ALBERT

Description: Accessory mineral thermometry and thermodynamic modelling are fundamental tools for constraining petrogenetic models of granite magmatism. U–Pb geochronology on zircon and monazite from S-type granites emplaced within a semi-continuous, whole-crust section in the Georgetown Inlier (GTI), NE Australia, indicates synchronous crystallisation at 1550 Ma. Zircon saturation temperature (Tzr) and titanium-in-zircon thermometry (T(Ti–zr)) estimate magma temperatures of ~ 795 ± 41 °C (Tzr) and ~ 845 ± 46 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the deep crust, ~ 735 ± 30 °C (Tzr) and ~ 785 ± 30 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the middle crust, and ~ 796 ± 45 °C (Tzr) and ~ 850 ± 40 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the upper crust. The differing averages reflect ambient temperature conditions (Tzr) within the magma chamber, whereas the higher T(Ti-zr) values represent peak conditions of hotter melt injections. Assuming thermal equilibrium through the crust and adiabatic ascent, shallower magmas contained 4 wt% H2O, whereas deeper melts contained 7 wt% H2O. Using these H2O contents, monazite saturation temperature (Tmz) estimates agree with Tzr values. Thermodynamic modelling indicates that plagioclase, garnet and biotite were restitic phases, and that compositional variation in the GTI suites resulted from entrainment of these minerals in silicic (74–76 wt% SiO2) melts. At inferred emplacement P–T conditions of 5 kbar and 730 °C, additional H2O is required to produce sufficient melt with compositions similar to the GTI granites. Drier and hotter magmas required additional heat to raise adiabatically to upper-crustal levels. S-type granites are low-T mushes of melt and residual phases that stall and equilibrate in the middle crust, suggesting that discussions on the unreliability of zircon-based thermometers should be modulated.

Description: Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems, Australian Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012537

Description: Ruhr-Universität Bochum (1007)

Description: Accessory mineral thermometry and thermodynamic modelling are fundamental tools for constraining petrogenetic models of granite magmatism. U–Pb geochronology on zircon and monazite from S-type granites emplaced within a semi-continuous, whole-crust section in the Georgetown Inlier (GTI), NE Australia, indicates synchronous crystallisation at 1550 Ma. Zircon saturation temperature (Tzr) and titanium-in-zircon thermometry (T(Ti–zr)) estimate magma temperatures of ~ 795 ± 41 °C (Tzr) and ~ 845 ± 46 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the deep crust, ~ 735 ± 30 °C (Tzr) and ~ 785 ± 30 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the middle crust, and ~ 796 ± 45 °C (Tzr) and ~ 850 ± 40 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the upper crust. The differing averages reflect ambient temperature conditions (Tzr) within the magma chamber, whereas the higher T(Ti-zr) values represent peak conditions of hotter melt injections. Assuming thermal equilibrium through the crust and adiabatic ascent, shallower magmas contained 4 wt% H2O, whereas deeper melts contained 7 wt% H2O. Using these H2O contents, monazite saturation temperature (Tmz) estimates agree with Tzr values. Thermodynamic modelling indicates that plagioclase, garnet and biotite were restitic phases, and that compositional variation in the GTI suites resulted from entrainment of these minerals in silicic (74–76 wt% SiO2) melts. At inferred emplacement P–T conditions of 5 kbar and 730 °C, additional H2O is required to produce sufficient melt with compositions similar to the GTI granites. Drier and hotter magmas required additional heat to raise adiabatically to upper-crustal levels. S-type granites are low-T mushes of melt and residual phases that stall and equilibrate in the middle crust, suggesting that discussions on the unreliability of zircon-based thermometers should be modulated.

