Winnipegosis komatiite belt

Location of the Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt in relation to the Circum-Superior Belt (CSB) and Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO). CSB exposures on the Ottawa and Sleeper Islands are circled due to their small size. CSB-related mafic dykes and carbonatite complexes are shown as thick red lines and dots, respectively. Boundaries of cratons and CSB shown are surface exposures except Sask craton and WKB, which are not exposed at the surface, approximate subsurface extents are shown. All other geology is not subdivided (white areas). Blue areas indicate water bodies. WKB = Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt, TNB = Thompson Nickel Belt, FRB = Fox River Belt. Blue dotted line indicates the extent of the Reindeer Zone, the juvenile core of the THO. Based on work from these references.[1][2]

The Winnipegosis komatiite belt is a 150 km (93 mi) long and 30 km (19 mi) wide greenstone belt located in the Lake Winnipegosis area of central Manitoba, Canada. It has no surface exposure and was identified based on geophysical signatures and drilling during mineral exploration by Cominco during the 1990s.[3] The belt has an age of 1870 ± 7 million years and is predominantly composed of basaltic and komatiitic volcanic rocks with minor intrusive and sedimentary rocks.[3][4][5] The belt is considered part of the larger Circum-Superior Belt and was likely generated by a mantle plume.[5][6][7] The Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt is notable as one of the few examples of komatiite formed during the Proterozoic.

  1. ^ Waterton Pearson, Mertzman, Mertzman, Kjarsgaard (2020). "A fractional crystallisation link between komatiites, basalts, and dunites of the Palaeoproterozoic Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt, Manitoba, Canada". Journal of Petrology. 61 (5). doi:10.1093/petrology/egaa052.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Waterton, Pedro (2018). The 1.9 Ga Winnipegosis Komatiite: Implications for Earth Accretion, Mantle Dynamics, and Komatiite Formation. University of Alberta. doi:10.7939/R3N29PN52.
  3. ^ a b McGregor, C. R. 2011. Open File OF2011-1: GIS compilation of relogged sub-Phanerozoic Precambrian exploration drillcore from the Thompson Nickel Belt, eastern Flin Flon Belt and Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt (parts of NTS 63B, C, F, G, J, K). Manitoba Geological Survey.
  4. ^ Hulbert, L., Stern, R., Kyser, T. K., Pearson, J., Lesher, M., & Grinenko, L. 1994. The Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt, central Manitoba. Page 21 of: Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention 1994, Program and Abstracts. Manitoba Energy and Mines.
  5. ^ a b Waterton, P., Pearson, D. G., Kjarsgaard, B., Hulbert, L., Locock, A., Parman, S. W., & Davis, B. 2017. Age, Origin, and Thermal Evolution of the ultra-fresh ~1.9 Ga Winnipegosis Komatiites, Manitoba, Canada. Lithos, 268-271, 114-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2016.10.033
  6. ^ Baragar, W. R. A., & Scoates, R. F. J. 1981. The Circum-Superior Belt: A Proterozoic plate margin? Chap. 12, pages 297 { 330 of: Kroner, A. (ed), Developments in Precambrian Geology, vol. 4. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2635(08)70017-3
  7. ^ Ciborowski, T. J. R., Minifie, M. J., Kerr, A. C., Ernst, R. E., Baragar, B., & Millar, I. L. 2017. A mantle plume origin for the Palaeoproterozoic Circum-Superior Large Igneous Province. Precambrian Research, 294, 189-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2017.03.001