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SDLRC - Scientific Articles all years by Author - Pe-Pn
The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation
The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation is compiled by Patricia Sheahan who publishes on a monthly basis a list of new scientific articles related to diamonds as well as media coverage and corporate announcementscalled the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service that is distributed as a free pdf to a list of followers. Pat has kindly agreed to allow her work to be made available as an online digital resource at Kaiser Research Online so that a broader community interested in diamonds and related geology can benefit. The references are for personal use information purposes only; when available a link is provided to an online location where the full article can be accessed or purchased directly. Reproduction of this compilation in part or in whole without permission from the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service is strictly prohibited. Return to Diamond Resource Center
Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific Articles by Author for all years
The SDLRC provides 3 types of references identified in the reference code. DS for scientific article, DM for a media article, and DC for a corporate announcement. Consider DS0512-0001. The DS stands for "diamond scientific". 05 stands for 2005, the year the reference was posted. 12 represents the month the reference was posted. For all years prior to 2015 the default month is 12. -0001 is the reference's identifier and it does not mean anything. The number below the refence code, ie 2015, is the year the article was published. Note that the posted year may sometimes be later than the published year.
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Abstract: The recent proliferation of deformable plate tectonic modelling techniques has provided a new direction in the study of plate tectonics with substantial implications for our understanding of plate deformation and past kinematics. Such models account for intraplate deformation, yet are highly variable in their inputs, capabilities and applications. The aim of this commentary is to review recent contributions to this topic, and to consider future directions and major omissions. Through this review it is apparent that the current published deformable models can be subdivided into those that as an input either: (1) solely use plate motions to drive deformation, or (2) require stretching or beta factor. Deformable models are resolving some outstanding issues with plate reconstructions, but major simplifications and modelling assumptions remain. Primarily, obtaining model constraints on the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation is an outstanding problem. Deformable plate models likely work best when the kinematics of smaller plates are included. However, questions remain regarding how to define such blocks, and their kinematic histories, whilst some work suggests that inclusion of such entities is negated through quantitative restorations.
Abstract: The southeast Mojave Desert hosts one of the world’s largest rare earth element (REE) deposits at Mountain Pass, California. Although surface geology has been studied, a full understanding of the carbonatite and associated intrusive suite complex requires subsurface geophysical characterization. In this study, a combination of geophysical methods, including magnetotelluric (MT), magnetics, and gravity are used to create a two-dimensional (2D) geophysical model to a depth of about 10 km. An electrically conductive body is found 2-3 km below and west of the deposit that is associated with a magnetic high that could be connected to a deeper (10 km) conductive body related to possible intrusions or hydrothermal systems. The carbonatite body coincides with a steep magnetic gradient and a bench or terrace in the gravity data that may reflect relative lower-density intrusive rocks. Although carbonatite rocks are typically magnetic, the carbonatite rocks, associated intrusive suite, and host rocks in this area are essentially non-magnetic. Combined geophysical data indicate that the enriched REE deposit may be related to a regional extensive hydrothermal alteration event.
Abstract: In the two decades since Subduction: Top to Bottom was published in 1996, improved analytical and numerical thermal-petrologic models of subduction zones have been constructed and evaluated against new seismological and geological observations. Advances in thermal modeling include a range of new approaches to incorporating shear (frictional, viscous) heating along the subduction interface and to simulating induced flow in the mantle wedge. Forearc heat-flux measurements constrain the apparent coefficient of friction (??) along the plate interface to 0.1, but the extent to which ?? may vary between subduction zones remains challenging to discern owing to scatter in the heat-flux measurements and uncertainties in the magnitude and distribution of radiogenic heat production in the overriding crust. Flow in the mantle wedge and the resulting thermal structure depend on the rheology of variably hydrated mantle rocks and the depth at which the subducting slab becomes coupled to the overlying mantle wedge. Advances in petrologic modeling include the incorporation of sophisticated thermodynamic software packages into thermal models and the prediction of seismic velocities from mineralogic and petrologic models. Current thermal-petrologic models show very good agreement between the predicted location of metamorphic dehydration reactions and observed intermediate-depth earthquakes, and between the predicted location of the basalt-to-eclogite transition in subducting oceanic crust and observed landward-dipping, low-seismic-velocity layers. Exhumed high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphic rocks provide insight into subduction-zone temperatures, but important thermal parameters (e.g., convergence rate) are not well constrained, and metamorphic rocks exposed at the surface today may reflect relatively warm conditions in the past associated with subduction initiation or ridge subduction. We can anticipate additional advances in our understanding of subduction zones as a result of further testing of model predictions against geologic and geophysical observations, and of evaluating the importance of advective processes, such as diapirism and subduction-channel flow, that are not captured in hybrid kinematic-dynamic models of subduction zones but are observed in fully dynamical models under certain conditions.
Chemical Reviews, Vol. 120, 4, 10.1021/ acs.chemrev.9b00578 50p. Pdf
Global
HPHT, CVD, synthetics
Abstract: Nitrogen is ubiquitous in both natural and laboratory-grown diamond, but the number and nature of the nitrogen-containing defects can have a profound effect on the diamond material and its properties. An ever-growing fraction of the supply of diamond appearing on the world market is now lab-grown. Here, we survey recent progress in two complementary diamond synthesis methods: high pressure high temperature (HPHT) growth and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), how each is allowing ever more precise control of nitrogen incorporation in the resulting diamond, and how the diamond produced by either method can be further processed (e.g., by implantation or annealing) to achieve a particular outcome or property. The burgeoning availability of diamond samples grown under well-defined conditions has also enabled huge advances in the characterization and understanding of nitrogen-containing defects in diamond alone and in association with vacancies, hydrogen, and transition metal atoms. Among these, the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) defect in diamond is attracting particular current interest in account of the many new and exciting opportunities it offers for, for example, quantum technologies, nanoscale magnetometry, and biosensing.
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 214, 2, pp. 1281-1300. doi:1093/gji/ggy193
Canada, Nunavut
Geophysics - gravity
Abstract: Mesozoic to Cenozoic continental rifting, breakup and spreading between North America and Greenland led to the opening, from south to north, of the Labrador Sea and eventually Baffin Bay between Baffin Island, northeast Canada and northwest Greenland. Baffin Bay lies at the northern limit of this extinct rift, transform and spreading system and remains largely underexplored. With the sparsity of existing crustal-scale geophysical investigations of Baffin Bay, regional potential field methods and quantitative deformation assessments based on plate reconstructions provide two means of examining Baffin Bay at the regional scale and drawing conclusions about its crustal structure, its rifting history and the role of pre-existing structures in its evolution. Despite the identification of extinct spreading axes and fracture zones based on gravity data, insights into the nature and structure of the underlying crust have only been gleaned from limited deep seismic experiments, mostly concentrated in the north and east where the continental shelf is shallower and wider. Baffin Bay is partially underlain by oceanic crust with zones of variable width of extended continental crust along its margins. 3-D gravity inversions, constrained by bathymetric and depth to basement constraints, have generated a range of 3-D crustal density models that collectively reveal an asymmetric distribution of extended continental crust, approximately 25-30?km thick, along the margins of Baffin Bay, with a wider zone on the Greenland margin. A zone of 5-13?km thick crust lies at the centre of Baffin Bay, with the thinnest crust (5?km thick) clearly aligning with Eocene spreading centres. The resolved crustal thicknesses are generally in agreement with available seismic constraints, with discrepancies mostly corresponding to zones of higher density lower crust along the Greenland margin and Nares Strait. Deformation modelling from independent plate reconstructions using GPlates of the rifted margins of Baffin Bay was performed to gauge the influence of original crustal thickness and the width of the deformation zone on the crustal thicknesses obtained from the gravity inversions. These results show the best match with the results from the gravity inversions for an original unstretched crustal thickness of 34-36?km, consistent with present-day crustal thicknesses derived from teleseismic studies beyond the likely continentward limits of rifting around the margins of Baffin Bay. The width of the deformation zone has only a minimal influence on the modelled crustal thicknesses if the zone is of sufficient width that edge effects do not interfere with the main modelled domain.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 243, pp. 133-148.
Mantle
olivine
Abstract: Chemical exchange between seawater and the oceanic crust is thought to play a significant role in the regulation of the global magnesium (Mg) cycle, yet relatively little is known about the rates and mechanisms of Mg exchange in these crustal environments. In this study we experimentally characterize the extent, and nature, of Mg isotope fractionation during the carbonation and serpentinization of olivine (one of the principal minerals found in ultramafic rocks) under hydrothermal conditions. Olivine alteration was found to be incongruent, with the reactant fluid composition varying according to the extent of olivine dissolution and the precipitation of secondary minerals. In mildly acid water (pH???6.5), olivine dissolved to form Mg-Fe carbonate solid solutions and minor chrysotile. Upon carbonation and a decrease of CO2 in the water, the pH increased to >8, with chrysotile and brucite becoming the dominant alteration minerals. The Mg-rich carbonates preferentially incorporated lighter Mg isotopes, resulting in a ?0.5‰ increase of the ?26Mg composition of the fluid relative to olivine during the initial carbonation and serpentinization reactions. This was followed by a decrease in ?26Mg under higher pH conditions associated with the formation of brucite. Our experimental and modeling results therefore demonstrate that the ?26Mg composition of fluids involved in olivine alteration reflect the type and quantity of secondary Mg minerals formed, which in turn depend on the pH and CO2 concentration of the water. Comparison of these results with natural groundwaters and geothermal waters from basaltic terrains indicate that the ?26Mg composition of natural waters are likely to also be controlled by mafic rock dissolution and the preferential incorporation of isotopically light Mg into carbonates and isotopically heavy Mg into Mg-Si minerals. Together, these findings improve our understanding of Mg isotope systematics during water-rock interaction, and suggest that ?26Mg may be a useful tool for tracing reactions that are critical to geological CO2 sequestration.
South African Journal of Geology, Vol. 124, 1, pp. 141-162. pdf
Mantle
tectonics
Abstract:
Space probes in our solar system have examined all bodies larger than about 400 km in diameter and shown that Earth is the only silicate planet with extant plate tectonics sensu stricto. Venus and Earth are about the same size at 12 000 km diameter, and close in density at 5 200 and 5 500 kg.m-3 respectively. Venus and Mars are stagnant lid planets; Mars may have had plate tectonics and Venus may have had alternating ca. 0.5 Ga periods of stagnant lid punctuated by short periods of plate turnover. In this paper, we contend that Earth has seen five, distinct, tectonic periods characterized by mainly different rock associations and patterns with rapid transitions between them; the Hadean to ca. 4.0 Ga, the Eo- and Palaeoarchaean to ca. 3.1 Ga, the Neoarchaean to ca. 2.5 Ga, the Proterozoic to ca. 0.8 Ga, and the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic. Plate tectonics sensu stricto, as we know it for present-day Earth, was operating during the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic, as witnessed by features such as obducted supra-subduction zone ophiolites, blueschists, jadeite, ruby, continental thin sediment sheets, continental shelf, edge, and rise assemblages, collisional sutures, and long strike-slip faults with large displacements. From rock associations and structures, nothing resembling plate tectonics operated prior to ca. 2.5 Ga. Archaean geology is almost wholly dissimilar from Proterozoic-Phanerozoic geology. Most of the Proterozoic operated in a plate tectonic milieu but, during the Archaean, Earth behaved in a non-plate tectonic way and was probably characterised by a stagnant lid with heat-loss by pluming and volcanism, together with diapiric inversion of tonalite-trondjemite-granodiorite (TTG) basement diapirs through sinking keels of greenstone supracrustals, and very minor mobilism. The Palaeoarchaean differed from the Neoarchaean in having a more blobby appearance whereas a crude linearity is typical of the Neoarchaean. The Hadean was probably a dry stagnant lid Earth with the bulk of its water delivered during the late heavy bombardment, when that thin mafic lithosphere was fragmented to sink into the asthenosphere and generate the copious TTG Ancient Grey Gneisses (AGG). During the Archaean, a stagnant unsegmented, lithospheric lid characterised Earth, although a case can be made for some form of mobilism with “block jostling”, rifting, compression and strike-slip faulting on a small scale. We conclude, following Burke and Dewey (1973), that there is no evidence for subduction on a global scale before about 2.5 Ga, although there is geochemical evidence for some form of local recycling of crustal material into the mantle during that period. After 2.5 Ga, linear/curvilinear deformation belts were developed, which “weld” cratons together and palaeomagnetism indicates that large, lateral, relative motions among continents had begun by at least 1.88 Ga. The “boring billion”, from about 1.8 to 0.8 Ga, was a period of two super-continents (Nuna, also known as Columbia, and Rodinia) characterised by substantial magmatism of intraplate type leading to the hypothesis that Earth had reverted to a single plate planet over this period; however, orogens with marginal accretionary tectonics and related magmatism and ore genesis indicate that plate tectonics was still taking place at and beyond the bounds of these supercontinents. The break-up of Rodinia heralded modern plate tectonics from about 0.8 Ga. Our conclusions are based, almost wholly, upon geological data sets, including petrology, ore geology and geochemistry, with minor input from modelling and theory.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 478, pp. 52-58.
Canada, Quebec
Mistastin crater
Abstract: Bolide impacts influence primordial evolution of planetary bodies because they can cause instantaneous melting and vaporization of both crust and impactors. Temperatures reached by impact-generated silicate melts are unknown because meteorite impacts are ephemeral, and established mineral and rock thermometers have limited temperature ranges. Consequently, impact melt temperatures in global bombardment models of the early Earth and Moon are poorly constrained, and may not accurately predict the survival, stabilization, geochemical evolution and cooling of early crustal materials. Here we show geological evidence for the transformation of zircon to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt from the 28 km diameter Mistastin Lake crater, Canada, which requires super-heating in excess of 2370?°C. This new temperature determination is the highest recorded from any crustal rock. Our phase heritage approach extends the thermometry range for impact melts by several hundred degrees, more closely bridging the gap between nature and theory. Profusion of >2370?°C superheated impact melt during high intensity bombardment of Hadean Earth likely facilitated consumption of early-formed crustal rocks and minerals, widespread volatilization of various species, including hydrates, and formation of dry, rigid, refractory crust.
Abstract: Manually interpreting multivariate drill hole data is very time-consuming, and different geologists will produce different results due to the subjective nature of geological interpretation. Automated or semi-automated interpretation of numerical drill hole data is required to reduce time and subjectivity of this process. However, results from machine learning algorithms applied to drill holes, without reference to spatial information, typically result in numerous small-scale units. These small-scale units result not only from the presence of very small rock units, which may be below the scale of interest, but also from misclassification. A novel method is proposed that uses the continuous wavelet transform to identify geological boundaries and uses wavelet coefficients to indicate boundary strength. The wavelet coefficient is a useful measure of boundary strength because it reflects both wavelength and amplitude of features in the signal. This means that boundary strength is an indicator of the apparent thickness of geological units and the amount of change occurring at each geological boundary. For multivariate data, boundaries from multiple variables are combined and multiscale domains are calculated using the combined boundary strengths. The method is demonstrated using multi-element geochemical data from mineral exploration drill holes. The method is fast, reduces misclassification, provides a choice of scales of interpretation and results in hierarchical classification for large scales where domains may contain more than one rock type.
Abstract: Radiometric decay systems have played a crucial role in developing our understanding of the evolution of the early Earth. There are two main types of protocols for isotope measurements in geological materials: (i) bulk dissolution of rocks, or whole-grains and (ii) spatially resolved techniques (laser-ablation or ion-beam). These two approaches have sometimes led to results that are not easily reconciled for early Earth crustal rocks (? 3.6?Ga). While initial radiogenic isotope signatures (e.g. initial 176Hf/177Hf or initial 143Nd/144Nd) obtained from whole-rock protocols are significantly above chondritic values, indicative of extensive chemical differentiation of the mantle before 3.6?Ga, data from spatially resolved analysis of individual mineral growth domains point toward much less dramatic differentiation. This is indicated by the majority of data falling close to models of Earth's mantle that had not experienced major silicate melt removal into the crust. These data show chondritic or sub-chondritic signatures. Interpretations of whole rock isochrons are built on assumptions about the history and relationship of a number of different samples to each other. At the heart of these assumptions, the effects of secondary process-such as metasomatism-on isotopic compositions and consequently on the age and initial ratio of isochrons, are often considered negligible. In order to evaluate the possible effects of metasomatism and metamorphism on co-genetic igneous suites we modelled the impact of contamination by an external component on both the isochron slope (the apparent age) and the isochron intercept (the initial radiogenic isotope signature). A significant outcome is that the age significance of some of the modified isochron arrays remains to a large extent within uncertainty of the original crystallisation age of the igneous suite. In other words, the original age signature is preserved, but with lower precision. The intercept of the isochron, from which the initial isotope ratio is calculated, however is often significantly modified, which has consequences for the interpretation of these signatures. Our results provide an explanation for the discrepancy between whole-rock and spatially-resolved results observed in early Earth material. Lastly, our results, applied to studies of ancient crustal rocks, are interpreted as indicative of no significantly depleted mantle domains before 3.6?Ga, and no Hfsingle bondNd isotopes decoupling at that time.
Oxygen isotope evidence for the origin of pyroxenites in the Beni Bousera peridotite massif, North Morocco: derivation from subducted oceaniclithosphere
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 102, No. 3/4, March pp. 289-301
The Ronda peridotite and lamproites in Spain. Salmeron, Jumill, Cerro Canbezo Maria. Chemical analyses of lamproite/ Isotopic systematics of lamproites.
Osmium isotopes in Baffin Island and West Greenland picrites: implications for the 187 Os and 188 Os composition of the convection mantle and nature 3He/4he
Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 278, 3-4, pp. 267-277.
An integrated petrological, geochemical and Re-Os isotope study of peridotite xenoliths from the Argyle lamproite, western Australia and implications for
Wittig, N., Pearson, D.G., Downes, H., Baker, J.A.
The U, Th and Pb elemental and isotope compositions of mantle clinopyroxenes and their grain boundary contamination derived from leaching and digestion experiments.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73, 2, pp. 469-488.
Wittig, N., Webb, M., Pearson, D.G., Dale, C.W., Ottley, C.J., Hutchison, M., Jensen, S.M., Luget, A.
Formation of the North Atlantic craton: timing and mechanisms constrained from Re-Os isotope and PGE dat a of peridotite xenoliths from S.W. Greenland.
Wittig, N., Webb, M., Pearson, D.G., Dale, C.W., Ottley, C.J., Hutchison, M., Jensen, S.M., Luget, A.
Formation of the North Atlantic craton: timing and mechanisms constrained from Re-Os isotope and PGE dat a of peridotite xenoliths from S.W. Greenland.
Characterising modal metasomatic processes in young continental lithospheric mantle: a microsampling isotopic and trace element study on xenoliths from the Middle Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 162, 2, pp. 289-302.
Multiple growth episodes or prolonged formation of diamonds? Inferences from infrared absorption data.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 1, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 1, pp. 281-296.
Palot, M., Pearson, D.G., Stern, R.A., Stachel, T., Harris, J.W.
Multiple growth events, processes and fluid sources involved in diamond genesis: a micro-analytical study of sulphide bearing diamonds from Finsch mine, RSA.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 106, pp. 51-70.
Re-Os dating of sulphide inclusions zonally distributed in single Yakutian diamonds: evidence for multiple episodes of Proterozoic formation and protracted timescales of diamond growth.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 120, pp. 363-394.
Palot, M., Pearson, D.G., Stern, R.A., Stachel, T., Harris, J.W.
Isotopic constraints on the nature and circulation of deep mantle C-H-O-N fluids: Carbon and nitrogen systematics within ultra-deep diamonds from Kankan ( Guinea).
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 139, pp. 26-46.
Duration and periodicity of kimberlite volcanic activity in the Lac de Gras kimberlite field, Canada and some recommendations for kimberlite geochronology.
Abstract: The peridotite xenoliths of the Letlhakane kimberlite (Botswana), which intrude the Proterozoic Magondi Belt on the western margin of the Zimbabwe craton, represent highly depleted melting residues. These residues suffered subsequent variable metasomatic overprinting, evidenced by cryptic trace element enrichments in the spinel peridotites to modal addition of phlogopite, clinopyroxene and spinel within the garnet peridotites. In order to assess the robustness of the Re–Os chronometer in such highly metasomatised peridotites, detailed investigations of base metal sulphide (BMS) petrography and single-BMS grain 187Os/188Os analyses have been undertaken in three representative peridotites.
Abstract: The infiltration of fluids into continental lithospheric mantle is a key mechanism for controlling abrupt changes in the chemical and physical properties of the lithospheric root1, 2, as well as diamond formation3, yet the origin and composition of the fluids involved are still poorly constrained. Such fluids are trapped within diamonds when they form4, 5, 6, 7 and so diamonds provide a unique means of directly characterizing the fluids that percolate through the deep continental lithospheric mantle. Here we show a clear chemical evolutionary trend, identifying saline fluids as parental to silicic and carbonatitic deep mantle melts, in diamonds from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Fluid–rock interaction along with in situ melting cause compositional transitions, as the saline fluids traverse mixed peridotite–eclogite lithosphere. Moreover, the chemistry of the parental saline fluids—especially their strontium isotopic compositions—and the timing of host diamond formation suggest that a subducting Mesozoic plate under western North America is the source of the fluids. Our results imply a strong association between subduction, mantle metasomatism and fluid-rich diamond formation, emphasizing the importance of subduction-derived fluids in affecting the composition of the deep lithospheric mantle.
43rd Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts, abstract p. 47.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Garnet chemistry
Abstract: In diamond exploration, the use of compositional data to identify diamond-related peridotitic xenocrysts has long been a widely used and powerful tool. In contrast, the application of similar methods to eclogitic garnet chemistry remains a challenge. The inability to unequivocally classify certain “eclogitic” garnet compositions as either mantle- or crust-derived implies that a high abundance of lower-crustal garnets will increase diamond-exploration expenditures by introducing a number of “false positives.” Revising existing classification schemes (e.g., Schulze, 2003) to reduce the abundance of “false positives” may, however, increase the number of “false negatives” through the misclassification of mantle-derived garnets as crustal. This study presents new geochemical and petrographical data for garnet and clinopyroxene from 724 kimberlite-hosted, crust- and mantle-derived xenoliths from localities worldwide, with a focus on samples whose lithology is constrained petrographically, rather than single mineral grains from concentrate. Mantle samples are primarily eclogitic and pyroxenitic, as constrained by mineral assemblage and garnet and clinopyroxene mineral chemistry, while crustal samples are dominantly plagioclase-bearing garnet-granulites. For those localities where an established geothermal gradient is available from literature resources, garnet-clinopyroxene pairs are employed in the estimation of pressure-temperature conditions of equilibration through the iterative coupling of the Krogh (1988) geothermometer and the relevant geothermal gradient. Our preliminary results suggest that closure temperatures for Fe-Mg exchange exceed the temperatures of residence of many lower-crustal samples, as geotherm-based calculated pressures of equilibration exceed the apparent stability of plagioclase (see Green and Ringwood, 1972). Comparison of equilibration pressures with sodium contents in garnet for mantle-derived samples (the diamond-facies criterion of Gurney, 1984) shows a positive correlation at localities for which an adequate range of pressures is observed (e.g., the Diavik mine). Other populations, such as mantle eclogitic garnets from Roberts Victor, plot at a much more restricted range of pressures and hence fail to demonstrate this correlation; instead, these samples may reflect the influence of a broader range of bulk-compositions, providing varying amounts of sodium to their constituent garnets. The results presented here demonstrate clearly that garnets from mantle- and crust-derived samples show significant overlap in geochemical character, for example in garnet Ca# vs. Mg# space (discrimination diagram of Schulze, 2003), where approximately 66% of our crust-derived garnet analyses plot in the “mantle” field. This percentage varies among locations. A selection of particularly high-Mg#, low-Ca# garnets derived from crustal, plagioclase-bearing lithologies in this study highlights the potential for crust-mantle confusion, as these garnets have Mg# in-excess of many mantle-derived eclogitic/pyroxenitic garnets. As a consequence, Fe-Mg-Ca-based classifications alone cannot reliably discriminate mantle and crustal garnets. The next step in this project will be to obtain trace element data for the entire sample suite. This will allow us to test the Li-geobarometer of Hanrahan et al. (2009) for eclogites and to search for trace element signatures that can be used as robust indicators of a diamond-facies origin of eclogitic garnets. Trace element data will also be employed in the refinement of the crust/mantle division discussed above.
43rd Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts, abstract p. 108.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Diamond genesis
Abstract: Diamonds from the Ekati and Diavik mines have provided a wealth of information on diamond forming processes beneath the Slave craton. Fluid-rich “fibrous” diamonds trap some of the fluid from which the diamond is growing and hence provide a unique means to characterize directly the fluids that percolate through the deep continental lithospheric mantle. On a world-wide basis, Ekatic and Diavik fluid-rich diamonds trap an anomalously high proportion of fuids that are “salty” or high saline in composition, with high Na and Cl contents. The origin of these “salty” fluids has been something of a mystery. Here we show the first clear chemical evolutionary trend identifying saline fluids as parental to silicic and carbonatitic deep mantle melts, in diamonds from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Fluid-rock interaction along with in-situ melting cause compositional transitions, as the saline fluids traverse mixed peridotite-eclogite lithosphere. Moreover, the chemistry of the parental saline fluids - especially their Sr isotopic compositions - and the timing of host diamond formation suggest a subducting Mesozoic plate under western North America to be the source of the fluids. Our results imply a strong association between subduction, mantle metasomatism and fluid-rich diamond formation, emphasizing the importance of subduction-derived fluids in impacting the composition of the deep lithospheric mantle
Abstract: Canada is host to at least six separate cratons that comprise a significant proportion of its crustal extent. Of these cratons, we possess knowledge of the cratonic lithospheric roots beneath only the Slave craton and, to a lesser extent, the Superior craton, despite the discovery of many new diamond-bearing kimberlites in Canada's North. Here we present the first age, composition and geothermal information for kimberlite-borne peridotite xenoliths from two localities within the central Rae craton: Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay. Our aim is to investigate the nature and evolution of the deep lithosphere in these regions and to examine how events recorded in the mantle may or may not correlate with the complex history of crustal evolution across the craton. Peridotite xenoliths are commonly altered by secondary processes including serpentinization, silicification and carbonation, which have variably affected the major element compositions. These secondary processes, as well as mantle metasomatism recorded in pristine silicate minerals, however, did not significantly modify the relative compositions of platinum-group elements (PGE) and Os isotope ratios in the majority of our samples from Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay, as indicated by the generally high absolute PGE concentrations and mantle-like melt-depleted PGE patterns. The observed PGE signatures are consistent with the low bulk Al2O3 contents (mostly lower than 2.5%) of the peridotites, as well as the compositions of the silicate and oxide minerals. Based on PGE patterns and Os model ages, the peridotites from both localities can be categorized into three age groups: Archean (3.0-2.6 Ga overall; 2.8-2.6 Ga for Pelly Bay and 3.0-2.7 Ga for Repulse Bay), Paleoproterozoic (2.1-1.7 Ga), and "Recent" (<1 Ga, with model ages similar to the ca. 546 Ma kimberlite eruption age). The Archean group provides the first direct evidence of depleted Archean lithospheric mantle forming coevally with the overlying Archean crustal basement, indicating cratonization of the Rae during the Archean. The subtle difference in Os model ages between Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay coincides with the age difference between crustal basement rocks beneath these two areas, supporting the suggestion that the Rae craton was assembled by collision of separate two Archean blocks at 2.7-2.6 Ga. The Paleoproterozoic peridotites are interpreted to represent newly formed lithospheric mantle, most likely associated with regional-scale underplating during the 1.77-1.70 Ga Kivalliq-Nueltin event via removal of the lower portion of Archean lithospheric mantle followed by replacement with juvenile Paleoproterozoic lithospheric mantle. The existence of multiple age clusters in the lithosphere at each locality is consistent with the observation of present-day seismic lithospheric discontinuities (0540 and 0545) that indicate two or more layers of fossil lithospheric mantle fabric beneath this region. Our data define a shallow mantle lithosphere layer dominated by Archean depletion ages underlain by a layer of mixed Archean and Paleoproterozoic ages. This lithospheric mantle structure is probably a response to complex tectonic displacement of portions of the lithospheric mantle during Paleoproterozoic orogeny/underplating. The best equilibrated Archean and Paleoproterozoic peridotites at both Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay define a typical cratonic geotherm at the time of kimberlite eruption, with a ?200 km thick lithospheric root extending well into the diamond stability field, in keeping with the diamondiferous nature of the kimberlites. Such thick lithosphere remains in place to the present day as suggested by seismic and magnetotelluric studies (0540, 0545 and 0550). The metasomatically disturbed peridotites in the Rae lithospheric mantle, yielding model ages indistinguishable from kimberlite eruption, may represent parts of the Rae craton mantle root that show anomalous magnetotelluric signatures.
In situ oxygen isotope, major-, and trace element constraints on the metasomatic modification and crustal origin of a Diamondiferous eclogite from Roberts Victor, Kaapvaal Craton.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, 45p.
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Vol. 81, pp. 239-304.
Mantle
Mineralogy
Abstract: Cratonic lithospheric mantle is composed of predominantly refractory materials that formed at higher mantle potential temperatures (TP) than recorded in non-cratonic peridotites. It also shows stronger depletion and fractionation of Pd and Pt from Ru, Os and Ir than oceanic, supra-subduction zone or off-cratonic lithospheric mantle, as well as some of the lowest Se and Te contents. The varied response of the highly siderophile elements (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd, Re, Au), and their embedded radioactive decay systems, to changes in oxygen fugacity (fO2), sulfur fugacity (fS2) and pressure (P)-in particular through the impact of these parameters on the stability of the main HSE-bearing sulfide and alloy phases makes them potentially powerful tracers of their melting environment. Therefore, investigation of the HSE systematics of cratonic mantle peridotites, in combination with information from Re–Os isotopes on time-integrated enrichment or depletion, can help us to understand processes leading to mantle differentiation and continental lithosphere formation in the Archean, which are controversial subjects despite decades of research. The longevity of the cratonic lithosphere implies that there was ample opportunity for secondary overprint, obscuring our view of earlier processes. For example, destabilization of platinum-group element (PGE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) alloy leading to depletions in the compatible PGE, and perhaps Pt, in some cratonic mantle samples may occur in an oxidizing mantle wedge or through interaction with oxidizing small-volume, volatile-rich melts that typically invade cratonic roots. Such melts may eventually deposit S, Pd, Pt and Re and also capture remaining PGE alloys, consistent with the anomalous S-rich character of many kimberlite-borne xenoliths. Their basalt-borne counterparts show additional late effects of subaerial degassing that can deplete volatile elements (S, Re, Os). Basaltic melts can also scavenge PGE alloys at depth, while still sulfide-undersaturated. Such melts, may, on ascent, add sulfides when they become sulfur-saturated and, during the process, refertilize the mantle and modify major-element and modal compositions. The investigation of minor lithologies in the cratonic lithosphere, such as eclogites and pyroxenites, which are expressions of tectonothermal events ranging from subduction to melt infiltration, can enhance our understanding of the effects of these processes on HSE redistribution. Thus, three major topics will be discussed, using HSE systematics in cratonic mantle samples: (1) How did the HSE behave during the (in part) extreme degrees of partial melt extraction experienced by cratonic lithospheric mantle; (2) What were the effects of the secular metasomatic overprint of the cratonic mantle; (3) What was the composition of the Archean convecting mantle, for which cratonic mantle samples may afford better insight than modern samples, provided, of course, that we have an accurate grasp of how HSE are redistributed during partial melting and metasomatism. Models based on experiments done under controlled pressure (P), temperature (T), fO2 and fS2 conditions can help place the data in context and to distinguish between melt- and metasomatism-related processes. Disentangling the various primary and secondary effects is only possible when HSE are studied in combination with lithophile elements, with due attention to petrography and mineralogy. This adds many layers of complexity, but ultimately allows a more complete understanding of the variegated processes that have shaped the cratonic lithosphere through time. In this review, we commence by discussing the peculiarities and complexities of continental lithospheric mantle origin, evolution and current state. We then introduce the database used in this contribution, followed by a brief review of the mineral hosts of HSE in peridotite and of the diverse approaches to isolate the HSE for measurement. We examine the behavior of the HSE during the formation of cratonic lithospheric mantle under non-uniformitarian conditions, where the application of the Re–Os isotope system has afforded particularly useful information on the timing of initial melt depletion and the stabilization of cratonic roots. We then turn to the effects of mantle metasomatism, both during intra-plate and craton-margin processes (see also Gannoun et al. 2016, this volume), on HSE systematics in cratonic mantle. We also discuss the data in the context of melt extraction modelling that shed light on the primary versus secondary HSE signatures in cratonic mantle rocks. Finally, we evaluate the possibility that the HSE in cratonic mantle retain a memory of core formation and subsequent accretionary processes.
Abstract: Canada is host to at least six separate cratons that comprise a significant proportion of its crustal extent. Of these cratons, we possess knowledge of the cratonic lithospheric roots beneath only the Slave craton and, to a lesser extent, the Superior craton, despite the discovery of many new diamond-bearing kimberlites in Canada's North. Here we present the first age, composition and geothermal information for kimberlite-borne peridotite xenoliths from two localities within the central Rae craton: Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay. Our aim is to investigate the nature and evolution of the deep lithosphere in these regions and to examine how events recorded in the mantle may or may not correlate with the complex history of crustal evolution across the craton. Peridotite xenoliths are commonly altered by secondary processes including serpentinization, silicification and carbonation, which have variably affected the major element compositions. These secondary processes, as well as mantle metasomatism recorded in pristine silicate minerals, however, did not significantly modify the relative compositions of platinum-group elements (PGE) and Os isotope ratios in the majority of our samples from Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay, as indicated by the generally high absolute PGE concentrations and mantle-like melt-depleted PGE patterns. The observed PGE signatures are consistent with the low bulk Al2O3 contents (mostly lower than 2.5%) of the peridotites, as well as the compositions of the silicate and oxide minerals. Based on PGE patterns and Os model ages, the peridotites from both localities can be categorized into three age groups: Archean (3.0-2.6 Ga overall; 2.8-2.6 Ga for Pelly Bay and 3.0-2.7 Ga for Repulse Bay), Paleoproterozoic (2.1-1.7 Ga), and “Recent” (<1 Ga, with model ages similar to the ca. 546 Ma kimberlite eruption age). The Archean group provides the first direct evidence of depleted Archean lithospheric mantle forming coevally with the overlying Archean crustal basement, indicating cratonization of the Rae during the Archean. The subtle difference in Os model ages between Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay coincides with the age difference between crustal basement rocks beneath these two areas, supporting the suggestion that the Rae craton was assembled by collision of separate two Archean blocks at 2.7-2.6 Ga. The Paleoproterozoic peridotites are interpreted to represent newly formed lithospheric mantle, most likely associated with regional-scale underplating during the 1.77-1.70 Ga Kivalliq-Nueltin event via removal of the lower portion of Archean lithospheric mantle followed by replacement with juvenile Paleoproterozoic lithospheric mantle. The existence of multiple age clusters in the lithosphere at each locality is consistent with the observation of present-day seismic lithospheric discontinuities (0540 and 0545) that indicate two or more layers of fossil lithospheric mantle fabric beneath this region. Our data define a shallow mantle lithosphere layer dominated by Archean depletion ages underlain by a layer of mixed Archean and Paleoproterozoic ages. This lithospheric mantle structure is probably a response to complex tectonic displacement of portions of the lithospheric mantle during Paleoproterozoic orogeny/underplating. The best equilibrated Archean and Paleoproterozoic peridotites at both Pelly Bay and Repulse Bay define a typical cratonic geotherm at the time of kimberlite eruption, with a ?200 km thick lithospheric root extending well into the diamond stability field, in keeping with the diamondiferous nature of the kimberlites. Such thick lithosphere remains in place to the present day as suggested by seismic and magnetotelluric studies (0540, 0545 and 0550). The metasomatically disturbed peridotites in the Rae lithospheric mantle, yielding model ages indistinguishable from kimberlite eruption, may represent parts of the Rae craton mantle root that show anomalous magnetotelluric signatures.
In situ oxygen-isotope, major, and trace element constraints on the metasomatic modification and crust origin of a Diamondiferous eclogite from Roberts Victor, Kaapvaal craton.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 174, pp. 345-359.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 171, 11, 24p.
Africa, South Africa
Deposit - Bellsbank
Abstract: An oceanic crustal origin is the commonly accepted paradigm for mantle-derived eclogites. However, the significance of the aluminous members of the eclogite suite, containing kyanite and corundum, has long been underrated and their role neglected in genetic models of cratonic evolution. Here, we present a geochemical and petrological study of a suite of kyanite- and corundum-bearing eclogites from the Bellsbank kimberlite, S. Africa, which originate from depths between 150 and 200 km. Although clearly of high-pressure provenance, these rocks had a low-pressure cumulative origin with plagioclase and olivine as major cumulate phases. This is shown by the very pronounced positive Eu anomalies, low REE abundances, and ? 18O values lower than the Earth’s mantle. Many chemical features are identical to modern-day troctolitic cumulates including a light REE depletion akin to MORB, but there are also distinguishing features in that the eclogites are richer in Na, Fe, and Ni. Two of the eclogites have a minimum age of ~3.2 Ga, defined by the extremely unradiogenic 87Sr/86Sr (0.7007) in clinopyroxene. Phase equilibria indicate that the parent melts were formed by partial melting below an Archean volcanic center that generated (alkali-)picritic to high-alumina tholeiitic melts from a mantle whose oxygen fugacity was lower than today. Fractional crystallization produced troctolites with immiscible sulfide melt droplets within the mafic crust. Instability of the mafic crust led to deep subduction and re-equilibration at 4 6 GPa. Phase relationships plus the presence of a sample with appreciable modal corundum but no Eu anomaly suggest that kyanite- and corundum-bearing eclogites may also originate as plagioclase-free, higher pressure cumulates of highly aluminous clinopyroxene, spinel, and olivine. This is consistent with the crystallizing phase assemblage from an olivine tholeiitic to picritic magma deeper in the Archean oceanic crust or uppermost mantle. We postulate that the magmatic and subduction processes driving modern plate tectonics already existed in the Meso- to Early Archean.
Bussweiler, Y., Pearson, D.G., Luth, R.W., Kjarsgaard, B.A., Stachel, T.
The evolution of calcite-bearing kimberlite by rock-melt reaction during ascent - evidence from polymineralic inclusions within Cr- diopside and Cr-pyrope megacrysts from Lac de Gras kimberlites, Northwest Territories, Canada.
GAC MAC Meeting Special Session SS11: Cratons, kimberlites and diamonds., abstract 1/4p.
Abstract: First predictions of the macrodiamond grade of newly discovered kimberlites are commonly obtained using size frequency distributions of microdiamonds. The success of this approach suggests a common origin of microdiamonds and macrodiamonds, an implication not yet conclusively established or disproved. In contrast to previous comparative studies on microdiamonds and macrodiamonds from single deposits, here all diamonds analyzed originate from the same microdiamond samples (558 diamonds, ranging from 0.212 to 3.35 mm). The diamonds were analyzed for their carbon isotope compositions and nitrogen characteristics, and, based on this dataset, statistical comparisons were conducted across the size range to assess cogenesis. As a whole, the Misery diamond suite shows high nitrogen contents (median = 850 at. ppm), a bimodal distribution in time-averaged mantle residence temperatures (two distinct subpopulations in mantle residence temperatures: ?1,125° and ?1,175°C), a high degree of platelet degradation, and ?13C compositions that are isotopically slightly heavier (median = ?4.4‰) than the global median. Statistical comparisons of the various size classes indicate the presence of subtly different subpopulations at Misery; however, the nature and magnitude of these geochemical differences are very small in the context of the global diamond database and are viewed as petrogenetically insignificant. The general geochemical similarity of diamonds from different size fractions at Misery reinforces the use of size-frequency analysis to predict diamond grade in kimberlite diamond deposits.
GAC MAC Meeting Special Session SS11: Cratons, kimberlites and diamonds., abstract 1/4p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Diamond indicators
Abstract: The Central Mackenzie Valley (CMV) area of the Northwest Territories (NWT) comprises a Phanerozoic sedimentary basin that lies between the western margin of the Slave craton and the Cordillera. Although the region is considerably outside the bounds of the exposed Slave craton, both LITHOPROBE and more recent regional-scale surface wave studies (e.g., Priestley and McKenzie, 2006) indicate the likely presence of lithospheric mantle extending into the diamond stability field. Recent work conducted by Olivut Resources Ltd. led to the discovery of 29 kimberlites in the CMV. However, the indicator mineral chemistry of discovered kimberlites does not appear to be a good match (www.olivut.ca) with those during regional till and stream sediment sampling by the Geologic Survey of Canada (GSC) and Northwest Territories Geologic Survey (NTGS) in August 2003 and July 2005. We present new geochemical data on the regional indicator minerals with the aim of obtaining geotherm and depth of mantle sampling constraints on those indicator minerals discovered to date. A statistical evaluation of the data will compare the similarities to indicator mineral chemistry with parts of the Slave craton to evaluate whether the CMV indicators may ultimately be derived from that region. In total 3600 kimberlite indicator mineral grains were picked from the 0.25-2.0 mm size fractions. Peridotitic garnet grains dominate (46%), followed by magnesium ilmenite (26%), with decreasing individual proportions >15% of chromite, low-chrome diopside, olivine, chrome-diopside and eclogitic garnet. A sub-sample of these grains (3143) were analysed by EPMA. Garnet grains classify (after Grütter et al., 2004) as 1015 (62.1%) G9, 270 (16.5%) G11, 113 (6.9%) G10, 103 (6.3%) G12, 57 (3.5%) G1, 46 (2.8%) G10D, and the remaining 31 (1.9%) as G0, G3, G3D, G4, and G5. A sub-set of garnet grains (~700) were selected for LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis. Of the grains selected 74% G9, 14% G10 (and G10D), and 8% G11, with only 4% G12 and G0 (Grütter et al., 2004). Nickel concentrations from these grains range from 2.6-168.2 ppm, with the majority (>80%) between 20-100 ppm, yielding TNi (Canil, 1999) values ranging from 643-1348°C, with the majority between ~1000-1200°C. Using a central Slave craton geothermal gradient (Hasterok and Chapman, 2011), equilibration pressures for these garnet grains range from 20-80 kbars with the majority between 40-60 kbars (120-185 km). Preliminary analysis has 581 (81%) of the erupted peridotitic mantle garnet grains plotting within the diamond stability field (Kennedy and Kennedy, 1976). Of the 128 clinopyroxene grains analysed, only a few represent garnet peridotite (lherzolite) facies KIM clinopyroxene grains following compositional screening. Thermobarometry of these grains (Nimis and Taylor, 2000), assuming they were all derived from the same lithospheric section, yields P-T arrays identical to the central Slave geotherm that was 220 km thick at the time of eruption. These results are encouraging for diamond exploration. We thank Overburden Drilling Management Ltd. for grain picking and recovery of the small diamond, SGS Lakefield Research for mounting grains, and the GSC for probing of the grains.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 171, 7, 25p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Deposit - Lac de Gras arena
Abstract: Megacrystic (>1 cm) clinopyroxene (Cr-diopside) and garnet (Cr-pyrope) xenocrysts within kimberlites from Lac de Gras (Northwest Territories, Canada) contain fully crystallized melt inclusions. These ‘polymineralic inclusions’ have previously been interpreted to form by necking down of melts at mantle depths. We present a detailed petrographical and geochemical investigation of polymineralic inclusions and their host crystals to better understand how they form and what they reveal about the evolution of kimberlite melt. Genetically, the megacrysts are mantle xenocrysts with peridotitic chemical signatures indicating an origin within the lithospheric mantle (for the Cr-diopsides studied here ~4.6 GPa, 1015 °C). Textural evidence for disequilibrium between the host crystals and their polymineralic inclusions (spongy rims in Cr-diopside, kelyphite in Cr-pyrope) is consistent with measured Sr isotopic disequilibrium. The preservation of disequilibrium establishes a temporal link to kimberlite eruption. In Cr-diopsides, polymineralic inclusions contain phlogopite, olivine, chromite, serpentine, and calcite. Abundant fluid inclusion trails surround the inclusions. In Cr-pyropes, the inclusions additionally contain Al-spinel, clinopyroxene, and dolomite. The major and trace element compositions of the inclusion phases are generally consistent with the early stages of kimberlite differentiation trends. Extensive chemical exchange between the host phases and the inclusions is indicated by enrichment of the inclusions in major components of the host crystals, such as Cr2O3 and Al2O3. This chemical evidence, along with phase equilibria constraints, supports the proposal that the inclusions within Cr-diopside record the decarbonation reaction: dolomitic melt + diopside ? forsterite + calcite + CO2, yielding the observed inclusion mineralogy and producing associated (CO2-rich) fluid inclusions. Our study of polymineralic inclusions in megacrysts provides clear mineralogical and chemical evidence for an origin of kimberlite that involves the reaction of high-pressure dolomitic melt with diopside-bearing mantle assemblages producing a lower-pressure melt that crystallizes a calcite-dominated assemblage in the crust.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available 25p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Deposit - Lac de Gras
Abstract: Megacrystic (>1 cm) clinopyroxene (Cr-diopside) and garnet (Cr-pyrope) xenocrysts within kimberlites from Lac de Gras (Northwest Territories, Canada) contain fully crystallized melt inclusions. These ‘polymineralic inclusions’ have previously been interpreted to form by necking down of melts at mantle depths. We present a detailed petrographical and geochemical investigation of polymineralic inclusions and their host crystals to better understand how they form and what they reveal about the evolution of kimberlite melt. Genetically, the megacrysts are mantle xenocrysts with peridotitic chemical signatures indicating an origin within the lithospheric mantle (for the Cr-diopsides studied here ~4.6 GPa, 1015 °C). Textural evidence for disequilibrium between the host crystals and their polymineralic inclusions (spongy rims in Cr-diopside, kelyphite in Cr-pyrope) is consistent with measured Sr isotopic disequilibrium. The preservation of disequilibrium establishes a temporal link to kimberlite eruption. In Cr-diopsides, polymineralic inclusions contain phlogopite, olivine, chromite, serpentine, and calcite. Abundant fluid inclusion trails surround the inclusions. In Cr-pyropes, the inclusions additionally contain Al-spinel, clinopyroxene, and dolomite. The major and trace element compositions of the inclusion phases are generally consistent with the early stages of kimberlite differentiation trends. Extensive chemical exchange between the host phases and the inclusions is indicated by enrichment of the inclusions in major components of the host crystals, such as Cr2O3 and Al2O3. This chemical evidence, along with phase equilibria constraints, supports the proposal that the inclusions within Cr-diopside record the decarbonation reaction: dolomitic melt + diopside ? forsterite + calcite + CO2, yielding the observed inclusion mineralogy and producing associated (CO2-rich) fluid inclusions. Our study of polymineralic inclusions in megacrysts provides clear mineralogical and chemical evidence for an origin of kimberlite that involves the reaction of high-pressure dolomitic melt with diopside-bearing mantle assemblages producing a lower-pressure melt that crystallizes a calcite-dominated assemblage in the crust.
Abstract: In this study, we report the first direct evidence for water-bearing fluids in the uppermost lower mantle from natural ferropericlase crystal contained within a diamond from São Luíz, Brazil. The ferropericlase exhibits exsolution of magnesioferrite, which places the origin of this assemblage in the uppermost part of the lower mantle. The presence of brucite-Mg(OH)2 precipitates in the ferropericlase crystal reflects the later-stage quenching of H2O-bearing fluid likely in the transition zone, which has been trapped during the inclusion process in the lower mantle. Dehydration melting may be one of the key processes involved in transporting water across the boundary between the upper and lower mantle.
Abstract: Fluids are now thought to be the growth medium for most diamonds sampled from the base of the lithosphere. Fluids trapped in fast-growing, fluid-rich diamonds provide the only direct view of this growth medium and provide valuable information on the geochemistry of deep mantle fluids in general. The most common fluids within fluid-rich diamonds are those belonging to the low- and high-Mg carbonatite affinity as well as more Si-rich variants. A sub-class of fluids that are very rich in alkalis and Cl, known as “saline” fluids, have been found but are generally scarce. At both Ekati and Diavik saline fluids appear much more common and provide a unique insight into their origin. We describe a novel sampling method that allows the analysis of the trace element and radiogenic isotope composition of diamonds (both gem and fluid-rich). Using these methods we analyzed 11 diamonds from the Fox kimberlite in the Ekati kimberlite cluster. The diamonds containing saline fluids are solely associated with peridotite on the basis of their micro-mineral inclusions. Silicic fluid compositions are related exclusively to eclogitic inclusions. Striking differences between the two fluid compositions are the positive Eu and Sr anomalies within saline fluids versus no anomalies in the silicic fluids. These characteristics are identical to previously studied fluids in fibrous diamonds from neighbouring kimberlites in Ekati and Diavik, which also contains diamonds carrying high- and low-Mg carbonatitic fluids. Combining the data, we show a clear chemical evolutionary trend, identifying for the first time saline fluids as parental to silicic and carbonatitic deep mantle melts, via fluid-rock interaction in the Slave CLM. Moreover, the trace-element and Sr isotopic fingerprints of subducting slabs and the timing of host diamond formation suggest that a subducting plate under western North America is the source of the saline fluids, which controlled metasomatism in the Slave lithosphere prior to Mesozoic kimberlite eruption. Saline fluids can be documented as a metasomatic product interacting with the lithosphere above shallow-subducting slabs such as the Farallon slab. As such they appear to be key players in the enrichment of the base of the lithosphere and the formation of diamonds.
Abstract: Fluids are now thought to be the growth medium for most diamonds sampled from the base of the lithosphere. Fluids trapped in fast-growing, fluid-rich diamonds provide the only direct view of this growth medium and provide valuable information on the geochemistry of deep mantle fluids in general. The most common fluids within fluid-rich diamonds are those belonging to the low- and high-Mg carbonatite affinity as well as more Si-rich variants. A sub-class of fluids that are very rich in alkalis and Cl, known as “saline” fluids, have been found but are generally scarce. At both Ekati and Diavik saline fluids appear much more common and provide a unique insight into their origin. We describe a novel sampling method that allows the analysis of the trace element and radiogenic isotope composition of diamonds (both gem and fluid-rich). Using these methods we analyzed 11 diamonds from the Fox kimberlite in the Ekati kimberlite cluster. The diamonds containing saline fluids are solely associated with peridotite on the basis of their micro-mineral inclusions. Silicic fluid compositions are related exclusively to eclogitic inclusions. Striking differences between the two fluid compositions are the positive Eu and Sr anomalies within saline fluids versus no anomalies in the silicic fluids. These characteristics are identical to previously studied fluids in fibrous diamonds from neighbouring kimberlites in Ekati and Diavik, which also contains diamonds carrying high- and low-Mg carbonatitic fluids. Combining the data, we show a clear chemical evolutionary trend, identifying for the first time saline fluids as parental to silicic and carbonatitic deep mantle melts, via fluid-rock interaction in the Slave CLM. Moreover, the trace-element and Sr isotopic fingerprints of subducting slabs and the timing of host diamond formation suggest that a subducting plate under western North America is the source of the saline fluids, which controlled metasomatism in the Slave lithosphere prior to Mesozoic kimberlite eruption. Saline fluids can be documented as a metasomatic product interacting with the lithosphere above shallow-subducting slabs such as the Farallon slab. As such they appear to be key players in the enrichment of the base of the lithosphere and the formation of diamonds.
Abstract: Due to the acute scarcity of very ancient rocks, the composition of Earth’s embryonic crust during the Hadean eon (>4.0 billion years ago) is a critical unknown in our search to understand how the earliest continents evolved. Whether the Hadean Earth was dominated by mafic-composition crust, similar to today’s oceanic crust1, 2, 3, 4, or included significant amounts of continental crust5, 6, 7, 8 remains an unsolved question that carries major implications for the earliest atmosphere, the origin of life, and the geochemical evolution of the crust-mantle system. Here we present new U-Pb and Hf isotope data on zircons from the only precisely dated Hadean rock unit on Earth—a 4,019.6 ± 1.8?Myr tonalitic gneiss unit in the Acasta Gneiss Complex, Canada. Combined zircon and whole-rock geochemical data from this ancient unit shows no indication of derivation from, or interaction with, older Hadean continental crust. Instead, the data provide the first direct evidence that the oldest known evolved crust on Earth was generated from an older ultramafic or mafic reservoir that probably surfaced the early Earth.
Abstract: Although trace element concentrations in clinopyroxene serve as a useful tool for assessing the depletion and enrichment history of mantle peridotites, this is not applicable for peridotites in which the clinopyroxene component has been consumed (~ 25% partial melting). Orthopyroxene persists in mantle residues until ~ 40% melting and it is therefore this mineral that offers petrological insights into the evolution of refractory peridotites. Major and trace element concentrations in orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene from two spinel facies harzburgitic xenolith suites from New Zealand are examined. Samples from Cape L'Evique (CLEV) on Chatham Island contain traces of clinopyroxene (< 2 modal %) but a suite from Lake Moana (MOA) in the South Island is devoid of this mineral. When compared with modelled orthopyroxene trace element budgets, which are constructed from a review of published source modes, melting modes and element/melt partition co-efficients, the measured orthopyroxene rare earth element data in both suites generally indicate minimums of 25-30% partial melting. These results are consistent with co-existing elevated Mg# in olivine (mostly 91.4 to 93.0) and orthopyroxene (mostly 91.3 to 93.6), high spinel Cr# (commonly > 45) and low orthopyroxene Al2O3 (generally < 3.1 wt%). However, comparison of modelled and measured orthopyroxene compositions shows that all samples, even the most refractory, have undergone metasomatism by small volume light rare earth element-bearing agents. Measured orthopyroxene Ti concentrations show that the metasomatic agent that affected the CLEV suite carried Ti, but that the MOA suite metasomatiser was Ti-poor. Orthopyroxene trace elements in the inspected rocks are therefore partly decoupled from the major element abundances, with the results demonstrating that even highly refractory peridotites can record evidence for mantle metasomatism.
Abstract: Due to the acute scarcity of very ancient rocks, the composition of Earth’s embryonic crust during the Hadean eon (>4.0 billion years ago) is a critical unknown in our search to understand how the earliest continents evolved. Whether the Hadean Earth was dominated by mafic-composition crust, similar to today’s oceanic crust1, 2, 3, 4, or included significant amounts of continental crust5, 6, 7, 8 remains an unsolved question that carries major implications for the earliest atmosphere, the origin of life, and the geochemical evolution of the crust-mantle system. Here we present new U-Pb and Hf isotope data on zircons from the only precisely dated Hadean rock unit on Earth—a 4,019.6 ± 1.8?Myr tonalitic gneiss unit in the Acasta Gneiss Complex, Canada. Combined zircon and whole-rock geochemical data from this ancient unit shows no indication of derivation from, or interaction with, older Hadean continental crust. Instead, the data provide the first direct evidence that the oldest known evolved crust on Earth was generated from an older ultramafic or mafic reservoir that probably surfaced the early Earth.
Abstract: Construction histories of Archean cratons remain poorly understood; their destruction is even less clear because of its rarity, but metasomatic weakening is an essential precursor. By assembling geophysical and geochemical data in 3-D lithosphere models, a clearer understanding of the geometry of major structures within the Rae, Slave and Wyoming cratons of central North America is now possible. Little evidence exists of subducted slab-like geometries similar to modern oceanic lithosphere in these construction histories. Underthrusting and wedging of proto-continental lithosphere is inferred from multiple dipping discontinuities, emphasizing the role of lateral accretion. Archean continental building blocks may resemble the modern lithosphere of oceanic plateau, but they better match the sort of refractory crust expected to have formed at Archean ocean spreading centres. Radiometric dating of mantle xenoliths provides estimates of rock types and ages at depth beneath sparse kimberlite occurrences, and these ages can be correlated to surface rocks. The 3.6-2.6 Ga Rae, Slave and Wyoming cratons stabilized during a granitic bloom at 2.61-2.55 Ga. This stabilization probably represents the final differentiation of early crust into a relatively homogeneous, uniformly thin (35-42 km), tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite crust with pyroxenite layers near the Moho atop depleted lithospheric mantle. Peak thermo-tectonic events at 1.86-1.7 Ga broadly metasomatized, mineralized and recrystallized mantle and lower crustal rocks, apparently making mantle peridotite more ‘fertile’ and more conductive by introducing or concentrating sulfides or graphite at 80-120 km depths. This metasomatism may have also weakened the lithosphere or made it more susceptible to tectonic or chemical erosion. Late Cretaceous flattening of Farallon lithosphere that included the Shatsky Rise conjugate appears to have weakened, eroded and displaced the base of the Wyoming craton below 140-160 km. This process replaced the old re-fertilized continental mantle with relatively young depleted oceanic mantle.
Abstract: Archean tectonics was capable of producing virtually indestructible cratonic mantle lithosphere, but the dominant mechanism of this process remains a topic of considerable discussion. Recent geophysical and petrological studies have refuelled the debate by suggesting that thickening and associated vertical movement of the cratonic mantle lithosphere after its formation are essential ingredients of the cratonization process. Here we present a geodynamical study that focuses on how the thick stable cratonic lithospheric roots can be made in a thermally evolving mantle. Our numerical experiments explore the viability of a cratonization process in which depleted mantle lithosphere grows via lateral compression into a > 200-km thick, stable cratonic root and on what timescales this may happen. Successful scenarios for craton formation, within the bounds of our models, are found to be composed of two stages: an initial phase of tectonic shortening and a later phase of gravitational self-thickening. The initial tectonic shortening of previously depleted mantle material is essential to initiate the cratonization process, while the subsequent gravitational self-thickening contributes to a second thickening phase that is comparable in magnitude to the initial tectonic phase. Our results show that a combination of intrinsic compositional buoyancy of the cratonic root, rapid cooling of the root after shortening, and the long-term secular cooling of the mantle prevents a Rayleigh-Taylor type collapse, and will stabilize the thick cratonic root for future preservation. This two-stage thickening model provides a geodynamically viable cratonization scenario that is consistent with petrological and geophysical constraints.
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017, Vienna April 23-28, 1p. 5540 Abstract
Africa, Botswana
Deposit - Letlhakane
Abstract: The diamondiferous Letlhakane kimberlites are part of the Orapa kimberlite cluster (˜ 93.1 Ma) in north-eastern Botswana, located on the edge of the Zimbabwe Craton, close to the Proterozoic Magondi Mobile Belt. Here we report the first Re-Os ages of six individual eclogitic sulphide inclusions (3.0 to 35.7?g) from Letlhakane diamonds along with their rhenium, osmium, iridium and platinum concentrations, and carbon isotope, nitrogen content and N-aggregation data from the corresponding growth zones of the host diamonds. For the first time, Re-Os data will be compared to Sm-Nd ages of individual eclogitic silicate inclusions recovered from the same diamonds using a Triton Plus equipped with four 1013? amplifiers. The analysed inclusion set currently encompasses pairs of individual sulphides from two diamonds (LK040 sf4 & 5, LK113 sf1 & 2) and two sulphide inclusions from separate diamonds (LK048, LK362). Ongoing work will determine the Sm-Nd ages and element composition of multiple individual eclogitic garnets (LK113/LK362, n=4) and an eclogitic clinopyroxene (LK040) inclusion. TMA ages of the six sulphides range from 1.06 to 2.38 Ga (± 0.1 to 0.54 Ga) with Re and Os contents between 7 and 68 ppb and 0.03 and 0.3 ppb, respectively. The host diamond growth zones have low nitrogen abundances (21 to 43 ppm N) and high N-aggregation (53 to 90% IaB). Carbon isotope data suggests the involvement of crustal carbon (?13C between -19.3 to -22.7 ± 0.2 per mill) during diamond precipitation. Cathodoluminescence imaging of central plates from LK040 and LK113 displays homogenous internal structure with no distinct zonation. The two sulphide inclusions from LK040 define an 'isochron' of 0.92 ± 0.23 Ga (2SD) with initial 187Os/188Os = 1.31 ± 0.24. Sulphides from LK113 have clear imposed diamond morphology and indicate diamond formation at 0.93 ± 0.36 Ga (2SD) with initial 187Os/188Os = 0.69 ± 0.44. The variation in the initial 187Os/188Os does not justify including these inclusions (or any from other diamonds) on the same isochron and implies an extremely heterogeneous diamond crystallisation environment that incorporated recycled Os. C1-normalized osmium, iridium and platinum (PGE) compositions from the analysed sulphide inclusions display enrichment in Ir (3.4 to 33) and Pt (2.3 to 28.1) in comparison to eclogitic xenolith data from Orapa that are depleted relative to chondrite. The Re-Os isochrons determined in this study are within error of previously reported ages from the adjacent (˜40km) Orapa diamond mine (1.0 to 2.9 Ga) based on sulphide inclusions and a multi-point 990 ± 50 Ma (2SD) isochron for composite (n=730) silicate inclusions. Together with additional new Sm-Nd isochron age determinations from individual silicate inclusions from Letlhakane (2.3 ± 0.02 (n = 3); 1.0 ± 0.14 (n = 4) and 0.25 ± 0.04 Ga (n = 3), all 2SE) these data suggest a phase of Mesoproterozoic diamond formation as well as Neoarchean/Paleoproterozoic and Mesozoic diamond growth, in punctuated events spanning >2.0 Ga.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 55p.
Africa, South Africa
Deposit - Roberts Victor
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 49p.
Canada, Nunavut, Somerset Island
peridotite
Abstract: We report detailed petrographic investigations along with 187Os/188Os data in Base Metal Sulfide (BMS) on four cratonic mantle xenoliths from Somerset Island (Rae Craton, Canada). The results shed light on the processes affecting the Re-Os systematics and provide time constraints on the formation and evolution of the cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the Rae craton. When devoid of alteration, BMS grains mainly consist of pentlandite + pyrrhotite ± chalcopyrite. The relatively high BMS modal abundance of the four investigated xenoliths cannot be reconciled with the residual nature of these peridotites, but requires addition of metasomatic BMS. This is especially evident in the two peridotites with the highest bulk Pd/Ir and Pd/Pt. Metasomatic BMS likely formed during melt/fluid percolation in the Sub Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) as well as during infiltration of the host kimberlite magma, when djerfisherite crystallized around older Fe-Ni-sulfides. On the whole-rock scale, kimberlite metasomatism is visible in a subset of bulk xenoliths, which defines a Re-Os errorchron that dates the host magma emplacement.
The 187Os/188Os measured in the twenty analysed BMS grains vary from 0.1084 to >0.17 and it shows no systematic variation depending on the sulfide mineralogical assemblage. The largest range in 187Os/188Os is observed in BMS grains from the two xenoliths with the highest Pd/Ir, Pd/Pt, and sulfide modal abundance. The whole-rock TRD ages of these two samples underestimate the melting age obtained from BMS, demonstrating that bulk Re-Os model ages from peridotites with clear evidence of metasomatism should be treated with caution.
The TRD ages determined in BMS grains are clustered around 2.8-2.7, ?2.2 and ?1.9 Ga. The 2.8-2.7 Ga TRD ages document the main SCLM building event in the Rae craton, which is likely related to the formation of the local greenstone belts in a continental rift setting. The Paleoproterozoic TRD ages can be explained by addition of metasomatic BMS during (i) major lithospheric rifting at ?2.2 Ga and (ii) the Taltson-Thelon orogeny at ?1.9 Ga. The data suggest that even metasomatic BMS can inherit 187Os/188Os from their original mantle source. The lack of isotopic equilibration, even at the micro-scale, allowed the preservation of different populations of BMS grains with distinct 187Os/188Os, providing age information on multiple magmatic events that affected the SCLM.
Abstract: Archean tectonics was capable of producing virtually indestructible cratonic mantle lithosphere, but the dominant mechanism of this process remains a topic of considerable discussion. Recent geophysical and petrological studies have refuelled the debate by suggesting that thickening and associated vertical movement of the cratonic mantle lithosphere after its formation are essential ingredients of the cratonization process. Here we present a geodynamical study that focuses on how the thick stable cratonic lithospheric roots can be made in a thermally evolving mantle. Our numerical experiments explore the viability of a cratonization process in which depleted mantle lithosphere grows via lateral compression into a > 200-km thick, stable cratonic root and on what timescales this may happen. Successful scenarios for craton formation, within the bounds of our models, are found to be composed of two stages: an initial phase of tectonic shortening and a later phase of gravitational self-thickening. The initial tectonic shortening of previously depleted mantle material is essential to initiate the cratonization process, while the subsequent gravitational self-thickening contributes to a second thickening phase that is comparable in magnitude to the initial tectonic phase. Our results show that a combination of intrinsic compositional buoyancy of the cratonic root, rapid cooling of the root after shortening, and the long-term secular cooling of the mantle prevents a Rayleigh-Taylor type collapse, and will stabilize the thick cratonic root for future preservation. This two-stage thickening model provides a geodynamically viable cratonization scenario that is consistent with petrological and geophysical constraints.
Abstract: Monticellite is a magmatic and/or deuteric mineral that is often present, but widely varying in concentrations in Group-I (or archetypal) kimberlites. To provide new constraints on the petrogenesis of monticellite and its potential significance to kimberlite melt evolution, we examine the petrography and geochemistry of the minimally altered hypabyssal monticellite-rich Leslie (Canada) and Pipe 1 (Finland) kimberlites. In these kimberlites, monticellite (Mtc) is abundant (25–45 vol%) and can be classified into two distinct morphological types: discrete and intergrown groundmass grains (Mtc-I), and replacement of olivine (Mtc-II).
Monticellite in group-I kimberlites: Implications for evolution of parental melts and post-emplacement CO 2 degassing (PDF Download Available).
Abstract: Metasomatism by fluid or melt is commonly attributed as the cause of chemical and modal heterogeneity observed in peridotite xenoliths from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Documented manifestations are (1) perturbation of the oxygen fugacity (fO2), which may affect the stability of carbon-bearing phases, and (2) trace-element enrichment, typified by the shape of REEN patterns. Garnet, which contains Fe2+ and Fe3+ in measurable quantities, and exhibits prominent variation in REEN patterns between samples, may record the metasomatic history of the mantle. Here we report variations of fO2 and trace element concentrations for a suite of 22 garnet-bearing peridotite xenoliths from the Louwrensia kimberlite, south-central Namibia. The xenoliths span an estimated pressure range between 2.7 and 4.5 GPa. Fe3+/?Fe of garnet was determined by Fe K-edge XANES spectroscopy. Concomitant fO2 was calculated using the oxybarometer calibration of Miller et al. [1]. The trace element concentrations of all phases were determined by LA-ICP-MS. A global dataset comprising 454 garnet REEN patterns from 19 kimberlites has been compiled. The REEN pattern of each sample was fit to orthogonal polynomial functions that parameterise the abundance, slope, quadratic curvature, and cubic curvature [2]. Quadratic and cubic curvature correlate with abundance, albeit with considerable scatter. There is, however, an absence of correlation between REEN patterns and fO2, depth, or modal abundance. This is in contrast to correlations and trends observed for basaltic melts that clearly identify petrogenetic trends. The partitioning of REEs between garnet and co-existing phases in these samples highlights pronounced trace-element disequilibrium and hence question the validity of considering garnet REEN in isolation as a means of discerning metasomatic history
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: G3, Vol. 18, 7, pp. 2727-2747.
Canada, Somerset Island, Saskatchewan, United States, Kansas
magmatism, convection, diamond genesis
Abstract: Thirty new high-precision U-Pb perovskite and zircon ages from kimberlites in central North America delineate a corridor of mid-Cretaceous (115–92 Ma) magmatism that extends ?4000 km from Somerset Island in Arctic Canada through central Saskatchewan to Kansas, USA. The least contaminated whole rock Sr, Nd, and Hf isotopic data, coupled with Sr isotopic data from groundmass perovskite indicates an exceptionally limited range in Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions, clustering at the low ?Nd end of the OIB array. These isotopic compositions are distinct from other studied North American kimberlites and point to a sublithospheric source region. This mid-Cretaceous kimberlite magmatism cannot be related to mantle plumes associated with the African or Pacific large low-shear wave velocity province (LLSVP). All three kimberlite fields are adjacent to strongly attenuated lithosphere at the edge of the North American craton. This facilitated edge-driven convection, a top-down driven processes that caused decompression melting of the transition zone or overlying asthenosphere. The inversion of ringwoodite and/or wadsleyite and release of H2O, with subsequent metasomatism and synchronous wet partial melting generates a hot CO2 and H2O-rich protokimberlite melt. Emplacement in the crust is controlled by local lithospheric factors; all three kimberlite fields have mid-Cretaceous age, reactivated major deep-seated structures that facilitated kimberlite melt transit through the lithosphere.
Abstract: The Slave craton, located in the northwestern portion of the Canadian Shield, contains the oldest known remnant of evolved crust on Earth [1?3] and more extensive suites of granitoid basement gneisses with crystallization ages that nearly span the breadth of the Archean. Portions of these basement gneisses form the Central Slave Basement Complex (CSBC), a belt of exposures recording magmatic events that occurred approximately every 100?150 million years from 3.5?2.7 Ga [4]. When considered with the 4.02 Ga Acasta Gneiss Complex, the good exposure and wide age range of basement gneisses of the Slave craton provide a unique record of the geological processes involved in continent formation. A suite of 3.5?2.7 gyr old Slave craton granitoids collected from a 200 km-long traverse of the CSBC has intermediate to felsic compositions, textures that range from migmatitic gneisses to preservation of primary magmatic features. Preliminary Sm-Nd isotope systematics, as well as zircon U-Pb and Hf isotope data suggest that the granitoids reflect both the products of reworking of Hadean crust, as indicated by the presence of 142Nd deficits in some of the units, but also new additions from the mantle as indicated both in the chemical composition and initial isotopic composition of other rock units. For those samples that derive from remelting of older crustal materials, the initial Hf isotopic composition of zircons are most consistent with a source component that includes Hadean mafic crust. The multiple U-Pb age peaks documented by accessory minerals show a close correspondence with age spectra from the welldocumented mantle lithosphere beneath this region [5] illustrating the coupled evolution of crust and mantle.
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Abstract: Eclogite xenoliths brought to the surface by kimberlites are high pressure mafic rocks whose origin (magmatic vs crustal) remains debated. In addition to disagreement on how to interpret eclogite compositions, mantle metasomatism overprints the mineralogy and geochemistry of some of these rocks, making the question of their protolith undoubtedly more complex. In this contribution we aim to test the robustness of multiple S-isotope signatures in highly metasomatized eclogitic sulfides. We selected 12 interstitial sulfides from Mir (n=4) and Udachnaya (n=8) eclogites, intergrown with garnet and omphacite. We analysed their lead (including Pb204) and S-isotope (32S, 33S, 34S and 36S) compositions, insitu, using a Cameca ims 1280. The samples consist of complex assemblages of pyrrhotite pentlandite intergrowth with K- and Cl-rich sulfides (djerfisherite) invaded by veinlets of alteration minerals (mainly chlorite). All our samples display internal zoning in Pb concentration (118 ppm to 4.2 wt%) but are homogeneous in isotopic compositions (e.g. 208Pb/204Pb = 38.09 ± 0.35‰). Pb-Pb ages of eclogitic sulfides are modern and undoubtedly reflect the metasomatic overprint by a Cl- and K-rich kimberlitic melt (consistent with the presence of djerfisherite). Sulfur isotope signatures of these sulfide (G34S = -1.3‰ ±2‰) fall within the canonical mantle range and cannot be distinguished from the composition of sulfides in the kimberlite (-1.4 ±2.2‰, Kitayama et al., 2016). Furthermore, Mir and Udachanaya eclogitic sulfides carry the largest mass independant fractionation (MIF) ever reported in mantle rocks. The overall trend reveals negative ?33S (down to - 1.1‰) associated to positive ?36S (up to 3‰). This observed correlation between ?33S and ?36S is consistent with the composition of sulfate aerosols formed in the Archean by photolysis reactions and likely dissolved in the ocean [4]. Our results indicate that multiple sulfur isotopes survive intense metasomatism (because isotope fractionation does not create S-MIF), and provide further evidence that the protoliths of Siberian eclogites were mafic rocks altered by seawater in the Archean.
Geochimica et Cosmochimia Acta, Vol. 216, pp. 264-285.
Canada, Nunavut, Somerset Island
Geochronology
Abstract: We report detailed petrographic investigations along with 187Os/188Os data in Base Metal Sulfide (BMS) on four cratonic mantle xenoliths from Somerset Island (Rae Craton, Canada). The results shed light on the processes affecting the Re-Os systematics and provide time constraints on the formation and evolution of the cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the Rae craton. When devoid of alteration, BMS grains mainly consist of pentlandite + pyrrhotite ± chalcopyrite. The relatively high BMS modal abundance of the four investigated xenoliths cannot be reconciled with the residual nature of these peridotites, but requires addition of metasomatic BMS. This is especially evident in the two peridotites with the highest bulk Pd/Ir and Pd/Pt. Metasomatic BMS likely formed during melt/fluid percolation in the Sub Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) as well as during infiltration of the host kimberlite magma, when djerfisherite crystallized around older Fe-Ni-sulfides. On the whole-rock scale, kimberlite metasomatism is visible in a subset of bulk xenoliths, which defines a Re-Os errorchron that dates the host magma emplacement. The 187Os/188Os measured in the twenty analysed BMS grains vary from 0.1084 to >0.17 and it shows no systematic variation depending on the sulfide mineralogical assemblage. The largest range in 187Os/188Os is observed in BMS grains from the two xenoliths with the highest Pd/Ir, Pd/Pt, and sulfide modal abundance. The whole-rock TRD ages of these two samples underestimate the melting age obtained from BMS, demonstrating that bulk Re-Os model ages from peridotites with clear evidence of metasomatism should be treated with caution. The TRD ages determined in BMS grains are clustered around 2.8-2.7, ?2.2 and ?1.9 Ga. The 2.8-2.7 Ga TRD ages document the main SCLM building event in the Rae craton, which is likely related to the formation of the local greenstone belts in a continental rift setting. The Paleoproterozoic TRD ages can be explained by addition of metasomatic BMS during (i) major lithospheric rifting at ?2.2 Ga and (ii) the Taltson-Thelon orogeny at ?1.9 Ga. The data suggest that even metasomatic BMS can inherit 187Os/188Os from their original mantle source. The lack of isotopic equilibration, even at the micro-scale, allowed the preservation of different populations of BMS grains with distinct 187Os/188Os, providing age information on multiple magmatic events that affected the SCLM.
