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Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and Metallogeny

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Special Publication 17, pp. 17–51

Chapter 2

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and Metallogeny

Richard E. Ernst1,2,† and Simon M. Jowitt3
1 Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
2 Ernst Geosciences, 43 Margrave Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1T 3Y2
3 School of Geosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia

Abstract
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) represent significant reservoirs of energy and metals that can either drive or
contribute to a variety of metallogenic systems. The relationships between LIPs and these various systems can
be divided into four distinct although partially overlapping classifications: (1) LIPs form the primary source of
commodities within mineral deposits (e.g., orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides, or Nb-Ta-REE and diamonds
for often LIP-related carbonatites and kimberlites, respectively); (2) LIPs either provide the energy to drive
hydrothermal systems or can act as source rocks for hydrothermal ore deposits (e.g., volcanogenic massive
sulfide (VMS) deposits)—in some cases LIP rocks can also act as barriers to fluid flow and/or reaction zones
causing mineralization (e.g., orogenic Au); (3) weathering can concentrate elements such as Al and Ni-Co
within laterites that develop from exposed LIP mafic-ultramafic rocks in tropical climates, and for Nb, Ta, and
REE in laterites from associated carbonatites; and (4) indirect links exist between LIPs and ore deposits; here
we consider two of these types of links, the first of which involves LIP events that are linked to attempted or
successful continental breakup where the LIP barcode record can be used as a correlation tool for reconstruct-
ing Precambrian supercontinents and therefore enable the tracing of metallogenic belts between presently
separated, but formerly contiguous crustal blocks. A second, more speculative, indirect link is provided by the
fact that major continental breakup (linked to LIPs) is associated with distal compression and transpression in
the plate tectonic circuit (and the formation of orogenic deposits, such as Au).
We discuss the role of LIPs (be it major or contributory) in each of these classifications for the generation
of this wide variety of differing mineral deposit types and potential implications of this link between LIPs and
metallogenesis for exploration strategies. This review shows how our understanding of LIPs, and the processes
that affect LIP magmas and rocks, have direct consequences for mineral exploration and economic geology.

Introduction each of these types are provided in subsequent sections of

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in our
understanding of the economic importance of large igneous
provinces (LIPs) as hosts to, or being directly involved in,
the genesis of mineral, hydrocarbon, and even ground-water
resources. These large volume, short duration intraplate mag-
matic events consist of volcanic rocks (mainly flood basalts)
and plumbing systems that may contain mafic dike swarms,
sill complexes, and mafic-ultramafic layered intrusions (e.g.,
Coffin and Eldholm, 1994; Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Ernst et
al., 2005; Bryan and Ernst, 2008; Bryan and Ferrari, 2013;
Ernst, 2014). Many LIPs have associated silicic magmatism
(both intrusive and extrusive), carbonatites, and in some cases
lamprophyres, lamproites, and kimberlites (Fig. 1). LIPs are
linked with continental breakup, global extinction, major
environmental change, regional uplift, and have been linked
with a variety of ore deposit types (as discussed herein).
The great scale of magmatism involved in the formation of
LIPs and our increase in understanding of the processes that
occur during both the formation and postmagmatic evolution
of LIPs has led to these significant geologic events becom-
ing high priority exploration targets for a variety of different
commodities. LIP-related resources can be broadly split into
four different categories, according to the genetic relationship
between LIPs and the resources in question; more details on
† Corresponding author: e-mail, Richard.Ernst@ErnstGeosciences.com
this paper.
1. LIPs as a primary host for mineral deposits. This is
exemplified by LIP-related orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-platinum
group element (PGE) sulfide, Fe-Ti-V oxide, and Cr deposit
formation, where mineral deposits are formed as a direct con-
sequence of mafic-ultramafic magmatism during an LIP event
(Tables 1−4). The links between LIPs and carbonatites and
some kimberlites (e.g., Ernst and Bell, 2010) also mean that
the commodities associated with these rocks, namely the rare
earth elements (REEs), Nb, and Ta (carbonatites; Table 5),
and diamonds (kimberlites; Tables 1, 6), can also be directly
linked with LIP events.
2.  LIPs can contribute to ore formation in hydrothermal
systems (Tables 1, 7, 8). The links between LIPs and hydro-
thermal deposits can be explained by three differing models
that are not necessarily mutually exclusive: (A) LIPs can pro-
vide a source of energy for circulating hydrothermal systems,
i.e., slightly postmagmatic (or coincident with LIP formation)
development of hydrothermal IOCG, VMS, and other miner-
alizing systems; (B) LIPs can also be a source of metals and
ligands for postmagmatic circulating hydrothermal systems via
hydrothermal alteration of rocks formed during LIP events—
again, some IOCG, VMS, and potentially Au deposits exem-
plify these links; (C) in some cases, LIP units act as structural/
impermeable barriers or as reactive precipitation mechanisms

17
18 ERNST AND JOWITT
LIP FAMILY
Continental Flood Basalt Provinces
Volcanic Rifted Margins
CONTINENTAL
Plumbing system: Regional Dike Swarms,
Sill Provinces, Mafic Ultramafic Intrusives
and Magmatic Underplates
Silicic Large Igneous Provinces (SLIP)
(lower crustal melting by underplate)
and A-type
- granites
Associated Carbonatites, Kimberlites,
Lamprophyres, and Lamproites
Archean Greenstone Belts,
Extensive Tholeiite-Komatiite
± Rhyolite Volcanic Sequences
and Sill Complexes
OCEANIC
Oceanic Plateaus
Ocean Basin Flood Basalts
Fig. 1. Types of LIPs and associated ore deposits types. LIPs classification modified after Bryan and Ernst (2008) and
Ernst and Bell (2010). Ore deposit types discussed in the text. Locations of LIPs shown in Figure 2.
during hydrothermal fluid flow, such as in Archean LIPs asso-
ciated with the formation of orogenic Au deposits. This is
exemplified by the ca. 2680 Ma Golden Mile dolerite at Kal-
goorlie (e.g., Hergt et al., 2000; Goldfarb et al., 2005), which
is potentially part of a plume-related LIP or package of LIPs
within the hosting Eastern Goldfields terrane of the Yilgarn
craton (Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Barnes et al., 2012; Said et
al., 2012).
3. Tropical weathering of mafic-ultramafic LIP units to
form economically important Ni-Co laterites and Al bauxites
(Table 1) and weathering of associated carbonatites to yield
Nb, Ta, and REE laterites.
4. Indirect links between LIPs and ore deposits; here
we consider two differing aspects: (A) the systematic use of
LIPs as a tool for generating robust pre-Pangea reconstruc-
tions that allow the tracing of known ore deposits from one
crustal block into “greenfield” areas on a formerly adjacent
crustal block; and (B) the nature of the plate tectonic cycle
means that a pulse of rifting and breakup (characteristically
associated with LIP emplacement) should be correlated with
corresponding pulses of transpression and compression (and
associated mineralization, e.g., orogenic Au) on favorably ori-
ented plate boundaries elsewhere in the world.
We review each of these categories, assess the strength of
the LIP-commodity association in each case, and consider how
an LIP context has predictive value for mineral exploration.
Large Igneous Provinces
Earth’s history is punctuated by numerous periods when
large volumes of intraplate mafic-ultramafic and associated
ORE DEPOSITS
Cu in basalts: e.g., Keweenawan LIP
Iron formations: e.g., Hamersley BIFs and Woongara LIP
VMS deposits:, e.g., Ring of Fire LIP
Al laterites: e.g., basalts of Deccan LIP
Ni-Cu-(PGE) in small mafic-ultramafic intrusions: e.g., Noril’sk, Siberia LIP
Fe-Ti-V in ferro-gabbros: e.g., Panzhihua, Emeishan LIP
PGEs, Cr and Fe-Ti in major stratiform intrusions: e.g., Bushveld, Bushveld LIP
IOCGs in F-rich silicic intrusions: e.g., Olympic Dam, Gawler Range LIP
Greisen Sn-W associated with A-type granites, e.g. Sierra Madre Occidental SLIP
Nb, Ta, REE in carbonatites: e.g., Phalaborwa, Bushveld LIP
diamonds in kimberlites: e.g., Yakutsk LIP
Ni in komatiites: e.g., Eastern Goldfields LIP
Au in dolerites: e.g., Golden Mile dolerite, Eastern Goldfields LIP
Ni-laterites, e.g., Murrin Murrin, Eastern Goldfields LIP
Ni-Cu (-PGE) in some accreted oceanic plateaus: e.g., Wrangellia LIP
Ni-laterites: e.g., Caribbean LIP
Au associated with accreted oceanic plateaus:
e.g., Early Cretaceous Asian Au deposits and indirect link with Ontong Java LIP
silicic magma were emplaced in the crust in short pulses by
processes not associated with “normal” spreading ridge or
subduction environments. These LIPs are defined to have
volumes exceeding >100,000 km3, covering an area of
>100,000 km2 (in many cases, >1 Mkm2 and >1 Mkm3), and
emplaced in a single pulse of 1 to 5 Ma or, in some cases, with
multiple pulses extending over a period less than 50 Ma (cf.
Coffin and Eldholm, 1994, 2005; Bryan and Ernst, 2008).
Various origins have been proposed for these LIP events,
although the dominant model for LIP formation involves
magmatism that is driven by deep-seated mantle plumes ris-
ing to the base of the lithosphere. LIP events occur on aver-
age every 10 to 30 m.y., back to 2500 Ma, and a number of
Archean LIP analogues have also been recognized (e.g., Ernst
et al., 2005). LIPs consist of volcanic rocks (mainly continen-
tal and/or oceanic flood basalts), with a plumbing system of sill
complexes, mafic-ultramafic layered intrusions, and regional
mafic dike swarms (e.g., Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Bryan and
Ernst, 2008). Many LIPs have associated silicic magmatism
(both intrusive and extrusive), and LIPs can be classified as
silicic LIPs (SLIPs) if the event in question is dominated by
silicic magmatism. These silicic LIPs need to satisfy the same
LIP volume and duration requirements as mafic LIP events,
and must be linked to magma generation in a nonsubduction
setting. Silicic LIP magmas can be A, I, or S type and are
inferred to be generated from underplating by the mafic-
ultramafic component of LIPs. LIPs are also associated with
the emplacement of carbonatites and, in some cases, lampro-
phyres, lamproites, and kimberlites (Fig. 1).
The surface style and preservation of LIPs varies through
Earth history (e.g., Ernst et al., 2005). Mesozoic and Cenozoic
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 19

Table 1. Selected Major Ore Deposits and Their Associated Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs)

LIP (for locations see Fig. 2) Commodity Region/host tectonic terrane Age (Ma) Type/location/example

Caribbean-Colombian Ni Caribbean 93 3: Caribbean, northern South America

CAMP Al Africa and South America 200 3: Guinea, W. Africa
Siberia Ni-Cu-PGE Siberia, Ural Mountains, Central 251 1: Noril’sk
Mo-W, Sn-W, Hg, Au-Hg Asian fold belt 2: Kuznetsk basin
Emeishan Fe-Ti-V China and Vietnam 258 1: Panzhihua and related gabbroic
intrusions
Ni-Cu-PGE 1: Ultramafic intrusions
Yakutsk Diamonds Siberian craton (eastern margin) ca. 360 1: Kimberlites
Guibei Ni-Cu-PGE Alashan block (part of combined South 825 1: Jinchuan
China-Qaidam/Qilian-Tarim craton
Keweenawan Cu-Ni-PGE Mid-Continent rift 1114-1085 1: Duluth
Mackenzie Cu-Ni-PGE Laurentia 1267 1: Muskox intrusion
Gawler Range (silicic LIP) Cu-Au-Ag-U-REE Gawler block, Australia 1590 1, 2: Olympic Dam
Circum-Superior Ni-Cu-PGE Circum-Superior craton, North America 1885−1865 1: Thompson, Raglan
Bushveld-Molopo Farms PGE-Ni-Cu Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa 2060 1: Bushveld
Cu 1: Phalaborwa carbonatite
Au 2: Witwatersrand
Stillwater Cr Bearthooth Mountains, Wyoming craton 2710 1: Various, e.g. Chrome Mountain
Ring of Fire Ni-Cu-PGE Caribou block, Superior craton ca. 2730 Ma 1: Eagle’s Nest
Cr 1: Blackbird
V-Ti-Fe 1:Thunderbird
VMS 2: McFaulds

Notes: The 1850 Ma Sudbury event is not listed despite its rich Ni-Cu metal endowment because its size is sub-LIP scale, and because it has a bolide
impact origin; types refer to the list outlined in the introduction, where 1 = magmatic, 2 = hydrothermal, and 3 = weathering processes (e.g., laterite forma-
tion) and LIP locations are shown in Figure 2; Note that this Table outlines direct links between LIP events and mineralization; category 4 mineralization
that covers indirect (e.g., far-field tectonic) links between LIP events and mineralization is discussed in more detail within the text

LIPs are typically the best preserved of all LIPs within the
geologic record, and generally include three types: continen-
tal flood basalts, volcanic rifted margins, and oceanic plateaus/
ocean basin flood basalts. In comparison, older Paleozoic and
Proterozoic LIPs are often more deeply eroded and are less
well preserved, meaning that these LIPs may only contain
remnants of originally widespread flood basalt provinces in
addition to exposed mafic-ultramafic magmatic plumbing sys-
tems, as represented by giant dike swarms, sill provinces, and
layered intrusions. Archean LIPs have also been proposed,
including flood basalts such as the Fortescue group of the Pil-
bara craton and also greenstone belts consisting of voluminous
tholeiite-komatiite sequences (e.g., Ernst et al., 2005; Bryan
and Ernst, 2008). Examples of the latter occur in the Zimba-
bwe craton, the Eastern Goldfields area of the Yilgarn craton,
and in the Abitibi belt of the Superior craton (e.g., Ernst and
Buchan, 2001; Tomlinson and Condie, 2001; Sproule et al.,
2002; Prendergast, 2004; Barnes et al., 2012; Said et al., 2012).
Many LIPs are linked to regional-scale uplift, continental
rifting and breakup, and/or climatic/environmental crises (e.g.,
Courtillot et al., 1999, 2003; Campbell, 2001; Rainbird and
Ernst, 2001; Şengör, 2001; Courtillot and Renne, 2003; Ernst
and Buchan, 2003; Ernst et al., 2005). The dominant model
for their formation is partial melting of an arriving mantle
plume that can be coupled with a second decompression
melting-related magmatic pulse associated with the onset of
continental breakup (e.g., White and Mackenzie, 1989; Camp-
bell and Griffiths, 1990; Courtillot et al., 2003; Ernst et al.,
2005). However, alternative origins may apply in some cases,
including back-arc rifting, delamination, edge convection,
and bolide impact (e.g., Jones, 2005; Elkins-Tanton, 2007;
Foulger, 2007, 2010), although these mechanisms generally
produce lower volume melts (e.g., Ernst, 2014).
The LIP concept was only introduced in the early 1990s
(e.g., Coffin and Eldholm, 1994) as an umbrella for con-
tinental flood basalts (CFBs) and their newly recognized
equivalents in oceanic areas, the so-called oceanic plateaus
and ocean basin flood basalts. As appreciation of their huge
scale and short duration and record back through time has
improved (Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Ernst et al., 2008) it has
become clear that these nonplate tectonic events cause major
perturbations of the lithosphere at all levels. This includes
widespread surface flows covering areas potentially >1 Mkm2
(e.g., Courtillot and Renne, 2003), the pervasive crisscrossing
of basement terranes by LIP plumbing systems of dike and
sill swarms, and the formation of major layered mafic intru-
sions within the crust (Ernst and Buchan, 1997a, b, 2001), to
voluminous silicic magmatism related to lower crustal melt-
ing caused by magmatic underplating (Bryan, 2007; Bryan
and Ferrari, 2013), and the rapid emplacement through the
lithosphere and into the crust of associated carbonatites and
kimberlites (Haggerty, 1999a, b; Heaman et al., 2003; Ker-
rich et al., 2005; Ernst and Bell, 2010). In some cases, ero-
sion, deformation and continental breakup have removed the
majority of the flood basalts and left only fragmented regions
of the plumbing system. Recognition of such “LIP fragments”
can be interpreted based on proxy indicators, such as the
presence of a dolerite swarm with average dike widths >10 m.
Equivalent criteria for sills and volcanic rocks are being devel-
oped (e.g., Ernst, 2007a, 2014). A number of compilations of
20 ERNST AND JOWITT

LIPs and their causative mantle plumes, are available, includ-
ing the following: a preliminary global plume listing (Isley
and Abbott, 1999), Archean plumes (Tomlinson and Condie,
2001), a comprehensive global catalogue including Archean
analogues (Ernst and Buchan, 2001), details of the LIP record
between 1.6 and 0.7 Ga (Ernst et al., 2008), a global summary
to assess for LIP periodicity throughout geologic history (Pro-
koph et al., 2004, 2013), an updated Phanerozoic and Protero-
zoic LIP summary (Ernst et al., 2013), and summaries of the
silicic LIP record (Bryan et al., 2007; Pankhurst et al., 2011;
Bryan and Ferrari, 2013).
The widespread distribution and large cumulative volume
of high-temperature magma emplaced or erupted is consis-
tent with a role for LIP events in ore deposit formation. Here
we provide an overview of the links between LIPs and a wide
variety of ore deposit types, building on earlier work that
focused on the links between Ni-Cu-PGE magmatic ores and
flood basalts (e.g., Naldrett et al., 1992), and initial thoughts
on the implications for a broader range of commodity types
(Ernst, 2007b). Some of the largest ore deposits on Earth, of
a variety of commodity types, are associated with LIPs (Table
1), and the locations of the LIPs (and interpreted LIP frag-
ments) discussed in this paper are shown in Figure 2.
Magmatic Ore Deposits Linked to LIPs
Mafic-ultramafic LIPs are highly prospective for Ni-Cu-
PGE, Fe-Ti-V, and Cr ore deposits (Naldrett, 1997, 2010a;
Pirajno, 2000; Schissel and Smail, 2001; Borisenko et al., 2006;
Eckstrand and Hulbert, 2007; Ernst, 2007b), and, with the
exception of Sudbury, the majority of well-known Ni, Pd, and
Pt resources are directly related to LIP events (Figs. 3−5).
There is also a spatial and temporal association between LIPs
and diamondiferous kimberlites (e.g., Agashev et al., 2004;
Kjarsgaard, 2007; Chalapathi Rao and Lehmann, 2011) and
between LIPs and carbonatites (Bell, 2001; Ernst and Bell,
2010) that host Nb-Ta-REE phosphate, iron ore, lime, Cu,
Zr, Th, U, fluorine/fluorite, and vermiculite resources (e.g.,
Woolley and Kjarsgaard, 2008). Here, we outline the specific
links between these different types of ores and LIPs and also
discuss how the LIP context can provide insights supportive
of exploration targeting.
Ni-dominated magmatic sulfide deposits
Magmatic sulfide deposits can be split into two groups:
(1) Ni- (e.g. komatiites) and Ni-Cu–dominated deposits that
are generally more sulfur rich and where the PGEs are a

