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Archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic rocks - A review

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 Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

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Invited review

Archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic rocks – A review

Carl R. Anhaeusser
Economic Geology Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic rocks comprise some of the most diverse rock types on
Received 6 May 2014 the Earth’s surface and were formed during the early stages of the development of the planet from Eoar-
Received in revised form 21 July 2014 chaean to Neoarchaean times – a period extending back from about 4000 to 2500 million years ago.
Accepted 22 July 2014
Because of their great age, these rocks have received unprecedented attention from a wide spectrum
Available online 14 August 2014
of Earth scientists striving to learn more about the evolution of the Earth, including its crust, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, the commencement of life, and the nature and distribution of mineral deposits. The knowl-
Keywords:
edge gained thus far has accumulated incrementally, beginning with solid field-based studies, the latter
Archaean greenstone belts
Volcano-sedimentary rocks
being supplemented with increasingly advanced technological developments that have enabled scientists
Komatiites and basalts to probe fundamental questions of Earth history. Archaean granite-greenstone terranes display consider-
Ultramafic igneous complexes able variability of lithologies and geotectonic events, yet there are unifying characteristics that distin-
Archaean granitic rocks guish them from other geological environments. Most greenstone belts consist of a wide variety of
Archaean mineralization volcanic and sedimentary rocks that reflect different evolutionary conditions of formation and all have
invariably been influenced by subsequent geotectonic factors, including the intrusion of ultramafic, mafic
and granitic complexes, resulting in widespread deformation, metamorphism, metasomatism, as well as
mineralization. Geochemical and isotopic age determinations have shown how complex these ancient
rocks are and efforts at understanding the nature and evolution of the hydrosphere, atmosphere and
primitive life have made Archaean terranes exciting environments in which to study. Conflicting views
as to the nature, history and origin of many of the rock types and events in Archaean terranes has been
ongoing and stimulating. This review attempts to describe the main lithotypes and other characteristics
of granite-greenstone belt geology and points to some areas where contrasting views have been
expressed.
! 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
2. Volcanic and sedimentary rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
3. Ultramafic extrusive rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
4. Komatiitic basalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
5. Calc-alkaline volcanic rocks/bimodal volcanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
6. Sedimentary rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
7. Igneous complexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
7.1. Layered ultramafic–mafic complexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
8. Anorthosite complexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
9. Sub-volcanic felsic intrusive rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
10. Metamorphism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
11. Metasomatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
12. Geochronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
13. Meteorite impact events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
14. Primitive life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
15. Granitic rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706

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 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 685

16. Granulites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711

17. Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
18. Geophysics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
19. Archaean metallogeny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
19.1. Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
19.2. Volcanogenic massive sulphide Ni–Cu–Zn (Ag–Au) deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
19.3. Volcano-sedimentary-related mineral deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
19.3.1. Archaean iron formations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
19.3.2. Barite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
19.4. Ultramafic-hosted deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
19.4.1. Nickel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
19.4.2. Chrysotile asbestos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
19.4.3. Chromite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
19.4.4. Antimony-gold–mercury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
19.4.5. Magnesite-talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
19.5. Granite and pegmatite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
20. Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

1. Introduction Logan (1863) and R. Bell (1873) in their accounts of the geology
of Canada and northwestern Ontario, respectively. The term
The oldest isotopically dated rocks on Earth (Hadean–Palaeoar- ‘greenstone’ was also used by T.L. Baines (1877) in his book ‘The
chaean – ca. >4000–3200 Ma) occupy relatively small outcrop Gold Regions of South Eastern Africa’ to describe metamorphosed
expanses in most ancient crustal nuclei of all continents, and often hornblendic and schistose rocks hosting gold-quartz veins in Rho-
occur as remnants within Mesoarchaean–Neoarchaean (ca. 3200– desia – a region now known as Zimbabwe (Hunter and Stowe,
2500 Ma) cratonic basement. Regions such as the Yilgarn and Pil- 1997). Greenstone belts have also been used synonomously with
bara Cratons in Western Australia, the Superior Province in Canada, ‘schist belts’ and ‘gold belts’ – terms used to describe complexly
the North Atlantic Craton embracing West Greenland and the east deformed geological environments in which significant gold
coast of Labrador, and parts of the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons deposits have been found in many parts of the world.
in southern Africa, are among the best-preserved ancient environ- In this paper the term ‘greenstone belt’ is used specifically to
ments in which to study early Earth history. Two areas in particu- describe deformed and metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary suc-
lar, namely the Barberton granite-greenstone terrane in the eastern cessions, generally enveloped by granitic and gneissic rocks, and
sector of the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa and the Pilbara Craton confined to the Archaean, which ranges in age from the Eoarchaean
in Western Australia, have emerged as exceptional examples of (>3600 Ma) to the Neoarchaean (ca. 2500 Ma). Archaean rocks in
ancient terranes, the histories of which can be traced back from volcano-sedimentary basins are also included under the heading
early Palaeoarchaean to mid-Neoarchaean times (>3600– of ‘greenstones’, but are unlike the intracratonic Archaean basins
2700 Ma). The Barberton greenstone belt and surrounding granitic developed on top of continental basement, such as the ca.
terrane, because of exceptional preservation, lateral as well as ver- 2900 Ma Pongola and Witwatersrand Basins on the Kaapvaal Cra-
tical continuity of exposure, lithological variety, and ease of access, ton in South Africa, the ca. 2800–2400 Ma Mount Bruce Super-
has made it a sought after region for study. group on the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, and the ca. 2500–
Much of the early work in Archaean granite-greenstone terr- 2300 Ma Palaeoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup, on the continen-
anes worldwide was largely undertaken by geologists from various tal basement of the Superior Province in Canada.
Geological Surveys, who first recognized and delineated these Archaean granite-greenstone terranes, particularly those of
ancient crustal segments on all continents (Fig. 1), subsequently Western Australia and Zimbabwe have a distinctive geotectonic
providing many of the early regional maps of these complex geo- style that led Macgregor (1951) to introduce the idea of ‘‘gregari-
logical environments. ous batholiths’’ to explain the structure of the Zimbabwe Craton.
These investigations, often involving astute field observations, Later Anhaeusser et al. (1969) noted that this pattern of Archaean
proved invaluable to the subsequent explosion of research that granite-greenstone development was prevalent on most cratons
has since been carried out in these terranes. Examples of this pio- where exposure permitted recognition of distinctive features that
neering mapping of so-called ‘Basement Formations’ or ‘Basement are demonstrated so spectacularly on satellite images of the Pilbar-
Complexes’ exist in most regions where volcano-sedimentary and a Craton (Figs. 2a and 3a) and Zimbabwe Craton (Fig. 3b).
associated granitic rocks are developed. Regrettably, these works Many greenstone belts also occur as elongate slivers of volcano-
are rarely cited in modern literature. Following the regional sur- sedimentary rocks in most Archaean granite-greenstone terranes.
veys a number of publications appeared which attempted to syn- Examples of this nature have been described from the various
thesize the early work and position it in a more universal Archaean crustal provinces around the world (Fig. 1), including
framework (Pettijohn, 1943; Wilson, 1949; Macgregor, 1951; the Yilgarn and Pilbara Cratons, of Western Australia (Gee et al.,
Engel, 1968; Anhaeusser et al., 1969; Goodwin and Ridler, 1970; 1981; Myers and Swagers, 1991; Barley, 1997; Hickman, 2012),
Anhaeusser, 1973a, 1973b; McGregor, 1973). These and subse- the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa (Brandl and De Wit, 1997;
quent studies led to the description of the principal lithological Brandl et al., 2006), the Slave Province, Canada (Padgham, 1985;
components of what are now referred to as greenstone belts. King and Helmstaedt, 1997), the São Francisco and Amazonian Cra-
The origin of the term ‘greenstone’ has never been satisfactorily tons, Brazil (Baars, 1997; Tassinari, 1997), the Zimbabwe Craton
established, but was probably first used in its present-day geolog- (Wilson, 1979; Blenkinsop et al., 1997), the Tanzanian and north-
ical application by Canadian Geological Survey geologists W.E. east Zaire Cratons (Borg and Shackleton, 1997), the Indian Shield
686 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 1. Map showing the distribution of exposed Archaean provinces or cratons worldwide (dark grey). The areas shown in pink are poorly known, but are considered to be
underlain mostly by Archaean-Proterozoic terranes. Key to major provinces: 1 = Yilgarn, 2 = Pilbara, 3 = Indian, 4 = North China, 5 = Aldan-Stanovik, 6 = Yenisei, 7 = Anabar,
8 = Kaapvaal, 9 = Zimbabwe, 10 = Central African (Tanzanian and northeastern Zaire), 11 = Kasai, 12 = West African (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania), 13 = Ukranian,
14 = Baltic-Svecofennian (Inari-Kola, Karelian), 15 = North Atlantic (Greenland, Scotland), 16 = Superior, 17 = Wyoming, 18 = Slave, 19 = São Francisco, 20 = Amazonian
(Guiana, Guaporé), 21 = East Antarctica (map modified after Condie, 1981, 2007; Goodwin, 1991).

Numerous less well developed or less well known greenstone

terranes occur elsewhere, for example in the West African Shield
(Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania – Attoh and Ekwueme, 1997),
Madagascar (Rambeloson, 1997), and in the Wyoming Craton,
USA (Wilks and Harper, 1997; Chamberlain and Mueller, 2007).
In discussing the various Archaean terranes referred to in the
sections above it is important to point out that they were formed
in very different relative positions from those they occupy on
today’s Earth (as shown in Fig. 1). Many of these terranes may have
formed in much closer proximity, and may even have been differ-
ent parts of continuous crust until Proterozoic and Phanerozoic rif-
ting and plate separation redistributed them to their present-day
locations. As an example, similarities between successions of the
Kaapvaal and Pilbara Cratons of southern Africa and Australia have
led to the notion of the former existence of what has been referred
to as a Vaalbara supercraton or early continent (Cheney, 1996; De
Fig. 2. A satellite image of the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia showing the Kock et al., 2009).
Archaean ‘‘granite-greenstone pattern’’ of granitic domes and enveloping,
deformed, greenstone belt septa. The distance across the image from west to east
The literature on greenstone belts has grown exponentially over
is approximately 400 km. the past few decades as scientists increasingly realized that these
terranes hold many of the clues to the evolutionary history of the
(Rogers and Giral, 1997), The North Atlantic Craton, including West early Earth. Studies of greenstone belts have been aimed at probing
Greenland (Bridgwater et al., 1976; Nutman, 1997), the Baltic or such diverse topics as the nature of the early lithosphere, atmo-
Svecofennian Shield, including Finland (Sorjonen-Ward et al., sphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. These studies have been aided
1997) and the Karelian granite-greenstone terrane in Russia by the increasing availability of advanced geochemical techniques
(Puchtel et al., 1997; Kushev, 1997), the Aldan-Stanovik and Ukra- involving stable and radiogenic isotopic analytical procedures
nian Shields (Dobretsov et al., 1997; Kushev and Kornilov, 1997), employed to calculate geologic time and to shed light on the nature
the East Antarctic Shield (Harley and Kelly, 2007) and the North of geologic processes. The advanced knowledge in respect of these
China Craton (Yuehua and Wang, 1997; Polat et al., 2006). granite-greenstone terranes has also aided mineral exploration and
The largest development of exposed Archaean crust lies in the important new finds of gold and base metals are regularly being
Superior Province of North America where the longest and broad- encountered.
est exposures of belt-like subprovinces or superterranes extend Greenstone belts are extraordinarily varied geological entities
across an area 1 572 000 km2 in extent (Goodwin, 1991; Stott, and any single definition of them would greatly underrate their
1997), including the northern Minnesota region described by contrasting characteristics. Not only are the lithologies contained
Sims (1972b, 1972c), and Sims and Peterman (1981). in greenstone belts highly variable, ranging from diverse volcanic,
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 687

Fig. 3. Satellite images showing enlarged parts of the Pilbara and Zimbabwe cratons in Western Australia and southern Africa, respectively. (a) Pilbara Craton showing
deformed, steeply dipping, Archaean greenstone schist belts wedged between the Shaw Granitic Complex (west), the Corunna Downs Granitic Complex (centre) and the Mt
Edgar Granitic Complex (top right). The Shaw granitic dome, which is intruded by a NNE-trending mafic dyke, is over 100 km in length from north to south; (b) south-central
part of the Zimbabwe Craton showing the N–S-trending Great Dyke and a number of greenstone belts, including the Belingwe greenstone belt, intruded by granitoid plutons
and batholiths (lighter coloured areas). In the southeast, linear, N–E trending, high-metamorphic grade rocks of the North Marginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt are evident
along the craton boundary.

plutonic and sedimentary types, but the rocks, in view of their succession thicknesses of 15–30 km in the Pilbara were made by
great age and geotectonic settings, have generally experienced Hickman (1975) and co-workers at the Geological Survey of Wes-
multiple stages of deformation, metamorphism, and metasomatic tern Australia, who included measured stratigraphic sections
alteration. They have further been invaded by successive igneous through these thick sequences. More recently, Van Kranendonk
intrusions, including a variety of mafic, ultramafic and granitoid et al. (2007a, 2007b) supplied confirmatory evidence of preserved
rocks that were emplaced as igneous complexes, batholiths, plu- thicknesses of !20 km for successions in the Pilbara Supergroup in
tons, stocks and accompanying dyke-like intrusions. the East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia, while in Canada and
The ensuing discussion on greenstone belts is aimed at outlin- Northern Minnesota thicknesses ranging from 7.5 to 12 km were
ing their lithological and structural/metamorphic complexity, reported in greenstone successions in the Superior Province
whilst at the same time attempting to draw attention to some (Wilson et al., 1965; Goodwin, 1968; Sims, 1972b; Lowe, 1994a,
recent findings and concepts that have shed new light on the evo- 1994b).
lution of the early Earth. The writer has attempted to provide a In South Africa the Barberton Supergroup has a recorded com-
comprehensive review of Archaean granite-greenstone belt geol- bined thickness of volcanic and sedimentary components that is
ogy, citing numerous works for follow-up reading, whilst at the between 15 and 21 km thick (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969a; Brandl
same time endeavouring to offer a balanced view on many contro- et al., 2006; Lowe and Byerly, 2007). The >15 km thickness of the
versial issues and interpretations. It is inevitable that personal Onverwacht volcanic assemblage reported by Viljoen and Viljoen
prejudices may hold sway in this regard. The writer has also drawn (1969a) was challenged by De Wit (1982), who claimed that the
extensively from first-hand experience he has gained in southern sequence had been thickened by large-scale isoclinal folding – a
Africa, Western Australia and Canada where some of the best expo- conclusion that could not be supported by the subsequent detailed
sures and preservation of Archaean rocks are to be found. It is re-evaluation of the area by Lowe et al. (1985). The thickness con-
hoped that readers familiar with other Archaean terranes that have troversy persists as Furnes et al. (2012) have recently claimed that
not been given full attention and coverage in this work will be the ca. 3.5–3.3 Ga ‘Onverwacht Suite’ consists of a 15 km-thick
understanding in this regard. imbricate tectonic stack of seven complexes consisting predomi-
nantly of volcanic rocks and intrusions.
Greenstone successions have traditionally been divided into
2. Volcanic and sedimentary rocks lithostratigraphic units (e.g., the Onverwacht, Fig Tree and Moodies
Groups in the Barberton greenstone belt – Visser, 1956; Lowe and
Having established that greenstone belts occur in most Byerly, 1999; Brandl et al., 2006, and the Warrawoona, Kelly, and
Archaean cratonic regions of continents it is important to outline Sulphur Springs Groups in the Pilbara Supergroup of the East
just what lithologies are present in these belts and to note the Pilbara Terrane – Hickman, 2012). Whilst this approach provided
types of environment that have been suggested for the deposition a useful lithostratigraphic framework for the Barberton greenstone
of the respective rock types. Greenstone belts are noted for having belt Lowe and Byerly (2007) subsequently revised their earlier
exceptional thicknesses of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. In the work, deciding that ‘‘the regional usage of these names conveys
Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, for example, McCall (1968) the impression of a layer-cake type stratigraphy that obscures
and Glikson (1976a) reported thicknesses of greenstone succes- the complex and diachronous evolution of the belt’’. They
sions ranging from 18 to 30 km. The earliest reports of greenstone then opted for the use of tectono-stratigraphic suites, each suite
688 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

consisting of a sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks and revealed that the regional stratigraphic correlations between the
related deeper-level TTG plutons, gneisses and migmatites. east and west Pilabara, suggested earlier by Hickman (1983), were
Recently, arguments have been proposed (De Wit et al., 2011; incorrect and that the Pilbara Craton had developed in three main
Furnes et al., 2011, 2012, 2013) that favour changes to the status stages: Palaeoarchaean (ca. 3500–3220 Ma), Early Mesoarchaean
of the traditional ‘formations’ of the Onverwacht Group of the Bar- (ca. 3220–3070 Ma) and Late Mesoarchaean (ca. 3070–2930 Ma).
berton greenstone belt to ‘complexes’, and that collectively these The older East Pilbara Terrane, exhibiting predominantly vertical
complexes be referred to as the Onverwacht Suite. These authors tectonic processes (Hickman, 1984, 2004; Van Kranendonk et al.,
have subdivided the Onverwacht Suite into seven complexes, each 2007a, 2007b), differs markedly from the West Pilbara Superterrane
one believed to be separated by thrusts and slides, marked by shear where no diapiric domes are present. It is now suggested that alter-
zones, and an angular unconformity. The complexes are thus inter- nating episodes of crustal extension and compression indicate evo-
preted to form an imbricate tectonic stack that subsequently lution of the West Pilbara Superterrane and the overlying De Grey
underwent successive stages of deformation. Whether this tec- Superbasin in a manner consistent with ‘Phanerozoic-style’ plate-
tonostratigraphic interpretation will receive general acceptance tectonic models (Barley, 1997; Van Kranendonk et al., 2007a,
remains to be tested, as the earlier subdivisions of lithologically 2007b; Hickman, 2012; Hickman, personal communication, 2014).
grouped packages (Formations, Subgroups, Groups, Supergroups) In Canada, likewise, a developing consensus suggests that the
have served as useful descriptive and correlative terms in the past. greenstone belts of the Superior Province evolved through a
Furthermore, the earlier subdivisions into lithological packages sequence of several prominent Archaean magmatic and deforma-
reflect progressive geological and geotectonic changes relating to tional episodes (Thurston, 1991; Stott and Corfu, 1991; Stott,
crustal evolution. The newly proposed terminology may arguably 1997). The use of the term ‘tectonic assemblage’, as informally
constitute a semantic interpretation, as the lithological compo- applied in the Ontario part of the Superior Province, is employed
nents of the so-called ‘complexes’ correspond, with unerring preci- to denote volcanic and/or sedimentary rock units built during a
sion, to the earlier-defined formations. discrete interval of time in a common depositional or volcanic set-
The greenstone belts of the Pilbara Craton have been tradition- ting. As outlined by Thurston (1991) the rock units typically share
ally interpreted in terms of a single essentially tabular stratigraphy a common or dominant lithofacies, but they may also share some
referred to as the Pilbara Supergroup (Hickman, 1981, 1983, 2004, additional attributes such as structural, metamorphic, geochemical
2012; Hickman and Van Kranendonk, 2008; Van Kranendonk et al., and geophysical features as well as features of primary sedimenta-
2002, 2007a, 2007b). The East Pilbara Terrane (ca. 3530–3220 Ma) tion. An ‘assemblage’ is typically bounded by faults, unconformities
was interpreted by these authors as comprising a 15–20 km-thick or intrusions and may consist of one or more groups or formations,
volcanic succession, which accumulated as a volcanic plateau over- and one or more assemblage may constitute a terrane.
lying older crust (ca. 3800–3550 Ma). Large volumes of granitic The Superior Province differs substantially from other Archaean
magma were intruded during the same period as a result of succes- Cratons in that it has been subdivided into widely accepted ‘sub-
sive stages of mantle plume activity. This resulted in the emplace- provinces’ that are characterized by distinctive rock types (Card
ment of the eight major granitic dome complexes forming part of and Ciesielski (1986). These include volcano-plutonic subprovinces
the Pilbara Craton (Fig. 2). (renamed granite-greenstone subprovinces by Thurston et al.,
According to Krapez (1993) and Krapez and Eisenlohr (1998) 1991) comprising low metamorphic grade greenstone belts;
five or six fault-bounded, tectonostratigraphic domains containing metasedimentary subprovinces consisting of clastic sedimentary
25 granite-greenstone subdomains and 20 greenstone belts occur accumulations with variable metamorphic grades; gneissic or plu-
across the craton. The Pilbara Supergroup is exposed in 18 of these tonic subprovinces with minimal supracrustal rocks, but character-
greenstone belts and consists of at least eight ultramafic–mafic– ized by tonalitic gneiss; and early sodic and later potassic granitoid
felsic volcanic cycles, most of which are separated by unconformi- plutons, and high-grade gneiss subprovinces.
ties. Krapez and Barley (1987), Krapez (1993) and Barley (1997) The various lithostratigraphic, tectonostratigraphic and other
viewed the ‘Pilbara Block’ as an assemblage of discrete tectono- subdivisions of the Archaean that have been proposed in the differ-
stratigraphic domains, separated by four major northeast-trending ent cratonic regions provides a measure of confusion to modern
lineaments, the latter interpreted to be the dominant structural geological practitioners in Archaean terranes and is not likely to
fabric of the Pilbara Block. Krapez (1993) questioned the rationale receive universal acceptance overnight. The geology of greenstone
of the lithostratigraphic correlations across the domain-boundary belts can no longer be generalized, as more and more detail (partic-
lineaments and argued that simple lithostratigraphic correlations ularly structural and geochronological) is emphasizing the com-
of similar depositional facies were invalid stratigraphic techniques, plexity of these terranes. However, for the purposes of a review
as were the tectonic interpretations derived from these correla- of greenstone belt geology a degree of generalization is deemed
tions. Instead, it was proposed that sequence-stratigraphic tech- necessary to accommodate the wide spectrum of geological vari-
niques, like those employed for Phanerozoic terranes, and which ability encountered in these terranes.
are based on plate-tectonic analogues, offer a more realistic Many early Archaean (Palaeoarchaean to Mesoarchaean) green-
approach to interpreting the geological history of multicomponent stone belts have been characterized as displaying a regionally
Archaean terranes. It was proposed that lithostratigraphic metamorphosed stratigraphic sequence that shows, from bottom
schemes, alone, are unsuitable for chronostratigraphic correlation to top (oldest to youngest), a progressive change from volcanic
and for tectonic modelling of the Precambrian rock record. rocks to sediments. Anhaeusser et al. (1969) subdivided the pre-
Hickman (2004, 2012), Hickman and Van Kranendonk (2008) and dominantly volcanic component of greenstone belts into an Ultra-
Van Kranendonk et al. (2002, 2007a, 2007b) have, however, mafic Group (comprising high-Mg rocks such as komatiite,
rejected the interpretation of the fault-bounded tectonostrati- komatiitic basalt and tholeiite) and a Greenstone Group (compris-
graphic domains, which they claim were based on interpretation ing minor ultramafic rocks, tholeiite, andesite, and calc alkaline,
of lineaments from Landsat imagery, combined with a conceptual acid-to-intermediate, felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks and
plate-tectonic model not supported by field data or geochronology. cherts). The volcanic rocks are commonly overlain by a Sedimen-
In 1995 the Geological Survey of Western Australia commenced tary Group including pelitic, psammitic and coarse clastic rocks.
a major project of geological mapping, geochronology, geochemis- This upward progression of changing lithologies was highlighted
try and airbourne aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys referred by the early work in the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa
to as the Pilbara Craton Mapping Project. This investigation (Visser, 1956; Anhaeusser et al., 1968; Viljoen and Viljoen,
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 689

Fig. 4. (a) Komati River valley in the southern part of the Barberton greenstone belt showing the layered succession of the Komati Formation (hills in the far distance) – the
type locality of Barberton komatiites; (b) Google Earth image of the Komati Formation type locality showing the ultramafic and mafic komatiitic volcanic rock sequence
developed in the hills north of the Komati River.

