The petrogenesis of magmatic Fe-Ti oxide ores associated with massif-type andesine anorthosites is investigated through detailed studies of the world-class Tellnes ilmenite deposit (SW Norway), the Grader layered intrusion (Quebec, Canada) and Fe-Ti ores from the Suwalki anorthosite (NE Poland). Extensive sampling in the field and in drill-cores reveals significant petrographical and compositional variations within a single ore body and between deposits from different anorthosite complexes. The composition of phases from bulk XRF analyses on mineral separates and from in situ LA-ICP-MS, Sr isotopic composition of plagioclase, bulk rocks major and trace element contents and the spatial variation of these data are used to understand controlling factors on ore composition. Phase diagrams and experimental data on ferrobasalts as well as comparisons with the well-documented Bjerkreim-Sokndal layered intrusion (SW Norway) are systematically used to further refine our understanding on the genesis of Fe-Ti ores. More than 100 samples from drill-cores in the Tellnes ilmenite deposit, part of the late-Proterozoic (930-920 Ma) Rogaland Anorthosite Province (SW Norway), reveal significant petrographical and compositional variations within the ore body. Four zones are defined, based on variations in modal proportions and cumulus mineral assemblages: the Lower and Upper Central Zones and the Lower and Upper Marginal Zones. Plagioclase and whole-rock compositions discriminate the zones and display patterns interpreted as a result of mixing of either plagioclase-ilmenite or plagioclase-ilmenite-orthopyroxene-olivine cumulates with a melt of ferrodioritic (jotunitic) composition. Its content decreases from 80 to 20 % from the margins to the central part of the ore body. Phase diagrams for a jotunitic parental magma reproduce the crystallization sequence at 5 kbar. Uniform Sr isotope ratios do not support magma mixing. The cryptic layering of the ore body precludes injection as a crystal mush but favours in situ crystallization from an evolving magma in a sill-like magma chamber. The present trough-shape and mineral orientations result from deformation during gravity-induced subsidence and by up-doming of the anorthosite. Major and trace element XRF and in situ LA-ICP-MS analyses of ilmenite in the Tellnes ilmenite deposit further constrain the two-stage fractional crystallization model of a ferrodioritic Fe-Ti-P rich melt. Stage 1 is characterized by ilmenite-plagioclase cumulates, and stage 2 by ilmenite-plagioclase-orthopyroxene-olivine cumulates. The concentration of V and Cr in ilmenite, corrected for the trapped liquid effect, (1) defines the cotectic proportion of ilmenite to be 17.5 wt.% during stage 1, and (2) implies an increase of during stage 2, most likely related to a shift in fO2. The proportion of 17.5 wt.% is lower than the modal proportion of ilmenite (ca. 50 wt.%) in the ore body, implying accumulation of ilmenite and flotation of plagioclase. The fraction of residual liquid left after crystallization of Tellnes cumulates is estimated at 0.6 and the flotation of plagioclase at 26 wt.% of the initial melt mass. The MgO content of ilmenite (1.4-4.4 wt.%) is much lower than the expected cumulus composition. It shows extensive postcumulus re-equilibration with trapped liquid and ferromagnesian silicates, correlated with distance to the host anorthosite. The Zr content of ilmenite, provided by in situ analyses, is low and uncorrelated with stratigraphy or Cr content. The data demonstrate that zircon coronas observed around ilmenite formed by subsolidus exsolution of ZrO2 from ilmenite. The U-Pb zircon age of 920 ± 3 Ma probably records this exsolution process. The Grader layered intrusion belongs to the Havre-Saint-Pierre anorthosite in the Grenville Province (Quebec, Canada). This intrusion has a basin-like morphology and contains significant resources of Fe-Ti-P in ilmenite and apatite. Outcropping lithologies are massive oxide alternating with anorthosite layers, banded ilmenite-apatite-plagioclase rocks and layered oxide apatite (gabbro-) norites. Several drill cores provide evidence for stratigraphic variations of mineral and bulk cumulate compositions controlled by fractional crystallization and importantly the successive appearance of liquidus phases: plagioclase and ilmenite followed by apatite, then orthopyroxene together with magnetite, and finally clinopyroxene. This atypical sequence of crystallization results in the formation of plagioclase-ilmenite-apatite cumulates or nelsonites in plagioclase-free layers. Fine-grained ferrodiorites