Circum-Superior Belt mantle plume that was the source for the 1,880 million-year-old magmatism in the Circum-Superior Belt. The Circum-Superior Belt is the host for widespread mineral deposits, including copper, nickel and platinum group elements. However, the origins of this widespread mineralization is unknown. The Thompson Belt in Manitoba is one of the most comprehensive nickel producing zones on Earth. It has the potential to contain platinum group elements, but the age of the mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks comprising the nickel deposits are not well known. Since its foundation during the 1950s, numerous mining operations throughout the Thompson Belt have produced over four billion
Circum-Superior Belt margin. The last collision occurred on the southeastern portion of the Superior craton to produce the Grenville orogeny 1,100 million years ago. Because most of the Circum-Superior Belt was formed by widespread mafic-ultramafic magmatism 1,884 to 1,864 million years ago along the Superior craton margin during these orogenies, a number of different suggestions have been made to explain the questionable origins of this large igneous province. It is also not clear if the Circum-Superior Belt has a single origin or it has several origins. Suggestions include back-arc rifting, foredeep flexure, mantle plumes and the breakup of a microcontinent. The geochemical