Economic Geology

Vol. 89, 1994, pp. 1249-1261

Geochronology
of the KirunaIron Ores andHydrothermalAlterations*
R.L. ROMER,
Laboratoirede G•ochronologie,
Universit•Paris7 et Institutde Physique
du Globede Paris,2 placeJussieu,
F-75251ParisCedex05,
France,andDepartmentof AppliedGeology, LuledUniversity,
S-97187 Luled,Sweden

O. MArTINSSON,ANDJ.-A. PERDAHL
Departmentof AppliedGeology,LuledUniversity,
S-97187 Luled,Sweden

Abstract

The magnetite-apatiteiron ores at Kiruna are hostedin a suite of alkaline volcanicand

subvolcanic rocksthatwasformedin a shorttime intervalof about20 m.y.between1900 and
1880 Ma. U-Pb datingof titanitc from magnetite-titanitedikesin the footwallof the Luossa-
vaaraorebodyindicatesthat the ageof the magnetite-apatite oresis 1888 _+6 Ma. Titanite-
actinolite-calciteassemblagesin amygdulesare relatedto the hydrothermalandmetasomatic
alterationof the wall rocksandthe ore.The U-Pbtitanitcageof the amygdulefill is 1876 _ 9
Ma. The geographicdistributionof the alterationsuggests that it is not relatedto the forma-
tion of the iron ores.The youngestmajormagmaticunitsin the Kirunaareaare 1792 _+4 Ma
syenitesthat intrudedthe supracrustal rocks.The Kirunaareaunderwenta weak metamor-
phic overprintduringthe Caledonianorogeny.Our dataare inconsistent with a hydrother-
mal event at ca. 1.5 Ga ashasbeen suggestedearlier.

Introduction The Saarij•irvisyeniteispart of the lastmajormagma-

THE Kiruna iron ore district, situated in northern-
mostSweden(Fig. 1A), is characterizedby abundant
apatite-bearingiron ores of which the Kiirunavaara
depositrepresentsthe largestone with ca. 2 billion
metric tons of high-grademagnetiteore. Tradition-
ally,spatialrelationsamongsyeniteporphyries,mag-
netite ores,andlocalenrichmentsof magnetitein the
syenitesare interpretedas evidencefor a tight ge-
netic relationbetween syeniteporphyriesand apa-
tite-bearingmagnetiteores.All apatite-bearing iron
depositsin the Kiruna areaare situatedin alkali-rich
mafic to felsic volcanic rocks, which in the footwall
rocksof the Kiirunavaaradepositshowextensiveso-
diummetasomatism (Geijer, 1910).
We presentnew geochronologic datafromthe Kir-
unaareato (1) constrainthe ageof theKirunamagne-
tite ores,(2) determinethe ageof the lastmajormag-
matic event in the area, and (3) estimatethe age of
the hydrothermalalterationaffectingboth the ore
and its wall rocks.The age of the Kirunamagnetite
oreswasearlier only indirectlydeterminedfrom the
age of the hostrocksand dikescuttingthe ore. Ac-
cordingto thisbracketing,the oresformedin the age
interval from ca. 1880 to ca. 1900 Ma (Cliff et al.,
1990). U-Pbdataontitanitesfrommagnetite-titanite
dikesin the footwallof the Luo•,;savaara magnetite
ore, whichare presentedhere, representthe firstdi-
rect age determinationof magnetiteores at Kiruna.
* Institutde Physiquedu globede parisContribution1308.
tic event affectingthe Kiruna area. It intrudesinto
alkaline volcanic and subvolcanic rocks that were de-
formedundergreenschist faciesmetamorphiccondi-
tions.The Saarij•irvisyenite(Fig. lB) postdatesthe
metamorphism andit isnotaffectedby thehydrother-
mal alteration that affectedthe Kiruna magnetite
oresandtheir hostrocks.If thishydrothermalalter-
ationis relatedto a regionalevent,assuggested by
Cliff and Rickard (1992), then the age of the Saa-
rijSrvisyeniterepresentsthe minimumageof thishy-
drothermalalteration.Alternatively,if the ageof the
hydrothermaleventisyoungerthanthe SaarijSrvi sy-
enite, the unaltered nature of this intrusion would
imply that the hydrothermalactivity representsa
ratherlocaleventwhichonlyaffectedthe immediate
vicinityof the Kirunamagnetiteores.Cliff andRick-
ard (1992) suggested that the magnetiteoresfrom
Kirunabecamehydrothermallyaffectedat ca. 1500
Ma, i.e., ca. 400 m.y. after their formation.In con-
trast,Romer(1990, 1993) suggested thatlocalhydro-
thermal addition and redistribution of metals oc-
curred during the Caledonianorogenyalongreacti-
vated shear zones in the Proterozoic basement of the
forelandto the Caledonides.The hydrothermal alter-
ationof the wall rocksof the magnetiteoresformed
hydrothermalmineral assemblages, which locally
alsoincludetitanitc, in amygdulesin the syenite-por-
phyritic footwall rocksfrom the Kiirunavaaraore-
body. U-Pb data from suchtitanitesare presented
here to constrainthe ageof the majorhydrothermal
alteration of the area.

0361-0128/94/1606/1249-1254.00 1249
1250 ROMER,MARTINSSON,
AND PERDAHL

EXPLANATION A •.•X•_ •. ..........

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.:.:.:.
':'?":-
'":':":'*
FIG. 1. A. Schematic tectonicmapof the BalticShieldshowingthe locationof the Kirunaareadoseto
the southernmarginof the Archcaneraton.The Transscandinavian igneousbelt (after Erikssonand
Henkel, 1983) and the Caledonidesare magmatieand thrustbelts,respectively,that couldhaveover-
printedthe Kirunaarea.B. Simplifiedgeologicmapof the Kirunaareashowingthe locationof the Kiruna
supracrustalbelt (modifiedfrom NordkalottProject,1987). C. Geologicmapshowingthe Kirunairon
oresandtheirhostrocks(afterParak,1975;Martinsson, 1991;andownfieldwork[O.M. andJ.-A.P.]).1 =
UpperHaukiFormation,2 = LowerHankiFormation,3 = syenitiesill,4 = quartz-bearing porphyry,5 =
apatite-bearingiron ores,6 = syeniteporphyry,7 = Kurravaaraconglomerate, 8 = Kirunagreenstone.
The iron ores Nukutusvaara,Haukivaara,Henry, and Rektornare generallycollectivelycalled "Per
Geijer Ores."
 KIRUNA IRON ORES 1251

Geologyof the Kiruna Area and it is entirely dominatedb•yquartzitesin its stratigra-