Description: With new advances in rapid-acquisition geochemical and hyperspectral techniques, exploration companies are now able to detect subtle halos surrounding orebodies at minimal expense. The Nimbus Ag-Zn-(Au) deposit is unique in the Archean Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. Due to its mineralogy, alteration assemblages, geochemical affinity, and tectonic setting, it is interpreted to represent a shallow water (~650 mbsl) and low-temperature (〈250 °C) volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit with epithermal characteristics (i.e., a hybrid bimodal felsic deposit). We present a detailed paragenetic account of the Nimbus deposit, and establish lithogeochemical and hyperspectral halos to mineralization to aid exploration. Mineralization at Nimbus is characterized by early units of barren massive pyrite that replace glassy dacitic lavas, and underlying zones of polymetallic sulfides that replace autoclastic monomict dacite breccias. The latter are dominated by pyrite-sphalerite-galena, a diverse suite of Ag-Sb ± Pb ± As ± (Cu)-bearing sulfosalts, minor pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and rare chalcopyrite. The main sulfosalt suite is characterized by pyrargyrite, and Ag-rich varieties of boulangerite, tetrahedrite, and bournonite. Zones of sulfide mineralization in quartz-sericite(±carbonate)-altered dacite are marked by significant mass gains in Fe, S, Zn, Pb, Sb, Ag, As, Cd, Ni, Cu, Ba, Co, Cr, Tl, Bi, and Au. Basaltic rocks show reduced mass gains in most elements, with zones of intense quartz-chlorite-carbonate±fuchsite alteration restricted to thick sequences of hyaloclastite, and near contacts with dacitic rocks. Broad zones of intense silica-sericite alteration surround mineralization in dacite, and are marked by high Alteration Index and Chlorite-Carbonate-Pyrite Index (CCPI) values, strong Na-Ca depletion, and an absence of feldspar (albite) in thermal infrared (TIR) data. White mica compositions are predominantly muscovitic in weakly altered sections of the dacitic footwall sequence. More paragonitic compositions are associated with zones of increased sericitization and high-grade polymetallic sulfide mineralization. Chlorite in dacitic rocks often occurs adjacent to zones of sulfide mineralization and is restricted to narrow intervals. Carbonate abundance is sporadic in dacite, but is most abundant outside the main zones of Na-Ca depletion. Basaltic rocks are characterized by strongly paragonitic white mica compositions, and abundant chlorite and carbonate. Shifts from Ca carbonates and Fe-rich chlorites to more Mg-rich compositions of both minerals occur in more intensely hydrothermally altered basaltic hyaloclastite, and near contacts with dacitic rocks. Hanging-wall polymict conglomerates are characterized by minor amounts of muscovitic to phengitic white mica (2205–2220 nm), and an absence of chlorite and carbonate alteration.

Description: The Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen is the result of convergence between the São Francisco and Congo cratons during the assembly of West Gondwana. Within this orogen, the Araçuaí Belt in SE Brazil reflects the western external domain. The Araçuaí Belt is characterized by major east-dipping structures and high- to medium pressure metamorphic rocks developed during crustal thickening at ca. 585–560 Ma and are juxtaposed along crustal-scale structures to the crystalline core of the orogen. The Guanhães Block in the southern Araçuaí Belt is characterized by higher metamorphic grade and dominantly shallowly west-dipping structures compared to the neighboring tectonic domains. While several studies have focused on the evolution of the axial crystalline core of the Araçuaí orogen and on the early collisional stages in the Araçuaí Belt, little attention has been given to the structural and metamorphic history of the poorly studied Guanhães Block. The supracrustal rocks in the central Guanhães Block record two tectono-metamorphic stages: D2/M2 and D3 /M3, with potential D1/M1 relicts rarely preserved within D2/M2 low-strain domains. The D2/M2 overprinting stage is associated with the development of a dominant, shallow axial planar foliation (S2) of isoclinal F2 folds under low-pressure and high-temperature (LP–HT) conditions (ca. 6 kbar and 750 °C). During this D2/M2 stage continuous segregation of syn-kinematic partial melting and generation of granitoid rocks occurred. The 530 Ma, syn- D2/M2 granitoid has negative εHf(i) at ca. −32 which indicates the source of magma from melting of older, isotopically evolved, Archaean or Paleoproterozoic crust. U–Pb geochronology on monazite, titanite and hydrothermal zircon constrain the retrograde D3/M3 event at ca. 510 Ma. The Guanhães Block uniquely records dominant deformation under LP–HT metamorphic conditions during the late-orogenic stages and its evolution could have important tectonic implications for the concurrent models suggested for the late Neoproterozoic Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen.

