Hiltaba Suite Research Articles

Metasomatism and depletion of the southern Gawler Craton from combined mantle xenocryst and AusLAMP magnetotelluric data

Metasomatised mantle is considered a prerequisite for the formation of many major ore deposits. Since magnetotellurics (MT) is strongly sensitive to mantle metasomatism, MT is a useful tool for analysis of mineral systems that incorporate a metasomatised mantle as a key ingredient. In this work, we combine recently reported kimberlite-hosted mantle xenocryst data from the southern Gawler Craton and Adelaide Superbasin with AusLAMP MT models. We find good correlations between mantle MT conductors and geochemical indicators of mantle metasomatism from clinopyroxene xenocrysts, with the most metasomatically enriched lithospheric mantle beneath the Adelaide Superbasin and more depleted mantle beneath the Gawler Craton. There is a significant step in lithospheric thickness across the Adelaide Superbasin, and particularly around the Terowie kimberlite cluster. Combined with the fertile mantle, this helps explain this region’s prospectivity for sediment-hosted copper deposits. High mantle resistivities and depleted geochemical compositions towards the central Gawler Craton on and north of the Eyre Peninsula are consistent with melting of previously metasomatised mantle, including during production of the Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite Large Igneous Province. Most of the major iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) and gold deposits in the region lie on the edge of this zone of mantle melting, consistent with mineral systems models that require melting of previously metasomatised mantle in the generation of these deposits.

Natural hydrogen in low temperature geofluids in a Precambrian granite, South Australia. Implications for hydrogen generation and movement in the upper crust

Natural hydrogen (H2) has the potential to be a low-carbon fuel and energy source, playing a crucial role in achieving a clean, secure, and affordable energy future. However, our understanding of the generation, migration, and accumulation of H2 in the subsurface remains poorly constrained. Increasing evidence suggests that H2 is abundantly and widely present in various geological settings, making them viable targets for exploration of this emerging resource. Reports have indicated the presence of hydrogen-dominated natural gas in vintage boreholes located in the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, South Australia. These boreholes were drilled in Cambrian sedimentary cover over Precambrian terranes that host iron ore, copper or gold ore deposits. To gain insight into these occurrences, rock samples were examined from the Roxby Downs granite, a Mesoproterozoic pluton associated with the Hiltaba Suite event (1.59 Ga), belonging to the same magmatic origin as the Yorke Peninsula basement.Our investigation revealed metasomatic fluid circulation, evidenced by alteration of feldspar and mafic grains, as well as discrete cemented fractures within the granite. In some of these fracture-fill cements, we discovered water and gas inclusions containing hydrogen. The formation of the hydrogen-bearing cements occurred at paleo-temperatures ranging from 170 °C to the present-day 55 °C. Analysing the oxygen isotope values of the quartz cements and considering their fluid inclusion temperatures, a marine water signature as the source of water in equilibrium with the quartz cements was identified.To constrain the fluid history, neon and argon isotope signatures from the fluid inclusion gases were measured from the granite and separated quartz grains. Nucleogenic neon isotopes increased with depth along specific production lines. While this is consistent with long-lived fluid within the granite and increasing fluid residence with depth, separated quartz grains show less variation with depth and suggest that younger fluids were introduced, triggering alteration of less robust minerals, visible in bulk granite. Petrographic analyses identified hydrolytic alterations of mafic minerals into magnetite, and subsequently magnetite to hematite, as sources of hydrogen and contributors to the observed increase in pore water salinity. Our findings highlight that natural hydrogen can be produced and retained in granites at low temperatures, expanding beyond the commonly reported alteration processes observed in mafic and ultramafic rocks.

Mafic mineral clots and microgranular enclaves in A-type Hiltaba Suite granites from the Gawler Craton, South Australia: Origins and implications

Mafic mineral clots and microgranular enclaves in A-type Hiltaba Suite granites from the Gawler Craton, South Australia: Origins and implications

Punctuated geochronology within a sustained high-temperature thermal regime in the southeastern Gawler Craton

The Yorke Peninsula region in the southeastern Gawler Craton forms the southern portion of the Olympic Cu-Au Province that hosts the giant Olympic Dam, Carrapateena and Prominent Hill deposits. The Yorke Peninsula hosts substantial Cu-Au mineralisation, with deposits at Hillside and in the Moonta–Wallaroo district that are broadly considered to have formed during the same event as Olympic Dam, the c. 1595–1575 Ma Hiltaba thermal event. Despite the region's economic significance, there is very little information on the nature and history of metamorphism in the Yorke Peninsula region, leaving a considerable gap in the knowledge of the tectonic controls on mineralisation in this area. New U–Pb LA-ICP-MS geochronology on metamorphic titanite, monazite and apatite from Wallaroo Group metasediments indicate the Yorke Peninsula region has a protracted thermal history, with three groupings of metamorphic ages at c. 1585 Ma, 1560–1550 Ma and 1530–1500 Ma, and apatite cooling ages that cluster around c. 1450 Ma. Phase equilibria modelling of andalusite-sillimanite bearing schists and cordierite-sillimanite bearing migmatitic gneisses indicate that metamorphism occurred between 1560 and 1500 Ma occurred at P–T conditions between 3.6 and 4.5 kbar and 660–750 °C. These high thermal gradient conditions (45–50 °C km−1) are recorded at least 20 million years after Hiltaba Suite magmatism; however, they occur within the thermo-chemically anomalous crust of the South Australian Heat Flow Anomaly, which predominantly consists of rock packages with heat production rates 60–100% greater than the global median for rocks of their age. One-dimensional thermal models constrained by the crustal architecture and thermal regime of the SE Gawler Craton suggest the metamorphic conditions recorded between 1560 and 1500 Ma can be achieved by burial of this heat producing element -enriched crust, without the influence of an advective heat source. Within this thermally-anomalous crustal regime in which high thermal gradients can be sustained, small changes in burial depth are considered sufficient to stimulate metal remobilisation in the metal-rich crust of the Yorke Peninsula region. This potential for burial-triggered, thermally-induced fluid liberation and subsequent metal remobilisation may be applicable to the entire eastern Gawler Craton, including the Olympic Cu-Au Province.

