the study interpreted depositional environments from sedimentological data present in metasedimentary rocks of the neoarchean shebandowan group of the wawa subprovince .  outcrops in the study area contained sedimentary structures and bed sequences consistent with shallow water, coastal sedimentation, and represents an important record of archean depositional processes.  three depositional environments are represented in the rock record; tidal strandline, the shoreface, and the offshore.  the tidal strandline was further divided into the tidal flat channel sub-environments.  the presence of these three environments provides unequivocal evidence for the existence of shallow-water shelves in the archean; a period during which sedimentation was dominated by deposition in alluvial fan, fluvial environments and deep water settings.

the three environments and associated sub-environments record processes reflective of differing current activity which controlled and influenced deposition.  the tidal environment was dominated by bidirectional tidal currents.  deposition in the shoreface was predominated by unidirectional wave-produced currents which overprinted prevailing tidal current activity.  in the distal portions of the shoreface environment through deposition was once again controlled by tidal currents.  in the offshore, deposition was controlled by storm currents which generated distinctive beds of hummocky cross-stratification.

the tidal environment is composed of many sedimentary structures similar to those present in phanerozoic and present-day tidal sequences.  in the tidal flat sub-environment, vertical sequences of flaser, lenticular, wavy and coarsely interlayered bedding reflect current velocity fluctuations intimately tied to spring - neap tidal cycles.  the tidal channel sub-environment lacks many of the features characteristic of tidal channels described in the literature; such an extensive point bar development.  in stead the tidal channels of the study area appear to represent sequences deposited in relatively straight channels.

migration of sandwaves and dune fields deposited the cross-stratified lithofacies of the shoreface environment.  similar to a high-energy non-barred coastline, the proximal portion of the shoreface lacks any evidence of beach development.  instead, the shoreface records a rapid and discontinuous transition from the tidal strandline environment.

hummocky cross-stratification (hcs), parallel laminated and massive sandstone beds as well as siltstone and mudstone beds typify the offshore environment.  the hcs differs greatly in thickness and internal structure from hcs described in the literature.  the hcs in the study area reflects restricted and/or variable sediment supply and flow conditions.

a paleotidal range was determined from the sediments of the tidal environment.  the range indicated a mesotidal environment and is comparable to precambrian tidal ranges reported in literature.  tidal rhythmites, present on the tidal flats, suggest a length of 26 days for the neoarchean lunar month.  currents which deposited the tidal rhythmites produced both sedmidiurnal and diurnal sediment sequences.  

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

this study investigates the tausonite-loparite solid solution series.  members of this series are important in some alkaline complexes, thus making studies of their crystallography essential.  rietveld refinement of the crystal structures of the tausonite-loparite solution series, using x-ray diffraction powder patterns, indicates that there is a reduction in symmetry from cubic (pm3m) to orthorhombic (pnma), by way of an intermediate tetragonal (p4/mbm) modification.  the symmetry changes appear to occur at about ~66.6 and ~33.3 wt% tausonite, which are consistent with formulae of approximately sr₂(nala)ti₃o₉ and sr(nala)₂ti₃o₉, respectively.  the pseudo-cubic cell parameter a_pdecreases with increasing loparite content, while the [111] tilt angle f (f=0 in pm3m) on inception at 50 wt% loparite achieves a maximum and decreases thereafter with increasing loparite content.  rietveld refinements indicate that no ordering at the a-site exists throughout the solid solution series. 

this study also investigates a titanium perovskite (na_2/3th_1/3tio₃), which is unusual in that it contains a tetravalent cation at the a-site.  this thorium titanium perovskite was synthesized in an attempt to determine its structure.  although power diffractometry suggests an fm3m space-group, attempts at rietveld refinement of the structure show the actual space-group must be of reduced symmetry.

this study also provides data on the pseudo-binary system between hollandite (k₂cr₂ti₆o₁₆) and the n=3 member of the homologous series k₂la₂ti_3+no_10-2n, i.e., k₂la₂ti₆o₁₆.  this series is important in understanding the location and environment of the rare-earth cations in natural hollandite specimens and the capability of hollandite (i.e., synrock) to immobilize large elements of varying charge and size.  this pseudo-binary system is characterized by the presence of the following phases:  hollandite [k_1.54(cr_1.43ti_6.52)_7.95o₁₆];  perovskite-2 (lacro₃); and perovskite-3 (la₂ti₂o₇).  complete solid-solution between the end-members of this system does not occur.  the hollandites (space-group 14/m) have an a-site occupancy of approximately 75-82%, and exhibit no significant substitution of la³⁺ at any of the cation sites.  perovskite-1 is considered to be a non-stoichiometric a-site deficient perovskite.  potassium hexatitanate is the only main phase that is stoichiometric and contains no substitution of cr³⁺ in any of the cation sites.  all the cr³⁺ excluded from the potassium hexatitanate structure is incorporated into perovskite-2.

