Nutman 1984:

A distinctive group of augen gneisses and ferrodiorites (termed the iron-rich suite) is a component of
the early Archaean Amksoq gneisses of southern West Greenland.

Occurs as sheets and lenses up to 500 m thick.

There is local field evidence that the iron-rich suite was intruded into the grey gneisses after they had
been affected by tectonism and metamorphism. The banded grey gneisses are interpreted as 3,700
to 3,800 Ma old; U-Pb zircon ages from the ironrich suite give concordia intercepts at circa 3,600 Ma.

Coarse grained augen gneisses with microcline megacrysts are the dominant lithology of the iron-rich
suite.

They are mostly granodioritic, grading locally into granite and diorite, and are generally rather
massive, but locally have well-preserved layering or are markedly heterogeneous.

The ferrodiorites of the suite occur as lenses in the augen gneisses.

The augen gneisses and ferrodiorites have geochemical characteristics in common, such as high
Fe/Mg values and high contents of FeOt, TiO2, P205, Zr, Y and total REE (rare earth elements).

The iron-rich suite probably formed as follows:

Heating of the lower crust adjacent to mantle-derived basic intrusions caused melting of the lower
crust, giving rise to granodioritic magmas. Disruption of partially crystallised basic intrusions caused
mixing of the crustal melts and the fractionated mantle melts to produce the augen gneisses with
their high FeOt, TiO 2, P205, Zr, Y and total REE enrichment. Fragmented, crystallised parts of the
basic intrusions gave rise to the ferrodiorite inclusions. These heterogeneous plutons rose to higher
crustal levels where they crystallised as sheets and possibly were responsible for the local granulite
facies metamorphism. The granitold sheets that cut the iron-rich suite are interpreted as crustal
melts of local origin.

Geological and isotopic arguments suggesting that the iron-rich suite was emplaced at ca. 3,600 Ma,
that is 100 to 200 Ma after the regional banded grey tonalitic-granodioritic Amksoq gneisses, are
given below.

Field evidence (described later) shows that the iron-rich suite was emplaced into the banded
gneisses after they had already undergone strong deformation.
The iron-rich suite is restricted to areas that underwent granulite facies metamorphism at 3,600 Ma.
This evidence strongly suggests that the iron-rich suite was intruded at ca. 3,600 Ma into gneisses
emplaced 50-150 Ma previously and its intrusion could have caused granulite facies metamorphism.

The main rock type of the iron-rich suite is coarse grained granodioritic Augen gneiss, locally
transitional into diorite and granite.

The other main member of the suite is ferrodiorite which forms discrete bodies within the augen
gneisses. (It might me similar to the Mentzel intrusive complex described on Mentzel island by
badsgaard?)

The suite occurs as sheets and lenses up to 500 m thick which can be traced for up to 15 km along
strike.

some iron-rich suite units locally contain enclaves of tonalitic, trondhjemitic and quartz-dioritic
gneisses (in some cases banded) similar to the regional banded grey gneisses. Inclusions of Akilia
association supracrustal rocks occur locally in ironrich suite units.

The form of the units is compatible with their emplacement into the banded grey gneisses as sill-like
bodies.

The ferrodiorites of the iron-rich suite occur as scattered lenses up to 75 m wide and 200 m long
within the augen gneisses. Compositional layering (possibly relict igneous lamination) occurs locally.
Some ferrodiorite bodies contain small inclusions of grey gneiss and Akilia association rocks.

The occurrence of the ferrodiorites as scattered lenses in the augen gneisses suggests they are
inclusions; normally the contacts between them are so deformed as to be undecipherable. Locally
the contacts are blurred, which suggests both were mobile penecontemporaneously, a relation
similar to that found in younger acid-mafic intrusions.

Where least deformed the augen gneisses resemble posttectonic porphyritic granites from younger
orogens. The commonest lithology is rather massive biotite-hornblende granodiorite, which often
contains lenses or smears of hornblende-rich material.

Petrography:

Most ferrodiorites consist of hornblende and plagioclase in approximately equal amounts, together
with some quartz, biotite, clinopyroxene and abundant ilmenite, sphene, apatite and zircon.

The augen gneisses comprise microcline, and less common oligoclase, augen in a groundmass of
quartz, plagioctase, potash feldspar, biotite and clots and smears rich in hornblende, apatite, sphene,
ihnenite and zircon. In all the augen gneisses there is an intimate association of hornblende, apatite,
ilmenite, zircon and sphene, commonly overgrown by biotite.
In all the augen gneisses there is an intimate association of hornblende, apatite, ilmenite, zircon and
sphene, commonly overgrown by biotite.

Chemical variation of the iron-rich suite:

They show marked iron-enrichment, low average SiO z and A120 3 contents and high abundances of
many incompatible trace elements, including the REE.

Augen gneisses:

The augen gneisses show a considerable range of composition (representative analyses, Table 3). SiO
2 and AI20 3 abundances vary from 58 to 74 and 13 to 17 wt.% respectively. Ttie ranges of
abundance of TiO2 is 0.3 to 1.5 wt.%, FeOt 2 to 9 wt.% and P205 I to 0.t wt.%. With increasing FeOt
and decreasing SiO 2 contents some elements (e.g. TiO/, MgO, P205 and Zr) show regular variation,
whilst others (e.g. A120 3, N%O and St) have a less regular behaviour (Fig. 3). This is attributed to
variation in the abundance of mafic clots in the rocks. KzO contents are high, between 2.5 and 6 wt.
%. A separate, minor group of augen gneisses (e.g. 163313, Table 3) are in some respects
intermediate between the bulk of the augen gneisses and the ferrodiorites (e.g. Figs. 2 and 3). These
have lower SiO2, higher TiO2, FeOt and P205 contents than most augen gneisses. The significance
and origin of this group is discussed below.

Two models for the origin and variation of the augen gneisses are discussed here:

(a) The augen gneisses were derived by continued fractionation of ferrodiorite at lower crustal levels
than are now exposed. In this model convergence of some of the augen gneiss and ferrodiorite
variation trends would best be interpreted as a change of fractionating phases; perhaps from
clinopyroxene control in the ferrodiorites to hornblende-dominated fractionation and the start of
apatite and zircon fractionation, in the augen gneisses (Figs. 3 and 6). In this model it would be
expected (contrary to field observations) that the most mafic augen gneisses would be the most
abundant. Furthermore, the Lu-Hf data of Pettingill et al. (1982) suggests that the ferrodiorites and
augen gneisses are not strictly consanguineous (Fig. 5). (b) The augen gneisses were generated by
partial melting of granulite facies lower crust. This may have occurred due to local heating of the
crust during emplacement and fractionation of deep-seated mantle-derived basic intrusions.