dc.contributor.author | Lindsay, JJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Hughes, HSR | |
dc.contributor.author | Smyth, D | |
dc.contributor.author | McDonald, I | |
dc.contributor.author | Boyce, AJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Andersen, JCØ | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2019-02-06T13:41:34Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2019-03-11 | |
dc.description.abstract | The ~60 m thick Magilligan Sill is part of the British Palaeogene Igneous Province in the North
Atlantic. The sill comprises layers of dolerite and olivine gabbro, and it intrudes a thick
sequence of Mesozoic mudstones and marls, which are locally baked at the sill margins. Since
2014, the sill has been an exploration target for orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide
mineralisation analogous to the Noril’sk-Talnakh intrusion in Russia. We present new
petrological, geochemical and S-isotope data to assess the prospectivity of the sill and the
underlying magmatic plumbing system. Most sulfides in the dolerite portions of the sill are <
50 μm in size and comprise only pyrite with PGE abundances below detection limit. In the
olivine gabbros, > 150 μm size pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite grains contain < 4
ppm total PGE, 1 460 ppm Co and 88 ppm Ag. Pyrite from the dolerites have δ34S ranging
from -10.0 to +3.4 ‰ and olivine gabbro sulfides range from -2.5 to -1.1 ‰, suggesting
widespread crustal contamination. The S/Se ratios of sulfides in the dolerites and olivine
gabbros range from 3 500 to 19 500 and from 1 970 to 3 710, respectively, indicating that the
latter may have come from upstream in the magma plumbing system. The Magilligan Sill
records multiple injections of mafic magma into an inflating sill package, each with distinct
mechanisms towards S-saturation. Whilst the sulfide minerals in the sill do not constitute
significant mineralisation themselves, detailed in-situ studies highlight a divergence in Ssaturation histories, and suggest that a larger volume of olivine gabbro sulfides at depth may
be prospective. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published online 11 March 2019. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1139/cjes-2018-0141 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/35758 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | NRC Research Press for Geological Association of Canada | en_GB |
dc.rights | © The Author(s), 2019. | |
dc.subject | PGE | |
dc.subject | sulphur isotopes | |
dc.subject | magma conduit system | |
dc.subject | mineralisation | |
dc.subject | North Atlantic
Igneous Province | |
dc.subject | sulfur isotopes | |
dc.title | Distinct sulfur saturation histories within the Palaeogene Magilligan Sill, Northern Ireland: Implications for Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation in the North Atlantic Igneous Province | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2019-02-06T13:41:34Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1480-3313 | |
dc.description | This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NRC Research Press via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2019-02-03 | |
rioxxterms.version | AM | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2019-02-03 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2019-02-04T11:42:33Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2019-03-18T10:33:13Z | |
refterms.panel | B | en_GB |