GENETIC ASPECTS of Sn, Li, Be, Nb-Ta PEGMATITES and Sn-W VEIN DEPOSITS of the DAMARAN OROGENY, NAMIBIA
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GENETIC ASPECTS OF Sn, Li, Be, Nb-Ta PEGMATITES AND Sn-W VEIN DEPOSITS OF THE DAMARAN OROGENY, NAMIBIA JUSSI TUOMAS OLLILA OLLILA, JUSSI TUOMAS 1987: Genetic aspects of Sn, Li, Be, Nb-Ta pegma- tites and Sn-W vein deposits of the Damaran orogeny, Namibia. Bull. Geol. Soc. Finland 59, Part I, 21-34. The pegmatites of the Northern, Central and Southern tin belts of the Dama- ran orogeny, which contain tin, lithium, beryllium and niobium-tantalum mine- ralizations, belong to the Abukuma low pressure metamorphic facies series, or to the intermediate-level rare-element pegmatite formations. The ore deposits of the Goantagab tin belt are cassiterite-wolframite-quartz veins at the closed Brandberg West mine, cassiterite-quartz veins and carbonate- quartz-cassiterite veins and orebodies at Goantagab. All the ore deposits of the Goantagab tin belt crosscut the Kuiseb Formation of the Damaran orogeny and are hydrothermal in origin. According to the present field and fluid inclusion study, the fluid pressure at the time of crystallization of the pegmatites did not exceed 2 Kb in the Northern, Central and Southern tin belts, considering the phase relations of the lithium minerals (spodumene absent) and the barometry of the fluid inclusions. The depositional pressures increase northwards, however, being about 1 Kb at Strathmore (Northern tin belt), about 1.5 Kb at Brandberg West and 2.4 Kb at Awarab (Goantagab tin belt). The interaction of metamorphic connate water with hydrothermal fluid of magmatic origin is proposed as the deposition mechanism foi vein type cassite- rite-wolframite occurrences. The pegmatites may have derived from the residual fraction of volatile-rich Salem granite melts during the waning phases of the Damaran orogeny and crystallized in high water activity zones around their feeder intrusions. The importance of large-scale lineaments in relationship to pegmatites is also indicated. Key words: tin ores, pegmatite, veins, lineaments, fluid inclusions, p-T con- ditions, genesis, crystallization, Namibia, Damaraland. Jussi Tuomas Ollila: * 25.4.1949 - t 23.8.1985. Introduction and Southern tin belts — in the Damaran oroge- ny of Namibia (Fig. 1). Pegmatites with tin, lithium, beryllium and Ore deposits in the Goantagab tin belt niobium-tantalum minerals are concentrated consist of quartz-carbonate vein systems of in three distinct belts - the Northern, Central hydrothermal origin with variable amounts of 22 Jussi Tuomas Ollila Fig. 1. Localities of the Sn, Li, Be and Nb-Ta pegmatite and other mining sites of the Goantagab, Northern, Central and Southern tin belts of the Damaran orogeny in Namibia. tin and tungsten. The main deposits are closed onal northeasterly strike. Beryl is present in Brandberg West mine and various localities in large, complex zoned pegmatites, but tin is the Goantagab river valley (Fig. 1). more or less confined to unzoned pegmatites. This paper describes a fluid inclusion study The Damara Orogen, or the Damara meta- carried out on mineral specimens from quartz- morphic belt, of Namibia is part of the network cassiterite veins from Brandberg West and of Pan-African orogenic belts surrounding and Awarab (Goantagab) tin (and tungsten) mines, dissecting Africa. It is made up of a 400 km from a petalite-bearing pegmatite at Strath- wide, intracontinental arm trending northeast more in the Northern tin belt, from Davib Ost between the Congo and Kalahari cratons and a pegmatite in the Southern tin belt and from 150 km wide coastal arm that extends as far Etiro beryllium pegmatite. In addition, the rela- north as the Congo and has not been exten- tionship of the tin belts to the major structural sively studied. The two arms meet near Swa- lineaments and a model for tin mineralization kopmund. The Gariep Orogen forms a south- in the Damara orogenic belt are discussed. ern extension to the coastal arm (Kröner Cassiterite is found in only a few of the 1977; Martin and Poroda 1977). pegmatite swarms that lie parallel to the regi- Martin (1965) subdivided the intracontinen- Genetic aspects on Sn, Li, Be, Nb-Ta pegmatites and Sn-W vein deposits of the Damaran orogeny, Namibia 23 14°30' 15°30' This was followed by another period of me- tamorphism and by intrusion of various granit- UIS TIN ic rocks with ages in the order of550 Ma. Rb/ Sr dating implies an age of about 470 Ma for gneisses of the Khan Formation and the Rös- sing uranium mine alaskite (Kröner et al. 1978). It is possible that K/Ar biotite ages of 520-450 Ma (Haack and Hoffer 1976) also refer to this la- te- to post-tectonic event. The Northern tin belt ATLANTIC In the Northern tin belt, cassiterite-bearing pegmatites occur in a zone up to 25 km wide that extends about 110 km from near Cape Cross on the Atlantic coast to the Uis mining area