Proterozoic volcanism in the Jack Hills Belt, Western Australia: Some implications and consequences for the World's oldest zircon population

Abstract

Rare felsic volcanic rocks of dacitic to rhyolitic composition occur in the central part of the Jack Hills metasedimentary belt in the Narryer Terrane of Western Australia, interleaved with clastic sedimentary rocks and amphibolite. Representative samples of the four identified felsic volcanic units reveal a similar complex pattern of zircon age distribution, with all samples containing zircon populations at ∼3.3–3.4, ∼3.0–3.1, ∼2.6 and ∼1.8–1.9 Ga. The ∼3.3–3.4 Ga zircons show well-developed oscillatory zoning in cathodoluminescence (CL) images and are interpreted as inherited igneous zircon derived from granitic precursors, similar to the ∼3.3 Ga trondhjemitic granitoids currently exposed along the northern and southern margins of the belt. The ∼3.0–3.1 Ga zircons also reveal well-developed oscillatory zoning in CL and are most likely derived from granitoid and/or volcanic rocks of this age, as recorded in the Murchison domain to the south and possibly also present in the Narryer Terrane. The ∼2.6 Ga population matches the age of nearby late Archean granitoids intruding the Jack Hills belt and their oscillatory zoning and U–Th chemistry is consistent with their origin from such a source. The youngest discrete group of zircon grains, with ages ranging from ∼1970 to ∼1775 Ma, show strong oscillatory zoning and average Th/U ratios of 0.76, features consistent with an igneous origin. These younger zircons are therefore interpreted as defining the age of crystallisation of the volcanic rocks. These results establish that the Jack Hills metasedimentary belt contains significant post-Archean components. Taken together with similar results obtained from zircon occurring as detrital grains in clastic sedimentary rocks at Jack Hills, these results overturn the generally-accepted view that the belt is entirely Archean in age and that sedimentation was completed around 3.0 Ga ago. Instead, there is a distinct possibility that much of the material currently exposed in the Jack Hills belt formed in the Proterozoic. A further implication of this study is that the metamorphism affecting these rocks also occurred in the Proterozoic and consequently the rocks should not be considered as forming an Archean greenstone or metasedimentary belt. The paucity of zircons >4 Ga in the known Proterozoic sedimentary rocks and their total absence in the felsic volcanic rocks suggests that such ancient source rocks were no longer present in the area.