The nature and origin of the Milnet mine breccia zone Sudbury, Ontario

Petrakos, Konstantinos E.

The nature and origin of the Milnet mine breccia zone Sudbury, Ontario

Date

2002

Authors

Petrakos, Konstantinos E.

Publisher

University of New Brunswick

Abstract

2002 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, is one of the most geologically interesting areas on the planet. It is home to the second largest impact structure in the world and, as a result, is one of the largest nickel deposits in the world as well. The focus of this study is a breccia zone located to the northeast of the Sudbury igneous complex, in Hutton and Parkin townships. The study area was approximately 6 km long and between 40 to l 40m wide and was centred around the Milnet mine area in Parkin township. This area had never been mapped in great detail so the nature of the breccia zone, and its existence, has never really been considered and explained. The breccia zone is hypothesised to have been initiated by a shock wave related to the impact event at 1.85 Ga. The breccia zone created a zone of weakness in the area, resulting in much subsequent displacement by faulting. This project will try to explain the nature and origin of the breccia zone, as well as describing the effects it has on the local geology of this area.