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

the archean lac des iles complex is a mafic to ultramafic intrusion emplaced into gneissic tonalite.  the lac des iles complex is the largest of several mafic to ultramafic intrusions that form a circular outcrop pattern approximately 30 kilometers in diameter.  the lac des iles complex is composed of two ultramafic intrusions exposed at lac des iles and a gabbroic intrusion located south of the lake.  the gabbroic rocks contain the economically significant roby zone pge-au-cu-ni deposit.

the roby zone deposit is composed of two texturally- and compositionally-distinct portions.  the northern portion of the deposit is composed of a relatively unaltered layered gabbroic sequence consisting of leucogabbro, gabbroonorite, gabbro and clinopyroxenite.  field data, including the orientation and type of geologic contacts, indicate that the layers represent an intrusion of magma into a largely crystallized mush.  in-situ fractionation was identified within individual layers.  the southern portion of the roby zone consists of a lithologically and texturally complex unit containing numerous rounded and angular fragments varying in composition from leucogabbroic to pyroxenitic and grain size ranging from medium-grained to pegmatitic.  these rocks have experienced pervasive deuteric alteration that modified the original magmatic textures and compositions.  numerous pegmatitic dikes and patches occur throughout the heterolithic gabbro.

pge-au-cu-ni mineralization within the northern layered sequence often forms net-textured sulphides and represents primary magmatic mineralization.  within the heterolithic gabbro, pges occur as primarily sulphides and tellurides.  these pge minerals occur as blebs within pegmatitic pods and as fine-grained inclusions and streaks within secondary silicates suggesting that deuteric fluids have concentrated and deposited the metals within the heterolithic gabbro.  within the southern portion of the roby zone, higher pge concentrations are associated with altered areas.

the model for the development of the roby zone and its attendant pge-au-cu-ni mineralization consists of  1) fractionation of tholeiitic magma in lower magma chamber and exsolution of immiscible sulphide liquid with associated pge-au-cu-ni,  2) intrusion of fractionated magma into roby zone and subsequent in-situ fractionation,  3) prior to complete solidification of the layers, a volatile-rich gabbroic magma injected the roby zone resulting in brecciation of the layered sequence and formation of the heterolithic gabbro composed of rounded and angular fragments within a gabbroic matrix,  4) partially solidified rounded fragments and partial melting of some of the remaining fragments by the gabbroic magma triggered liquid immiscibility,  5) deteuric fluids percolated through the fragmented gabbroic rocks modifying the original magmatic textures and compositions and concentrated and redoposited metals within the heterolithic gabbro.  subsequent regional deformation tilted the roby zone to the east and shearing occurred within a portion of the clinopyroxenite.  late-stage local faulting and hydrothermal fluids further modified the original magmatic textures, compositions and pge-au-cu-ni mineralization.

a copy of the thesis abstract can be downloaded here

the finlayson and lumby lake greenstone belts are located approximately 200km west of thunder bay, ontario, north of atikokan, ontario.

within both the finlayson lake and lumby lake greenstone belts two distinct sequences of sedimentary rocks are present.  each of the belts contains an upper and a lower sedimentary rock sequence which differ in age and chemical composition.

the lower sequence of the finlayson lake greenstone belt is represented by the little falls lake metasedimentary rocks and the laterally equivalent lower finlayson lake metasedimentary rocks.  these rocks consist of coarse-grained sandstones, conglomerates, and lesser interbedded mafic detritus-rich metasedimentary rocks and are laterally continuous with felsic volcanic rocks to the south.  deposition of these sedimentary rocks was by high-density turbidity current processes.  their chemical composition is distinct from that of the upper finlayson lake metasedimentary rocks and suggest a single felsic volcanic source with composition similar to that of the steep rock upper felsic unit and the old tonalite unit.  u-pb geochronology again supports a single source rock, with an age of 2996 ± 0.8 ma.

the upper band of finlayson lake sedimentary rocks are distinct from the sedimentary rocks present in the little falls lake area and lower finlayson lake areas.  their chemical composition suggests that the upper finlayson lake sedimentary rocks are similar and were continuous with, although fault offset from, the upper lumby lake sedimentary rocks (fenwick, 1976; stone and pufahl, 1995).  u-pb data from conglomerate in the southern finlayson lake area yield zircon ages ranging from 2997 ± 2.5 to 3002 ± 0.9 ma.  sm-nd data suggest that the basin received detritus derived from tonalitic intrusions as well as a slightly older mafic volcanic component.  these data agree with geochemical data which suggest that the composition of the upper finlayson lake sedimentary rocks lies on a mixing line between the old tonalite and the steep rock upper mafic unit or the finlayson lake mafic volcanic rocks.