Mafic dykes of the southeastern Gawler Craton: ca 1564 Ma magmatism with an enriched mantle source

This study investigates the age and composition of a suite of mafic dykes in the southeastern Gawler Craton. Mafic dykes intrude the gneissic fabric of the ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite and were previously interpreted to have been emplaced at ca 1845 Ma. However, sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb dating of zircon within one of these mafic dykes shows it was emplaced at 1564 ± 4 Ma. The sampled dyke also contains a population of inherited zircon cores with an age of 1770 ± 6 Ma, and one grain with an age of ca 1860 Ma, likely derived from country rock. Whole-rock geochemistry from this dyke and nearby dykes with similar structural and mineralogical features show that there is a suite of dykes in the region with gabbroic, low SiO2 and TiO2 contents and tholeiitic characteristics. The dykes are enriched in Ba, K and Rb, with low to moderate MgO, Ni and Cr contents, and moderate light rare earth element enrichment. Negative Nb and Ta anomalies with subtle negative Ti anomalies suggest some interaction with continental crust. Sm–Nd isotopic data have εNd(1560 Ma) between −6.8 and −2.9, and depleted mantle model ages >2.5 Ga. Th/Nb ratios are 0.21–0.73 consistent with a metasomatised, subduction modified lithospheric mantle source. The relatively primitive nature of the tholeiites suggests the crustal-like signatures are inherited from the source region, which likely represents an enriched continental lithospheric mantle in the eastern Gawler Craton. This ca 1564 Ma mafic magmatism is newly named the Daly Head Metadolerite. In addition, narrow high-strain zones overprint the dated mafic dyke and locally the Donington Suite wall rocks. A syn-kinematic granitic dyke intrusion within one high-strain zone has been dated via laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon methods and was emplaced at ca 1555 Ma. This localised ca 1555 Ma deformation is a previously unrecognised tectonic event in the southern Gawler Craton. This study adds to the growing database showing magmatism and deformation in the Gawler Craton continued after the voluminous Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite magmatism (ca 1596–1575 Ma). These younger tectono-magmatic events typically occur around the margins of the Gawler Craton, suggesting the internal ‘core’ of the craton may have been substantially less fertile for melting during these younger thermal/structural events, likely because of the high-temperature nature of the early Mesoproterozoic Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite magmatism. KEY POINTS Geochronology shows mafic dykes in southeastern Gawler Craton emplaced at 1564 ± 4 Ma. Mafic dykes are tholeiitic, derived from a metasomatised, subduction modified lithospheric mantle source. Narrow high-strain zones overprint the dated mafic dyke and contain syn-kinematic granitic dyke dated at ca 1555 Ma. Localisation of post-ca 1575 Ma tectono-magmatic events occur around margins of the craton, reflecting reduced melt fertility in the centre owing to previous high-temperature events.

ZIRCON TRACE ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY AS AN INDICATOR OF MAGMA FERTILITY IN IRON OXIDE COPPER-GOLD PROVINCES

Abstract Extrusive and intrusive felsic magmas occur throughout the evolution of silicic-dominated large igneous province magmatism that is temporally related to numerous economically significant iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits in southern Australia. We investigate zircon trace element signatures of the felsic magmas to assess whether zircon composition can be related to fertility of the volcanic and intrusive suites within IOCG-hosted mineral provinces. Consistent with zircon forming in oxidizing magmatic conditions, the rare earth element (REE) patterns of zircon sourced from both extrusive and intrusive magmatic rocks are characterized by light REE depletions and a range of positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies. The timing of the major phase of IOCG mineralization overlaps with the early part of the first phase of Lower Gawler Range Volcanics magmatism (1593.6–1590.4 Ma) and older intrusive magmatism of the Hiltaba Suite (1593.06–1590.50 Ma). Zircon in these mineralization-related intrusives and extrusives is distinguished from zircon in younger, mineralization-absent rocks by higher Eu/Eu*, Ce/Ce*, and Ti values and separate magma evolution paths with respect to Hf. These zircon characteristics correspond to lower degrees of fractionation and/or crustal assimilation, more oxidizing magmatic conditions, and higher magmatic temperatures, respectively, in magmas coeval with mineralization. In this respect, we consider higher oxidation state, lower degrees of fractionation, and higher magmatic temperatures to be features of fertile magmas in southern Australian IOCG terrains. Similar zircon REE characteristics are shared between magmas associated with southern Australian IOCG and iron oxide-apatite (IOA) rhyolites from the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, namely high Ce/Ce* and high Dy/Yb, indicative of oxidized and dry magmas, respectively. The dry and more fractionated nature of the IOCG- and IOA-associated magmas contrasts with the hydrous and unfractionated nature of fertile porphyry Cu deposit magmas. As indicated by high Ce/Ce* ratios, the oxidized nature is considered a key element in magma fertility in IOCG-IOA terrains. In both IOCG and IOA terrains, the trace element compositions of zircon are able to broadly differentiate fertile from nonfertile magmatic rocks.

