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Journal articles on the topic "Mafic fault rocks"
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MacDonald, Lisa A., Sandra M. Barr, Chris E. White, and John WF Ketchum. "Petrology, age, and tectonic setting of the White Rock Formation, Meguma terrane, Nova Scotia: evidence for Silurian continental rifting." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 39, no. 2 (February 1, 2002): 259–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e01-074.
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The White Rock Formation in the Yarmouth area of the Meguma terrane of southern Nova Scotia consists mainly of mafic tuffaceous rocks with less abundant mafic flows, epiclastic and clastic sedimentary rocks, and minor intermediate and felsic crystal tuff. It is divided into seven map units that appear to young from west to east, inconsistent with a previously assumed synclinal structure. The White Rock Formation is flanked on both northwest and southeast by mainly the Cambrian to Lower Ordovician Halifax Formation; the western contact is interpreted to be a sheared disconformity, whereas the eastern contact appears to be a major brittle fault and shear zone that juxtaposes different crustal levels. The granitic Brenton Pluton forms a faulted lens within the eastern shear zone. A felsic tuff from the upper part of the White Rock Formation yielded a UPb zircon age of 438+32 Ma, identical within error to published ages for the Brenton Pluton and felsic volcanic rocks near the base of the White Rock Formation in the Torbrook area of western Nova Scotia. The chemical characteristics of the mafic volcanic rocks and associated mafic intrusions consistently indicate alkalic affinity and a continental within-plate setting. The felsic volcanic rocks and Brenton Pluton have chemical characteristics of within-plate anorogenic granitic rocks, and the pluton is interpreted to be comagmatic with the felsic volcanic rocks. The igneous activity may have occurred in response to extension as the Meguma terrane rifted away from Gondwana in the latest Ordovician to Early Silurian. Epsilon Nd values are similar to those in voluminous Devonian plutonic rocks of the Meguma terrane, and the magmas appear to have been derived from similar sources.
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Fernández, F. J., and S. Llana-Fúnez. "Deformación asociada a la falla de Valdoviño (Noroeste del Macizo Ibérico) Deformation related to the Valdoviño fault (Northwest Iberian Massif)." Trabajos de Geología 36, no. 36 (September 12, 2018): 95. http://dx.doi.org/10.17811/tdg.36.2016.95-118.
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Resumen: La sección costera de la falla de Valdoviño expone rocas de falla deformadas en las proximidades de la base de la zona sismogénica de la corteza Ibérica Varisca, en la que estructuras frágiles discretas afectan una zona de deformación predominantemente dúctil. El núcleo de la falla contiene rocas ultramáficas, rocas máficas con granate, anfibolitas, neises cuarzo-feldespáticos y metavulcanitas básicas entre las facies deformadas del granitoide Varisco de A Espenuca. Este artículo describe la deformación y microestructuras relacionadas con la falla desarrolladas en el granitoides. La composición y características tectonometamórficas del resto de rocas presentes en el núcleo de la falla sugieren que las estructuras asociadas a la falla se superpusieron a fábricas tectónicas previas, similares a las que presentan las rocas de los complejos alóctonos del NO del Macizo Ibérico.Palabras clave: microestructura, rocas de falla, corteza continental, EBSD, Orógeno Varisco.Abstract: The coastal section across the Valdoviño fault exposes fault-related rocks deformed at the base of the seismogenic zone of the Iberian Variscan crust. Discrete brittle structures are superimposed over previous predominant ductile deformation fabrics in most rocks. The core of the fault contains ultramafic rocks, garnet-bearing mafic rocks, amphibolites, quartzo-feldspathic gneisses and basic metavulcanites, in between the deformed facies of the A Espenuca Variscan granitoid. We show the deformation and microstructures related to the fault developed in the Variscan granitoid. The composition and tectonometamorphic features of the rest of the related rocks at the core of the fault suggest that deformation structures are superposed onto earlier tectonic fabrics, similar to those present in the rocks of the allochthonous complexes of the NW Iberian Massif.Keywords: microstructure, fault-related rocks, continental crust, SEM-EBSD, Variscan Orogeny.
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Tardy, M., H. Lapierre, L. C. Struik, D. Bosch, and P. Brunet. "The influence of mantle plume in the genesis of the Cache Creek oceanic igneous rocks: implications for the geodynamic evolution of the inner accreted terranes of the Canadian Cordillera." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 38, no. 4 (April 1, 2001): 515–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e00-104.