1969a) and later shown to be generally applicable to greenstone the Karnataka region (Viswanatha, 1977; Ramakrishnan et al.,
belts in Western Australia and elsewhere (Gee et al., 1981; Myers 2012). Komatiites have also been reported in the Aldan Shield
and Swagers, 1997; Hickman, 1981; Van Kranendonk et al., 2007a). (Puchtel et al., 1993); in the Baltic Shield (Gaál and Gorbatschev,
In some greenstone belts, such as in the Slave Structural Prov- 1987); in the Vermillion district of northern Minnesota (Green,
ince, Canada, sedimentary rocks may dominate, accompanied by 1972); and in West Greenland (Hall et al., 1987).
only minor developments of volcanic components (Padgham, Several textbooks have appeared describing the distribution,
1981, 1985). In the East Pilbara region Nijman et al. (2010) likewise petrology and distinctive chemical characteristics of komatiites
described the Mosquito Creek Formation as consisting predomi- (Arndt and Nisbet, 1982; Arndt et al., 2008). As these rocks were
nantly of sediments. However, according to Hickman (personal found to be hosts to important Cu–Ni–PGM–Au-sulphide mineral-
communication, 2014) this ca. 2980–2930 Ma succession is not a ization they received considerable attention, notably in the Abitibi
continuation of the ca. 3530–3220 Ma greenstone succession of greenstone belt in Canada (Naldrett and Gasparrini, 1971; Coad,
the East Pilbara Terrane where sedimentary rocks make up less 1979), in greenstone belts in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Austra-
than 5% of the Pilbara Supergroup. lia (Barnes, 2006a), as well as in Zimbabwe (Viljoen and
In most greenstone belts worldwide volcanic rocks of variable Bernasconi, 1979; Prendergast, 2001).
compositions predominate (Sylvester et al., 1997) with sedimen- Komatiite is defined as a rock whose field relations or texture
tary rocks, mainly banded iron formation, shales, greywackes and provide evidence of a volcanic or subvolcanic origin and whose
cherty carbonaceous rocks, occurring as only relatively minor com- mineral assemblage or major-element contents indicate an ultra-
ponents. Examples of volcanic-dominant greenstone belts include mafic composition. Further, the limit between komatiite and other
the Pilbara Supergroup in Western Australia (Hickman, 2011; less magnesian volcanic rocks was set at 18% MgO at a Penrose
Hickman and Van Kranendonk, 2012), the Shangani–Inyati belts conference on komatiites (Arndt and Brooks, 1980). Komatiites
in Zimbabwe (Harrison, 1969; Viljoen and Bernasconi, 1979) and, generally possess similar and distinctive geochemical characteris-
in South Africa, the Murchison (Viljoen, 1979; Vearncombe et al., tics, but variants exist, such as the silica-enriched, highly depleted
1992), Nondweni (Wilson and Versfeld, 1994), Weergevonden komatiites (extreme depletion of Ti and REE; enrichment of Si)
(Anhaeusser, 1980), Muldersdrift, Roodekrans and Zandspruit from the Commondale Ultramafic Suite in the southeastern part
greenstone belts (Anhaeusser, 1977, 1978b, 1992a, 1992b). of the Kaapvaal Craton recorded by Wilson (2003). Komatiites also
vary in terms of their Al2O3/TiO2, CaO/Al2O3 and Gd/Yb HREE com-
positions. Three komatiite types have been identified (Sun and
3. Ultramafic extrusive rocks Nesbitt, 1978; Nesbitt et al., 1979; Jahn et al., 1982). These include:
(1) Al-depleted komatiites, which have low Al/Ti, relatively high
Ultramafic lavas were first described in greenstone belts in the concentrations of incompatible elements and depleted heavy rare
(then) Rhodesian Craton (Keep, 1929; Wiles, 1957) and in the earth elements (HREE); (2) Al-undepleted komatiites that have
Canadian Archaean (Berry, 1940; Satterly, 1951). In 1969 these chondritic Al/Ti and flat HREE patterns; and (3) Al-enriched komat-
rocks came into prominence when ultramafic flow units, referred iites that have high Al/Ti, low concentrations of incompatible ele-
to as komatiites (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969b, 1969c), were discov- ments, enriched HREE and extremely depleted light rare earth
ered in the Komati River valley in the Barberton greenstone belt in elements. All three types are commonly found in the same forma-
South Africa (Fig. 4a and b). tion, indicating that they formed synchronously. Recently, Robin-
Since then there have been numerous reports of komatiites Popieul et al. (2012) developed a new model suggesting the various
from almost all Archaean terranes worldwide. Areas that have types represent magmas formed at great depth (>9 GPa). These, it
received the most attention include Canada, Western Australia is maintained, escaped from the source at different times of the
and southern Africa (Arndt et al., 2008), but komatiites have also melting process and depended upon variations in the densities of
been described in other greenstone terranes. Some of these exam- melt and residual solid as well as pressure decreases in a rising
ples include komatiites in the Neoarchaean (ca. 2800–2700 Ma) mantle source.
Taishan greenstone belt in China (Polat et al., 2006); in the ca. The Barberton type-locality komatiites have high CaO/Al2O3
2700–2800 Ma Crixás greenstone belt of the Goias region of Cen- (>1) or low Al2O3/TiO2 (10–15), whereas komatiites from most
tral Brazil (Sabóia and Teixeira, 1983; Kuyumjian and Jost, 2006); other regions have Al2O3/TiO2 around 20 (Arndt et al., 2008). The
in ca. 2700 Ma Finnish greenstone belts (Auvray et al., 1982); and literature dealing with geochemical and other aspects of komati-
in the ca. 2730 Ma Pyradie Formation of the Fortescue Group in ites is now very extensive and the reader is referred to Arndt
Western Australia (Arndt et al., 2001; Thorne and Trendall, et al. (2008) for further details.
2001). In India, komatiites have been described in the ca. The origin of komatiites has, in recent years, led to a major pet-
3350 Ma western Dharwar region (Jayanda et al., 2008) and in rogenetic debate. On the one side models for generating high-MgO
690 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 5. Photographs showing the main physical characteristics of komatiite volcanic rocks. (a) Spinifex-textured needles of pyroxene and olivine showing the random texture
generally found in the upper half of individual komatiite flows; (b) long bladed spinifex (A2 subunit of Pyke et al., 1973) passing progressively upwards into shorter needles
(A1 subunit) forming a random, ‘bird-track’ texture, towards the top of a flow; (c) Dale Pyke on the glaciated slopes of the Pyke’s Peak komatiite flow locality in Munro
Township, Ontario, Canada; (d) an approximately 1 m-thick komatiite flow showing the internal flow features described by Pyke et al. (1973), including a basal section of
cumulate olivine (B4–B2 subunits, left), followed upwards by spinifex-textured zones (A2 and A1 subunits, right) and capped by a flow top breccia, far right; (e) chilled and
fractured flow top (centre, right) in contact with overlying basal cumulate subunit of the overlying flow (left).

Fig. 6. Komatiite flows from the Schapenburg greenstone remnant, south of the Barberton greenstone belt. (a) flow unit younging from right to left showing a flow top (right
of the pen), followed by a cumulate basal zone (below pen), and bladed spinifex passing into random spinifex and a flow top (left); (b) a subunit of spinifex (A1–2) and a flow
top (right of pen), followed upwards by a basal cumulate olivine subunit (B2–B4 – below pen) and a subunit of spinifex (A1–A2). The flow is approximately 60 cm thick; (c)
massive cumulate olivine zone (right) overlain by bladed spinifex-textured komatiite (left of hammer); (d) photomicrograph showing a triangular spinifex crystal formed of
alternating layers of tremolite (white) and chlorite–magnetite (black) and surrounded by serpentinized olivine (komatiite type locality – after Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969c); (e)
photomicrograph showing typical texture of subparallel spinifex blades of tremolite with magnetite and serpentinized olivine.
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 691

melts, such as komatiites, suggest crystallization of these rocks and often show a spinifex-textured upper layer and an olivine
from nearly anhydrous melts formed by partial melting of mantle cumulate lower layer. Flow-top breccias at the top of the spinifex
peridotite at temperatures in excess of 1600 "C and pressures of layers can be seen in places separating different flow units
approximately 18 GPa (Green, 1981; Nisbet et al., 1993). Further (Fig. 5d and e; Fig. 6a and b) At the other extreme, massive flows
support for this view was provided by Puchtel et al. (2013) who devoid of spinifex textures are more common than spinifex-tex-
found that komatiites of the Komati and Weltevreden Formations tured flows and make up 60–80% of most komatiite sequences.
in the Barberton belt were moderately to strongly depleted in Some layered flows made up of olivine adcumulates more than
highly incompatible lithophile trace elements and were shown to 100 m thick occur in various parts of the Yilgarn Craton and may
have contained <0.75 wt% water – evidence strongly supporting even occur up to 500–700 m in thickness in places (Barnes,
anhydrous conditions during formation of the komatiite lavas. 2006b). Olivine adcumulate or dunite flow units over 100 m thick,
The alternative view, which sparked the controversy, is based now largely altered to serpentinite, also occur in the Schapenburg
largely on the geochemistry of fresh pyroxenes in Barberton kom- greenstone belt (Anhaeusser, 1983) and in the Komati Formation
atiites, which suggested that the komatiite magma contained 3– where Dann (2000, 2001) recorded massive komatiite units up to
6 wt% dissolved water (Parman et al., 1997; Grove et al., 1997; 55 m in thickness. In places the komatiites occur as sills interlay-
Stone et al., 1997). The implications of hydrous melting is that ered with extrusive equivalents and features referred to as tumu-
komatiites could have formed in subduction zone settings where lus structures (inflation or doming feature in the upper crust of a
their generation would occur at lower temperatures and pressures, lava tube) have been described (Dann, 2001; Coetzee, 2014). In
rather than as voluminous lava flows or shallow sills linked to sub- the Belingwe greenstone belt in Zimbabwe, an unusual komatiite
merged oceanic plateaus and mantle plumes (Arndt, 1998; Polat exposure occurs as massive columnar jointed blocks (Fig. 7) in
et al., 1999; Herzberg, 1992), such as that of the ca. 120 Ma Ontong what may have been a feeder dyke or sill to the komatiites and
Java Plateau (Taylor, 2006). high-Mg rocks of the Reliance Formation (Martin, 1978).
Also included under the name komatiite is komatiitic basalt, a Exposures permitting, prominent subdivisions of komatiite
term applied to volcanic rocks that contain less than 18% MgO flows may be apparent in the field. Terms listed by Arndt et al.
and which may be linked to komatiite using petrological, textural (2008) to define a range of komatiite lithofacies include cumulate
and geochemical arguments. As pointed out by Arndt et al. komatiites, spinifex komatiites and non-cumulate komatiites. The
(2008) the definition of komatiite is not without problems and cumulate lithofacies comprise adcumulate, mesocumulate, ortho-
ambiguities. Although some authors have questioned the defini- cumulate and crescumulate facies (where the proportions of oliv-
tion there has been general consensus on the use of the terms. ine, pyroxene and interstitial glass range from >90% olivine to
Komatiite and komatiitic basalt may also be distinguished from <10% interstitial glass for adcumulates, to 25–75% olivine in an
other high-Mg volcanic rocks by the presence of spinifex texture aphanitic to glassy matrix in the case of crescumulates). Spinifex
(Figs. 5 and 6), characterized by large skeletal or dendritic crystals komatiites comprise acicular pyroxene, platy olivine and random
of olivine or pyroxene (Arndt et al., 2008). Spinifex texture is not, olivine spinifex varieties. Non-cumulate komatiites include olivine
however, an essential criteria for the recognition of these rocks. phyric, aphyric and volcaniclastic varieties (predominantly flow
Combinations of field situation, geochemistry, and petrology are top or hyaloclastic breccias).
also important (Anhaeusser, 2001).
Where good exposures occur, individual flow units may be rec-
ognizable, such as those described by Pyke et al. (1973) from Mun- 4. Komatiitic basalt
ro Township, Ontario (Fig. 5c–e), the Komati Formation type
locality (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969b, 1969c; Dann, 2000, 2001; Komatiitic basalts are commonly spatially and chemically
Coetzee, 2014), the ca. 3550 Ma Schapenburg greenstone belt, linked to komatiites and are generally thicker than the komatiite
south of the Barberton greenstone belt (Anhaeusser, 1983; flows. The close association of these rocks suggests a genetic rela-
Lécuyer et al., 1994; Puchtel et al., 2009 – Fig. 6a–c) and in the tionship and the basaltic varieties may represent simple products
Nondweni greenstone belt in the southeastern part of the Kaapvaal of fractional crystallization of komatiitic magma. Komatiitic basalts
Craton (Wilson et al., 1989). In these belts, as well as in the Yilgarn have melting temperatures as much as 400 "C lower than the
Craton, Western Australia (Morris, 1993; Hill et al., 2001), and in higher magnesian komatiites and have similar eruption tempera-
the Abitibi belt in Canada (Arndt et al., 2008) the komatiite flows tures to present-day MORB basalts formed at mid-ocean ridges
vary greatly in thickness from less than 50 cm to 1–5 m thick (!1200 "C – Presnall et al., 2002).
Cyclically repetitive sequences of komatiite and komatiitic
basalt, also believed to be co-genetic in origin, have been noted
in the Schapenburg greenstone belt, south of the Barberton belt.
At this locality an unusual relationship of upwards of 20 volcano-
sedimentary cycles each comprising basal komatiite units, over-
lain, in turn, by komatiitic basalt units and capped by silicate facies
banded iron formations, are exposed (Anhaeusser, 1983, 1998,
1999a – (Fig. 8).
Many komatiitic basalt successions occur as massive or pil-
lowed flow units and resemble tholeiitic basalts. The more magne-
sian komatiitic basalts (14–18% MgO) contain variable amounts of
olivine and in places have textures similar to komatiite. A distinc-
tive textural variety of the high-MgO basalts is the presence of
skeletal pyroxene. In some cases pyroxene spinifex occurs as long
bladed needles (‘string beef’ spinifex) up to 50 cm in length near
the upper parts of flow units (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969b; Arndt,
Fig. 7. Columnar jointing of komatiite in the Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe,
near the Bubi River. This unusual occurrence may represent jointing of a komatiite
1977). In the Nondweni greenstone belt, Wilson et al. (1989)
sill or feeder dyke to the overlying Reliance Formation komatiitic volcanic sequence described giant spinifex cones 1–2 m long and wide, consisting
described by Martin (1978). of coarse pyroxene needles. The low-MgO komatiitic basalts
692 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 8. (a) View looking southeast across part of the Schapenburg greenstone remnant described by Anhaeusser (1983), showing upwards of 20 alternating cyclical flow
sequences consisting of komatiite, komatiitic basalt and silicate-facies banded iron formation. In the foreground the Land Rover is situated on a tonalite gneiss pluton
intruded into the succession; (b) view looking northeast across part of the Schapenburg greenstone remnant showing upwards of six cyclic units like the one shown in (d); (c)
schematic section showing the nature of the cyclic units in the Schapenburg remnant. As shown in (d) each cyclic unit consists of a basal komatiite sequence (ridge left of
vehicle), followed upwards by a zone of komatiitic basalt (zone behind vehicle) and a capping of grunerite-chert banded iron formation (close to tree), an example of which is
shown in (e).

(10–14% MgO) generally have subcalcic augite as the dominant their deposition have provoked much controversy. Geotectonic
mineral and these rocks are difficult to distinguish from tholeiitic settings proposed range from primitive island arcs (invoking plate
basalts without mineralogical or geochemical controls. tectonics in the Archaean) to oceanic crust (including ophiolites)
In some greenstone belts komatiites and komatiitic basalts may and plume-related submarine plateaus (Folinsbee et al., 1968;
be rare or absent (Anhaeusser, 1977; Brandl et al., 2006), their Giles, 1981; De Wit et al., 1987; Storey et al., 1991; Smithies
places being taken by compositionally highly diverse basalts clas- et al., 2005). As pointed out by Sylvester et al. (1997) the sheer
sified on the basis of their MgO concentrations and chondrite-nor- diversity of greenstone belt volcanism suggests that all belts did
malized La/Sm ratios, and by bimodal volcanic successions not form in a common geotectonic setting and these authors main-
involving early tholeiitic basaltic–andesitic magma (Thurston tained that instead of emphasizing similarities between green-
et al., 1985; Thurston, 1994). Low-Mg basalts (<9% MgO) are stone belts the differences, particularly with regard to volcanism,
referred to as calc-alkaline basalts when they can be linked to a should receive added attention.
spectrum of volcanic rocks that range from andesites through
dacites to rhyolites (Sylvester et al., 1997). They are referred to
as tholeiites if the aforementioned link cannot be established, 5. Calc-alkaline volcanic rocks/bimodal volcanism
and high-Mg basalts if they have more than 9% MgO and a bimodal
population of La/Sm ratios. These authors pointed out further that Many Archaean greenstone belts demonstrate calc-alkaline vol-
at least six types of basalts alone occur in greenstone belts. These canism that includes basalt, andesite, dacite, rhyodacite and rhyo-
include tholeiite, strongly-enriched tholeiite, iron-enriched tholei- lite. Cyclical repetition of volcanism and sedimentation is also
ite, calc-alkaline basalt, high-Mg basalt, and strongly-enriched commonly encountered, as described by Viljoen and Viljoen
high-Mg basalt, and they occur as massive lava flows, pillowed (1969d), and Anhaeusser (1971) in the Barberton greenstone belt,
flows, pillow-breccia, spinifex-textured flows and tuffs. and in Western Australia, where Williams (1970) described three
Volumetrically, basalts are the dominant volcanic constituents volcanic cycles in the Kurnalpi area of the Yilgarn Craton. In the Pil-
of greenstone belts (Condie, 1994) and they display a compositional bara Craton up to eight volcanic cycles are present in the East Pil-
diversity reflected by differences in MgO as well as SiO2 and trace bara Terrane (Van Kranendonk et al., 2002; Hickman, 2011).
element contents. Compositional and time-related gaps also occur Cyclicity is also prominent in the Canadian Archaean where
in many greenstone belts where basalts are separated from komat- Thurston and Fryer (1983) described three mafic to felsic cycles
iites and more felsic volcanic rocks. Furthermore, the volume of in the Uchi-Confederation greenstone belt and Blum and Crocket
basalt and komatiite generally exceeds that of intermediate and fel- (1992) recorded multiple repetitive cyclical volcanism in the Lar-
sic rocks in most greenstone belts. der Lake Group near Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Thurston et al.
Unlike more modern volcanic terranes, the basalts and komati- (2012) described seven mafic-to-felsic volcanic cycles in the Abitibi
ites were largely deposited subaqueously and the environments of greenstone belt.
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 693

Fig. 9. Volcanic rocks and structures generally found in Archaean greenstone successions. (a) Undeformed pillow basalts (tholeiite) displaying chilled pillow margins,
vesicles, and inter-pillow carbonate-quartz fillings; (b) variably sized pillow structures in amphibolites (metamorphosed komatiitic basalt) showing re-entrant structures and
inter-pillow fill material outlining the pillow shapes; (c) large pillow structure several metres in long dimension, in andesitic basalts from greenstones in the Noranda mining
area, Quebec, Canada; (d) a cluster of tennis-ball sized spherulite structures in the lavas near Noranda; (e–h) variably sized, undeformed spherulite structures in komatiitic
basalts in the Komati Formation, Barberton. Some spherulites nucleate near tops of lava flows as in (e); (h) undeformed spherulite structure next to a strongly deformed and
flattened sample where the spherules occur as disc-shaped lenses; (i) cherty quartz fillings of lava tubes drained from pillowed flows. These features can assist in determining
the original attitude of the flows.

Each of the volcanic cycles is capped by a sedimentary interface from about 46% to 56% SiO2. They occur as both massive and pil-
zone usually consisting of chemical and minor clastic sediments lowed sequences (Fig. 9a–c). Andesites, which are intermediate
(chert, jaspilite, banded iron formation – Fig. 16). Bimodal volcanic volcanic rocks with 54–62% SiO2, are estimated to comprise about
successions comprising early tholeiitic basaltic–andesitic magma, 15% of some greenstone belts and may not be present at all in oth-
and later dacitic–rhyolitic magma are also encountered (Sylvester ers. Most andesite volcanism is reported from greenstone belts in
et al., 1997). These relationships can be seen in most well-docu- the Superior Province, Canada, the Yilgarn Craton in Western Aus-
mented greenstone terranes such as the Superior Province of Can- tralia (Condie, 1994), and the Zimbabwe Craton (Harrison, 1970).
ada (Thurston and Fryer, 1983; Ayres and Thurston, 1985; In most cases andesites appear to have been deposited as either
Thurston et al., 1985, 1991; Thurston, 1994), the Yilgarn and Pil- pillowed subaqueous lava flows or as rubbly subaerial lava flows
bara regions of Western Australia (Hallberg, 1972; Glikson, in places associated with sedimentary lenses. Spherulitic struc-
1976a, 1976b; Giles, 1981; Hickman, 1981; Van Kranendonk tures (variolites, ocelli) are not uncommon in the lavas and are
et al., 2007a, 2007b), and the Barberton greenstone belt, South thought to be immiscibility features, ranging in size from a few
Africa (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d; Lowe and Byerly, 1999; millimeters in diameter to tennis ball and even larger sizes. In
Kohler and Anhaeusser, 2002; Brandl et al., 2006; Furnes et al., places they are seen at the tops of lava flows or as spherules or
2011, 2012). varioles in pillow lavas (Fig. 9d–h).
The possibility exists that some of the rock associations Greenstone belt andesites have iron-rich compositions rela-
described above are genetically linked to regional plutonic bodies tive to modern andesites, and are thought to have been derived
with geochronological data arguably supporting this concept from basaltic parents by fractional crystallization, as with mod-
(Lowe, 1999a). Other studies involving SHRIMP zircon dating and ern andesites (Gill, 1981). Sylvester et al. (1997), on the other
Hf-in zircon and whole rock Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd isotopic data, sug- hand, argued that they may have been derived directly from
gests that many of the potassic felsic rocks that occur interlayered the mantle in subduction-related settings or, alternatively, they
with basalt and komatiite in the Barberton greenstone belt, and could represent crustally-contaminated komatiitic or high-Mg
previously considered to be derived from melting of mafic precur- magma.
sors, may be the result of melting of significantly older felsic crust Dacitic, rhyodacitic and rhyolitic components of greenstone
(Kröner et al., 2013). belts range in composition from about 62% to 78% SiO2 and com-
Basaltic rocks, as pointed out by Condie (1994), are the domi- prise, on average, about 9% of the volcanic rocks (Condie, 1981,
nant volcanic rocks in greenstone belts and range in composition 1994). These occur both as lava flows as well as pyroclastic
694 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 10. Volcanic-related features commonly displayed in Archaean greenstone belts. (a) Felsic volcanic fragmental rocks showing large clasts in a finer tuffaceous matrix; (b)
mafic pyroclastic fragmental clasts (left) overlain by finer mafic tuffaceous debris (below hammer), followed by a second coarse fragmental layer (right); (c) light coloured
tuffaceous sediments overlain by lapilli tuffs; (d) mafic tuffs with a flame structure indicating younging to the top; (e) lapilli tuffs with interlayered carbonaceous cherty
sediment containing microfossils; (f) hyaloclastite breccias, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbawe.