45th. Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum, p. 33 abstract
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Darby
Abstract: New geological and geophysical research on Canada’s Rae craton are providing an increasingly good baseline for diamond exploration. This study uses mantle xenoliths and xenocrysts from the Darby property, located ~200 km southwest of the community of Kugaaruk, Nunavut, to provide new information on the lithospheric mantle and diamond potential of the western portion of the central Rae. Peridotite xenoliths containing enough fresh olivine have a median Mg# value of 92.5, indistinguishable from the median value of 92.6 typical of cratonic peridotites world-wide. Only of the 14 peridotitic xenoliths contain fresh garnet. Of these, garnet in one sample is classified as harzburgitic (G10), giving a minimum pressure of 4.7 GPa using the P38 geobarometer (38 mW/m2 model geothermal gradient), while garnets from three peridotites are classified as lherzolitic (G9). 52 garnets picked from concentrate have lherzolitic affinities. Lherzolitic diopsides from kimberlite heavy mineral concentrate yield a lithospheric thickness of ~ 200 km. The four garnet peridotite xenoliths and 49 peridotitic garnets from concentrate yield two distinct modes in mantle sampling depths using Ni thermometry, when projected to the Cpx geotherm. A cluster of samples from the higher Ca/Cr lherzolitic garnets equilibrated at 765 to 920 °C with a group of peridotitic garnets (50 % of xenoliths and 28 % of concentrate) from the lower Ca/Cr lherzolitic garnets with anomalously high Ti concentrations yielding super-adiabatic TNi values The aluminum-in-olivine thermometer applied to olivines filtered to be “garnet facies yielded a mantle sampling portion of the mantle cargo from the diamond stability field. A suite of pyroxenitic xenoliths are a feature of each Darby kimberlite target. New screening techniques indicate that these rocks likely originate close to the crust mantle boundary. Osmium isotope analyses of the Darby peridotites reveal whole-rock Re-depletion ages ranging from Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic. The pyroxenite xenoliths have very radiogenic Os isotope compositions and provide the first age information from pyroxenites/“eclogites” beneath the Rae craton. Their resulting Archean whole rock TMA ages are consistent with a Mesoarchean age of the western Central Rae lithosphere older than the lithosphere beneath the Repulse Bay block in the East section of the Rae craton (Liu et al., 2016. Precambrian Research 272). The highly depleted olivine compositions, thick cold lithosphere, and Archean ages of the Darby peridotite xenoliths clearly indicate the presence of 200 km thick cold cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the western segment of the central Rae craton circa 540 Ma. The Archean model ages of most of the pyroxenites support this, notwithstanding the fact that some of these rocks could be sampling either crust or mantle lithologies very close to the crust-mantle boundary. Mantle sampling took place well into the diamond stability field at Darby.
Abstract: Monticellite is a magmatic and/or deuteric mineral that is often present, but widely varying in concentrations in Group-I (or archetypal) kimberlites. To provide new constraints on the petrogenesis of monticellite and its potential significance to kimberlite melt evolution, we examine the petrography and geochemistry of the minimally altered hypabyssal monticellite-rich Leslie (Canada) and Pipe 1 (Finland) kimberlites. In these kimberlites, monticellite (Mtc) is abundant (25-45 vol%) and can be classified into two distinct morphological types: discrete and intergrown groundmass grains (Mtc-I), and replacement of olivine (Mtc-II). Primary multiphase melt inclusions in monticellite, perovskite and Mg-magnetite contain assemblages dominated by alkali (Na, K, Ba, Sr)-enriched Ca-Mg-carbonates, chlorides, phosphates, spinel, silicates (e.g. olivine, phlogopite) and sulphides. These melt inclusions probably represent snapshots of a variably differentiated kimberlite melt that evolved in-situ towards carbonatitic and silica-poor compositions. Although unconstrained in their concentration, the presence of alkali-carbonates and chlorides in melt inclusions suggests they are a more significant component of the kimberlite melt than commonly recorded by whole-rock analyses. We present petrographic and textural evidence showing that pseudomorphic Mtc-II resulted from an in-situ reaction between olivine and the carbonate component of the kimberlite melt in the decarbonation reactio. This reaction is supported by the preservation of abundant primary inclusions of periclase and to a lesser extent Fe-Mg-oxides in monticellite, perovskite and Mg-magnetite. Based on the preservation of primary periclase inclusions, we infer that periclase also existed in the groundmass, but was subsequently altered to brucite. We suggest that CO2 degassing in the latter stages of kimberlite emplacement into the crust is largely driven by the observed reaction between olivine and the carbonate melt. For this reaction to proceed, CO2 should be removed (i.e. degassed), which will cause further reaction and additional degassing in response to this chemical system change (Le Chatelier's principle). Our study demonstrates that these proposed decarbonation reactions may be a commonly overlooked process in the crystallisation of monticellite and exsolution of CO2, which may in turn contribute to the explosive eruption and brecciation processes that occur during kimberlite magma emplacement and pipe formation.
Abstract: Eastern Hall Peninsula on southeastern Baffin Island, lies at the junction of a complex Paleoproterozoic collision between the Rae craton, Meta Incognita microcontinent and the North Atlantic craton from ca. 1.88 to 1.80?Ga. Several different interpretations of crustal correlations and the location of intervening sutures have been proposed based on reconnaissance-scale geologic investigation. Therefore, in this study, complex zircon grains from Archean orthogneiss units on eastern Hall Peninsula were analyzed in-situ to elucidate the detailed magmatic history of the region and assess crustal provenance. Magmatic zircons yielded U-Pb crystallization ages between ca. 2976 and 2720?Ma and metamorphic zircons record tectonothermal disturbances between ca. 2740 and 2700?Ma, a period coinciding with metamorphism documented in adjacent crustal blocks (e.g., west Greenland and northern Labrador). Magmatic rocks older than ca. 2740?Ma generally have positive ?Hf(t) signatures between 0 and 7 (±2) and depleted mantle model ages of ca. 3.1-3.0?Ga indicating the time that protolith melt was extracted from the mantle. The oldest, granodioritic crust crystallized at ca. 2976?Ma and was then reworked periodically at ca. 2.93, 2.84-2.81 and 2.77-2.69?Ma. Zircons from two orthogneiss samples, with U-Pb crystallization ages younger than ca. 2740?Ma, yielded negative ?Hf(t) values ranging from ?4 to ?12 and mean depleted mantle model ages of ca. 3.4 and 3.3?Ga respectively, indicating derivation from an older, potentially exotic, crustal source yet to be identified in outcrop on Hall Peninsula. Synthesizing regional U-Pb data we propose a new regional correlation model that retains the essentials of previous models and incorporates new data from eastern Hall Peninsula and other recent studies. This new tectonic correlation model groups eastern Hall Peninsula, southern Cumberland Peninsula and the Aasiaat domain into a “Core zone” that shared a geologic history prior to 1.90?Ga and potentially prior to 2.75?Ga.
Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 186, pp. 24-35.
Mantle
garnet diamond exploration
Abstract: In diamond exploration, the accurate distinction between garnets from the crust or mantle, or from those having a cognate origin with kimberlite (low-Cr megacrysts), is important for the assessment of indicator mineral samples; misclassifications potentially result in costly misdirection of exploration efforts. Existing literature databases and graphical classification schemes for garnets suffer from a paucity of craton-derived, lower-crustal garnets that - as shown here - are among the most difficult to distinguish from garnets of mantle origin. To improve this situation, a large database of new and literature garnet major element analyses has been compiled. Using this dataset, it is shown that the conventionally used Mg# (Mg/(Mg + Fe)) vs. Ca# (Ca/(Mg + Ca)) plot (Schulze, 2003) for discrimination of crust and mantle garnets results in significant overlap (39.2% crustal failure rate using our dataset). We propose a new graphical classification scheme that uses the parameters ln(Ti/Si) and ln(Mg/Fe) to discriminate low-Cr garnets of crust origin from those of a mantle eclogite-pyroxenite origin with an error rate of 10.1 ± 2.1% at the 95% confidence level (assessed via K-fold cross-validation with ten random test datasets), significantly lower than existing methods. Multivariate statistical solutions, which incorporate a wide selection of geochemical variables, represent additional possibilities for discrimination. Using our new database, logistic regression (LR) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) approaches are evaluated and new crust-mantle garnet discrimination schemes derived. The resulting solutions, using a wide variety of cations in garnet, provide lower misclassification rates than existing literature schemes. Both LR and LDA are successful discrimination techniques with error rates for the discrimination of crust from mantle eclogite-pyroxenite of 7.5 ± 1.9% and 8.2 ± 2.3%, respectively. LR, however, involves fewer stipulations about the distribution of training data (i.e., it is more "robust") and can return an estimate for probability of classification certainty for single garnets. New data from diamond exploration programs can be readily classified using these new graphical and statistical methods. As the discrimination of low-Cr megacrysts from mantle eclogite-pyroxenite is not the focus of this study, we recommend the method of Schulze (2003) or Grütter et al. (2004) for low-Cr megacryst discrimination to identify megacrysts in the "mantle" suite. Runstreams for our LDA and LR approaches using the freeware "R" are provided for quick implementation.
Abstract: The mantle beneath the Cullinan kimberlite (formerly known as "Premier") is a unique occurrence of diamondiferous cratonic mantle where diamonds were generated contemporaneously and shortly following a mantle upwelling that led to the formation of a Large Igneous Province that produced the world's largest igneous intrusion - the 2056?Ma Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC). We studied 332 diamond inclusions from 202 Cullinan diamonds to investigate mantle thermal effects imposed by the formation of the BIC. The overwhelming majority of diamonds come from three parageneses: (1) lithospheric eclogitic (69%), (2) lithospheric peridotitic (21%), and (3) sublithospheric mafic (9%). The lithospheric eclogitic paragenesis is represented by clinopyroxene, garnet, coesite and kyanite. Main minerals of the lithospheric peridotitic paragenesis are forsterite, enstatite, Cr-pyrope, Cr-augite and spinel; the sublithospheric mafic association includes majorite, CaSiO3 phases and omphacite. Diamond formation conditions were calculated using an Al-in-olivine thermometer, a garnet-clinopyroxene thermometer, as well as majorite and Raman barometers. The Cullinan diamonds may be unique on the global stage in recording a cold geotherm of 40?mW/m2 in cratonic lithosphere that was in contact with underlying convecting mantle at temperatures of 1450-1550?°C. The studied Cullinan diamonds contain a high proportion of inclusions equilibrated at temperatures exceeding the ambient 1327?°C adiabat, i.e. 54% of eclogitic diamonds and 41% of peridotitic diamonds. By contrast, ? 1% of peridotitic diamond inclusions globally yield equally high temperatures. We propose that the Cullinan diamond inclusions recorded transient, slow-dissipating thermal perturbations associated with the plume-related formation of the ~2?Ga Bushveld igneous province. The presence of inclusions in diamond from the mantle transition zone at 300-650?km supports this view. Cullinan xenoliths indicative of the thermal state of the cratonic lithosphere at ~1.2?Ga are equilibrated at the relatively low temperatures, not exceeding adiabatic. The ability of diamonds to record super-adiabatic temperatures may relate to their entrainment from the deeper, hotter parts of the upper mantle un-sampled by the kimberlite in the form of xenoliths or their equilibration in a younger lithosphere after a decay of the thermal disturbance.
Nestola, F., Korolev, N., Kopylova, M., Rotiroti, N., Pearson, D.G., Pamato, M.G., Alvaro, M., Peruzzo, L., Gurney, J.J., Moore, A.E., Davidson, J.
CaSiO3 perovskite in diamond indicates the recycling of oceanic crust into the lower mantle.
Nature, Vol. 555, March 8, pp. 237-241.
Mantle
deposit - Cullinan
Abstract: Laboratory experiments and seismology data have created a clear theoretical picture of the most abundant minerals that comprise the deeper parts of the Earth’s mantle. Discoveries of some of these minerals in ‘super-deep’ diamonds—formed between two hundred and about one thousand kilometres into the lower mantle—have confirmed part of this picture1,2,3,4,5. A notable exception is the high-pressure perovskite-structured polymorph of calcium silicate (CaSiO3). This mineral—expected to be the fourth most abundant in the Earth—has not previously been found in nature. Being the dominant host for calcium and, owing to its accommodating crystal structure, the major sink for heat-producing elements (potassium, uranium and thorium) in the transition zone and lower mantle, it is critical to establish its presence. Here we report the discovery of the perovskite-structured polymorph of CaSiO3 in a diamond from South African Cullinan kimberlite. The mineral is intergrown with about six per cent calcium titanate (CaTiO3). The titanium-rich composition of this inclusion indicates a bulk composition consistent with derivation from basaltic oceanic crust subducted to pressures equivalent to those present at the depths of the uppermost lower mantle. The relatively ‘heavy’ carbon isotopic composition of the surrounding diamond, together with the pristine high-pressure CaSiO3 structure, provides evidence for the recycling of oceanic crust and surficial carbon to lower-mantle depths.https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25972
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/s00710 -018-0599-2, 14p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Diavik, Ekati
Abstract: Kimberlites from the Diavik and Ekati diamond mines in the Lac de Gras kimberlite field contain abundant large (>1 cm) clinopyroxene (Cr-diopside) and garnet (Cr-pyrope) crystals. We present the first extensive mineral chemical dataset for these megacrysts from Diavik and Ekati and compare their compositions to cratonic peridotites and megacrysts from the Slave and other cratons. The Diavik and Ekati Cr-diopside and Cr-pyrope megacrysts are interpreted to belong to the Cr-rich megacryst suite. Evidence for textural, compositional, and isotopic disequilibrium suggests that they constitute xenocrysts in their host kimberlites. Nevertheless, their formation may be linked to extensive kimberlite magmatism and accompanying mantle metasomatism preceding the eruption of their host kimberlites. It is proposed that the formation of megacrysts may be linked to failed kimberlites. In this scheme, the Cr-rich megacrysts are formed by progressive interaction of percolating melts with the surrounding depleted mantle (originally harzburgite). As these melts percolate outwards, they may contribute to the introduction of clinopyroxene and garnet into the depleted mantle, thereby forming lherzolite. This model hinges on the observation that lherzolitic clinopyroxenes and garnets at Lac de Gras have compositions that are strikingly similar to those of the Cr-rich megacrysts, in terms of major and trace elements, as well as Sr isotopes. As such, the Cr-rich megacrysts may have implications for the origin of clinopyroxene and garnet in cratonic lherzolites worldwide.
Abstract: The diamondiferous Jwaneng kimberlite cluster (~240 Ma) is located on the NW rim of the Archaean Kaapvaal Craton in central Botswana. Previous studies report eclogitic diamond formation in the late Archean (2.9 Ga) and in the Middle Proterozoic (1.5 Ga) involving different mantle and sedimentary components [1;2;3]. Here we report newly acquired Sm- Nd ages of individual eclogitic pyrope-almandine and omphacite inclusions along with their major element data and nitrogen data from the diamond hosts to re-examine Jwaneng’s diamond formation ages. The Sm-Nd isotope analyses were performed via TIMS using 1013? resistors [4]. An initial suite of three pyropealmandine and 14 omphacite inclusions yield 143Nd/144Nd from 0.51102±7 to 0.5155±5. 147Sm/144Nd vary from 0.024 to 0.469. Major element data defines two inclusion populations: (1) seven omphacites with high Mg#, high Cr# and one pyropealmandine with low-Ca define an isochron age of 1.93±0.16 Ga with ?Ndi= +3.5; (2) seven omphacites with low Mg#, low Cr# and two pyrope-almandines with low-Ca define an isochron age of 0.82±0.06 Ga with ?Ndi= +3.7. Nitrogen contents of corresponding diamond host growth zones in Group (1) are ? 50 at.ppm whereas Group (2) range between 50 to 700 at.ppm with N-aggregation > 70 %B. Additional data used to define “co-genetic” inclusion suites include Sr-isotopes and trace elements of the inclusions and carbon isotopes of the diamond hosts. Re-Os data of coexisting sulphide inclusions from the same silicate-bearing diamonds further validates the ages and indicates more periods of diamond formation at Jwaneng than previously assumed. The integrated data indicate the possibility of an extensive Paleoproterozoic diamond-forming event in southern Africa.
Mineralogy and Petrology, June 14, DOI:10.1007/ s00710-018 -0595-6, 16p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Boshof
Abstract: We describe the petrography and mineral chemistry of sixteen eclogite and garnet pyroxenite xenoliths from the reworked Boshof road dump (Kimberley) and define three groups that stem from different depths. Group A, the shallowest derived, has low HREE (heavy rare earth element) abundances, flat middle to heavy REE patterns and high Mg# [= 100•Mg/(Mg?+?Fe)]. Their protoliths probably were higher pressure cumulates (~ 0.7 GPa) of mainly clinopyroxene (cpx) and subordinate orthopyroxene (opx) and olivine (ol). Group B1 xenoliths, derived from the graphite/diamond boundary and below show similarities to present-day N-MORB that were modified by partial melting (higher Mg# and positively inclined MREE (middle REE) and HREE (heavy REE) patterns of calculated bulk rocks). Group B2 samples from greatest depth are unique amongst eclogites reported so far worldwide. The calculated bulk rocks have humped REE patterns with very low La and Lu and prominent maxima at Sm or Eu and anomalously high Na2O (up to 5 wt%) which makes protolith identification difficult. The complex trace element signatures of the full spectrum of Kimberley eclogites belie a multi-stage history of melt depletion and metasomatism with the introduction of new phases especially of phlogopite (phlog). Phlogopite appears to be characteristic for Kimberley eclogites and garnet peridotites. Modelling the metasomatic overprint indicates that groups A and B1 were overprinted by volatile- and potassium-rich melts probably by a process of chromatographic fractionation. Using constraints from other metasomatized Kimberley mantle rocks suggest that much of the metasomatic phlogopite in the eclogites formed during an intense episode of metasomatism that affected the mantle beneath this region 1.1 Gyr ago.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/s00710-018-0609-4 14p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Darby
Abstract: New geological and geophysical research on Canada’s Rae craton are providing an increasingly good baseline for diamond exploration. This study uses mantle xenoliths and xenocrysts from the Darby property, located ~200 km southwest of the community of Kugaaruk, Nunavut, to provide new information on the lithospheric mantle and diamond potential of the western portion of the central Rae. Peridotite xenoliths containing enough fresh olivine have a median Mg# value of 92.5, indistinguishable from the median value of 92.6 typical of cratonic peridotites world-wide. Only of the 14 peridotitic xenoliths contain fresh garnet. Of these, garnet in one sample is classified as harzburgitic (G10), giving a minimum pressure of 4.7 GPa using the P38 geobarometer (38 mW/m2 model geothermal gradient), while garnets from three peridotites are classified as lherzolitic (G9). 52 garnets picked from concentrate have lherzolitic affinities. Lherzolitic diopsides from kimberlite heavy mineral concentrate yield a lithospheric thickness of ~ 200 km. The four garnet peridotite xenoliths and 49 peridotitic garnets from concentrate yield two distinct modes in mantle sampling depths using Ni thermometry, when projected to the Cpx geotherm. A cluster of samples from the higher Ca/Cr lherzolitic garnets equilibrated at 765 to 920 °C with a group of peridotitic garnets (50 % of xenoliths and 28 % of concentrate) from the lower Ca/Cr lherzolitic garnets with anomalously high Ti concentrations yielding super-adiabatic TNi values The aluminum-in-olivine thermometer applied to olivines filtered to be “garnet facies yielded a mantle sampling portion of the mantle cargo from the diamond stability field. A suite of pyroxenitic xenoliths are a feature of each Darby kimberlite target. New screening techniques indicate that these rocks likely originate close to the crust mantle boundary. Osmium isotope analyses of the Darby peridotites reveal whole-rock Re-depletion ages ranging from Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic. The pyroxenite xenoliths have very radiogenic Os isotope compositions and provide the first age information from pyroxenites/“eclogites” beneath the Rae craton. Their resulting Archean whole rock TMA ages are consistent with a Mesoarchean age of the western Central Rae lithosphere older than the lithosphere beneath the Repulse Bay block in the East section of the Rae craton (Liu et al., 2016. Precambrian Research 272). The highly depleted olivine compositions, thick cold lithosphere, and Archean ages of the Darby peridotite xenoliths clearly indicate the presence of 200 km thick cold cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the western segment of the central Rae craton circa 540 Ma. The Archean model ages of most of the pyroxenites support this, notwithstanding the fact that some of these rocks could be sampling either crust or mantle lithologies very close to the crust-mantle boundary. Mantle sampling took place well into the diamond stability field at Darby.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/s00710-018-0604-9 12p.
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Karowe
Abstract: Mineral inclusions in diamonds play a critical role in constraining the relationship between diamonds and mantle lithologies. Here we report the first major and trace element study of mineral inclusions in diamonds from the Karowe Mine in north-east Botswana, along the western edge of the Zimbabwe Craton. From a total of 107 diamonds, 134 silicate, 15 oxide, and 22 sulphide inclusions were recovered. The results reveal that 53% of Karowe inclusion-bearing diamonds derived from eclogitic sources, 44% are peridotitic, 2% have a sublithospheric origin, and 1% are websteritic. The dominant eclogitic diamond substrates sampled at Karowe are compositionally heterogeneous, as reflected in wide ranges in the CaO contents (4-16 wt%) of garnets and the Mg# (69-92) and jadeite contents (14-48 mol%) of clinopyroxenes. Calculated bulk rock REEN patterns indicate that both shallow and deep levels of the subducted slab(s) were sampled, including cumulate-like protoliths. Peridotitic garnet compositions largely derive from harzburgite/dunite substrates (~90%), with almost half the garnets having CaO contents <1.8 wt%, consistent with pyroxene-free (dunitic) sources. The highly depleted character of the peridotitic diamond substrates is further documented by the high mean and median Mg# (93.1) of olivine inclusions. One low-Ca garnet records a very high Cr2O3 content (14.7 wt%), implying that highly depleted cratonic lithosphere at the time of diamond formation extended to at least 220 km depth. Inclusion geothermobarometry indicates that the formation of peridotitic diamonds occurred along a 39-40 mW/m2 model geotherm. A sublithospheric inclusion suite is established by three eclogitic garnets containing a majorite component, a feature so far unique within the Orapa cluster. These low- and high-Ca majoritic garnets follow pyroxenitic and eclogitic trends of majoritic substitution, respectively. The origin of the majorite-bearing diamonds is estimated to be between 330 to 420 km depth, straddling the asthenosphere-transition zone boundary. This new observation of superdeep mineral inclusions in Karowe diamonds is consistent with a sublithospheric origin for the exceptionally large diamonds from this mine.
deposit - Argyle, De Beers Pool, Jwaneng, Orapa, Udachnaya, Venetia, Wawa, Diavik
Abstract: Earth’s mantle is by far the largest silicate-hosted reservoir of carbon. Diamonds are unrivalled in their ability to record the cycle of mantle carbon and other volatiles over a vast portion of the Earth’s history. They are the product of ascending, cooling, carbon-saturated, metasomatic fluidsmelts and/or redox reactions, predominantly within peridotitic and eclogitic domains in the mantle lithosphere. This paper reports the results of a major secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) carbon isotope study, carried out on 127 diamond samples, spanning a large range of geological time. Detailed transects across the incremental growth zones within each diamond were measured for C isotopes, N abundances and, for samples with N >~200 at.ppm, N isotopes. Given that all of the samples are fragments, recovered when the original crystals were broken to liberate their inclusions, 81 of the analytical traverses have confirmed growth direction context. 98 samples are from studies that have confirmed the dates of the individual diamonds through analysis of their silicate or sulphide inclusions, from source localities including Argyle, De Beers Pool, Jwaneng, Orapa, Udachnaya & Venetia. Additional samples come from Wawa (a minimum age) and Diavik where the samples are tied via inclusion paragenesis to published ages. The peridotitic dataset covers the age range of ~3.3 - 2.0 Ga, with the eclogitic data from 2.9 - 1.0 Ga. In total, 751 carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration measurements have been obtained (425 on peridotitic diamonds, and 326 on eclogitic diamonds) with 470 nitrogen isotope measurements (190 P, 280 E). We attempt to constrain the diamond carbon isotope record through time and its implications for (i) the mantle carbon reservoir, (ii) its oxygen fugacity, (iii) the fluid / melt growth environment of diamonds, (iv) fractionation trends recorded in individual diamonds, and (v) diamond population studies using bulk combustion carbon isotope analysis.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.08.010 78p.
Canada, Nunavut, Parry Peninsula. Central Victoria Island
xenoliths
Abstract: While the mantle roots directly beneath Archean cratons have been relatively well studied because of their economic importance, much less is known about the genesis, age, composition and thickness of the mantle lithosphere beneath the regions that surround the cratons. Despite this knowledge gap, it is fundamentally important to establish the nature of relationships between this circum-cratonic mantle and that beneath the cratons, including the diamond potential of circum-cratonic regions. Here we present mineral and bulk elemental and isotopic compositions for kimberlite-borne mantle xenoliths from the Parry Peninsula and Central Victoria Island, Arctic Canada. These xenoliths provide key windows into the lithospheric mantle underpinning regions to the North and Northwest of the Archean Slave craton, where the presence of cratonic material has been proposed. The mantle xenolith data are supplemented by mineral concentrate data obtained during diamond exploration. The mineral and whole rock chemistry of peridotites from both localities is indistinguishable from that of typical cratonic mantle lithosphere. The cool mantle paleogeotherms defined by mineral thermobarometry reveal that the lithospheric mantle beneath the Parry Peninsula and Central Victoria Island terranes extended well into the diamond stability field at the time of kimberlite eruption, and this is consistent with the recovery of diamonds from both kimberlite fields. Bulk xenolith Se and Te contents, and highly siderophile element (including Os, Ir, Pt, Pd and Re) abundance systematics, plus corresponding depletion ages derived from Re-Os isotope data suggest that the mantle beneath these parts of Arctic Canada formed in the Paleoproterozoic Era, at ?2?Ga, rather than in the Archean. The presence of a diamondiferous Paleoproterozoic mantle root is part of the growing body of global evidence for diamond generation in mantle roots that stabilized well after the Archean. In the context of regional tectonics, we interpret the highly depleted mantle compositions beneath both studied regions as formed by mantle melting associated with hydrous metasomatism in the major Paleoproterozoic Wopmay-Great Bear-Hottah arc systems. These ?2?Ga arc systems were subsequently accreted along the margin of the Slave craton to form a craton-like thick lithosphere with diamond potential thereby demonstrating the importance of subduction accretion in building up Earth’s long-lived continental terranes.
Abstract: The Re-Os isotope system is well suited to constraining the timing of melt depletion of Archean mantle peridotites. In contrast, the variability inherent in post-Archean mantle Os isotope evolution leads to increasing uncertainty in Re-Os model ages. The Lu-Hf isotopic system has shown some potential for dating peridotite formation ages, providing valuable ages that are complementary to the Re-Os system. For post-Archean mantle peridotites, the key target in the Lu-Hf isotopic work is clinopyroxene (Cpx), because of its high Lu and Hf concentrations and the typical absence of garnet in these rocks. However, orthopyroxene (Opx) can contrain 20% or more of the Hf budget of spinel peridotites and somethimes over 40% of the Lu budget, with Lu/Hf ratios 3-4 times those of Cpx. Thus, Opx Lu-Hf isotopic compositions cannot be ignored or simply calculated, as the equilibrium temperatures of mantle peridotites prior to eruption could be lower or higher than the Hf closure temperature (Tc(Hf)~900ºC). Here we explore Lu-Hf partitioning in spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Cameroon Volcanic Line in additin to WR Re-Os analyses. The Hf isotopic composition of Opx in these rocks is equal to or higher than that of Cpx, consistent with some samples having equilibrium temperatures close to Tc(Hf). Combining Cpx and Opx, the constructed WR Lu-Hf isochron yields an age of 2.01±0.36 Ga (2?; MSWD = 11.4; ?Hfi = -0.8±19.2), which is in accordance with the oldest of the variable Re-Os model ages. The continental sector of the Cameroon Line runs close to the edge of the Congo craton. The Hf-Os data indicate that the lithosphere underpinning this region formed in the Paleoproterozoic (~2Ga) most likely during the Paleoproterzoic assembly between the Congo and West African Cratons. We emphasize that Opx and Cpx should be combined together to construct the WR isochron in order to obtain the precise age and initial Hf isotope compositions of post-Archean spinel peridotites.
Abstract: The mantle roots directly beneath Archean cratons have been relatively well studied because of their economic importance, yet much less is known about the genesis, age, composition and thickness of the mantle lithosphere beneath the regions surrounding these cratons. However, it is critically important to establish the nature of the relationship between this circum-cratonic mantle and that beneath the cratons, including the diamond potential of circum-cratonic regions. Here we present mineral and bulk elemental and isotopic compositions for kimberlite-borne mantle xenoliths from the Parry Peninsula (PP) and Central Victoria Island (CVI), Arctic Canada. These xenoliths provide key windows into the lithospheric mantle underpinning regions to the North and Northwest of the Slave craton, where the presence of cratonic mantle has been proposed. The mineral and whole rock chemistry of peridotites from both localities is indistinguishable from that of typical cratonic mantle lithosphere. The cool mantle geotherms defined by mineral thermobarometry reveal that the lithospheric mantle beneath the PP and CVI terranes extended well into the diamond stability field at the time of kimberlite eruption, consistent with the recovery of diamonds from both kimberlite fields. Bulk Se, Te, and highly siderophile element abundance systematics, plus Re-Os isotope age data suggest that the mantle beneath these parts of Arctic Canada formed at ~2 Ga, rather than in the Archean. The presence of a diamondiferous Paleoproterozoic mantle root is part of the growing body of evidence for peridotitic diamond generation in mantle roots that stabilized well after the Archean. In the context of regional tectonics, the highly depleted mantle compositions beneath both regions developed during mantle melting associated with hydrous metasomatism in the major Paleoproterozoic Wopmay- Great Bear-Hottah arc systems. These terranes were subsequently accreted along the margin of the Slave craton to form a craton-like thick lithosphere with significant diamond potential.
Africa, South Africa, Guinea, South America, Brazil
deposit - Kankan, Jagersfontein, Juina
Abstract: Inclusions in super-deep diamonds provide a unique window to the sublithospheric mantle (e.g. [1-4]). Here we present oxygen isotopes for Kankan majoritic garnet and former bridgmanite inclusions. The clustering of Kankan majorites around a ?18O of +9‰ is nearly identical to those reported from Jagersfontein [1]. This elevated and nearly constant ?18O signal indicates homogenization of partial melts from the uppermost part of altered basaltic slabs. Conversely, ?18O values in Juina majorites are highly variable [2] due to crystallization from small, discrete melt pockets in a heterogeneous eclogitic source. While all these majorites have eclogitic/pyroxenitic Cr2O3 and CaO contents, charge-balance for Si[VI] is achieved very differently, with Jagersfontein [3], Kankan [4], and Juina [2] majorites transitioning from eclogitic Na[VIII]Si[VI] to peridotitic-pyroxenitic [5] Mg[VI]Si[VI] substitutions. We interpret this shift as the result of homogenized eclogitic partial melts infiltrating and reacting with adjacent pyrolitic mantle at Kankan and Jagersfontein. Increases in Mg# and Cr2O3 with reductions in ?18O support this reaction. This model is in agreement with recent experiments in which majorites and diamonds form from a reaction of slab-derived carbonatite with reduced pyrolite at 300-700 km depth [6]. The Kankan diamonds also provide an opportunity to establish the chemical environment of the lower mantle. Four inclusions of MgSiO3, inferred to be former bridgmanite [4], provide the first-measured ?18O values for lower mantle samples. These values suggest derivation from primitive mantle, or unaltered subducted oceanic lithospheric mantle. The Kankan super-deep inclusions thus provide a cross-section of deep mantle that highlights slab-pyrolite reactions in the asthenosphere and primitive compositions in the lower mantle.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0632-5 20p.
Canada, Nunavut, Melville Peninsula
deposit - Pelly Bay, Darby, Aviat, Qilalugaq
Abstract: Detailed geochronology along with petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies have been conducted on recently found diamond-bearing kimberlitic and related rocks in the Rae Craton at Aviat and Qilalugaq, Melville Peninsula, north-east Canada. Magmatic rocks from the Aviat pipes have geochemical (both bulk rock and isotopic) and mineralogical signatures (e.g., core to rim Al and Ba enrichment in phlogopite) similar to Group I kimberlite. In contrast, Aviat intrusive sheets are similar to ‘micaceous’ Group II kimberlite (orangeite) in their geochemical and mineralogical characteristics (e.g., phlogopite and spinel compositions, highly enriched Sr isotopic signature). Qilalugaq rocks with the least crustal contamination have geochemical and mineralogical signatures [e.g., high SiO2, Al2O3 and H2O; low TiO2 and CO2; less fractionated REE (rare earth elements), presence of primary clinopyroxene, phlogopite and spinel compositions] that are similar to features displayed by olivine lamproites from Argyle, Ellendale and West Greenland. The Naujaat dykes, in the vicinity of Qilalugaq, are highly altered due to extensive silicification and carbonation. However, their bulk rock geochemical signature and phlogopite chemistry are similar to Group I kimberlite. U-Pb perovskite geochronology reveals that Aviat pipes and all rocks from Qilalugaq have an early Cambrian emplacement age (540-530 Ma), with the Aviat sheets being ~30 Ma younger. This volatile-rich potassic ultramafic magmatism probably formed by varying degrees of involvement of asthenospheric and lithospherically derived melts. The spectrum of ages and compositions are similar to equivalent magmatic rocks observed from the nearby north-eastern North America and Western Greenland. The ultimate trigger for this magmatism could be linked to Neoproterozoic continental rifting during the opening of the Iapetus Ocean and breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent.
Abstract: Peridotites occur as lensoid bodies within the Mesoarchaean orthogneiss in the Akia terrane of Southern West Greenland. The Ulamertoq peridotite body is the largest of these peridotites hosted within the regional orthogneiss. It consists mainly of olivine, orthopyroxene, and amphibole-rich ultramafic rocks exhibiting metamorphic textural and chemical features. Chromitite layers from different localities in Ulamertoq show contrasting characteristics. In one locality, zoned chromites are hosted in orthopyroxene-amphibole peridotites. Compositional zonation in chromites is evident with decreasing Cr and Fe content from core to rim, while Al and Mg increase. Homogeneous chromites from another locality are fairly uniform and Fe-rich. The mineral chemistry of the major and accessory phases shows metamorphic signatures. Inferred temperature conditions suggest that the zoned chromites, homogeneous chromites, and their hosts are equilibrated at different metamorphic conditions. In this paper, various mechanisms during the cumulus to subsolidus stages are explored in order to understand the origin of the two contrasting types of chromites.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/101007/ s00710-018-0629-0 13p.
Canada, Quebec
deposit - Renard
Abstract: Kimberlites are rare volatile-rich ultramafic magmas thought to erupt in short periods of time (<1 Myr) but there is a growing body of evidence that the emplacement history of a kimberlite can be significantly more protracted. In this study we report a detailed geochronology investigation of a single kimberlite pipe from the Renard cluster in north-central Québec. Ten new high precision ID-TIMS (isotope dilution - thermal ionization mass spectrometry) U-Pb groundmass perovskite dates from the main pipe-infilling kimberlites and several small hypabyssal kimberlites from the Renard 2 pipe indicate kimberlite magmatism lasted at least ~20 Myr. Two samples of the main pipe-infilling kimberlites yield identical weighted mean 206Pb/238U perovskite dates with a composite date of 643.8?±?1.0 Myr, interpreted to be the best estimate for main pipe emplacement. In contrast, six hypabyssal kimberlite samples yielded a range of weighted mean 206Pb/238U perovskite dates between ~652-632 Myr. Multiple dates determined from these early-, syn- and late-stage small hypabyssal kimberlites in the Renard 2 pipe demonstrate this rock type (commonly used to date kimberlites) help to constrain the duration of kimberlite intrusion history within a pipe but do not necessarily reliably record the emplacement age of the main diatreme in the Renard cluster. Our results provide the first robust geochronological data on a single kimberlite that confirms the field relationships initially observed by Wagner (1914) and Clement (1982); the presence of antecedent (diatreme precursor) intrusions, contemporaneous (syn-diatreme) intrusions, and consequent (post-diatreme) cross-cutting intrusions. The results of this detailed U-Pb geochronology study indicate a single kimberlite pipe can record millions of years of magmatism, much longer than previously thought from the classical viewpoint of a rapid and short-duration emplacement history.
2018 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum , p. 91-92. abstract
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Roberts Victor
Abstract: It is well known that mechanical disaggregation, such as jaw crushing, can cause irreversible damage to valuable gemstones hosted in crystalline rocks. The SELFRAG Lab device uses electrical pulses at high voltages - typically between 150 and 200 kV - to separate material into individual grains along natural boundaries. The purpose of this research is to assess the viability of the SELFRAG as a tool to disaggregate diamond-bearing eclogites, and to assess if this method preserves grains that would otherwise be damaged through mechanical disaggregation. In order to test the applicability of the SELFRAG to diamond recovery from mechanically strong diamond-bearing lithologies, we studied its effects on a diamondiferous eclogite, RV09, from Roberts Victor mine. The Roberts Victor mine is located in South Africa and is renowned for its unusually high abundance of mantle-derived eclogite xenoliths1. Before the eclogite was disaggregated, we bisected the sample and used a CT scan to determine its constituent minerals and the spatial distribution of diamond. One half of the sample was then placed into the SELFRAG, where it was subjected to ~100 shots of 200 kV electrical discharges that segregated the sample into individual grains of similar sizes. The other half was jaw crushed, using a steel jaw crusher which produced non-uniform composite grains and abundant fine material. The varying sizes and aggregate pieces made it difficult to pick diamonds, and after no diamonds were found, the jaw-crushed portion underwent further disaggregation in the SELFRAG. After exerting the same time and effort picking through both portions of the RV09 sample, ten diamonds were recovered from the electronically disaggregated portion, while no diamonds were found in the conventionally disaggregated sample. The diamonds released from the SELFRAG were then imaged with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine the extent to which the diamonds were damaged. Most of the released diamonds showed no evidence of breakage, but a few showed signs of damage that may have occurred prior to kimberlite eruption. The dramatic disparity between the number of diamonds recovered with the SELFRAG and the lack of diamonds in the jaw crushed portion indicates that electrical disaggregation is a superior method compared to the conventional mechanical comminution technique. There are little to no signs of breakage in the SELFRAG-liberated diamonds, whereas, the damage caused by jaw crushing was extensive enough to produce small fragments not readily visible via optical microscopy. The SELFRAG is a promising alternative to conventional disaggregation and offers a practical solution for lessening damage to valuable stones in rocks such as eclogites and kimberlites.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 425-
The thermochemical conditions of the Diavik lower crust: a kimberlite-hosted xenolith study.
2018 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum , p. 25-26. abstract
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Diavik
Abstract: Thermochemical variables such as lower crustal heat production and Moho temperatures in cratonic regions offer critical insight in constraining the thermal and geodynamic evolution of the lithosphere. In this study, 15 lower crustal granulite xenoliths erupted via the A154N kimberlite at the Diavik mine in the NWT, Canada were studied to quantify the thermal properties of the local Moho and the effects of different heat production models on geotherm models. We quantitatively constrain the thermal properties of the local Moho and the effects of different heat production models on ancient Moho temperatures, the effects of crustal thickness on Moho temperatures, and potential lower crustal compositions. We evaluate the effect of these parameters on total lithospheric thickness estimates. In order to test the accuracy of deep crust thermal calculations, we estimated the ambient temperature of the lower crust at the time of kimberlite eruption through garnet-biotite Fe-Mg exchange geothermometry (Ferry & Spear, 1978). Rim compositions from touching garnet-biotite pairs were used in the calculations and yielded temperatures of 524 ± 77°C (n=20). These represent a maximum estimate of the ambient lower crustal temperature as the closure temperature of garnet-biotite Fe-Mg exchange between garnet and biotite may be higher than the ambient temperature. The primary objective of this study is to quantify lower crustal heat production and its effects on the thermal architecture of cratons. The concentrations of the main heat-producing elements (HPEs) U, Th, and K were quantified via LA-ICP-MS and EPMA in multiple mineral phases per xenolith. By combining these measurements with mineral modes, we derived reconstructed bulk-rock HPE concentrations that were utilized to calculate a range of lower crustal heat production values. This method is preferred over whole-rock analyses as 1) kimberlite is generally enriched in HPEs (Tappe et al. 2013) and can bias trace-element data for their xenoliths and 2) data on individual minerals allows for theoretical lower crustal compositions to be calculated on an idealized basis. A lower crust comprising exclusively mafic granulite (garnet, plagioclase, clinopyroxene ± orthopyroxene) provides a lower bound to heat production (0.07 ± 0.04 W/m3) whereas a lower crust made exclusively of high-grade metasedimentary rocks yields an upper bound (0.42 ± 0.08 W/m3). Both endmembers are present as xenoliths in the A154N kimberlite but mafic granulites predominate following the worldwide trend (Rudnick, 1992). We model the lower crust comprising 20% metasedimentary granulites and 80 % depleted mafic granulites, in accordance with the present xenolith collection. Using this preferred crustal model, we calculate an average heat production of 0.12 ± 0.05 W/m3) for the lower crust beneath Lac de Gras. Utilizing heat flow measurements (Russell et thickness estimates (Mareschal et al. 2004) in conjunction with these HPE determinations, the Moho temperature underlying A-154N can be calculated to be 502 ± 10°C. Using these values along with available mantle xenolith thermobaromtetry (Hasterok & Chapman, 2011) the geotherm is extrapolated to present a mantle potential temperature of 1365°C, at 200 km (FITPLOT, Mather et al, 2011).
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 119-144.
Canada, Ontario, Attawapiskat, Africa, South Africa
deposit - Victor, Finsch, Newlands
Abstract: Quantitative trace element data from high-purity gem diamonds from the Victor Mine, Ontario, Canada as well as near-gem diamonds from peridotite and eclogite xenoliths from the Finsch and Newlands mines, South Africa, acquired using an off-line laser ablation method show that we see the same spectrum of fluids in both high-purity gem and near-gem diamonds that was previously documented in fibrous diamonds. “Planed” and “ribbed” trace element patterns characterize not only the high-density fluid (HDF) inclusions in fibrous diamonds but also in gem diamonds. Two diamonds from two Finsch harzburgite xenoliths show trace element patterns similar to those of saline fluids, documenting the involvement of saline fluids in the precipitation of gem diamonds, further strengthening the link between the parental fluids of both gem and fibrous diamonds. Differences in trace element characteristics are evident between Victor diamonds containing silicate inclusions compared with Victor diamonds containing sulphide inclusions. The sulphide-bearing diamonds show lower levels of inter-element fractionation and more widely varying siderophile element concentrations - indicating that the silicate and sulphide-bearing diamonds likely formed by gradations of the same processes, via melt-rock reaction or from a subtly different fluid source. The shallow negative LREEN-HREEN slopes displayed by the Victor diamonds establish a signature indicative of original derivation of the diamond forming agent during major melting (~10% melt). Consequently, this signature must have been passed on to HDFs separating from such silicate melts.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 403-424.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0641-4 18p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
indicator minerals, geocthermobarometry
Abstract: The Central Mackenzie Valley (CMV) area of Northwest Territories is underlain by Precambrian basement belonging to the North American Craton. The potential of this area to host kimberlitic diamond deposits is relatively high judging from the seismologically-defined lithospheric thickness, age of basement rocks (2.2-1.7 Ga) and presence of kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs) in Quaternary sediments. This study presents data for a large collection of KIMs recovered from stream sediments and till samples from two study areas in the CMV, the Horn Plateau and Trout Lake. In the processed samples, peridotitic garnets dominate the KIM grain count for both regions (> 25% each) while eclogitic garnet is almost absent in both regions (< 1% each). KIM chemistry for the Horn Plateau indicates significant diamond potential, with a strong similarity to KIM systematics from the Central and Western Slave Craton. The most significant issue to resolve in assessing the local diamond potential is the degree to which KIM chemistry reflects local and/or distal kimberlite bodies. Radiogenic isotope analysis of detrital kimberlite-related CMV ilmenite and rutile grains requires at least two broad age groups for eroded source kimberlites. Statistical analysis of the data suggests that it is probable that some of these KIMs were derived from primary and/or secondary sources within the CMV area, while others may have been transported to the area from the east-northeast by Pleistocene glacial and/or glaciofluvial systems. At this stage, KIM chemistry does not allow the exact location of the kimberlitic source(s) to be constrained.
Regier, M.E., Pearson, D.G., Stachel, T., Stern, R.A., Harris, J.
Tracing the formation and abundance of superdeep diamonds.
2018 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum , p. 63. abstract
Africa, Guinea
deposit - Kankan
Abstract: Super-deep diamonds from the transition zone and lower mantle are valuable targets for mining, as they are often large, gem-quality1 or ultra-valuable type IIb stones2. Hence, in mine prospects, it may become important to determine the various populations of sub-lithospheric diamonds. Unambiguously identifying a diamond’s depth of formation is difficult as some minerals can be indicative of various depth regimes (e.g., ferropericlase, Ca-walstromite, enstatite, clinopyroxene, coesite). Here, we use the oxygen isotope compositions of inclusions in Kankan diamonds from Guinea to distinguish between the various diamond-forming processes that happen at lithospheric, asthenospheric to transition zone, and lower mantle depths. In this way, we hope to establish a process by which isotope geochemistry can better constrain the populations of superdeep diamonds in kimberlites, and can assist in estimating a pipe’s propensity for large, valuable stones. Oxygen isotopic analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a high-precision technique that can track hydrothermal alteration that occurred at or close below the ocean floor. Our analyses of inclusions from Kankan diamonds demonstrate that garnets with 3-3.03 Si cations (pfu) have ?18O that are well-constrained within the normal values expected for peridotitic and eclogitic inclusions, but that garnets with ?3.04 Si cations (pfu) have consistently high ?18O (median: 10‰) that slightly decreases with increasing Cr2O3. We interpret this signal as the reaction between a melted carbonate-rich oceanic slab and normal convecting asthenosphere3. In contrast, retrogressed, or former, bridgmanite has ?18O values similar to primitive mantle, suggesting little involvement of slab melts. In contrast to the worldwide suite of lithospheric inclusions of eclogitic paragenesis (median ?18O of 7.03‰)4,5, diamonds derived from ~250 to 500 km have inclusions with consistent, extremely high oxygen isotopes (median: 9.32‰)6,7, due to the melting of extremely enriched carbonated oceanic crust. Diamonds from the lower mantle, however, have inclusions with primitive mantle oxygen isotopes, suggesting a different formation process. The clear distinction in inclusion ?18O between lithospheric, asthenospheric to transition zone, and lower mantle diamond populations is useful in informing the depth regime of a suite of stones, especially those with inclusions of ambiguous depths (e.g., clinopyroxene, coesite, Ca-walstromite, enstatite, ferropericlase, etc.). For instance, we are currently searching for exotic oxygen isotopes in ferropericlase that indicate asthenospheric diamond growth, rather than the primitive mantle values expected for lower mantle ferropericlase. In conclusion, oxygen isotopic analyses of diamond inclusions can identify various sublithsopheric diamond populations, and may benefit the assessment of a mine’s potential for large gem-quality, or type IIb diamonds.
Siva-Jothy, W., Chinn, I., Stachel, T., Pearson, D.G.
Resorption features of macro and micro diamonds from Gahcho Kue.
2018 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum , p. 120. abstract
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Gahcho Kue
Abstract: Studies into the relationship between oxygen fugacity of mantle fluids/melts and etch features on diamond surfaces have shown specific fluid/melt compositions correspond to associated etch features. A classification scheme has been proposed to determine the fluid composition within a kimberlite by examining etch features associated with diamond surfaces as a proxy for fluid composition in an ascending diamondiferous kimberlite. A suite of 388 microdiamonds (defined as diamonds which pass through a 0.5 mm square mesh screen) and 88 macrodiamonds taken from various drill hole depths in the Hearne kimberlite and 88 inclusion-bearing macrodiamonds from the Gahcho Kué mine (NWT) were viewed under a secondary electron microscope for their surface features in accordance with this scheme. Two hundred and thirty specimens show shallow-depth etch features that can be easily classified: the main features observed were trigons and truncated trigons on the {111} faces and/or tetragons on the {100} faces (indicating etching by fluids of variable CO2:H2O ratios). Thirty-four specimens show deeper etched features that represent either extreme degrees of regular etching (such as deeply-etched tetragons), or corrosion type etching, wherein the diamond lattice is etched in a fluid-free melt. Variability between crystal habits exists between the size fractions studied, with cubic habits only being observed in the microdiamond population. This implies variable formation conditions for the two different diamond size fractions studied from Gahcho Kué. Among microdiamonds, surface textures associated with fluid-related etching are markedly more variable, with truncated trigons, tetragons, and both positive and negative trigons being observed. However, these often occur in combination with features showing a large variability in their depth to size ratio between samples, which is typically caused by mantle-related etching. These observations suggest repeated interaction of fluids/melts with the Gahcho Kué diamond population, with at least some of the fluids affecting the microdiamonds being more CO2-rich than those that etched the macrodiamond fraction.
Gems & Gemology, Sixth International Gemological Symposium Vol. 54, 3, 1p. Abstract p. 270.
Global
diamond genesis
Abstract: For the past 50 years, the majority of diamond research has focused on diamonds derived from the lithospheric mantle root underpinning ancient continents. While lithospheric diamonds are currently thought to form the mainstay of the world’s economic production, the continental mantle lithosphere reservoir comprises only ~2.5% of the total volume of Earth. Earth’s upper mantle and transition zone, extending from beneath the lithosphere to a depth of 670 km, occupy a volume approximately 10 times larger. Diamonds from these deeper parts of the earth—“superdeep diamonds”—are more abundant than previously thought. They appear to dominate the high-value large diamond population that comes to market. Recent measurements of the carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of superdeep diamonds from Brazil and southern Africa, using in situ ion probe techniques, show that they document the deep recycling of volatile elements (C, N, O) from the surface of the earth to great depths, at least as deep as the uppermost lower mantle. The recycled crust signatures in these superdeep diamonds suggest their formation in regions of subducting oceanic plates, either in the convecting upper mantle or the transition zone plus lower mantle. It is likely that the deep subduction processes involved in forming these diamonds also transport surficial hydrogen into the deep mantle. This notion is supported by the observation of a high-pressure olivine polymorph—ringwoodite—with close to saturation levels of water. Hence, superdeep diamonds document a newly recognized, voluminous “diamond factory” in the deep earth, likely producing diamonds right up to the present day. Such diamonds also provide uniquely powerful views of how crustal material is recycled into the deep earth to replenish the mantle’s inventory of volatile elements. The increasing recognition of superdeep diamonds in terms of their contribution to the diamond economy opens new horizons in diamond exploration. Models are heavily influenced by the search for diamonds associated with highly depleted peridotite (dunites and harzburgites). Such harzburgitic diamonds were formed in the Archean eon (>2.5 Ga) within lithospheric mantle of similar age. It is currently unclear what the association is between these ancient lithospheric diamonds and large, high-value diamonds, but it is likely a weak one. In contrast, the strong association between superdeep diamonds and these larger stones opens up a new paradigm because the available age constraints for superdeep diamonds indicate that they are much younger than the ancient lithospheric diamonds. Their younger age means that superdeep diamonds may be formed in non-Archean mantle, or mantle that has been strongly overprinted by post-Archean events that would otherwise be deemed unfavorable for the preservation of ancient lithospheric diamonds. An additional factor in the search for new diamond deposits is the increasing recognition that major diamond deposits can form in lithospheric mantle that is younger than—or experienced major thermal disruption since—the canonical 2.5 billion years usually thought to be most favorable for diamond production. This talk will explore these new dimensions in terms of the potential for discovering new diamond sources in “unconventional” settings.
Gems & Gemology, Sixth International Gemological Symposium Vol. 54, 3, 1p. Abstract p. 272-3.
Africa, Sierra Leone
geochronology
Abstract: Diamond ages are obtained from radiogenic isotopic analysis (Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Re-Os, and Ar-Ar) of mineral inclusions (garnet, pyroxene, and sulfide). As diamonds are xenocrysts that cannot be dated directly, the ages obtained on mineral inclusions provide a unique set of interpretive challenges to assure accuracy and account for preexisting history. A primary source of geological/mineralogical uncertainty on diamond ages is any process affecting protogenetic mineral inclusions before encapsulation in the diamond, especially if it occurred long before diamond formation. In practical application, the isotopic systems discussed above also carry with them inherent systemic uncertainties. Isotopic equilibrium is the essential condition required for the generation of a statistically robust isochron. Thus, isochron ages from multiple diamonds will record a valid and accurate age when the diamond-forming fluid promotes a large degree of isotopic equilibrium across grain scales, even for preexisting (“protogenetic”) minerals. This clearly can and does occur. Furthermore, it can be analytically tested for, and has multiple analogues in the field of dating metamorphic rocks. In cases where an age might be suspect, an age will be valid if its regression uncertainties can encompass a known and plausible geological event (especially one for which an association exists between that event and the source of diamond-forming fluids) and petrogenetic links can be established between inclusions on the isochron. Diamonds can be dated in six basic ways: 1. model ages 2. radiogenic daughter Os ages (common-Os-free) 3. single-diamond mineral isochrons 4. core to rim ages 5. multiple single-diamond isochron/array ages 6. composite isochron/array ages Model ages (1) are produced by the intersection between the evolution line for the inclusion and a reference reservoir such as the mantle. The most accurate single-diamond age is determined on a diamond with multiple inclusions (3). In this case an internal isochron can be obtained that not only establishes equilibrium among the multiple grains but also unequivocally dates the time of diamond growth. With extreme luck in obtaining the right diamond, concentric diamond growth zones visible in UV fluorescence or cathodoluminescence can sometimes be shown to constrain inclusions to occur in the core of the diamond and in the exterior at the rim. These single grains can be extracted to give a minimum growth time (4) for the diamond. In optimal situations, multiple inclusions are present within single growth zones, in single diamonds, allowing internal isochrons to be constructed for individual growth zones in single diamonds. If enough diamonds with inclusions can be obtained for study, valid ages for diamond populations can be obtained on multiple single-diamond ages that agree (5) or on composited, mineralogically similar inclusions to give an average age (6).
Abstract: Archean tectonics was capable of producing virtually indestructible cratonic mantle lithosphere, but the dominant mechanism of this process remains a topic of considerable discussion. Recent geophysical and petrological studies have refuelled the debate by suggesting that thickening and associated vertical movement of the cratonic mantle lithosphere after its formation are essential ingredients of the cratonization process. Here we present a geodynamical study that focuses on how the thick stable cratonic lithospheric roots can be made in a thermally evolving mantle. Our numerical experiments explore the viability of a cratonization process in which depleted mantle lithosphere grows via lateral compression into a > 200-km thick, stable cratonic root and on what timescales this may happen. Successful scenarios for craton formation, within the bounds of our models, are found to be composed of two stages: an initial phase of tectonic shortening and a later phase of gravitational self-thickening. The initial tectonic shortening of previously depleted mantle material is essential to initiate the cratonization process, while the subsequent gravitational self-thickening contributes to a second thickening phase that is comparable in magnitude to the initial tectonic phase. Our results show that a combination of intrinsic compositional buoyancy of the cratonic root, rapid cooling of the root after shortening, and the long-term secular cooling of the mantle prevents a Rayleigh-Taylor type collapse, and will stabilize the thick cratonic root for future preservation. This two-stage thickening model provides a geodynamically viable cratonization scenario that is consistent with petrological and geophysical constraints.
Abstract: Quantitative trace element data from high-purity gem diamonds from the Victor Mine, Ontario, Canada as well as near-gem diamonds from peridotite and eclogite xenoliths from the Finsch and Newlands mines, South Africa, acquired using an off-line laser ablation method show that we see the same spectrum of fluids in both high-purity gem and near-gem diamonds that was previously documented in fibrous diamonds. "Planed" and "ribbed" trace element patterns characterize not only the high-density fluid (HDF) inclusions in fibrous diamonds but also in gem diamonds. Two diamonds from two Finsch harzburgite xenoliths show trace element patterns similar to those of saline fluids, documenting the involvement of saline fluids in the precipitation of gem diamonds, further strengthening the link between the parental fluids of both gem and fibrous diamonds. Differences in trace element characteristics are evident between Victor diamonds containing silicate inclusions compared with Victor diamonds containing sulphide inclusions. The sulphide-bearing diamonds show lower levels of inter-element fractionation and more widely varying siderophile element concentrations - indicating that the silicate and sulphide-bearing diamonds likely formed by gradations of the same processes, via melt-rock reaction or from a subtly different fluid source. The shallow negative LREEN-HREEN slopes displayed by the Victor diamonds establish a signature indicative of original derivation of the diamond forming agent during major melting (~10% melt). Consequently, this signature must have been passed on to HDFs separating from such silicate melts.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 9, pp. 6-10. 10.7185/geochemlet.1830
Mantle
peridotites
Abstract: The origin of the peridotites that form cratonic mantle roots is a central issue in understanding the history and survival of Earth’s oldest continents. A long-standing hypothesis holds that the unusual bulk compositions of some cratonic peridotites stem from their origin as subducted oceanic serpentinite, dehydrated during subduction to form rigid buoyant keels (Schulze, 1986; Canil and Lee, 2009). We present oxygen isotope data from 93 mantle peridotites from five different Archean cratons to evaluate their possible origin as serpentinites. Cratonic mantle peridotite shows remarkably uniform ?18O values, identical to modern MORB-source mantle, that do not vary with bulk rock Si-enrichment or Ca-depletion. These data clearly conflict with any model for cratonic lithosphere that invokes serpentinite as a protolith for cratonic peridotite, and place additional constraints on cratonic mantle origins. We posit that the uniform ?18O was produced by sub-arc and/or MOR depletion processes and that the Si-enriched nature of some samples is unlikely to be related to slab melt infiltration. Instead, we suggest a peridotitic source of Si-enrichment, derived from ascending mantle melts, or a water-fluxed depleted mantle. These variably Si-enriched, cratonic mantle protoliths were then collisionally compressed into the thick cratonic roots that have protected Earth’s oldest continental crust for over 2.5 Gyr.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 507, pp. 175-186.
Mantle
peridotite
Abstract: To examine how the mantle lithosphere stabilises continents, we present a synthesis of the mantle beneath Zealandia in the SW Pacific Ocean. Zealandia, Earth's “8th continent”, occurs over 4.9 M km2 and comprises a fore-arc, arc and back-arc fragment rifted from the Australia-Antarctica Gondwana margin 85 Myr ago. The oldest extant crust is ?500 Ma and the majority is Permian-Jurassic. Peridotitic rocks from most known locations reveal the underpinning mantle to comprise regional domains varying from refractory (Al2O3 < 1 wt%, olivine Mg# > 92, spinel Cr# up to 80, Pt/Ir < 1) to moderately depleted (Al2O3 = 2-4 wt%, olivine Mg# ?90.5, spinel Cr# < ?60). There is no systematic distribution of these domains relative to the former arc configuration and some refractory domains underlie crust that is largely devoid of magmatic rocks. Re-depletion Os model ages have no correlation with depletion indices but do have a distribution that is very similar to global convecting mantle. Whole rock, mineral and isotopic data are interpreted to show that the Zealandia mantle lithosphere was constructed from isotopically heterogeneous convecting mantle fragments swept into the sub-arc environment, amalgamated, and variably re-melted under low-P hydrous conditions. The paucity of mafic melt volumes in most of the overlying crust that could relate to the depleted domains requires melting to have been followed by lateral accretion either during subduction or slab rollback. Recent Australia-Pacific convergence has thickened portions of the Zealandia mantle to >160 km. Zealandia shows that the generation of refractory and/or thick continental lithosphere is not restricted to the Archean. Since Archean cratons also commonly display crust-mantle age decoupling, contain spinel peridotites with extreme Cr# numbers that require low-P hydrous melting, and often have a paucity of mafic melts relative to the extreme depletion indicated by their peridotitic roots, they too may - in part - be compilations of peridotite shallowly melted and then laterally accreted at subduction margins.
Abstract: The Re-Os isotopic system is largely considered the geochronometer of choice to date partial melting of terrestrial peridotites and in constraining the evolution of Earth's dynamics from the mantle viewpoint. While whole-rock peridotite Re-Os isotopic signatures are the core of such investigations, the Re-Os dating of individual peridotite minerals—base metal sulfides (BMS) and platinum group minerals (PGM)—that are the main hosts for Re and Os in the mantle peridotites came into play two decades ago. These nanometric-micrometric BMS and PGM display an extreme complexity and heterogeneity in their 187Os/188Os and 187Re/188Os signatures that result from the origin of the BMS±PGM grains (residual vs. meta-somatic), the nature of the metasomatic agents, the transport/precipitation mechanisms, BMS±PGM mineral-ogy, and subsequent Re/Os fractionation. Corresponding whole-rock host peridotites, typically plot within the 187Os/188Os and 187Re/188Os ranges defined by the BMS±PGM, clearly demonstrating that their Re-Os signatures represent the average of the different BMS±PGM populations. The difference between the 187Os/188Os ratios of the least radiogenic BMS±PGM and the respective host peridotite increases with the fertility of the peridotite reflecting the increasing contribution of metasomatic BMS±PGM to the whole-rock mass balance of Re and Os concentrations and Os isotope compositions. Corollaries to these observations are that (1) BMS may provide a record of much older partial melting event, pushing back in time the age of the lithospheric mantle stabilization, (2) if only whole-rock peridotite Re-Os isotopic measurements are possible, then the best targets for constraining the timing of lithospheric stabilization are BMS-free/BMS-poor ultra-refractory spinel-bearing peridotites with very minimal metasomatic overprint, as their 187Os/188Os signatures may be geologically meaningful, (3) while lherzolites are “fertile” in terms of their geochemical composition, they do not have a “primitive,” unmodified composition, certainly in terms of their highly siderophile elements (HSE) and Re-Os isotopic systematics, and (4) the combined Re-Os isotopic investigations of BMS and whole-rock in BMS-rich mantle peridotites would provide a complementary view on the timing and nature of the petrological events responsible for the chemical and isotopic evolution and destruction of the lithospheric mantle. In addition, the 187Os/188Os composition of the BMS±PGM (both residual and metasomatic) within any single peridotite may define several age clusters—in contrast to the single whole-rock value—and thus provide a more accurate picture of the complex petrogenetic history of the lithospheric mantle. When coupled with a detailed BMS±PGM petrographical study and whole-rock lithophile and HSE systematics, these BMS age clusters highlight the timing and nature of the petrological events contributing to the formation and chemical and isotopic evolution of the lithospheric mantle. These BMS±PGM age clusters may match regional or the local crustal ages, suggesting that the formation and evolution of the lithospheric mantle and its overlying crust are linked, providing mirror records of their geological and chemical history. This is, however, not a rule of thumb as clear evidence of crust-mantle age decoupling also exist. Although the BMS±PGM Re-Os model ages push back in time the stabilization of lithospheric mantle, the dichotomy between Archean cratonic and circum-cratonic peridotites, and post-Archean non-cratonic peridotites and tectonites is preserved. This ability of BMS±PGM to preserve older ages than their host peridotite also underscores their survival for billions of years without being reset or reequilibrated despite the complex petrogenetic processes recorded by their host mantle peridotites. As such, they are the mantle equivalents of crustal zircons. Preservation of such old signatures in “young” oceanic peridotites ultimately rules out the use of the Re-Os signatures in both oceanic peridotites and their BMS to estimate the timescales of isotopic homogenization of the convecting mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 250, 1, pp. 49-75.
Mantle
picrites
Abstract: The oxygen fugacities of nine mantle-derived komatiitic and picritic systems ranging in age from 3.55?Ga to modern day were determined using the redox-sensitive partitioning of V between liquidus olivine and komatiitic/picritic melt. The combined set of the oxygen fugacity data for seven systems from this study and the six komatiite systems studied by Nicklas et al. (2018), all of which likely represent large regions of the mantle, defines a well-constrained trend indicating an increase in oxygen fugacity of the lavas of ?1.3 ?FMQ log units from 3.48 to 1.87?Ga, and a nearly constant oxygen fugacity from 1.87?Ga to the present. The oxygen fugacity data for the 3.55?Ga Schapenburg komatiite system, the mantle source region of which was previously argued to have been isolated from mantle convection within the first 30?Ma of the Solar System history, plot well above the trend and were not included in the regression. These komatiite’s anomalously high oxygen fugacity data likely reflect preservation of early-formed magma ocean redox heterogeneities until at least the Paleoarchean. The observed increase in the oxygen fugacity of the studied komatiite and picrite systems of ?1.3 ?FMQ log units is shown to be a feature of their mantle source regions and is interpreted to indicate secular oxidation of the mantle between 3.48 and 1.87?Ga. Three mechanisms are considered to account for the observed change in the redox state of the mantle: (1) recycling of altered oceanic crust, (2) venting of oxygen from the core due to inner core crystallization, and (3) convection-driven homogenization of an initially redox-heterogeneous primordial mantle. It is demonstrated that none of the three mechanisms alone can fully explain the observed trend, although mechanism (3) is best supported by the available geochemical data. These new data provide further evidence for mantle involvement in the dramatic increase in the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere leading up to the Great Oxidation Event at ?2.4?Ga.
Abstract: Peridotites occur as lensoid bodies within the Mesoarchaean orthogneiss in the Akia terrane of Southern West Greenland. The Ulamertoq peridotite body is the largest of these peridotites hosted within the regional orthogneiss. It consists mainly of olivine, orthopyroxene, and amphibole-rich ultramafic rocks exhibiting metamorphic textural and chemical features. Chromitite layers from different localities in Ulamertoq show contrasting characteristics. In one locality, zoned chromites are hosted in orthopyroxene-amphibole peridotites. Compositional zonation in chromites is evident with decreasing Cr and Fe content from core to rim, while Al and Mg increase. Homogeneous chromites from another locality are fairly uniform and Fe-rich. The mineral chemistry of the major and accessory phases shows metamorphic signatures. Inferred temperature conditions suggest that the zoned chromites, homogeneous chromites, and their hosts are equilibrated at different metamorphic conditions. In this paper, various mechanisms during the cumulus to subsolidus stages are explored in order to understand the origin of the two contrasting types of chromites.
Geochemical Perspective Letters, Vol. 10, pp. 8-13. doi:10.7185/ geochemlet.1907
Canada, Northwest Territories
magmatism
Abstract: Ancient rock samples are limited, hindering the investigation of the processes operative on the Earth early in its history. Here we present a detailed study of well-exposed crustal remnants in the central Slave craton that formed over a 1 billion year magmatic history. The tonalitic-granodioritic gneisses analysed here are broadly comparable to common suites of rocks found in Archean cratons globally. Zircon Hf isotope data allow us to identify a major change in the way continental crust was formed in this area, with a shift to distinctly positive ?Hf starting at ~3.55 Ga. The crust production processes and spatial distribution of isotopic compositions imply variable interaction with older crust, similar to the relationships seen in modern tectonic settings; specifically, long-lived plate margins. A majority of the Slave craton might have been formed by a similar mechanism.
Abstract: We studied the petrography, mineralogy, thermobarometry and whole rock chemistry of 120 peridotite and pyroxenite xenoliths collected from the 156 - 138 Ma Chidliak kimberlites CH-1, -6, -7 and -44. The xenoliths have higher CaO contents relative to Al2O3, and high Al for a given Mg/Si ratio compared to other cratonic peridotites. We assign the complex Ca-Al systematics of the Chidliak peridotites to repeated episodes of Ca-rich, Si-poor metasomatism, which introduced clinopyroxene and garnet, and later replaced orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene with secondary clinopyroxene and monticellite. This carbonatitic metasomatism, manifest in formation of wehrlites, acted upon the entire sampled mantle depth on a regional scale, including the proximal blocks of the North Atlantic Craton and the Chidliak mantle, where clinopyroxene and garnet modes are uniformly and heterogeneously high in the ~ 110 km deep mantle segment. Another, more recent type of mantle metasomatism, is expressed as elevated Ti in clinopyroxene and elevated Na and Ti in garnet, typical of sheared peridotites from CH-1, -7, and -44, but absent from CH-6 xenolith suite. The Ti-Na imprint is most intense in xenoliths derived from depths equivalent to 5.5 to 6.5 GPa, where it is associated with higher strain, the presence of sheared peridotites and higher temperatures varying isobarically by up to 200 °C. The horizontal scale of the thermal-metasomatic imprint is more ambiguous and could be as regional as 10's of kilometers or as local as < 1 km. The latter is constrained by the varied abundance of Ti-enriched garnets within a single kimberlite. The time-scale of this metasomatism relates to a conductive length-scale and could be as short as 100's ka, shortly predating the kimberlite formation. The Ti-Na, megacryst-like metasomatism may have resulted from a highly localized influx of hot hydrous proto-kimberlite fluids that weakened the mantle and triggered the formation of sheared peridotites.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 516, pp. 190-201.
Mantle
carbon
Abstract: A long-standing unresolved problem in understanding Earth's deep carbon cycle is whether crustal carbon is recycled beyond arc depths. While isotopic signatures of eclogitic diamonds and their inclusions suggest deep recycling of crustal material, the crustal carbon source remains controversial; seafloor sediment - the widely favored crustal carbon source - cannot explain the combined carbon and nitrogen isotopic characteristics of eclogitic diamonds. Here we examined the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of bulk-rock carbonate for 80 geographically diverse samples from altered mafic-ultramafic oceanic crust (AOC), which comprises 95 vol% of the crustal material in subducting slabs. The results show: (i) AOC contains carbonate with C values as low as ?24‰, indicating the presence of biogenic carbonate; (ii) carbonate in AOC was mainly formed during low-temperature (<100 °C) alteration processes. Modeling accounting for this newly recognized carbon source in the oceanic crust with formation temperatures <100 °C yields a global carbon influx of 1.5±0.3 × 1012 mol C/yr carried by subducting AOC into the trench, which is 50-90% of previous estimates, but still of the same order of the carbon influx carried by subducting sediments into the trench. The AOC can retain carbon better than sediment during subduction into the asthenosphere, transition zone and lower mantle. Mixing of asthenospheric and AOC fluids provides the first consistent explanation of the diverse record of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in diamonds, suggesting that AOC, instead of sediment, is the key carrier of crustal carbon into the deep mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 29p.
Africa, South Africa, Botswana
deposit - Koffiefontein, Letlhakane, Orapa, Finsch, De Beers Pool
Abstract: Ten individual gem-quality monocrystalline diamonds of known peridotite/eclogite paragenesis from Southern Africa (Koffiefontein, Letlhakane, Orapa) were studied for trace element concentrations and He and Ar abundances and isotopic compositions. In addition, two samples, consisting of pooled fragments of gem-quality peridotitic diamonds from Finsch and DeBeers Pool respectively, were analysed for noble gases. Previous studies (Richardson et al., 1984; Pearson et al., 1998; Gress et al., 2017; Timmerman et al., 2017) provided age constraints of 0.09, 1.0-1.1, 1.7, 2.3, and 3.2-3.4?Ga on mineral inclusions in the studied diamonds, allowing us to study trace elements and noble gases over 3 Gyr of geological time. Concentrations of trace elements in the diamonds are very low - a few hundred ppt to several tens of ppbs - and are likely dependent on the amount of sub-micron inclusions present. Trace element patterns and trace element/3He ratios of the studied monocrystalline diamonds are similar to those in fibrous diamonds, suggesting that trace elements and stable noble gas isotopes reside within the same locations in diamond and track the same processes that are reflected in the trace element patterns. We cannot discern any temporal differences in these geochemical tracers, suggesting that the processes generating them have been occurring over at least the past 2.3?Ga. 3He/4He ratios decrease and 4He and 40Ar* contents increase with increasing age of peridotitic and some eclogitic diamonds, showing the importance of in-situ radiogenic 4He and 40Ar ingrowth by the decay of U-Th-Sm and K respectively. For most gem-quality monocrystalline diamonds, uncertainties in the 3He/4He evolution of the continental lithospheric mantle combined with large analytical uncertainties and possible spatial variability in U-Th-Sm concentrations limit our ability to provide estimates of diamond formation ages using 4He ingrowth. However, the limited observed 4He ingrowth (low U?+?Th/3He) together with a R/Ra value of 5.3 for peridotitic diamond K306 is comparable to the present-day sub-continental lithospheric mantle value and supports the young diamond formation age found by Re-Os dating of sulphides in the same diamond by Pearson et al. (1998). After correction for in-situ radiogenic 4He produced since diamond formation a large variation in 3He/4He remains in ?1?Ga old eclogitic diamonds that is suggested to result from the variable influence of subducted altered oceanic crust that has low 3He/4He. Hence, the 3He/4He isotope tracer supports an origin of the diamond-forming fluids from recycled oceanic crust for eclogitic diamonds, as indicated by other geochemical proxies.
Abstract: The physical characteristics and impermeability of diamonds allow them to retain radiogenic 4He produced in-situ from radioactive decay of U, Th and Sm. This study investigates the U-Th/He systematics of fibrous diamonds and provides a first step in quantification of the uncertainties associated with determining the in-situ produced radiogenic 4He concentration. Factors determining the total amount of measured helium in a diamond are the initial trapped 4He, the in-situ produced radiogenic 4He, ?-implantation, ?-ejection, diffusion, and cosmogenic 3He production. Alpha implantation is negligible, and diffusion is slow, but the cosmogenic 3He component can be significant for alluvial diamonds as the recovery depth is unknown. Therefore, samples were grouped based on similar major and trace element compositions to determine possible genetically related samples. A correlation between the 4He and U-Th concentrations approximates the initial 4He concentration at the axis-intersect and age as the slope. In this study, the corrections were applied to eight fibrous cubic diamonds from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and two diamonds from the Jwaneng kimberlite in Botswana. A correlation exists between the 4He and U-Th concentrations of the group ZRC2, 3, and 6, and of the group CNG2, 3, and 4 and both correlations deviate significantly from a 71?Ma kimberlite eruption isochron. The U-Th/He dating method appears a promising new approach to date metasomatic fluid events that result in fibrous diamond formation and this is the first evidence that some fibrous diamonds can be formed 10s to 100s Myr before the kimberlite eruption.
