Magmatic maturation of Archean continental crust via a three-step crustal reworking, western Singhbhum Craton

Abstract

The western part of the Singhbhum Craton preserves Paleo-Mesoarchean mafic greenstone lava flows, felsic tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)-granite associations, and high-K granite and volcanic suites, similar to other Archean cratonic blocks. These successions are crucial components of early continental crust, and unravelling their respective petrogenetic relations is important for understanding the evolution from mafic to felsic crust. This study presents detailed investigations of zircon UPb age and Hf isotope data from the Bonai TTG/gneiss-granite Suite, and the overlying Tamperkola high-K granite and rhyolite Suite. Our results indicate concurrent crystallization of the Bonai TTG gneiss (3316 ± 9 Ma), associated porphyritic high-K granite (3299 ± 9 Ma), and their amphibolite enclaves (3325 ± 9 Ma) with older, inherited zircon grains intercepting at 3586 ± 25 Ma. The entire Bonai Suite yields an overall juvenile Hf isotope composition (ɛHf_(t) = −1.7 to +4.6, 95 % ɛHf_(t) > 0). Combined with the mantle-like Hf isotope signatures of the inherited zircons grains (ɛHf_(t) = +1.7 to +6.2), this indicates a Hf isotope evolution array with a mafic crustal ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ≈ 0.022. Considering that these grains represent the source of the TTGs, this implies lower crustal residence of ca. 300 Myr of the mafic precursor rocks. The Tamperkola high-K magmatic suite yields a crystallization age of 2810 ± 8 Ma with subchondritic Hf isotope composition (ɛHf_(t) = −3.2 to −0.6). This Tamperkola Suite plots on the Hf isotope evolutionary array defined by the Bonai Suite and its mafic precursor, suggesting remelting of the Bonai (transitional) TTGs to produce these high-K granitoids in an internal reworking process. Our new and published data yield a threefold crustal evolution with (i) initial formation of the mafic crust at ca. 3586 Ma, (ii) subsequent residence for ca. 300 Myr and crustal reworking at ca. 3316–3299 Ma to form TTGs and (iii) their melting at ca. 2810 Ma to form high-K magmas. This succession of re-melting of igneous rocks drove the transition from mafic to felsic continental crust in the Singhbhum Craton. Given the consistent lithological sequence of predominantly mafic greenstone rocks, TTG-granite suites, and high-K granites observed across global cratons, this Paleo-Mesoarchean process likely reflects the order of crustal maturation in the Archean continental crust.