Nickel-copper sulfide ore deposits are found at the base of mafic and ultramafic bodies. All their host rocks, except the Sudbury Igneous Complex, are thought to be mantle derived melts. The Sudbury Igneous Complex is thought to be the product of complete melting of continental crust.
In the case of mantle-derived magmas, a high degree of partial melting of the mantle serves to enrich the
silicate magma in Ni and platinum group elements (PGE). This magma must then be transported to the crust
by an efficient process in order to reduce the possibility that Ni is removed from the magma by crystallization of olivine. Once the magma is emplaced into the crust, S from some source must be added to bring about saturation of the base metal sulfide liquid. An ideal site for all of these processes is where a mantle plume intersects a continental rift. The plume provides a large volume of magma, produced by a high degree of partial melting. The normal faults of the rift provide easy access to the crust so that the magma is transported efficiently.
In many cases rifts contain sedimentary rocks rich in S, thus providing an ideal source of S for sulfide
saturation. The heat from the plume can lead to melting of a large volume of rift sediments and release of S from the sediments to the Ni-PGE–rich primary magma. In the case of the Sudbury Igneous Complex, a very large volume of superheated magma formed by flash melting of the crust. This melting event was the result of the impact of shock waves from the explosion of a large meteor in the atmosphere.
In both the case of mantle-derived magma and the case of the Sudbury Igneous Complex, once sulfide liquid formed as suspended droplets in the silicate magma it must have interacted with a large volume of mafic magma in order to become enriched in Ni, Cu, and PGE in the sulfide. This enrichment occurred when the droplets were transported or when they were suspended in eddies. The magma from which the Sudbury Igneous Complex formed was superheated and base metal sulfide liquid formed at approximately 200°C above the magma liquidus. Thus the Sudbury sulfide liquid had more time to equilibrate with the silicate magma than
a sulfide droplet in a mantle-derived magma. This extra time and the huge volume of silicate magma in the melt sheet allowed the sulfide liquid to maximize the concentration of Ni, Cu, and PGE. The efficiency of the
metal collection step in the case of the Sudbury Igneous Complex counterbalanced the fact that this crustalderived
magma had lower Ni and PGE contents than most mantle-derived magmas.
The sulfide droplets collected at the base of intrusions and lava flows because they are denser than the silicate
magma. The largest concentrations are typically found in locations where there are changes in the geometry
of the contacts between intrusions or flows and the country rock. In some cases the accumulated sulfide
liquid fractionated to form an Fe-rich monosulfide solid-solution (mss) cumulate and a Cu-rich sulfide liquid
which later crystallized as an intermediate solid solution (iss). As a result of crystal fractionation of mss many Ni sulfide orebodies show a strong zonation with respect to Cu and PGE. During mss fractionation Os, Ir, Ru, and Rh concentrated in the mss cumulate and Cu, Pt, Pd, and Au concentrated in the Cu-rich sulfide liquid.
The partition coefficient for Ni into mss is close to 1; thus, mss fractionation would not have caused large variations in Ni concentrations. The silicate magma solidified at or above 1,000°C whereas the Cu-rich sulfide liquid solidified at ~900°C. Thus, at many localities the Cu-rich sulfide liquid appears to have migrated into dilatent spaces in the footwall or the hanging wall to form veins that extend into the country rock for up to 2 km.
At subsolidus temperatures a number of processes modify the orebodies. Both the mss and iss are not stable
below 600°C. As the sulfides cooled mss exsolved to form pyrrhotite and pentlandite (±pyrite), and iss exsolved
to form chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite (±cubanite, ±pyrite). Most of the PGE and chalcophile elements that originally partitioned into mss or iss are not readily accommodated in the structure of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite; therefore, they exsolve from the mss and iss at low temperature and form a wide variety
of platinum group minerals (PGM).
During deformation stress may focus in the structurally incompetent massive sulfide units, which are generally
located at the lower contact of the mafic or ultramafic host rock. In this situation the massive sulfides
may then be displaced relative to the host rocks. Finally, during greenschist to amphibolite metamorphism,
olivine is unstable and Ni released from the olivine will partition into disseminated sulfides, thereby upgrading
the sulfides

