ISSN 1028-334X, Doklady Earth Sciences, 2019, Vol. 488, Part 2, pp. 1245–1249. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2019.

Russian Text © The Author(s), 2019, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2019, Vol. 488, No. 6.

GEOCHEMISTRY

Sources of Terrigenous Clastic Material of the Pechenga

Ore-Bearing Structure from Data of Detrital Zircon Isotopic Analysis
(SIMS SHRIMP-II, LA-ICPMS)
V. F. Smol’kina,*, S. V. Mezhelovskayab, and A. D. Mezhelovskyb
Submitted by Academician Yu.N. Malyshev June 5, 2019

Received June 5, 2019

Abstract—The research results were received from studying the Pechenga ore-bearing Paleoproterozoic struc-
ture, which is located on the northwestern part of the Kola region. The U–Th–Pb zircon age was determined
by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) on the Sensitive High-Resolution Ion microprobe (SHRIMP-
II) spectrometer and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) on the Thermo-
Quest Finnigan MAT Neptune instrument. Basalt conglomerates of the Televi Formation, red gritstones of
the Luchlompolo Formation, and high-siliceous turbidites from the middle part of the Matert Formation
were tested. On the U–Pb concordia diagram, the part of analytical points for zircon from conglomerates are
approximated by the discordia with a top intercept at 2792 ± 7 Ma. All zircon grains from gritstone are located
on the concordia. Most of the values of their ages lie within 2700–2820 Ma, and the lesser part of the age val-
ues lies within 2840–3000 Ma. Single grains have an age from 3037 ± 4 Ma to 3698 ± 8 Ma. The concordant
value of the 207Pb/206Pb age, which is 2640 ± 16 Ma, was established for turbidite zircon. Rocks of the base-
ment at the northern rim of the Pechenga structure: gneisses of the Kirkenes, Varanger, and Svanvik com-
plexes (2715, 2803, and 2825 Ma) and high-aluminous gneisses (2798–2830 Ma) were sources of zircon for
conglomerates and gritstones. Granitoids from the southern flank of the structure were sources of zircon for
turbidites. The predominant role of the zircon group with an age of 2.7 Ga proves the global increment of the
continental crust during this period. The ancient age of zircon (3.0–3.7 Ga) of red-colored gritstones is
related to deeper erosion of the basement and exposure of the Eoarchaean and Mezoarchaean rocks at the
northern rim during the period of the first global “Oxygen revolution” (2.4–2.3 Ga).

DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X1910026X

The Pechenga ore-bearing structure is the north-
western fragment of the Pechenga–Varzuga Belt. The
structure stretches out with some interval for 600 km
crossing the entire Kola Peninsula from northern Nor-
way to the coast of the White Sea. The belt is one of the
largest Paleoproterozoic structures and appears to be a
long-lived paleo rift-related system, which subsided
about 2.5 Ga ago on a crust of the continental type [1].
This study aims to determine the initial stage of
subsidence of the structure, to establish the sources of
clastic material deposited during accumulation of ter-
rigenous sequences, and to estimate the contribution
of Eo-, Meso, and Neoarchaean matter to the forma-
aVernadsky
State Geological Museum, Russian Academy
of Sciences, Moscow, 119991 Russia
bOrdzhonikidze Russian State Prospecting Geological
University, Moscow, 117997 Russia
*e-mail: info@sgm.ru
tion of the continental crust. To achieve this goal, zir-
con was chosen as the main instrument, as one of the
most universal minerals–geochronometers.
Zircon monofractions were separated from sam-
ples weighing 5–8 kg at Karpinsky Russian Geological
Research Institute, St. Petersburg, and Institute of
Geology, Karelian Research Center, Russian Acad-
emy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk. Secondary Ion Mass
Spectrometry (SIMS) on a Sensitive High-Resolution
Ion microprobe (SRHIMP-II) spectrometer and
Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrome-
try (LA-ICPMS) on a ThermoQuest Finnigan MAT
Neptune instrument were used for U–Pb dating
according to the methods in [2, 3].
Analytical data were processed on the basis of the
SQUID [4] and ISOPLOT/EX [5] programs.
The Pechenga structure, which is 40 × 70 km in
size, has an asymmetrical internal constitution. The
northern boundary of the structure, over much of its
extent, is stratigraphic. It runs along the lower contact

1245
1246 SMOL’KIN et al.

