Modern mineral exploration strategies should take into account nontraditional metallogenic models for a given geological environment. Here we document the first detailed study of a massive sulphide showing associated with the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP) and Sverdrup Basin and in fact, only the second example of mineralization described from Axel Heiberg Island, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Between Lake showing (western Axel Heiberg Island) is a small massive sulphide occurrence within scree/talus below a large ridge of gabbro. It was originally described by explorationists as an orthomagmatic sulphide occurrence hosted within a dioritic dyke. New petrographic and mineralogical analyses indicate that the showing consists predominantly of pyrrhotite with lesser pyrite, trace chalcopyrite, and rare sphalerite. No Ni- or Pb-bearing sulphide minerals were detected. Geochemically, the showing contains some Co and Cu, rare Zn, and generally very low Ni contents (<9 ppm). Sulphur isotope ratios of sulphide minerals range from +3.6 to + 6.6‰, somewhat heavier than expected for magmatic-derived S but isotopically lighter than S associated with local evaporite diapirs (+5.8‰ to +12.2‰). Orthomagmatic sulphides hosted in the diorite typically exhibit even lighter isotopic ratios of –3.9‰ to –1.00‰. The data are consistent with potential mafic–siliciclastic volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization, or the like, the first documented in the HALIP. High heat flow associated with extensive HALIP magmatism was likely the driving force for such mineralization. Mineral prospectivity in Canada’s High Arctic had been predicated upon the potential presence of magmatic Ni – Cu – platinum group element sulphide mineralization. Rather than negating this potential, our findings provide evidence for additional metallogenic potential for this region of Nunavut.
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Research Article|
July 04, 2019
Enigmatic massive sulphide mineralization in the High Arctic Large Igneous Province, Nunavut, Canada1
Derek H.C. Wilton;
a
Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, Canada.Corresponding author: Derek H.C. Wilton (email: dwilton@mun.ca).
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Benoit M. Saumur;
Benoit M. Saumur
b
Geological Survey of Canada, Central Canada Division, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8, Canada.c
Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec à Montréal, 201 avenue du Président-Kennedy, Case postale 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada.
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Adrian Gordon;
Adrian Gordon
a
Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, Canada.
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Marie-Claude Williamson
Marie-Claude Williamson
b
Geological Survey of Canada, Central Canada Division, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8, Canada.
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Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2019) 56 (7): 790–801.
Article history
received:
23 Jun 2018
accepted:
15 Oct 2018
first online:
23 Jul 2019
Citation
Derek H.C. Wilton, Benoit M. Saumur, Adrian Gordon, Marie-Claude Williamson; Enigmatic massive sulphide mineralization in the High Arctic Large Igneous Province, Nunavut, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2019;; 56 (7): 790–801. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0156
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Axel Heiberg Island
- Canada
- cobalt ores
- copper ores
- diorites
- electron microscopy data
- gabbros
- igneous rocks
- ion probe data
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- large igneous provinces
- mass spectra
- massive deposits
- massive sulfide deposits
- metal ores
- metallogeny
- mineral composition
- mineral deposits, genesis
- mineralization
- nickel ores
- Nunavut
- petrography
- plutonic rocks
- Queen Elizabeth Islands
- S-34/S-32
- SEM data
- spectra
- stable isotopes
- sulfur
- Sverdrup Basin
- Sverdrup Islands
- zinc ores
- White Glacier
- High Arctic large igneous province
Latitude & Longitude