Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9533844 | Precambrian Research | 2005 | 31 Pages |
Abstract
Unusual diamondiferous rocks are found in the Wawa subprovince of the Southern Superior Craton. They are dated at 2.67-2.7Â Ga and comprise part of a calc-alkaline volcanic sequence of the Michipicoten Greenstone Belt. Detailed mapping of an â¼40Â km2 area showed that the rocks are metamorphosed polymict volcaniclastic breccia (PVB) and lamprophyre. The breccia occurs as thick, 60-110Â m conformable beds traceable in intermittent outcrops along strike for more than 4Â km, whereas younger lamprophyre occurs as 0.5-3Â m dykes. Magmatic predecessors for the metavolcanic rocks were determined on the basis of detailed mineralogical and petrographic observations, and are found to be calc-alkaline lamprophyres. The only preserved magmatic phenocryst phase is coarse, oscillatory-zoned amphibole of edenitic and pargasitic compositions. The parent magmas are similar in bulk composition to that of Abitibi lamprophyres and other Archean calc-alkaline lamprophyres, and may have thus also contained phenocrystal clinopyroxene and phlogopite. The Wawa lamprophyric magmas formed contemporaneously with felsic to mafic volcanic rocks and late orogenic intrusives of cycle 3 of the Michipicoten Greenstone Belt. They were emplaced episodically in local extensional areas, in an active Archean subduction zone. The breccia formed as a volcaniclastic deposit and contains fragments of pyroclastic lapilli and juvenile material. Stratigraphy, a wide range in clast lithologies, poor sorting and paucity of sedimentary structures suggests the breccia formed in a debris flow. The Wawa diamondiferous rocks may be ancient equivalents of modern lamprophyric cinder cones and demonstrably associated epiclastic deposits.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geochemistry and Petrology
Authors
Nathalie Lefebvre, Maya Kopylova, Kevin Kivi,