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West of Prince George, British Columbia, the Cache Creek Terrane is composed of mafic lavas interlayered with both mid-Permian pelagic limestones and Upper Triassic siliceous shales and greywackes. Gabbro, basalt, dolerites, and foliated clinopyroxene-rich ultramafic rocks are exposed within the Pinchi Fault system. The mid-Permian lavas show affinities of oceanic island tholeiites. Among the Triassic lavas, three types of rocks have been distinguished. Type 1 is geochemically similar to the mid-Permian volcanic rocks. Type 2 differs from type 1 by higher TiO2 abundances and convex rare earth element patterns. Type 3 has the highest Zr, Nb, and Ta abundances and the greatest light rare earth element enrichment. The mafic rocks within the Pinchi Fault system are similar to N-type mid-ocean-ridge basalt (N-MORB), and the foliated ultramafic rocks are characterized by very low trace element contents, similar to extremely depleted harzburgites. Permian lavas and Triassic type 1 and igneous rocks from the Pinchi Fault system have the highest εNd(i) ratios (+7.4 to +9.6) and those of type 3 alkali have the lowest ratios (+2.0 to +5.3). The εNd(i) values of type 2 are intermediate between those of type 1 (~+7) and type 3 (~+4.9). This suggests that the Triassic rocks generated from a heterogeneous plume source or the mixing between depleted N-MORB and enriched oceanic island basalt sources. If the mafic igneous rocks sampled in central British Columbia are representative of the preserved parts of an oceanic crust, within the Cache Creek Terrane, then that crust was dominated by oceanic plateau components, perhaps due to the difficulty of subducting thick crust.
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Gregory, Emma P. M., Satish C. Singh, Milena Marjanović, and Zhikai Wang. "Serpentinized peridotite versus thick mafic crust at the Romanche oceanic transform fault." Geology 49, no. 9 (June 3, 2021): 1132–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/g49097.1.
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Abstract The crust beneath transform faults at slow-spreading ridges has been considered to be thin, comprising a thin mafic layer overlying serpentinized peridotite. Using wide-angle seismic data, we report the presence of a Moho at ∼6 km depth and a low-velocity anomaly extending down to 9 km beneath the 20-km-wide Romanche transform valley floor in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The low crustal velocities above the Moho could be due to either highly serpentinized mantle peridotite or fractured mafic rocks. The existence of clear Moho reflections and the occurrence of a large crustal-depth rupture during the 2016 magnitude 7.1 earthquake suggest that the crust likely consists of fractured mafic material. Furthermore, the presence of low velocities below the Moho advocates for extensive serpentinization of the mantle, indicating that the Moho reflection is unlikely to be produced by a serpentinization front. The crust to the north of the transform fault likely consists of mafic material, but that in the south appears to be more amagmatic, possibly containing serpentinized peridotite. Our results imply that the transform fault structure is complex and highly heterogeneous, and thus would have significant influence on earthquake rupture and alteration processes.
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Schaefer, Stephen J., and Penelope Morton. "Two komatiitic pyroclastic units, Superior Province, northwestern Ontario: their geology, petrography, and correlation." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 28, no. 9 (September 1, 1991): 1455–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e91-128.
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Two Archean komatiitic pyroclastic rock units occur on opposite sides of the Quetico Fault in northwestern Ontario. The eastern unit, the Dismal Ashrock, is located 3 km north of Atikokan, Ontario, on the north side of the Quetico Fault within the Wabigoon Subprovince of the Superior Province. It is part of a suprascrustal sequence, the Steep Rock Group. The Grassy Portage Bay ultramafic pyroclastic rock unit (GUP) is located 100 km to the west, on the south side of the Quetico Fault, and is part of an overturned succession comprising mafic metavolcanic rocks, GUP, and metasedimentary rocks. The Dismal Ashrock dips steeply, is little deformed, has undergone greenschist metamorphism, and is divided into komatiitic lapilli tuff, komatiitic volcanic breccia, komatiitic volcaniclastic rocks, and a mafic pillowed flow. GUP outcrops form an arcuate fold interference pattern, are strongly deformed, and have undergone amphibolite metamorphism. GUP is divided into komatiitic lapilli tuff and komatiitic volcanic breccia. Both pyroclastic units contain cored and composite lapilli, evidence for explosive volcanism. Locally, some of the lapilli fragments are highly vesicular (up to 30% by volume), greater than reported for any other komatiites. Other fragments show no vesicularity. The low vesicularity of some of the pyroclasts and, in the case of the Dismal Ashrock, their association with pinowed lava flows may indicate explosive hydrovolcanic activity. The Dismal Ashrock and GUP are high in MgO, Cr, and Ni and are unusually enriched in Fe, Ti, Zr, Mn, P, Ba, Nb, Rb, and Sr compared with other komatiites. These unique geochemical compositions are not understood at this time.
