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Thèse (M.Sc.A.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2004. / Bibliogr.: f.131-144. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the Dept. of Earth & Planetary Sciences. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/05/14). Includes bibliographical references.

Th. 3e cycle--Pétrogr., géochim.--Rennes 1, 1983. N°: 784.

Les komatiites sont des roches volcaniques ultrabasiques caractéristiques de l'Archéen et du Protérozoïque. Nous présentons ici une étude de la pétrogénèse des komatiites de la ceinture de Barberton en Afrique du Sud. Celle-ci comprend un modèle de fusion original bâti à partir de la constatation expérimentale qu'à très forte profondeur (P>13GPa), les liquides komatiitiques sont plus denses que la péridotite solide et donc ne peuvent pas s'échapper de leur source. Nous proposons que la fusion des sources des komatiites de Barberton ait commencée à une pression supérieure à 13GPa dans le manteau mais que les liquides produits soient restés retenus dans les sources jusqu'à ce que celles-ci n'aient dépassé, au cours de leur remonté, la limite de densité à laquelle le liquide devient moins dense que le résidu solide (à ~13GPa). Alors, les liquides auraient commencé à quitter leur source, d'abord doucement, puis de plus en plus vite alors que la différence de densité entre le liquide et le résidu solide s'accroissait. Les komatiites appauvries en Al, qui sont les plus abondantes à Barberton, auraient été produites par les premiers liquides qui ont quitté la source peu après le franchissement de la limite de densité. Les liquides qui quittèrent ensuite cette même source à moins forte pression, auraient formé les komatiites enrichies en Al. Les komatiites non-appauvries en Al auraient été produites par le même mécanisme mais par des sources de température potentielle plus forte. Une étude parallèle des trois systèmes isotopiques Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf et Re-Os nous a permis de contraindre l'histoire chimique des sources de komatiites de Barberton. Les systèmes Sm-Nd et Lu-Hf indiquent des sources appauvries et le système Re-Os une source chondritique. Nous proposons que les sources des komatiites aient été appauvries par l'extraction de croûte, mais qu'ensuite, leur composition en Re et Os aient été ramenées à leur valeur chondritique par le dernier épisode massif d‟accrétion de la Terre : « le vernis tardif ». / Komatiites are ultrabasic volcanic rocks characteristic of the Archean and Proterozoic eras. In this study, we investigate the petrogenesis of the komatiites of the Barberton greenstone belt in South Africa. We present an original melting model developed on the experimental observation that, at great depths (P>13GPa), komatiitic liquids are denser than solid peridotite, and therefore cannot escape their source. We propose that the fusion of the sources of Barberton komatiites began at pressures greater than 13GPa in the mantle but that the liquids produced were retained in the sources until they crossed, during their ascent, the density limit at which the liquid becomes less dense than the residue (at ~13GPa). Then, the liquids would have started to escape their source, slowly at first, and faster and faster as the density contrast between liquid and solid residue increased. Al-depleted komatiites, which are the most common type in the Barberton belt, were produced as the first liquids that escaped the source soon after they crossed the density limit. The liquids that later escaped the same source at shallower depth, formed Al-enriched komatiites. Al-undepleted komatiites were produced by the same mechanism but from hotter sources. From complementary studies of the three isotopic systems Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf and Re-Os, we constrained the chemical history of the sources of Barberton komatiites. The Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf systems indicate depleted sources whereas the Re-Os system indicates a chondritic source. We propose that the sources of the komatiites had become depleted by the extraction of early crust, and that their compositions in Re and Os were then reset to their chondritic value by contamination by material from the last massive accretion stage of the Earth: “the late veneer”.

During the Geological Survey of Canada’s Cumberland Peninsula Integrated Geoscience project a ~150km long NE-SW trending volcanic belt, now termed the North Touak-Cape Dyer volcanic belt, was mapped. The volcanic rocks that comprise the belt are dominantly green weathering komatiitic rocks with some black weathering tholeiitic occurrences. Given the similar stratigraphic position, textures, mineralogy, and geochemical characteristics of the volcanic rocks throughout the belt they have been termed the Totnes Road formation, after the locality from which they were first described. The komatiitic rocks possess numerous unusual characteristics for ultramafic volcanic rocks including: fragmental textures, lack of spinifex texture, young eruption age (Paleoproterozoic), eruption through ancient continental crust, and enrichment in the HFSEs including the REEs. This places them in the uncommon and poorly understood sub-type of komatiites termed Karasjok-type komatiites. Given the ultramafic nature of the rocks and their within-plate geochemical signatures, a mantle plume is the most likely source of these rocks, with the komatiites being sourced from the hot plume axis and the tholeiites from the cooler plume head. Incorporation and melting of mantle enriched by the addition of subduction zone recycled, garnet-bearing eclogitic material, beneath thick lithosphere could cause the rocks geochemical enrichment. Stratigraphically overlying the Totnes Road formation is a variety of chemical sedimentary rocks including chert, sulphide and silicate facies iron formation, and sulphide-rich boulders. Given their consistent stratigraphic position and parallel REE patterns, these rocks have been interpreted as a co-genetic suite and are grouped under the Clephane Bay formation, after a locality that exposes a spectacular section of the chemical rocks. The variety of lithologies is believed to be due to mixing of hydrothermal and detrital inputs during deposition within an anoxic basin. Regional correlations in the area are tentative due to the lack of available geochronological and geochemical data. Mafic-ultramafic volcanic occurrences to both the north and the south of the Cumberland Peninsula show remarkably similar geochemical characteristics to the Totnes Road formation. Thus it is possible that one plume was the source for numerous volcanic occurrences within in the region but more detailed study is required to prove or disprove this possibility.