Description: New zircon U-Pb (SHRIMP and LA-ICPMS), elemental and Nd-Sr geochemistry data on rhyolitic metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks of NE Brazil characterize widespread arc-related phenomena during the Neoproterozoic, related to the Conceição-type or Stage I plutonic rocks. U-Pb zircon dating pinpoint the main phase of magmatic activity at ca. 635-600 Ma in the 700-km long sigmoidal Piancó-Alto Brígida domain, but other important flare-ups might have taken place at ca. 670-690, 730-760, 810-820 and 860-880 Ma. A comprehensive compilation of detrital zircon data from metavolcanosedimentary successions of the entire Borborema Province (n=5532) confirms the occurrence of a quasi-continuum Neoproterozoic spectra punctuated by peaks at those same age intervals separated by minor lulls. Low Th/U rims of zircon crystals dated at ca. 577 Ma provide an estimate of the age of regional transpressional metamorphism. Samples of all age ranges are mostly calc-alkaline, magnesian and peraluminous, with moderately to highly fractionated LREE enrichment, negative Nb-Ta anomalies akin to convergent settings, and plot mainly within the volcanic arc field in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Nd-Sr isotope systematics indicate the involvement of juvenile Neoproterozoic melts from the mantle wedge, which upon mixing with Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement and contamination with the host metasedimentary rocks yield Mesoproterozoic TDM mainly at 1.14-1.44 Ga, near-chondritic εNd(t) and 87Sr/86Sri 0.703-0.710. We put forward a model involving a major continental back-arc zone related to the development of the Conceição magmatic arc, akin to the modern-day Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand, crosscutting NE Brazil and presumably continuing through the schist belts of Nigeria and Cameroon. The main magmatic flare ups might have been induced by extra-arc phenomena, such as collision of the West African paleocontinent with the northwestern Borborema edge due to closure of the exterior Goiás-Pharusian Ocean, force-speeding subduction in the interior V-shaped oceanic basins that constituted the Transnordestino-Central African Ocean and generating clockwise windshield-wiper-like rotation of the blocks back towards the São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent in a complete Wilson Cycle.

Description: Archean orogenic gold deposits are hosted in the Rio das Velhas greenstone belt in the eastern sector of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Southern São Francisco Craton region, southeastern Brazil. These include the gold deposits along the NE-trending Córrego do Sítio lineament, stretching for some 15 km, and the Pilar deposit, object of the present study. These deposits occur in an area close to the boundary of the São Francisco craton, which is commonly interpreted to have preserved the Archean and Paleoproterozoic crust from the effects of Ediacaran-Cambrian Araçuaí orogenic front. The gold deposits were formerly interpreted as exclusively Archean (ca. 2.7 Ga). However, recent geochronological data suggest the imprint of the late Ediacaran-Cambrian Brasiliano Orogeny in host rocks of these deposits, as structural modification or hydrothermal alteration assemblages that postdates Archean mineralization. To elucidate those issues, contextual (thin section) in-situ U–Pb SHRIMP dating was conducted on hydrothermal monazite crystals from the Carvoaria and Cachorro Bravo deposits of the Córrego do Sítio lineament and from the Pilar gold deposit. Hydrothermal monazite in mineralized metapelites from Carvoaria yielded a U–Pb Discordia with intercepts at 2,514 ± 22 Ma and 555 ± 19 Ma. Three younger, age-equivalent crystals are concordant and yielded a U–Pb Concordia age of 539 ± 9 Ma, identical within uncertainties to the lower intercept age. Monazite from the Cachorro Bravo deposit yielded U–Pb Concordia ages of 551 ± 10 Ma and 510 ± 11 Ma. Monazite from the veined (silicified) sulfide-schist from the Pilar deposit is depleted in U, precluding the calculation of robust U–Pb ages, and disclosed a mean 208Pb/232Th average age of 508.2 ± 6.4 Ma. These results reinforce the proposal of a strong Ediacaran-Cambrian imprint related to the final stages of the Brasiliano orogenic event, affecting Archean gold deposits throughout the Quadrilátero Ferrífero. Consequently, the results point to the importance of mapping Brasiliano-related structures that control the spatial arrangement of the gold deposits, such as the Córrego do Sítio lineament, consisting of an important exploration target. This major NE-SW trending strike-slip shear zone hosts several gold deposits and might represent an Archean structure reactivated during the Brasiliano Orogeny that possibly led the large volume of Ediacaran-Cambrian post-collisional hydrothermal fluids among the east sector of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero.