Geochemical discrimination of igneous zircon in the Gawler Craton, South Australia

Zircon from spatially and temporally distinct igneous rock units across the Gawler Craton, Australia, show subtle differences in trace and rare earth element ratios. These igneous suites range in composition from granite, rhyolite to gabbro and originate from the ca 2450 Ma Sleaford Complex, the ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite, the ca 1633–1608 Ma St Peter Suite, the ca 1595–1587 Ma Gawler Range Volcanics and the ca 1595–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granites. The geochemical characterisation of zircon is carried out on relatively unaltered samples in order to establish primary signatures and to understand the processes controlling the geochemical signatures of the igneous suites. A range of zircon morphologies and internal textures that are preserved in these igneous suites infer the geological history of the host rock, including metamorphism and multiple episodes of zircon saturation suggesting a complex magma evolution. Despite differences in whole-rock geochemistry between igneous suites, zircon largely overlaps geochemically. However, subtle differences in Th/U, U/Hf and (Nb + Ta)/P ratios are evident between the Donington Suite, Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite. This is likely due to the tectonic setting, composition of the crystallising magma and timing of zircon crystallisation in the magma evolution. The subtle geochemical differences in zircon show the potential of using these ratios to aid in provenance studies with large populations of zircon that are of similar age. However, as the dataset is limited and focused only on unaltered samples, further work needs to be undertaken to look at the altered counterparts of these igneous suites. KEY POINTS Zircon recovered from unaltered samples of spatially and temporally distinct igneous suites in the Gawler Craton is used here. Th/U, U/Hf and (Nb + Ta)/P ratios of zircon can discriminate the Donington Suite, Gawler Range Volcanics and Hiltaba Suite. Zircon morphologies, internal textures and geochemical characteristics are a value aid to provenance studies.

Micron- to nanoscale characterisation and U-Pb geochronology of zircon from granites of the Samphire Pluton, South Australia

Zircons from three distinct granites within the Samphire Pluton, South Australia, are characterised at the micron- to nanoscale. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon dating generated 207Pb/206Pb weighted average ages of 1586 ± 9.3 Ma, 1583.2 ± 8.5 Ma and 1578 ± 9.5 Ma, respectively. Although zircons from all three granites display evidence of hydrothermal overprinting, this is most strongly expressed in a distinct, red-colored granite referred to here as Granite C. Alteration is expressed as variation in the concentrations of HREE + Y, Th and Pb, whereby grain margins are relatively enriched in these elements and both Zr and Si are depleted. Altered zircon cores have high U contents relative to grain margins, which are appreciably poorer in this element, whereas Th is strongly enriched within crosscutting microfractures. Coupled with the relative enrichment in non-formula elements and marked disturbance of U-Th-Pb isotope ratios, the nanoscale observations of Pb-bearing nanoparticles (galena?) implying mobility of Pb and other elements, nanofractures and structural defects demonstrate that zircon in Granite C has undergone multi-stage alteration impacting upon accurate dating. Importantly, and with implications for analogous systems elsewhere, our results confirm nanoscale open system U-Pb behaviour in Hiltaba Suite zircon. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology cannot confidently resolve any statistical differences in the age of the three granites, despite their distinct appearance suggesting they might represent temporally distinct phases of a larger magmatic system. Zircons within the most altered Granite (C), directly underlying the Blackbush uranium prospect contain convincing micron- to nanoscale evidence for an alteration event that triggered a remobilisation of uranium from granite into the cover sequence.

Carbonates at the supergiant Olypmic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, South Australia part 2: Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf and Sr-Pb isotope constraints on the chronology of carbonate deposition

