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The influence of complex intra- and extra-vent processes on facies characteristics of the Koala Kimberlite, NWT, Canada: volcanology, sedimentology and intrusive processes

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Abstract

The Koala kimberlite, Northwest Territories, Canada, is a small pipe-like body that was emplaced into the Archean Koala granodiorite batholith and the overlying Cretaceous to Tertiary sediments at ~53 Ma. Koala is predominantly in-filled by a series of six distinct clastic deposits, the lowermost of which has been intruded by a late stage coherent kimberlite body. The clastic facies are easily distinguished from each other by variations in texture, and in the abundance and distribution of the dominant components. From facies analysis, we infer that the pipe was initially partially filled by a massive, poorly sorted, matrix-supported, olivine-rich lapilli tuff formed from a collapsing eruption column during the waning stage of the pipe-forming eruption. This unit is overlain by a granodiorite cobble-boulder breccia and a massive, poorly sorted, mud-rich pebbly-sandstone. These deposits represent post-eruptive gravitational collapse of the unstable pipe walls and mass wasting of tephra forming the crater rim. The crater then filled with water within which ~20 m of non-kimberlitic, wood-rich, silty sand accumulated, representing up to 47,000 years of quiescence. The upper two units in the Koala pipe are both olivine rich and show distinct grain-size grading. These units are interpreted to have been deposited sub-aqueously, from pyroclastic flows sourced from one or more other kimberlite volcanoes. The uppermost units in the Koala pipe highlight the likelihood that some kimberlite pipes may be only partially filled by their own eruptive products at the cessation of volcanic activity, enabling them to act as depocentres for pyroclastic and sedimentary deposits from the surrounding volcanic landscape. Recognition of these exotic kimberlite deposits has implications for kimberlite eruption and emplacement processes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out as part of a PhD thesis sponsored by BHP Billiton, and we would like to thank Brock Reidell, Herman Grutter and Jon Carlson in particular for their continued support of the project. LP would like to thank CIBE for financial support. We would also like to thank Kelly Russell, Adrian Pittari, Pat Hayman and Jess Trofimovs for their helpful contributions to many kimberlite and volcanology discussions. This manuscript has benefitted greatly from reviews by Vern Manville, Richard Brown and one anonymous reviewer, and the editorial input of Jocelyn McPhie.

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  1. Lucy A. Porritt

    Present address: Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, The University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

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  1. School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia

    Lucy A. Porritt & Ray A. F. Cas

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Porritt, L.A., Cas, R.A.F. The influence of complex intra- and extra-vent processes on facies characteristics of the Koala Kimberlite, NWT, Canada: volcanology, sedimentology and intrusive processes. Bull Volcanol 73, 717–735 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-011-0452-5

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