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Lydites in the North Onega Synclinorium, Karelia: Trace Element Composition and Possible Genesis

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Abstract

We studied the geochemistry of Paleoproterozoic siliceous rocks (lydites) from the North Onega synclinorium (Karelia). The study objects are represented by 16 lydite samples taken from one stratigraphic level in the geological sections of two sites–Tetyugino and Shunga. Their structural characteristics and mineral composition were studied using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersion microanalyzer. The trace element composition was determined by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The contents of most trace elements are below the Clarke concentrations. The Tetyugino lydites contain mainly biophile elements (P, Co, Cu, Mo, V, Ba), while the Shunga lydites are dominated by lithophile elements (Li, Rb, Cs). The trace element composition of lydites indicates that their formation took place on the periphery of the hydrothermal system, whereas the Tetyugino site was closer to the hydrothermal discharge zone than the Shunga site. The chemical peculiarities of the lydites allow us to consider them as a raw material for very pure quartz.

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  1. Accurate age of the Zaonega Formation was not established, but it was constrained between the end of the Lomagundi–Jatuli event in the Fennoscandian Shield (~2060 Ma ago) and ejection of volcanic rocks of the Suisarian Formation (Ludicovian Suprahorizon) about 1980 Ma ago (Puchtel et al., 1999; Melezhik et al., 2013). Age values reported in literature confirm the indicated time interval. The Pb‒Pb age of dolomites of the underlying Tulomozero Formation seemed to be 2090 ± 70 Ma (Ovchinnikova et al., 2007). The organic matter from metamorphosed oil shales of the Zaonega Formation is dated by the Re-Os method at about 2050 Ma (Hannah et al., 2008). In addition, mafic dikes cutting rocks of the Zaonega Formation define the ages of 1919 ± 18 Ma (Priyatkina et al., 2014), 1956 ± 5 Ma (Stepanova et al., 2014), and 1961.6 ± 5.1 Ma (Martin et al., 2015). Dolerite sills in the overlying Suisarian Formation are dated at 1969 ± 18 Ma (Puchtel et al., 1998) and 1988 ± 34 Ma (Puchtel et al., 1999).

  2. Lydites and lydite-type rocks are present as thin (up to 1 m thick) interlayers in the Ludicovian sequences in southwestern Karelia (northern coasts of lakes Suojarvi and Small Janisjarvi), as well as in northwestern Karelia (Pana–Kuolajarvi structure) (Geologiya…, 1982). In the early 2000s, hole R-2500 (2516 m deep) was drilled at the Outokumpu site (eastern Finland) (Outokumpu Deep Drilling Project, 2011). Siliceous rocks with 73.02% SiO2 were found as a single layer, the thickness of which was not determined accurately due to poor core recovery. The silica content in some samples from the Outokumpu section, which are similar to phtanites described by us, reaches 92.93% (Kontinen et al., 2006). Based on geochemical characteristics and geophysical parameters, the Outocumpu complex is supposedly correlated with the Zaonega Formation, while rocks within an interval of 1431–1446 m is correlated with the shungite–lydite–dolomite complex in the North Onega synclinorium.

  3. The U‒Pb (ID-TIMS) isotopic dating of baddeleyite extracted from dolerites yielded (207Pb/206Pb) age of 1999.9 ± 4.0 Ma (Stepanova et al., 2022).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the employees of the Analytical Center of the Institute of Geology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, for help with lydite study.

Funding

The work was carried out under the government-financed task of the Institute of Geology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Institute of Geology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 185910, Petrozavodsk, Russia

    N. I. Kondrashova & P. V. Medvedev

  2. Petrozavodsk State University, 185910, Petrozavodsk, Russia

    N. I. Kondrashova & P. V. Medvedev

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Kondrashova, N.I., Medvedev, P.V. Lydites in the North Onega Synclinorium, Karelia: Trace Element Composition and Possible Genesis. Lithol Miner Resour 58, 606–620 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490223700219

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