Its Iron Ore Deposits phically highestunits (Lundbohm,1910; Frietsch,
The Kirunaarea(Fig. 1C) is dominatedby a mono- 1979).
clinal sequenceof volcanic,volcaniclastic, and sedi- The apatite-magnetiteores at Kiruna mainly are
mentaryrocksthat becomesuccessively youngerto lenticularandthey areconformable with the layering
the east(e.g., Geijer, 1910; Lundbohm,1910; Sun- andlithologiecontactsin their hostrocks(Fig. 1C).
dius,1915; Offerberg,1967; Parak,1975). The stra- Using stratigraphicpositionand phosphorous con-
tigraphicallylowermostunitof the supracrustal rocks tent, they are divided into two groups.The first
of the Kirunaarearestsdiscordantlyon the Archcan group includesthe Kiirunavaaraand Luossavaara
basementandconsists mainlyof conglomerates. This magnetiteores,whichoccurat the contactbetween
unit isoverlainby the Kirunagreenstones, the Kurra- the syeniteporphyry and the quartz-bearingpor-
vaaraconglomerate, the Kirunaporphyries,sedimen- phyry. These depositshave on averagephosphorous
tary and volcanicrocksof the Lower Hauki Forma- contentsof lessthan 1 percent.In contrast,the see-
tion, andsedimentaryrocksof the Upper Hauki For- ond groupincludesseveralsmallerdeposits,collec-
mation.Thisvolcano-sedimentary belt isintrudedby tively called"Per Geijer Ores,"whichare character-
severalsuitesof syenite,granophyre,and granite. ized by phosphorous contentsof 3 to 5 percent.De-
The apatite-bearingmagnetiteores are confinedto posits of this group are situated at the contact
the Kirunaporphyriesand the Lower Hauki Forma- betweenthe quartz-bearingporphyryand the over-
tion. lying Lower Hauki Formation(Fig. 1C).
The footwall to the Kiirunavaara and Luossavaara
The lower part of the Kirunaporphyriesis domi-
nated by felsicto maficextrusiverocks,which are depositsshowslocalore brecciaconsisting
of irregu-
traditionally called syenite porphyries (Geijer, lar magnetite veins and larger magnetite dikes
1910). They generallyhavealkalicontentsof 8 to 9.5 (LundbohmandBSckstrSm,1898; Geijer, 1910). Ac-
tinolite is a common minor constituent in the Kiiruna-
percent,and locally,they are exceptionallyFe rich
(magnetite-syenite porphyries:Geijer, 1910). To the vaara deposit, where it forms impregnationsand
schlieren, as well as in massivezones at the contacts
west of Kiirunavaara,the syeniteporphyriesshow
fiuidaltexturesandamygdules, whichcontaindiffer- to the wall rocks(Geijer, 1910).
ent combinations of titanitc, magnetite,amphibole, The porphyrieshostingthe Kiruna apatite iron
apatite, calcite, and in rare cases,sulfides.The sy- oresare affectedby severaldifferent types of alter-
ation, of which alkali metasomatism is the most ex-
enite porphyriesare intrudedby a syeniticsill (Fig.
1C), whichoccursabout500 m stratigraphically be- tensiveone.The syeniteporphyriesin the footwallof
low the Kiirunavaaramagnetiteore. The sill reaches the Kiirunavaaraand Luossavaara depositshave an
a thicknessof about1 km anda lengthof 10 kin. The Na-richcharacter,whichisprobablya secondary fea-
sill is coarsegrained in its central parts, but it be- ture (Geijer, 1910). The Na-rich syeniteporphyries
comesfine grainedandporphyritictowardthe mar- containamygduleswith late titanitc. The syenitesill
gins.It consistsof microperthiteandcontainsminor in the footwallof Kiirunavaarashowssecondaryti-
amountsof magnetite,titanitc, and augitc,which is tanitc, which replacesfeldsparand mantlesapatite
often altered to amphibole(Geijer, 1910). This sy- (LundbohmandBSckstrSm,1898; Geijer, 1910). In-
enite sill shouldnot be confusedwith the Saarij•irvi tense hydrothermal alteration also affected rocks
from the Lower Hauki Formation. Silicification and
syenite.The sill is older than the metamorphismand
deformation,whereasthe SaarijSrviintrusionpost- sericitizationare accompanied by minorphases,such
dates these events. as hematite, calcite, apatite,barite, orthite, tourma-
The upperpart of the Kirunaporphyries(Fig. 1C) line, chalcopyrite, bornitc, chalcocite, and fluorite
includes mainly rhyodacitic pyroclastic rocks (Geijer, 1910; Lundbohm, 1910; Parak, 1975;
(quartz-bearingporphyries:Geijer, 1919). These Frietsch, 1979).
rocksare characterized by 3- to 6-ram-largefeldspar Earlier Work
phenocrysts in a matrixof feldspar,quartz,andminor
biotite andmagnetite.At Luossavaara, they contain Ore genesismodels
severalintercalations of conglomerate with pebbles Genesisof the Kiruna apatite-bearingmagnetite
of porphyriesand iron ore (Geijer, 1931; Parak, ores has been much debated during the last 100
1975). years.Early modelsrelied exclusivelyon field evi-
The Lower Hauki Formation(Fig. 1C) includessi- denceto determinethe relationamongthe oresand
lieified felsie tuffs with hematite-rich interealations their wall rocks.Magmaticandsedimentary features
andpartiallyamygdaloidal mafievolcanicrocks.The occurin differentpartsof the ore-bearingunit and
Upper Hauki Formation includesconglomerates,the ores,whichmaybe the reasonfor the contrasting
graywaekes, andphyllitesin itslowerparts,whereas interpretations of the field data.Initially interpreted
1252 ROMER,MARTINSSON,
AND PERDAHL

to be of sedimentaryorigin (Fredholm, 1891), the Ma (Gulson,1972) and 1530 _+35 Ma (Welin et al.,
iron oresat Kirunawere subsequently consideredto 1971). The differencebetweenthe lowerRb-Srage
be of volcanogenichydrothermal(e.g., Lundbohm and the U-Pb zircon age is generallyattributedto
andB•ickstr/Sm, 1898), volcanogenic exhalative(e.g., slowcoolingof the crustor to a later thermaldistur-
Patak, 1975), metasomatic(e.g., Hitzman et al., bancethat resultedin the resettingof the Rb-Srsys-
1992), and magmatic origin (e.g., Geljet, 1910, tem (e.g.,Ski/51d,
1988; Cliff andRickard,1992). Re-
1967; Frietsch,1973, 1982). Chemicaldatafromthe cently,Cliff andRickard(1992) suggested that a hy-
iron oxidesand apatite (e.g., Patak, 1975' Frietsch, drothermalepisodeaffectedthe Kiruna areaand the
1982; Frietsch and Perdahl, 1989) and textural evi- iron ores at 1.5 Ga. They basedthis suggestionon
dence, suchas the peculiar columnarand dendritic Pb-Pb, U-Pb, Rb-Sr, and Sm-Nd evidence from the
magnetite(Geljet, 1910; Nystr/Sm,1985), increas- iron ore, late sulfideimpregnations,and the host
inglyfavoreda magmaticoriginof the deposits. Some rocks.Althoughwe fully agreewith the texturalevi-
discrepancies amongthe variousinterpretationsare dencefor late sulfideimpregnations and hydrother-
resolvedif the phosphorous-poor Kiirunavaaraand maloverprintingof the iron ore,we disagreewith the
Luossavaara ore andthe phosphorous-rich Per Geijer suggested agefor thishydrothermalactivity.We will
Ores had contrastingmodesof formation.Nonethe- present our evidence against a Mesoproterozoic
less,there is still little consensus
on the formationof event in this paper.
the magnetite deposits.For instance,Geijer and Geometric reconstructions of the Caledonian
•dman(1974)suggested
thattheKiirunavaara
and nappepile (HossackandCooper,1986) andmetamor-
Luossavaara depositsare intrusive,whereasthe stra- phismof the basement-cover
sedimentsbeneaththe
tigraphicallyhigherPer Geijer Oreswere of extru- nappes(Anderson,1989) indicatethat the nappes,
sive origin.Alternatively,Wright (1988) suggested which in Paleozoic time were thrust from the north-
an extrusiveoriginfor the Kiirunavaaraand Luossa- west on to the marginof the continentBaltica,had
vaaraoresandan exhalativeoriginfor the Per Geijer advanced about 100 km farther to the east than the
Ores. presenterosionalfront. Thus, they mostlikely cov-
ered the Kiruna area. The Caledonianorogenymay
Geochronological work have resulted in tectonic and thermal disturbance of
The Kirunaoresoccurcloseto the southernmargin the area, which possiblyis reflected by imprecise
of the Archcancraton.Archcanrocks,mainlyinclud- lower interceptagesof U-Pb zircondiscordialinesat,
ing grayandred gneisses and granitoids(Offerberg, e.g., 356 _+126 and307 _+62 Ma (Ski/51d, 1988), and
1967), are exposedonly a few kilometersto the the redistributionof radiogeniclead in the Protero-
northwestof Kiruna and underliethe greenstones in zoic basement(Romer, 1990; Romer and Wright,
the lower part of the Kiruna supracrustal belt. The 1993).
greenstones probablyare related to the geographi-
callywidespreadextension- andrifting-relatedmaflc SampleDescriptions
magmatismat the southernmarginof the Archcan
craton(e.g., Huhma, 1986; Ski/51d, 1986). The mini- Three typesof sampleswere analyzed:magmatic
mumageof thesegreenstones is givenby albite-dia- titanitcfromthe Luossavaara orebody,hydrothermal
basesillsthat cut them and that yield a U-Pb zircon titanitc in amygdules,and titanitc and zircon from
ageat 2184 _+5 Ma (Ski/51d, 1986). the Saarij•irviintrusion,a completelyundeformed
The maflcrocksof the Kirunasupracrustal belt are andunalteredalkalineintrusion.Field geologicargu-
overlainby the Kurravaaraconglomerateandanalka- mentssuggest thatthisintrusionrepresentsthe youn-
line suiteof dominantlyfelsicvolcanicrocks.The age gestmajor magmaticunit in the Kiruna area.
of the iron orebodyat Kiirunavaarais bracketedby
the age of its hostrocks(1909 ___ 18 Ma, Ski/51dand Titanitefrom Luossavaara (sampleL1)
Cliff, 1984) andthe ageofa granophyricdikecutting The ore breccia in the footwall at Luossavaara in-
the ore. The U-Pb ageof the undeformeddike asob- cludesirregularveinsanda setof paralleldikes(Fig.
tained from two zircon fractions is 1880 _ 35 Ma 2) thatreacha few meters'thickness(Lundbohmand
(Cliff and Rickard, 1992). Poolingthesezircon data B•ickstr/Sm, 1898; Geijer, 1910). Coarsecrystalline
with three zircon fractionsfrom a granite, which is magnetiteis the mainconstituentof the dikes.Titan-
presumablygeneticallyrelated to the granophyre itc, biotite, chlorite, actinolite,and quartz occurin
dike, Cliff et al. (1990) obtaineda U-Pb ageof 1880 small variable amounts(Geijer, 1910). Titanitc is
___
3 Ma (Table 1). more abundant in the central and more coarse-
The Kiruna area is subsequentlyintruded by sev- grainedpartsof thickerdikes,whereit formstabular
eral suitesof granitoids.Amongthe youngestintru- crystalsthat are up to severalmillimeterslong. The
sionsare the Lina-typegraniteswhich are datedat chemicalcompositionof magnetitefrom the dikesis
1794 _+24 Ma (U-Pb zircon; Ski/51d,1988). These similarto that of magnetitefromthe Luossavaara de-
granitesyield Rb-Srwhole-rockagesof 1530 _+25 positandsuggests a closerelationbetweenthe dikes
 KI•tUN,• l•tON ORES 1253

T^BLE1. Geochronologic
Data Baseof the KirunaArea

LOcation Age (Ma) Method Lithology Reference Comments

(1) 20 km NNE 2184 _ 5 U-Pbzircon Albitediabasesill Skibid(1986) Three most concordant

of Kiruna fractions out of nine
(2) Kiruna 1932 4- 45 Sm-Nd mineral Marie schists Skibid and Cliff Kirunagreenstonegroup;four
(1984) point mineralisochron
(3) 70 kmSSWof 1909 4- 18 U-Pbzircon Quartz-bearing SkibidandCliff Pooled isochron on four
Kiruna porphyry (1984) fractions from
Puollamtjfikka(40 km SSW
of Kiruna) and three
fractionsfrom Saggekirka
(90 km SSWof Kiruna)
(4) Kiruna 1890_ 90 Sm-NdWR Quartz-bearing Cliffet al. (1990) Foot- and hangingwall of
porphyry Kiirunavaaraorebody
(5) Luossavaara 1888_+ 6 U-Pbtitanite Ironore Thispaper Magnetite-titanite dike in
footwall of ore
(6) SEof Kiruna 18864- 14 U-Pbzircon Grano-andquartz Ski/31d
(1988) Foliated; nine variably
diorite discordant fractions from
three different samples;
lower intercept at 356 4-
126 Ma
(7) Kiruna 1882 4- 24 U-Pbzircon Quartzporphyry Welin (1987) Hanging-wallrocksto
magnetite ores
(8) Kiirunavaara 18804- 35 U-Pbzircon Granophyre Cliffet al. (1990) Granophyricdike cuttingthe
Kiirunavaaraorebody;two
fractions;lower intercept at
355 4- 69 Ma
(9) Kiirunavaara 18804- 3 U-Pbzircon Granite Cliffetal.(1990) Three fractionspooled with
two fractions from the
granophyre;lower intercept
at 328 _+ 35 Ma
(10) Kiirunavaara 1876_+ 9 U-Pbtitanite Syeniteporphyry Thispaper Titanite amygdulein footwall
rock; lower intercept at 562
4- 197 Ma
(11) SEof Kiruna, 17944- 24 U-Pbzircon Migmatite-graniteSkibid(1988) Sevenstronglydiscordant
Lina-type fractionsfrom two pooled
granite granite samples;lower
iutercept at 307 4- 62 Ma
(12) Saarij:,irvi 17924- 4 U-Pbtitaniteand Syenite Thispaper Undeformed, unaltered
zircon syenite intrusion
(13) Kiruna- 15304- 35 Rb-Srwholerock Migmatite-granite Welin et al. Samplesfrom severalgranitic
Giillivarearea (1971) intrusions more than 100
km apart
(14) Kiruna 1540 4- 70 Pb-Pb whole Ore + hostrock Cliff and Rickard Apparentageof hydrothermal
rock (1992) alteration(seetext)
(15) Sjaunjatuottar 15304- 25 Rb-Srwhole
rock Syenite Gulson(1972) Six analyzesfrom regionally
samplingon 10-kin scale
(16) Kiruna 1490 _+130 Sm-Nd whole Ore + hostrock Cliff and Rickard Apparentageof hydrothermal
rock (1992) alteration
(17) Kiruna 1450 4- 30 Rb-Srwholerock Ore + hostrock Cliff andRickard Apparentageof hydrothermal
(1992) alteration

Uncertainties
of allagesarequotedat 2a level;olderdatarecalculated
usingthedecayconstants
recommended
byIUGS(Steiger
and
Jager, 1977)

andmainorebody(Frietsch,1982). The titanitesam- below the Kiirunavaaramagnetitedeposit,whereas

ple usedfor U-Pb datingwastakenfromthe central they are rare below the Luossavaara deposit.They
part of a 1-m-widedike in the northernpart of the are filledwith severaldifferentmineralassemblages
Luossavaaradeposit. (Geijer, 1910; Lundbohm and B•ickstr/3m,1898).
Titanitefrom amygdulesin the wall rockof the The datedamygdulewasabout 1.5 cm in diameter
and was filled with calcite, actinolite, and titanite
Kiirunavaaraore (samplesKIR andK3)
(Fig. 2). Titanite crystalsreachup to '2 mm sizeand
Locally abundantamygdulesin the syenitepor- showwell-developedcrystalfaces.They oftenhave
phyrieshavea diameterof a few millimetersto about inclusions of magnetiteor formovergrowths onmag-
2 cm. They are mostabundantin the footwall rocks netite crystals.
1254 ROMER,MARTINSSOH,
AHD PERDAHL

I cm

FIG. 2. Titanire-bearing
samplesfrom the iron oresat Kirunaand their hostrocks.A. Magnetite
(black)-titanite
(gray)dikein footwallof the Luossavaaramagnetiteore. B. Titanire(T) andactinolite
(Act)in amygdulesfromsyeniteporphyries of the footwallof the Kiirunavaara
magnetiteore.

Titaniteand zirconfrom the syeniteat Saarijiirvi Titanites and zirconsfrom samplesL1 (Luossa-
(sampleS) vaara iron ore) and S (Saarij•irvi syenite) were
Severalsmallersyeniteintrusionsoccurabout15 stronglyabraded(Krogh,1982) andanalyzedin sub-
km southof Kiruna alonga major west-northwest- milligramfractions.
The titanitesweredigestedover-
strikingtectoniczone.The reddishsyeniteconsists of night with >50 percent HF in Savilexbeakerson a
hot plate at 160øC. Two zirconfractionsweighing
alkali feldspar,amphibole,and small amountsof
quartz, chlorite, and magnetite.The samplewas 28.2 and 13.6 •tg,respectively,were digestedwith
taken from a drill hole (SAR89003)situatedto the >50 percentHF in Parr bombsat 240øC for 4 days
west of Lake Saarij'firvi(Fig. lB). The syenite is
(Parrish,1987). Separationand purificationof lead
anduraniumfor titaniteandzirconsamples wasdone
coarsegrainedandleucocraticat thislocality.Except
for the occurrenceof chlorite,the syeniteintrusion by HBr and HCI ion-exchange chromatography, re-
showsno evidenceof alterationand secondarymin- spectively,using BioradAG1-X8. Lead and uranium
were loadedwith HaPO4andsilicagelonthe sameRe
eral growth.
singlefilamentand measuredon a Thompson-CSF
Geochronological Methodsand Results TSN 206c single-collector massspectrometer at the
Analyticalprocedure Laboratoire de G6ochronologie, Universit6 de Paris
7, either on a secondaryelectronmultiplieror on a
Titanitesfrom samplesKIR and K3 (Kiirunavaara Faradaycollector.Pb+ wasanalyzedat ca. 1,400øC
ironore)were analyzedin severalfractionsthatwere andUO9.+ at ca. 1,500øC (Sch'firer et al., 1986). Mass
either untreatedor washedin dilutedHCI andHNOa discrimination wasevaluatedfrommultiplemeasure-
beforesampledissolution. The milligram-sized titan- ments of the lead standard bIBS 981 and natural ura-
ite fractionswere digestedwith >50 percentHF in nium. Massfractionationwascorrectedfor 0.1 per-
Teflon bombsfor 4 daysat 160øC. Separationand cent/amufor both Pb and U. Samplesmeasuredon
purificationof lead and uraniumwas done by HBr the secondaryelectronmultiplierwere additionally
ion-exchange chromatography usingBioradAG1-X8 multipliedwith the squareroot of the atomicmass
(Manh•set al., 1978). Lead anduraniumwere mea- ratio of the measuredisotopes.
suredon separateRe filamentson a FinniganMAT
262 multicollectormassspectrometerat RiceUniver- Results
sity.All leadisotoperatioswere correctedfor a mass The abradedtitanitesfrom the magnetite-titanite
fractionation of 0.11 percent/amu andall 9'asU/9'asU intergrowthat the northernend of the Luossavaara
ratios were corrected for a mass fractionation of 0.16 orebodywere lessthan 1 percent discordantand
percent/amu(seeRomerandWright, 1992). overlapwithin 2 a analyticaluncertainties. The age
 ICIRVN,4IRON O•S 1255

wascalculated fromtheweightedmeanof the 2ø6Pb/ minimumageoftheKiirunavaara andLuossavaara de-

