TY - JOUR

T1 - Hydrothermal flake graphite mineralisation in Paleoproterozoic rocks of south-east Greenland

AU - Rosing-Schow, Nanna

AU - Bagas, Leon

AU - Kolb, Jochen

AU - Balic Zunic, Tonci

AU - Korte, Christoph

AU - Fiorentini, Marco

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - Flake graphite mineralisation is hosted in the Kuummiut Terrane of the Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian Orogen, south-east Greenland. Eclogite-facies peak-metamorphic assemblages record temperatures of 640–830 °C and pressures of 22–25 kbar, and are retrogressed in the high-pressure amphibolite-facies during ca. 1870–1820 Ma. Graphite occurs as lenses along cleavage planes in breccia and as garnet-quartzgraphite veins in various metamorphic host rocks in the Tasiilaq area at Auppaluttoq, Kangikajik, and Nuuk-Ilinnera. Graphite contents reach >30 vol% in 0.2–4 × 20mwide semimassive mineralisation (Auppaluttoq, Kangikajik). Supergene alteration formed 1- to 2-m-thick and up to a 2.5 × 2.5 km wide loose limonitic gravel containing graphite flakes in places. The flake size ranges from 1 to6mm in diameter with an average of ~3 mm. Liberation efficiency is at minimum 60%. Hydrothermal fluids at ~600 °C, transporting carbon as CO2 and CH4, formed the mineralisation commonly hosted by shear zones, which acted as pathways for the mineralising fluids. The hydrothermal alteration assemblage is quartz-biotite-gruneriteedenite-pargasite-K-feldspar-titanite. The δ13C values of graphite, varying from −30 to −18‰ PDB, indicate that the carbon was derived from organic matter most likely from metasedimentary sources. Devolatilisation of marble may have contributed a minor amount of carbon by fluid mixing. Precipitation of graphite involved retrograde hydration reactions, depleting the fluid in H2O and causing graphite saturation. Although the high-grade mineralisation is small, it represents an excellent example of hydrothermal mineralisation in an eclogite-facies terrane during retrograde exhumation.

AB - Flake graphite mineralisation is hosted in the Kuummiut Terrane of the Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian Orogen, south-east Greenland. Eclogite-facies peak-metamorphic assemblages record temperatures of 640–830 °C and pressures of 22–25 kbar, and are retrogressed in the high-pressure amphibolite-facies during ca. 1870–1820 Ma. Graphite occurs as lenses along cleavage planes in breccia and as garnet-quartzgraphite veins in various metamorphic host rocks in the Tasiilaq area at Auppaluttoq, Kangikajik, and Nuuk-Ilinnera. Graphite contents reach >30 vol% in 0.2–4 × 20mwide semimassive mineralisation (Auppaluttoq, Kangikajik). Supergene alteration formed 1- to 2-m-thick and up to a 2.5 × 2.5 km wide loose limonitic gravel containing graphite flakes in places. The flake size ranges from 1 to6mm in diameter with an average of ~3 mm. Liberation efficiency is at minimum 60%. Hydrothermal fluids at ~600 °C, transporting carbon as CO2 and CH4, formed the mineralisation commonly hosted by shear zones, which acted as pathways for the mineralising fluids. The hydrothermal alteration assemblage is quartz-biotite-gruneriteedenite-pargasite-K-feldspar-titanite. The δ13C values of graphite, varying from −30 to −18‰ PDB, indicate that the carbon was derived from organic matter most likely from metasedimentary sources. Devolatilisation of marble may have contributed a minor amount of carbon by fluid mixing. Precipitation of graphite involved retrograde hydration reactions, depleting the fluid in H2O and causing graphite saturation. Although the high-grade mineralisation is small, it represents an excellent example of hydrothermal mineralisation in an eclogite-facies terrane during retrograde exhumation.

U2 - 10.1007/s00126-016-0701-9

DO - 10.1007/s00126-016-0701-9

M3 - Journal article

VL - 52

SP - 769

EP - 789

JO - Mineralium Deposita

JF - Mineralium Deposita

SN - 0026-4598

IS - 5

ER -