Mineralization at the supergiant Cu-U-Au-Ag Olympic Dam deposit (South Australia), the ‘uranium endmember’ of the iron-oxide copper–gold (IOCG) spectrum of ore deposits, is hosted in a breccia complex developed entirely within granite of the 1.59 Ga Hiltaba Suite (Gawler Craton). Earlier studies suggested brecciation and mineralization occurred within a magmatically-driven hydrothermal system at 1.59 Ga, with a critical role for mafic–ultramafic intrusions. In contrast, recent radiometric dating of the breccia complex indicates a prolonged, multi-stage history of brecciation and mineralization from 1.59 to 0.5–0.4 Ga. Ca-Fe-Mg-Mn-carbonate gangue minerals are associated with ore minerals at virtually every stage of mineralization. In a companion study (Apukhtina et al., 2020), this mineralogically, texturally and compositionally diverse carbonate mineral suite was assigned to seven associations defined on the basis of host lithology and texture. Here we report Sm-Nd, Pb-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope ages for these carbonates, which are used to examine the chronology of carbonate deposition. Initial Sr-Nd isotopic compositions are used to place constraints on fluid sources. Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb isotope systematics of calcite veins in ~1.59 Ga IOCG ore indicate 1.59–1.55 Ga deposition ages. Likewise, locally abundant laminated siderites have Sm-Nd ages in this age interval. A world-first attempt to apply Lu-Hf dating to carbonate gangue in an ore deposit yields ages that are 70–100 Ma younger than corresponding Sm-Nd ages, presumably reflecting isotopic exchange of carbonate Lu-Hf isotope systems with host rocks. Sm-Nd ages for carbonates assigned to other carbonate associations (hosted in highly altered inferred 1.59 Ga basalt and picrite; diverse settings within granite-dominated breccia; locally abundant megaclasts of green and red bedded sandstone/mudstone sequences; ~0.82 Ga doleritic dykes) are more diverse and range from ~1.59 to 0.5 Ga. The structurally youngest carbonates (unbrecciated fluorite-barite veins; carbonate matrix in polymict conglomerate above the breccia complex) yield ~0.50 Ga Sm-Nd ages. Inferred carbonate ages are broadly consistent with radiometric dates for other hydrothermal minerals (e.g., hematite, uraninite, apatite, fluorite). They suggest that mineralization initiated at 1.59 Ga was reworked and possibly increased in size in response to large-scale tectonic, magmatic, sedimentary and hydrothermal events. Initial 87Sr/86Sr in the carbonates is higher and more variable (0.710–0.752, average ~0.721) than could be explained by ore and gangue mineral formation from magmatic-hydrothermal fluids during a single event at 1.59 Ga, a model favored in several earlier studies. By contrast, carbonate formation over a long period, as inferred from the Sm-Nd chronology presented here, would allow ingrowth of 87Sr in the granitic host rocks to develop the heterogeneous initial 87Sr/86Sr recorded in the carbonates. Carbonate-bearing fluids appear to have sourced Nd (and most likely also Sr) locally, within the host granite and breccia, with contributions from mafic rocks. The emerging evidence for protracted, multi-stage mineralization implies that single-stage models for Olympic Dam need to be revisited and that all studies of sulfide and gangue minerals in this deposit require careful radiometric dating. We speculate that the polymetallic nature and unusually large metal reserves of the Olympic Dam mineralization are related to its multi-stage formation history.

Interpretation of a ca. 1600–1580 Ma metamorphic core complex in the northern Gawler Craton, Australia

The Mount Woods Domain in the Gawler Craton, South Australia records a complex tectonic evolution spanning the Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. The regional structural architecture is interpreted to represent a partially preserved metamorphic core complex that developed during the ~1600–1580 Ma Hiltaba Event, making this one of the oldest known core complexes on Earth. The lower plate is preserved in the central Mount Woods Domain, which comprises the Mount Woods Metamorphics. These rocks yield a detrital zircon maximum depositional age of ~1860 Ma and were polydeformed and metamorphosed to upper amphibolite to granulite facies during the ~1740–1690 Ma Kimban Orogeny. The upper plate comprises a younger succession (the Skylark Metasediments) deposited at ~1750 Ma. Within the upper plate, sedimentary and volcanic successions of the Gawler Range Volcanics were deposited into half graben that evolved during brittle normal faulting. The Skylark Shear Zone represents the basal detachment fault separating the upper and lower plate of the core complex. The geometry of normal faults in the upper plate is consistent with NE-SW extension.Both the upper and lower plates are intruded by ~1795–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granitic and mafic plutons. The core complex was extensively modified during the ~1570–1540 Ma Kararan Orogeny. Exhumation of the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain is indicated by new 40Ar/39Ar biotite cooling ages that show that rock packages in the central Mount Woods Domain cooled past ~300 °C ± 50 °C at ~1560 Ma, which was ~20 million years before equivalent cooling in the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain. Exhumation was associated with activity along major syn-Kararan Orogeny faults.

Geology of the Acropolis prospect, South Australia, constrained by high-precision CA-TIMS ages

Acropolis is an Fe-oxide–copper–gold prospect ∼20 km from Olympic Dam, South Australia, and marked by near-coincident gravity and magnetic anomalies. Prospective Fe-oxide–apatite ± sulfide veins occur in Mesoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic volcanic and granitoid host units beneath unmineralised sedimentary formations. We have produced a geological map and history of the prospect using data from 16 diamond drill holes, including LA-ICPMS and high-precision CA-TIMS ages. The oldest unit is megacrystic granite of the Donington Suite (ca 1850 Ma). A non-conformity spanning ca 250 My separates the Donington Suite and felsic lavas and ignimbrites of the Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV; 1594.03 ± 0.68 Ma). The GRV were intruded by granite of the Hiltaba Suite (1594.88 ± 0.50 Ma) and felsic dykes (1593.88 ± 0.56 Ma; same age as the Roxby Downs Granite at Olympic Dam). The felsic dykes are weakly altered and lack Fe-oxide–apatite–sulfide veins, suggesting that they post-date the main hydrothermal event. If correct, this relationship implies that the main hydrothermal event at Acropolis was ca 1594 Ma and pre-dated the main hydrothermal event at Olympic Dam. The GRV at Acropolis are the same age as the GRV at Olympic Dam and ca 3–7 My older than the GRV exposed in the Gawler Ranges. The gravity and magnetic anomalies coincide with sections through the GRV, Hiltaba Suite and Donington Suite that contain abundant, wide, Fe-oxide veins. The GRV, Hiltaba Suite and Donington Suite are unconformably overlain by the Mesoproterozoic Pandurra Formation or Neoproterozoic Stuart Shelf sedimentary formations. The Pandurra Formation shows marked lateral variations in thickness related to paleotopography on the underlying units and post-Pandurra Formation pre-Neoproterozoic faults. The Stuart Shelf sedimentary formations have uniform thicknesses.KEY POINTSFe-oxide–apatite ± sulfide veins are hosted by the Gawler Range Volcanics (1594.03 ± 0.68 Ma), the Hiltaba Suite granite (1594.88 ± 0.50 Ma) and Donington Suite granite (ca 1850 Ma).The age of felsic dykes (1593.88 ± 0.56 Ma) interpreted to be post-mineralisation implies that the main hydrothermal event at Acropolis was ca 1594 Ma.The Gawler Range Volcanics at Acropolis are the same age as the Gawler Range Volcanics at Olympic Dam and ca 3 to 7 My older than the Gawler Range Volcanics exposed in the Gawler Ranges.