Description: Eoarchean to Rhyacian crust is preserved in the São Francisco Craton of eastern Brazil. To position this crustal segment in paleocontinental reconstructions, precise, accurate and robust geochronological data are necessary, especially for the diverse regional-scale mafic dyke swarms that crosscut the cratonic basement. This geochronological database can then be used to construct a magmatic barcode and compare it to the barcode of other cratons around the world, in search of similarities that might help to position these pieces in the paleocontinental puzzles. New Usingle bondPb SHRIMP contextual in-situ (thin section) dating of baddeleyite and zircon from six samples of three different dyke swarms in the southern São Francisco Craton, in addition to novel lithogeochemical and Ndsingle bondSr isotopic data, allow to pinpoint dyke emplacement at ca. 2.55 Ga (Lavras I swarm; εNd(t) = −6 to +2; TDM not calculable), ca. 1.8–1.7 Ga (Pará de Minas I and II dyke swarms; εNd(t) = −10 to −5; TDM = 2.5–3.0 Ga) and at ca. 900 Ma (Formiga dyke swarm; εNd(t) = −7 to 0; TDM = 1.4–2.3 Ga). The new geochronological data suggest a link between the regional dyke swarms and extensional stresses during the onset of crustal rifting related to the evolution of the Minas, Espinhaço and Macaúbas basins, respectively. A barcode comparison shows strong similarity between the São Francisco and North China cratons (Lavras-Taipingzhai/Naoyumen swarms, Pará de Minas-Taihang/Miyun swarms, Formiga/Pedro Lessa-Sariwon/Dashigou swarms; and possible correlations of the poorly dated 2.2–2.0 Ga Paraopeba swarm with similar aged swarms in North China), suggesting proximity of those two cratonic blocks, whether they were part or not of Proterozoic paleocontinents such as Columbia and Rodinia. The novel geochronological data support previous interpretations based on paleomagnetic data and provide further refinements of the geochronological record of the southern hemisphere cratonic blocks, allowing for better-tied global correlations.

Description: Heterogenous isotopic ratios in magmatic rocks have been variously interpreted to be a result of magma mixing or inheritance from the source rock. Isotopic heterogeneities in zircons in the source may be homogenised in the melt by magma flow and chemical diffusion. This implies that the degree of homogenisation of the inherited Hf isotopic signal can be indicative of the degree of magma homogenisation, which depends on the nature and duration of magma flow before crystallisation. In order to understand the systematics of Hf isotope transfer from zircons in the source to those crystallised from the melt, we measured Hf isotopic ratios of magmatic and inherited detrital zircons in migmatites from turbidites of the Puncoviscana Formation in NW Argentina, as well as a granite domain within the sequence. Detrital zircons show ∼30 Eps units of variation in Hf isotope values. Anatectic zircons also show a large range of isotopic values but it is narrower than, and lies within, the range of the detrital zircons. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), we found that the Hf isotope ratios of zircon rims are partly controlled by their cores and partly by the mean value of the magma. This demonstrates the effect of a boundary layer around dissolving detrital zircon grains that contains a high concentration of the core's isotopic signature (the “core effect”). Anatectic systems can be divided into four end-members on the basis of the extent of the core effect, the degree of magma homogenisation, and nature of the magma prior to zircon crystallisation. Recognising these end-members allows the nature of processes in anatectic rocks that homogenise and modify Hf isotopic ratios to be constrained.