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Endinanda, Ferdi. "KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF BALANTAK FAULT USING FAULT-SLIP DATA IN BALANTAK AREA, BANGGAI REGENCY, CENTRAL SULAWESI." Berita Sedimentologi 48, no. 1 (June 30, 2022): 45–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.51835/bsed.2022.48.1.337.
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Balantak is one of the sub-districts in Banggai Regency, Central Sulawesi Province. The research area is along the Balantak Strike-Slip Fault. This study presents geological mapping with focus on the deformation style that occurred within the area. The study provides an analogue of strike-slip structural trap types in convergent setting to support oil and gas field development. This research method was conducted using field observation and kinematic analysis of fault-slip data. Lithology in the study area that is part of the Banggai-Sula microplate has the characteristics of sedimentary rocks that are grainstone intercalating calcareous sandstone and rudstone consisting of limestone fragments. While part of the Sulawesi East Arm has crystalline rocks in the form of ultramafic-mafic rocks such as Peridotite, Serpentinite, Gabbro and Basalt. Structural analysis along the strike-slip fault indicates the collision of Banggai-Sula with Sulawesi East Arm on the side part of the micro-plate generates thrust fold belt along with well-developed uniform tearing faults present. The orientation and shape of the strain ellipsoid is pure shear transpression with the Balantak Fault as its plane of movement. The characteristic of the structure pattern complying with the model shows that the type of structures is en echelon thrusts and folds while the tearing faults are Riedel synthetics of the Balantak dextral Strike-Slip Fault that developed offset on the fold structures.
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Kalliokoski, J. "The Pontiac problem, Quebec–Ontario, in the light of gravity data." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 24, no. 9 (September 1, 1987): 1916–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e87-181.
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A belt of Archean quartzose metasedimentary gneisses with minor mafic volcanic rocks (the Pontiac Group) lies south of the Blake River and older Archean mafic volcanic rocks of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, and is separated from them by the Larder Lake – Cadillac Break. To the west of the Pontiac Group, on strike, is the Archean Larder Lake Group of turbidite conglomerate, argillite, limestone, and iron formation with abundant mafic flows and intrusions. These strata also lie south of the Larder Lake – Cadillac Break and south of the Blake River and older Archean mafic volcanic rocks. The western contact between the Pontiac and Larder Lake groups is covered by a narrow north–south strip of Proterozoic Cobalt sedimentary rocks. On the basis of gravity work that compares the Bouguer gravity anomaly gradient across the Cadillac Break with that across the west margin of the Pontiac Group, it is proposed that the Larder Lake and Pontiac groups are separated by a north–south fault and that the Pontiac Group represents a lithologically distinct uplifted block. The Pontiac block may be an Archean terrane.
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Arvanitidis, Nikolaos, P. Tsamantouridis, and Eleftheria Dimou. "Gold-bearing sulfide and gossan mineralisation systems of the Myriophyto Region, northern Macedonia, Greece." Geologica Balcanica 26, no. 4 (December 30, 1996): 25–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.52321/geolbalc.26.4.25.
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Circum Rhodope Belt marbles, thrusted over the Vertiskos mica gneiss basement and the Mesozoic Myriophyto granite, develop complex shear and fault structures, incorporating fragmented sequences of metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic rocks. The strongly sheared marble-gneiss contact zones and the post-shear subvertical faults and related breccia zones host gold-bearing sulfide and gossan mineralisations and accompanied silicification, dolomitization and ankeritization. Gold forms numerous Ag and Bi-bearing grains in arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite-pyrite-chalcopyrite assemblages and finely dispersed microscopic grains in limonite gossans. The restricted areal and volumetrical development of carbonate rock sequences is unabre to host economic deposits, though the later supergene system shows a potential Au-enrichment development.
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Gawęda, Aleksandra, Krzysztof Szopa, David Chew, Urs Klötzli, Axel Müller, Magdalena Sikorska, and Paulina Pyka. "Age and origin of fluorapatite-rich dyke from Baranec Mt. (Tatra Mts., Western Carpathians): a key to understanding of the post-orogenic processes and element mobility." Geologica Carpathica 67, no. 5 (October 1, 2016): 417–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/geoca-2016-0026.
