Seismic data from 31 seismic stations, consisting of 16 SPREE (Superior Province Rifting Earthscope Experiment) and 15 TA (Transportable Array) instruments located from 80 - 97W and 41 – 55N were used to measure the lateral variation in the lithospheric fabric beneath the Superior Province and the Mid-Continent Rift (MCR). I made shear wave splitting measurements of SK(K)S phases by using the eigenvector minimization approach of Silver and Chan (1991). Error surfaces for multiple events were stacked in back-azimuthal swaths to examine directional variability. A single anisotropic layer model is sufficient to explain my data. My results show a high split time in the western Superior Province (WSP), very weak splits in the Nipigon Embayment and a moderate split in the eastern Superior. I observed low split times in the Penokean, Yavapai and Matzazal Provinces. A region of very low split is newly detected by this study immediately to the east of Lake Superior. The MCR shows moderate to low split times. There are subtle variations in the direction of the fast shear wave across the study region. The fast directions align with the direction of the absolute plate motion and the direction of tectonic boundaries in most regions. Lateral variation of anisotropy and lithospheric fabric is observed across the study area. The strong fabric observed in the western Superior is truncated to its east and to its south. I interpret southward truncation to be due to the Mid-Continent Rift. My result shows that lithospheric fabric in the Nipigon Embayment (NE) located just east of the WSP has been lost or seriously modified. The NE is interpreted to be an hotspot feature, which may have initiated the MCR. Moreover, the result of this study suggests that the lithosphere in the MCR may have been thinned or modified though not as much as the lithosphere of the NE. The newly discovered localized low split zone northeast of the MCR is similar in split time and extent to the feature in the NE. The relatively weak split in the eastern Superior Province may possibly be attributed to partial loss or modification of preexisting fabric resulting from the Great Meteor hotspot track.

The Marathon PGM-Cu deposit is hosted by the Coldwell alkaline complex, which consists predominantly of gabbro and syenite and was emplaced at 1108 Ma as part of the Mid-Continent Rift System. Mineralization at the Marathon PGM-Cu deposit is hosted by the Two Duck Lake Gabbro (TDLG), a fresh olivine-bearing gabbro. The Marathon deposit contains several zones of mineralization including the Basal Zone, the Main Zone and the W-Horizon. The W-Horizon is a high-grade PGE zone characterized by low S, low Cu/Pd and high Cu/Ni. The sulphide mineral assemblage is predominantly chalcopyrite and bornite. This contrasts with the Main Zone where the dominant sulphide mineral assemblage is chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. The Main Zone contains higher S, higher Cu/Pd and shows a decrease in Cu/Pd and pyrrhotite/chalcopyrite from base to top. Four drill holes were selected for detailed analysis to characterize the W-Horizon style of mineralization. Detailed petrographic study of the pristine and largely unaltered TDLG shows that wide spread hydrothermal alteration is not responsible for the mineralization. Detailed outcrop mapping shows that the TDLG intruded as a series of multiple intrusions in a dynamic magmatic system. Geochemical studies through the W-Horizon show that the mineralization is not the result of crystallization in a layered intrusion. The results of geochemical assays and electron microprobe analysis of olivine grains show that the chemistry through the TDLG hosting the W-Horizon is erratic. This data supports the TDLG intruding as a series of sills in a dynamic conduit environment. The calculated sulphide metal tenors for the W-Horizon are higher than can be explained by closed system R Factor models. Multistage dissolution upgrading in an open system is examined as the process forming the W-Horizon. This model is able to produce the sulphide metal tenors observed in the W-Horizon. Sulphur loss also affects grades and tenors and was examined through geochemical and petrological data. The change in sulphide mineral assemblage from a pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite (S-rich) to chalcopyrite and bornite (S-poor) supports S-loss. Whole rock S and Se contents are also analyzed to investigate S loss, a lower S/Se indicates that sulphur has been removed from the system. Average S/Se values are ~800 for the W-Horizon, ~1980 for the Main Zone and ~1700 in unmineralized samples. The very low S/Se observed within the W-Horizon supports S-loss. Sulphur loss in a dynamic magmatic conduit system is proposed for the formation of the W-Horizon mineralization. In this model sulphur undersaturated basaltic magma interacted with an immiscible sulphide liquid in a magma conduit, resulting in the dissolution of sulphide into the basaltic melt and PGE enrichment.

The Marathon PGM-Cu deposit is hosted by the Coldwell alkaline complex, which consists predominantly of gabbro and syenite and was emplaced at 1108 Ma as part of the Mid-Continent Rift System. Mineralization at the Marathon PGM-Cu deposit is hosted by the Two Duck Lake Gabbro (TDLG), a fresh olivine-bearing gabbro. The Marathon deposit contains several zones of mineralization including the Basal Zone, the Main Zone and the W-Horizon. The W-Horizon is a high-grade PGE zone characterized by low S, low Cu/Pd and high Cu/Ni. The sulphide mineral assemblage is predominantly chalcopyrite and bornite. This contrasts with the Main Zone where the dominant sulphide mineral assemblage is chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. The Main Zone contains higher S, higher Cu/Pd and shows a decrease in Cu/Pd and pyrrhotite/chalcopyrite from base to top. Four drill holes were selected for detailed analysis to characterize the W-Horizon style of mineralization. Detailed petrographic study of the pristine and largely unaltered TDLG shows that wide spread hydrothermal alteration is not responsible for the mineralization. Detailed outcrop mapping shows that the TDLG intruded as a series of multiple intrusions in a dynamic magmatic system. Geochemical studies through the W-Horizon show that the mineralization is not the result of crystallization in a layered intrusion. The results of geochemical assays and electron microprobe analysis of olivine grains show that the chemistry through the TDLG hosting the W-Horizon is erratic. This data supports the TDLG intruding as a series of sills in a dynamic conduit environment. The calculated sulphide metal tenors for the W-Horizon are higher than can be explained by closed system R Factor models. Multistage dissolution upgrading in an open system is examined as the process forming the W-Horizon. This model is able to produce the sulphide metal tenors observed in the W-Horizon. Sulphur loss also affects grades and tenors and was examined through geochemical and petrological data. The change in sulphide mineral assemblage from a pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite (S-rich) to chalcopyrite and bornite (S-poor) supports S-loss. Whole rock S and Se contents are also analyzed to investigate S loss, a lower S/Se indicates that sulphur has been removed from the system. Average S/Se values are ~800 for the W-Horizon, ~1980 for the Main Zone and ~1700 in unmineralized samples. The very low S/Se observed within the W-Horizon supports S-loss. Sulphur loss in a dynamic magmatic conduit system is proposed for the formation of the W-Horizon mineralization. In this model sulphur undersaturated basaltic magma interacted with an immiscible sulphide liquid in a magma conduit, resulting in the dissolution of sulphide into the basaltic melt and PGE enrichment.