Evolution of a crustal‐scale transpressive shear zone in the Albany–Fraser Orogen, SW Australia: 2. Tectonic history of the Coramup Gneiss and a kinematic framework for Mesoproterozoic collision of the West Australian and Mawson cratons

Abstract Within the Albany–Fraser Orogen of southwestern Australia, the Coramup Gneiss is a NE–SW trending zone of high‐strain rocks that preserves a detailed record of orogenesis related to Mesoproterozoic convergence of the West Australian and Mawson cratons. New structural, metamorphic and U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age data establish that the Coramup Gneiss underwent high‐grade tectonism during both Stage I ( c . 1290 Ma) and Stage II ( c . 1170 Ma) of the Albany–Fraser Orogeny. Stage I commenced with c . 1300 Ma high‐ T , low‐ P M1a metamorphism during extension, and the formation of small‐scale ptygmatic folds within a subhorizontal S1a gneissosity. High‐ P M1b metamorphism at c . 1290 Ma was accompanied by the transposition and shearing of S1a into a composite, shallow SE‐dipping S1b foliation, and the development of tight recumbent F1b folds with S1‐parallel axial surfaces and asymmetries indicating NW‐directed thrusting. The preservation of a similar P – T –time record in the Fraser Complex (NE of the Coramup Gneiss) is consistent with large‐scale, NW‐directed Stage I thrusting of the Mawson Craton margin over the south‐eastern edge of the West Australian Craton. Stage II tectonism in the western Coramup Gneiss involved high‐ T , low‐ P M2a metamorphism and the formation of subvertical SE‐dipping D2 shear zones, shallow SW‐plunging L2 mineral stretching lineations, and NW‐verging F2 folds with S2‐parallel axial surfaces. A synkinematic pegmatite dyke emplaced into a D2 shear zone yielded a U–Pb SHRIMP zircon age of 1168 ± 12 Ma. Kinematic indicators suggest a combination of pure shear flattening perpendicular to S2, and dextral simple shear. However, contemporaneous structures elsewhere in the Albany–Fraser Orogen are consistent with continued NW–SE convergence at craton‐scale during Stage II, and oblique compression in the Coramup Gneiss is attributed to the arcuate geometry of the orogen‐scale deformation front.