which cross-cut the coarse cumulates are shown to be in equilibrium with the noritic rocks. The high TiO2 and P2O5 contents of these liquids explain the early saturation of ilmenite and apatite before Fe-Mg silicates, which implies that nelsonites actually represent cumulates rather than Fe-Ti-P-rich immiscible melts. The location of the most evolved mineral and bulk cumulates compositions at several tens of meters below the top of the intrusion, forming a sandwich horizon, suggests crystallization both from the base and top of the intrusion. The concentrations of V and Cr in ilmenite display a single fractionation path for the different cumulus assemblages and define the cotectic proportion of ilmenite to 21 wt.%. This corresponds to bulk cotectic cumulates with ca. 8 wt.% TiO2, which is significantly lower than what is commonly observed in the explored portion of the Grader intrusion. The proposed mechanism of ilmenite-enrichment is lateral removal of plagioclase due to its buoyancy in the dense ferrodiorite. This plagioclase has probably accumulated in other portions of the intrusion or has not been distinguished from the host anorthosite. Fe-Ti deposits in the Proterozoic Suwalki massif-type anorthosite (NE Poland), recognized through geophysical exploration, have been sampled in deep cores reaching 2800 m depth. Bulk cumulate analyses and liquidus phases composition of 70 Fe-Ti ores support their cumulate origin. The sequence of crystallization is: plagioclase, orthopyroxene, Ti-magnetite and ilmenite (64:36 on average), apatite and clinopyroxene. Fe-Ti-rich cumulates are commonly layered and display continuous relation with the host anorthosite. They do not represent well-defined intrusions such as the major Fe-Ti Tellnes and Lac Tio deposits. Fe-Ti oxides microtextures show conspicuous subsolidus re-equilibration, particularly external granule exsolution of pleonaste from Ti-magnetite. The composition of associated fine-grained ferrodiorites reveals relatively low Ti content and similar Mg# compared to jotunitic rocks associated with hemo-ilmenite ores in the Rogaland Anorthosite Province. Geochemical characteristics of these plausible parental magmas can account for the high Ti-magnetite/ilmenite ratio in cumulates. The diapiric emplacement of anorthositic plutons clearly influences the crystallization of Fe-Ti ores and is responsible for crystal sorting controlled by the density contrast of liquidus phases. Polybaric crystallization is evidenced by the high and variable Al2O3 content of orthopyroxene and by the occurrence of olivine corona around orthopyroxene interpreted from phases diagram to result from adiabatic decompression. The comparatively low V content in Ti-magnetite results from highly oxidized crystallization conditions. It thus emerges that principal controlling factors on the formation of Fe-Ti ore and on their characteristics are parental magma composition, sequence of crystallization, crystal sorting, crystallization of trapped liquid, oxygen fugacity and postcumulus re-equilibration. Indeed, fine-grained rocks of Fe-Ti-P-rich ferrodioritic (jotunitic) composition, interpreted as parental melt composition, are responsible for atypical sequence of crystallization with ilmenite as an early liquidus mineral and apatite saturation for high fraction of residual liquid. The trace element content of ilmenite, particularly V and Cr, has been used to calculate cotectic proportion of ilmenite during fractional crystallization of ferrodiorites. These proportions are usually lower than those observed in Fe-Ti ores, which implies ilmenite sorting. This occurs by plagioclase flotation due to its buoyancy in the dense ferrodiorite. This plagioclase may have accumulated in other portions of the intrusion or has not been distinguished from the host anorthosite. Extensive postcumulus re-equilibration with trapped liquid and ferromagnesian silicates strongly modifies the primary liquidus composition of Fe-Ti oxides. The data also demonstrate that zircon coronas commonly observed around ilmenite in Fe-Ti ores formed by subsolidus exsolution of ZrO2 from ilmenite. The basin-like morphology of most Fe-Ti ores hosting intrusions results from the deformation during gravity-induced subsidence and by up-doming of the anorthosite. As immiscibility of a Fe-Ti-P-rich melt and magma mixing have not been evidenced in the studied Fe-Ti ores, early ilmenite saturation accompanied by ilmenite sorting due to plagioclase buoyancy are thus the only mechanisms responsible for the formation of Fe-Ti deposits in Proterozoic massif-type anorthosites.