Fig. 11. (a) Polished slab showing graded unit of accretionary lapilli. Note the sheared lapilli zone separating the coarse from the finer-grained lapilli and the silica-rich veins;
(b) pea-sized accretionary lapilli seen in outcrop. In both examples shown the rocks have been silicified and are interlayered with chert.

deposits, the details of which are summarized by Sylvester et al. support for early Archaean continental crust formation by melting
(1997). In some belts felsic porphyry intrusives accompany the of thick mafic plateaus.
extrusive rocks and may be genetically and temporally linked Subaerial and subaqueous sedimentary mass-flow processes
(Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d). Both subaqueous and subaerial dacite include volcanic eruptions, avalanches, debris flows and turbidity
and rhyolite flows have been recorded in many greenstone belts currents that produce volcaniclastic breccias, agglomerates, con-
together with pyroclastic deposits. How these felsic volcanic glomerates, air-fall tuffs, hyaloclastite breccias, ash-flow tuffs, lap-
formed remains a debatable topic. Plate subduction has been a illi tuffs (including accretionary lapilli tuffs), and welded tuffs or
favoured mechanism, but recent findings from studies of Icelandic ignimbrites (Figs. 10 and 11) (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d; Sims,
dacites suggest these rocks were produced by high-pressure partial 1972a; Morton and Nebel, 1983; Jones and Anhaeusser, 1993;
melting of basaltic lower crust, followed by fractional crystalliza- Lowe and Byerly, 1999). Felsic pyroclastic rocks are frequently
tion of amphibole, plagioclase and ilmenite. According to associated with Archaean massive sulphide Cu–Zn deposits, partic-
Willbold et al. (2009) the calc-alkaline dacites from Iceland provide ularly in the Canadian Shield (Franklin et al., 1981; Bleeker, 1999).
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 695

the geological environments prevailing at any given time in green-

stone belt evolution. Sedimentary rocks, furthermore, provide
essential clues to their source areas, constrain tectonic settings
and offer information on ancient physical, chemical and biological
processes. In many greenstone belts sedimentary rocks occur pre-
dominantly towards the tops of stratigraphic sequences and signal
the curtailment or cessation of volcanic activity. This particularly
situation is exemplified in the Barberton greenstone belt in South
Africa, where an approximately 5 km thick sequence of sediments
of the Fig Tree and Moodies Groups (Figs. 12, 13, and 14b) overlie
the volcano-sedimentary assemblage comprising the approxi-
mately 15 km thick Onverwacht Group (Visser, 1956; Condie
et al., 1970; Anhaeusser, 1976a, 1976b; Lowe and Byerly, 1999;
Brandl et al., 2006). In the east Pilbara Craton, the Mosquito Creek
Basin, with its mainly turbiditic clastic sedimentary rocks, is
Fig. 12. View looking east along a valley underlain by Onverwacht Group volcanic inferred to represent the stratigraphically uppermost stage of
rocks showing the mountainous nature of the central part of the Barberton
greenstone belt evolution in this region (Nijman et al., 2010). How-
greenstone belt. The valley is flanked in the north (left) by Fig Tree Group
greywackes, shales, banded cherts and iron formations and the regionally extensive
ever, this interpretation is not generally accepted as the Mosquito
strike-slip Barbrook Fault. In the south (right) the valley is flanked by another Creek Basin is a Late Mesoarchaean rift basin not related to earlier
regionally extensive fault (Saddleback Fault) and Moodies Group conglomerates, doming. The northern contact of the basin is a faulted unconfor-
quartzose sandstone, siltstone and shale of the Dycedale Syncline (right mity cutting abruptly across Palaeoarchaean domes and synclines
foreground).
in the East Pilbara Terrane (Hickman, personal communication,
2014).
Archaean sediments have been recorded in most greenstone
6. Sedimentary rocks belts and detailed reviews are available (Pettijohn, 1943; Lowe,
1980, 1994b; Ojakangas, 1985; Padgham, 1985; Eriksson et al.,
Archaean greenstone belts contain a variety of sedimentary 1997). Archaean greenstone belts contain a variety of sedimentary
lithofacies associations that provide an insight into the nature of lithofacies associations. These are represented by sedimentary

Fig. 13. Photographs showing some of the rock types that comprise the essentially psammitic sediments of the Moodies Group, Barberton greenstone belt. (a) Basal
polymictic conglomerate including clasts of chert, banded iron formation as well as granitic rocks; (b) carbonaceous quartzite layer showing tidally influenced interference
ripple structures; (c) foreset cross-bed with carbonaceous rip-up clasts on the foresets; (d) desiccation cracks in mudstone indicating the Moodies succession was at times
subaerially exposed; (e) alternating sandstone layers separated by mudstone partings. Bedding is vertical and younging to the right; (f) tidal sand wave deposit showing
bundles of foresets separated by mudstone drapes (see Eriksson, 1977 and Eriksson and Simpson, 2000 for details).
696 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 14. Photographs displaying additional sedimentary rock types encountered in greenstone belts. (a) glaciated pavement, Southwestern Superior Province, Canada,
showing folded banded iron formation with magnetite, hematite and silica-rich layers (‘‘Algoma type’’ – Gross, 1965); (b) turbidite greywacke sediments of the Fig Tree
Group, Barberton, showing flute cast sole marks; (c) alternating carbonaceous chert and siderite layers in the Komati Gorge, Barberton belt. The carbonaceous cherts contain
evidence of approximately 3450 Ma old microfossils; (d) domal stromatolites in Cheshire Formation limestones of the Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe, described by
Martin (1978).

Fig. 15. Sediments, found in greenstone xenoliths south of the Barberton greenstone belt, and believed to be among the oldest recorded rocks in the region (ca. 3500 Ma). (a)
Calc-silicate rocks, thought to be metamorphosed, calcium-rich pelagic sediments, containing diopside and grossular garnets, interlayered with komatiites and komatiitic
basalts; (b) arenaceous sediments consisting of quartzitic and arkosic layers associated with komatiitic metabasalts (Dziggel et al., 2002).

lithofacies associated with mafic–ultramafic and calc-alkaline-fel- Mafic, volcanic-derived sediments occur, for example, in the
sic volcanic rocks, or by conglomerate–quartz arenite and/or car- Pilbara Craton where Buick and Dunlop (1990) described the North
bonate, conglomerate–wacke–pelite, and conglomerate–arenite– Pole chert-baryte unit (Fig. 37c) as a succession deposited in a shal-
pelite associations. Examples of each of these sedimentary lithofa- low, subaqueous- to intermittently-subaerial environment. The
cies occur in many different greenstone belts and are outlined fully sequence consists of two shallowing upward cycles with four
by Eriksson et al. (1997). lithofacies assemblages. These include volcanogenic sandstone
Many greenstone belts, where continuity of exposure is avail- (silicified volcaniclastic rocks), volcanogenic mudrock (fine volca-
able, for example those in the east Pilbara Craton and in Zimbabwe, nic ash or clay), carbonate chemical precipitate (mudrocks com-
are seen to share a common tectono-stratigraphic history. Locally, posed of quartz and carbonate, diagenetic gypsum, stromatolite-
however, individual greenstone belts may reflect lithofacies varia- like structures, and breccias of possible biogenic origin – Walter
tions, unique deformational characteristics, or variations due, for et al., 1980), and sulphate chemical precipitate (comprising barite
example, to the emplacement of penecontemporaneous or post- pseudomorphs of gypsum crystals suggesting the sulphates were
tectonic granitic intrusions into evolving greenstone sequences. primary evaporites).
For these reasons it is difficult to generalize on the character of Other examples of sediments occurring with mafic–ultramafic
greenstone belt lithotypes, because virtually every sediment-type rocks have been recorded in the Barberton belt and adjacent green-
and depositional environment imaginable, from volcanogenic to stone xenoliths and include felsic volcaniclastic rocks and carbona-
deep water turbiditic, to shallow-water and sub-aerial terrestrial ceous sediments associated with komatiites and komatiitic basalts
fluvial systems, is represented in one or other greenstone belt. (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969b; Lowe, 1999b, 1999c). In addition,
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 697

Fig. 16. Examples of chert varieties associated with volcanic rocks in many greenstone belts. (a–c) Colourful chert layers, including jaspilite, in the Marble Bar area of the
Pilbara Craton, Western Australia; (d) borehole core drilled through the Buck Reef Chert, Barberton (as part of an International Drilling Project), revealing colourful cherts
similar to those in the Pilbara greenstone belt; (e) jaspilitic iron formation from the Kraaipan greenstone belt, South Africa; (f) surface exposure of banded black and white
chert from the Onverwacht Group, Barberton. The carbonaceous layers contain evidence of primitive microfossils.

minor interlayers of banded iron formation, carbonaceous shale, Stromatolitic sedimentary carbonate makes up much of the
chert, calc-silicate rocks and arenites have been reported 3430–3350 Ma Strelley Pool Formation in several greenstone belts
(Anhaeusser, 1980, 1983, 2001; Dziggel et al., 2002 – Fig. 15). of the East Pilbara Terrane, though in most areas later silicification
Sediments associated with calc-alkaline volcanic successions has resulted in partial or complete replacement by banded chert
are common to many greenstone belts with good examples occur- (Hofmann et al., 1999; Allwood et al., 2006; Van Kranendonk,
ring in the Canadian Shield, Western Australia and southern Africa 2007; Hickman, 2008).
(Condie, 1981; Barley, 1981; Ayres and Thurston, 1985; Lowe, Carbonate sediments are also present in some Mesoarchaean
1994a, 1994b; Eriksson et al., 1997; Lowe and Byerly, 1999). Prom- and younger greenstone belts, but generally remain a minor com-
inent banded chert and jaspilitic sequences, such as those of the ponent of the sedimentary packages. In the Barberton greenstone
well known Buck Reef Chert in the Barberton belt, which is in belt minor sideritic carbonate beds occur together with carbona-
excess of 100 m thick, occur largely as silicified tuffaceous sedi- ceous shales and cherts in the volcanic-dominated Kromberg For-
ments at the tops of mafic to felsic volcanic sequences (Lowe, mation (Fig. 14c – Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d). Also present near
1999b; De Vries et al., 2010; Hofmann et al., 2013). In the East Pil- the base of the Kromberg Formation are stromatolites in altered
bara region the spectacular Marble Bar Chert Member (Fig. 16a–c), carbonate rocks formed ca. 3416 Ma ago (Kröner et al., 1991) that
is not primarily a silicified tuffaceous sediment, but is mainly a pri- are approximately time equivalents of the Stelley Pools stromato-
mary precipitate of carbonates that were later silicified (Hoashi lites in the Pilbara Craton (Gary Byerly, personal communication,
et al., 2009). These authors also indicated that the Marble Bar 2014). Higher in the Barberton succession exposures of a younger
cherts contain primary haematite crystals formed from locally dis- set of stromatolites (ca. 3298 Ma – Byerly et al., 1996) occur in
charged hydrothermal fluids rich in ferrous iron, the latter precip- silicified carbonate rocks near the top of the Mendon Formation
itated ca. 3460 Ma ago in an oxygenated water body. These (Fig. 24). Carbonate rocks, some also displaying prominent domal
findings imply the existence of noticeable quantities of molecular stromatolites, are present in the Neoarchaean ca. 2700–2900 Ma
oxygen, and they proposed that organisms capable of oxygenic greenstone belts in the Bulawayo district of southern Zimbabwe
photosynthesis evolved more than 700 million years earlier (Macgregor, 1940), and in the Cheshire Formation in the Belingwe
than previously recognized. greenstone belt (Martin, 1978; Martin et al., 1980 – Fig. 14d).
Conglomerate–quartz–arenite–carbonate associations have The conglomerate–wacke–pelite association is exemplified by
been described in Zimbabwe and the Superior Province (Wilson the Fig Tree and Moodies sediments occurring in the Barberton
et al., 1978; Thurston and Chivers, 1990) and, according to greenstone above the volcanic dominated Onverwacht Group.
Eriksson et al. (1997), typically overlie granitic basement noncon- The Fig Tree Goup consists predominantly of greywacke and shale
formably and contain conglomerate, feldspathic sandstone, quartz (with Bouma cycles), interbedded ferruginous banded chert and
arenite, stromatolitic carbonate, mudstone and iron formation. iron formations and locally conglomerates and quartzose sand-
Carbonate sediments are generally uncommon in pre-3500 Ma stones (Condie et al., 1970; Hofmann, 2005). In places thick-bed-
(Eoarchaean) greenstone belts. Strong deformation and metamor- ded, coarse-grained, volcaniclastic turbidites (Fig. 14b) and
phism and the absence of stromatolites and microfossils generally dacitic-to-rhyolitic volcaniclastic sandstone and conglomerate
renders it difficult to determine whether these rocks are of meta- were deposited on the deep-water shales and turbiditic greywac-
somatic, sedimentary or diagenetic origin. Observations and exper- kes (Lowe and Byerly, 1999; Kohler and Anhaeusser, 2002).
imental studies have, however, suggested that low-temperature The overlying ca. 3216 Ma Moodies Group (Heubeck et al.,
pre-metamorphic dolomite did form through anaerobic microbial 2013) comprises upward-fining, progradational cycles of polymic-
mediation in the Isua greenstone belt in West Greenland prior to tic conglomerate (including granitic clasts), sandstone (orthoqu-
metamorphism, thereby providing evidence for a P3700 Ma bio- artzite), wacke, shale, siltstone, minor alkalic volcanic flows and
sphere and primitive life (Nutman et al., 2010). jaspilitic banded iron formation layers (Fig. 13 – Visser, 1956;
698 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Anhaeusser, 1976a; Heubeck and Lowe, 1999) that were deposited enclaves in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex in West Greenland and are
in a variety of terrestrial, marginal marine and shallow-marine set- thought to be >3800 Ma (Friend et al., 2002).
tings. Well-preserved sedimentary structures include cross-bed- In southern Africa numerous examples of Archaean layered
ding, tidal-shelf and tidal-flat ripple structures, subaerial ultramafic–mafic complexes have been documented in the green-
desiccation cracks, and tidal microbial mats (Heubeck, 2007), the stone belts of Zimbabwe (Keep, 1929; Ferguson, 1934; Laubscher,
latter also recorded in the Pilbara Craton (Hickman, 2012). The old- 1968; Wilson, 1968) and South Africa (Anhaeusser, 1972, 1978a,
est reported eolian deposits (ca. 3200 Ma) comprising successions 1978b, 1985, 2001, 2006a, 2006b; Viljoen and Viljoen, 1970). In
of fine-to medium-grade quartz sandstone up to 80 m thick the Barberton greenstone belt alone Anhaeusser (1985, 2006a,
(Simpson et al., 2012), occur with braided fluvial facies associations 2006b) reported the presence of 27 layered igneous bodies occur-
in the Moodies Group sediments. ring with komatiite and high-Mg basalts in the lower part of the
Tidal sand-wave deposits investigated by Eriksson (1977) and volcanic sequence. Most of these intrusions occur as massive sill-
Eriksson and Simpson (2000) in the Moodies Group (Eureka Syn- like bodies or complexes and show pronounced magmatic differen-
cline – Fig. 13e and f), revealed that 20 foreset bundles occurred tiation. Many intrusions show cyclically repeated layered units
each month on a 4–5 month-long data set. These cycles provided consisting dominantly of dunite, orthopyroxenite and harzburgite
quantitative evidence for tides influenced by a lunar synodic (±80%), and lesser amounts of clinopyroxenite, gabbro and anor-
orbital period of 18–20 days. This difference, from today’s thositic gabbro-norite units (Figs. 17 and 18). Isolated lenses of
29.5 day synodic orbital cycle, suggests the Moon was closer to chromitite have also been recorded (De Wit and Tredoux, 1988).
Earth in the Archaean. Calculations suggest that the Moon has Most complexes display variable amounts of alteration, defor-
been moving away from Earth at an average rate of ca. 3.78 cm mation, metamorphism and serpentinization, but some bodies
per year. are well preserved and permit estimations to be made of the com-
positions of parent magmas. The majority of the Barberton intru-
sions appear to have been derived from Mg-rich magmas
7. Igneous complexes estimated to be komatiitic in composition (±28% MgO). Fraction-
ation of olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene from the komat-
7.1. Layered ultramafic–mafic complexes iitic magmas in shallow-seated magma chambers may have been
responsible for the contemporaneous evolution of the basaltic
Although volcanic rocks predominate in most greenstone belts rocks hosting the cumulate-dominant intrusions. Age dating of
a variety of igneous rocks, ranging in composition from ultramafic the Barberton intrusions has proved to be problematic as the rocks
to felsic, often occur in close association with the extrusive assem- are generally unsuitable for reliable geochronological evaluation.
blages. Archaean layered ultramafic–mafic intrusions are, for The only available date is that of the Mundt’s Concession intrusion,
example, found in greenstone belts possessing komatiite, komatiit- which consists of dunite, pyroxenite and gabbro. These rocks
ic basalt, high-Mg basalt and tholeiite. Some of the better docu- yielded a Pb-isotopic age of ca. 3244 Ma (Dupré and Arndt,
mented examples of these occurrences include those in the 1990), which is similar in age to the youngest sequence of
Canadian Shield (Naldrett and Mason, 1968; MacRae, 1969; extrusive komatiites of the Barberton greenstone belt (viz., the
Irvine and Ridler, 1972; Jolly, 1977; Raudsepp and Ayres, 1982), Weltevreden Formation that gave a Re–Os isochron age of ca.
and in Western Australia (McCall, 1971; McCall and Leishman, 3266 Ma – Connolly et al., 2011).
1971; Williams and Hallberg, 1973). The oldest recorded massive The only other intrusions so far reported that are similar to
or irregularly layered dunite–harzburgite assemblages occur as the Barberton examples occur in the Munro Township area of the

Fig. 17. Examples of some layered ultramafic complexes in the Barberton greenstone belt. (a and b) Aerial views of folded layered complexes in the northern part of the
greenstone belt. An abandoned chrysotile asbestos mine, in serpentinized dunite, seen near the core of the Mundt’s Concession Anticline; (c and d) Prominent
orthopyroxenite layers alternating with serpentinized dunite layers in the Stolzburg Complex, SW-Barberton greenstone belt. The layering shown in (d) is subvertically
orientated and consist of alternating dunite (grey) and orthopyroxenite (reddish brown) cyclic units (Anhaeusser, 1985, 2001).
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 699

Fig. 18. Photomicrographs illustrating some of the mineralogical features of rocks from the Barberton layered ultramafic complexes. (a) Freshly preserved orthopyroxenite
cumulate minerals with minor interstitial plagioclase and a few specks of chromite; (b) more commonly encountered altered orthopyroxenite showing steatization of the
orthopyroxene forming replacement talc veins; (c) surface exposure of nodular harzburgite; (d) photomicrograph showing poikilitically enclosed olivine crystals in
orthopyroxene. The sample is from the harzburgite seen in (c).

