Field and geochemical constraints on the relationship between the Apoteri basalts (northern Brazil, southwestern Guyana) and the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province

Abstract In northern Brazil, Roraima state and southwestern Guyana, basalt flows characterized by inflated pahoehoe structure occur along the margins of the Tacutu Rift Valley, dykes intrude the Paleoproterozoic basement close to the boundary of the rift system with concordant, NE-trend. The dykes and flows belong to Apoteri magmatism. New field, geochemical data (major, trace and rare-earth elements) and chemical stratigraphy of the Apoteri magmatism indicate petrographic and chemical homogeneity characteristic of continental tholeiitic basalts. The basalt flows of Morro Redondo and Nova Olinda sites show two distinct chemical groups: a) the lower flows with intermediate TiO 2 content (ITi group) ranging from 1.09 to 1.41 wt%, MgO (5.64–6.46 wt%) and Ni (43–53 ppm) contents; and b) the upper flows with lower TiO 2 content (LTi group) = 0.75 to 0.78 wt%, higher MgO = 7.95–8.85 wt% and Ni = 105–115 ppm. The two magma types share many characteristics in high field strength elements (HFSE) and rare earth elements (REE), but in detail significant differences exist in REE ratios, e.g. (La/Yb) N of ∼4.0 for ITi and 3.2 for LTi and this may be explained by fractional crystallization. The chemical compositions of the Apoteri dykes are similar the ITi group analyses, suggesting that they have the same origin. The La/Ba versus La/Nb diagram is indicative of large ion lithophile elements (LILE) enrichment and LILE/HFSE fractionation in the mantle source, and the data favor a dominant subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) component in the origin of the Apoteri flows and dykes. These data show consistent similar chemical characteristics and correspond to other tholeiitic flows from the large Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), especially eastern USA.