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Targeting Ni-Cu mineralization in the Canadian High Arctic large igneous province: integrating geochemistry, magmatic architecture and structure

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Abstract

Mafic-ultramafic subvolcanic intrusive complexes, at the 1–10-km scale, constitute favorable environments for the formation of orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposits. Within 100–1000-km scale large igneous provinces (LIPs), the most favorable economic target areas may be difficult to identify using a traditional regional exploration approach. We report results of field and laboratory studies focused on an integrated geochemical-architectural model for the Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide potential of the High Arctic large igneous province (HALIP) of Canada, the largest and best-exposed portion of this circum-arctic LIP. Previous lithogeochemical studies of the Canadian HALIP (130–80 Ma) concluded that subalkaline mafic units located on Axel Heiberg Island were more prospective than younger, alkalic igneous rocks (alkaline basalts to basanites) exposed on northern Ellesmere Island. Mapping carried out for this study revealed the presence of abundant subalkaline igneous rocks on western Ellesmere Island. We interpret these units as an extension of the Schei Sills, a stratigraphically bound sequence of intrusions exposed along a ~ N-S belt on eastern Axel Heiberg Island. Samples from the Schei Sills and from the Middle Fiord Intrusive Complex (~ 20 km2, central Axel Heiberg Island) show Cu/Zr values above and below unity, consistent with complementary sulfide enrichment and removal, respectively, within these intrusive systems. The spatial association of the Schei Sills with the post-emplacement Eocene Stolz Thrust is noteworthy, as later thrusting associated with the Paleogene Eurekan Orogeny caused the uplift of deeper parts of the HALIP subvolcanic feeder system and associated wall-rock stratigraphy. Absolute Ir-group PGE contents are low throughout the HALIP; however, Pt-group PGE contents range widely among analyzed tholeiitic intrusive rocks. For example, relatively elevated Pt + Pd values of 10–30 ppb in samples from the Middle Fiord Intrusive Complex and the Schei Sills suggest heightened prospectivity in these two areas. In contrast, tholeiitic flood basalts in the Strand Fiord Formation and associated intrusions exposed in western Axel Heiberg Island (~ 95 Ma) exhibit Cu/Zr < 1 and low Pt + Pd contents (below 10 ppb). The ca. 120 Ma magmatic event associated with the Schei Sills and Middle Fiord Intrusive Complex appears to have generated magmas that are more prospective than those of the younger (ca. 95 Ma) magmatic pulse associated with the flood basalts of the Strand Fiord Formation. This work demonstrates that not all architectural elements of a LIP are equal in terms of metallogenic potential, and that nested zones of higher prospectivity can be identified through the integration of several geological constraints.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of the second phase of the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Geomapping for Energy and Minerals Program (GEM-2). Keith Dewing (GSC Calgary) provided managerial support, facilitated access to legacy rock collections in Calgary, and contributed tracings of intrusions highlighted in Fig. 2. Carol Evenchick (GSC Vancouver) participated in fieldwork with BMS and MCW at Expedition Fiord and Middle Fiord and provided samples from Ellef Rignes Island. Frances Deegan and Valentin Troll (Uppsala) contributed to fieldwork with JHB at Hare Fiord and eastern Axel Heiberg Island. Steve Grasby (GSC Calgary), Thomas Hadlari (GSC Calgary), and Laura Thomson (Queens U.) kindly collected selected samples during their field campaings. Cole Kingsbury (U. Pretoria) provided unpublished data. Katherine Venance (GSC) performed some of the microprobe analyses published herein at U. Ottawa. The Polar Continental Shelf Program diligently coordinated logistical support during the 2015 and 2016 field mapping campaigns, and we appreciated welcoming atmospheres from staff and colleagues at the McGill Arctic Research Station and the Eureka Weather Station. Constructive peer reviews by Peter Lightfoot and Michael Lesher, editorial handling by Bernd Lehmann, and comments on an earlier version of the manuscript by Ian Honsberger significantly improved the quality of this manuscript. The work represents part of BMS’s postdoctoral fellowship; contributions from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Visiting Fellowship (NSERC VF) as well as the NRCan Postdoctoral Research Program are acknowledged. BMS wishes to extend special thanks to Simon Jowitt (UNLV) for facilitating initial contact with researchers at the GSC. NRCan contribution number 20200796. 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des sciences de la Terre et de l’atmosphère, Université du Québec à Montréal, 201 av. du Président-Kennedy, Montréal, QC, H2X 3Y7, Canada

