Mafic Dykes from Heimefrontfjella and implications for the post-Grenvillian to pre-Pan-African geological evolution of western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Abstract

Two groups of geochemical different dykes have been identified in the Grenville-aged basement of Heimefrontfjella. The first group comprises dykes of continental tholeiite composition which probably intruded during the final stage of indentation of the Kaapvaal—Grunehogna Craton into Laurentia. One dyke of this group yielded an U—Pb zircon SHRIMP age of 1033 ± 7 Ma. The second group has an E-type MORB composition and may be related to ocean floor basalts of the Mozambique Ocean between East and West Gondwana. A preliminary U—Pb SHRIMP age of 586 ± 7 Ma for a single zircon crystal was obtained from a dyke of the second group. During the Pan-African orogeny both dyke groups underwent metamorphism and tectonism at different grades: up to amphibolite-facies in the eastern and southern Heimefrontfjella, and at greenschist-facies in the western and northern Heimefrontfjella. The older dykes may be correlated with the Equeefa suite of southern Natal whereas the younger dyke group is not correlatable with any known mafic intrusions or lava flows in adjacent regions.