a well developed coarsening upward sequence is preserved within the upper finlayson lake sedimentary rocks.  the sequence consists of iron formation and chemical sedimentary rocks at the base, overlain by de turbidites, which coarsen to pebbly sandstones and conglomerates near the top of the sequence.  there is also some lateral facies variation with coarsest-grained metasedimentary rocks exposed in the southern part of finlayson lake.  these rocks are consistent with deposition from both high- and low-density turbidity currents and were likely deposited by a prograding delta system that was centered south of the area.

as in the finlayson lake belt, the lumby lake belt also contains two stratigraphically distinct sedimentary units.  the lower sedimentary unit is represented by the sedimentary rocks present within the hock lake area, whereas the upper sedimentary unit is represented by the sedimentary rocks near norway lake and west to the keewatin-hematite lakes area.

the lower lumby lake sediments are laterally continuous with 2999 ma old felsic volcanic rocks to the east (jackson, 1985) and are the resedimented equivalent of them.  their chemical composition is similar to that of the little falls lake sedimentary rocks, and a chemically similar source is suggested.

the upper lumby lake sedimentary rock sequence is similar to the upper finlayson lake sequence and is the fault offset equivalent (fenwick, 1976; stone and pufhal, 1995).  the chemical composition of the sedimentary rocks suggests that the upper lumby lake sedimentary rocks had source rocks of the same composition as the source of the upper finlayson lake sediments.  the upper lumby lake sequence is dominated by iron formations and chemical precipitates, with lesser fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks.  there are lateral facies variations from a clastic dominance in the west to chemical precipitate dominance in the east.  the predominance of chemical precipitates is evidence of widespread hydrothermal activity throughout the area.  it is possible that the upper lumby lake clastic sedimentary rocks represent the distal equivalent of the turbidite system developed in the finlayson lake area.  alternatively, the upper lumby lake portion of the basin may have been fed by a localized source centred in the norway lake area.  evidence of this includes a dominance of clastic sedimentary rocks and the presence of debris flow conglomerates in this area.

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

the kimberlites studied from the lac de gras area are composed of two broad textural types:  hypabyssal kimberlite and volcaniclastic kimberlite.  hypabyssal kimberlite is present within small isolated dyke segments and in direct contact with volcaniclastic kimberlite within vent infill.  the latter likely represents small, sub-horizontal sills emplaced subsequent to vent excavation and infill.  volcaniclastic kimberlite occurs as well-to-poorly sorted, often poorly consolidated vent infill.  abundant xenoliths of wall and rock xenocrysts of mica, feldspar, and quartz characterize the volcaniclastic rock, suggesting that most of the volcaniclastic kimberlite has been subjected to resedimentation processes.  juvenile lapilli (both vesiculated and non-vesiculated) are very common, but are often poorly-developed.  a conspicuous feature of these kimberlite vents is the presence of wood fragments, discrete xenoliths of non-kimberlitic sediment and well-laminated beds of non-kimberlitic mudstone and siltstone.  pyroclastic kimberlite appears to be present within the kimberlites at lac de gras, but only accounts for a minor part of the vent infill.  the pyroclastic kimberlite contains abundant juvenile lapilli and may show textures indicative of welding and molding.  the lac de gras kimberlites are mainly small, steep-sided vents infilled with resedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite ±small hypabyssal sills.  no tuffisitic breccias, the hallmark of diatreme-facies kimberlite, were recognized within the kimberlite vents and appear to be absent from the lac de gras kimberlites. 

all features observed within the lac de gras kimberlites are characteristic of, but not exclusive to, kimberlites.  the composition of spinel, phlogopite and monticellite are typical of archetypal kimberlites, although spinels are conspicuously aluminous and phlogopites ba-rich.  the nature of the primary texture, mineralogy and mantle-derived xenocrysts indicates that these rocks are archetypal kimberlites.

comparing the character of kimberlite vents from the fort à la corne area (maar-like phreatomagmatic model) and the orapa a/k1 kimberlite (southern african "classic" diatreme model) shows that there are two contrasting end-member emplacement mechanisms which are repeated in time and space.  the former is driven by meteoric water in phreatomagmatic processes, while much debate exists whether the later is driven by juvenile gases (fluidization model) or hydrovolcanic processes.  near-surface geological setting at the time of emplacement appears to have played a critical role in determining the emplacement process of the kimberlite magma.  kimberlites discovered in the lac de gras area do not conform to either end-member emplacement models and serve to highlight that a third, intermediate model will need to be developed to account for the features observed.

