Mid-Proterozoic detrital zircons and the depositional history of the Jack Hills (Narryer Gneiss Complex, Western Australia)

Quartz-biotite schists ("metaconglomerates" s.l.) in the Jack Hills outcrops of the Narryer Terrane of Western Australia host detrital >4 Ga zircons. These rocks are presumed to have been deposited at about 3 Ga and subsequently experienced metamorphism and granite intrusion at 2.45-2.6 Ga. Protoliths of the oldest detrital zircon population (>3.8 Ga) have not yet been identified, and the post-2.6 Ga history of the Jack Hills remains murky. Rare metavolcanic units are documented at ca. 1.8-1.9 Ga. Some metasediments near the Hadean zircon "discovery" site that are apparently young enough to have incorporated mid-Proterozoic detrital zircons are evidence of further geologic activity, although it is possible that these rocks were tectonically juxtaposed later. To further resolve the Proterozoic history of the Jack Hills, we report U-Pb age data for 60 detrital zircons extracted from two quartzites from the eastern Jack Hills (~50 km distant from the "discovery" site of Hadean zircons); in this sample suite 26 concordant zircons range in age from 0.168-3.49 Ga, with an age peak at ca. 2.6 Ga and a scattering of ages from 1.06-2.0 Ga. Zircon sources <1.8 Ga have not so far been identified in the Narryer Terrane and may point to far-field sediment transport. Several ca. 1.07 Ga zircons may derive from the Warakurna Large Igneous Province of the same age, which extends through much of central and Western Australia. One concordant zircon with a 206Pb/238U age of 0.166±6 Ga displays a patchy internal texture indicative of alteration; all other concordant grains are >1.06 Ga. Only 2 concordant zircons display ages >3 Ga, unlike the dominant mid-Archean signature from other reported Proterozoic sediments in the Jack Hills. All told, these quartzites display a significantly different provenance than other previously studied units from the terrane, with decreased importance of mid-Archean zircon sources and significantly younger (<1.06 Ga) ages of sedimentation than previously recognized. If the various quartzites are autochthonous, the absence of mid-Archean zircons despite the units' current proximity to the mid-Archean Narryer Gneiss Complex, as well as the likely sourcing of Warakurna LIP detritus, would appear to have implications for paleogeographic reconstructions of the Jack Hills region.