A HALIP HALIP
Siberia
Western Channel - Pechenga-Onega
Wernecke BLIP
CIMP
Mackenzie Circum-Superior
NAIP Jutland
Ungava Karelia
Wrangellia Matachewan NAIP Yakutsk-
CIMP Kola- Vilyui
‘Ring of Fire’ Dneiper Mashak
-Bird River
Stillwater CAMP Ukrainian
CIMP Yanliao
AMCG Qiganbulake
Keweenawan
CAMP Dashigou
CAMP
Sierra Madre Emeishan Gubei
Occidental Afro-Arabian
Deccan

Caribbean- CAMP
Columbian Greater
Ontong
Java

Bulawayan-
Belingwe
Etendeka Madagascar
West Pilbara Warakurna
Weeli Wolli
Parana Karoo Mundine Well Gawler
Bushveld
Range
Hartley Eastern
Goldfields

Fig. 2. Global map showing the schematic distribution of LIPs and silicic LIPs discussed in this paper (A). Their age order
is summarized in a barcode diagram (B) and they are listed below in alphabetical order: Afro Arabian (30 Ma); Baltic (BLIP)
also termed East Scandinavian and Sumian (2500−2450 Ma); Belingwe (2700 Ma); Bushveld, (2060 Ma); Caribbean-Colom-
bian (90 Ma); Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP) (200 Ma); Central Iapetus magmatic province (CIMP) (615−550
Ma); Circum-Superior (1880 Ma); Dashigou (920 Ma); Deccan (65 Ma); Eastern Goldfields (2700 Ma); Emeishan, (260 Ma);
Gawler Range (1590 Ma); Guibei (Qiganbulake) (825 Ma); Hartley (1930−1920 Ma); High Arctic (HALIP) (130−90 Ma);
Jutland (300 Ma); Karelian, (2100 Ma); Karoo (180 Ma); Keweenawan (1115−1085 Ma); Kola-Dneiper (also termed East
European craton event) (370 Ma); Mackenzie (1270 Ma); Madagascar (90 Ma); Mashak (1385 Ma); Matachewan (2490−2450
Ma); Mundine Well (755 Ma); North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) (60 Ma); Ontong Java (Greater Ontong Java includes
Ontong Java oceanic plateau and nearby ocean basin flood basalts), (120 Ma); Parana-Etendeka (130 Ma); Pechenga-Onega
(1970 Ma); Ring of Fire-Bird River (2730 Ma); Siberia [trap], (250 Ma); Sierra Madre Occidental (40−20 Ma); Stillwater
(2710 Ma); Tarim (ca. 290 Ma); Ukrainian AMCG (1800−1750 Ma); Ungava, (2215 Ma); Warakurna (ca. 1075 Ma); West
Pilbara (2940−2910 Ma); Western Channel (1590 Ma); Weeli Wolli-Woongarra, (2450 Ma); Wrangellia, (230 Ma); Yakutsk-
Vilyui, (370 Ma); Yanliao (1320 Ma). General references include: Ernst and Buchan (2001), Ernst et al. (2008), Ernst and Bell
(2010); references for particular events cited in the appropriate sections of the text. Map is in Robinson projection. B. AF =
Africa, AS = Asia, AU = Australia, EU = Europe, NA = North America, SA = South America.
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 21

B LIPs
0 Afro-Arabian (AF) Sierra Madre Occidental (NA)
Deccan (AS), NAIP (EU, NA) Caribbean-Colombian (CA, SA), Madagascar (AF)
Ontong Java (PA), HALIP (NA, AS, EU)
Parana-Etendeka (SA)
Wrangellia (NA), Siberian (AS), Emeishan (AS),
CAMP (NA, SA, EU, AF), Karoo (AF)
Tarim (AS), Jutland (EU) Yakutsk-Vilyui (AS), Kola-Dneiper (EU)

500
CIMP (NA, EU, AF)
Guibei (AS), Mundine Well (AU)

Dashigou (AS)
Keweenawan (NA) 1000 Warakurna (NA)

Mackenzie-Muskox (NA)
Yanliao (AS)
Mashak (EU)
Moyie (NA)
1500
Gawler Range (AU) Western Channel - Wernecke (NA),

Age (Ma)
Ukrainian AMCG (EU) Circum-Superior Province (NA), Hartley (AF)
Pechenga-Onega (EU)
2000
Bushveld (AF)
Karelian (EU)
Ungava-Nipissing (NA)

Weeli Wolli-Woongarra (AU) Matachewan (NA)

2500 BLIP (EU), Mistassini (NA)

Stillwater (NA), Belingwe (AF) Ring of Fire - Bird River (NA), Abitibi (NA),
Eastern Goldfields (NA)

West Pilbara (AU) 3000

3500

4000
Fig. 2. (Cont.)

by-product; and 2) sulfur-poor PGE-dominated deposits,
where by-product Ni and Cu may be important (e.g., Nal-
drett, 2004). Both types of deposits form through similar
processes, whereby immiscible sulfide liquids that are pref-
erentially enriched in chalcophile elements, such as Ni-Cu
and the PGEs, are segregated from mafic or ultramafic sili-
cate magmas that became S saturated. Various processes
have been invoked to explain how magmas become S satu-
rated, including crustal contamination and the assimilation of
crustal sulfides (e.g., Lightfoot and Keays, 2005; Wilson and
Chunnett, 2006; Keays and Lightfoot, 2010), magma mixing
(e.g., Naldrett and von Grunewaldt, 1989) and fractionation
(Andersen et al., 1998); the exact process involved varies from
deposit to deposit.
The association between magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) mineral-
ization and mafic-ultramafic LIPs is well established for the
more recent geologic record (e.g., Naldrett, 1997, 2010a, b;
Pirajno, 2000; Schissel and Smail, 2001; Borisenko et al., 2006;
Eckstrand and Hulbert, 2007; Tables 2, 3). The most impor-
tant LIP-related and Ni-dominated magmatic sulfide deposits
22 ERNST AND JOWITT

komatiite-tholeiitic greenstone belts (e.g., Kambalda and

A Contained Ni (Mt)
Abitibi belts of Western Australia and Canada, respectively)
PGE-2, U- and NC-1,
T-types, 0.17 Komatiite, that are considered as Archean LIPs (e.g., Ernst and Buchan,
17.15 2001; Prendergast, 2004; Ernst et al., 2005; Barnes et al.,
PGE-1, U-type
2012). An additional komatiitic basalt-related example is the
dominant,
ca. 1880 Ma Circum-Superior event of the Superior craton
20.6
that has also been interpreted as an LIP (e.g., Heaman et al.,
NC-6, Impact
2009; Ernst and Bell, 2010; Minifie et al., 2013). Flood basalt-
melt, 19.78 related high Mg ultramafic NC-2 type deposits are associated
NC-2, Flood with the feeders to flood basalts and are exemplified by mag-
basalt, 31.13 matic sulfide deposits at Noril’sk-Talnakh (250 Ma Siberian
NC-5, Misc. Trap LIP), Duluth, Eagle, and Tamarack (all associated with
Picrite- the 1115−1085 Ma Keweenawan LIP), and within the Mus-
Tholeiite 7.11 NC-3, kox intrusion (1270 Ma Mackenzie LIP). The NC-3 class is
NC-4, ATG, Ferropicrite, associated with feeders for overlying ferropicritic lavas, as is
2.14 4.00 the case for the Pechenga deposits in Russia that belong to
a much broader ca. 1970 Ma Pechenga-Onega LIP, includ-
B Contained Pt+Pd (t) ing volcanics and sills in the Lake Onega area, intrusions in
NC-3,
NC-1, the Pechenga type locality within the Kola Peninsula, and into
NC-2, Flood Ferropicrite,
Komatiite, 377
100
southern Karelia as a major NNW-trending dike swarm (e.g.,
basalt, 14,611
PGE-2, U and event 160 in Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Vuollo and Huhma,
T-types, 420 2005). The type (and only economic) example of the NC-4
NC-4, ATG, 23 troctolite-anorthosite-granite-related class of magmatic sul-
fide mineralization is the Voisey’s Bay deposit in Canada. This
NC-5, Misc.
Picrite-
deposit is associated with the Nain Plutonic Suite, which,
Tholeiite, 568 although a major magmatic event, is not classified as an LIP
as it is too small (15−25,000 km2) and this event may have
PGE-1, U-type
NC-6, Impact spanned too large a time range (1.34−1.29 Ga, e.g., Li et
dominant,
melt, 1,724 al., 2000). This suite is also associated with other NC-4-type
73,249 mineralization, such as at Pants Lake, although Voisey’s Bay
remains the only economic deposit associated with the Nain
Plutonic Suite discovered to date. The NC-5 miscellaneous
picrite-tholeiite class of deposits is associated with high Mg
LEGEND: basalts, as exemplified by the 825 Ma Jinchuan deposit of the
PGE-2 = Majority, if not all, are LIP-related Alashan block, north China. Although the Jinchuan intrusion
NC-6 = No definitive LIP association (and associated Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization) has been linked
with the adjacent North China craton (Li and Ripley, 2011),
Fig. 3. Distribution of Ni (A) and Pt + Pd (B) resources within Ni- and
PGE-dominated magmatic sulfide systems; underlining indicates deposit
more recent research has linked the host Alashan block with
classes where the majority, if not all, deposits have definite links to LIP the adjacent Qaidam and Qilian blocks that connect the Tarim
events, and plain text indicates classes with no LIP link. ATG = anorthosite- block to the west and the South China block to the east into
troctolite-granite. Adapted from Naldrett (2010a). a single terrane, termed the South-West China United Con-
tinent (SWCUC; Song et al., 2012). Furthermore, the South
are the world-class magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide mineral- China, Tarim, and intervening portions all share 825 Ma
ization at Noril’sk-Talnakh, associated with the end-Permian intraplate magmatism (including the Jinchuan intrusion ore
Siberian Trap LIP (Naldrett et al., 1992; Hawkesworth et al., deposit) that can be considered to represent a single LIP (Li
1995; Lightfoot and Keays, 2005; Arndt et al., 2008). Other et al., 2005; Ernst, 2007b; Ernst et al., 2008; Lu et al., 2008,
examples include Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization associated with table 10; Pirajno et al., 2009; Song et al., 2013; S.G. Song,
the 260 Ma Emeishan LIP (e.g., Izokh et al., 2005; Borisenko pers. commun., 2013).
et al., 2006; Pirjano et al., 2009) and mineralization within the The two remaining classes, NC-6 (meteorite impact
Duluth Complex and other intrusions that formed as part of related) and NC-7 (Ural-Alaskan type) are unrelated to
the 1115 to 1085 Ma Keweenawan LIP event (e.g., Miller and LIPs, at least not directly. In particular, the Sudbury event,
Ripley, 1996; Gál et al., 2011). in Ontario, Canada (Naldrett, 2004; Ames and Farrow, 2007),
Ni-Cu deposit types and links with LIPs: The connection is the type example of the production of significant volumes
between LIPs and Ni-Cu (-PGE) deposits can be looked at of mafic magma (although on a sub-LIP scale) and associated
another way, using the classification system of Naldrett (2004, Ni-Cu-PGE ore deposits by melting resulting from a mete-
2010) who grouped Ni-Cu (-PGE) deposits into seven dis- orite impact. However, it is interesting that the metallogeny
tinct types (Table 3). Four of the classes (NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, of the Sudbury event may be inherited from the impact tar-
and NC-5; Naldrett, 2010) are all robustly linked to LIPs: get rocks that would likely have included Ni-Cu rich intru-
Komatiitic NC-1 type magmatic sulfide deposits are formed sions of the East Bull Lake intrusive suite that are associated
from high Mg ultramafic magmas associated with Archean with the 2470-2450 Ma Matachewan LIP, with an interpreted
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 23

Hy brid and exocontact rocks

PGE-3 Skaergaard and PGE-1 Waterburg-type
Mafic-dominated

Sonju Lake mineralization mineralization

PGE-1 Merensky and J-M Reefs
rocks

PGE-1 marginal mineralization in Bushveld (Platreef)

PGE-1 UG-2 sulfide-bearing chromitite and PGE-2 intrusions in Finland and Ontario

PGE-1 dunite pipes

Appearance of cumulus plagioclase
PGE-1 sulfide zones of Great Dyke
Sulfide-dominated
Ultramafic
rocks

mineralization
Ultramafic cumulates PGE-1 chromitites rich
Alternating ultramafic, mafic in Ir, Os, Ru
and plagioclase cumulates
Fig. 4. Schematic model of an LIP-related layered intrusion, showing the relative position and petrological affinities (e.g.,
chromite vs. sulfide dominated; ultramafic vs. mafic; reef vs. contact styles of mineralization) of the differing types of LIP-
related PGE-dominated magmatic sulfide deposits discussed in the text; adapted from Hoatson et al. (2006) and Naldrett
(2010a). Note that a single layered intrusion is unlikely to host all of these styles of mineralization, and that PGE deposits with
differing magmatic affinities can occur in similar positions within an intrusive system, as exemplified by the similar positions
of PGE-1 contact-type mineralization of the Platreef section of the Bushveld Complex, part of the Bushveld LIP, and PGE-2
contact-type mineralization hosted by 2500 to 2450 Ma intrusions of the Baltic LIP (BLIP) of Finland and Russia and the
2490 to 2450 Ma Matachewan LIP of Ontario and Quebec in Canada.

mantle plume center nearby (Ernst and Bleeker, 2010), and
the Nipissing sills of the 2215 Ma Ungava LIP. The latter
are coeval with and considered to be fed by the Senneterre-
Maguire-Klotz fanning dike swarm that converges to a poten-
tial plume center in northern Ungava, suggesting that the
Nipissing sills were fed laterally via the dikes from this cen-
ter (Buchan et al., 1998; Ernst, 2007b). The final NC-7 Ural-
Alaskan class contains ore-bearing intrusions formed in arc
settings that are not LIP associated; the members of this class
generally contain subeconomic nickel but can have modest
PGE abundances (see PGE-4 below). In summary, this strong
link between classes NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, and NC-5 and LIP
events affirms the importance of an LIP context for Ni-Cu-
dominated magmatic deposits. This is further supported by
the fact that global magmatic sulfide-hosted Ni and Ni-Cu
resources are dominated by LIP-related mineral deposits
(Fig. 3; Mudd et al., 2013).
Implications for exploration of LIP context for Ni-Cu-dom-
inated deposits: An outstanding question is to consider these
various settings in the context of an overall LIP system and

Table 2. Selected Ni-Cu and PGE Deposits and Their Associated LIPs

Ore-bearing intrusion Associated LIP (age Ma) Selected references for ore deposits

Wellgreen Wrangellia (232 Ma) Hulbert (2002); Schmidt and Rogers (2007)
Noril’sk-Talnakh (Siberia) Siberian Trap (250 Ma) Lightfoot and Keays (2005); Hawkesworth et al. (1995);
Arndt et al. (2008); Naldrett et al. (1992)
Jinchuan (Alashan terrane, China) Gubei (825 Ma) e.g., Pirajno et al. (2009)
Giles Complex (central Australia) Warakurna (1075 Ma) Evins et al. (2010)
Duluth, Eagle, Current Lake (Great Keweenawan (1115−1085 Ma) Ding et al. (2010); Peterson and Peck (2010)
Lakes region, central North America)
Thompson (Manitoba, Canada); Raglan- Circum-Superior (1880 Ma) Eckstrand and Hulbert (2007); Layton-Matthews et al. (2007);
Katinniq (northern Quebec, Canada) Heaman et al. (2009)
Pechenga (Karelia and Kola peninsula, Pechanga-Onega (1970 Ma) Alapieti and Lahtinen (2002); Dedeev et al. (2002)
northern Europe)
Bushveld (southern Africa) Bushveld (2060 Ma) Barnes and Maier (2002); Cawthorn (2010)
East Bull Lake intrusive suite Matachewan (2480−2450 Ma) Peck et al. (2001); James et al. (2002a, b)
(southern Ontario, Canada)
Kambalda and Agnew (Western Australia) Goldfields (2700 Ma) Barnes et al. (2012)
Shangani, Trojan, and Hunter’s Road Belingwe (2700 Ma) Prendergast (2004)
(Zimbabwe)

Note: LIP locations are shown in Figure 2

24 ERNST AND JOWITT

A 102 E
o B
72 O
126oE
N
Kara Sea
? 66 o Laptev Sea
E sula
yr Penin
Taim
Muskox
intrusion
64 o
N
A. S.
Putorana M
ns
tai
un
Mo

Hudson
al

Tura
Ur

Siberian Bay
Traps
West Siberian Craton
500 km
Siberian
Basin Siberian LIP (250 Ma) Mackenzie LIP
basalts, sills, tuffs - (1.27 Ga) an

C
in outcrop
Sh a dian
Kuznetsk
300 km Basin
basalts, sills, tuffs in flood basalts
subcrop dolerite dikes
Tyumen dolerite dikes dolerite sills ield
layered intrusion
Central Asian Foldbelt Siberian Traps Province from gravity
Carbonatites

Circum-Superior LIP (ca. 1.88 Ga) Raglan & CAMP LIP (200 Ma)
related deposits flood basalts
flood basalts and sills
dolerite dikes
dolerite dikes
dolerite sills
carbonatites
NORTH
Thompson N AMERICA
HUDSON
Nickel Belt
BAY

AFRICA

SUPERIOR

PROVINCE Freetown
t
on

layered complex
Fr
ille
nv

1000 km
e
Gr

SOUTH
AMERICA
500 km

C D
Fig. 5. Locating a small Ni-Cu-PGE mineralized region (the “sweet spot”) marked by white circles in an areally extensive
LIP. Four examples are shown: A. 250 Ma Siberian Trap LIP with its rich Noril’sk-Talnakh deposits. B. 1270 Ma Mackenzie
event with its associated Muskox intrusion. C. 1880 Ma Circum-Superior LIP with its associated ore-rich areas of the Thomp-
son belt and the Raglan and related deposits of the Cape Smith belt. D. 200 Ma CAMP LIP with the associated Freetown
intrusion of Sierra Leone. A.S = Anabar shield, M = Maimecha-Kotui region. The red stars locate inferred mantle plumes.
For the Siberian LIP the solid red star is at the convergence of N-S rifting (of the East Siberian basin) and E-W rifting (of
the Khatanga trough; Schissel and Smail, 2001), and the red star with white interior marks the plume center inferred from a
radiating dike swarm (Ernst and Buchan, 1997a).

to consider whether higher Mg (NC-1, NC-2), more ferropi-
critic (NC-3), and even troctolitic-anorthositic (NC-4) depos-
its may have a preferential location or setting within a given
LIP. In particular, we note the importance of proximity to
mantle plume centers.
In terms of NC-2-type magmatic sulfide mineralization it is
apparent that Ni-Cu mineralized bodies represent a very
small target in an otherwise huge magmatic event (Fig. 5). To
illustrate the scale of the problem, the Siberian flood basalt
province, one of the world’s largest mafic igneous events,
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 25

Table 3. Types of Ni-Cu-(PGE) Magmatic Sulfide Deposits and Their Associations with LIPs

Camps and deposit Tectonic setting

Class Related magmatism (name and age) of magmatism Associated LIP

NC-1 Komatiite Wiluna-Norseman greenstone belt Greenstone belts (rift?) Archean LIPs
(Kambalda, Mount Keith,
Perseverance and others) (Australia)
Abitibi (Canada)
Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Thompson (Canada) Rifted continental Circum-Superior LIP
Raglan (Canada) margin (1.88–1.87 Ga)

NC-2 Flood basalt Noril’sk (Siberia) Rift (Triple junction) Siberian LIP (0.25 Ga)
Duluth (Mid-continent North America) Keweenawan LIP (1.12–1.09 Ga)
Muskox (n. Canada) Mackenzie LIP (1.27 Ga)
Insizwa (South Africa) Rifted continental margin Karoo LIP (0.18 Ga)
Wrangellia (W Canada and Alaska) Rifted island arc Wrangellia LIP (0.23 Ga)

NC-3 Ferropicrite Pechenga (Scandinavia) Rifted continental margin Pechenga-Onega LIP (1.97 Ga)

NC-4 Troctolite-anorthosite-granite Voisey’s Bay (eastern Canada) Rift ?