Associations between zircon and Fe–Ti oxides in Hiltaba event magmatic rocks, South Australia: atomic- or pluton-scale processes?

The Hiltaba Suite intrusive rocks and penecontemporaneous Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) comprise the 1590 Ma Gawler silicic large igneous province in the Gawler Craton, South Australia. Zircon is principally associated with Fe–Ti oxides and clusters of touching crystals in these rocks, including in the Roxby Downs Granite (RDG), host of the Olympic Dam iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, and in other intrusive rocks that comprise the Olympic Province. There has been no explicit evaluation and explanation of potential origins published for concentrations of zircon with Fe–Ti oxides (herein zircon-rich clusters) found in these and similar rocks of western North America and elsewhere. Here we use U–Pb geochronology, mineral morphologies and compositions, and insights from surface chemistry and liquid-bound particle interaction studies to investigate zircon-rich clusters and provide a model for their formation. U–Pb geochronology does not reveal any concordant zircon populations older than ca 1590 Ma, so it is unlikely that there are significant xenocrystic zircon grains or that the zircons include significant inherited cores. The lack of pre-magmatic zircon, consistent intra-grain and inter-grain zircon compositional trends, the predominance of oscillatory zoned zircon with morphologies indicating growth from hot, evolved silicate melts, and the lack of evidence for zircon recrystallisation, indicates that zircon crystallised in the host GRV and RDG magmas. Variable zircon compositions within individual clusters does not support epitaxial nucleation of zircon on Fe–Ti oxides, but it is likely that some zircon grains grew from seed crystals formed by exsolution of Zr from Fe–Ti oxides. Aggregation of isolated, liquid-bound crystals is energetically favourable, and the grainsize discrepancy between larger crystals (Fe–Ti oxides, pyroxenes) and smaller accessory minerals (zircon, apatite) maximises the disparity in particle velocities and hence enhances the opportunities for collisions and adhesion between these crystals. We propose that zircon adheres to Fe–Ti oxides with greater ease and/or with greater bond strengths, than to other phases present in the parental magmas. It is possible that this association is related to interactions between zircon and Fe–Ti oxide surface sites with opposing charges, presuming the distance between phase surfaces is sufficiently small. The occurrence of small zircon grains within Fe–Ti oxides and both euhedral zircon and zircon with asymmetric growth zonation in contact with Fe–Ti oxides indicates that several processes are responsible for the high concentrations of zircon crystals in some Fe–Ti oxide clusters.Zircon is principally associated with Fe--Ti oxides in 1.59 Ga Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) and Roxby Downs Granite (RDG)U–Pb geochronology does not reveal any concordant zircon populations older than ca 1590 MaZircon compositions and morphologies indicate that zircon crystallised in the host RDG and GRV magmas and suggest recharge, reheating and mixing occurred in these magmatic systemsSeed crystals, aggregation and surface chemical affinities contributed to the strong association of zircon and Fe–Ti oxides

Pb-isotopic constraints on the source of A-type Suites: Insights from the Hiltaba Suite - Gawler Range Volcanics Magmatic Event, Gawler Craton, South Australia

