New petrological and mineral chemical data indicate a clockwise P-T path for medium-to high-grade metamorphic mafic rocks in different thrust sheets of the Tugela Terrane within the Mesoproterozoic Natal Belt in KwaZulu-Natal (eastern South Africa). Three metamorphic stages are distinguished: (i) an early upper amphibolite-to lower granulite-facies metamorphic event (M 1) is indicated by rare relics of clinopyroxene; (ii) mineral chemical and textural equilibration during M 2 at calculated pressure-temperature conditions of 4.5 to 6 kbar and 693 to 750°C; and (iii) partial diffusional resetting of mineral compositions during subsequent uplift and exhumation (M 3) under lower amphibolite-to greenschist-facies conditions. No major differences were noted in the tectonothermal regimes at which each of the respective thrust sheets were deformed suggesting that the Tugela Terrane was a homogenous package and experienced uniform P-T conditions. The new data acquired in this study contribute to an improvement in the ongoing development of a tectono-thermal and geodynamic model for the Natal Belt.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.