Volcanic Stratigraphy, Geochronology, and Gold Deposits of the Archean Hope Bay Greenstone Belt, Nunavut, Canada

Sherlock, Ross; Shannon, Andrew; Hebel, Manfred; Lindsay, Darren; Madsen, Julianne K.; Sandeman, H A; Hrabi, Blair; Mortensen, James K.; Tosdal, Richard M.; Friedman, Richard M.

doi:10.2113/econgeo.107.5.991

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The Elu Basin rests unconformably on Archean rocks of the Slave Province of the Canadian Shield, including granitoid rocks and steeply folded meta‐sedimentary and mafic meta‐igneous rocks (Sherlock et al ., ). The basin fill, whose age is poorly constrained between 1·9 Ga to 1·6 Ga (Bowring & Grotzinger, ; Fig.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Architecture and morphodynamics of a 1·6 Ga fluvial sandstone: Ellice Formation of Elu Basin, Arctic Canada

Ielpi

Rainbird

2015

Sedimentology

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Precambrian fluvial deposits have been traditionally described as architecturally simple, forming shallow and wide braidplains with sheet-like geometry. The varied architecture and morphodynamics of the 1Á6 Ga Ellice Formation of Elu Basin, Nunavut, Canada, are examined from detailed studies of section and planform exposures along coastal platforms and stepped cliffs. The Ellice Formation overlies older Proterozoic sandstones and Archean crystalline rocks, recording sedimentation in fluvial, aeolian, coastal and nearshore-marine environments. The fluvial deposits display palaeoflow towards the west/north-west, while overlying shallow-marine deposits record transgression towards the east/south-east. The Ellice Formation displays dispersed palaeoflow at its base, and also at higher stratigraphic levels, where fluvial and aeolian deposits are associated. Elsewhere, mainly unimodal palaeoflow points to extensive low-sinuosity fluvial deposition. Within the terrestrial deposits, fluvial, fluvial-aeolian and coastal architectural elements are recognized. Fluvial elements comprise cross-bedded sandstone and minor conglomerate, exhibiting an overall fining-upward trend with associated decrease in preservation, dimension and amalgamation of channel bodies. These motifs are interpreted to portray a shift in depositional environment from proximal trunk rivers to distal alluvial plains. Low-sinuosity fluvial elements are the most common, and include major channel bodies, elongate side bars and mid-channel bars with well-developed scroll topography. High-sinuosity channel-bar complexes exhibit upbar-flow rotation and yield evidence of bar expansion coupled with rotation and translation. Fluvial-aeolian elements are composed of aeolian dunes juxtaposed with isolated channel bodies and bank-attached bars. Minor mixed fluvial-aeolian sheets record local deposition in unconfined settings (possibly floodbasins) or inter-distributary highlands. Finally, coastal elements comprise small deltaic complexes composed of sand-rich distributary-channel bodies feeding heterolithic mouth bars. Overall, the sedimentary record of the Ellice Formation demonstrates an example from the Precambrian where alluvium was locally characterized by a higher geomorphic variability than previously recognized.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Architecture and morphodynamics of a 1·6 Ga fluvial sandstone: Ellice Formation of Elu Basin, Arctic Canada

Ielpi

Rainbird

2015

Sedimentology

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“…North Caribou greenstone belt, the ~2.7 Ga Bearmore-Geraldton greenstone belt, the ~2.7-2.6 Ga Rankin Inlet greenstone belt (Goucerol et al, 2016), the ~2.7 Ga Hope Bay greenstone belt (Sherlock et al, 2012), and the ~2.62 Ga BIF from Damoti Lake and Back River (Haugaard et al, 2017a,b). Recently, important petrological and geochemical work was carried out on the Slave…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Iron formations: A global record of Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic environmental history

Konhauser

Planavsky

Hardisty

et al. 2017

Earth-Science Reviews

379

257

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“…Greenstone-belt rocks (map code Agb) consist of heterogeneous assemblages of mafic meta-volcanic and intrusive products, with intercalated clastic meta-sedimentary rocks (Figure 2(b)). Greenstone-belt rocks occur along structural trends that define the Hope Bay and Elu greenstone belts (Sherlock et al, 2012), which also host major deposits of gold. Palaeo-weathering profiles beneath Proterozoic basin strata on greenstone-belt rocks are poorly developed and do not yield significant amounts of radioactive nuclides.…”

Section: Archean Slave Provincementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greenstonebelt domains are constrained by regional tectonic boundaries, and internally characterized by intense, polyphase deformation that resulted in steep to recumbent isoclinal folding (Figure 2(b)). Fold structures are further dissected and juxtaposed by tectonic surfaces (Mvondo et al, 2012;Sherlock et al, 2012) that have not been reported on the map for the sake of graphical clarity.…”

Section: Structural Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The project aimed to fill one of the large existing gaps in the geological knowledge of northern Canada. Despite its remoteness, the region hosts one of the largest gold deposits in Canada (Sherlock et al, 2012), and promising anomalies of natural radioactivity are present, which are likely related to uranium mineralization. The scope of this work is to present a comprehensive geological map of Elu Inlet and Melville Sound, stemming from the results of the 2014-2015 field seasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geology of Elu Inlet and Melville Sound, Nunavut, Arctic Canada

et al. 2017

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We present the results of helicopter-and field-based geological mapping of Elu Inlet and Melville Sound, Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Arctic Canada. The area includes a ∼150 kmwide belt of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks that unconformably overlie the Archean Slave Province of the Canadian Shield and are cross-cut by Neoproterozoic mafic rocks and covered by early Palaeozoic deposits. This work introduces an updated sedimentologic, stratigraphic, and structural framework for the area and is corroborated by geophysical analysis of natural radioactivity. Three Proterozoic sedimentary sequences have been identified, spanning in age from ∼1.9 to ∼1.2 Ga, and including fluvial-aeolian sandstone and shallow-marine carbonate rocks. Mass-spectrometric analyses identified above-baseline concentrations of uranium along the unconformities underlying the two oldest Proterozoic sequences. Proterozoic deposits display weak deformation, related to syn-orogenic foreland and intracratonic-sag stages of the Kilohigok and Elu basins, respectively.

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Volcanic Stratigraphy, Geochronology, and Gold Deposits of the Archean Hope Bay Greenstone Belt, Nunavut, Canada

Cited by 12 publications

References 46 publications

Architecture and morphodynamics of a 1·6 Ga fluvial sandstone: Ellice Formation of Elu Basin, Arctic Canada

Architecture and morphodynamics of a 1·6 Ga fluvial sandstone: Ellice Formation of Elu Basin, Arctic Canada

Iron formations: A global record of Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic environmental history

Geology of Elu Inlet and Melville Sound, Nunavut, Arctic Canada

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