Age and Origin of Silicocarbonate Pegmatites of the Adirondack Region

TitleAge and Origin of Silicocarbonate Pegmatites of the Adirondack Region
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsChiarenzelli, J, Lupulescu, MV, Robinson, G, Bailey, D, Singer, J
JournalMinerals
Volume9
Issue9
Pagination508
KeywordsAdirondack Mountains, calc–silicate minerals, Carthage-Colton shear zone, exhumation, Grenville Province, Ottawan Orogeny, silicocarbonate, skarns, U–Pb zircon geochronology, vein-dykes
Abstract
Silicocarbonate pegmatites from the southern Grenville Province have provided exceptionally large crystal specimens for more than a century. Their mineral parageneses include euhedral calc–silicate minerals such as amphibole, clinopyroxene, and scapolite within a calcite matrix. Crystals can reach a meter or more in long dimension. Minor and locally abundant phases reflect local bedrock compositions and include albite, apatite, perthitic microcline, phlogopite, zircon, tourmaline, titanite, danburite, uraninite, sulfides, and many other minerals. Across the Adirondack Region, individual exposures are of limited aerial extent (<10,000 m2), crosscut metasedimentary rocks, especially calc–silicate gneisses and marbles, are undeformed and are spatially and temporally associated with granitic pegmatites. Zircon U–Pb results include both Shawinigan (circa 1165 Ma) and Ottawan (circa 1050 Ma) intrusion ages, separated by the Carthage-Colton shear zone. Those of Shawinigan age (Lowlands) correspond with the timing of voluminous A-type granitic magmatism, whereas Ottawan ages (Highlands) are temporally related to orogenic collapse, voluminous leucogranite and granitic pegmatite intrusion, iron and garnet ore development, and pervasive localized hydrothermal alteration. Inherited zircon, where present, reflects the broad range of igneous and detrital ages of surrounding rocks. Carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios from calcite plot within a restricted field away from igneous carbonatite values to those of typical sedimentary carbonates and local marbles. Collectively, these exposures represent a continuum between vein-dyke and skarn occurrences involving the anatexis of metasedimentary country rocks. Those of Ottawan age can be tied to movement and fluid flow along structures accommodating orogenic collapse, particularly the Carthage-Colton shear zone.
URLhttps://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/9/9/508
DOI10.3390/min9090508
Short TitleMinerals