Abitibi greenstone belt in Ontario (Naldrett and Mason, 1968;

MacRae, 1969) and in southern Zimbabwe. Most of the layered
intrusions recorded elsewhere are generally less magnesian than
the Barberton and Ontario occurrences and consist of pyroxenitic,
gabbroic, noritic and anorthositic rocks with volumetrically lesser
amounts of dunite, harzburgite, lherzolite and orthopyroxenite
(McCall, 1971; Irvine and Ridler, 1972; Raudsepp and Ayres,
1982; Fripp and Jones, 1997). These lower magnesian intrusions
are estimated to have formed from spatially associated high-Mg
basalts with parent magma compositions ranging from 15% to
18% MgO (Williams and Hallberg, 1973).
Some of the intrusions have been subjected to alteration involv-
ing serpentinization and steatization of the olivine and orthopy-
roxene in the rocks (Fig. 18b) and Ca-metasomatism has been
responsible for the development, locally, of rodingites (rocks con-
taining a wide range of Ca-rich minerals including, hydrogrossular,
vesuvianite, nephrite, hibschite, diopside, and many others), which
metasomatically replace suitable host rocks such as mafic dykes Fig. 19. Anorthositic gneiss, part of a deformed anorthosite complex from the
and gabbroic rocks (Anhaeusser, 1979; O’Hanley, 1997). northern part of the Tre Brødre terrane in the Buksefjorden region of the North
Archaean ultramafic–mafic complexes have geological charac- Atlantic Craton, southern West Greenland (Friend et al., 1987). The anorthosites are
cumulate rocks occurring in layered igneous complexes containing ultramafic rocks,
teristics similar to those described from some Phanerozoic ophio-
gabbros, leucogabbros, gabbroic anorthosites, anorthosites and chromitites (Myers,
lite sequences that are interpreted to represent oceanic crust and 1985; Windley, 1973). (Photograph courtesy of Annika Dziggel, RWTH, Aachen).
upper mantle rocks formed in a variety of plate-tectonic settings.
Ophiolites, defined as ocean crust consisting, from base to top, of
ultramafic rocks, gabbro, sheeted dykes and pillow lavas in the Slave Province (Helmstaedt et al., 1986; Kusky, 1990), the
(Anonymous, 1972) are regarded as rare to absent in Archaean Yilgarn Craton (Fripp and Jones, 1997), the West Pilbara Superter-
greenstone belts (McCall, 1981; Anhaeusser, 2001). De Wit et al. rane (Ohta et al., 1996; Hickman, 2012), and the Barberton (De Wit
(1987) and De Wit (2004) held an opposing view arguing that et al., 1987) and Isua (West Greenland) greenstone belts (Furnes
the Barberton layered complexes represented sections through et al., 2009).
3500 Ma oceanic crust (Jamestown Ophiolite Suite). However, as
pointed out by Sylvester et al. (1997) no complete Archaean ophi- 8. Anorthosite complexes
olite (according to the definition) has yet been documented. It is
argued that entire sections or units of ophiolites may be missing Archaean anorthosites occur as generally minor components of
as a result of non-preservation (e.g., due to faulting or erosion) Archaean crust and are associated with mafic igneous rocks in
and in these cases the modified terms ‘partial’, ‘dismembered’ or some, but not all, greenstone belts (Windley, 1973; Ashwal,
‘metamorphosed’ might apply. The use of the term ophiolite to 1993; Ashwal and Myers, 1994). They are regarded as having been
describe ultramafic–mafic sequences or oceanic crust may there- derived from fractionated basaltic magmas and occur as
fore amount to interpretation. A few examples of sequences that major anorthosite intrusions comprised of layered anorthosite, leu-
have been considered representatives of Archaean ophiolites occur cogabbro, gabbro, melanogabbro and ultramafic rocks. Anorthosite
700 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

containing megacrystic calcic plagioclase and leucogabbro are the three groups, mostly consists of pillow basalt, komatiite and basal-
dominant rock types and are invariably deformed and metamor- tic komatiite, but lesser felsic volcanic intervals are also well devel-
phosed to grades ranging from low greenschist to granulite facies oped in places (Hickman, 2011, 2012; Hickman and Van
(Fig. 19). Spectacular photographs illustrating megacrystic textures Kranendonk, 2012). The dacitic-dominant felsic volcanic deposits
and highly strained anorthosite–leucogabbro gneisses are dis- are locally several kilometers thick (Coucal, Duffer and Panorama
played in Ashwal (1993) and Ashwal and Myers (1994). Formations) and include subvolcanic porphyries and granodiorites
Anorthosites are found in most Archaean terranes, the best that have been related genetically to the volcanic rocks by geo-
known examples occurring in the northern hemisphere, particu- chemical, isotopic and sedimentological criteria (Barley et al.,
larly in the Abitibi greenstone belt of the southern Canadian Shield, 1984; DiMarco and Lowe, 1989).
and in Labrador and West Greenland (Windley, 1973; Myers, 1985;
Phinney et al., 1988; Ashwal and Myers, 1994). Other granite-
greenstone terranes such as those in the Baltic Shield, Western 10. Metamorphism
Australia, and India generally display fragmented anorthosites
where the host rocks to the anorthosites are not always apparent. Greenstone belts, almost without exception, have been meta-
This is the case with the oldest known terrestrial anorthosites (ca. morphosed to a greater or lesser extent following successive stages
3650–3400 Ma), which occur as fragments of a deformed and of deformation and intrusion by granitic rocks and other igneous
metamorphosed layered anorthosite–gabbro–ultramafic intrusion bodies. The term ‘greenstone belt’ is partly a response to the green-
(Manfred Complex) at Mount Narryer in the Western Gneiss Ter- ish-grey colour exhibited by many of the volcanic rocks occurring
rane of the Yilgarn Craton (Myers, 1988b). In the Barberton green- in the belts, but is also due to the predominantly greenschist meta-
stone belt minor occurrences of anorthosite and anorthositic norite morphic overprint affecting these rocks. Metamorphism is mostly
layers (massive and ‘‘inch-scale’’) were recorded at the tops of dif- heterogeneous with metamorphic grade varying from granulite
ferentiated dunite–orthopyroxenite–websterite cycles in the Koe- through amphibolite and greenschist facies to prehnite–pumpelly-
doe and Stolzburg complexes (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1970; ite and virtually unmetamorphosed rocks. Factors influencing the
Anhaeusser, 1985, 2006a, 2006b). metamorphic grade include the size and position of greenstone
The best preserved examples of anorthosite occur widespread belts on cratons, relative to adjacent, high-metamorphic grade
in the 3900–2500 Ma Archaean gneiss complexes of Greenland terranes such as the complex orogenic belts of the North Atlantic
and Labrador (Bridgwater et al., 1976; Nutman, 1997; Nutman Craton where, for example, the Isua greenstone belt has been
et al., 1997). Of these the Fiskenæsset Complex in West Greenland undergone multiple deformation and metamorphism from
is the most studied example and comprises seven major lithostrati- amphibolite to granulite grades (Nutman, 1997; Rollinson, 2002).
graphic units which, from base to top, include a lower gabbro, an Other examples include the Grenville Province in Canada (Easton,
ultramafic, a lower leucogabbro, a middle gabbro, an upper leuco- 1992), the Limpopo Belt separating the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe
gabbro, an anorthosite and an upper gabbro unit (Myers, 1985; Cratons in southern Africa (Kramers et al., 2006), and the Narryer
Polat et al., 2012). The complex, derived from tholeiitic magma, Gneiss Complex and Albany-Fraser orogen in Western Australia
was fragmented by the intrusion of concordant granitic sheets (Myers and Swagers, 1991). Greenstone belt rocks (and accompa-
(now gneisses) and subsequently underwent several phases of het- nying granitic rocks) occurring on or adjacent to these high-grade
erogeneous folding such that the rocks can be seen in all stages, terranes may be transformed into upper-amphibolite and granu-
from undeformed to intensely deformed. The anorthosite layer is lite-grade assemblages.
the thickest unit (250 m) and lacks marked internal stratigraphy, Many smaller greenstone belts occur predominantly as schist
the pronounced layering being tectonic. Chromitite, which is rare belts enveloped by gneissic and granitic rocks. These belts, like
in other anorthosite complexes, occurs as discontinuous layers the Murchison greenstone belt, South Africa, which comprises a
and lenses in the anorthosite and leucogabbro units. Magnetite number of tectono-metamorphic units showing contrasting clock-
and ilmenite layers, up to 1 m thick, occur in magnetite-rich wise P–T-deformation histories, are generally metamorphosed to
leucogabbros. greenschist or amphibolite grades (Block et al., 2013), whereas
some of the larger belts are dominated by low-to-intermediate
greenschist facies assemblages and, in some cases, by virtually
9. Sub-volcanic felsic intrusive rocks unmetamorphosed rocks in areas remote from the influence of gra-
nitic intrusions (e.g., the central parts of the Barberton greenstone
Many greenstone belts that possess felsic volcanic centres with belt, Anhaeusser et al., 1968; Brandl et al., 2006).
dacite–rhyodacite–rhyolite extrusive components, such as those in Greenstone belts have been subjected to various types of meta-
the Canadian Shield (Ayres and Thurston, 1985), Western Australia morphism categorized as regional, contact, and retrograde meta-
(Hickman, 2012) and South Africa (Brandl et al., 2006), are often morphic varieties (Wilkins, 1997), and metamorphic studies have
intruded by contemporaneous subvolcanic tonalite–trondhje- been fundamental in establishing the links between deformation,
mite–granodiorite (TTG) plutons, stocks and sills. In the Barberton metamorphism and granitic rock emplacement in order to better
greenstone belt massive dacitic intrusive rocks occur together with understand greenstone belt tectonic evolution. Wilkins (1997) fur-
felsic volcanic and pyroclastic rocks in the upper part of the ther provided a comprehensive set of generalizations relating to
Onverwacht Group (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d; Lowe and Byerly, greenstone belt metamorphism and showed that there were no
1999). Felsic plutonic rocks are also found lower in the sequence systematic metamorphic criteria applicable to all belts as many
(in the Komati Formation), where quartz and feldspar porphyries variables can affect the nature of metamorphism from one belt
intruded the komatiite and komatiitic basalt successions (Viljoen to the next.
and Viljoen, 1969b; Van Kranendonk et al., 2009). In the Barberton greenstone belt for example, Cloete (1999)
The porphyries in the Barberton greenstone terrane vary con- indicated that rocks in the Komati Formation had been influenced
siderably in size ranging from bodies a few tens of metres to over by at least three types of metamorphism including sea-floor
1 km in diameter. The porphyries are mainly Na-rich tonalites or metamorphism, burial metamorphism and dynamic (retrograde)
leuco-trondhjemites, but some examples are granodioritic in com- metamorphism and that each type overprinted the other.
position. In the East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia the Studies by Cutts et al. (2014) confirm that the rocks in the
!20 km thick Pilbara Supergroup, which has been divided into Barberton belt record evidence of polymetamorphism. Initially,
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 701

amphibolite-facies metamorphism occurred at ca. 3435 Ma with fractures or even through permeable volcano-sedimentary rocks
peak conditions of !4.5 kbar and 550 "C. This was followed by a and breccias. In some cases the alteration is so pervasive that
later amphibolite-facies metamorphic event at ca. 3230 Ma with entire successions may be altered without readily revealing the
peak conditions of 7.5 kbar and 560 "C. Peak burial metamorphism mechanism involved or the fluid sources.
was estimated to have taken place at 3.9 ± 0.6 kb and 510 ± 25 "C. The most common type of metasomatic alteration involves
South of the Barberton greenstone belt, within the adjacent gra- silicification, with virtually all rock types being affected by this
nitic terrane, studies of various greenstone remnants have indi- process. In the Barberton greenstone belt, for example, vast thick-
cated peak metamorphic P–T conditions varying between 600 nesses of massive and pillowed basaltic lavas have been silicified to
and 700 "C and 4–11 kbar. This led to the suggestion that this ter- the extent that they were originally mapped as felsic lithotypes,
rane may represent an exhumed mid-to lower-crustal core com- such as dacitic and rhyodacitic lavas (Viljoen and Viljoen, 1969d).
plex that formed a basement to the Barberton greenstone belt at In places spinifex-textured ultramafic rocks have been completely
the time of peak metamorphism at ca. 3230 Ma (Dziggel et al., denatured and occur as siliceous pseudomorphic relics of the kom-
2002; Stevens et al., 2002; Stevens and Moyen, 2007). atiites. Felsic volcanic and pyroclastic rocks, including fine-grained
A high degree of P–T variability was also recorded in rocks tuffs, are commonly silicified to such an extent that they are often
flanking the Theespruit trondhjemite gneiss pluton south of the difficult to distinguish from bedded chert horizons (Paris et al.,
Barberton belt. Diener et al. (2005), for example, recorded high-P, 1985; Lowe, 1999b; Van Kranendonk, 2006; Hofmann and Harris,
low-T peak metamorphic conditions of 7.4 ± 1.0 kbar and 2008; Rouchon and Orberger, 2008; Hofmann et al., 2013). In some
560 ± 20 "C in the Tjakastad schist belt adjacent to the western places, such as the Buck Reef Chert in the Barberton belt and the
contact of the Theespruit Pluton, whereas Van Vuren and Cloete Kittys Gap Chert in the Pilbara, early diagenetic silicification has
(1995) found that amphibolites, in close proximity, yielded tem- led to excellent preservation of primary sedimentary structures,
peratures of 700 "C and 9 kbar pressure. On the eastern side of or in some cases has resulted in their obliteration or replacement
the pluton (which is about 7 km wide and 11 km long) Van by diagenetic structures (Rouchon and Orberger, 2008; De Vries
Vuren and Cloete (1995) recorded temperatures ranging from et al., 2010). Evaporite beds, ca. 3438–3416 Ma old, containing
390 to 440 "C and pressures of 2.6 to 5.4 kbar. On the south side completely silicified pseudomorphs of nahcolite (NaHCO3, sodium
of the pluton temperatures ranging between 360 to 415 "C and bicarbonate) suggest that the early atmosphere contained much
pressures between 3.0 to 5.0 kbar were encountered. higher CO2 levels than the modern atmosphere (Lowe and Fisher
Greenstone belts that have been intruded by granitic rocks Worrell, 1999).
commonly show contact metamorphic aureoles ranging from a Sodium and potassium metasomatism is also common (Fig. 20a
few meters up to several kilometers wide. Mafic rocks near con- and b), but generally not as prevalent as silicification. Fluids
tacts are usually transformed into black or dark-green hornblende- derived from Na- or K-rich granitic bodies can influence the miner-
or actinolite-bearing amphibolites, and ultramafic rocks are altered alogy and composition of virtually any rock type found in close
to talc- or talc-chlorite (±carbonate) schists. Alumina- and/or proximity to intrusions. In the Murchison greenstone belt, South
potassium-bearing felsic volcanic and pyroclastic rocks are com- Africa, Jaguin et al. (2013) reported widespread fluid-rock interac-
monly transformed into felsic schists near granitic contacts and tion processes resulting in the replacement of potassium and cal-
display a variety of alumino-silicate metamorphic assemblages. cium by sodium, leading to albitization on a regional scale, the
Depending on the distance from contacts (and the heat source) latter process accompanied by significant antimony enrichment.
these rocks may display, in decreasing metamorphic grade, the Al2- Also in South Africa, on the Johannesburg Dome in the central
SiO5 polymorphs sillimanite, kyanite, andalusite and pyrophyllite, Kaapvaal Craton, Anhaeusser (1992a) described an unusual occur-
in addition to corundum and sericite/muscovite/margarite rence of K-metasomatism of ultramafic rocks in a greenstone xeno-
(Anhaeusser, 1978a, 1978b). Shales and greywackes may be altered lith adjacent to a porphyritic granodiorite intrusive. Serpentinized
to biotite–garnet–cordierite–staurolite hornfelses and phyllitic harzburgitic rocks in contact with the granodiorite have been
schists. Other metasediments, including calc-silicate rocks and transformed into biotite-rich rocks containing large K-feldspar
banded iron formations may contain a variety of minerals such megacrysts, the rocks containing over 8% K2O (Fig. 20c). South of
as grossular and almandine garnet, diopside, grunerite and the Barberton greenstone belt alteration involving Na-metasoma-
magnetite. tism was described in roof pendant xenoliths in the Theespruit Plu-
Archaean greenstone belts show a noteworthy absence of high- ton. In this example late-stage, Na-rich magmatic fluids associated
P or ‘blueschist’ metamorphism of the glaucophane–jadeite type. with the trondhjemitic intrusion have resulted in the assimilation
This is significant as the absence of these minerals has been used and hybridization of hornblende amphibolites into a variety of dio-
in arguments dispelling compression and subduction (and ulti- ritic rocks showing a spread of compositions and Na-plagioclase
mately plate tectonics) as a major factor in Archaean tectonics. megacrysts (Anhaeusser, 2010 – Fig. 20a).
As a counter to the apparent absence of high-P blueschist minerals Serpentinization, carbonate alteration and, to a lesser extent,
it has been suggested that these phases may have been destroyed steatization of ultramafic rocks such as dunites, harzburgites and
following overprinting by subsequent intermediate- and lower- pyroxenites as well as their volcanic equivalents (komatiite, peri-
pressure metamorphic assemblages (Wilkins, 1997; Moyen et al., dotite, picrite and high-Mg basalt) is commonly encountered in
2006). most greenstone belts hosting these rock types and is generally
considered to be a deuteric effect involving hydration without
excess water from the country rocks. Again using southern African
11. Metasomatism examples, most of the ultramafic rocks in the layered complexes
described previously have undergone alteration such that the
Having been exposed to a succession of tectonic and metamor- dunites and harzburgites have been serpentinized or have under-
phic influences rocks of Archaean greenstone belts commonly dis- gone variable degrees of carbonate alteration following successive
play a variety of alteration effects associated with the migration stages of regional tectonism and granitic intrusion (Fig. 20d). The
through the rocks of metasomatizing fluids. These generally hydro- serpentinized ultramafic rocks, particularly the dunites and harz-
thermal or magmatic fluids can have a range of compositions and burgites in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland, have hosted
may be sourced from rocks in close proximity to formations that some of the major chrysotile asbestos deposits in the world
have been altered, or they may have migrated along faults and (Anhaeusser, 1976c, 1986c; Ward, 1999).
702 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 20. Examples of rocks that have undergone transformation by metasomatic fluid replacement processes. (a) Xenoliths of amphibolite in trondhjemitic gneisses showing
sodium metasomatism and the development of plagioclase xenocrysts in the altered amphibolites; (b) potash feldspar megacrysts in amphibolite xenolith in the Nelspruit
Batholith, north of Barberton; (c) potash feldspar megacrysts in biotite host rock. The rocks represent metasomatized components of a layered ultramafic greenstone remnant
surrounded by porphyritic granodiorites on the Johannesburg Dome (Anhaeusser, 1992b); carbonate replacement of serpentinized dunite in the area north of Barberton.
Rocks of this nature produce talc-carbonate schists in deformed greenstone belts.

Steatization is also commonly encountered in layered ultra- constraining the chronology and crustal evolutionary history of
mafic intrusions where pyroxenites (particularly orthopyroxenites granite-greenstone terranes using radiogenic isotopic data. Prior
– Fig. 18b) and gabbroic and noritic rocks may have been affected to the availability of such age constraints, and the absence of bio-
by hydrothermal (or extreme deuteric) alteration to talc or steatite stratigraphic markers, such as fossils, it became increasingly diffi-
(Anhaeusser, 1985, 2006a, 2006b). cult to undertake mapping and interpretation of complex
Calcium metasomatism generally occurs where Ca-rich miner- geotectonic environments such as those applicable to rocks in
als (e.g., calcic plagioclase or diopside) undergo hydrothermal Archaean cratonic regions. The process of radioactive decay, which
alteration resulting in the generation of calcium-enriched fluids. is exponential and independent of chemical or physical conditions,
In some ultramafic complexes the Ca-rich fluids may result in is now used as standard procedures for measuring geological time.
the partial or complete metasomatic replacement of generally A number of isotopic systems have been successfully developed to
coarse-textured rocks such as gabbros and mafic dykes. This pro- resolve geological issues that no other technique would satisfy.
cess is often encountered in or adjacent to serpentinized dunites Rollinson (1998) summarized the various techniques and ana-
where rodingites (Ca-rich rocks, exhibiting a range of hydrated alu- lytical equipment mainly used in dating very old systems encoun-
mino-silicate mineral assemblages, including hydrogrossular, tered in Archaean terranes, including the Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, and U–Pb
vesuvianite, hibschite, nephrite, tremolite and diopside, among methods. Other techniques employed include Lu–Hf, La–Ce, Re–Os
many others) may occur as rodingite dykes or as Ca-metasoma- and Hf isotope systematics. The Rb–Sr isotopic system has been
tized, and in places, garnetized gabbroic rocks (Miles, 1950; widely used for crustal rocks containing adequate quantities of
Anhaeusser, 1979; Schandl et al., 1989; O’Hanley, 1997). Rb and Sr and can be used for various whole-rock compositions
Another form of metasomatism, involving sulphides as opposed as well as individual minerals. However, because both Rb and Sr
to silicates, has been suggested for the formation of a rare occur- are relatively mobile elements the isotopic system may be dis-
rence of trevorite (a rare Ni–Fe oxide mineral) at Bon Accord in turbed by fluid influx or metamorphic influences, rendering it dif-
the Barberton greenstone belt (O’Driscoll et al., 2014). Evidence ficult to interpret the results. Thus the method is rarely employed
suggests that the trevorite body was closely associated with kom- these days for dating granite-greenstone assemblages of Archaean
atiite eruptions in a sea-floor setting and that the massive trevorite age (Hamilton et al., 1977).
formed via oxidation and desulphurization of Ni-sulphide The U–Pb method of dating zircons has become the most
ore known to be present in the vicinity. Sulphides, mainly favoured approach for determining accurate ages for the time of
pyrite (and often accompanied by gold mineralization), also com- crystallization of rocks of magmatic derivation. This method also
monly replace iron-rich layers in banded iron formations enables the recognition of zircons inherited from older crust, or zir-
(Fig. 37a and b). cons which point to multiple geological events, such as may be
seen in complex metamorphosed rocks hosting zoned single zircon
grains. The U–Pb method is not restricted to zircons, but is also
12. Geochronology applicable to the minerals sphene (titanite), monazite and epidote.
The elements Sm and Nd are less mobile than Rb, Sr, Th, U, and
Considerable advances have been made in the past number Pb and the Sm–Nd method is often employed as a whole-rock dat-
of decades of dating greenstone belt rocks and of generally ing procedure from which crust formation ages may be deter-
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 703

