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A large compilation of quality-curated major and trace element data has been assembled to investigate how trace element patterns of mafic and ultramafic magmas have varied with time through particular settings from the Archean to the Phanerozoic, the primary objective being to recognise at what times particular patterns of variation emerge, and how similar these are to baseline data sets representing tectonic settings in the modern Earth. The most informative element combinations involve Nb, Th and the REE, where REE are represented by ‘lambda’ parameters describing slope and shape of patterns. Combinations of the ratios of Th, Nb, La and lambda values from Archean and early Proterozoic basalts and komatiites reveal a distinctive pattern that is common in most well-sampled terranes, defining a roughly linear trend in multi-dimensional space from compositions intermediate between modern n-MORB and primitive mantle at one end, towards compositions approximating middle-to-upper continental crust at the other. We ascribe this ‘Variable Th/Nb’ trend in most instances to varying degrees of crustal contamination of magmas with similar compositions to modern oceanic plateau basalts. Komatiites had slightly more depleted sources than basalts, consistent with the hypothesis of derivation from plume tails and heads, respectively. The most significant difference between Precambrian and Phanerozoic plume-derived basalts is that the distinctive OIB-like enriched source component appears to be largely missing from the Archean and Proterozoic geologic record, although isolated examples of OIB-like trace element characteristics are evident in datasets from even the oldest preserved greenstones. Phanerozoic intra-cratonic LIPs, such as the 260 Ma Emeishan LIP in China, have fundamentally different geochemical characteristics to Archean and Paleoproterozoic assemblages; the oldest Proterozoic LIP we have identified that has this type of ‘modern’ signal is the Midcontinent Rift at 1100 Ma. The data are consistent with plume tail sources having changed from being dominantly depleted in the Archean Earth to dominantly enriched in the Phanerozoic Earth, while plume head sources have hardly changed at all. Trace element patterns considered to be diagnostic of subduction are locally present but rare in Archean terranes and become more prevalent through the Proterozoic, although this conclusion is tempered by the large degree of overlap in compositional space between continental arc magmas and continental flood basalts. This overlap reflects the difficulty of distinguishing the effects of supra-subduction metasomatizm and flux melting from those of crustal contamination. Additional factors must also be borne in mind, particularly that trace element partitioning systematics may have been different in all environments in a hotter planet, and large-scale asthenospheric overturns might have been predominant over modern-style plumes in the Archean Earth. Some basaltic suites in particular Archean terranes, notably the western parts of both the Yilgarn and Pilbara cratons in Western Australia and parts of the Superior Craton, have restricted, but locally predominant, suites of basalts with characteristics akin to modern oceanic arcs, suggesting that some process similar to modern subduction was preserved in these particular belts. Ferropicrite magmas with distinctive characteristics typical of modern OIBs and some continental LIPs (notably Emeishan) are rare but locally predominant in some Archean and early Proterozoic terranes, implying that plume sources were beginning to be fertilised by enriched, probably subducted, components as far back as the Mesoarchean. We see no evidence for discontinuous secular changes in mantle-derived magmatism with time that could be ascribed to major mantle reorganisation events. The Archean–Proterozoic transition appears to be entirely gradational from this standpoint. The transition from Archean-style to Phanerozoic-style plume magmatism took place somewhere between 1900 Ma (age of the Circum-Superior komatiitic basalt suites) and 1100 Ma (the age of the Midcontinent Rift LIP).

Archean komatiites form an important host rock for Ni-Cu sulfide deposits in the world. In this study, we examined Archean komatiites and komatiitic basalts from four areas in the Vedlozero-Segozero greenstone belt and two areas in the Tikshozero greenstone belt, Russian Karelia, to constrain their Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization potential using chalcophile element geochemistry. The platinum-group element (PGE) concentrations in these Munro-type komatiitic rocks are at a level of other similar S-undersaturated komatiites and komatiitic basalts globally, with Pt and Pd concentrations in the range of 5–20 ppb and Pd/Ir varying from 15 (komatiitic basalts and basalts). Generally, the metals of the iridium-group elements (IPGEs; Ir, Ru, Os) show a compatible behavior, decreasing in abundance with decreasing MgO, whereas the metals of the palladium group (PPGEs; Pt, Pd, Rh) exhibit an incompatible behavior. The poor correlation between Ir and MgO suggests that olivine fractional crystallization is not the main control on the behavior of IPGE. In contrast, Ir, Ru, and Os show positive correlations with Cr, which is consistent with the compatible behavior of IPGEs in chromite or during the co-precipitation of chromite and platinum-group minerals (PGMs). Palladium, Cu, and Au have been variably mobile during alteration and metamorphism whereas Pt appears to have been less mobile. Some samples from the Khizovaara area show low (Pt/Ti)N ratios, low Ni, and high La/Sm and La/Nb, suggesting localized sulfide saturation in response to crustal contamination. However, the potential of the Russian Karelian greenstone belts for Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization is considered relatively low because most samples show neither enrichment nor depletion of chalcophile elements, and the paucity of dynamic lava channel environments, as indicated by the scarcity of olivine-rich adcumulates. In addition, there appears to be a lack of exposed sulfidic sedimentary rocks in the region.

The Mesoarchean chromitites in the Singhbhum craton provide the main source of chromium in India. We report here results of in-situ dating of zircon grains that were found in chromitite of the ultramafic rocks belonging to the southern part of the Archean Baula Complex. The chromite-bearing ultramafic rocks are cut by a gabbronorite intrusion, which has earlier been dated by SHRIMP at 3122 ± 5 Ma (Augé et al., 2003, Precambrian Research 121, 85–101). We performed in situ isotopic analysis of zircon grains by LA-MC-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation Multicollector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and obtained a precise age of 2835.7 ± 8.2 Ma (2d), which is inconsistent with the age of the gabbronorite. We also determined the Pb-Pb isotopic composition of galena found in chromitite and found it to be highly radiogenic given the Archean age of its host rock. We discuss the potential reasons for these ambiguities, such as later Neoarchean or even Proterozoic tectono-magmatic events, and stress the importance of future detailed petrographic, mineralogical and isotopic studies to solve the dilemmas.