The Neoarchaean Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt (AWB) of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, within the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane (EGS) of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, contains several world-class, komatiite-hosted, nickel-sulphide ore bodies. These are commonly associated with felsic volcanic successions, many of which are considered to have a tonalite-trondhjemite-dacite (TTD) affinity. The Cosmos greenstone sequence lies on the western edge of the AWB and this previously unstudied mineralised volcanic succession contrasts markedly in age, geochemistry, emplacement mechanisms and probable tectonic setting to that of the majority of the AWB and wider EGS. Detailed subsurface mapping has shown that the footwall to the Cosmos mineralised ultramafic sequence consists of an intricate succession of both fragmental and coherent extrusive lithologies, ranging from basaltic andesites through to rhyolites, plus later-formed felsic and basaltic intrusions. The occurrence of thick sequences of amygdaloidal intermediate lavas intercalated with extensive sequences of dacite lapilli tuff, coupled with the absence of marine sediments or hydrovolcanic products, indicates the succession was formed in a subaerial environment. Chemical composition of the non-ultramafic lithologies is typified by a high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite signature, indicative of formation in a volcanic arc setting. Assimilation-fractional crystallisation modelling has shown that at least two compositionally distinct sources must be invoked to explain the observed basaltic andesite to rhyolite magma suite. High resolution U-Pb dating of several units within the succession underpins stratigraphic relationships established in the field and indicates that the emplacement of the Cosmos succession took place between ~2736 Ma and ~2653 Ma, making it significantly older and longer-lived than most other greenstone successions within the Kalgoorlie Terrane. Extrusive periodic volcanism spanned ~50 Myrs with three cycles of bimodal intermediate/felsic and ultramafic volcanism occurring between ~2736 Ma and ~2685 Ma. Periodic intrusive activity, related to the local granite plutonism, lasted for a further ~32 Myrs or until ~2653 Ma. The Cosmos succession either represents a separate, older terrane in its own right or it has an autochthonous relationship with the AWB but volcanism initiated much earlier in this region than currently considered. Dating of the Cosmos succession has demonstrated that high-resolution geochronology within individual greenstone successions can be achieved and provides more robust platforms for interpreting the evolution of ancient mineralised volcanic successions. The geochemical affinity of the Cosmos succession indicates a subduction zone was operating in the Kalgoorlie Terrane by ~2736 Ma, much earlier than considered in current regional geodynamic models. The Cosmos volcanic succession provides further evidence that plate tectonics was in operation during the Neoarchaean, contrary to some recently proposed tectonic models.

