Genesis of a low-grade apatite-ilmenite-magnetite deposit in the Kauhajärvi gabbro, western Finland

Abstract

The Paleoproterozoic Kauhajarvi gabbro is one of several Fe-, Ti-, and P-rich mafic intrusions associated with granitoids in the Fennoscandian shield in western Finland. The gabbro is cut by the late-orogenic Lauhanvuori granite (ca.1870 Ma), whereas the surrounding area is composed of synorogenic, collision-related granitoids and calc-alkaline volcanic rocks (ca. 1890 Ma) belonging to the Mid Finland Granitoid Complex. The mafic intrusions were probably emplaced into a Svecofennian rift zone. They are characterized by a high phosphorus content; the common occurrence of ilmenite as separate grains; and the coeval crystallization of apatite, Fe-Ti oxides, and Fe-Mg silicates. The Kauhajarvi gabbro is composed of two geochemically and structurally distinct zones. The basal zone is composed of poorly-layered, fine- to medium-grained gabbro, which represents an early intrusion of tholeiitic magma, and has rather high concentrations of chromium, magnesium and silica. Typically, the concentrations of iron, titanium and phosphorus are low, except for the top that is enriched in apatite and ilmenite. During most of the crystal-liquid fractionation of the basal zone magma, low f O2 limited the crystallization of Fe-Ti-oxides. Instead, titanium became enriched in the uppermost layer of the basal zone. The main zone represents a later injection of more evolved tholeiitic magma and makes up 80 to 90%of the total intrusion volume. Peridotite is common, along with gabbro and gabbronorite, in the lower and middle parts of the main zone, and anorthosite is common near the top of the main zone. The Mg:Fe ratio in mafic minerals and vanadium concentrations in magnetite decrease upwards. The variation within the main zone can be explained by crystal-liquid fractionation of a single batch of a parental magma under conditions of relatively high f O2. Titanium is not progressively enriched. The ratio of titanium to iron (TiO2/Fe2O3 = 0.16 to 0.20; Fe total as Fe2O3) is constant in the main zone and normal for mafic intrusions. Titanium is sited in separate ilmenite grains and in lamella within ilmenomagnetite (Ti-bearing magnetite). The high phosphorus content in the main zone is interpreted to result in crystallization of ilmenite and ilmenomagnetite instead of Ti-rich magnetite under relatively high f O2 conditions. High concentrations of titanium, iron and phosphorus in rocks of the main zone can be explained by pre-emplacement crystal-melt fractionation in a deep magma reservoir and/or contamination of mantle-derived mafic magmas by granitic magmas from partial melting of crustal rocks. A low-grade Fe-Ti-P resource at Kauhajarvi consists of layers with as much as 20 wt. % combined ilmenite (usually 8 to 11 wt. %), apatite (1 to 8 wt. %) and magnetite (1 to 9 wt. %). Mineralized layers are of variable thickness (2 m to 30 m) and occur in variable host rocks (peridotite or gabbro). The Fe-Ti oxides are most abundant in peridotite and pyroxene- or olivine-rich gabbronorite within the main zone. The contact between mineralized rocks (4%TiO2) and non- or slightly-mineralized rocks is gradual. The deposit as a whole consists of three to five mineralized layers with maximum combined thickness of 70 m. Apatite is most abundant in the oxide-rich layers, but is locally also concentrated in anorthosite with low Fe-Ti oxide contents. The weight ratio of ilmenite to magnetite is 3:2. The ratio of total Ti-Fe-oxides to apatite averages 4.0, with the range of 1.5 to >15.