Two-stage regional rare-element pegmatite formation at Tysfjord, Norway: implications for the timing of late Svecofennian and late Caledonian high-temperature events

Pegmatite fields within granite plutons are commonly considered to have formed from residual melts of their host. This is not always true as demonstrated by the Tysfjord granite gneiss and its two groups of pegmatites. The Tysfjord granite gneiss, exposed in a tectonic window of the Caledonides of northern Norway, is part of the transscandinavian igneous belt (TIB) that includes several phases of granitic magmatism. In the northern Hamaroy area (Drag-Finnoy), where most rare-element pegmatites occur, Paleoproterozoic and metamorphosed Group 1 allanite-(Ce)-fluorite metapegmatites have similar bulk rock chemical composition as the TIB granite gneiss rocks, indicating that these pegmatites are residual melts. Group 1 metapegmatites, which are up to 400 m in size, are among the largest known intra-plutonic pegmatites with Nb-Y-F (NYF) signature. The formation of these unusually large granite-hosted NYF pegmatites may have been facilitated by the overall high F content of TIB granite gneisses. Undeformed Group 2 amazonite-tourmaline pegmatites yield columbite and zircon U-Pb ages in the range 400-379 Ma. These pegmatites are interpreted to be anatectic melts that formed from the partial melting of Tysfjord granite gneiss. Group 2 pegmatites, including those from Tr AE na Island and the Sjona tectonic window (400 and 414 Ma), formed during late Caledonian ductile shearing and incipient unroofing of the central Scandinavian Caledonides and record progressively younger ages of this event from SW to NE.

Automated summary

Pegmatites can form from residual melts or partial melting of granites. The Tysfjord area in Norway contains two groups of pegmatites, one formed from residual melts and the other formed from partial melting of the granite gneiss. These findings provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of rocks.