GAMERO DE VILLARROEL, HELENA, Maraven S. A., Caracas, Venezuela, and DONALD R. LOWE, Department of Geology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

ABSTRACT: Stratigraphy, Petrography, and Provenance of Archean Sedimentary Rocks of the Nsuze Group, Pongola Supergroup, in the Wit M'folozi Inlier, South Africa

The Upper Archean Pongola Supergroup is a succession of clastic and volcanic rocks that represents the oldest relatively unmetamorphosed sedimentary sequence deposited on the basement of the 3.5-3.2 Ga-old Kaapvaal Craton. The Pongola Supergroup includes two subdivisions, the Nsuze and the Mozaan Groups. The Nsuze Group is composed of clastic rocks, minor carbonate units, and basalt. Nsuze sandstones are dominated by granite-derived sediments, and minor basaltic-derived detritus. Most Nsuze sedimentary rocks are sandstones that include both quartz-feldspar and lithic-rich varieties. The mineralogy of Nsuze sandstones reflects the mixing of debris derived from two distinctive sources: (1) a sialic plutonic source yielding quartz and microcline and (2) a basaltic source yielding basalti lithic detritus and plagioclase. The most likely source rocks for the Nsuze sandstones in the Wit M'folozi Inlier were Archean granitic basement, represented by the Mpuluzi batholith, and Nsuze basaltic volcanic rocks. Both continental arc and rift settings have been proposed for the Pongola Supergroup. Nsuze sandstones show similarities to continental arc sandstone suites. However, there is no report of the existence of high standing stratovolcanoes, calc-alkaline plutonism, or contact and regional metamorphism of the intruded volcanic-sedimentary and basement rocks in the Pongola basin, features that are typically associated with continental arcs. The dominance of continent-derived detritus in the Nsuze Group argues that volcanic rocks made up a minor part of the exposed source area a d that volcanism was largely restricted to the basin of deposition. Collectively, available evidence favors an intracratonic rift for the depositional setting of the Nsuze Group.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90988©1993 AAPG/SVG International Congress and Exhibition, Caracas, Venezuela, March 14-17, 1993.