Sudbury Complex
Quick Summary
The Sudbury Complex is a significant geological feature in Ontario, Canada, formed approximately 1.85 billion years ago. It is an elliptical body of igneous rock, roughly 60 kilometers long and 28 kilometers wide, shaped like a funnel pointing into the Earth.1
This complex is believed to have formed from immiscible magmas, meaning two liquids that do not mix, similar to oil and water. These magmas scavenged and concentrated elements, leading to rich ore deposits. The Sudbury Complex is particularly known for its substantial deposits of nickel, copper, and platinum-group metals.1
While some theories suggest it's an intrusive igneous complex, the most widely accepted view is that the Sudbury structure is an astrobleme, the result of a massive meteorite impact. This impact is thought to have generated immiscible magmas from Earth's mantle, which then crystallized to form the ore bodies. The city of Sudbury itself grew around mining operations that began after the discovery of these rich ores.12
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PrecambrianLayered igneous intrusionsThe Sudbury Complex in southern Canada, which is about 1.9 billion years old, is a basin-shaped body that extends up to 60 km (37 miles) across. It consists mostly of layered norite and has deposits of copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, and platinum. It is noted for…
Read MoreThe Sudbury Complex in southern Canada, which is about 1.9 billion years old, is a basin-shaped body that extends up to 60 km (37 miles) across. It consists mostly of layered norite and has deposits of copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, and platinum. It is noted for…
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mineral depositImmiscible melts…immiscible sulfide liquids is the Sudbury Igneous Complex in Ontario, Canada, which formed about 1.85 billion years ago. Elliptical in outline (approximately 60 kilometres long by 28 kilometres wide), the complex has the shape of a funnel pointing down into the Earth. A continuous lower zone of a mafic rock…
Read More…immiscible sulfide liquids is the Sudbury Igneous Complex in Ontario, Canada, which formed about 1.85 billion years ago. Elliptical in outline (approximately 60 kilometres long by 28 kilometres wide), the complex has the shape of a funnel pointing down into the Earth. A continuous lower zone of a mafic rock…
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