Formation of Magmatic Nickel Sulfide Deposits and Processes Affecting Their Copper and Platinum Group Element Contents

The mineral system approach applied to magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide deposits

Terrestrial impact melt rocks and glasses

The Sudbury structure, Ontario, is the remnant of a 1.85 Ga old impact crater, which originally had a diameter of 200 to 250 km. The Sudbury Igneous Complex occurs within the Sudbury structure. The Sudbury Igneous Complex is a 2.5- to 3.0-km-thick, ~60- × 27-km elliptical igneous-rock body, which consists of four major lithologies (from top to bottom) traditionally termed "granophyre," "quartz gabbro," "norite," and "contact sublayer" (sulfide- and inclusion-bearing noritic rock). With the exception of the latter, all these lithologies are continuous across the structure. Modal analyses reveal that, following the IUGS system of nomenclature, quartz gabbro samples are in fact quartz monzogabbros, a few of the norite samples are quartz gabbros, and most norite samples are quartz monzogabbros. In view of these observations, and in order to clarify the nomenclature, an updated terminology is proposed (from top to bottom): upper unit, middle unit, lower unit, and contact sublayer.

The bulk composition of the Sudbury Igneous Complex, from North Range data, is granodioritic. Continuous and gradational mineralogical and geochemical variations between the lithological units are evidence that the Complex behaved as a single melt system. All the Sudbury Igneous Complex lithologies have the same light to heavy rare earth element (REE) ratio and an overall pattern of increased light REE and depleted heavy REE. The occurrence of primary hydrous minerals (hornblende and biotite), deuteric alteration, and abundant micrographic and granophyric intergrowths demonstrate that the melt was rich in H2O. Moreover, the granophyric and other far-from-equilibrium textures are most likely due to rapid crystallization triggered by exsolution of a volatile phase.

The Sudbury Igneous Complex differs from traditional layered mafic complexes in the following aspects. It has an overall intermediate composition, a hydrous nature, a crustal isotopic signature, normative corundum, and an unusually large volume of granophyre. The Sudbury Complex differs from known terrestrial impact melt sheets only by its great thickness and the presence of chemical, and therefore, mineralogical layering. Reported here for the first time, and similar to those found in impact melt rocks elsewhere, are the occurrences of plagioclase xenocrysts with complex twinning and zoning patterns and planar deformation features in quartz xenocrysts. The well-known ore deposits of the Sudbury region are directly related to the genesis of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. Some ores precipitated from the Sudbury melt, whereas others were concentrated by hydrothermal fluids that percolated through the crystallized complex. It is concluded that the Sudbury Igneous Complex is the best exposed and only well-documented, to date, terrestrial impact melt sheet to have differentiated.

