The Structural Architecture of the Barsele Area, Sweden : Characterising the deformation events and mineralisation

Sammanfattning: Located at an important intersect between orogenic Au deposits in Sweden’s Gold Line and volcanicmassive sulphide (VMS) deposits in the Skellefte Mining District, the Barsele area is of high interest.Currently, the Barsele deposit consists of the Norra VMS deposit and 3 intrusive-hosted orogenic Audeposits: Avan, Central, and Skiråsen which are hosted in a 1876 ± 10 Ma early orogenic granodiorite(Thomas, et al., 2019). The aim of this thesis is to create a structural and geological model of the Barsele area whilst improvingthe understanding of the structural controls on VMS and intrusive-hosted Au mineralisation in thearea. Furthermore, this thesis aims to highlight prospective areas for future study and targeting inhopes to aid mineral exploration in the region. Geological mapping has been carried out in an area ofaround 440km2, with emphasis on structural measurements. 381 outcrop observations and more than4200 structural features were recorded using a combination of traditional and digital mappingmethods, including the use of Field Move by Petroleum Experts. The area was chosen as part of AgnicoEagle, Sweden’s mineral exploration project. The region has been affected by two dominant, syn-metamorphic cleavage forming events. The eventsdefine the main phase of the Svecofennian Orogeny which has produced ubiquitous slaty cleavage, Ndirected thrusts, and steeply inclined axial surfaces throughout the region. The region is characterisedby important N-S displacements with sinistral movement along major N-S trending transfer faults. Theabsence of strike-slip shearing in D1 structures indicates that D1 deformation was dominantly coaxialin nature and developed due to SW-NE crustal shortening. Along with this, a major ESE-WNW-strikingshear zone is identified with an inferred syn-extensional (D1) origin. D2 involved fault inversion and reactivation of syn-extensional faults as reverse shear zones. E-Wtrending lineations along more brittle SSW-NNE striking shear zones inferred to indicate an E-Worientation for crustal shortening during D2. D3 caused reactivation of the N-S-striking high-strain zones with reverse kinematics. This reactivationof trending shear zones resulted in strain partitioning into N-S zones. D3 is manifested by broad, open,N-NE trending upright folds of bedding and S2 foliation. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order D3 structures have beencharacterised and illustrated by combining a range of data including outcrop observations, regionalStereonets, magnetic anomaly maps, and other geophysical maps.