mined. For more details on this and other isotopic systems, and ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
dating techniques, the reader is referred to Rollinson (1998) and (LAICPMS).
references therein. The discoveries mentioned above suggest that there may be
The oldest isotopically dated rocks (Hadean–Eoarchaean–Palae- many more relics of ancient crust in various Archaean granite-
oarchaean – ca. >4000–3200 Ma) reported thus far occur in rela- greenstone terranes that have yet to be identified. For example,
tively small outcrop expanses in the Slave Province of northwest detrital zircon grains ca. 3909–3881 Ma have been reported from
Canada; the North Atlantic Craton region (including southwest quartzites in the Limpopo Belt in southern Africa (Zeh et al.,
Greenland and the east coast of Labrador); the northeastern Supe- 2008), yet there are no known occurrences of the zircon protoliths
rior Province in Quebec, Canada; the Anshan region of the North of this age, in either the flanking Zimbabwe or Kaapvaal Cratons.
China Craton; the Narryer and Pilbara terranes of Western Austra- Geochronological data has been accumulating at a rapid rate
lia; the Napier complex in Antarctica; and the Kaapvaal and Zimba- worldwide and is used to resolve local as well as regional problems
bwe Cratons in South Africa and Zimbabwe (Condie, 2007). Old relating to crustal evolution and the growth of continents. Geo-
rocks of Palaeoarchaean age have also been recorded in a few other chronological compilations or summaries have been prepared for
localities such as the Minnesota River Valley and Wyoming Craton Archaean terranes, such as the Yilgarn and Pilbara Cratons
in North America; parts of the Aldan Shield in northeast Asia; the (Nelson, 1996–2002; Hickman, 2012) and sectors within the Supe-
Karelian Craton in the southeastern portion of the Baltic Shield; rior Province (Corfu and Davis, 1992; Van Breemen et al., 2006).
parts of the Ukranian Shield in eastern Europe; the northern por- In South Africa major advances in the understanding of the
tion of the Sáo Francisco Craton in Brazil, and in a number of local- geology and evolution of the region known as the Barberton Moun-
ities in India. In these areas, and in most of the ancient nuclei of the tain Land followed from the early U–Pb dating of granitic and
continents, rocks of Mesoarchean to Neoarchaean age (ca. 3200– greenstone rocks in the region by Tegtmeyer and Kröner (1987),
2500 Ma) are also developed. and later by Kamo and Davis (1994) and Armstrong et al. (1990).
As mentioned previously the U–Pb method is now most com- These findings were fundamental in providing chronological con-
monly employed to date Eoarchaean to Neoarchaean rocks that straints on rocks in the area and led to further studies of a similar
range in age from >3800 Ma to ca. 2500 Ma. The oldest known nature being undertaken in the Barberton/Swaziland areas and
greenstone assemblage was initially thought to be the Isua supra- other parts of the Kaapvaal Craton. Most recently a U–Pb zircon
crustal belt in West Greenland, which formed ca. 3813–3710 Ma age of 3216.0 ± 0.3 Ma has been obtained by Heubeck et al.
ago (Moorbath et al., 1973; Nutman et al., 1997). However, the dis- (2013) for the Moodies Group of sediments in Barberton, which
covery of the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt in Ungava, Québec, for a long time have proved difficult to date precisely.
provided an older suite of Eoarchaean rocks that have yielded a Reviews of the Archaean geochronology of the Kaapvaal Craton
Sm–Nd isochron age of ca. 4300 Ma (O’Neil et al., 2008). If this have been provided by Poujol et al. (2003) and Eglington and
age proves to be correct the Nuvvuagittuq belt, which exposes Armstrong (2004), and have served both as a compilation of the
mafic volcanic (cummingtonite–amphibolite) and sedimentary rapidly accumulating data base, as well as a guide to chronological
rocks surrounded by ca. 3660 Ma tonalite, will emerge as the oldest trends across the entire craton. The results demonstrated, for exam-
preserved crustal sequence on Earth. Other ancient crust has been ple, that the southeastern part of the craton (viz., the Barberton–
identified in the Acasta Gneiss Complex, Northwest Territories, Swaziland–KwaZulu–Natal areas) possessed the oldest rocks. This
Canada (ca. 4030 Ma – Stern and Bleeker, 1998), and rocks older region acted as a nucleus about which cratonization evolved. Thus,
than ca. 3900 Ma are known in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex in Green- successive stages of magmatic arc accretion as well as tectonic
land (Nutman et al., 1996), in the Napier Complex Antarctica (Black amalgamation of discrete terranes or crustal blocks are thought to
et al., 1986) and in the Slave Province of Canada (Bowring et al., have developed in the northern, central and western sectors of
1989). Mid-Eoarchaean to Early-Palaeoarchaean rocks ranging in the craton over a period of ca. 3600–2500 Ma (Compston and
age between ca. 3800–3550 Ma old have been inferred from isoto- Kröner, 1988; Poujol and Anhaeusser, 2001; Poujol et al., 2002,
pic evidence in the Pilbara Craton (Van Kranendonk et al., 2007a, 2003, 2005, 2008; Anhaeusser and Poujol, 2004; Eglington and
2007b; Hickman, 2012) and identified in the Ancient Gneiss Com- Armstrong, 2004; Schmitz et al., 2004; Poujol, 2007).
plex in Swaziland (Compston and Kröner, 1988; Kröner et al., In Western Australia the crustal evolution of the Pilbara Craton
1989). has been successfully facilitated following the availability of geo-
The Earth’s oldest crustal minerals were first reported from zir- chronological data accumulated as part of the Pilbara Craton Map-
cons found in quartzites at Mount Narryer in the Yilgarn Craton, ping Project (PCMP – established in 1995 by the Geological Survey
which yielded mineral ages of ca. 4180 Ma. Subsequent investiga- of Western Australia and Geoscience Australia). The results from
tions, and the use of the ion-microprobe SHRIMP, led to the discov- 2002 onwards led to revised geological interpretations of the Pil-
ery of zircons as old as ca. 4276 Ma being found in the Jack Hills bara Craton previously erected on the basis of lithostratigraphic
Metasedimentary Belt located 60 km northeast of Mount Narryer criteria (Hickman, 1983, 1984). The PCMP compilations led to the
(Compston and Pidgeon, 1986). Still older Hadean Eon zircons recognition of five terranes and five late-tectonic, dominantly clas-
(ca. 4400–4000 Ma) were reported from the Jack Hills region by tic sedimentary basins. Furthermore, the geochronology, together
Cavosie et al. (2007) and Harrison et al. (2008), who maintained with mapping, showed that the greenstones are laterally more var-
their presence suggested buoyant crust as early as ca. 4400 Ma. iable in age across the craton and include terranes that once were
Archaean metasedimentary rocks, containing detrital zircons old part of the Pilbara Craton that separated by rifting at ca. 3220 Ma,
enough to record the Hadean–Archaean transition (which is then reconverged and collided at ca. 3070 Ma during the later
inferred to pre-date the oldest known rocks from West Greenland stages of tectonic development of the craton (Van Kranendonk
and Canada), have been found in Australia, the North China Craton et al., 2002, 2007a; Hickman, 2004; Hickman and Van
(Liu et al., 2007) and the Wyoming Craton in North America Kranendonk, 2004, 2008).
(Chamberlain and Mueller, 2007). However, zircons from the Jack In summary, a comprehensive Archaean geochronological data-
Hills metasediments have received the most attention due to their base has already been established internationally and will doubt-
consistently higher concentration and have been dated using a less be added to in the years to follow as it has become evident
variety of techniques, including secondary ionization mass spec- that isotopic dating is fundamental in determining the character
trometry (SIMS), thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), and evolution of greenstone belts and their surrounding granitic
laser resonance ionization mass spectrometry (LRI-MS) and laser rocks.
704 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 21. Evidence for a proposed meteorite impact structure, of Mesoarchaean age, located in the Kraaipan granite-greenstone terrane on the western side of the Kaapvaal
Craton, South Africa (Anhaeusser et al., 2010). (a) Aeromagnetic image showing a concentric ring structure approximately 30 km in diameter; (b) megabreccia found on the
northern rim of the structure showing variably sized granitic blocks in a fine-grained matrix breccia. The large granite block measures 3.2 " 1.5 m in size; (c) angular granitic
and gneissic fragments (up to a metre in size) in a dark matrix containing smaller angular rock fragments.

Fig. 22. Photographs illustrating spherule layers first reported in the Barberton greenstone belt by Lowe et al. (1989). The borehole core sample (c) shows spherules from the
Sheba Gold Mine northeast of Barberton; (d) shows spherules observed under a microscope (Photomicrograph courtesy of Axel Hofmann, University of Johannesburg). For
comparison, the sample shown in (b) is a ca. 2570 Ma spherule layer from the Reivilo Formation, Campbell Rand Subgroup, Transvaal Supergroup (Reimold and Koeberl,
2014).

13. Meteorite impact events Kraaipan granite-greenstone terrane on the western half of the
Kaapvaal Craton (Anhaeusser et al., 2010 – Fig. 21). Older and pos-
It seems reasonable to assume that the early Earth received its sibly larger impacts are evidenced by rare ejecta layers (Lowe et al.,
share of meteorite bombardment in a manner similar to the moon 1989; Simonson and Glass, 2004; Simonson et al., 2009), but the
around 4000 million years ago. However, meteorite impact struc- locations and sizes of the source craters remain poorly constrained.
tures, deemed to be of Archaean age, have rarely been identified Meteorite impact components have recently been identified
on Earth, probably because they have not withstood the rigors of indirectly following the discovery of sand-sized spherical particles
erosion or they have been buried beneath younger cover rocks. A (spherules – Fig. 22) that are thought to have formed by the con-
few possible exceptions include the ca. 3000 Ma Maniitsoq struc- densation of impact vapour plumes ejected from the sites of large
ture, in West Greenland (Garde et al., 2012) and a Mesoarchaean impacts (Lowe and Byerly, 1986). Four spherule layers in the
impact ring structure, thought to be about 2790 Ma old, in the geological record of the Barberton greenstone belt contain
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 705

geochemical evidence suggesting that they contain non-terrestrial

components and were formed as a result of fallout from impact
plumes that followed large impact events at ca. 3470–3240 Ma
(Lowe et al., 1989, 2003; Kyte et al., 2003; Krull-Davatzes et al.,
2012). Strong enrichments in siderophile elements, especially irid-
ium, anomalous Cr isotope compositions and chondrite-like PGE
patterns for spherule samples have been cited as evidence favour-
ing an impact origin.
A ca. 3470 Ma spherule bed, preserved at North Pole in the Pil-
bara Craton, is correlated with another of the same age in the Bar-
berton greenstone belt (Byerly et al., 2002; Glikson et al., 2004).
This suggests these spherule deposits may represent a single global
fallout layer that is associated with sedimentation following a large
impact event. Several Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic impact
spherule beds have been well-documented from the Pilbara Craton
and the Fortescue and Hamersley basins in Western Australia
(Glikson, 2013), and correlated with those in southern Africa,
including the Transvaal Basin (Fig. 22b). The spherule deposits
might indicate a closer link between the Pilbara and Kaapvaal Cra-
tons during Palaeoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic times, as sug-
gested by Simonson et al. (2000).
Alternative views introduced by Reimold et al. (2000) suggested
that problems exist regarding an impact interpretation for the var-
ious Archaean spherule layers mentioned previously, maintaining
that secondary hydrothermal processes pervasively overprinted
the stratigraphy and are responsible for the geochemical variations
recorded. In support of this these authors argued that they had
obtained high iridium (Ir) values that were clearly related to sec-
ondary faults and shear zones. They further indicated that chrome
spinel in spherule layers is often zoned, and they were of the opin-
Fig. 23. An artists impression of what the primitive Earth may have looked like in
ion that secondary gersdorffite noted in some samples was a car- Eoarchaean time (>3600 Ma). The Moon would have been closer to the Earth and
rier phase for Ir. meteor showers and volcanic activity were more prevalent than today. Hot springs
It was further argued by Hofmann et al. (2006) that major and and pillow lavas in thermal areas may have been the breeding grounds for primitive
trace element geochemistry (including PGE and chromium isotope microorganisms and the evolution of life, some associated with stromatolite
development in shallow seas. Geo-artist: Maggie Newman.
data) are difficult to reconcile with the composition of meteorite
debris as they noted the presence of volcaniclastic particles associ-
ated with some of the spherule layers. Field data they maintained,
indicates that the four previously proposed impact spherule layers (Hofmann et al., 1985), and in the Cheshire Formation (Fig. 14d)
reported in the Barberton greenstone belt may be laterally correl- in the Belingwe greenstone belt (Martin, 1978).
ative units formed from the same impact event. Initially some of these discoveries, particularly the microfossils
in Archaean rocks were regarded with skepticism and the filamen-
tous microbes were referred to as ‘‘dubiomicrofossils’’ by Schopf
and Walter (1983) and Sugitani et al. (2007). Some scientists main-
14. Primitive life tained that few Archaean sedimentary rocks had survived to the
present and those that did were too severely altered by metamor-
The quest for knowledge of when life originated on Earth has phism to preserve a microfossil record.
long taxed the minds of scientists. Clearly the earliest signs of These difficulties did not deter scientists from continuing the
primitive organisms had to be sought in the oldest rocks, namely search for evidence of primitive life and further discoveries were
the Archaean greenstone belts. Hence some of the first reports of made from all around the world (Schopf et al., 2007). The recogni-
what were claimed to be microorganisms emanated from these tion of an early Archaean microbial ecosystem was reported from
terranes. An artists impression of the primitive Archaean environ- the Warrawoona Group in the Pilbara (Awramik et al., 1983) and,
ment in which early life may have developed is portrayed in later, in the ca. 3466 Ma Kitty’s Gap Chert (part of the Panorama
Fig. 23. Formation in the Warrawoona Group; Westall et al., 2006). Addi-
Early discoveries of what were believed to be filamentous tional cellularly preserved filamentous microfossils (a prokaryotic
microbial fossils were reported by Edgell (1964) and Williams assemblage establishing that trichomic cyanobacterium-like
(1968) in ca. 2720 Ma Fortescue Group rocks in Western Australia, microorganisms were extant and morphologically diverse at least
but these fossils were not associated with Archaean greenstone as early as ca. 3465 Ma), were reported from chert in the 3460–
belts. Some of the earliest recorded greenstone-hosted fossil 3450 Ma Apex Basalt of the Kelly Group in the Pilbara (Schopf
remains were reported from southern Zimbabwe, where and Packer, 1983; Schopf, 1993). Stromatolites in the ca. 3480 Ma
Macgregor (1940) described stromatolitic carbonate rocks (ca. Dresser Formation of the ca. 3530–3430 Ma Warrawoona Group
2700–2900 Ma) from the Huntsman limestone quarry in the Bul- in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia (Walter et al., 1980), pro-
awayo district. Later, Barghoorn and Schopf (1966) and Pflug vided the continued stimulus and support for seeking traces of
(1966) found evidence of microfossils in carbonaceous cherts in microbial life. Slightly younger stromatolite facies were also
the Fig Tree Group of rocks in the Barberton greenstone belt. This identified within partly silicified shallow-marine carbonates of
was followed by further fossil discoveries in the ca. 2800– the ca. 3426–3350 Ma Strelley Pool Formation (Hickman, 2008;
3000 Ma Uchi greenstone belt, northwest Ontario, Canada Lowe, 1980, 1983; Hofmann et al., 1999), which separates the
706 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Warrawoona and Kelly Groups across a regional unconformity reported in the ca. 3480 Ma Dresser Formation in the Pilbara region
(Hickman, 2008; Hickman and Van Kranendonk, 2012). Stromato- by Noffke et al. (2013). Their evidence suggests these structures
lite occurrences have also been reported in the ca. 3325 Ma formed in an environment characteristic of an ancient coastal
Wyman Formation of the Kelley Group in the Pilbara region sabkha.
(Williams and Bagas, 2007). Despite the overwhelmingly scientific evidence, accepted by
In reviewing the evidence of the conditions that influenced the most palaeontologists working in the field, suggesting that life
Dresser Formation stromatolite occurrences, Van Kranendonk did exist in the Archaean, and that many of the fossil-like struc-
(2006) concluded that eruption of volcanic emissions into tures found in Archaean terranes are biogenic in origin (topics
restricted basins formed brine pools with concentrations of volca- too vast to fully review in this paper), there remain sceptics who
nogenic components, thereby providing habitats suitable for the regard such indicators of ancient life as controversial and equivocal
development of early life forms. The Strelley Pool Formation and (cf. Wacey, 2009).
its contained stromatolites was, by contrast, deposited during a
ca. 75 million-year break in volcanic activity. This showed that 15. Granitic rocks
the Dresser and Strelley Pool stromatolite occurrences mentioned
above developed in very different geological settings with mark- No review of Archaean greenstone belts would be complete
edly different morphologies, suggesting a diversity of microbial life without reference being made to the vast expanse of granitic,
on early Earth. gneissic and migmatitic rocks that occur on the cratons and shield
A summary of all the Pilbara fossil locations and findings has areas hosting the greenstone successions. The Archaean granitic
been compiled by Van Kranendonk (2007) and a stratigraphic tab- rocks initially appear to have been intimidating and daunting to
ulation of all reported Pilbara fossils older than 2920 Ma was pub- early workers in these terranes and were often depicted as vast
lished by Hickman (2012). Counter viewpoints and an alternative undifferentiated areas, usually coloured pink on older maps, and
assessment for the evidence on Palaeoarchaean life was provided being referred to collectively as ‘basement granites, gneisses and
by Wacey (2009), who maintained that the biogenic origin of migmatites’. This situation has changed dramatically over the past
reported fossil occurrences has not been proven. four to five decades and today much new information is available.
Following the initial microfossil discoveries in the Barberton As with greenstone belts the literature describing the field rela-
greenstone belt by Barghoorn and Schopf (1966) and Pflug tionships, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, distribution,
(1966) further detailed investigations led to the discovery of stro- mode of emplacement and genesis of Archaean granitic rocks is
matolites near the base of the ca. 3445–3416 Ma Kromberg Forma- extensive and could easily justify several review articles.
tion, Onverwacht Group, which are approximately the same age as The Archaean granite-greenstone terranes of southern Africa,
the stromatolites from the Strelley Pool chert in the Pilbara region the Pilbara/Yilgarn Cratons of Western Australia and the Superior
(Gary Byerly, personal communication, 2014). A further occurrence Province in Canada locally provide exceptional exposures of
of stromatolites was also located higher in the succession in the ca. Archaean granitic rocks, and once again, most of the explanations
3298 Ma Mendon Formation (Fig. 24a), near the top of the Onverw- that follow will largely stem from these regions. Whereas most
acht Group (Walsh and Lowe, 1985; Byerly et al., 1986; Lowe and Archaean terranes are topographically subdued the Kaapvaal Cra-
Byerly, 1999). ton is generally well-exposed, particularly on the eastern side of
Recent discoveries in the Barberton belt have shown that pillow the craton. Here, the narrow, low-lying coastal zone in the east
lava rims of Hooggenoeg volcanic rocks may also have hosted an gives way to a mountainous escarpment region (Great Escarpment)
Archaean subseafloor biosphere as far back as ca. 3500 Ma that separates the coast from the high inland plateau to the west. It
(Banerjee et al., 2006; Furnes et al., 2007; McLoughlin et al., is also in this region that the Barberton Mountain Land is preserved,
2012). Similar pillow lavas in the ca. 3350 Ma Euro Basalt of the Pil- displaying exceptional three-dimensional exposures of the green-
bara Craton were found to contain micro-sized tubular structures stone sequence as well as the surrounding granitic rocks in a region
identical to microbial ichnofossils in modern basalts. Microbial that was only recently exhumed following the breakup of East and
mats (Fig. 24b) were found in Moodies sediments by Heubeck West Gondwana approximately 135–115 Ma ago (Watkeys, 2006).
(2007), and microbial colonization of basaltic glass, reported by Some of the earliest regional mapping aimed at deciphering the
Banerjee et al. (2006, 2007), appears to have been a part of a deep Archaean granitic rocks in southern Africa was that published in
subsurface biosphere established early in Earth’s history. Microbi- various bulletins of the Geological Survey of Southern Rhodesia
ally induced sedimentary structures (MISS) have also recently been between about 1918 and 1970. These findings were later summa-

Fig. 24. Left (a) Laminated structures (stromatolites) of probable biological origin from the M2c member of the ca. 3298 Ma Mendon Formation near the top of the
Onverwacht Group in the Barberton greenstone belt (Byerly et al., 1996; Lowe and Byerly, 1999). Stromatolites are layered organosedimentary structures formed by microbial
activity that trap or precipitate sediment. The example shown, from a unit which is 1–2 m thick, is under- and overlain by silicified brecciated komatiitic lavas (Photograph
courtesy of Maud Walsh and Gary Byerly, Louisiana State University); (b) thin, ca. 3200 Ma fossil biomats (the most ancient evidence of early life visible to the naked eye),
described from the Moodies Group by Heubeck (2007). Coin for scale is 25 mm in diameter.
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 707

rized by Phaup (1973) who provided a first attempt at classifying 1983b; Robb et al., 1983), as well as late granitic and syenitic plu-
the granitic rocks of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and he produced a tons in the Barberton region and Swaziland (Anhaeusser et al.,
map showing their distribution and broad-based field relation- 1983; Robb, 1983a; Meyer et al., 1994). The exceptional exposures
ships. Later work by the Geological Survey of Swaziland (territory helped determine the relationships of the various granitic types
east of the Barberton greenstone belt) led to the first subdivision and some of these are illustrated in the accompanying photographs
and map of the Archaean granitic rocks in this region (Hunter, (Figs. 25–29). Due to the topographical relief of the region the
1957). These findings were added to later in a number of papers potassic batholiths were seen in vertical sections as subhorizontal
dealing with granitic rocks in Swaziland and crustal evolution of sheets or as carapaces (e.g., the Homogeneous Hood Granites of
the Kaapvaal Craton (Hunter, 1970, 1973, 1974; Anhaeusser, Hunter, 1973), overlying the earlier-formed TTG gneiss terrane
1973a; Hunter and Wilson, 1988; Hunter et al., 1992; De Wit (Fig. 28d).
et al., 1992; Hunter and Stowe, 1997; Rouchon and Orberger, Migmatites of different types were recognized as having formed
2008; Schoene et al., 2008). as a consequence of the sequential emplacement of different gra-
The neighbouring Barberton region later proved to be a special nitic rocks and their accompanying structural influences
environment in which to study all aspects of Archaean granitic (Anhaeusser and Robb, 1980; Robb, 1983b). Sodium-enriched
rocks. Preliminary findings led to the recognition of a variety of migmatites tended to occur near contacts between TTG gneiss plu-
granitic rocks that were initially characterized on the basis of field tons and greenstone belt septa and xenoliths, and more potassic
relationships and major element geochemistry (Viljoen and migmatites occur in areas influenced by potassic batholiths
Viljoen, 1969e; Glikson, 1976b) – there being few reliable age (Figs. 28g and 29c). Migmatitic granitic rocks in major shear zones,
determinations available until the first U–Pb geochronology was like those described earlier in the Pilbara region of Western Austra-
undertaken by Oosthuyzen (1970). lia, have counterparts in most cratons (e.g., the northern margin of
In subsequent years numerous field-based studies in the areas the Kaapvaal Craton adjacent to the Limpopo Belt – Fig. 30).
surrounding the Barberton greenstone belt, and linked to the A large geochemical database was established for the various
National Geodynamics Programme – Barberton Project (which granitic rock types in the Barberton region (Anhaeusser and
commenced in 1975), resulted in the recognition of a variety of Robb, 1983a) and it was recognized that the oldest granitic rocks
granitic intrusive bodies ranging in composition from plagio- were dominantly Na-rich TTG gneisses and that the batholiths
clase-rich trondhjemite and hornblende-bearing tonalite gneisses, and late plutons were comprised mainly of K-rich granitic rocks.
and granodiorites (TTG gneisses), to more homogeneous, in places In areas where trondhjemitic gneiss plutons were not previously
porphyritic, feldspar-rich monzogranites, and younger syenogra- recognized, or where they were not outlined by greenstone septa,
nite and granite plutons sensu stricto (Anhaeusser et al., 1983; individual plutons or ‘cells’ were identified on the basis of their dis-
Robb and Anhaeusser, 1983; Robb et al., 1986; Anhaeusser, tinct Sr values (Robb and Anhaeusser, 1983).
2010). The studies also revealed the presence of a number of potas- The field evidence as well as the petrological and geochemical
sic batholiths not previously recognized (Anhaeusser and Robb, data led to conceptual models being proposed for the Barberton

Fig. 25. Granite-greenstone contact features seen in the southern part of the Barberton region. (a) Domical trondhjemitic gneiss pluton intruding amphibolites of the
Sandspruit Formation. The contact zone is evident in (b) and (c) and consists of gneissic layering along the sheared contact; (d) granite-greenstone contacts showing lit-par-lit
intrusion of granitic rocks into deformed and schistose amphibolites; (e) example showing how greenstone septa, wedged between granitic plutons, are drawn out and
fragmented along strike before being engulfed by the granitic magma; (f) microcracks in amphibolites, infiltrated by fluids derived from a nearby intrusive granitic source,
resulting in the metasomatic replacement (granitization) of the amphibolites.
708 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 26. Contact relationships where granitic rocks interface with greenstones. (a) Alteration of amphibolite contact zone resulting in the development of tonalite or diorite at
the interface; (b) example of hornblende–tonalite gneiss with a mafic inclusion aligned in the foliation; (c) example of foliated trondhejemite gneiss, consisting of quartz,
biotite and Na-plagioclase, with a schlieric fragment of biotite aligned within the foliation; (d) a granite-greenstone contact showing sharp boundary relationships and lit-
par-lit injection of trondhjemite into amphibolite.