in the northeast. The bulk of the tin mined in Namibia comes from Uis, where opencast mining is carried out in several pits situated Fig. 2. Schematic representation of interpreted regional within eight major pegmatites, a few of which structural framework and the main lineaments and linea- are up to 1000 m long and 100 m wide. The ment zones. Simplified after Corner (1982). average grade of the pegmatite ore at Uis is 0.13 per cent metallic tin. tal branch into a northern miogeosyncline and The closed petalite mine is situated approxi- a southern eugeosyncline, partly separated by mately 23 km east of Cape Cross and consists of the geanticlinal basement called the Kamanjab an open pit measuring 150 m x 30-40 m x 20 m inlier. Martin and Porada (1977) recognized (depth). The wall zones of the pegmatite are up four main structural domains in the intraconti- to 1 m wide and contain coarse books of mica. nental branch: a northern platform; a transition These zones grade into a core zone consisting zone to the south of the northern platform, of very coarse cleavelandite, abundant petalite where the intensity of folding and meta- and patches of grey quartz. The core zone also morphism increase southwards; a central zone, contains scattered patches of greisen-like mate- characterized by medium to high grades of rial with cassiterite and tantalite/columbite in a metamorphism and voluminous granitic intru- matrix of green muscovite and lumps of grey sions; and a southern zone (Fig. 2). quartz (5—50 cm in diameter). The grey quartz More than one pulse metamorphism oc- is usually surrounded by a narrow (1—2 cm) curred in the intracontinental branch (Kröner zone of feldspars. et al. 1978; Sawyer 1978). The metamorphic Few of the pegmatite bodies in the Cape grade is highest in the central zone and in- Cross tin fields have a strike length of more creases along the axis of the orogeny towards than 100 m. They generally lack zoning and the Atlantic coast. mostly consist of a coarse-grained assemblage Early metamorphism, with a possible age of of fedspar (both potassium and sodium types), 665-634 Ma (Kröner et al. 1978), predated quartz and muscovite. The occurrence of grei- widespread granite intrusion and accompanied sen and cleavelandite replacement bodies, with the early periods of deformation (Sawyer 1978). which the cassiterite is usually associated, is 24 Jussi Tuomas Ollila highly erratic. Minerals locally accompanying lenticular pegmatite dykes and veins, eight of the cassiterite are amblygonite, columbite- which attain appreciable size. Minaralization is tantalite, beryl and tourmaline. confined to small greisen replacement bodies along the marginal portions of the dykes; the grade is stated to be approximately one per cent Central tin belt tin. The Paukuab deposit differs from the others In this belt, extending for 100 km from Nai- in that the cassiterite was recovered from peg- nais, Damaraland, in the west to Tjirundo 91, matites situated within granite of the Salem Omaruru District, in the east, cassiterite has Suite. Alluvial workings, however, accounted been recovered from alluvial deposits as well as for most of the production. The pegmatites fol- pegmatites (Haughton et ai 1939; Gevers and low the directions of jointing in the granite. Frommurze 1929). The Old Jetske Nareis Thelma and Von The Omaruru River deposits are confined to Goldfuss claims are situated at Okombahe 112 the northern bank of the Omaruru River over a in Omaruru District. The pegmatites of the Na- distance of more than 32 km and a width of reis claims are characterized by huge replace- about 4 km. The country rock consists of schist ment masses of lepidolite-bearing coarse cassi- of the Kuiseb Formation with a pronounced terite and large crystals of coloured lithium north-east strike. tourmaline. In the west, the Nainais mining area includes the workings at Nainais, Etemba and Nobgams. The Von Goldfuss claims lie to the south of The biggest development of pegmatites in the Thelma. In these disseminated cassiterite is entire tin field is at Etemba and Nainais. Most present in small replacement bodies with lepi- of the bodies are structurally parallel to the dolite in quartz-rich pegmatites. It is either tightly folded schist and are rather poorly mine- deep red or transparent and often occurs as ralized. They attain a maximun width of 6 m short, tabular, euhedral crystals. and persist for many huhdreds of metres along The Kohero tin deposits are situated at Goe- strike. The pegmatites cutting across the folia- dehoop 157, Kohero 113 and Kawab 117 (the ad- tion are generally thinner, albeit frequently ri- joining farm). In this area the hills of Kuiseb cher in tin. schist are almost completely surrounded by The Homidigams Mine used to be the most granite of the Salem Suite. Almost all the peg- important tin mining operation in the Central matites in the schist are more or less cassiterite- tin belt.