S.A. Kish | Geology Reports

USGS1991

The significance of Rb-Sr glauconite ages, Bonneterre Formation, Missouri; late Devonian-early Mississippian brine migration in the Midcontinent

Rb-Sr mean model ages of for glauconites from the Cambrian lower Bonneterre Formation in southern and central Missouri (in contrast to mean model ages of from the middle and upper Bonneterre) are in excellent agreement with a Rb-Sr isochron age of for glauconites from the Magmont mine (Viburnum Trend) in the southeast Missouri lead district. The lower Bonneterre and Mag-mont mine ages probably reflect isotopic resetting, most likely associated with dolomitization and/or Mississippi Valley-type ore formation in the southeast Missouri lead district. The temporal relation between widespread dolomitization and ore formation in Missouri is unclear, but mounting evidence for two Devonian disturbances permits the following interpretation: (1) a Devonian timing (380-400 Ma) for widespread dolomitization, and (2) a Late Devonian-Early Mississippian timing (360-370 Ma) for ore formation in southeast Missouri. A definitive, genetic connection between southeast Missouri ore formation and peak Ouachita-Appalachian orogenesis during Pennsylvanian time (300 Ma) is lacking. Late Devonian-Early Mississippian fluids associated with the earliest stages of collisional tectonics and metamorphism to the south and southeast may have been important in the formation of southeast Missouri ore deposits. These tectonically driven waters may themselves have been the Mississippi Valley-type ore fluids, entering Missouri by way of the Black Warrior basin and Reelfoot rift and/or the Arkoma basin. Alternatively, the movement of orogenic fluids hundreds of kilometers distant may have initiated and distally influenced the migration of more locally derived Mississippi Valley-type ore fluids. Broad regions of Missouri and adjacent areas immediately south and southeast experienced heating and crustal flexing in the Late Devonian, and consequently, preservation of elevated temperatures in Mississippi Valley-type fluids as they move great lateral distances may not be necessary for ore formation in southeast Missouri.

Journal of Geology↗

USGS1985

The timing of ore formation in southeast Missouri: Rb-Sr glauconite dating at the Magmont mine, Viburnum trend

Seven Bonneterre and Davis Formation glauconite samples from the Magmont mine area, Viburnum Trend, southeast Missouri, yield a 359 + or - 22-m.y. Rb-Sr isochron with an initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of 0.7234 + or - 0.0273 (2 sigma). Gangue calcite from the ore zone has an 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of approximately 0.7112. The isochron age for the Magmont glauconite samples is about 30 percent younger than the age of their Cambrian host rocks.The Rb/Sr ratios for Magmont glauconite samples are typical of many early Paleozoic glauconites but distinctly lower than ratios for glauconites from unmineralized localities in basinal Bonneterre facies, some distance from the Vibrunum Trend. Because the Rb-Sr data from Magmont glauconite samples define an isochron, it appears that the glauconites behaved as a cogenetic suite which was isotopically homogenized 359 m.y. ago. It is very unlikely that episodic or incomplete loss or exchange of radiogenic strontium, or the addition of rubidium, would result in the formation of an isochron. Addition of common strontium (mixing) will lower and produce a greater spread in Rb/Sr ratios but will not significantly change the calculated Rb-Sr isochron age for the glauconites. Because the total thickness of stratigraphic cover in the southeast Missouri region has never exceeded a kilometer, it is unlikely that the anomalously young glauconite isochron age resulted from heating associated with deep burial. Mississippi Valley-type ore fluids offer a hot, chemically reactive medium which could promote isotopic homogenization in glauconites. Therefore, the 359-m.y. age probably reflects a real geologic event, most likely the time of ore formation in southeast Missouri. A review of other attempts at dating early Paleozoic glauconites from the midcontinental United States indicates that all Rb-Sr and K-Ar glauconite ages are 10 to greater than 30 percent younger than their known stratigraphic ages. These glauconites are from Paleozoic formations on the stable craton, and again, resetting due to burial metamorphism is unlikely. Because there was no immediately obvious explanation for the discordant young ages, early Paleozoic glauconites were simply considered to be unsuitable geochronometers. It is suggested that the anomalously young radiometric ages for early Paleozoic glauconites record disturbances in the Rb-Sr and K-Ar isotopic systems, the result of Mississippi Valley-type fluid migration in the midcontinent region.

Economic Geology↗