Thèse (M.Sc.T.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2006. / La p. de t. porte en outre: Mémoire présenté à l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi comme exigence partielle de la maîtrise en sciences de la terre. CaQCU Bibliogr.: f. 274-294. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Many aspects of Proterozoic massif-type anorthosite petrogenesis have been, and remain, controversial. Mafic lower crust and depleted mantle have both been proposed as mutually exclusive sources of these near-monomineralic, temporally restricted batholiths. The debate surrounding the magma source has also led to uncertainty regarding the tectonic setting of these massifs, with a range of possibilities including convergent, divergent and anorogenic settings. The dramatic geochemical effects of crustal contamination in these massifs are well known and strong crustal signatures are evident in most, if not all, Proterozoic anorthosite massifs. The source debate, in the simplest sense, reduces to whether the ubiquitous crustal signature is derived principally from melting of a lower crust or is an effect of crustal assimilation. The origin of this crustal signature, and whether it obscures the original isotopic composition of the magmas or not, has fuelled the debate surrounding the source of the anorthosites. Using major element, trace element and isotopic compositions, as well as energyconstrained assimilation-fractional-crystallisation (EC-AFC) modelling from samples representing various stages of the polybaric crystallisation history of the magmas, including high-pressure megacrysts, anorthosites and their internal mineral phases, I remove the obfuscating effects of possible crustal contamination and probe the source of the magmas. In order to assess the effects of crustal contamination, if any, anorthosites from three massifs – the Mealy Mountains Intrusive Suite, Nain Plutonic Suite (both in eastern Canada) and Rogaland Anorthosite Province (Norway), have been analysed – all of which intrude into crust of significantly different age and chemical character. Sm-Nd geochronology of high-Al, high-pressure orthopyroxene megacrysts, as well as the comagmatic, host anorthosites, indicate that the magmatic system is long-lived, with an age difference between the megacrysts and hosts of ~110-130 million years. Isotopic compositions of primitive megacrysts qualitatively show that the magmas were derived from melting of the depleted mantle. Strong links between the isotopic offset from depleted mantle evolution and the age and composition of the surrounding crust confirm that the geochemical nature of the crustal contaminant plays a significant role in the petrogenesis of the anorthositic rocks. The geochronological indications of a long-lived magmatic system point to Proterozoic anorthosite formation in a continental magmatic arc – one of the only environments capable of supplying geographically-localised magma and heat to the base of the crust for over 100 million years. Proposed divergent or ‘anorogenic’ settings could not plausibly supply magma to the base of the crust for over 100 m.y. without initiating ocean formation or continental break-up. Anorthosite emplacement at mid-crustal levels may coincide with late- to post-orogenic events in several terranes, but evidence presented for a long-lived magmatic system is incongruent with this proposed setting. In this thesis, I propose that the petrogenesis of these intrusives must span both orogenic and post-orogenic periods. An overlap in megacryst crystallisation age with the onset of calc-alkaline orogenic magmatism in the Sveconorwegian Orogen, both occuring ~100 m.y. before anorthosite emplacement, confirms that initial magma and megacryst formation coincides with the main phase of magmatic and orogenic activity in a convergent magmatic arc. These geochronological constraints have implications for regional geodynamics in the Sveconorwegian Orogen (and the Labrador region) with the evidence providing corroboratory support for a long-lived accretionary orogen, as opposed to the widely-held view that the Sveconorwegian orogeny was predominantly collisional. Compositions of high-pressure megacrysts, anorthosites and analysis of internal isotopic disequilibrium indicates that lower crustal contamination has a significant influence on the isotopic composition of the rocks, with relatively minor