Relative contribution of magmatic and post-magmatic processes in the genesis of the Thompson Mine Ni-Co sulfide ores, Manitoba, Canada

摘要

The Ni-Co-(PGE) sulfide deposits of the Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB) in Northern Manitoba, Canada are part of the fifth largest nickel camp in the world based on contained nickel; past production from the TNB deposits is 2500 kt Ni. The Thompson Deposit is located on the eastern and southern flanks of the Thompson Dome structure, which is a re-folded nappe structure formed during collision of the Trans Hudson Orogen with the Canadian Shield at 1.9-1.7 Ga. The Thompson Deposit is almost entirely hosted by P2 member sulfidic metasedimentary rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Ospwagan Group. Variably serpentinised and altered dunites, peridotites and pyroxenites contain disseminated sulfides and have a spatial association with sediment-hosted Ni sulfides which comprise the bulk of the ore types. These rocks formed from rift-related komatiitic magmas that were emplaced at 1.88 Ga, and subsequently deformed by boudinage, thinning, folding, and stacking.