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AbstractOn the southeastern slope of the Baranec Mount in the Western Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) an apatite-rich pegmatite-like segregation was found in the subvertical fault zone cutting metapelitic rocks. Two zones: felsic (F) and mafic (M) were found, differing in mineral assemblages and consequently in chemistry. Fluorapatite crystals yield a LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age of 328.6 ± 2.4 Ma. A temperature decrease from 634 °C to 454 °C at a pressure around 500 to 400 MPa with oxygen fugacity increasing during crystallization are the possible conditions for formation of the pegmatite-like segregation, while secondary alterations took place in the temperature range of 340 – 320 °C. The Sr-Nd isotope composition of both apatite and whole rock point toward a crustal origin of the dike in question, suggesting partial melting of (P, F, H2O)-rich metasedimentary rocks during prolonged decompression of the Tatra Massif. The original partial melt (felsic component) was mixed with an external (F, H2O)-rich fluid, carrying Fe and Mg fluxed from more mafic metapelites and crystallizing as biotite and epidote in the mafic component of the dyke.
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CARPENTER, R. L., and N. A. DUKE. "Geological Setting of the West Meliadine Gold Deposits, Western Churchill Province, Nunavut, Canada." Exploration and Mining Geology 13, no. 1-4 (January 1, 2004): 49–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gsemg.13.1-4.49.
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Abstract The West Meliadine area is underlain by structurally interleaved panels of mafic and minor ultramafic metavolcanic rocks and metasedimentary rocks that occur along the northern margin of the Neoarchean Rankin Inlet greenstone belt. Three structural and metamorphic domains are recognized: (1) the easterly Wesmeg domain; (2) the central Barracuda-Ridge domain; and (3) the westerly Peter Lake domain. The Wesmeg domain is characterized by a series of southeast-trending, north-dipping, foliation-parallel panels of greenschist facies mafic metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. The Barracuda-Ridge domain is comprised of greenschist to amphibolite facies mafic metavolcanic rocks that define an east-northeast-trending structural grain. The Peter Lake domain consists of amphibolite facies mafic metavolcanic rocks and minor metasedimentary rocks intruded by a monzonite pluton. West Meliadine hosts the economically significant Wesmeg gold deposits, as well as other important gold showings across the Barracuda-Ridge and Peter Lake domains. The geological setting of the Wesmeg gold deposits resembles that of a break or fault zone. The Pyke Break is a major geophysical discontinuity (>65-km strike length) and is the first-order structural control on gold mineralization at West Meliadine. It is several kilometers wide and characterized by polyphase deformation and shear zone development accompanied by lode-gold mineralization. In general, gold concentration is related to quartz and iron-carbonate veining, iron sulfides (mainly arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite), and accompanying silicate alteration minerals that overprint favorable chemical and structural traps late in the history of deformation.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Mafic fault rocks"
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Byars, Heather E. "Tectonic evolution of the west-central portion of the Newton window, North Carolina Inner Piedmont timing and implications for the emplacement of the Paleozoic Vale charnockite, Walker Top Granite, and mafic complexes /." 2010. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/607.
Full textBook chapters on the topic "Mafic fault rocks"
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Archibald, Donnelly B., J. Brendan Murphy, Mike Fowler, Robin A. Strachan, and Robert S. Hildebrand. "Testing petrogenetic models for contemporaneous mafic and felsic to intermediate magmatism within the “Newer Granite” suite of the Scottish and Irish Caledonides." In New Developments in the Appalachian-Caledonian- Variscan Orogen. Geological Society of America, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/2021.2554(15).
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ABSTRACT Granitoid batholiths dominated by felsic to intermediate compositions are commonly associated with mafic plutons and enclaves; however, the genetic relationship between the apparently coeval but compositionally dissimilar magmas is unclear. Here, we reviewed the age and lithogeochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic compositions of some classic plutonic rocks emplaced in the Northern Highlands, Grampian and Connemara terranes of the Caledonide orogen of Scotland and Ireland. The Northern Highlands terrane consists mostly of Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Moine Supergroup and is located north of the Great Glen fault. The Grampian terrane also consists of Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks (Dalradian Supergroup) and is located south of the Great Glen fault in both Scotland and Ireland. Amphibolite-facies metasedimentary rocks in the Connemara terrane are correlated with the Dalradian Supergroup, and the terrane is bounded by splays of the Highland Boundary and Southern Uplands faults. These three terranes were intruded by Silurian–Devonian mafic and felsic to intermediate plutonic rocks that display field evidence for mingling and mixing and have a similar range (between ca. 437 and 370 Ma) in emplacement ages. This range implies they were intruded during and after the late Caledonian Scandian orogenic event that resulted from the mid- to late Silurian collision of amalgamated Avalonia and Baltica with Laurentia and the final closure of the Iapetus Ocean. Our review supports the contention that the Great Glen fault represents a major compositional boundary in the Silurian lithosphere. Felsic to intermediate plutons that occur north of the Great Glen fault are more enriched in light rare earth elements and Ba-Sr-K compared to those to the south. Isotopic compositions of these late Caledonian plutonic rocks on both sides of the Great Glen fault indicate that metasomatism and enrichment of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Northern Highlands terrane occurred just prior to emplacement of late Caledonian plutons. Within the same terrane, mafic and felsic to intermediate rocks display similar trace-element and rare earth element concentrations compatible with models implying that fractionation of a mafic magma played an important role in generating the felsic to intermediate magmas. The onset of slab failure magmatism may have been diachronous along the length of the collision zone. If so, slab failure may have propagated laterally, possibly initiating where promontories collided.