contributions from the mid- to upper crust. Energy-constrained AFC modelling confirms that significant lower crustal contamination occurs during ponding of magmas at the Moho and is able to reproduce the observed isochronous isotopic compositions of the megacrysts as well as the compositions of the host anorthosites. Evidence of varying degrees of internal isotopic disequilibrium reinforces the significant role that assimilation of crust of different age and chemical nature have on the compositions of Proterozoic anorthosites. Unexpected patterns of isotopic disequilibrium show that anorthosite petrogenesis is not a “simple” case of progressive crustal contamination during polybaric ascent of viscous, partially-molten 4 magma mushes, but is more likely to involve significant differentiation and solidification at lower crust depths, followed by ascent of high-crystallinity bodies (> 50 % crystallinity) to upper crustal levels. Although the composition of the bulk continental crust is different to plagioclase-rich Proterozoic anorthosites, both are missing a mafic component. It is unclear how this missing mafic component was generated in the continental crust, because most of the evidence for these crustal differentiation processes is sequestered below or near the Moho. However, Proterozoic anorthosites, formed by viscous, plagioclase-rich mushes, entrain rare cumulate megacrysts from these depths and consequently preserve evidence of magmatic differentiation processes at the Moho. The evidence for the formation and sequestration of dense ultramafic cumulates in ponding magmas at the Moho can not only explain the missing mafic component in Proterozoic anorthosites, but also suggests that cumulate formation in crust-forming, arc environments is a significant process and should be taken into account in models dealing with evolution and differentiation of the continental crust. Sampling and petrographic and geochemical analysis of five pegmatitic segregations, or “pods”, from anorthosites of the Mealy Mountains Intrusive Suite reveal a diverse range of compositions from mafic, Fe-rich and Si-poor, to Fe-poor and Sirich felsic compositions and from monzogranite through quartz-monzodiorite and monzodiorite to Fe-P-rich gabbronorite. Each pod shows a range of noteworthy graphic, myrmekitic and symplectic textures on a variety of scales, along with distinctive mineralogical assemblages and highly-enriched trace element compositions. Derivitive minerals (e.g. apatite and zircon), high concentrations of Fe, Ti, P (and in some cases SiO2) and 10-1000 times chondrite enrichment suggest that many of the pods are highly fractionated. U-Pb zircon geochronology reveals that all the pods are the same age as the anorthositic hosts and confirms that the Mealy Mountains Intrusive Suite was emplaced between 1654 and 1628 Ma. Using the aforementioned evidence, I show that the pods represent the fluid-bearing, late-stage crystallisation products of a residual liquid in the massif anorthosite system and provide a window into the final stages of crystallisation in the anorthosite system. A range of rock types (monzonites, monzonorites, ferrodiorites and jotunites) observed in similar pod-like structures, as well as dykes and plutons, have also been documented in other Proterozoic anorthosite massifs. These have, at one time or another, controversially been interpreted as the residual liquids of anorthosite crystallisation. The observation of in-situ pods with similar compositions to all of the aforementioned rock types and displaying textures indicative of late-stage crystallisation support the notion that these associated lithologic units are comagmatic with, but residual to, the anorthosites and are not residual liquids of other crustally-derived rocks, immiscible liquids, parental magmas or cumulates. Isotopic compositions of these highly-fractionated, late-stage pods also overlap with those of anorthosites, lending further evidence to the case that upper crustal contamination plays only a minor role in developing the chemical signature of the anorthosites. With these results I propose that the nature/composition of the residual liquids of Proterozoic anorthosite magmas can vary dramatically, depending on geochemical differences in the original magma pulses and by mixing of mobilised, independently-evolved segregations of residual liquids. This process could explain why so many varied