The 1595–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite intrusives and coeval Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) represent a significant crustal component of the Mesoarchean-Mesoproterozoic Gawler Craton, South Australia, and one of the largest silicic igneous provinces in the world. They are also spatially and temporally-affiliated with world-class IOCG mineral deposits (i.e. Olympic Dam) thus making an understanding of these rocks important both economically, and petrologically. Here, we present the results of 177 in situ Pb-isotopic analyses of alkali feldspar in the Hiltaba Suite/GRV, which when integrated with existing SmNd isotopic and geochemical data, reveal a craton-wide isotopic zoning. Pb-isotopic zonation is controlled by the varying interaction of a parental melt derived from a sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM)-like enriched mantle reservoir (238U/204Pb ≤ 9.4, 232Th/238U ≤ 3.66) and twocrustal end-member reservoirs: an unradiogenic reservoir (207Pb/206Pb ≥ 0.97, 208Pb/204Pb ≥ 35.7) and a radiogenic reservoir (238U/204Pb ≥ 10, 232Th/238U ≥ 3.95). The SCLM-like reservoir exerts a strong control on Pb-isotopic compositions around the central-western Gawler Craton (Nuyts Terrane), while the unradiogenic reservoir which represents granulitic lower crust, appears to be spatially limited to the northwest of the Gawler Craton. The radiogenic reservoir, coincident with the IOCG province and probably represented by monazite-rich metasediments, is more prevalent in the eastern Gawler Craton. Correlation between melt-source 238U/204Pb(t) and 232Th/238U(t), with LREE (i.e. La, Ce etc) and HFSE (Zr, Nb etc) which are characteristically enriched in A-type magmas, suggest the importance of hybridisation between a crustal melt component and enriched-mantle-melt component in the formation of A-type magmas.The isotopic and geochemical compositions of the ~1592 Ma Lower GRV and ~1588 Ma Upper GRV effectively bracket the Hiltaba Suite intrusive rocks, and thus provide an avenue for investigating the temporal Pb-isotopic development of a representative part of the Hiltaba Suite/GRV magmatic systems. The Pb-isotopic characteristics imply that either Lower and Upper GRV magma systems developed independently, or reflect a magmatic system evolving substantially over a ~2 Ma period, dominated by mafic input at first (3 to 8% crustal melt; Lower GRV) and moving towards homogeneous, crustal, isotopic compositions with increased crustal melt proportions (15 to 20%) in the Upper GRV.The consistency of these melt source constraints - isotopically, geochemically and proportionally - with other A-type suites around the world favours a unified petrogenetic model for A-types involving dominantly mantle-derived melts, with varying proportions of crustal material which impart characteristically LREE-HFSE enriched geochemical signatures.

From magma to mush to lava: Crystal history of voluminous felsic lavas in the Gawler Range Volcanics, South Australia

The Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) of South Australia are important extrusive analogues to the Mesoproterozoic Hiltaba Suite intrusive rocks of the Gawler Craton, which both host and are implicated in the formation of iron oxide-copper-gold deposits in the Olympic Province. We study three voluminous lavas in the GRV that were emplaced in less than one Ma and contain abundant glomerocrysts of pyroxene, titanomagnetite, plagioclase, K-feldspar, fayalite, apatite, and zircon. Within individual glomerocrysts, pigeonite can exhibit compositional zonation and a range of Y and heavy rare earth element compositions. Compositions of some pigeonite cores from within the same glomerocrysts vary, and crystal zonation does not have a systematic orientation with respect to the crystal's position within its host cluster. This suggests some phenocrysts did not grow adjacent to the other crystals found in individual clusters in the solidified rock, but rather aggregated or settled with other crystals following a stage of growth as independent, melt-bound phenocrysts. The aggregation of phenocrysts is also consistent with the multi-phase nature and diversity of grain-sizes present in the GRV glomerocrysts, rather than accumulations of crystals formed through winnowing of low-density phases or other mechanical sorting processes. In this scenario, glomerocrysts were formed partly by flocculation of independently nucleated crystals, and intergrew after aggregation during magma flow and/or as magma crystallinity increased in the magma reservoir prior to the emplacement of the lavas and the eruption trigger events. The last-erupted lava contains the highest proportion of glomerocrysts comprising complex and anhedral intergrowths. This is consistent with a normally zoned reservoir where the crystal:melt ratio and crystal concentration is greatest at depth. Loosely packed frameworks and free crystals are interpreted to occur in the middle and upper sections of the reservoir, respectively, represented by the first erupted Upper GRV lava and quartz-phyric portions of the lavas. Plagioclase is the most abundant phenocryst throughout the lavas but is present in only a subset of glomerocrysts. The low abundance and absence of feldspar and quartz in glomerocrysts is likely due to mineral resorption and subsequent separation and loss of these components from other glomerocrysts components prior to and during the eruption of the studied lavas. Once solid-solid crystal contacts were dissolved, the separation of the cluster components was driven by the stress placed on them by melt flow. Mafic magmatic enclaves recognised throughout the Upper GRV lavas likely represent the replenishing mafic magmas that provided the thermal and volatile input that drove crystal resorption. Continuing mafic replenishment and injection of sufficient volumes of magma into the Upper GRV reservoir may have also driven the eruption of the lavas. Prolonged fractionation and interaction with mafic magmas could have potentially conveyed or enhanced the distinctive A-type signature of these rocks, negating the requirement of a specialised precursor composition.

Mineralization-alteration footprints in the Olympic Dam IOCG district, South Australia: The Acropolis prospect

The Acropolis prospect, 20 km southwest from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, South Australia, is a vein-style magnetite (±apatite ±hematite) system. A whole-rock dataset comprising 4864 core samples from 14 drillholes was analysed using multivariate statistical analyses to understand and identify geochemical signatures of mineralization, as well as the expressions and extents of hydrothermal alteration. Statistical analysis included unsupervised (principal component analysis, hierarchical and k-means clustering) and supervised (random forests) machine learning algorithms. The geology of the Acropolis prospect is presented as a 3D geological model complemented by cross-sections. The results of statistical analyses are overlaid and interpreted relative to the geological model, and encompass a projection of sodic and propylitic alteration as PC3, and mineralization signature as PC1.Although the mineralization footprint of the Acropolis prospect partially overlaps with a Hiltaba Suite granite, it is not centred on the granite body. A distinct ‘magnetite’ signature of Fe-V-Ni-Co is developed in the southwestern part of Acropolis and represents samples containing >60 wt% Fe. In contrast, the ‘hematite’ signature displays an association of REE, W, Sn, Sb, U, Th, Ca and P, and is present throughout the Acropolis prospect with the exception of drillhole ACD5, which is non-mineralized. Interpolated values of Cu (> 200 ppm) indicate an offset from Fe-rich veins, thus supporting a genetic model in which Cu-bearing mineralization overprints Cu-Au-deficient magnetite-dominant veins. The results obtained provide insights into the evolution from magnetite to hematite-dominant IOCG systems and may provide a proxy for exploration of shallow and economically significant IOCG deposits in the eastern Gawler Craton.

