Structural-event framework for the eastern Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, and its implications for orogenic gold

Blewett, Richard; Czarnota, K.; Henson, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2010.04.004

Cited by 119 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…(Groves 1993, Sibson 1994Witt CRATONIC ARCHITECTURE AND METALLOGENY 69 & Vanderhor 1998;Vearncombe 1998;Cox 1999). These boundaries are also likely to be reactivated multiple times in their history, leading to increased permeability and the formation of the larger gold systems (Blewett et al 2010a). In the Murchison Terrane, these structures appear to reach the mid-crust at c. 30 -20 km, as shown by regional seismic data (Ivanic et al 2013).…”

Section: Orogenic Goldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal evolution, intra-cratonic architecture and the metallogeny of an Archaean craton

Mole

Fiorentini

Cassidy

et al. 2013

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The generation of the Earth's continental crust modified the composition of the mantle and provided a stable, buoyant reservoir capable of capturing mantle material and ultimately preserving ore deposits. Within the continental crust, lithospheric architecture and associated cratonic margins are a first-order control on camp-scale mineralization. Here we show that the evolving crustal architecture of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, played a key role in controlling the localization of camp-scale gold, iron and nickel mineralized systems. The age and source characteristics of Archaean lithosphere are heterogeneous in both space and time and are recorded by the varying Nd isotopic signature of crustal rocks. Spatial and temporal variations in isotopic character document the evolution of an intra-cratonic architecture through time, and in doing so map transient lithospheric discontinuities where gold, nickel and iron mineral systems were concentrated. Komatiite-hosted nickel deposits cluster into camps localized within young, juvenile crust at the isotopic margin with older lithosphere; orogenic gold systems are typically localized along major structures within juvenile crust; and banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted iron deposits are localized at the edge of, and within, older lithospheric blocks. Furthermore, this work shows that crustal evolution plays an important role in the development and localization of favourable sources of nickel, gold and iron by controlling the occurrence of thick BIFs, ultramafic lavas and fertile (juvenile) crust, respectively. Fundamentally, this study demonstrates that the lithospheric architecture of a craton can be effectively imaged by isotopic techniques and used to identify regions prospective for camp-scale mineralization.

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Section: Orogenic Goldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal evolution, intra-cratonic architecture and the metallogeny of an Archaean craton

Mole

Fiorentini

Cassidy

et al. 2013

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“…This event is constrained by a number of syn-D 2 granitic intrusions with ages of ∼2670-2655 Ma . This lead Davis et al (2010) to interpret the earliest events recorded at Kanowna Belle as related to the regional D 4b and D 5 of Blewett et al (2010), in contrast to earlier interpretations that linked these structures to the earliest regional D 1 .…”

Section: Structural Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Earlier work divided deformation in the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane into four main crustal shortening phases, D 1 -D 4 (e.g., Swager, 1997;Weinberg et al, 2003b;Witt and Swager, 1989), and more recently other deformation events have been added, modifying this early framework to account for more detailed data and to include extensional events (e.g., Blewett et al, 2010;Czarnota et al, 2010;Weinberg and van der Borgh, 2008). As summarized in Blewett et al (2010), major extension occurred during basin development and deposition of the greenstone sequences in the Eastern Goldfields between 2720 Ma and 2670 Ma (e.g., Groves and Batt, 1984;Hammond and Nisbet, 1992;Miller et al, 2010;Squire et al, 2010;Swager and Griffin, 1990;Swager, 1997;Williams and Currie, 1993;Williams et al, 1989;Williams and Whitaker, 1993).…”

Section: Structural Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As summarized in Blewett et al (2010), major extension occurred during basin development and deposition of the greenstone sequences in the Eastern Goldfields between 2720 Ma and 2670 Ma (e.g., Groves and Batt, 1984;Hammond and Nisbet, 1992;Miller et al, 2010;Squire et al, 2010;Swager and Griffin, 1990;Swager, 1997;Williams and Currie, 1993;Williams et al, 1989;Williams and Whitaker, 1993). This extensional event is thought to control the broad NNW-trending grain of the region , but just how these earliest structures are inferred and interpreted remains ambiguous (Miller et al, 2010).…”

Section: Structural Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The early structural evolution summarized above has been recently challenged by Blewett et al (2010), who argued that komatiite units are ambiguous stratigraphic markers and may not imply thrust stacking. This is because geochronological data suggest that some komatiite have different ages (Barley et al, 2002) and some may in fact be intrusive (Trofimovs et al, 2004).…”

Section: Structural Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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