NC-5 Miscellaneous Montcalm (Ontario, Canada) Greenstone belts (Rift?) —

Picrite-tholeiite Jinchuan (China) Rifted continental margin Gubei LIP (0.83 Ga)
Niquelandia (Brazil) Continental rift ?
Moxie (NE USA) Orogenic (Compressive) —
Aberdeenshire Gabbros (UK) —
Rona (Scandinavia) —
Acoje (Indonesia) Ophiolite belt (Oceanic) —

NC-6 Impact melt 1.85 Ga Sudbury (Canada) Meteorite impact Target rocks: East Bull Lake
intrusion of Matachewan LIP
(2.49–2.45 Ga) and Nipissing sills
of Ungava LIP (2.21 Ga)

NC-7 Ural-Alaskan Duke Island (Alaska) Convergent margin —

Turnagain Arm (Alaska) —
Salt Chuck (Alaska) —
Quetico (?) (Canada) Possible fore-arc setting —

Notes: Adapted from Naldrett (2010b) with information added on LIP associations; locations of LIPs are shown in Figure 2; the question mark (?) in the
last column indicates a LIP association is suspected but not yet identified; a dash (—) indicates a LIP association is considered unlikely

covers an area of approximately 7 Mkm2 with a volume of 4
km3 (Ivanov, 2007). Yet despite this vast extent, the only
operating Ni-Cu-(PGE) mines are located in the ~30-km-
long × 20-km-wide Noril’sk and Talnakh ore junctions, rep-
resenting a very small fraction (~0.01%) of the total area of
the Siberian LIP.
There are two exploration implications from this realiza-
tion: (1) given the scale of the event, if one “sweet spot” is
found, perhaps there are others remaining to be discovered;
and (2) strategies are required for vectoring toward the small
prospective regions within such massive events. Figure 5
illustrates that a first-order control on the location of miner-
alization is proximity to a mantle plume center, as has been
previously noted (e.g., Lightfoot et al., 1993). The Siberian,
Mackenzie, and CAMP LIPs host the respective mineral-
ized Noril’sk-Talnakh, Muskox, and Freetown intrusions that
are located within a few hundred kilometers of the plume
centers associated with their LIP events. Magmatic sulfide
deposits within the Thompson Ni belt of Canada belong to
the ~1880 Ma Circum-Superior LIP and are located near the
plume center for this event, which is defined on the basis of
a radiating dike swarm (e.g., Ernst and Bell, 2010). However,
the Raglan and related deposits of the Cape Smith belt portion
of this 1880 Ma LIP are more distal from the proposed plume
center, although if a 10° to 20° relative rotation between the
eastern and western halves of the Superior craton (e.g., Evans
and Halls, 2010) occurred after 1880 Ma then the Raglan area
may have been as much as 500 km closer to the Thompson
plume center, although still about 600 km away (e.g., Ernst
and Bell, 2010).
This linkage between magmatic sulfide mineralization and
plume center proximity is related to the greater volumes of
magma flow associated with proximity to a plume head (e.g.,
Naldrett et al., 1992). These greater volumes of flow means
that more dynamic and higher R factor (i.e., increased inter-
action between magmatic sulfides and silicate magma, leading
to higher tenor sulfides; Campbell and Naldrett, 1979) mag-
matic systems are more likely to be associated with conduits
proximal to plume centers. Additional insights can come from
understanding the pathway of the magma from mantle sources
areas: some magma stalls at the base of the crust forming an
underplate (e.g., Cox, 1980) that might melt the lower crust
to form silicic magmas. Other mafic-ultramafic magma pro-
gresses upward through a crustal plumbing system of dikes,
sills, and layered intrusions that distribute magmas laterally
and vertically within the crust and also feed surface flood
26 ERNST AND JOWITT
basalts (e.g., Ernst and Buchan, 1997a, b). Magma transport
along translithospheric fractures is also important (e.g., Nal-
drett et al., 1992; Naldrett, 1999; Begg et al., 2010). Magma
transported through the plumbing system of dikes and sills
(and along translithospheric fractures) on its way from man-
tle source areas to final emplacement levels in the crust or
onto the surface can interact with subcontinental lithospheric
mantle and crustal material (e.g., with sulfur- and silica-rich
sediments), potentially leading to sulfide concentration and
segregation (e.g., Naldrett, 1997).
Geochemistry can be used as a tool to assess the overall
prospectivity of LIPs and to vector toward regions or iden-
tify magmatic subpulses within a given LIP that have greater
deposit potential (e.g., Jowitt and Ernst, 2013). More specifi-
cally, the Ni-Cu-PGE prospectivity of an LIP, or indeed sec-
tions of an LIP, can be analyzed in terms of fertility (metal
endowment in the primary magma), sulfur saturation, and
associated chalcophile element depletion and enrichment,
and crustal contamination, with the latter being used to
infer if the chalcophile depletion is linked to incorporation
of crustal material, including crustal sulfides, and the seques-
tering of metals by immiscible magmatic sulfides. An analysis
of the geochemistry of Canadian LIPs undertaken by Jowitt
and Ernst (2013) included the identification of three highly
prospective events: the 2.49–2.45 Ga Matachewan, 1.87 Ga
Chukotat, and 1.27 Ga Mackenzie events (Fig. 2), each of
which hosts known mineralization (East Bull Lake, Raglan,
and Muskox, respectively). In addition, the geochemistry of
the 0.72 Ga Franklin LIP suggests part of this event should
be considered highly prospective; although no known Frank-
lin-related Ni-Cu-PGE deposits have as yet been identified,
the LIP does host a number of known Ni-Cu-PGE mag-
matic sulfide occurrences. This geochemical approach allows
assessment of nonmineralized portions of an LIP, to predict
whether mineralized units are likely present elsewhere in the
LIP system, and allows a greater understanding of the source
and feeder relationships in an LIP system.
Furthermore, targeting of units with variable chalcophile
element enrichments and depletions, indicative of fertile
magmas that have undergone S saturation and lost chalco-
phile elements to immiscible sulfide melts deposited else-
where within the LIP system, can be useful vectoring tools
for mineral exploration. Chalcophile-depleted units should
be prospected “upstream” in the plumbing system for cor-
responding sites of metal enrichments (i.e., potential ore
deposits); a similar model incorporating linkages between
downstream chalcophile-depleted and contaminated sections
of a magmatic plumbing system with upstream S saturation
and deposition of magmatic sulfides has also been developed
for komatiitic systems (e.g., Lesher et al., 2001), and similar
LIP-scale relationships have been and are the focus of recent
and ongoing research (e.g., Jowitt and Ernst, 2012, 2013; Jow-
itt et al., 2013).
One vectoring approach utilizes the links between volcanic
units and their magma source “upstream” in a staging cham-
ber at depth; metal depletion in volcanic rocks can be linked
to upstream areas of magmatic sulfide deposition, either in
metal-enriched magma chambers or in other upstream areas
of the plumbing system. Furthermore, geochemistry provides
a method for making the link between particular volcanic
rocks and intrusions. This vectoring approach is exemplified
by the Siberian Trap LIP where the voluminous and highly
chalcophile element-depleted Nadezhdinsky Formation vol-
canic rocks have been linked to the Noril’sk and Talnakh ore
deposits that formed within upstream magma chambers (e.g.,
Lightfoot and Keays, 2005).
Another more speculative type of vectoring tool is related
to dike swarms, where lateral emplacement of radiating dike
swarms has been linked to magma chambers in the focal
region of the swarm, as exemplified by the Mackenzie dike
swarm in Canada. Here it is interpreted that different sub-
swarms of dikes were spawned and laterally injected from
these focal region magma chambers (e.g., Baragar et al., 1996).
Based on this geometry it is postulated that identification of a
chalcophile-depleted and crustally contaminated subswarm of
dikes would imply that the original metal endowment of these
magmas was lost upstream, potentially in a layered intrusion
somewhere along strike in the upstream direction, toward the
plume center (e.g., Jowitt and Ernst, 2012).
The Phanerozoic and Proterozoic LIP record suggests that
primitive (higher Mg) magmas are more common in the vicin-
ity (within a few hundred km) of plume centers than in distal
areas (e.g., Campbell et al., 1989). Although the mantle plume
context for komatiites and their associated tholeiitic basalts
seems likely (e.g., Lesher and Arndt, 1995), the identification
of plume centers for these Archean LIP fields is progressing
slowly, primarily due to the fragmented nature of Archean
greenstone belt events, although a plume center location has
been suggested for the ca. 2700 Ma Eastern Goldfields super-
terrane LIP of the Yilgarn craton (e.g., Barnes et al., 2012;
Said et al., 2012).
Oceanic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposits: The majority of known Ni-
Cu-(PGE) ore deposits are associated with continental LIPs;
the only significant mineralization associated with oceanic
LIPs occurs within the Wrangellia/Nikolai accreted oceanic
plateau LIP of Alaska and Canada (e.g., Greene et al., 2009,
2010), as exemplified by the Wellgreen deposit in the Yukon
Territory of Canada (e.g., Marcantonio et al., 1994; Schmidt
and Rogers, 2007). The Wrangellia/Nikolai LIP was built on
an earlier island arc, suggesting that only oceanic plateaus that
have interacted with continental crust/lithosphere are likely to
host coeval magmatic sulfide mineralization (e.g., Greene et
al., 2009, 2010).
PGE-dominated magmatic sulfide deposits
PGE-dominated magmatic sulfide deposits are commonly
hosted by layered mafic/ultramafic intrusions (e.g., Naldrett,
2004, 2010a; Eckstrand and Hulbert, 2007), with Naldrett
(2004) splitting these deposits into six classes (Table 4; Fig. 4).
Naldrett (2004, 2010a) suggested that the majority of PGE-
dominated magmatic sulfide deposits are associated with two
distinct magma types, an early siliceous high Mg basalt magma
(U-type) and a later more tholeiitic-type magma (T-type).
U-type magmas may be similar to modern boninites (e.g.,
Hamlyn and Keays, 1986), although it is more likely that they
represent crustally contaminated komatiitic magmas (e.g.,
Eales and Costin, 2012). It should also be noted that Hall and
Hughes (1990) argued that generally noritic U-type magmas
formed from interaction of primary mantle melts with subduc-
tion-modified regions of the continental lithospheric mantle.
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 27

Table 4. Types of PGE-Dominated Magmatic Sulfide Deposits and Their Associations with LIPs

Intrusive Tectonic setting

Class Related magmatism complexes Deposits of magmatism Associated LIP

PGE-1 U-type magmatism Bushveld Merensky, UG-2 reefs, Intra-cratonic Bushveld LIP
with minor tholeiites Platreef, Dunite pipes
Stillwater J-M reef Not known Stillwater LIP?
Great Dyke Main sulfide zone Intra-cratonic rift ?
Lac des Iles Robie zone Not known ?

PGE-2 U-type and tholeiitic Munni-Munni Porphyritic websterite layer Intra-cratonic? 2.94−2.91 Ga West Pilbara event
Penikat SJ reef Rifted continental margin 2.44 Ga Baltic LIP
Portimo SK and RK reefs, marginal ore

PGE-3 Tholeiitic East Bull Lake Marginal ore 2470−2450 Ma Matachewan LIP
River Valley Marginal ore
Skaergaard Platinova reef North Atlantic
Cap Edvard Holm Willow Ridge reef
Sonju Lake Sonju Lake reef Rift Keweenawan
Coldwell Marathon, Bermuda

PGE-4 Calc-alkaline mafic Longwoods Longwoods area Orogenic (island arc) —

Volkovsky Volkovsky, Baron —

PGE-5 Ural-Alaskan alkaline Urals platinum belt Soloviev Hills, Urals placers ?
mafic-ultramafic Koryakia region Seynav-Galmoznav ?
Kondyor Kondyor Cratonic

PGE-6 Alkaline mafic-ultramafic Guli Ingarinda Rift Siberian

Notes: Adapted from Naldrett (2004) with information on associated LIPs and the composition of the Lac des Iles deposit added; LIP locations are shown
in Figure 2; the question mark (?) in the last column indicates a LIP association is suspected but not yet identified; a dash (—) indicates a LIP association is
considered unlikely

