Abstract:The Paleoproterozoic Hottah terrane is the westernmost exposed bedrock of the Canadian Shield and a critical component for understanding the evolution of the Wopmay Orogen. Thirteen new high-precision U-Pb zircon crystallization ages are presented and support field observations of a volcano-plutonic continuum from Hottah terrane through to the end of the Great Bear magmatism, from >1950 to 1850 Ma. The new crystallization ages, new geochemical data, and newly published detrital zircon U-Pb data are used to challenge hitherto accepted models for the evolution of the Hottah terrane as an exotic arc and microcontinent that arrived over a west-dipping subduction zone and collided with the Slave craton at ca. 1.88 Ga. Although the Hottah terrane does have a tectonic history that is distinct from that of the neighbouring Slave craton, it shares a temporal history with a number of domains to the south and east -domains that were tied to the Slave craton by ca. 1.97 Ga. It is interpreted herein that Hottah terrane began to the south of its current position and evolved in an active margin over an always east-dipping subduction system that began prior to ca. 2.0 Ga and continued to ca. 1.85 Ga, and underwent tectonic switching and migration. The stratigraphy of the ca. 1913-1900 Ma Hottah plutonic complex and Bell Island Bay Group includes a subaerial rifting arc sequence, followed by basinal opening represented by marginal marine quartz arenite and overlying ca. 1893 Ma pillowed basalt flows and lesser rhyodacites. We interpret this stratigraphy to record Hottah terrane rifting off its parental arc crust -in essence the birth of the new Hottah terrane. This model is similar to rapidly rifting arcs in active margins -for example, modern Baja California. These rifts generally occur at the transition between subduction zones (e.g., Cocos-Rivera plates) and transtensional shear zones (e.g., San Andreas fault), and we suggest that extension-driven transtensional shearing, or, more simply, terrane translation, was responsible for the evolution of Bell Island Bay Group stratigraphy and that it transported this newly born Hottah terrane laterally (northward in modern coordinates), arriving adjacent to the Slave craton at ca. 1.88 Ga. Renewed east-dipping subduction led to the Great Bear arc flare-up at ca. 1876 Ma, continuing to ca. 1869 Ma. This was followed by voluminous Great Bear plutonism until ca. 1855 Ma. The model implies that it was the westerly Nahanni terrane and its subducting oceanic crust that collided with this active margin, shutting down the >120 million year old, east-dipping subduction system.
The Contact Lake Belt forms the NW-trending flank of a collapsed andesite stratovolcano complex adjacent to a subvolcanic intrusion within the northern, 1.87 to 1.85 Ga, Great Bear magmatic zone, Northwest Territories, Canada. It belongs to the Port Radium-Echo Bay historical district that hosts past producers of U, Ag, Cu (± Ra, Ni, Co, Bi) from polymetallic sulfide and arsenide veins. A re-examination of the belt has revealed widespread IOCG-type polymetallic mineralization exposed in numerous veins, stockworks, breccias, and replacement zones within extensive areas of polyphase hydrothermal alteration. The effects are most visible and intense in andesite, but also affect associated synvolcanic intrusions. A weak, pervasive chlorite-epidote-carbonate-sericite alteration is observed in the least-altered volcanic rocks. Subsequent hydrothermal alteration that is progressively superimposed on earlier facies includes: sericitic (sericite, quartz); phyllic (sericite, quartz, pyrite); potassic (K feldspar); earthy and specular hematite; K feldsparscapolite-albite-magnetite-actinolite-apatite as veins, stockwork, and pegmatitic recrystallization; K feldspar-tourmaline-Fe-oxide-silica-sulfides; and massive albitites locally laced with amphibole. Hydrothermal breccias and diatremes occur locally throughout the belt. The style, size, overprinting relationship, mineralogy, and chemical composition of alteration zones and mineralization support the current IOCG exploration model for polymetallic mineralization in the Contact Lake Belt, as well as for mineralization elsewhere in the Port Radium-Echo Bay district and the Great Bear magmatic zone overall.Sommaire -La Ceinture de Contact Lake Belt, d'orientation NO, représente le flanc d'un stratovolcan andésitique complexe effondré accolé à une intrusion subvolcanique au sein de la portion nord de la zone magmatique Great Bear, 1.87-1.85 Ga, aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Canada. Elle s'inscrit dans le district minier historique de Port Radium-Echo Bay, hôte d'anciens producteurs d'U, d'Ag, et de Cu (± Ra, Ni, Co, Bi) dans des veines polymétalliques de sulfures et d'arséniures. Le réexamen de cette ceinture a permis de reconnaître une minéralisation polymé-tallique extensive de type IOCG présente dans plusieurs veines, stockworks, brèches et zones de remplacement une grande région marquée par une altération hydrothermale polyphasée. Cette alté-ration est particulièrement visible et intense dans l'andésite, mais elle affecte également les intrusions synvolcaniques associées. Une légère altération pervasive en chlorite-épidote-carbonate-séri-cite est notée dans les roches volcaniques les moins altérées. Parmi les altérations hydrothermales qui se superposent progressivement sur les faciès plus précoces, on note: l'altération séricitique (séricite, quartz); l'altération phyllique (séricite, quartz, pyrite); l'altération potassique (feldspath-K); l'hématite terreuse et spéculaire; des veines et des stockworks de feldspath-K -scapolite-albite-magnétite-actinolite-apatite, ainsi qu...
The Paleoproterozoic Great Bear magmatic zone is the focus of ongoing exploration for iron oxide coppergold (IOCG) deposits and also hosts iron oxide-apatite occurrences. Examples of IOCG deposits in the Great Bear magmatic zone include Sue-Dianne and NICO, and other smaller prospects, including Damp, Fab, and Nori/Ra. The past-producing Terra mine property hosts significant IOCG-like alteration that contains domeshaped, iron oxide-apatite bodies. Petrographic study has identified multiple generations of magnetite at NICO, Fab, and Nori/Ra and, for the most part, a single generation of magnetite at Sue-Dianne, Damp, and Terra. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) documents important geochemical differences in V, Ni, Cr, and Co concentrations within the magnetite. Variations of trace elements in magnetite from the Great Bear magmatic zone could be a result of (1) host rock-fluid equilibration during regional metamorphism, (2) postmetamorphic hydrothermal metasomatism of Treasure Lake Group metasedimentary rocks, (3) preferential solubility of Co over Ni within the Fe-rich fluids, (4) changes in oxygen fugacity (fO 2 ), and (5) partitioning of elements into coprecipitating sulfides. Regionally, the Cr/Co ratio is higher in barren and pre-ore magnetite compared to magnetite coprecipitated with ore minerals and/or present in ore-rich veins and breccias. Locally, at the Nori/Ra prospect, the V/Ni ratio in magnetite differentiates between barren and ore-related magnetite, and at Damp and Sue-Dianne the Co/Ni ratio is extremely high and clearly different from that of other Great Bear magmatic zone magnetite samples. These results provide the first database for geochemically characterized magnetite from different stages of IOCG alteration and illustrate the potential use of magnetite as an indicator mineral in the exploration for IOCG deposits.
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