Fig. 27. Examples of various types of xenoliths encountered in some granitic terranes. (a) Amphibolite xenoliths in the Hout River, Southern Marginal Zone of the Limpopo
Belt; (b) fragments of amphibolite producing agmatite structure; (c) xenolith of banded gneiss–migmatite (ca. 3400 Ma old) surrounded by ca. 3105 Ma old porphyritic
granodiorite of the Nelspruit Batholith north of Barberton; (d) multiply deformed mafic dyke in the Sand River area of the Limpopo Belt.

granitic terrane whereby successive magmatic cycles or stages of The crustal evolution models preceded reliable geochronologi-
granitic crustal evolution were envisaged (Anhaeusser, 1973a; cal data (the available granitic ages being based mainly on Rb–Sr
Anhaeusser and Robb, 1981). The earliest or proto-cratonization whole-rock dating by Barton et al., 1983). Subsequent U–Pb zircon
stage (ca. 3500–3200 Ma) involved the intrusion of TTG granitic dating of many of the granitic rocks in the Barberton–Swaziland
rocks (including Na-rich gneisses and migmatites). This was fol- region was carried out by Kamo and Davis (1994), Kröner et al.
lowed by the main stage of cratonization (ca. 3200–3000 Ma), (1989, 1991, 1996), and Lana et al. (2010b), enabling the granitic
which involved the emplacement of enormous volumes of K-rich intrusions to be packaged into Eoarchaean (>3600 Ma),
magma that formed the sheet-like batholithic massifs that stabi- Palaeoarchaean (ca. 3600–3200 Ma), Mesoarchaean (ca. 3200–
lized the cratonic crust. The final stage of granitic magmatism coin- 2800 Ma) and Neoarchaean (ca. 2800–2500 Ma) time slots, which
cided with the termination of cratonization and the local did not materially affect the broad crustal model suggestions made
emplacement of discrete, mainly potassic, post-tectonic plutons. earlier.
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 709

Fig. 28. Granitic rock relationships in the terrane surrounding the Barberton greenstone belt. (a) Ancient Gneiss Complex rocks (ca. 3644 Ma) intruded by potassic granitoids
(ca. 3074 Ma) near Pigg’s Peak in Swaziland; (b) scenic view across the ca. 3105 Ma Mpuluzi Batholith looking east towards Swaziland; (c) vertical dyke of potash-rich granitic
rock intruding through early gneisses and feeding upwards to the carapace or cover of Mpuluzi granodiorite shown in (d); (d) escarpment showing the edge of the Mpuluzi
Batholith, which overlies ca. 3445 Ma gneisses, migmatites and xenoliths seen in the foreground; (e and f) undeformed potassic granitoids of the ca. 3105 Ma Mpuluzi
Batholith; (g) trondhjemitic gneisses intruded by potassic granite and pegmatite dykes in close proximity to the margin of the Mpuluzi Batholith.

The above-mentioned findings have been supplemented by Anhaeusser, 2001) and ca. 3200 Ma tonalitic gneiss (Anhaeusser
more recent work, particularly relating to the geochemistry and and Burger, 1982). Homogeneous, in part porphyritic, K-rich gra-
structural styles of emplacement of the TTG gneisses (Clemens nitic rocks, migmatites and pegmatites followed between ca.
et al., 2006; Moyen et al., 2007; Anhaeusser, 2010) and the K-rich 3120–2947 Ma (Barton et al., 1999; Poujol and Anhaeusser, 2001)
batholiths in the south of the Barberton Mountain Land (Westraat and intruded the earlier Na-granitic gneisses forming a thickened
et al., 2005; Belcher and Kisters, 2006a, 2006b; Clemens et al., crustal segment or massif upon which was deposited rocks of the
2010). Extensional detachment faulting and orogenic collapse of gold-bearing Witwatersrand Supergroup about 2970 Ma ago. No
the Barberton greenstone belt, together with concomitant exhu- evidence exists of any late or Neoarchaean granite plutons on the
mation of lower crustal TTG rocks from deeper crustal levels Johannesburg Dome or in the central parts of the Kaapvaal Craton.
(core-complex formation) are envisaged for areas north and south The Vredefort Dome, situated about 120 km to the south of the
of the greenstone belt (Kisters et al., 2003; Dziggel et al., 2006; Johannesburg Dome, occurs as a circular, structurally uplifted part
Lana et al., 2010a, 2010b). It has been suggested, furthermore, that of the central craton (Fig. 31), that was subjected to a large mete-
evidence exists in this region for a Mesoarchaean arc–trench sys- orite impact event at ca. 2023 Ma (Kamo et al., 1996; Reimold and
tem formed 3290–3230 Ma ago (Inyoni Shear Zone – ISZ of Gibson, 1996). A suite of granitic rocks on the Vredefort Dome con-
Moyen et al., 2006; Kisters et al., 2010). This latter model has been sists of tonalitic and trondhjemitic gneisses, foliated porphyritic
questioned by Nédélec et al. (2012), who suggested that garnet granodiorites, and charnockitic to enderbitic migmatites and
amphibolites found in the ‘arc’, formed in conditions unlike those gneisses formed approximately 3120–3100 Ma ago (Gibson and
reported in modern subduction zones. Van Kranendonk et al. Reimold, 2008; Armstrong et al., 2006).
(2014) also argued against a subduction-style event on the basis The Murchison, Pietersburg, Makoppa and Kraaipan granite-
of a detailed structural analysis involving strain and kinematic greenstone terranes in the northeastern, northern, northwestern
data. These authors concluded that the ISZ represented a ‘drip’ of and western sectors of the Kaapvaal Craton, respectively, again
relatively cool, relatively rigid greenstones into hot, ductile granitic exhibit the same evolutionary sequence of granitic rock develop-
gneisses formed during partial convective overturn of the upper ment, with older trondhjemitic gneisses and migmatites being suc-
(greenstone) and middle (granitic) crust. ceeded by successively younger potassic granitic rocks. In all these
Elsewhere on the Kaapvaal Craton the granitic rocks virtually regions the granitic rocks were emplaced in Mesoarchaean times
replicate the relationships outlined above for the Barberton–Swa- (ca. 3200–2800 Ma; see Robb et al., 2006, and references therein).
ziland region, the main variable being reflected in the younger ages The above examples from the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa
recorded to the north and west. Towards the centre of the craton have been used to illustrate the nature of Archaean granitic rocks
the Johannesburg Dome (Anhaeusser, 1973b) displays a suite of found on other cratons worldwide. Similar accounts describing
granitic rocks, the oldest comprising ca. 3340 Ma trondjemitic the Earth’s early crustal development have been made for their
gneisses and migmatites (Anhaeusser, 1999b; Poujol and counterparts in Western Australia, (Smithies et al., 2003, 2009),
710 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 29. Some unusual granitic rock relationships in granite-greenstone terranes. (a) A complex exposure on the Johannesburg Dome showing successive intrusive events
spanning a time period of over 340 Ma (Anhaeusser, 1999b); (b) a spectacular ‘granite wave’ feature in the Hyden Wildlife Park in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The
granite wave, which is 14 m high, consists of ca. 2630 Ma biotite-K-feldspar porphyritic monzogranite; (c) complex potassic migmatites resulting from successive stages of
reworking and injection of different phases of granitic material; (d) a rare contact of granitic rocks showing ca. 3445 Ma banded trondhjemitic gneisses (right) cut by ca.
3200 Ma, weakly foliated trondhjemite gneiss free of banding.

Fig. 30. Examples of granitic gneisses and migmatites developed in a shear zone in Goudplaas Gneiss (a component of the low-grade granite-greenstone terrane of the
Southern Marginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt), close to the granulite boundary on the northern flank of the Kaapvaal Craton. (c) Shows banded gneiss disrupted in the neck of a
tensionally produced boudin structure, by migmatite and pegmatite (Anhaeusser, 1992a).

in Canada and elsewhere. In this regard a comprehensive account The East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara Craton displays Eoarcha-
of the relations between greenstone belts and associated granitic ean (>3600 Ma), Palaeoarchaean (3600–3200 Ma) and Mesoarcha-
rocks, calling on examples from various Archaean cratons, has been ean (3200–2800 Ma) granitic rocks on an impressive scale
provided by Ridley et al. (1997). with large circular to ovoid granitic complexes surrounded by
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 711

such as adakites, sanukitoids and Closepet-type granitic rocks

(Martin et al., 2005; Martin and Moyen, 2005). However, simple
geochemical parameters such as Si content and Mg# show these
rocks are distinct from Archaean TTG-series granitic rocks and that
their presence does not provide evidence for modern-style subduc-
tion processes, at least not during the Eoarchaean and Palaeoarcha-
ean (Smithies, 2000). Rather, TTG production in the early Archaean
may have resulted from melting of hydrous basaltic material (Arth
and Hanson, 1972; Wyllie et al., 1997) at the base of thickened
crust prior to being emplaced diapirically in a manner referred to
by Van Kranendonk et al. (2004) as partial convective overturn.
Later or Mesoarchaean granitic rocks are thought to have formed
from the reworking of earlier crust as well as by subduction-
related geotectonic processes.
Although Canadian Archaean granitic rocks are petrologically
and geochemically similar to their counterparts in Western Austra-
lia and southern Africa they are not all comparable in terms of geo-
chronology and geotectonic setting. In the Superior Province (Stott,
1997) essentially two main types of granitic rocks have been dis-
tinguished, totalling about 75% by area, and having ages of
3000 Ma or less (Card, 1990; Williams et al., 1992). These include
Fig. 31. NASA Space Shuttle image STS511-33-56AA showing the Vredefort Dome
(1) syndepositional to syntectonic complex, composite foliated-
and surrounding Witwatersrand Basin collar rocks rimming the approximately to-gneissic batholiths of tonalitic-to-granodioritic compositions;
40 km diameter central core of Archaean basement rocks, the latter composed and (2) syntectonic- to late-tectonic plutons and batholiths of foli-
mainly of granitic gneisses exhumed following a meteorite impact event ca. ated-to-massive granodiorite-to-granite. The earlier plutonic suite
2023 Ma ago (Gibson and Reimold, 2008).
is regarded as magmatically and temporally related to the late
stages of volcanism within the greenstone belts they intrude. How-
greenstones showing up spectacularly on satellite images of the ever, in some regions, such as in the Michipicoten area of the
region (Van Kranendonk et al., 2004). The granitic emplacement Wawa Subprovince, more than two broad categories of granitic
has been shown to be episodic with ages of ca. 3500–3420 Ma rock development have been recorded. For example, Sage et al.
(exemplified by the Shaw Granitic Complex), a group of ca. (1996) reported three distinct TTG magma series occurring in this
3320 Ma granitic rocks (e.g., the Mount Edgar and Corunna Downs region, emplaced syngenetically with bimodal mafic to felsic cycli-
Granitic Complexes) and a younger widespread group, ca. 3240 Ma cal volcanic rocks, and two additional series, emplaced between
in age, occurring as minor components for example in the Yule, 2720 and 2600 Ma, recognized as pre-tectonic, late-tectonic and
Mount Edgar, Muccan and Warrawagine Granitic Complexes (Van post-tectonic syenite-quartz monzonite and alkali feldspar sye-
Kranendonk et al., 2006, 2007a; Champion and Smithies, 2007). nite-alkali feldspar rocks.
In the majority of granitic complexes investigated in the Pilbara In the Slave Province of the northwestern Canadian Shield sev-
region the evolutionary trend reflected in the rock compositions eral stages of granitic rock emplacement have been recognized,
varies from hornblende–biotite and biotite tonalites, trondhje- including granitic rocks consisting of 4000–2800 Ma gneisses that
mites, granodiorites to monzogranite, and granite sensu stricto. predate the rocks of the Yellowknife Supergroup, and 2700–
There is also a corresponding progression in ages of the granitic 2580 Ma granitic plutons that intrude the Yellowknife Supergroup
rocks from older Na-rich, to later K-rich varieties (Williams and (Van Breemen et al., 1992).
Collins, 1990; Champion and Smithies, 2007). The generally younger-aged Canadian granitic rock series, par-
In the Yilgarn Craton granitic rocks account for about 70% of the ticularly those in the Superior Province, are interpreted to have
crustal exposure, but are not as well exposed as in the Pilbara Cra- developed in an environment regarded as consistent with subduc-
ton. Extensive areas of banded gneiss and recrystallized granitic tion-driven oblique accretion of oceanic and continental volcanic
plutons are evident. Compositionally, the granitic rocks comprise arcs, accretionary sedimentary wedges produced during terminal
mainly adamellite and porphyritic granodiorite (Fig. 29b) with vol- stages of arc-continent collision, and older microcontinental frag-
umetrically lesser amounts of tonalite, trondhjemite, quartz mon- ments in convergent margin settings (Card, 1990; Van Breemen
zonite, syenite and granite sensu stricto. On the basis of magmatic et al., 1992; Williams et al., 1992; Sage et al., 1996; Whalen
and tectonic fabrics, these granitic rocks have been classified into et al., 2002). These Canadian Archaean plate-tectonic-style scenar-
pre-, syn- and post-tectonic intrusives (Gee et al., 1981). SHRIMP ios differ greatly from those proposed for the Archaean terranes in
U–Pb dating of zircons has identified essentially two main periods the southern hemisphere, and may only be related to the generally
of Neoarchaean granitic magmatism at ca. 2690–2685 Ma and ca. younger evolutionary stages of crust development in the Superior
2665–2660 Ma, with some younger dates suggesting that granitic Province and a few other localities on the Canadian Shield. The
rocks were also emplaced intermittently as late as ca. 2600 Ma older Archaean crustal remnants found in the Slave Province, the
(Hill et al., 1989, 1992; Witt and Davy, 1997). North Atlantic Craton, the Nuvvuagittuq region and the Acasta
In both the Yilgarn and Pilbara Cratons the emplacement styles Gneiss Complex, mentioned in an earlier section, may have geotec-
of the granitic rocks has been described in terms of solid-state dia- tonic histories more akin to those described in Western Australia
pirism and/or ballooning plutonism rather than by core complex and southern Africa.
formation or multiple folding resulting from horizontal tectonics
(Hickman, 1984; Collins, 1989; Bloem et al., 1997; Pawley et al.,
2004; Van Kranendonk et al., 2004). It has also been argued by 16. Granulites
some workers that the Archaean TTG series were produced in sub-
duction-related environments, which rely primarily on composi- Whereas most of what has been discussed in earlier sections
tional similarities with Cenozoic subduction-related felsic rocks relate to what are termed Archaean ‘‘low-grade metamorphic
712 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

terranes’’ there are also many ‘‘high-grade terranes’’ either within The two largest granulite occurrences on Earth, of Neoarchaean
or peripheral to the ancient cratonic or shield areas. This relation- age (ca. 2725–2690 Ma), are located in the northeastern Superior
ship is particularly clearly displayed on satellite imagery showing Province, Canada (Percival, 1994). Here the !200 000 km2 Minto
the Northern Marginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt (consisting of end- Block consists dominantly of pyroxene-bearing plutonic rocks of
erbites, charnockites and granulites) abutting against the southern charnockitic affinity with only rare supracrustal and older gneiss
margin of the low-grade terrane of the Zimbabwe Craton (Fig. 3b). enclaves, whereas the !90 000 km2 Ashuanipi complex comprises
High-grade terranes are synonomous with regional granulite facies mainly rhythmically layered garnet–biotite–orthopyroxene parag-
rocks, but migmatites in the upper amphibolites facies are com- neisses whose protoliths appear to have been mainly greywacke.
mon associates of granulites (Percival, 1994). The terms ‘granulite’ A number of high-grade metamorphic terranes display evidence
and ‘granulite facies’, according to Watznauer (1969), derive from of more than one Archaean granulite-facies event and some are
the type locality in the Granulitgebirge and Erzgebirge in Saxony, overprinted by later high-grade metamorphic events of Palaeopro-
Germany. Closely allied rocks are ‘charnockites’, first defined as a terozoic to Neoproterozoic age. Examples of these terranes include
rock of granitic composition containing orthopyroxene and found the Napier Complex in Antarctica (Harley and Henson, 1990;
abundantly in southern India (named by T.H. Holland (1900) after Harley and Kelly, 2007) the Aldan Shield, Siberia (Rosen et al.,
Job Charnock [ca. 1630–1692], founder of Calcutta, India, whose 1994); the Narryer Gneiss Complex and the Western Gneiss Ter-
tombstone consists of charnockite). Charnockites occur in several rane of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia (Gee et al., 1981;
forms and are found in granulite facies metamorphic settings, such Myers, 1990; Wilde and Spaggiari, 2007); Hebei Province, China
as the Dharwar Craton of southern India (Pichamuthu, 1960), (Sills et al., 1987); the Wind River Range, Wyoming (Koesterer
where they often occur as igneous plutons, foliated gneisses, char- et al., 1987); the Atlantic Granulite Belt, Brazil (Wernick, 1981);
nockitic replacements of amphibolites-facies gneisses, and as orth- and the Labrador-West Greenland areas of the North Atlantic Cra-
opyroxene-bearing migmatites and pegmatoids. Fluid deficient ton (Windley and Bridgwater, 1971).
dehydration melting and CO2-rich fluid-present activities are Granulites are often associated with greenschist facies rocks,
thought to play a part in promoting charnockite-forming processes but are separated from them by amphibolite facies rocks. As
involving metasomatism, heat transfer and crustal melting pointed out by Percival (1994, 2007), high-grade metamorphism
(Newton, 1992a, 1992b). Partial melting of this type can be seen, cannot be isolated from its lower-grade equivalents and many
for example, in the high grade metamorphic terrane of the Limpo- examples exist (including the Kapuskasing uplift and Pikwitonei
po Belt, where melt-material has nucleated to form granitic plu- domain in the Superior Province) where lithological, structural
tons (Fig. 32) like those of the Bulai Gneiss (Kramers et al., 2006). and temporal linkages occur across a range of metamorphic grades.
Granulite facies rocks occur widespread around the globe and As discussed by Best (2003), some granulite terranes were
are found in most Archaean granite-greenstone terranes. Descrip- metamorphosed at constant P, but variable T, whereas others are
tions of the more significant occurrences include those of the the reverse. Many granulite terranes also show partial or complete
Indian subcontinent (Shackleton, 1976; Gopalakrishna et al., retrogression to amphibolites or even greenschist facies assem-
1986; Rogers and Giral, 1997), various part of Africa (Clifford, blages, particularly along faults and shear zones infiltrated by
1973), notably the 700 km long and 200 km wide Limpopo Belt water. An example of this type may be seen in the Southern Mar-
(Van Reenen et al., 1990, 1992; Smit et al., 1992; Kramers et al., ginal Zone of the Limpopo Belt where fluids channelized along the
2006), and the approximately 30 000 km2 Narryer Terrane in the Hout River Shear Zone led to the establishment of the retrograde
northwest part of the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia orthoamphibole isograd and a retrograde subzone in the region
(Myers, 1988a; Percival, 1994; Wilde and Spaggiari, 2007). (Smit et al., 1992; Van Reenen et al., 1992).
Many Archaean terranes show progressive metamorphic grade
changes from low-grade greenschist facies environments to pro-
gressively higher grades, including amphibolite and granulite
facies. These changes may be due to differences in erosion levels,
as with the central Superior Province where up to 20 km of uplift
occurs between the low-grade Abitibi and Michipicoten green-
stone belts and granulites of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone. In
this region a deep crustal thrust fault, dipping northwest, carried
a slab of lower Archaean crust, 1–15 km wide, to the surface where
it traverses the Superior Province in a northeasterly direction for
over 500 km (Percival and Card, 1985). Rocks include composition-
ally layered garnet, biotite, quartz and graphite paragneisses; mafic
gneiss characterized by garnet–clinopyroxene–hornblende–plagio-
clase–quartz–ilmenite varieties, with in situ anatectic tonalite lay-
ers, and linear bodies of flaser-textured tonalitic gneiss and foliated
diorite occurring in the paragneisses. Mafic tonalite, ultramafic
rocks, anorthosite, anorthosite–gabbro, gabbro, and melagabbro
units are also represented. Two metamorphic zones have been
identified – one a lower-grade garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase
zone developed in mafic gneiss, and a higher-grade orthopyroxene
zone recording P–T conditions in the range 6–8.3 kbar and 700–
800 "C.
A second high-grade terrane, the Pikwitonei Granulite Domain,
is located on the northwest margin of the Superior Province in
Manitoba where greenschist- to amphibolites-facies granite-
Fig. 32. High-grade metamorphic granulites (b) displaying partial melting and
greenstone terrane grades into granulite-facies terrane over a dis-
incipient granitic formation. Partial melts of this type can lead to a coalition of veins tance of between 50 and 100 km without any structural or litho-
to produce intrusive granitic plutons like that shown in (a). logical breaks, exposing an oblique cross-section through !20 km
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 713