Abstract: The fertility of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle as source for metal-rich magmas remains poorly understood. We report new major (EPMA), minor and trace element (LA-ICP-MS) results for olivine mantle xenocrysts sourced from the Jurassic age Jericho, Muskox and Voyageur kimberlites, western Nunavut in the Slave Craton, approximately 30 km north of the Lupin gold mine. Target elements include a suite of ore-forming elements that are unconventional for mantle petrology studies, but may represent important geochemical tracers for metal metasomatism. Using single-grain aluminum-in-olivine thermometry, formation temperatures for the olivine grains were calculated and projected on to a mantle geotherm to estimate PT conditions. The suite of xenocrysts corresponds to mantle sampling between 100-190 km depth. Their range in Mg# indicates that all 3 kimberlites sampled variably depleted mantle peridotite. The patterns of trace element enrichments found are consistent with those documented previously for mantle olivine xenocryst samples from the lithosphere below the Superior Craton in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. In both studies, some ore-forming elements were found to partition into mantle silicates more at the higher temperatures and pressure prevalent at the base of the lithospheric mantle, notably copper, with concentrations varying from ~ 1 ppm in shallow samples up to 11 ppm at the maximum depth sampled. Because the concentration of metals in melt-depleted lithospheric peridotite is expected to be low (< 20 ppm Cu), mantle silicates likely become a significant host for some ore elements at depth. Highly incompatible high field strength elements yield decreasing concentrations with depth, possibly the result of mantle metasomatic processes. Fluid metasomatized mantle peridotite domains are also inferred from olivine xenocrysts that yield unexpected trace element concentrations (ppb to ppm) for other highly incompatible ore-elements (e.g. As, Mo). We expect that some of these fluid-mobile and highly incompatible ore-elements represent trapped fluid and/or melt inclusions.
Abstract: Nixonite (IMA 2018-133), ideally Na2Ti6O13, is a new mineral found within a heavily-metasomatized pyroxenite xenolith from the Darby kimberlite field, beneath the west central Rae Craton, Canada. It occurs as microcrystalline aggregates, 15 to 40 ?m in length. Nixonite is isostructural with jeppeite, K2Ti6O13, with a structure consisting of edge- and corner-shared titanium-centered octahedra that enclose alkali-metal ions. The Mohs hardness is estimated to be between 5 and 6 by comparison to jeppeite and the calculated density is 3.51(1) g/cm3. Electron microprobe wavelength-dispersive spectroscopic analysis (average of 6 points) yielded: Na2O 6.87, K2O 5.67 CaO 0.57, TiO2 84.99, V2O3 0.31, Cr2O3 0.04, MnO 0.01, Fe2O3 0.26, SrO 0.07, total 98.79 wt%. The empirical formula, based on 13 O atoms, is: (Na1.24K0.67Ca0.06)?1.97(Ti5.96V0.023Fe0.018)?6.00O13 with minor amounts of Cr and Mn. Nixonite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, with unit-cell parameters a = 15.3632(26) Å, b = 3.7782(7) Å, c = 9.1266(15) Å, ? = 99.35(15)º and V = 522.72(1) Å3, Z = 2. Based on the average of seven integrated multi-grain diffraction images, the strongest diffraction lines are [dobs in Å (I in %) (h k l)]: 3.02 (100) (3 1 0) , 3.66 (75) (1 1 0), 7.57 (73) (2 0 0), 6.31 (68) (2 0 -1), 2.96 (63) (3 1 -1), 2.96 (63) (2 0 -3) and 2.71 (62) (4 0 2). The five main Raman peaks of nixonite, in order of decreasing intensity, are at: 863, 280, 664, 135 and 113 cm-1. Nixonite is named after Peter H. Nixon, a renowned scientist in the field of kimberlites and mantle xenoliths. Nixonite occurs within a pyroxenite xenolith in a kimberlite, in association with rutile, priderite, perovskite, freudenbergite and ilmenite. This complex Na-K-Ti rich metasomatic mineral assemblage may have been produced by a fractionated Na-rich kimberlitic melt that infiltrated a mantle-derived garnet pyroxenite and reacted with rutile during kimberlite crystallization.
Abstract: The trace element composition of olivine is becoming increasingly important in petrological studies due to the ubiquity of olivine in the Earth's upper mantle and in primitive magmatic rocks. The LA-ICP-MS method allows for the routine analysis of trace elements in olivine to sub-ppm levels, but a major drawback of this method is the lack of knowledge about possible downhole fractionation effects when non matrix-matched calibration is used. In this contribution, we show that matrix-matched (i.e., olivine-based) calibration is preferable for small laser spot sizes (<100??m) due to significant laser-induced inter-element fractionation between olivine and commonly used silicate glass calibration materials, e.g., NIST SRM 612, GSD-1G and BHVO-2G. As a result, we present two Mg-rich natural olivine standards (355OL and SC-GB) that have been characterized by independent methods (EPMA, solution ICP-MS), and by LA-ICP-MS in four different laboratories. These natural olivines have been used 1) as primary standards for the matrix-matched calibration of olivine samples for most elements of interest (e.g., Li, Na, Al, P, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), and 2) as secondary standards to assess the accuracy of results. Comparison of olivine- and silicate glass-calibrated results for natural peridotitic olivine reveals that matrix-matched calibration is essential when using small laser spot sizes (<100??m) in order to mitigate downhole fractionation effects for certain elements, especially Na, P, Mn, Co, Ni and Zn. If matrix-matched calibration is not feasible, we recommend that spot sizes of ?100??m, laser fluence of ?4.0?J/cm2, and total laser shot counts of ?250 (e.g., 5?Hz repetition rate for 50?s) are used in order to minimize fractionation effects between olivine and silicate glass calibration materials. We demonstrate the applicability of matrix-matched calibration on olivine from a suite of different mantle peridotite xenoliths sampled by kimberlites and alkali basalts from on-craton and off-craton localities.
www.minsocam.org/ MSA/Centennial/ MSA_Centennial _Symposium.html The next 100 years of mineral science, June 20-21, p. 36. Abstract
Asia, Pakistan, Kashmir, South America, Colombia
sapphire, emerald
Abstract: The geographic origin of gemstones has emerged as one of the major factors affecting their sale on the colored stone market, in large part due to the prestige attributed to certain regions (e.g. sapphires from Kashmir or emeralds from Colombia) but also because of political, environmental and ethical considerations. Identifying the geographic provenance of a colored stone has, therefore, developed into one of the main tasks for gem-testing laboratories, providing a strong motivation to establish accurate scientific methods. The properties and features of individual gemstones reflect the specific geological conditions of their formation and the main challenge of origin determination is to find the link between the two. In addition, access to a complete collection of authentic reference samples and analytical data for all economically relevant mining areas worldwide is key. Different techniques have been developed for determining gemstone provenance, including a range of gemological observations, and spectroscopic, chemical, and isotopic analyses[1]. These have proven useful in distinguishing the origin of gemstones from different geological settings but for many gemstones (including ruby and sapphire) to reliably distinguish between gems from different geographic regions that share a similar geological setting is not always possible. So far, no unique fingerprint exists, and the geographic origin remains a challenge, especially for high-clarity stones, emphasizing the need for a more powerful tool. Here we will give an overview of the current techniques, and outline some of the challenges and limitations of geographical origin determination of colored gemstones. In addition, we present new trace element data and the first radiogenic isotope compositions (Sr and Pb) obtained for ruby and sapphire from several different localities of geologically similar deposits. The acquisition of quantitative data of a range of ultra-trace elements along with the most commonly observed elements in ruby and sapphire (Mg, Fe, Ti, Ca, Ga, V and Cr) makes it possible to explore new elements as potential provenance discriminators. Among the elements consistently above the limits of quantification (Zn, Nb, Ni, and Pb), Ni in particular shows promise as a discriminator for amphibolite-type ruby. Measured 87Sr/86Sr and Pb isotope ratios clearly show distinct ranges for the different localities of amphibolitetype ruby, ranges for marble-related ruby and metamorphic blue sapphires from different geographic regions overlap. These results suggest that radiogenic isotopes potentially offer a powerful means of provenance discrimination for different localities of amphibolite-type ruby, their potential for geographical origin determination among marble-hosted ruby and metamorphic sapphire, however, appears to be limited.
www.minsocam.org/ MSA/Centennial/ MSA_Centennial _Symposium.html The next 100 years of mineral science, June 20-21, p. 22. Abstract
Mantle
diamond inclusions
Abstract: Much of the temporal record of Earth’s evolution, including its trace of plate tectonics, is blurred due to the dynamic nature of the crust-mantle system. While zircon provides the highest fidelity crustal record, diamond takes over in the mantle as the go-to mineral, capable of retaining critical information for a variety of geochemical proxies, over billion year timescales. Here we use diamond and its inclusions to tell the story of the recycling of C, N, O, H and B from the crust to various depths in Earth’s mantle. In this story, altered oceanic crust (AOC) and lithospheric mantle will play a prominent role. The carbon isotope record of diamond has long been thought to reflect the mixing of primitive mantle carbon with carbon recycled from isotopically light organic material originating from the crust. A major difficulty has been reconciling this view with the highly varied nitrogen and carbon isotope signatures in diamonds of eclogitic paragenesis, which cannot be interpreted by the same mechanism. Recent work on AOC of igneous origin (Li et al., EPSL in press) shows how isotopically varied carbon and nitrogen can be subducted to great depth and retained in spatial juxtaposition with the mafic silicate component of AOC to form the complex C-N isotope systematics observed in diamonds and the varied O isotope compositions of their inclusions. In this model a large portion of the 13C depleted carbon originated from biogenic carbonate within the AOC rather than from overlying sediments. Metamorphosed and partially devolatilized AOC will have very variable C/N ratios and highly variable nitrogen isotopes, explaining why simple two component mixing between organic matter and convecting upper mantle cannot explain the complexity of C-N isotope systematics in diamonds. Igneous AOC and its underlying altered mantle are considerably more efficient than subducted sediment at retaining their volatile inventory when recycled to transition zone and even lower mantle depths. Hence, this combination of mixing between AOC-derived volatiles and those from the convecting mantle produces the isotopic fingerprints of superdeep diamonds and their inclusions. These amazing diamonds, some worth millions of dollars, can contain pristine ultra-high pressure mineral phases never before seen in terrestrial samples. The first hydrous ringwoodite found in Earth provides evidence in support of a locally water-saturated transition zone that may result from altered oceanic lithospheric mantle foundering at that depth in the mantle. The O isotope composition of deep asthenosphere and transition zone phases document clearly crustal precursors that have interacted with the hydrosphere before residing hundreds of km deep within the Earth. Finally, spectacular blue diamonds contain boron, an element of strong crustal affinities, transported into the deep Earth along with crustal carbon, by the plate tectonic conveyor system. Diamond - such a simple mineral - and its inclusions, will continue to provide a unique, brightly illuminating light into the darkest recesses of Earth’s mantle for many years to come.
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, Vol. 26, doi.org/10.1107 /S1600577519006854 6p. Pdf
Mantle
diamond inclusions
Abstract: Mineral inclusions in natural diamond are widely studied for the insight that they provide into the geochemistry and dynamics of the Earth's interior. A major challenge in achieving thorough yet high rates of analysis of mineral inclusions in diamond derives from the micrometre-scale of most inclusions, often requiring synchrotron radiation sources for diffraction. Centering microinclusions for diffraction with a highly focused synchrotron beam cannot be achieved optically because of the very high index of refraction of diamond. A fast, high-throughput method for identification of micromineral inclusions in diamond has been developed at the GeoSoilEnviro Center for Advanced Radiation Sources (GSECARS), Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, USA. Diamonds and their inclusions are imaged using synchrotron 3D computed X-ray microtomography on beamline 13-BM-D of GSECARS. The location of every inclusion is then pinpointed onto the coordinate system of the six-circle goniometer of the single-crystal diffractometer on beamline 13-BM-C. Because the bending magnet branch 13-BM is divided and delivered into 13-BM-C and 13-BM-D stations simultaneously, numerous diamonds can be examined during coordinated runs. The fast, high-throughput capability of the methodology is demonstrated by collecting 3D diffraction data on 53 diamond inclusions from Juína, Brazil, within a total of about 72 h of beam time.
Abstract: Isotope compositions of basalts provide information about the chemical reservoirs in Earth’s interior and play a critical role in defining models of Earth’s structure. However, the helium isotope signature of the mantle below depths of a few hundred kilometers has been difficult to measure directly. This information is a vital baseline for understanding helium isotopes in erupted basalts. We measured He-Sr-Pb isotope ratios in superdeep diamond fluid inclusions from the transition zone (depth of 410 to 660 kilometers) unaffected by degassing and shallow crustal contamination. We found extreme He-C-Pb-Sr isotope variability, with high 3He/4He ratios related to higher helium concentrations. This indicates that a less degassed, high-3He/4He deep mantle source infiltrates the transition zone, where it interacts with recycled material, creating the diverse compositions recorded in ocean island basalts.
Abstract: Primary diamond deposits are typically restricted to the stable Archean cores of continents, an association known as Clifford’s rule. Archean to Palaeoproterozoic crustal ages (3.3 - 2.1 Ga) have been reported for the Sask Craton, a small terrane in Western Canada, which hosts the diamondiferous Cretaceous Fort à la Corne (FALC) Kimberlite Field. Yet the craton is enclosed by the Palaeoproterozoic (1.9 - 1.8 Ga) Trans Hudson Orogen (THO). In this study we evaluate the age and geochemistry (major, trace, and platinum group elements data, as well as Re-Os isotope systematics) of the lithospheric mantle root beneath the Sask Craton to assess the timing of craton formation and the potential role played by the THO in its evolution. The lithospheric mantle root is dominated by lherzolite with average olivine Mg# of 91.5, which is more fertile than observed in other cratons. Garnets from concentrate further highlight the rarity of harzburgite in the lithospheric mantle. Single clinopyroxene thermobarometry provides temperaturepressure constraints for the garnet-bearing lithospheric mantle (840 to 1250 °C and 2.7 to 5.5 GPa), indicative of a cool geotherm (38 mW/m2) and a large diamond window of ~100 km thickness (from ~120-220 km depth). Most of the studied xenoliths show evidence for melt metasomatism in their trace and major element compositions, while retaining platinum group element patterns expected for melt residues. 187Os/188Os compositions span a broad range from 0.1109 to 0.1507, corresponding to Re-depletion (TRD) ages between 2.4 to 0.3 Ga, with a main mode in the Palaeoproterozoic (2.4 to 1.7 Ga). With the absence of Archean ages, the main depletion and stabilisation of the Sask Craton occurred in the Palaeoproterozoic, closely associated with the Wilson cycle of the THO. From a diamond exploration perspective this indicates that major diamond deposits can be found on cratons that were stabilised in the Palaeoproterozoic.
Abstract: Cratons are the ancient landmasses that remain stable for billions of years on Earth but also have experienced episodic events of modification and rejuvenation throughout their history [1]. These alteration processes have modified the cratonic lithospheric mantle roots to different extents, e.g., ubiquitous cryptic/modal metasomatism, partial to entire loss of the mantle roots, to rifting apart of the craton. It remains unclear to what extent a cratonic mantle root can withstand modification and retain its integrity. We attempt to discuss this issue from the perspective of the Slave craton that has experienced the multiple impacts of major circum-cratonic Paleoproterozoic (1.93-1.84 Ga) orogenies and the intrusion of several 2.23-1.67 Proterozoic diabase dyke swarms. We use kimberlite-borne peridotite xenoliths to construct a N-S transect across the craton with an aim of probing the effects of these post-Archean events on the composition, age and depth of the lithospheric root. Chemically, all of these rocks are of typical cratonic refractory composition. P-T calculations and paleogeotherms show that they were derived from thick lithospheric mantle roots (>180 km), consistent with their diamondiferous nature. However, these peridotites exhibit variable N-S variation of modes in their Re-depletion Os model ages (TRD). Neoarchean TRD ages dominate in the Central and Southern Slave mantle. Progressing North there is a decreasing proportion of Archean TRD ages through Jericho to Artemisa in the Northern Slave craton. About 70% of the peridotites at Artemisia give TRD ages within error of the ~1.27 Ga Mackenzie LIP event, with the remaining (~ 30%) close to the Paleoproterozoic orogenic events. Combined with new data from regions to the N and NW of the Slave craton [2], the observed age spectrum in the far North of the craton indicates the likelihood of major new generation of lithospheric roots in both the Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. Despite its complex history, the Northern Slave craton retains a ‘cratonic-like’ lithospheric root that allowed diamond mineralization.
Abstract: The widely accepted paradigm of Earth's geochemical evolution states that the successive extraction of melts from the mantle over the past 4.5 billion years formed the continental crust, and produced at least one complementary melt-depleted reservoir that is now recognized as the upper-mantle source of mid-ocean-ridge basalts1. However, geochemical modelling and the occurrence of high 3He/4He (that is, primordial) signatures in some volcanic rocks suggest that volumes of relatively undifferentiated mantle may reside in deeper, isolated regions2. Some basalts from large igneous provinces may provide temporally restricted glimpses of the most primitive parts of the mantle3,4, but key questions regarding the longevity of such sources on planetary timescales—and whether any survive today—remain unresolved. Kimberlites, small-volume volcanic rocks that are the source of most diamonds, offer rare insights into aspects of the composition of the Earth’s deep mantle. The radiogenic isotope ratios of kimberlites of different ages enable us to map the evolution of this domain through time. Here we show that globally distributed kimberlites originate from a single homogeneous reservoir with an isotopic composition that is indicative of a uniform and pristine mantle source, which evolved in isolation over at least 2.5 billion years of Earth history—to our knowledge, the only such reservoir that has been identified to date. Around 200 million years ago, extensive volumes of the same source were perturbed, probably as a result of contamination by exogenic material. The distribution of affected kimberlites suggests that this event may be related to subduction along the margin of the Pangaea supercontinent. These results reveal a long-lived and globally extensive mantle reservoir that underwent subsequent disruption, possibly heralding a marked change to large-scale mantle-mixing regimes. These processes may explain why uncontaminated primordial mantle is so difficult to identify in recent mantle-derived melts.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available. 13p.
Africa, Cameroon
peridotite
Abstract: Highly depleted Archean peridotites have proven very amenable to Re-Os model age dating. In contrast, due to the increasing heterogeneity of mantle Os isotope compositions with time, the Re-Os system has not been as effective in dating post-Archean peridotites. The timing of depletion and accretion of post-Archean lithospheric mantle around cratons is important to understand within the context of the evolution of the continents. In an attempt to precisely date post-Archean peridotite xenoliths, we present a study of the petrology, mineralogy and geochemistry, including whole-rock Re-Os isotopes, highly siderophile elements and clinopyroxene-orthopyroxene Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes of peridotite xenoliths from Lake Nyos in the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). Eight Nyos peridotite xenoliths, all fresh spinel lherzolites, are characterized by low to moderate olivine Fo contents (88.9-91.2) and low spinel Cr# (8.4-19.3), together with moderate to high whole-rock Al2O3 contents (2.0-3.7%). These chemical characteristics indicate that they are mantle residues of a few percent to <20% partial melting. However, trace element patterns of both clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene are not a pristine reflection of melt depletion but instead show various extents of evidence of metasomatic enrichment. Some of the samples contain orthopyroxene with 143Nd/144Nd lower than its coexisting clinopyroxene, which is best explained by recent short-timescale alteration, most likely by infiltration of the host basalt. Because of these metasomatic effects, the Sr-Nd isotope systematics in pyroxenes cannot sufficiently reflect melt depletion signatures. Unlike Sr-Nd isotopes, the Lu-Hf isotope system is less sensitive to recent metasomatic overprinting. Given that orthopyroxene hosts up to 33% of the Lu and 14% of the Hf in the whole rock budget of these rocks and has 176Hf/177Hf similar to, or higher than, coexisting clinopyroxene, it is necessary to reconstruct a whole-rock Lu-Hf isochron in order to constrain the melt depletion age of peridotites. The reconstructed Nyos Lu-Hf isochron from ortho- and clinopyroxenes gives an age of 2.01?±?0.18?Ga (1?), and when olivine and spinel are considered, is 1.82?±?0.14?Ga (1?). Both ages are identical within error, and they are within error of the alumina-187Os/188Os pseudo-isochron ages (1.2-2.4?Ga) produced on the peridotites from Lake Nyos, consistent with their oldest rhenium depletion Os model ages (2.0?Ga). We conclude that the Nyos peridotites, and the lithospheric mantle that they represent, were formed at ?2.0?Ga, indicating that the reconstructed whole-rock Lu-Hf isotope system can be a powerful radiometric dating tool that is complementary to and in some instances, more precise than the Re-Os isotope system in dating well-preserved post-Archean peridotites. The recognition of ?2.0?Ga subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) in the Nyos area suggests that the Nyos region was assembled as a Paleoproterozoic block, or that it represents fragments of the SCLM from the nearby Paleoproterozoic domain juxtaposed through collisional emplacement during the Pan African Orogeny. With regards to the origin of the CVL, our data reveal that the Hf isotopic compositions of the Nyos peridotites are too radiogenic to be the main source of the CVL basalts.
Abstract: The widely accepted paradigm of Earth's geochemical evolution states that the successive extraction of melts from the mantle over the past 4.5 billion years formed the continental crust, and produced at least one complementary melt-depleted reservoir that is now recognized as the upper-mantle source of mid-ocean-ridge basalts1. However, geochemical modelling and the occurrence of high 3He/4He (that is, primordial) signatures in some volcanic rocks suggest that volumes of relatively undifferentiated mantle may reside in deeper, isolated regions2. Some basalts from large igneous provinces may provide temporally restricted glimpses of the most primitive parts of the mantle3,4, but key questions regarding the longevity of such sources on planetary timescales—and whether any survive today—remain unresolved. Kimberlites, small-volume volcanic rocks that are the source of most diamonds, offer rare insights into aspects of the composition of the Earth’s deep mantle. The radiogenic isotope ratios of kimberlites of different ages enable us to map the evolution of this domain through time. Here we show that globally distributed kimberlites originate from a single homogeneous reservoir with an isotopic composition that is indicative of a uniform and pristine mantle source, which evolved in isolation over at least 2.5 billion years of Earth history—to our knowledge, the only such reservoir that has been identified to date. Around 200 million years ago, extensive volumes of the same source were perturbed, probably as a result of contamination by exogenic material. The distribution of affected kimberlites suggests that this event may be related to subduction along the margin of the Pangaea supercontinent. These results reveal a long-lived and globally extensive mantle reservoir that underwent subsequent disruption, possibly heralding a marked change to large-scale mantle-mixing regimes. These processes may explain why uncontaminated primordial mantle is so difficult to identify in recent mantle-derived melts.
Abstract:
Kimberlites are ultrabasic, Si-undersaturated, low Al, low Na rocks rich in CO2 and H2O. The distinctive geochemical character of kimberlite is strongly influenced by the nature of the local underlying lithospheric mantle. Despite this, incompatible trace element ratios and radiogenic isotope characteristics of kimberlites, filtered for the effects of crustal contamination and alteration, closely resemble rocks derived from the deeper, more primitive, convecting mantle. This suggests that the ultimate magma source is sub-lithospheric. Although the composition of primitive kimberlite melt remains unresolved, kimberlites are likely derived from the convecting mantle, with possible source regions ranging from just below the lithosphere, through the transition zone, to the core-mantle boundary.
IN: Deep carbon: past to present, Orcutt, Daniel, Dasgupta eds., pp. 89-128.
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: The science of studying diamond inclusions for understanding Earth history has developed significantly over the past decades, with new instrumentation and techniques applied to diamond sample archives revealing the stories contained within diamond inclusions. This chapter reviews what diamonds can tell us about the deep carbon cycle over the course of Earth’s history. It reviews how the geochemistry of diamonds and their inclusions inform us about the deep carbon cycle, the origin of the diamonds in Earth’s mantle, and the evolution of diamonds through time.
IN: Deep Carbon: past to present. Editors Orcutt, Danielle, Dasgupta, pp. 89-128.
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: The science of studying diamond inclusions for understanding Earth history has developed significantly over the past decades, with new instrumentation and techniques applied to diamond sample archives revealing the stories contained within diamond inclusions. This chapter reviews what diamonds can tell us about the deep carbon cycle over the course of Earth’s history. It reviews how the geochemistry of diamonds and their inclusions inform us about the deep carbon cycle, the origin of the diamonds in Earth’s mantle, and the evolution of diamonds through time.
Abstract: The recently recognised Sask Craton, a small terrane with Archean (3.3-2.5 Ga) crustal ages, is enclosed in the Paleoproterozoic (1.9-1.8 Ga) Trans Hudson Orogen (THO). Only limited research has been conducted on this craton, yet it hosts major diamond deposits within the Cretaceous (~106 to ~95 Ma) Fort à la Corne (FALC) Kimberlite Field. This study describes major, trace and platinum group element data, as well as osmium isotopic data from peridotitic mantle xenoliths (n = 26) from the Star and Orion South kimberlites. The garnet-bearing lithospheric mantle is dominated by moderately depleted lherzolite. Equilibration pressures and temperatures (2.7 to 5.5 GPa and 840 to 1250 °C) for these garnet peridotites define a cool geotherm indicative of a 210 km thick lithosphere, similar to other cratons worldwide. Many of the peridotite xenoliths show the major and trace element signatures of carbonatitic and kimberlitic melt metasomatism. The Re-Os isotopic data yield TRD (time of Re-depletion) model ages, which provide minimum estimates for the timing of melt depletion, ranging from 2.4 to 0.3 Ga, with a main mode spanning from 2.4 to 1.7 Ga. No Archean ages were recorded. This finding and the complex nature of events affecting this terrane from the Archean through the Palaeoproterozoic provide evidence that the majority of the lithospheric mantle was depleted and stabilised in the Palaeoproterozoic, significantly later than the Archean crust. The timing of the dominant lithosphere formation is linked to rifting (~2.2 Ga - 2.0 Ga), and subsequent collision (1.9-1.8 Ga) of the Superior and Hearne craton during the Wilson cycle of the Trans Hudson Orogen.
Abstract: Trace element characteristics of rubies from the Aappaluttoq deposit, SW Greenland, were measured using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), laser ablation - inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-TOF-MS) and offline laser ablation followed by solution ICP-MS. LA-ICP-TOF-MS - applied to rubies for the first time - effectively maps trace element spatial variation in these gems. With the exception of a small number of elements that can substitute for Al3+ in the crystal structure (e.g., Ti, Fe, V, Cr, Mg), trace element mapping clearly demonstrates that most elements such as Th, U, Sr and Rb are hosted in mineral and fluid inclusions or are present along fractures. Primitive mantle normalized trace element patterns show characteristics that are broadly correlative to mineral inclusions within the analysed rubies. These minerals include rutile (enrichment of HFSE over LREE, high Ta/Nb and Hf/Zr ratios and low Th/U ratios), phlogopite (enrichment in Rb and Ba and positive Sr anomalies), and zircon (extreme enrichment in Zr-Hf, U and Th, HREE enrichment over LREE and positive Ce anomalies). The sample suite analysed here is derived from a bulk sample of ore composed of three different rock types (sapphirine-gedrite, leucogabbro and phlogopitite). Two different populations of ruby were identified at Aappaluttoq; these can be defined on the basis of their different V content within the corundum lattice. Therefore, V content may be able to geochemically define rubies from different host rocks within the same deposit. Using offline laser ablation followed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) we measured the radiogenic isotope compositions in ruby for the first time. A Pb-Pb isochron age of 2686 +300/?74?Ma, was defined for gem formation at Aappaluttoq. We believe that this is the first ever direct age determined on a ruby suite, independent of associated minerals, derived by bulk sampling sub-micron to micron sized inclusions in the corundum lattice. This age likely reflects the re-crystallization and re-setting of the ruby (and its U-Pb system) during the Neoarchean in SW Greenland, due to regional granulite to upper-amphibolite facies metamorphism.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 275, pp. 99-122.
Mantle
carbon
Abstract: Diamonds are unrivalled in their ability to record the mantle carbon cycle and mantle fO2 over a vast portion of Earth’s history. Diamonds’ inertness and antiquity means their carbon isotopic characteristics directly reflect their growth environment within the mantle as far back as ?3.5 Ga. This paper reports the results of a thorough secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration study, carried out on fragments of 144 diamond samples from various locations, from ?3.5 to 1.4 Ga for P [peridotitic]-type diamonds and 3.0 to 1.0 Ga for E [eclogitic]-type diamonds. The majority of the studied samples were from diamonds used to establish formation ages and thus provide a direct connection between the carbon isotope values, nitrogen contents and the formation ages. In total, 908 carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration measurements were obtained. The total ?¹³C data range from ?17.1 to ?1.9 ‰ (P = ?8.4 to ?1.9 ‰; E = ?17.1 to ?2.1‰) and N contents range from 0 to 3073 at. ppm (P = 0 to 3073 at. ppm; E = 1 to 2661 at. ppm). In general, there is no systematic variation with time in the mantle carbon isotope record since > 3 Ga. The mode in ?¹³C of peridotitic diamonds has been at ?5 (±2) ‰ since the earliest diamond growth ?3.5 Ga, and this mode is also observed in the eclogitic diamond record since ?3 Ga. The skewness of eclogitic diamonds’ ?¹³C distributions to more negative values, which the data establishes began around 3 Ga, is also consistent through time, with no global trends apparent. No isotopic and concentration trends were recorded within individual samples, indicating that, firstly, closed system fractionation trends are rare. This implies that diamonds typically grow in systems with high excess of carbon in the fluid (i.e. relative to the mass of the growing diamond). Any minerals included into diamond during the growth process are more likely to be isotopically reset at the time of diamond formation, meaning inclusion ages would be representative of the diamond growth event irrespective of whether they are syngenetic or protogenetic. Secondly, the lack of significant variation seen in the peridotitic diamonds studied is in keeping with modeling of Rayleigh isotopic fractionation in multicomponent systems (RIFMS) during isochemical diamond precipitation in harzburgitic mantle. The RIFMS model not only showed that in water-maximum fluids at constant depths along a geotherm, fractionation can only account for variations of <1‰, but also that the principal ?¹³C mode of ?5 ± 1‰ in the global harzburgitic diamond record occurs if the variation in fO2 is only 0.4 log units. Due to the wide age distribution of P-type diamonds, this leads to the conclusion that the speciation and oxygen fugacity of diamond forming fluids has been relatively consistent. The deep mantle has therefore generated fluids with near constant carbon speciation for 3.5 Ga.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 14, pp. 1-6.
Global
Tectonics
Abstract: The tectonic regime of the early Earth has proven enigmatic due to a scarcity of preserved continental crust, yet how early continents were generated is key to deciphering Earth’s evolution. Here we show that a compilation of data from 4.3 to 3.4 Ga igneous and detrital zircons records a secular shift to higher 176Hf/177Hf after ~3.8-3.6 Ga. This globally evident shift indicates that continental crust formation before ~3.8-3.6 Ga largely occurred by internal reworking of long-lived mafic protocrust, whereas later continental crust formation involved extensive input of relatively juvenile magmas, which were produced from rapid remelting of oceanic lithosphere. We propose that this secular shift in the global hafnium isotope record reflects a gradual yet widespread transition from stagnant-lid to mobile-lid tectonics on the early Earth.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 278, pp. 177-198.
Africa, Cameroon
peridotites
Abstract: Highly depleted Archean peridotites have proven very amenable to Re-Os model age dating. In contrast, due to the increasing heterogeneity of mantle Os isotope compositions with time, the Re-Os system has not been as effective in dating post-Archean peridotites. The timing of depletion and accretion of post-Archean lithospheric mantle around cratons is important to understand within the context of the evolution of the continents. In an attempt to precisely date post-Archean peridotite xenoliths, we present a study of the petrology, mineralogy and geochemistry, including whole-rock Re-Os isotopes, highly siderophile elements and clinopyroxene-orthopyroxene Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes of peridotite xenoliths from Lake Nyos in the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). Eight Nyos peridotite xenoliths, all fresh spinel lherzolites, are characterized by low to moderate olivine Fo contents (88.9-91.2) and low spinel Cr# (8.4-19.3), together with moderate to high whole-rock Al2O3 contents (2.0-3.7%). These chemical characteristics indicate that they are mantle residues of a few percent to <20% partial melting. However, trace element patterns of both clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene are not a pristine reflection of melt depletion but instead show various extents of evidence of metasomatic enrichment. Some of the samples contain orthopyroxene with 143Nd/144Nd lower than its coexisting clinopyroxene, which is best explained by recent short-timescale alteration, most likely by infiltration of the host basalt. Because of these metasomatic effects, the Sr-Nd isotope systematics in pyroxenes cannot sufficiently reflect melt depletion signatures. Unlike Sr-Nd isotopes, the Lu-Hf isotope system is less sensitive to recent metasomatic overprinting. Given that orthopyroxene hosts up to 33% of the Lu and 14% of the Hf in the whole rock budget of these rocks and has 176Hf/177Hf similar to, or higher than, coexisting clinopyroxene, it is necessary to reconstruct a whole-rock Lu-Hf isochron in order to constrain the melt depletion age of peridotites. The reconstructed Nyos Lu-Hf isochron from ortho- and clinopyroxenes gives an age of 2.01?±?0.18?Ga (1?), and when olivine and spinel are considered, is 1.82?±?0.14?Ga (1?). Both ages are identical within error, and they are within error of the alumina-187Os/188Os pseudo-isochron ages (1.2-2.4?Ga) produced on the peridotites from Lake Nyos, consistent with their oldest rhenium depletion Os model ages (2.0?Ga). We conclude that the Nyos peridotites, and the lithospheric mantle that they represent, were formed at ?2.0?Ga, indicating that the reconstructed whole-rock Lu-Hf isotope system can be a powerful radiometric dating tool that is complementary to and in some instances, more precise than the Re-Os isotope system in dating well-preserved post-Archean peridotites. The recognition of ?2.0?Ga subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) in the Nyos area suggests that the Nyos region was assembled as a Paleoproterozoic block, or that it represents fragments of the SCLM from the nearby Paleoproterozoic domain juxtaposed through collisional emplacement during the Pan African Orogeny. With regards to the origin of the CVL, our data reveal that the Hf isotopic compositions of the Nyos peridotites are too radiogenic to be the main source of the CVL basalts.
Abstract: Quantifying the compositional evolution of mantle-derived melts from source to surface is fundamental for constraining the nature of primary melts and deep Earth composition. Despite abundant evidence for interaction between carbonate-rich melts, including diamondiferous kimberlites, and mantle wall rocks en route to surface, the effects of this interaction on melt compositions are poorly constrained. Here, we demonstrate a robust linear correlation between the Mg/Si ratios of kimberlites and their entrained mantle components and between Mg/Fe ratios of mantle-derived olivine cores and magmatic olivine rims in kimberlites worldwide. Combined with numerical modeling, these findings indicate that kimberlite melts with highly variable composition were broadly similar before lithosphere assimilation. This implies that kimberlites worldwide originated by partial melting of compositionally similar convective mantle sources under comparable physical conditions. We conclude that mantle assimilation markedly alters the major element composition of carbonate-rich melts and is a major process in the evolution of mantle-derived magmas.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, doi.org/101016 /j.gca.2020.07.013 45p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Lac de Gras
Abstract: Whether hydrogen incorporated in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals plays a role in the strength and longevity of the thick cratonic lithosphere is a matter of debate. In particular, the percolation of hydrogen-bearing melts and fluids could potentially add hydrogen to the mantle lithosphere, weaken its olivines (the dominant mineral in mantle peridotite), and cause delamination of the lithosphere's base. The influence of metasomatism on hydrogen contents of cratonic mantle minerals can be tested in mantle xenoliths from the Slave Craton (Canada) because they show extensive evidence for metasomatism of a layered cratonic mantle. Minerals from mantle xenoliths from the Diavik mine in the Lac de Gras kimberlite area located at the center of the Archean Slave craton were analyzed by FTIR for hydrogen contents. The 18 peridotites, two pyroxenites, one websterite and one wehrlite span an equilibration pressure range from 3.1 to 6.6 GPa and include samples from the shallow (? 145 km), oxidized ultra-depleted layer; the deeper (?145-180 km), reduced less depleted layer; and an ultra-deep (? 180 km) layer near the base of the lithosphere. Olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and garnet from peridotites contain 30 - 145, 110 - 225, 105 - 285, 2 - 105 ppm H2O, respectively. Within each deep and ultra-deep layer, correlations of hydrogen contents in minerals and tracers of metasomatism (for example light over heavy rare-earth-element ratio (LREE/HREE), high-field-strength-element (HFSE) content with equilibration pressure) can be explained by a chromatographic process occurring during the percolation of kimberlite-like melts through garnet peridotite. The hydrogen content of peridotite minerals is controlled by the compositions of the evolving melt and of the minerals and by mineral/melt partition coefficients. At the beginning of the process, clinopyroxene scavenges most of the hydrogen and garnet most of the HFSE. As the melt evolves and becomes enriched in hydrogen and LREE, olivine and garnet start to incorporate hydrogen and pyroxenes become enriched in LREE. The hydrogen content of peridotite increases with decreasing depth, overall (e.g., from 75 to 138 ppm H2O in the deep peridotites). Effective viscosity calculated using olivine hydrogen content for the deepest xenoliths near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary overlaps with estimates of asthenospheric viscosities. These xenoliths cannot be representative of the overall cratonic root because the lack of viscosity contrast would have caused basal erosion of lithosphere. Instead, metasomatism must be confined in narrow zones channeling kimberlite melts through the lithosphere and from where xenoliths are preferentially sampled. Such localized metasomatism by hydrogen-bearing melts therefore does not necessarily result in delamination of the cratonic root.
Abstract: Because of their robust nature, diamonds survive mantle processes and protect occluded minerals since the time of diamond formation. For the Kaapvaal Craton - the archetype for craton formation and evolution - the geochemical signatures of inclusions in Koffiefontein diamonds tell a story from craton formation to evolution and from lithospheric (below about 160 km) to lower mantle (>660 km) environs. We analysed a suite of 94 lithospheric to lower mantle diamonds and their silicate and oxide inclusions. Geochemical results confirm that the diamond substrates are very depleted, with Mg#OL of 91.5-95.0 and a dominance of low-Ca (<1.8 wt% CaO), presumably dunite-derived garnet. The Si-rich nature and preserved high Mg# of the peridotitic diamond substrates beneath Koffiefontein and the formation of KNbO3 (goldschmidtite) from an extremely fractionated melt/fluid indicate that potentially both mantle- and subduction-related fluids are the cause of metasomatism in the Kaapvaal cratonic root. Mantle-like, restricted carbon isotopic compositions of both P- and E-type diamonds (avg. ?13C -5.7 ‰ and -6.6 ‰, respectively) indicate that an abundant, mantle-derived CHO fluid is responsible for diamond formation. Diamonds have a large range in nitrogen concentrations and isotopic compositions, suggesting decoupling from carbon and heterogeneous sources. ?18O of former bridgmanite and ?13C of its host diamond document a purely mantle-derived lower mantle component. Combined, these results reveal a complex and multistage evolution of the Kaapvaal Craton whereby multiple episodes of fluid and melt metasomatism re-enriched the craton already, prior to diamond formation, followed by diamond entrainment in a kimberlite possibly derived from the lower mantle.
Abstract: Among mineral inclusions in diamond, sulphides are the most abundant. Also, they are the keel tool for dating diamond formation given their high concentration of highlysiderophile elements. However, the mineralogical nature of these inclusions is not well understood, mainly due to the exsolution of the original, high temperature monosulphide solid solution (Mss) to Fe-, Ni- and Cu-rich endmembers during cooling, obscuring the original composition. This complex exsolution observed in sulphide inclusions in diamonds can also cause problems with Re-Os age determinations if the whole inclusion is not extracted. To overcome this issue, recently, sulphide inclusions have been homogenized at high temperature and controlled oxygen fugacity [1]. However, X-ray diffraction or Raman spectroscopy analyses, required to accurately identify the inclusion phases, and define their degree of crystallographic plus compositional homogeneity, have not been reported. Here we combine for the first time a thorough nondestructive multi-technique characterization of sulphide inclusions in diamonds from the Victor Mine (Canada) with homogenization experiments and isotopic analyses. In particular, we report X-ray diffraction data of the sulphides before and after homogenization, confirming a change from a polycrystalline assemblage of pyrrothite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite to single-crystal Mss. The data are used to reconstruct the Mss’ original bulk composition, define the true bulk isotopic ratios and document any difference in Re- Os isotope systematics.
Abstract: Marange diamonds (Zimbabwe) contain both fluid-poor (gem-quality) and fluid-bearing growth zones with abundant CH4. As such, they provide the unique opportunity to compare trace element compositions of CH4-bearing diamonds with those of carbonatitic and saline high density fluid (HDF)-bearing diamonds (gem-quality and fibrous) to obtain an overview of mantle source fluids for diamond growth. HDF’s in fibrous diamonds and some gem-quality diamonds have been linked to subduction of surficial material, consistent with the global link between diamond age and collisional tectonic events. Even though Marange diamonds have +?15N indicative of surficial recycling, they do not display the expected Eu or Sr anomalies. Fibrous diamonds have the most fractionated REE patterns, with negligible HREE and high (La/Yb)N ? 100- 10000. Gem-quality diamonds have highly variable (La/Yb)N; the most unfractionated HDF’s are in Victor and Cullinan diamonds with low (La/Yb)N <76. HDF’s in Marange diamonds are intermediate between these two extremes, with (La/Yb)N = 23-240. Differences in (La/Yb)N between different diamond suites relate either to varying initial compositions (where low (La/Yb)N reflects derivation during higher degrees of melting) or to the increasing interaction of HDF’s in fibrous diamonds with mantle rocks during fluid infiltration. Marange diamonds have rare +Ce anomalies, that have so far only been reported for Victor and Brazil (sub-lithospheric) gem-quality diamonds. The oxidation state of Ce (Ce4+ vs Ce3+) and development of Ce anomalies could be attributed to ƒO2, melt/fluid composition, and PT conditions. In Marange, Victor and Brazil diamonds, Ce4+ substitution for Zr4+ does not appear to be a factor since we find no correlation between Zr content and Ce anomalies. However, in Marange diamonds, CH4-bearing zones have less variable Ce anomalies compared to the CH4-free zones, which may suggest Ce anomalies are indicative of fluid oxidation state.
South America, Brazil, Africa, South Africa, Canada, Northwest Territories
geochronology
Abstract: Kimberlites emplaced since ~2 Ga show Nd and Hf isotopic compositions that follow a remarkably consistent linear evolution [1]. However, kimberlites emplaced <200 Ma within a few thousand kilometers of the western paleo-margin of Pangea (i.e. Brazil, southern Africa, and Lac de Gras in western Canada) deviate towards more enriched Nd and Hf isotopic compositions possibly due to contribution by recycled crustal material, introduced to the deep kimberlite source via subduction [1]. To address this anomaly further we have compared new and existing geochronological and Nd isotopic data for 28 kimberlites from Lac de Gras (LDG; ca. 47 - 75 Ma) with their olivine and spinel mineral chemistries. Olivine grains typically include mantle-derived xenocrystic cores (Mg# = 83.5-94.2) overgrown by magmatic rims with relatively constant Mg# values. Olivine rims and chromite are the first magmatic phases to crystallise from kimberlite and can be used as proxies for primitive melt compositions. The average Mg# of olivine cores from each kimberlite is positively correlated with average olivine rim Mg#, suggesting that assimilation of heterogeneous lithospheric mantle contributed to the primitive melt compositions. The ?Nd(i) values from whole-rock and perovskite from LDG kimberlites vary between -3.4 and -0.4 that are negatively correlated with their emplacement ages. This correlation is indicative of an evolving kimberlite source which may have resulted from a progressively lower contribution of recycled material. No systematic relationships were observed between olivine rim or chromite compositions and age or Nd isotopic composition. This observation highlights decoupling between kimberlite source evolution and primitive melt compositions due to the combined effects of crustal recycling in the kimberlite source and lithospheric mantle assimilation during kimberlite ascent.
Abstract: The transport of carbon into Earth’s mantle is a critical pathway in Earth’s carbon cycle, affecting both the climate and the redox conditions of the surface and mantle. The largest unconstrained variables in this cycle are the depths to which carbon in sediments and altered oceanic crust can be subducted and the relative contributions of these reservoirs to the sequestration of carbon in the deep mantle1. Mineral inclusions in sublithospheric, or ‘superdeep’, diamonds (derived from depths greater than 250 kilometres) can be used to constrain these variables. Here we present oxygen isotope measurements of mineral inclusions within diamonds from Kankan, Guinea that are derived from depths extending from the lithosphere to the lower mantle (greater than 660 kilometres). These data, combined with the carbon and nitrogen isotope contents of the diamonds, indicate that carbonated igneous oceanic crust, not sediment, is the primary carbon-bearing reservoir in slabs subducted to deep-lithospheric and transition-zone depths (less than 660 kilometres). Within this depth regime, sublithospheric inclusions are distinctly enriched in 18O relative to eclogitic lithospheric inclusions derived from crustal protoliths. The increased 18O content of these sublithospheric inclusions results from their crystallization from melts of carbonate-rich subducted oceanic crust. In contrast, lower-mantle mineral inclusions and their host diamonds (deeper than 660 kilometres) have a narrow range of isotopic values that are typical of mantle that has experienced little or no crustal interaction. Because carbon is hosted in metals, rather than in diamond, in the reduced, volatile-poor lower mantle2, carbon must be mobilized and concentrated to form lower-mantle diamonds. Our data support a model in which the hydration of the uppermost lower mantle by subducted oceanic lithosphere destabilizes carbon-bearing metals to form diamond, without disturbing the ambient-mantle stable-isotope signatures. This transition from carbonate slab melting in the transition zone to slab dehydration in the lower mantle supports a lower-mantle barrier for carbon subduction.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 286, pp. 29-83. pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
xenoliths
Abstract: Whether hydrogen incorporated in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals plays a role in the strength and longevity of the thick cratonic lithosphere is a matter of debate. In particular, the percolation of hydrogen-bearing melts and fluids could potentially add hydrogen to the mantle lithosphere, weaken its olivines (the dominant mineral in mantle peridotite), and cause delamination of the lithosphere's base. The influence of metasomatism on hydrogen contents of cratonic mantle minerals can be tested in mantle xenoliths from the Slave Craton (Canada) because they show extensive evidence for metasomatism of a layered cratonic mantle. Minerals from mantle xenoliths from the Diavik mine in the Lac de Gras kimberlite area located at the center of the Archean Slave craton were analyzed by FTIR for hydrogen contents. The 18 peridotites, two pyroxenites, one websterite and one wehrlite span an equilibration pressure range from 3.1 to 6.6 GPa and include samples from the shallow (?145?km), oxidized ultra-depleted layer; the deeper (?145-180?km), reduced less depleted layer; and an ultra-deep (?180?km) layer near the base of the lithosphere. Olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and garnet from peridotites contain 30-145, 110-225, 105-285, 2-105?ppm H2O, respectively. Within each deep and ultra-deep layer, correlations of hydrogen contents in minerals and tracers of metasomatism (for example light over heavy rare-earth-element ratio (LREE/HREE), high-field-strength-element (HFSE) content with equilibration pressure) can be explained by a chromatographic process occurring during the percolation of kimberlite-like melts through garnet peridotite. The hydrogen content of peridotite minerals is controlled by the compositions of the evolving melt and of the minerals and by mineral/melt partition coefficients. At the beginning of the process, clinopyroxene scavenges most of the hydrogen and garnet most of the HFSE. As the melt evolves and becomes enriched in hydrogen and LREE, olivine and garnet start to incorporate hydrogen and pyroxenes become enriched in LREE. The hydrogen content of peridotite increases with decreasing depth, overall (e.g., from 75 to 138?ppm H2O in the deep peridotites). Effective viscosity calculated using olivine hydrogen content for the deepest xenoliths near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary overlaps with estimates of asthenospheric viscosities. These xenoliths cannot be representative of the overall cratonic root because the lack of viscosity contrast would have caused basal erosion of lithosphere. Instead, metasomatism must be confined in narrow zones channeling kimberlite melts through the lithosphere and from where xenoliths are preferentially sampled. Such localized metasomatism by hydrogen-bearing melts therefore does not necessarily result in delamination of the cratonic root.
Abstract: The accretionary mobile belts surrounding ancient cratonic cores are an important facet of the growth and preservation of continental landmasses. Peridotites from Nuominhe in the Xing'an Mongolia Orogenic Belt (XMOB) provide an additional opportunity to examine the age, structure and evolution of mantle lithosphere separating two of the largest existing ancient continental nuclei: the North China Craton and the Siberian Craton. This suite of mantle rocks comprises fertile to refractory garnet- and spinel-facies harzburgites and lherzolites. Their lithophile element systematics show that the peridotites were metasomatized to variable extent by silicate?carbonate melts. Despite this, the highly siderophile element and Os isotope systematics appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Nuominhe peridotites have Re-depletion Os model ages (TRD) that range from 0.5 Ga to 2.4 Ga, with three peaks/major ranges at ~2.0-2.4 Ga, ~1.4-1.5 Ga and ~ 0.8 Ga, of which the latter two are closely similar to those data from other XMOB localities reported in the literature. The only section of the mantle that appears to have ages which correlate with crust formation is the suite with Neoproterozoic (~0.8 Ga) depletion ages, while the older mantle domains document older episodes of mantle depletion. Given the lack of correlation between equilibrium temperatures and bulk composition or TRD ages, the Nuominhe peridotites were inter-mixed in the mantle column, most likely as a result of incorporation of recycled older continental mantle fragments into juvenile Neoproterozoic mantle during the orogenic processes responsible for new lithosphere formation. Geothermobarometry of the Nuominhe peridotites indicates a conductive geotherm of ~60 mWm?2 and therefore a lithosphere thickness of ~125 km, which is thicker than most Phanerozoic continental terranes, and even thicker than Proterozoic regions that comprise the larger cratonic unit of the Siberian craton. This thick Proterozoic lithosphere sandwiched between the converging North China and Siberian cratons was evidently partly constructed from recycled refractory continental mantle fragments, perhaps extant in the convecting mantle, or in-part derived from the surrounding cratons, leading to a composite nature of the mantle in this re-healed continental suture. Re-accretion of recycled refractory old continental mantle fragments plays a significant role in affecting mantle composition and controlling the thickness of circum-cratonic landmasses between cratonic blocks.
Lithos, doi.org/10.1016/ j.lithos.2020.105889 13p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Diavik A-154
Abstract: Ambient Moho temperatures and lower crustal heat production are surprisingly poorly constrained in cratons. Here we address these problems using 15 lower crustal xenoliths from the Diavik A-154 kimberlite, Slave craton, Canada. Iron?magnesium exchange geothermometry on small biotite and amphibole inclusions in garnet indicates that the Slave craton lower crust was at a temperature of ?500 °C at the time of kimberlite eruption (~55 Ma). The ambient lower crustal temperature was likely lower than 500 °C because the thermometers record the closure temperature of diffusional Fe2+-Mg exchange between touching mineral pairs. New measurements of K, U and Th concentrations in the constituent minerals, together with xenolith modes, allow reconstruction of the heat-producing element (HPE) K, U, and Th budget of the Slave craton lower crust. Metasedimentary granulites have an average heat production of 0.29 ± 0.01 ?W/m3 (n = 3) whereas mafic granulites have an average heat production of 0.13 ± 0.03 ?W/m3 (n = 12). Our new data clearly show that plagioclase abundance in both lithologies has a major influence on overall lower crustal heat production, being an important reservoir of all three HPE. Combining the heat production of mafic and metasedimentary granulites in their observed 80:20 proportions results in an average heat production value for the Slave craton lower crust of 0.16 ± 0.03 ?W/m3. Using these heat production estimates, modeled Moho temperatures beneath Diavik of ~450-470 °C are broadly consistent with maximum lower crustal temperatures indicated by geothermometry. The low HPE contents predicted for cratonic lower crust must result in lower temperatures in the deep crust and mantle lithosphere, and in turn higher estimates for the thickness of mantle lithosphere. This effect becomes larger as the thickness of the low-HPE lower crustal layer increases. In the specific case of the central Slave craton, we find that model estimates of the diamond potential of the mantle lithosphere, as judged by the proportion of lithospheric mantle in the diamond stability field, are not strongly affected by small variations in lower crustal heat production and Moho temperature.
Abstract: Re-Os isotope systematics are reported from a suite of eclogitic and websteritic sulphide inclusions extracted from well-characterised diamond growth zones from the Orapa and Jwaneng kimberlite clusters. Re-Os ages (786 ± 250 Ma) are within uncertainty of previously determined Sm-Nd ages (853 ± 55 Ma), demonstrating isotopic equilibrium, at varying levels of completeness, across multiple isotopic systems in different minerals at the time of diamond formation and inclusion encapsulation. These data confirm the concept that inclusion isochron ages, when used with detailed textural/ growth zone control, reflect the timing of diamond crystallisation. Our data substantiate previous Re-Os and Sm-Nd inclusion ages of diamonds from Orapa and Jwaneng, indicating that major tectono-magmatic events formed discrete diamond populations of Paleo- (~ 2.0 to 1.7 Ga), Meso- (~ 1.2 to 1.1 Ga) and Neoproterozoic (~ 0.9 to 0.75 Ga) age. Some of these processes occurred simultaneously across the Kalahari Craton and can be traced over 100's of km illustrating the significance of diamond inclusions for monitoring continental tectonics. Inclusion ages indicating diamond formation that are younger than 300 Ma appear to be more common than previously recognised, consistent with evidence of relatively abundant, young, fluid-rich "fibrous" and polycrystalline diamonds at Jwaneng and Orapa. The increasingly widespread evidence for Mesozoic diamond-forming events in southern Africa and elsewhere appears closely linked with the kimberlite-related magmatism that affected these regions and subsequently transported diamonds to the surface. The inclusion isochron ages emphasise that diamond formation is a multi-stage and episodic process that can occur contemporaneously in disparate substrates and produce multiple diamond populations in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle.
Nature Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-021-83261-6 11p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
metasomatism
Abstract: We present the first oxidation state measurements for the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Rae craton, northern Canada, one of the largest components of the Canadian shield. In combination with major and trace element compositions for garnet and clinopyroxene, we assess the relationship between oxidation state and metasomatic overprinting. The sample suite comprises peridotite xenoliths from the central part (Pelly Bay) and the craton margin (Somerset Island) providing insights into lateral and vertical variations in lithospheric character. Our suite contains spinel, garnet-spinel and garnet peridotites, with most samples originating from 100 to 140 km depth. Within this narrow depth range we observe strong chemical gradients, including variations in oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) of over 4 log units. Both Pelly Bay and Somerset Island peridotites reveal a change in metasomatic type with depth. Observed geochemical systematics and textural evidence support the notion that Rae SCLM developed through amalgamation of different local domains, establishing chemical gradients from the start. These gradients were subsequently modified by migrating melts that drove further development of different types of metasomatic overprinting and variable oxidation at a range of length scales. This oxidation already apparent at ~?100 km depth could have locally destabilised any pre-existing diamond or graphite.
Appendix to previous Lithos article in March 2021, 11p. Pdf
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Damtshaa, Orapa
Abstract: Re-Os isotope systematics are reported from a suite of eclogitic and websteritic sulphide inclusions extracted from well-characterised diamond growth zones from the Orapa and Jwaneng kimberlite clusters. Re-Os ages (786 ± 250 Ma) are within uncertainty of previously determined Sm-Nd ages (853 ± 55 Ma), demonstrating isotopic equilibrium, at varying levels of completeness, across multiple isotopic systems in different minerals at the time of diamond formation and inclusion encapsulation. These data confirm the concept that inclusion isochron ages, when used with detailed textural/ growth zone control, reflect the timing of diamond crystallisation. Our data substantiate previous Re-Os and Sm-Nd inclusion ages of diamonds from Orapa and Jwaneng, indicating that major tectono-magmatic events formed discrete diamond populations of Paleo- (~ 2.0 to 1.7 Ga), Meso- (~ 1.2 to 1.1 Ga) and Neoproterozoic (~ 0.9 to 0.75 Ga) age. Some of these processes occurred simultaneously across the Kalahari Craton and can be traced over 100's of km illustrating the significance of diamond inclusions for monitoring continental tectonics. Inclusion ages indicating diamond formation that are younger than 300 Ma appear to be more common than previously recognised, consistent with evidence of relatively abundant, young, fluid-rich “fibrous” and polycrystalline diamonds at Jwaneng and Orapa. The increasingly widespread evidence for Mesozoic diamond-forming events in southern Africa and elsewhere appears closely linked with the kimberlite-related magmatism that affected these regions and subsequently transported diamonds to the surface. The inclusion isochron ages emphasise that diamond formation is a multi-stage and episodic process that can occur contemporaneously in disparate substrates and produce multiple diamond populations in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 295, pp. 207-223.
China
nephelinites, basanites
Abstract: Widespread Cenozoic intraplate basalts from eastern China offer the opportunity to investigate the consequences of interaction between the stagnant Pacific slab and overlying asthenosphere and chemical heterogeneity within this “big mantle wedge”. We present and compile a comprehensive study of highly siderophile elements and Mg-Zn isotopes of this magmatic suite (60 samples including nephelinites, basanites, alkali basalts and tholeiites). The large-scale Mg-Zn isotopic anomalies documented in these basalts have been ascribed to mantle hybridization by recycled Mg-carbonates from the stagnant western Pacific plate. Our results reveal that the nephelinites and basanites are characterized by unfractionated platinum-group element (PGE) patterns normalized to primitive upper mantle (PUM) (e.g., PdN/IrN normalized to PUM?=?1.1?±?0.8, 1?), relatively high total PGE contents (e.g., Ir?=?0.25?±?0.14?ppb) and modern mantle-like 187Os/188Os (0.142?±?0.020). These characteristics are coupled with lighter Mg isotope (?26Mg?=??0.48?±?0.07‰) and heavier Zn isotope (?66Zn = +0.46?±?0.06‰) compositions compared to the mantle values (?26Mg: ?0.25?±?0.07‰; ?66Zn: +0.18?±?0.05‰). Together, these data are interpreted to reflect the oxidative breakdown of low proportions of mantle sulfides in the sources of these small-degree melts, likely caused by recycled carbonates, which then release chalcophile-siderophile elements into carbonatitic melts. By contrast, the contemporaneous alkali basalts and tholeiites are characterized by highly fractionated PGE patterns (e.g., PdN/IrN?=?4.4?±?3.3; Ir?=?0.037?±?0.027?ppb) and radiogenic 187Os/188Os (0.279?±?0.115) coupled with less fractionated Mg-Zn isotope compositions (?26Mg: ?0.39?±?0.05‰; ?66Zn: +0.35?±?0.03‰). In combination with other isotopic (e.g., Sr-Nd) and chemical (SiO2, Ce/Pb, Ba/Th, Fe/Mn) constraints, the alkali basalts and tholeiites were derived from higher degree melting of ancient pyroxenite-bearing mantle in addition to mixing with the aforementioned nephelinitic and basanitic melts. Collectively, we suggest that deep recycled carbonates promoted melting within the "big mantle wedge" leading to the generation of Cenozoic intraplate basalts across eastern China and the "redox freezing of carbonates" may cause the oxidation of Fe0 and S2-. This process may provide an important mechanism to oxidize mantle sulfides and transfer precious metals from deep mantle to crust.
Nature, doi.org/101038/ s41586-021-03395-5 5p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
craton
Abstract: Cratons are Earth’s ancient continental land masses that remain stable for billions of years. The mantle roots of cratons are renowned as being long-lived, stable features of Earth’s continents, but there is also evidence of their disruption in the recent1,2,3,4,5,6 and more distant7,8,9 past. Despite periods of lithospheric thinning during the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eons, the lithosphere beneath many cratons seems to always ‘heal’, returning to a thickness of 150 to 200 kilometres10,11,12; similar lithospheric thicknesses are thought to have existed since Archaean times3,13,14,15. Although numerous studies have focused on the mechanism for lithospheric destruction2,5,13,16,17,18,19, the mechanisms that recratonize the lithosphere beneath cratons and thus sustain them are not well understood. Here we study kimberlite-borne mantle xenoliths and seismology across a transect of the cratonic lithosphere of Arctic Canada, which includes a region affected by the Mackenzie plume event 1.27 billion years ago20. We demonstrate the important role of plume upwelling in the destruction and recratonization of roughly 200-kilometre-thick cratonic lithospheric mantle in the northern portion of the Slave craton. Using numerical modelling, we show how new, buoyant melt residues produced by the Mackenzie plume event are captured in a region of thinned lithosphere between two thick cratonic blocks. Our results identify a process by which cratons heal and return to their original lithospheric thickness after substantial disruption of their roots. This process may be widespread in the history of cratons and may contribute to how cratonic mantle becomes a patchwork of mantle peridotites of different age and origin.
Abstract: Sulfides are the most abundant inclusions in diamonds and a key tool for dating diamond formation via Re-Os isotopic analyses. The manner in which fluids invade the continental lithospheric mantle and the time scale at which they equilibrate with preexisting (protogenetic) sulfides are poorly understood yet essential factors to understanding diamond formation and the validity of isotopic ages. We investigated a suite of sulfide-bearing diamonds from two Canadian cratons to test the robustness of Re-Os in sulfide for dating diamond formation. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) allowed determination of the original monosulfide solid-solution (Mss) composition stable in the mantle, indicating subsolidus conditions of encapsulation, and providing crystallographic evidence supporting a protogenetic origin of the inclusions. The results, coupled with a diffusion model, indicate Re-Os isotope equilibration is sufficiently fast in sulfide inclusions with typical grain size, at mantle temperatures, for the system to be reset by the diamond-forming event. This confirms that even if protogenetic, the Re-Os isochrons defined by these minerals likely reflect the ages of diamond formation, and this result highlights the power of this system to date the timing of fluid migration in mantle lithosphere.
PNAS, Vol. 118, no. 23, doi.org/10.1073/pnas .e2020680118 8p. Pdf
Mantle
deep source, genesis
Abstract: Globally distributed kimberlites with broadly chondritic initial 143Nd-176Hf isotopic systematics may be derived from a chemically homogenous, relatively primitive mantle source that remained isolated from the convecting mantle for much of the Earth’s history. To assess whether this putative reservoir may have preserved remnants of an early Earth process, we report 182W/184W and 142Nd/144Nd data for "primitive" kimberlites from 10 localities worldwide, ranging in age from 1,153 to 89 Ma. Most are characterized by homogeneous ?182W and ?142Nd values averaging ?5.9 ± 3.6 ppm (2SD, n = 13) and +2.7 ± 2.9 ppm (2SD, n = 6), respectively. The remarkably uniform yet modestly negative ?182W values, coupled with chondritic to slightly suprachondritic initial 143Nd/144Nd and 176Hf/177Hf ratios over a span of nearly 1,000 Mya, provides permissive evidence that these kimberlites were derived from one or more long-lived, early formed mantle reservoirs. Possible causes for negative ?182W values among these kimberlites include the transfer of W with low ?182W from the core to the mantle source reservoir(s), creation of the source reservoir(s) as a result of early silicate fractionation, or an overabundance of late-accreted materials in the source reservoir(s). By contrast, two younger kimberlites emplaced at 72 and 52 Ma and characterized by distinctly subchondritic initial 176Hf/177Hf and 143Nd/144Nd have ?182W values consistent with the modern upper mantle. These isotopic compositions may reflect contamination of the ancient kimberlite source by recycled crustal components with ?182W ? 0.
Abstract: Earthquakes occurring below ?300 km, especially in the mantle transition zone are some of the strongest events experienced on Earth. Deep earthquakes, whose nature and cause are poorly known, occur with regularity and are a deep and prominent result of plate tectonics. We model the paths of subducting slabs to relate pressure-temperature conditions to the experimentally determined mineralogies of the slab crust and mantle. We present a synthesis of mantle minerals included in diamonds derived from same depths as the deep earthquakes to show that fluids exist there. We show that decarbonization/melting reactions in the slab crust and dehydration reactions in the slab mantle can provide fluids to the earthquake generation regions, suggesting that fluids cause or are related to deep earthquakes.
Abstract: Sulfides are the most abundant inclusions in diamonds and a key tool for dating diamond formation via Re-Os isotopic analyses. The manner in which fluids invade the continental lithospheric mantle and the time scale at which they equilibrate with preexisting (protogenetic) sulfides are poorly understood yet essential factors to understanding diamond formation and the validity of isotopic ages. We investigated a suite of sulfide-bearing diamonds from two Canadian cratons to test the robustness of Re-Os in sulfide for dating diamond formation. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) allowed determination of the original monosulfide solid-solution (Mss) composition stable in the mantle, indicating subsolidus conditions of encapsulation, and providing crystallographic evidence supporting a protogenetic origin of the inclusions. The results, coupled with a diffusion model, indicate Re-Os isotope equilibration is sufficiently fast in sulfide inclusions with typical grain size, at mantle temperatures, for the system to be reset by the diamond-forming event. This confirms that even if protogenetic, the Re-Os isochrons defined by these minerals likely reflect the ages of diamond formation, and this result highlights the power of this system to date the timing of fluid migration in mantle lithosphere.
Abstract: The formation and preservation of cratons-the oldest parts of the continents, comprising over 60 per cent of the continental landmass-remains an enduring problem. Key to craton development is how and when the thick strong mantle roots that underlie these regions formed and evolved. Peridotite melting residues forming cratonic lithospheric roots mostly originated via relatively low-pressure melting and were subsequently transported to greater depth by thickening produced by lateral accretion and compression. The longest-lived cratons were assembled during Mesoarchean and Palaeoproterozoic times, creating the stable mantle roots 150 to 250 kilometres thick that are critical to preserving Earth’s early continents and central to defining the cratons, although we extend the definition of cratons to include extensive regions of long-stable Mesoproterozoic crust also underpinned by thick lithospheric roots. The production of widespread thick and strong lithosphere via the process of orogenic thickening, possibly in several cycles, was fundamental to the eventual emergence of extensive continental landmasses-the cratons.
Abstract: Komatiitic magmatism is a characteristic feature of Archean cratons, diagnostic of the addition of juvenile crust, and a clue to the thermal evolution of early Earth lithosphere. The Slave craton in northwest Canada contains >20 greenstone belts but no identified komatiite. The reason for this dearth of komatiite, when compared to other Archean cratons, remains enigmatic. The Central Slave Cover Group (ca. 2.85 Ga) includes fuchsitic quartzite with relict detrital chromite grains in heavy-mineral laminations. Major and platinum group element systematics indicate that the chromites were derived from Al-undepleted komatiitic dunites. The chromites have low 187Os/188Os ratios relative to chondrite with a narrow range of rhenium depletion ages at 3.19 ± 0.12 Ga. While these ages overlap a documented crust formation event, they identify an unrecognized addition of juvenile crust that is not preserved in the bedrock exposures or the zircon isotopic data. The documentation of komatiitic magmatism via detrital chromites indicates a region of thin lithospheric mantle at ca. 3.2 Ga, either within or at the edge of the protocratonic nucleus. This study demonstrates the applicability of detrital chromites in provenance studies, augmenting the record supplied by detrital zircons.
Journal of Petrology, doi.org/petrology/egab090 65p. Pdf
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Roberts Victor
Abstract: The origin of the eclogites that reside in cratonic mantle roots has long been debated. In the classic Roberts Victor kimberlite locality in South Africa, the strongly contrasting textural and geochemical features of two types of eclogites have led to different genetic models. We studied a new suite of 63 eclogite xenoliths from the former Roberts Victor Mine. In addition to major- and trace-element compositions for all new samples, we determined 18O/16O for garnet from 34 eclogites. Based on geochemical and textural characteristics we identify a large suite of Type I eclogites (n = 53) consistent with previous interpretations that these rocks originate from metamorphosed basaltic-picritic lavas or gabbroic cumulates from oceanic crust, crystallised from melts of depleted MORB mantle. We identify a smaller set of Type II eclogites (n = 10) based on geochemical and textural similarity to eclogites in published literature. We infer their range to very low ?18O values combined with their varied, often very low Zr/Hf ratios and LREE-depleted nature to indicate a protolith origin via low-pressure clinopyroxene-bearing oceanic cumulates formed from melts that were more depleted in incompatible elements than N-MORB. These compositions are indicative of derivation from a residual mantle source that experienced preferential extraction of incompatible elements and fractionation of Zr-Hf during previous melting.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 323, pp. 20-39.
Africa, Sierra Leone
deposit - Koidu
Abstract: Inclusion-bearing diamonds from the Koidu kimberlite complex, Sierra Leone (West African Craton) were analyzed in situ for carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions, nitrogen concentrations and nitrogen aggregation states. In a suite of 105 diamonds, 78% contain eclogitic mineral inclusions, 17% contain peridotitic mineral inclusions, and 5% - an unusually high proportion - contain co-occurring eclogitic and peridotitic mineral inclusions indicating a mixed paragenesis. Major and trace element compositions of mineral inclusions from two mixed paragenesis diamonds (one with omphacite + Mg-chromite, the other with eclogitic garnet + forsteritic olivine) were determined. The presence of positive Eu anomalies in centrally located omphacite and eclogitic garnet inclusions indicates derivation from subducted protoliths, formed as igneous cumulates in lower oceanic crust. Mg-chromite (Cr# 85.5; Mg# 65.2) and olivine (Mg# 94.5) inclusions, located in outer portions of the mixed paragenesis diamonds, have compositions indicative of derivation from strongly depleted cratonic peridotites. Given that the olivine Mg# of 94.5 is the highest reported to date for the West African Craton, the eclogitic and peridotitic inclusions in these mixed paragenesis diamonds cannot have precipitated during infiltration of peridotitic substrates by eclogite-derived fluids, as the consequent fluid-rock interaction should lead to Mg# lower than that for the original peridotitic diamond substrate. The different origins of eclogitic and peridotitic inclusions could be explained by physical transport of their host diamonds from eclogitic into peridotitic substrates, possibly along high-strain shear zones, before renewed diamond growth. Based on the ?¹³C-?¹?N systematics of the entire inclusion-bearing diamond suite from Koidu, three major compositional clusters are identified. Cluster 1 (eclogitic diamond cores; ?¹³C = -33.2 to -14.4 ‰ and ?¹?N = -5.3 to +10.1 ‰) bears the isotopic signature of recycled crustal material (± a mantle component). Cluster 2 (peridotitic diamonds and including the core of a diamond containing omphacite + Mg-chromite; ?¹³C = -6.0 to -1.1 ‰ and ?¹?N = -4.2 to +9.7 ‰) likely involves mixing of carbon and nitrogen from subducted and mantle sources. Cluster 3 (rims of eclogitic diamonds and including the eclogitic garnet + olivine included diamond and the rim of the omphacite + Mg-chromite included diamond; ?¹³C = -7.8 to -3.6 ‰ and ?¹?N = -7.9 to -2.1 ‰) matches convecting mantle-derived fluids/melts. The distinct isotopic signatures of the three diamond clusters, together with differences in nitrogen aggregation and cathodoluminescence response between diamond cores and rims, suggest episodic diamond growth during multiple fluid/melt pulses.
Journal of Petrology, 10.1093/petrology/egac028/6553928 24p. pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Lac de Gras
Abstract: In the Lac de Gras (LDG) kimberlite field, Northwest Territories, Canada, coherent kimberlites (CKs) occur as tabular dykes, pipe-shaped diatremes, and irregular bodies without well-defined geometries. Combining the morphology of CK bodies with the occurrence of fragmented olivine microcrysts allows distinction of four CK types at LDG: (1) dykes with no broken olivine; (2) CK without well-defined but probable sheet geometry and no broken olivine; (3) pipe-filling CK (pfCK) with abundant broken olivine and (4) pfCK with no broken olivine. These features suggest an intrusive origin for type 1 and, probably, type 2 CK; a high-energy extrusive emplacement for CK type 3 and a low-energy intrusive or extrusive emplacement for the CK type 4. Here, we compare petrographic and whole-rock, olivine and spinel compositional data for high-energy extrusive pfCK, low-energy pfCK and intrusive CK units to understand the factors controlling their variable emplacement styles. Extrusive CK contain more abundant groundmass phlogopite and monticellite, lower carbonate/silicate mineral abundance ratios and significantly lower dolomite and pleonaste-spinel abundances compared to intrusive CK. This indicates greater CO2 loss and higher H2O/CO2 in the melt phase for the extrusive CK during emplacement. Lower incompatible element concentrations in the extrusive CKs and different chromite Ti# and olivine rim Mg# indicate derivation from distinct primitive melt compositions. The extrusive CK feature higher ?Ndi and marginally higher ?Hfi compositions than the intrusive CK, pointing to derivation from distinct sources. These findings strongly imply that distinct primary melt compositions were largely responsible for the differences in emplacement styles of CK at LDG. Low-energy pfCKs have similar olivine rim Mg#, chromite Ti# and, hence, primitive melt compositions to the high-energy extrusive CK samples. Their marginally different emplacement styles may depend on local factors, such as changing stress regimes, or slightly different volatile concentrations. Both types of pfCK might reflect the waning stages of volcanic sequences resulting from the eruption of a segregated magma column that started with pipe excavation and the explosive emplacement of gas-rich magma (volcaniclastic kimberlite), followed by the less energetic emplacement of melt-rich magma (pfCK). This hypothesis underscores different primary melt compositions for dyke vs pipe-forming (and filling) kimberlites and hence a fundamental primary melt control on the explosivity of kimberlites.