The PGE-1 class of magmatic sulfide deposits consists of
intrusions formed from both U and T types of magma, but in
systems that are dominated by U-type magmas, and with PGE
mineralization concentrated in areas of mixing between the
two magma types (Naldrett, 2004). Deposits of this class host
PGE mineralization within reef-type or stratiform deposits in
large, well-layered mafic/ultramafic intrusions associated with
chromitite and sulfide-rich layers (Naldrett, 2004; Eckstrand
and Hulbert, 2007). Examples of reef-type mineralization
include the Merensky reef and UG-2 chromitite layers within
the Bushveld Complex of South Africa, the J-M reef of the
Stillwater Complex, Montana, and the Main sulfide zone of
the Great Dyke, Zimbabwe (Naldrett, 2004). In all three cases
the presence of significant associated magmatism outside of
these large layered intrusions indicate that these intrusions
are part of more widespread LIP events. This is exemplified
by the Bushveld Complex, a constituent part of a widespread
magmatic event that occurred across the Kaapvaal craton
(e.g., Rajesh et al., 2013). Specifically, the 2060 Ma Bush-
veld intrusion is part (albeit the dominant part by volume) of
a magmatic LIP event that includes minor mafic intrusions
in the Vredefort area, the subsurface Molopo Farm Com-
plex of Botswana, silicic magmatism in the Okwa inlier (NW
Kaapvaal) and associated carbonatitic magmatism, including
the mineralized Phalaborwa carbonatite. The 2710 Ma Still-
water Complex is also plausibly linked to widespread mafic
dikes of similar age (2710−2680 Ma) that are distributed
across the Wyoming craton (K. Chamberlain, per. commun.,
2013). In addition, the approximately 550-km-long 2575 Ma
Great Dyke of Zimbabwe is flanked along its entire length by
two nearby coeval dolerite dikes (e.g., Wilson et al., 1987).
The Great Dyke is truncated at the north and south edges
of the Zimbabwe craton and continuity into other formerly
adjacent blocks would seem likely, indicating that the cur-
rent sub-LIP scale areal extent of 60,000 km2 is likely to be
an underestimate. The PGE-1 class also includes magmatic
breccia-type deposits within stock-like or layered bodies, such
as the Lac des Iles deposit, which currently have no demon-
strable links with LIP events (e.g., Hinchey et al., 2005; D.
Peck, pers. commun., 2011), although it should be noted that
the resources within these deposits are minute compared to
the PGE-1-type deposits with demonstrable LIP links. These
examples indicate that the vast majority, if not all, of the
deposits within the PGE-1 class can be linked to distinct LIP
events.
The PGE-2 class is associated with intrusions formed from
both U and T types of magma, but where the T type of magma
is dominant. This class includes mineralization hosted by the
Penikat, Portimo, and Fedorova intrusions that all belong to
the well-known 2500 to 2450 Ma Baltic LIP of Finland and
Russia (e.g., event 207 of Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Bayanova
et al., 2009; Kulikov et al., 2010), again demonstrating that a
distinct class of PGE deposit is strongly linked to LIP events.
The PGE-3 class is associated with T-type tholeiite-only
intrusions, including the East Bull Lake and River Val-
ley intrusions of the 2490 to 2450 Ma Matachewan LIP of
Ontario and Quebec (Fahrig, 1987; Ernst and Bleeker, 2010),
mineralization within the Sonju Lake intrusion of the Duluth
Complex and the Coldwell intrusion in Ontario, both related
to the Keweenawan LIP event (e.g., event 90 of Ernst and
Buchan, 2001), as well as the Platinova reef of the Skaergaard
intrusion of the North Atlantic LIP (e.g., event 5 of Ernst and
28 ERNST AND JOWITT
Buchan, 2001; Andersen et al., 2002). These examples again
demonstrate a close link between this class of deposits and
LIP events. Calc-alkaline mafic-ultramafic intrusions host
PGE-4, PGE-5, and PGE-6 class mineralization, as exempli-
fied by the Volkovsky deposit and the Baron prospect of the
Urals platinum belt (Naldrett, 2004). Although the majority
of these are not LIP related by virtue of a calc-alkaline set-
ting, one example, the Guli deposit, is associated with the final
stages of the Siberian Trap LIP event (Kamo et al., 2003).
The first class of PGE deposit (PGE-1) dominates the
world’s PGE production and resources (Fig. 3), with the
Bushveld Complex alone representing some 70.9% of global
PGE resources (Mudd, 2012). It is also worth noting that the
second-largest single PGE resource (hosted by the Siberian
Trap LIP) is the NC-2-type Ni-dominated Noril’sk-Talnakh
deposits; these Pd-dominated deposits host ~12% of current
global PGE resources (Mudd, 2012). PGE-4 deposits are gen-
erally subeconomic, with the exception of placer prospects
associated with the PGE-4 class of deposit, as found within
the Urals, Kamchatka, and Colombia (e.g., Weiser, 2002);
however, PGE-4-type deposits are not LIP related, and there-
fore are not a further focus of this review.
These data indicate that the PGE-1 and -2 ore classes, as
well as some PGE-3 deposits, are dominantly LIP related. In
short, the global producers of PGE are dominated by LIP-
related magmas (Table 4).
Implications for exploration of LIP context for PGE-domi-
nated deposits: It is typically inferred that large layered intru-
sions (and their associated Ni-Cu-PGE deposits) are located
near their plume centers, as evidenced by the 1270 Ma Mack-
enzie event of Laurentia, where several gravity anomalies
(inferred to mark layered intrusions) partially circumscribe
the well-defined Mackenzie plume center at a distance of
about 300 km (Baragar et al., 1996). The Bushveld intrusion is
thought to overlie its plume center (e.g., Hatton, 1995; Olsson
et al., 2011), and this observation of layered intrusions being
close to their plume centers is consistent with an analysis
of the controls on whether horizontal magma emplacement
produces a stacked package of sills or a major layered mafic-
ultramafic intrusion. A recent model by Cawthorn (2012) for
the Bushveld intrusion infers that the critical parameter is
whether the initial few magma pulses are emplaced quickly
enough. Modeling indicates that the injection of three to four
pulses of magma, each ~100 m thick, within a period of ≤100
years to form a composite intrusion would lead to a scenario
where the cooling of this body would be sufficiently slow as to
trap any subsequent intrusions of magma, ultimately forming
a thick layered intrusion (Cawthorn, 2012). A longer inter-
val between magmatic pulses would allow sufficient time
for cooling of earlier pulses and result in the production of a
stacked sill complex (e.g., the 180 Ma Karoo sill province of
the Kalahari craton). Furthermore, rapid emplacement of a
series of magmatic pulses, and therefore the formation of lay-
ered intrusions, is more likely to happen proximal to mantle
plume center regions that have higher magma fluxes.
Oxide deposits
LIPs can also host major Fe-Ti-V and Cr magmatic oxide
deposits, as exemplified by the Bushveld and Emeishan LIPs
(Table 1). Here we discuss these and other examples of the
links between LIP events and the formation of significant
magmatic oxide mineral deposits.
Fe-Ti-V deposits: The Main and Upper Series of the Bush-
veld Complex contain a number of Ti-V-bearing magnetite
reefs that form 30.1 and 9.7% of the world’s V and ilmenite
(Ti) resources, respectively (Laznicka, 2010; U.S. Geological
Survey, 2010); the Main Magnetitite Layer, located near the
base of the Upper Series, hosts the world’s largest resource of
vanadium (Kruger, 2005).
The Emeishan LIP of China and Vietnam hosts Fe-Ti-V
ores in mafic-ultramafic intrusions (e.g., Izokh et al., 2005;
Pirajno et al., 2009). The prominent examples are Hongge,
4.5 Bt ore containing 1,830 Mt Fe (40.6% Fe), 196 Mt Ti,
and 14.5 Mt V; Panzhihua, with 1,333 Mt of resources and
production to 2005 of 134 Mt ore @ 45% FeO, 12% TiO2, and
0.3% V2O5; Taihe, with 810 Mt of resources at grades of~ 33%
Fe, ~12% TiO2, and ~0.3% V2O5; and Baima, with 1,497 Mt
of resources at unknown grades (Bai et al., 2012; Hou et al.,
2012; Zhang, Z-Q., et al., 2012). The magmas that formed the
Emeishan LIP are split into high and low Ti series, with the
high Ti series magmas associated with Fe-Ti-V oxide mineral-
ization and the low Ti series magmas associated with Ni-Cu-
PGE sulfide mineralization. The fact that both high and low
Ti magmas formed during a single LIP event was originally
thought to be related to derivation of these distinct magma
suites from separate parts of a heterogeneous plume (e.g., Xu
at al., 2001; He et al., 2010), but currently these two series
of magmas are thought to have formed from near-identical
age primary melts, with the eventual separation into high and
low Ti magmas caused by differences in igneous evolution,
with the low Ti series magmas undergoing crustal contamina-
tion that led to sulfur saturation, whereas the high Ti magmas
underwent long-lived fractionation that caused eventual Fe
oxide saturation (Hou et al., 2011). The fractionation of the
latter formed the highly evolved ferrobasaltic or ferropicritic
LIP magmas that generated the world-class Fe-Ti-V orebod-
ies of the Emeishan LIP (e.g., Zhou et al., 2005). Similarly,
fractionation and Fe oxide saturation, in addition to potential
pressure changes during these processes, are thought to be
responsible for the formation of the Bushveld Complex Fe-
Ti-V reefs (e.g., Kruger, 2005; Cawthorn and Ashwal, 2009).
An important class of anorogenic magmas (AMCG [anor-
thosite-mangerite-charnockite-rapakivi granite] and associ-
ated anorogenic granites) are also known to host Fe-Ti-(V)
deposits (e.g., Hébert et al., 2005) but have uncertain rela-
tionships to LIPs and mantle plumes (Ashwal, 1993; McLel-
land et al., 2010). Current models suggest that these suites
of magmas are thought to form during orogenic thickening
of the lithosphere and subsequent delamination (e.g., McLel-
land et al., 2010). However, an interesting example that illus-
trates a potential LIP and plume connection is the ca. 1800
to 1750 Ma Korosten and Korsun-Novomirgorod complexes
of the Ukrainian shield of Sarmatia (Duchesne et al., 2006;
Bogdanova et al., 2013); here, an early (1790 Ma) pulse of
AMCG magmatism is coeval with Ni-sulfide-bearing doler-
ites/gabbros (Amelin et al., 1994; Bogdanova et al., 2013).
Furthermore, 1790 Ma mafic magmatism is potentially wide-
spread in Sarmatia and may be linked to the >300,000 km2
Avanavero LIP within the Amazonian craton (e,g., Ernst et al.,
2013) if the SAMBA continental reconstruction of Johansson
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 29
(2009) is correct. This indicates that the AMCG magmatism
within the Ukrainian shield is potentially part of a widespread
LIP event. The AMCG type of Fe-Ti-V ores tends to be mas-
sive, rich in apatite and monazite, and may be REE enriched,
as exemplified by AMCG complexes within the Ukrainian
shield portion of Sarmatia described above (Bogdanova et al.,
2013). In comparison, layered intrusion-hosted Fe-Ti-V ores
(e.g., Bushveld) are generally meter-thick layers of magnetite-
ilmenite or titanomagnetite that have higher grades than typi-
cal AMCG-type ores (Cawthorn and Ashwal, 2009; D. Peck,
pers. commun., 2011).
Cr deposits: There are two major sources of chromite,
namely podiform chromitites within ophiolites (e.g., Melcher
et al., 1997) that are not LIP related, and generally LIP-
related stratiform chromitites within layered complexes.
These stratiform chromitites consist of chromite-rich layers
within large layered intrusions that form early in the crys-
tallization sequence by in situ magma mixing (e.g., Irvine,
1977), although other researchers believe that the Cr seams
that form these Cr deposits did not form in situ but were
transported as chromite slurries that were injected into semi-
consolidated cumulates, potentially during subsidence as
a result of the depletion of underlying magma chamber(s)
(Maier and Barnes 2008). The world’s largest Cr resources
are located within the Critical zone of the Bushveld Complex;
these deposits contain around 75% of the world’s known Cr
resources (e.g., Robb, 2005; Laznicka, 2010). The other main
sources of Cr are hosted by the 2575 Ma Great Dyke of Zim-
babwe (Selukwe deposit), the 2710 Ma Stillwater Complex,
and the ~2450 Ma Kemi intrusion that is a constituent part
of the Baltic LIP (also known as the East Scandinavian LIP
or Sumian LIP; Bayonova et al., 2009; Kulkov et al., 2010,
and references therein), although it should be emphasized
that not all LIP-related layered intrusions contain significant
chromite. For instance, Vogel et al. (1998a) divided the 2.5 to
2.45 Ga Fennoscandian mafic intrusions of the Baltic LIP on
the basis of age, chrome content, and incompatible element
ratios and abundance, and noted that Cr-poor intrusions are
dominated by gabbronorite and leucogabbronorite, whereas
Cr-rich intrusions contain much higher proportions of ultra-
mafic to mafic rocks (almost 1:1) along with chromitite layers.
The ca. 2730 Ma Ring of Fire complex, a potential Archean
LIP within the McFauld’s greenstone belt of Northwest-
ern Ontario on the eastern edge of the older Caribou block
(Houlé et al., 2012; Laarman et al., 2012; Metsaranta and
Houlé, 2012), also hosts world-class Cr mineralization. The
rationale for linking this complex to an LIP event is based
on the presence of an LIP-type komatiite-tholeiite association
(cf. Ernst et al., 2005; Bryan and Ernst, 2008) and the fact that
although this complex is somewhat limited in size compared
to the threshold volume or area of an LIP, the emplacement of
the mafic-ultramafic magmas that form the Ring of Fire com-
plex occurred on the same microcontinent (Caribou terrane)
as the contemporaneous and also Ni-Cu sulfide and Cr min-
eralized Bird River Sill, suggesting that these two complexes
may form part of a wider LIP-scale event (e.g., Mungall et al.,
2010; Metsaranta and Houlé, 2012). The Ring of Fire com-
plex hosts a number of world-class Cr deposits, namely the
Blackbird, Big Daddy, Black Thor, and Black Label deposits,
which are located within the same complex as Ni-Cu-PGE
magmatic sulfide deposits (Eagle’s Nest, Eagle Two, AT12)
and a large Ti-V deposit. These deposits are also associated
with contemporaneous volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS)
mineralization, as discussed below. The mineralization within
the ca. 2730 Ring of Fire complex is hosted in the older sec-
tions of a sequence of 2808 to <2702 Ma supracrustal rock
packages (Metsaranta and Houlé, 2012).
All of the magmatic mineral deposits within the Ring of Fire
complex formed from stratigraphically differentiated kom-
atiitic magmas in distinct metallogenic associations, namely
lowermost zones where magmatic sulfides accumulated at the
base of dike-like structures, intermediate-level chromitites
within sill-like feeder zones, and residual magmas stripped of
Ni-Cu-PGE and Cr that fractionated to produce Ti-V miner-
alization within layered intrusions (Mungall et al., 2010). The
Ring of Fire complex provides a classic example of a single
suite of potentially LIP-associated magmas that underwent
differing igneous evolutionary paths to produce numerous
different types of mineral deposits; the relatively unknown
nature of the belt means that there is significant further explo-
ration potential in this area (Mungall et al., 2010).
Implications for the relationship between LIPs and Fe-
Ti-V and Cr deposits: The presence within the Ring of Fire
event of differing types of magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide and
Ti-V and Cr oxide mineralization offers the possibility that
an improved understanding of the sourcing and evolution of
magmas within an LIP context can enable the identification
of barren and prospective areas for both sulfide and oxide
mineralization, and the delineation of prospective or entirely
unprospective LIP events, as discussed above for Ni-Cu-PGE
ore deposits in an LIP context (e.g., Jowitt and Ernst, 2013).
Carbonatite-related deposits
The links between LIPs and carbonatites (and associated
alkaline complexes) have been explored in detail by Ernst and
Bell (2010) and are illustrated in Table 5 and Figure 6. These
links are exemplified by carbonatites associated with the 66 Ma
Deccan, the 130 Ma Paraná-Etendeka, the 250 Ma Siberian,
the ca. 370 Ma Kola-Dneiper (which includes the Kola alkaline
province magmatism), and the 615 to 555 Ma Central Iapetus
magmatic province LIP events of eastern Laurentia and west-
ern Baltica. In addition, a number of carbonatites within
southern Laurentia are associated with the 1114 to 1085 Ma
Keweenawan LIP, and some are coeval with the circum-Supe-
rior 1880 Ma mafic-ultramafic magmatic event of the Supe-
rior craton. The Phalaborwa and Shiel carbonatites are also
associated with the 2055 Ma Bushveld event of the Kaapvaal
craton (Ernst and Bell, 2010). The strong link between car-
bonatites and rifting that has been previously documented
(e.g., Burke et al., 2003) is consistent with an LIP affinity for
carbonatites, as the majority of LIP events are also rift related
(e.g., Courtillot et al., 1999; Ernst and Bleeker, 2010).
Carbonatites are genetically linked to a number of impor-
tant mineral deposit types and a wide variety of commodi-
ties, including the REE, Nb, F, P, Fe, Th, U, Cu, Zr, Ta, Au,
Ag, the PGE, and industrial minerals such as vermiculite and
lime (Woolley and Kjarsgaard, 2008). Specifically, the 2.06 Ga
Phalaborwa carbonatite complex of South Africa is rich in Cu
sulfides, has some affinities with IOCG deposits (e.g., Cor-
riveau, 2007), and is linked to the Bushveld LIP (e.g., Ernst
30 ERNST AND JOWITT

Table 5. Examples of LIPs and Their Associated Carbonatite Complexes

LIP name (age range) Associated carbonatite complexes

Afar and East Africa (Afro-Arabian) Uganda: Bukusu, Napak, Tororo, Toror; Kenya: Buru Hill probably coeval with Tinderet, Homa Mountain,
(45–0 Ma) Kisingiri and Rangwa, North and South Ruri, Nyamaji, Shombole, Tinderet and Londiani, Wasaki
peninsula; Tanzania: Basotu, Hanang and Balangida, Kerimasi, Kwahera, Monduli-Arusha tuff cones,
Mosonik, Oldoinyo Lengai, Sadiman
Deccan (65 Ma) Amba Dongar, Danta-Langera-Mahabar, Mundwara, Sarnu-Dandali (Barmer)
Paraná-Etendeka (133 Ma) South America: Anitápolis, Barra do Itapirapuã, Chiriguelo, Ipanema, Itanhaem, Itapirapuã, Jacupiranga,
Juquiá; Africa: Messum
Siberian (trap) (250 Ma) Maimecha-Kotui: Bor-Uryakh, Guli, Kugda, Magan, Odikhincha; Anabar province: Orto-Yrigakhskoe,
Tundrovoye and Nomottookhskoe, southwestern Siberia (Chadobetskaya region): Chadobetskaya
Kola-Dniepr (East European craton) Afrikanda, Kovdor, Vuoriyarvi, Seblyavr, Salmagorskii, Kontozerskii, Turiy Peninsula, Kandaguba,
event (ca. 380 Ma) Khibina, Ozernaya Varaka, Sokli, Sallanlatvi
CIMP (Central Iapetus magmatic Eastern Laurentia: Aillik Bay, Arvida (Chicoutimi), Baie-Des-Moutons (Mutton Bay), Brent, Callander
province) (615–550 Ma) Bay, Manitou Islands, St-Honoré, Torngat Mountains (Abloviak Fjord), Greenland: Quigussaq
(Umanak), Sarfartoq, Baltica (Norway and Sweden): Avike Bay, Alnö, Fen, Lillebukt, Seiland, Sørøy
Keweenawan (1114–1085 Ma) Big Beaver House, Firesand River, Nemegosenda, Lackner Lake, Seabrook Lake, Schryburt Lake,
Sullivan Island, Prairie Lake, Valentine
Circum-Superior Kapuskasing structural zone: Argor, Borden, Cargill, Goldray, Spanish River, Labrador trough: Lac
(ca. 1880–1870 Ma) Castignon, northwestern Superior craton: Carb Lake
Bushveld (2059–2053 Ma) Phalaborwa, Shiel

Notes: Modified after Ernst and Bell (2010) and including only those carbonatites confidently linked to the LIP; carbonatites in bold font are those with
age constraints displayed in Figure 6A; details on all these carbonatites are provided in the global database of Woolley and Kjarsgaard (2008); LIP locations
are shown in Figure 2

and Bell, 2010). In addition, the Bayan Obo carbonatite
REE-Nb-Fe deposit of the north China craton, currently the
world’s most important source of the REEs, has an uncertain
age but was provisionally linked by Peng et al. (2011) to the
920 to 900 Ma Dashigou LIP, and by Zhang, S.H., et al. (2012)
to the 1320 Ma Yanliao LIP.
Implications of an LIP context for carbonatites: The strong
link between LIPs and carbonatites is compelling (Ernst and
Bell, 2010), but it is not known whether there are classes of
carbonatites that are not linked to LIPs. Furthermore, there
has not yet been a comparative study to determine whether
the family of carbonatites associated with a given LIP has
trace element geochemical patterns that provide a match to
the geochemistry of that LIP, whether carbonatites associ-
ated with particular LIPs are more likely to be more REE or
Nb-Ta rich, and whether this can be predicted from studying
the associated LIP. Similarly, is there different composition
and different mineralization potential for carbonatites located
in different parts of an LIP system (along a rift, proximal to
the plume center, distal from the plume center, along a trans-
lithospheric fault)?
Kimberlites and LIPs
Kimberlites have been defined as volatile-rich (dominantly
CO2), potassic ultrabasic rocks possessing a distinctive inequi-
granular texture that resulted from the presence of both mac-
rocrystic and groundmass phenocrystic olivine (e.g., Mitchell,
1995, 2006, 2008; Woolley et al., 1996; Le Maître, 2002; Cha-
lapathi Rao and Lehmann, 2011). These rocks occur as volca-
nic diatremes and as dikes and sills, and are petrographically
complex because of the presence of abundant xenocrysts,
megacrysts, and xenoliths. They are rapidly and explosively
emplaced with passage through the lithosphere as dikes,
but final ascent to the surface is via explosive diatremes with
ascent velocities as high as 30 to 50 m/s (e.g., Brey et al., 1991;
Brey and Ryabchikov, 1994; Mitchell, 1995, Haggerty, 1999a,
b; Schissel and Smail, 2001; Sparks et al., 2006, 2007; Wilson
and Head, 2007; Russell et al., 2012). Russell et al. (2012)
offered a link between kimberlites and carbonatites by sug-
gesting that kimberlites have carbonatite-like parental melts
that were modified as they migrated through the mantle litho-
sphere by assimilating mantle minerals, especially orthopy-
roxene, causing these magmas to become more silicic, and
leading to a coincident drop in carbon dioxide solubility.
Kimberlites are mainly located in Archean cratons and the
Paleoproterozoic mobile belts that surround cratonic areas.
They have been interpreted to be the deep-sourced equiva-
lent of basalts trapped beneath lithospheric roots (e.g., Camp-
bell, 2001; Arndt, 2003) and can be classified into Group I
(basaltic) and Group II (micaceous) types (e.g., Wagner, 1914;
Williams, 1932; Smith, 1983; Mitchell, 1995; Schissel and
Smail, 2001; Arndt, 2003; Becker and le Roex, 2006; Gurney
et al., 2010), the latter termed “orangeites” by Mitchell (1995).
Important evidence on the origin of kimberlites derives from
their diamond endowments; most researchers consider that
diamonds are picked up and transported during magma
ascent as xenocrysts, and inclusions within diamonds indicate
that the host kimberlite (and lamproite) magmas originated
at depths below 180 km, perhaps from plumes that ultimately
started from the core-mantle boundary (e.g., Torsvik et al.,
2010). Although the majority of diamonds are thought to
be sourced from the deep lithospheric roots of ancient cra-
tons, some diamonds contain inclusions of majoritic garnet
(and its exsolution products) and Na pyroxene-enstatite solid
solutions, which are evidence for an origin at transition zone
depths (410–660 km), whereas other inclusions in diamonds
are indicative of a lower mantle origin, and yet other diamonds
contain Fe, FeC, and SiC inclusions that may have originated
in the Earth’s core (Haggerty, 1999a,b; Kerrich et al., 2005;
Stachel et al., 2005; Stachel and Harris, 2008; Harte, 2011).
The deep origin of these constituents is most compatible with
a mantle plume origin for kimberlites, although nonplume
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 31

Parana- Kola- Central Iapetus Circum-

Afro-
Deccan Etendeka Siberian Dneiper Magmatic Prov. Superior Bushveld
Arabian
(CIMP) Keweenawan
Tanzania

2100
Kola

400
100

SW Africa
Uganda

America
Kenya

Alkaline
50

South

250
Province

1150
600

1900
150
Precursor
Ma

210

2050
350
50

110
0

1100
550

1850
Carbonatite ages (with 2 sigma uncertainties).
Red ages more reliable

A main pulses of LIP

magmatism

B edge of Parana
sedimentary
C 20°E
Botswana
SCC
30oE
Zimbabwe
22°S

basin 45°W OIC

BC
Mozam-
? ? ?

