Summary
40Ar/39Ar age spectra of mica separates from sulphide-bearing veins and associated metasedimentary whole-rock samples in the Olary Block, South Australia, indicate widespread emplacement of epigenetic mineralisation in Willyama Supergroup metasediments between 450 and 480 Ma, during the Delamerian Orogeny. This age range complements petrographic, structural and geochemical studies, which indicate that periodic tectonic disturbances occurred in the Olary Block since the Mid-Proterozoic, triggering the intermittent development of hydrothermal fluid circulation and infiltration into reactivated faults and shear zones over time scales of more than 1000 Ma.
Vein emplacement did not result in extensive outgassing of argon from Mid-Proterozoic potassic minerals, as long as alteration of the psammopelitic host rock was restricted to the immediate contact of the vein. The release patterns of whole-rock samples illustrate that loss of40*Ar in these assemblages is a function of the degree of metasomatism. Resetting of the K-Ar system occurred only in host rock assemblages that experienced strong pervasive alteration. The good retention properties of the host rock assemblages and the lack of a pervasive thermal pulse allow us to see ‘through’ the Delamerian events. A positive correlation between increasing apparent ages and distance from the vein contact in less altered samples strongly support the view that the epigenetic alterations assemblages record actual vein emplacement ages.
Zusammenfassung
40Ar/39Ar Altersspektra von Glimmer-Separaten aus sulfidführenden Gängen und assoziiertem Nebengesteins-Proben im Proterozoischen Olary Block, Süd-Australien, weisen auf die weitverbreitete Entstehung von Gangvererzungen zwischen 450 und 480 Ma in den Metasedimenten der Willyama Supergroup hin. Diese Gangmineralisationen stehen somit im Zusammenhang mit der Delamerian Orogenese. Die Entstehungsalter unterstützen petrographische, strukturelle und geochemische Untersuchungen, wonach periodische tektonische Aktivität im Olary Block seit dem Mittleren Proterozoikum auftrat. Dies führte zu der wiederholten Bildung und Zirkulation von hydrothermalen Lösungen sowie deren Infiltration in re-aktivierte Störungen und Scherzonen über einen Zeitraum von mehr als 1000 Ma.
Die Entstehung der Gangvererzungen bewirkte keinen signifikanten Verlust von Argon aus Mittel-Proterozoischen, Kalium-reichen Mineralen, solange die hydrothermale Alteration im Nebengestein auf den unmittelbaren Kontakt zur Gangvererzung beschränkt blieb. Die Gasspektren der Nebengesteins-Proben zeigen deutlich, daß Verlust von radiogenem Argon in diesen Gesteinen vom Grad der hydrothermalen Alteration abhängig ist. Neueinstellung des K-Ar Systems geschah nur im Fall von extremer, durchdringender hydrothermaler Alteration des Nebengesteins. Die40Ar/39Ar Analysen der Nebengesteins-Proben ermöglichen somit in Abwesenheit eines durchdringenden thermalen Pulses Alterbestimmungen über die Ereignisse der Delamerian Gebirgsbildung hinaus. Die positive Korrelation zwischen zunehmenden Ar/Ar Altern der Nebengesteine und deren Abstand vom Kontakt zu den Gangvererzungen in schwach alterierten Proben unterstützt die Ansicht, daß die epigenetischen Alterierungsparagenesen tatsächliche Vererzungsalter repräsentieren.
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Bierlein, F.P., Foster, D.A. & Plimer, I.R. Tectonothermal implications of laser40Ar/39Ar ages of sulphide-bearing veins and their host rocks in the Willyama Supergroup, South Australia. Mineralogy and Petrology 58, 1–22 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01165760
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01165760