clearly, two distinct processes were responsible for the emplacement of the lac de gras kimberlites: vent excavation and vent infill.  phreatomagmatic processes likely contributed significantly to the excavation of the kimberlite vents and a flaring explosion crater or maar was excavated into the soft, overlying sediments.  the resultant ejecta was deposited as extra-crater material as a tuff ring or cone.  this material was subsequently reworked and redeposited within the evacuated vent by debris flow and mass wasting processes incorporating a large amount of xenolithic material.  the thin pyroclastic kimberlite beds within the vents are the result of either minor pyroclastic activity that continued through a central conduit during vent infill, or primary pyroclastic kimberlite initially deposited within the tuff cone/ring, which subsequently fell back into the vent with little reworking, as a coherent mass preserving the primary textures of the tuff.  in the later scenario the "pyroclastic kimberlite" units are in fact resedimented "pseudopyroclastic" volcaniclastic kimberlite.

clearly, more detailed studies need to be undertaken on these enigmatic kimberlites to constrain further the nature of their infill and emplacement.  this can only occur with the creation of better exposures during mining and advanced exploration activities.

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

the circum troodos sedimentary succession (late cretaceous to recent) overlies the troodos ophiolite of cyprus, located in the eastern mediterranean.  the pattern of neo-tectonic deformation was investigated through magnetic analysis of the tectonic petrofabrics.  anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (ams), anisotropy of anhysteretic remanence magnetization (aarm) and hysteresis loop parameters were determined in order to define the magnetic fabric and the magnetic mineralogy.

the study area extends over approximately 1000 km² mainly to the south of the exposed troodos ophiolite.  the sample suite includes 432 oriented hand samples, predominantly of the lefkara and pakhna formations.

field measurements indicate bedding predominantly dips less than 10° to the south, while stylolitic cleavage dips steeper than bedding in various directions.  the bedding-cleavage relationship yields variable vergence directions suggesting gravity sliding of the sediments towards local sedimentary basins.  southwest of the limassol forest block axial planar cleavage consistently defines a sw vergence with respect to bedding due to a locally different, early to middle miocene compression along nne to ne - ssw to sw azimuth. hysteresis loop analysis show that pseudo-single domain magnetitel is the ferromagnetic contributor.  furthermore, in 71% of the samples, the ferromagnetic contribution provided more than 50% of the total susceptibility.  thus, the petrofabrics of traces of magnetite largely control the magnetic fabrics.

the ams fabric, in part tectonic, is controlled by the preferred crystallographic orientation of diamagnetic calcite and paramagnetic clay minerals as well as magnetite.  orientation directions of the principal axes relative to bedding and cleavage indicate incomplete overprinting of the primary sedimentary fabric in many cases.  ams foliation preferentially dips shallowly to the east and west.  ams lineation varies regionally, from west to east across the study area, from a nne to nnw trends, respectively.  the tectonic ams fabric registers either a late miocene supra-subduction extension regime due to southward migration of the reactivation cyprean arc or due to pleistocene gravity sliding due to uplift of the troodos ophiolite complex. 

the aarm fabric is controlled exclusively by the preferred dimensional orientation of pseudo single domain magnetite.  exluding the area in proximity to the limassol forest block, the aarm  fabric orientations are regionally consistent.  aarm foliation planes dip ~45° to the nw and aarm lineation is directed ne and sw, almost orthogonal to ams lineation.  in some cases, in proximity to the limassol forest, the aarm lineation results from the combined magnetic fabrics, parallel to cleavage and bedding and is parallel to the bedding-cleavage intersection lineation.  the actual extension direction is to the wnw, represented by the aarmint principal axes.  southwest of the limassol forest block of the aarm fabric registers the early to middle miocene sw - ne compression, and its tectonic expression is conventional, with aarmmax oriented nw and se, perpendicular to the maximum compression direction.