    Benoit M. Saumur

  2. Central Canada Division, Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth St, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E9, Canada

    Marie-Claude Williamson

  3. Québec Division, Geological Survey of Canada, 490 de la Couronne, Québec, QC, G1K 9A9, Canada

    Jean H. Bédard

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  1. Benoit M. Saumur
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Correspondence to Benoit M. Saumur.

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Supplementary information

Figure S1

Distribution and origin of samples for the dataset used in this work and present in the accompanying database. See Table 1 for further information. (PNG 2222 kb)

High-resolution image (TIF 141832 kb)

Figure S2

Map showing the positions of sections of Strand Fiord Formation measured in the Expedition Fiord area (modified after Saumur and Williamson 2016). See Tables 1 and S1 for further information on each sampling locality. (JPG 989 kb)

Table S1

Details on stratigraphic sections sampled in this work. Further details on the stratigraphic position of individual samples within sections is provided in the supplemental geochemical dataset. (XLSX 17 kb)

ESM 1

(XLSX 381 kb)

Appendix – Supplemental Information on Geochemical Dataset

Appendix – Supplemental Information on Geochemical Dataset

The dataset used and published in this paper is a subset of data published as a Geological Survey of Canada Open File (Bédard et al. 2020).

The spatial distribution of the subset of data utilized in this paper detailed in Figs. S1–S2 and Table 1; stratigraphic information for volcanic rocks sampled in cross sections of the Strand Fiord and Isachsen Formations is provided in Table S1 and in the metadata within the attached spreadsheet.

We used previously unpublished data acquired through between 2015 and 2017, as part of the GEM-2 Program of the Geological Survey of Canada. This includes 251 new HALIP samples collected between 2015 and 2016 and 156 rocks recovered from the archives of the Geological Survey of Canada and Dalhousie University in Halifax (Saumur 2015; Saumur et al. 2015b; Saumur and Williamson 2016). PGE analyses performed by Ernst and Buchan (2010) were also incorporated into the compilation.

Methods

Institut National de Recherche Scientifique – Eau, Terre et Environnement, Québec: Sample crushing, pulverization, alkali fusion, and analyses were performed at the laboratory facilities of the INRS Eau Terre Environnement (Québec City). Whole rock geochemistry was obtained by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Trace element data were obtained via inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Methods and accuracy for data generated at INRS-ETE are discussed in Beard et al. (2017).

GeoLabs, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Ontario Geological Survey, Sudbury: Geolabs data were generated using their research grade packages (www.mndm.gov.on.ca › default › files › 2018_geo_labs_brochure for methods and accuracy estimates). Majors were obtained by XRF and trace elements by ICP-MS. PGEs were generated utilizing the Ni-S fire assay method and analyses were by ICP-MS. We compared duplicate analyses of whole rock and trace elements generated at GeoLabs and INRS-ETE and found them essentially identical for the HALIP compositional range.

Reference materials: Reference materials used by INRS-ETE included WPR-1a (peridotite with rare earth and platinum group elements) and SY-4 (diorite gneiss), and two in-house standards. Two additional standards were analyzed at both labs: TDB-1 (diabase) and WGB-1 (gabbro). Values for these standards are available at http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/mining-materials/certified-reference-materials/8001

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Saumur, B.M., Williamson, MC. & Bédard, J.H. Targeting Ni-Cu mineralization in the Canadian High Arctic large igneous province: integrating geochemistry, magmatic architecture and structure. Miner Deposita 57, 207–233 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-021-01054-3

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