Abstract: Crystalline basement rocks of southwestern Montana have been subjected to multiple tectonothermal events since ?3.3 Ga: the Paleoproterozoic Big Sky/Great Falls orogeny, Mesoproterozoic extension associated with Belt-Purcell basin formation, Neoproterozoic extension related to Rodinia rifting, and the late Phanerozoic Sevier-Laramide orogeny. We investigated the long-term (>1 Ga), low-temperature (erosion/burial within 10 km of the surface) thermal histories of these tectonic events with zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology. Data were collected across nine sample localities (n = 55 zircon and n = 26 apatite aliquots) in the northern and southern Madison ranges, the Blacktail-Snowcrest arch, and the Tobacco Root uplift. Our zircon (U-Th)/He data show negative trends between single aliquot date and effective uranium (a radiation damage proxy), which we interpreted with a thermal history model that considers the damage-He diffusivity relationship in zircon. Our model results for these basement ranges show substantial cooling from temperatures above 400°C to near surface conditions between 800 and 510 Ma. Subsequent Phanerozoic exhumation culminated by ?75 Ma. Late Phanerozoic cooling is coincident with along-strike Sevier belt thin-skinned thrusting in southeastern Idaho, and older than exhumation in basement-involved uplifts of the Wyoming Laramide province. Our long-term, low-temperature thermal record for these southwestern Montana basement ranges shows that: (a) these basement blocks have experienced multiple episodes of upper crustal exhumation and burial since Archean time, possibly influencing Phanerozoic thrust architecture and (b) the late Phanerozoic thick-skinned thrusting recorded by these rocks is among the earliest thermochronologic records of Laramide basement-involved shortening and was concomitant with Sevier belt thin-skinned thrusting.
Abstract: Garnet arguably constitutes the most important mineral in diamond exploration studies; not only can the presence of mantle garnet in exploration samples point to kimberlite occurrences, but its minor and trace element composition can further be used to assess the “diamond potential” of a kimberlite. The content of Cr and Ca, especially, has been found to be a reliable tool to test whether garnets originate from within the diamond stability field in the mantle [1]. Trace element patterns can further indicate the mantle host rock of the garnets, for example, whether they originate from a depleted or ultra-depleted mantle section [2]. Routinely, two separate analytical methods are necessary to fully characterize the composition of garnet; major and minor elements are usually determined by electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), whereas determination of trace elements requires the more sensitive method of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Here, we demonstrate rapid measurement of the entire suite of elements in garnet employing a new, commercially available timeof-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, the icpTOF (TOFWERK AG, Thun, Switzerland), coupled to a fast wash-out laser ablation system (Teledyne Cetac Technologies Inc., Omaha, NE, USA). Using garnets from exploration samples taken from the Horn Plateau, Northwest Territories, Canada [3], we directly compare the icpTOF results to EPMA and LA-ICP-MS data. We examine whether the icpTOF can reliably characterize the garnets in Cr versus Ca space and at the same time reproduce their trace element patterns, thereby offering a cost effective method of analysis. The method of LA-ICP-TOF-MS, with its high speed of data acquisition and its ability to record the entire mass spectrum simultaneously, may have great benefits for (diamond) exploration studies. Moreover, the method can be used for fast, highresolution imaging, which is applicable to a wide range of geological materials and settings [4].
Abstract: Peridotites occur as lensoid bodies within the Mesoarchaean orthogneiss in the Akia terrane of Southern West Greenland. The Ulamertoq peridotite body is the largest of these peridotites hosted within the regional orthogneiss. It consists mainly of olivine, orthopyroxene, and amphibole-rich ultramafic rocks exhibiting metamorphic textural and chemical features. Chromitite layers from different localities in Ulamertoq show contrasting characteristics. In one locality, zoned chromites are hosted in orthopyroxene-amphibole peridotites. Compositional zonation in chromites is evident with decreasing Cr and Fe content from core to rim, while Al and Mg increase. Homogeneous chromites from another locality are fairly uniform and Fe-rich. The mineral chemistry of the major and accessory phases shows metamorphic signatures. Inferred temperature conditions suggest that the zoned chromites, homogeneous chromites, and their hosts are equilibrated at different metamorphic conditions. In this paper, various mechanisms during the cumulus to subsolidus stages are explored in order to understand the origin of the two contrasting types of chromites.
Abstract: A titanian clinohumite-bearing dunite was recently found in the Ulamertoq ultramafic body within the 3.0 Ga Akia Terrane of southern West Greenland. Titanian clinohumite occurs as disseminated and discrete grains. Titanian clinohumite contains relatively high amounts of fluorine, reaching up to 2.4 wt.%. The high-Fo content of olivine (Fo93) coupled with low Cr/(Cr + Al) ratio of orthopyroxene implies that the dunite host is not of residual origin after melt extraction by partial melting of the primitive mantle. Olivine grains are classified into two types based on abundances of opaque mineral inclusions: (1) dusty inclusion-rich and (2) clear inclusion-free olivines. Opaque inclusions in coarse-grained olivines are mainly magnetite. Small amounts of ilmenite are also present around titanian clinohumite grains. The observed mineral association indicates partial replacement of titanian clinohumite to ilmenite (+magnetite) and olivine following the reaction: titanian clinohumite = ilmenite + olivine + hydrous fluid. The coexistence of F-bearing titanian clinohumite, olivine, and chromian chlorite indicates equilibration at around 800-900 °C under garnet-free conditions (<2 GPa). Petrological and mineralogical characteristics of the studied titanian clinohumite-bearing dunite are comparable to deserpentinized peridotites derived from former serpentinites. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the effects of hydration/dehydration processes for the origin of ultramafic bodies found in polymetamorphic Archaean terranes.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that the lithosphere beneath the eastern portion of the North China Craton (NCC) has suffered extensive thinning and destruction since the Mesozoic. The driving force for this transformation remains debated, although most models make a first-order link with the evolution of the Paleo-Pacific subduction and the effects of the Pacific slab subduction. In this review, we discuss the temporal and spatial relationships between the Paleo-Pacific and the Pacific slab subduction and the lithospheric thinning/destruction processes experienced by the NCC. We recognize four key stages: 1) an initial stage of low angle flat subduction of the Paleo-Pacific slab between ~170-145?Ma, 2) the sinking or rollback of the Paleo-Pacific slab and associated asthenosphere upwelling (145-110?Ma), 3) the disappearance of the Paleo-Pacific slab into lower mantle (110-55?Ma), and 4) the initiation of subduction of the present-day Pacific slab and associated formation of a Big Mantle Wedge (BMW) beneath East Asia (<55?Ma). The initial flat subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate inhibited mantle-derived magmatism in the period between 170 and 145?Ma beneath the NCC. However, during this stage, intraplate deformation and crustal magmatism migrated westward from craton margin to interior. The cratonic subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) was further hydrated and metasomatized in addition to that caused by prior circum-cratonic orogenies/subductions. At ca. 155?Ma, the Paleo-Pacific plate began to sink or roll back, causing asthenosphere upwelling and triggering melting of the metasomatized SCLM to form arc-like basalts and low degree melts such as lamprophyres. Vigorous mantle flow/convection transported the metasomatically refertilized and weakened cratonic SCLM into the deep mantle and resulted in the thinning of the lithosphere. At the craton margins, where the lithosphere, thickened by collision, had lost a lower portion of the cratonic SCLM by mantle erosion, delamination of the eclogitic lower crust and underlying pre-thinned SCLM occurred. Upwelling asthenosphere replaced the detached lithosphere and then cooled by conduction to form new lithospheric mantle. This process may have continued to ca. 125?Ma when mantle-derived melts transitioned from arc-like to OIB-like basalts. Replacement of the mantle lithosphere by asthenosphere elevated the lithospheric geotherm and led to extensive crustal melting and the generation of massive volumes of felsic-intermediate magmatism in the eastern NCC until ~110?Ma. After the termination of lithosphere replacement, the speed of subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate may have increased and by ca. 55?Ma, the whole slab vanished into the lower mantle. We suggest that the subsequent formation of present-day Pacific ocean lithosphere led to a new phase of low angle subduction of the Pacific plate margin. At ca. 35?Ma, the Pacific plate started to descend forming a BMW, accompanied by upwelling of asthenosphere and widespread eruption of alkali basalts across eastern China. The ongoing subduction of the Pacific plate may also lead to further lithospheric thinning.
Abstract: Accurately dating the formation and modification of Earth’s sub-cratonic mantle still faces many challenges, primarily due to the long and complex history of depletion and subsequent metasomatism of this reservoir. In an attempt to improve this, we carried out the first study on peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton (Finsch Mine) that integrates results from Re-Os, Lu-Hf, Sm-Nd and Sr-isotope systems together with analyses of major-, trace- and platinum-group elements. The Finsch peridotites are well-suited for such a study because certain compositional features reflect they were highly depleted residues of shallow melting (1.5?GPa) at ambient Archean mantle temperatures. Yet, many of them have overabundant orthopyroxene, garnet and clinopyroxene compared to expected modal amounts for residues from partial melting. Finsch peridotites exhibit a wide range of rhenium depletion ages (TRD) from present day to 2.7?Ga, with a prominent mode at 2.5?Ga. This age overlaps well with a Lu-Hf isochron of 2.64?Ga (?Hf (t)?=?+26) which records silico-carbonatitic metasomatism of the refractory residues. This late Archean metasomatism is manifested by positive correlations of Pt/Ir and Pd/Ir with 187Os/188Os ratios and good correlations of modal amounts of silicates, especially garnet, with Os isotope ratios. These correlations suggest that the Highly Siderophile Elements (HSE) and incompatible element reenrichment and modal metasomatism result from one single major metasomatic event at late Archean. Our detailed study of Finsch peridotites highlights the importance of using multiple isotopic systems, to constrain the ages of events defining the evolution of lithospheric mantle. The Re-Os isotope system is very effective in documenting the presence of Archean lithosphere, but only the oldest TRD ages may accurately date or closely approach the age of the last major partial melting event. For a meaningful interpretation of the Re-Os isotope systematics the data must be combined with HSE patterns, trace-element compositions and ideally other isotopic systems, e.g. Lu-Hf. This is highlighted by the widespread evidence in Finsch peridotites of Pt, Pd and Re enrichment through significant Base Metal Sulfide (BMS) addition (mainly in the range of 0.002-0.08?wt%) that systematically shifts the mode of TRD model ages to younger ages.
Abstract: The Rae craton is an important part of the Canadian Shield and was amalgamated to the Slave craton at ?? 1.9 Ga [1]. Recent geophysical and geochemical data indicate a protracted geodynamic history [1, 2]. Even though the oxidation state of the Earth’s mantle has an important influence of fluid compositions and melting behavior, no data on the oxidation state of the Rae’s mantle are available. The aims of this study were to 1) determine the oxidation state (ƒO2) of the lithosphere beneath the Rae craton, 2) link these results to potential metasomatic overprints and 3) compare the geochemical evolution with the Slave craton. We studied 5 peridotite xenoliths from Pelly Bay (central craton) and 22 peridotites from Somerset Island (craton margin). Pelly Bay peridotites give T < 905°C and depths of ??80- 130 km. Garnets have depleted or “normal” REE patterns, the latter samples recording fO2 values ??0.5 log units higher. The deeper samples are more enriched and oxidised. Peridotites from Somerset Island record T ??825-1190°C, a ?logfO2 ranging from ?? FMQ - FMQ-3.6 from a depth interval of ??100-150 km. Garnets exhibit two REE signatures - sinusoidal and “normal” - indicating an evolutionary sequence of increasing metasomatic re-enrichment and a shift from fluid to melt dominated metasomatism. Compared to the Slave craton, the Rae mantle is more reduced at ??80km but becomes up to 2 log units more oxidised (up to ??FMQ-1) at ??100-130 km. Similar oxidising conditions can be found >140 km in the Slave mantle [3]. Especially under Somerset Island, the lithospheric mantle has contrasting fO2 and metasomatic overprints in the same depth range, which may represent juxtaposed old and rejuvenated domains [2].
Abstract: he science of studying diamond inclusions for understanding Earth history has developed significantly over the past decades, with new instrumentation and techniques applied to diamond sample archives revealing the stories contained within diamond inclusions. This chapter reviews what diamonds can tell us about the deep carbon cycle over the course of Earth’s history. It reviews how the geochemistry of diamonds and their inclusions inform us about the deep carbon cycle, the origin of the diamonds in Earth’s mantle, and the evolution of diamonds through time.
Abstract: The recently recognised Sask Craton, a small terrane with Archean (3.3-2.5 Ga) crustal ages, is enclosed in the Paleoproterozoic (1.9-1.8 Ga) Trans Hudson Orogen (THO). Only limited research has been conducted on this craton, yet it hosts major diamond deposits within the Cretaceous (~106 to ~95 Ma) Fort à la Corne (FALC) Kimberlite Field. This study describes major, trace and platinum group element data, as well as osmium isotopic data from peridotitic mantle xenoliths (n = 26) from the Star and Orion South kimberlites. The garnet-bearing lithospheric mantle is dominated by moderately depleted lherzolite. Equilibration pressures and temperatures (2.7 to 5.5 GPa and 840 to 1250 °C) for these garnet peridotites define a cool geotherm indicative of a 210 km thick lithosphere, similar to other cratons worldwide. Many of the peridotite xenoliths show the major and trace element signatures of carbonatitic and kimberlitic melt metasomatism. The Re-Os isotopic data yield TRD (time of Re-depletion) model ages, which provide minimum estimates for the timing of melt depletion, ranging from 2.4 to 0.3 Ga, with a main mode spanning from 2.4 to 1.7 Ga. No Archean ages were recorded. This finding and the complex nature of events affecting this terrane from the Archean through the Palaeoproterozoic provide evidence that the majority of the lithospheric mantle was depleted and stabilised in the Palaeoproterozoic, significantly later than the Archean crust. The timing of the dominant lithosphere formation is linked to rifting (~2.2 Ga - 2.0 Ga), and subsequent collision (1.9-1.8 Ga) of the Superior and Hearne craton during the Wilson cycle of the Trans Hudson Orogen.
Chemical Geology, DOI:101016/ j.chemgeo.2020.119464
Mantle
peridotite
Abstract: The lithospheric mantle should be depleted in base- and precious-metals as these elements are transferred to the crust during partial melting. However, some melt-depleted mantle peridotites are enriched in these ore-forming elements. This may reflect re-fertilization of the mantle lithosphere and/or sequestering of these elements by residual mantle phase(s). Both processes remain poorly understood because of the low abundances of incompatible elements in peridotite and the nugget-like distribution of digestion-resistant mantle phases that pose analytical challenges for conventional geochemical methods. Herein we report new major and trace element concentrations for a suite of mantle peridotite and pyroxenite samples from the Late Permian to Middle Triassic Nahlin ophiolite (Cache Creek terrane, British Columbia, Canada) using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analysis of nanoparticulate powders and olivine. Compatible to moderately incompatible element concentrations suggest that Nahlin ophiolite peridotites represent residues after ?20% melt extraction. Pyroxenite dykes and replacive dunite bands are folded and closely intercalated with residual harzburgite. These field relationships, coupled with the presence of intergranular base metal sulphide, clinopyroxene and Cr-spinel at the microscale, point to percolating melts that variably re-fertilized melt-depleted mantle peridotite. Radiogenic Pb (206Pb/204Pb?=?15.402-19.050; 207Pb/204Pb?=?15.127-15.633; 208Pb/204Pb?=?34.980-38.434; n?=?45) and Os (187Os/188Os 0.1143-0.5745; n?=?58) isotope compositions for a subset of melt-depleted peridotite samples further support metasomatic re-fertilization of these elements. Other ore-forming elements are also implicated in these metasomatic reactions because some melt-depleted peridotite samples are enriched relative to the primitive mantle, opposite to their expected behaviour during partial melting. New LA-ICPMS analysis of fresh olivine further demonstrates that a significant proportion of the highly incompatible element budget for the most melt-depleted rocks is either hosted by, and/or occurs as trapped inclusions within, the olivine-rich residues. Trapped phases from past melting and/or re-fertilization events are the preferred explanation for unradiogenic Pb isotope compositions and Paleozoic to Paleoproterozoic Re-depletion model ages, which predate the Nahlin ophiolite by over one billion years.
Abstract: The presence of diamonds in an outcrop atop an unrealized gold deposit in Canada's Far North mirrors the association found above the world's richest gold mine, according to University of Alberta research that fills in blanks about the thermal conditions of Earth's crust three billion years ago.
Geophysical Research abstracts, EGU, EGU2019-9348, 1p. Pdf
Canada
geodynamics
Abstract: We present the first oxidation state measurements for the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Rae craton, northern Canada, one of the largest components of the Canadian shield. In combination with major and trace element compositions for garnet and clinopyroxene, we assess the relationship between oxidation state and metasomatic overprinting. The sample suite comprises peridotite xenoliths from the central part (Pelly Bay) and the craton margin (Somerset Island) providing insights into lateral and vertical variations in lithospheric character. Our suite contains spinel, garnet-spinel and garnet peridotites, with most samples originating from 100 to 140 km depth. Within this narrow depth range we observe strong chemical gradients, including variations in oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) of over 4 log units. Both Pelly Bay and Somerset Island peridotites reveal a change in metasomatic type with depth. Observed geochemical systematics and textural evidence support the notion that Rae SCLM developed through amalgamation of different local domains, establishing chemical gradients from the start. These gradients were subsequently modified by migrating melts that drove further development of different types of metasomatic overprinting and variable oxidation at a range of length scales. This oxidation already apparent at ~?100 km depth could have locally destabilised any pre-existing diamond or graphite.
Carnegie Institute Lecture April 29, 6.30 pm est, Please click this URL to join.
Global
diamond genesis
Abstract: Finding and evaluating diamond deposits is one of the hardest tasks in mineral resource development. In this talk, we will delve a little into the techniques used to find diamonds and how to evaluate the deposits. We will then examine why diamonds-the deepest derived of all natural materials—are unique in their ability to illuminate processes taking place over 700 km beneath Earth's surface, and up to 3.5 billion years back into its history. Click to register for Upcoming April 29, 2021 Webinar.
Abstract: We present the first oxidation state measurements for the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Rae craton, northern Canada, one of the largest components of the Canadian shield. In combination with major and trace element compositions for garnet and clinopyroxene, we assess the relationship between oxidation state and metasomatic overprinting. The sample suite comprises peridotite xenoliths from the central part (Pelly Bay) and the craton margin (Somerset Island) providing insights into lateral and vertical variations in lithospheric character. Our suite contains spinel, garnet-spinel and garnet peridotites, with most samples originating from 100 to 140 km depth. Within this narrow depth range we observe strong chemical gradients, including variations in oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) of over 4 log units. Both Pelly Bay and Somerset Island peridotites reveal a change in metasomatic type with depth. Observed geochemical systematics and textural evidence support the notion that Rae SCLM developed through amalgamation of different local domains, establishing chemical gradients from the start. These gradients were subsequently modified by migrating melts that drove further development of different types of metasomatic overprinting and variable oxidation at a range of length scales. This oxidation already apparent at ~?100 km depth could have locally destabilised any pre-existing diamond or graphite.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 10.1029/2021GC009691 55p. Pdf
Africa, South Africa, Lesotho, Europe, Greenland
craton
Abstract: Understanding the rate at which temperature changes with increasing depth (geothermal gradients) within ancient continental crust and its underlying mantle (cratonic lithosphere) is essential for understanding the internal structure of Earth. However, understanding geothermal gradients requires a chemical and physical understanding of deep cratonic lithosphere (up to ?200 km depth) and samples from such depths are only available as fragments hosted in melts that originate there (e.g., kimberlites). This limited sample availability of the cratonic mantle roots has resulted in some properties of this domain, used in geothermal modeling, to be poorly constrained. Here we use samples of cratonic mantle lithosphere to determine one critical and poorly constrained parameter used in modeling geothermal gradients—the heat produced from the radiogenic decay of K, U, and Th to their daughter isotopes. We measure these elements in the samples via in situ laser ablation methods to quantify their potential heat production. Comparing our results to previous estimates of heat production, our new estimates produce differences in the thicknesses of cratonic lithosphere calculated from modeled geothermal gradients by >10 km depending on the chosen lithological model. The results from this study provide an important new data set for constraining heat production in cratonic mantle peridotites.
Abstract: The Victor diamond mine in Ontario, Canada opened in 2008 and ceased operations in June 2019. Previous researchers documented that Victor diamonds are unusually young (~ 720 Ma, Aulbach et al., 2018) and grew predominantly in unusually fertile peridotite substrates, specifically garnet lherzolite and garnet wehrlite (Stachel et al., 2018). Our recent work on n=157 lherzolitic clinopyroxene (Cpx) xenocrysts from the Victor mine reveals profound major- and trace-element (re)fertilization of the deepest 1/3rd of the central Superior craton lithosphere. For example, Cpx Mg/(Mg+Fe) of 0.93 in shallow peridotite decreases across a steep gradient to Mg/(Mg+Fe) of 0.89 at depths of 4.2 to 5.6 GPa. We document marked compositional gradients over a similar depth range for certain minor (Ti, Mn, Ni) and trace elements (LREE and HREE) and attribute the gradients to chromatographic and/or crystal-chemical fractionation effects. We carefully categorized the Victor cpx xenocrysts in nine depth-composition classes and determined Pb-isotope ratios for representative grains from each class in a bold experiment aimed at capturing geochronological data from mantle Cpx. A resultant 207Pb/206Pb secondary isochron array at ~ 1075 Ma identifies craton-scale events related to the Mid-Continent Rift as the source of fluids and/or melts that (re)fertilized the central Superior craton at depth, some 355 Ma prior to diamond growth. Coordinated, systematic major- and trace-element relationships in clinopyroxene permit compositional discrimination of mantle (re)fertilization at ~1075 Ma from fluid-metasomatism attending diamond growth at ~ 720 Ma. Roughly 10% of the clinopyroxene xenocrysts analyzed in this work exhibit diamond-associated compositions.
Abstract: The term craton has a complex and confused etymology. Despite originally specifying only strength and stability - of the crust - the term craton, within the context of diamond exploration, has widely come to refer to a region characterised by crustal basement older than 2.5 Ga, despite the fact that some such “cratons” no longer possess their deep lithospheric root. This definition often precluded regions with deep lithospheric roots but basement younger than 2-2.5 Ga. Viscous, buoyant lithospheric mantle roots are key to the survival and stability of continental crust. Here we use a revised craton definition (Pearson et al., 2021, in press), that includes the requirement of a deep (~150 km or greater) and intact lithospheric root, to re-examine the link between cratons and diamonds. The revised definition has a nominal requirement for tectonic stability since ~ 1 Ga and recognises that some regions are “modified cratons” - having lost their deep roots, i.e., they may have behaved like cratons for an extended period but subsequently lost much of their stabilising mantle roots during major tectono-thermal events. In other words, despite being long-lived features, cratons are not all permanent. The 150 km lithospheric thickness cut-off provides an optimal match to crustal terranes with 1 Ga timescale stability. In terms of regional diamond exploration, for a given area, the crucial criterion is when a deep mantle root was extant, i.e., over what period was the lithospheric geotherm suitable for diamond formation, stability and sampling? A thick lithospheric root is key to the formation of deep-seated magmas such as olivine lamproites and to the evolution of sub-lithospheric sourced proto-kimberlites, all capable of carrying and preserving diamonds to Earth's surface. This criterion appears essential even for sub-lithospheric diamonds, that still require a diamond transport mechanism capable of preserving the high-pressure carbon polymorph via facilitating rapid transport of volatile-charged magma to the surface, without dilution from additional melting that takes place beneath thinner (<120 km) lithospheric "lids". Seismology can help to define the lateral extent of today's cratons, but a detailed understanding of the regional geological history, kimberlite eruption ages and geothermal conditions is required to evaluate periods of past diamond potential, no-longer evident today. This revised craton concept broadens the target terranes for diamond exploration away from only the Archean cores of cratons and an associated mentality that "the exception proves the rule". The revised definition is compatible with numerous occurrences of diamond in Proterozoic terranes or Archean terranes underpinned by Proterozoic mantle.
Abstract: A suite of peridotite xenoliths from the Chidliak kimberlite province provides an ideal opportunity to assess the age of the mantle lithosphere beneath the eastern Hall Peninsula Block (EHPB) in southern Baffin Island, Nunavut and to provide constraints on the lithospheric architecture of this region. The new dataset comprises highly siderophile element (HSE) abundances and Re-Os isotopic compositions for 32 peridotite xenoliths sampled from four Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous kimberlite pipes (CH-1, -6, -7, and -44). These peridotites represent strongly depleted mantle residues, with bulk-rock and olivine chemistry denoting melt extraction extents of up to 40%. The vast majority of samples show PPGE (Pt and Pd) depletion relative to IPGE (Os, Ir, and Ru) ((Pt/Ir)N: 0.10-0.96, median = 0.57; (Pd/Ir)N: 0.03-0.79, median = 0.24), coupled with mostly unradiogenic Os isotopic compositions (187Os/188Os = 0.1084-0.1170). These peridotites display strong correlations between 187Os/188Os and melt depletion indicators (such as olivine Mg number and bulk-rock Al2O3, (Pd/Ir)N), suggesting that an ancient (~2.8 Ga) melt depletion event governed the formation of the Chidliak lithosphere. The prominent mode of TRDerupt model ages at ca. 2.8 Ga matches the main crust-building ages of the EHPB, demonstrating temporal crust-mantle coupled in the Meso-Neoarchean. These ancient melt-depletion ages are present throughout the depth of the ~ 200 km thick lithospheric mantle column beneath Chidliak. The Meso-Neoarchean formation age of the EHPB mantle broadly coincides with the timing of stabilization of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Greenlandic portion of the North Atlantic Craton (NAC). This, along with the similarity in modal mineralogy, chemical composition and evolutionary history, indicates that the EHPB, southern Baffin Island was once -contiguous with the Greenlandic NAC. The mantle lithosphere beneath both the EHPB and the NAC show a similar metasomatic history, modified by multiple pulses of metasomatism. These multiple metasomatic events combined to weaken and thin the lithospheric mantle, culminating in the formation of the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait separating the EHPB from the Greenlandic NAC in the Paleocene.
Contribution to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 1777, 2, 10.1007/s00410-021-01880-8
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Lace
Abstract: We studied diamond inclusions in the 133 Ma Lace kimberlite of the Kroonstad Group II kimberlite cluster (Kaapvaal craton) to compare them to diamonds beneath the adjacent coeval Voorspoed kimberlite. The studied 288 Lace diamonds are mostly colorless dodecahedral Type IaAB. Based on diamond inclusions (DI), 38 Lace diamonds were classified as eclogitic (44%, 19 samples), peridotitic (35%, 15 samples), and websteritic (9%, 4 samples). The diamonds formed from mantle carbon (?13C?=?? 9.1 to ? 2.5 ‰ for 18 samples), with the exception of one eclogitic diamond (?13C?=?? 19.2 ‰). A rare zircon inclusion provides age constraints for the Lace eclogite protolith at 3.2?±?0.4 Ga (Lu-Hf model age) and Lace eclogite diamond formation at 188?±?37 Ma (U-Pb age). The eclogite protolith age suggests its formation contemporaneous with the lower crustal magmatism and metamorphism in the Central Kaapvaal craton, complementary to the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite magmatism in the region and synchronous with the consolidation of the Eastern Kaapvaal Block. Two distinct kinds of eclogites are found to host Lace diamonds, (1) Fe-rich eclogites located at 160-190 km, and (2) more calcic-magnesian eclogites with mineral compositions identical to websteritic DIs, that derive from shallower lithospheric depths. Various thermobarometric methods applied to Lace diamonds and DIs constrain the Lace geotherm as reflecting a surface heat flow below or equal to 38 mW/m2 and a lithosphere thickness of at least 220 km, at the time of kimberlite eruption. These thermal parameters demonstrate an excellent match between the thermal state of the Voorspoed and Lace mantle segments that persisted from the Archean to Cretaceous times. The Lace peridotitic-to-eclogitic diamond ratio (5/4) does not differ much from the Voorspoed DI ratio (6/4), but a hot and spatially restricted carbonatitic metasomatism event affected the Voorspoed peridotitic mantle to create the majority of Voorspoed diamonds. The contrast in the mineralogy of DIs in Lace and Voorspoed diamonds highlights the very local (ca. 10 km) extent of the metasomatism and heating, as well as the variability of the diamond-forming processes at the same spatial scale.
Abstract: Harzburgites and dunites forming the base of the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Papuan Ultramafic Belt (PUB) and Marum ophiolites of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are amongst the most refractory mantle peridotites on Earth. We present a new integrated dataset of major element, bulk plus mineral trace element and Re-Os isotopic analyses aimed at better understanding the genesis of these peridotites. The PUB harzburgites contain olivine (Fo92-93), low-Al enstatite (less than or equal to 0.5 wt. % Al2O3 and CaO), and Cr-rich spinel (Cr# = 0.90-0.95). The Marum harzburgites are less refractory with olivine (Fo91.9-92.7), enstatite (~0.5-1.0 wt. % Al2O3 and CaO), minor clinopyroxene (diopside), and spinel (Cr# = 0.71-0.77). These major element characteristics reflect equivalent or greater levels of melt depletion than that experienced by Archean cratonic peridotites. Whereas bulk-rock heavy rare earth element (HREE) abundances mirror the refractory character indicated by the mineral chemistry and major elements, large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) indicate a more complex melting and metasomatic history. In-situ olivine and orthopyroxene REE measurements show that harzburgites and dunites have experienced distinct melt-rock interaction processes, with dunite channels/lenses, specifically, showing higher abundances of HREE in olivine. Distinctive severe inter-element fraction of platinum group elements and Re result in complex patterns that we refer to as “M-shaped”. These fractionated highly siderophile element (HSE) patterns likely reflect the dissolution of HSE-rich phases in highly depleted peridotites by interaction with subduction-related melts/fluids, possibly high-temperature boninites. Osmium isotope compositions of the PNG peridotites are variable (187Os/188Os = 0.1204 to 0.1611), but fall within the range of peridotites derived from Phanerozoic oceanic mantle, providing no support for ancient melt depletion, despite their refractory character. This provides further evidence that highly depleted peridotites can be produced in the modern Earth, in subduction zone environments. The complex geochemistry indicates a multi-stage process for the formation of the PNG mantle peridotites in a modern geodynamic environment. The first stage involves partial melting at low-pressure (<2 GPa) and high-temperature (~1250-1350 0C) to form low-K, low-Ti tholeiitic magmas that formed the overlying cumulate peridotite-gabbro and basalt (PUB only) sequences of the ophiolites. This is inferred to have occurred in a fore-arc setting at the initiation of subduction. Later stages involved fluxing of the residual harzburgites with hydrous fluids and melts to form replacive dunites and enstatite dykes, and interaction of the residual peridotites in the overlying mantle wedge with high-temperature hydrous melts from the subducting slab to generate the extremely refractory harzburgites. This latter stage can be linked to the eruption of low-Ca boninites at Cape Vogel, and other arc-related volcanics, in a nascent oceanic island arc. Both ophiolites were emplaced shortly after when the embryonic oceanic island arc collided with the Australian continent.
Journal of Petrology, 10.1093/petrology/egac014 99p. pdf
Asia, Papua New Guinea
tectonites
Abstract: Harzburgites and dunites forming the base of the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Papuan Ultramafic Belt (PUB) and Marum ophiolites of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are among the most refractory mantle peridotites on Earth. We present a new integrated dataset of major element, bulk plus mineral trace element and Re-Os isotopic analyses aimed at better understanding the genesis of these peridotites. The PUB harzburgites contain olivine (Fo92-93), low-Al enstatite (less than or equal to 0.5 wt. % Al2O3 and CaO), and Cr-rich spinel (Cr#?=?0.90-0.95). The Marum harzburgites are less refractory with olivine (Fo91.9-92.7), enstatite (~0.5-1.0 wt. % Al2O3 and CaO), minor clinopyroxene (diopside), and spinel (Cr#?=?0.71-0.77). These major element characteristics reflect equivalent or greater levels of melt depletion than that experienced by Archean cratonic peridotites. Whereas bulk-rock heavy rare earth element (HREE) abundances mirror the refractory character indicated by the mineral chemistry and major elements, large-ion lithophile elements indicate a more complex melting and metasomatic history. In situ olivine and orthopyroxene REE measurements show that harzburgites and dunites have experienced distinct melt-rock interaction processes, with dunite channels/lenses, specifically, showing higher abundances of HREE in olivine. Distinctive severe inter-element fraction of platinum group elements and Re result in complex patterns that we refer to as ‘M-shaped’. These fractionated highly siderophile element (HSE) patterns likely reflect the dissolution of HSE-rich phases in highly depleted peridotites by interaction with subduction-related melts/fluids, possibly high-temperature boninites. Osmium isotope compositions of the PNG peridotites are variable (187Os/188Os?=?0.1204 to 0.1611), but fall within the range of peridotites derived from Phanerozoic oceanic mantle, providing no support for ancient melt depletion, despite their refractory character. This provides further evidence that highly depleted peridotites can be produced in the modern Earth, in subduction zone environments. The complex geochemistry indicates a multi-stage process for the formation of the PNG mantle peridotites in a modern geodynamic environment. The first stage involves partial melting at low-pressure (<2 GPa) and high-temperature (~1250°C-1350°C) to form low-K, low-Ti tholeiitic magmas that formed the overlying cumulate peridotite-gabbro and basalt (PUB only) sequences of the ophiolites. This is inferred to have occurred in a fore-arc setting at the initiation of subduction. Later stages involved fluxing of the residual harzburgites with hydrous fluids and melts to form replacive dunites and enstatite dykes and interaction of the residual peridotites in the overlying mantle wedge with high-temperature hydrous melts from the subducting slab to generate the extremely refractory harzburgites. This latter stage can be linked to the eruption of low-Ca boninites at Cape Vogel, and other arc-related volcanics, in a nascent oceanic island arc. Both ophiolites were emplaced shortly after when the embryonic oceanic island arc collided with the Australian continent.
Abstract: The cold, rigid, and melt-depleted mantle underlying Archean cratons plays an important role in the preservation of the overlying continental crust and is one of the main sources of diamonds. However, with the possible exception of rare earth elements (REE) and platinum group-elements (PGE), the concentrations and host mineral phases for many other critical trace elements within lithospheric mantle remain very poorly understood. Here we address that knowledge gap, presenting new electron microprobe and laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry results for a suite of mantle xenoliths (n = 12) and olivine xenocrysts (n = 376) from the Jericho, Muskox, and Voyageur kimberlites (northern Slave craton, Canada). Low-temperature (<1000 °C) harzburgite xenoliths and olivine xenocrysts suggest that the shallowest portions of the garnet-bearing mantle (?160 km) underlying the northern Slave craton is chemically depleted and becomes increasing re-fertilized from 160 to 200 km. High-temperature (>1000 °C) garnet and clinopyroxene crystals with Ti/Eu ratios > > 1000, and olivine xenocrysts suggest that interaction with ultramafic silicate melts is the most likely mechanism to re-fertilize melt-depleted peridotite with incompatible elements toward the base of the lithosphere (~200 km). In contrast, lower temperature garnet and clinopyroxene with Ti/Eu ratios <1000 are more likely related to metasomatism by carbonatitic melts and/or fluids. Carbonatitic metasomatism is also interpreted as the preferred explanation for the trend of Nb (4 ppm)- and Ta (185 ppb)-rich concentrations of olivine xenocrysts sampled from mid-lithosphere depths (~140 km). With the exception of a few elements that substitute into the olivine crystal structure during sub-solidus re-equilibration (e.g., Ca, Cr, Cu, Na, Sc, V, Zn), most other olivine-hosted trace elements do not systematically vary with depth. Instead, we interpret olivine-hosted trace element concentrations that are significantly above the analytical detection and/or quantification limits to reflect trapped fluid (e.g., As, Mo, Sb, Sn), base-metal sulphide (e.g., Ag, Au, Bi, Pd, Pt, Se, Te), and other mineral inclusions (e.g., U, Th) rather than enrichments of these elements due to substitution reactions or analytical artefacts. We interpret that these inclusions occur in olivine throughout the garnet stability field, but are relatively rare. As a result, these trapped carbonatitic, proto-kimberlite, and/or other ultramafic silicate melts do not represent a significant source for the suite of trace elements that become enriched to economic levels in the crust.
Abstract: A single gem lithospheric diamond with five sulfide inclusions from the Udachnaya kimberlite (Siberia, Russia) has been analyzed non-destructively to track the growth conditions of the diamond. Sulfides are the most abundant mineral inclusions in many lithospheric diamond crystals and are the most favorable minerals to date diamond crystals by Re-Os isotope systematics. Our investigation used non-destructive, micro-techniques, combining X-ray tomography, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray powder diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. This approach allowed us to determine the spatial distribution of the inclusions, their chemical and mineralogical composition on the microscale, and, finally, the paragenetic association, leaving the diamond host completely unaffected. The sample was also studied by X-ray diffraction topography to characterize the structural defects of the diamond and to obtain genetic information about its growth history. The X-ray topographic images show that the sample investigated exhibits plastic deformation. One set of {111} slip lamellae, corresponding to polysynthetic twinning, affects the entire sample. Chemical data on the inclusions still trapped within the diamond show they are monosulfide solid solutions of Fe, Ni and indicate a peridotitic paragenesis. Micro-X-ray diffraction reveals that the inclusions mainly consist of a polycrystalline aggregate of pentlandite and pyrrothite. A thorough analysis of the Raman data suggests the presence of a further Fe, Ni sulfide, never reported so far in diamonds: mackinawite. The total absence of any oxides in the sulfide assemblage clearly indicates that mackinawite is not simply a “late” alteration of pyrrhotite and pentlandite due to secondary oxidizing fluids entering diamond fractures after the diamond transport to the surface. Instead, it is likely formed as a low-temperature phase that grew in a closed system within the diamond host. It is possible that mackinawite is a more common phase in sulfide assemblages within diamond crystals than has previously been presumed, and that the percentage of mackinawite within a given sulfide assemblage could vary from diamond to diamond and from locality to locality.
Abstract: Finding and evaluating diamond deposits is one of the hardest tasks in mineral resource development. In this talk, we will delve a little into the techniques used to find diamonds and how to evaluate the deposits. We will then examine why diamonds-the deepest derived of all natural materials-are unique in their ability to illuminate processes taking place over 700 km beneath Earth's surface, and up to 3.5 billion years back into its history.
Mechanism and timing of lithospheric modification and replacement beneath the eastern North Chin a Craton: peridotitic xenoliths from the 100 Ma Fuxin basalts
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, In press, available
Mechanism and timing of lithospheric modification and replacement beneath the eastern North Chin a Craton: peridotitic xenoliths from the 100 Ma Fuxin basalts...
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 71, 21, pp. 5303-5225.
Heterogeneity in the thermal state of the lower crust and upper mantle beneath eastern Australia
Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists and Geological Society of Australia, 8th. Exploration Conference in the Bulletin., Vol. 22, No. 2, June pp. 295-298
Persistence of mantle lithospheric Re-Os signature during asthenospherization of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: insights in situ sulphides....
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 159, 3, pp. 315-330.
In situ U Pb dating and Sr Nd isotopic analysis of perovskite: constraints on the age and petrogenesis of the Kuruman kimberlite province, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa.
Gonzalez-Jimienez, J.M., Marchesi, C., Griffin, W.L., Gutierrez-Narbona, R., Lorand, J-P., O'Reilly, S.Y., Garrido, C.J., Gervilla, F., Pearson, N.J., Hidas, K.
Transfer of Os isotopic signatures from peridotite to chromitite in the subcontinental mantle: insights from in situ analysis of platinum-group and base metal minerals (Ojen peridotite massif, southern Spain.
Howell, D., Stern, R.A., Griffin, W.L., Southworth, R., Mikhail, S., Stachel, T., Verchovsky, A.B., O'Reilly, S.Y., Pearson, N.J.
New thermodynamic models and calculated phase equilibration temperatures in NCFMAS for basic and ultrabasic compositions through the transition zone into the uppermost lower mantle.
Abstract: The Os-isotope compositions of sulphides in mantle xenoliths hosted by Late Miocene alkali basalts from the Sviyaginsky volcano, Russian Far East, reveal the presence of Archaean-Proterozoic subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Khanka massif. Their TMA and TRD model ages reveal similar peaks at 1.1 and 0.8 Ga suggesting later thermotectonic events in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, whereas TRD model ages range back to 2.8 ± 0.5 (2?) Ga. The events recognized in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle are consistent with those recorded in the crust of the Khanka massif. The sulphide Os-isotope data show that the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Khanka massif had formed at least by the Mesoproterozoic, and was subsequently metasomatized by juvenile crustal-growth events related to the evolution of the Altaids. The Khanka massif is further proposed to have tectonic affinity to the Siberia Craton and should originate from it accordingly.
Abstract: This ending talk, focused on the ongoing cooperative research of Prof. Griffin and his team at Macquarie University and Shefa Yamim, since January 2014, highlighting unique corundum species characteristics. Preliminary results of this research were presented in the IGS Annual Meeting of 2015, whereas this year Prof. Griffin has shared innovative findings only microscopically tracked within titanium-rich corundum aggregates. One of the more abundant minerals is Tistarite (Ti2O3), previously known only as a single grain in a primitive type of meteorite (!). An article has been submitted to a scientific journal detailing this first terrestrial occurrence. Several other minerals are common in meteorites, but unknown or extremely rare on Earth. About half of these minerals are unknown to science, and will be described as new minerals in the scientific literature. The first of these is a Titanium-Aluminium-Zirconium oxide, informally known as TAZ; it will be submitted to the International Mineralogical Association for recognition as a new mineral, ShefaTAZite. Using state of the art technologies such as Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) and Electron Microscopy Facility (EMF) that has three scanning electron microscopes, all with EBSD capability, and a transmission electron microscope - Prof. Griffin revealed spectacular imagery of minerals and rare compounds associated with titanium rich corundum aggregates.
Abstract: This talk shortly reviewed geological and geochemical mechanisms of the deep lithosphere, a layer composed of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle at a depth range of 100-150km below the surface. Definition of these processes at depth, reflects on surface recovery of gem and heavy minerals, of which metallic minerals were stressed out. Prof. O'reilley has also referred to Shefa Yamim's exploration area in northern Israel where the eruption of gem-bearing volcanic rocks appears to be related to a major lithospheric suture (the Dead Sea Transform) and related faulting. The Dead Sea Transform is a 1000km plate boundary stretching out from Turkey in the north to Eilat Bay in the south. As such, it is a preferred pathway for magma emplacement crystalizing in volcanic bodies that are being surveyed by Shefa Yamim as Primary Sources for gem and heavy minerals.
Abstract: Perovskite (CaTiO3) has become a very useful mineral for dating kimberlite eruptions, as well as for constraining the compositional evolution of a kimberlitic magma and its source. Despite the undeniable potential of such an approach, no similar study had been done in Angola, the fourth largest diamond producer in Africa. Here we present the first work of in situ U-Pb geochronology and Sr-Nd isotope analyses of perovskite in six Angolan kimberlites, supported by a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of their perovskite populations. Four types of perovskite were identified, differing in texture, major- and trace-element composition, zoning patterns, type of alteration and the presence or absence of inclusions. Primary groundmass perovskite is classified either as anhedral, Na-, Nb- and LREE-poor perovskite (Ia); or euhedral, strongly zoned, Na-, Nb- and LREE-rich perovskite (Ib). Secondary perovskite occurs as reaction rims on ilmenite (IIa) or as high Nb (up to 10.6 wt% Nb2O5) perovskite rims on primary perovskite (IIb). The occurrence of these four types within the Mulepe kimberlites is interpreted as an evidence of a complex, multi-stage process that involved mingling of compositionally different melts. U-Pb dating of these perovskites yielded Lower Cretaceous ages for four of the studied kimberlites: Mulepe 1 (116.2 ± 6.5 Ma), Mulepe 2 (123.0 ± 3.6 Ma), Calonda (119.5 ± 4.3 Ma) and Cat115 (133 ± 10 Ma). Kimberlite magmatism occurred in NE Angola likely due to reactivation of deep-seated translithospheric faults (> 300 km) during the break-up of Gondwana. Sr-Nd isotope analyses of four of these kimberlites indicate that they are Group I kimberlites, which is consistent with the petrological observations.
Abstract: Perovskite (CaTiO3) has become a very usefulmineral for dating kimberlite eruptions, aswell as for constraining the compositional evolution of a kimberlitic magma and its source. Despite the undeniable potential of such an approach, no similar study had been done in Angola, the fourth largest diamond producer in Africa. Here we present the firstwork of in situ U-Pb geochronology and Sr-Ndisotope analyses of perovskite in six Angolan kimberlites, supported by a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of their perovskite populations. Four types of perovskitewere identified, differing in texture,major- and trace-element composition, zoning patterns, type of alteration and the presence or absence of inclusions. Primary groundmass perovskite is classified either as anhedral, Na-, Nb- and LREE-poor perovskite (Ia); or euhedral, strongly zoned, Na-, Nb- and LREE-rich perovskite (Ib). Secondary perovskite occurs as reaction rims on ilmenite (IIa) or as high Nb (up to 10.6 wt% Nb2O5) perovskite rims on primary perovskite (IIb). The occurrence of these four types within the Mulepe kimberlites is interpreted as an evidence of a complex, multi-stage process that involved mingling of compositionally different melts. U-Pb dating of these perovskites yielded Lower Cretaceous ages for four of the studied kimberlites: Mulepe 1 (116.2±6.5Ma),Mulepe 2 (123.0±3.6Ma), Calonda (119.5±4.3 Ma) and Cat115 (133±10Ma). Kimberlite magmatism occurred in NE Angola likely due to reactivation of deep-seated translithospheric faults (N300 km) during the break-up of Gondwana. Sr-Nd isotope analyses of four of these kimberlites indicate that they are Group I kimberlites, which is consistent with the petrological observations.
Abstract: Large peridotite massifs are scattered along the 1500?km length of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone (southern Tibet, China), the major suture between Asia and Greater India. Diamonds occur in the peridotites and chromitites of several massifs, together with an extensive suite of trace phases that indicate extremely low fO2 (SiC, nitrides, carbides, native elements) and/or ultrahigh pressures (UHP) (diamond, TiO2 II, coesite, possible stishovite). New physical and isotopic (C, N) studies of the diamonds indicate that they are natural, crystallized in a disequilibrium, high-T environment, and spent only a short time at mantle temperatures before exhumation and cooling. These constraints are difficult to reconcile with previous models for the history of the diamond-bearing rocks. Possible evidence for metamorphism in or near the upper part of the Transition Zone includes the following: (1) chromite (in disseminated, nodular and massive chromitites) containing exsolved pyroxenes and coesite, suggesting inversion from a high-P polymorph of chromite; (2) microstructural studies suggesting that the chromitites recrystallized from fine-grained, highly deformed mixtures of wadsleyite and an octahedral polymorph of chromite; (3) a new cubic Mg-silicate, with the space group of ringwoodite but an inverse-spinel structure (all Si in octahedral coordination); (4) harzburgites with coarsely vermicular symplectites of opx + Cr-Al spinel ± cpx; reconstructions suggest that these are the breakdown products of majoritic garnets, with estimated minimum pressures to?>?13?GPa. Evidence for a shallow pre-metamorphic origin for the chromitites and peridotites includes the following: (1) trace-element data showing that the chromitites are typical of suprasubduction-zone (SSZ) chromitites formed by magma mixing or mingling, consistent with Hf-isotope data from magmatic (375?Ma) zircons in the chromitites; (2) the composition of the new cubic Mg-silicate, which suggests a low-P origin as antigorite, subsequently dehydrated; (3) the peridotites themselves, which carry the trace element signature of metasomatism in an SSZ environment, a signature that must have been imposed before the incorporation of the UHP and low-fO2 phases. A proposed P-T-t path involves the original formation of chromitites in mantle-wedge harzburgites, subduction of these harzburgites at c. 375?Ma, residence in the upper Transition Zone for >200 Myr, and rapid exhumation at c. 170-150?Ma or 130-120?Ma. Os-isotope data suggest that the subducted mantle consisted of previously depleted subcontinental lithosphere, dragged down by a subducting oceanic slab. Thermomechanical modeling shows that roll-back of a (much later) subducting slab would produce a high-velocity channelized upwelling that could exhume the buoyant harzburgites (and their chromitites) from the Transition Zone in?10 Myr. This rapid upwelling, which may explain some characteristics of the diamonds, appears to have brought some massifs to the surface in forearc or back-arc basins, where they provided a basement for oceanic crust. This model can reconcile many apparently contradictory petrological and geological datasets. It also defines an important, previously unrecognized geodynamic process that may have operated along other large suture zones such as the Urals.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 430, pp. 284-295.
Asia, Tibet
Luobusa Massif Type Iib
Abstract: For more than 20 years, the reported occurrence of diamonds in the chromites and peridotites of the Luobusa massif in Tibet (a complex described as an ophiolite) has been widely ignored by the diamond research community. This skepticism has persisted because the diamonds are similar in many respects to high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) synthetic/industrial diamonds (grown from metal solvents), and the finding previously has not been independently replicated. We present a detailed examination of the Luobusa diamonds (recovered from both peridotites and chromitites), including morphology, size, color, impurity characteristics (by infrared spectroscopy), internal growth structures, trace-element patterns, and C and N isotopes. A detailed comparison with synthetic industrial diamonds shows many similarities. Cubo-octahedral morphology, yellow color due to unaggregated nitrogen (C centres only, Type Ib), metal-alloy inclusions and highly negative View the MathML source?C13 values are present in both sets of diamonds. The Tibetan diamonds (n=3n=3) show an exceptionally large range in View the MathML source?N15 (?5.6 to +28.7‰+28.7‰) within individual crystals, and inconsistent fractionation between {111} and {100} growth sectors. This in contrast to large synthetic HPHT diamonds grown by the temperature gradient method, which have with View the MathML source?N15=0‰ in {111} sectors and +30‰+30‰ in {100} sectors, as reported in the literature. This comparison is limited by the small sample set combined with the fact the diamonds probably grew by different processes. However, the Tibetan diamonds do have generally higher concentrations and different ratios of trace elements; most inclusions are a NiMnCo alloy, but there are also some small REE-rich phases never seen in HPHT synthetics. These characteristics indicate that the Tibetan diamonds grew in contact with a C-saturated Ni-Mn-Co-rich melt in a highly reduced environment. The stable isotopes indicate a major subduction-related contribution to the chemical environment. The unaggregated nitrogen, combined with the lack of evidence for resorption or plastic deformation, suggests a short (geologically speaking) residence in the mantle. Previously published models to explain the occurrence of the diamonds, and other phases indicative of highly reduced conditions and very high pressures, have failed to take into account the characteristics of the diamonds and the implications for their formation. For these diamonds to be seriously considered as the result of a natural growth environment requires a new understanding of mantle conditions that could produce them.
Abstract: The minimum oxygen fugacity (fO2) of Earth's upper mantle probably is controlled by metal saturation, as defined by the iron-wüstite (IW) buffer reaction (FeO ? Fe + O). However, the widespread occurrence of moissanite (SiC) in kimberlites, and a suite of super-reduced minerals (SiC, alloys, native elements) in peridotites in Tibet and the Polar Urals (Russia), suggest that more reducing conditions (fO2 = 6-8 log units below IW) must occur locally in the mantle. We describe pockets of melt trapped in aggregates of corundum crystals ejected from Cretaceous volcanoes in northern Israel which contain high-temperature mineral assemblages requiring extremely low fO2 (IW < -10). One abundant phase is tistarite (Ti2O3), previously known as a single grain in the Allende carbonaceous chondrite (Mexico) and believed to have formed during the early evolution of the solar nebula. It is associated with other reduced phases usually found in meteorites. The development of super-reducing conditions in Earth's upper mantle may reflect the introduction of CH4 + H2 fluids from the deep mantle, specifically related to deep-seated volcanic plumbing systems at plate boundaries.
Abstract: Magnesium and oxygen are critical elements in the solid Earth and hydrosphere. A better understanding of the combined behavior of Mg and O isotopes will refine their use as a tracer of geochemical processes and Earth evolution. In this study, the Mg-isotope compositions of garnet and omphacite separated from well-characterized xenolithic eclogites from the Roberts Victor kimberlite pipe (South Africa) have been measured by solution multi-collector ICP-MS. The reconstructed whole-rock ?26Mg values of Type I (metasomatized) eclogites range from ? 0.61‰ to ? 0.20‰ (Type IA) and from ? 0.60‰ to ? 0.30‰ (Type IB) (mean ? 0.43‰ ± 0.12‰), while ?26Mg of Type IIA (fresh, least metasomatized) eclogites ranges from ? 1.09‰ to ? 0.17‰ (mean ? 0.69‰ ± 0.41‰); a Type IIB (fresh, least metasomatized) has ?26Mg of ? 0.37‰. Oxygen-isotope compositions of garnet were analyzed in situ by SIMS (CAMECA 1280) and cross-checked by laser fluorination. Garnets have ?18O of 6.53‰ to 9.08‰ in Type IA, 6.14‰ to 6.65‰ in Type IB, and 2.34‰ to 2.91‰ in Type IIB. The variation of ?26Mg and ?18O in Type IA and IB eclogites is consistent with the previously proposed model for the evolution of these samples, based on major and trace elements and radiogenic isotopes. In this model, the protoliths (Type II eclogites) were metasomatized by carbonatitic to kimberlitic melts/fluids to produce first Type IA eclogites and then Type IB. Metasomatism has changed the O-isotope compositions, but the Mg-isotope compositions of Type IA are mainly controlled by the protoliths; those of Type IB eclogites reflect mixing between the protoliths and the kimberlitic melt/fluid. The combination of a large range of ?26Mg and low ?18O in Type II eclogites cannot be explained easily by seawater alteration of oceanic crust, interaction of carbonate/silicate sediments with oceanic crust, or partial melting of mafic rocks.
Abstract: Kimberlites are not only the most economically important source of diamonds; they also carry unique information encapsulated in rock fragments entrained as the magma traverses the whole thickness of the lithosphere. The Nurbinskaya pipe in the Siberian kimberlite province (Russia) is one of several intruded along the Vilyui Rift, a major terrane boundary. The pipe contains three populations of mantle-derived zircon xenocrysts: Archean (mean age 2709 ± 9 Ma), Devonian (mean age 371 ± 2.3 Ma), and a subset of grains with evidence of brittle deformation and rehealing, and a range of ages between 370 and 450 Ma. The Hf-isotope, O-isotope and trace-element signatures of the last group provide a link between the Archean and Devonian events, indicating at least three episodes of magmatic activity and zircon crystallization in the lithosphere beneath the pipe. The emplacement of the Nurbinskaya pipe ca 370 Ma ago was only the youngest activity in a magma plumbing system that has been periodically reactivated over at least 2.7 billion years, controlled by the lithosphere-scale structure of the Vilyui Rift.
Abstract: Widespread Miocene (24-8 Ma) ultrapotassic rocks and their entrained xenoliths provide information on the composition, structure, and thermal state of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle in southern Tibet during the India-Asia continental collision. The ultrapotassic rocks along the Lhasa block delineate two distinct lithospheric domains with different histories of depletion and enrichment. The eastern ultrapotassic rocks (89°E-92°E) reveal a depleted, young, and fertile lithospheric mantle (87Sr/86Srt = 0.704-0.707 [t is eruption time]; Hf depleted-mantle model age [TDM] = 377-653 Ma). The western ultrapotassic rocks (79°E-89°E) and their peridotite xenoliths (81°E) reflect a refractory harzburgitic mantle refertilized by ancient metasomatism (lavas: 87Sr/86Srt = 0.714-0.734; peridotites: 87Sr/86Srt = 0.709-0.716). These data integrated with seismic tomography suggest that upwelling asthenosphere was diverted away from the deep continental root beneath the western Lhasa block, but rose to shallower depths beneath a thinner lithosphere in the eastern part. Heating of the lithospheric mantle by the rising asthenosphere ultimately generated the ultrapotassic rocks with regionally distinct geochemical signatures reflecting the different nature of the lithospheric mantle.
Abstract: Detailed petrography, microstructure, and geochemistry of garnet pyroxenite xenoliths in Holocene basanite tuffs from maars at Lakes Bullenmerri and Gnotuk (western Victoria, southeastern Australia) have been used to track their igneous and metamorphic history, enabling the reconstruction of the thermal-tectonic evolution of the lithospheric mantle. The exsolution of orthopyroxene and garnet and rare spinel, plagioclase, and ilmenite from complex clinopyroxene megacrysts suggests that the xenoliths originally were clinopyroxene-dominant cumulates associated with minor garnet, orthopyroxene, or spinel. The compositions of exsolved phases and their host clinopyroxene were reintegrated using measured modal proportions to show that the primary clinopyroxene was enriched in Al2O3 (5.53-13.63 wt%) and crystallized at ~1300-1500 °C and 16-30 kbar. These cumulates then underwent extensive exsolution, recrystallization, and reaction during cooling, and finally equilibrated at ~950-1100 °C and 12-18 kbar before entrainment in the basanites. Rare earth element (REE) thermobarometry of garnets and coexisting clinopyroxenes preserves evidence of an intermediate stage (1032 °C and 21 kbar). These results imply that the protoliths of the garnet pyroxenite formed at a range of depths from ~50 to 100 km, and then during or shortly after cooling, they were tectonically emplaced to higher levels (~40-60 km; i.e., uplifted by at least 10-20 km) along the prevailing geotherm. This uplift may have been connected with lithosphere-scale faulting during the Paleozoic orogeny, or during Mesozoic-Cenozoic rifting of eastern Australia.
Geological Society of London, Chapter 2, pp. 27-48.
Australia, Victoria
xenoliths
Abstract: Detailed petrography, microstructure, and geochemistry of garnet pyroxenite xenoliths in Holocene basanite tuffs from maars at Lakes Bullenmerri and Gnotuk (western Victoria, southeastern Australia) have been used to track their igneous and metamorphic history, enabling the reconstruction of the thermal-tectonic evolution of the lithospheric mantle. The exsolution of orthopyroxene and garnet and rare spinel, plagioclase, and ilmenite from complex clinopyroxene megacrysts suggests that the xenoliths originally were clinopyroxene-dominant cumulates associated with minor garnet, orthopyroxene, or spinel. The compositions of exsolved phases and their host clinopyroxene were reintegrated using measured modal proportions to show that the primary clinopyroxene was enriched in Al2O3 (5.53–13.63 wt%) and crystallized at ~1300–1500 °C and 16–30 kbar. These cumulates then underwent extensive exsolution, recrystallization, and reaction during cooling, and finally equilibrated at ~950–1100 °C and 12–18 kba
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 29, 4, pp. 557-570.
Europe, Israel
mineralogy
Abstract: Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) materials (e.g., diamond, high-pressure polymorph of chromite) and super-reduced (SuR) phases (e.g., carbides, nitrides, silicides and native metals) have been identified in chromitites and peridotites of the Tibetan and Polar-Urals ophiolites. These unusual assemblages suggest previously unrecognized fluid- or melt-related processes in the Earth’s mantle. However, the origin of the SuR phases, and in particular their relationships with the UHP materials in the ophiolites, are still enigmatic. Studies of a recently recognized SuR mineral system from Cretaceous volcanics on Mt Carmel, Israel, suggest an alternative genesis for the ophiolitic SuR phases. The Mt Carmel SuR mineral system (associated with Ti-rich corundum xenocrysts) appears to reflect the local interaction of mantle-derived CH4 ± H2 fluids with basaltic magmas in the shallow lithosphere (depths of ?30-100 km). These interactions produced desilication of the magma, supersaturation in Al2O3 leading to rapid growth of corundum, and phase assemblages requiring local oxygen fugacity (fO2) gradually dropping to ?11 log units below the iron-wüstite (IW) buffer. The strong similarities between this system and the SuR phases and associated Ti-rich corundum in the Tibetan and Polar-Urals ophiolites suggest that the ophiolitic SuR suite probably formed by local influx of CH4 ± H2 fluids within previously subducted peridotites (and included chromitites) during their rapid exhumation from the deep upper mantle to lithospheric levels. In the final stages of their ascent, the recycled peridotites and chromitites were overprinted by a shallow magmatic system similar to that observed at Mt Carmel, producing most of the SuR phases and eventually preserving them within the Tibetan and Polar-Urals ophiolites.
Abstract: Magnesian ilmenite is a common kimberlite indicator mineral, although its use in diamond exploration is still controversial. Complex crystallisation and replacement processes have been invoked to explain the wide compositional and textural ranges of ilmenite found in kimberlites. This work aims to shed light on these processes, as well as their implications for diamond exploration. Petrographic studies were combined for the first time with both major- and trace-element analyses to characterise the ilmenite populations found in xenoliths and xenocrysts in two Angolan kimberlites (Congo-Kasai craton). A multi-stage model describes the evolution of ilmenite in these pipes involving: i) crystallisation of ferric and Mg-rich ilmenite either as metasomatic phases or as megacrysts, both in crustal and in metasomatised mantle domains; ii) kimberlite entrainment and xenolith disaggregation producing at least two populations of ilmenite nodules differing in composition; iii) interaction of both types with the kimberlitic magma during eruption, leading to widespread replacement by Mg-rich ilmenite along grain boundaries and fractures. This process produced similar major-element compositions in ilmenites regardless of their primary (i.e., pre-kimberlitic) origin, although the original enrichment in HFSE (Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) observed in Fe3 +-rich xenocrysts is preserved. Finally (iv) formation of secondary Mn-ilmenite by interaction with a fluid of carbonatitic affinity or by infiltration of a late hydrothermal fluid, followed in some cases by subsolidus alteration in an oxidising environment. The complexities of ilmenite genesis may lead to misinterpretation of the diamond potential of a kimberlite during the exploration stage if textural and trace-element information is disregarded. Secondary Mg-enrichment of ilmenite xenocrysts is common and is unrelated to reducing conditions that could favour diamond formation/preservation in the mantle. Similarly, Mn-rich ilmenite should be disregarded as a diamond indicator mineral, unless textural studies can prove its primary origin.
Abstract: The interaction of hydrous fluids and melts with dry rocks of the lithospheric mantle inevitably modifies their viscoelastic and chemical properties due to the formation of compositionally distinct secondary phases. In addition, melt percolation and the associated metasomatic alteration of mantle rocks may also facilitate modification of the pre-existing rock texture and olivine crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) and thus seismic properties. Here we explore the relationship between mantle metasomatism, deformation and seismic anisotropy using subduction-related mantle xenoliths from the Penghu Islands, western Taiwan. The investigated xenoliths have equilibrated at upper lithospheric mantle conditions (879?°C to 1127?°C) based on pyroxene geothermometry and show distinct variations in clinopyroxene chemical composition, texture and olivine CPO allowing for the classification of two distinct groups. Group 1 xenoliths contain rare earth element (REE) depleted clinopyroxene, show a porphyroclastic texture and olivine grains are mostly characterized by [100]-axial pattern symmetries. In contrast, REE-enriched clinopyroxene from Group 2 xenoliths occur in a fine-grained equigranular texture and coexisting olivine frequently displays [010]-axial pattern symmetries. The clinopyroxene compositions are indicative of cryptic and modal to stealth metasomatic alteration of Group 1 and Group 2 xenoliths, respectively. Furthermore, the observed olivine [100]-axial pattern of Group 1 xenoliths reflects deformation by dislocation creep at high temperature, low pressure and dry conditions, whereas olivine [010]-axial patterns of Group 2 xenoliths imply activation of olivine [001] glide planes along preferentially wet (010) grain boundaries. This correlation indicates that the variation in olivine CPO symmetry from [100]- to [010]-axial pattern in Penghu xenoliths results from deformation and intra-crystalline recovery by subgrain rotation during metasomatic alteration induced by melt percolation. The microstructural observations and olivine CPO combined with petrological and geochemical data suggest that Group 1 xenoliths preserve microstructural and chemical characteristics of an old, probably Proterozoic lithosphere, while Group 2 xenoliths record localized Miocene deformation associated with wall-rock heating and metasomatism related to melt circulation. Furthermore, the observed transition of olivine CPO from [100]-axial pattern to [010]-axial pattern by deformation in the presence of variable melt fractions and associated metasomatic alteration can be inferred to modify the physical properties of mantle rocks.
Abstract: The interaction of hydrous fluids and melts with dry rocks of the lithospheric mantle inevitably modifies their viscoelastic and chemical properties due to the formation of compositionally distinct secondary phases. In addition, melt percolation and the associated metasomatic alteration of mantle rocks may also facilitate modification of the pre-existing rock texture and olivine crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) and thus seismic properties. Here we explore the relationship between mantle metasomatism, deformation and seismic anisotropy using subduction-related mantle xenoliths from the Penghu Islands, western Taiwan. The investigated xenoliths have equilibrated at upper lithospheric mantle conditions (879?°C to 1127?°C) based on pyroxene geothermometry and show distinct variations in clinopyroxene chemical composition, texture and olivine CPO allowing for the classification of two distinct groups. Group 1 xenoliths contain rare earth element (REE) depleted clinopyroxene, show a porphyroclastic texture and olivine grains are mostly characterized by [100]-axial pattern symmetries. In contrast, REE-enriched clinopyroxene from Group 2 xenoliths occur in a fine-grained equigranular texture and coexisting olivine frequently displays [010]-axial pattern symmetries. The clinopyroxene compositions are indicative of cryptic and modal to stealth metasomatic alteration of Group 1 and Group 2 xenoliths, respectively. Furthermore, the observed olivine [100]-axial pattern of Group 1 xenoliths reflects deformation by dislocation creep at high temperature, low pressure and dry conditions, whereas olivine [010]-axial patterns of Group 2 xenoliths imply activation of olivine [001] glide planes along preferentially wet (010) grain boundaries. This correlation indicates that the variation in olivine CPO symmetry from [100]- to [010]-axial pattern in Penghu xenoliths results from deformation and intra-crystalline recovery by subgrain rotation during metasomatic alteration induced by melt percolation. The microstructural observations and olivine CPO combined with petrological and geochemical data suggest that Group 1 xenoliths preserve microstructural and chemical characteristics of an old, probably Proterozoic lithosphere, while Group 2 xenoliths record localized Miocene deformation associated with wall-rock heating and metasomatism related to melt circulation. Furthermore, the observed transition of olivine CPO from [100]-axial pattern to [010]-axial pattern by deformation in the presence of variable melt fractions and associated metasomatic alteration can be inferred to modify the physical properties of mantle rocks.
Abstract: Archean cratons are underlain by highly depleted subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). However, there are extensive evidences that Archean SCLM has been extensively refertilized by metasomatic processes, with the addition of Fe, Ca, and Al to depleted protoliths. The distribution of sub-calcic Cr-rich garnets in the SCLM beneath the Siberian craton suggests (1) sub-calcic garnets and diamonds are metasomatic phases in the cratonic SCLM; (2) the distribution of both phases is laterally heterogeneous on relatively small scales and related to ancient structural controls [1]. Re-Os isotopic compositions of twenty six sulfide inclusions in lherzolitic Cr-pyropes from Upper Muna kimberlites have been determined by laser ablation MCICPMS. Most analysed sulfides (~92%) have very low Re/Os ratios (<0.07), and their Re-depletion ages (TRD) form three major peaks: 3.4-2.8, 2.2-1.8 and 1.4-1.2 Ga (±0.03 Ga, mean 2s analytical uncertainty). One sulfide give the oldest TRD age at 4 Ga. Our data suggest that refertilization of the highly depleted SCLM and the introduction of Cr-pyrope garnet occurred in several episodes. The oldest age of ca 4 Ga indicate on the beginning of the formation of the depleted SCLM of the Siberian Craton in Hadean time [2].
Composition and thermal structure of the lithosphere beneath the Ethiopian plateau: evidence from mantle xenoliths in basanites, Injibara Lake Tana Province.
Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 93, 1-2, pp. 47-78.
Structural and microstructual regularities of the distribution of diamond in metamorphic rocks of the Kumdy-Kol and Barchi-Kol deposits, Kokchetav Massif, Northern Kazakhstan.
The Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. 49, 3, pp. 673-690.
Lithos, doi 10.1016/j.lithos.2019.105215, 75p. Pdf
Europe, Spain
deposit - Ronda
Abstract: We present a detailed study of the water geochemistry, mineralogy and textures in serpentinization-related hyperalkaline springs in the Ronda peridotites. Ronda waters can be classified into hyperalkaline fluids and river waters that are broadly similar to Ca2+-OH- and Mg2+-HCO3- water types described in serpentinite-hosted alkaline springs elsewhere. At the discharge sites of the fluids (fractures or human made outlets) and ponds along the fluid flow paths, the fluids are hyperalkaline (10.9 < pH < 12) and characterized by low Mg and high Na, K, Ca, and Cl concentrations. River waters, occurring near the spring sites, are mildly alkaline (8.5 < pH < 8.9) and enriched in Mg and DIC compared to Na, K, Ca and Cl. The chemistry of Ronda Mg-HCO3 river waters is likely due to the hydrolysis of ferromagnesian peridotite minerals in equilibrium with the atmosphere by infiltrated meteoric water and shallow groundwater in the serpentinized peridotite. The Ronda Ca-OH hyperalkaline fluids are generated by the combination of low temperature serpentinization reactions from infiltrated surface Mg-HCO3 river waters —or Ca-HCO3 waters from near karst aquifers— and deep carbonate precipitation isolated from atmospheric CO2. Mass balance calculations indicate that the weathering of Ca-bearing peridotite silicates such as diopside is a feasible source of Ca in Ronda Ca-OH hyperalkaline fluids; however, it requires steady-state dissolution rates substantially greater than those determined experimentally. Travertine, crystalline crusts and sediment deposits are the main types of solid precipitates observed in Ronda hyperalkaline spring sites. Calcite and aragonite, minor dolomite and Mg-Al-rich clays are the main minerals in the spring sites. As illustrated in the Baños del Puerto spring site, (i) calcite-dominated precipitation is due to hyperalkaline fluid uptake of atmospheric CO2 during discharge, and (ii) aragonite-dominated precipitation is due to mixing of Ca-OH hyperalkaline fluids with Mg- HCO3 river waters. Aragonite and dolomite contents increase away from the springs and toward the river waters that uniquely reflects the effect of Mg ions on the precipitation of aragonite versus calcite. Other potential factors controlling the precipitation of these CaCO3 polymorphs are the Mg/Ca ratio, the CO2 content, and the temperature of the fluids. Dolomite forms during lithification of travertine due to periodic flooding of river water combined with subsequent evaporation.
Abstract: The Neoproterozoic Sevattur and Samalpatti alkaline– carbonatite complexes in S India were supposedly emplaced into regional metagranite at ~800 Ma [1]. Both complexes are close to each other (~4 km apart), with a similar NE–SW elongated oval shape arranged along NE–SW trending lineament formed by the Koratti–Attur tectonic zone [2]. Both complexes share a similar setting with central syenite intrusion mantled with a discontinuous ring and/or crescentshaped suites of carbonatites, pyroxenites, gabbros, and dunites. In contrast to identical tectonic position and similar structure, the two complexes differ significantly in geochemistry and Sr–Nd–Pb–O–C isotope compositions. The Sevattur suite is derived from an enriched mantle source without significant post-emplacement modification whilst extensive hydrothermal overprint by crustal fluids must have occurred to result in the observed 13C–18O-enriched systematics reported for the Samalpatti carbonatites [3]. Some Samalpatti pyroxenites, though, show a clear mantle signature [3]. We report preliminary K–Ar age-data, that indicate a prolonged period of the magmatic activity in this area. Sevattur gabbro and pyroxenite (both Bt-fraction) as well as one Samalpatti Cr-rich silicocarbonatite (Amp-fraction) yielded the range of ages at 700–800 Ma, consistent with previous reports [see 3 for details]. The new K–Ar data from syenites display significantly younger ages of 560–576 Ma for Samalpatti and 510–540 Ma for Sevattur, regardless of the mineral fraction used (Bt or Kfs). The K–Ar results are being supplemented by systematic U–Pb analyses of zircons. If proven true, the age disparity would have profound consequences on our understanding of carbonatite evolution.
Magna, T., Rapprich, V., Wittke, A., Gussone, N., Upadhyay, D., Mikova, J., Pecskay, Z.
Calcium isotope systematics and K-Ar and U-Pb temporal constraints on the genesis of Sevattur Samalpatti carbonatite silicate alkaline complexes.
Carbonatite-alkaline rocks and associated mineral deposits , Dec. 8-11, abstract p. 34-35.
India
deposit - Samalpatti, Sevattur
Abstract: We present the first systematic survey of Ca isotope compositions in carbonatites and associated silicate rocks from Samalpatti and Sevattur, two Neoproterozoic complexes in Tamil Nadu, south India. Despite their close geographic proximity, their genesis and post-emplacement histories differ (Ackerman et al. 2017). The Sevattur complex appears to have been derived from an enriched mantle source with a limited post-magmatic disturbance. In contrast, carbonatites from Samalpatti show a record of extensive late-stage post-magmatic overprint, also apparent from unusually heavy C-O isotope compositions in a sub-suite of carbonatites (Ackerman et al. 2017). The mean ?44/40Ca = 0.69 ± 0.10‰ is slightly lighter than the average of fertile, unmetasomatized peridotites at ?44/40Ca = 0.95 ± 0.05‰ (Kang et al. 2017). This difference may attest to the general difference between carbonates and silicates (see Kang et al. 2017). It could also reflect Ca isotope fractionation between isotopically heavy silicate and isotopically light carbonate (e.g., John et al. 2012), though to a somewhat minor extent. This is supported by leaching experiments in this study where the extent of silicate-carbonate fractionation (44/40Casilicate-carbonate) has been investigated. The values at ~0.1-0.2‰ are expectedly lower than those reported earlier (~0.6‰; John et al. 2012) and may reflect high-temperature Ca isotope fractionation. The variability in ?44/40Ca values of carbonatites and silico-carbonatites from the Samalpatti complex is larger (0.70- 1.14‰) and appears to be in accord with extensive post-emplacement disturbance. Significant loss of REE and 13C-18O-enriched signature are combined with high ?44/40Ca values, which could reflect massive exchange with metasomatic aqueous fluids. The 40Kdecay correction was applied to K-rich rocks (syenites, monzonites). Given the antiquity of the complex dated at ca. ~800 Ma (Schleicher et al. 1997) and considering high-K/Ca character of some rocks, the resulting ?44/40Ca800 Myr correction was up to ~+1.2‰. In this regard, it is crucial to constrain the age history of the entire region. The nearby Hogenakal carbonatite body was dated at ~2.4 Ga which is much older than Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd age of Sevattur (Kumar et al. 1998) from the same fault system. We have acquired K-Ar mineral (K-feldspar, biotite, amphibole) and U-Pb zircon data from Sevattur and Samalpatti. The K-Ar ages span a range between ~800 and ~510 Ma (~800 Ma for amphiboles and biotites from silico-carbonatites and mafic silicate rocks and ~570-510 Ma for K-feldspars and biotites from syenites), dating two high-grade regional tectono-thermal overprint events, documented earlier. The complex nature of this process is indicated by concordant U-Pb zircon age at ~2.5 Ga yielded for a melatonalite, for which K-Ar biotite age of ~802 Ma was measured. This fits into the age bracket of basement of the Eastern Dharwar Craton. The age distribution bimodality at ~2.5 Ga and ~800 Ma has been found for several other samples, suggesting a pulsed thermal history of the area, associated with a significant overprint by fluids likely derived from the local crust. Particularly high U concentrations in zircons (thousands ppm), combined with a range of K-Ar ages, attest to such multi-episodic history.