of Archaean continental crust. Well-preserved granulite metamor- kyanite, chloritoid, muscovite, phengite, albite, and garnet, to name
phic assemblages occur in a variety of lithologies, including ender- a few listed by Best (2003), are known from subduction–collision
bite (Opx tonalite), opdalite (Opx granodiorite) and mangerite zones, but have not been identified in early Archaean terranes
(Opx monzonite), rock names that are seldom used these days (Stern, 2005). Likewise, coesite-bearing eclogites first appear in
and which have largely been replaced by charnockite for all Opx- Neoarchaean rocks and at intervals throughout the Proterozoic
bearing granitic rocks (Frost et al., 2000). The high-grade metamor- and Palaeozoic rock record (Brown, 2006).
phic history of the Pikwitonei Granulite Belt is complex and multi- The Superior Province in Canada has long been known for a
stage (Ermanovics and Davison, 1976) with some hypersthene- diverse range of both low-and high-grade metamorphic belts and
bearing enderbite gneisses being Mesoarchaean in age (ca. 3400– transitions range from greenschist facies greenstone belts to gran-
3000 Ma) and the remaining more massive enderbites yielding at ulite terranes. These belts extend east–west across the Superior
least four episodes of metamorphic zircon growth of Neoarchean Province and have been interpreted, in a plate-tectonic context,
age (ca. 2716–2642 Ma – Heaman et al., 2011). Peak conditions as classic examples of Neoarchaean accretionary tectonics (Card,
for the last metamorphism increased progressively from 3 kbar 1990; Williams et al., 1992; Percival et al., 1997; Stott, 1997;
and 575 "C in the southeast to 9 kbar and about 830 "C in the Percival, 2007). Collisional tectonics is also held responsible for
northwest, close to the Thompson mobile belt along the Chur- the development of high-grade metamorphic rocks in the Limpopo
chill-Superior Province boundary (Mezger et al., 1990). Belt, South Africa, and the Capricorn Orogen separating the Yilgarn
In South Africa the Vredefort Dome, which occupies a central and Pilbara Cratons in Western Australia (Barton and Van Reenen,
position within the Kaapvaal Craton, exposes an exhumed part of 1992; Myers, 1990).
the mid-crust (Fig. 31) brought to surface following a giant mete-
orite impact event ca. 2023 Ma ago. The rocks on the dome record
polyphase metamorphic histories involving both pre- and post- 17. Structure
impact events (Gibson et al., 1998; Gibson and Reimold, 2008).
Pre-impact lithologies include amphibolite- to granulite-facies The tectonic evolution of Archaean granite-greenstone terranes
metamorphic mineral assemblages, with the highest grade rocks is another highly complex issue and here too there remains much
occurring in the central parts of the core. Mafic xenoliths within controversy as to the mechanisms responsible for their deforma-
the granitic gneisses are characterized by amphibole–biotite par- tion styles. Greenstone belts are characterized by a variety of
ageneses in the outer core and pyroxene–amphibole ± biotite par- deformational styles resulting from successive stages of tectonism
ageneses in the central core. Trondhjemitic and tonalitic gneisses of the early crust. Although generally similar structural features
of the central core also contain pyroxene and are more appropri- may be encountered in most greenstone belts, each belt neverthe-
ately classified as enderbites and charnockites (Lana et al., 2004; less has its own unique structural history dependant upon the nat-
Gibson and Reimold, 2008). ure of the volcano-sedimentary components of each belt and the
The proposal by Hart et al. (1990a, 1990b) that the Vredefort timing and emplacement styles of intrusions that have disrupted
Dome exposes a near-continuous profile that extends through the successions.
the entire Archaean Kaapvaal crust and into the uppermost mantle The main areas of dissension revolve around the processes
was challenged by a number of workers (Stevens et al., 1997; involved in greenstone belt structural evolution. There are essen-
Henkel and Reimold, 1998; Lana et al., 2004), whose findings indi- tially two conflicting points of view – one group holding that grav-
cated a mid-crustal level for this granulite event and an anti-clock- itational influences played a major role in early greenstone belt
wise P–T path implying that heating took place as a consequence of structural evolution, and the other group arguing that modern-
thickening of the overlying crust. Gibson and Stevens (1998) pro- style plate tectonic (uniformitarian), or compressive style deforma-
posed that the high-grade metamorphism in the Vredefort Dome tion, is accountable for much Archaean orogeny.
might have been caused by the ca. 2060 Ma emplacement of the Greenstone belts generally have a distinctive pattern of rela-
Bushveld Complex and, by implication, that Bushveld-age granulite tionships within their enveloping granitic terranes (the ‘‘granite-
facies terrane must underlie large parts of the Kaapvaal Craton. greenstone pattern’’ of Macgregor, 1951 and Anhaeusser et al.,
However, subsequent geochronological data confirmed a ca. 1969 shown earlier – Figs. 2 and 3). These belts are exemplified
3100 Ma age for the Vredefort granulites (Hart et al., 1999). The by the craton-wide examples of ‘‘dome-and-keel’’ structures in
only evidence for possible craton-scale underplating by refractory Zimbabwe and the Pilbara region of Western Australia
granulite-facies lower crust lies in the presence of granulite xeno- (Macgregor, 1951; Hickman, 1984, 2012). However, not all green-
liths obtained from kimberlite pipes both on the Kaapvaal Craton stone belts display these characteristics, as some occur as exten-
and in the Abitibi belt of the Superior Province in Canada sive linear features, such as those on the Yilgarn Craton, Western
(Percival, 1994; Dawson et al., 1997). Australia, the Superior Province, Canada, and the Kaapvaal Craton,
A variety of geotectonic settings have been proposed for the for- South Africa. In some cases the linear belts also show dome-and-
mation of granulites including geodynamic models differing only keel patterns, but on a local, rather than regional scale. Examples
slightly from present-day thick lithospheric plates on convecting of this type occur in the eastern extension of the Murchison green-
asthenosphere, to models suggesting higher rates of plate motion, stone belt, South Africa, where trondhjemitic gneiss plutons have
or those associated with plume/hot-spot activity (Percival, 1994). intruded and split the belt into separate greenstone septa (now
More recent scenarios place granulite formation in a plate-tectonic manifest as strongly flattened schist belts; Minnitt and
context with high-heat flow regimes. Tectonic models involving Anhaeusser, 1992). Similarly in the area south and southwest of
continent–continent collision are considered to be sites of granu- the Barberton greenstone belt numerous intrusive granitic plutons
lite- and eclogite-facies metamorphism with clockwise P–T paths, have fragmented the belt and are encircled by greenstone schist
followed by subsequent isostatic uplift. This situation is not belt remnants or septa (Anhaeusser, 2010).
regarded as being generally applicable during the Palaeoarchean Archaean structural styles in gneissic basement terranes differ
to Mesoarchaean time period when high-T, low-P crustal condi- from those just described in that they show rocks strongly and
tions are believed to have prevailed. Blueschists, for example, repeatedly deformed under amphibolite conditions and exhibit a
which are comprised of mineral assemblages consisting of combi- wide range of ductile structures including heterogeneously
nations of glaucophane + lawsonite ± jadeitic clinopyroxene, and a strained gneisses, migmatites and deformed dykes (Fig. 27d),
range of other minerals including aragonite, chlorite, paragonite, boudins, buckle, flow and sheath folds, complex interference
714 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

structures and shear zones. These features are well displayed, for formably wrap around concentrically foliated gneiss plutons as well
example, in the Archaean gneiss complexes of West Greenland as producing a wide range of superimposed major and minor inter-
(Fiskenaesset – Myers, 1984; Amitsoq – McGregor, 1973; ference folds, cleavages and transcurrent faults (Ramsay, 1963;
Nutman, 1984; Isua – Nutman and Friend, 2009; Nutman et al., Anhaeusser, 1984, 1976a, 2010; Fyson, 1984; Hickman, 1984,
2007), the Ancient Gneiss Complex in Swaziland (Jackson, 1984), 2012; Collins, 1989; Van Kranendonk et al., 2004).
and the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia (Van Kranendonk et al., The diapirism or updoming is seen as a progressive and evolving
2007b). process with, firstly, the granitic magma intruding the greenstone
Large-scale heterogeneous simple-shear deformation occurs in belts and, in places, stoping the supracrustal rocks to form xenoliths
most Archaean terranes and is exemplified by major ductile shear in the ensuing gneisses. As intrusive magmas crystallized and solid-
zones and orogenic boundaries. Coward (1984) described such ified, their upward emplacement as solid-state granitic diapirs con-
shears in the Lewisian of northwest Scotland as well as in southern tinued at different time intervals (as shown by Kamo and Davis,
Africa, where deformation took place on shears associated with 1994), resulting in multiple phases of deformation (commonly
crustal compression – the structures developed being analogous expressed in the literature as deformations D1, D2, D3, etc.).
to those of high-level, thin-skinned regimes. Anhaeusser (1984) illustrated the nature of these deformation styles
Major ductile shear zones are particularly well-represented in by way of examples in the northern sector of the Barberton belt. It
the Pilbara Craton Western Australia, where deformation is often was shown that a great variety of structural features develop as a
localized in relatively narrow zones that extend for considerable consequence of gneissic dome emplacement (Figs. 33–36).
distances. The Mulgandinnah Shear Zone in the Shaw Granitic Proponents of horizontal shortening or compressive-style tec-
Complex in the eastern Pilbara is a strike-slip shear up to 8 km tonics dismiss diapirism as a viable mechanism for greenstone belt
in width, with a length of 150 km (Zegers et al., 1998). The shear structural evolution and argue instead for deformation linked to
zone displays localized zones of high strain and contains both myl- plate-tectonics in the Archaean (see discussion by Kröner, 1981).
onites and ultramylonites with subvertical to steeply dipping foli- They point to compressive forces being responsible for nappe-like
ations and subhorizontal stretching lineations. In the western structures (Fig. 36a), fold and thrust belts with imbricate repetition
Pilbara, Smith et al. (1998) and Hickman (2004) described a largely of strata by thrusting, imbricated relics of oceanic crust, and geo-
sinistral shear zone (Sholl Shear Zone), which has been interpreted chemical signatures of volcanic rocks consistent with arc-like affin-
as a domain boundary structure between the cratonic hinterland of ity formed in suprasubduction zone geodynamic environments
the East Pilbara Terrane and the West Pilbara Superterrane, the lat- (Fyson, 1978; Stowe, 1984; De Wit, 1982; De Wit et al., 1987;
ter demonstrating subduction-related and tectonic accretion pro- Fyson and Helmstaedt, 1988; Lowe, 1994a; De Ronde and De
cesses at the margin of the ancestral continent, ceasing at ca. Wit, 1994; De Ronde and Kamo, 2000; Furnes et al., 2009, 2012;
2900 Ma with the North Pilbara and Mosquito Creek orogenies. Szilas et al., 2013; Block et al., 2013).
Another N–S striking zone of sinistral strike-slip and associated Strong views contrary to those of the above workers, have been
folding and thrusting was described by Van Kranendonk and expressed by Stern (2005) and Hamilton (1998, 2011), who argued
Collins (1998) in the central part of the Pilbara Craton. Referred that Archaean, Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic rock
to as the Central Pilbara Structural Corridor (20 " 100 km) the zone assemblages and structures differ greatly both from each other
overprints two earlier sets of structures associated with granitic and from modern ones and lack evidence for subduction and sea-
doming and is itself deformed as a result of northwesterly indenta- floor spreading such as that experienced with Phanerozoic plate
tion of the Shaw Granitic Complex. Faults within the zone of defor- tectonics. In an attempt to resolve the contrasting diapiric (verti-
mation vary from high-level, brittle structures and breccias zones cal) versus thrusting (horizontal) tectonic models that have been
in the north, to broader, more ductile structures with S/C mylonitic proposed, Van Kranendonk et al. (2004) applied critical tests to
foliations in the south. the East Pilbara Terrane in Western Australia. It was shown that
As noted earlier the main areas of contention with regard to all the predictive characteristics features of diapirs, including the
Archaean tectonics revolve around the concepts of vertical tecton- chaotic internal geometries of domes, ring faults along dome mar-
ics versus horizontal compression and shortening. Proponents of gins and flanking greenstone belts, mushroom-shaped fold flaps
gravitational influences accounting for much of the early Archaean around some dome margins, and sedimentation in inter-diapir
structural complexity regard the emplacement of granitic magmas synclines (this combined with a thorough review of previously
and diapiric plutons as the principal mechanism of tectonism (cf., proposed core complex models) could not be reconciled with hor-
density inversion as described by Ramberg, 1981). Diapirism has, izontal tectonic models, which were inadequate in explaining the
for example, been invoked as the principal mechanism of deforma- structural, geometric, geochronological and metamorphic features
tion of the Barberton and Murchison greenstone belts on the Kaap- of the East Pilbara region, and by inference, many other granite-
vaal Craton (Anhaeusser, 1984, 2010; Kisters and Anhaeusser, greenstone terranes worldwide. To reaffirm this contention regio-
1995a, 1995b; Minnitt and Anhaeusser, 1992); on the Zimbabwe nal compressive stress indicators in the Barberton granite-green-
Craton (Jelsma et al., 1993), on the Pilbara Craton (Glikson, 1979; stone terrane (such as a regional penetrative fabric or
Hickman, 1984, 2012; Hickman and Van Kranendonk, 2004), on gneissocity) are entirely lacking.
the Yilgarn Craton (Bloem et al., 1997), in the Yellowknife region A solution to the ongoing debate may be found in the work of
of the Slave Province, Canada (Drury, 1977) and in the Wabigoon Hickman (2004) whose investigations suggested two contrasting
Subprovince of the western Canadian Shield (the ‘‘gneiss domes’’ granite-greenstone terranes in the Pilbara Craton. The East Pilbara
of Schwerdtner, 1984). Bleeker (2002), in reviewing Archaean tec- greenstone successions were deposited between 3515 and
tonics of the Slave Craton and the Abitibi greenstone belt of the 3320 Ma, and like Van Kranendonk et al. (2004), he concurred with
Superior Province, maintained that basement-cover relationships the views of gravity-driven diapiric doming. However, in the West
demonstrated autochthonous to parautochthonous development Pilbara four granitic complexes mainly formed between 3015 and
of the greenstone belts – there being no evidence to support the 2970 Ma, and have no age equivalents in the East Pilbara. There
concept of obducted oceanic allochthons. are also no diapiric domes in the West Pilbara where all deformation
In these and other Archaean terranes trondhjemite–tonalite– has been ascribed to successive episodes of horizontal compression
granodiorite (TTG) plutons intruded the greenstone assemblages, consistent with Phanerozoic plate tectonic environments. Thus the
forcing them aside, and producing steeply dipping, strongly schis- transition from one structural style to the other may be time depen-
tose and sub-vertically lineated greenstone septa. These tend to con- dant, reflecting evolutionary stages of crustal development.
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 715

Fig. 33. Structural features associated with the deformation of Archaean greenstone belts. (a) Google Earth satellite image of the refolded Eureka and Ulundi Synclines,
located in the main gold-producing sector of the Barberton greenstone belt. The east–west width of the area shown is approximately 12 km; (b) schematic diagram (after
Anhaeusser, 1984) illustrating the main tectonic elements and strain indicators in the area shown in (a). The structures produced resulted from deformation caused by the
emplacement of diapiric granitic plutons, such as the Kaap Valley Pluton west of the Eureka fold; (c) simplified map of the Eureka-Ulundi folds and detachment faults to the
northwest in the Jamestown Schist Belt. Illustrated are the main faults and fractures that were mineralized with gold-bearing solutions mobilized by the intrusive granitic
rocks; (d) view, looking east, along the fold axis of the Lily Syncline, on the northern flank of the Barberton belt. To the left in the far distance is the Three Sisters Syncline.
Major faults and folds are responsible for segmenting the greenstone belt into a number of synclinal compartments, there being few anticlinal structures developed
throughout the entire Barberton greenstone belt.

Fig. 34. Examples of deformation features commonly encountered in greenstone belts. (a) Flattened and elongated pebbles in the Moodies basal conglomerate near the
granite contact on the northern flank of the Barberton belt; (b) flattened pyroclastic volcanic rocks near the same locality as (a); (c) quartz-sericite schists (deformed felsic
tuffs) showing strong vertical stretch lineations in close proximity to a diapiric gneiss pluton in the Komati River valley.

18. Geophysics voluminous geological accounts of these regions. Mining and

exploration companies and geosciences organisations are increas-
Geophysical aspects of granite-greenstone terranes have ingly employing ground and airbourne geophysical methods to
received relatively little attention when compared to the explore for mineral deposits and to understand the nature of the
716 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

Fig. 35. Examples of structural features seen in the Sheba Gold Mine area, NW Barberton belt. (a) View east along the Sheba Fault (seen dipping to the south, right), which
separates the Eureka Syncline (left) from the Ulundi Syncline (right). The famous Golden Quarry can be seen to the left of the fault (top, left of centre); (b) close up of
anastomosing quartz veins in the Sheba Fault near the Golden Quarry. The area, which occurs in the refolded hinge of the Eureka Syncline, was a tensional structural domain
that led to the introduction of bonanza gold-quartz mineralization; (c) the Sheba Fault as it occurs further to the east of the locality shown in (b). Here the fault displays
compressional structural features, such as the horse-tail structures shown in the Sheba Fault shear zone. Gold mineralization is also sparse along this sector of the fault zone.

Fig. 36. Recumbent or nappe-like folds occurring in the south-central part of the Barberton greenstone belt. These rare structures have been used in arguments supporting a
compressional regime for greenstone belt structural evolution (De Wit, 1982); (b) isoclinally folded banded iron formation seen in underground workings of the Lily Gold
Mine near the northern contact of the Barberton belt.

crust in regions of poor exposure, but these results, with the excep- techniques employed by geophysicists and some examples of the
tion of studies undertaken by Geological Survey organizations, are information obtained have been provided by Grant et al. (1965)
mostly confidential ‘in house’ surveys that are seldom published. and Stettler et al. (1997).
Contrasts in density, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, seismic Gravity, aeromagnetic and seismic reflection studies are partic-
velocity or reflectivity, radioactivity and heat flow have been used ularly useful in areas with poor surface exposures and
to interpret structural and regional trends useful to geologists. The limited availability of boreholes and high-resolution geophysical
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 717

Fig. 37. Photographs illustrating the nature of some Archaean gold occurrences. (a) Early alluvial gold workings in the Barberton greenstone belt (ca. 1882); (b) bonanza gold
occurrences, like the example shown from the Lily Gold Mine, led early workers finding gold in near surface or supergene enriched zones. As mining extended below the
oxidized zone sulphide ores were encountered that were not easily treated at the time, leading to abandonment of workings; (c) a recent view of the Lily Mine, which now
exploits and treats sulphide ore containing pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite; (d) gold veins in black vein quartz from the Lily Mine.

information. Studies of this nature have been reported in India the Kaapvaal and Pilbara Cratons of South Africa and Australia,
(Subrahmanyam and Verma, 1982), Canada (Gupta et al., 1982; respectively, for the period 2780–2700 Ma, together with strikingly
Kendall et al., 2002; Viejo and Clowes, 2003), Zimbabwe similar geological features (e.g., lithostratigraphy, geochronology,
(Ranganai et al., 2008; Ranganai, 2013) and Western Australia structures), provide the best evidence thus far for the existence of
(Swager et al., 1997; Gallardo and Thebaud, 2012; Henson et al., a Vaalbara supercraton during the late Neoarchean and early Palae-
2010). Recently a method of structurally harmonizing gravity and oproterozoic eras (Cheney, 1996; De Kock et al., 2009).
magnetic evidence to characterize complex granite-greenstone The palaeomagnetic record through Earth history also provides
terranes in regions where only poor surface information is avail- a test for tectonic style (Piper, 2013). This is because a mobile Earth
able was reported by Gallardo and Thebaud (2012). Images of multiple continents is recorded by diverse apparent polar wan-
obtained in this study, undertaken in the eastern Yilgarn Craton, der paths. By contrast Lid Tectonics is recorded by conformity to a
Western Australia, do not rely on preexisting geological or seismic single position. The Precambrian palaeomagnetic record has shown
information to distinguish greenstone and granitic intrusions and that a dominant Lid Tectonics operated throughout most of Earth
to unveil their complex structural architecture. Features recorded, history, with an estimated 60% of the present continental area
which are relevant to the debate on vertical versus horizontal tec- and volume having achieved quasi-integrity by 2700 Ma (Piper,
tonic models, include the steep and curved interfaces at the mar- 2013). The change from Lid Tectonics to Plate Tectonics is regarded
gins of major dome structures. These geometries appear to be as transitional with the geological record only identifying incipient
more akin to a mushroom shape, as documented in gravity-driven development of Plate Tectonics on an orogenic scale after 1100 Ma.
vertical tectonic models, such as those portrayed experimentally
by Ramberg (1981).
Following from reported greenstone belts stratigraphic thick- 19. Archaean metallogeny
nesses of !15–20 km mentioned earlier De Beer et al. (1988)
attempted to test the depth extent of the Barberton succession It has been shown earlier that Archaean granite-greenstone
by employing a combined geoelectric and gravity study. Their terranes consist of a great variety of lithological components that
investigations suggested that the maximum depth extent is less have developed as a result of successive stages of volcanism, sedi-
than 8 km, but always greater than 4 km. Elimination of the down- mentation, plutonism, metamorphism and deformation. Archaean
folded volcano-sedimentary septa at these relatively shallow mineralization is equally diverse and owes its origins to all these
depths might be explained by underplating by granitic intrusions. parameters (Anhaeusser, 1976d). A strong genetic link between
Palaeomagnetic studies have been undertaken in many mineral types and rock associations was initially demonstrated
Archaean terranes, with one finding, again relating to the Barberton by Hutchinson et al. (1971) in the Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada,
greenstone belt, showing that ancestral southern Africa was in polar and this was followed by confirmatory views outlined by
latitudes around 3500 Ma (Hale and Dunlop, 1984). In the same area Anhaeusser (1981) and Anhaeusser and Viljoen (1986) from expe-
an investigation by Biggin et al. (2011) provided evidence for a riences gained in southern African granite-greenstone terranes.
stable and potentially reversing geomagnetic field at ca. 3500 Ma. More recently, the tendency has been to place greenstone belt min-
Palaeomagnetic studies aimed at interpreting how continents eralization into a plate tectonic framework (e.g., Hodgson and
move, join, and split as they drift across the Earth’s surface, are dis- Hamilton, 1989; Wyman et al., 1999), which has promoted
played on maps as an apparent polar wander curve. As was discussed the development of integrated genetic models based on tectonic,
earlier, a good match between the apparent polar wander paths of magmatic and hydrothermal processes. This approach has, how-
718 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

