Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup

Argyle is the world’s largest source of natural diamonds, yet one of only a few economic deposits hosted in a Paleoproterozoic orogen. The geodynamic triggers responsible for its alkaline ultramafic volcanic host are unknown. Here we show, using U-Pb and (U-Th)/He geochronology of detrital apatite a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2023-09, Vol.14 (1), p.5274-5274, Article 5274
Main Authors: Olierook, Hugo K. H., Fougerouse, Denis, Doucet, Luc S., Liu, Yebo, Rayner, Murray J., Danišík, Martin, Condon, Daniel J., McInnes, Brent I. A., Jaques, A. Lynton, Evans, Noreen J., McDonald, Bradley J., Li, Zheng-Xiang, Kirkland, Christopher L., Mayers, Celia, Wingate, Michael T. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
140/58
147/135
704/2151/210
704/2151/213/4114
704/2151/213/4115
Apatite
Dating
Diamonds
Geochronology
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Orogeny
Radiometric dating
Rheological properties
Rift zones
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Zircon
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Summary:Argyle is the world’s largest source of natural diamonds, yet one of only a few economic deposits hosted in a Paleoproterozoic orogen. The geodynamic triggers responsible for its alkaline ultramafic volcanic host are unknown. Here we show, using U-Pb and (U-Th)/He geochronology of detrital apatite and detrital zircon, and U-Pb dating of hydrothermal titanite, that emplacement of the Argyle lamproite is bracketed between 1311 ± 9 Ma and 1257 ± 15 Ma (2σ), older than previously known. To form the Argyle lamproite diatreme complex, emplacement was likely driven by lithospheric extension related to the breakup of the supercontinent Nuna. Extension facilitated production of low-degree partial melts and their migration through transcrustal corridors in the Paleoproterozoic Halls Creek Orogen, a rheologically-weak rift zone adjacent to the Kimberley Craton. Diamondiferous diatreme emplacement during (super)continental breakup may be prevalent but hitherto under-recognized in rift zones at the edges of ancient continental blocks. The Argyle deposit erupted 1.3 billion years ago into an ancient rift at the edge of a craton. Argyle coincided with supercontinent breakup, highlighting the link between diamond emplacement, former rifts and continental breakup.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-40904-8