Abstract: Cheetah’s Nechalacho rare earth deposits are located at Thor Lake, 110 kms southeast of Yellowknife, 8 kms north shore of the Hearne Channel on Great Slave Lake. The two principal deposits are the North T deposit, the focus of the current Stage 1 rare earth mining program, and the Nechalacho Tardiff deposit currently in the planning stages for Stage 2 mining. The North T deposit, at 101,000 tonnes grading 9.01% TREO, consists of a 4-metre thick layer of the light rare earth (LREE) mineral bastnaesite, which occurs in coarse grained to massive aggregates in a gangue of pure quartz. The ellipsoidal sub-zone is one of several concentric mineralogically-distinct zones in the ovoid North-T deposit, which is approximately 150 metres in diameter and 150 metres in depth. The bastnaesite sub-zone crops out on surface and dips inward before flattening out in the centre at an average depth of 30 metres. Open-cast extraction commenced in June of 2021, providing feed-stock ore which was processed by XRT sensor-based ore sorting technology which produced a high-grade bastnaesite concentrate for shipment to Hay River and ultimately to Cheetah’s Saskatoon will facility. Stage 2 will see the development of the much larger Tardiff deposit, one of several high-grade LREE sub-zones in the 94.7 million tonnes Nechalacho deposit. The mineralogy is similar to the North T deposit, consisting primarily of bastnaesite, with sub-ordinate REE minerals monazite and allanite. Cheetah has off-take agreements with the Norwegian firm REEtec for Stage 1 production of 1000 tonnes REE (ex-Ce)/year for an initial 5-year period, and an MOU with UCore Rare Metals Inc to supply rare-earth concentrate to their planned separation facility in Alaska.
Earth Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 491, pp. 148-159.
Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe
geothermometry
Abstract: The long-term stability of cratons has been attributed to low temperatures and depletion in iron and water, which decrease density and increase viscosity. However, steady-state thermal models based on heat flow and xenolith constraints systematically overpredict the seismic velocity-depth gradients in cratonic lithospheric mantle. Here we invert for the 1-D thermal structure and a depth distribution of metasomatic minerals that fit average Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves for the Archean Kaapvaal, Yilgarn and Slave cratons and the Proterozoic Baltic Shield below Finland. To match the seismic profiles, we need a significant amount of hydrous and/or carbonate minerals in the shallow lithospheric mantle, starting between the Moho and 70 km depth and extending down to at least 100-150 km. The metasomatic component can consist of 0.5-1 wt% water bound in amphibole, antigorite and chlorite, ?0.2 wt% water plus potassium to form phlogopite, or ?5 wt% CO2 plus Ca for carbonate, or a combination of these. Lithospheric temperatures that fit the seismic data are consistent with heat flow constraints, but most are lower than those inferred from xenolith geothermobarometry. The dispersion data require differences in Moho heat flux between individual cratons, and sublithospheric mantle temperatures that are 100-200?°C less beneath Yilgarn, Slave and Finland than beneath Kaapvaal. Significant upward-increasing metasomatism by water and CO2-rich fluids is not only a plausible mechanism to explain the average seismic structure of cratonic lithosphere but such metasomatism may also lead to the formation of mid-lithospheric discontinuities and would contribute to the positive chemical buoyancy of cratonic roots.
Abstract: Micas from mafic ultrapotassic rocks with lamproitic affinity from several localities of the Central Mediterranean region were studied through single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS); Mössbauer Spectroscopy (MöS), when feasible, was also applied to minimise the number of unknown variables and uncertainties. Lamproitic samples analysed cover the most important Central Mediterranean type localities, from Plan d'Albard (Western Alps) to Sisco (Corsica), Montecatini Val di Cecina and Orciatico (Tuscany, Italy) and Torre Alfina (Northern Latium, Italy). The studied crystals show distinctive chemical and structural features; all of them belong to the phlogopite-annite join and crystallise in the 1 M polytype, except for micas from Torre Alfina, where both 1 M and 2 M1 polytypes were found. Studied micas have variable but generally high F and Ti contents, with Mg/(Mg + Fe) ranging from ~ 0.5 to ~ 0.9; 2M1 crystals from Torre Alfina radically differ in chemical composition, showing high contents of Ti and Fe as well as of Al in both tetrahedra and octahedra, leading to distinctive structural distortions, especially in tetrahedral sites. SIMS data indicate that studied micas are generally dehydrogenated with OH contents ranging from ~ 0.2 apfu (atoms per formula unit) for Orciatico and Torre Alfina to ~ 1.4 for Plan d'Albard crystals; this feature is also testified by the length of the c parameter, which decreases with the loss of hydrogen and/or the increase of the F ? OH substitution. Chemical and structural data suggest that the entry of high charge octahedral cations is mainly balanced by an oxy mechanism and, to a lesser extent, by a M3 +,4 +-Tschermak substitution. Our data confirm that Ti preferentially partitions into the M2 site and that different Ti and F contents, as well as different K/Al values, are both dependant upon fH2O and the composition of magma rather than controlled by P and T crystallisation conditions. The obtained data help to discriminate among lamproite-like rocks formed within a complex geodynamic framework but still related to a destructive tectonic margin and evidence different trends for micas from the youngest Torre Alfina (Northern Latium) lamproites, referred to the Apennine orogeny and those of the older lamproites from Orciatico, Montecatini Val di Cecina (Tuscany), Western Alps, and Corsica, the latter referred to the Alpine orogeny. Phlogopite crystals from the older lamproites fall within the compositional and structural field of worldwide phlogopites from both within-plate and subduction-related settings. Phlogopite from the Plio-Pleistocene lamproite-like occurrence in Tuscany and Northern Latium, despite crystals with low Mg# of the Torre Alfina rock plot well within the general field of the other crystals in less evolved samples, follows a different evolution trend similar to that of shoshonites from Tuscany and Northern Latium. On this basis, we argue that the observed differences are inherited by slight differences in the magma compositions that are related with different genetic and evolution pathways.
Abstract: We present major and trace element compositions of mineral concentrates comprising garnet xenocrysts, ilmenite, phlogopite, spinel, zircon, and uncommon minerals (titanite, calzirtite, anatase, baddeleyite and pyrochlore) of a newly discovered Late Cretaceous kimberlite (U-Pb zircon age 90.0 ± 1.3 Ma; 2?) named Osvaldo França 1, located in the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province (APIP), southeastern Brazil. Pyrope grains are lherzolitic (Lherz-1, Lherz-2 and Lherz-3), harzburgitic (Harz-3) and wehrlitic (Wehr-2). The pyrope xenocrysts cover a wide mantle column in the subcratonic lithosphere (66-143 km; 20-43 kbar) at relatively low temperatures (811-875 °C). The shallowest part of this mantle is represented by Lherz-1 pyropes (20-32 kbar), which have low-Cr (Cr2O3 = 1.74-6.89 wt.%) and fractionated middle to heavy rare earth elements (MREE-HREE) pattern. The deepest samples are represented by Lherz-2, Lherz-3, Harz-3, and Wehr-2 pyropes (36-43 kbar). They contain high-Cr contents (Cr2O3 = 7.36-11.19 wt.%) and are characterized by sinusoidal (Lherz-2 and Wehr-2) and spoon-like (Lherz-3 and Harz-3) REE patterns. According to their REE and trace elements, pyrope xenocrysts have enriched nature (e.g., Ce and Yb vs. Cr2O3), indicating that the cratonic lithosphere has been affected by a silicate melt with subalkaline/tholeiite composition due to their low Zr, Ti and Y concentrations. Besides minerals with typical kimberlitic signatures, such as ilmenite and zircon, the exotic compositions of phlogopite and ulvöspinel suggest an enriched component in the magma source. The formation of rare mineral phases with strong enrichment of light-REE (LREE) and high field strength elements (HFSE) is attributed to the late-stage kimberlitic melt. We propose a tectonic model where a thermal anomaly, represented by the low-velocity seismic anomaly observed in P-wave seismic tomography images, supplied heat to activate the alkaline magmatism from a metasomatized cratonic mantle source during the late-stages of Gondwana fragmentation and consequent South Atlantic Ocean opening. The metasomatism recorded by mineral phases is a product of long-lived recycling of subducted oceanic plates since the Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano Orogeny) or even older collisional events, contributing to the exotic character of the Osvaldo França 1 kimberlite, as well as to the cratonic lithospheric mantle.
The basement of the Punta del Este Terrane (Uruguay): an African Mesoproterozoic fragment at the eastern border of the South American Rio de la Plat a craton.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 100, 2, pp. 289-304.
Abstract: We conducted a magnetotelluric (MT) study from Paleoproterozoic Rio de la Plata Craton, in Uruguay, toward Paleozoic?Mesozoic Paraná Basin, in Brazil. The 850?km?long MT transect comprises 35 evenly spaced broadband electromagnetic soundings sites. In the Paraná Basin, 11 additional long?period measurements were acquired to extend the maximum depth of investigation. All data were inverted using two? and three?dimensional approaches obtaining the electrical resistivity structure from the surface down to 200 km. The Rio de la Plata Craton is >200?km thick and resistive (~2,000 ?m). Its northern limit is electrically defined by a lithosphere scale lateral transition and lower crust conductive anomalies (1-10 ?m) interpreted as a Paleoproterozoic suture at the southern edge of Rivera?Taquarembó Block. The latter is characterized by an approximately 100?km thick and moderate resistive (>500 ?m) upper mantle. The Ibaré shear zone is another suture where an ocean?ocean subduction generated the 120?km thick and resistive (>1,000 ?m) São Gabriel juvenile arc. Proceeding northward, a 70? to 80?km thick, 150?km wide, and inclined resistive zone is imaged. This zone could be remnant of an oceanic lithosphere or island arcs accreted at the southern border of Paraná Basin. The MT transect terminates within the southern Paraná Basin where a 150? to 200?km?thick less resistive lithosphere (<1,000 ?m) may indicate refertilization processes during plate subduction and ocean closure in Neoproterozoic?Cambrian time. Our MT data support a tectonic model of NNE-SSW convergence for this segment of SW Gondwanaland.
Abstract: New high-resolution airborne magnetic data of Uruguay allowed constructing new maps concerning the spatial distribution of dyke swarms, main faults and other magnetic bodies, which compose the Uruguayan Shield. We combined geophysical analyses (vertical derivatives, upward continuation, Euler deconvolution), structural analyses of the magnetic maps and previous geological data in order to discriminate the main structural features of the Uruguayan Shield and contribute to a better understanding of its tectonic evolution. The magnetic maps revealed several outstanding features in the Uruguayan Shield. The Paleoproterozoic dyke swarm is larger, denser, more widespread and complex than originally thought, suggesting a possible plume origin. In addition, a new Mesozoic dyke swarm, as complex as the previous one, was identified crosscutting the Paleoproterozoic dyke swarm and the Neoproterozoic orogenic structures. Moreover, this swarm is connected to volcanic calderas in the Merín basin, and shows displacements along Neoproterozoic shear zones, in the magnetic maps, revealing its brittle reactivation during Mesozoic times. The new observations clarify how Proterozoic basement structures controlled the development of the Mesozoic rift. Paleoproterozoic dyke swarms were reactivated as normal faults and Neoproterozoic structures hindered the rift growth, deflecting the deformation in transcurrent movements. Meanwhile, the Mesozoic dyke swarm was developed in a perpendicular direction to the Neoproterozoic structures. Moreover, these findings contradict the current rift model for Uruguay and rise a new model in which the Mesozoic rift developed as two rift basins connected by a central transfer zone, generated by the reactivation of Dom Feliciano Belt structures, between the Sierra Ballena and Sarandí del Yí Shear Zones.
Canada Forum: Held Nov. 204, Joint Ventures-Joint Rewards. The resource industry and aboriginal development co, [email protected] 180p. binder $ 120.00
Discovery of kimberlite diatremes in the Kirkland Lake area, Ontario #1
The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Vol.89, No. 935, April p. 90. Abstract
Discovery of kimberlites in the Kirkland Lake area, northern Ontario, Canada. Part I: kimberlite discoveries, sampling, diamondcontent, age, emplacement
The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Exploration Mining Geology, Vol. 1, No. 4, October pp. 351-370
Harper, C.T., Van Breeman, O., Wodick,N., Pehrsson, S., Heaman, L., Hartlaub, R.
The Paleoproterozoic lithostructural history and thermotectonic reactivation of the Archean basement in southern Hearne domain of northeastern Saskatchewan.
GAC Annual Meeting Halifax May 15-19, Abstract 1p.
Precambrian Research, doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105703 in press available 80p. Pdf
Canada
geothermometry
Abstract: The northern Canadian Shield is comprised of multiple Archean cratons that were sutured by the late Paleoproterozoic to form the Canadian component of supercontinent Nuna. More than 2000 combined K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages from across the region reveal a stark contrast in upper and lower plate thermal responses to Nuna-forming events, with the Churchill Province in particular revealing near complete thermal reworking during the late Paleoproterozoic. We review the detailed cooling history for five regions that span the Churchill Province and Trans-Hudson orogen (THO): Thelon Tectonic Zone, South Rae, Reindeer Zone, South Hall Peninsula, and the Cape Smith Belt. The cooling patterns across Churchill Province are revealed in two >1500 km transects. At the plate scale, Churchill’s cooling history is dominated by THO accretionary and collisional events, during which it formed the upper plate. Cooling ages generally young from west to east across both southern and central Churchill, and latest cooling in the THO is 50 myr older in southernmost Churchill (Reindeer Zone) compared to eastern Churchill (Hall Peninsula), indicating diachronous thermal equilibration across 2000 km strike length of the THO. Churchill exhibits relatively high post-terminal THO cooling rates of ~4 °C/myr, which support other geological evidence for widespread rapid exhumation of the THO upper plate following terminal collision, potentially in response to lithospheric delamination.
Abstract: The Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO), formed from the convergence between the Superior craton and the composite Churchill Upper Plate (CUP), is one of the best-preserved examples of a collisional orogen in the Paleoproterozoic. Similar to modern collision systems such as the Himalayan orogen, it is characterized by a composite upper plate in which terrane accretion established a continental plateau that was tectonically and magmatically active for >100 myr. Our study presents new petrological and geochronological data for four samples collected in three lithotectonic domains of the south Rae craton (one of the CUP terranes). The results presented here allow us to re-define the previously proposed extent of THO reworking in the CUP and afford the opportunity to study and compare the evolution of various fragments that illustrate differing levels of a collapsed plateau in the CUP hinterland. The new data indicate that the south Rae craton locally preserves evidence for burial at 1.855-1.84 Ga with peak metamorphic conditions at approximately 790 °C and 9.5-12.5 kbar followed by rapid cooling and decompression melting (P < 6 kbar) at ca. 1.835-1.826 Ga. These results, which provide important and so far missing Pressure-Temperature-time (P-T-t) constraints on the evolution of the south Rae craton in the Northwest Territories at Trans-Hudson time, coupled with existing regional geochronological and geochemical data, are used to propose an updated model for the post-1.9 Ga THO collision and extensional collapse. Our results reveal that: i) initial thickening in the upper plate started at Snowbird time (ca. 1.94 Ga), then continued via Sask collision (with high-grade metamorphism recorded in the south Rae craton, ca. 1.85 Ga), and ended with Superior collision (ca. 1.83 Ga); ii) the extent of the THO structural and metamorphic overprint in the SW CUP is much broader across strike than previously recognized, and iii) T-t data in the south Rae are indicative of relatively fast cooling rates (8-25 °C/Ma) compared to other known Precambrian orogens. We suggest that the Paleoproterozoic THO represents the first record of a major ‘modern-style’ orogenic plateau collapse in Earth’s history.
Geological Society of London Special Publication Supercontinent Cycles through Earth History., Vol. 424, pp. 83-94.
United States, Canada
Supercontinents
Abstract: The link between observed episodicity in ore deposit formation and preservation and the supercontinent cycle is well established, but this general framework has not, however, been able to explain a lack of deposits associated with some accretionary orogens during specific periods of Earth history. Here we show that there are intriguing correlations between styles of orogenesis and specific mineral deposit types, in the context of the Nuna supercontinent cycle. Using animated global reconstructions of Nuna's assembly and initial breakup, and integrating extensive databases of mineral deposits, stratigraphy, geochronology and palaeomagnetism we are able to assess spatial patterns of deposit formation and preservation. We find that lode gold, volcanic-hosted-massive-sulphide and nickel-copper deposits peak during closure of Nuna's interior ocean but decline during subsequent peripheral orogenesis, suggesting that accretionary style is also important. Deposits such as intrusion-related gold, carbonate-hosted lead-zinc and unconformity uranium deposits are associated with the post-assembly, peripheral orogenic phase. These observations imply that the use of plate reconstructions to assess orogenic style, although challenging for the Precambrian, can be a powerful tool for mineral exploration targeting.
Abstract: The Nonacho Group comprises six formations of continental clastic rocks that were deposited between 1.91 and 1.83?Ga. The Nonacho Group is part of a broader assemblage of conglomerate and sandstone that was deposited atop the Rae craton in response to the amalgamation of Laurentia and supercontinent Nuna, but the details of its tectonic setting are contentious. This paper documents an outlier of Nonacho Group rocks ?50?km east of the main Nonacho basin. Field observations and LA-ICPMS (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology are integrated with previous studies of the main basin to better understand the group’s depositional history, provenance and tectonic setting. The lithology and detrital zircon age spectra of the outlier allow for its correlation to the upper two formations of the Nonacho Group. CA-ID-TIMS (chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry) analyses of two fragments of the youngest detrital zircon provide a maximum depositional age of 1901.0?±?0.9?Ma. A felsic volcanic cobble dated at ca. 2.38?Ga provides evidence of volcanism during the Arrowsmith orogeny. Detrital zircon dates recovered from the outlier (ca. 3.4-3.0, 2.7, 2.5-2.3 and 2.0-1.9?Ga) are consistent with derivation from topography of the Taltson and/or Thelon orogens on the western margin of the Rae craton. Taltson-Thelon (2.0 to 1.9?Ga) aged detritus is only abundant in the upper two formations of the Nonacho Group, marking a change in provenance from the lower formations. This change in provenance may have coincided with a period of renewed uplift and the unroofing of Taltson-Thelon plutons. The detrital zircon provenance and depositional age of the Nonacho Group is consistent with models that link its deposition to the Taltson and/or Thelon orogens. However, tectonism associated with the 1.9 to 1.8?Ga Snowbird and Trans-Hudson orogens to the east could also have affected basin formation or the change in provenance from the lower to upper Nonacho Group. This study highlights the importance of CA-ID-TIMS in establishing accurate and precise maximum depositional ages for sedimentary successions.
Geological Association of Canada Bookstore, https://gac.ca/publications/bookstore Special Paper 51, 216p. Prices 42.50 member, $75.00 non-member isbn:978-1-897095-89-8
Canada, Northwest Territories
Craton
Abstract: With its well-exposed geologic record from the Hadean Acasta gneiss complex through to Phanerozoic kimberlites, the Slave craton of northwestern Canada has long been a focus for research into early Earth evolution of both the crust and lithosphere. As a result, it has become one of the most extensively studied Archean cratons in the world. This multidisciplinary volume provides an authoritative overview of the Slave craton literally from the bottom up, integrating the nature of its lithosphere based on kimberlitic mantle samples with its upper crustal geology to provide a new model for its Archean assembly and cratonization. All aspects of Slave craton geology are covered, from the stratigraphy of its famous gold camps to the history of exploration and nature of its world-class diamondiferous kimberlite fields. Detailed and well-illustrated chapters cover its terranes and greenstone belts, magmatism, geophysical character, tectono-metamorphic evolution, and Paleoproterozoic marginal sequences. The book’s wealth of data and up-to-date bibliography provide a unique resource for understanding, researching and teaching Archean geology and subcrustal and cratonic evolution. It elegantly integrates diverse fields to provide one of the most comprehensive models for the craton and the protracted, multiphase formation of its diamond-bearing lithospheric root. (JK Note: the link above takes you to the GAC web site where Special Paper 51 can be purchased. Because the GAC only provides the abstract and a photo of the front page, I am providing a Table of Contents pdf.)
Destructive of the North Chin a craton: delamin ation or thermal/chemical erosion? Mineral chemistry and oxygen isotope insights from websterite xenoliths.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 111, 15p. Pdf
South America, Brazil, Minas Gerais
deposit - Coromandel
Abstract: In the midwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil, kimberlite intrusions, particularly kamafugite and alkaline complexes, occur along the NW-SE-oriented Alto Paranaíba structural high. Diamonds in this region were discovered in the Bagagem River and later in the alluvial deposits of the Santo Antônio do Bonito, Santo Inácio and Douradinho rivers. Diamond-bearing kimberlites observed in the region are the primary sources of diamond deposits, as in the case of the Vargem Bonita diggings-in the upper São Francisco River. However, the primary sources of the alluvial diamonds that occur in the Santo Antônio do Bonito, Santo Inácio, and Douradinho rivers have not been clarified. These diamond populations have characteristics common to all three drainage area, where large stones are frequently recovered. Diamond accumulation in the alluvium is due to the erosion and re-concentration of material from basal conglomerate of the Capacete Formation. There is evidence that the sources that fed the conglomerate are local diamond-bearing kimberlites of approximately 90-120 Ma underlying the Capacete Formation, which in an upper unit of the Mata da Corda Group. Recent fieldwork led to the location of a kimberlite intrusion in the Santo Inácio River Basin, southeast of Coromandel. The intrusion fulfills the requirements constituting a primary source of diamonds in the area.
New evidence from a calcite dolomite carbonatite dyke for the magmatic origin of the massive Bayan Obo ore bearing dolomite marble, Inner Mongolia China.
Le Bas, M.J., Xueming, Y., Taylor, R.N., Spiro, B., Milton, J.A., Peishan, Z.
New evidence from a calcite dolomite carbonatite dyke for the magmatic origin of the massive Bayan Obo ore bearing dolomite marble, Inner Mongolia, China.
Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 90, 3-4, pp. 223-248.
Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 109, 2, pp. 143-152.
Russia, Urals
Mineralogy
Abstract: A new picromerite-group mineral, nickelpicromerite, K2Ni(SO4)2 - 6H2O (IMA 2012-053), was found at the Vein #169 of the Ufaley quartz deposit, near the town of Slyudorudnik, Kyshtym District, Chelyabinsk area, South Urals, Russia. It is a supergene mineral that occurs, with gypsum and goethite, in the fractures of slightly weathered actinolite-talc schist containing partially vermiculitized biotite and partially altered sulfides: pyrrhotite, pentlandite, millerite, pyrite and marcasite. Nickelpicromerite forms equant to short prismatic or tabular crystals up to 0.07 mm in size and anhedral grains up to 0.5 mm across, their clusters or crusts up to 1 mm. Nickelpicromerite is light greenish blue. Lustre is vitreous. Mohs hardness is 2-2½. Cleavage is distinct, parallel to {10-2}. Dmeas is 2.20(2), Dcalc is 2.22 g cm?3. Nickelpicromerite is optically biaxial (+), ? = 1.486(2), ? = 1.489(2), ? = 1.494(2), 2Vmeas =75(10)°, 2Vcalc =76°. The chemical composition (wt.%, electron-microprobe data) is: K2O 20.93, MgO 0.38, FeO 0.07, NiO 16.76, SO3 37.20, H2O (calc.) 24.66, total 100.00. The empirical formula, calculated based on 14 O, is: K1.93Mg0.04Ni0.98S2.02O8.05(H2O)5.95. Nickelpicromerite is monoclinic, P21/c, a = 6.1310(7), b = 12.1863(14), c = 9.0076(10) Å, ? = 105.045(2)°, V = 649.9(1) Å3, Z = 2. Eight strongest reflections of the powder XRD pattern are [d,Å-I(hkl)]: 5.386--34(110); 4.312-46(002); 4.240-33(120); 4.085--100(012, 10-2); 3.685-85(031), 3.041-45(040, 112), 2.808-31(013, 20-2, 122), 2.368-34(13-3, 21-3, 033). Nickelpicromerite (single-crystal X-ray data, R = 0.028) is isostructural to other picromerite-group minerals and synthetic Tutton’s salts. Its crystal structure consists of [Ni(H2O)6]2+ octahedra linked to (SO4)2? tetrahedra via hydrogen bonds. K+ cations are coordinated by eight anions. Nickelpicromerite is the product of alteration of primary sulfide minerals and the reaction of the acid Ni-sulfate solutions with biotite.
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 31, pp. 13-143.
Russia, Kola Peninsula
deposit - Khibiny
Abstract: The new mineral alexkhomyakovite K6(Ca2Na)(CO3)5Cl?6H2O (IMA2015-013) occurs in a peralkaline pegmatite at Mt. Koashva, Khibiny alkaline complex, Kola peninsula, Russia. It is a hydrothermal mineral associated with villiaumite, natrite, potassic feldspar, pectolite, sodalite, biotite, lamprophyllite, titanite, fluorapatite, wadeite, burbankite, rasvumite, djerfisherite, molybdenite and an incompletely characterized Na-Ca silicate. Alexkhomyakovite occurs as equant grains up to 0.2 mm, veinlets up to 3 cm long and up to 1 mm thick and fine-grained aggregates replacing delhayelite. Alexkhomyakovite is transparent to translucent, colourless, white or grey, with vitreous to greasy lustre. It is brittle, the Mohs hardness is ca. 3. No cleavage was observed, the fracture is uneven. D meas = 2.25(1), D calc = 2.196 g cm?3. Alexkhomyakovite is optically uniaxial (-), ? = 1.543(2), ? = 1.476(2). The infrared spectrum is reported. The chemical composition [wt%, electron microprobe data, CO2 and H2O contents calculated for 5 (CO3) and 6 (H2O) per formula unit (pfu), respectively] is: Na2O 4.09, K2O 35.72, CaO 14.92, MnO 0.01, FeO 0.02, SO3 0.11, Cl 4.32, CO2 28.28, H2O 13.90, -O=Cl -0.98, total 100.39. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 9 metal cations pfu is K5.90Ca2.07Na1.03(CO3)5(SO4)0.01O0.05Cl0.95?6H2O. The numbers of CO3 groups and H2O molecules are based on structure data. Alexkhomyakovite is hexagonal, P63/mcm, a = 9.2691(2), c = 15.8419(4) Å, V = 1178.72(5) Å3 and Z = 2. The strongest reflections of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [d Å(I)(hkl)] are: 7.96(27)(002), 3.486(35)(113), 3.011(100)(114), 2.977(32)(211), 2.676(36)(300), 2.626(42)(213, 115), 2.206(26)(311) and 1.982(17)(008). The crystal structure (solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, R = 0.0578) is unique. It is based on (001) heteropolyhedral layers of pentagonal bipyramids (Ca,Na)O5(H2O)2 interconnected via carbonate groups of two types, edge-sharing ones and vertex-sharing ones. Ca and Na are disordered. Ten-fold coordinated K cations centre KO6Cl(H2O)3 polyhedra on either side of the heteropolyhedral layer. A third type of carbonate group and Cl occupy the interlayer. The mineral is named in honour of the outstanding Russian mineralogist Alexander Petrovich Khomyakov (1933-2012).
Neues Jahbuch fur Mineralogie, Vol. 196, 3, pp. 193-196.
Europe, Spain
lamproite
Abstract: Al analogue of chayesite (with Al > Fe3+) was found in a lamproite from Cancarix, SE Spain. The mineral forms green thick-tabular crystals up to 0.4 mm across in cavities. The empirical formula derived from EMP measurements and calculated on the basis of 17 Mg + Fe + Al + Si apfu is (K0.75 Na0.20 Ca0.11)Mg3.04 Fe0.99 Al1.18 Si11.80 O30. The crystal structure was determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data ( R = 2.38%). The mineral is hexagonal, space group P 6/ mcc, a = 10.09199(12), c = 14.35079(19) Å, V = 1265.78(3) Å3, Z = 2. Fe is predominantly divalent. Al is mainly distributed between the octahedral A site and the tetrahedral T 2 site. The crystal chemical formula derived from the structure refinement is C (K0.73 Na0.16 Ca0.11) B (Na0.02)4 A (Mg0.42 Al0.29 Fe0.29)2 T 2(Mg0.71 Fe0.16 Al0.13)3 T 1(Si0.985 Al0.015)12 O30.
Abstract: The new eudialyte-group mineral sergevanite, ideally Na15(Ca3Mn3)(Na2Fe)Zr3Si26O72(OH)3•H2O, was discovered in highly agpaitic foyaite from the Karnasurt Mountain, Lovozero alkaline massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. The associated minerals are microcline, albite, nepheline, arfvedsonite, aegirine, lamprophyllite, fluorapatite, steenstrupine-(Ce), ilmenite, and sphalerite. Sergevanite forms yellow to orange-yellow anhedral grains up to 1.5 mm across and the outer zones of some grains of associated eudialyte. Its luster is vitreous, and the streak is white. No cleavage is observed. The Mohs' hardness is 5. Density measured by equilibration in heavy liquids is 2.90(1) g/cm3. Calculated density is equal to 2.906 g/cm3. Sergevanite is nonpleochroic, optically uniaxial, positive, with ? = 1.604(2) and ? = 1.607(2) (? = 589 nm). The infrared spectrum is given. The chemical composition of sergevanite is (wt.%; electron microprobe, H2O determined by HCN analysis): Na2O 13.69, K2O 1.40, CaO 7.66, La2O3 0.90, Ce2O3 1.41, Pr2O3 0.33, Nd2O3 0.64, Sm2O3 0.14, MnO 4.15, FeO 1.34, TiO2 1.19, ZrO2 10.67, HfO2 0.29, Nb2O5 1.63, SiO2 49.61, SO3 0.77, Cl 0.23, H2O 4.22, -O=Cl -0.05, total 100.22. The empirical formula (based on 25.5 Si atoms pfu, in accordance with structural data) is H14.46Na13.64K0.92Ca4.22Ce0.27La0.17Nd0.12Pr0.06Sm0.02Mn1.81Fe2+0.58Ti0.46Zr2.67Hf0.04Nb0.38Si25.5S0.30Cl0.20O81.35. The crystal structure was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The new mineral is trigonal, space group R3, with a = 14.2179(1) Å, c = 30.3492(3) Å, V = 5313.11(7) Å3, and Z = 3. In the structure of sergevanite, Ca and Mn are ordered in the six-membered ring of octahedra (at the sites M11 and M12), and Na dominates over Fe2+ at the M2 site. The strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [d, Å (I, %) (hkl)] are: 7.12 (70) (110), 5.711 (43) (202), 4.321 (72) (205), 3.806 (39) (033), 3.551 (39) (220, 027), 3.398 (39) (313), 2.978 (95) (?forumla?), 2.855 (100) (404). Sergevanite is named after the Sergevan' River, which is near the discovery locality.
Abstract: The mineralogy of carbonatites reflects both the diversity of the sources of their parent magmas and their unusual chemistry. Carbonatites contain diverse suites of both primary magmatic minerals and later hydrothermal products. We present a summary of the variety of minerals found in carbon-atites, and note the economic importance of some of them, particularly those that are major sources of "critical elements", such as Nb and rare earth elements (REEs), which are essential for modern technological applications. Selected mineral groups are then discussed in detail: the REE carbonates, the alkali-rich ephemeral minerals that are rarely preserved but that may be important in the petrogenesis of carbonatites and their metasomatic haloes in adjacent rocks, and the Nb-rich oxides of the pyrochlore supergroup.-
Exploration and discovery of the Chidliak kimberlite province, Baffin Island, Nunavut: Canada's newest diamond district.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, Special Issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of India,, Vol. 2, pp. 209-227.
U-Pb geochronology and Sr/Nd isotope compositions of groundmass perovskite from the newly discovered Jurassic Chidliak kimberlite field, Baffin Island, Canada.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 415, April pp. 183-189.
Abstract: Kimberlites are mantle-derived ultramafic rocks preserved in volcanic and sub-volcanic edifices and are the main primary source of diamonds. The temperatures of formation, transport, eruption and deposition remain poorly constrained despite their importance for understanding the petrological and thermodynamic properties of kimberlite magmas and styles of volcanic eruption. Here, we present measured values of Colour Alteration Indices (CAI) for conodonts recovered from 76 Paleozoic carbonate xenoliths found within 11 pipes from the Chidliak kimberlite field on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The dataset comprises the largest range of CAI values (1.5 to 8) and the highest CAI values reported to date for kimberlite-hosted xenoliths. Thermal models for cooling of the Chidliak kimberlite pipes and synchronous heating of conodont-bearing xenoliths indicate time windows of 10–20 000 h and, for these short time windows, the measured CAI values indicate heating of the xenoliths to temperatures of 225 to >925 ?C. We equate these temperatures with the minimum temperatures of the conduit-filling kimberlite deposit (i.e. emplacement temperature, TE). The majority of the xenoliths record CAI values of between 5 and 6.5 suggesting heating of xenoliths to temperatures of 460 ?C–735 ?C. The highest CAI values are consistent with being heated to 700 ?C–925 ?C and establish the minimum conditions for welding or formation of clastogenic kimberlite deposits. Lastly, we use TE variations within and between individual pipes, in conjunction with the geology of the conduit-filling deposits, to constrain the styles of explosive volcanic eruption.
A tale of two pipes: using whole rock geochemistry to see through alteration and contamination at the CH-6 & CH-7 kimberlites, Chidliak kimberlite province, Baffin Island, Nunavut.
Abstract: Kimberlite pipes from Chidliak, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada host surface-derived Paleozoic carbonate xenoliths containing conodonts. Conodonts are phosphatic marine microfossils that experience progressive, cumulative and irreversible colour changes upon heating that are experimentally calibrated as a conodont colour alteration index (CAI). CAI values permit us to estimate the temperatures to which conodont-bearing rocks have been heated. Conodonts have been recovered from 118 samples from 89 carbonate xenoliths collected from 12 of the pipes and CAI values within individual carbonate xenoliths show four types of CAI distributions: (1) CAI values that are uniform throughout the xenolith; (2) lower CAIs in core of a xenolith than the rim; (3) CAIs that increase from one side of the xenolith to the other; and, (4) in one xenolith, higher CAIs in the xenolith core than at the rim. We have used thermal models for post-emplacement conductive cooling of kimberlite pipes and synchronous heating of conodont-bearing xenoliths to establish the temperature-time history of individual xenoliths within the kimberlite bodies. Model results suggest that the time-spans for xenoliths to reach the peak temperatures recorded by CAIs varies from hours for the smallest xenoliths to 2 or 3 years for the largest xenoliths. The thermal modelling shows the first three CAI patterns to be consistent with in situ conductive heating of the xenoliths coupled to the cooling host kimberlite. The fourth pattern remains an anomaly.
Kimberlites and diamonds in the Northwest Territories -explorationhighlights.
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin (CIM Bulletin) , Annual Meeting Abstracts approximately 10 lines, Vol. 86, No. 968, March POSTER ABSTRACT p. 68.
Northwest Territories kimberlites and diamonds: exploration highlights andimplications.
Mid-continent diamonds Geological Association of Canada (GAC)-Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) Symposium ABSTRACT volume, held Edmonton May, pp. 89-94.
Mineralogy and Petrology, June 14, DOI:10.1007/ s0710-018 -0578-7, 12p.
Canada, Nunavut
deposit - Chidliak
Abstract: Exploration for diamond-bearing kimberlites in the Chidliak project area by Peregrine Diamonds has generated a grid-like till sampling pattern across four discrete areas of interest totalling 402 km2 that is densely populated with research-grade compositional data for 10,743 mantle-derived Cr-pyrope garnets. The available dataset is well suited to statistical analysis, in part due to the relatively unbiased spatial coverage. Previous workers showed empirically that the TiO2 and Mn thermometry (Ti-TMn) attributes of Cr-pyrope populations at the Chidliak project may serve as source-specific “fingerprints”. In this work, we employ a simplified version of the multivariate Mahalanobis distance technique to formally examine the variability of, and differences between, Ti-TMn attributes of Cr-pyrope subpopulations recovered from a Laurentide-age glaciated terrain that also contains 30 known kimberlites within the four areas of interest. We show the simplified Mahalanobis distance approach enables accurate discrimination of Cr-pyrope subpopulations with subtly to distinctly different Ti-TMn attributes, and permits proper demarcation of their respective kimberlite source(s), specifically in areas with straightforward glacial histories. Redistribution and blending of Cr-pyrope subpopulations from known kimberlite sources is also observed, and typifies areas at Chidliak with complex late-glacial histories. Our results support <1 km horizontal scale subtle to obvious variability in the proportions of TiO2-rich and high-temperature (> 1100 °C) Cr-pyropes between closely spaced kimberlite source(s) and also between physically adjacent magma batches within single kimberlite pipes. The local scale variability is attributed to protokimberlite fluid or melt interacting with, and metasomatizing discrete conduits within, the ambient diamond-facies peridotitic mantle at times closely preceding eruption of kimberlite magma batches at Chidliak.
Abstract: Most critical raw materials, such as the rare-earth elements (REEs), are starting products in long manufacturing supply chains. Unlike most consumers, geoscientists can become involved in responsible sourcing, including best environmental and social practices, because geology is related to environmental impact factors such as energy requirements, resource efficiency, radioactivity and the amount of rock mined. The energy and material inputs and the emissions and waste from mining and processing can be quantified, and studies for REEs show little difference between ‘hard rocks’, such as carbonatites, and easily leachable ion-adsorption clays. The reason is the similarity in the embodied energy in the chemicals used for leaching, dissolution and separation.
Rosenthal, A., Yaxley, G.M., Crichton, W.A., Kovacs, I.J., Spandler, C., Hermann, J., Sandorne, J.K., Rose-Koga, E., Pelleter, A-A.
Phase relations and melting of nominally 'dry' residual eclogites with variable CaO/Na2O from 3 to 5 Gpa and 1250 to 1500C; implications for refertilisation of upwelling heterogeneous mantle.
Abstract: Geochemical characterization including mineralogical measurements and kinetic testing was completed on samples from the Montviel carbonatite deposit, located in Quebec (Canada). Three main lithological units representing both waste and ore grades were sampled from drill core. A rare earth element (REE) concentrate was produced through a combination of gravity and magnetic separation. All samples were characterized using different mineralogical techniques (i.e., quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy (QEMSCAN), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS)) in order to quantify modal mineralogy, liberation, REE deportment and composition of REE-bearing phases. The REE concentrate was then submitted for kinetic testing (weathering cell) in order to investigate the REE leaching potential. The mineralogical results indicate that: (i) the main REE-bearing minerals in all samples are burbankite, kukharenkoite-Ce, monazite, and apatite; (ii) the samples are dominated by REE-free carbonates (i.e., calcite, ankerite, and siderite); and (iii) LREE is more abundant than HREE. Grades of REE minerals, sulfides and oxides are richer in the concentrate than in the host lithologies. The geochemical test results show that low concentrations of light REE are leached under kinetic testing conditions (8.8-139.6 ?g/L total light REE). These results are explained by a low reactivity of the REE-bearing carbonates in the kinetic testing conditions, low amounts of REE in solids, and by precipitation of secondary REE minerals.
Peltonen, P., Manttari, I., Huhma, H., Whitehouse, M.J.
Multi stage origin of the lower crust of the Karelian craton from 3.5 to 1.7 Ga based on isotopic ages of kimberlite derived mafic granulite xenoliths.
Precambrian Research, Vol. 147, 1-2, June 10, pp. 107-123.
Lehtonen, M., O'Brien, H., Peltonen, P., Kukkonen, I., Ustinov, V., Verzhak, V.
Mantle xenocrysts from the Arkangelskaya kimberlite (Lomonosov); constraints on the composition and thermal state of the Diamondiferous lithospheric mantle.
Zozulya, D.R., O'Brien, H., Peltonen, P., Lehtonen, M.
Thermobarometry of mantle derived garnets and pyroxenes of Kola region ( NW Russia): lithosphere composition, thermal regime and diamond prospectivity.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, Vol. 81, pp. 143-158.
Zozulya, D.R., O'Brien, H., Peltonen, P., Lehtonen, M.
Thermobarometry of mantle derived garnets and pyroxenes of Kola region ( NW Russia): lithosphere composition, thermal regime and diamond prospectivity.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, Vol. 81, pp. 143-158.
Maier, W.D., Peltonen, P., McDonald, I., Barnes, S.J., Barnes, S-J., Hatton, C., Viljoen, F.
The concentration of platinum group elements and gold in southern African and Karelian kimberlite hosted mantle xenoliths: implications for the noble metal content of the Earth's mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, 14p.
Europe, Finland
deposit - Kaavi
Abstract: We present high-precision isotope dilution data for Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd and Re in Group I and Group II kimberlites from the Karelian craton, as well as 2 samples of the Premier Group I kimberlite pipe from the Kaapvaal craton. The samples have, on average, 1.38 ppb Pt and 1.33 ppb Pd, with Pt/Pd around unity. These PGE levels are markedly lower, by as much as 80%, than those reported previously for kimberlites from South Africa, Brazil and India, but overlap with PGE results reported recently from Canadian kimberlites. Primitive-mantle-normalised chalcophile element patterns are relatively flat from Os to Pt, but Cu, Ni and, somewhat less so, Au are enriched relative to the PGE (e.g., Cu/Pd > 25.000). Pd/Ir ratios are 3,6 on average, lower than in most other mantle melts. The PGE systematics can be largely explained by two components, (i) harzburgite/lherzolite detritus of the SCLM with relatively high IPGE (Os-Ir-Ru)/PPGE (Rh-Pt-Pd) ratios, and (ii) a melt component that has high PPGE/IPGE ratios. By using the concentrations of iridium in the kimberlites as a proxy for the proportion of mantle detritus in the magma, we estimate that the analysed kimberlites contain 3–27% entrained and partially dissolved detritus from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle, consistent with previous estimates of kimberlites elsewhere (Tappe S. et al., 2016, Chem. Geol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.08.019). The other major component in the samples is melt, modelled to contain an average of 0.85 ppb Pt and 1.09 ppb Pd. Assuming that Group II kimberlites are derived from relatively metasomatised SCLM, our data suggest that the metasomatised Karelian SCLM is relatively poor in Pt and Pd. If our data are representative of other Group II kimberlites elsewhere, this result could imply that the PGE enrichment in certain continental large igneous provinces, including Bushveld, is not derived from melting of metasomatised SCLM.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 216, pp. 358-371.
Europe, Finland
deposit - Karelian
Abstract: We present high-precision isotope dilution data for Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd and Re in Group I and Group II kimberlites from the Karelian craton, as well as 2 samples of the Premier Group I kimberlite pipe from the Kaapvaal craton. The samples have, on average, 1.38 ppb Pt and 1.33 ppb Pd, with Pt/Pd around unity. These PGE levels are markedly lower, by as much as 80%, than those reported previously for kimberlites from South Africa, Brazil and India, but overlap with PGE results reported recently from Canadian kimberlites. Primitive-mantle-normalised chalcophile element patterns are relatively flat from Os to Pt, but Cu, Ni and, somewhat less so, Au are enriched relative to the PGE (e.g., Cu/Pd > 25.000). Pd/Ir ratios are 3,6 on average, lower than in most other mantle melts. The PGE systematics can be largely explained by two components, (i) harzburgite/lherzolite detritus of the SCLM with relatively high IPGE (Os-Ir-Ru)/PPGE (Rh-Pt-Pd) ratios, and (ii) a melt component that has high PPGE/IPGE ratios. By using the concentrations of iridium in the kimberlites as a proxy for the proportion of mantle detritus in the magma, we estimate that the analysed kimberlites contain 3-27% entrained and partially dissolved detritus from the sub-continental lithospheric mantle, consistent with previous estimates of kimberlites elsewhere (Tappe S. et al., 2016, Chem. Geol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.08.019). The other major component in the samples is melt, modelled to contain an average of 0.85 ppb Pt and 1.09 ppb Pd. Assuming that Group II kimberlites are derived from relatively metasomatised SCLM, our data suggest that the metasomatised Karelian SCLM is relatively poor in Pt and Pd. If our data are representative of other Group II kimberlites elsewhere, this result could imply that the PGE enrichment in certain continental large igneous provinces, including Bushveld, is not derived from melting of metasomatised SCLM.
Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Finland, Vol. 73, 1-2, pp. 47-58.
Europe, Finland
deposit - Lahtojoki
Abstract: Eleven relatively large (diameter 1-2 mm) zircon grains extracted from the Lahtojoki kimberlite pipe (Eastern Finland Kimberlite Province) have been analysed by the ion microprobe NORDSIM for their U- and Pb- isotopic composition. The 207Pb/206Pb ages fall into two concordant age groups: 2.7 Ga and 1.8 Ga. Discordant ages between these two groups are believed to result from partial resetting of Archaean grains in the 1.8 Ga thermal event. Since other datingmethods imply that kimberlites emplaced c. 0.6 Ga ago it is clear that the analysed zircons are xenocrysts inherited from older sources and do not provide the age of the kimberlite magmatism. Their unusual size and morphology, together with very low U- and Pb-concentrations, suggest, however, that these zircon grains are not derived from typical Archaean gneisses. More likely, they originate from lower crustal mafic pegmatites and from hydrous coarse-grained veins within the uppermost lithospheric mantle. The predominance of 1.8 Ga old xenocrystic grains, together with the recovery of mafic granulite xenoliths of similar age in the kimberlites (Hölttä et al. 2000), emphasises the importance of post-collisional lower crustal growth and reworking in central Fennoscandia.
Sanatmaria-Perez, D., Ruiz-Fuertes, J., Pena-Alvarez, M., Chulia-Jordan, R., Marquerno, T., Zimmer, D., Guterrez-Cano, V., Macleod, S., Gregoryanz, E., Popescue, C., Rodriguez-Herandez, P., Munoz, A.
Abstract: Calcium carbonate is a relevant constituent of the Earth’s crust that is transferred into the deep Earth through the subduction process. Its chemical interaction with calcium-rich silicates at high temperatures give rise to the formation of mixed silicate-carbonate minerals, but the structural behavior of these phases under compression is not known. Here we report the existence of a dense polymorph of Ca5(Si2O7)(CO3)2 tilleyite above 8 GPa. We have structurally characterized the two phases at high pressures and temperatures, determined their equations of state and analyzed the evolution of the polyhedral units under compression. This has been possible thanks to the agreement between our powder and single-crystal XRD experiments, Raman spectroscopy measurements and ab-initio simulations. The presence of multiple cation sites, with variable volume and coordination number (6-9) and different polyhedral compressibilities, together with the observation of significant amounts of alumina in compositions of some natural tilleyite assemblages, suggests that post-tilleyite structure has the potential to accommodate cations with different sizes and valencies.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, Vol. 149, pp. 215-234.
Africa, Cameroon
subduction
Abstract: High- to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic assemblages consisting of garnet-omphacitic clinopyroxene bearing mafic rocks have been identified within the Paleoproterozoic Nyong Group in SW Cameroon, at the northwestern margin of the Archean Congo craton. These rocks were investigated in detail and for the first time evidence for eclogite facies metamorphism at ca 25?kbar and 850?°C is provided. A clockwise P-T path with nearly isothermal decompression (ITD) is deduced from mineral zoning and textural relationships characterized by mineral recrystallization and multi-layered coronitic overgrowths of plagioclase and clinopyroxene surrounding garnet porphyroblasts. These P-T conditions imply a burial depth greater than 90?km, at lower geothermal gradient of ca 10?°C/km. The geochemical signature of ten representative rock samples show that two groups of eclogite facies rocks genetically originate from mostly basaltic and basaltic andesite compositions, with a characteristic upper mantle-derived tholeiitic trend. Moreover, their chondrite and MORB normalized REE and trace element concentrations are characterized by nearly flat REE patterns with very little to no Eu anomaly, (La/Sm)N???1 and Zr/Nb???10, as well as a gradual depletion from LREE to HREE with also very little to no Eu anomaly, but (La/Sm)N < 1, Zr/Nb > 10 and negative anomalies in Th, K, Nb, Ta, Sr, Zr and Ti consistent with mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) contaminated by a subduction component or by a crustal component. Previous available geochronological data coupled with our new petrological, mineralogical and geochemical findings clearly indicate that the eclogite facies metabasites from the Eburnean Nyong Group between 2100 and 2000 Ma represent one of the oldest subducted oceanic slab or trace of a suture zone so far recorded within the West Central African Fold Belt (WCAFB). The geodynamic implications of these eclogites suggest a subduction-related process followed by a rapid exhumation of their protoliths, therefore, providing critical information corroborating that plate tectonic processes operated during the Paleoproterozoic.
Science China Earth Sciences, Vol. 58, 5, pp. 649-675.
China
Craton, North China
Abstract: A map of major Precambrian mafic dyke swarms and related units in the North China Craton is compiled, and the features and geological implications of these swarms are demonstrated. The Archean dyke swarms are available to portray the early crustal growth and cratonization. The middle Paleoproterozoic (2200-1850 Ma) swarms and related magmatic series could constrain the tectonic evolution: They approve that the craton was amalgamated by two sub-cratons. The late Paleoproterozoic (1800-1600 Ma), Mesoproterozoic (1400-1200 Ma) and Neoproterozoic (1000-800 Ma) series swarms are important in paleogeographic reconstruction: they indicate that North China might have connected with some of the North European and North American cratons during Proterozoic. Dyke swarms are not only geological timescales and tectonic markers but also evolution indicators of lithospheric mantle: they imply a rejuvenation of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle of North China at 1780-1730 Ma. These swarms occurred with several rifts, including the Hengling (2200-1970 Ma), Xuwujia (1970-1880 Ma), Xiong’er (1800-1600 Ma), Yan-Liao (1730-1200 Ma), and Xu-Huai (1000-800 Ma). Among them, the Xuwujia rift was possibly continental arc associated; whereas the others were intra-continental. In addition, the Xiong’er and Xu-Huai rifts were possibly triple junctions along the present southern and southeastern margins of the Craton, respectively. Different tectonic settings of these rifts and dyke swarms would result in diversified series of ore deposits.
Abstract: Supercontinent Pangea was preceded by the formation of Gondwana, a “megacontinent” about half the size of Pangea. There is much debate, however, over what role the assembly of the precursor megacontinent played in the Pangean supercontinent cycle. Here we demonstrate that the past three cycles of supercontinent amalgamation were each preceded by ~200 m.y. by the assembly of a megacontinent akin to Gondwana, and that the building of a megacontinent is a geodynamically important precursor to supercontinent amalgamation. The recent assembly of Eurasia is considered as a fourth megacontinent associated with future supercontinent Amasia. We use constraints from seismology of the deep mantle for Eurasia and paleogeography for Gondwana to develop a geodynamic model for megacontinent assembly and subsequent supercontinent amalgamation. As a supercontinent breaks up, a megacontinent assembles along the subduction girdle that encircled it, at a specific location where the downwelling is most intense. The megacontinent then migrates along the girdle where it collides with other continents to form a supercontinent. The geometry of this model is consistent with the kinematic transitions from Rodinia to Gondwana to Pangea.
Nature of the Mesozoic lithospheric mantle and tectonic decoupling beneath the Dabie Orogen, central China. Evidence from 40Ar 39Ar geochronology, Sr/Nd, Pb
Chemical Geology, Vol. 220, 3-4, pp. 165-189.
Asia, China
Geochronology - early Cretaceous mafic igneous rocks
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 519, pp. 1-11.
Mantle
olivine
Abstract: Velocity and density jumps across the 410-km seismic discontinuity generally indicate olivine contents of ?30 to 50 vol.% on the basis of the elastic properties of anhydrous olivine and wadsleyite, which is considerably less than the ?60% olivine in the widely accepted pyrolite model for the upper mantle. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that water dissolved in olivine and wadsleyite affects their elastic properties in ways that can reconcile the pyrolitic model with seismic observations. In order to more fully constrain the olivine content of the upper mantle near the 410-km discontinuity, and to place constraints on the mantle water content at this depth, we determined the full elasticity of hydrous wadsleyite at the P-T conditions of the discontinuity based on density functional theory calculations. Together with previous determinations for the effect of water on olivine elasticity, we simultaneously modeled the density and seismic velocity jumps (??, , ) across the olivine-wadsleyite transition. Our models allow for several scenarios that can well reproduce the density and seismic velocity jumps across the 410-km discontinuity when compared to globally averaged seismic models. When the water content of olivine and wadsleyite is assumed to be equal as in a simple binary system, our modeling indicates a best fit for low water contents (<0.1 wt.%) with an olivine proportion of ?50%, suggesting a relatively dry, non-pyrolitic mantle at depths of the 410-km discontinuity. However, our modeling can be reconciled with a pyrolitic mantle if the water content in wadsleyite is ?0.9 wt.% and that in olivine is at its storage capacity of ?500-1500 ppm. The result would be consistent with a hydrous melt phase produced at depths just above the phase transition.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 519, pp. 1-11.
Mantle
boundary
Abstract: Velocity and density jumps across the 410-km seismic discontinuity generally indicate olivine contents of ?30 to 50 vol.% on the basis of the elastic properties of anhydrous olivine and wadsleyite, which is considerably less than the ?60% olivine in the widely accepted pyrolite model for the upper mantle. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that water dissolved in olivine and wadsleyite affects their elastic properties in ways that can reconcile the pyrolitic model with seismic observations. In order to more fully constrain the olivine content of the upper mantle near the 410-km discontinuity, and to place constraints on the mantle water content at this depth, we determined the full elasticity of hydrous wadsleyite at the P-T conditions of the discontinuity based on density functional theory calculations. Together with previous determinations for the effect of water on olivine elasticity, we simultaneously modeled the density and seismic velocity jumps (??, , ) across the olivine-wadsleyite transition. Our models allow for several scenarios that can well reproduce the density and seismic velocity jumps across the 410-km discontinuity when compared to globally averaged seismic models. When the water content of olivine and wadsleyite is assumed to be equal as in a simple binary system, our modeling indicates a best fit for low water contents (<0.1 wt.%) with an olivine proportion of ?50%, suggesting a relatively dry, non-pyrolitic mantle at depths of the 410-km discontinuity. However, our modeling can be reconciled with a pyrolitic mantle if the water content in wadsleyite is ?0.9 wt.% and that in olivine is at its storage capacity of ?500-1500 ppm. The result would be consistent with a hydrous melt phase produced at depths just above the phase transition.
Earth and Planetary Letters, Vol.. 553, 116602, 12p. Pdf
Mantle
cratons
Abstract: A number of possible hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs), typically characterized by ?2-6% reductions in seismic shear wave velocity (VS) at depths of 60 km to ?150 km in the cratonic sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). One such hypothesis is the presence of low-shear wave velocity, hydrous and carbonate mineral phases. Although, the presence of hydrous silicates and carbonates can cause a reduction in the shear wave velocity of mantle domains, the contribution of volatile metasomatism to the origins of MLDs has remained incompletely evaluated. To assess the metasomatic origin of MLDs, we compiled experimental phase assemblages, phase proportions, and phase compositions from the literature in peridotite + H2O, peridotite + CO2, and peridotite + H2O + CO2 systems at P-T conditions where hydrous silicate and/or carbonate minerals are stable. By comparing the experimental assemblages with the compiled bulk peridotite compositions for cratons, we bracket plausible proportions and compositions of hydrous silicate and carbonate mineral phases that can be expected in cratonic SCLMs. Based on the CaO and K2O contents of cratonic peridotite xenoliths and the estimated upper limit of CO2 content in SCLM, ??10 vol.% pargasitic amphibole, ??2.1 vol.% phlogopite and ??0.2 vol.% magnesite solid solution can be stable in the SCLM. We also present new elasticity data for the pargasite end member of amphibole based on first principles simulations for more accurate estimates of aggregate VS for metasomatized domains in cratonic mantle. Using the bracketed phase compositions, phase proportions, and updated values of elastic constants for relevant mineral end members, we further calculate aggregate VS at MLD depths for three seismic stations in the northern continental U.S. Depending on the choice of background wave speeds of unmetasomatized peridotite and the cratonic geotherm, the composition and abundance of volatile-bearing mineral phases bracketed here can explain as much as 2.01 to 3.01% reduction in VS. While various craton formation scenarios allow formation of the amphibole and phlogopite abundances bracketed here, presence of volatile-bearing phases in an average cratonic SCLM composition cannot explain the entire range of velocity reductions observed at MLDs. Other possible velocity reduction mechanisms thus must be considered to explain the full estimated range of shear wave speed reduction at MLD depths globally.
Abstract: A plausible origin of the seismically observed mid-lithospheric discontinuity (MLD) in the subcontinental lithosphere is mantle metasomatism. The metasomatized mantle is likely to stabilize hydrous phases such as amphiboles. The existing electrical conductivity data on amphiboles vary significantly. The electrical conductivity of hornblendite is much higher than that of tremolite. Thus, if hornblendite truly represents the amphibole varieties in MLD regions, then it is likely that amphibole will cause high electrical conductivity anomalies at MLD depths. However, this is inconsistent with the magnetotelluric observations across MLD depths. Hence, to better understand this discrepancy in electrical conductivity data of amphiboles and to evaluate whether MLD could be caused by metasomatism, we determined the electrical conductivity of a natural metasomatized rock sample. The metasomatized rock sample consists of ~87% diopside pyroxene, ~9% sodium-bearing tremolite amphibole, and ~3% albite feldspar. We collected the electrical conductivity data at ~3.0 GPa, i.e., the depth relevant to MLD. We also spanned a temperature range between 400 to 1000 K. We found that the electrical conductivity of this metasomatized rock sample increases with temperature. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity exhibits two distinct regimes. At low temperatures <700 K, the electrical conductivity is dominated by the conduction in the solid state. At temperatures >775 K, the conductivity increases, and it is likely to be dominated by the conduction of aqueous fluids due to partial dehydration. The main distinction between the current study and the prior studies on the electrical conductivity of amphiboles or amphibole-bearing rocks is the sodium (Na) content in amphiboles of the assemblage. Moreover, it is likely that the higher Na content in amphiboles leads to higher electrical conductivity. Pargasite and edenite amphiboles are the most common amphibole varieties in the metasomatized mantle, and our study on Na-bearing tremolite is the closest analog of these amphiboles. Comparison of the electrical conductivity results with the magnetotelluric observations constrains the amphibole abundance at MLD depths to <1.5%. Such a low-modal proportion of amphiboles could only reduce the seismic shear wave velocity by 0.4-0.5%, which is significantly lower than the observed velocity reduction of 2-6%. Thus, it might be challenging to explain both seismic and magnetotelluric observations at MLD simultaneously.
Abstract: The South American platform is the stable part of the South American plate, unaffected by the orogenesis of the Andes and the Caribbean. Its basement is composed of Archean and Proterozoic cratonic blocks amalgamated by mobile belts, and can be separated in two large domains or continental masses: 1) The Amazonian, Northwest-west portion, including the Amazonian craton, related to the Laurentia supercontinent; and 2) the extra-Amazonian, Central-southeast or Brasiliano domain, related to West Gondwana, formed of several paleocontinental fragments, where the São Francisco and Rio de La Plata cratons and the Paranapanema block are the largest. It has been suggested that these two domains are separated by the Transbrasiliano Lineament to the south and the Araguaia Fold Belt to the north. Teleseismic P waves from 4,989 earthquakes recorded by 339 stations operated mainly in Brazil in the last 25 years have been used for relative-time tomography. The Amazonian domain is predominantly characterized by higher velocities. The SW (extra-Amazonian) domain is characterized by several blocks with high velocities, such as in and around the Sao Francisco Craton, and the Paranapanema block. Results of P-wave travel time tomography allowed to observe a strong low-velocity anomaly near 100-200 km depth following the Araguaia-Paraguay fold belt. This strong low-velocity anomaly could be considered the limit between these two domains, reaching lithospheric depths, and does not necessarily follow the Transbrasiliano lineament, especially in its southern portion.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, https://doi,org/ 10.1029/2018JB016482
Mantle
anistropy
Abstract: Several theoretical studies indicate that a substantial fraction of the measured seismic anisotropy could be interpreted as extrinsic anisotropy associated with compositional layering in rocks, reducing the significance of strain?induced intrinsic anisotropy. Here we quantify the potential contribution of grain?scale and rock?scale compositional anisotropy to the observations by (i) combining effective medium theories with realistic estimates of mineral isotropic elastic properties and (ii) measuring velocities of synthetic seismic waves propagating through modeled strain?induced microstructures. It is shown that for typical mantle and oceanic crust subsolidus compositions, rock?scale compositional layering does not generate any substantial extrinsic anisotropy (<1%) because of the limited contrast in isotropic elastic moduli among different rocks. Quasi?laminated structures observed in subducting slabs using P and S wave scattering are often invoked as a source of extrinsic anisotropy, but our calculations show that they only generate minor seismic anisotropy (<0.1-0.2% of Vp and Vs radial anisotropy). More generally, rock?scale compositional layering, when present, cannot be detected with seismic anisotropy studies but mainly with wave scattering. In contrast, when grain?scale layering is present, significant extrinsic anisotropy could exist in vertically limited levels of the mantle such as in a mid?ocean ridge basalt?rich lower transition zone or in the uppermost lower mantle where foliated basalts and pyrolites display up to 2-3% Vp and 3-6% Vs radial anisotropy. Thus, seismic anisotropy observed around the 660?km discontinuity could be possibly related to grain?scale shape?preferred orientation. Extrinsic anisotropy can form also in a compositionally homogeneous mantle, where velocity variations associated with major phase transitions can generate up to 1% of positive radial anisotropy.
Abstract: The Fazenda Varela carbonatite is part of the Lages alkaline complex (Late Cretaceous). The carbonatite occurs as abundant veins that cut the sandstones of the Rio Bonito Formation which are strongly brecciated and metasomatized. Petrography, geochemistry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe data allowed the identification and classification of REE fluorcarbonates. The carbonatite is composed essentially by ankerite and Fe-dolomite and was strongly affected for tardi and post magmatic events. The hydrothermal fluids percolated through fractures and grain boundaries and formed hydrothermal domains composed of barite, apatite, quartz, calcite, Fe-dolomite, and parisite-(Ce). In these domains, parisite-(Ce) occurs as well-developed fibrous to fibroradiated crystals. Parisite-(Ce) also occurs in hydrothermal veins that cut the metasomatized host rock. The parisite-(Ce) crystals are heterogeneous, occur in syntaxial growth with synchysite-(Ce), and have excess of Ca and REE and F depletions in relation to an ideal composition. The parasite-(Ce) mineralization formed from a fluid with low F activity that interacted with the rock and leached preferentially the LREE, which were likely transported as chlorine complexes.
Subsidence and exhumation dynamics of eclogites in the Yukon-Tanana Terrane, Canadian Cordillera: petrological reconstructions and geodynamic modeling.
Modification of mineral inclusions in garnet under high pressure conditions: experimental simulation and application to carbonate silicate rocks of Kokchetetav
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 50, 12, pp. 1153-1168.
Abstract: Mechanisms of Precambrian orogeny and their contribution to the origin of ultrahigh temperature granulites, granite-greenstone terranes and net crustal growth remain debatable. Here, we use 2D numerical models with 150 °C higher mantle temperatures compared to present day conditions to investigate physical and petrological controls of Precambrian orogeny during forced continental plates convergence. Numerical experiments show that convergence between two relatively thin blocks of continental lithosphere with fertile mantle creates a short-lived cold collisional belt that later becomes absorbed by a long-lived thick and flat ultra-hot accretionary orogen with Moho temperatures of 700–1100 °C. The orogen underlain by hot partially molten depleted asthenospheric mantle spreads with plate tectonic rates towards the incoming lithospheric block. The accretionary orogeny is driven by delamination of incoming lithospheric mantle with attached mafic lower crust and invasion of the hot partially molten asthenospheric wedge under the accreted crust. A very fast convective cell forms atop the subducting slab, in which hot asthenospheric mantle rises against the motion of the slab and transports heat towards the moving orogenic front. Juvenile crustal growth during the orogeny is accompanied by net crustal loss due to the lower crust subduction. Stability of an ultra-hot orogeny is critically dependent on the presence of relatively thin and warm continental lithosphere with thin crust and dense fertile mantle roots subjected to plate convergence. Increased thickness of the continental crust and subcontinental lithospheric mantle, pronounced buoyancy of the lithospheric roots, and decreased mantle and continental Moho temperature favor colder and more collision-like orogenic styles with thick crust, reduced magmatic activity, lowered metamorphic temperatures, and decreased degree of crustal modification. Our numerical modeling results thus indicate that different types of orogens (cold, mixed-hot and ultra-hot) could be created at the same time in the Early Earth, depending on compositional and thermal structures of interacting continental blocks.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of high-pressure experimental modeling of interaction between glaucophane schist and harzburgite or websterite for the evaluation of the influence of mantle material on the input-output of components and character of metasomatic transformations at the crust-mantle boundary in the subduction zone. In all experiments, glaucophane schist (proxy for oceanic crust) containing volatile components (H2O and CO2) incorporated in hydrous minerals (amphiboles, phengite, and epidote) and calcite was loaded into the bottom of each capsule and overlain by mantle material. During the experiments at a temperature of 800°C and a pressure of 2.9 GPa, which correspond to the conditions of a hot subduction zone, the schist underwent partial (up to 10%) eclogitization with the formation of the anhydrous assemblage omphacite + garnet + quartz ± magnesite ± potassic phase. Carbonate and a potassic phase were formed only in the experiments with websterite in the upper layer. A reaction zone was formed at the base of the websterite layer, where newly formed omphacite, quartz, and orthopyroxene replaced in part initial pyroxenes. Orthopyroxene and phlogopite (or an unidentified potassic phase) were formed in the reaction zone at the base of the harzburgite layer; among the initial minerals, only orthopyroxene relicts were preserved. Above the reaction zones produced by diffusion metasomatism, new phases developed locally, mainly at grain boundaries: newly formed orthopyroxene and magnesite were observed in harzburgite, and omphacite and quartz, in websterite. Alterations along grain boundaries extended much further than the reaction zones, which indicates that fluid infiltration dominated over diffusion in the experiments. The experiments demonstrated that the H2O-CO2 fluid with dissolved major components released from the glaucophane schist can produce mineral assemblages of different chemical compositions in mantle materials: Na-bearing in websterite and K-bearing in harzburgite. The complementary components, K2O and CO2 for the websterite layer and Na2O for the harzburgite layer, are fixed in the initial glaucophane schist layer. The distinguished separation of alkalis and CO2 at the crust-mantle boundary can affect the character of metasomatism in the mantle wedge, primary magma compositions, and the chemical evolution of the rocks of the subducting slab.
Abstract: Mechanisms of Precambrian orogeny and their contribution to the origin of ultrahigh temperature granulites, granite-greenstone terranes and net crustal growth remain debatable. Here, we use 2D numerical models with 150 °C higher mantle temperatures compared to present day conditions to investigate physical and petrological controls of Precambrian orogeny during forced continental plates convergence. Numerical experiments show that convergence between two relatively thin blocks of continental lithosphere with fertile mantle creates a short-lived cold collisional belt that later becomes absorbed by a long-lived thick and flat ultra-hot accretionary orogen with Moho temperatures of 700-1100 °C. The orogen underlain by hot partially molten depleted asthenospheric mantle spreads with plate tectonic rates towards the incoming lithospheric block. The accretionary orogeny is driven by delamination of incoming lithospheric mantle with attached mafic lower crust and invasion of the hot partially molten asthenospheric wedge under the accreted crust. A very fast convective cell forms atop the subducting slab, in which hot asthenospheric mantle rises against the motion of the slab and transports heat towards the moving orogenic front. Juvenile crustal growth during the orogeny is accompanied by net crustal loss due to the lower crust subduction. Stability of an ultra-hot orogeny is critically dependent on the presence of relatively thin and warm continental lithosphere with thin crust and dense fertile mantle roots subjected to plate convergence. Increased thickness of the continental crust and subcontinental lithospheric mantle, pronounced buoyancy of the lithospheric roots, and decreased mantle and continental Moho temperature favor colder and more collision-like orogenic styles with thick crust, reduced magmatic activity, lowered metamorphic temperatures, and decreased degree of crustal modification. Our numerical modeling results thus indicate that different types of orogens (cold, mixed-hot and ultra-hot) could be created at the same time in the Early Earth, depending on compositional and thermal structures of interacting continental blocks.
Abstract: On contemporary Earth, subduction recycles mafic oceanic crust and associated volatile elements, creating new silicic continental crust in volcanic arcs. However, if the mantle was hotter in the Precambrian, the style of subduction, the depth of devolatilization and the formation of silicic continental crust may have been different. Consequently, the generation of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite, which is characteristic of Archean crust, may not have been related to subduction. Here, we use a two-dimensional numerical magmatic-thermomechanical model to investigate intraoceanic subduction for contemporary mantle conditions and at higher mantle temperatures, as appropriate to the Precambrian. In each case, we characterize the thermal structure of the subducting plate and investigate magma compositions and production rates. We use these results to assess the potential growth of silicic continental crust associated with intraoceanic subduction at different mantle temperatures. For the Precambrian, in a set of experiments with ?T?=?150?K and decreasing subducting plate velocity, we find that the contemporary style of subduction was preceded by an arc-free regime dominated by rapid trench rollback and vigorous upwelling of asthenospheric mantle into the space created above the retreating slab. In this regime, formation of magmas by fluid-fluxed melting of the mantle is suppressed. Instead, decompression melting of upwelling asthenospheric mantle results in the widespread development of voluminous plateau-like basaltic magmas. In addition, retreating subduction at higher mantle temperature causes faster descent of the downgoing slab, leads to colder thermal gradients, similar to those associated with active subduction in the western Pacific today, and suppresses melting of the basaltic crust, limiting production of silicic (adakite-like) magmas. With increasing maturity of the subduction system, retreat of the subducting plate ceases, the role of decompression melting strongly decreases and fluid-fluxed melting of the mantle coupled with melting of the hydrated slab begins to produce basaltic and felsic arc volcanic rocks similar to those formed during contemporary subduction. In an additional series of individual experiments at various ?T, an increase of the mantle temperature above ?T?=?150?K leads to episodic and short-lived subduction accompanied by limited production of silicic continental crust. The results of our experimental study demonstrate that a hotter mantle in the Precambrian changes dramatically both the slab dynamics and the processes of magma generation and crustal growth associated with intraoceanic subduction zones. These changes may preclude growth of the early Precambrian silicic continental crust by processes that were dominantly similar to those associated with contemporary subduction.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that granulite xenoliths from kimberlites provide a record of granulite facies metamorphism at the basement of cratons worldwide. However, application of the phase equilibria modeling for seven representative samples of mafic granulites from xenoliths of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe, Yakutia, revealed that a granulitic garnet + clinopyroxene + plagioclase ± orthopyroxene ± amphibole ± scapolite mineral assemblage was likely formed in the middle crust under amphibolite facies conditions (600-650 °C and 0.8-1.0 GPa) in a deficiency of fluid. Clinopyroxene in the rocks is characterized by elevated aegirine content (up to 10 mol.%) both in the earlier magmatic cores and in the later metamorphic rim zones of the grains. Nevertheless, the phase equilibrium modeling for all samples indicates surprisingly reduced conditions, i.e. oxygen fugacity 1.6-3.3 log units below the FMQ (Fayalite-Magnetite-Quartz) buffer. In contrast, the coexistence of Fe-Ti oxides indicates temperatures of 850-990 °C and oxygen fugacity about lg(FMQ) ± 0.5, conditions which correspond to earlier stages of rock evolution. Reduction of oxygen fugacity during cooling is discussed in the context of the evolution of a complex fluid. The reconstructed P-T conditions for the final equilibration in the mafic granulites indicate that temperatures were ~250 °C higher than those extrapolated from the continental conductive geotherm of 35-40 µW/m2 deduced from peridotite xenoliths of the Udachnaya pipe. Although the granulites resided in the crust for a period for at least 1.4 Ga, they did not re-equilibrate to the temperatures of the geotherm, likely due to the blocking of mineral reactions under relatively low temperatures and fluid-deficient conditions
Melting equilibration temperatures of the CaMgSiO3 Mg3Al2Si3O12 K2 Ca (Co2) system modelling a source composition of carbonate - silicate diamond bearing rocks Kokchetav
18th. International Mineralogical Association Sept. 1-6, Edinburgh, abstract p.242. (poster)
Safonov, O.G., Perchuk, L.L., Litrvin, Y.A., Bindi, L.
Phase relations in the Ca Mg Si2O6 K Al Si308 join at 6 and s.5 GPa as a model for formation of some potassium bearing deep seated mineral assemblages.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 149, 3, pp. 316-337.