2ø?Pb ageof the threefractions(Table2). The 2ø6Pb/ positsis obtainedfrom the pooledage of a grano-
2ø7pb ageof 1888 _ 6 Ma (Fig. 3) is interpretedto phyreandgranite,of whichthe granophyreiscutting
correspond to the time of crystallization
of the titan- the ore (Cliff et al., 1990).
itc from the iron oxidemagma. The Per G..eijer Oresare extrusive(Geijer,1919;
Titanitesfrom sampleK3 are variablydiscordant Geijer and Odman,1974; Martinssonand Perdahl,
and definea discordiawith interceptsat 1876 _ 9 unpub. field data). The maximumage of the Per
and 562 +_197 Ma (MSWD -- 1.7; Fig. 3). A single Geijer Ores, which are situatedat the contactbe-
titanitcfraction(sampleKIR) fromanotheramygdule tween the quartz-bearingsyenitesand the Lower
yieldsa concordantage,whichwithin analyticalun- HaukiFormation(Fig. 1C), isgivenby the 1882 +_24
certaintiesisidenticalwith theupperinterceptageof Ma dateof the quartz-bearingporphyries.However,
the discordiathroughthe titanitcfractionsof sample the Per Geijer Oresare not cut by the 1880 _ 3 Ma
K3. The age of the KIR fractionis, however,rather granophyreandgranite.Thus,their minimumageis
imprecisebecausethisfractionhasa very low •ø•Pb/ not directly constrained.The age range from ca.
•ø4pbratio(Table2). The upperinterceptageis in- 1900 to 1880 Ma is only correctif the Kiirunavaara
terpreted as the crystallizationage of the titanires magnetiteore is intrusiveor if it is geneticallydi-
which formedin amygdulesin the wall rock of the rectly relatedto the Per Geijer Ores.Despitethese
Kiirunavaaraorebody.This ageagreeswell with the slightshortcomings, the agebracketingof Cliff et al.
1880 _ 3 Ma U-Pbzirconagefroma granophyre dike (1990) is fully confirmed by our U-Pbtitanitcageof
that cut the Kirunaorebody(Cliff et al., 1990). The 1888 _ 6 Ma that is obtaineddirectlyfrom the ore.
lower interceptageof the titanitcfractionsof sample
K3 coincideswithin largeerror limitswith the ageof The Age of Alkaline Magmatismin the Kiruna Area
the Caledonianorogeny.The presenterosionalfront Therearethreetypesof alkalinemagmaticrocksin
of the Caledonides lies about 40 to 50 km to the the Kiruna area: (1) ca. 1.90 to 1.88 Ga volcanic
northwestof Kiruna(seeFig. lB). Becausethe Cale- rocksincludingsyeniteporphyriesand quartz-bear-
doniannappesoriginallyreachedmuchfartherto the ing porphyries;(2) ca. 1.90 to 1.88 Ga subvolcanic
east (Hossackand Cooper, 1986; Anderson,1989) syeniteintrusions,suchas the sill in the footwall to
andthe Caledonianorogenyresultedin the tectonic the Kiirunavaaramagnetitedeposit;and (3) 1.80 to
reactivationand low-grademetamorphismof the 1.79 Ga syenite intrusions.The alkaline intrusive
Proterozoicbasementof the Baltic Shield (Romer, rocks associated with the formation of the Kiruna
1990),we interpretthe lowerinterceptageof the K3 ores are often intenselyaltered near the ore. How-
titanitesto be geologically
meaningful. ever,at a greaterdistancefromthe depositstheygen-
The abradedtitanitesfrom the Saarij•irvisyenite erally appearunaltered,which makesthem difficult
are lessthan 2 percent discordant.In contrast,the to separatefromthe youngersyenites. The olderand
zirconsare highlydiscordant(Fig. 3). The colorless, youngersyeniteintrusionsare mineralogicallyand
inclusion-freezirconswere stronglyfractured,which chemicallysimilarand canbe unequivocally distin-
madethemvery brittle. During abrasion,the zircons guishedonly on the basisof their contactrelationto
fragmentedinto small piecespreventingefficient otherlithologies.The U-Pbageof 1792 _ 4 Ma of the
abrasion.Therefore,the analyzedfragmentslargely Saarij•irvisyeniteconfirmsearlier field data that dis-
includedfracturesurfaces, alongwhichleadlosswas tinguishedolderandyoungersyenites.Furthermore,
favored.Lead lossmostlikely was recent sinceall it demonstrates that the older and youngersyenites
fractionsfall on a discordialine throughzero. The in the Kirunaareaarepart of two unrelatedphasesof
discordialine involving all four mineral fractions alkalinemagmatism.The older one resultedin the
yieldsan ageof 1792 +__ 4 Ma (2 a, MSWD -- 0.75). formation of the host rocks of the Kiruna iron ores. It
When alternativelycalculatedfrom the weighted precedesthe youngerphase,which representsthe
meanof •ø•Pb/•ø7pb ages,the ageis 1793 _+3 Ma (2 lastmajormagmaticeventin the Kirunaarea,by al-
a). The ageisinterpretedto representthe ageof the most 90 m.y.
syeniteemplacement. Intrusiverocksof anagesimilarto thatof the Saar-
ijgrvi syeniteincludethe Transscandinavian igneous
The Age of the Kiruna MagnetiteOres
belt rocksto the west(Romeret al., 1992) andLina-
Usingthe U-Pb zirconageof 1882 _ 24 Ma for the type granites to the southeastof the Kiruna area
hanging-wallrocks(Welin, 1987) and assumingthe (Ski61d, 1988). The alkaline Transcandinavian
Kiirunavaaraand Luossavaara depositsto be intru- igneousbelt rocksforma >l,000-km-longbelt from
siveinto them, Cliff et al. (1990) estimatedthe maxi- southernSwedento northernNorway (Fig. 1A).
mumageof the Kirunamagnetite-apatite ironoresto They formed in a magmatic-arc environmentand
be ca. 1900 Ma. There is, however,no unequivocal probablywereeraplacedcloseto the ancientwestern
field evidenceto decidewhetherthesetwo deposits margin of the Baltic Shield. Limited chemicaldata
are intrusive or extrusive magmatic deposits.The fromthe syenites
at Saarijg.
rvi (Martinsson
andPer-
12 5 6 ROMER,
MARTINSSON,
ANDPERDAHL
 KIRUNA IRON ORES 1257

.35 I ' I

1876+9 Ma
Titanite
K3-C L-lc
" ....... ' Luossavaara
KIR
.34 • Kiirunavaara
•......... Saarijfirvi 186
L-lb
1840 1888+6 Ma
.33

1792+4 Ma

.32 Zircon and t•tamte

1876ñ9 Ma
13-A
S-lb

-la • 1888+6
Ma
562+197 Ma S ld (z•fcon)
.31 K3-B Slc (zlrcon•

.30
4.6 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.4 5.6

:orPb/235U
FIG.3. eøapb?asU-eø7pb?asU diagramfortitanitesfromdikesin the footwallrocksof theLuossavaara
magnetiteore andfromamygdulefillsfromthe footwallrocksof the Kiirunavaara iron ore (datafrom
Table2).Thediscordia linefortheSaarij•irvi
syeniteisfittedthroughtwotitaniteandtwozirconfractions
(inset).Discordia
lineswerecalculatedusingtheprogram ofLudwig(1986).Repeated measurements of
the samezirconfractionyielded2øapb?asu ratiosreproducible to 0.25 percent.Because the analyses
weremadeusingdifferentisotopic tracers,theagecalculations includeuncertainties
forthecalibration of
theisotopictracer.The useduncertaintyforthe2øaPb/23su was0.5 percent.

