Marc Bardoux

Lithostratigraphy, geochronology and gold metallogeny in the northern Guiana Shield, South America: a review

Abstract With a surface area of nearly 900,000 km 2 , the Guiana Shield represents the northern segment of the Amazonian Craton in South America, lying for the most part between the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. Most of the Guiana Shield formed during protracted periods of intense magmatism, metamorphism and deformation, culminating with the Trans-Amazonian tectono-thermal event, bracketed between 2.1 and 1.9 Ga. The Guiana Shield is among the least known Precambrian terranes because it is relatively inaccessible, lacks bedrock exposure due to intense weathering and is poorly documented in the international geological literature. This situation has significantly improved during the last 20 years, when shallow in situ gold occurrences attracted exploration and mining companies to initiate geological programs aimed at better understanding the geology and the mineral deposits of the Shield. The only Archean terrane (ca. 3400 Ma) known to date in the Guiana Shield is the Imataca Complex in Venezuela. The Paleoproterozoic low-grade volcano–sedimentary greenstone sequences and associated granitoid intrusions have yielded ages between 2.25 and 2.08 Ga. Recent U–Pb age determinations of the granitoid–greenstone belts suggest protracted magmatic cycles from pre- to post-peak regional metamorphism. The younger terranes comprise anorogenic sedimentary sequences of the Roraima Formation, as well as felsic volcanic rocks and associated intrusions of the Uatuma Formation, mafic dikes of the Avanavero Suite and Rapakivi-type and alkali intrusions. Several large-scale ductile shear zones have been documented in the Guiana Shield. In northcentral Venezuela, the most outstanding structure documented to date, the NE–SW trending Guri Fault, juxtaposes the Archean Imataca complex against Paleoproterozoic terranes. The Central Guiana Shear Zone (CGSZ) extends from French Guiana westerly towards central Suriname and further west towards northcentral Guyana, where it matches with the Makapa–Kuribrong shear zone (MKSZ). In French Guiana, the North Guiana Trough (NGT) is interpreted as a sinistral strike-slip formed during the Trans-Amazonian orogeny. Most gold deposits and occurrences discovered to date in the Guiana Shield are sited in close proximity to major structures. In addition, they are linked with low- to medium metamorphic-grade granitoid–greenstone belts, similar to other better-explored Precambrian terranes. At a local scale, the gold deposits are hosted within, or in close proximity to, quartz veins that are syn- to late-tectonic, and to a lesser extent, in stockworks, breccias, and lenses. They are commonly located in units that behaved in a more brittle manner than the country rocks. Available information suggests that gold deposits are mainly epigenetic, although some are associated with specific lithostratigraphic units. Pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, scheelite, molybdenite and tellurides are the main metallic minerals associated with gold. Non-metallic minerals are mainly quartz and carbonates (ankerite, calcite, siderite), associated with minor chlorite, epidote, albite, muscovite and fuchsite. Silica, carbonate, propylitic and potassic alteration is common. High erosion rates expected after the creation of an orogenic belt did not occur in the northern Guiana Shield. Shallow-level deposits preserved in many settings suggest that the granitoid–greenstone belts represent first-order exploration targets for large tonnage/low-grade gold deposits.

Geochemical behavior under tropical weathering of the Barama–Mazaruni greenstone belt at Omai gold mine, Guiana Shield

Abstract Mineralogical, petrographical, and geochemical studies of the weathering profile have been carried out at Omai Au mine, Guyana. The area is underlain by felsic to mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Barama-Mazaruni Supergroup, part of the Paleoproterozoic greenstone belts of the Guiana Shield. Tropical rainy climate has favoured extensive lateritization processes and formation of a deeply weathered regolith. The top of the weathering profile consists of lateritic gravel or is masked by the Pleistocene continental-deltaic Berbice Formation. Mineralogical composition of regolith consists mainly of kaolinite, goethite and quartz, and subordinately sericite, feldspar, hematite, pyrite, smectite, heavy minerals, and uncommon mineral phases (nacrite, ephesite, corrensite, guyanaite). A specific feature of the weathering profile at Omai is the preservation of fresh hydrothermal pyrite in the saprolith horizon. Chemical changes during the weathering processes depend on various physicochemical and structural parameters. Consequently, the depth should not be the principal criterion for comparison purposes of the geochemical behavior within the weathering profile, but rather an index that measures the degree of supergene alteration that has affected each analyzed sample, independently of the depth of sampling. Thus, the mineralogical index of alteration (MIA) can provide more accurate information about the behavior of major and trace elements in regolith as opposed to unweathered bedrock. It can also aid in establishing a quantitative relationship between intensity of weathering and mobility (leaching or accumulation) of each element in each analyzed sample. At Omai, some major and trace elements that are commonly considered as immobile (ex: TiO2, Zr, etc.) during weathering could become mobile in several rock types and cannot be used to calculate the mass and volume balance. In addition, due to higher “immobile element” ratios, the weathered felsic volcanic rocks plotted in identification diagrams are shifted towards more mafic rock types and a negative adjustment of ∼20 units is necessary for correct classification. In contrast, these elements could aid in defining the material source in sedimentary rocks affected by weathering. Generally, the rare-earth element (REE) patterns of the bedrock are preserved in the saprolith horizon. This can represent a potentially useful tool for geochemical exploration in tropical terrains. Strong negative Ce and Tb anomalies are displayed by weathered pillowed andesites, which are explained by the influence of the water/rock ratio.

Extension in south-central British Columbia: mechanical and thermal controls

Abstract Geological data indicate that the Omineca Belt, in the Canadian Cordillera, experienced a rapid episode of extension between 58 and 48 Ma following a compressional event and crustal thickening in the Early Tertiary. Restored crustal sections have been constructed using listric fault geometries to infer that the amount of Eocene extension affecting the southern Omineca Belt exceeded 50%. At the end of compression in the Early Tertiary the Omineca and Intermontane belts of southern British Columbia reached a crustal thickness of 60 km. Isostatic compensation implies that these belts formed elevated ranges; this is consistent with sediment deposition west of these ranges and the absence of in-situ sedimentary basins. The stress induced by topography and crustal thickening is calculated: the calculations show that the stress in homogeneously thickened lithosphere is small and that tensile stress in the crust is compensated by compression in the mantle. Removal of the mantle lithosphere induces a stress field that is tensile throughout the lithosphere. This local stress field combined with stress induced at the plate boundary by the oblique impingement of the Kula-Farallon ridge controlled the position and direction of crustal extension in south-central British Columbia. The present high heat flow on the west flank of the Omineca Belt, 80 mW m−2, is interpreted as the relict of Eocene extension following removal of the lithospheric mantle.