Zircon at the Nanoscale Records Metasomatic Processes Leading to Large Magmatic–Hydrothermal Ore Systems

The petrography and geochemistry of zircon offers an exciting opportunity to better understand the genesis of, as well as identify pathfinders for, large magmatic–hydrothermal ore systems. Electron probe microanalysis, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) imaging, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry STEM mapping/spot analysis were combined to characterize Proterozoic granitic zircon in the eastern Gawler Craton, South Australia. Granites from the ~1.85 Ga Donington Suite and ~1.6 Ga Hiltaba Suite were selected from locations that are either mineralized or not, with the same style of iron-oxide copper gold (IOCG) mineralization. Although Donington Suite granites are host to mineralization in several prospects, only Hiltaba Suite granites are considered “fertile” in that their emplacement at ~1.6 Ga is associated with generation of one of the best metal-endowed IOCG provinces on Earth. Crystal oscillatory zoning with respect to non-formula elements, notably Fe and Cl, are textural and chemical features preserved in zircon, with no evidence for U or Pb accumulation relating to amorphization effects. Bands with Fe and Ca show mottling with respect to chloro–hydroxy–zircon nanoprecipitates. Lattice defects occur along fractures crosscutting such nanoprecipitates indicating fluid infiltration post-mottling. Lattice stretching and screw dislocations leading to expansion of the zircon structure are the only nanoscale structures attributable to self-induced irradiation damage. These features increase in abundance in zircons from granites hosting IOCG mineralization, including from the world-class Olympic Dam Cu–U–Au–Ag deposit. The nano- to micron-scale features documented reflect interaction between magmatic zircon and corrosive Fe–Cl-bearing fluids in an initial metasomatic event that follows magmatic crystallization and immediately precedes deposition of IOCG mineralization. Quantification of α-decay damage that could relate zircon alteration to the first percolation point in zircon gives ~100 Ma, a time interval that cannot be reconciled with the 2–4 Ma period between magmatic crystallization and onset of hydrothermal fluid flow. Crystal oscillatory zoning and nanoprecipitate mottling in zircon intensify with proximity to mineralization and represent a potential pathfinder to locate fertile granites associated with Cu–Au mineralization.

Thermochronological history of the northern Olympic Domain of the Gawler Craton; correlations between cooling ages and mineralising systems

The Olympic Domain of the Gawler Craton is home to the world class Olympic Dam Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) mineral deposit in addition to numerous other IOCG mineral deposits. The Olympic Domain preserves a complex geological history that began in the Palaeoproterozoic. However, most published work conducted on these IOCG deposits have focused on their initial formation, with only a few studies investigating the post-formation thermal history of the Olympic Domain. This study uses multi-method thermochronology by combining apatite U/Pb, muscovite and potassium feldspar 40Ar/39Ar, zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He, and apatite fission track (AFT) dating to provide insights into the thermal history of the northern Olympic Domain between ~550°C and surface temperatures. Apatite U/Pb and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar record post magmatic cooling of the ~1850 Ma Donington Suite, and ~1590 Ma Hiltaba Suite. Potassium feldspar 40Ar/39Ar analyses record a cooling signal that is likely related to rifting in the Neoproterozoic Adelaide Rift Complex. A combination of AFT, and zircon and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He dating preserves three thermal periods, at ~1000 Ma, ~430-400 Ma and ~200 Ma. The older two thermal periods are interpreted to be regional cooling. However, the youngest ages are preserved closest to known IOCG deposits suggesting that they reflect cooling of this elevated geothermal-gradient crust in the Mesozoic. These results have been modelled to produce a thermal history map of the northern Olympic Domain.

Insights into magma histories through silicate-oxide crystal clusters: Linking the Hiltaba Suite intrusive rocks to the Gawler Range Volcanics, Gawler Craton, South Australia