20°S
SOUTH MFC MC bique
AMERICA Parana Rio de
Vu
NIETVERDIEND
SILL COMPLEX
Vt

Vu
MARBLE HALL
INTRUSION
(2055.6 ± 3.1 Ma)

PCC
UC
Janerio Namibia ?

Ipan
Vt

?
?

VD

CS Itap Ju Kaapvaal Craton Swaziland

Ch Itan
BI Ja

30°S 30°S
60°WAsuncion
25°S N Lesotho
An South Africa

500 km
Etendeka 20°E
30oE

Kw
Ok
M
On, Ka, Os
SOUTH
AFRICA
ATLANTIC
°E °S

250 km
15 2 5

Montevideo

Fig. 6. Association of carbonatites and LIPs after Ernst and Bell (2010). A. Summary of age distribution of carbonatites
with respect to main episodes of LIP events. Gray bars indicate main episodes of LIP magmatism. Age range for each car-
bonatite is based on given ±2σ uncertainties, or given ranges. In cases in which an uncertainty is not provided, a value of ±10
Ma is arbitrarily assigned, which is high but appropriately conservative. U-Pb, Ar-Ar, and Rb-Sr ages (for carbonatites) are
considered more reliable and are presented as red rectangles. K-Ar and fission track ages are left as green rectangles, except
for the less than 10 Ma ages of the Afro-Arabian LIP, which are shown as red rectangles. B. Paraná- Etendeka LIP of recon-
structed South America and Africa and associated carbonatite complexes (solid red circles). Abbreviations for carbonatite
names are as follows: South America: An = Anitapolis, BI = Barra do Itapirapua, CS = Cerro Sarambi, Ch = Chiriguelo, Ipan
= Ipanema, Itan = Itanhaem, Itap = Itapirapua, Ju = Juquia, Ja = Jacupiranga; Africa: Ka = Kalkfeld, Kw = Kwaggaspan, M
= Messum, Ok = Okorusu, On = Ondurakorume, Os = Osongombo. Red star and circle (dashed red line) locate inferred
center and 1,000-km radius of underlying mantle plume ca. 133 Ma ago. C. Distribution of Bushveld and satellite units after
Kinnaird (2005), and diagram provided by P. Eriksson (pers. commun. 2008). BC = Bushveld complex, MC = Moshaneng
complex, MFC = Molopo Farms complex, OIC = Okwa inlier complex, PCC = Phalaborwa carbonatite complex, SCC = Shiel
carbonatite complex, UC = Uitkomst complex, VD = coeval intrusions in the vicinity of the Vredefort dome. The SCC and
PCC are located in the area outlined in red. Thin black lines in (B) are dikes.
32 ERNST AND JOWITT

origins for kimberlites have also been proposed (e.g., Mitch-
ell, 1995; Helmstaedt and Gurney, 1998; McCandless, 1999).
Some of the more widespread kimberlite events have been
associated with superplume events linked to the breakup of
supercontinents (e.g., Haggerty, 1999, a,b; Heaman et al.,
2003; Kerrich et al., 2005), although others may be triggered
by returning mantle flow in areas proximal to convergent plate
margins that may not be definitively linked with LIPs (Tappe
et al., 2013). The links between LIPs and kimberlites are
exemplified by 120 to 80 Ma kimberlites in North America,
India, Siberia, Brazil, and Africa that are broadly linked to the
Pacific Cretaceous superplume and associated dispersal of
Gondwana, and 590 to 550 Ma kimberlites and carbonatites
in Greenland located along the periphery of the Central Iape-
tus magmatic province LIP events (Tappe et al., 2011, 2012).
Torsvik et al. (2010) used plate reconstructions and tomo-
graphic images to indicate that the majority of Phanerozoic
kimberlites, similar to Phanerozoic LIPs, are associated with
the edges of the largest heterogeneities in the deepest mantle;
these areas have been stable for at least 200 and possibly for
540 m.y., with the authors concluding that both LIPs and kim-
berlites are derived from plumes.
Additional insights are possible from more focus on kim-
berlite clusters and their potential linkage with specific LIPs
(Fig. 7). Studies of the links between LIPs and kimberlites
have recently received a boost by the discovery of kimberlites
associated with the Deccan (Chalapathi Rao and Lehmann,
2011) and Tarim (Zhang, D., et al., 2012) LIPs. Specific asso-
ciations are summarized in Table 6 and are shown in Figure
7. As discussed below, there are numerous kimberlite clusters
that are spatially and temporally associated with known LIPs,
as well as kimberlites that exhibit a distinct age progression
over large distances and are therefore thought to be associ-
ated with a mantle plume (hotspot) tail. However, for many
other kimberlite fields, the setting is not yet clear.
LIPs and diamond potential: We have demonstrated that
many kimberlites are associated with LIPs and that many LIPs
have associated kimberlites. A key question is whether LIPs
can be used to assess the diamond potential of kimberlites.
Whether a kimberlite is diamondiferous is controlled by the
nature of the lithosphere that the kimberlite magma passes
through. This is because diamonds within these magmas are
present as xenocrysts and were extracted from the lithospheric
mantle root of ancient cratons within the diamond stability
field (at depths of >200 km). Thus, whether a kimberlite is
diamondiferous is dependent on the thermal structure and
composition of the subcontinental lithospheric root; in order
for this root to contain diamonds it must be deep, cool, and
contain carbon, therefore providing the necessary pressure,
but not at temperatures so high as to move outside of the dia-
mond stability field (e.g., Gurney et al., 2005; Kerrich et al.,
2005). The deep cool roots needed for this are characteristic
of ancient Archean cratons and, therefore, ancient roots are
the key target areas for diamondiferous kimberlite exploration
(e.g., Clifford, 1966; Artemieva, 2011). Helmstaedt and Gur-
ney (1995) introduced the concept that processes can be
friendly or unfriendly to cratonic roots, with the diamond
potential of a lithospheric root potentially destroyed by subse-
quent thermal events (e.g., impingement of a mantle plume)
that can heat up the lower crust, or by delamination of the
lower mantle that effectively removes potentially diamondifer-
ous regions of the mantle into the deeper asthenosphere. An
excellent example of an “unfriendly” impact is the effect of the
1270 Ma Mackenzie plume on the root of the northern Slave
craton (Helmstaedt and Gurney, 1995; Gurney et al., 2010).
This model is consistent with the observation that the first
generation of successively spatially overlapping generations of
kimberlites is normally the most diamond prospective, poten-
tially because the finite resource of diamonds within the root
of a craton is more likely to be tapped by early-formed kim-
berlitic magmas (Gurney et al., 2010). This is exemplified by
Gurney et al. (2010), who noted that South African on-craton
ca. 200 to 110 Ma Mesozoic Group II kimberlites are more
consistently diamondiferous than later on-craton ca. 100 to

Table 6. Selected LIPs and Associated Kimberlites

Distance of
kimberlites from
LIP name (age range) Associated kimberlites linked plume center Reference for link with the LIP

Deccan 68−62 Ma Kimberlites (Group II) of Mainpur kimberlite field, 1,000 km Lehmann et al. (2010);
Bastar craton (65−62 Ma) Chalapathi Rao and Lehman (2011)
Madagascar 90 Ma 90 Ma kimberlites in southern Africa 500−1300 km This paper
(Schissel and Smail, 2001)
HALIP 130−90 Ma Cretaceous kimberlites on north slope of the >500 km Kravchinsky et al. (2002)
Olenok uplift (Kravchinsky et al., 2002)
Parana-Etendeka Kimberlites (Group II) of Kaapvaal craton; 125−120 Ma 1,600 km Schissel and Smail (2001);
(Schissel and Smail, 2001) Chalapathi and Lehmann (2011)
Karoo (180 Ma) Dullstrom-Elandskloof Kimberlites (South Africa) 300 km Schissel and Smail (2001)
Siberian (250−225 Ma) Kharamai kimberlite field (245−228 Ma) 400−600 km Chalapathi and Lehmann (2011);
Kiselev et al. (2012)
Yatutsk (Vilyui) Daldyn-Alakit, Nakyn, and Mirnyi kimberlite fields 600−800 km Kiselev et al. (2012)
East European craton Arkhangelsk field (ca. 360 Ma; Beard et al., 2000) ? (plume center Mahotkin et al. (2000)
(360 Ma event) uncertain)
CIMP (Central Iapetus Eocambrian/Cambrian Labrador Sea kimberlite ? (plume center Heaman et al. (2003, 2004);
Magmatic Province) province uncertain) Tappe et al. (2006, 2007, 2008)
(615−555 Ma)
Keweenawan Kimberlite from Lake Superior and James Bay Lowlands ~800 km Heaman et al. (2004, 2009)
(1114−1085 Ma) (ca. 1172−1035 Ma; some ages very approximate)

Note: LIP locations are shown in Figure 2

 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 33

o
20 E OR (90 Ma) 30oE
Parana-Etendeka Zimbabwe
130 Ma GP (90 Ma)

Botswana
Namibia
Karoo
CB (90 Ma) 180 Ma
At

SW Mozambique
GB (66 Ma)
lan

(156 Ma)
NRSA (90 Ma)
DE (176 Ma)
tic

JW (235 Ma)
25oS SWB (95 Ma) 25oS
Oc

P (1200 Ma)
ea

BW
(120/ KR (145 Ma) DK (203 Ma)
n

140 Ma)
KM (1600 Ma)
W (125 Ma)
N (67 Ma)
F B
(120 Ma) (128 Ma)
Group I and II kimberlites LS (95 Ma)
Kimberlite clusters
30oS
P (120/90 Ma) K (90 Ma)
Kimberlite clusters
linked to LIPs
Karoo (ca. 180 Ma) South Africa MZ (152 Ma)
Parana-Etendeka
(140-120 Ma)
VW (140 Ma) Madagascar
Madagascar (90 Ma) n
Deccan? (ca. 66 Ma)
EK (110 Ma)
c ea 90 Ma
O
Plume center for LIP
an
di
500 km
25oE In 30oE A

HALIP ? Kimberlites (ca. 370 Ma)

of Yakutsk LIP
130-90 Ma Kimberlites (245-228 Ma)
of Siberian Trap LIP
Alkaline complexes
Laptev Sea & carbonatites
of Siberian Trap LIP

Kimberlites of HALIP
event (130-90 Ma)

Plume center for LIP

Siberian Fig. 7. Examples of the association of kimber-
lites and LIPs in southern Africa (A) and in Siberia
250 Ma 200 km (B). Stars locate interpreted mantle plume cen-
ters. Names and distribution of kimberlite groups
70 N
0 in South Africa after Schissel and Smail (2001).
B = Bosnof (128 Ma, Gp II); BW = Barkley West
(120/140 Ma, Gp I & II); CB = Central Botswana
(90 Ma, Gp I); DE = Dullstrom-Elandskloof (176
Yakutsk Ma, Gp II); DK = Dokolwaya (203 Ma, Gp II); EK
SIBERIAN (ca.370 Ma) = Eende Kuil (110 Ma, Gp II); F = Finsch (120
Ma, Gp II); GB= Gibeon Eastern Namibia (66 Ma,
Gp andI); K = Kimberley (90 Ma, Gp I & II); KM
= Kuruman (1600 Ma); KR = Krononstad (145 Ma,
DA Gp II); LS = Letseng (95 Ma); MZ = Mzongwea
(152 Ma, Gp I); N = Namaqualand (67 Ma, Gp I);
P = Premier (1200 Ma); PR = Prieska (120/90 Ma,
Gp I and II); OR = Orapa (90 Ma, Gp I), GP =
650 N
N Gope (90 Ma, Gp I); JW = Jwaneng (235 Ma, Gp
I); SW = Swartruggens (156 Ma, Gp I); NRSA =
North Republic of South Africa (90 Ma, Gp I and
CRATON II); SWB = SW Botswana (95 Ma, Gp I); VW = Vic-
toria West (140 Ma, Gp I); W = Winburg (125 Ma,
Gp II). Kimberlite fileds in Siberia are after Kiselev
M
950E
B et al. (2012). DA = Daldyn-Alakit, M = Mirnyi, N
0
125 E
= Nakyn.
34 ERNST AND JOWITT
85 Ma megacryst-bearing Group I kimberlites. Figure 7 also
shows potential unfriendly events in the form of the 180 Ma
Karoo LIP/plume and 130 Ma Parana-Etendeka LIP/plume
that may have decreased the diamond potential for the ca. 90
Ma kimberlites located in the area broadly between the Karoo
and Parana-Etendeka plume centers. A similar relationship
is evident in the Churchill kimberlite province, near Rankin
Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, where highly diamondiferous 234
Ma kimberlite dikes are succeeded by weakly diamondiferous
to barren kimberlite pipes that formed between 228 and 170
Ma (Gurney et al., 2010), although in this case an “unfriendly”
event has not as yet been identified. Another clear example
is from Siberia (Fig. 7) where a temporal control on the dia-
mond potential of kimberlites is evident from diamondiferous
ca. 370 Ma kimberlites linked with the Yakutsk-Vilyui LIP,
and younger (ca. 245−210 Ma) barren kimberlites linked with
a pulse(s) of the Siberian Trap LIP (e.g., Kiselev et al., 2012;
Ivanov et al., 2013; S. Tappe, pers. commun., 2013), suggest-
ing that the unfriendly event was the earlier 370 Ma Yakutsk-
Vilyui LIP.
This recognition that the relationship between LIP events
and kimberlites can enhance or reduce kimberlite diamond
prospectivity can potentially be used as an exploration tool.
The location of plume centers can be determined using radi-
ating dike swarms associated with LIPs (Halls, 1982; Fahrig,
1987; Ernst and Buchan, 1997a; Ernst and Bleeker, 2010),
with these plume centers circumscribed with circles marking
the predicted extent of plume influence in terms of destroying
diamond potential in lithospheric root. The extent of each cir-
cle represents a “diamond exclusion zone” that is predicted to
host barren post-LIP kimberlites, whereas kimberlites older
than the LIP may be diamondiferous. However, there are
important qualifications in this approach: (1) the area of influ-
ence of a plume center on the lithosphere has not yet been
modeled in the context of its influence on diamonds within
lithospheric roots, meaning that the appropriate radius for the
circles used within this exploration technique has not yet been
determined; (2) a lag time is expected for any plume-related
thermal pulse to propagate into the adjacent lithospheric root
and affect any diamonds, meaning that diamond potential
would be destroyed closer to the plume center earlier, before
propagating outward to greater distances with time; (3) finally,
do diamonds in the lithospheric root reform and is the dia-
mond potential of the root restored after the thermal anomaly
associated with the plume has decayed back to ambient levels
stage? Bedini et al. (2004) estimated a slow cooling rate of
40° to 105°C/Ga for the South African lithosphere based on
garnet Sm-Nd ages. If typical this would suggest a >1 Ga lag
for any potential return of diamond potential.
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits Linked to LIPs
LIP events can be linked to the formation of hydrothermal
and secondary mineral deposits in a number of ways (Tables
7, 8); here we provide an overview of the links between LIP
events and these mineral deposits.
High-temperature hydrothermal deposits
Burial and metamorphism of LIP lithologies can enable the
release of base and precious metals that can be incorporated
into ore-forming systems, with the large thermal anomalies
generated during LIP emplacement also potentially driving
large-scale fluid circulation and the potential formation of sev-
eral differing types of hydrothermal ore deposits in adjacent
host rocks (e.g., Pirajno, 2000). Lower temperature, gener-
ally sediment-related systems can also be affected by thermal
pulses from LIP events, causing or enhancing mineral deposit
formation. Here, we provide short descriptions of a number
of differing examples of both of these types of systems.
Native Cu: The hydrothermal ore deposits most clearly
linked with LIPs are the native Cu deposits that are common
within flood basalt sequences; this style of mineralization is
formed during low-grade burial metamorphism when Cu and
Ag are mobilized from the basalts by metamorphic fluids that
migrate updip along permeable strata or along structures (e.g.,
Brown, 2007). These elements are then deposited as native
metals or high Cu/S ratio sulfides in oxidized traps such as
open fractures, amygdules, and interstitial to conglomerates
and breccias (Schmidt and Rogers, 2007; Laznicka, 2010).
The same mechanism that produces these basalt-hosted
sulfide occurrences can also produce Cu-Ag mineralization
within sedimentary rocks overlying the flood basalts, forming
sedimentary copper or sediment-hosted Cu ± Ag ± Co depos-
its (Schmidt and Rogers, 2007; Laznicka, 2010).
The best-known example of flood basalt-hosted Cu miner-
alization is that associated with the 1115 to 1085 Ma Keween-
awan LIP of the Midcontinent region of North America, with
over 5 Mt of Cu and by-product Ag produced before 1960
from flood basalts of the Keweenaw peninsula of northern
Michigan (Nicholson et al., 1992). These deposits continue
to be productive, with some native Cu mineralization hosted
by the Middle Keweenawan Portage Lake volcanic sequence,
but the most significant deposit is the White Pine deposit that
is hosted in shales overlying the Keweenawan flood basalts
(e.g., Brown, 2007). Native copper is also hosted by the Cop-
permine basalts of the 1270 Ma Mackenzie LIP (Jones et al.,
1992) and basalts of the eastern Tienshan area of China that
may be linked with the ca. 280 Ma Tarim basin LIP (e.g.,
Yuan et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2008). The Nikolai greenstone
and associated intrusions of the 230 Ma Wrangellia accreted
oceanic LIP and their metamorphosed equivalents also have
potential to host strata-bound disseminated Cu deposits, spe-
cifically in the Denali prospect (Schmidt and Rogers, 2007).
Basalts of the Russian Far East also host Cu deposits (Nokle-
berg et al., 2005), although the LIP affinity of these basalts
remains undetermined.
Gold and LIPs: LIP-related volcanic and magmatic rocks
generally contain gold concentrations two to three times
greater than basalts and intrusive rocks generated at mid-
ocean ridges (e.g., Zentilli et al., 1985; Goldfarb et al., 2001;
Pitcairn, 2012). A link between increased Au abundances and
mantle plume-related magmas was also noted by Webber et al.
(2012), who documented an Au-enriched region of the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge; basalts in this area have Au concentrations up
to 13 times higher than normal Mid-Atlantic Ridge basalts, an
enrichment that has been directly linked using trace element
and Sr and He isotope geochemistry to the Iceland mantle
plume. This plume-related Au enrichment is indicative of a
potential genetic link between deep mantle upwellings and
significant Au enrichment. These elevated Au abundances
are most probably due to two factors; first, a mantle plume
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 35