Melting relations in the chloride carbonate silicate systems at high pressure and model for formation of alkalic diamond forming liquids in the upper mantle.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, in press available
Abstract: Potential environmental issues associated with the mining of carbonatites are receiving increased attention due to the importance of critical metals for green technologies. This study investigates the chemistry of tailings seepage at the former Saint Lawrence Columbium mine near Oka, Québec, Canada, which produced pyrochlore concentrate and ferroniobium from a carbonatite-hosted Nb-REE deposit. Detailed field sampling and laboratory methods were used to characterize the hydraulic properties of the tailings, their bulk chemistry, mineralogy, pore water and effluent chemistries. The tailings are composed of REE-enriched calcite (64-89 wt %) and fluorapatite (2-22 wt %), as well as biotite (6-17 wt %) and chlorite (0-7 wt %). Minor minerals include ankerite, pyrite, sphalerite, molybdenite, magnetite and unrecovered pyrochlore. Secondary minerals include gypsum, barite, strontianite and rhodochrosite. Geochemical mass balance modeling, constrained by speciation modeling, was used to identify dissolution, precipitation and exchange reactions controlling the chemical evolution of pore water along its flow path through the tailings impoundment. In the unsaturated zone, these reactions include sulfide oxidation and calcite dissolution with acid neutralization. Below the water table, gypsum dissolution is followed by sulfate reduction and FeS precipitation driven by the oxidation of organic carbon in the tailings. Incongruent dissolution of biotite and chlorite releases K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ba and F and forms kaolinite and Ca-smectite. Cation exchange reactions further remove Ca from solution, increasing concentrations of Na and K. Fluoride concentrations reach 23 mg/L and 8 mg/L in tailings pore water and effluent, respectively. These values exceed Canadian guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. In the mildly alkaline (pH 8.3) pore waters, Mo is highly mobile and reaches an average concentration of 83 ?g/L in tailings effluent, which slightly exceeds environmental guidelines. Concentrations (unfiltered) of Zn reach 1702 ?g/L in tailings pore water although values in effluent are usually less than 20 ?g/L. At the ambient pH, Zn is strongly adsorbed by Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides. Although U forms mobile complexes in tailings pore water, concentrations do not exceed 16 ?g/L due to the low solubility of its pyrochlore host. Adsorption and the low solubility of pyrochlore limit concentrations of Nb to less than 49 ?g/L. Cerium, from calcite dissolution, is strongly adsorbed although it reaches concentrations (unfiltered) in excess of 1 mg/L and 100 ?g/L in pore water and effluent, respectively. Results of this study show that mine tailings from carbonatite deposits are enriched in a wide variety of incompatible elements with multiple mineral hosts of varying solubility. Some of these elements, such as F and Mo, may represent contaminants of concern because of their mobility in alkaline tailings waters.
Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Ando, S., Vezzoli, G., Pereira, A., Vermeesch, P.
Physical controls on sand and composition and relative durability of detrital minerals during ultra-long distance littoral and aeolian transport ( Namibia and southern Angola).
Ernst, R.E., Pereira, E., Hamilton, M.A., Pisarevsky, S.A., Rodriques, J., Tasinari, C.C.G., Teixeira, W., Van-Dunem, V.
Mesoproterozoic intraplate magmatic 'barcode' record of the Angola portion of the Congo craton: newly dated magmatic events at 1505 and 1110 Ma and implications for Nuna ( Columbia) supercontinent reconstructions.
Abstract: Geometallurgy aims to develop and deploy predictive spatial models based on tangible and quantitative resource characteristics that are used to optimize the efficiency of minerals beneficiation and extractive metallurgy operations. Whilst most current applications of geometallurgy are focused on the major commodity to be recovered from a mineral deposit, this contribution delineates the opportunity to use a geometallurgical approach to provide an early assessment of the economic potential of by-product recovery from an ongoing mining operation. As a case study for this methodology possible REE-recovery as a by-product of Nb-production at the Catalão I carbonatite complex, the Chapadão mine is used. Catalão I is part of the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province in the Goias Province of Brazil. Nowadays, niobium is produced in the complex as a by-product of the Chapadão phosphates mine. This production is performed on the Tailings plant, the focus of this study. Rare earth elements, albeit present in significant concentrations, are currently not recovered as by-products. Nine samples from different stages of the Nb beneficiation process in the Tailings plant were taken and characterized by Mineral Liberation Analyzer, X-ray powder diffraction, and bulk rock chemistry. The recovery of rare earth elements in each of the tailing streams was quantified by mass balance. The quantitative mineralogical and microstructural data are used to identify the most suitable approach to recover REE as a by-product-without placing limitations on niobium production. Monazite, the most common rare earth mineral identified in the feed, occurs as Ce-rich and La-rich varieties that can be easily distinguished by SEM-based image analysis. Quartz, FeTi-oxides and several phosphate minerals are the main gangue minerals. The highest rare earth oxide content concentrations (1.75 wt.% TREO) and the greatest potential for REE processing are reported for the final flotation tailings stream. To place tentative economic constraints on REE recovery from the tailings material, an analogy to the Browns Range deposit in Australia is drawn. Its technical flow sheet was used to estimate the cost for a hypothetical REE-production at Chapadão. Parameters derived from SEM-based image analysis were used to model possible monazite recovery and concentrate grades. This exercise illustrates that a marketable REE concentrate could be obtained at Chapadão if the process recovers at least 53 % of the particles with no less than 60% of monazite on their surface. Applying CAPEX and OPEX values similar to that of Browns Range suggest that such an operation would be profitable at current REE prices.
Brazil Journal of Geology, Vol. 47, 3, pp. 383-401. pdf
South America, Brazil
kimberlites, kamafugites, Tres Ranchos, Coromandel
Abstract: Magmatism associated with the Alto Paranaíba structural high comprises kimberlites, kamafugites, and alkaline complexes, forming an approximately 400 x 150 km NW-SE belt in the southern São Francisco Craton. Dating of some intrusions reveals ages between 120 and 75 Ma. Chemical analyses of garnet recovered in alluvium from traditional diamond digging areas indicate peridotitic garnet windows in Três Ranchos and Coromandel. Six hundred and eighty (680) diamonds acquired or recovered during mineral exploration in the digging areas of Romaria, Estrela do Sul, Três Ranchos and Coromandel show unique characteristics, certain populations indicating young, proximal and primary sources (YPP). Analyses of 201 stones from Santo Antônio do Bonito, Santo Inácio and Douradinho rivers alluvium, Coromandel, present no evidence of transport, characterizing a proximal source. Within these river basins, exposures of the Late Cretaceous Capacete Formation basal conglomerate contain mainly small rounded and/or angular quartzite pebbles and of basic and ultrabasic rocks, as well as kimberlite minerals (garnet, ilmenite, spinel, sometimes diamond). A magnetotelluric profile between the Paraná and Sanfranciscana basins shows that the thick underlying lithosphere in the Coromandel region coincides with the peridotitic garnet window and with a diamond population displaying proximal source characteristics. Diamond-bearing kimberlite intrusions occur in different areas of Alto Paranaíba.
Brazilian Journal of Geology, Vol. 47, 3, pp. 383-401.
South America, Brazil
deposit - Alta Paranaiba
Abstract: Magmatism associated with the Alto Paranaíba structural high comprises kimberlites, kamafugites, and alkaline complexes, forming an approximately 400 x 150 km NW-SE belt in the southern São Francisco Craton. Dating of some intrusions reveals ages between 120 and 75 Ma. Chemical analyses of garnet recovered in alluvium from traditional diamond digging areas indicate peridotitic garnet windows in Três Ranchos and Coromandel. Six hundred and eighty (680) diamonds acquired or recovered during mineral exploration in the digging areas of Romaria, Estrela do Sul, Três Ranchos and Coromandel show unique characteristics, certain populations indicating young, proximal and primary sources (YPP). Analyses of 201 stones from Santo Antônio do Bonito, Santo Inácio and Douradinho rivers alluvium, Coromandel, present no evidence of transport, characterizing a proximal source. Within these river basins, exposures of the Late Cretaceous Capacete Formation basal conglomerate contain mainly small rounded and/or angular quartzite pebbles and of basic and ultrabasic rocks, as well as kimberlite minerals (garnet, ilmenite, spinel, sometimes diamond). A magnetotelluric profile between the Paraná and Sanfranciscana basins shows that the thick underlying lithosphere in the Coromandel region coincides with the peridotitic garnet window and with a diamond population displaying proximal source characteristics. Diamond-bearing kimberlite intrusions occur in different areas of Alto Paranaíba.
Abstract: In Brazil, alkaline intrusions are source rocks for several commodities (bauxite, phosphate, niobium and barite, to mention a few), including mineral water. The present study aims to understand by means of chemical and stable isotope analyses, the residence time, circulation and hydrochemical facies of the groundwater systems from the alkaline-carbonatitic complex of Barreiro (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil). This Mesozoic alkaline complex is located in the Brazilian tropical region characterized by weathered soils and fractured rocks, which play an important role in the groundwater dynamics. To assess this influence, groundwater samples from 12 points and water samples from 3 artificial lakes were collected for the determination of chemical element and natural isotope (18O, deuterium and 13C) concentrations and 14C and tritium dating. Two main groundwater categories were revealed: (a) a local, acidic and sub-modern groundwater system developed in thick, poorly mineralized weathered soil from the inner part of ACCB, and (b) a basic, hypothermal, ca. 40-ky-old fractured aquifer developed in mineralized fenitized quartzites. The younger and shallower groundwater circulation is controlled by the present intrusion relief and is prone to environmental impacts. The older, hypothermal groundwater system indicates existing geothermal residual heat provided by the Mesozoic alkaline intrusion.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 80, pp. 1-17.
South America, Brazil
carbonatite
Abstract: We present results of U-Pb dating (by MC-ICP-MS) of zircons from samples that cover all of the known lithotypes in the Seis Lagos Carbonatite Complex and associated lateritic mineralization (the Morro dos Seis Lagos Nb deposit). The host rock (gneiss) yielded an age of 1828 ± 09 Ma interpreted as the crystallization time of this unit. The altered feldspar vein in the same gneiss yielded an age of 1839 ± 29 Ma. Carbonatite samples provided 3 groups of ages. The first group comprises inherited zircons with ages compatible with the gneissic host rock: 1819 ± 10 Ma (superior intercept), 1826 ± 5 Ma (concordant age), and 1812 ± 27 Ma (superior intercept), all from the Orosirian. The second and the third group of ages are from the same carbonatite sample: the superior intercept age of 1525 ± 21 Ma (MSWD ¼ 0.77) and the superior intercept age of 1328 ± 58 Ma (MSWD ¼ 1.4). The mineralogical study indicates that the ~1.3 Ga zircons have affinity with carbonatite. It is, however, a tendence rather than a well-defined result. The data allow state that the age of 1328 ± 58 Ma represents the maximum age of the carbonatite. Without the same certainty, we consider that the data suggest that this age may be the carbonatite age, whose emplacement would have been related to the evolution of the K'Mudku belt. The best age obtained in laterite samples (a superior intercept age of 1828 ± 12 Ma) is considered the age of the main source for the inherited zircons related to the gneissic host rock.
Abstract: The Morro dos Seis Lagos niobium rare earth element, Ti-bearing lateritic deposit (Amazonas, Brazil) is derived from a primary siderite carbonatite. The complex is the only example of a Nb deposit in which Nb-rich rutile is the main Nb ore mineral. Apart from the laterites, at the current level of exposure the complex consists only of siderite carbonatite; silicate rocks are absent. Three types of siderite carbonatite are recognized: (1) a brecciated and oxidized core siderite carbonatite consisting of up to 95 vol% siderite together with: hematite; pyrochlore; Nb-brookite; Ti-maghemite; and thorobastnäsite; (2) a REE- and P-rich variety of the core siderite carbonatite consisting of siderite (up to 95 vol%), hematite, minor pyrochlore, monazite and bastnäsite; (3) a border hydrothermal siderite carbonatite with ~70 vol% siderite, barite (~15 vol%), gorceixite (~7 vol%) and minor rhabdophane and pyrochlore. The country rock gneiss in which the carbonatite was emplaced was affected by potassic fenitization, with the formation of phlogopite and orthoclase together with monazite, fluorapatite and bastnäsite. The siderite carbonatites exhibit a wide variation of ?13C (?5.39‰ to ?1.40‰), accompanied by a significant variation in ?18O (17.13‰ to 31.33‰), especially in the REE-rich core siderite carbonatite, and are explained as due to the presence of both H2O and CO2 in the magma. The core siderite carbonatite is the richest in Fe (48.64-70.85 wt% Fe2O3) and the poorest in Ca (up 0.82 wt% CaO) example of a siderite carbonatite yet recognized The ferrocarbonatite has significant contents of Mn, Ba, Th, Pb and LREE, and a very high Nb (up to 7667 ppm) content due to the presence of Nb-brookite. The substitution 3Ti4+ = Fe2+ + 2Nb5+ recognized in Nb-rich brookite explains enrichment of Nb in the core siderite carbonatite and indicates formation in a reducing environment. The high Nb/Ta ratio (1408-11,459) of the carbonatite is compatible with residual liquids derived by fractional crystallization. The 87Sr/86Sr (0.70411-0.70573) and 144Nd/143Nd (0.512663-0.512715) isotopic data suggest the carbonatite is mantle-derived with essentially no crustal contamination and is younger than the maximum age of 1328 ± 58 Ma (UPb in zircon). We suggest that the Morro dos Seis Lagos carbonatite complex represents the upper-most parts of a differentiated carbonatite magmatic system, and that the siderite carbonatite is related to late-magmatic-to-carbo-hydrothermal processes.
Ore Geology Reviews, doi.org/10.1016/ j.oregeorev. 2021.104308 59p. Pdf
South America, Brazil
REE
Abstract: In the Morro dos Seis Lagos Nb (Ti, REE) deposit (MSLD), Amazonas state, Brazil, there are four types of REE mineralization: primary, associated to siderite carbonatite; supergene, associated to laterite profile; and sedimentary (detrital and authigenic). The mineralogical and geochemical evolutions of the REE in these domains are integrated into a comprehensible metallogenic model. The main primary ore in the core siderite carbonatite is 52 m thick with 1.47 wt% REE2O3 mainly in monazite-(Ce) and bastnäsite. However, considering the entire section intersected in the core siderite carbonatite, the average grade drops to 0.7 wt% REE2O3 mainly contained in thorbastnasite. In the border siderite carbonatite, the REE mineralization is hydrothermal [rhabdophane-(Ce) and REE-rich gorceixite]. The LREE and phosphates are concentrated at the reworked laterites from where the HREE were leached. With the advance of lateritization, pyrochlore was completely decomposed. The final secondary Ce-pyrochlore was progressively enriched in Ce4+ with loss in REE3+, resulting in the breakdown of the structure and release Ce under strongly oxidizing conditions (high Ce4+/Ce3+) thus forming extremely pure cerianite-(Ce). This mineral occurs intercalated with goethite bands in the lower part of the weathering profile, represented by the brown laterite, and forms intergrowth with hollandite in the manganiferous laterite, formed in a more alkaline environment closer to the water table. The brown laterite has 1.30 wt% REE2O3, the manganese laterite has 1.54 wt% REE2O3, of which 1.42 wt% is Ce2O3. Tectonic and karstic processes over the carbonatite formed several sedimentary basins. In the Esperança Basin, the sedimentary record (233 m thick) shows the whole evolution of the MSLD. The base of the basin (layer 5) is formed by abundant carbonatite fragments, have florencite-(Ce) mineralization with 1.07 wt% REE2O3; layer 4 is formed by carbonatite fragments interbedded with clayey bed; layer 3 is a rhythmite deposited in a lacustrine environment, with clasts of ferruginous materials related to early stages of carbonatite alteration; layer 2 is made up by clays, is rich in organic matter, has authigenic florencite-(Ce), florencite-(La) and base metals. This layer marks the inversion of the relief and the input into the basin of REE leached from the upper laterites, carried by the groundwater flow; layer 1 was formed by the oxidation of the upper part of layer 2. Layers 1 + 2 have 73 m thick and average of 1.72 wt% REE2O3.
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 201, 1, pp. 61-69.
South America, Brazil
Geophysics - seismic
Abstract: Results of P-wave traveltime seismic tomography in central Brazil unravel the upper-mantle velocity structure and its relationship with the tectonic framework. Data were recorded between 2008 and 2012 at 16 stations distributed over the study area, and were added to the database used by Rocha et al. to improve the resolution of anomalies, and to image the surrounding regions. The main objective was to observe the upper-mantle boundary zone between the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons, represented by mobile belts, inside the Tocantins Province, and to study the lithosphere related to the collision between these two cratons during the Neoproterozoic. A set of low-velocity anomalies was observed crossing the study area in the NE–SW direction, in agreement with the main trend of the Transbrasiliano lineament. The region where the anomalies are located was interpreted as the zone separating the Amazonian and São Franciscan palaeoplates. There is a good correlation between the low-velocity anomalies and the high seismicity of this region, suggesting that it is a region of weakness, probably related to lithospheric thinning. High velocities were observed under the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons. A model is proposed for the lithospheric subsurface in central Brazil, emphasizing the boundary zone between the main palaeoplates in the study area. After merging both databases, the low-velocity anomalies in the central part of the study area suggest tectonic partitioning of the lithosphere. Synthetic tests show that the tomography results are robust.
Abstract: Two typical lamproitic dykes were found in Noril'sk region of the north-western Siberian Craton, which according to mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic criteria belong to anorogenic, non-diamondiferous type of lamproites. According to the geologic relationships, they cut through the Noril'sk-1 intrusion of the Siberian flood basalt province and thus are younger than ~251 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar dating of the two dykes yielded ages of 235.24 ± 0.19 Ma and 233.96 ± 0.19 Ma, showing that they were emplaced in Carnian of the Late Triassic, about 16 Ma after the flood basalt event. There are some indications that there were multiple lamproitic dyke emplacements, including probably emplacement of diamondiferous lamproites, which produced Carnian-age diamond-rich placer deposits in other parts of the Siberian Craton and in adjacent regions. Lead isotope modelling shows that the source of the studied lamproites was formed with participation of recycled crust, which underwent modification of its U/Pb ratio as early as 2.5 Ga. However, the exactmechanismof the recycling cannot be deciphered now. It could be either through delamination of the cratonic crust or subduction of amix of ancient terrigenous sediments into the mantle transition zone.
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 201, 1, pp. 61-69.
South America, Brazil
Geophysics - seismic
Abstract: Results of P-wave traveltime seismic tomography in central Brazil unravel the upper-mantle velocity structure and its relationship with the tectonic framework. Data were recorded between 2008 and 2012 at 16 stations distributed over the study area, and were added to the database used by Rocha et al. to improve the resolution of anomalies, and to image the surrounding regions. The main objective was to observe the upper-mantle boundary zone between the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons, represented by mobile belts, inside the Tocantins Province, and to study the lithosphere related to the collision between these two cratons during the Neoproterozoic. A set of low-velocity anomalies was observed crossing the study area in the NE–SW direction, in agreement with the main trend of the Transbrasiliano lineament. The region where the anomalies are located was interpreted as the zone separating the Amazonian and São Franciscan palaeoplates. There is a good correlation between the low-velocity anomalies and the high seismicity of this region, suggesting that it is a region of weakness, probably related to lithospheric thinning. High velocities were observed under the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons. A model is proposed for the lithospheric subsurface in central Brazil, emphasizing the boundary zone between the main palaeoplates in the study area. After merging both databases, the low-velocity anomalies in the central part of the study area suggest tectonic partitioning of the lithosphere. Synthetic tests show that the tomography results are robust.
Abstract: The South American platform is the stable part of the South American plate, unaffected by the orogenesis of the Andes and the Caribbean. Its basement is composed of Archean and Proterozoic cratonic blocks amalgamated by mobile belts, and can be separated in two large domains or continental masses: 1) The Amazonian, Northwest-west portion, including the Amazonian craton, related to the Laurentia supercontinent; and 2) the extra-Amazonian, Central-southeast or Brasiliano domain, related to West Gondwana, formed of several paleocontinental fragments, where the São Francisco and Rio de La Plata cratons and the Paranapanema block are the largest. It has been suggested that these two domains are separated by the Transbrasiliano Lineament to the south and the Araguaia Fold Belt to the north. Teleseismic P waves from 4,989 earthquakes recorded by 339 stations operated mainly in Brazil in the last 25 years have been used for relative-time tomography. The Amazonian domain is predominantly characterized by higher velocities. The SW (extra-Amazonian) domain is characterized by several blocks with high velocities, such as in and around the Sao Francisco Craton, and the Paranapanema block. Results of P-wave travel time tomography allowed to observe a strong low-velocity anomaly near 100-200 km depth following the Araguaia-Paraguay fold belt. This strong low-velocity anomaly could be considered the limit between these two domains, reaching lithospheric depths, and does not necessarily follow the Transbrasiliano lineament, especially in its southern portion.
Abstract: To provide new insights into the origin and evolution of kimberlitic magmas with different diamond concentrations from the Arkhangelsk diamond province in northwestern Russia, we examined the major-and trace-element compositions of ilmenite from diamondiferous kimberlite of the Grib pipe and diamond barren kimberlites from the Kepino cluster (Stepnaya and TsNIGRI-Arkhangelskaya pipes). Ilmenite from diamond-barren kimberlites shows lower Mg, Ti, Cr, Ni and Cu concentrations with increase in both Fe 3+ and Fe 2+ and Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Zn and V concentrations. The main differences between kimberlites with different diamond contents are the Nb and Zr concentrations and their correlation patterns with Mg and Cr concentrations. Ilmenite from the Grib kimberlite has Zr concentrations <110 ppm, whereas ilmenite from the Kepino kimberlites has Zr concentrations >300 ppm. Ilmenite crystallisation within the Grib kimberlite occurred under increasing oxygen fugacity (fO 2), which may reflect assimilation of mantle peridotite by the kimberlitic magmas. Ilmenite from the Kepino kimberlites suggests its crystallisation under constant fO 2 , with the ilmenite composition being controlled by processes of fractional crystallisation of megacrystic minerals. These assumptions were confirmed with assimilation-fractional crystallisation calculations. On the basis of obtained data, we developed a model for the evolution of the kimberlitic magmas for both diamon-diferous and barren kimberlites. The diamond-bearing kimberlitic magmas were generated under intense interaction of kimberlitic magmas with the surrounding lithospheric mantle. It may be that during early modification of the lithospheric mantle by kimberlitic magmas as well as with kimberlitic magmas' local stretching and swift ascent, the capture of the mantle xenoliths was favoured over the crystallisation of phenocrysts. The formation of barren kimberlitic magmas may have occurred when the lithospheric mantle in the vicinity of ascending magmas was already geochemically equilibrated with them. It also is possible that the magma's ascent slowed under conditions of dominantly compressive stresses with crystallisation of olivine and other megacrystic phases.
Abstract: To provide new insights into the origin and evolution of kimberlitic magmas with different diamond concentrations from the Arkhangelsk diamond province in north-western Russia, we examined the major- and trace-element compositions of ilmenite from diamondiferous kimberlite of the Grib pipe and diamond-barren kimberlites from the Kepino cluster (Stepnaya and TsNIGRI-Arkhangelskaya pipes). Ilmenite from diamond-barren kimberlites shows lower Mg, Ti, Cr, Ni and Cu concentrations with increase in both Fe3+ and Fe2+ and Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Zn and V concentrations. The main differences between kimberlites with different diamond contents are the Nb and Zr concentrations and their correlation patterns with Mg and Cr concentrations. Ilmenite from the Grib kimberlite has Zr concentrations <110 ppm, whereas ilmenite from the Kepino kimberlites has Zr concentrations >300 ppm. Ilmenite crystallisation within the Grib kimberlite occurred under increasing oxygen fugacity (fO2), which may reflect assimilation of mantle peridotite by the kimberlitic magmas. Ilmenite from the Kepino kimberlites suggests its crystallisation under constant fO2, with the ilmenite composition being controlled by processes of fractional crystallisation of megacrystic minerals. These assumptions were confirmed with assimilation-fractional crystallisation calculations. On the basis of obtained data, we developed a model for the evolution of the kimberlitic magmas for both diamondiferous and barren kimberlites. The diamond-bearing kimberlitic magmas were generated under intense interaction of kimberlitic magmas with the surrounding lithospheric mantle. It may be that during early modification of the lithospheric mantle by kimberlitic magmas as well as with kimberlitic magmas’ local stretching and swift ascent, the capture of the mantle xenoliths was favoured over the crystallisation of phenocrysts. The formation of barren kimberlitic magmas may have occurred when the lithospheric mantle in the vicinity of ascending magmas was already geochemically equilibrated with them. It also is possible that the magma’s ascent slowed under conditions of dominantly compressive stresses with crystallisation of olivine and other megacrystic phases.
Abstract: The study reports petrography, bulk major and trace element compositions of lamprophyric Devonian dykes in three areas of the Kola Alkaline Carbonatite Province (N Europe). Dykes in one of these areas, Kandalaksha, are not associated with a massif, while dykes in Kandaguba and Turij Mys occur adjacent (< 5 km) to coeval central multiphase ultramafic alkaline?carbonatitic massifs. Kandalaksha dyke series consists of aillikites - phlogopite carbonatites and monchiquites. Kandaguba dykes range from monchiquites to nephelinites and phonolites; Turij Mys dykes represent alnöites, monchiquites, foidites, turjaites and carbonatites. Some dykes show extreme mineralogical and textural heterogeneity and layering we ascribe to fluid separation and crystal cumulation. Melt evolution of the dykes was modelled with Rhyolite-MELTS and compared with the observed order and products of the crystallization. Our results suggest that the studied rocks were related by fractional crystallization and liquid immiscibility. Primitive melts of aillikites or olivine melanephelinites initially evolved at P = 1.5-0.8 GPa without a SiO2 increase due to abundant clinopyroxene crystallization controlled by the CO2-rich fluid. At 1-1.1 GPa the Turij Mys melts separated immiscible carbonatite melt, which subsequently exsolved late carbonate-rich fluids extremely rich in trace elements. Kandaguba and Turij Mys melts continued to fractionate at lower pressures in the presence of hydrous fluid to the more evolved nephelinite and phonolite melts. The studied dykes highlight the critical role of the parent magma chamber in crystal fractionation and magma diversification. The Kandalaksha dykes may represent a carbonatite - ultramafic lamprophyre association, which fractionated at 45-20 km in narrow dykes on ascent to the surface and could not get more evolved than monchiquite. In contrast, connections of Kandaguba and Turij Mys dykes to their massif magma chambers ensured the sufficient time for fractionation, ascent and a polybaric evolution. This longevity generated more evolved rock types with the higher alkalinity and an immiscible separation of carbonatites.
Abstract: The first small manufactured industrial diamonds were produced in 1953 by the Swedish company ASEA but their accomplishment went unannounced. In 1970, General Electric (GE) produced synthetic diamond crystals using the HPHT method with a belt type of press and created a 0.78ct polished RBC colorless diamond. In the 1980’s and 1990’s Russians used their own technology (“BARS” and “TOROID” high pressure apparatus (HPA) with high pressure presses of up to 25 MN load) to grow industrial and crystals up to 2.00ct in polished size, mostly orange to yellow in colour. In the last 15 years, companies including Lucent, Chatham, AOTC, Gemesis (now IIa Technologies) and many other producers in China, Germany, India, Russia, Ukraine, USA and Taiwan have improved the technology yet again and used their expertise to successfully grow diamond crystals that cut to 1.00ct up to 2.00ct in size. This “next generation” of diamonds exhibited high clarities (VS and VVS) and colours (D-H), as well as new blue and pink colours (after irradiation). Other companies (ref. 2-3) including Scio Diamonds, Washington Diamonds, Taidiam, PDC diamonds and Pure Grown Diamonds (selling arm of IIa technologies) are also using a very different technology/process of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) to produce laboratory-grown diamonds up to 3.00 ct in size (table 1).
Abstract: Plate reconstruction studies show that the Neotethys Ocean was closing due to the convergence of Africa and Eurasia toward the end of the Cretaceous. The period around 75 Ma reflects the onset of continental collision between the two plates as convergence continued to be taken up mostly by subduction of the Neotethys slab beneath Eurasia. The Owen transform plate boundary in the northeast accommodated the fast northward motion of the Indian plate relative to the African plate. The rest of the plate was surrounded by mid-ocean ridges. Africa was experiencing continent-wide rifting related to northeast-southwest extension. We aim to quantify the forces and paleostresses that may have driven this continental extension. We use the latest plate kinematic reconstructions in a grid search to estimate horizontal gravitational stresses (HGSs), plate boundary forces, and the plate's interaction with the asthenosphere. The contribution of dynamic topography to HGSs is based on recent mantle convection studies. We model intraplate stresses and compare them with the strain observations. The fit to observations favors models where dynamic topography amplitudes are smaller than 300 m. The results also indicate that the net pull transmitted from slab to the surface African plate was low. To put this into context, we notice that available tectonic reconstructions show fragmented subduction zones and various colliding micro-continents along the northern margin of the African plate around this time. We therefore interpret a low net pull as resulting from either a small average slab length or from the micro-continents' resistance to subduction.
Abstract: In this study, we present a number of experiments on the transformation of graphite, diamond, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes under high pressure conditions. The analysis of our results testifies to the instability of diamond in the 55-115 GPa pressure range, at which onion-like structures are formed. The formation of interlayer sp3-bonds in carbon nanostructures with a decrease in their volume has been studied theoretically. It has been found that depending on the structure, the bonds between the layers can be preserved or broken during unloading.
Mangas, J., Perez-Torrado, F.J., Reguilon, R., Martin-Izard, A.
Geological characteristics of alkaline rocks and carbonatites of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain) and their rare earth elements (REE) ore potential.
Terra Abstracts, IAGOD International Symposium on mineralization related to mafic, Vol. 5, No. 3, abstract supplement p. 32.
Abstract: Detailed textural and mineral chemistry characterisation of lamproites from the Socovos fault zone, SE Spain Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) combining X-ray element maps and LA-ICP-MS spot analyses has provided valuable information about mantle depth ultrapotassic magma mixing processes. Despite having similar whole-rock compositions, rocks emplaced in the Socovos fault are mineralogically varied: including type-A olivine-phlogopite lamproites; and type-B clinopyroxene-phlogopite lamproites. The Ol-lacking type-B predates Ol-bearing type-A by c. 2 million years. We propose that the mineralogical variations, which are representative of lamproites in the NVP as a whole, indicate mantle source heterogeneities. Major and trace element compositions of mineral phases suggest both metasomatised harzburgite and veined pyroxenite sources that were most likely closely spatially related. Thin section scale textural and compositional variations in mineral phases reveal heterogeneous mantle- and primitive magma-derived crystals. The variety of crystals points to interaction and mingling-mixing of ultrapotassic magma batches at mantle depths prior crustal emplacement. The mixing apparently occurred in a mantle melting zone with a channelised flow regime and localised magma chambers-reservoirs. Magma interaction was interrupted when the Socovos and other lithosphere-scale faults tore down to the mantle source region, triggering rapid ascent of the heterogeneous lamproite magma.
Abstract: The paper presents detailed geochemical data on the rocks of the Zashikhinsky Massif and mineralogical-geochemical characteristics of the ores of the eponymous deposit. The rare-metal granites are divided into three facies varieties on the basis of the degree of differentiation and ore potential: early facies represented by microcline-albite granites with arfvedsonite, middle facies represented by leucocratic albite-microcline granites, and late (most ore-bearing) facies represented by quartz-albite granites grading into albitites. Microprobe data were obtained on major minerals accumulating trace elements in the rocks and ores. All facies of the rare-metal granites, including the rocks of the fluorite-rare-metal vein, define single compositional trends in the plots of paired correlations of rock-forming and trace elements. In addition, they also show similar REE patterns and spidergrams. The latter, however, differ in the depth of anomalies of some elements. Obtained geological, petrographic, and geochemical data suggest a magmatic genesis of the rocks of different composition and their derivation from a single magma during its differentiation. On the basis of all characteristics, the Zashikhinskoe deposit is estimated as one of the largest tantalum rare-metal deposits of alkaline-granite type in Russia.
Abstract: One poorly constrained reservoir of the Earth's water budget is that of clinopyroxene in metasomatised, mantle peridotites. This study presents reconnaissance Sensitive High-Resolution, Ion Microprobe–Stable Isotope (SHRIMP–SI) determinations of the H2O contents of (dominantly) clinopyroxenes in rare mantle xenoliths from four different subduction zones, i.e. Mexico, Kamchatka, Philippines, and New Britain (Tabar-Feni island chain) as well as one intra-plate setting (western Victoria). All of the sub-arc xenoliths have been metasomatised and carry strong arc trace element signatures. Average measured H2O contents of the pyroxenes range from 70 ppm to 510?ppm whereas calculated bulk H2O contents range from 88 ppm to 3?737?ppm if the variable presence of amphibole is taken into account. In contrast, the intra-plate, continental mantle xenolith from western Victoria has higher water contents (3?447?ppm) but was metasomatised by alkali and/or carbonatitic melts and does not carry a subduction-related signature. Material similar to the sub-arc peridotites can either be accreted to the base of the lithosphere or potentially be transported by convection deeper into the mantle where it will lose water due to amphibole breakdown.
Abstract: We estimate the mantle source compositions for mantle plumes, and by implication Earth’s lower mantle, by: (a) measuring trace (e.g, Sc, V, Cu) and minor (e.g., Ca, Mn, Ni) element concentrations of high forsterite olivine grains from several plume localities, (b) estimating the parent liquid compositions from which they crystallized, (c) calculating mantle potential temperatures and degrees of partial melting and (d) estimating trace element compositions of depleted and enriched mantle sources. Our sample set includes two continental flood basalt provinces (Emeishan and Deccan), a flood basalt that erupted in a continental rift setting (Baffin Island), our type example of a thermal mantle plume (Hawaii) and lavas from the Siqueiros Transform at the East Pacific Rise, which represent the mid-ocean ridge system. We also present olivine compositions for the peridotite xenoliths from Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico, USA, which are commonly used as primary and secondary analytical standards. We find that trace elements in lava-hosted olivine grains are too far removed from their mantle source to provided anything but greatly hindered views of such. Olivine compositions reflect not only evolving liquid compositions (including partial melting conditions and later fractionation), but also evolving Ol+liq partition coefficients, which mostly increase with decreasing T during crystallization. Mantle compositions, delimited by maximum forsterite contents and estimates of parental magmas (and experimentally determined partition coefficients) indicate that our selected plumes reflect some combination of (1) a depleted mantle source that is quite similar to that obtained by other methods, and (2) a variably enriched plume source that is more enriched than current estimates of pyrolite. The enriched plume mantle sources can be explained remarkably well as a mixture of subducted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB; Gale et al. 2013) and depleted MORB mantle (DM; Salters and Stracke 2004), with MORB:DM ratios of 1:5 to 1:4. These ratios are most sensitive to estimates of melt fraction where plume parental magmas are last equilibrated with their mantle source, but are nonetheless consistent across a wide range of chemically very different elements, and estimates of MORB and DM obtained by very different means. Baffin Island is of particular interest. Like prior studies, we verify a high mantle potential temperature (Tp) of 1630oC (compared to Tp = 1320-1420oC for MORB from Cottrell and Kelley 2011 for Ol of Fo89.3-91.4). The Baffin source is also within error the same as DM with respect to trace elements, although still isotopically distinct; Baffin appears to be sourced in something that is akin to DM that lies at the base of the mantle, where plumes acquire their excess heat. Thus while part of our analysis supports the concept of a "slab graveyard" at the bottom of the lower mantle (e.g., Wyession 1996), that cemetery is by no means ubiquitous at the CMB: subducted slabs are either unevenly interred, or efficiently excavated by later upwellings.
Geocimica et Cosmochimica Acta , Vol. 260, pp. 29-48.
Mantle
melting
Abstract: Carbon content in the Earth's depleted upper mantle has been estimated in previous studies using CO2/Ba ratios of CO2 undersaturated depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt (D-MORB) glasses and melt inclusions. However, CO2/Ba ratios in CO2 undersaturated MORB may not necessarily record those of the mantle source, as they may be affected by (1) assimilation of Ba-rich plagioclase-bearing rocks in the oceanic crust and (2) CO2 degassing through partial degassing and mixing. In this study, we evaluate these effects on the CO2/Ba ratios as well as other volatile to refractory trace element ratios (H2O/Ce, F/Nd, Cl/K, and S/Dy) in D-MORBs using the compositions of olivine-hosted melt inclusions and glasses from the Siqueiros and Garrett transform faults. The Siqueiros and Garrett melt inclusions are CO2 undersaturated and highly depleted in incompatible trace elements, and their average CO2/Ba ratios show relatively large ranges of 90?±?34 and 144?±?53 respectively. A subset of melt inclusions in lavas from both transform faults show potential signatures of contamination by plagioclase-rich rocks, such as correlations between major elements contents (e.g., FeO, Al2O3, and MgO), and trace element ratios (e.g., Sr/Nd). We find that (1) assimilation fractional crystallization (AFC) of gabbro into D-MORB and (2) mixing between partial melts of gabbro and D-MORB can reproduce the observed range in Sr/Nd ratios as well as the general trends between major elements. However, we find that these processes had limited effects on the CO2/Ba ratio of the melt inclusions and it is unlikely that they can account for the observed range in the CO2/Ba ratio. On the other hand, while a partial degassing and mixing model can generate melts with large range of CO2/Ba ratios (as proposed by Matthews et al. (2017)), it cannot reproduce the Pearson correlation coefficients between CO2/trace element and 1/trace element ratios observed in the Siqueiros and Garrett melt inclusions. Instead, when analytical uncertainties on the elemental concentrations are considered, a model without partial degassing can adequately reproduce the majority of the observed range in CO2/Ba ratio and Pearson correlation coefficients. Hence, we postulate that the Siqueiros and Garrett melt inclusions are undegassed and use their average CO2/Ba ratios to estimate the Siqueiros and Garrett mantle source CO2 contents (21?±?2?ppm and 33?±?6?ppm respectively). We also evaluate the effects of shallow level crustal processes on H2O/Ce, F/Nd, Cl/K, and S/Dy ratios, and after which we filter those effects, we estimate the H2O, F, Cl and S contents in the mantle sources of the Siqueiros (40?±?8?ppm, 8?±?1?ppm, 0.22?±?0.04?ppm, and 113?±?3?ppm) and Garrett (51?±?9?ppm, 6?±?1?ppm, 0.27?±?0.07?ppm, and 128?±?7?ppm) melt inclusions.
Earth & Environment Communications, 10.1038/s43247-021-00145-3 16p. Pdf
United States, Hawaii
magmatism
Abstract: Volcanoes represent one of the largest natural sources of metals to the Earth’s surface. Emissions of these metals can have important impacts on the biosphere as pollutants or nutrients. Here we use ground- and drone-based direct measurements to compare the gas and particulate chemistry of the magmatic and lava-seawater interaction (laze) plumes from the 2018 eruption of K?lauea, Hawai’i. We find that the magmatic plume contains abundant volatile metals and metalloids whereas the laze plume is further enriched in copper and seawater components, like chlorine, with volatile metals also elevated above seawater concentrations. Speciation modelling of magmatic gas mixtures highlights the importance of the S2? ligand in highly volatile metal/metalloid degassing at the magmatic vent. In contrast, volatile metal enrichments in the laze plume can be explained by affinity for chloride complexation during late-stage degassing of distal lavas, which is potentially facilitated by the HCl gas formed as seawater boils.
Abstract: Diamonds and their inclusions are unique fragments of deep Earth, which provide rare samples from inaccessible portions of our planet. Inclusion-free diamonds cannot provide information on depth of formation, which could be crucial to understand how the carbon cycle operated in the past. Inclusions in diamonds, which remain uncorrupted over geological times, may instead provide direct records of deep Earth’s evolution. Here, we applied elastic geothermobarometry to a diamond-magnesiochromite (mchr) host-inclusion pair from the Udachnaya kimberlite (Siberia, Russia), one of the most important sources of natural diamonds. By combining X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data with a new elastic model, we obtained entrapment conditions, Ptrap?=?6.5(2) GPa and Ttrap?=?1125(32)-1140(33) °C, for the mchr inclusion. These conditions fall on a ca. 35?mW/m2 geotherm and are colder than the great majority of mantle xenoliths from similar depth in the same kimberlite. Our results indicate that cold cratonic conditions persisted for billions of years to at least 200?km in the local lithosphere. The composition of the mchr also indicates that at this depth the lithosphere was, at least locally, ultra-depleted at the time of diamond formation, as opposed to the melt-metasomatized, enriched composition of most xenoliths.
Experimental investigation of iron-magnesium distribution between olivine andclinopyroxene:mixing properties of iron-magnesium in clinopyroxene, garnet-clinopyroxenetherM.
American Mineralogist, Vol. 77, No. 7, 8 July-August pp. 774-783
Experimental investigation of iron, magnesium distribution between olivine and clinopyroxene: implications for mixing properties of iron and magnesium...
Abstract: Madagascar has become one of the world’s top sources of fine blue sapphire in recent times. In addition to beautiful untreated material, increasing numbers of treated stones have appeared in the market. Some have been heated to relatively low temperatures, below 1350°C, to lighten their color. To help separate unheated and heated Madagascar sapphire, the authors performed experiments to document the changes they undergo with low-temperature heat treatment in air, which is an oxidizing atmosphere.
Abstract: Small pockets of water exist deep beneath Earth’s surface, according to an analysis of diamonds belched from hundreds of kilometers within our planet. The work, which also identifies a weird form of crystallized water known as ice VII, suggests that material may circulate more freely at some depths within Earth than previously thought. Geophysical models of that flow, which ultimately influences the frequency of earthquakes driven by the scraping of tectonic plates at Earth’s surface, may need to be substantially tweaked, scientists say. Such models also help scientists estimate the long-term rates of heat flow through Earth’s surface and into space.
Abstract: Major flood basalt emplacement events can dramatically alter the composition of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The Siberian craton experienced one of the largest flood basalt events preserved in the geologic record — eruption of the Permo-Triassic Siberian flood basalts (SFB) at ~250 Myr in response to upwelling of a deep-rooted mantle plume beneath the Siberian SCLM. Here, we present helium isotope (3 He/ 4 He) and concentra-tion data for petrologically-distinct suites of peridotitic xenoliths recovered from two temporally-separated kim-berlites: the 360 Ma Udachnaya and 160 Ma Obnazhennaya pipes, which erupted through the Siberian SCLM and bracket the eruption of the SFB. Measured 3 He/ 4 He ratios span a range from 0.1 to 9.8 R A (where R A = air 3 He/ 4 He) and fall into two distinct groups: 1) predominantly radiogenic pre-plume Udachnaya samples (mean clinopyroxene 3 He/ 4 He = 0.41 ± 0.30 R A (1?); n = 7 excluding 1 outlier), and 2) 'mantle-like' post plume Obnazhennaya samples (mean clinopyroxene 3 He/ 4 He = 4.20 ± 0.90 R A (1?); n = 5 excluding 1 outlier). Olivine separates from both kimberlite pipes tend to have higher 3 He/ 4 He than clinopyroxenes (or garnet). Helium con-tents in Udachnaya samples ([He] = 0.13–1.35 ?cm 3 STP/g; n = 6) overlap with those of Obnazhennaya ([He] = 0.05–1.58 ?cm 3 STP/g; n = 10), but extend to significantly higher values in some instances ([He] = 49– 349 ?cm 3 STP/g; n = 4). Uranium and thorium contents are also reported for the crushed material from which He was extracted in order to evaluate the potential for He migration from the mineral matrix to fluid inclusions. The wide range in He content, together with consistently radiogenic He-isotope values in Udachnaya peridotites suggests that crustal-derived fluids have incongruently metasomatized segments of the Siberian SCLM, whereas high 3 He/ 4 He values in Obnazhennaya peridotites show that this section of the SCLM has been overprinted by Permo-Triassic (plume-derived) basaltic fluids. Indeed, the stark contrast between pre-and post-plume 3 He/ 4 He ra-tios in peridotite xenoliths highlights the potentially powerful utility of He-isotopes for differentiating between various types of metasomatism (i.e., crustal versus basaltic fluids).
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 9, pp. 21-25.
Mantle
convection
Abstract: Noble gases serve as unique tracers of the origin and evolution of Earth’s volatile reservoirs owing to their inert nature and contribution from extinct and extant radioactivities. However, noble gases are low in abundance relative to many other elements, particularly in the Earth’s mantle. Additionally, mantle-derived samples show large post-eruptive atmospheric contamination, rendering the determination of the primary mantle composition challenging. The sources of mantle krypton and xenon remain debated due to their partially resolvable excess, if any, relative to the atmosphere. Atmospheric noble gases also appear to be recycled into the mantle via subduction, progressively overprinting the initial mantle signature. Here we develop a new protocol to accumulate non-contaminated mantle-derived xenon, in particular the low abundant 124-126-128Xe. The results show the highest excesses in 124-126-128Xe ever measured in the mantle relative to the atmosphere and point toward a chondritic origin for mantle xenon. The fissiogenic isotopes 131-132-134-136Xe allow the onset of efficient xenon recycling in the mantle to be constrained at around 3 Gyr ago, implying that volatile recycling before 3 Ga would have been negligible.
The leading Edge, https://dx.doi.org/10.1190/tle36030064.1
Global
data sets
Abstract: Machine learning is becoming an appealing tool in various fields of earth sciences, especially in resources estimation. Six machine learning algorithms have been used to predict the presence of gold mineralization in drill core from geophysical logs acquired at the Lalor deposit, Manitoba, Canada. Results show that the integration of a set of rock physical properties — measured at closely spaced intervals along the drill core — with ensemble machine learning algorithms allows the detection of gold-bearing intervals with an adequate rate of success. Since the resulting prediction is continuous along the drill core, the use of this type of tool in the future will help geologists in selecting sound intervals for assay sampling and in modeling more continuous ore bodies during the entire life of a mine.
Perraki, M., Proyer, A., Mposkos, E., Kaindl, R., Hoinkes, G.
Raman micro spectroscopy on diamond, graphite and other carbon polymorphs from the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic Kimi Complex of the Rhodope metamorphic province.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 241, 3-4, pp. 672-685.
Perraki, M., Korsakov, A.V., Smith, D.C., Mposkos, E.
Raman spectroscopic and microscopic criteria for the distinction of microdiamonds in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks from diamonds in sample preparation materials.
First finding of microdiamond, coesite and other UHP phases in felsic granulites in the Moldanubian Zone: implications for deep subduction and a revised geodynamic model for Variscan Orogeny in the Bohemian Massif.
Abstract: Raman spectroscopy is widely applied in metamorphic petrology and offers many opportunities for geological and tectonic research. Minimal sample preparation preserves sample integrity and microtextural information, while use with confocal microscopes allows spatial resolution down to the micrometer level. Raman spectroscopy clearly distinguishes mineral polymorphs, providing crucial constraints on metamorphic conditions, particularly ultrahigh-pressure conditions. Raman spectroscopy can also be used to monitor the structure of carbonaceous material in metamorphic rocks. Changes in structure are temperature-sensitive, so Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material is widely used for thermometry. Raman spectroscopy can also detect and quantify strain in micro-inclusions, offering new barometers that can be applied to understand metamorphic and tectonic processes without any assumptions about chemical equilibrium.
Abstract: The study of sediment cores allows for the reconstruction of past climate and environment through physical-chemical analysis. Nevertheless, this interpretation suffers from many drawbacks that can be overcome with the newest technologies. Hyperspectral imaging is one of these and allows a fast, high resolution, and non-destructive analysis of sediment cores. In this study, we use visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging to predict particle size fractions and distribution (PSD) at a resolution of 200??m on a previously well-studied sediment core taken from Lake Bourget (Western Alps, France). These predictions agree with previous studies on this core. Then, the PSD was used to estimate sedimentary deposit sources using the PSD unmixing algorithm AnalySize. It permitted estimation of the contribution of five sources (micrite, small and large bio-induced calcite crystals, diatom frustules, detrital particles), which had previously been characterized. The spatial dimension allowed for laminae to be discretized and counted, in agreement with the age-depth model previously established. We then evaluated the particle size and spectral signatures of each of these annual laminae, hence characterizing their physico-chemical composition. These high-resolution data also allowed for estimation of the accumulation rate (cm/year) of each of the main sources in the laminated unit and inferring the trophic status and the presence of instantaneous events of the lake.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 433, pp. 360-369.
Mantle
Geophysics - seismics
Abstract: In regions of the mantle where multi-phases coexist like at the olivine-wadsleyite-ringwoodite transitions, the stress induced by the seismic waves may drive a mineralogical reaction between the low to high pressure phases, a possible source of dissipation. In such a situation, the amount of attenuation critically depends on the timescale for the phase transformations to reach equilibrium relative to the period of the seismic wave. Here we report synchrotron-based measurements of the kinetics of the olivine to ringwoodite transformation at pressure-temperature conditions of the co-stability loop, for iron-rich olivine compositions. Both microstructural and kinetic data suggest that the transformation rates are controlled by growth processes after the early saturation of nucleation sites along olivine grain boundaries. Transformation-time data show an increase of reaction rates with temperature and iron content, and have been fitted to a rate equation for interface-controlled transformation: G=k0?T?exp?[n?XFa]?exp?[?(?Ha+PV?)/RT]×[1?exp?(?Gr/RT)]G=k0?T?exp?[n?XFa]?exp?[?(?Ha+PV?)/RT]×[1?exp?(?Gr/RT)], where XFaXFa is the fayalite fraction, the exponential factor n=9.7n=9.7, View the MathML sourceln?k0=?9.1 ms?1. View the MathML sourceXFa?1 and ?Ha=199 kJ/mol?Ha=199 kJ/mol, assuming V?=0 cm3/molV?=0 cm3/mol. Including these new kinetic results in a micro-mechanical model of a two-phase loop (Ricard et al., 2009), we predict View the MathML sourceQK?1 and View the MathML sourceQ??1 significantly higher than the PREM values for both body waves and normal modes. This attests that the olivine-wadsleyite transition can significantly contribute to the attenuation of the Earth's mantle transition zone.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 501, pp. 67-77.
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: The mechanisms underpinning the formation of a focused volcanic arc above subduction zones are debated. Suggestions include controls by: (i) where the subducting plate releases water, lowering the solidus in the overlying mantle wedge; (ii) the location where the mantle wedge melts to the highest degree; and (iii) a limit on melt formation and migration imposed by the cool shallow corner of the wedge. Here, we evaluate these three proposed mechanisms using a set of kinematically-driven 2D thermo-mechanical mantle-wedge models in which subduction velocity, slab dip and age, overriding-plate thickness and the depth of decoupling between the two plates are systematically varied. All mechanisms predict, on the basis of model geometry, that the arc-trench distance, D, decreases strongly with increasing dip, consistent with the negative D-dip correlations found in global subduction data. Model trends of sub-arc slab depth, H, with dip are positive if H is wedge-temperature controlled and overriding-plate thickness does not exceed the decoupling depth by more than 50 km, and negative if H is slab-temperature controlled. Observed global H-dip trends are overall positive. With increasing overriding plate thickness, the position of maximum melting shifts to smaller H and D, while the position of the trenchward limit of the melt zone, controlled by the wedge's cold corner, shifts to larger H and D, similar to the trend in the data for oceanic subduction zones. Thus, the limit imposed by the wedge corner on melting and melt migration seems to exert the first-order control on arc position.
Uncertainties about the Proterozoic and Paleozoic polar wanderpath Of the West African craton and Gondwana: evidence for successive remagnetizationevents
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 88, No. 3-4, May pp. 337-347
Computers and Geosciences, Vol. 135, 104387 9p. Pdf
Global
GeoCore
Abstract: Domain ontologies assume the role of representing, in a formal way, a consensual knowledge of a community over a domain. This task is especially difficult in a wide domain like Geology, which is composed of diversified science resting on a large variety of conceptual models that were developed over time. The meaning of the concepts used by the various professionals often depends on the particular vision that they have of a domain according to their background and working habits. Ontology development in Geology thus necessitates a drastic elucidation of the concepts and vocabulary used by geologists.
This article intends to contribute to solving these difficulties by proposing a core ontology named GeoCore Ontology resting on the BFO top ontology, specially designed for describing scientific fields. GeoCore Ontology contains well-founded definitions of a limited set of general concepts within the Geology field that are currently considered by all geologists whatever their skill. It allows modelers to separately consider a geological object, the substance that constitutes it, the boundaries that limit it and the internal arrangement of the matter inside it. The core ontology also allows the description of the existentially dependent qualities attached to a geological object and the geological process that generated it in a particular geological age. This small set of formally defined and described concepts combined with concepts from BFO provides a backbone for deriving by subsumption more specialized geological concepts and also constitutes a baseline for integrating different existent domain ontologies within the Geology domain.
The GeoCore ontology and the methodology that we used for building it, provide solutions for unveiling major misunderstanding regarding the concepts that are commonly used for formulating geological interpretations. This will facilitate the communication of this information to external Geology users and its integration in domain applications.
Jelsma, H.,Krishnan, S.U., Perritt, S.,Kumar, M., Preston, R., Winter, F., Lemotlo, L., Costa, J., Van der Linde, G., Facatino, M., Posser, A., Wallace, C., Henning, A., Joy, S., Chinn, I., Armstrong, R., Phillips, D.
Kimberlites from central Angola: a case stidy of exploration findings.
10th. International Kimberlite Conference Feb. 6-11, Bangalore India, Abstract
Jelsma, H., Krishnan, U., Perritt, S., Preston, R., Winter, F., Lemotlo, L., van der Linde, G., Armstrong, R., Phillips, D., Joy, S., Costa, J., Facatino, M., Posser, A., Kumar, M., Wallace, C., Chinn, I., Henning, A.
Kimberlites from central Angola: a case study of exploration findings.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, pp. 173-190.
Abstract: Diamonds are the deepest accessible “fragments” of Earth, providing records of deep geological processes. Absolute ages for diamond formation are crucial to place these records in the correct time context. Diamond ages are typically determined by dating inclusions, assuming that they were formed simultaneously with their hosts. One of the most widely used mineral inclusions for dating diamond is garnet, which is amenable to Sm-Nd geochronology and is common in lithospheric diamonds. By investigating worldwide garnet-bearing diamonds, we provide crystallographic evidence that garnet inclusions that were previously considered to be syngenetic may instead be protogenetic, i.e., they were formed before the host diamond, raising doubts about the real significance of many reported diamond “ages.” Diffusion modeling at relevant pressures and temperatures, however, demonstrates that isotopic resetting would generally occur over geologically short time scales. Therefore, despite protogenicity, the majority of garnet-based ages should effectively correspond to the time of diamond formation. On the other hand, our results indicate that use of large garnet inclusions (e.g., >100 ?m) and diamond hosts formed at temperatures lower than ?1000 °C is not recommended for diamond age determinations.
Abstract: The thermobarometric analysis of inclusions in lithospheric diamonds indicates that they originated from a wide range of depths, with a global mode at ca. 170±15 km [1]. Studies based on diamond depth distribution at global scale, however, cannot clarify if this mode reflects a real concentration of diamonds, preferential sampling of materials from this level by rising kimberlites, or even a statistical distribution within the hard limits imposed by diamond stability, lithosphere thickness, and mantle adiabat under typical cratonic thermal regimes. We addressed this problem by comparing depth distributions for peridotitic diamonds from the three localities that have been the most prolific for diamond geobarometry (Cullinan, Kimberley and Voorspoed, South Africa) with those of mantle xenocrysts from the same kimberlite sources. P-T estimates indicate that the diamonds were formed at T higher, equal or lower than the ambient geotherm. They may record old mantle thermal regimes or local thermal perturbations related to infiltration of parent fluids or melts. Nonetheless, the diamonds show similar depth distributions for different localities, with a distinct mode at ?175 ?? 10 km. The similarity of these distributions with that calculated for peridotitic diamonds worldwide, as well as the lack of systematic correlation with kimberlite sampling efficiency as recorded by mantle xenocrysts, suggests that this mode has genetic significance. Based on observed depth distributions at both local and global scale and on thermodynamic modeling of COH fluids, diamond-forming processes are predicted to become less efficient with decreasing depth from at least ?160 km. In addition, diamond endowment near the base of the lithosphere may be negatively affected by infiltration of carbon-undersaturated melts. Considering the poor correlation between diamond and xenocryst depth distributions in single kimberlites or kimberlite clusters, even limited xenocryst records from diamond favorable depths (especially the 160-190 km interval) may correspond to significant diamond potential.
Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available, 11p.
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Orapa
Abstract: Spatially resolved analyses reveal considerable isotopic heterogeneity within and among diamonds ranging in size from 0.15 to 4.75 mm from the Orapa Mine, Botswana. The isotopic data are interpreted in conjunction with nitrogen aggregation state data and growth zone relationships from cathodoluminescence images. The integrated information confirms that a distinct diamond growth event (with low IaAB nitrogen aggregation states, moderately high nitrogen contents and ?13C and ?15N values compatible with average mantle values) is younger than the dominant population(s) of Type IaAB diamonds and cores of composite diamonds with more negative and positive ?13C and ?15N values, respectively. A significant proportion of the older diamond generation has high nitrogen contents, well outside the limit sector relationship, and these diamonds are likely to reflect derivation from subducted organic matter. Diamonds with low ?13C values combined with high nitrogen contents and positive ?15N values have not been previously widely recognised, even in studies of diamonds from Orapa. This may have been caused by prior analytical bias towards inclusion-bearing diamonds that are not necessarily representative of the entire range of diamond populations, and because of average measurements from heterogeneous diamonds measured by bulk combustion methods. Two distinct low nitrogen/Type II microdiamond populations were recognised that do not appear to continue into the macrodiamond sizes in the samples studied. Other populations, e.g. those containing residual singly-substituted nitrogen defects, range in size from small microdiamonds to large macrodiamonds. The total diamond content of the Orapa kimberlite thus reflects a complex assortment of multiple diamond populations.
Abstract: A study of the morphology, mineral inclusions, nitrogen content, and nitrogen aggregation state of diamonds from the Voorspoed kimberlite, was conducted. The diamonds are characterised by a highly unusual inclusion mineral paragenesis dominated by eclogitic and transitional websteritic-lherzolitic inclusions along with related websteritic inclusions, while a comparatively minor harzburgitic diamond inclusion suite account for the remainder. This differs substantially from many of the diamond populations in kimberlites on the Kaapvaal Craton where a harzburgitic inclusion paragenesis predominates. Only in the case of the Orapa kimberlite in Botswana has a similar diamond inclusion suite been encountered before, although in that instance an eclogitic and websteritic inclusion suite predominate. Calculated garnet-clinopyroxene equilibration temperatures, at an assumed pressure of 50?kbar, range from 1040 °C to 1296?°C. Temperatures of 1114?°C to 1348?°C, at 50?kbar, are calculated for lamellar orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene intergrowths. ‘Reconstituted’ pyroxenes mathematically reconstructed from the lamellar orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene intergrowths produce temperatures of 1238?°C to 1416?°C, suggesting that the lithosphere cooled by at least 100?°C after diamond crystallisation. Nitrogen contents and nitrogen aggregation states of whole diamonds range from below the detection limit (~10?ppm) to 1442 atomic ppm (average 167 atomic ppm), and up to 97% of the highly aggregated ‘B' component (average 65%), respectively. The elevated aggregation state of the nitrogen in the diamonds from Voorspoed, coupled with a high level of platelet degradation in many of the diamonds analysed, relative to a world-wide database, is unusual, but broadly comparable to diamonds from kimberlites occurring in craton margin settings, such as Argyle and Venetia. Diamond inclusion thermobarometry, as well as the elevated nitrogen aggregation states of the diamonds (coupled with the evidence for platelet degradation in the diamonds) are indicative of a diamond crystallisation event associated with a transient thermal pulse, as well as associated deformation of the mantle containing the diamonds. The websteritic and the transitional websteritic-lherzolitic mantle source rocks of the Voorspoed diamonds likely formed through melt infiltration into mantle peridotite, possibly in the reaction envelope surrounding an ascending mantle plume. In order to account for the unusually low abundance of harzburgitic diamonds at Voorspoed, it is postulated that a primary, pre-existing suite of harzburgitic diamonds which have crystallised in the Mesoarchaean, was destroyed through heating and oxidation during the passage of magmas associated with the Ventersdorp large igneous province at 2.72?Ga, and which was subsequently followed by the crystallisation of a younger eclogitic and transitional websteritic-lherzolitic suite of diamonds.
Abstract: The thermobarometric analysis of inclusions in lithospheric diamonds has shown that these diamonds may originate from a wide range of depths, with a global mode at ~175 ± 15 km. Studies based on diamond depth distribution at global scale, however, cannot clarify if this mode reflects a real concentration of diamonds, preferential sampling of materials from this level by ascending kimberlites, or simply a statistical distribution within the hard limits imposed by diamond stability, lithosphere thickness and mantle adiabat under typical cratonic thermal regimes. We addressed this problem by comparing depth distributions for peridotitic diamonds from the three localities that have been the most prolific for diamond geobarometry (Cullinan, Kimberley and Voorspoed, South Africa) with those of mantle xenocrysts from the same kimberlite sources. The revised P-T estimates indicate that the diamonds were formed at T higher, equal or lower than the ambient geotherm recorded by the xenocrysts. These conditions may represent old mantle thermal regimes or local thermal perturbations related to infiltration of parental fluids or melts. Nonetheless, the studied diamonds show similar depth distributions for the different localities, with a distinct mode at ?180 ± 10 km. The similarity of these distributions with that calculated for peridotitic diamonds worldwide, as well as the lack of systematic correlation with kimberlite sampling efficiency as recorded by mantle xenocrysts, suggests that this mode has genetic significance. Based on observed depth distributions and thermodynamic modeling of COH fluids, diamond-forming processes are predicted to become less efficient with decreasing depth from at least ?165 km. In addition, diamond endowment near the base of the lithosphere may be negatively affected by infiltration of carbon-undersaturated melts or fluids after diamond formation. Considering the poor correlation between diamond and xenocryst depth distributions in single kimberlites or kimberlite clusters, even limited xenocryst records from diamond favorable depths (especially from the 160-190 km interval) may correspond to significant diamond potential.
Abstract: Metasomatic processes modify the composition of the subcratonic lithospheric mantle and can either form or destroy diamonds. The composition of these metasomatic agents is uncertain and has been mostly deduced from chemical zonation and overprints recorded by associated mantle silicates. Diamonds experience partial dissolution (resorption) during their residence in the mantle due to mantle metasomatism and later during their ascent in kimberlite magma. Diamonds, enclosed inside mantle xenoliths during the whole duration of ascent in kimberlite magma, can preserve their pre-kimberlite surface features, which record the last diamond-destructive metasomatic event to have occurred in the mantle. The geometry of diamond dissolution features acquired during mantle storage can provide information about diamond-destructive metasomatic events in the mantle. Diamond samples recovered from inside mantle xenoliths are extremely rare and mostly limited to eclogitic lithology, which suggests that variable resistance of different mantle lithologies to disintegration in kimberlite magma may affect representativity of these sample. Here we use whole diamond populations from exploration parcels and apply our earlier developed set of criteria to distinguish between kimberlitic and pre-kimberlitic surface features on diamonds. The study used diamonds (<1 to 4.5 mm size) from eight kimberlites in three localities: Orapa cluster, Botswana (BK1, AK15, and AK1 kimberlites), Ekati Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada (Grizzly, Leslie, Koala, and Misery kimberlites), and Snap Lake kimberlite dyke, Northwest Territories, Canada. The host kimberlites cover seven different volcaniclastic and coherent kimberlite lithologies, and our previous studies demonstrated a correlation between the style of kimberlitic resorption on diamonds and the host kimberlite lithology for these samples. From the total of 3256 studied diamonds, we identified 534 diamonds with pre-kimberlite surface textures. These pre-kimberlite surface textures display six distinct types, which are present in all the studied diamond parcels regardless of their geographic locality and host kimberlite lithology. The relative proportions of these types depend on the geographic locality showing linkage to a specific mantle source. We examined the relationship between the surface features on diamonds, their growth patterns revealed in cathodoluminescence (CL) images, the content and aggregation of nitrogen defects using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nitrogen content in specific growth zones of diamonds obtained using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for 82 Ekati diamonds. Our data show that growth step-faces develop on diamonds with complex multi-crystal cores, whereas flat-faced octahedra with simple oscillatory-zoned growth patterns derive from single growth events. Initial stages of dissolution affecting only outer growth zones develop simple serrate laminae on diamonds, while more extensive dissolution exposes more complex growth zones developing various shapes of laminae and etch features (trigons and irregular asperities). The effect of internal growth patterns on dissolution features is more profound during pre-kimberlitic than kimberlite-related resorption likely due to the greater role of defects in diamond dissolution at mantle conditions. Comparison with the results of diamond dissolution experiments shows that metasomatism by C-O-H fluid is not destructive to diamond, while carbonate-silicate melt-driven metasomatism causes diamond dissolution. Continuous change in the silicate content of silicate?carbonate melts and temperature variations within 200 °C can explain all pre-kimberlite dissolution features observed in this study. Similar pre-kimberlite dissolution features on diamonds from both the Zimbabwe and Slave cratons suggests that these metasomatic processes are widespread and affected the mantle below the eight studied kimberlites.
Journal of African Earth Sciences, in press available
Africa, West Africa
Geophysics - magnetics
Abstract: Studies of mafic dyke swarms may simultaneously provide information on the mechanical, geochemical, geochronological and magnetic environments at the time of their formation. The mafic intrusive history of different cratons can also be potentially used to unravel their assembly into their current configuration. The identification and classification of dykes is a first step to all these studies. Fortunately, even in regions with poor outcrop, we can use the strong magnetic response of mafic dykes to identify and map their extent. In West Africa the first maps of mafic dyke distribution were made over 40 years ago, but there are still large areas where there are almost no published data. In this paper we present a significantly updated map of mafic dykes for the West Africa Craton based in large part on new interpretations of the regional airborne magnetic database. This map includes the locations of over three thousand dykes across the craton, which locally shows several orientation clusters that provide a minimum estimate for the total number of dyke swarms in this region. Whilst we will have to wait until systematic dating of the different swarms is completed, we can demonstrate that there is a long and complex history of mafic magmatism across the craton, with up to 26 distinct dyke swarms mapped based according to their orientation. The mapping and dating of these swarms will provide key constraints on the assembly of the fragments that make up the modern continents.
Dyke Swarms of the World: a modern perspective, Srivastava et al. eds. Springer , pp. 263-314.
Africa, West Africa, South America
geochronology
Abstract: Eight different generations of dolerite dykes crosscutting the Paleoproterozoic basement in West Africa and one in South America were dated using the high precision U-Pb TIMS method on baddeleyite. Some of the individual dykes reach over 300 km in length and they are considered parts of much larger systems of mafic dyke swarms representing the plumbing systems for large igneous provinces (LIPs). The new U-Pb ages obtained for the investigated swarms in the southern West African Craton (WAC) are the following (oldest to youngest): 1791?±?3 Ma for the N010° Libiri swarm, 1764?±?4 Ma for the N035° Kédougou swarm, 1575?±?5 for the N100° Korsimoro swarm, ~1525-1529 Ma for the N130° Essakane swarm, 1521?±?3 Ma for the N90° Sambarabougou swarm, 915?±?7 Ma for the N070° Oda swarm, 867?±?16 Ma for the N355° Manso swarm, 202?±?5 Ma and 198?±?16 Ma for the N040° Hounde swarm, and 200?±?3 Ma for the sills in the Taoudeni basin. The last ones are related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) event. The Hounde swarm is oblique to the dominant radiating CAMP swarm and may be linked with the similar-trending elongate Kakoulima intrusion in Guinea. In addition, the N150° Käyser swarm (Amazonian craton, South America) is dated at 1528?±?2 Ma, providing a robust match with the Essakane swarm in a standard Amazonia-West African craton reconstruction, and resulting in a combined linear swarm >1500 km by >1500 km in extent. The Precambrian LIP barcode ages of c. 1790, 1765-1750, 1575, 1520, 915. 870 Ma for the WAC are compared with the global LIP record to identify possible matches on other crustal blocks, with reconstruction implications. These results contribute to the refinement of the magmatic ‘barcode’ for the West African and Amazonian cratons, representing the first steps towards plausible global paleogeographic reconstructions involving the West African and Amazonian cratons.
Abstract: The West-African craton is defined by a combination of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks that stabilised at ~2 Ga towards the end of the Paleoproterozoic Eburnean Orogeny, and therefore may reflect the transition from Archean to modern tectonic processes. Exploring its present lithospheric architecture aids further understanding of not only the craton’s stability through its history but also its formation. We investigate the lithospheric structure of the craton through analysing and modelling magnetotelluric (MT) data from a 500-km-long east-west profile in northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso crossing part of the Baoulé-Mossi Domain and reaching the Volta Basin in the south-eastern part of the craton. Although the MT stations are along a 2D profile, due to the complexity of the structures characterising the area, 3D resistivity modelling of the data is performed to obtain insights on the thermal signature and composition of the subcontinental lithosphere beneath the area. The thermal structure and water content estimates from different resistivity models highlight a strong dependence on the starting model in the 3D inversions, but still enable us to put constraints on the deep structure of the craton. The present?day thermal lithosphere?asthenosphere boundary (LAB) depth is estimated to be at least 250 km beneath the Baoulé-Mossi domain. The area likely transitions from a cold and thick lithosphere with relatively low water content into thinner, more fertile lithosphere below the Volta Basin. Although the inferred amount of water could be explained by Paleoproterozoic subduction processes involved in the formation of the Baoulé-Mossi domain, later enrichment of the lithosphere cannot be excluded.
Baldridge, W.S., Perry, F.V., Vaniman, D.T., et al.
Middle to late Cenozoic magmatism of the southeastern Colorado Plateau And central Rio Grande rift ( New Mexico and Arizona): a model for continentalrifting
Tectonophysics, Vol. 197, No. 2-4, November pp. 327-354
Abstract: Apatite fission track (AFT) and (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometry data are reported and used to unravel the exhumation history of crystalline basement rocks from the elevated (>1000?m above sea level) but low-relief Tanzanian Craton. Coeval episodes of sedimentation documented within adjacent Paleozoic to Mesozoic basins of southern Tanzania and the Congo basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo indicate that most of the cooling in the basement rocks in Tanzania was linked to erosion. Basement samples were from an exploration borehole located within the craton and up to 2200?m below surface. Surface samples were also analyzed. AFT dates range between 317?±?33?Ma and 188?±?44?Ma. Alpha (Ft)-corrected AHe dates are between 433?±?24?Ma and 154?±?20?Ma. Modeling of the data reveals two important periods of cooling within the craton: one during the Carboniferous-Triassic (340-220?Ma) and a later, less well constrained episode, during the late Cretaceous. The later exhumation is well detected proximal to the East African Rift (70?Ma). Thermal histories combined with the estimated geothermal gradient of 9°C/km constrained by the AFT and AHe data from the craton and a mean surface temperature of 20°C indicate removal of up to 9?±?2?km of overburden since the end of Paleozoic. The correlation of erosion of the craton and sedimentation and subsidence within the Congo basin in the Paleozoic may indicate regional flexural geodynamics of the lithosphere due to lithosphere buckling induced by far-field compressional tectonic processes and thereafter through deep mantle upwelling and epeirogeny tectonic processes.
Abstract: The southern U.S. continental margin records a history spanning ca. 1.2 Ga, including two Wilson cycles. However, due to a thick sediment cover, the paucity of significant local seismicity, and, until recently, sparse instrumentation, details of this passive margin’s tectonomagmatic evolution remain disputed. This paper compares recent S-wave tomography and crustal thickness models based on USArray data to help establish a framework for geodynamic interpretation. Large-scale patterns of crustal velocity anomalies, corresponding to major regional features such as the Ouachita orogenic front and the Precambrian margin, are generally consistent between the models. The spatial extent of smaller-scale tectonic features, such as the Sabine Uplift and Wiggins block, remains poorly resolved. An inverse relationship between crustal thickness and Bouguer gravity across the continental margin is observed. This model comparison highlights the need for additional P-wave tomography studies and targeted, higher density station deployments to better constrain tectonic features.
Abstract: This study investigates the color origin of 40 natural Fancy Dark brown-black round brilliant diamonds from the Marange alluvial deposits in eastern Zimbabwe. Visual observations show that the dark appearance of the Marange diamonds is due to a combination of graphite micro-inclusions (associated with methane), graphite needles, and dark brown radiation stains that occur along internal fractures. The GR1 (V0) defect, typically formed during natural and artificial irradiation, is observed in the optical spectra of 43% of the diamonds, al- though its intensity is too low to significantly impact the bodycolor. Natural irradiation in these diamonds is likely related to their billion-year residence in the Umkondo conglomerate, which is known to contain radioac- tive minerals such as zircon. Aside from radiation staining, irradiation-damaged diamond appears non-lumines- cent in DiamondView images and shows a weaker, broader diamond peak (at 1332 cm?1) in Raman spectroscopy. Brown coloration of the radiation stains is due to heating of the diamonds during later regional metamorphism, which also facilitated the formation of the H3 (NVN0) and NiN complexes.
Abstract: A freely moving diamond trapped inside another diamond was discovered in Siberia by Alrosa in 2019. The unusual diamond, nicknamed the “Matryoshka” after the traditional Russian nesting dolls, attracted widespread interest in how this feature formed.
Persikov, E., Bukhtiyarov, P., Skol, A., Palyanov, Y.
Viscosity of kimberlite and basaltic magmas to 10 Gpa and 2000K.
V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences International Symposium Advances in high pressure research: breaking scales and horizons ( Courtesy of N. Poikilenko), Held Sept. 22-26, 2p. Abstract
Interrelated structural chemical model to predict and calculate viscosity of magmatic melts and water diffusion in a wide range of compositions and T-P parameters
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 50, 12, pp. 1079-1090.
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 58, pp. 1093-1100.
Mantle
kimberlite
Abstract: New experimental data on the temperature and pressure dependences of the viscosity of synthetic hydrous kimberlite melts (82 wt.% silicate + 18 wt.% carbonate; degree of depolymerization: 100NBO/T = 313 for anhydrous melts and 100NBO/T = 247 for melts with 3 wt.% H2O) were obtained at a water pressure of 100 MPa and at lithostatic pressures of 5.5 and 7.5 GPa in the temperature range 1300-1950 °C. The temperature dependence of the viscosity of these melts follows the exponential Arrhenius-Frenkel-Eyring equation in the investigated range of temperatures and pressures. The activation energies of viscous flow for hydrous kimberlite melts were first shown to increase linearly with increasing pressure. Under isothermal conditions (T = 1800 °C), the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts increases exponentially by about an order of magnitude as the pressure increases from 100 MPa to 7.5 GPa. The new experimental data on the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts (error ± 30 rel.%) are compared with forecast viscosity data for anhydrous kimberlite and basaltic melts (100NBO/T = 51.5) and for hydrous basaltic melts (100NBO/T = 80). It is shown that at comparable temperatures, the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts at a moderate pressure (100 MPa) is about an order of magnitude lower than the viscosity of hydrous basaltic melts, whereas at a high pressure (7.5 GPa) it is more than twice higher. It is first established that water dissolution in kimberlite melts does not affect seriously their viscosity (within the measurement error) at both moderate (100 MPa) and high (7.5 GPa) pressures, whereas the viscosity of basaltic melts considerably decreases with water dissolution at moderate pressures (100 MPa) and remains unchanged at high pressures (P > 3.5 GPa).