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Souza De, Stéphane, Stéphane Perrouty, Benoît Dubé, Patrick Mercier-Langevin, Robert L. Linnen, and Gema R. Olivo. "Chapter 2: Metallogeny of the Neoarchean Malartic Gold Camp, Québec, Canada." In Geology of the World’s Major Gold Deposits and Provinces, 29–52. Society of Economic Geologists, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.5382/sp.23.02.
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Abstract The Malartic gold camp is located in the southern part of the Archean Superior Province and straddles the Larder Lake-Cadillac fault zone that is between the Abitibi and Pontiac subprovinces. It comprises the world-class Canadian Malartic deposit (25.91 Moz, including past production, reserves, and resources), and smaller gold deposits located along faults and shear zones in volcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Abitibi subprovince. North of the Larder Lake-Cadillac fault zone, the Malartic camp includes 2714 to 2697 Ma volcanic rocks and ≤2687 Ma turbiditic sedimentary rocks overlain by ≤2679 to 2669 Ma polymictic conglomerate and sandstone of the Timiskaming Group. South of the fault, the Pontiac subprovince comprises ≤2685 Ma turbiditic graywacke and mudstone, and minor ultramafic to mafic volcanic rocks and iron formations of the Pontiac Group. These supracrustal rocks were metamorphosed at peak greenschist to lower amphibolite facies conditions at ~2660 to 2658 Ma, during D2 compressive deformation, and are cut by a variety of postvolcanic intrusions ranging from ~2695 to 2640 Ma. The Canadian Malartic deposit encompasses several past underground operations and is currently mined as a low-grade, open-pit operation that accounts for about 80% of the past production and reserves in the camp. It dominantly consists of disseminated-stockwork replacement-style mineralization in greenschist facies sedimentary rocks of the Pontiac Group. The mineralized zones are spatially associated with the Sladen fault and ~2678 Ma subalkaline to alkaline porphyritic quartz monzodiorite and granodiorite. Field relationships and isotopic age data for ore-related vein minerals indicate that gold mineralization in the Canadian Malartic deposit occurred at ~2665 to 2660 Ma and was contemporaneous with syn- to late-D2 peak metamorphism. The smaller deposits in the camp include auriferous disseminated-stockwork zones of the Camflo deposit (1.9 Moz) and quartz ± carbonate-pyrite veins and breccias (0.6 Moz) along faults in chemically and mechanically favorable rocks. The age of these deposits is poorly constrained, but ~2692 Ma postmineral dikes, and ~2625 Ma hydrothermal titanite and rutile from the Camflo deposit highlight a long and complex hydrothermal history. Crosscutting relationships and regional geochronological constraints suggest that an early episode of pre-Timiskaming mineralization occurred at >2692 Ma, shortly after the end of volcanism in the Malartic camp, and postmetamorphic fluid circulation may have contributed to concentration or remobilization of gold until ~2625 Ma. However, the bulk of the gold was concentrated in the Canadian Malartic deposit during the main phase of compressive deformation and peak regional metamorphism.
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White, Chris E., Sandra M. Barr, James L. Crowley, Deanne van Rooyen, and Trevor G. MacHattie. "U-Pb zircon ages and Sm-Nd isotopic data from the Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada: New contributions to understanding the Neoproterozoic geologic history of Avalonia." In New Developments in the Appalachian-Caledonian- Variscan Orogen. Geological Society of America, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/2021.2554(07).
