Early Proterozoic foredeeps, foredeep magmatism, and superior-type iron-formations of the Canadian shield

1987 ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Iron Formations ◽  
Superior Type

Occurrence and genetic implications of hyalophane in manganese-rich iron-formation, Cuyuna Iron Range, Minnesota, USA

1994 ◽  
Vol 58 (392) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. McSwiggen ◽  
G. B. Morey ◽  
Jane M. Cleland
Keyword(s):  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Iron Formation ◽  
East Central ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Iron Range ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ferromanganese Deposits ◽  
Iron Formations ◽  
Chemical Sediments

AbstractThe recent discovery of hyalophane [(K,Ba)Al1−2Si3−2O8] on the North range segment of the Early Proterozoic Cuyuna Iron Range of east-central Minnesota has shed new light on the depositional environment of these rocks. This Ba-feldspar occurs in a 10 m thick interval within the main iron-formation and typically contains between 8 and 26 mol.% celsian (BaAl2Si2O8). Its occurrence in several textural settings suggests that barium was being deposited at various stages in the paragenetic history of the iron-formation. Some of the hyalophane grains occur as the cores of micronodules, which are structurally similar to oolites or oncolites, but mineralogically are very complex. The hyalophane also occurs as rims on core grains of diverse mineral composition and as discrete phases in late crosscutting veins.Hyalophane, like other Ba-silicates, has a very restricted paragenesis. They are associated typically either with sedimentary manganese and ferromanganese deposits, or with Cu-Pb-Zn-Ba deposits. The presence of hyalophane in the Early Proterozoic manganiferous iron ores of east-central Minnesota casts doubt on the historic interpretation of these deposits as typical Superior-type sedimentary iron-formations and instead supports the view that these deposits, at least in part, consist of chemical sediments from a hydrothermal fumarolic system. The suggested involvement of a hydrothermal system is also supported by the occurrence of aegirine within the hyalophane-rich layer, and the occurrence of tourmalinites and Sr-rich baryte veins elsewhere in the Cuyuna North range.

Striding-Athabasca mylonite zone: implications for the Archean and Early Proterozoic tectonics of the western Canadian Shield

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hanmer ◽  
Michael Williams ◽  
Chris Kopf
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Magmatic Evolution ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Plate Margin ◽  
Mylonite Zone ◽  
Northern Saskatchewan ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Rifted Margin

Study of the northern Saskatchewan–District of Mackenzie segment of the Snowbird tectonic zone suggests that fragments of relatively stiff mid-Archean crust, possibly arc related, have controlled the localization, shape, and complex kinematics of the multistage Striding–Athabasca mylonite zone during the Archean, as well as the geometry of the Early Proterozoic rifted margin of the western Churchill continent. By the late Archean, the Striding–Athabasca mylonite zone was located in the interior of the western Churchill continent, well removed from the contemporaneous plate margins. Except for the Alberta segment, the Snowbird tectonic zone was not the site of an Early Proterozoic plate margin. We suggest that the geometry of the Archean–Early Proterozoic boundary in the western Canadian Shield represents a jagged continental margin, composed of a pair of reentrants defined by rifted and transform segments. These segments were inherited from Early Proterozoic breakup and controlled by the Archean structure of the interior of the western Churchill continent. The geometry of this margin appears to have strongly influenced the Early Proterozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of the western Canadian Shield.

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