Volcanology and Stratigraphy of the Lundberg Zone, Buchans, Newfoundland

Current Research (2012) Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey, Report 12-1, pages 147-166 VOLCANOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY OF THE LUNDBERG ZONE, BUCHANS, NEWFOUNDLAND G.W.H. van Hees1*†, A. Zagorevski2 and M. Hannington1 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON 2Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON *current address: 1049 Frei St, Cobourg, ON †corresponding author email: [email protected] or [email protected] ABSTRACT The Buchans Group of central Newfoundland is a structurally complex stratigraphic package that hosts stratigraphically controlled volcanic-hosted massive sulphide mineralization. Previous work has divided the Buchans Group into four formations based on the stratigraphy in the Lucky Strike area. Recent drilling through the Lundberg Zone provides an opportu- nity to test this stratigraphy. Logging of the Lundberg Zone identified an almost intact stratigraphy consisting of, from base to top: basaltic andesite pillow breccia, lower basaltic andesite, lower sedimentary sequence, upper basaltic andesite, rhyodacite, upper sedimentary sequence, and rhyolite. Logging of drillcore places the pillow breccia and lower basaltic andesite in the Lundberg Hill Formation, the upper basaltic andesite in the Ski Hill Formation, the upper sedimentary sequence and rhyodacite in the Buchans River Formation. The rhyolite unit does not form part of the stratigraphy and was structurally emplaced over the Buchan River Formation. Because of its unique characteristics, the rhyolite is placed in an informal ‘Lucky Strike hanging-wall succession.’ Stockwork mineralization is hosted by the upper Ski Hill Formation and parts of the Buchans River Formation, which also hosts exhalative and transported sulphides. In addition, massive sulphide clasts occur within sedimentary rocks in the upper basaltic andesite, indicating volcanic-hosted massive sulphide potential within the Ski Hill Formation. The entire sequence is continuous across the study area and is an excellent guide for stratigraphically controlled mineral exploration in the Buchans area. INTRODUCTION of the stockwork (Lundberg Zone) peripheral to the largest volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in the The complex structure and stratigraphy of the Buchans Buchans mining camp of central Newfoundland (Lucky area had not been appreciated prior to the recognition of Strike deposit, Figure 2; Thurlow and Swanson, 1981, 1987; thrust faults (e.g., see Thurlow and Swanson, 1981) and Thurlow et al., 1992). In 2008, extensive drilling of the antiformal thrust stacking (e.g., Calon and Green, 1987); Lundberg Zone by Royal Roads Corporation has allowed later, the area has also been imaged using seismic reflection the detailed study of previously undrilled areas, surrounding (see Figures 1 and 2; e.g., Thurlow et al., 1992). The recog- the Lucky Strike deposit. The study of new drillcore was nition of thrust faults led to a thrust repetition model of the aimed at testing lateral continuity of the previously defined volcanic-arc stratigraphy (e.g., Thurlow and Swanson, mine stratigraphy (Thurlow and Swanson, 1987; Barbour et 1987). Following the termination of base-metal mining al., 1990). New observations adjacent to the Lucky Strike operations at Buchans in 1984, advances in lithogeochem- pit have important implications for drilling targets beneath istry have enabled testing of the stratigraphic correlations levels traditionally considered to be prospective (i.e., (Jenner, 2000). The geochemical database collected by Jen- Buchans River Formation), and provide a better outlook for ner (op. cit.) revealed several issues in the Buchans Group VMS exploration in Buchans. stratigraphy not consistent with previous correlations; however, the data were not detailed enough to fingerprint the BUCHANS GROUP various formations. The Buchans Group (465–462 Ma; Compston, 2000; This study incorporates petrographic and geochemical Zagorevski et al., 2007b) forms part of the Annieopsquotch data (van Hees, 2012), to examine the stratigraphic context Accretionary Tract (AAT, van Staal et al., 1998), a collage 147 CURRENT RESEARCH, REPORT 12-1 Figure 1. Position of the Annieopsquotch Accretionary Tract in central Newfoundland, west of the Red Indian Line (RIL), a major suture zone separating rocks of peri-Laurentian (west) and peri-Gondwanan (east) affinity (Zagorevski and Rogers, 2008). Tectonstratigraphic subdivisions of Newfoundland are those proposed by Williams (1988). of accreted peri-Laurentian continental arcs and back-arcs ping ore-bearing duplexes (Figure 2; Calon and Green, formed during the Early to Middle Ordovician (Figure 1). 