The Roxby Downs Granite (RDG), host to the supergiant Olympic Dam deposit, and the Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) in South Australia, both contain clusters of touching silicate and oxide minerals. Here we report on the geochemistry and petrography of these rocks and their contained mineral clusters, before comparing them to similar occurrences elsewhere in the world to gain a better understand of their genesis and the links between the RDG (and other members of the Hiltaba Suite) and the GRV. Crystal clusters in the RDG comprise magnetite + apatite ± titanite ± biotite ± zircon which are typically enveloped in a plagioclase crystal-matrix. In the GRV, crystal clusters comprise pyroxene + titanomagnetite ± plagioclase ± apatite ± zircon, display variably glomeroporphyritic, equigranular, poikilitic, and loosely packed habits, and are enclosed by texturally varied groundmass. Of the GRV lavas studied, pyroxenes and titanomagnetite show systematic trends in major and trace element compositions conformable with the stratigraphic position of their hosts. This suggests the lavas are related through differentiation in the upper crust and represent the inversion of a normally zoned reservoir. There are no compositional contrasts between phenocrysts and crystals in GRV clusters, and Mg# of pyroxenes are consistent with those predicted from whole-rock compositions, implying that all analysed crystals (including those in clusters) were formed within, or were at least equilibrated to, the host lavas’ precursors. Rather than entire histories as isolated crystal clusters entrained by melt flow, intergrowth textures and mafic magmatic enclaves suggest that the majority of GRV crystal clusters were liberated from closely packed crystal masses through magma rejuvenation and associated crystal resorption. Consistent Fe-Ti oxide + apatite + zircon + plagioclase assemblages and textures in both the GRV and RDG suggest a shared genetic scenario, although an extended model is needed to account for the transformation of GRV-type to HS-type crystal clusters. For hot and dry magmas such as those that formed the GRV and RDG, cooling causes pyroxene + Fe-Ti oxide + plagioclase in GRV-type crystal clusters to react with each other and the melt, forming HS-type magnetite + titanite + biotite + feldspar crystal clusters. Rejuvenation events implicated in the liberation of GRV-type crystal clusters may be important drivers of magmatic-hydrothermal iron-oxide deposit formation.

Relationships between magmatism and deformation in northern Yorke Peninsula and southeastern Proterozoic Australia

ABSTRACTThe ca 1600–1580 Ma time interval is recognised as a significant period of magmatism, deformation and mineralisation throughout eastern Proterozoic Australia. Within the northern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, this period was associated with the emplacement of multiple phases of the Tickera Granite, an intensely foliated quartz alkali-feldspar syenite, a leucotonalite and an alkali-feldspar granite. These granites belong to the broader Hiltaba Suite that was emplaced at shallow crustal levels throughout the Gawler Craton. Geochemical and isotopic analysis suggests these granite phases were derived from a heterogeneous source region. The syenite and alkali-feldspar granite were derived from similar source regions, likely the underlying ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite and/or the ca 1750 Ma Wallaroo Group metasediments with some contamination from an Archean basement. The leucotonalite is sourced from a similar but more mafic/lower crustal source. Phases of the Tickera Granite were emplaced synchronously with deformation that resulted in development of a prominent northeast-trending structural grain throughout the Yorke Peninsula region. This fabric is associated with composite events resulting from folding, shearing and faulting within the region. The intense deformation and intrusion of granites within this period resulted in mineralisation throughout the region, as seen in Wheal Hughes and Poona mines. The Yorke Peninsula shares a common geological history with the Curnamona Province, which was deformed during the ca 1600–1585 Ma Olarian Orogeny, and resulted in development of early isoclinal and recumbent folds overprinted by an upright fold generation, a dominant northeast-trending structural grain, mineralisation, and spatially and temporally related intrusions. This suggests correlation of parts of the Gawler Craton with the Curnamona Province, and that the Olarian Orogeny also affected the southeastern Gawler Craton.

Geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology of 1590 and 1550 Ma mafic dyke swarms of western Laurentia: Mantle plume magmatism shared with Australia

Three new UPb ID-TIMS isotopic ages confirm previous evidence for two geochemically distinct, early Mesoproterozoic pulses of mafic magmatism along the western margin of Laurentia. The first is a UPb baddeleyite age of 1590 ± 5 Ma from a dyke swarm in the Tobacco Root Mountains of western Laurentia. It is the first evidence for magmatism of this age in west-central Laurentia. The second is a UPb baddeleyite age of 1592.4 ± 2.5 from the Western Channel Diabase, 2000 km to the north in NW Laurentia, which supports two previous UPb baddeleyite ages of ca. 1590 Ma for these intrusions. The third is a UPb baddeleyite age of 1551 ± 5 Ma, also from the Tobacco Root Mountains, and provides evidence for a distinct younger pulse of mafic magmatism.We propose that the ca. 1590 Ma mafic intrusions in northwestern and west-central Laurentia represent components of a large igneous province (LIP), which we name the “ca. 1590 Ma Mammoth-Western Channel LIP.”This 1590 Ma LIP is geochemically similar to the contemporaneous volcanic rocks in the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province of Australia. Furthermore, the 1599 Ma Wernecke Breccias near the Western Channel Diabase are geologically similar to the 1590 Ma Olympic Dam Breccias on the South Australian craton. We propose that a mantle plume at ca. 1590 Ma centered between the Laurentian and Southern Australian cratons, located by converging dyke swarms, fed the intrusions on Laurentia plus the Gawler Range Volcanics, the Hiltaba Suite granites and the Ninnerie Supersuite on the South Australian craton. Additionally, magmatic underplating from the plume set up the hydrothermal system responsible for the formation of the Wernecke and Olympic Dam Breccias. The younger 1551 Ma magmatism in the Tobacco Root Mountains, which shows less contamination of a metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle than the older 1590 Ma pulse, may represent an early stage of rifting that pre-dates the ca. 1470 Ma Belt-Purcell Basin extension of western Laurentia.Felsic magmatism, hypothesized to have accompanied the 1590–1550 Ma LIP magmatism, could be a potential source for detrital zircon, thereby reducing the requirement for a non-Laurentian source for detrital zircon ages within the 1610–1490 Ma “North American Magmatic Gap.” Additionally, the 1590 Ma and 1550 Ma ages on western Laurentia dykes provide tighter constraints for previous paleomagnetic studies.