Evidence of a Palaeoproterozoic SLIP, northern Amazonian Craton, Brazil

Abstract

The Orocaima SLIP consists of an association of acid-intermediate volcanic-plutonic rocks. The volcanic rocks were generated in explosive eruptions through low eruptive columns, probably associated with fissural volcanism in the north of the Amazonian Craton, Brazil, between 2.0 and 1.98 Ga. It generated ignimbrites, whose facies (volcanic breccia rich in lithic, lapilli-tuff and lithic lapilli-tuff) show the proximity of the source. The extensive area of ca. 200.000 km2 of ignimbrite, rhyolite and dacite deposits, as well as the age range (2.0–1.98 Ga) and geochemical signatures suggest that the Orocaima volcano-plutonism may correspond to one of the oldest silicic LIPs in the world. The silicic volcanism is essentially subaerial and characterized by high-grade ignimbrites (densely welded) and subordinate lava, the ages of which indicate the longevity of the volcanic event in the Orosirian. They are included in the Surumu Group and comprise rocks with high-K calc-alkaline affinities and were emplaced in a subduction-related setting, similar to the rocks that extend through Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname (Cuchivero-Surumu-Iwokrama-Dalbana metavolcanic belt - CSID). The occurrence of mafic fragments disseminated in volcanic and granitic rocks in the north of Roraima, Brazil and in other segments of the CSID belt suggests the coexistence of acid and basic magmas. Except for one sample (εNd(t) = -2.3), the Nd isotopic data of analyzed Surumu Group volcanic rocks yielded positive εNd(t) values (0.5–4.48; TDM = 2.0–2.47 Ga), suggesting generation from magmas derived from the mantle or from the melting of new juvenile crust. The Orocaima volcanism bears no evidence of involvement of Archean sources in the generation of the rocks. Thus, the Orocaima volcano-plutonism may represent one of the most significant ignimbrite eruption events during the Palaeoproterozoic in the world.