Description: Accessory mineral thermometry and thermodynamic modelling are fundamental tools for constraining petrogenetic models of granite magmatism. U–Pb geochronology on zircon and monazite from S-type granites emplaced within a semi-continuous, whole-crust section in the Georgetown Inlier (GTI), NE Australia, indicates synchronous crystallisation at 1550 Ma. Zircon saturation temperature (Tzr) and titanium-in-zircon thermometry (T(Ti–zr)) estimate magma temperatures of ~ 795 ± 41 °C (Tzr) and ~ 845 ± 46 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the deep crust, ~ 735 ± 30 °C (Tzr) and ~ 785 ± 30 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the middle crust, and ~ 796 ± 45 °C (Tzr) and ~ 850 ± 40 °C (T(Ti-zr)) in the upper crust. The differing averages reflect ambient temperature conditions (Tzr) within the magma chamber, whereas the higher T(Ti-zr) values represent peak conditions of hotter melt injections. Assuming thermal equilibrium through the crust and adiabatic ascent, shallower magmas contained 4 wt% H2O, whereas deeper melts contained 7 wt% H2O. Using these H2O contents, monazite saturation temperature (Tmz) estimates agree with Tzr values. Thermodynamic modelling indicates that plagioclase, garnet and biotite were restitic phases, and that compositional variation in the GTI suites resulted from entrainment of these minerals in silicic (74–76 wt% SiO2) melts. At inferred emplacement P–T conditions of 5 kbar and 730 °C, additional H2O is required to produce sufficient melt with compositions similar to the GTI granites. Drier and hotter magmas required additional heat to raise adiabatically to upper-crustal levels. S-type granites are low-T mushes of melt and residual phases that stall and equilibrate in the middle crust, suggesting that discussions on the unreliability of zircon-based thermometers should be modulated.

Description: Deciphering the tectono-metamorphic evolution of Precambrian terranes can be difficult due to reworking by later superimposed events. Whole-rock elemental and isotopic geochemistry and zircon U–Pb geochronology are often employed in those studies, but these approaches are often not sensitive to the presence of multiple events and medium-grade metamorphic episodes. The Rio Apa Terrane (RAT), an allochthonous fragment of the Amazonian Craton, is a crustal block with a well-characterized crustal evolution but with no detailed thermal constraints for its tectono-metamorphic evolution. In contrast to previous studies, we show the existence of four tectono-metamorphic events at c. 1,780, c. 1,625, c. 1,420–1,340, and c. 1,300–1,200 Ma on the basis of apatite, titanite, and rutile U–Pb, in situ white-mica Rb–Sr, and in situ garnet Lu–Hf geochronology combined with mineral chemistry and phase-equilibria modelling. The c. 1,780 Ma event is recorded in the basement of the Western domain, representing an extensional event coeval with the development of its Eastern domain in response to the retreat stage of the accretionary system. This is followed by juxtaposition of the Western and Eastern domains along a major crustal boundary at c. 1,625 Ma, which is defined by the magnetic profiles and zircon U–Pb–Hf data across the boundary. The third and fourth events correspond to progressive high-pressure/medium-temperature (HP/MT) metamorphism, characterized by an anticlockwise P–T path, suggesting a convergent-to-collisional tectonic setting. The RAT was accreted to the adjoining Paraguá Terrane at c. 1,420–1,340 Ma under an isobaric P–T evolution spanning ~530°C to 600°C and ~10.0 kbar. Subsequently, the combined Rio Apa and Paraguá terranes collided with the SW Amazonian Craton at c. 1,300–1,200 Ma, reaching P–T conditions of ~560–580°C and ~10.9–11.7 kbar during crustal thickening. This study reveals for the first time the existence of a HP/MT metamorphic evolution related to the growth of the SW Amazonian Craton as part of an accretionary orogenic system during Rodinia assembly in the Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic.