Papuan Ultramafic Belt Ophiolite

Papuan Peninsula
Southeast New Guinea

PNG Geological Map by Prof. H.L Davies

Presented by Martin Umba

 Location
• Located within 6° 11’s – 10 °45’s S and 146° 32’s – 154° 00’s E
• Stretches along the Southeastern New Guinea ( the bird’s ail)
• Found within the Papua Peninsula
• Share the Provincial boundary of Morobe, Central, Northern, and Milne
Bay
 Regional Physiography
• Situated within Fold Belt Tectonic Province (New Guinea Orogen)
• Sandwiched between the Aure Fold Belt (NW), Trobriand Trough (NE), Papuan
Trough (SW-SE trending) and stretched by Woodlark Basin (transform fault)
• Truncated by the Owen Stanley Fault System ( also Timeno Faults)
• Elevated by the Owen Stanley Range and Metamorphic Core Complex
 PAPUAN PENINSULA FORMATION
Sequence of Events
1. Cretaceous – basalt crystallised and formed along spreading ridge.
2. Paleocene – Coral Sea syn-rift formation along spreading ridge and
emergence of basaltic magma.
3. Eocene-Oligocene – trench develop on the southeast of EPCT allowing
part of it to move southwest and link up with mainland New Guinea.
Accretionary formed on the SW subducting slab (POM Accretionary prism)
4. Miocene (8 Ma) – emergence of metamorphic and ophiolite, crustal
extension and tilting of cover rocks.
5. Miocene (8Ma) – extension of crust permitted emergence of Owen Stanley
Range.
6. Miocene (6 Ma) – rifting and subsequent opening of the Woodlark basin.
7. Pliocene-Quaternary – volcanism, include those of Lamington and
Victory
 MAJOR GEOMORPHOLOGIC STRUCTURES
• Structural Formations
Papuan Fold Belt
East Papuan Composite Terrane
 Owen Stanley Metamorphics
(Suckling-Dayman Massif – Complex)
Felsic Kagi Metamorphics
Ultramafic Emo Metamorphics
 Papuan Ultramafic Belt Ophiolite
Volcanics
Kutu, Kana, Kemp Welsh, Lokanu, Lamington,
Victory Volcanics
Safia Valley
Woodlark Basin
D’Entrecasteaux Islands
• Structural Lineation
Owen Stanley Fault system
Timeno Fault zone
Trobriand and Papuan Trough, Aure Fold Belt
Woodlark Transform Faults
Papuan Ultramafic Belt Ophiolite

Ophiolite Suite cross-section, (Davies)

Pictures and PUB Ophiolite

sequence by Prof. H. L. Davies
 Ophiolite Sequence
1. Basalt
• 4 km thick
• Submarine basalts (pillow lavas and massive flow)
locally with some pelagic ooze mudrock
• Sheet dyke complex
Massive flow

• Mineralogy
- amygdales,
- secondary epi, cal, qtz, / py
- microphenos of Fe-rich basalt with
groundmass of plagio, cpx, Fe-Ti oxides
chl, smec, epi, alb
Intergranular pillow lava
• Texture
- fine-grained to glassy texture,
Aphanitic, glassy texture
- graded into intergranular texture
with pillow cores,
- mainly aphanitic pillow lava Pictures by Prof. H. L. Davies
 2. Gabbro
• 4 km thick
• Fine grained, ophitic gabbro,
with zoned plagioclase at top,
• Coarser grained gabbros (cumulate & deformed)
and granular gabbro

• Mineralogy
- plagio, augite, hypersthene > actiinolite,
qtz, megnt, ilmen, apatite, with abundance of
Fe-Ti oxides, qtz and pyroxene

• Texture
Prof. Davies
- layered with deformation effects,
cumulus texture, granular

Cumulus layering gabbro

 3. Peridotite
• 4 – 8 km thick
• Cumulus ultramafic rock at the top (100-500m),
(olivine-rich gabbro and troctolite)
• Tectonite (Peridotite) ultramafic rock below

• Mineralogy
1. Cumulus ultramafic
- olivine, opx, cpx, chrome spinel,
subhedral bronzite, plagio, lhezolite
2. Cumulus tectonite (Peridotite)
- oliv, opx, chrome-rich spinel,
harzburgite,

• Texture
- cumulus ultramafic: cumulate texture (chemistry)
- layered peridotite with cumulus texture
comprising small proportion

Pictures by Prof. H. L. Davies

 Ophiolite as part of Metamorphics
• Metamorphic zones
1. Low grade metamorphics – Accretionary Prism (zeol), southwest
2. High grade metamorphics – Kagi FM & Emo MM (Pr-Pu, GS, BS)
3. Higher garde metamorphics – Ophiolite UM, northeast

Increasing metamorphic g
rade
 SUMMARY
1. Ophiolite – Emplacement of oceanic crust (PUB Ophiolite)

2. Owen Stanley Metamorphics – Formation resulting from the

Continental-Arc Collision (Kagi/Emo Metamorphics)

3. Papuan Ultramafics – Uplift of metamorphic core complex

(Peridotite outcrop)

4. Thrust Fault System – Low angle thrust faults resulting from

the Collision (OSTFS, Timeno Faults, Keveri Faults)

5. Accretionary Prism – scrap-off sediments accreted to the over

riding crust (Burns Peak-Poreporena Formation)
TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT

Illustration by K. Chapple
• Reference
1. Tectonics and PNG Geology, Prof. Hugh. L. Davies, 2009
2. Petrography and Trace Element Geochemistry of PUB, A.L. Jaques
3. Geology in the Oceania Region, Hugh. L. Davies

• Acknowledgement
1. Prof. Hugh. L. Davies
2. Mr Leo Jonda
EM TASOL

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