Thick-

Series
Forma-
tion Column ness, 1 2 3 4
m

Kasse-
>300
Porojarvi
sjoki 5 6 7 8
Kaplin >500

Menel 300−400 9 10 11 12
300−600
Ansemjoki

Bragino
200−600
13 14 15 P-26 16
Kal- 300−
lojavr 700
P-26

Supp-
vaar
up to P-26
2000
Pilgujarvi

Matert

Lammas
800−
Zhda- 1100
nov
P-21

Zapo-
Kolasjoki

1500−
lyarny 1800

Luch- P-21
lompolo 0−350
Orsho-
Kuetsjarvi

aivi 800−
Pirttiyarvi 1000
Kuver- 0−250
nerinjoki

P-73
Ahmakahti

Majarvi 1200−
1500
P-73
Televi 0−200

Fig. 1. Stratigraphic scheme of the Pechenga structure according to [9]. (1) The Archean complex of the basement and the schis-
tose intrusion of General’skaya Mountain that ruptured the basement; (2) high-siliceous turbidite; (3) conglomerate;
(4) graywacke, quartzite; (5) sulfide–carbonaceous–psammite–siltstone schist; (6) dolomite; (7) ferropicrite; (8) picrite; (9)
basalt; (10) trachybasalt; (11) andesibasalt; (12) dacite; (13) structural disconformity; (14) stratigraphic boundary; (15, 16) sam-
pling point and its number. In the inserts are photos of the outcrops of the host rocks studied.

of the basal terrigenous sequence, which lies on the tain with an age of 2505 ± 2 Ma [7]. The southern
rocks of the Archean basement and on the eroded sur- boundary is defined by the Shuoni and Kaskelyavr
face of a schistose intrusion of General’skaya Moun- granite domes with U‒Pb ages of 1939 ± 7 Ma and

DOKLADY EARTH SCIENCES Vol. 488 Part 2 2019

 SOURCES OF TERRIGENOUS CLASTIC MATERIAL 1247

Number of grains Number of grains

10 (a) 2718 (b)
18
9 P-73 P-21
2779
n = 24 2731 2785 16 n = 61
8
14
7
6
2703 2830 12
5 10
4 8 2972
2854
3 6 3698 ± 8
2639 3132
2 2476 3000
4 3038
2560 3216 3628
1 2 3339 3698
0 0
2400 2500 2600 2700 2800 2900 3000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000
Age, Ma
12 P-26 2655
n = 31 (c)
10

6
2460
4

2
0
2100 2300 2500 2700 2900 3100
Age, Ma

Fig. 2. Multimedia distribution of the 207Pb/206Pb age of zircon from samples (а) P-73, (b) P-21, and (c) P-26.

