Genesis of the Precambrian copper-rich Caraiba hypersthenite-norite complex, Brazil

Abstract

Caraiba, the largest Brazilian copper deposit under exploitation, consists mostly of disseminated and remobilised bornite and chalcopyrite hosted in early Proterozoic norite and hypersthenite. The mafic igneous complex comprises multiple intrusions of dykes, veins and breccias of norites and hypersthenites, with minor proportions of amphibolised gabbronorite and peridotite xenoliths transported by the magma from deeper levels in the lithosphere. The country rocks are high-grade gneisses, granulites and metasediments. Compositions of plagioclase(An60-40) and orthopyroxene(En70-60) fall in a narrow range similar to the Koperberg Suite from the Okiep copper district, South Africa, and to that in many massif-type anorthosites. Whole-rock major and trace element geochemistry indicate a parental magma enriched in Fe, LREE, P, K, and Cu. Negative Nb anomalies on multi-element plots and fractionated REE patterns, along with sulphide sulphur isotopes in the range δ34S = −1.495 to + 0.643‰, suggest a primary mantle lithosphere source, although a lower crustal source for the gabbronorite and peridotite xenoliths cannot be excluded. Geochronological and field evidence indicate that both norite and hypersthenite are likely to have been emplaced during a major sinistral transcurrent (partly transpressional) shearing event associated with the waning stage of evolution of the early Proterozoic Salvador-Curaca orogen.