Metallogenic provinces, geochemical provinces and regional geology — what causes large-scale patterns in low density geochemical maps of the C-horizon of podzols in Arctic Europe?

The <2 mm fraction of 605 samples of the C-horizon of podzols collected from an area of 188,000 km2 in the European Arctic was analysed for more than 40 chemical elements. The results were used to construct geochemical maps which showed clear regional distribution patterns, notwithstanding the very low sample density of 1 site per 300 km2. Some of these patterns fit established lithological boundaries. Others fit lineament structures in the area and underline the relative importance of certain tectonic directions some of which have not yet been delineated on existing geological maps. Some mark large-scale hydrothermal events and related alteration. Finally, some are connected with prominent, known ore deposits occurring in the area. However, several large deposits and even famous metallogenic provinces (Fe, Ni/Cu) are hardly, or not at all, reflected in the regional geochemical maps. In their present definitions geochemical provinces and metallogenic provinces are thus not necessarily related. Special geochemical features can occur at very different scales. The term geochemical province is so imprecise in terms of processes leading to regional-scale geochemical features that it should be avoided. Low-density geochemistry can be used to aid the interpretation of the geological evolution of large regions. It can also be used to find prospective areas within such regions.

[1]  Xie Xuejing,et al.  Geochemical patterns from local to global , 1993 .

[2]  G. Kullerud,et al.  Geochemical and metallogenic provinces: a discussion initiated by results from geochemical mapping across northern Fennoscandia , 1990 .

[3]  A. A. Levinson.  INTRODUCTION TO EXPLORATION GEOCHEMISTRY , 1974 .

[4]  C. Reimann,et al.  Comparison of sulphur and heavy metal contents and their regional distribution in humus and moss samples from the vicinity of Nikel and Zapoljarnij, Kola Peninsula, Russia , 1997 .

[5]  H. E. Hawkes,et al.  Principles of geochemical prospecting , 1957 .

[6]  Tang Jianan.  The Atlas of Endemic Diseases and Their Environments in the People's Republic of China , 1990 .

[7]  P. de Caritat,et al.  Overbank sediments from the surroundings of the Russian nickel mining and smelting industry on the Kola Peninsula , 1997 .

[8]  A. G. Darnley.  A global geochemical database for environmental and resource management : recommendations for international geochemical mapping : final report of IGCP Project 259 , 1995 .

[9]  Heikki Niskavaara,et al.  Reductive coprecipitation as a separation method for the determination of gold, palladium, platinum, rhodium, silver, selenium and tellurium in geological samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry , 1990 .

[10]  U. Siewers,et al.  Book reviewThe geochemical atlas of finland — Part 2: Till: T. Koljonen (editor). Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo, 1992, 218 pp., ISBN 951-690-379-7 (hardcover) , 1994 .

[11]  I. Nichol,et al.  Regional geochemical reconnaissance and the location of metallogenic provinces , 1970 .

[12]  C. Reimann,et al.  Comparison of elemental contents in O- and C-horizon soils from the surroundings of Nikel, Kola Peninsula, using different grain size fractions and extractions , 1998 .

[13]  H. E. Wright,et al.  Late Quaternary environments of the Soviet Union , 1985 .

[14]  B. Lehmann.  Metallogeny of tin; magmatic differentiation versus geochemical heritage , 1982 .

[15]  C. Tegner,et al.  Picrite sills and crystal-melt reactions in the Honningsvåg Intrusive Suite, northern Norway , 1996, Mineralogical Magazine.

[16]  C. Reimann,et al.  Ecogeochemical investigation, Kola peninsula: Sulphur and trace element content in snow , 1995 .

[17]  J. Plant,et al.  Regional geochemistry and the identification of metallogenic provinces: examples from lead-zinc-barium, tin-uranium and gold deposits , 1990 .

[18]  P. Vidal,et al.  Isotopic data (UPb, RbSr, PbPb and SmNd) on mafic granulites from finnish lapland , 1984 .

[19]  P. de Caritat,et al.  Rainwater composition in eight arctic catchments in northern Europe (Finland, Norway and Russia) , 1997 .

[20]  C. Tegner,et al.  Crystallization from stratified magmas in the Honningsvåg Intrusive Suite, northern Norway: a reappraisal , 1996, Mineralogical Magazine.

[21]  Michael Allaby,et al.  A Dictionary of Earth Sciences , 2003 .

[22]  P. de Caritat,et al.  Topsoil (0-5 cm) composition in eight arctic catchments in northern Europe (Finland, Norway and Russia). , 1997, Environmental pollution.

[23]  G. J. S. Govett,et al.  Rock geochemistry in mineral exploration , 1983 .

[24]  H. E. Hawkes,et al.  Geochemistry in Mineral Exploration , 1962 .

[25]  Geologian tutkimuskeskus,et al.  Geochemical atlas of northern Fennoscandia , 1986 .

[26]  F. Fordyce,et al.  Soil, grain and water chemistry in relation to human selenium-responsive diseases in Enshi District, China , 2000 .

[27]  Clemens Reimann,et al.  Monitoring accuracy and precision — Improvements by introducing robust and resistant statistics , 1986 .

[28]  G. P. Luzin,et al.  The Kola Peninsula: Geography, History and Resources , 1994 .

[29]  R. Salminen,et al.  Regolith exploration geochemistry in arctic and temperate terrains , 1992 .

[30]  C. Reimann,et al.  Distribution and pathways of heavy metals and sulphur in the vicinity of the copper-nickel smelters in Nikel and Zapoljarnij, Kola Peninsula, Russia, as revealed by different sample media , 1996 .

[31]  Clemens Reimann,et al.  Factor analysis applied to regional geochemical data: problems and possibilities , 2002 .

[32]  A. A. Beus,et al.  Geochemical exploration methods for mineral deposits , 1977 .

[33]  M. Hale,et al.  Developments in regional geochemistry for mineral exploration , 1988 .

[34]  C. Reimann,et al.  Seasonal variability of total and easily leachable element contents in topsoils (0-5 cm) from eight catchments in the European Arctic (Finland, Norway and Russia). , 1997, Environmental pollution.

[35]  B. Lehmann.  Metallogeny of Tin , 1991 .