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ABSTRACT Forty-three new U-Pb zircon ages from metasedimentary and igneous rock units throughout the Cobequid Highlands of northern mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, provide new insights into the Neoproterozoic evolution of this long-enigmatic part of Avalonia in the northern Appalachian orogen. Contrasts in ages and rock types resulted in the identification of fault-bounded Neoproterozoic assemblages of units forming the Bass River, Jeffers, and Mount Ephraim blocks. In the Bass River block, quartzite, metawacke, and minor calc-silicate rocks and marble (Gamble Brook Formation) with a maximum depositional age of 945 ± 12 Ma are associated with subaqueous mafic volcanic rocks, siltstone, and ironstone (Folly River Formation) and intruded by 615–600 Ma calc-alkalic subduction-related dioritic to granitic rocks of the Bass River plutonic suite. The contrasting Jeffers block forms most of the Cobequid Highlands and consists mainly of intermediate to felsic volcanic, epiclastic, and minor plutonic rocks. The western and eastern areas of that block yielded ages mainly ca. 607–592 Ma for both volcanic and plutonic rocks, whereas the central area has ages of ca. 630–625 Ma from both volcanic and plutonic rocks and inheritance in overlying Devonian conglomerate. The Mount Ephraim block forms the eastern part of the highlands and includes possible ca. 800 Ma quartzofeldspathic, semipelitic and pelitic gneiss and schist of the Mount Thom Formation, ca. 752 Ma volcanic arc rocks of the Dalhousie Mountain Formation and related 752–730 Ma gabbroic/dioritic to granitic plutons of the Mount Ephraim plutonic suite and Six Mile Brook pluton, as well as ca. 631 Ma granitoid rocks of the Gunshot Brook pluton. The pre–750 Ma high-grade regional metamorphism and deformation and 752–730 Ma subduction-related magmatism recorded in the Mount Ephraim block were previously unrecognized in Avalonia. Evidence from zircon inheritance and Sm-Nd isotopic data in igneous units suggests linkages among these now-separate areas, and comparison with other parts of Avalonia in the northern Appalachian orogen suggests similarity to southeastern New England.
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Alexander, Earl B., Roger G. Coleman, Todd Keeler-Wolfe, and Susan P. Harrison. "Denali-Yukon, Domain 9." In Serpentine Geoecology of Western North America. Oxford University Press, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195165081.003.0027.
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The Denali-Yukon domain occupies a broad arc that, in general, follows the path of the Denali Fault along the Alaska Range and southwestward into the Yukon Territory. An ophiolite in the northwestern corner of British Columbia that is northeast of the projected Denali fault is included in this locality. A projection of the Denali fault system southwestward from the Alaska Range passes through the southwestern part of the Ahklun Mountains physiographic province, as the province was defined by Wahrhaftig (1965), to Kuskokwim Bay between the mouth of the Kuskowim River and Cape Newenham. Three mafic–ultramafic complexes on the southwestern edge of the Ahklun Mountains province are included in this domain. Glaciers covered this entire domain during the Pleistocene, and mountain glaciers and ice caps are still present at the higher elevations. Permafrost is currently discontinuous. The highest mountain in North America (Mt. McKinley, 6194 m) is in the Alaska Range, but the ultramafic rocks are all at much lower elevations. The climate is very cold throughout the domain, with severe winters and short summers. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 45 to150 cm in the Ahklun Mountains, from 30 to 60 cm in the Alaska Range, and from 30 to 75 cm, or more, in the Atlin area of northwestern British Columbia, which is in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains. The greatest precipitation is during summers, from June or July to September or October. The frostfree period is on the order of 60–90 days, or shorter, but it may be longer in some of the Atlin area of British Columbia. Localities 9-1 through 9-3 are from Cape Newenham northeastward in the Ahklun Mountains. The ultramafic rocks in the Cape Newenham area were accreted to North America by north directed thrust faults during the Late Triassic and Middle Jurassic time. Localities 9-4 through 9-7 are in the Alaska Range. Locality 9-8 is along a projection of the Denali fault to the eastern edge of the Coast Ranges in British Columbia.
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McDivitt, Jordan A., Steffen G. Hagemann, Matthew S. Baggott, and Stuart Perazzo. "Chapter 12: Geologic Setting and Gold Mineralization of the Kalgoorlie Gold Camp, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia." In Geology of the World’s Major Gold Deposits and Provinces, 251–74. Society of Economic Geologists, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.5382/sp.23.12.
