Geochronology of the Voisey's Bay intrusion, Labrador, Canada, by precise U–Pb dating of coexisting baddeleyite, zircon, and apatite

Abstract

The emplacement history of the Voisey's Bay troctolite intrusion, that hosts the major Ni–Cu–Co sulfide deposit of the same name, has been studied using precise U–Pb geochronology of baddeleyite, zircon and apatite. The baddeleyite U–Pb ages of multiple drill core samples of troctolite and gabbro indicate that all of the mafic rocks studied from different components of the Voisey's Bay intrusion: Eastern Deeps, Discovery Hill Zone and Reid Brook Zone, and from the adjacent Red Dog area, were emplaced at 1332.7±1.0 Ma. On the basis of combined geological and geochronological evidence, it is suggested that the Voisey's Bay Ni–Cu–Co deposit was formed during the same period. The zircons coexisting with the ca. 1333 Ma baddeleyite show a diversity of ages. The zircons from normal troctolite and some of the olivine gabbro samples are coeval with the baddeleyite, while zircon from the varied textured troctolite and feeder olivine gabbro are much younger at 1305.0±0.8 Ma. The identical ages of the younger zircon population and the Voisey's Bay syenite that cuts the mafic rocks indicate a link between zircon growth in the mafic rocks and contact metamorphism, related to the emplacement of the syenite. Various mechanisms of zircon growth were probably involved, including reaction of the 1333 Ma baddeleyite with a silica-enriched fluid with formation of a secondary polycrystalline zircon, and zircon crystallization from syenite micro-veins in the mafic rocks. The mean 207 Pb/ 206 Pb age of 1303.5±2.6 Ma of the Voisey's Bay apatites is similar to the age of the younger zircon population. The apatite age may either be a result of resetting the U–Pb system in response to the syenite intrusion, or may reflect the closure of the system during regional cooling and cessation of fluid circulation. The presence of xenocrystic zircon in a Discovery Hill Zone feeder olivine gabbro indicates that the Voisey's Bay magmas were contaminated with 1.90 Ga crustal rocks.