Table 7. Examples of LIP-Related Hydrothermal and Secondary Mineral Deposits

Deposit type Deposit Associated LIPs Age (Ma) Association Notes

VMS McFaulds Ring of Fire ~2735? LIPs provide thermal energy

VMS deposits and are potential source rocks
Orogenic Au Various, e.g., Golden Mile Archean LIPs Archean LIPs as chemical/structural
Dolerite, Western Australia traps for fluids
Au deposits within North Ontong Java ~120−90 LIPs as far-field tectonic
China, Yangtze (South China), effects
and Siberian craton margins
Ni-Co Laterite Wingellina Warakurna ~1075 Weathering of LIP rocks
Several deposits, e.g., Eastern 2715−2670
Murrin Murrin Goldfields LIP
Cerro Matoso deposit in Caribbean- 90 Uncertain link—may be
northwestern Colombia Colombian related to weathering of
ophiolitic rocks
Bauxite Central and western Indian Deccan 67−60
deposits
Guinea bauxite district CAMP ~200 ~9.1 Gt of bauxite
Banded iron Hamersley BIFs Weeli Wolli 2450 Changes to global ocean
formations Superior granular iron Circum-Superior ~1880 chemistry caused by major
formations LIP magmatic events, leading
to contemporaneous global
deposition of BIFs
Basalt-hosted Cu Various deposits, Keweenawan 1115−1085 Native Cu hosted by LIP- 5 Mt of Cu,
e.g., White Pine related flood basalts; deposits by-product Au
Coppermine basalts Mackenzie 1270 form during low-grade
Eastern Tianshan Tarim 290−275 metamorphism and hydro-
Nikolai greenstones Wrangellia 230−225 thermal mobilization of metals
IOCGs Olympic IOCG district, Gawler Craton 1598−1583 LIPs as energy plus potential
e.g., Olympic Dam, source rocks
Prominent Hill
Granite-related Various deposits associated Sierra Madre 38−20 Exsolution of mineralizing
and greisen Sn-W with Sierra Madre Occidental magmatic fluids from LIP-
Occidental related silicic magmas plus LIPs
as potential energy sources
Mineralization associated Bushveld 2060 Exsolution of mineralizing
with granites of Bushveld magmatic fluids from LIP-
Complex related silicic magmas plus LIPs
as potential energy sources
Epithermal Au-Ag Various deposits associated Sierra Madre 38−20 Exsolution of mineralizing
with Sierra Madre Occidental (SLIP) magmatic fluids from LIP-
Occidental related silicic magmas plus LIPs
as potential energy sources
Deposits of the Chon Aike Chon Aike 188−153 Exsolution of mineralizing
province in Patagonia magmatic fluids from LIP-
related silicic magmas plus LIPs
as potential energy sources

Notes: The ages refer to the LIP formation age; mineral deposit formation may in some cases significantly postdate this magmatism; LIP locations are
shown in Figure 2

rising from the core-mantle boundary region may transport
gold and siderophile elements derived from the core (e.g.,
Hawkesworth and Schersten, 2007; Kerr, 2010; A. Kerr, pers.
commun., 2010) as opposed to the long-term depleted upper
asthenospheric source for spreading center magmas (Arevalo
and McDonough, 2010). In addition, the high degrees of par-
tial melting of the mantle associated with large mantle plume-
related LIP events (>25%) means that the majority, if not all,
of sulfides within the mantle source region, (and therefore all
the chalcophile elements, including Au) may be dissolved into
the S-undersaturated silicate magmas produced during this
partial melting (e.g., Keays, 1995). In contrast, the relatively
low degrees of partial melting (<25%) involved in the genera-
tion of S-saturated MORB magmas means that sulfide liquids
within the mantle restite retain chalcophile elements, and
therefore melting of MORB generates magmas with lower Au
concentrations (e.g., Hamlyn and Keays, 1986). It should also
be noted that subsequent S saturation of the magma also con-
trols the eventual concentration of Au within both LIP and
non-LIP volcanics and intrusions.
There are two models that can be applied. Bierlein and
Pisarevsky (2008) suggest that formation of world-class oro-
genic Au mineralization of the Sierra Nevada in California and
the Jiaodong peninsula of China is related to the remobiliza-
tion of Au from oceanic plateau material and the formation
of substantial orogenic gold deposits during the late stages of
accretionary orogens (Kerrich and Fyfe, 1981; Kerrich and
Wyman, 1990; Kerrich et al., 2005). This model is associated
with metamorphic devolatilization following subduction and
partial accretion of an oceanic plateau to a continental margin;
36 ERNST AND JOWITT

Table 8. Permo-Triassic Mineralization Linked to Siberian, Emeishan, and Tarim LIPs of Asia

Siberian LIP Emeishan LIP Tarim LIP

Siberian KTFZ, Altai, eastern Orkhon- SE China, Eastern Tien Shan, Western Kalba-
Mineralization craton, Taimyr Kuznetsk basin Kazakhstan Selenga basin Vietnam southern Mongolia Tien Shan Narym area

Mo-W greisen 214−213

220−218
Sn-W (Ta-Nb) 236−233 266 231−225
Hg, Au-Hg T <238 234−231 T (219) 236−231, 271
Porphyry Cu-Mo 229−223 240−232, 225−200 230 233−225, 294−290
274−273 234−232 275−270, 296
Mo-W
(Cu-Au) greisen 240−232 242−237 238 234 248−244
Ni-Co-As <248 255−252 258−250 256 250 248−244, 290
Cu-Ni-Pt 250−248 (250−240) 285−282

Notes: Adapted from Borisenko et al. (2006); LIP locations are shown in Figure 2; all ages in Ma; T = Triassic

this devolatilization caused the release of gold from the oce-
anic plateau into the overlying crust (Bierlein and Pisarevsky,
2008). Devolatilization and liberation of gold and siderophile
metals from gold- and siderophile-enriched plume-related
plateau material increased gold concentrations within hydro-
thermal ore-forming fluids, essentially fertilizing the orogenic
gold systems associated with this devolatilization (Bierlein and
Pisarevsky, 2008). This model involving sourcing of gold from
the oceanic plateau itself is supported by the ease of mobi-
lization of Au within mafic rocks, especially if those mafic
rocks are sulfide bearing (e.g., Keays, 1987, 1995; Jowitt et
al., 2012). An alternative model for the role of oceanic plateau
accretion in the formation of orogenic Au deposits involves
the stalling of subduction-accretion complexes as thicker
mantle lithosphere (associated with oceanic plateaus) gets
jammed within the subduction zone, as is currently occurring
with the Ontong Java plateau (MacInnes et al., 1999, Kerrich
et al., 2000a). This jamming of the subduction zone and cessa-
tion of accretionary complex formation causes both subcreted
and hydrated mantle wedge material that was cooled during
subduction to heat up and become dehydrated. Metamorphic
heating and associated dehydration is caused by the migration
of geotherms up the jammed subduction-accretionary com-
plex and leads to remobilization and liberation of gold within
this complex (R. Kerrich, pers. commun., 2012).
Remobilization of gold by an LIP event: Further evidence
for a relationship between LIP events and gold mineralization
is provided by the Witwatersrand basin of southern Africa, the
largest gold province in the world. Rasmussen et al. (2007)
provided in situ U-Pb SHRIMP on monazite and xenotime
ages of ca. 2.06 to 2.03 and ca. 2.14 to 2.12 Ga for the timing
of gold deposition and/or remobilization in the northwestern-
central parts and southern parts of the Witwatersrand basin,
respectively. The former is linked with the ca. 2.06 Ga Bush-
veld event and suggests that the Bushveld event may have
produced a widespread thermal and fluid pulse that remobi-
lized the gold in portions of the Witwatersrand basin within
about 100 km of the Bushveld. The older 2.14 to 2.12 Ga ages
reflect a prior thermal pulse of unknown origin more proxi-
mal to the southern side of the Witwatersrand basin. It should
also be noted that other studies have suggested that the ini-
tial mineralization within the Witwatersrand occurred earlier
than these dates (e.g., Schaefer et al., 2010, who provided
an Re-Os date of 2.3 to 2.2 Ga for mineralization within the
Vaal reefs), meaning that it is more likely that the 2.06 to 2.03
Ga (Bushveld-related) and ca. 2.14 to 2.12 Ga thermal/fluid
pulses merely modified the world-class Au mineralization
within the basin.
Orogenic gold: Orogenic gold deposits are generated at
midcrustal (4–16 km) levels in tectonic settings that include
areas adjacent to terrane boundaries within transpressional
subduction-accretion complexes in orogenic belts, or in areas
that are inboard of these settings during mineralizing events
associated with either the delamination of mantle lithosphere
material or by impingement of a mantle plume on an area
(Kerrich et al., 2000a). Within the family of orogenic gold
deposits, the Carlin and Carlin-like subtype deposits develop
at shallow crustal levels (<4 km) in extensional convergent
margin continental arcs or back arcs and may be associated
with plume impingement on the base of the lithosphere (Ker-
rich et al., 2000b; see discussion in Schissel and Smail, 2001).
In addition, significant orogenic Au mineralization is hosted
by mafic-ultramafic rocks within an Archean LIP context; i.e.,
characterized by voluminous tholeiite-komatiite sequences
within a greenstone belt (e.g., Barnes et al., 2012). This is
exemplified by the Yilgarn craton, where differentiated dol-
erite sills, such as the Golden Mile dolerite (2680 Ma; Ras-
mussen et al., 2009), are the single most important host for
orogenic Au, with approximately 50% of gold deposits and
75% of the Au within the craton hosted by these sills (Hergt
et al., 2000). These sills are related to low-Th basalts within
the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane; these basalts and asso-
ciated sills define an Archean plume head-related LIP ana-
logue (e.g., Barnes et al., 2012) and the differentiated nature
of these sills means that they contained significant concentra-
tions of Fe, meaning they were ideal traps for Au (e.g., Phillips
and Groves, 1983; Goldfarb et al., 2005). This in turn means
that the Fe-rich root zones of the differentiated sections of
LIPs may also be ideal traps for Au precipitating from fluids
within orogenic Au systems.
Iron oxide-copper-gold deposits
A number of iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) and associ-
ated deposits have been linked with silicic or silicic parts of
LIPs, including the world-class Olympic Dam IOCG deposit
in South Australia (Tables 1, 7); this deposit is a supergiant
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 37

Fe oxide Cu-U-Au-Ag ore deposit that represents the world’s

largest uranium deposit and fourth largest copper deposit,
containing some 9.075 Gt of ore at grades of 0.87% Cu,
0.32 g/t Au, 1.5 g/t Ag, and 0.027% U3O8, with production to
date of ~3 Mt of Cu metal (Mudd et al., 2013). The Olympic
Dam deposit is the most important example of the IOCG class
of mineral deposit, (e.g., Campbell, 1998; Hitzman, 2000;
Williams et al., 2005; Corriveau, 2007; Groves et al., 2010;
McPhie et al., 2011). The 1590 Ma Olympic Dam deposit
is well recognized as part of the Gawler Range LIP, which
contains a considerable silicic component (e.g., Pirajno and
Bagas, 2008; McPhie et al., 2011; Pirajno and Hoatson, 2012;
Wade et al., 2012).
At Olympic Dam, the immediate host to the ore is hydro-
thermal breccias within granite and volcanic rocks of the Mt. Isa
Mesoproterozoic (1590 Ma) Gawler craton bimodal LIP. Fur- Naraku Granite Inlier
thermore, this 1590 Ma event in the Gawler craton has been (~1500 Ma) EH
linked (and reconstructed) with northwestern Laurentia on the
basis of paleomagnetism and U-Pb geochronology of coeval Mt. Anglesey
dolerite magmatism and the formation of the hydrothermal Igneous Complex
Wernecke breccias of northwestern Canada (Thorkelson et (~1520 Ma) E
al., 2001; Hamilton and Buchan, 2010). Contemporaneous or Benagerie
slightly younger IOCG deposits also occur within the Eastern Petermorra Volcanics
Succession of the Mount Isa inlier of Australia (e.g., Clon- SMDC (~1580 Ma)
Volcanics
curry belt, Ernest Henry; Betts et al., 2009). IOCG deposits in
all of these areas have been linked to a ~1,500-km continental
(~1565 Ma)
hot-spot track that formed plume-related volcanic rocks and Mt. Neill Granite
granites in the Gawler craton and Curnamona province and
intrusions of the Williams-Naraku batholith within the Mount
(~1575 Ma)
Isa inlier, suggesting a widespread ca. 1600 Ma LIP event Curnamona
associated with a younger hot-spot trail, or events in a plume- PH OD Province
modified orogenic setting (Betts et al., 2007, 2009; Fig. 8).
C
The emplacement of voluminous silicic magmas during
silicic LIP events are associated with the release of significant
Gawler
amounts of metal-bearing magmatic fluids; in addition, the
rocks formed during these silicic LIP events are also an ideal
Craton
source of metals and complexing ligands for circulating min-
eralization-related hydrothermal fluids (e.g., McPhie et al.,
2011). This has led to IOCG deposit formation being directly Gawler Volcanics
linked to magmatic fluids or mixed magmatic and basinal flu- (~1595 Ma)
ids in a number of areas, including the Gawler craton and
Curnamona province and the Mount Isa inlier. Groves et al. Hiltaba Suite Granites
(2010) concluded that the largest IOCG deposits (>100 Mt of (~1590-1575 Ma)
ore) are located within about 100 km of Archean or Paleopro- Plutonic rocks
terozoic craton margins or other lithospheric boundaries and,
Volcanic rocks
with the exception of Mesozoic Andean IOCG deposits such
as the Candelaria deposit, formed some 100 to 200 Ma after Significant IOCG
500 km
supercontinent assembly. mineralization
High fluorine content magmas may also have a positive
influence on the formation of IOCG and associated deposits, Fig. 8. Reconstruction (based on Giles et al., 2004) of north- and south-
as exemplified by the causal link between the high F Gawler central Australia, showing the location and timing of definitively (e.g., Gawler)
craton LIP and the high F Olympic Dam deposit (Agangi et and potentially LIP-related A-type magmatism in eastern Australia; adapted
from Betts et al. (2007). The IOCG deposits shown either formed from
al., 2010; McPhie et al., 2011). Although fractionated S- and hydrothermal systems driven by the LIP or potential LIP magmatism, or the
I-type granites and rhyolites can contain high concentrations metals and/or ligands (e.g., F) within the hydrothermal fluids that formed
of fluorine (e.g., Taylor and Fallick, 1997), the large volumes of these deposits were sourced from LIP-related igneous rocks. Note the south-
silicic magmas produced during some LIP events (e.g., Bryan to-north progression of magmatism, with initial formation of the Gawler
and Ferrari, 2013), combined with the fact that A-type mag- craton silicic LIP before subsequent events in the Curnamona province and
around Mount Isa; dashed line indicates the geophysical extend of the Mount
mas generally (but not always) contain high concentrations of Isa inlier. Stars indicate the location of significant IOCG mineralization: C =
F (e.g., Pankhurst et al., 2011), means that LIP events are Carrapateena, E = Eloise, EH = Ernest Henry, OD = Olympic Dam, PH =
often associated with the formation of significant volumes of Prominent Hill, SMDC = deposits of Selwyn-Mount Dore corridor.
38 ERNST AND JOWITT
F-enriched silicic rocks. This is exemplified by the often high
F silicic sections of the Gawler craton, Sierra Madre Occiden-
tal, Warakurna, and Paraná-Etendeka silicic LIPs and LIPs
(e.g., Frindt et al., 2004; Pankhurst et al., 2011). These rocks
and magmas provide an ideal source for F-rich fluids that
could either be directly derived from silicic LIP magmas or
could be formed during postmagmatic hydrothermal altera-
tion of F-rich silicic LIP-related magmatic rocks. In addition,
the elevated fluorine concentrations of these F-rich mag-
matic-hydrothermal or hydrothermal fluids could enable the
transport of high concentrations of a wide range of elements,
as elevated F concentrations within a fluid increases the solu-
bility of otherwise generally immobile lithophile elements,
such as the REE and U (e.g., Agangi et al., 2010). However, it
should also be noted that Cu and Au do not form complexes
with F; the solubilities of these metals are controlled by the
abundance of other coexisting species (e.g. CO2 and S) within
these hydrothermal fluids (e.g., Agangi et al., 2010).
This connection between high fluorine LIP magmas and
increased mobility and mobilization of elements that are
often found concentrated within IOCG deposits (e.g., REE,
U) suggests that F-rich silicic LIP-derived magmas may have
an important role in the formation of some IOCG deposits.
This also suggests that intrusions that formed from high F
LIP magmas, such as those of the Sierra Madre Occidental
LIP in Mexico, silicic parts of the Warakurna LIP of central-
west Australia, and the topaz-bearing Spitzkoppe granites of
the Paraná-Etendeka LIP (e.g., Pankhurst et al., 2011), may
be prospective targets for IOCG and associated deposits. In
contrast, F-poor A-type silicic magmas, such as those of the
Snake River Plain hot-spot trail magmatism (subsequent to
the Columbia River LIP) in the United States (e.g., Ellis,
2009), may be unprospective for IOCG mineralization, as
confirmed by the paucity of mineral occurrences/prospects in
the Snake River Plain area. However, it should be noted that
the presence of high F igneous rocks is not a definitive sign of
IOCG prospectivity, and more research is needed into the
links between high F magmatism and IOCG formation. Fur-
ther evidence of possible links between IOCG deposits and
LIP events is provided by LIP carbonatite links described
above; carbonatites have been described as magmatic end
members of the IOCG family, as exemplified by the LIP-
related Phalaborwa carbonatite (Groves and Vielreicher,
2001; Groves et al., 2010), further strengthening the known
links between both IOCG and carbonatite deposits and LIP
events.
Mineralized vent complexes
Detailed seismic studies of the 62 to 55 Ma North Atlantic
igneous province and complementary studies in the 183 Ma
Karoo and 250 Ma Siberian LIPs have revealed many hun-
dreds of hydrothermal vent complexes (Fig. 9). These vents
have widths of up to 5 to 10 km at the paleosurface and con-
nect to underlying dolerite sills at paleodepths of up to 8 km
(Jamtveit et al., 2004; Planke et al., 2005; Svensen et al., 2006,
2007, 2009). These are distinct from zones of brecciation asso-
ciated with both modern and ancient VMS systems, where
hydrothermal fluids react at depth with basaltic rocks, before
being vented at the seafloor (e.g., Franklin et al., 2005),
and are distinct from brecciation associated with formation
of peperites where basaltic magmas interact with overly-
ing wet sediments (e.g., Skilling et al., 2002). Hydrothermal
vent complexes originate from the explosive release of gases
generated during the emplacement of thick sills (>50 m) into
volatile-rich but low-permeability sedimentary strata, mean-
ing that the hydrothermal vent complexes are phreatomag-
matic in origin. Their architecture and economic potential is
dependent on the host rocks they were emplaced into (black
shales at Karoo and evaporites, marls, carbonates, shales, and
coals in Siberia) and the level of fluid (brine) saturation in
the host rocks during emplacement. About 250 hydrothermal
vent complexes associated with the Siberian LIP are mineral-
ized and have magnetite matrixes (Svensen et al., 2009) that
are being mined for Fe at the Korshunovskoe and Rudnogo-
rskoe mines in Siberia. These hydrothermal vent complexes
have been proposed to be analogous to IOCG deposits (Ernst
et al., 2009), although the sourcing of the metals within these
complexes is unclear, and any enrichment in copper and gold
remains both understudied and unconfirmed.
The presence of hydrothermal vent complexes associated
with Phanerozoic LIPs suggest that they should also be an
essential component of sill provinces associated with Protero-
zoic LIPs (Ernst et al., 2009) and have potential for hosting
magnetite and potentially IOCG mineral deposits, particu-
larly if the hosting sedimentary rocks include substantial
evaporites. More speculatively, 1.59 Ga sills, as exemplified
by the exposed Western Channel Diabase sills on the eastern
side of Great Bear Lake, northwestern Canada (Hamilton and
Buchan, 2010), could be related to formation of the IOCG
mineralization of both the Wernecke Breccias of the Yukon
Territory, Canada, and the formerly adjacent giant Olympic
Dam deposit within the Gawler craton of Australia and the
IOCG deposits of the Mount Isa inlier (Thorkelson et al.,
2001; Crawford et al., 2010; Hamilton and Buchan, 2010).
Other high-temperature hydrothermal deposits
There are a number of other examples of hydrothermal
deposit types that are spatially and temporally associated with
LIPs but which cannot be included in the previously discussed
examples; here we provide a few examples that illustrate these
other relationships.
Hydrothermal deposits associated with the Ring of Fire
complex: In addition to the previously discussed magmatic
deposits, the potential LIP event represented by the Ring of
Fire complex of northwestern Ontario is also associated with
a significant number of VMS deposits (Mungall et al., 2010;
Metsaranta and Houlé, 2012); the geology of this area is dis-
cussed in detail above. Silicic metavolcanic rocks within the
Butler Lake and Muketei River supracrustal sequences host
VMS mineralization in this area, and the first VMS deposits
were discovered in 2002. Only one of these sequences has
been dated so far. Silicic volcanic rocks of the Muketei River
sequence host the McFaulds VMS deposits and yielded an
age of 2737 ± 7 Ma, within error of a ferrogabbro within the
Ring of Fire complex that has been dated to 2734.5 ± 1.0 Ma
(Rayner and Stott, 2005; Mungall et al., 2010; Metsaranta and
Houlé, 2012). This contemporaneous magmatism and VMS
deposit formation suggests that the energy and heat required
to form the hydrothermal systems may have been supplied
by the intrusion of the Ring of Fire complex (e.g., Mungall et
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 39

