The Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) to Calc-alkaline Granodiorite-Granite Transition: Evolution of the Archaean Basement of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero Province (Southeast Brazil)

Abstract:

The Bação, Bonfim and Belo Horizonte domes are the largest domes in the Archaean Southern São Francisco craton (Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil). These domes are mainly formed by fine-grained banded gneisses typically intruded by leucogranitic veins and by weakly foliated granites, cropping out as large batholiths and small scale-domains closely associated to the gneisses. Granites and gneisses have high silica content (70-76 wt%), K₂O ranging from 2wt% to 6wt%, Sr from 600 to 40 ppm and La/Yb from 150 to 5. Based on their K₂O/Na₂O ratios, these rocks are subdivided in three groups: sodic (K₂O/Na₂O≤0.7), transitional (0.7<K₂O/Na₂O<1.1) and potassic (K₂O/Na₂O≥1.1). There is no direct relationship between the metamorphic overprint (granites vs. gneisses) and the K₂O/Na₂O ratio; e.g. granites plots equally in the sodic and potassic groups. Overall, the composition of gneisses and granitoids in the three domes marks the transition between Archean TTGs and modern calc-alkalic granitoids. LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb data allow three main periods of magmatism to be defined. The oldest recorded magmatic contribution to the craton began at 3200 Ma, as attested by the occurrence of inherited zircons in younger granitoids as well as by the fact that zircons with a ca. 3200 Ma age represent a significant subset in the detrital zircon population of the greenstone belt. Subsequent magmatic events took place at 2930-2870 Ma and 2780-2700 Ma. The geochronological data reveal that, although the sodic rocks represent a greater proportion of the older gneisses, sodic, transitional and potassic granitoids intruded contemporaneously. The geochemistry of sodic and transitional granites and gneisses suggests that they formed by partial melting of TTG source rocks that are not preserved in the rock record. MC-ICP-MS Hf isotope data on magmatic zircon, suggesting crustal reworking with minor or no involvement of juvenile magmas, support this interpretation. Further recycling of sodic-transitional gneisses does not account for the genesis of potassic granitoids whose origin requires the participation of magmas derived by metasedimentary source rocks.