Russian Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 58, pp. 1093-1100.
Mantle
melting
Abstract: New experimental data on the temperature and pressure dependences of the viscosity of synthetic hydrous kimberlite melts (82 wt.% silicate + 18 wt.% carbonate; degree of depolymerization: 100NBO/T = 313 for anhydrous melts and 100NBO/T = 247 for melts with 3 wt.% H2O) were obtained at a water pressure of 100 MPa and at lithostatic pressures of 5.5 and 7.5 GPa in the temperature range 1300-1950 °C. The temperature dependence of the viscosity of these melts follows the exponential Arrhenius-Frenkel-Eyring equation in the investigated range of temperatures and pressures. The activation energies of viscous flow for hydrous kimberlite melts were first shown to increase linearly with increasing pressure. Under isothermal conditions (T = 1800 °C), the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts increases exponentially by about an order of magnitude as the pressure increases from 100 MPa to 7.5 GPa. The new experimental data on the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts (error ± 30 rel.%) are compared with forecast viscosity data for anhydrous kimberlite and basaltic melts (100NBO/T = 51.5) and for hydrous basaltic melts (100NBO/T = 80). It is shown that at comparable temperatures, the viscosity of hydrous kimberlite melts at a moderate pressure (100 MPa) is about an order of magnitude lower than the viscosity of hydrous basaltic melts, whereas at a high pressure (7.5 GPa) it is more than twice higher. It is first established that water dissolution in kimberlite melts does not affect seriously their viscosity (within the measurement error) at both moderate (100 MPa) and high (7.5 GPa) pressures, whereas the viscosity of basaltic melts considerably decreases with water dissolution at moderate pressures (100 MPa) and remains unchanged at high pressures (P > 3.5 GPa).
Abstract: Only limited data are available at present on the viscosity of kimberlite magmas. We investigate viscosity of synthetic carbonate-bearing (silicate82?+?carbonate18, wt%, 100NBO/T?=?313) anhydrous haplokimberlite melts theoretically and in experiments. We use new experimental data on viscosity of anhydrous haplokimberlite melts and a physical-chemical model (Persikov and Bukhtiyarov 2009; Persikov et al. 2015) to compare basic viscosity features in kimberlitic and basaltic melts (100NBO/T?=?56). Viscosity of melts is determined by the falling sphere quenching method in a large range of temperatures from 1300 to 1950?°C and pressures up to 7.5?GPa. We use two types of high-pressure apparatuses: a high gas pressure apparatus and a high pressure split-sphere multi-anvil apparatus to study the viscosity of melts at moderate (100?MPa CO2 pressure) and high (5.5?GPa and 7.5?GPa) pressures, respectively. The measured viscosity ranges for anhydrous haplokimberlite melts are from 1.5 (±0.45) to 0.11(±0.03) Pa s. The temperature dependence of the viscosity of haplokimberlite and basaltic melts is consistent with the theoretical Arrhenian equation. At a constant temperature, viscosity of anhydrous haplokimberlite melts increases exponentially about ten-fold as pressure increases from 100?MPa to 7.5?GPa. The activation energy of viscous flow increases linearly with pressure increase from 100?MPa to 7.5?GPa for anhydrous haplokimberlite melts but decreases in the case of basaltic melts, with the minimum at ~5.5?GPa. At a moderate pressure (100?MPa), haplokimberlite melts are about twenty times less viscous than basaltic melts, but are about four times more viscous at a high pressure (7.5?GPa), the temperature being 1800?°C in both cases. The experimentally observed behavior of the viscosity of anhydrous haplokimberlite melts is consistent with predictions of the physical-chemical model within the range of uncertainties in both experimental and calculated data (±30% rel.). Thus, the physical-chemical model is used to discuss possible effects of volume percentages of crystals and bubbles on viscosity of kimberlitic and basaltic magmas at different pressures and temperatures during their origin, evolution, and ascent.
Abstract: In the experiments at 3.0-6.3 GPa and 1200-1350°C, it is found that under P-T parameters close to the conditions in ascending kimberlite magma, the carbonate melt enriched in potassium and volatiles is able to dissolve effectively the entire amount of xenogenic peridotite material that can potentially transport. As a result of this process, the melt is enriched in SiO2 (up to 30 wt %) and is transformed from carbonate to a kimberlite-like one. In the range of parameters studied, due to the high solubility of CO2 in the melt and the appearance of magnesite, an equilibrium fluid phase is not formed in the system. The interaction realized in the experiments may be the most important factor at the initial stage of magma evolution. The calculations performed in this work show that even after the dissolution of 30-50 wt % of lherzolite, the volatile-rich carbonate-silicate melt has a high degree of depolymerization (the ratio of the number of nonbridging oxygen atoms to the number of tetrahedrally coordinated ions (100NBO/T from 250 to 390) remains low-viscous (0.3-32.6 Pa s) and able to ascend to the surface rapidly. The obtained data indicate that immiscibility occurs between the potassium-rich carbonate-silicate and highly silicate melts only at 5.5 GPa and 1350°C and is likely to have a minor impact on the evolution of magma.
Soderlund, U., Bleeker, W., Demirer, K., Srivastava, R.K., Hamilton, M., Nilsson, M., Personen, L.J., Samal, A.K., Jayananda, M., Ernst, R.E., Srinivas, M.
Abstract: Large igneous provinces (LIPs) and especially their dyke swarms are pivotal to reconstruction of ancient supercontinents. The Dharwar craton of southern Peninsular India represents a substantial portion of Archean crust and has been considered to be a principal constituent of Superia, Sclavia, Nuna/Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents. The craton is intruded by numerous regional-scale mafic dyke swarms of which only a few have robustly constrained emplacement ages. Through this study, the LIP record of the Dharwar craton has been improved by U-Pb geochronology of 18 dykes, which together comprise seven generations of Paleoproterozoic dyke swarms with emplacement ages within the 2.37-1.79 Ga age interval. From oldest to youngest, the new ages (integrated with U-Pb ages previously reported for the Hampi swarm) define the following eight swarms with their currently recommended names: NE-SW to ESE-WNW trending ca. 2.37 Ga Bangalore-Karimnagar swarm. N-S to NNE-SSW trending ca. 2.25 Ga Ippaguda-Dhiburahalli swarm. N-S to NNW-SSE trending ca. 2.22 Ga Kandlamadugu swarm. NW-SE to WNW-ESE trending ca. 2.21 Ga Anantapur-Kunigal swarm. NW-SE to WNW-ESE trending ca. 2.18 Ga Mahbubnagar-Dandeli swarm. N-S, NW-SE, and ENE-WSW trending ca. 2.08 Ga Devarabanda swarm. E-W trending 1.88-1.89 Ga Hampi swarm. NW-SE ca. 1.79 Ga Pebbair swarm. Comparison of the arcuate trends of some swarms along with an apparent oroclinal bend of ancient geological features, such as regional Dharwar greenstone belts and the late Archean (ca. 2.5 Ga) Closepet Granite batholith, have led to the hypothesis that the northern Dharwar block has rotated relative to the southern block. By restoring a 30° counter clockwise rotation of the northern Dharwar block relative to the southern block, we show that pre-2.08 Ga arcuate and fanning dyke swarms consistently become approximately linear. Two possible tectonic models for this apparent bending, and concomitant dyke rotations, are discussed. Regardless of which deformation mechanisms applies, these findings reinforce previous suggestions that the radial patterns of the giant ca. 2.37 Ga Bangalore-Karimnagar dyke swarm, and probably also the ca. 2.21 Ga Anantapur-Kunigal swarm, may not be primary features.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 233, pp. 95-114.
Europe, Italy
shoshonites
Abstract: The diffusive exchange of 30 trace elements (Cs, Rb, Ba, Sr, Co, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ta, V, Cr, Pb, Th, U, Zr, Hf, Sn and Nb) during the interaction of natural mafic and silicic alkaline melts was experimentally studied at conditions relevant to shallow magmatic systems. In detail, a set of 12 diffusion couple experiments have been performed between natural shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts from the Vulcano Island (Aeolian archipelago, Italy) at a temperature of 1200?°C, pressures from 50 to 500?MPa, and water contents ranging from nominally dry to ca. 2 wt.%. Concentration-distance profiles, measured by Laser Ablation ICP-MS, highlight different behaviours, and trace elements were divided into two groups: (1) elements with normal diffusion profiles (13 elements, mainly low field strength and transition elements), and (2) elements showing uphill diffusion (17 elements including Y, Zr, Nb, Pb and rare earth elements, except Eu). For the elements showing normal diffusion profiles, chemical diffusion coefficients were estimated using a concentration-dependent evaluation method, and values are given at four intermediate compositions (SiO2 equal to 58, 62, 66 and 70 wt.%, respectively). A general coupling of diffusion coefficients to silica diffusivity is observed, and variations in systematics are observed between mafic and silicic compositions. Results show that water plays a decisive role on diffusive rates in the studied conditions, producing an enhancement between 0.4 and 0.7 log units per 1 wt.% of added H2O. Particularly notable is the behaviour of the trivalent-only REEs (La to Nd and Gd to Lu), with strong uphill diffusion minima, diminishing from light to heavy REEs. Modelling of REE profiles by a modified effective binary diffusion model indicates that activity gradients induced by the SiO2 concentration contrast are responsible for their development, inducing a transient partitioning of REEs towards the shoshonitic melt. These results indicate that diffusive fractionation of trace elements is possible during magma mixing events, especially in the more silicic melts, and that the presence of water in such events can lead to enhanced chemical diffusive mixing efficiency, affecting also the estimation of mixing to eruption timescales.
The American Mineralogist, Vol. 106, pp. 38-43. pdf
Mantle
perovskites, mineral inclusions
Abstract: Earth's lower mantle most likely mainly consists of ferropericlase, bridgmanite, and a CaSiO3- phase in the perovskite structure. If separately trapped in diamonds, these phases can be transported to Earth's surface without reacting with the surrounding mantle. Although all inclusions will remain chemically pristine, only ferropericlase will stay in its original crystal structure, whereas in almost all cases bridgmanite and CaSiO3-perovskite will transform to their lower-pressure polymorphs. In the case of perovskite structured CaSiO3, the new structure that is formed is closely related to that of walstromite. This mineral is now approved by the IMA commission on new minerals and named breyite. The crystal structure is triclinic (space group: P1) with lattice parameters a0 = 6.6970(4) Å, b0 = 9.2986(7) Å, c0 = 6.6501(4) Å, ? = 83.458(6)°, ? = 76.226(6)°, ? = 69.581(7)°, and V = 376.72(4) Å. The major element composition found for the studied breyite is Ca3.01(2)Si2.98(2)O9. Breyite is the second most abundant mineral inclusion after ferropericlase in diamonds of super-deep origin. The occurrence of breyite has been widely presumed to be a strong indication of lower mantle (=670 km depth) or at least lower transition zone (=520 km depth) origin of both the host diamond and the inclusion suite. In this work, we demonstrate through different formation scenarios that the finding of breyite alone in a diamond is not a reliable indicator of the formation depth in the transition zone or in the lower mantle and that accompanying paragenetic phases such as ferropericlase together with MgSiO3 are needed.
Abstract: Jeffbenite, ideally Mg3Al2Si3O8, previously known as tetragonal-almandine-pyrope-phase (‘TAPP’), has been characterized as a new mineral from an inclusion in an alluvial diamond from São Luiz river, Juina district of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Its density is 3.576 g/cm3 and its microhardness is ?7. Jeffbenite is uniaxial (-) with refractive indexes ??=?1.733(5) and ??=?1.721(5). The crystals are in general transparent emerald green. Its approximate chemical formula is (Mg2.62Fe2+0.27)(Al1.86Cr0.16)(Si2.82Al0.18)O12 with very minor amounts of Mn, Na and Ca. Laser ablation ICP-MS showed that jeffbenite has a very low concentration of trace elements. Jeffbenite is tetragonal with space group I4¯2d, cell edges being a?=?6.5231(1) and c?=?18.1756(3) Å. The main diffraction lines of the powder diagram are [d (in Å), intensity, hkl]: 2.647, 100, 2 0 4; 1.625, 44, 3 2 5; 2.881, 24, 2 1 1; 2.220, 19, 2 0 6; 1.390, 13, 4 2 4; 3.069, 11, 2 0 2; 2.056, 11, 2 2 4; 1.372, 11, 2 0 12. The structural formula of jeffbenite can be written as (M1)(M2)2(M3)2(T1)(T2)2O12 with M1 dominated by Mg, M2 dominated by Al, M3 dominated again by Mg and both T1 and T2 almost fully occupied by Si. The two tetrahedra do not share any oxygen with each other (i.e. jeffbenite is classified as an orthosilicate). Jeffbenite was approved as a new mineral by the IMA Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names with the code IMA 2014-097. Its name is after Jeffrey W. Harris and Ben Harte, two world-leading scientists in diamond research. The petrological importance of jeffbenite is related to its very deep origin, which may allow its use as a pressure marker for detecting super-deep diamonds. Previous experimental work carried out on a Ti-rich jeffbenite establishes that it can be formed at 13 GPa and 1700 K as maximum P-T conditions.
Nestola, F., Korolev, N., Kopylova, M., Rotiroti, N., Pearson, D.G., Pamato, M.G., Alvaro, M., Peruzzo, L., Gurney, J.J., Moore, A.E., Davidson, J.
CaSiO3 perovskite in diamond indicates the recycling of oceanic crust into the lower mantle.
Nature, Vol. 555, March 8, pp. 237-241.
Mantle
deposit - Cullinan
Abstract: Laboratory experiments and seismology data have created a clear theoretical picture of the most abundant minerals that comprise the deeper parts of the Earth’s mantle. Discoveries of some of these minerals in ‘super-deep’ diamonds—formed between two hundred and about one thousand kilometres into the lower mantle—have confirmed part of this picture1,2,3,4,5. A notable exception is the high-pressure perovskite-structured polymorph of calcium silicate (CaSiO3). This mineral—expected to be the fourth most abundant in the Earth—has not previously been found in nature. Being the dominant host for calcium and, owing to its accommodating crystal structure, the major sink for heat-producing elements (potassium, uranium and thorium) in the transition zone and lower mantle, it is critical to establish its presence. Here we report the discovery of the perovskite-structured polymorph of CaSiO3 in a diamond from South African Cullinan kimberlite. The mineral is intergrown with about six per cent calcium titanate (CaTiO3). The titanium-rich composition of this inclusion indicates a bulk composition consistent with derivation from basaltic oceanic crust subducted to pressures equivalent to those present at the depths of the uppermost lower mantle. The relatively ‘heavy’ carbon isotopic composition of the surrounding diamond, together with the pristine high-pressure CaSiO3 structure, provides evidence for the recycling of oceanic crust and surficial carbon to lower-mantle depths.https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25972
Geophysical Research Abstracts EGRU2019-3091, Vol. 21, 3091, 1p.
Europe, Alps
garnet
Abstract: Garnet is the paradigmatic cubic mineral of metamorphic and igneous rocks, and is generally regarded as optically isotropic. Nonetheless, evident birefringence is observed, particularly in the rare CaFe 3+ hydrogarnets, which is attributed to the coexistence of two or more cubic phases. A weak birefringence, with rare examples of optical sector zoning, has also been documented in much more common Fe 2+-Mg-Mn garnets, but an adequate explanation for its cause is, so far, lacking. Here we show that optically anisotropic garnets are much more widespread than previously thought, both in blueschists and blueschist-facies rocks, as well as in lower greenschist-facies phyllites, but they are frequently overlooked when working with conventional, 30-µm-thick thin sections. Utilizing a multi-technique approach including optical microstructural analysis, BSEM, EMPA, EBSD, FTIR, TEM, EDT and single-crystal XRD, we demonstrate here that the birefringence in these garnets is related to their tetragonal symmetry, that it is not due to strain, and that crystals are twinned according to a merohedral law. We also show that the birefringent garnets from blueschists and phyllites are anhydrous, lacking any hydrogarnet component, and have compositions dominated by almandine (58-79%) and grossular (19-30%) with variable spessartine (0-21%) and very low pyrope (1-7%). Considering the widespread occurrence of optically anisotropic OH-free garnets in blueschists and phyllites, their common low-grade metamorphic origin, and the occurrence of optically isotropic garnets with similar Ca-rich almandine composition in higher-grade rocks, we conclude that garnet does not grow with cubic symmetry in low-temperature rocks (< 400 • C). The tetragonal structure appears to be typical of Fe-Ca-rich compositions, with very low Mg contents. Cubic but optically sector-zoned garnet in a lower amphibolite-facies metapelite from the eastern Alps suggests that preservation of tetragonal garnet is favored in rocks which did not progress to T> ?500 • C, where transition to the cubic form, accompanied by change of stable chemical composition, would take place. Our data show that the crystal-chemistry of garnet, its thermodynamics and, in turn, its use in unravelling petrogenetic processes in cold metamorphic environments need to be reassessed.
Abstract: Nixonite (IMA 2018-133), ideally Na2Ti6O13, is a new mineral found within a heavily-metasomatized pyroxenite xenolith from the Darby kimberlite field, beneath the west central Rae Craton, Canada. It occurs as microcrystalline aggregates, 15 to 40 ?m in length. Nixonite is isostructural with jeppeite, K2Ti6O13, with a structure consisting of edge- and corner-shared titanium-centered octahedra that enclose alkali-metal ions. The Mohs hardness is estimated to be between 5 and 6 by comparison to jeppeite and the calculated density is 3.51(1) g/cm3. Electron microprobe wavelength-dispersive spectroscopic analysis (average of 6 points) yielded: Na2O 6.87, K2O 5.67 CaO 0.57, TiO2 84.99, V2O3 0.31, Cr2O3 0.04, MnO 0.01, Fe2O3 0.26, SrO 0.07, total 98.79 wt%. The empirical formula, based on 13 O atoms, is: (Na1.24K0.67Ca0.06)?1.97(Ti5.96V0.023Fe0.018)?6.00O13 with minor amounts of Cr and Mn. Nixonite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, with unit-cell parameters a = 15.3632(26) Å, b = 3.7782(7) Å, c = 9.1266(15) Å, ? = 99.35(15)º and V = 522.72(1) Å3, Z = 2. Based on the average of seven integrated multi-grain diffraction images, the strongest diffraction lines are [dobs in Å (I in %) (h k l)]: 3.02 (100) (3 1 0) , 3.66 (75) (1 1 0), 7.57 (73) (2 0 0), 6.31 (68) (2 0 -1), 2.96 (63) (3 1 -1), 2.96 (63) (2 0 -3) and 2.71 (62) (4 0 2). The five main Raman peaks of nixonite, in order of decreasing intensity, are at: 863, 280, 664, 135 and 113 cm-1. Nixonite is named after Peter H. Nixon, a renowned scientist in the field of kimberlites and mantle xenoliths. Nixonite occurs within a pyroxenite xenolith in a kimberlite, in association with rutile, priderite, perovskite, freudenbergite and ilmenite. This complex Na-K-Ti rich metasomatic mineral assemblage may have been produced by a fractionated Na-rich kimberlitic melt that infiltrated a mantle-derived garnet pyroxenite and reacted with rutile during kimberlite crystallization.
Abstract: Garnet is the archetypal cubic mineral, occurring in a wide variety of rock types in Earth’s crust and upper mantle. Owing to its prevalence, durability and compositional diversity, garnet is used to investigate a broad range of geological processes. Although birefringence is a characteristic feature of rare Ca-Fe3+ garnet and Ca-rich hydrous garnet, the optical anisotropy that has occasionally been documented in common (that is, anhydrous Ca-Fe2+-Mg-Mn) garnet is generally attributed to internal strain of the cubic structure. Here we show that common garnet with a non-cubic (tetragonal) crystal structure is much more widespread than previously thought, occurring in low-temperature, high-pressure metamorphosed basalts (blueschists) from subduction zones and in low-grade metamorphosed mudstones (phyllites and schists) from orogenic belts. Indeed, a non-cubic symmetry appears to be typical of common garnet that forms at low temperatures (<450?°C), where it has a characteristic Fe-Ca-rich composition with very low Mg contents. We propose that, in most cases, garnet does not initially grow cubic. Our discovery indicates that the crystal chemistry and thermodynamic properties of garnet at low-temperature need to be re-assessed, with potential consequences for the application of garnet as an investigative tool in a broad range of geological environments.
Abstract: Magnesian ilmenite is a common kimberlite indicator mineral, although its use in diamond exploration is still controversial. Complex crystallisation and replacement processes have been invoked to explain the wide compositional and textural ranges of ilmenite found in kimberlites. This work aims to shed light on these processes, as well as their implications for diamond exploration. Petrographic studies were combined for the first time with both major- and trace-element analyses to characterise the ilmenite populations found in xenoliths and xenocrysts in two Angolan kimberlites (Congo-Kasai craton). A multi-stage model describes the evolution of ilmenite in these pipes involving: i) crystallisation of ferric and Mg-rich ilmenite either as metasomatic phases or as megacrysts, both in crustal and in metasomatised mantle domains; ii) kimberlite entrainment and xenolith disaggregation producing at least two populations of ilmenite nodules differing in composition; iii) interaction of both types with the kimberlitic magma during eruption, leading to widespread replacement by Mg-rich ilmenite along grain boundaries and fractures. This process produced similar major-element compositions in ilmenites regardless of their primary (i.e., pre-kimberlitic) origin, although the original enrichment in HFSE (Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb) observed in Fe3 +-rich xenocrysts is preserved. Finally (iv) formation of secondary Mn-ilmenite by interaction with a fluid of carbonatitic affinity or by infiltration of a late hydrothermal fluid, followed in some cases by subsolidus alteration in an oxidising environment. The complexities of ilmenite genesis may lead to misinterpretation of the diamond potential of a kimberlite during the exploration stage if textural and trace-element information is disregarded. Secondary Mg-enrichment of ilmenite xenocrysts is common and is unrelated to reducing conditions that could favour diamond formation/preservation in the mantle. Similarly, Mn-rich ilmenite should be disregarded as a diamond indicator mineral, unless textural studies can prove its primary origin.
Timing and duration of kimberlitic magmatism in the Zimnii Bereg Diamondiferous province: evidence from Rb Sr age dat a on kimberlitic sills along the Mela River.
Doklady Earth Sciences, Vol. 407, 2, Feb-Mar. pp. 304-307.
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 265, pp. 67-81.
Mantle
melting
Abstract: Knowledge of melting properties is critical to predict the nature and the fate of melts produced in the deep mantle. Early in the Earth’s history, melting properties controlled the magma ocean crystallization, which potentially induced chemical segregation in distinct reservoirs. Today, partial melting most probably occurs in the lowermost mantle as well as at mid upper-mantle depths, which control important aspects of mantle dynamics, including some types of volcanism. Unfortunately, despite major experimental and theoretical efforts, major controversies remain about several aspects of mantle melting. For example, the liquidus of the mantle was reported (for peridotitic or chondritic-type composition) with a temperature difference of ?1000 K at high mantle depths. Also, the Fe partitioning coefficient (DFeBg/melt) between bridgmanite (Bg, the major lower mantle mineral) and a melt was reported between ?0.1 and ?0.5, for a mantle depth of ?2000 km. Until now, these uncertainties had prevented the construction of a coherent picture of the melting behavior of the deep mantle. In this article, we perform a critical review of previous works and develop a coherent, semi-quantitative, model. We first address the melting curve of Bg with the help of original experimental measurements, which yields a constraint on the volume change upon melting (?Vm). Secondly, we apply a basic thermodynamical approach to discuss the melting behavior of mineralogical assemblages made of fractions of Bg, CaSiO3-perovskite and (Mg,Fe)O-ferropericlase. Our analysis yields quantitative constraints on the SiO2-content in the pseudo-eutectic melt and the degree of partial melting (F) as a function of pressure, temperature and mantle composition; For examples, we find that F could be more than 40% at the solidus temperature, except if the presence of volatile elements induces incipient melting. We then discuss the melt buoyancy in a partial molten lower mantle as a function of pressure, F and DFeBg/melt. In the lower mantle, density inversions (i.e. sinking melts) appear to be restricted to low F values and highest mantle pressures. The coherent melting model has direct geophysical implications: (i) in the early Earth, the magma ocean crystallization could not occur for a core temperature higher than ?5400 K at the core-mantle boundary (CMB). This temperature corresponds to the melting of pure Bg at 135 GPa. For a mantle composition more realistic than pure Bg, the right CMB temperature for magma ocean crystallization could have been as low as ?4400 K. (ii) There are converging arguments for the formation of a relatively homogeneous mantle after magma ocean crystallization. In particular, we predict the bulk crystallization of a relatively large mantle fraction, when the temperature becomes lower than the pseudo-eutectic temperature. Some chemical segregation could still be possible as a result of some Bg segregation in the lowermost mantle during the first stage of the magma ocean crystallization, and due to a much later descent of very low F, Fe-enriched, melts toward the CMB. (iii) The descent of such melts could still take place today. There formation should to be related to incipient mantle melting due to the presence of volatile elements. Even though, these melts can only be denser than the mantle (at high mantle depths) if the controversial value of DFeBg/melt is indeed as low as suggested by some experimental studies. This type of melts could contribute to produce ultra-low seismic velocity anomalies in the lowermost mantle.
Abstract: Experimental data reveal that Earth’s mantle melts more readily than previously thought, and may have remained mushy until two to three billion years ago.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available, doi.org/101016 /j.gca.2020.07.013 45p. Pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Lac de Gras
Abstract: Whether hydrogen incorporated in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals plays a role in the strength and longevity of the thick cratonic lithosphere is a matter of debate. In particular, the percolation of hydrogen-bearing melts and fluids could potentially add hydrogen to the mantle lithosphere, weaken its olivines (the dominant mineral in mantle peridotite), and cause delamination of the lithosphere's base. The influence of metasomatism on hydrogen contents of cratonic mantle minerals can be tested in mantle xenoliths from the Slave Craton (Canada) because they show extensive evidence for metasomatism of a layered cratonic mantle. Minerals from mantle xenoliths from the Diavik mine in the Lac de Gras kimberlite area located at the center of the Archean Slave craton were analyzed by FTIR for hydrogen contents. The 18 peridotites, two pyroxenites, one websterite and one wehrlite span an equilibration pressure range from 3.1 to 6.6 GPa and include samples from the shallow (? 145 km), oxidized ultra-depleted layer; the deeper (?145-180 km), reduced less depleted layer; and an ultra-deep (? 180 km) layer near the base of the lithosphere. Olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and garnet from peridotites contain 30 - 145, 110 - 225, 105 - 285, 2 - 105 ppm H2O, respectively. Within each deep and ultra-deep layer, correlations of hydrogen contents in minerals and tracers of metasomatism (for example light over heavy rare-earth-element ratio (LREE/HREE), high-field-strength-element (HFSE) content with equilibration pressure) can be explained by a chromatographic process occurring during the percolation of kimberlite-like melts through garnet peridotite. The hydrogen content of peridotite minerals is controlled by the compositions of the evolving melt and of the minerals and by mineral/melt partition coefficients. At the beginning of the process, clinopyroxene scavenges most of the hydrogen and garnet most of the HFSE. As the melt evolves and becomes enriched in hydrogen and LREE, olivine and garnet start to incorporate hydrogen and pyroxenes become enriched in LREE. The hydrogen content of peridotite increases with decreasing depth, overall (e.g., from 75 to 138 ppm H2O in the deep peridotites). Effective viscosity calculated using olivine hydrogen content for the deepest xenoliths near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary overlaps with estimates of asthenospheric viscosities. These xenoliths cannot be representative of the overall cratonic root because the lack of viscosity contrast would have caused basal erosion of lithosphere. Instead, metasomatism must be confined in narrow zones channeling kimberlite melts through the lithosphere and from where xenoliths are preferentially sampled. Such localized metasomatism by hydrogen-bearing melts therefore does not necessarily result in delamination of the cratonic root.
Hydrogen loss from olivines in mantle xenoliths from Simcoe (USA) and Mexico: mafic alkalic magma ascent rates and water budget of sub-continental lithosphere
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 242, 3-4, pp. 302-319.
Li, ZX., Lee, C-T.A, Peslier, A.H., Lenardic, A., Mackwell, S.J.
Water contents in mantle xeonoliths from the Colorado Plateau and vicinity: implications for the mantle rheology and hydration induced thinking of lithosphere
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, B9, B09210.
Zheng-Xue, A.L., Lee, C-T.A., Peslier, A.H., Lenardic, A., Mackwell, S.J.
Water contents in mantle xenoliths from the Colorado Plateau and vicinity: implications for mantle rheology and hydration induced thinning of continental lithosph.
Armytage, R.M.G., Brandon, A.D., Peslier, A.H., Lapen, T.J.
Osmium isotope evidence for Early to Middle Proterozoic mantle lithosphere stabilization and concommitant production of juvenile crust in Dish Hill, CA peridotite xenoliths.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 137, pp. 113-133.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 433, pp. 125-132.
Mantle
NAMs Nominally Anhydrous Minerals
Abstract: The mantle is the major reservoir of Earth's water, hosted within Nominally Anhydrous Minerals (NAMs) (e.g., , , and ), in the form of hydrogen bonded to the silicate's structural oxygen. From whence cometh this water? Is the water in these minerals representative of the Earth's primitive upper mantle or did it come from melting events linked to crustal formation or to more recent metasomatic/re-fertilization events? During diamond formation, NAMs are encapsulated at hundreds of kilometers depth within the mantle, thereby possibly shielding and preserving their pristine water contents from re-equilibrating with fluids and melts percolating through the lithospheric mantle. Here we show that the NAMs included in diamonds from six locales on the Siberian Craton contain measurable and variable H2O concentrations from 2 to 34 parts per million by weight (ppmw) in olivine, 7 to 276 ppmw in clinopyroxene, and 11-17 ppmw in garnets. Our results suggest that if the inclusions were in equilibrium with the diamond-forming fluid, the water fugacity would have been unrealistically low. Instead, we consider the H2O contents of the inclusions, shielded by diamonds, as pristine representatives of the residual mantle prior to encapsulation, and indicative of a protogenetic origin for the inclusions. Hydrogen diffusion in the diamond does not appear to have modified these values significantly. The H2O contents of NAMs in mantle xenoliths may represent some later metasomatic event(s), and are not always representative of most of the continental lithospheric mantle. Results from the present study also support the conclusions of Peslier et al. (2010) and Novella et al. (2015) that the dry nature of the SCLM of a craton may provide stabilization of its thickened continental roots.
Low water contents in diamond mineral inclusions: proto-genetic origin in a dry cratonic lithosphere.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 433, pp. 125-132.
Russia, Africa
Kaapvaal and Siberian SCLMs
Abstract: The mantle is the major reservoir of Earth's water, hosted within Nominally Anhydrous Minerals (NAMs) (e.g., , , and ), in the form of hydrogen bonded to the silicate's structural oxygen. From whence cometh this water? Is the water in these minerals representative of the Earth's primitive upper mantle or did it come from melting events linked to crustal formation or to more recent metasomatic/re-fertilization events? During diamond formation, NAMs are encapsulated at hundreds of kilometers depth within the mantle, thereby possibly shielding and preserving their pristine water contents from re-equilibrating with fluids and melts percolating through the lithospheric mantle. Here we show that the NAMs included in diamonds from six locales on the Siberian Craton contain measurable and variable H2O concentrations from 2 to 34 parts per million by weight (ppmw) in olivine, 7 to 276 ppmw in clinopyroxene, and 11-17 ppmw in garnets. Our results suggest that if the inclusions were in equilibrium with the diamond-forming fluid, the water fugacity would have been unrealistically low. Instead, we consider the H2O contents of the inclusions, shielded by diamonds, as pristine representatives of the residual mantle prior to encapsulation, and indicative of a protogenetic origin for the inclusions. Hydrogen diffusion in the diamond does not appear to have modified these values significantly. The H2O contents of NAMs in mantle xenoliths may represent some later metasomatic event(s), and are not always representative of most of the continental lithospheric mantle. Results from the present study also support the conclusions of Peslier et al. (2010) and Novella et al. (2015) that the dry nature of the SCLM of a craton may provide stabilization of its thickened continental roots.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 286, pp. 29-83. pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
xenoliths
Abstract: Whether hydrogen incorporated in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals plays a role in the strength and longevity of the thick cratonic lithosphere is a matter of debate. In particular, the percolation of hydrogen-bearing melts and fluids could potentially add hydrogen to the mantle lithosphere, weaken its olivines (the dominant mineral in mantle peridotite), and cause delamination of the lithosphere's base. The influence of metasomatism on hydrogen contents of cratonic mantle minerals can be tested in mantle xenoliths from the Slave Craton (Canada) because they show extensive evidence for metasomatism of a layered cratonic mantle. Minerals from mantle xenoliths from the Diavik mine in the Lac de Gras kimberlite area located at the center of the Archean Slave craton were analyzed by FTIR for hydrogen contents. The 18 peridotites, two pyroxenites, one websterite and one wehrlite span an equilibration pressure range from 3.1 to 6.6 GPa and include samples from the shallow (?145?km), oxidized ultra-depleted layer; the deeper (?145-180?km), reduced less depleted layer; and an ultra-deep (?180?km) layer near the base of the lithosphere. Olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and garnet from peridotites contain 30-145, 110-225, 105-285, 2-105?ppm H2O, respectively. Within each deep and ultra-deep layer, correlations of hydrogen contents in minerals and tracers of metasomatism (for example light over heavy rare-earth-element ratio (LREE/HREE), high-field-strength-element (HFSE) content with equilibration pressure) can be explained by a chromatographic process occurring during the percolation of kimberlite-like melts through garnet peridotite. The hydrogen content of peridotite minerals is controlled by the compositions of the evolving melt and of the minerals and by mineral/melt partition coefficients. At the beginning of the process, clinopyroxene scavenges most of the hydrogen and garnet most of the HFSE. As the melt evolves and becomes enriched in hydrogen and LREE, olivine and garnet start to incorporate hydrogen and pyroxenes become enriched in LREE. The hydrogen content of peridotite increases with decreasing depth, overall (e.g., from 75 to 138?ppm H2O in the deep peridotites). Effective viscosity calculated using olivine hydrogen content for the deepest xenoliths near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary overlaps with estimates of asthenospheric viscosities. These xenoliths cannot be representative of the overall cratonic root because the lack of viscosity contrast would have caused basal erosion of lithosphere. Instead, metasomatism must be confined in narrow zones channeling kimberlite melts through the lithosphere and from where xenoliths are preferentially sampled. Such localized metasomatism by hydrogen-bearing melts therefore does not necessarily result in delamination of the cratonic root.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 123, 8, pp. 6195-6214.
Canada, Ontario
geochronology
Abstract: Similar to a magnetic tape, rocks can retain the direction of ancient Earth's magnetic field. Scientists use this record (known as paleomagnetism) to reconstruct past positions of continents and to decipher the geological history of our planet. We investigated paleomagnetism and chemical composition of the ~1.14 Ga?old intrusive rocks called lamprophyres exposed in Northwestern Ontario (Canada). We found that the paleomagnetic field directions recorded in lamprophyres are indistinguishable from those recorded by another similar age suite of basaltic intrusions called the Abitibi dikes, from the same area. The combined data from these rocks allowed us to constrain the position of an ancient supercontinent called Laurentia at ~1.14 billions of years ago more accurately than it was possible before. Our results convincingly show that, during that time, Laurentia moved with a velocity comparable to present?day plate velocities, before switching to an extremely rapid motion approximately 35 millions of years later. The lamprophyre and Abitibi rocks also share similar chemical signatures, close to those observed for ocean island basalts (e.g., Hawaii). These observations support the hypothesis that a failed ocean opening attempt called the North American Midcontinent Rift was instigated by the arrival of a hot mantle material upwelling to the Earth surface.
Maia, M., Sichel, S., Briais, A., Brunelli, D., Ligi, M., Ferreira, N., Campos, T., Mougel, B., Brehme, I., Hemond, C., Motoki, A., Moura, D., Scalabrin, C., Pessanha, I., Alves, E., Ayres, A., Oliveira, P.
Abstract: Mantle exhumation at slow-spreading ridges is favoured by extensional tectonics through low-angle detachment faults1, 2, 3, 4, and, along transforms, by transtension due to changes in ridge/transform geometry5, 6. Less common, exhumation by compressive stresses has been proposed for the large-offset transforms of the equatorial Atlantic7, 8. Here we show, using high-resolution bathymetry, seismic and gravity data, that the northern transform fault of the St Paul system has been controlled by compressive deformation since ~10?million years ago. The long-lived transpression resulted from ridge overlap due to the propagation of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge segment into the transform domain, which induced the migration and segmentation of the transform fault creating restraining stepovers. An anticlockwise change in plate motion at ~11?million years ago5 initially favoured extension in the left-stepping transform, triggering the formation of a transverse ridge, later uplifted through transpression, forming the St Peter and St Paul islets. Enhanced melt supply at the ridge axis due to the nearby Sierra Leone thermo chemical anomaly9 is responsible for the robust response of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge segment to the kinematic change. The long-lived process at the origin of the compressive stresses is directly linked to the nature of the underlying mantle and not to a change in the far-field stress regime.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, in press available, 16p. Pdf
South America, Brazil
geophysics
Abstract: Identification of mafic dike swarms and LIPs (Large Igneous Provinces) are of vital importance in geologic history because they provide information on geodynamics, mantle geochemistry, and paleomagnetism. These data provide key information for paleogeographic reconstructions with the aid of barcode matches and precise radiometric ages. Considering such issues, the Brazilian Precambrian shield can be used as a case for refining the cartography of the relevant intraplate activity (e.g., dikes, sills, flood basalts) in space and time. This work presents an updated map of Brazilian mafic dike swarms produced from airborne geophysical maps (Series 1000 - Geological Survey of Brazil). Linear and strong anomalies found on aeromagnetic maps using First Vertical Derivative of the Magnetic Field and Amplitude of the Analytic Signal were mapped on a GIS platform. The obtained data were compared to ternary radiometric maps and geological maps in order to exclude those that do not correspond to mafic dikes. The remaining structures - those believed to represent mafic dikes - were classified based on data compiled from the literature. The updated map exhibits more than 5000 elements, including dikes and magmatic suites, in which about 75% were geologically identified and divided into 60 dike swarms and 10 igneous suites and/or units. The dikes were grouped into sixteen extensional episodes from the Archean to the Cenozoic, although some are related to extension/transtension domains within regional compressive zones akin to orogenic settings. The most frequent records refer to the Proterozoic, representing intraplate episodes, some of them consistent with LIPs. The dataset also includes a large record of the Mesozoic age, which corresponds to major LIP events related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and the fragmentation of Gondwana.
Abstract: This Tajno alkaline massif (together with the nearby E?k and Pisz intrusions) occurs beneath a thick Mesozoic- Cenozoic sedimentary cover. It has first been recognized by geophysical (magnetic and gravity) investigations, then directly by deep drilling (12 boreholes down to 1800 m). The main rock types identified as clinopyroxenites, syenites, carbonatites, have been cut by later multiphase volcanic /subvolcanic dykes. This massif was characterized as a differentiated ultramafic, alkaline and carbonatite complex, quite comparable to the numerous massifs of the Late Devonian Kola Province of NW Russia [1,2]. Recent geochronological data (U-Pb on zircon from an albitite and Re-Os on pyrrhotite from a carbonatite) indicate that the massif was emplaced at ca. 348 Ma (Early Carboniferous). All the rocks, but more specifically the carbonatites, are enriched in Sr, Ba and LREE, like many carbonatites worldwide but depleted in high field strength elements (Ti, Nb, Ta, Zr). The initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70370 to 0.70380) and ?Nd(t) (+3.3 to +0.7) isotopic compositions of carbonatites plot in the depleted quadrant of the Nd-Sr diagram, close to “FOcal ZOne” (FOZO) deep mantle domain [1]. The Pb isotopic data (206Pb/204Pb <18.50) do not point to an HIMU (high U/Pb) source. The ranges of C and O stable isotopic compositions of the carbonatites are quite large; some data plot in (or close to) the “Primary Igneous Carbonatite” box while others extend to much higher, typically crustal ?18O and ?13C values.
Bridging the gap through care and collaboration: before closure and after production. Snap Lake
2018 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum , pp. 60-61. abstract
Canada, Northwest territories
deposit - Snap Lake
Abstract: Wikipedia defines “Care and Maintenance” as a term used in the mining industry to describe processes and conditions on a closed mine site where there is potential to recommence operations at a later date. During a care and maintenance phase, production is stopped but the site is managed to ensure it remains in a safe and stable condition. De Beers Canada Inc. - Snap Lake Mine entered the Care and Maintenance phase after production ceased in December 2015. The partnership with Det'on Cho Corporation provides for a sustainable execution of care and maintenance activities, taking into consideration approved work plans, mine health and safety considerations and emergency response plans. The mine is currently in its third year of care and maintenance. After exploring the potential sale of the asset and assessing the possibility of reopening the mine, the decision to proceed toward closure was taken in December 2017, ushering Snap Lake into a period of extended care and maintenance (ECM) while a closure plan is developed and finalized. Activities during ECM include monitoring of water quality and other environmental parameters, collecting/treating effluent and making sure that water leaving the site meets water license compliance. Physical infrastructure such as the airstrip, roads, buildings, processed kimberlite containment facilities and associated surface water infrastructure such as sumps, pumps and channels need to be kept in a safe and operable condition. Camp infrastructure such as generators and machinery and equipment are also part of the Care and Maintenance program. Collaboration between the De Beers Canada owner's team and Det'on Cho Corporation resulted in the safe execution of the 2018 work plan which included freshet operations, continued progressive reclamation work, monitoring and maintenance activities. After a trial-run of reduced camp occupancy in the winter of 2017, the site was fully winterized and demobilized in September 2018 to allow for monthly site visits for the duration of the winter and planning for a spring 2019 start-up.
Yellowknife Forum NWTgeoscience.ca, abstract volume p.69.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Snap Lake
Abstract: The Snap Lake Mine is a former underground diamond mine operated by De Beers Canada Inc.( De Beers), located about 220 km northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The Snap Lake Mine operated from 2008 to 2015 and De Beers submitted the Final Closure and Reclamation Plan for the mine. The mine is currently in it fourth year of being managed in a state of Extended Care and Maintenance (ECM). Activities during ECM include monitoring of water quality and other environmental parameters, collecting and treating effluent and making sure that water leaving the site meets water license requirements. Physical infrastructure such as the airstrip, roadways, buildings, processed kimberlite containment facilities and associated surface water infrastructure such as pumps, sumps and channels need to be kept in a safe and operable condition. After a trail-run of reduced camp occupancy in 2017, the site was fully winterized and demobilized in September 2018. This update will review the first seasonal zero occupancy at Snap Lake, as well as the work completed in spring/summer of 2019.
Yellowknife Forum NWTgeoscience.ca, abstract volume p. 70.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Snap Lake
Abstract: The Snap Lake Mine is a former underground diamond mine operated by De Beers Canada Inc. (De Beers), located about 220 km northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The Snap Lake mine operated from 2008 to 2015, and entered a Care and Maintenance mode in December 2015. The mine is currently entering its fourth year of being managed in this Extended Care and Maintenance phase. In order to ensure continual remote monitoring of certain key geotechnical, meteorological and air quality instrumentation and to enable visual observation of key infrastructure, work was done in 2018 to integrate new and existing monitoring instrumentation into the existing Campbell Scientific PakBus network. In this presentation De Beers will share a summary of this work, with the emphasis on the type of technology, detail of installation and integration of systems between the various pieces of instrumentation. First we will discuss installation of the 5 data collection stations that relay geotechnical instrumentation information. The data collection system at each of the 5 stations consists of a solar panel, battery, data logger, multiplexor and short-wave radio. To enable redundancy, a manual data collection via USB was added, in the event that remote communication with the stations is lost. Second, an overview of the installation of camera monitoring stations as well as the communications protocol used for the integration of the weather and ambient air quality data transmitted via satellite will be presented. While the focus will be on the technology and systems used for remote monitoring, and not the actual monitoring results per se, it is our intention to share this and some of the successes and challenges experienced during the first year of remote monitoring during zero occupancy conditions.
Abstract: The Great Unconformity, a profound gap in Earth’s stratigraphic record often evident below the base of the Cambrian system, has remained among the most enigmatic field observations in Earth science for over a century. While long associated directly or indirectly with the occurrence of the earliest complex animal fossils, a conclusive explanation for the formation and global extent of the Great Unconformity has remained elusive. Here we show that the Great Unconformity is associated with a set of large global oxygen and hafnium isotope excursions in magmatic zircon that suggest a late Neoproterozoic crustal erosion and sediment subduction event of unprecedented scale. These excursions, the Great Unconformity, preservational irregularities in the terrestrial bolide impact record, and the first-order pattern of Phanerozoic sedimentation can together be explained by spatially heterogeneous Neoproterozoic glacial erosion totaling a global average of 3-5 vertical kilometers, along with the subsequent thermal and isostatic consequences of this erosion for global continental freeboard.
Abstract: Rock quantity and age are fundamental features of Earth's crust that pertain to many problems in geoscience. Here we combine new estimates of igneous rock area in continental crust from the Macrostrat database (https://macrostrat.org/) with a compilation of detrital zircon ages in order to investigate rock cycling and crustal growth. We find that there is little or no decrease in igneous rock area with increasing rock age. Instead, igneous rock area in North America exhibits four distinct Precambrian peaks, remains low through the Neoproterozoic, and then increases only modestly toward the recent. Peaks in Precambrian detrital zircon age frequency distributions align broadly with peaks in igneous rock area, regardless of grain depositional age. However, detrital zircon ages do underrepresent a Neoarchean peak in igneous rock area; young grains and ca. 1.1 Ga grains are also overrepresented relative to igneous area. Together, these results suggest that detrital zircon age distributions contain signatures of continental denudation and sedimentary cycling that are decoupled from the cycling of igneous source rocks. Models of continental crustal evolution that incorporate significant early increase in volume and increased sedimentation in the Phanerozoic are well supported by these data.
Abstract: Thirty-nine garnet harzburgites from Kimberley in the Kaapvaal Craton (South Africa) were studied to constrain the origin, age and evolution of sub-cratonic lithospheric mantle (SCLM). In order to avoid chemical overprinting by recent metasomatism, only garnet harzburgites that appeared clinopyroxene-free to the naked eye were sampled. The majority of garnets were, however, in equilibrium with clinopyroxene (24 of 39). Whole rock and mineral major-trace element geochemistry and garnet Sr-Nd-Hf isotope data are presented. Equilibration pressures range from 3.8-6.1?GPa, indicating the harzburgites were derived from a large portion of the SCLM (~115-185?km). High olivine Mg# (~93.4, n?=?39) and low whole rock heavy rare earth elements (HREE) contents are consistent with large degrees of partial melting (>45%) and garnet exhaustion leaving a dunitic residue with olivine ?90%, orthopyroxene ?10% and HREE <0.01 times chondrite. Mineral modes, whole rock Al2O3 (0.5-3.2?wt%) and SiO2 (43.1-49.1?wt%), however, indicate heterogeneous re-introduction of garnet (?13%) and orthopyroxene (?50%). Harzburgites with high garnet and relatively low orthopyroxene modes (mostly ~7-13% and?~?9-30%; n?=?6) are characterised by mildly sinusoidal garnet REE patterns (Tbsingle bondDy minimum and high HREE) and Archaean depleted Hf TDM ages (2.7-3.3?Ga; ?Hfe: +190 to +709). In contrast, harzburgites with high orthopyroxene and relatively low garnet and modes (~1.5-7.5% and?~?25-50%; n?=?19) are characterised by highly sinuous REE patterns (Hosingle bondYb minimum and low HREE) and Proterozoic enriched Hf TDM ages (0.7-1.6?Ga; ?Hfe: ?16 to +6). It is inferred that Archaean G10 garnet re-introduction caused a significant increase in HREE, making melt depletion models based on HREE inaccurate. Orthopyroxene addition, a few hundred million years later, most likely at ~2.7?Ga and associated with Ventersdorp magmatic activity, caused partial consumption of garnet and olivine, and changed garnet compositions leading to: 1) Cr/Al ratio increase; 2) HREE decrease; 3) more sinusoidal REE patterns; and 4) un-radiogenic 176Hf/177Hf. Garnets define a Lusingle bondHf isochron age of 2702?±?64?Ma (?Hfi?=?+44, n?=?31), which is interpreted as a consequence of partial isotopic equilibrium within the SCLM and mixing of the garnet- and orthopyroxene-rich metasomatic components. The low LILE contents and absence of Nbsingle bondTa anomalies are consistent with modal metasomatism caused by intra-plate magmatism. In addition, the REE signatures of metasomatic agents in equilibrium with the garnets suggest that carbonatitic melts and SiO2-rich hydrous melts were responsible for re-introduction of garnet and orthopyroxene, respectively. Srsingle bondNd isotope systematics were disrupted associated with kimberlite magmatism (Nd isochron: 217?±?58?Ma, ?Ndi?=?+4; n?=?34), consistent with recent G10 garnet transformation into G9 garnets (Ca?+?Fe-enriched). This event may have caused garnet addition (up to 1%), suggesting that garnet was formed or destroyed in at least 4 different events: i) initial extensive polybaric melting, ii) asthenospheric melts re-introducing the bulk of the garnet, iii) orthopyroxene addition and garnet loss, all in the Archaean, and iv) minor garnet addition possibly related to recent kimberlite magmatism prior to eruption.
Abstract: Plate tectonic reconstructions are usually constrained by the correlation of lineaments of surface geology and crustal structures. This procedure is, however, largely dependent on and complicated by assumptions on crustal structure and thinning and the identification of the continent-ocean transition. We identify two geophysically and geometrically similar upper mantle structures in the North Atlantic and suggest that these represent remnants of the same Caledonian collision event. The identification of this structural lineament provides a sub-crustal piercing point and hence a novel opportunity to tie plate tectonic reconstructions. Further, this structure coincides with the location of some major tectonic events of the North Atlantic post-orogenic evolution such as the occurrence of the Iceland Melt Anomaly and the separation of the Jan Mayen microcontinent. We suggest that this inherited orogenic structure played a major role in the control of North Atlantic tectonic processes.
Abstract: Mining the deep seabed is fraught with challenges. Untapped mineral potential under the shallow, more accessible continental shelf could add a new dimension to offshore mining and help meet future mineral demand.
Tectonics and genesis of 1.85 Ga ultrapotassic volcanism, District ofKeewatin
Geological Association of Canada (GAC)/Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC)/SEG Annual Meeting May 27-29. Toronto, Ontario, Abstract, Vol. 16, p. A98. Abstract
Abstract: The Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO), formed from the convergence between the Superior craton and the composite Churchill Upper Plate (CUP), is one of the best-preserved examples of a collisional orogen in the Paleoproterozoic. Similar to modern collision systems such as the Himalayan orogen, it is characterized by a composite upper plate in which terrane accretion established a continental plateau that was tectonically and magmatically active for >100 myr. Our study presents new petrological and geochronological data for four samples collected in three lithotectonic domains of the south Rae craton (one of the CUP terranes). The results presented here allow us to re-define the previously proposed extent of THO reworking in the CUP and afford the opportunity to study and compare the evolution of various fragments that illustrate differing levels of a collapsed plateau in the CUP hinterland. The new data indicate that the south Rae craton locally preserves evidence for burial at 1.855-1.84 Ga with peak metamorphic conditions at approximately 790 °C and 9.5-12.5 kbar followed by rapid cooling and decompression melting (P < 6 kbar) at ca. 1.835-1.826 Ga. These results, which provide important and so far missing Pressure-Temperature-time (P-T-t) constraints on the evolution of the south Rae craton in the Northwest Territories at Trans-Hudson time, coupled with existing regional geochronological and geochemical data, are used to propose an updated model for the post-1.9 Ga THO collision and extensional collapse. Our results reveal that: i) initial thickening in the upper plate started at Snowbird time (ca. 1.94 Ga), then continued via Sask collision (with high-grade metamorphism recorded in the south Rae craton, ca. 1.85 Ga), and ended with Superior collision (ca. 1.83 Ga); ii) the extent of the THO structural and metamorphic overprint in the SW CUP is much broader across strike than previously recognized, and iii) T-t data in the south Rae are indicative of relatively fast cooling rates (8-25 °C/Ma) compared to other known Precambrian orogens. We suggest that the Paleoproterozoic THO represents the first record of a major ‘modern-style’ orogenic plateau collapse in Earth’s history.
Lamproites and diamond potential of the Churchill Province
The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin (CIM Bulletin) , Annual Meeting Abstracts approximately 10 lines, Vol. 86, No. 968, March ABSTRACT p. 71.
43rd Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts, abstract p. 76.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Deposit - Ekati
Abstract: The Ekati Diamond Mine is a surface and underground diamond mine operated by Dominion Diamond Ekati Corporation. It is located near the Lac de Gras Northwest Territories, Canada approximately 300 km north of Yellowknife and roughly 200 km south of the Arctic Circle. The Ekati Long Lake Containment Facility (LLCF) is a five celled containment area for storage of processed kimberlite generated during the processing and extraction of diamonds from kimberlite ore. The LLCF has been in operation since 1998 and deposition of processed kimberlite has occurred within the three northern cells with the remaining two cells being used for water quality “polishing” to help meet discharge criteria. The Interim Closure and Reclamation Plan for Ekati outlines a plan to cover the LLCF kimberlite surface with a combination of rock and vegetation. The cover system looks to fulfill the closure objective of physically stabilizing the processed kimberlite and creating a landscape safe for wildlife and human use. Cell B of the LLCF has reached its capacity and is being used as a reclamation research area. The purpose of the reclamation research is to identify a long term cover design that can be expanded to the whole LLCF. A winter drilling investigation in Cell B of the LLCF was undertaken in 2013. The objective of the investigation was to characterize the processed kimberlite and its porewater chemistry. Results from the investigation indicated that permafrost has aggraded into the kimberlite and surface zone pore water concentrations were higher when compared to process plant discharge. In fall of 2013 various areas of Cell B were seeded with annual and perennial vegetation ground covers. Further seeding of Cell B was completed in the summer of 2014. Seed from a variety of sources that includes locally harvested and commercially available native plants and farm crops was applied at different rates using different seeding techniques. In the winter of 2013 rock was placed in various configurations within the seeded areas to evaluate its effects on vegetation growth and erosion control. A total of 25 hectares has been seeded in Cell B since the fall of 2013 and the results of initial monitoring are positive regarding establishment of long term ground cover on the kimberlite.
Yellowknife Forum NWTgeoscience.ca, abstract volume p. 95-96.
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Ekati
Abstract: The Ekati Diamond Mine is a surface and underground diamond mine operated by Dominion Diamond Mines. It is located near Lac de Gras within the Northwest Territories, Canada approximately 300 km north of Yellowknife and roughly 200 km south of the Arctic Circle. The Long Lake Containment Facility (LLCF) is the primary containment area for processed kimberlite (PK) storage after the extraction of diamonds from kimberlite ore. The facility has been in operation since 1998 and is the main repository of PK from open pit and underground mines at the Ekati Mine. The overall reclamation goal for the LLCF is the design and construction of a long-term cover that will physically stabilize the PK, with a landscape that will be safe for human and wildlife use. The proposed final closure design for the LLCF includes the following components: 1) Combination of vegetation and rock cover system to physically stabilize the PK. Vegetation is planned to be the main stabilization component of the PK. Rock placement is intended to promote a localized environment for vegetation growth and provide larger-scale wind and water erosion protection. 2) Water drainage channels to convey surface water flow through the containment cells and into settling ponds. Since 2012, reclamation research has been ongoing at Cell B of the LLCF with the overall intent of addressing uncertainties with the proposed final LLCF cover design. Separate reclamation research programs focused on addressing the uncertainties of vegetation growth in PK are being carried out under this project. Dominion’s short-term research goal has been to establish and evaluate the vegetation growth directly within PK. Main components of the LLCF reclamation research includes evaluation of soil amendments, rock/vegetation combinations, annual crop cover, plant species trials, mine-generated organic matter application, seed collection/distribution, and natural vegetation colonization. The LLCF reclamation research aims to establish a best practice that could be adapted by other mining operations looking to reclaim PK containment sites. Annual vegetation monitoring and continued program expansion aid in reaching that goal. Recent program undertakings have included: 1)Surface water management research through trial channel construction and further bio-engineering of existing channels 2) Mycorrhizae inoculation to improve soil microbial communities 3) Implementation of rough and loose mounding as an erosion control measure 4) Evaluation of the feasibility of using organic matter generated from the Ekati composter facility 5) Harvesting of halophytic seed and live plant specimens from saline environments near Kugluktuk, Nunavut for planting in Cell B 6) Utilization of reclamation equipment for earthworks. The LLCF reclamation research has been a vessel for developing methods of utilizing PK as an effective growth medium. High sodium concentrations and low organic matter content present challenges, but also provide opportunities for innovative research to improve environmental conditions and lead to a final closure design. Dominion has included Traditional Knowledge, other scientific knowledge, as well as regulatory and community input as a key component of LLCF reclamation research planning and final cover design.
Abstract: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is highly sensitive to the surface chemistry of nanodiamonds. In this review, we discuss the different FTIR methods available to characterize nanodiamonds and highlight their advantages and limitations. We also summarize the possible assignments of FTIR spectra of nanodiamonds reported in the literature and discuss FTIR spectra of nanodiamonds modified by different surface treatments. Current work of FTIR applied to in situ and operando characterization of nanodiamonds, in particular nanodiamonds exposed to water or characterized during electrochemical and photocatalytic processes, are also discussed. Finally, perspectives regarding possible future FTIR development for nanodiamonds characterization are proposed.
Cerantola, V., Bykova, E., Kupenko, I., Merlini, M., Ismailova, L., McCammon, C., Bykov, M., Chumakov, A.I., Petitgirard, S., Kantor, I., Svityk, V., Jacobs, J., Hanfland, M., Mezouar, M., Prescher, C., Ruffer, R., Prakapenka, V.B., Duvbovinsky, L.
Abstract: Heterogeneity in the lithophile isotopic compositions of ocean island basalts (OIBs) has long been ascribed to the incorporation of recycled materials into the plume source. OIB heterogeneity indicates that plumes do not sample a pristine primordial reservoir, but rather sample an inhomogeneous mixture of primordial and recycled material generated by convective processes over Earth history. Here we present a synthesis of new insights into the characteristics and nature of the plume mantle source. Recent high precision noble gas data demonstrate that the origin of the reservoir supplying noble gases to plumes is fundamentally distinct from that of the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) mantle reservoir: the two reservoirs cannot be related simply by differential degassing or incorporation of recycled atmospheric volatiles. Based on differences observed in the extinct 129I-129Xe system (t1/2 of 15.7?Ma), the mantle source supplying noble gases to plumes differentiated from the MORB source within ~100?Ma of the start of the Solar System, and the two sources have not been homogenized by 4.45?Ga of mantle convection. Thus, the 129I-129Xe data require a plume source that has experienced limited direct mixing with the MORB source mantle. Analysis of mantle source Xe isotopic compositions of plume-influenced samples with primordial He and Ne indicates that the plume source Xe budget is dominated by regassed atmospheric Xe. He and Ne isotopes are not sensitive to regassing due to low overall concentrations of He and Ne in recycled material relative to primordial material. Therefore, plume-influenced samples with primitive He and Ne isotopic compositions do not necessarily reflect sampling of pristine primordial mantle and the lithophile compositions of these samples should not be taken to represent undifferentiated mantle. In addition to recycled atmospheric Xe, the plume mantle source exhibits high ratios of Pu-fission Xe to U-fission Xe. The high proportion of Pu-fission Xe independently confirms a low extent of degassing of the plume source relative to the MORB source. Heavy noble gases illustrate that the mantle reservoir sampled by plumes is fundamentally distinct from the MORB mantle and reflects ongoing degassing of, and incorporation of recycled material into, an ancient (>4.45?Ga) primordial source. If plumes are derived from large low shear-wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs), then these seismically-imaged structures are ancient and long-lived.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 233, pp. 95-114.
Europe, Italy
shoshonites
Abstract: The diffusive exchange of 30 trace elements (Cs, Rb, Ba, Sr, Co, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ta, V, Cr, Pb, Th, U, Zr, Hf, Sn and Nb) during the interaction of natural mafic and silicic alkaline melts was experimentally studied at conditions relevant to shallow magmatic systems. In detail, a set of 12 diffusion couple experiments have been performed between natural shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts from the Vulcano Island (Aeolian archipelago, Italy) at a temperature of 1200?°C, pressures from 50 to 500?MPa, and water contents ranging from nominally dry to ca. 2 wt.%. Concentration-distance profiles, measured by Laser Ablation ICP-MS, highlight different behaviours, and trace elements were divided into two groups: (1) elements with normal diffusion profiles (13 elements, mainly low field strength and transition elements), and (2) elements showing uphill diffusion (17 elements including Y, Zr, Nb, Pb and rare earth elements, except Eu). For the elements showing normal diffusion profiles, chemical diffusion coefficients were estimated using a concentration-dependent evaluation method, and values are given at four intermediate compositions (SiO2 equal to 58, 62, 66 and 70 wt.%, respectively). A general coupling of diffusion coefficients to silica diffusivity is observed, and variations in systematics are observed between mafic and silicic compositions. Results show that water plays a decisive role on diffusive rates in the studied conditions, producing an enhancement between 0.4 and 0.7 log units per 1 wt.% of added H2O. Particularly notable is the behaviour of the trivalent-only REEs (La to Nd and Gd to Lu), with strong uphill diffusion minima, diminishing from light to heavy REEs. Modelling of REE profiles by a modified effective binary diffusion model indicates that activity gradients induced by the SiO2 concentration contrast are responsible for their development, inducing a transient partitioning of REEs towards the shoshonitic melt. These results indicate that diffusive fractionation of trace elements is possible during magma mixing events, especially in the more silicic melts, and that the presence of water in such events can lead to enhanced chemical diffusive mixing efficiency, affecting also the estimation of mixing to eruption timescales.
Abstract: Our discovery of moissanite grains in a peralkaline syenite from the Água de Pau Volcano (São Miguel, Azores Islands, Portugal) represents the first report of this mineral in present day oceanic geodynamic settings. Raman spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction show the presence of both the 6H and 4H polytypes with the predominance of the first one. The distribution of trace elements is homogeneous, except for Al and V. Azorean moissanite often hosts rounded inclusions of metallic Si and other not yet identified metallic alloys. A process involving a flushing of CH4-H2 ultra-reducing fluids in the alkaline melts might be considered as a possible mechanism leading to the formation of natural SiC, thus calling for strongly reducing conditions that were locally met in the crust-mantle beneath the São Miguel Island.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, in press available, 24p. Pdf
Canada
geophysics - seismics
Abstract: The geological record of SE Canada spans more than 2.5Ga, making it a natural laboratory for the study of crustal formation and evolution over time. We estimate the crustal thickness, Poisson's ratio, a proxy for bulk crustal composition, and shear velocity (Vs) structure from receiver functions at a network of seismograph stations recently deployed across the Archean Superior craton, the Proterozoic Grenville and the Phanerozoic Appalachian provinces. The bulk seismic crustal properties and shear velocity structure reveal a correlation with tectonic provinces of different ages: the post-Archean crust becomes thicker, faster, more heterogenous and more compositionally evolved. This secular variation pattern is consistent with a growing consensus that crustal growth efficiency increased at the end of the Archean. A lack of correlation among elevation, Moho topography, and gravity anomalies within the Proterozoic belt is better explained by buoyant mantle support rather than by compositional variations driven by lower crustal metamorphic reactions. A ubiquitous ?20km thick high-Vs lower-crustal layer is imaged beneath the Proterozoic belt. The strong discontinuity at 20km may represent the signature of extensional collapse of an orogenic plateau, accommodated by lateral crustal flow. Wide anorthosite massifs inferred to fractionate from a mafic mantle source are abundant in Proterozoic geology and are underlain by high Vs lower crust and a gradational Moho. Mafic underplating may have provided a source for these intrusions and could have been an important post-Archean process stimulating mafic crustal growth in a vertical sense.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, in press available, 44p.
Europe, Bulgaria
Gneiss - diamonds
Abstract: Evidence for ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (UHPM) in the Rhodope Metamorphic Complex comes from occurrence of diamond in pelitic gneisses, variably overprinted by granulite facies metamorphism, known from several areas of the Rhodopes. However, tectonic setting and timing of UHPM are not interpreted unanimously. Linking age to metamorphic stage is a prerequisite for reconstruction of these processes. Here we use monazite in diamond-bearing gneiss from Chepelare (Bulgaria) to date the diamond-forming UHPM event in the Central Rhodopes. The diamond-bearing gneiss comes from a strongly deformed, lithologically heterogeneous zone (Chepelare Mélange) sandwiched between two migmatized orthogneiss units, known as Arda-I and Arda-II. Diamond, identified by Raman micro-spectroscopy, shows the characteristic band mostly centred between 1332 and 1330 cm?1. The microdiamond occurs as single grains or polyphase diamond + carbonate inclusions, rarely with CO2. Thermodynamic modelling shows that garnet was stable at UHP conditions of 3.5-4.6 GPa and 700-800 °C, in the stability field of diamond, and was re-equilibrated at granulite facies/partial melting conditions of 0.8-1.2 GPa and 750-800 °C. The texture of monazite shows older central parts and extensive younger domains which formed due to metasomatic replacement in solid residue and/or overgrowth in melt domains. The monazite core compositions, with distinctly lower Y, Th and U contents, suggest its formation in equilibrium with garnet. The U-Th-Pb dating of monazite using electron microprobe analysis yielded a c. 200 Ma age for the older cores with low Th, Y, U and high La/Nd ratio, and a c. 160 Ma age for the dominant younger monazite enriched in Th, Y, U and HREE. The older age of around 200 Ma is interpreted as the timing of UHPM whereas the younger age of around 160 Ma as granulite facies/partial melting overprint. Our results suggest that UHPM occurred in Late Triassic to Early Jurassic time, in the framework of collision and subduction of continental crust after the closure of Palaeotethys.
Petrik, I., Janak, M., Froitzheim, N., Georgiev, N., Yoshida, K., Sasinkova, V., Konecny, P., Milovska, S.
Triassic to Early Jurassic ( c. 200Ma) UHP metamorphism in the Central Rhodopes: evidence from U-Pb dating of monazite in diamond bearing gneiss from Chepelare ( Bulgaria).
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 34, 3, pp. 265-291.
Petrik, I., Janak, M., Froitzheim, N., Georgiev, N., Yoshida, K., Sasinkova, V., Konecny, P., Milovska, S.
Triassic to Early Jurassic ( c. 200Ma) UHP metamorphism in the central Rhodopes: evidence from U-Pb-Th dating of monazite in diamond bearing gneiss from Chepelare Bulgaria.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 34, 3, pp. 265-291.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, in press available
Europe, Sweden, Norway
UHP
Abstract: Metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust. Here we present a new occurrence of diamond within the Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides, on Åreskutan in Jämtland County, Sweden. Microdiamond is found in-situ as single and composite (diamond + carbonate) inclusions within garnet, in kyanite-bearing paragneisses. The rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of Ca,Mg-rich garnet + phengite + kyanite + rutile, with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite. Calculated P-T conditions for this stage are 830-840 °C and 4.1-4.2 GPa, in the diamond stability field. The ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850-860 °C and 1.0-1.1 GPa, leading to formation of Ca,Mg-poor garnet+biotite+ plagioclase+K-feldspar+sillimanite+ilmenite+quartz. This overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression, which is corroborated by Ti-in-quartz thermometry. Chemical Th-U-Pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 Ma, which are interpreted to record post-UHP exhumation of the diamond-bearing rocks. The new discovery of microdiamond on Åreskutan, together with other evidence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (UHPM) within gneisses, eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the Seve Nappe Complex, provide compelling arguments for regional (at least 200 km along strike of the unit). UHPM of substantial parts of this far-travelled allochthon. The occurrence of UHPM in both rheologically weak (gneisses) and strong lithologies (eclogites, peridotites) speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, in press available
Europe, Sweden
Microdiamond
Abstract: Metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust. Here, we present a new occurrence of diamond within the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) of the Scandinavian Caledonides, on Åreskutan in Jämtland County, Sweden. Microdiamond is found in situ as single and composite (diamond+carbonate) inclusions within garnet, in kyanite-bearing paragneisses. The rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of Ca,Mg-rich garnet+phengite+kyanite+rutile, with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite. Calculated P-T conditions for this stage are 830-840 °C and 4.1-4.2 GPa, in the diamond stability field. The ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850-860 °C and 1.0-1.1 GPa, leading to formation of Ca,Mg-poor garnet+biotite+plagioclase+K-feldspar+sillimanite+ilmenite+quartz. This overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression, which is corroborated by Ti-in-quartz thermometry. Chemical Th-U-Pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 Ma, which are interpreted to record post-UHP exhumation of the diamond-bearing rocks. The new discovery of microdiamond on Åreskutan, together with other evidence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (UHPM) within gneisses, eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the SNC, provide compelling arguments for regional (at least 200 km along strike of the unit) UHPM of substantial parts of this far-travelled allochthon. The occurrence of UHPM in both rheologically weak (gneisses) and strong lithologies (eclogites, peridotites) speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 35, 5, pp. 541-564.
Europe, Sweden
UHP
Abstract: Metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust. Here we present a new occurrence of diamond within the Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides, on Åreskutan in Jämtland County, Sweden. Microdiamond is found in-situ as single and composite (diamond + carbonate) inclusions within garnet, in kyanite-bearing paragneisses. The rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of Ca,Mg-rich garnet + phengite + kyanite + rutile, with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite. Calculated P-T conditions for this stage are 830-840 ºC and 4.1-4.2 GPa, in the diamond stability field. The ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850-860 ºC and 1.0-1.1 GPa, leading to formation of Ca,Mg-poor garnet + biotite + plagioclase + K-feldspar + sillimanite + ilmenite + quartz. This overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression, which is corroborated by Ti-in-quartz thermometry. Chemical Th-U-Pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 Ma, which are interpreted to record post-UHP exhumation of the diamond-bearing rocks. The new discovery of microdiamond on Åreskutan, together with other evidence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (UHPM) within gneisses, eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the Seve Nappe Complex, provide compelling arguments for regional (at least 200 km along the unit) UHPM of substantial parts of this far-travelled allochthon. The occurrence of UHPM in both rheologically weak (gneisses) and strong lithologies (eclogites, peridotites) speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism.
Journal of Metamorphic Geology, Vol. 35, 5, pp. 541-564.
Europe, Scandinavia
microdiamond
Abstract: Metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust. Here, we present a new occurrence of diamond within the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) of the Scandinavian Caledonides, on Åreskutan in Jämtland County, Sweden. Microdiamond is found in situ as single and composite (diamond+carbonate) inclusions within garnet, in kyanite-bearing paragneisses. The rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of Ca,Mg-rich garnet+phengite+kyanite+rutile, with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite. Calculated P–T conditions for this stage are 830–840 °C and 4.1–4.2 GPa, in the diamond stability field. The ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850–860 °C and 1.0–1.1 GPa, leading to formation of Ca,Mg-poor garnet+biotite+plagioclase+K-feldspar+sillimanite+ilmenite+quartz. This overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression, which is corroborated by Ti-in-quartz thermometry. Chemical Th–U–Pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 Ma, which are interpreted to record post-UHP exhumation of the diamond-bearing rocks. The new discovery of microdiamond on Åreskutan, together with other evidence of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (UHPM) within gneisses, eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the SNC, provide compelling arguments for regional (at least 200 km along strike of the unit) UHPM of substantial parts of this far-travelled allochthon. The occurrence of UHPM in both rheologically weak (gneisses) and strong lithologies (eclogites, peridotites) speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism.
Brod, J.A., Junqueira-Brod, T.C., Gaspar, J.C., Petrinovic, I.A., De Castro Valente, S., Corval, A.
Decoupling of paired elements, crossover REE patterns and mirrored spider diagrams: fingerprinting liquid immiscibility in the Tapira alkaline carbonatite complex, SE Brazil.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 41, pp. 41-56.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 275, pp. 140-162.