A) 90°E 102¡ 114°

Noril’sk

68°N
Yenisey

64°

Lower Tunguska
60°

ra
Anga

500 km

Krasnoyarsk Pipes with magnetite

56°
Bratsk
Basalt pipes
Lavas
Volcaniclastic rocks
Sill intrusions
l
ika
Ba

Tunguska Basin sediments

B)
ke

Cambrian salts
La

Irkutsk
Sills and dikes
96°E 108° Sedimentary brines area
Contact
metamorphism
2000 m
Terrigenous
sediments
0m

1 2
Protero. Cambrian Ord.-Perm.

3 4
Coal
Carbonates,
minor terrig. seds.
1000

Evaporites * * * *
* Petroleum
2000

accumulation
* *
Shale with minor
carbonate * * * * ? ?
3000

Metamorphic
basement

Fig. 9. Hydrothermal vent complexes (HVC) associated with the Siberian LIP (after Svensen et al. (2009, figs. 1, 6). A.
Distribution of mineralized HVCs (“pipes with magnetite”) and nonmineralized HVCs (“basalt pipes”). B. Schematic evolu-
tion of the mineralized pipes of the Tunguska basin and the venting of carbon gases and halocarbons to the atmosphere.
Svensen et al. (2009) indicated that the pipe evolution model is partly based on Von der Flaass and Naumov (1995) and Von
der Flaass (1997). (1) Emplacement of sills into organic-rich sedimentary rocks and evaporites with petroleum accumulations.
(2) Contact metamorphism of shale, evaporite, and petroleum, leading to gas generation and overpressure (shown as stippled
lines); melt is accumulating within evaporite sequences in the source region of the pipe. (3) Pipe formation and eruption led
to wide craters and subsidence, and gases generated in contact aureoles are released to the atmosphere. (4) Continued degas-
sing from both magma and sedimentary rocks through the pipe and the crater-lake.
40 ERNST AND JOWITT
al., 2010; Metsaranta and Houlé, 2012), which, as discussed
above, is potentially LIP related.
Hydrothermal deposits associated with Siberian, Emeishan,
and Tarim LIPs of Asia: We draw attention to a summary from
Borisenko et al. (2006) who identified a variety of magmatic
and hydrothermal ore deposits types associated with three
Phanerozoic LIPs in central Asia: the 250 Ma Siberian trap
event of Siberia, the 260 Ma Emeishan LIP of China, and the
290 to 275 Ma Tarim LIP of Central Asia (Fig. 10; Table 8;
see also Pavlova and Borisenko, 2009; Pirajno et al., 2009). In
addition to magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in all three areas
and magmatic Fe-Ti-V deposits in the Emeishan LIP there
is also a range of hydrothermal deposits associated with each
(Table 8).
We focus here on the hydrothermal deposits associated
with the Siberian LIP (Fig. 10A) and draw from Borisenko
et al. (2006) and Pirajno et al. (2009). This LIP event is asso-
ciated with a wide range of mineral deposits, including apa-
tite-magnetite, REE, Cu-Ni, and Au mineralization within
the Maimecha-Kotui alkaline ultramafic intrusions, Ni-Co-
Fe and Sb-Ag-Hg-Au mineralization in the Noril’sk, Taimyr
and North Urals areas that is again associated with alkaline
magmatism, and mineralization within the Taimyr area that
is associated with ~249 to 245 Ma porphyry Cu-Mo miner-
alization (Pirajno et al., 2009). Numerous other porphyry Cu
± Mo ± Au ± W deposits are located in the Kuznetsk basin,
Kolyvan-Tomsk fold zone, and Salair areas on the southern
and southwestern areas of the Siberian craton (Pirajno et al.,
2009). These porphyry-type deposits are unusual in that they
did not form in subduction or immediate postsubduction set-
tings; instead, they formed in within-plate rift or orogenic
zones at the periphery of Siberian Trap LIP, with Borisenko
et al. (2006) suggesting that the spatial relationship between
plume-related magmatism and within-plate rifting was a key
ingredient in the formation of these porphyry deposits in an
atypical setting. Sediment and dolerite dike-hosted Hg and
Au-Sb-He mineralization is also present in the Kolyvan-
Tomsk fold zone, and similar mineralization is hosted by Sibe-
rian trap flood basalts in the Kuznetsk basin and the Salair
area, implying a mineralizing event at 238 Ma or later (Pira-
jno et al., 2009). Mineralization contemporaneous with the
formation of the Siberian Trap LIP has also been reported
from eastern Kazakhstan (alkaline-related Hg-Au and grano-
diorite-granite-leucogranite-related Mo-W; Borisenko et al.,
2006), the southeastern Altay and southwestern Mongolia
(Hg, Cu-Hg-Ba, Ag-Sb, Ni-Co-As, and Cu-Co-As; Borisenko
et al., 2006), and northern Mongolia (Ni-Cu-PGE mineraliza-
tion hosted by peridotite-troctolite-anorthosite-gabbro intru-
sions of the Selenga area, and the Erdenet porphyry Cu-Mo
deposit; Pirajno et al., 2009).
Low-Temperature and Sedimentary
LIP-Related Deposits
LIPs are also genetically related to lower temperature and
sediment-dominated hydrothermal systems (Tables 7, 8); here
we discuss the links between LIPs and the formation of man-
ganese deposits and banded iron formations. The potential for
an association with U mineralization is also being considered
but is not sufficiently developed for inclusion in the present
review.
Banded iron formations
Sedimentary banded iron formations (BIFs) are common
in Earth history and predominantly formed between 3.8 to
1.9 Ga from reduced hydrothermal fluids that were enriched
in Fe3+ and Si. These fluids were formed by interaction with
submarine basaltic rocks within hydrothermal convection
systems before being incorporated into ocean circulation
systems that transported these fluids to shallower basins and
shelf regions where Fe precipitated (e.g., recent reviews in
Bekker et al., 2010, 2013). A series of temporal links between
oceanic plateaus (oceanic LIPs) and the formation of BIFs
was noted by Isley and Abbott (1999), with these links fur-
ther established by Abbott and Isley (2001) and discussed
in Kerrich et al. (2005) and Bekker et al. (2010, 2013). The
reducing atmosphere prevalent at the time of BIF develop-
ment (3.8−1.9 Ga) meant that major LIP magmatic events
during this period were more likely to have a global effect on
ocean chemistry and could have caused global contemporane-
ous BIF deposition. In comparison, the increasingly oxidized
nature of the atmosphere after the ~1.85 Ga Great Oxygen-
ation Event (e.g., Holland, 2006) meant that the effects of
magmatism, either LIP related or otherwise, were restricted
to local areas where reducing conditions were retained (e.g.,
small anoxic basins), thus limiting the formation of BIFs.
Age matches between BIF deposition and LIP events have
been identified at 2600, 2500 to 2450, and 1880 Ma, all prior
to the Great Oxygenation Event (Bekker et al., 2010, 2013).
The earliest example of the linking of BIF development and
an LIP is the formation of Superior-type iron formations in the
Hamersley province of the Pilbara craton of Australia at ca.
2600 Ma, contemporaneous with the formation of the Great
Dyke of Zimbabwe, which has a precise age of 2575 Ma (e.g.,
Olsson et al., 2010), although the distance between the Pilbara
and Zimbabwe cratons at this time is uncertain (e.g., Smirnov
et al., 2013). Even more extensive development of Superior-
type BIFs at 2500 to 2450 Ma in the Hamersley and Transvaal
basins (Krapež et al., 2003) is also linked with global 2500 to
2450 Ma plume and LIP events (e.g., Heaman, 1997; Ernst
and Buchan, 2001), with approximately coeval iron formations
also located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region of Brazil,
the Krivoy Rog area in the Ukraine, and the Kursk Magnetic
Anomaly region nearby in Russia (Bekker et al., 2010). There
may be multiple distinct LIP events that occurred at this time,
depending on paleocontinental reconstructions; however, it is
notable that the Hamersley BIF with a pulse at 2450 Ma is
proximal to the Weeli Wolli LIP (Barley et al., 1997), and both
BIF and LIP events are associated with the southern margin
of the Pilbara craton. In addition, the widespread develop-
ment of GIFs (granular iron formations) at the margins of the
Superior craton in North America at 1880 Ma was contem-
poraneous with the circum-Superior craton mafic-ultramafic
LIP (Heaman et al., 2009; Ernst and Bell, 2010; Minifie et
al., 2013). Finally, the formation of the Rapitan BIFs at ~715
Ma is contemporaneous with the Franklin LIP (Bekker et
al., 2010) that was associated with the rifting and breakup of
Rodinia (e.g., Ernst et al., 2008; Li et al., 2008).
Manganese deposits
LIPs are potentially associated with world-class manganese
deposits, as exemplified by the Kalahari manganese field of
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 41

72
A
SIBERIAN LIP (in gray) and associated metallogeny
156
Ni-Co-As deposits
>10000 t. Co <10000 t. Co
T

Cu-Mo-porphyry deposits 150

>1 Mt. Cu <1 Mt. Cu
M-K
Cu-Ni-Pt deposits
>1 Mt. Cu <1 Mt. Cu
Talnakh
N60
Noril’sk
NU
West 138
56
Siberian Siberian Craton
Basin
52
132

KTFZ

48 KB
SAL
SEL
Sb-Hg, Au-Hg deposits E126
>5000 t. Hg <5000 t. Hg
>100 t. Au <100 t. Au

Ag-Sb deposits
>5000 t. Ag <5000 t. Ag

84 E90 96 102 108 114 120

B
TARIM LIP (in gray) and associated metallogeny
Sb-Hg, Au-Hg Cu-Mo-porphyry
Ag-Sb Cu-Ni-PGE
Ni-Co-As
56