The Sudbury Igneous Complex: A Differentiated Impact Melt Sheet

The Sudbury Igneous Complex of Ontario, Canada, is the remnant of a voluminous melt sheet produced in a few minutes by impact of a massive meteorite into continental crust 1.85 Ga ago. The transient cavity and melting zone reached the Moho and instantly (∼2 min) relaxed to form a more familiar large, shallow crater holding a thick, superheated (∼1700 °C) melt sheet covered by ∼2 km of breccia. There is little about the resulting bimodal igneous complex that resembles crystallization of well-known sheet-like bodies of similar composition. Yet, the norite and granophyre exhibit a remarkable similarity in isotopic and trace element compositions, suggesting an intimate common parentage from the surrounding crust. This petrogenetic enigma is explained here as a natural, unavoidable consequence of the impact process in the rapid formation of a superheated magmatic emulsion, which we take as the high-temperature equivalent of breccia. A wide spectrum of viscously discrete, interdispersed parcels of mafic and felsic liquids, reflecting the compositional heterogeneity of the target crustal materials, formed the emulsion. Within days to months, the emulsion components separated according to their relative densities into a bimodal norite-granophyre assemblage that formed the basic structure of the present Sudbury Igneous Complex. There is clear evidence of this emulsion in the earliest dikes (i.e., offsets), which likely give the earliest state of the nascent melt sheet. Immediately following emulsion separation, the strongly superheated bimodal melt sheet underwent vigorous thermal convection in each layer. These convective motions homogenized and rapidly cooled the magma to the liquidus temperatures, whereupon convection ceased. The pattern of convection was pinned in place by the embayment topography of the crater floor, which in turn played a pivotal role in directing sulfide deposition into the embayments. All further cooling was by conduction of heat through the upper and lower boundaries during which time solidification fronts were established and propagated inward from the upper and lower margins. There is clear evidence of solidification from the floor upward and the roof downward. Minimal differentiation and compositional modification took place throughout cooling and solidification. Nevertheless, during the solidification stage, granitic rock fragments on the crater floor and rafts of fallback breccia from the thick overlying Onaping Formation became unstable and entered the melt sheet, and the partially melted remnants collected at the interface between the norite and granophyre. Some interstitial melt from the norite also percolated upward, and, altogether, the blocks and melt produced the distinctive chemical and physical characteristics of the unusual Transition Zone. The Sudbury melt sheet is, in essence, a full-scale magmatic experiment. The conditions of formation, relative to any other large terrestrial magma, are “precisely” known. Thus the clear lack of any significant modal layering, the overall homogeneous nature of each unit, and the lack of any significant chemical differentiation through crystal fractionation establish Sudbury as a valuable example of what does not happen under the initial conditions long assumed to prevail at the formation of most large magma chambers.

The Sudbury Igneous Complex : Viscous emulsion differentiation of a superheated impact melt sheet

Petrological models relating the different rock types constituting the 1.85 Ga Sudbury Igneous Complex are constrained with extensive new geochemical data. We show that the main mass felsic norite, transition zone quartz gabbro, and granophyre have similar ratios of the highly incompatible trace elements (e.g., La/Sm = 4.5-7, La/Nb = 2.8-4.2, Th/Zr = 0.04-0.05) and that these variations are consistent with the crystallization and differentiation of magma types largely (>80%) derived from the upper crust, with a smaller contribution from a mantle source. Although there is presently no conclusive proof that magma was generated in situ as a melt sheet produced by meteorite impact, we find no principal reason why this model should be rejected. However, we propose that a small contribution of mantle-derived picritic magma is required to explain the abundant Ni, Cu, and platinum-group elements (PGE) in the Sudbury deposits, as well as the compositions of the ultramafic inclusions (MgO = 12-36 wt %; Fo (sub 68-87) olivines with 450-3,700 ppm Ni, and abundant chrome-rich spinel), and the magnesian composition of the mafic norite (8-14 wt % MgO) and the sublayer (6-12 wt % MgO). We believe that the main mass of the Sudbury Complex achieved its present composition through incorporation of up to 20 percent mantle-derived picritic magma emplaced along crustal fractures produced by the impact event. These picritic magmas entered the melt sheet as a dense plume, vigorously mixing with it, and due to the marked compositional shift, the mixed magma formed magmatic sulfides which sank through the magma column, depleting the melt in Ni, Cu, and PGE. Since both the felsic norite and granophyre have indistinguishable ratios of the incompatible trace elements, we see no requirement to derive these units of rock by the crystallization of magmas derived from different sources. Rather, the compositional difference between the felsic norite and granophyre is attributed to the in situ differentiation of the magma. We show that the main mass has many compositional traits similar to those of most of the offset dike quartz diorites (e.g., the Parkin offset dike: La/Sm = 6.3, La/Nb = 4.5; Th/Zr = 0.05) and of embayment-related leucocratic norites from the Whistle mine (La/Sm = 6.2, La/Nb = 5.0, Th/Zr = 0.02). These rocks have compositions intermediate between the felsic norite and the granophyre, and therefore crystallized from the same magma type; arguably, the unmineralized quartz diorites provide the best possible estimate of the original magma from which the Sudbury Complex crystallized. In detail, there are subtle variations in composition within and between offset dikes, with the largest difference being between the North and South Range offsets; the North Range offset dikes cut Archean granitoids and gneisses and have elevated Sr, La/Yb, La/Sm, and Gd/Yb and low TiO 2 whereas the South Range dikes cut Early Proterozoic sediments, mafic volcanics, and intrusions, and have low Sr, La/Yb, Gd/Yb, La/Sm, and high TiO 2 . These differences may be caused by the assimilation of different country rocks during emplacement of the dike. A strongly mineralized offset dike at the Creighton mine has geochemical variations that are different when compared to the main mass, and in the case of Creighton, are more similar to the local mineralized sublayer. These data suggest that mineralized and barren quartz diorites have different geochemical compositions, and that these traits may be of value in mineral exploration.

