4 research outputs found
The 1.88 Ga Kotalahti and Vammala nickel belts, Finland: geochemistry of the mafic and ultramafic metavolcanic rocks
The mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks within the Svecofennian (1.88 Ga) Kotalahti and Vammala Nickel Belts, Finland, are spatially associated and coeval with a suite of mineralized mafic–ultramafic intrusions. They have been divided into five suites based on major element geochemistry and spatial distribution: the Rantasalmi high- and low-Mg suites, the Vammala high-Mg suite, and the Rantasalmi, Kestilä and Pielavesi low-Mg suites. The Rantasalmi and Vammala high-Mg suites are very similar and probably comagmatic, and the Kestilä and Rantasalmi low-Mg suites are derived from them by a combination of fractionation and crustal assimilation. The Pielavesi suite is interpreted as an unrelated suite of island-arc affinity.On the basis of their trace element contents, the Kotalahti Belt intrusions are comagmatic with part of the analyzed volcanic rocks. In the Vammala Belt it is likely that the parent magmas to the intrusions and picrite magmas have a common mantle source but have evolved along distinct paths, and the picrites probably do not represent parent magmas tapped directly from the intrusions. Platinum-group element data show localised evidence for depletionby sulfide extraction. Vammala picrites are predominantly S-undersaturated, with the exception of lavas in the Stormi area. In the Kotalahti Belt the volcanic rocks are predominantlyS-undersaturated, while the volcanic rocks in the more northern part of the Belt are predominantly S-saturated. These spatial differences imply that the PGE contents of the metavolcanic rocks can be used as regional area selection criteria for intrusive nickel-copper-(PGE) deposits within the Finnish Svecofennian
Geology and crystallization conditions of the Särkiniemi intrusion and related nickel-copper ore, central Finland:implications for depth of emplacement of 1.88 Ga nickel-bearing intrusions
Abstract
Several Ni-Cu deposits occur within the Kotalahti area, central Finland, in proximity to an Archaean gneiss dome surrounded by a Palaeoproterozoic craton-margin supracrustal sequence comprising quartzites, limestones, calc-silicate rocks, black schists and banded diopside amphibolites. The geology of the area and age of the Ni-bearing intrusions (1.88 Ga) are similar to the Thompson Ni belt in the Canadian Trans-Hudson Orogen. The small mafic-ultramafic and Ni-Cu -bearing Särkiniemi intrusion, closely associated with the Archaean basement core of the Kotalahti Dome, is composed of a western peridotite and eastern gabbro body, both of which are mineralized. The eastern gabbro has a contact aureole several meters thick, consisting of orthopyroxene +/- cordierite bearing hornfels between the intrusion and the migmatites. Geochemically, the Särkiniemi intrusion shares many features in common with other Svecofennian mafic-ultramafic intrusions, including crustal contamination and nickel depletion. The related Ni-Cu deposit has a low Ni/Co value (15) and low nickel content in the sulphide fraction (2.8 wt.%), together with a low estimated magma/sulphide ratio of around 170. Svecofennian 1.88 Ga mafic-ultramafic intrusions occur in terrains of variable metamorphic grade (from low-amphibolite to granulite facies) and are likely to represent emplacement at different crustal depths. Multi-equilibrium thermobarometry indicates that the contact aureole at Särkiniemi reached equilibrium at pressures of 4.5–6 kbar (15–20 km depth) and temperatures of 600–670 °C. Combined with the results of earlier research on the Svecofennian intrusions, this study indicates that a depth of 15–20 km crustal level was favourable, along with other critical factors, for nickel sulfide deposition at 1.88 Ga
The petrology and genesis of the Paleoproterozoic mafic intrusion-hosted Co-Cu-Ni deposit at Hietakero, NW Finnish Lapland
Abstract
Cobalt is a highly sought-after metal due to its economic importance in many hightech applications. It is mainly obtained from sedimentary-hosted Cu-Co deposits and magmatic Ni-Cu deposits as a by-product. We describe a recently discovered Co-enriched Cu-Ni deposit hosted by the Hietakero mafic intrusion in north-western Finnish Lapland. The intrusion contains gabbroic to pyroxenitic cumulates and was emplaced into a supracrustal strata composed mainly of mafic volcanic rocks, sulfur-bearing graphite schists and felsic volcanic interlayers. Hybrid rocks provide clear evidence for interaction of mafic magma with its country rocks. All these rocks have undergone intensive post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration by influx of H2O-, CO2- and Cl-bearing saline fluids, forming strongly scapolitized (±albitized) rocks and resulting in re-mobilization of sulfides and their metals.
The Hietakero deposit is associated with pyroxenitic cumulates and hybrid rocks, with the sulfides (pyrrhotite, cobaltian pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrite) occurring as patches, brecciated to net-textured and vein to veinlet forms. Sulfur content is 6.1 wt.% on average, reaching 20 wt.% in some cases. Nickel and Cu tenors are low, but Co is elevated, resulting in very low Ni/Co of 2.6 compared to ‘classic’ Ni-Cu sulfide deposit globally. The average metal tenors are: 0.55 wt.% Ni, 1.07 wt.% Cu, and 0.23 wt.% Co. In-situ sulfur isotope analyses of sulfides from mineralized rocks yielded δ34S values from -2.0 to +4.5‰. In spite of strong post-magmatic alteration, we can conclude that the Hietakero cumulates were formed from a low-MgO and PGE-depleted basaltic magma, which developed in a staging chamber at a deeper crustal level. The magma produced compositionally different gabbroic to pyroxenitic rocks (i.e., high-Ti and low-Ti groups). Model calculations indicate that the relatively high Co tenor and low Ni/Co cannot be explained by an earlier phase of fractional crystallization or sulfide segregation. Instead, an external source of cobalt is needed, which is also consistent with the high Zn, Pb and Mo contents of the mineralized rocks. Based on sulfur isotope compositions, the associated black shales were not the primary source of sulfur, but sulfur was rather derived from a so far unrecognized, potentially Co-bearing contaminant with close to mantle-like δ34S. Our study reveals a new Co-Cu-Ni deposit type related to the widespread Paleoproterozoic mafic magmatism in Lapland