rock types associated with Proterozoic anorthosites have been suggested as residual liquids: these rocks all represent residual liquids resulting from varying degrees of differentiation, subsequent mobilisation, mixing and final solidification as plutons or dykes. Proterozoic anorthosite petrogenesis is an inherently polybaric process and so by its very nature produces a range of complicated and contradictory features which have clouded interpretation of numerous aspects of the rocks formation. In analysing crystallisation products from numerous stages of the anorthosites polybaric history, I have been able to probe the magmatic processes operating at different stages of Proterozoic anorthosite petrogenesis. In doing so I show that the magmas are derived from melting of the depleted mantle in continental-arc-like settings – two controversial aspects of Proterozoic anorthosite petrogenesis. These constraints on the source and tectonic setting will allow renewed investigation into the ultimate question surrounding Proterozoic anorthosites: why are these rock types restricted to the Proterozoic and what clues does this temporal restriction offer about Earth’s geodynamic evolution during this period? The assertion in this thesis that 5 Proterozoic anorthosites formed in arc environments dictates that subduction processes or geodynamic conditions during the Proterozoic favoured the production of voluminous masses of plagioclase, because modern-day magmatic arc terranes show no evidence of anorthosites with similar compositions. However, calcic anorthositic inclusions and xenoliths are observed in modern-day volcanic and continental arcs suggesting that anorthosites may be forming in these environments, but that conditions such as water content or style of subduction are different to the Proterozoic, producing less and compositionally different plagioclase and anorthosite. The results of this thesis shed new light on and refine the petrogenesis of Proterozoic anorthosites, but the focus of research must now shift to explaining the temporal restriction of these intrusions and the implications of this restriction for the geodynamic evolution on Earth during the Proterozoic.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2006. / Restricted until October 2007. Bibliography: leaves 303-340. Also available online.

Honors Project--Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-45).

<p> The Whitestone Anorthosite is a relatively small anorthosite body (160 km2 ) located within the Parry Sound structural domain, Western Grenville Province, Ontario. Both the anorthosite and the surrounding gneisses have been affected by a granulite grade metamorphic event which predates the Grenville Orogeny. The outer margin of the anorthosite body has been strongly deformed and recrystallized and is characterized by a pervasive metasomatic alteration consisting of garnet, scapolite, hornblende, apatite, biotite, sphene, carbonate and opaques. The country rock gneisses exhibit a corresponding discontinuous, and highly variable, reaction aureole. Pre-existing mafic gneisses are particularily affected, being characterized by the breakdown of orthopyroxene and hornblende, an increase in garnet, clinopyroxene, apatite and opaques, and enrichment in Fe, Ti and P. </p> <p> The metasomatic alteration exhibited by the Whitestone Anorthosite is thought to be due to a combination of two processes: 1. Mechanical mixing at the anorthosite/country rock contact during intense deformation (tectonic assimilation), and 2. Widespread absorption of mobile components (predominantly volatiles) from both included material and the surrounding gneisses. </p> <p>The formation of the country rock reaction aureole is a continuous solid state metamorphic process, whereby mobile components are preferentially leached from the rock leaving a mafic restite. Post-deformation cooling of the anorthosite, combined with an increased volatile flux, has imparted a polygonal mosaic texture suggestive of contact metamorphism. The typical garnet-clinopyroxene assemblage exhibited by mafic gneisses within the reaction aureole, is a consequence of the increased Fe/Mg ratio which stabilizes this assemblage at lower P, T conditions. The temperature of final equilibration and recrystallization is estimated to be 750 ± 70 °C, based on clinopyroxene-garnet geotherrnometry. </p> <p> A similar metasomatic interaction, to the one outlined in this thesis, is to be expected at all anorthosite/country rock contacts which have been overprinted by granulite metamorphism. