Palaeomagnetic evidence for the age of the Cumbrian and Manx hematite ore deposits: implications for the origin of hematite mineralization at the margins of the East Irish Sea Basin, UK

Abstract

Examples of epigenetic hematite mineralization located at the margins of the East Irish Sea Basin have been sampled for palaeomagnetic investigation to establish the timing of ore formation. Samples collected from 10 sites in Cumbria are dominated by hematite of near-pure composition and characterized by dual polarity and, in part, dual component magnetizations that yield palaeopoles (nine sites) between 50°N, 130°E and 50°N, 150°E. In contrast, samples recovered from seven sites on the Isle of Man have more varied mineralogical compositions that include ferromagnets with lower unblocking temperatures. Manx hematite mineralization also exhibits dual polarity, but magnetizations yield steeper inclinations with palaeopoles lying between 55°N, 130°E and 70°N, 150°E. Steeper directions probably reflect minor tilting of the Manx block following hematite emplacement. Correlation of poles with the European apparent polar wander path indicates that these ore deposits formed during the Middle Triassic. Results show that hematite mineralization sited at the margins of the East Irish Sea Basin is essentially contemporaneous and establishes, for the first time, an underlying temporal relationship between these geographically dispersed ore bodies. Dating places the mineralization within a broader extensional geotectonic regime associated with the early rifting of Pangaea in the North Atlantic. The context implies a causal link between crustal extension, development of ore-forming fluids within the evolving East Irish Sea Basin, and subsequent migration of fluids to basin margins where iron was precipitated as hematite. Supplementary materials: Locations and details of palaeomagnetic sample sites and a tabulation of selected reference palaeomagnetic poles defining the Triassic and Early Jurassic segment of the apparent polar wander path for the European sector of the Eurasian plate are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18691.