quarry, operated by Cemex, was started by the Harrison-Birdwell Company in 1947. The west quarry, operated by Hanson, was started by the Henry J. Kaiser Sand and Gravel Company in 1954. The Cemex quarry highwall is visible as you come into the city of Clayton on Marsh Creek Road, with a height of ~280 m (920 ft). The height of the highwall at the Hanson quarry is ~215 m (700 ft). Both operations remove weathered diabase overburden to expose fresh diabase, which is drilled, blasted, and hauled to the plant for processing. To ensure aggregate is suitable for construction, quality assurance testing is conducted in accordance with the specifications of various agencies. These quarries supply the surrounding area with aggregate for hospitals, schools, highways, dams, and other buildings. Noteworthy projects supplied by the Clayton quarries include the Concord BART Station, Interstate-680, Interstate-580, Calaveras Dam, Sherman Island Levee, Highway 4, Highway 24, and Bay Bridge epoxy asphalt. Before aggregate was mined, Mount Zion was the site of a copper rush from 1862 to 1864. Gold and silver were also reported in various assays from the Clayton district. Although prospecting created excitement around Clayton, no productive orebodies were ever discovered.

Geochemistry and Geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Backarc Basin Khzama Ophiolite (Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco): Tectonomagmatic Implications

The Khzama ophiolite is a highly dismembered complex located in the Siroua inlier of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas Belt. It consists of ultramafic rocks, cumulate gabbros, sheeted dikes, pillow lavas, and an overlying volcano-sedimentary sequence. Three main tectonic slices of sheeted dike complexes are studied in detail along three rivers, exposing well preserved outcrops where individual dikes are clearly distinguishable from the intruded host rock (Assif n’Tinzla, Assif n’Tasriwine, and Assif n’Iriri). Sheeted dikes of the Khzama ophiolitic complex are basaltic to andesitic in composition, displaying a clear sub-alkaline nature. We identify two sets of dikes that originate from lower High-Ti series (HTS) lavas and overlying upper Low-Ti series (LTS) lava. The immobile trace-element signatures of these rocks point to a genesis on a backarc environment with magmas sourced in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) at the spinel peridotite zone. The obtained SHRIMP U-Pb data of the gabbro represent the first radiometric age of zircon extracted from the mafic rocks that were intruded by the sheeted dike complex of the Khzama ophiolite. These grains yield a concordia age of 763 ± 5 Ma, which is consistent with the 761.1 + 1.9/−1.6 and 762 + 1/−2 Ma U-Pb zircon ages of plagiogranites of Siroua. Based on their mineralogy, modal proportions, and major element chemistry, the felsic dikes are classified as high silica–low alumina trondhjemites or plagiogranites. These plagiogranites were likely formed by the partial melting of mafic rocks rather than by extreme fractional crystallization. A plagiogranite dated at 777 ± 4.7 Ma (U-Pb on zircon) is significantly older than the ca. 762 Ma plagiogranites previously recorded for the Khzama locality, suggesting a long-lived supra-subduction zone (SSZ) with conditions for the hydrous melting of mafic rocks.