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Les roches anorthositiques sont représentatives du Mésoprotérozoïque, puisque c'est le seul moment dans l'histoire de la Terre où on en retrouve en aussi grande quantité, principalement dans la Province de Grenville. La Suite anorthositique de Vallant (1148 Ma) se situe au nord de la ville de Baie-Comeau, sur la Côte-Nord du Québec. L'objectif de ce travail est de caractériser sa relation avec les roches qui lui sont adjacentes, en contexte de compression grenvillienne. Pour ce faire, une pétrographie détaillée, une description texturale, une analyse structurale, ainsi que de la géothermométrie ont été produites. Le contact nord de la Suite anorthositique de Vallant, avec le Complexe de Baie-Comeau présente des foliations principalement orientées est-ouest, dans le sens du contact et des linéations de type pendage. Les températures obtenues par le géothermomètre amphibole plagioclase se situent généralement entre 700°C et 800°C. On retrouve des évidences de fusion partielle au sein du Complexe de Baie-Comeau qui peuvent s'expliquer par l'empilement tectonique issu du chevauchement de la Suite anorthositique de Vallant sur ce dernier, avec un mouvement vers le nord. Au sud, la Suite anorthositique de Vallant est en contact avec la Suite plutonique de Varin. Les foliations sont aussi orientées grossièrement est-ouest à ENE-OSO, avec des linéations d'orientation moins bien définie qu'au niveau du contact nord, mais plusieurs sont de type pendage. Les températures obtenues à l'aide du géothermomètre amphibole plagioclase, de l'ordre de 850°C à 900°C, sont probablement magmatiques et représentatives de l'intrusion de la Suite plutonique de Varin dans la Suite anorthositique de Vallant, alors que les températures grenat-biotite sont métamorphiques et plutôt de l'ordre de 550°C à 625°C. Par ailleurs, la déformation locale de la Suite plutonique de Varin ainsi que l'apparition de fenêtres pinwariennes au contact suggère une exhumation tardi-grenvillienne par le coulissement en faille normale de la Suite anorthositique de Vallant vers le nord. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Province de Grenville, Moyenne Côte-Nord, mass ifs anorthositiques, géothermométrie

No description available.

Plagioclase is the most abundant mineral in the lower crust and it is thus important to constrain the behaviour of plagioclase during deformation. Anorthosites, which are plagioclase-rich rocks, are common in Archaean cratons but their origin and rheological importance is still debated. The aims of this thesis are to 1) describe a newly discovered Archaean anorthosite complex (Naajat Kuuat, SW Greenland), investigate its origin and a possible genetic relationship between the anorthosite and associated mafic-ultramafic rocks and 2) to study the rheology and deformation mechanisms in plagioclase-rich rocks. The main focus of this thesis is on the deformation studies. (1) Geochemical whole-rock analyses from the Naajat Kuuat complex are indicative for an origin near a subduction zone setting. A genetic link by crystal fractionation between the anorthosite and associated mafic-ultramafic units is inferred. (2) Deformation behaviour of plagioclase is assessed from analyses of three anorthosite units deformed during different conditions. Samples were analysed using the electron backscatter diffraction technique (EBSD) in combination with optical and chemical analyses. All three case studies show significant strain localisation related to grain size reduction. A wet anorthosite deformed at dry conditions (T ~675-700°C) was dynamically recrystallised. Continuous bands of recrystallised grains developed a texture yet display microstructures and grain relationships indicative for grain size sensitive creep, suggesting that the rheology followed a Newtonian flow law. In the other two studies, samples with initially dry and wet composition, respectively, have experienced deformation during fluid present conditions at T ~550-620°C. These two samples show that fluids effectively caused reactions, replacements and aided strain localisation during deformation at mid crustal conditions. / At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript; Paper 2 Manuscript; Paper 3 Manuscript.