KAZAKHSTAN
l
ika

N48 RUSSIA 52
Ba
ke
La

Lake
44 48
Balkhash MONGOLIA

40 44
SMVB
400 km
CHINA 40
36
CHINA
72 78 84 90 96 102 E108 114

Fig. 10. Range of ore deposits associated with the 250 Ma Siberian LIP (part A) and ca. 270 Ma Tarim LIP of Central Asia
(part B). Modified after Pirajno et al. (2009, Figs. 5, 6, 8). The distribution for each LIP includes both surface and subsurface
occurrences; details in Pirajno et al. (2009). Abbreviations in (A): KTZF = Kolyvan-Tomsk fold zone, KB = Kuznetsk basin,
SAL = Salair, SEL = Selenga, M-K = Maimecha-Kotui, NU = North Urals, SMVB = southern Mongolian volcanic belt, T=
Taimyr.
42 ERNST AND JOWITT
the northern Cape province of South Africa; this field hosts
some 8 Bt of manganese ore that grades between 20 and 48%
Mn (Tsikos et al., 2006). These ores are hosted by the Hotazel
Formation within the 2.65 to 2.05 Ga uppermost Paleopro-
terozoic Transvaal Supergroup and consist of three laminated
ore horizons interbedded with BIFs. The Hotazel Formation
is gently folded and underwent low-grade metamorphism
and supergene alteration related to exposure and weathering
(along the basal Mapedi-Gamagara Formation unconformity)
that caused formation of the earliest Mn ores shortly after
~2.22 Ga (Beukes and Gutzmer, 1996; Evans et al., 2001).
Further hydrothermal and/or contact metamorphic upgrading
of both Mn and Fe horizons occurred at ~1900 Ma, forming
high-grade Mn ores (Evans et al., 2001, 2002); this supergene
upgrading may be related to either the 1930 to 1920 Ma Hart-
ley or ~1880 Ma Mashonaland LIP events (e.g., Ernst and
Buchan, 2001; Hanson et al., 2004).
Implications of an LIP context for hydrothermal ore deposits
The association of LIPs and hydrothermal deposits out-
lined above means that the relative timing and spatial distri-
bution of high- and low-temperature hydrothermal deposits
may relate to the original spatial distribution of an LIP event,
especially its plumbing system, and gradations in intensity of
magmatism as a function of distance from a plume center.
However, the current knowledge base in terms of predicting
the distribution of hydrothermal mineral deposits in LIPs,
even within LIPs with well-known magmatic histories, is still
limited. In addition, although we have split LIP-related
hydrothermal deposits into high- and low-temperature cate-
gories, several LIPs have been associated with the synchro-
nous formation of both high- and low-temperature mineral
deposits, as exemplified by the genetic link between LIP
events, the deposition of BIFs, and the formation of VMS
deposits. These links were examined by Bekker et al. (2010),
who outlined an underlying mechanism that links all three,
with mantle plumes and associated magmatism delivering
the energy to drive submarine hydrothermal cells associated
with the formation of VMS deposits. These VMS deposits
contain Cu, Zn, Pb, and other base metals that were trapped
within sulfides at the volcanic seafloor-water interface,
whereas the Fe and Si that were released with hydrothermal
fluids were entrained within a buoyant hydrothermal plume
that spread to continental and oceanic plateau shelf areas
(Bekker et al., 2010). In this case, Fe was oxidized and pre-
cipitated out with Si, forming lower temperature Fe deposits
as a distal counterpart to the cogenetic and contemporaneous
VMS deposition; this relationship between LIP emplace-
ment and the formation of high-temperature VMS and low-
temperature BIF deposits illustrates the near- and far-field
metallogenic effects of LIP events, and demonstrates how
LIPs can be related to synchronous yet geochemically diverse
and geographically isolated hydrothermal mineral deposits
(Bekker et al., 2010).
LIP-Related Surficial Deposits
Weathering of rocks formed during LIP events can form
a range of differing laterites (e.g., Table 1) that are exploited
for a range of differing commodities, including iron, alumi-
num, nickel, gold, phosphorus, and/or niobium, depending on
the source rock (e.g., Freyssinet et al., 2005; Retallack, 2010).
Here, we focus on the relationship between LIP events and
the development of Ni-Co laterites and bauxites (exploited
for Al), with the latter being derived from the weathering of
basalts and dolerites (Bárdossy and Aleva, 1990; Laznicka,
2010) and the former being derived from the weathering of
ultramafic rocks (e.g., Golightly, 1981; Gaudin et al., 2005;
Lewis et al., 2006). It is also important to note that LIP-related
carbonatites, as well as being associated with primary miner-
alization, can also weather to yield niobium and phosphorous
laterites (Freyssinet et al., 2005). Each of these source rock
types can be formed during LIP events, with the broad scale
of LIPs making them favorable targets for the identification of
economic laterites.
Ni-Co laterites
Although the majority of the historic Ni production has
come from Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide ores, the majority of identi-
fied Ni resources are hosted by Ni-(Co) laterites (e.g., Mudd,
2010); the more complex processing required to obtain Ni
from laterites has meant that until recently sulfide ores were
considered more important targets, although current Ni pro-
duction is split approximately evenly between sulfide and lat-
erite ores (e.g., Mudd, 2010).
Ni laterites form by the deep weathering of Mg-rich ultra-
mafic rocks, such as komatiites and ophiolites, in tropical envi-
ronments, meaning that the ultramafic segments of LIPs are
ideal for the generation of laterites, providing the weathering
conditions are appropriate. A number of Australian Ni lat-
erites have formed from weathering of rocks formed during
LIP events, including thick olivine cumulates within Archean
LIP-associated komatiitic and ultramafic systems in the Yil-
garn craton of Western Australia, as seen at Murrin Murrin,
Bulong and Cawse (Elias, 2006; Arndt et al., 2008; Laznicka,
2010), and the Wingellina laterite of central Australia that
formed over ultramafics associated with the 1075 Ma Wara-
kurna LIP (Ernst et al., 2008; Pirajno and Bagas, 2008). In
addition, the Caribbean region hosts widespread Ni laterite
deposits (e.g., Lewis et al., 2006), including the Cerro Matoso
S.A. Ni laterite deposit in northwest Colombia, an impor-
tant producer of ferronickel that exploits a laterite developed
over a peridotitic protolith. Although the 90 Ma Caribbean-
Colombian LIP is a major geodynamic element in the region,
it is currently unclear which ultramafic bodies are linked to
this oceanic plateau LIP, and which are linked to arc-related
ophiolites (e.g., Lewis et al., 2006).
Bauxites
Weathering of basalt and dolerite under tropical conditions
may lead to the development of bauxites, the main source
of Al (Bárdossy and Aleva, 1990; Laznicka, 2010; Retallack,
2010). About 19% of bauxite deposits worldwide are formed
on basalt flows, with the majority of which are LIP related,
with another 17% associated with dominantly LIP related
dolerite sills and dikes. LIP-related bauxites are exempli-
fied by those of central and western India that formed from
weathering of basalts and dolerites associated with the Dec-
can LIP (Bárdossy and Aleva, 1990). In addition, the supergi-
ant Guinea bauxite district of West Africa that hosts 9.1 Gt
of bauxite derived from the weathering of sills and dikes that
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 43
formed during the 200 Ma CAMP LIP and magmatism that
preceded the opening of the Atlantic (Laznicka, 2010).
LIP controls on laterite and bauxite formation
Retallack (2010) documented the fact that peak times of lat-
erite and bauxite ore formation coincided with elevated global
temperatures and amounts of precipitation, elevated atmo-
spheric carbon dioxide levels, oceanic anoxia events, excep-
tional fossil preservation and the formation of lagerstätte, and
mass extinction events. These key conditions are reflected by
the association of laterite and bauxite resources with particu-
lar stratigraphic horizons formed during greenhouse crises,
indicating the usefulness of a stratigraphic approach to explo-
ration and exploitation of these resources. LIPs also have a
particularly robust link with major climate change events, par-
ticularly mass extinctions (e.g., Courtillot and Renne, 2003;
Kidder and Worsley, 2010), indicating a potentially strong
association in general between the timing of LIP events and
peak laterite and bauxite formation. This indicates that not
only are the rocks formed during LIP events ideal protoliths
for weathering to form laterite and bauxite resources, but also
these voluminous magmatic events may have a causative asso-
ciation with climatic changes that increased the chances of the
ideal chemical weathering conditions that were conducive to
the formation of laterites and bauxites.
LIPs and Supercontinent Reconstruction
(indirect links between LIPs and metallogeny)
Here we consider two ways in which LIPs can be useful in
exploration in a plate tectonic context, and which represent an
indirect link between LIPs and metallogeny.
Tracing of metallogenic belts
Major metallogenic belts are often truncated at the mar-
gins of cratonic blocks, as shown by the truncation of the
Abitibi greenstone belt, with its impressive endowment of Au
(4470 t Au, or 143.7 Moz in production and reserves; Dubé
and Gosselin, 2007), at the eastern margin of the Superior
craton, indicating that this highly prospective belt must con-
tinue into a formerly neighboring crustal block (Bleeker 2003;
Bleeker and Ernst, 2006; Ernst, 2007b).
The pre-Pangea reconstruction framework is poorly con-
strained, but significant progress is being achieved through
an industry-funded project that is providing precise U-Pb
dating of LIP units, particularly LIP-related regional doler-
ite dike swarms, to produce a robust LIP “barcode” record
for different cratonic blocks: “Reconstruction of Superconti-
nents Back to 2.7 Ga Using the Large Igneous Province (LIP)
Record: With Implications for Mineral Deposit Targeting,
Hydrocarbon Resource Exploration, and Earth System Evo-
lution” (www.supercontinent.org; see discussion in Ernst et
al., 2013a). Comparison of these LIP barcodes and identifica-
tion of matches between crustal blocks can be a powerful tool
for determining which blocks were nearest neighbors, and as
such predict the location of highly prospective belts within
relatively unexplored greenfield areas (Bleeker and Ernst,
2006). In addition, restoring blocks to determine the primary
regional radiating or linear geometry of dike swarms can pro-
vide a unique reconstruction that can also be tested through
paleomagnetic study of dolerites (dikes or sills). Two recent
special journal issues (Srivastava et al., 2010; Ernst et al.,
2013) include numerous papers that illustrate the methodol-
ogy of using LIPs as a tool in paleocontinental reconstruction.
A prominent example is offered by Bleeker and Ernst
(2006; see also Ernst and Bleeker, 2010), where 2500 to 2450
Ma LIPs are used to reconstruct the Karelia-Kola, Hearne,
and Wyoming cratons adjacent to the southern Superior
craton on the basis of age matches between several LIPs in
each of the blocks as well as dike swarms that can be traced
from these blocks toward coeval plume centers in the south-
ern Superior craton (Fig. 11). This new reconstruction also
make some predictions about the correlation of younger LIPs
between the cratonic blocks, 2217 Ma magmatism in both
the Superior and Karelia-Kola cratons, 2170 Ma magma-
tism in both the Superior and Wyoming cratons, and finally
2100 to 2070 Ma magmatism in all four cratons. The latter
event is inferred to mark the breakup of these four cratons.
This reconstruction demonstrates the 2500 to 2450 Ma Bal-
tic LIP layered mafic-ultramafic magmatism of Karelia and
Kola (e.g., Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Bayanova et al., 2009)
should be parsed between two separate LIP events that are
recognized in the formerly adjacent Superior craton each with
their own plume centers about 800 km apart: the 2490 to 2450
Ma Matachewan-East Bull Lake LIP of the southern Supe-
rior craton, and the 2505 Ma Mistassini LIP of the eastern
Superior craton (Vogel et al., 1998b; Ernst and Bleeker, 2010;
Fig. 11). This links intrusions such as the PGE-mineralized
PGE-2-type Penikat, Portimo, and Fedorova intrusions of the
Molson Others
1885-1870 Ma North Atlantic
500 km
craton?
FRS
Others Ungava
2220-2210 Ma
Zo ne
Superior Biscotasing
s kasi n g
2170 Ma
craton
crat Zone”
Kapu
on
re
“Co
Zimbabwe
craton?
Mistassini
2510 Ma
Fort Francis
2075-2065 Ma Kola
Marathon
Wyoming 2125-2100 Ma craton
craton Hearne Matachewan (- East Bull Lake)
craton 2490-2450 Ma
Karelian
craton
Fig. 11. Proposed Paleoproterozoic reconstruction of the Superior craton
and formerly adjacent blocks. Note radiating dike swarms, converging to the
margin of the craton, that are indicative of breakup (or attempted breakup)
events associated with the fragmentation of a late Archean supercontinent or
supercraton (e.g., Bleeker 2003). These radiating swarms were used as pierc-
ing points that connect with coeval LIPs in formerly adjacent blocks and pro-
vide constraints on the reconstruction. Some specific correlations between
the Matachewan and Mistassini LIPs of the Superior craton and correspond-
ing events within the Karelia and Kola cratons are discussed in the text, as is
the possible reconstruction of the Zimbabwe craton to the east of the Supe-
rior craton. Stippled pattern indicates the location of the Paleoproterozoic
Huronian and Mistassini sedimentary basins, with the former containing
intrusions of the East Bull Lake suite that form part of the Matachewan LIP.
FRS = Fox River sill of the Molson LIP (part of the Circum-Superior LIP).
Modified after Bleeker and Ernst (2006) and Ernst and Bleeker (2010).
44 ERNST AND JOWITT
Baltic LIP of Finland and Russia with the PGE-mineralized
PGE-3-type East Bull Lake and River Valley intrusions of the
Matachewan-East Bull Lake LIP. This would also link the
~2490 Ma Cr-rich Monchegorsk intrusion in Finland to the
Mistassini LIP of the southeastern Superior craton and would
suggest that this poorly explored region of the Superior cra-
ton should be considered highly prospective for both Cr and
PGE mineralization. In addition, the world-class Cr mineral-
ization within the 2.44 Ga Baltic LIP-related Kemi intrusion
of Baltica should be linked with the Matachewan-East Bull
Lake LIP/plume event, rather than the Mistassini LIP/plume
center, indicating that the Matachewan LIP units of south-
ern Superior craton should be considered prospective for Cr
mineralization.
The same approach is used by Söderlund et al. (2010) to
speculate that the Zimbabwe craton may have been formerly
adjacent to the eastern side of the Superior craton near the
eastern end of the Abitibi belt (Fig. 11). This would correlate
the 2.75 to 2.70 Ga greenstone belts of the Abitibi belt, some
with LIP affinities (e.g., Ernst and Buchan, 2001; Sproule et
al., 2002), with similar age and Ni-bearing greenstone belts of
the Zimbabwe craton (e.g, Prendergast, 2004). It would also
suggest potential extensions of the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe
into the Labrador trough region on the eastern margin of the
Superior craton (or into the “Core zone craton” if it was pres-
ent at this time). The Core zone craton intervenes between the
eastern Superior and North Atlantic cratons, and consists of an
Archean core (the Core zone craton) and bounding orogens,
the Torngat on the east representing 1.87 to 1.85 Ga conver-
gence with the North Atlantic craton, and the New Quebec
orogen on the west (located along the Labrador trough) rep-
resenting 1.82 to 1.77 Ga convergence with the Superior cra-
ton (e.g., Wardle et al., 2002; St-Onge et al., 2009). However,
the reconstruction of the Superior craton (specifically the
Abitibi belt portion) with the Zimbabwe craton is preliminary
pending additional dating of units in Zimbabwe to conclu-
sively test the barcode links with the eastern Superior craton.
Emplacement of LIPs, extensional pulses, and
distal compression/transpression
There is also an even more indirect application of LIPs to
the understanding of orogenic Au mineralization. Orogenic
gold can be linked with pulses of transpression or collision
along plate boundaries (e.g., Goldfarb et al., 2005) and it has
been well established that LIPs are associated with the breakup
(or attempted but failed breakup) of continents (e.g., Fahrig,
1987; Courtillot et al., 1999; Ernst and Bleeker, 2010). Under
either scenario (successful or failed breakup), the arrival of an
LIP can therefore be linked with a pulse of extension which in
the closed circuit of a global plate tectonic framework should
be linked with a corresponding pulse of compression or
transpression along favorably oriented distal plate boundaries.
We therefore hypothesize that transpressive/compressive
pulses associated with an LIP arrival could be correlated with
distal orogenic pulses of mineralization. This is particularly
applicable in the Precambrian where the plate tectonic frame-
work is poorly known and the LIP record provides the most
robust evidence of the timing of continental breakup.
This type of link is exemplified by Goldfarb et al. (2007),
who noted that ca. 125 Ma orogenic gold deposits of the north
China, Yangtze (South China), and Siberian craton margins, as
well as in young terranes in California, may relate to emplace-
ment of the 122 Ma Ontong Java plateau and related LIPs in
the southern Pacific basin, due to the relatively rapid tectonic
consequences resulting from reconfiguration of the Pacific
plate along its bounding continental margins.
This proposed linkage between LIP events (as a proxy for
the timing of breakup events) and far-field tectonic changes
suggests that the LIP record should globally correlate with the
timing of major pulses of orogenic Au mineralization. Future
research will test this model by a detailed examination of the
Precambrian LIP record in combination with periods of for-
mation of major orogenic Au camps and plate reconstructions,
in order to test the correlations between the timing of LIP
events and orogenic Au metallogenesis.
Conclusions
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) involving extrusion, intru-
sion, and underplating of enormous volumes of magmatic
rocks are associated with some of the largest ore deposits in
the world. We group these linkages into four types:
1.  LIPs as the primary source of commodities within min-
eral deposits. Specifically, mafic-ultramafic LIPs are impor-
tant targets for magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE, Fe-Ti-V, and Cr ore
deposits (e.g., Noril’sk, Bushveld), and the “sweet spot” for
such deposits seems to be in the proximity (within several hun-
dred km) of the associated plume center. LIPs are also asso-
ciated with carbonatites (Nb-Ta-REE-P deposits) and some
kimberlites (diamonds). An exploration frontier is whether
different commodities can be associated with carbonatites
that are associated with different parts of the LIP system (rift-
associated, near plume center, distal from plume center). The
diamond potential of kimberlites may be related to the prior
LIP history of the region; whether the thermal pulse from the
mantle plume associated with an earlier LIP may have ruined
the diamond potential of the lithosphere for subsequent kim-
berlite events, and whether the diamond potential is restored
after enough time for the thermal pulse into the lithosphere
caused by the LIP to have decayed.
2. LIPs either provide the thermal energy (and in some
cases, fluids) to drive hydrothermal systems or act as source
rocks for hydrothermal ore deposits of both high and low tem-
perature (e.g., VMS, iron formations). Also, the silicic com-
ponent of LIPs can be associated with IOCG deposits (e.g.,
Olympic Dam), and identifying the high F silicic units of LIP/
silicic LIP events may also prove fruitful for identifying areas
of high IOCG prospectivity.
3.  Tropical weathering of LIPs can produce economically
important laterites: Al from bauxites produced by weathering
of basalts and dolerite; Ni produced by weathering of high Mg
ultramafic-mafic rocks, and Nb-Ta-REE laterites produced by
weathering of carbonatites.
4.  Two types of important indirect links exist between LIPs
and ore deposits. (A). LIPs provide a critical tool for recon-
structing Precambrian supercontinents, an issue of impor-
tance to the mineral industry because it allows tracing of
metallogenic belts from one crustal block into formerly con-
tiguous crustal blocks. (B) In addition, given that LIPs are a
strong proxy for the timing of continental breakup, and given
 LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCES AND METALLOGENY 45
that breakup (and the initiation of new oceans) are linked to
compression and transpression on other plate boundaries via
the plate tectonic circuit, then the timing of LIPs can poten-
tially be correlated with the distal fault movements linked to
mineralization (e.g., orogenic Au). Further testing is required
to evaluate whether use of the LIP record in this way (par-
ticularly for the Precambrian where plate configurations are
poorly known) can contribute to a better understanding of the
tectonic constraints on orogenic ore deposits.
The links between metallic mineral deposits and LIPs out-
lined here are in many ways just the “tip of the iceberg,” and
significant amounts of research are still needed to identify the
causal and genetic links between LIP events and resources if
they exist (including hydrocarbon and water reservoirs that
are often hosted within LIP-related basins). The relationships
that we have discussed here provide some examples of how the
huge volumes of magma formed during LIP events can trans-
mit energy and heat and act as sources of metals and fluids
for major ore- and resource-forming systems. Further identi-
fication of both proximal and distal relationships between LIP
events, metallogenesis, and resource formation should lead to
increased exploration success and a greater understanding of
interactions within the geosphere.
Acknowledgments
This manuscript is partly based on a chapter for a book on
large igneous provinces (Ernst, 2014); Keith Bell, Dave Peck,
and the late Rob Kerrich are greatly appreciated for their
extensive comments on drafts of the book chapter. Helpful
discussions on various aspects of the LIP-metallogeny theme
with Franco Pirajno and Andrey Bekker are acknowledged.
We also thank Nicole Januszczak, Stephan Kurszlaukis, and
Sebastian Tappe of De Beers who provided useful improve-
ments to the kimberlite sections of the present paper, and also
Don Schissel for more general discussions on the potential
kimberlite-LIP link. Wouter Bleeker is appreciated for dis-
cussions of the link between LIPs and ore deposits that led to
a special session cochaired by Bleeker and Ernst at the Pros-
pectors and Developers Convention in March 2013, on “Large
Igneous Provinces and Metallogeny.” This is publication 31 of
the International Government-Industrial-Academic Pro-
gramme “Reconstruction of Supercontinents Back to 2.7 Ga
Using the Large Igneous Province (LIP) Record, with Impli-
cations for Mineral Deposit Targeting, Hydrocarbon Resource
Exploration, and Earth System Evolution” (www.superconti
nent.org). Industry sponsors of this program (Anglo American
/ De Beers, Gold Fields, Minerals and Metals Group [MMG],
Norwest Rotors ([Archon Minerals], Shell and Vale) and also
NSERC CRD grant [CRDP] 419503-11] are gratefully
acknowledged. A digital version of Figure 9A was provided by
Alexander Polozov. Lindsay Coffin, Carley Crann, Jamie
Cutts, and Nicole Williamson are acknowledged for assistance
with preparation of diagrams for this paper. Detailed and
thoughtful reviews by Peter Lightfoot and Doreen Ames and
also comments and editorial handling by Maurice Colpron
and John Thompson are gratefully acknowledged.
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