1940 ± 17 Ma, respectively. The Kola Superdeep
Borehole penetrated the contact between the Paleop-
roterozoic complex and the rocks of the Archean base-
ment at a depth of 6842 m [8].
The section of the northern zone, which is charac-
terized by a monoclinal troughlike structure, is com-
posed of repeatedly alternating volcanic and sedimen-
tary sequences. The composition of volcanic rocks
changes (from bottom to top) from andesibasalts and
trachybasalts to ferropicrites and basalts. The compo-
sition of sedimentary rocks changes from conglomer-
ates, quartzites, red-colored gritstones, and dolomites
to sulfide–carbon–pelite–siltstone schists.
We tested basal conglomerates of the Televi For-
mation (sample P-73), red gritstones of the Luchlom-
polo Formation (sample P-21), and high-siliceous
turbidites from the Matert Formation (sample P-26).
Sample P-73 was collected on the northeastern shore
of Paloyarvi Lake. Sample P-21 was taken from red-
colored gritstones lying in the weathered alkaline vol-
canics of terrestrial facies, which were overlapped by
dolomites. Sample P-26 was taken in the vicinity of
Kuorpukas from a reference horizon, at a distance of
700–850 m from the bottom of the Matert Formation
with a ferropicrite–basalt composition (Fig. 1).
Sample P-73. Zircon develops transparent and
semitransparent subidiomorphic prismatic poorly
rounded and rounded crystals and grains with brown,
yellow, and yellow gray shades. The length of crystals
ranges from 150 to 509 μm, and the elongation coeffi-
cient is 1.0–6.6. The cathodoluminescence images
show that zircon crystals with bright and moderate
luminescence are characterized by a thin oscillatory
magmatic zoning, and the grains are characterized by
crude zoning. On the SIMS SRHIMP-II, 24 zircon
grains were analyzed. The zircon age histogram dis-
plays three clusters with maximums of about 2703,
2731, and 2785 Ma (Fig. 2a). The average 207Pb/206Pb
age of zircon grains, the analytical points of which are
located on the concordia, is 2792 ± 17 (n = 5) Ma and
2718 ± 7 (n = 5) Ma. Grains with an age less than 2703
Ma are related to the metamorphic type, as is seen
from the disturbance to the internal zoning, the high
content of U, and the low content of Th.
Detrital zircon from the Televi Formation was also
studied in gritstones and conglomerates, which were
exposed by borehole 3462. These rocks lie on the Gen-

