Field, petrological and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb geochronological data of metavolcanic rocks were used to interpret the petrological processes and to propose the tectonic setting for the Mundo Novo greenstone belt (MNGB) in the eastern São Francisco Craton. The metavolcanic rocks studied are metakomatiite, eastern and western metabasalts, and metadacite with subordinate metarhyolite, which host ocean floor hydrothermal alteration zones and are covered by ocean floor lithological associations composed of chemical metasedimentary rocks. Fractional crystallization and heterogeneous intraoceanic contaminations explain the mineralogical differences between the two metabasalts and the high (La/Yb) N ratio values of metakomatiite and metadacite. The metakomatiite and the eastern and western metabasalts feature a vector from the MORB-OIB array to the volcanic arc array in the Nb/Yb-Th/Yb diagram, similar to the Archean intraoceanic arc-basin systems. The geochemical pattern of the eastern and western metabasalts in the Zr-Zr/Y diagram suggests volcanism in nearby island arc and backarc basin settings, respectively. The 2595 ± 21 Ma U-Pb zircon crystallization age of the metadacite allowed the determination of the timing of volcanism in the MNGB. Therefore, an intraoceanic provenance in an arc-basin system is proposed for the MNGB in the Neoarchean, which was later compressed between cratonic blocks during the Rhyacian-Orosirian event.
Field and petrological data of metakomatiite, eastern and western metabasalts and metadacite were used to propose an intraoceanic or intracontinental provenance for the Neoarchean Mundo Novo Greenstone Belt (MNGB), eastern São Francisco Craton. Despite deformation, the metakomatiite preserves the spinifex texture and the eastern metabasalt's pillow lava structure. The metavolcanics are recovered by an ocean floor lithological association composed of chemical metasedimentary rocks and the western metabasalt hosts ocean floor hydrothermal alteration zones. The eastern metabasalt plots in the IAT and MORB fields and western metabasalt is mainly in the MORB field in the Zr vs. Zr/Y diagram, suggesting nearby oceanic settings. Heterogeneous crustal assimilation and metamorphism during the Rhyacian-Orosirian explain the mineralogical differences between the two metabasalts. The metakomatiite and metabasalts feature a vector from the MORB-OIB array to the volcanic arc array in the Nb/Yb vs. Th/Yb diagram, similar to the intraoceanic arc-basin system of the Archean greenstone belts. The average (La/Yb) N ratio of 8.87 for the metadacite indicates a crustal contamination in subducting oceanic crust. An intraoceanic provenance in arc-basin settings and oceanic crust assimilations are proposed for the Neoarchean MNGB, which was posteriorly compressed between cratonic blocks during the Rhyacian-Orosirian and lies in the Contendas-Jacobina Lineament.
TIMS Pb-Pb geochronological data allow determination of the timing and genesis of the Fazenda Coqueiro volcanic‑hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) Zn-Pb deposit hosted in the Neoarchean Mundo Novo greenstone belt (MNGB), NE São Francisco Craton. The deposit is inserted in the Rhyacian-Orosirian Contendas-Jacobina lineament between Archean cratonic blocks. The basement of the deposit is composed of Paleoarchean metagranite and metarhyolite nuclei tectonically emplaced within the supracrustal rocks. The volcanic-sedimentary rocks comprise the ocean floor western metabasalt, calcsilicate rock, aluminous schist, metachert, banded iron formation, and tremolitite of the middle sequence and metasedimentary siliciclastic rocks of the uppermost sequence of the MNGB. The western metabasalt is hydrothermally altered, which resulted in the formation of two alteration zones. They consist of carbonate zone, proximal, hosting massive sulfides composed mainly of sphalerite and galena with minor chalcopyrite; and sericite-chlorite zone, distal, hosting mainly disseminated chalcopyrite. Pb-Pb galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite data from the massive and disseminated zones in the Fazenda Coqueiro deposit yielded model ages of 2,804 ± 11.15, 2,794 ± 11.2, and 2,767 ± 11.1 Ma, respectively, with the Pb sourced from the upper crust, based on the uranogenic and thorogenic diagrams. The Pb-Pb isochron mineralization age of 2,747 ± 16 Ma obtained from chalcopyrite and sphalerite samples from the massive and disseminated zones suggests that the sulfides were coeval and do not record later metamorphic-hydrothermal events. Therefore, the Fazenda Coqueiro deposit would have formed from Neoarchean ocean floor volcanic-exhalative processes. The Rhyacian-Orosirian tectonic event compressed the deposit between Archean blocks along the Contendas-Jacobina lineament, preserving the sulfides from remobilization processes.
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