Des cristaux de pyroxène zonés, avec un cœur de pigeonite et une bordure d'augite, cristallisent dans les komatiites et les basaltes lunaires. Pour comprendre leurs conditions de cristallisation, nous avons opté pour une double approche, expérimentale et analytique. Nos expériences réalisées dans le système CMAS reproduisent les cristaux de pyroxène avec des compositions chimiques et des textures comparables à celles observées dans les roches naturelles. L'étude analytique a été entreprise sur une série d'échantillons de komatiite archéenne et de basaltes lunaires. Nos résultats montrent que les textures et compositions chimiques du pyroxène dans ces komatiites sont la conséquence de conditions de cristallisation variées au sein d'une même coulée, et d'une coulée à l'autre. Les résultats de cette étude analytique couplés à un travail de modélisation, ainsi qu'une étude comparative de la géochimie de l'ensemble des komatiites mondialement recensées, arrivent à la conclusion que l'eau n'est pas nécessaire à la genèse d'une komatiite.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise consiste en une étude sur le gîte magmatique de nickel-cuivre-cobalt-platine-palladium Nisk-1, anciennement Lac Levac, qui était la propriété de Golden Goose Resources Inc. lors du début de cette maîtrise et appartient maintenant à Nemaska Exploration. Le gîte se situe dans la Bande du lac des Montagnes à la Baie James, une bande d'origine volcano-sédimentaire qui fait un lien entre la Ceinture de Nemiscau et la Sous-Province de l'Opinaca. Le gîte se compose de sulfures massifs à disséminés qui se situent près de, ou au contact entre, deux roches ultramafiques différentes. Les sulfures sont associés au sommet actuel de la péridotite serpentinisée noire, qui se trouve en profondeur dans les forages. Nous avons pour hypothèse de départ que ces deux unités ultramafiques constituaient deux coulées séparées et que le sommet originel est renversé, ce qui placerait les sulfures à la base originelle de la péridotite serpentinisée noire. Pour la provenance des sulfures, nous avons posé comme hypothèse qu'ils provenaient de la saturation en soufre de la péridotite serpentinisée noire par l'assimilation des roches sédimentaires dans lesquelles elle s'est mise en place. Nous avons effectué des analyses de lames minces polies, au microscope optique et au MEB, des analyses statistiques, des modèles tridimensionnels des lithologies et des métaux et des analyses « roche totale » des roches ultramafiques. Les roches ultramafiques de Nisk-1 montrent une contamination par les roches de la croûte, et la péridotite serpentinisée noire montre une perte de nickel, ce qui constitue un indice d'association avec des sulfures. La polarité est inversée, et les roches ultramafiques représentent probablement des coulées ou intrusions provenant de la fusion fractionnée d'une plume mantellique. Les contrôles structuraux de mise en place des sulfures ne sont pas apparents, mais il y a des indications de mouvement dans ces sulfures. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : gîte de nickel, komatiite, Bande du lac des Montagnes, Nisk-1, Baie James.

The South Manasan ultramafic intrusion (ca. 1880 Ma) located in the Early Proterozoic Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB) contains Ni and platinum group element (PGE) mineralization hosted by disseminated sulfide. Whole-rock Ni values range from 0.3 to 1.7 wt. % and total precious metals (TPMs) range from 0 to 1.3 ppm Pt + Pd + Au and equate to tenor values (i.e., metal in 100% sulfide) of 11-39 wt. % Ni and 8-27 ppm TPMs. The South Manasan intrusion is a steeply dipping sill-like body with a boudinaged outline having a strike length of approximately 1200 m, average width of 125 m and a minimum depth extent of 1000 m. The intrusion is composed of approximately 25% fresh dunite, 50% serpentine altered dunite and 25% tectonized and carbonate altered dunite. The most intense alteration is found near the intrusion’s margin where it is in contact with metasedimentary rocks of the Pipe Formation, part of the surrounding Ospwagan Group. In fresh dunite the sulfide assemblage characterized by an intercumulate texture is dominated by pentlandite with accessory pyrite; the latter having a symplectic-like texture. The pentlandite-pyrite assemblage in the serpentinized dunite, although still characterized overall by an intercumlate-texture, has well developed platy intergrowths with chlorite and serpentine. In the most intensely modified unit (the carbonate altered dunite) the sulfide assemblage consists primarily of pyrrhotite and pentlandite. Whole-rock geochemical data (n=360), modal mineralogy and mineral chemistry obtained on representative drill core throughout the South Manasan intrusion have been used to establish a type section in order to evaluate the relative roles of primary magmatic versus secondary (i.e., serpentinization, carbonate alteration and deformation) processes. These data indicate that the primary silicate-sulfide assemblage was systematically modified during : serpentinization, carbonate alteration and deformation of the South Manasan intrusion such that a sequence of primary versus secondary events can be established. Intrusion of the original komatiitic magma and formation of the South Manasan intrusion took place at a shallow level into consolidated Ospwagan Group sediments with subsequent contamination of this melt with crustal S. This triggered sulfide saturation and generation of an immiscible sulfide melt. Calculated Ni and TPM tenor values constrain the R factor to between 500 and 2500. The early crystallization of olivine inhibited the sulfide melt from settling to the bottom of the magma column and as a consequence, the sulfides now have a primary interstitial magmatic texture. The current sulfide association dominated by pentlandite>>pyrite>chalcopyrite has a mineral paragenesis that is consistent with subsolidus re-equilibration of a primary pentlanditepyrrhotite- chalcopyrite assemblage. The subsequent processes of serpentinization, deformation and carbonate alteration resulted in modifying the primary sulfide assemblages and their textures (i.e., to platy habits), but did not greatly alter the bulk composition, in particular metal contents, except for addition of volatiles (H2O, CO2). It is concluded therefore that the enrichment of the sulfide assemblage at South Manasan in Ni and PGEs is a consequence of a primary magmatic process involving high R factor and that the effects of later overprinting processes (alteration, deformation) are not responsible for the presently observed high-tenor sulfide association.