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Abstract The Kalgoorlie gold camp in the Yilgarn craton of Western Australia comprises the supergiant Golden Mile and the smaller Mt. Charlotte, Mt. Percy, and Hidden Secret deposits. Since the camp’s discovery in 1893, ~1,950 metric tons (t) of Au have been produced from a total estimated endowment of ~2,300 t. The camp is located within Neoarchean rocks of the Kalgoorlie terrane, within the Eastern Goldfields superterrane of the eastern Yilgarn craton. Gold mineralization is distributed along an 8- × 2-km, NNW-trending corridor, which corresponds to the Boulder Lefroy-Golden Mile fault system. The host stratigraphic sequence, dated at ca. 2710 to 2660 Ma, comprises lower ultramafic and mafic lava flow rocks, and upper felsic to intermediate volcaniclastic, epiclastic, and lava flow rocks intruded by highly differentiated dolerite sills such as the ca. 2685 Ma Golden Mile Dolerite. Multiple sets of NNW-trending, steeply dipping porphyry dikes intruded this sequence from ca. 2675 to 2640 Ma. From ca. 2685 to 2640 Ma, rocks of the Kalgoorlie gold camp were subjected to multiple deformation increments and metamorphism. Early D1 deformation from ca. 2685 to 2675 Ma generated the Golden Mile fault and F1 folds. Prolonged sinistral transpression from ca. 2675 to 2655 Ma produced overprinting, NNW-trending sets of D2-D3 folds and faults. The last deformation stage (D4; < ca. 2650 Ma) is recorded by N- to NNE-trending, dextral faults which offset earlier structures. The main mineralization type in the Golden Mile comprises Fimiston lodes: steeply dipping, WNW- to NNW-striking, gold- and telluride-bearing carbonate-quartz veins with banded, colloform, and crustiform textures surrounded by sericite-carbonate-quartz-pyrite-telluride alteration zones. These lodes were emplaced during the earlier stages of regional sinistral transpression (D2) as Riedel shear-type structures. During a later stage of regional sinistral transpression (D3), exceptionally high grade Oroya-type mineralization developed as shallowly plunging ore shoots with “Green Leader” quartz-sericite-carbonate-pyrite-telluride alteration typified by vanadium-bearing muscovite. In the Hidden Secret orebody, ~3 km north-northwest of the Golden Mile, lode mineralization is a silver-rich variety characterized by increased abundance of hessite and petzite and decreased abundance of calaverite. At the adjacent Mt. Charlotte deposit, the gold-, silver-, and telluride-bearing lodes become subordinate to the Mt. Charlotte-type stockwork veins. The stockwork veins occur as planar, 2- to 50-cm thick, auriferous quartz-carbonate-sulfide veins that define steeply NW- to SE-dipping and shallowly N-dipping sets broadly coeval with D4 deformation. Despite extensive research, there is no consensus on critical features of ore formation in the camp. Models suggest either (1) distinct periods of mineralization over a protracted, ca. 2.68 to 2.64 Ga orogenic history; or (2) broadly synchronous formation of the different types of mineralization at ca. 2.64 Ga. The nature of fluids, metal sources, and mineralizing processes remain debated, with both metamorphic and magmatic models proposed. There is strong evidence for multiple gold mineralization events over the course of the ca. 2.68 to 2.64 orogenic window, differing in genesis and contributions from either magmatic or metamorphic ore-forming processes. However, reconciling these models with field relationships and available geochemical and geochronological constraints remains difficult and is the subject of ongoing research.