Geochemical relationships in the Sudbury igneous complex; origin of the main mass and offset dikes

More than half of the giant Ni-Cu-platinum-group element (PGE) sulfide ores of the Sudbury Igneous Complex are associated with a discontinuous unit at the base of the main mass known as the "sublayer." The sublayer is comprised of two fragment-rich members: (1) a metamorphic-textured footwall breccia, and (2) an igneous-textured contact sublayer. The contact sublayer occurs as a thick unit in depressions at the base of the Sudbury Igneous Complex termed "embayments"; it is associated with disseminated to massive sulfides and contains a range of inclusion types such as diabase, melanorite, olivine melanorite, metamorphosed melanorite, wehrlite, and dunite. We present data for a case study of the Whistle mine embayment and show that the igneous-textured sublayer matrix is geochemically unlike the main mass norites, quartz gabbros, and granophyres. For example, the igneous-textured sublayer matrix in the Whistle mine has La/Sm = 4.0, La/ Nb = 5.1, and Th/Zr = 0.02, and the main mass norites, quartz gabbros, and granophyres have ratios of 5.5 to 7, 2.8 to 4.2, and 0.04 to 0.05, respectively. This matrix contains partially digested hornfels diabase fragments and ghost textures of magnetite remaining from the melting of diabase. The igneous-textured sublayer matrix at the Whistle mine can be modeled with small amounts of assimilation of local country-rock granitoids ( approximately 10%), large degrees of assimilation of diabase that are not derived from the immediate country rocks ( approximately 70%), and small contributions from the main mass magma type ( approximately 20% mafic norite). The amount of diabase assimilation would be too large for traditional assimilation models controlled by the available heat of the mafic magma; even with a superheated magma, 70 percent assimilation is too large. A model is proposed where the melting of the target rocks initially produces a felsic melt sheet which is laden with mafic fragments. These fragments sink to the base of the melt sheet in the crater and are concentrated and further melted to produce the mafic sublayer. There are significant differences in the composition of the igneous-textured sublayer matrix between different embayments which may reflect differing degrees of digestion of compositionally different protolith fragments. The melanorite inclusions in the sublayer at the Whistle mine have ratios of the incompatible trace elements essentially similar to those of the inclusions in the igneous-textured sublayer matrix, but they have similar high incompatible element concentrations (e.g., olivine melanorites have 20-65 ppm Ce in rocks with 15-21 wt % MgO), 1 to 10 percent interstitial sulfide, up to 0.5 percent apatite, 1 to 15 percent biotite, and 1.85 Ga age zircon and baddeleyite. The mafic-ultramafic inclusions are interpreted to be the broken-up remnants of an earlier cumulate formed at depth from a main mass magma; this parental magma has compositional traits which suggest that crystal accumulation took place from a magma which contains a large contribution from the diabase. Olivine compositional data for the mafic inclusions (Fo (sub 71-79) ; 500-3,800 ppm Ni), in the absence of reequilibration, indicate that olivine crystallization both predated and postdated sulfur saturation of the magma. Cr-rich spinels from these rocks confirm that the parental magma was especially Cr rich, and based on the olivine compositional data, had a tholeiitic Mg/Fe ratio.

Geologic and geochemical relationships between the contact sublayer, inclusions, and the main mass of the Sudbury Igneous Complex; a case study of the Whistle Mine Embayment

Andy Bite

Papers

Geochemical relationships in the Sudbury igneous complex; origin of the main mass and offset dikes

Geologic and geochemical relationships between the contact sublayer, inclusions, and the main mass of the Sudbury Igneous Complex; a case study of the Whistle Mine Embayment