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

Geochemical Systematics of High Arctic Large Igneous Province Continental Tholeiites from Canada—Evidence for Progressive Crustal Contamination in the Plumbing System

“…S1), but Type x rocks only occur along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island (Fig. S1d) and are spatially associated with HALIP alkaline rocks (Estrada et al, 2016Naber et al, 2021;Bédard et al, 2021), to which they show many resemblances (Figs S8, S9).…”

“…Age data on dykes and sills and stratigraphic constraints show that intermittent basaltic magmatism spanned the apparent gap in volcanism, however, implying the area was continuously magmatically active for about 50 myr (Estrada & Henjes-Kunst, 2013;Evenchick et al, 2015;Dockman et al, 2018;Naber et al, 2021). Small volumes of transitionalalkaline to alkaline HALIP lavas and intrusions of the Hassel Formation and Fulmar Suite are coeval with the Strand Fiord Formation (Osadetz & Moore, 1988;Estrada, 2015;Bédard et al, 2021). Younger, more strongly alkaline lavas and associated intrusions of the Audhild Bay Suite (ABS, previously referred to as the Hansen Point Volcanics: Naber et al, 2021), were emplaced along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, and alkaline magmatism continued until ~80 Ma (Trettin & Parrish, 1987;Dewing & Embry, 2007;Tegner et al, 2011;Estrada & Henjes-Kunst, 2013;Dockman et al, 2018).…”

“…Younger, more strongly alkaline lavas and associated intrusions of the Audhild Bay Suite (ABS, previously referred to as the Hansen Point Volcanics: Naber et al, 2021), were emplaced along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, and alkaline magmatism continued until ~80 Ma (Trettin & Parrish, 1987;Dewing & Embry, 2007;Tegner et al, 2011;Estrada & Henjes-Kunst, 2013;Dockman et al, 2018). Alkaline HALIP magmatism is dicussed more extensively in the companion paper (Bédard et al, 2021). Post-HALIP horizontal shortening of Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata related to the Eurekan Orogeny began in earliest Paleocene (Thorsteinsson & Tozer 1970;Piepjohn et al, 2007Piepjohn et al, , 2016Piepjohn & von Gose, 2018;Ruppel et al, 2018).…”

“…Of the new data, 93 analyses are provided as a spreadsheet in the supplementary content, together with details about analytical procedures (E-Appendices 1 and 2). Additional new data (235 analyses) considered here are in Saumur et al (2021). Representative analyses are in Table 1.…”

“…Older and younger pulses of HALIP mafic tholeiitic lavas are both dominated by low-MgO (<7 wt%) basalt with sparse plagioclase + clinopyroxene ± olivine phenocrysts (Dostal & MacRae, 2018;Dockman et al, 2018;Naber et al, 2021). Swarms of compositionally similar basaltic sills and dykes are associated with the Strand Fiord and Isachsen Formation volcanism (Saumur et al, , 2021, and some are interpreted as sub-volcanic feeders. These intrusions are typically fine to medium-grained, sparsely plagioclase + clinopyroxene ± olivine-phyric dolerite.…”