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On the southern side of the Mont Pilat (eastern French Massif Central), an orthoclase-rich granite, which intrudes orthogneisses overlying a granito-migmatitic complex, gives a Dinantian age (RbSr age: 353±21 Ma; UPb age: 341+8/−5 Ma). Such a dating confirms the reality of a ‘northwestern Vivarais’ geological unit, whose metamorphic and granitic evolution cannot be assigned to a Late-Carboniferous event. These results impose a re-examination of both the ‘granite du Velay’ problematic and the geodynamic evolution of the eastern French Massif Central. To cite this article: B. Briand et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 741–747.

Dating of a microgranular granite, which intrudes the granito-migmatitic complex linked to the Velay Upper Carboniferous granite, gives a Middle Visean age (342 Ma). The relationships between these various granites and the low pressure metamorphic series from Pilat are re-examined.

The De Pas Batholith, in New Quebec, is a mass of granitoids elongated in a N-S direction, covering 7000 km2 in the southeastern part of the Archean Rae province. It is located between the Paleoproterozoic New Quebec Orogen in the West and the Torngat Orogen in the East. The batholith is composed, in its south half, of two parallel plutonic units: a charnockitic intrusion in the West, enclosed in granulitic gneisses, and a granitic unit in the East intruding an Archean orthogneiss complex migmatized at amphibolite facies grade. Field evidence indicates that the charnockitic unit is younger than the granitic unit. Both plutonic units are differentiated. The granitic unit ranges in composition from pyroxenite and diorite to the dominant porphyritic granodiorite. The charnockitic unit varies from norite to the dominant porphyritic opdalite. Late intrusive granites are present. The granitic unit and charnockitic unit show calc-alkalic evolutionary trends, granodioritic for the the granitic unit and monzonitic for the charnockitic unit. Similar major elements patterns suggest a common source area. Compatible trace element and heavy rare earth abundances are similar in both units. However, incompatible elements (Rb, Th, and U) and light rare earth are less abundant in the charnockitic unit. This poverty in certain large-ion lithophile elements and high field strength elements is a primary characteristic of the charnockitic magma. The overall geochemical characteristics of the De Pas Batholith are similar to those of a plutonic arc in a subduction setting. Only the late granites show evidence of a collisional setting. The differences in trace elements of the granitic unit and the charnockitic unit might be explained by contrasting styles of contamination of the magmas by continental materials in different intrusive conditions and geological settings. The granitic magma was intruded into Archean (?) crust of amphibolite facies, with which the granitic unit was in physical equilibrium. The charnockitic magma crystallised in the deeper granulitic crust, poor in highly lithophile elements. The De Pas Batholith occurs in the hinterland of the New Quebec Orogen, and represents an early subductional magmatic arc formed in two stages separated by a period of crustal thickening in the arc zone.

No english abstract, Des recherches d'extensions ont été entreprises sur les anciens travaux (10e siècle) du gisement D'imiter (Djebel Sarho - Anti Atlas - Maroc). Les minéralisations s'inscrivent dans deux séries précambriennes. (1) Une série du P II de type flysh à caractère de turbidites distales avec bancs de schistes pyriteux et coulées andésitiques interstratifiées, affectée d'un plissement isoclinal N 80° - 800N, et légèrement métamorphisée par l'intrusion de deux massifs granodioritiques tardi P II. (2) Une série du P II-III de type f lysh grossier débutant par 15 mètres de tufs et reposant en discordance sur la série précédente (N 50° 30°N). Des dykes de roches filoniennes (keratophyres et andésites) recoupent les séries P II et P II-III. Un complexe volcanique P III se trouve en contact faillé avec le P II et le P II -III au Nord du domaine minier. Les corps minéralisés à faciès en stockwerks, alignés sur des directions E-W montrent un contrôle structural net par deux directions EW et NS. Dans les schistes du P II, les bancs pyriteux exercent un contrôle chimique de type fahlbande sur l'enrichissement de colonnes minéralisées. Les principaux minéraux de la paragénèse sont : Sidérite, quartz, dolomite, oxydes de fer, wads, galène, blende, pyrite, chalcopyrite, mispickel, argent natif amalgamé à du mercure, freibergite, tétraédrite, cérusite, argentite. Les caractères d'oxydation et de cémentation ressortent. Une étude géochimique statistique montre l'existence d'une zonalité et d'associations entre éléments accompagnateurs relevant de processus hypogènes ou supergènes. Aucune hypothèse génétique (lien avec la granodiorite, avec les dykes, reconcentrations à partir des sédiments) ne s'applique au gisement que l'on rattachera au type II de Monsieur Pelissonnier, avec éventuel passage à la Bi, Co, Ni, et au type 12.