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

this study presents an x-ray diffraction analysis and rietveld structural refinement of selected synthetic fluoroperovskite-type compounds including the na_1-xk_xmgf₃ solid solutions series in addition to synthetic analogues of cryolite (na₂naalf₆) and simmonsite (na₂lialf₆).

the na_1-xk_xmgf₃ solid solution series is comprised of three structurally distinct perovskite phases. in order of increasing potassium they are: orthorhombic (pbnm, a=5.3609(1), b=5.4862 (1), c=7.6661(1), z=4) in the x=0-0.35 compositional range, tetragonal (p4/mbm, a=5.444(3), c=3.9217(3), z=2) in the x=0.40~0.46 compositional range and cubic (pm3m, a=3.9903, z=1) in the x=0.50-1.0 compositional range. the orthorhombic and tetragonal members are derived from the cubic aristotype by octahedral rotation, a^-a^-c⁺ and a⁰a⁰c⁺ respectively. introduction of potassium into the na 4c crystallographic site results in a decrease of octahedral rotation and an overall reduction of structural distortion from f = 4.42 for the neighborite end member to  f = 5.0 for cubic members. this is accompanied by an increase in the pseudocubic cell dimension in addition to a reduction in a-site cationic displacement.  angular and bond length distortion of the mgf₆ octahedron are at a maximum in the x=0.20 intermediate member of the series and decrease linearly with additional potassium.  these effects are a direct result of cations approaching special positions in the unit cell as potassium is introduced into the neighborite structure.

the  murun complex contains a number of unusual and mineralogically unique rocks.  many of them are problematic in terms of their genesis and petrographic interpretation.  these enigmatic rocks include charoite assemblages, as well as unique ba-sr-rich carbonatites and alkaline ultramafic dykes referred to as lamproites or lamprophyres.

specimens of plutonic granitic gneisses have been collected from different locations of the superior province.  the study of their koenigsberger ratio (related to natural remanent magnetization) and the theoretical koenigsberger ratio (related to maximum artificial remanent magnetization) shows that the theorietical koenigsberger ratio of the specimens is less dispersed than the koenigsberger ratio.  there is a power law relation between the remanent magnetization and induced magnetization for the koenigsberger ratio and the theoretical koenigsberger ratio and this power law relation is due to variation of amount of ferromagnetic minerals in the specimens.

a structural study of the mckenzie granite (ne of thunder bay), the rice bay dome and the sawbill dome (ne of fort frances) have also been performed.  the mckenzie granite magnetic fabrics cannot be used as kinematic indicators because of the non-coaxiality of the direction of the magnetic ellipsoid axes and also because a primary fabric has been overprinted by a secondary one.  the rice bay dome fabrics are non-coaxial but are clearly related to the regional strain and mineral lineation: they may be related to the diapiric emplacement of the dome.  sawbill dome fabrics are not related to the diapiric emplacement of the dome but to a later event related to the southern border of the dome adjacent to the quetico fault.

a copy of the thesis can be downloaded here

the seagull intrusion emplaced during formation of the 1.1 ga mid-continental rift centred around lake superior was studied in several drill core and surface samples and consists of a lower ultramafic section (~650 m) and an upper mafic section of unknown thickness (<100m). the lower ultramafic section is texturally dominated by cumulate olivine and poikilitic clinopyroxene with lithologies consisting of dunites, peridotites and pyroxenites. the upper mafic section is variable in lithology, with increasing upwards in abundance of cumulate pyroxene and poikilitic feldspar, dominated by olivine gabbro and gabbros.  

olivine, pyroxene and oxide mineral chemistry from the lower ultramafic section, indicates limited fractionation throughout the section. forsterite compositions range from fo75.8 to fo86.3. pyroxene also exhibits a limited range of variability with clinopyroxene restricted to the compositions of en42wo48fs10 to en54wo39fs7. oxides occur as inclusions in olivine and in pyroxene with compositions reflecting subsolidus re-equilibrium with the host mineral. olivine compositions from the mafic section exhibit a more differentiated nature and range in composition from fo57.4 to fo75.8.

whole rock geochemistry is consistent with the homogeneous nature of the ultramafic section and more differentiated character of the mafic section. major elements only exhibit minor variations in abundance through the ultramafics, and exhibit enrichment in fe and si only in the mafic section. trace elements and primitive mantle normalised patterns identified five geochemical units, characterised by total trace element abundances and eu, nb and th anomalies. sm-nd and rb-sr isotopes indicate the intrusion was variably contaminated by older continental crust. the most extensive contamination is found in the basal section of the intrusion and decreases away from the contact.

platinum, palladium, nickel and copper mineralization is found at the base of the ultramafic section of the intrusion, formed during initial emplacement and sulphur saturation at that point in time. a second mineralized horizon (rgb horizon) occurs ~100 to 150m above the basal contact. the rgb horizon is continuous over 700 m and contains three distinct horizons separated by at least 2 m of unmineralized ultramafic rock. these layers are interpreted to have formed as individual events related to the injection of primitive magma refreshing the chamber.

geoff is currently working on his phd at the university of western australia in perth

a copy of this thesis can be downloaded here