dahl,unpub.data)showthe samemainandtraceele- phosedand deformedunder upper greenschistto

ment characteristics as the older suite of Transscan-
lower amphibolitefaciesconditionsbefore 1880 +_3
dinavianigneousbelt granitoids(Romeret al., 1992). Ma (Cliff et al., 1990), whichis the ageof the unde-
Such a relation between the Transcandinavian formedgranophyric intrusionthat cutsthe metamor-
igneousbelt and alkaline intrusionsin the Kiruna phosedore and its host rocks.Additional secondary
area wasearlier suggested on the basisof regional mineral associations occurin amygdules,veins,and
studiesof the magneticsignaturein the Proterozoie fractures.Amygdulesin the footwallrocksare filled
basement(Erikssonand Henkel, 1983; Henkel and with calcite,magnetite,apatite,actinolite,andtitan-
Eriksson,1987). The light reddish-gray potassium- itc. Pyrite formsfine disseminations in intergranular
rich Lina-typegranites,in contrast,mainlyinclude spaces, late-stageveins,andopen-space fillingsin the
oldercrustalmaterialandhavetraceelementsigna- Kiruna iron ore. The pyrite formedfrom a low-tem-
turessimilarto syneollisiongranites.The ageof Lina- perature hydrothermalsystemthat is not related to
type granitesis 1794 +_24 Ma (Ski/51d,1988). Thus, the formation of the high-temperatureiron ores
the 1792 +_4 Ma U-Pb ageof the Saariji/rvisyenite (Cliff and Rickard, 1992). Instead,these secondary
demonstrates that two kindsof magmatism were eon- mineralassemblages couldhaveformedin relationto
temporaneouslyactive in the Kiruna area. The the cooling of the volcanic rocks, thermal distur-
magmaof thesetwo suiteswasmaterialderivedfrom bancescausedby later magmatism andintrusions,or
contrastingsources.One magmatie suite involved a hydrothermaleventthat is relatedto later tectonic
mantle material (Saariji/rvisyenite) whereas the reactivations of the Baltic Shield. Earlier estimates of
othermainlyinvolvedcrustalmaterial. the age for secondarymineral assemblages include
ca. 1500 Ma for a regionalhydrothermaleventin the
The Age of Hydrothermal Aetivity Kirunaarea(Cliff andRickard,1992) andca. 400 Ma
in the Kiruna Area
for the redistributionof lead underlow-grademeta-
Secondarymineral assemblages in the volcanic morphic conditions (Romer, 1990; Romer and
rocks indicate that the Kiruna area was metamor- Wright, 1993). In the following,we discuss the chro-
1258 ROMER,MARTINSSON,
ANDPERDAHL

nologicbasisforthesethreeagesofsuggested second- doesnot representa regionallyimportantevent,and

ary mineralgrowth. it is confined to the Kiruna iron ores.
Lead isotopedatafromwhole-rocksamples of the
Theca. 1876 Ma hydrothermalevent Kirunamagnetiteore anditswall rocksindicatea 1.5
Ga event (Cliff andRickard,1992). The considerable
Amygdulesin the footwallof the Kiirunavaarade-
positare locallyfilled with a calcite-actinolite-titan-
scatterof thesedataabouta lineararrayin the2ø6Pb/
itc association.Locally,someamygdulesalsocontain
2ø4pb-•ø7Pb/•ø4pb diagram(Fig. 4, filled symbols)
suggests that the U-Pb systemof thesesamplesis dis-
chalcopyriteand pyrite crystals.The titanitc yields
turbed.Moreover,if the measured•38U/•ø4Pb ratios
an ageof 1876 _ 9 Ma (Fig. 3), whichis within error
(Cliff and Rickard, 1992) representthe valuesac-
identicalto the ageof the magnetite-titanitedikesin
the footwallof the Luossavaara ore deposit.Thus,the
quired in courseof the Proterozoichydrothermal
overprint,thenthe leadwouldhaveevenmoreradio-
hydrothermalalterationresultingin the fillingof the
genic isotopiccompositions than those observed.
amygdulescouldhavebeen relatedto the formation
of the Kiirunavaara and Luossavaara iron ores or it Therefore, a more recent disturbance involving10 to
50 percentPb lossor U gainis required.The ageof
couldbe slightlyyoungerthanthe formationof these this fractionation of U and Pb is not known. Cliff and
deposits.Amygduleswith titanitc are largely con-
Rickard(1992) suggested that this fractionationoc-
finedto the footwallof the Kiirunavaaraorebodyand
curredin recenttime and, consequently, they inter-
their occurrencelargely coincideswith zonesof in-
tense Na metasomatism. In these sections, titanitc preted the linear array as a secondary isochron at
1540 _ 70 Ma. To investigate the possibilityof alter-
not onlyoccursin amygdules, but alsoreplacesfeld-
nativeinterpretations, it isassumed thatthe fraction-
sparandformssecondary rimsaroundcorrodedapa-
ation of U and Pb occurredduring the Caledonian
tite (Geijer, 1910). The alteredsectionis underlain
orogeny,i.e., at ca. 400 Ma. The lead isotopecompo-
by a syenitesill (Fig. 1C). The spatialcoincidence of sitions,recalculated for 400 Ma, scatter about an-
alterationswith the syenitesill suggests that hydro-
otherlineararrayin the 2ø6Pbffø4pb-•øTpbffø4pb dia-
thermal mineral assemblagesin the amygdules
gram(Fig.4, opensymbols). Thisarrayisinterpreted
formedin relationto the emplacement of the syenite
sill. as a mixingline. Usingthe mixingage t• -- 400 Ma,
the slopeof the mixingarraycorresponds to a source
Theca. 1500 Ma hydrothermalevent age t• at 1850 _ 80 Ma. The given age uncertainty is
calculatedfromthe 2 a uncertaintyof the slopeof the
Abundantfield evidencefor stronghydrothermal mixingline. Assuming a higheraget2 for the distur-
and metasomatic alteration of the Kiruna area was bancewould result in an even higher sourceage t 1.
originallyinterpretedto be relatedto the formation
of the ores and their hostrocks(e.g., Geijer, 1910;
35
Frietsch,1979). Cliff andRickard(1992) presentPb- 400Ma 0Ma Kiirunavaara
Pb, U-Pb, Rb-Sr, and Sm-Nd whole-rock data from Iron ore
the Kiirunavaaraironorebody(magnetite-apatite ore o ß Host-rock ...
........
andsecondary sulfides)andits hostrocks(Table 1). 30 '• • Sulfide
impregnation
gt'"'•"•0
-400
Ma
Thesedata are interpreted to indicatean age of ca.
1.5 Gafor the hydrothermalevent(Cliff andRickard,
1992). Thisinterpretationis in strongcontrastto ear-
lier work in the area.This hasalsobeen pointedout 25 ....
.o'"'"
by Cliff andRickard(1992). Other data,supposed to
favor such a Mesoproterozoicevent in the Kiruna ..

area (Cliff andRickard,1992), includeRb-Srwhole- ...."