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Dubé, Benoît, and Patrick Mercier-Langevin. "Chapter 32: Gold Deposits of the Archean Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Canada." In Geology of the World’s Major Gold Deposits and Provinces, 669–708. Society of Economic Geologists, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.5382/sp.23.32.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The Neoarchean Abitibi greenstone belt in the southern Superior Province has been one of the world’s major gold-producing regions for almost a century with >6,100 metric tons (t) Au produced and a total endowment, including production, reserves, and resources (measured and indicated), of >9,375 t Au. The Abitibi belt records continuous mafic to felsic submarine volcanism and plutonism from ca. 2740 to 2660 Ma. A significant part of that gold is synvolcanic and/or synmagmatic and was formed during the volcanic construction of the belt between ca. 2740 and 2695 Ma. However, >60% of the gold is hosted in late, orogenic quartz-carbonate vein-style deposits that formed between ca. 2660 and 2640 ± 10 Ma, predominantly along the Larder Lake-Cadillac and Destor-Porcupine fault zones. This ore-forming period coincides with the D3 deformation, a broad north-south main phase of regional shortening that followed a period of extension and associated crustal thinning, alkaline to subalkaline magmatism, and development of orogenic fluvial-alluvial sedimentary basins (ca. <2679–<2669 Ma). These sedimentary rocks are referred to, in the southern Abitibi, as Timiskaming-type. The tectonic inversion from extension to compression is <2669 Ma, the maximum age of the D3-deformed youngest Timiskaming rocks. In addition to the quartz-carbonate vein-style, stockwork-disseminated-replacement-style mineralization is hosted in and/or is associated with ca. 2683 to 2670 Ma, early-to syn-Timiskaming alkaline to subalkaline intrusions along major deformation corridors, especially in southern Abitibi. The bulk of such deposits formed late-to post-alkaline to subalkaline magmatism and the largest deposits are early- to syn-D3 (ca. 2670–2660 Ma), whereas the bulk of the quartz-carbonate vein systems formed syn- to late-D3 and metamorphism. At belt scale, these illustrate a gradual transition, as shortening increases, in ore styles in orogenic deposits throughout the duration of the D3 deformation event along the length of the Larder Lake-Cadillac and Destor-Porcupine faults. The sequence of events, although similar in all camps, was probably not perfectly synchronous at belt scale, but varied/migrated with time and crustal levels along the main deformation corridors and from north to south. The presence of high-level alkaline/shoshonitic intrusions, which are spatially associated with Timiskaming conglomerate and sandstone, large-scale hydrothermal alteration, and numerous gold deposits along the Larder Lake-Cadillac and Destor-Porcupine faults indicates that these structures were deeply rooted and tapped auriferous metamorphic-hydrothermal fluids and melts from the upper mantle and/or lower crust, late in the evolution of the belt. The metamorphic-hydrothermal fluids, rich in H2O, CO2, and H2S were capable of leaching and transporting gold to the upper crust along the major faults and their splays. Although most magmatic activity along the faults predates gold, magmas may have contributed fluids and/or metals to the hydrothermal systems in some cases. This great vertical reach explains why the Larder Lake-Cadillac and Destor-Porcupine fault zones are very fertile structures. The major endowment of the southern part of the Abitibi belt (>8,100 t Au) along the corridor defined by the Larder Lake-Cadillac and Destor-Porcupine faults may also suggest that these faults have tapped particularly fertile upper mantle-lower crust gold reservoirs. The concentration of large synvolcanic and synmagmatic gold deposits along that corridor supports the idea of gold-rich source(s) that may have contributed gold to the ore-forming systems at different times during the evolution of the belt.
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Alexander, Earl B., Roger G. Coleman, Todd Keeler-Wolfe, and Susan P. Harrison. "Baja California, Domain 1." In Serpentine Geoecology of Western North America. Oxford University Press, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195165081.003.0019.
Full textAbstract:
Ophiolites occur in Baja California along the outer coast from San Benito and Cedros Islands through the Vizcaíno Peninsula to Magdalena and Santa Margarita Islands. This is a mountainous region with altitudes up to 920 m (3018 ft) on the Vizcaíno Peninsula, >300 m (∼1000 ft.) on Magdalena Island, and about 550 m (∼1800 ft) on Santa Margarita Island. The ophiolite of Calmalli, which is geologically distinct from ophiolites on the outer coast, is in low hills (mostly <500 m, or 1640 ft) near El Arco, about midway from Guerrero Negro to the Gulf of California. Ophiolites of the outer coast are in the Cochimí terrane, whereas the ophiolite of Calmalli is in the Alisitos terrane (Sedlock et al. 1993, Sedlock 2003). Mafic rocks of the Peninsular Ranges batholith that extends from California into Baja California are included in this domain. A major feature of the Peninsular Ranges is this batholith with plutons that range in composition from granite to gabbro, with tonalite the most common composition. Also, gabbro is common in the “western zone” of the batholith (Sedlock 2003). This zone is mostly southwest of the Elsinore fault zone in the California and north of the Agua Blanca fault in Baja California. All the ophiolites are in desert areas. Mean annual temperatures are about 20°C, and mean annual precipitation is about 10 cm on Cedros Island and along the outer coast of Baja California Sur and about 15 cm in the ophiolite of Calmalli locality (Hastings and Turner 1965). The precipitation falls mostly in winter in the Cedros Island and Puerto Nuevo localities, in September in the Magdalena–Margarita locality, and in both September and in winter in the Calmalli locality. Fog and dew are common along the outer coast around Santa Margarita and Magdalena Islands. Drought persists for most of each year at all the localities (Hastings and Humphrey 1969; fig 13-3). The gabbro belt in the northern part of the Peninsular Ranges has been added to this domain. Descriptions of the geology, climate, soils, and vegetation of the gabbroic plutons are given in section 13.8, describing the Los Pinos locality.