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The origin and evolution of V-rich, magnetite dominated Fe-Ti oxide mineralization; Northwest River Anorthosite, south-central Labrador, Canada

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Abstract

Zones of massive to semi-massive Fe-Ti oxide mineralization are present in the Northwest River Anorthosite, a ca. 1625-Ma Paleoproterozoic massif-type anorthosite located in the Grenville Province of south-central Labrador. The oxide mineralization is predominantly composed of coarse to very-coarse grained V-rich magnetite with less abundant coarse granular ilmenite and pleonaste that formed by exsolution from the primary, chemically impure magnetite; all observed oxide minerals have complex and abundant subsolidus reequilibration and exsolution textures. Using petrography, oxide mineral chemistry, whole-rock geochemistry, and oxide-anorthosite field relationships, a three-process model is proposed for the formation of the oxide mineralization: (1) late-stage magmatic crystallization of impure magnetite; (2) concentration of Fe-Ti oxides via solid-state remobilization; and (3) reequilibration during subsequent post-emplacement cooling and Grenvillian metamorphism. These subsolidus processes significantly modified the primary magmatic composition of the magnetite through exsolution and reequilibration. Results from in-situ magnetite EPMA and LA-ICPMS analyses were plotted on magnetite mineral chemical discrimination diagrams. The data display a wide spread and typically do not plot exclusively in the expected anorthosite-hosted Fe-Ti-V magnetite fields. This is most likely due to modification of magnetite chemistry during subsolidus cooling and reequilibration. As such, care must be taken when using magnetite discrimination diagrams for Fe-Ti-V deposits given the complex petrogenetic histories that magnetite within these types of deposits experience.

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Acknowledgements

Tom Benoit and Craig Coady of Ferrum Resources are thanked for providing permission to undertake this study on the Cape Caribou, Labrador property and for field and logistics assistance. Andy Kerr and James Conliffe are thanked for their support, encouragement, and advice during the project. Danny Savard and Brian Joy are thanked for assistance with in-situ LA-ICPMS and EPMA analyses, respectively. Lastly, thanks to Editor Bernd Lehmann, Associate Editor Wolfgang Meier, and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments that greatly improved this manuscript.

Funding

This project is supported by funds from the Ignite R&D Program of the Research and Development Corporation (RDC) of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and Innovation, Business, and Rural Development (IBRD) to M.L.D. Fonkwe. Travel for the second field season was funded by the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP). SJP’s research is funded by an NSERC Discovery Grant, and this study was also supported by the NSERC-Altius Industrial Research Chair in Mineral Deposits funded by NSERC, Altius Resources Inc., and RDC.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X5, Canada

    Anthony A. Valvasori, John M. Hanchar & Stephen J. Piercey

  2. Labrador Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, P.O. Box 490, Station B, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL, A0P 1E0, Canada

    Merline L. D. Fonkwe

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  1. Anthony A. Valvasori
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Correspondence to John M. Hanchar.

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Valvasori, A.A., Hanchar, J.M., Piercey, S.J. et al. The origin and evolution of V-rich, magnetite dominated Fe-Ti oxide mineralization; Northwest River Anorthosite, south-central Labrador, Canada. Miner Deposita 55, 555–575 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-019-00892-6

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