DOKLADY EARTH SCIENCES Vol. 488 Part 2 2019

1248 SMOL’KIN et al.
3000 ± 9 2804 ± 10
2783 ± 9
2815 ± 15
2777 ± 16
2779 ± 9
2782 ± 9
2720 ± 20
2732 ± 5 2711 ± 11
2706 ± 15
2714 ± 8 2652 ± 23
2641 ± 7
2695 ± 11
Fig. 3. The microscopic images of the zircon grains from
sample P-73 in cathodoluminescence with the laser crater
position and a value of the 207Pb/206Pb age, Ma.
eral’skaya Mountain intrusion [9]. The average age
data for three grains (2482 ± 24 Ma) and for two grains
(2371 ± 32 Ma and 2402 ± 37 Ma) may indicate the
initial stage of formation of the conglomerate as later
than 2370 Ma.
Sample P-21. Zircon is presented by well rounded,
transparent and semitransparent, fissured grains with
striation 50–140 μm in diagonal size (Fig. 3). Most of
the grains have distinctly manifested oscillatory zon-
ing. On the LA-ICPMS, 61 zircon grains were ana-
lyzed. The U–Pb diagram shows that all analytical
points are located on the concordia (Fig. 3d). The
basic part of zircon grains is dated 2700–2820 Ma with
maximums of about 2718 and 2779 Ma (Fig. 2b), the
lesser part is dated 2840–3000 Ma with maximums of
about 2854 and 2972 Ma. The total absence of zircon
grains with an age less than 2700 Ma was established.
The most ancient grain in the shape of a crystal frag-
ment with thin zoning was dated to 3698 ± 8 Ma (D = 1)
(Fig. 2b, insert).
The comparative analysis of basic age-groups of
zircons from the studied terrigenous rocks of the
Televi and Luchlompolo formations allows us to dis-
tinguish pass-through data, which are repeated for
both formations: 2.70‒2.72 Ga, 2.78‒2.79 Ga, and
2.83‒2.85 Ga. At the northern rim of the Pechenga
structure, coeval rocks are presented by gneisses of
DOKLADY EARTH SCIENCES
the Kirkenes, Varanger, and Svanvik complexes (2715 ±
18 Ma, 2803 ± 15 Ma, and 2825 ± 34 Ma, respec-
tively) [8]. High-aluminous gneisses with an age of
2798 ± 2830 Ma, which were penetrated by the Kola
Superdeep Borehole SG-3 (sequences 2, 4, 6, 8,
and 10), and gneisses with an age of 2727 ± 24 Ma
lying on the northwestern rim of the Pechenga struc-
ture could additional sources of zircon [8, 10, 11]. The
material was mostly inputted into the basin from the
northwest and the northeast (in modern coordinates).
At the same time, ten more ancient zircon grains
with a 207Pb/206Pb age from 3009 ± 9 to 3698 ± 8 Ma
were revealed in red-colored gritstones. This finding
could be explained by a deeper erosion of the base-
ment when terrigenous rocks were deposited during
the global “Oxygen revolution” (2.4–2.3 Ga).
Sample P-26 (Fig. 1). Short- and long-prismatic
transparent grains with smoothed faces dominate;
oval-spherical, rounded transparent, and dark brown
grains are less common. Occasional fine crystals with
well-defined faces of prisms and pyramids and with
distinct external rims of growth are encountered. The
size of grains varies in length from 50 to 200 μm.
Grains with crude wide zoning dominate; grains with
distinct thin oscillatory zoning occur more rarely.
In the local U‒Pb analysis of 31 zircon grains
(SIMS SRHIMP-II), most of the points are on the
concordia or in close proximity to the concordia (D =
4‒9). The 207Pb/206Pb age of the basic cluster ranges
from 2520 to 2691 Ma with a maximum of about
2655 Ma on the histogram (Fig. 2c). A subordinate
amount of grains with ages of 2403‒2463 Ma (four
grains) and 2263‒2318 Ma (two grains) are encoun-
tered. For these grains, high contents of U and Th and
a high degree of discordancy (D > 20) were estab-
lished. For 13 grains, the points of which lie on the
concordia, the 207Pb/206Pb age is 2651 ± 10 Ma (mean
square deviation is 0.30).
Granites and gneisses, relicts of which occur at the
southern rim of the South Pechenga zone and which
were penetrated by SG-3, could be the sources of zir-
con with an 207Pb/206Pb age of 2640–2650 Ma [8].
This suggests that terrigenous material was removed
from the southern flank in the northeastern direction
(in modern coordinates). Therefore, in the Matert
period, when the sea basin formed, the areas from
which clastic material could have been removed were
changed dramatically.
The results obtained confirm that the basic contri-
bution to the continental crust was provided by rocks
of the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite complex,
their metamorphosed varieties, and high-aluminous
gneisses and granitoids of different composition. The
predominant role of the zircon group with an age of
2.7 Ga corresponds to the global increment of the
continental crust for this period of time [12].
The act of revealing some zircon populations with
an age of 3.0–3.7 Ga and along with data that were
Vol. 488 Part 2 2019
 SOURCES OF TERRIGENOUS CLASTIC MATERIAL
published earlier (3548 ± 12, 3592 ± 15 Ma) for xeno-
genic zircon from high-aluminous gneisses of the Kola
Formation in the area of Lake Nyal’yavr [13] confirms
the participation of the Eoarchean and Mezoarchean
complexes in the structure of the continental crust of
the Kola region. It is still difficult to estimate their
quantitative role.
The initial stage of the subsidence of the Paleopro-
terozoic Pechenga basin, which was fixed by the depo-
sition of the basal terrigenous sequence, occurred later
than 2.37 Ga. These data confirm the fact that the
Pechenga structure subsided later than the eastern part
of the Pechenga–Varguza belt.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to Prof. A.K. Korsakov for sup-
port of this project and to V.N. Kozhevnikova and
Yu.B. Bogdanova for help in the analytical studies.
FUNDING
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for
Basic Research, project no. 17-05-00592 A.
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Translated by V. Krutikova
2019