ever, been complicated and frustrated by the lack of consensus on bonanza gold deposits around the world (Fig. 37b) and also led to
the nature of global geotectonic processes in Archaean times early gold discoveries by the ‘ancients’ and pioneer prospectors of
(Herrington et al., 1997). many alluvial deposits and gold lodes in Zimbabwe, Western Aus-
In simple terms granite-greenstone terranes can be subdivided tralia, and in the Barberton greenstone belt (Anhaeusser, 1976b,
into essentially four lithologic components (ultramafic–mafic, 1986a, 1986b; Foster et al., 1986; Woodall, 1990).
mafic-to-felsic, sedimentary and granitic). The mineralization asso-
ciated with ultramafic–mafic volcanic and plutonic rocks includes 19.2. Volcanogenic massive sulphide Ni–Cu–Zn (Ag–Au) deposits
occurrences of chrome, nickel/copper, chrysotile asbestos, gold/sil-
ver, iron ore, magnesite, talc and barite. Mafic-to-felsic volcanic– Volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits occur in many green-
plutonic rock associations are often linked to occurrences of cop- stone belts worldwide, but are particularly well developed in the
per–zinc (±lead), gold (±copper, antimony, mercury, silver, arsenic, Canadian Shield and, to a lesser extent, in the Yilgarn Craton of
tungsten), and lesser occurrences of massive pyrite–pyrrhotite, bar- Western Australia. Most noteable are Canadian deposits of copper-
ite and corundum–kyanite. The sedimentary components of green- zinc (Franklin et al., 1981, 2005; Barrie and Hannington, 1999) and
stone belts may be linked to occurrences of iron ore, barite, gold, and Western Australian and Canadian deposits of nickel (Naldrett,
limestone, while the granitic rock association (including pegma- 1981), which are of major economic significance, and which have
tites) may be host to occurrences of tin, corundum, emeralds, beryl, resulted in numerous publications describing the geological setting
mica, bismuth, molybdenum and tantalum–columbium and nature of the mineralized occurrences. Minor showings of plati-
(Anhaeusser, 1981). It is not the intention here to describe all the num group elements have also been reported in Archaean mafic-
mineralization types that may be encountered in Archaean green- ultramafic intrusions in the West Pilbara Superterrane (Hoatson
stone belts, but reference will be made to the mineral deposit types et al., 1992).
in order of economic importance. Volcanic-associated massive sulphide Cu–Zn deposits (VMS) are
not present in all Archaean greenstone belts. They are, however,
19.1. Gold particularly well represented in the Abitibi greenstone belt (83
VMS deposits recorded by Gibson and Galley, 2007) and to a lesser
Gold is one of the most valuable commodities mined in green- extent in other areas of the Superior Province (Uchi, Manito-
stone belts and occurs in a host of different geological settings. uwadge, Wabigoon) where they are contained in compositionally
Practically all greenstone terranes host gold deposits, but the size, bimodal volcanic sequences. Mafic volcanic rocks are the dominant
nature and importance of the occurrences varies considerably. volcanic host rocks, constituting at least 90% of the volcanic com-
There are literally hundreds of papers describing specific gold ponent, but felsic rocks are generally very prominent near most
deposits in Archaean greenstone belts. Many of the more impor- of the deposits (Franklin et al., 1981). For example, the giant Kidd
tant gold deposits are to be found in the Superior Province in Can- Creek Cu–Zn–Ag deposit north of Timmins, Ontario (Hannington
ada and excellent summary accounts of these occurrences and and Barrie, 1999) occurs in what is referred to as the Kidd Volcanic
their geological settings have been provided by, among others, Complex, which according to Bleeker (1999), consists of ultramafic
Pye and Roberts (1981), Hodder and Petruk (1982), Colvine rocks (15%), mafic volcanic rocks (60%), intermediate volcanic
(1983), Keppie et al. (1986), Colvine et al. (1988), Robert et al. rocks (<5%) and felsic volcanic rocks (10–20%), comprised of
(1990), and papers therein. flow-banded massive rhyolites and rhyolite fragmentals ranging
In Western Australia a number of large gold deposits occur in from coarse breccias to lapilli tuffs. Massive sulphides occur as
the Yilgarn Craton, but surprisingly few are to be found in the Pil- lenses and stockworks of chalcopyrite ± pyrite towards the top of
bara Craton where hundreds of small gold occurrences are known. the volcanic pile. The ore body, at ca. 150 million metric tonnes,
Excellent accounts of the Yilgarn gold deposits have been provided is one of the largest and highest grade volcanogenic massive sul-
by Groves and Phillips (1987), Groves et al. (1998), and Robert et al. phide deposits on Earth. The volcanogenic massive sulphide depos-
(2005). In southern Africa, Archaean gold mineralization is found, its in the Noranda district, of which there are 20 past-producing
almost without exception, in all the greenstone belts in the Zimba- VMS deposits and 10 subeconomic VMS deposits, are virtually
bwe and Kaapvaal Cratons. Descriptions of their geological settings identical in geology and setting to the Kidd Creek deposit
and mode of occurrence have been summarized by Anhaeusser (Gibson and Galley, 2007). Two deposits (53.7 Mt Horne and 69.2
(1976b, 1986a), Foster (1982 – and papers therein), Foster et al. Mt LaRonde) also accounted for 20 Moz of gold and mines in the
(1986), Ward (1999) and Dirks et al. (2013). area have been producers over an approximately 90 year period.
The descriptions of all the Archaean greenstone-gold occur- Deposits of this type occur in other greenstone belts around the
rences indicate that the mineralization formed in a variety of host world and in similar geological settings, but are small in comparison
rocks (including most volcanic rock types, banded iron formations, to those in the Canadian Archaean. Examples of this nature include
chert, shale-greywacke, quartzite and fuchsitic-talc and talc-car- the ca. 3500 Ma Big Stubby, and ca. 3000 Ma Whim Creek and Mons
bonate rocks). Almost without exception, the predominantly epige- Cupri deposits hosted by felsic volcanic and volcanogenic sedimen-
netic deposits are largely structurally controlled by fold and fracture tary rocks in the Pilbara Craton, as well as some deposits in similar
systems ranging from ductile, to brittle–ductile, to brittle deforma- host rocks in the Yilgarn Craton (Myers and Hickman, 1990). Minor
tional conditions, and with metamorphism ranging from amphibo- deposits, in similar felsic volcanic host rocks to those described
lite to greenschist facies (Colvine et al., 1988). Wall-rock alteration above, occur in the Barberton and Murchison greenstone belts in
is common with carbonatization, sulphidation and K-metasoma- South Africa (Vearncombe et al., 1992; Ward, 1999). The Barberton
tism accompanying the gold mineralization, which generally occurs occurrence (Bien Venue) is a polymetallic massive sulphide deposit
in quartz and quartz–carbonate veins and fractures (Fig. 38a and b), containing Zn–Ag–Au (±Cu–Pb–Sb–As–Ba), but has never been
the sulphides commonly replacing iron-rich layers in banded iron mined.
formation. Refractory sulphide minerals are common in greenstone
gold deposits and mainly include pyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrrho- 19.3. Volcano-sedimentary-related mineral deposits
tite, but many other sulphides are often present. For example, min-
eralogical investigations led to the identification of 65 sulphide and 19.3.1. Archaean iron formations
oxide ore minerals in the Barberton gold deposits (De Villiers, 1957). These rocks constitute an integral component of volcanic-rich
Supergene enrichment of mineralized protore produced many greenstone belts and are commonly associated with pyroclastic
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 719

Fig. 38. (a) Sulphide-rich ore from the Lily Mine, Barberton. The sulphides have replaced iron-rich layers in banded iron formations; (b) sulphides replacing ferruginous bands
in sediments in a gold deposit near Norseman in Western Australia. The sulphides and gold are thought to have been introduced into the rocks along silica-rich quartz veins;
(c) sedimentary barite layers in the North Pole area of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia; (d) strongly deformed ca. 3500 Ma old barite-rich quartz-sericite schists from the
SW Barberton greenstone belt.

phases of predominantly tholeiitic to calc-alkaline, mafic to felsic the Helen iron range near Atikokan in the southwestern Superior
volcanic and adjacent turbidite sedimentary sequences. The close Province was mined at the Helen orebody (Goodwin, 1964). A
association of many iron formations with volcanic rocks suggests banded magnetite quartzite, equivalent to Algoma-type iron for-
they are genetically linked in terms of the source of the chemical mation, forms part of the Pietersburg greenstone belt in South
components (James, 1954; Goodwin, 1973). These authors also Africa (Collins, 1986). The deposit is located just south of the ortho-
highlighted the various facies of iron formation (oxide, carbonate, amphibole isograd forming the boundary between the high-meta-
sulphide and silicate) and demonstrated their shallow-to-deep morphic grade Limpopo Belt and the Kaapvaal Craton. Preliminary
order of deposition on Archaean palaeoslopes. Many, if not all, drilling has revealed a >500 Mt iron ore deposit resulting from the
Archaean iron formations are attributed to volcanic exhalative convoluted folding of banded iron formation metamorphosed to
sources, the ultimate source for much of the iron, and probably sil- amphibolite grade.
ica, is thought to have been hydrothermal water circulating
through mainly basaltic volcanic sequences (Gross, 1983; 19.3.2. Barite
Goodwin, 1991). Occurrences of barite are found in various Archaean geological
Whilst iron formations (Algoma type, Gross, 1965 – Fig. 14a) are settings in different parts of the world. Probably the largest barite
prevalent in most greenstone belts worldwide there are not many deposits occur in the North Pole region of the Pilbara Craton where
deposits that have been exploited for iron ore. Those that have evaporitic stratiform barite is interstratified with ca. 3480 Ma
attracted attention have generally undergone supergene enrich- Dresser Formation chert of the Warrawoona Group (Fig. 38c).
ment processes that have upgraded the ores from approximately Many of the North Pole barite deposits occur in veins and are cur-
35–40% Fe to around 65% Fe. Examples of this type include the rently interpreted to be of hydrothermal origin (Hickman, 1983;
Bomvu Ridge (Ngwenya) iron deposit in the Barberton greenstone Hickman, personal communication 2014). Barite in the Barberton
belt in Swaziland (Davies and Urie, 1956; Ward, 1999), the Buhwa greenstone belt occurs associated with shales and greywacke sed-
and Redcliff iron ore deposits in Zimbabwe (Worst, 1962; Cheshire iments of the Fig Tree Group (Heinrichs and Reimer, 1977) and
et al., 1980), and iron ore deposits in Western Australia in the Kool- stratiform barite mineralization is hosted by ca. 3500 Ma quartz–
yanobbing greenstone belt in the Yilgarn Craton (Griffin, 1981), sericite–schists (Fig. 38d) derived from felsic volcanic or volcani-
and in the Shay Gap and Goldsworthy deposits in the Pilbara clastic rocks in Onverwacht Group rocks, suggesting a possible
(Myers and Hickman, 1990; Podmore, 1990). In these deposits genetic connection (Ward, 1999).
ore typically consist of haematite inherited from banded iron for-
mation, martite after primary magnetite, goethite replacing chert 19.4. Ultramafic-hosted deposits
and silicates, and secondary haematite.
Probably the largest iron-formation deposits of Palaeoarchaean 19.4.1. Nickel
to Mesoarchaean age are those of the Guyana Craton (Venezuela Deposits of nickel in Western Australia account for approxi-
and Guyana) in South America, and their probable correlatives in mately 13% of global resources, divided between laterite and sul-
the West African Craton (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory phide deposits (Marston, 1984), with about 40% of these
Coast). In these regions iron-formation units, commonly several resources occurring in komatiite-hosted sulphide deposits and
hundreds of meters thick, are interbedded with quartzite, almost all the nickel mineralization being associated with ultra-
quartz–mica schist and amphibolite (James, 1983). mafic rocks of komatiitic affinity (Marston et al., 1981). A number
Carbonate- and sulphide-facies iron formations are widely dis- of papers describing the Yilgarn nickel deposits and their geologi-
tributed, but are generally less conspicuous than the oxide facies cal setting and controls is provided in Groves et al. (1981) and
iron formations. Carbonate iron formation (siderite) occurring in Barnes (2006a). Ni–Cu–PGE deposits associated with komatiitic
720 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732

magmas have also been discovered in parts of the Abitibi green- for antimony) is the mineralization strung out along the so-called
stone belt in Canada, in the Zimbabwe Craton, the Karelian Craton ‘‘Antimony Line’’ in the Murchison greenstone belt, South Africa.
of Finland and Russia, and the São Francisco Craton of Brazil The deposits are associated with an unusual zone of carbonated
(Lesher and Barnes, 2008). However, not all greenstone belts with ultramafic rocks consisting of talcose and chloritic schists and sili-
ultramafic rock associations have nickel deposits: for example, ceous and dolomitic cherty and tuffaceous rocks. These deformed
only minor nickel-sulphide mineralization has been located in metasediments are thought to have hosted bedded stibnite, arse-
the Barberton greenstone belt, despite the abundance of these rock nopyrite, pyrite and cinnabar mineralization, together with gold,
types (Anhaeusser, 1976d; Ward, 1999). and have been intrepretted as being of subaqueous exhalative ori-
gin (Viljoen, 1979; Pearton and Viljoen, 1986).
19.4.2. Chrysotile asbestos
Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland) emerged, 19.4.5. Magnesite-talc
several decades ago, as the third largest producer of chrysotile Almost all greenstone belt occurrences of magnesite and talc
asbestos (after Canada and western Russia). However, the southern occur as alteration products of ultramafic rocks. In the case of
African deposits are predominantly hosted in ultramafic rocks of the talc deposits the alteration involved serpentinization and ste-
Archaean greenstone belts, unlike the northern hemisphere pro- atization, often resulting from granitic intrusions and deformation,
ducers, which occur in ultramafic rocks mainly of Palaeozoic age. and for magnesite the circulation of meteoric water through ultra-
In most cases the largest orebodies (Shabanie, Mashava, Havelock, mafic or high-Mg rocks such as dunites, harzburgites and pyroxe-
Msauli), as well as a number of smaller occurrences, are hosted in nites of layered ultramafic complexes (Anhaeusser and Viljoen,
deformed serpentinized dunites, which are associated with layered 1986; Ward, 1999).
ultramafic complexes in the southern part of Zimbabwe and in the
Barberton greenstone belt (Fig. 39a and b). Details of these mineral
19.5. Granite and pegmatite
deposits and their host rocks have been summarized by
Anhaeusser (1976c, 1986c – and references therein) and Ward
Archaean pegmatites and granitic rocks (including albitites) are
(1999). The Barberton ultramafic complexes host some unusual
hosts to a wide variety of mineralization types. Usually the depos-
occurrences of the purple-coloured mineral stichtite, as well as
its are relatively small and include occurrences of corundum, beryl,
verdite and buddstone, utilized as semi-precious or ornamental
emerald, tin, tantalite–columbite, lithium minerals (spodumene,
products (Fig. 39c and d).
lepidolite, petalite), mica, feldspar, quartz, and various rare earth
elements. These granitic host rocks are widely distributed world-
19.4.3. Chromite
wide, but are best developed in the Superior Province of southeast
As with the chrysotile asbestos deposits, southern African
Manitoba (Tanco; petalite – Čern et al., 2005), the Yilgarn Craton
greenstone belts are important, if not unique, hosts to economic
Western Australia (Greenbushes; tin–tantalum–lithium – Hatcher
chromite deposits. The southern part of the Zimbabwe Craton
and Clynick, 1990), the Pilbara Craton (Mount Edgar Granitic Com-
has a number of greenstone belts containing ultramafic complexes,
plex; tin – Myers and Hickman, 1990), Zimbabwe (Bikita; lithium–
as well as greenstone xenolithic remnants in the banded gneisses,
caesium–beryllium–tin–tantalite – Martin, 1964), and South Africa
many of which host both chrysotile asbestos and high-Mg strati-
(Limpopo Province and the Murchison greenstone belt area; corun-
form chromitite rocks (Cotterill, 1969; Worst, 1962). Cotterill
dum–emerald–tantalite–columbite–mica–feldspar–quartz – Robb
(1979) likened the Zimbabwe chromitites, in general terms, to
and Robb, 1986). In Brazil the Santa Terezinha de Goiás emerald
Alpine-type chromite ores in ophiolite-type geological settings,
deposit is not associated with pegmatites, but occurs in a green-
but found there were many differences. The largest and most
stone belt zone of talc-chlorite schist (Groat et al., 2008).
important chromite deposit in Zimbabwe is at Selukwe (now Shu-
rugwi) adjacent to the ca. 2500 Ma Great Dyke (which is also an
important host to chromite deposits). Descriptions of the Selukwe 20. Concluding remarks
Mine and chromitite host rocks are provided by Cotterill (1969),
who showed that the chromite ores occur in a structurally complex This synthesis of Archaean greenstone belts and associated gra-
succession comprising lenticular sheets of differentiated ultramafic nitic rocks should at least alert the reader to the extreme variabil-
to mafic host rocks approximately 3500 Ma old (Stowe, 1984). The ity of lithological, sedimentological, igneous, volcanic, structural,
chromite formed by magmatic segregation as cumulate layers at metamorphic, and other evolutionary aspects of the geology of
various levels in the differentiating ultramafic intrusion, with the these complex terranes. This variability may to some extent be
thickest layer accumulating on the chamber floor. Subsequent exaggerated by the vast range of interpretations worldwide, partic-
metasomatic alteration modified the chemical composition of the ularly as some of these are in reality conceptual models rather than
chrome ores making them among the richest in the world in terms interpretations based on factual observations and analytical data. A
of grade (52–62% Cr2O3) and Cr/Fe ratios. review paper embracing all these topics is thus, of necessity, a gen-
Possibly the oldest chromitite yet recorded, but which has not eralized account, with details being kept to a minimum. The hope
been mined, occurs in an early Archaean (>3810 Ma) layered ultra- is that most aspects of Archaean geology have been addressed in
mafic body from the Ujaragssuit Nunât area in West Greenland some small measure and the way ahead is for additional consulta-
(Rollinson et al., 2002). This occurrence, on the basis of Re–Os tion to be made of the literature provided in order to fill in many of
and Pb–Pb isotope results, appears to have been metamorphosed the gaps that exist. New data from around the world is being added
twice, in the early and late Archaean at ca. 3750 Ma and ca. in a never-ending stream, which will inevitably result in re-inter-
2800 Ma, respectively. pretation, re-appraisal and remodelling of current ideas. The basic
information is out there for all to use in future re-assessment
19.4.4. Antimony-gold–mercury efforts. From time to time it is, however, necessary to take stock
Archaean-age antimony deposits are rare, generally small, and of the overall evolutionary process of knowledge accession and
are in some cases associated with occurrences of gold and lesser to review that information in such a manner as to make the
quantities of mercury. One exception, and the largest single anti- broader issues more accessible to specialists as well as non-spe-
mony-gold deposit in any Archaean greenstone belt (and also else- cialists alike. Any bias that may be discerned in reading this review
where in the world, supplying approximately 40% of the demand results from the fact that there are certain regions on Earth where
 C.R. Anhaeusser / Journal of African Earth Sciences 100 (2014) 684–732 721

Fig. 39. (a) Scenic view looking northeast, showing the layering of the Stolzburg ultramafic complex and the old dumps of the Stolzburg chrysotile asbestos mine (left). In the
distance are the mainly sedimentary successions of the Fig Tree and Moodies Groups that build the high ground in the central part of the Barberton greenstone belt; (b) layers
or veins of chrysotile asbestos in a host rock comprising serpentinized dunite; (c) buddstone: an unusual semi-precious rock type found in some layered ultramafic complexes
in the Barberton area; (d) verdite: a relatively rare, green-coloured, semi-precious mineral (a variety of serpentine), which occurs in some Barberton ultramafic complexes
(here shown adorning a tombstone in the Barberton cemetery).

Archaean geology is better exposed or preserved, and where much in honour of the late Professor Paul Sims, who had a long-standing
of the telling research has thus far been concentrated. interest in Archaean geology and was one of the pioneers contrib-
The Archaean is a special geological time slot covering approx- uting substantially to the understanding and promotion of Precam-
imately half the age of the Earth. It has developed in a host of dif- brian crustal evolution of the North American continent. Paul was a
ferent forms, yet there are underlying similarities of lithologies, former Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at
processes and events that can be detected in most regions where the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Director of the Minne-
these rocks are developed. Archaean rocks have already yielded sota Geological Survey, and Emeritus Geologist in the United States
much information on the early evolution of the planet, but they Geological Survey, Denver. Paul passed away in October, 2011 in
have yet to relinquish all their secrets. In addition to meteorites Denver, USA at the age of 93. Lastly, this work has benefitted sub-
and lunar rocks Archaean greenstone belts provide the only means stantially from the constructive reviews of Christoph Heubeck and
at our disposal of evaluating the nature and chemical and thermal Arthur Hickman, the last mentioned having, in particular, greatly
character of the early Earth, the nature of the Earth’s mantle and enhanced, corrected and updated the writer’s understanding of
upper mantle, and the evolution and character of the Earth’s prim- the geology of the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia.
itive atmosphere, hydrosphere and emergent biosphere. The inter-
ested reader may find the following references a useful starting
point in any quest for further, all encompassing, information on
these and other aspects of Earth’s evolution (Cloud, 1968, 1988; References
Holland, 1972, 1976; Schidlowski, 1976; Condie, 1981, 1994;
Nisbet, 1987; Goodwin, 1991; Pollack, 1997; Dismukes et al., Allwood, A.C., Walter, M.R., Kamber, B.S., Marshall, C.P., Burch, I.W., 2006.
Stromatolite reef from the Early Archaean era of Australia. Nature 441, 714–
2001; Jaffrés et al., 2007; Mojzsis, 2007; Shields, 2007; Blake 718.
et al., 2010; Hickman and Van Kranendonk, 2012). Anhaeusser, C.R., 1971. Cyclical volcanicity and sedimentation in the evolutionary
development of Archaean greenstone belts of shield areas. In: Glover, J.E. (Ed.),
Symposium on Archaean Rocks. Geological Society of Australia Special
Acknowledgements Publication 3, pp. 57–70.
Anhaeusser, C.R., 1972. The geology of the Jamestown Hills area of the Barberton
Mountain Land, South Africa. Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 75 (3), 225–263.
This review was supported by the Economic Geology Research Anhaeusser, C.R., 1973a. The evolution of the early Precambrian crust of southern
Institute (EGRI), School of Geosciences, University of the Witwa- Africa. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A273, 359–388.
tersrand, Johannesburg. EGRI has a long history of research in Anhaeusser, C.R., 1973b. The geology and geochemistry of the Archaean granites
and gneisses of the Johannesburg-Pretoria Dome. In: Lister, L.A. (Ed.),
southern African Archaean terranes and many of the findings have Symposium on Granites, Gneisses and Related Rocks. Geological Society of
appeared in numerous publications dealing with a variety of South Africa Special Publication 3, pp. 36l–385.
aspects of Archaean geology and metallogeny. Although the views Anhaeusser, C.R., 1976a. The geology of the Sheba Hills area of the Barberton
Mountain Land, South Africa, with particular reference to the Eureka Syncline.
expressed in the review reflect, to a large extent, the experiences of
Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 79, 253–280.
the author, he wishes to dedicate this contribution to the countless Anhaeusser, C.R., 1976b. The nature and distribution of Archaean gold
number of geoscientists worldwide who have contributed incre- mineralization in southern Africa. Miner. Sci. Eng. 8, 46–84.
mentally over the years to the knowledge now available on Anhaeusser, C.R., 1976c. The nature of chrysotile asbestos occurrences in southern
Africa: a review. Econ. Geol. 71, 96–116.
Archaean granite-greenstone terranes. This review was originally Anhaeusser, C.R., 1976d. Archean metallogeny in southern Africa. Econ. Geol. 71,
intended for inclusion in a Commemorative Volume (now shelved) 16–43.
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Anhaeusser, C.R., 1977. Geological and geochemical investigations of the Anhaeusser, C.R., Robb, L.J., 1983a. Chemical analyses of granitoid rocks from the
Roodekrans ultramafic complex and surrounding Archaean volcanic rocks, Barberton Mountain Land. In: Anhaeusser, C.R. (Ed.), Contributions to the
Krugersdorp district. Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 80, 17–28. Geology of the Barberton Mountain Land. Geological Society of South Africa
Anhaeusser, C.R., 1978a. On an Archaean marundite occurrence (corundum- Special Publication 9, pp. l3l–l5l.
margarite rock) in the Barberton Mountain Land, Eastern Transvaal. Trans. Anhaeusser, C.R., Robb, L.J., 1983b. Geological and geochemical characteristics of
Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 81, 211–218. the Heerenveen and Mpuluzi batholiths south of the Barberton greenstone belt
Anhaeusser, C.R., 1978b. The geology and geochemistry of the Muldersdrif and preliminary thoughts on their petrogenesis. In: Anhaeusser, C.R. (Ed.),
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