A Nd- and O-isotope study of the REE-rich peralkaline Strange Lake granite: implications for Mesoproterozoic A-type magmatism in the Core Zone (NE-Canada)

Abstract

It is well established that A-type granites enriched in high field strength elements, such as Zr, Nb and the REE, form in anorogenic tectonic settings. The sources of these elements and the processes controlling their unusual enrichment, however, are still debated. They are addressed here using neodymium and oxygen isotope analyses of samples from the 1.24 Ga Strange Lake pluton in the Paleoproterozoic Core Zone of Quebec-Labrador, an A-type granitic body characterized by hyper-enrichment in the REE, Zr, and Nb. Age-corrected eNd values for bulk rock samples and sodic amphiboles (mainly arfvedsonite) from the pluton range from −0.6 to −5.7, and −0.3 to −5.3, respectively. The eNd values for the Napeu Kainiut quartz monzonite, which hosts the pluton, range from −4.8 to −8.1. The 147Sm/144Nd ratios of the suite and the host quartz monzonite range from 0.0967 to 0.1659, large variations that can be explained by in situ fractionation of early LREE-minerals (Strange Lake), and late hydrothermal HREE remobilization. Oxygen isotope analyses of quartz of both Strange Lake and the host yielded δ18O values between +8.2 and +9.1, which are considerably higher than the mantle value of 5.7 ± 0.2‰. Bulk rock oxygen isotope analyses of biotite-gneisses in the vicinity of the Strange Lake pluton yielded δ18O values of 6.3, 8.6 and 9.6‰. The negative eNd values and positive δ18O values of the Strange Lake and Napeu Kainiut samples indicate that both magmas experienced considerable crustal contamination. The extent of this contamination was estimated, assuming that the contaminants were sedimentary-derived rocks from the underlying Archean Mistinibi (para-) gneiss complex, which is characterized by low eNd and high δ18O values. Mixing of 5–15% of a gneiss, having an eNd value of −15 and a δ18O value of +11, with a moderately enriched mantle source (eNd = +0.9, δ18O = +6.3) would produce values similar to those obtained for the Strange Lake granites. Based on analogies between the Nain Plutonic Suite and the Gardar alkaline igneous province (SW-Greenland), we conclude that the Strange Lake pluton and associated REE-mineralized anorogenic bodies formed from a combination of subduction-induced fertilization of the sublithospheric mantle, crustal extension and in situ magma evolution.