Accessory mineral thermobarometry, trace element chemistry, and stable O isotope systematics, Mooshla Intrusive Complex (MIC), Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camp, Abitibi greenstone belt, Québec

Abstract

The Mooshla Intrusive Complex (MIC) is an Archean polyphase magmatic body located in the Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde (DBL) mining camp of the Abitibi greenstone belt, Québec, that is spatially associated with numerous gold (Au)-rich VMS, epizonal 'intrusion-related' Au-Cu vein systems, and shear zone-hosted (orogenic?) Au deposits. To elucidate the P-T conditions of crystallization, and oxidation state of the MIC magmas, accessory minerals (zircon, rutile, titanite) have been characterized using a variety of analytical techniques (e.g., trace element thermobarometry). The resulting trace element and oxythermobarometric database for accessory minerals in the MIC represents the first examination of such parameters in an Archean magmatic complex in a world-class mineralized district. Mineral thermobarometry yields P-T constraints on accessory mineral crystallization consistent with the expected conditions of tonalite-trondhjemite-granite (TTG) magma genesis, well above peak metamorphic conditions in the DBL camp. Together with textural observations, and mineral trace element data, the P-T estimates reassert that the studied minerals are of magmatic origin and not a product of metamorphism. Oxygen fugacity constraints indicate that while the magmas are relatively oxidizing (as indicated by the presence of magmatic epidote, titanite, and anhydrite), zircon trace element systematics indicate that the magmas were not as oxidized as arc magmas in younger (post-Archean) porphyry environments. The data presented provides first constraints on the depth and other conditions of melt generation and crystallization of the MIC. The P-T estimates and qualitative fO2 constraints have significant implications for the overall model for formation (crystallization, emplacement) of the MIC and potentially related mineral deposits.