rock agesof 1530 _ 35 Ma (Welin et al., 1971) and

1530 _ 25 Ma (Gulson,1972) from Lina-typegran- 20 •.'••'•'•.........
Mixing
..line
400-1850
Ma
'•...• --- Reference
line
1540
Ma
ites and a syenite,respectively.The Rb-Sr whole-
rock ages,however,are derivedfrom materialcol- ("secondary
isochron")
15 , I • I • I • I • I
lectedoverlargeareas(Gulson,1972) or they origi- 15 45 75 105 135 165
nate from severaldifferentintrusions(Welin et al., 206pb
/ 204pb
1971). These data may representrotated mixing
lines.The U-Pb zirconagefrom the Lina-typegran- F•C:.4. •ø6Pbffø4Pb-•ø7pbffø4Pbdiagramfor traceleadfromthe
ites is 1794 _ 24 Ma (Skii51d,1988). Furthermore, Kiirunavaaraore (sulfides,magnetite)and its hostrocks(all data
from Cliff and Rickard,1992). Lead isotopecompositionat 400
the SaarijSrvisyeniteyieldsan age of 1792 _ 4 Ma Ma is correctedfor in situlead growth(parallelto arrow 0-400
(Fig. 3). This syeniteis not affectedby later hydro- Ma) usingthe•asUffø4Pb
valuesgivenby CliffandRiekard(1992).
thermal alteration. Thus, if there is a 1.5 Ga event, it For discussion see text.
 KlttUN;, •ttON OttE$ 1259

Yet the disturbance cannot be much older than Phan- Sm-Nd data have a very smallspreadin the t47Sm/
erozoic, otherwisesomeof the recalculatedlead iso- •44Nd.A smallheterogeneity
of two eNaunitsis suffi-
tope compositions becomeimpossibly unradiogenic. cient to yield a rotatedmixingline that is 400 m.y.
Due to the uncertaintyof the real age of the U-Pb too young.Sucha heterogeneitycannotbe ruledout,
fractionation,the lead isotopedata are inconclusive. asmajorgeochemicalreservoirsin the Kirunaareaat
However, it is stressedthat a Caledonian disturbance 1.89 Ga had •Navaluesrangingfromca.-12 (Archcan
explainsthe lead isotopedataby involvingtwo well- basement)to ca. +4 (Paleoproterozoicmantle), and
documentedmajor eventsof the shield(arc forma- bothofthesereservoirsarelikely to havecontributed
tion and Caledonianorogeny),whereasa recent dis- to Paleoproterozoicvolcanic rocks of the Kiruna
turbancewould require a new, previouslyunknown area.
tectonicevent and, furthermore,would rule out any
Caledonian disturbance. The ca. 400 Ma hydrothermalevent
In orderto plot the U-Pb datain the 2ø7Pb/235U- The presentfront of the Caledoniannappesoccurs
2ø6Pb/•asU(concordia)diagram,they have to be about 40 to 50 km to the northwest of Kiruna. The
correctedfor lead initially presentin the sample. nappesprobablyreachedabout100 km fartherto the
However,thisinitialleadisotopecomposition for the southeast(Hossackand Cooper, 1986; Anderson,
samplesfromthe Kirunaareais not known(Cliff and 1989; Romer, 1990), which would imply that the
Riekard, 1992). Uncertaintiesabout the initial lead Kirunaareawascoveredby the nappes.The nappes
have a considerable influence on the calculated were emplacedon the Baltic Shield at ca. 400 Ma.
•ø7Pb/•asUand•ø6Pb/238U ratiosif the samples have During this event, old fault and shearzonesin the
2ø•Pb/•ø4pb ratiosof lessthan a few hundred.The shieldbecamereactivatedandpermeatedby hydro-
•ø•Pbffø4pb ratiosof the Kiruna samplesfall in the thermalfluids,whichlocallyformedvein mineraliza-
range26.48 to 164.5 (Cliff andRickard,1992). For tions in the basement(Johansson,1983; Romer,
example,if a Mesoproterozoic uppercrustalcommon 1992, 1993). A thermal disturbanceof the Kiruna
lead isotopecomposition(e.g., Zartman and Doe, areais indicated,first,by the Paleozoiclower inter-
1981) isused,the discordialine yieldsa Mesoproter- cept agesof discordialines from Kiirunavaara(see
ozoicagein the concordiadiagram,whereasa corre- Fig. 3 andTable 1) and southeastof Kiruna (Skii51d,
spondingPaleoproterozoic lead yields a discordia 1988;Table 1). Eventhe U-Pb data,whichoriginally
line with interceptsat ca. 1.8 and ca. 0.4 Ga. The were interpretedto demonstrate a ca. 1.5 Ga hydro-
choiceof the isotopiccompositionof the common thermalevent(CliffandRickard,1992), canbe inter-
lead, however,is dependenton the a priori expecta- preted as discordiawith a Paleozoicintercept (see
tion of the ageof the samplesuite.The U-Pb dataare discussion above). Second,Caledonianmineraliza-
inconclusive,because the initial common lead com- tions in Paleoproterozoicrocks within the orogen
positionof the Kirunasamplesis not knownfromin- and along its erosionalfront are characterizedby
dependentmeasurements. Furthermore,a Mesopro- highlyradiogeniclead (Johansson, 1983; Romerand
terozoicage would require the presenceof an in- Wright, 1993). Such distinctive radiogenic lead,
herited component(Cliff andRickard,1992), which whichoccursalsoin the Kirunaarea, e.g., at R•tppe,
is in conflictwith their interpretationof the lead Visearia,andSvappavaara (e.g.,Romer,1990), dem-
data.Suchan incompatibilityof interpretationdoes onstrates that the basementlocallywaspermeableto
notexistfor a Paleoproterozoic ageof the hydrother- Paleozoic hydrothermal fluids that transported
mal event. metals.When correctedfor in situlead growthdur-
The Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd whole-rock data also indi- ingthe last400 m.y., eventhe leadisotopedatafrom
cate Mesoproterozoic ages, which appear to give the Kirunairon ore andits hostrocks(Cliff andRick-
supportto the U-Pb andPb-Pbinterpretationof Cliff ard, 1992) fall on a mixingline that yieldsa source
and Rickard (1992). However, the evidence from aget• of 1850 + 80 Ma, if it is assumed that therewas
these two systemsis not very strong. The Rb-Sr a mixing event at 400 Ma.
whole-rockage (1.45 + 0.03 Ga; Cliff and Rickard, The lead isotopedata indicatethat the rocksin
1992) originatesfrom a very poorlydefinedregres- the Kirunaareahad higher•aaU/2ø4pb valuesafter
sionlinewith MSWD > 1,000. ThislargeMSWD indi- Paleozoictime. We suggestthat the Caledonian
catesthat the line is fitted to a nonidealsystemthat orogenyresultedin a low-grademetamorphicover-
had been partially open after its formation. This print duringwhich either radiogeniclead was lost
agreeswith the sampledescriptions of Cliff andRick- from the rock or uranium was added. The lead iso-
ard (1992) sincesomesamples havelate veinsof apa- tope datado not, however,indicatewhetherthe sec-
rite and calcite, whereas others contain acicular am- ondarysulfideassemblage formed duringthe Cale-
phibole.Suchamphiboleis,however,locallyformed donian orogenyor whether they representolder
from the uralitizationof pyroxene(Geijer, 1910), low-temperaturephasesthat were affectedby the
andthus,mayalsorepresenta secondaryphase.The Caledonianorogeny.
1260 ROMER,MARTINSSON,
AND PERDAHL

