Relationships between Kuroko volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, felsic volcanism, and island arc development in the northeast Honshu arc, Japan

Abstract

The northeast (NE) Honshu arc was formed by three major volcano-tectonic events resulting from Late Cenozoic orogenic movement: continental margin volcanism (before 21 Ma), seafloor basaltic lava flows and subsequent bimodal volcanism accompanied by back-arc rifting (21 to 14 Ma), and felsic volcanism related to island arc uplift (12 to 2 Ma). Eight petrotectonic domains, parallel to the NE Honshu arc, were formed as a result of the eastward migration of volcanic activity with time. Major Kuroko volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits are located within the eastern marginal rift zone (Kuroko rift) that formed in the final period of back-arc rifting (16 to 14 Ma). Volcanic activity in the NE Honshu arc is divided into six volcanic stages. The eruption volumes of volcanic rocks have gradually decreased from 4,600 km3 (per 1 my for a 200-km-long section along the arc) of basaltic lava flows in the back-arc spreading stage to 1,000–2,000 km3 of bimodal hyaloclastites in the back-arc rift stage, and about 200 km3 of felsic pumice eruptions in the island arc stage. The Kuroko VMS deposits were formed at the time of abrupt decrease in the eruption volume and change in the mode of occurrence of the volcanic rocks during the final period of back-arc rifting. In the area of the Kuroko rift, felsic volcanism changed from aphyric or weakly plagioclase phyric (before 14 Ma), to quartz and plagioclase phyric with minor clinopyroxene (12 to 8 Ma), to hornblende phyric (after 8 Ma), and hornblende and biotite phyric (after 4 Ma). The Kuroko VMS deposits are closely related to the aphyric rhyolitic activity before 14 Ma. The rhyolite was generated at a relatively high temperature from a highly differentiated part of felsic magma seated at a relatively great depth and contains higher Nb, Ce, and Y contents than the post-Kuroko felsic volcanism. The Kuroko VMS deposits were formed within a specific tectonic setting, at a specific period, and associated with a particular volcanism of the arc evolution process. Therefore, detailed study of the evolutional process from rift opening to island arc tectonics is very important for the exploration of Kuroko-type VMS deposits.