The late Archaean granite paradox: A case study from the Zimbabwe Craton

Late- to post-tectonic high-K granites are found in many Archaean cratons and are thought to be the product of a major, crustal-scale melting event in the underlying TTG crust leading to the stabilisation of the craton. However, despite the TTG melting model being an obvious explanation for the origin of late-Archaean high-K post-tectonic granites, experimental studies show that TTGs are insufficiently fertile to produce large volumes of potassic granites. This is the late Archaean granite paradox. Here we argue that the paradox can be resolved if the TTG protolith is more potassic than might be expected from a straightforward partial melt of an Archaean basalt. We propose that a likely fertile protolith for late Archaean granites is TTG crust which has incorporated a partial melt of older felsic crust during its emplacement. This hypothesis is validated with a case study from the Neoarchaean rocks of the Zimbabwe Craton.

This paradox reflects a more fundamental problem when considering the origin of Archaean TTGs, for the ‘enriched’ basaltic protolith invoked in many models of TTG genesis is not abundant in Archaean terrains, nor should it be if the basaltic protolith is a melt of primitive or depleted mantle. This means that fertile, K-rich, TTGs are not simply the product of the melting of a basaltic protolith, but involve an additional process. Three models of TTG petrogenesis are discussed which might lead to K-enrichment in the melt – the hydrothermal potassic enrichment of the basaltic protolith and the influences of fractional crystallisation and/or crustal contamination on the TTG magmas. We conclude that to produce a sufficiently fertile, K-rich TTG source in the Zimbabwe Craton the contribution of a melt phase from older TTG crust is most consistent with the major and trace element and isotopic geochemistry.