Summary Caledoniangeologyof Scandinavia: Norwell,MA, KluwerAca-

demicPublications, p. 101-110.
U-Pb dating of titanitc from magnetite-titanite Cliff, R.A., andRickard,D., 1992, Isotopesystematics
of the Kir-
dikes in the footwall of the Luossavaaraorebody unamagnetiteores,Sweden:Part 2. Evidencefor a secondary
shows that the iron ores formed at 1888 _+ 6 Ma. Ti- event400 m.y. afterore formation:ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, v. 87,
p. 1121-1129.
tanite-actinolite-calcite
fill in amygdulesin the foot- CLiff,
R.A.,Rickard,D., andBlake,K., 1990,Isotopesystematics
of
wall yieldsa U-Pb titanitcageof 1876 _+9 Ma. The the Kirunamagnetiteores,Sweden:Part 1. Age of the ore:ECO-
spatialdistributionof suchtitanitc-filledamygdules NOMICGEOLOGY,v. 85, p. 1770-1776.
coincides with the occurrence of Na metasomatism Eriksson,L., and Henkel,H., 1983, Deep structuresin the Pre-
andthe extentof a majorsyenitesill in the footwall cambrianinterpretedfrommagneticandgravitymapsof Scan-
dinavia: Interntional Basement Tectonics Association Publica-
rocks.The U-Pbtitanitcageprobablycorresponds to tion, v. 4, p. 351-358.
the ageof thisintrusionthatcauseda thermaldistur- Fredholm,K.A., 1891, Bergarteroch maimeri Luossavaara och
bance and metasomatism in the footwall of the Kiir- Kirunavaara[Rocksandoresat Luossavaara and Kiirunavaara]:
unavaaradeposit. GeologiskaFGreningens i StockholmFGrhandlingar, v. 13, p.
266-270 (in Swedish).
The SaarijSrvisyeniteis oneof the youngestmajor Frietsch,R., 1973,The originof the Kirunaironores:Geologiska
intrusionsin the Kirunaarea.Its U-Pb titanitc ageat FGreningens i StockholmFGrhandlingar, v. 95, p. 375-380.
1792 +_4 Ma demonstrates that there are at least two -- 1979, Petrologyof the Kurravaaraarea,northeastof Kiruna,
generations
of alkalinerocksin the Kirunaarea,i.e., northern Sweden: SverigesGeologiskaUndersGkning,no.
the alkaline volcanic and subvolcanicrocks, which C760, 62 p.
1982, On the chemicalcompositionof the ore brecciaat
hostthe iron ores,andundeformedsyenites,suchas Luossavaara, northernSweden:MineraliumDeposita,v. 17, p.
SaarijSrvi.Thesesyenitesare geochemically and in 239-243.
agesimilarto granitoids fromthe TransscandinavianFrietsch,R., andPerdahl,J.-A.,1989, REEdistributionin magne-
igneousbelt. The U-Pb titanitc ageconfirmsearlier tite andapatitein someEarlyProterozoic oretypesin Norrbot-
ten, northernSweden:Research ReportLulefiUniversity,TU-
suggestions thatin the KirunaareaTranscandinavian LEA 1989:26, 37 p.
igneousbelt rocksalsooccurto the eastof the Cale- Geijer,P., 1910, IgneousrocksandironoresofKirunavaara,Luos-
donides(Erikssonand Henkel, 1983). savaaraandTuollavaara: Stockholm,Scientificandpracticalre-
A weak thermal disturbance of the Kiruna area in searches
in Laplandarrangedby Luossavaara-Kirunavaara
Ak-
relationto the Caledonianorogenyis indicatedby -- tiebolag, 278 p.
1919, Recentdevelopments at Kiruna:SverigesGeologiska
Paleozoiclowerinterceptagesof U-Pbdatafromzir- UndersGkning, no. C288, 22 p.
conandtitanitcandthe recalculationof earlierpub- -- 1931, Bergrundeninom malmtraktenKiruna-Malmberget-
lisheddata (Cliff and Rickard,1992). In contrastto Pajala[Bedrockin the ore-districtKiruna-Malmberget-Pajala]:
earlier claims(Cliff and Rickard, 1992), there is no SverigesGeologiska UndersGkning, no. C366, 225 p. (in Swed-
ish).
evidencefor Mesoproterozoic hydrothermalactivity -- 1967,Internalfeaturesof the apatite-bearing magnetiteores:
in the Kiruna area.
Sveriges
Geo!9giska
UndersGkning,
no.C624,32 p.
Geijer,P., andOdman,O.H., 1974, The emplacement of the Kir-
Acknowledgments una iron ores and related deposits:SverigesGeologiskaUn-
dersGkning, no. C700, 48 p.
R.L.R. thanksJ.E. Wright for givingaccessto the Gulson,B.L., 1972, The Precambriangeochronology of granitic
geochronologicallaboratory at Rice University rocksfromnorthernSweden:Geologiska FGreningens i Stock-
(Houston,Texas)where someof the analyseswere holmFGrhandlingar, v. 94, p. 229-244.
Henkel, H., and Eriksson,L., 1987, Regionalaeromagnetic and
done; he alsothanksUrs SchSrer,Paris, for accessto gravitystudiesin Scandinavia: Precambrian
Research,v. 35, p.
all the installations
of hislaboratoryandfor construc- 169-180.
tive criticism.R.L.R. was financiallysupportedby Hitzman,M.W., Oreskes,N., andEinaudi,M.T., 1992, Geological
Lulif Universityand the SwedishNational Science characteristics and tectonicsettingof Proterozoiciron oxide
(Cu-U-Au-REE)deposits:
Precambrian
Research,v. 58, p. 241-
ResearchCouncil(G-GU 09675-306). O.M. andJ.- 287.
A.P. obtainedfinancialsupportthroughthe Swedish Hossack,J.R., andCooper,M.A., 1986, Collisiontectonicsin the
NationalBoardforIndustrialandTechnical
D..evelop- ScandinavianCaledonides:GeologicalSocietyof LondonSpe-
ment'sproject92-00752P. We thankAkselOsterl/3f cialPublication19, p. 287-304.
Kir andK3 andMilan Vnuk (Lu- Huhma,H., 1986, Sm-Nd,U-PbandPb-Pbisotopicevidencefor
(LuleS)for samples
the originof the Early ProterozoicSvecokarelian
crustin Fin-
left)forhelpwiththeartwork.
Wethank•. Johanssonland:FinlandGeologicalSurveyBulletin,v. 337, p.1-48.
andtwo Economic
Geologyrefereesfor detailedand Jaffey,A.H., Flynn,K.F., Glendenin,L.F., WentIcy,W.C., and
constructive reviews. Essling,A.M., 1971, Precisionmeasurements of half-livesand
specificactivitiesof 2asUand2asU:PhysicalReviews,v. C4, p.
1889-1906.
September
21, 1993;March22, 1994 Johansson,
•., 1983,Leadisotope
composition
ofCaledonian
sul-
fide-bearingveinsin Sweden:ECONOMIC
GEOLOGY,
v. 78, p.
BEBEBENCES 1674-1688.
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