U–Pb geochronology of late Neoarchean tonalites in the Flin Flon Belt, Trans-Hudson Orogen: surprise at surface

Abstract

The Flin Flon volcanic belt of the Trans-Hudson Orogen in northern Manitoba comprises magmatic rocks (1.88 – 1.90 Ga) generated in an intra-oceanic arc and identified as one of the best examples of juvenile Paleoproterozoic crust. In the Flin Flon – Athapapuskow Lake area, the belt consists of a series of fault-bounded blocks, each having distinct stratigraphic and magmatic affinities, juxtaposed to form an accretionary collage. Two tonalitic bodies within the Northeast Arm shear zone, a major deformation corridor separating two of the most important blocks in the area, have been dated by the U–Pb zircon method at [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. These results indicate the presence of fragments of late Neoarchean crust within the Flin Flon belt, possibly related to ca. 2.5 Ga granitic bodies found in terranes beyond the western limit of the belt. The presence of ca. 2.5 Ga tonalites within the Flin Flon Belt, herein reported for the first time, has major implications for basement involvement in the early tectonic evolution of the Flin Flon Belt.