Eocene Potassic Magmatism of the Milk River Area, Southern Alberta
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ERCB/AGS Open File Report 2012-01 Eocene Potassic Magmatism of the Milk River Area, Southern Alberta (NTS 72E) and Sweet Grass Hills, Northern Montana: Overview and New Data on Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology and Economic Potential ERCB/AGS Open File Report 2012-01 Eocene Potassic Magmatism of the Milk River Area, Southern Alberta (NTS 72E) and Sweet Grass Hills, Northern Montana: Overview and New Data on Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology and Economic Potential A.S. Rukhlov1 and J.G. Pawlowicz2 1 British Columbia Geological Survey (formerly of Alberta Geological Survey) 2 Energy Resources Conservation Board Alberta Geological Survey March 2012 ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta, 2012 ISBN 978-1-4601-0073-8 Energy Resources Conservation Board/Alberta Geological Survey (ERCB/AGS) and its employees and contractors make no warranty, guarantee or representation, express or implied, or assume any legal liability regarding the correctness, accuracy, completeness or reliability of this publication. Any software supplied with this publication is subject to its licence conditions. Any references to proprietary software in the documentation, and/or any use of proprietary data formats in this release, do not constitute endorsement by ERCB/AGS of any manufacturer's product. If you use information from this publication in other publications or presentations, please give due acknowledgement to ERCB/AGS. We recommend the following reference format: Rukhlov, A.S. and Pawlowicz, J.G. (2012): Eocene potassic magmatism of the Milk River area, southern Alberta (NTS 72E) and Sweet Grass Hills, northern Montana: overview and new data on mineralogy, geochemistry, petrology and economic potential; Energy Resources Conservation Board, ERCB/AGS Open File Report 2012-01, 88 p. External author address: British Columbia Geological Survey 5th Floor, 1810 Blanshard Street Victoria, BC V8W 9N3 Published March 2012 by: Energy Resources Conservation Board Alberta Geological Survey 4th Floor, Twin Atria Building 4999 – 98th Avenue Edmonton, AB T6B 2X3 Canada Tel: 780.422.1927 Fax: 780.422.1918 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ags.gov.ab.ca ERCB/AGS Open File Report 2012-01 (March 2012) • ii Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... vii 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2 Previous Studies ..................................................................................................................................... 3 3 Geology and Tectonic Setting ................................................................................................................ 4 3.1 Study Area ..................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Regional Tectonic Setting ............................................................................................................. 5 4 Analytical Methods ................................................................................................................................ 9 5 Sample Location and Description .......................................................................................................... 9 5.1 Forty-Ninth Parallel Dike Swarm (Site SG01) .............................................................................. 9 5.2 Coulee 29 Vent Complex (Site SG02) ........................................................................................ 11 5.3 Philp Coulee Dike (Site SG03) ................................................................................................... 13 5.4 Black Butte Plug (Site SG04) ...................................................................................................... 13 5.5 Bear Creek Dike (Site SG05) ...................................................................................................... 13 5.6 Grassy Butte Felsite Breccia (Site SG06) ................................................................................... 14 5.7 Gold Butte Dike Swarm (Site SG07) .......................................................................................... 17 6 Mineral Chemistry ................................................................................................................................ 17 6.1 Mica ............................................................................................................................................. 17 6.2 Amphibole ................................................................................................................................... 21 6.3 Clinopyroxene ............................................................................................................................. 21 6.4 Feldspar ....................................................................................................................................... 21 6.5 Analcime ..................................................................................................................................... 23 6.6 Spinel ........................................................................................................................................... 23 6.7 Ilmenite........................................................................................................................................ 23 6.8 Apatite ......................................................................................................................................... 23 6.9 Other Minerals............................................................................................................................. 24 7 Whole-Rock Geochemistry .................................................................................................................. 24 7.1 Igneous Rocks ............................................................................................................................. 24 7.2 Geochemical Signatures of Mineralization ................................................................................. 30 8 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 33 8.1 Classification of Igneous Rocks .................................................................................................. 33 8.2 Mantle Sources and Primary Magmas ......................................................................................... 35 8.3 Fractional Crystallization and Crustal Assimilation.................................................................... 38 8.4 Economic Potential of Potassic Rocks of the Milk River Area ................................................... 46 9 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 47 10 References ............................................................................................................................................ 49 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 58 Appendix 1 – Sample Locations and Descriptions ............................................................................... 58 Appendix 2 – Whole-Rock Geochemical Analytical Methods ............................................................ 60 Appendix 3 – Whole-Rock Sample Preparation and Geochemical Data Quality ................................ 61 Appendix 4 – Whole-Rock Geochemical Data .................................................................................... 63 Appendix 5 – Quantitative Mineralogical Analytical Techniques ....................................................... 77 Appendix 6 – Quantitative Mineralogical Data .................................................................................... 78 Appendix 7 – Electron Microprobe Analytical Techniques ................................................................. 80 Appendix 8 – Electron Microprobe Data ............................................................................................. 81 Appendix 9 – Trace-Element Modelling Methodology ....................................................................... 88 ERCB/AGS Open File Report 2012-01 (March 2012) • iii Tables Table 1. Global Positioning System locations of sample sites in the Milk River area of southern Alberta and Sweet Grass Hills of northern Montana ............................................................................. 10 Table 2. Representative whole-rock analyses of magmatic rocks from the Milk River area of southern Alberta and the Sweet Grass Hills of northern Montana .......................................................... 25 Table 3. Concentrations of selected elements in magmatic, hydrothermal and adjacent sedimentary rocks of the Milk River area, southern Alberta .................................................................................. 31 Table 4. Concentrations of selected elements in Eocene intrusions and adjacent sedimentary rocks of the Sweet Grass Hills, northern Montana ......................................................................................