1987). The least structurally disrupted ore-bearing duplex The AAT is bound to the west by the Lloyds River Fault and (e.g., Lucky Strike duplex of Calon and Green, 1987) hosts Hungry Mountain Thrust (Thurlow, 1981; van Staal et al., most of the previously mined deposits in the Buchans camp, 1998; Lissenberg et al., 2005), and to the east by the Red including the Lucky Strike, Old Buchans, Rothermere, and Indian Line, a major suture zone separating rocks of peri- Maclean orebodies. The Lucky Strike duplex is folded over Laurentian and peri-Gondwanan affinity (Figure 2; van the culmination of the thrust stack in the Lucky Strike area Staal et al., 1998). The constituent terranes of the AAT were where it locally has south-dipping attitudes (e.g., Thurlow et accreted and imbricated along west-dipping, oblique- al., 1992). The Oriental orebodies, although lying in a sepa- reverse faults that generally trend northeast–southwest in rate duplex, are thought to represent thrust-repeated the Buchans area (Figure 2; see Thurlow et al., 1992; Lis- Buchans River Formation and, as such, have been interpret- senberg et al., 2005; Zagorevski et al., 2007a). ed to occur on the same horizon as the other deposits (Calon and Green, 1987). The complex structural history of the The Buchans Group comprises a fault-bounded arc ter- region obscures many of the primary volcanic and sedimen- rane in the AAT of central Newfoundland, and is structural- tary features and stratigraphic relationships; however, sever- ly overlain by the Harry’s River Ophiolite Complex al synvolcanic faults have been identified and an extension- (Zagorevski et al., 2010) and the Notre Dame Arc above the al channel/caldera model has been suggested for the Hungry Mountain Thrust (Zagorevski et al., 2008). To the Buchans Group (Henley and Thornley, 1981; Kirkham and south, it structurally overlies the Red Indian Lake Group Thurlow, 1987). (Zagorevski et al., 2006) along the Tilley’s Pond or Power- line fault. To the east it is structurally overlain by the Mary LUNDBERG ZONE March Brook Formation along the Airport Thrust (Zagorevski et al., 2010; Figure 2). The area surrounding the Lucky Strike (massive sulphide) deposit is divided into the northwest-dipping Lund- The Buchans Group is divided into the Lundberg Hill, berg Zone and the south-dipping Engine House Zone (van Ski Hill, Buchans River, and Sandy Lake formations, which Hees, 2012). This contribution examines the Lundberg Zone combine both felsic and mafic rocks (Thurlow and Swan- (Figure 3) only. These two zones, previously referred to as son, 1987). This grouping of ‘local’ mafic volcanic rocks the intermediate footwall, locally comprise, “a complex, within regional felsic volcanic formations creates ambiguity poorly understood stratigraphic package which has been in the current study area (i.e., Lundberg Hill Formation) and altered extensively and modified significantly by faults” makes correlations adjacent to the Lucky Strike deposit dif- (Thurlow and Swanson, 1987). Although identifying the ficult. Most of the massive sulphide deposits occur within original rock types is difficult because of the pervasive alter- the Buchans River Formation, which is exposed in a struc- ation, the altered mafic volcanic rocks have been placed into tural window of an antiformal thrust stack with north-dip- the Ski Hill Formation and the felsic volcanic rocks with the 148 G.W.H. van HEES, A. ZAGOREVSKI AND M. HANNINGTON Figure 2. Compilation map of Buchans geology by Thurlow and Swanson (1987), Thurlow et al. (1992), and Zagorevski et al. (2009). The mineral deposits (yellow) in the Buchans Group are located along two, broadly northwest- and northeast- trending channels extending away from the Lucky Strike deposit (LS). Rothermere (RO) and Maclean (ML) lie in the northwest channel, whereas the Oriental (OR) and several smaller deposits lie in the northeast channel. The Clementine (CL) prospect lies west of the main deposits. A schematic cross-section (north–south line) of the antiformal thrust-stack model proposed for the Buchans area from seismic and geological data (Thurlow et al., 1992) is shown below the compilation map. 149 CURRENT RESEARCH, REPORT 12-1 Figure 3. Local geology of the Lundberg and Engine House zones modified after Davenport et al. (1996) including, the sur- face projection of the mineralization, and the limits of new drilling (Webster and Barr, 2008). West–east and north–south cross-sections are represented in Figure 5 and incorporate the reclassification proposed in the present study (e.g., van Hees, 2012). Buchans River Formation (Thurlow and Swanson, 1987). (and presumed stratigraphic) footwall to the deposit. To the The Lundberg Zone includes rocks belonging to both of east of Lucky Strike, the stockwork is in abrupt contact with these formations,

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