Mantle
craton
Abstract: The extent to which Earth’s sub-continental lithospheric mantle modulates the flux of volatile elements from our planet’s deep interior to its atmosphere (via volcanism) is poorly constrained. Here, we focus on "off-craton" sub-continental lithospheric mantle because this long-lived reservoir potentially acts as both a volatile “sink” and “source” during major heating and rifting events. The sub-continental lithospheric mantle is primarily formed of peridotites with subordinate amounts of pyroxenites. While both lithologies are dominated by nominally-volatile-free mantle minerals, some of these phases have been shown to contain non-negligible amounts of H2O (e.g. 100’s of ppmw in clinopyroxene). Data for volatile elements other than Li are, however, limited. We present new, high-precision, in-situ Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry analyses of H, F, Cl, Li and B in olivine and pyroxenes from well-characterised garnet- and spinel-bearing peridotites and pyroxenites (from southern Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula). Our study confirms that clinopyroxene is the main host of H2O and F. The maximum F contents we report (up to 154 ppmw) are higher than those in previous studies and occur in Ti-Cr diopsides in highly-metasomatised peridotites and Ti-Al augites from clinopyroxenite veins. Water contents of clinopyroxenes (up to 615 ppmw) are within the range previously published for continental mantle. Lithium concentrations are low (<5 ppmw) in all analysed phases and both Cl and B are below detection levels (14 ppmw and 0.03 ppmw, respectively). Unique to our study is the large variation in major- and trace-element concentrations of the clinopyroxenes, which allows us to place quantitative constraints on how volatiles are stored in the mantle. We demonstrate that: (i) F contents of clinopyroxenes closely correlate with Ti and (ii) and is systematic and inversely correlated with temperature. Despite the redistribution of volatiles during sub-solidus re-equilibration, we show that the first order control on the concentration of volatiles in clinopyroxene is the style of metasomatism, i.e. channellised flow versus reactive percolation. The mean bulk volatile contents of peridotites from Pali Aike and the Antarctic Peninsula (H2O?=?89?±?31 ppmw, F?=?16?±?11.2 ppmw and Li?=?2?±?0.7 ppmw) are within the range previously published for continental "off-craton" mantle. The pyroxenites have significantly higher mean bulk concentrations of H2O (260?±?59 ppmw), F (86?±?43 ppmw) and Li (1.0?±?0.35 ppmw). While the greater capacity of mantle pyroxenites to host H2O relative to the associated peridotites has previously been observed in global "off-craton" mantle xenolith suites (e.g. Oahu, Hawaii; eastern China and the Rio Grande Rift, SW USA), here we show for the first time that pyroxenites are also major hosts of F (but not Cl, Li or B). Because of their relatively low solidus temperatures, pyroxenites in "off-craton" settings will be readily re-mobilised during lithospheric extension (and heating). We suggest these pyroxene-rich mantle lithologies may be responsible for the elevated concentrations of H2O and F observed in basalts and volcanic gasses from major continental rift zones and flood basalt provinces, and hence an important consideration in models of global volatile cycles.
Abstract: Over the last few decades, significant advances in using geophysical techniques to image the structure of magma plumbing systems have enabled the identification of zones of melt accumulation, crystal mush development, and magma migration. Combining advanced geophysical observations with petrological and geochemical data has arguably revolutionised our understanding of, and afforded exciting new insights into, the development of entire magma plumbing systems. However, divisions between the scales and physical settings over which these geophysical, petrological, and geochemical methods are applied still remain. To characterise some of these differences and promote the benefits of further integration between these methodologies, we provide a review of geophysical techniques and discuss how they can be utilised to provide a structural context for and place physical limits on the chemical evolution of magma plumbing systems. For example, we examine how Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), coupled with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, and seismicity may be used to track magma migration in near real-time. We also discuss how seismic imaging, gravimetry, and electromagnetic data can identify contemporary melt zones, magma reservoirs, and, or, crystal mushes. These techniques complement seismic reflection data and rock magnetic analyses that delimit the structure and emplacement of ancient magma plumbing systems. For each of these techniques, with the addition of full-waveform inversion (FWI), the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and the integration of geophysics with numerical modelling, we discuss potential future directions. We show that approaching problems concerning magma plumbing systems from an integrated petrological, geochemical, and geophysical perspective will undoubtedly yield important scientific advances, providing exciting future opportunities for the volcanological community.
Abstract: In the last few decades, advanced monitoring networks have been extended to the main active volcanoes, providing warnings for variations in volcano dynamics. However, one of the main tasks of modern volcanology is the correct interpretation of surface-monitored signals in terms of magma transfer through the Earth's crust. In this frame, it is crucial to investigate decompression-induced magma degassing as it controls magma ascent towards the surface and, in case of eruption, the eruptive style and the atmospheric dispersal of tephra and gases. Understanding the degassing behaviour is particularly intriguing in the case of poorly explored evolved alkaline magmas. In fact, these melts frequently feed hazardous, highly explosive volcanoes (e.g., Campi Flegrei, Somma-Vesuvius, Colli Albani, Tambora, Azores and Canary Islands), despite their low viscosity that usually promotes effusive and/or weakly explosive eruptions. Decompression experiments, together with numerical models, are powerful tools to examine magma degassing behaviour and constrain field observations from natural eruptive products and monitoring signals. These approaches have been recently applied to evolved alkaline melts, yet numerous open questions remain. To cast new light on the degassing dynamics of evolved alkaline magmas, in this study we present new results from decompression experiments, as well as a critical review of previous experimental works. We achieved a comprehensive dataset of key petrological parameters (i.e., 3D textural data for bubbles and microlites using X-ray computed microtomography, glass volatile contents and nanolite occurrence) from experimental samples obtained through high temperature-high pressure isothermal decompression experiments on trachytic alkaline melts at super-liquidus temperature. We explored systematically a range of final pressures (from 200 to 25 MPa), decompression rates (from 0.01 to 1 MPa s?1), and volatile (H2O and CO2) contents. On these grounds, we integrated coherently literature data from decompression experiments on evolved alkaline (trachytic and phonolitic) melts under various conditions, with the aim to fully constrain the degassing mechanisms and timescales in these magmas. Finally, we simulated numerically the experimental conditions to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in decrypting degassing behaviour from field observations. Our results highlight that bubble formation in evolved alkaline melts is primarily controlled by the initial volatile (H2O and CO2) content during magma storage. In these melts, bubble nucleation needs low supersaturation pressures (? 50-112 MPa for homogeneous nucleation, ? 13-25 MPa for heterogeneous nucleation), resulting in high bubble number density (~ 1012-1016 m?3), efficient volatile exsolution and thus in severe rheological changes. Moreover, the bubble number density is amplified in CO2-rich melts (mole fraction XCO2 ? 0.5), in which continuous bubble nucleation predominates on growth. These conditions typically lead to highly explosive eruptions. However, moving towards slower decompression rates (? 10?1 MPa s?1) and H2O-rich melts, permeable outgassing and inertial fragmentation occur, promoting weakly explosive eruptions. Finally, our findings suggest that the exhaustion of CO2 at deep levels, and the consequent transition to a H2O-dominated degassing, can crucially enhance magma vesiculation and ascent. In a hazard perspective, these constraints allow to postulate that time-depth variations of unrest signals could be significantly weaker/shorter (e.g., minor gas emissions and short-term seismicity) during major eruptions than in small-scale events.
Earth Science Reviews , Vol. 211, 103402, 23p. Pdf
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: In the last few decades, advanced monitoring networks have been extended to the main active volcanoes, providing warnings for variations in volcano dynamics. However, one of the main tasks of modern volcanology is the correct interpretation of surface-monitored signals in terms of magma transfer through the Earth's crust. In this frame, it is crucial to investigate decompression-induced magma degassing as it controls magma ascent towards the surface and, in case of eruption, the eruptive style and the atmospheric dispersal of tephra and gases. Understanding the degassing behaviour is particularly intriguing in the case of poorly explored evolved alkaline magmas. In fact, these melts frequently feed hazardous, highly explosive volcanoes (e.g., Campi Flegrei, Somma-Vesuvius, Colli Albani, Tambora, Azores and Canary Islands), despite their low viscosity that usually promotes effusive and/or weakly explosive eruptions. Decompression experiments, together with numerical models, are powerful tools to examine magma degassing behaviour and constrain field observations from natural eruptive products and monitoring signals. These approaches have been recently applied to evolved alkaline melts, yet numerous open questions remain. To cast new light on the degassing dynamics of evolved alkaline magmas, in this study we present new results from decompression experiments, as well as a critical review of previous experimental works. We achieved a comprehensive dataset of key petrological parameters (i.e., 3D textural data for bubbles and microlites using X-ray computed microtomography, glass volatile contents and nanolite occurrence) from experimental samples obtained through high temperature-high pressure isothermal decompression experiments on trachytic alkaline melts at super-liquidus temperature. We explored systematically a range of final pressures (from 200 to 25 MPa), decompression rates (from 0.01 to 1 MPa s?1), and volatile (H2O and CO2) contents. On these grounds, we integrated coherently literature data from decompression experiments on evolved alkaline (trachytic and phonolitic) melts under various conditions, with the aim to fully constrain the degassing mechanisms and timescales in these magmas. Finally, we simulated numerically the experimental conditions to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in decrypting degassing behaviour from field observations. Our results highlight that bubble formation in evolved alkaline melts is primarily controlled by the initial volatile (H2O and CO2) content during magma storage. In these melts, bubble nucleation needs low supersaturation pressures (? 50-112 MPa for homogeneous nucleation, ? 13-25 MPa for heterogeneous nucleation), resulting in high bubble number density (~ 1012-1016 m?3), efficient volatile exsolution and thus in severe rheological changes. Moreover, the bubble number density is amplified in CO2-rich melts (mole fraction XCO2 ? 0.5), in which continuous bubble nucleation predominates on growth. These conditions typically lead to highly explosive eruptions. However, moving towards slower decompression rates (? 10?1 MPa s?1) and H2O-rich melts, permeable outgassing and inertial fragmentation occur, promoting weakly explosive eruptions. Finally, our findings suggest that the exhaustion of CO2 at deep levels, and the consequent transition to a H2O-dominated degassing, can crucially enhance magma vesiculation and ascent. In a hazard perspective, these constraints allow to postulate that time-depth variations of unrest signals could be significantly weaker/shorter (e.g., minor gas emissions and short-term seismicity) during major eruptions than in small-scale events.
Flourine , yttrium and lanthaide rich cerianite (Ce) from carbonatitic rocks of the Kerimasi volcano and surrounding explosive craters Gregory Rift Tanzania.
Mineralogical Magazine, Vol. 75, 6, pp. 2813-2822.
Abstract: Pyrochlore is the main host of rare-metal elements of carbonatite rocks, including phoscorites, typical for prolonged history of alkaline magma crystallization at the mafic-ultramafic polyphase Kovdor massif. Pyrochlore associated with baddeleyite, zircon, zirkelite, zirkonolite and forms octahedral and cube-octahedral poikilitic crystals up to 2-5 cm, and represented by U, Ba-Sr and REE species of pyrochlore subgroup. The studied Kovdor pyrochlores are characterized by increased up to 6.5% U and an extremely high Th – up to 40%, with Th/U up to 500. Pyrochlore U-Pb SHRIMP ages of 290-364 Ma correlate with variations in U of different samples, whereas the Th and common Pb have a minor effect on this value. Obtained ages are significantly underestimated and may reflect the influence of the matrix effect or later low-temperature closing of the U-Pb pyrochlore system, as well as the actual transformations of pyrochlore crystal matrix due to the interaction with the late carbonate fluids. Thus the early pyrochlores and U-pyrochlores crystallized at 364 Ma within phoscorites and early calcite carbonatites, whereas Sr-Ba pyrochlores of late calcitedolomite carbonatite formed at 340 Ma, and Th-pyrochlore rims occured at the later stages of the interaction with metasomatizing fluids 290 m.y. ago. Kovdor baddeleyite is also charecterized by high composition heterogeneity determined by the difference in its origin from olivinites to ore-bearing foscorites and postmagmatic syenites. But baddeleyite from calcitemagnetite mineral association have uniform U: 184 ±40, Th: 6.4 ±1.7, ¦REE: 34 ±6, Hf: 7629 ± 599, Nb: 3595 ±840, Ti: 56 ±14, Y: 22 ±4 ppm, and HHf: +6.5 ±1.7 at the age of 379 ±6 Ma. The U-Pb SHRIMP age data demonstrate the concordance of all studied baddeleyite samples and the absence of a significant age difference between baddeleyites of the carbonatite phase: 379 ±3 and foscorites: 379 ±4 Ma. The weighted average age for all the studied baddeleyite samples (n = 8) is 379 ±2.4 Ma at MSWD of 0.6. This can also indicate a relatively short time-interval of magmatism in the formation of Kovdor polyphase massif which did not exceed 5 m.y. and could be related to the Devonian mantleplume activity.
Abstract: Although irrefutable evidence for the presence of signs of diamondiferous kimberlite on the Taimyr Peninsula were obtained in the 1930s, it was only in 2020 that a macrodiamond (>1 mm) was first discovered in Eastern Taimyr. This was a colorless laminar crystal of a transitional shape from an octahedron to a rhombododecahedron. According to the set of features, the crystal is rare and atypical of the known primary and alluvial deposits of the Siberian Diamond Province. The find of this diamond indicates the presence of primary sources and the need for medium-scale geological survey and exploration over a large area from Anabar Bay (Pronchishchev Ridge) to the west to the Kiryaka-Tas and Tulai-Kiryaka highlands and to the northeast to Tsvetkov Cape.
Mineralogy of heavy minerals concentrates from the unconsolidated deposits of Eledoi and Pello Hill volcanic cones ( Gelai volcano): first preliminary data
Peralk-Carb 2011, workshop held Tubingen Germany June 16-18, Poster
Mineralogy of heavy minerals concentrates from the unconsolidated deposits of Eeldoi and Pello Hill volcanic cones (Gelai volcano, northern Tanzania) prel.
Peralk-Carb 2011... workshop June 16-18, Tubingen, Germany, Abstract p.111-112.
Mineralogy of heavy minerals concentrates from the unconsolidated deposits of Eeldoi and Pello Hill volcanic cones (Gelai volcano, northern Tanzania) prel.
Peralk-Carb 2011... workshop June 16-18, Tubingen, Germany, Abstract p.111-112.
Rare earth elements in phoscorites and carbonatites of the Devonian Kola alkaline province, Russia: examples from Kovdor, Khibina, Vuoriyarvi and Turiy Mys complexes.
Rare earth elements in phoscorites and carbonatites of the Devonian Kola alkaline province, Russia: examples from Kovdor, Khibina, Vuoriyarvi and Turiy Mys complexes.
Rare earth elements in phoscorites and carbonatites of the Devonian Kola alkaline province, Russia: examples from Kovdor, Khibina, Vuoriyarvi and Turiy Mys complexes.
Abstract: The Quaternary carbonatite-nephelinite Kerimasi volcano is located within the Gregory rift in northern Tanzania. It is composed of nephelinitic and carbonatitic pyroclastic rocks, tuffs, tuff breccias and pyroclastic breccias, which contain blocks of different plutonic (predominantly ijolite) and volcanic (predominantly nephelinite) rocks including carbonatites. The plutonic and volcanic carbonatites both contain calcite as the major mineral with variable amounts of magnetite or magnesioferrite, apatite and forsterite. Carbonatites also contain accessory baddeleyite, kerimasite, pyrochlore and calzirtite. Zr and Nb minerals are rarely observed in rock samples, though they are abundant in eluvial deposits of carbonatite tuff/pyroclastic breccias in the Loluni and Kisete craters. Pyrochlore, ideally (CaNa)Nb 2 O 6 F, occurs as octahedral and cubo-octahedral crystals up to 300 ?m in size. Compositionally, pyrochlore from Loluni and Kisete differs. The former is enriched in U (up to 19.4 wt.% UO 2 ), light rare earth elements (up to 8.3 wt.% LREE 2 O 3 ) and Zr (up to 14.4 wt.% ZrO 2 ), and the latter contains elevated Ti (up to 7.3 wt.% TiO 2 ). All the crystals investigated were crystalline, including those with high U content ( a = 10.4152(1) Å for Loluni and a = 10.3763(1) Å for Kisete crystals). They have little or no subsolidus alteration nor low-temperature cation exchange ( A -site vacancy up to 1.5% of the site), and are suitable for single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis ( R 1 = 0.0206 and 0.0290; for all independent reflections for Loluni and Kisete crystals, respectively). Observed variations in the pyrochlore composition, particularly Zr content, from the Loluni and Kisete craters suggest crystallisation from compositionally different carbonatitic melts. The majority of pyrochlore crystals studied exhibit exceptionally well-preserved oscillatory- and sometimes sector-type zoning. The preferential incorporation of smaller and higher charged elements into more geometrically constrained sites on the growing surfaces explains the formation of the sector zoning. The oscillatory zoning can be rationalised by considering convectional instabilities of carbonatite magmas during their emplacement.
Abstract: The Quaternary carbonatite-nephelinite Kerimasi volcano is located within the Gregory rift in northern Tanzania. It is composed of nephelinitic and carbonatitic pyroclastic rocks, tuffs, tuff breccias and pyroclastic breccias, which contain blocks of different plutonic (predominantly ijolite) and volcanic (predominantly nephelinite) rocks including carbonatites. The plutonic and volcanic carbonatites both contain calcite as the major mineral with variable amounts of magnetite or magnesioferrite, apatite and forsterite. Carbonatites also contain accessory baddeleyite, kerimasite, pyrochlore and calzirtite. Zr and Nb minerals are rarely observed in rock samples, though they are abundant in eluvial deposits of carbonatite tuff/pyroclastic breccias in the Loluni and Kisete craters. Pyrochlore, ideally (CaNa)Nb 2 O 6 F, occurs as octahedral and cubo-octahedral crystals up to 300 ?m in size. Compositionally, pyrochlore from Loluni and Kisete differs. The former is enriched in U (up to 19.4 wt.% UO 2 ), light rare earth elements (up to 8.3 wt.% LREE 2 O 3 ) and Zr (up to 14.4 wt.% ZrO 2 ), and the latter contains elevated Ti (up to 7.3 wt.% TiO 2 ). All the crystals investigated were crystalline, including those with high U content ( a = 10.4152(1) Å for Loluni and a = 10.3763(1) Å for Kisete crystals). They have little or no subsolidus alteration nor low-temperature cation exchange ( A -site vacancy up to 1.5% of the site), and are suitable for single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis ( R 1 = 0.0206 and 0.0290; for all independent reflections for Loluni and Kisete crystals, respectively). Observed variations in the pyrochlore composition, particularly Zr content, from the Loluni and Kisete craters suggest crystallisation from compositionally different carbonatitic melts. The majority of pyrochlore crystals studied exhibit exceptionally well-preserved oscillatory- and sometimes sector-type zoning. The preferential incorporation of smaller and higher charged elements into more geometrically constrained sites on the growing surfaces explains the formation of the sector zoning. The oscillatory zoning can be rationalised by considering convectional instabilities of carbonatite magmas during their emplacement.
Geology of Ore Deposits, Vol. 62, 8, pp. 754-763. pdf
Russia, Kola Peninsula
REE
Abstract: This paper presents the results of the first geological, isotope, geochemical, and mineralogical study of carbonatite veins that were previously unknown in the Soustov pluton. The studied veins are similar in the Sm-Nd isotope composition and model age to the host rocks, which implies a common formation processs. High contents of light lanthanides, Sr, and Nb in carbonatite veins were measured. These elements are concentrated in bastnäsite, strontianite, monazite, and pyrochlore. These data significantly enlarge our concepts of the geochemical and ore specialization of the massif.
Abstract: We have investigated a diamond crystal that consists of several misorientated subgrains. The main feature of the crystal is the dark in the cathodoluminescence core that has “estuary-like” boundaries extending along the subgrain interfaces. The core has more than 3100 ppm of nitrogen, and the share of the B form is more than 95%; the absorbance of the centre N3VH at 3107 cm -1 reaches 75 cm-1. The N3 centre’s absorbance, as well as N3 luminescence, is absent in the core. In the outer part of the crystal, the bright blue luminescence of the N3 centre is registered, and the N3 absorbance reaches 5.3 cm-1. These observations may be explained by the conversion of N3 centres to N3VH after attaching a hydrogen atom. After the full conversion of the N3 centres, the diamond becomes darker under CL. We hypothesize the dark core has a specific shape due to the post-growth diffusion of the hydrogen.
Abstract: A wide range of model temperature, which is typical for dodecahedroids from placer deposits in the Urals, Brazil, and the northern Yakutia diamond province has been identified in diamond crystals of the Ichetyu Ural-type diamonds deposit, Central Urals. Plates were cut from six crystals; it have been studied with cathodoluminescence and infrared and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Octahedral zoning predominates in the internal structure of rounded dodecahedroids, and growth layers are cut by the surface. Surface pigmentation spots are exhibited in the cathodoluminescent images of all plates. The nitrogen concentration in Ichetyu diamonds ranges from 100 to 2200 ppm and its proportion as B1 defects varies from 0 to 100%. The maximum absorption coefficient of hydrogen band is 56 cm-1 with an average value of 0.8 cm-1.
Abstract: Stable continental cratons are the oldest geologic features on the planet. They have survived 3.8 to 2.5 billion years of Earth’s evolution1, 2. The key to the preservation of cratons lies in their strong and thick lithospheric roots, which are neutrally or positively buoyant with respect to surrounding mantle3, 4. Most of these Archaean-aged cratonic roots are thought to have remained stable since their formation and to be too viscous to be affected by mantle convection2, 3, 5. Here we use a combination of gravity, topography, crustal structure and seismic tomography data to show that the deepest part of the craton root beneath the North American Superior Province has shifted about 850?km to the west-southwest relative to the centre of the craton. We use numerical model simulations to show that this shift could have been caused by basal drag induced by mantle flow, implying that mantle flow can alter craton structure. Our observations contradict the conventional view of cratons as static, non-evolving geologic features. We conclude that there could be significant interaction between deep continental roots and the convecting mantle.
Abstract: Human society's rapid release of vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere is a significant planetary experiment. An obvious natural process capable of similar emissions over geologically short time spans are very large bolide impacts. When striking a carbon-rich target, bolides significantly, and potentially catastrophically, disrupt the global biogeochemical carbon cycle. Independent factors, such as sulfur-rich targets, redox state of the oceans or encountering ecosystems already close to a tipping point, dictated the magnitude of further consequences and determined which large bolide strikes shaped Earth's evolution. On the early Earth, where carbon-rich sedimentary targets were rare, impacts may not have been purely destructive. Instead, enclosed subaqueous impact structures may have contributed to initiating Earth's unique carbon cycle.
Kaeser, B., Olker, B., Kait, A., Altherr, R., Pettke, T.
Pyroxenite xenoliths from Marsabit ( northern Kenya): evidence for different magmatic events in the lithospheric mantle and interaction between peridotite
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 157, 4, pp. 453-472.
Abstract: The chemical and physical processes operating during subduction-zone metamorphism can profoundly influence the cycling of elements on Earth. Deep-Earth carbon (C) cycling and mobility in subduction zones has been of particular recent interest to the scientific community. Here, we present textural and geochemical data (CO, Sr isotopes and bulk and in-situ trace element concentrations) for a suite of ophicarbonate rocks (carbonate-bearing serpentinites) metamorphosed over a range of peak pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions together representing a prograde subduction zone P-T path. These rocks, in order of increasing peak P-T conditions, are the Internal Liguride ophicarbonates (from the Bracco unit, N. Apennines), pumpellyite- and blueschist-facies ophicarbonates from the Sestri-Voltaggio zone (W. Ligurian Alps) and the Queyras (W. Alps), respectively, and eclogite-facies ophicarbonates from the Voltri Massif. The Bracco oceanic ophicarbonates retain breccia-like textures associated with their seafloor hydrothermal and sedimentary origins. Their trace element concentrations and ?18OVSMOW (+15.6 to +18.2‰), ?13CVPDB (+1.1 to +2.5‰) and their 87Sr/86Sr (0.7058 to 0.7068), appear to reflect equilibration during Jurassic seawater-rock interactions. Intense shear deformation characterizes the more deeply subducted ophicarbonates, in which prominent calcite recrystallization and carbonation of serpentinite clasts occurred. The isotopic compositions of the pumpellyite-facies ophicarbonates overlap those of their oceanic equivalents whereas the most deformed blueschist-facies sample shows enrichments in radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr?=?0.7075) and depletion in 13C (with ?13C as low as ?2.0‰). These differing textural and geochemical features for the two suites reflect interaction with fluids in closed and open systems, respectively. The higher-P-metamorphosed ophicarbonates show strong shear textures, with coexisting antigorite and dolomite, carbonate veins crosscutting prograde antigorite foliation and, in some cases, relics of magnesite-nodules enclosed in the foliation. These rocks are characterized by lower ?18O (+10.3 to 13.0‰), enrichment in radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr up to 0.7096) and enrichment in incompatible and fluid-mobile element (FME; e.g., As, Sb, Pb). These data seemingly reflect interaction with externally-derived metamorphic fluids and the infiltrating fluids likely were derived from dehydrating serpentinites with hybrid serpentinite-sediment compositions. The interaction between these two lithologies could have occurred prior to or after dehydration of the serpentinites elsewhere. We suggest that decarbonation and dissolution/precipitation processes operating in ancient subduction zones, and resulting in the mobilization of C, are best traced by a combination of detailed field and petrographic observations, C, O and Sr isotope systematics (i.e., 3D isotopes), and FME inventories. Demonstration of such processes is key to advancing our understanding of the influence of subduction zone metamorphism on the mobilization of C in subducting reservoirs and the efficiency of delivery of this C to depths beneath volcanic arcs and into the deeper mantle.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in press available 55p.
Africa, South Africa
Deposit - Roberts Victor
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Abstract: Heterogeneous, modally banded kyanite-bearing and bimineralic eclogites from the lithospheric mantle, collected at the Roberts Victor Diamond mine (South Africa), show a reaction texture in which kyanite is consumed. Geothermobarometric calculations using measured mineral compositions in Perple_X allowed the construction of a P-T path showing a steep, cool prograde metamorphic gradient of 2 °C/km to reach peak conditions of 5.8 GPa and 890 °C for the kyanite eclogite. The kyanite-out reaction formed bimineralic eclogite and is probably an integral part of the mineralogical evolution of most archetypal bimineralic eclogites at Roberts Victor and potentially elsewhere. The kyanite-out reaction occured at close to peak pressure (5.3 GPa) and was associated with a rise in temperature to 1380 °C. Mass balance calculations show that upon breakdown, the kyanite component is fully accommodated in garnet and omphacite via a reaction system with low water fugacity that required restricted fluid influx from metasomatic sources. The ?18O values of garnets are consistently higher than normal mantle values. Each sample has its characteristic trend of ?18O variance between garnets in the kyanite-bearing sections and those in the bimineralic parts covering a range between 5.1‰ and 6.8‰. No systematic change in O-isotope signature exists across the sample population. Differences in garnet trace element signatures between differing lithologies in the eclogites are significant. Grossular-rich garnets coexisting with kyanite have strong positive Eu-anomalies and low Gd/Yb ratios, while more pyrope-rich garnets in the bimineralic sections have lost their positive Eu-anomaly, have higher Gd/Yb ratios and generally higher heavy rare earth element contents. Garnets in the original kyanite-bearing portions thus reflect the provenance of the rocks as metamorphosed gabbros/troctolites. The kyanite-out reaction was most likely triggered by a heating event in the subcratonic lithosphere. As kyanite contains around 100 ppm of H2O it is suggested that the kyanite-out reaction, once initiated by heating and restricted metasomatic influx, was promoted by the release of water contained in the kyanite. The steep (high-P low-T) prograde P-T path defining rapid compression at low heating rates is atypical for subduction transport of eclogites into the lithospheric mantle. Such a trajectory is best explained in a model where strong lateral compression forces eclogites downward to higher pressures, supporting models of cratonic lithosphere formation by lateral collision and compression.
Abstract: Geophysical imaging of trans-lithospheric structures provide a spatial link between ore deposits in the crust and the underlying cratonic mantle. However, the deep lithosphere's role in ore deposit genesis remains poorly understood because remotely acquired datasets do not provide any direct constraints on the behaviour of ore elements within these mantle-roots. The abundance and behaviour of ore elements governs the metallic endowment of the cratonic mantle and the economic potential of mantle-derived magmas. Herein we present in situ electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) geochemical datasets for clinopyroxene and olivine mantle xenocrysts from the Jurassic Kirkland Lake kimberlite field, Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada. We specifically focus on unconventional trace elements, including ore elements with chalcophile and/or siderophile affinities (Ag-As-Au-Bi-Cu-Mo-Pb-Pt-Pd-Sb-Se-Sn-Te-W-Zn). Robust principal component analysis suggests that low-T, large-ion lithophile element alteration (Ba-Sr), which likely occurred during kimberlite emplacement, represents the largest source of variance for the xenocryst dataset. PT-dependent element partitioning during sub-solidus equilibration represents the second most important control on olivine and clinopyroxene chemistry. We demonstrate that least-altered, high-PT mantle silicates are, in fact, a significant mineral host for a range of ore elements (Cu-Zn ± Ag ± As ± Se ± Sn ± Mo) within equilibrated, garnet peridotite at depth (70-190 km). Statistical analysis of the raw, individual mass sweeps for each LA-ICP-MS signal suggest that the most abundant ore elements (Cu-Zn) occur predominantly as PT-dependent substitution reactions with the dominant mineral-forming elements, rather than as inclusions. A subset of high-PT olivine (160-180 km) yields Fe-Ni-S-poor and Na (Au ± Pt ± Pd)-rich compositions, which may reflect metasomatism, sulphide segregation and trapping of precious metal-bearing fluids at the base of the lithosphere. These anomalous mantle fragments possibly represent the first, direct sampling of precious metal-modified mantle peridotite beneath the Abitibi. Mid-PT olivine xenocrysts (70-120 km), which yield Mg-rich and high field-strength element-poor compositions, document a highly melt-depleted segment of mantle peridotite coincident with and below a shallow-dipping, low-seismic-velocity anomaly and conductive feature of the Kirkland Lake mid-lithosphere at 70-100 km. We speculate that the trace element signature of mid-PT xenocrysts documents the re-distribution of high-charge and incompatible elements from refractory garnet peridotite to phlogopite- and/or amphibole-bearing peridotite with conductive metasomatic up-flow zones. The rapid, sub-solidus diffusion of elements at high-T suggest that these processes likely occurred during, and/or immediately preceding, kimberlite volcanism. New in situ Pb isotope analyses of clinopyroxene xenocrysts sampled from metasomatized, low-Al garnet peridotite, however, also document ancient metasomatic events that likely pre-date Jurassic kimberlitic volcanism by at least one billion years.
Abstract: The trace element composition of olivine is becoming increasingly important in petrological studies due to the ubiquity of olivine in the Earth's upper mantle and in primitive magmatic rocks. The LA-ICP-MS method allows for the routine analysis of trace elements in olivine to sub-ppm levels, but a major drawback of this method is the lack of knowledge about possible downhole fractionation effects when non matrix-matched calibration is used. In this contribution, we show that matrix-matched (i.e., olivine-based) calibration is preferable for small laser spot sizes (<100??m) due to significant laser-induced inter-element fractionation between olivine and commonly used silicate glass calibration materials, e.g., NIST SRM 612, GSD-1G and BHVO-2G. As a result, we present two Mg-rich natural olivine standards (355OL and SC-GB) that have been characterized by independent methods (EPMA, solution ICP-MS), and by LA-ICP-MS in four different laboratories. These natural olivines have been used 1) as primary standards for the matrix-matched calibration of olivine samples for most elements of interest (e.g., Li, Na, Al, P, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), and 2) as secondary standards to assess the accuracy of results. Comparison of olivine- and silicate glass-calibrated results for natural peridotitic olivine reveals that matrix-matched calibration is essential when using small laser spot sizes (<100??m) in order to mitigate downhole fractionation effects for certain elements, especially Na, P, Mn, Co, Ni and Zn. If matrix-matched calibration is not feasible, we recommend that spot sizes of ?100??m, laser fluence of ?4.0?J/cm2, and total laser shot counts of ?250 (e.g., 5?Hz repetition rate for 50?s) are used in order to minimize fractionation effects between olivine and silicate glass calibration materials. We demonstrate the applicability of matrix-matched calibration on olivine from a suite of different mantle peridotite xenoliths sampled by kimberlites and alkali basalts from on-craton and off-craton localities.
Abstract: The cold, rigid, and melt-depleted mantle underlying Archean cratons plays an important role in the preservation of the overlying continental crust and is one of the main sources of diamonds. However, with the possible exception of rare earth elements (REE) and platinum group-elements (PGE), the concentrations and host mineral phases for many other critical trace elements within lithospheric mantle remain very poorly understood. Here we address that knowledge gap, presenting new electron microprobe and laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry results for a suite of mantle xenoliths (n = 12) and olivine xenocrysts (n = 376) from the Jericho, Muskox, and Voyageur kimberlites (northern Slave craton, Canada). Low-temperature (<1000 °C) harzburgite xenoliths and olivine xenocrysts suggest that the shallowest portions of the garnet-bearing mantle (?160 km) underlying the northern Slave craton is chemically depleted and becomes increasing re-fertilized from 160 to 200 km. High-temperature (>1000 °C) garnet and clinopyroxene crystals with Ti/Eu ratios > > 1000, and olivine xenocrysts suggest that interaction with ultramafic silicate melts is the most likely mechanism to re-fertilize melt-depleted peridotite with incompatible elements toward the base of the lithosphere (~200 km). In contrast, lower temperature garnet and clinopyroxene with Ti/Eu ratios <1000 are more likely related to metasomatism by carbonatitic melts and/or fluids. Carbonatitic metasomatism is also interpreted as the preferred explanation for the trend of Nb (4 ppm)- and Ta (185 ppb)-rich concentrations of olivine xenocrysts sampled from mid-lithosphere depths (~140 km). With the exception of a few elements that substitute into the olivine crystal structure during sub-solidus re-equilibration (e.g., Ca, Cr, Cu, Na, Sc, V, Zn), most other olivine-hosted trace elements do not systematically vary with depth. Instead, we interpret olivine-hosted trace element concentrations that are significantly above the analytical detection and/or quantification limits to reflect trapped fluid (e.g., As, Mo, Sb, Sn), base-metal sulphide (e.g., Ag, Au, Bi, Pd, Pt, Se, Te), and other mineral inclusions (e.g., U, Th) rather than enrichments of these elements due to substitution reactions or analytical artefacts. We interpret that these inclusions occur in olivine throughout the garnet stability field, but are relatively rare. As a result, these trapped carbonatitic, proto-kimberlite, and/or other ultramafic silicate melts do not represent a significant source for the suite of trace elements that become enriched to economic levels in the crust.
Age and evolution of the lower crust beneath the western Churchill Province: U-Pb zircon geochronology of kimberlite hosted granulite xenoliths, Nunavut.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 171, 15p.
Canada, Northwest Territories
Deposit - Diavik
Abstract: Fibrous diamonds are often interpreted as direct precipitates of primary carbonate-bearing fluids in the lithospheric mantle, sourced directly from common reservoirs of “mantle” carbon and nitrogen. Here we have examined fibrous growth layers in five diamonds (as three rims or “coats” and two whole-crystal cuboids) from the Diavik Diamond Mine, Canada, using in situ C- and N-isotope and N-abundance measurements to investigate the origin and evolution of their parental fluids, and in particular, to test for isotopic variability within a suite of fibrous diamonds. High-resolution growth structure information was gleaned from cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and, in combination with the isotopic data, was used to assess the nature of the transition from gem to fibrous growth in the coated diamonds. The two cuboids are characterized by fine concentric bands of fibrous and/or milky opaque diamond, with one sample (S1719) having intermittent gem-like growth layers that are transparent and colourless. The three coated diamonds comprise octahedral gem cores mantled by massive or weakly zoned fibrous rims, with sharp and well-defined gem-fibrous boundaries. For the two cuboid samples, ? 13C and ? 15N values were ?7.7 to ?3.2 ‰ (mean ?6.3 ± 1.3 ‰; 1 SD; n = 84) and ?5.6 to ?2.1 ‰ (mean ?4.0 ± 0.8 ‰; 1 SD; n = 48), respectively. The three fibrous rims have combined ? 13C values of ?8.3 to ?4.8 ‰ (mean ?6.9 ± 0.7 ‰; 1 SD; n = 113) and ? 15N values of ?3.8 to ?1.9 ‰ (mean ?2.7 ± 0.4 ‰; 1 SD; n = 43). N-abundances of the combined cuboid-fibrous rim dataset range from 339 to 1714 at. ppm. The gem cores have ? 13C and ? 15N values of ?5.4 to ?3.5 ‰ and ?17.7 to +4.5 ‰, respectively, and N-abundances of 480 to 1699 at. ppm. Broadly uniform C- and N-isotope compositions were observed in each of the gem cores (variations of ~<1 ‰ for carbon and ~<3 ‰ for nitrogen). This limited C- and N- isotope variability implies that the gem cores formed from separate pulses of fluid that remained isotopically uniform throughout the duration of growth. Significant isotopic and abundance differences were observed between the gem and fibrous growth zones, including in one detailed isotopic profile ? 13C and ? 15N offsets of ~?2.4 and ~?3.7 ‰, respectively, and a ~230 at. ppm increase in N-abundance. Combined with the well-defined gem-fibrous boundaries in plane light and CL, these sharp isotopic differences indicate separate parental fluid histories. Notably, in the combined fibrous diamond dataset prominent C- and N-isotope differences between the whole-crystal cuboid and fibrous rim data were observed, including a consistent ~1.3 ‰ offset in ? 15N values between the two growth types. This bimodal N-isotope distribution is interpreted as formation from separate parental fluids, associated with distinct nitrogen sources. The bimodal N-isotope distribution could also be explained by differences in N-speciation between the respective parental fluids, which would largely be controlled by the oxidation state of the fibrous rim and cuboid growth environments (i.e., N2 vs. NH4 + or NH3). We also note that this C- and N-isotope variability could indicate temporal changes to the source(s) of the respective parental fluids, such that each stage of fibrous diamond growth reflects the emplacement of separate pulses of proto-kimberlitic fluid—from distinct carbon and nitrogen sources, and/or with varying N-species—into the lithospheric mantle.
Chemical Geology, DOI:101016/ j.chemgeo.2020.119464
Mantle
peridotite
Abstract: The lithospheric mantle should be depleted in base- and precious-metals as these elements are transferred to the crust during partial melting. However, some melt-depleted mantle peridotites are enriched in these ore-forming elements. This may reflect re-fertilization of the mantle lithosphere and/or sequestering of these elements by residual mantle phase(s). Both processes remain poorly understood because of the low abundances of incompatible elements in peridotite and the nugget-like distribution of digestion-resistant mantle phases that pose analytical challenges for conventional geochemical methods. Herein we report new major and trace element concentrations for a suite of mantle peridotite and pyroxenite samples from the Late Permian to Middle Triassic Nahlin ophiolite (Cache Creek terrane, British Columbia, Canada) using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analysis of nanoparticulate powders and olivine. Compatible to moderately incompatible element concentrations suggest that Nahlin ophiolite peridotites represent residues after ?20% melt extraction. Pyroxenite dykes and replacive dunite bands are folded and closely intercalated with residual harzburgite. These field relationships, coupled with the presence of intergranular base metal sulphide, clinopyroxene and Cr-spinel at the microscale, point to percolating melts that variably re-fertilized melt-depleted mantle peridotite. Radiogenic Pb (206Pb/204Pb?=?15.402-19.050; 207Pb/204Pb?=?15.127-15.633; 208Pb/204Pb?=?34.980-38.434; n?=?45) and Os (187Os/188Os 0.1143-0.5745; n?=?58) isotope compositions for a subset of melt-depleted peridotite samples further support metasomatic re-fertilization of these elements. Other ore-forming elements are also implicated in these metasomatic reactions because some melt-depleted peridotite samples are enriched relative to the primitive mantle, opposite to their expected behaviour during partial melting. New LA-ICPMS analysis of fresh olivine further demonstrates that a significant proportion of the highly incompatible element budget for the most melt-depleted rocks is either hosted by, and/or occurs as trapped inclusions within, the olivine-rich residues. Trapped phases from past melting and/or re-fertilization events are the preferred explanation for unradiogenic Pb isotope compositions and Paleozoic to Paleoproterozoic Re-depletion model ages, which predate the Nahlin ophiolite by over one billion years.
Tales of intrigue, swindles and heists.... Belgian Federal Police Antwerp based.... luncheon speaker.... added as a reference for interest.. mentions new book
GIA International Symposium 2011, Gems & Gemology, Summer abstract p. 106.
Owona, S., Tichomirowa, M., Ratschbacher, L., Ondoa, J.M., Youmen, D., Pfander, J., Tchoua, F.M., Affaton, P., Ekodeck, G.E.
New igneous zircon Pb/Pb and metamorphic Rb/Sr ages in the Yaounde Group, Cameroon, Central Africa): implications for the Central African fold belt evolution close to the Congo Craton.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 101, 7, pp. 1689-1703.
Owona, S., Tichomirowa, M., Ratschbacher, L., Ondoa, W.J., Youmen, D., Pfander, J., Tchoua, F.M., Affaton, P., Ekodeck, G.E.
New igneous zircon Pb/Pb and metamorphic Rb/Sr ages in the Yaounde Group ( Cameron, Central Africa): implications for the Central African fold belt evolution close to the Congo Craton.
International Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 101, pp. 1689-1703.
Mayer, B., Jung, S., Romer, R.,Pfander, J., Klugel, A., Pack, A., Groner, E.
Amphibole in alkaline basalts from intraplate settings: implications for the petrogenesis of alkaline lavas from the metasomatised lithospheric mantle.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 167, 3, pp. 1-22.
The Canadian Mineralogist, Special Publication 14, 634p.
Canada, Quebec
Book
Abstract: This paper introduces a special section of the Canadian Journal of Development Studies, "The Africa Mining Vision: A Manifesto for More Inclusive Extractive Industry-Led Development?" Conceived by African ministers "in charge of mineral resources" with inputs and guidance from African Union Heads of State, the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) was officially launched in February 2009. The papers presented in this special section reflect critically on progress that has since been made with operationalising the AMV at the country level across Africa; the general shortcomings of the manifesto; and the challenges that must be overcome if the continent is to derive g Taking over 20 years of meticulous preparation, László and Elsa Horváth, a duo of dedicated and dynamic amateur mineralogists, along with two researchers, Robert Gault, a mineralogist, and Glenn Poirier, a geologist, have produced the ultimate book "Mont Saint-Hilaire: History, Geology, Mineralogy". The photography captures the colors of Vásárely, the symmetry of Escher, the form of Bartók and the intricate patterns of Mandelbrot, all found here, in this miracle of nature. One cannot but marvel at how this single, small quarry contains such mineral diversity. At last count, over 434 mineral species have been found at Mont Saint-Hilaire, representing 9% of all known mineral species. The 66 type minerals first described from this locality represent 1.3 % of all mineral species, placing the Poudrette quarry in an extremely rarified class for worldwide mineral localities. Almost half, 47, of all known chemical elements are included in this mineral mix. Beginning some 124 million years ago, several million years and a variety of geological processes were needed to accomplish this assemblage. Be captivated, learn and, most of all, enjoy!reater economic benefit from its abundant mineral wealth.
Abstract: Cenozoic primitive basanites, nephelinites and melilitites from the Heldburg region, SE Germany, are high-MgO magmas (8•5-14•1?wt % MgO), with low SiO2 (34•2-47•1?wt %) and low to moderately high Al2O3 (9•0-15•5?wt %) and CaO (8•7-12•7?wt %). The Ni and Cr contents of most samples are up to 470?ppm and 640?ppm, respectively, and match those inferred for primary melts. In multi-element diagrams, all samples are highly enriched in incompatible trace elements with chondrite-normalised La/Yb?=?19-45, strongly depleted in Rb and K, with primitive mantle normalised K/La?=?0•15-0•72, and moderately depleted in Pb. The initial Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions (87Sr/86Sr?=?0•7033-0•7051, 143Nd/144Nd?=?0•51279-0•51288 and 176Hf/177Hf?=?0•28284-0•28294) fall within the range observed for other Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Central European Volcanic Province, whereas 208Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb (38•42-38•88 and 18•49-18•98) are distinctly lower at comparable 207Pb/204Pb (15•60-15•65). Trace element modelling and pressure-temperature estimates based on major element compositions and experimental data suggest that the nephelinites/melilitites formed within the lowermost lithospheric mantle, close to the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary, by ?3-5% partial melting of a highly enriched, metasomatised, carbonated phlogopite-bearing garnet-lherzolite at temperatures?<1250?°C and pressures of ?2•8?GPa. This corresponds to a melting depth of less than ?85?km. Formation and eruption of these magmas, based on 40Ar/39Ar dating, started in the late Eocene (38•0 Ma) and lasted until the late Oligocene (25•4 Ma). Basanite eruptions occurred in the same area in the middle Miocene, about 7•7 Myr after nephelinite/melilitite generation has ceased, and lasted from 17•7 to 13•1 Ma. The basanites were generated at lower pressures (2•2-1•7?GPa) at similar temperatures (?1220-1250?°C) within the spinel stability field in the lithospheric mantle by 2-6% partial melting. Isotope and trace element systematics indicate that the lithospheric mantle source of the Heldburg magmas was affected by metasomatism associated with long-lasting subduction of oceanic and continental crust during the Variscan orogeny. Aqueous or supercritical fluids that formed at temperatures?<1000?°C and pressures of likely?>4?GPa infiltrated the thermal boundary layer at the base of the lithospheric mantle and imprinted a crustal lead isotope, and to a minor extent crustal Sr, Nd and Hf isotope signatures. They also reduced Nb/U, Ce/Pb, Lu/Hf, Sm/Nd, U/Pb and Th/Pb, but increased Rb/Sr and Nb/Ta and amplified the enrichment of LILE and LREE relative to HREE. This lead to the highly-enriched trace element patterns observed in both sample suites, and to overall less radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb compared to other continental basalts in Central Europe, and to less radiogenic 176Hf/177Hf and 143Nd/144Nd that plot distinctly below the terrestrial mantle array. Temporal evolution of magmatism in the Heldburg region coincides with the changing Tertiary intraplate stress field in Central Europe, which developed in response to the Alpine orogeny. Magmatism was most probably caused in response to lithosphere deformation and perturbation of the thermal boundary layer, and not by actively upwelling asthenosphere.
The Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Vol. 199, pp. 613-620.
Africa, Lesotho
deposit - Liqhobong
Abstract: Liqhobong Mining Development Company (LMDC) has been experiencing problems with boulders after blasting where the fragment sizes exceed the maximum of 800 mm as per mine standard. As a result, the mine has employed various methods to improve the fragmentation. The goal is to produce a run-of-mine (ROM) feed that does not choke the crusher and cause delays in production. In order to achieve this goal, fragmentation distribution within the fines and coarse envelope must be optimized through effective planning of blasting activities and accurate execution. The mine determined the fines-coarse envelope within which the entire crushing system can handle fragments using Split Desktop software. It is expected that both the predicted and actual fragmentation curves lie within that envelope for optimal fragmentation. The Kuz-Ram model with blast design parameters of 2.6 m for burden, 2.8 m for spacing, and 127 mm hole diameter was used to predict the fragmentation. The results show that the blast design parameters may need altering to achieve optimum fragmentation. Furthermore, the execution of the drilling and blasting may be the cause of the fragmentation problems. The mean fragmentation size (X50) differs greatly, unlike the uniformity index (n)s values which are relatively close to each other (0.6 to 2.2). The mean squared error (MSE) values have a large range. A proposed solution is a modified burden, spacing, and hole diameter. It is concluded that blast design parameters need to be reviewed in order to obtain correct predictions.
Abstract: The Wajrakarur kimberlite field (WKF) records >45 pipes so far, majority being diamodiferous. In addition to pipe-10 (Anumpalli) and 11 (Dibbasanipalli) discovered by the Geological Survey of India, of late, Rio Tinto Group has discovered three more outcropping pipes in this area (east of Dibbasanipalli, west of Anumpalli and Khaderpet) and termed all these five pipes as Anumpalli kimberltie cluster (AKC). The AKC pipes contain crustal granitoid xenoliths. The Khaderpet and Dibbasanipalli east pipes show effects of fenitisation in the country rock granitoids and are intensely chloritised kimberlite granite breccias; however, the former is unique in having its association with carbonatite (sovite) intrusion. Petrographically, the AKC kimberlites exhibit inequigranular texture resulted by anhedral to subhedral olivine macrocrysts and pseudomorphs, phenocrysts of Crdiopside, ilmenite, perovskite and minor or no amounts of phologopite with two generations of olivine within a finegrained matrix of same mineral phases. Based on the major element geochemistry the AKC pipes are classified as Group- I archetypal. Based on trace element modeling, the AKC pipes appear to be originated form garnet lherzolite source with residual garnet of 0.5 to 5%, associated with stable continental and/or orogenic area and remarkably belong to non-subduction environment. The observed LREE enrichment and low HREE cencentrations in the AKC, is consistent with inferior degrees of partial melting (0.1 to 2%). The AKC pipes appear to have originated from a hydrous magma enriched in volatiles. Exploration evidences support that kimberlites of the AKC are diamodiferous. The calculated diamond grade (DG) values of the AKC pipes are high (3.43 to 8.48) which are inversely proportional to the TiO2 content. In the binary diagram of Ta and Sc (ppm), the AKC pipes plot in the field of ‘Fe-Ti diamondiferous kimberlites’. In the Fe2O3 (wt %) vs. Y (ppm) diagram, the AKC pipes plot in the ‘prospective’ field. The diamondiferous nature of the AKC pipes indicates the conditions of diamond preservation at metastable phases in crustal environment during rapid ascent of kimberlite melt to the surface from the deep mantle, which is supported by low density and ultralow viscosity of these intrusions.
International Journal of Mining and Geo-Engineering, Vol. 53, 2, pp. 1-11. pdf
India, Andhra Pradesh
deposit - Wajrakarur
Abstract: A plausible case of collective and economical mining of diamondiferous kimberlite deposits of Wajrakarur and adjoining places in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, along with the whole-rock geochemical evidences in support of their diamond potentiality are discussed in this article. The kimberlites/lamproites are mantle-derived ultrabasic rocks which rarely carry diamonds from mantle to the earth's surface through carrot-shaped intrusions referred to as pipes. Even though few hundreds of diamondiferous kimberlite pipes were discovered in India so far, there is no other production unit than Panna diamond mine in the country where primary rock is mined. In ancient India, diamond mining in south India in the Krishna river valley was well-known to the world fascinated by famous gemstones like Koh-i-Noor, Hope, Darya-e-Noor, Noor-ul-ain etc. which were mainly extracted from alluvium or colluvium in Krishna river valley. Having bestowed with more than 45 kimberlite pipes, the Wajrakarur kimberlite field (WKF) forms a favourable region for initiating diamond mining in the country. Geochemically, majority of the WKF show low TiO2 content and considerably high diamond grade (DG) values (>3) except some pipes viz., P-5 (Muligiripalli), P-13 (Tummatapalli) and P-16 (Pennahobilam) are barren due to high TiO2 and ilmenite contents. The TiO2 content (0.66-6.62 wt %) is inversely proportional to the DG (3.33 to 22.13). The DG value of some of the WKF pipes is close to that of Panna (8.36). The cationic weight% values clearly portray the diamondiferous nature of these deposits. The WKF pipes were also proved to be diamondiferous by exploratory drilling and bulk sample processing results by the government and multinational organisations. In southern India, due to several reasons, diamond mining has not seen its initiation and impetus till now although it records a considerable number of fertile kimberlite pipes at Wajrakarur, Lattavaram, Chigicherla, Timmasamudram etc. Though the majority of WKF diamondiferous kimberlite deposits in Wajrakarur are small in their areal extent (0.06-4.48 Ha) some of them are large (>10 Ha up to 120 ha). They occur in close proximity to each other offering feasibility for collective mining and winning the precious stone through a central processing unit by deploying the latest processing technologies. The geographic conditions of this region such as availability of human resources, water resources, vast open lands, wind power generation etc. also support to initiate mining of kimberlite pipes in this area. The availability of rough diamonds produced from local mines will make the polishing industry to meet its business needs during circumstances of the shortage of rough stone influx from foreign. Hence, although it demands liberal investments, reviving diamond mining in southern India can be materialised with a meticulous evaluation of these deposits ascertaining profitability. This will certainly help to restore the past glory of diamond mining in the southern part of the subcontinent.
Thesis, Phd. Osmania University 258p., http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/178609.
India, Andhra Pradesh
deposit - Lattavaram, Anumpalli
Abstract: The thesis is organized into six chapters. The first chapter enunciates general concepts of kimberlite geology covering literature, previous work, definitions, classification, mode of occurrence, regional geological history, global and Indian occurrences of kimberlites. The second chapter elucidates the common principles and practices applied and adopted in diamond exploration applicable to the Indian context, to some extent exemplifying the kimberlite clusters of the study area. A six-stage exploration strategy, applicable to Indian geological scenario, has been proposed. The third chapter portrays the general geological setting of the study area comprising Lattavaram and Anumpalli kimberlite clusters along with spatial morphologies of the pipes and various field geological characteristics illustrated through field photographs. The fourth chapter describes various mineralogical and petrographic characteristics observed in the pipes and their associated calcretes as well of the study area emphasising their genetic significance. The fifth chapter characteristically articulates the whole rock geochemistry with the aid of major, trace and rare earth element analyses to depict the classification of the pipes under study. This chapter also demonstrates calcrete geochemistry of calcretes associated with the kimberlite pipes of the study area in detail, perhaps for the first time. The sixth chapter describes the petrogenetic inferences including source region, partial melting, temperature, density and viscosity etc., derived from geochemical analyses and thereby demonstrates the diamond prospectivity of Lattavaram and Anumpalli kimberlite pipes. In a nutshell, this research work aims to present a detailed account of petrography, geochemistry, petrogenesis and diamond prospectivity of kimberlites from Lattavaram and Anumpalli clusters in light of recently discovered pipes. For the first time, petrographic and geochemical analyses of kimberlitic calcretes are presented and interpreted.
Russian Mineralogical Society 200th. Anniversary meeting Oct. 10-13., 4p. Abstract pdf
India
deposit - Pipe-5, Wajrakakarur
Abstract: In an attempt to study the kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs), loam sampling in the close vicinity of the pipes has been carried out on some kimberlites of the WKF. In this paper, preliminary results of KIMs derived out of loam sampling on one of the WKF pipes at Muligiripalli (pipe-5) are presented. Surface loam sampling has been carried out in the topographically low-lying areas in the close proximity of the pipe outcrop. Four composite samples, at a spacing of ~100 meters, weighing 25 kg each have been collected and sieved through 1 mm mesh. Approximately 5 kg of ‘-1’ fraction has been obtained after sieving which is further subjected to coning and quartering. The material has been subjected to heavy mineral (HM) separation using a manual jig. The HM further screened through Frantz’s isodynamic separator to separate magnetic mineral grains. The HM assemblage includes ilmenite, chromite, Cr-diopside, olivine and sphene. ). To ascertain the kimberlitic nature of the HM grains and thereby to check diamondiferous nature of this pipe, additonal loam sampling to obtain more number of mineral grains to carry out Electron Microprobe Analysis (EPMA) is planned.
Abstract: Systematic closely spaced geological traverses conducted in the year 2010, in Lattavaram Kimberlite Cluster (LKC) of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, have led to the discovery of a new kimberlite pipe outcrop in the river bed of Balkamthota Vanka (name of the stream used by local farmers) at its confluence with Penna River, close to Pennahobilam. This new pipe occurs at a distance of 1.5 km in NE direction to hitherto reported pipes-5 and 13 occurring at Muligiripalli and Tummatapalli respectively in the LKC of the Wajrakarur Kimberlite Field (WKF). With this pipe, the total number of kimberlite pipes in the WKF raises to 48, considering all the kimberlites discovered by various public and private organizations so far. Preliminary petrography, geochemistry, petrogenetic aspects and diamond prospectivity of the new occurrence have been presented here. Mineralogically, the kimberlite constitutes olivine macrocrysts, serpentinsed olivine psuedomorphs with xenocrystic ilmenite, phlogopite, perovskite, magnetite, Cr-diopside, garnet along with calcite veins. The kimberlite is classified as hypabyssal macrocrystic calcite- phlogopite kimberlite. Mineralogically, the new kimberlite pipe appears as archetypal Group- I kimberlite however, geochemically; the kimberlite shows character of both Group- I and II varieties, more close to lamproitic character. Although it is too early to comment, based on limited analyses carried out in this study, the diamond potentiality of this pipe is not encouraging; it is noteworthy that it highly warrants detailed investigations involving bulk rock geochemistry and drilling to assess its definite geochemical status, petrogenesis and diamond potentiality.
Abstract: Trends in concentration of selected trace elements in residual soils on four known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes (3, 4, 8 and 9) occurring at Lattavaram within the Wajrakarur Kimberlite Field (WKF) is attempted for the first time. The pipes 3 and 4 are exposed whereas the 8 and 9 are concealed under calcrete and colluvium. For this purpose, elements like Nb, Cr, Ni, Co, Zr, Mg, Sr and La are used to understand their concentrations in the kimberlitic soils in comparison with background granitic soils. It is observed that the soils on kimberlite pipes show conspicuous enrichment of elements such as Cr, Co, Nb, Ni, Mg and Sr when compared to soils in the country rock granitoid. However, no much variation in the elements La and Zr patterns between the kimberlitic and background soils is noticed. The high pulse in trace elements in kimberlitic soils is attributed to the presence of primary kimberlitic minerals and their weathered products in the soil. This particular aspect of pedogeochemistry is envisaged to be useful as an exploration tool in search of kimberlites in cratonic parts of southern India. An enrichment of Nb content upto 45 ppm in residual soils may be considered as anamolous in the craonic parts of Indian subcontinent, which needs to be confirmed and taken forward in conjunction with high resolution geological mapping, geophysics followed up by drilling for confirmation of kimberlite/lamproite occurrence.
Abstract: The abstracts broadly summarises petrological aspects of kimberlite clan rocks so far discovered in the Telangana state in light of recent finds emphasising the context for diamond exploration in the state. This was presented in the '1st Telangana Science Congress (TSSC)-2018' organised by the Telangana Academy of Science, Hyderabad and National institute of Technology, Warangal (22-24, December, 2018).
Abstract: Geochemical and petrological characteristics of lamprophyre dykes at Kalagalla intruded into the auriferous schistose rocks of the Ramagiri- Penakacherla Schist Belt, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India are presented here. The Kalagalla lamprophyre (KGL) is a melanocratic rock exhibiting typical knobby or pustular texture on the surface. The microtextures and mineralogy typical of lamprophyres are obscured by metamorphism; however, it exhibits porphyritic, nemato-granoblastic texture representative of greenschist facies of metamorphism. The rock is sheared and possesses several globules formed by polycrystalline aggregates of calcite rimmed by coronitic subhedral plagioclase and biotite, evidencing its mantle-magmatic origin. The mineral assemblages noticed in thin-sections include amphibole, plagioclase, biotite, phlogopite and calcite ocelli as essential while apatite, zircon, magnetite, ilmenite, Ni-bearing chalcopyrite and pyrite as accessory phases. The SEM-EDS investigation on the accessory minerals revealed accessory sulphide and silicate phases like As-free pyrite, haematitised Ni-bearing chalcopyrite and Ni-As-Co- minerals indicative of sulphidation associated with greenstone auriferous lodes, along with silicates like LREE-bearing titanite partially transformed into leucoxene and oxide phases like magnetite altered to goethite at places. Based on mineral chemistry, whole rock geochemistry, presence of amphibole and dominance of plagioclase, the KGL is classified as a calc-alkaline variety in general and as spessartite in particular possessing shoshonitic affinity. No anomalous chemical composition is noticed in the ocellar calcite. The LREE-bearing titanite appears to be the contributor of LREE enrichment. The high Mg# (77- 79), Ni (153-162 ppm) and Cr (380-470 ppm) support a mantle source. The absence of Eu anomaly reflects lack of plagioclase fractionation. The high Zr/Hf ratio (163-202) indicates absence of crustal contamination and contribution of magmatic carbonate at the source to form ocelli as product of late-stage liquid silicate-carbonate immiscibility of segregation mechanism. The trace and REE patterns (?REE: 326-343 ppm, LREE>HREE) indicate involvement of residual garnet at the source presumably enriched in phlogopite in a ‘subduction-related’ environment.
Proceedings of XXXIV held Aug. 4-9. Perchuk International School of Earth Sciences, At Miass, Russia, 1p. Abstract
India
mineral chemistry
Abstract: The present study examines an unexplored catchment (60 Sq. Km.) at Nutimadugu village, in Anantapur district, on the right bank of Penna River (Fig.1), to attest the occurrence of kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs). The left bank is famous for diamondiferous kimberlites known as Timmasamudram Kimberlite Cluster. About eight stream sediment samples (~15kg in weight), were collected from the catchment with an approximate sample sapcing of one kilometer. The -1mm fraction of the stream sediments was reduced to heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) using traditional techniques. The selected mineral grains were probed for major elements using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Majority (75%) are chromite grains. Uvaravite and grossularite garnets and few grains of ilmenite are also present. The chromite grains plot in the world wide kimberlitic chromite field, with few in the diamond inclusion field (Fig.2 & 3). The garnet grains plot in the G12 field and found to be wehrlitic in character (Fig.4 & 5). On the contrary, the ilmenite grains plot in the non-kimberlitic field (Fig. 6), which might have been derived from the supracrustal rocks occurring to the east of the catchment. Thus this study highlights that the catchment stands as a priority target for further field investigations.
Journal of Applied Geology and Geophysics (IOSR), Vol. 6, 2, pp. 55-69. pdf
India
shoshonite
Abstract: Field geological, petrographic and geochemical characteristics of a lamprophyre intrusion, presumably of plug-type, at Sivarampet (SPL), occurring within the Wajrakarur kimberlite field (WKF) to the west of Cuddapah basin, are presented and discussed. The lamprophyre intrusion occurs as brecciated outcrop with angular country rock granitoid clasts and also it forms stringers/veinlets within the granitic country rock. The melanocratic rock displays panidiomorphic/porphyritic texture, typical of lamprophyres, comprising clinopyroxene, biotite, phlogopite set in a groundmass of feldspar, magnetite and spinel. Plagioclase is dominant feldspar. The K2O/Na2O ratio ranges from 1.55 to 1.89 wt %, making it distinctly potassic and brings out its shoshonitic behaviour. The fractionated chondrite normalised patterns of REE (with average (La/Yb)N= 21.01 ppm) implies involvement of an enriched mantle source while depleted values of Nb, Hf, Th and U concentrations indicate prevalence of subducted component in the mantle source. The concentrations of Rb, Sr and Ba indicate presence of phlogopite in the source. Based on the mineral assemblages, the SPL can be classified as calc-alkaline variety; however, its geochemistry shows characteristics of both alkaline and calc-alkaline varieties. The moderate Mg# (52 to 55.6) and low concentration of Ni (95.61 to 112.4 ppm) in the bulk rock indicate a low degree of partial melting of magmatic fluid from enriched asthenospheric mantle which underwent fractionation of olivine and pyroxene, subsequently producing lamprophyre magma. Recent discovery of diamonds in shoshonitic lamprophyres of Canada, appeals further investigations on diamondiferous nature of similar rock types of the WKF.
Periodico di Mineralogia, Vol. 86, pp. 213-228. pdf
India
deposit - Balkamthota Vanka
Abstract: Systematic closely spaced geological traverses conducted in the year 2010, in Lattavaram Kimberlite Cluster (LKC) of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, have led to the discovery of a new kimberlite pipe outcrop in the river bed of Balkamthota Vanka (name of the stream used by local farmers) at its confluence with Penna River, close to Pennahobilam. This new pipe occurs at a distance of 1.5 km in NE direction to hitherto reported pipes-5 and 13 occurring at Muligiripalli and Tummatapalli respectively in the LKC of the Wajrakarur Kimberlite Field (WKF). With this pipe, the total number of kimberlite pipes in the WKF raises to 48, considering all the kimberlites discovered by various public and private organizations so far. Preliminary petrography, geochemistry, petrogenetic aspects and diamond prospectivity of the new occurrence have been presented here. Mineralogically, the kimberlite constitutes olivine macrocrysts, serpentinsed olivine psuedomorphs with xenocrystic ilmenite, phlogopite, perovskite, magnetite, Cr-diopside, garnet along with calcite veins. The kimberlite is classified as hypabyssal macrocrystic calcite- phlogopite kimberlite. Mineralogically, the new kimberlite pipe appears as archetypal Group- I kimberlite however, geochemically; the kimberlite shows character of both Group- I and II varieties, more close to lamproitic character. Although it is too early to comment, based on limited analyses carried out in this study, the diamond potentiality of this pipe is not encouraging; it is noteworthy that it highly warrants detailed investigations involving bulk rock geochemistry and drilling to assess its definite geochemical status, petrogenesis and diamond potentiality.
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, Vol. 2, 2, pp. 964-975. pdf
India
lamproite
Abstract: The pedogenic carbonates, found mainly in arid and semi-arid regions of the world, are commonly referred to as calcretes or caliche or kankar authigenic carbonate products which occur in association with soil, forming the residual regolith. Many rock types can produce calcretes upon weathering and denudation, but calcrete derived from certain rocks like kimberlite/lamproite acts as an exploration guide. Calcrete is a prominent sampling medium in diamond-rich countries like Australia and South Africa whereas it has not received popularity in the Indian context. Kimberlites being ultrapotassic in nature and owing to the enrichment of olivine and serpentine often produce calcrete duricrust as a capping. Recently more than twenty lamproites have been discovered in the Telangana state by the Geological Survey of India. These occurrences unravel a new panorama that the state has a substantial potential for occurrence of more kimberlite/lamproite clan rocks. An attempt has been made here to test the geochemical affinity of calcretes from various locations within Nalgonda district. The geochemical data of calcrete samples of this study has been compared with published geochemical data of lamproites of Ramadugu Field, to understand their geochemical association to kimberlite/lamproite. The calcretes are low in SiO2 (33.92-45.1 wt %), high in K2O (1.07-2.21 wt %) and CaO (0.78 When compared to other major elements, MgO displays low concentration. The trace elements are found to be enriched in some of the samples collected in close vicinity of known lamproite occurrences. The samples show high degree of chemic alteration and compositional variation indices. It is observed that enrichment of elements like Cr, Nb, Ba, Ti, Zr etc. indicates, similar to parent kimberlite/lamproite rock, favourable targets for further ground exploration in virgin areas present study, two samples, towards five kilometers northeast of Vattikodu Lamproite Field, possess higher concentrations of Nb (>25ppm), Ba (>400 ppm), Zr (>650 ppm) and Ti (>3500 ppm) which stand out as plausible explorable targets for further ground investigations. Further investigations on these two locations are suggested to ascertain whether or not these two targets unveil new kimberlites/lamproite occurrences in the area.
Russian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 20, ES3006 14p. Pdf
India, Andhra Pradesh
deposit - Kristipadu
Abstract: This paper addresses geochemical and petrological aspects of two outcropping kimberlites (5023 and 5119) of the Gooty cluster, emplaced in carbonate sediments of Vempalli Formation of lower Cuddapah basin at Krishtipadu, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, southern India. These pipes were discovered by the Rio Tinto Exploration Group in the recent past. The 5023 kimberlite is enriched in olivine and serpentine while the 5119 pipe possesses haematitised olivine pseudomorphs. The field, textural characteristics and whole rock geochemistry qualify both the pipes for hypabyssal kimberlite breccias of Group-I type similar to world’s classical occurrences. The carbon and oxygen stable isotope data, aided with field and petrological studies, indicates existence of possible carbonatite (sovite) phase associated with the 5119 kimberlite. The two kimberlites appear to be originated from a low degree of partial melting ranging from 0.5 to 2.5%. Enrichment of LREE with a high LREE/HREE ratio indicates fractionation at the mantle source region. Whole rock geochemistry supports their diamondiferous nature. Presence of crustal xenoliths post-dates subsequent emplacement of the two pipes to lower Cuddapah sedimentation (2.4 Ga), manifesting kimberlite magmatism. These pipes are the only known Group-I kimberlites from the Proterozoic Cuddapah Basin and therefore warrant detailed investigations. KEYWORDS: Kimberlite; carbonatite; archetypal Group-I; Gooty Kimberlite Cluster; lower Cuddapah basin; stable isotope; Palaeoproterozoic.
Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Finland, Vol. 79, 2, pp. 203-215.
Europe, Finland
deposit - Lentiira Kuhmo
Abstract: The Lentiira-Kuhmo-Kostomuksha triangle, along the Finland - Russian border and within the central part of the Archean Karelian craton, contains numerous examples of phlogopite-rich, ultramafic, mantle-xenocryst-bearing and, in some cases, diamond-bearing dike rocks. Laser probe Ar-Ar data on phlogopite from 3 dike rocks on the Finnish side (Lentiira, Kuhmo) all gave ages within error of each other, 1202 ± 3 Ma (2?), 1199 ± 3 Ma (2?) and 1204 ± 4 Ma (2?) while a fourth sample produced mixed ages. Published Rb-Sr dates on mineralogically and chemically similar dikes from the Russian side (Kostomuksha) are 1232 ± 5 Ma. The question remains open whether these represent two distinct age populations or whether differences in isotopic system behavior are the reason for the 30 m.y. age difference.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 232, pp. 82-100.
Mantle
geochemistry
Abstract: We have analyzed ancient atmospheric gases trapped in fluid inclusions contained in minerals of Archean (3.3?Ga) to Paleozoic (404?Ma) rocks in an attempt to document the evolution of the elemental composition and isotopic signature of the atmosphere with time. Doing so, we aimed at understanding how physical and chemical processes acted over geological time to shape the modern atmosphere. Modern atmospheric xenon is enriched in heavy isotopes by 30-40‰ u?1 relative to Solar or Chondritic xenon. Previous studies demonstrated that, 3.3?Ga ago, atmospheric xenon was isotopically fractionated (enriched in the light isotopes) relative to the modern atmosphere, by 12.9?±?1.2 (1?) ‰ u?1, whereas krypton was isotopically identical to modern atmospheric Kr. Details about the specific and progressive isotopic fractionation of Xe during the Archean, originally proposed by Pujol et al. (2011), are now well established by this work. Xe isotope fractionation has evolved from 21‰ u?1 at 3.5?Ga to 12.9‰ u?1 at 3.3?Ga. The current dataset provides some evidence for stabilization of the Xe fractionation between 3.3 and 2.7?Ga. However, further studies will be needed to confirm this observation. After 2.7?Ga, the composition kept evolving and reach the modern-like atmospheric Xe composition at around 2.1?Ga ago. Xenon may be the second atmospheric element, after sulfur, to show a secular isotope evolution during the Archean that ended shortly after the Archean-Proterozoic transition. Fractionation of xenon indicates that xenon escaped from Earth, probably as an ion, and that Xe escape stopped when the atmosphere became oxygen-rich. We speculate that the Xe escape was enabled by a vigorous hydrogen escape on the early anoxic Earth. Organic hazes, scavenging isotopically heavy Xe, could also have played a role in the evolution of atmospheric Xe. For 3.3?Ga-old samples, Ar-N2 correlations are consistent with a partial pressure of nitrogen (pN2) in the Archean atmosphere similar to, or lower than, the modern one, thus requiring other processes than a high pN2 to keep the Earth's surface warm despite a fainter Sun. The nitrogen isotope composition of the atmosphere at 3.3?Ga was already modern-like, attesting to inefficient nitrogen escape to space since that time.
Abstract: The widely accepted paradigm of Earth's geochemical evolution states that the successive extraction of melts from the mantle over the past 4.5 billion years formed the continental crust, and produced at least one complementary melt-depleted reservoir that is now recognized as the upper-mantle source of mid-ocean-ridge basalts1. However, geochemical modelling and the occurrence of high 3He/4He (that is, primordial) signatures in some volcanic rocks suggest that volumes of relatively undifferentiated mantle may reside in deeper, isolated regions2. Some basalts from large igneous provinces may provide temporally restricted glimpses of the most primitive parts of the mantle3,4, but key questions regarding the longevity of such sources on planetary timescales—and whether any survive today—remain unresolved. Kimberlites, small-volume volcanic rocks that are the source of most diamonds, offer rare insights into aspects of the composition of the Earth’s deep mantle. The radiogenic isotope ratios of kimberlites of different ages enable us to map the evolution of this domain through time. Here we show that globally distributed kimberlites originate from a single homogeneous reservoir with an isotopic composition that is indicative of a uniform and pristine mantle source, which evolved in isolation over at least 2.5 billion years of Earth history—to our knowledge, the only such reservoir that has been identified to date. Around 200 million years ago, extensive volumes of the same source were perturbed, probably as a result of contamination by exogenic material. The distribution of affected kimberlites suggests that this event may be related to subduction along the margin of the Pangaea supercontinent. These results reveal a long-lived and globally extensive mantle reservoir that underwent subsequent disruption, possibly heralding a marked change to large-scale mantle-mixing regimes. These processes may explain why uncontaminated primordial mantle is so difficult to identify in recent mantle-derived melts.
Argon isotope and halogen chemistry of phlogopite from South Africankimberlites: a combined step-heating, laser probe, electron microprobe and TEMstudy
Compressional reworking of the East African Orogen in the Uluguru Mountains of eastern Tanzania at c. 550Ma: implications for the final assembly of Gondwana.
Honda, M., Phillips, D., Harris, J.W., Matsumoto, T.
He, Ne and Ar in peridotitic and eclogitic paragenesis diamonds from the Jwaneng kimberlite, Botswana - implications for mantle evolution and diamond formation ages.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 301, 1-2, pp. 43-51.
Jelsma, H.,Krishnan, S.U., Perritt, S.,Kumar, M., Preston, R., Winter, F., Lemotlo, L., Costa, J., Van der Linde, G., Facatino, M., Posser, A., Wallace, C., Henning, A., Joy, S., Chinn, I., Armstrong, R., Phillips, D.
Kimberlites from central Angola: a case stidy of exploration findings.
10th. International Kimberlite Conference Feb. 6-11, Bangalore India, Abstract
Giuliani, A., Kamenetsky, V.S., Kendrick, M.A., Phillips, D., Wyatt, B.A., Maas, R.
Oxide, sulphide and carbonate minerals in a mantle polymict breccia: metasomatism by proto-kimberlite magmas, and relationship to the kimberlite megacrystic suite.
Jelsma, H., Krishnan, U., Perritt, S., Preston, R., Winter, F., Lemotlo, L., van der Linde, G., Armstrong, R., Phillips, D., Joy, S., Costa, J., Facatino, M., Posser, A., Kumar, M., Wallace, C., Chinn, I., Henning, A.
Kimberlites from central Angola: a case study of exploration findings.
Proceedings of the 10th. International Kimberlite Conference, Vol. 2, pp. 173-190.
Tappe, S., Kjarsgaard, B.A., Kurszlaukis, S., Nowell, G.M., Phillips, D.
Petrology and Nd-Hf isotope geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic Amon kimberlite sills, Baffin Island ( Canada): evidence of deep mantle magmatic activity linked to Supercontinent cycles.
Abstract: Kimberlite magmas are of economic and scientific importance because they represent the major host to diamonds and are probably the deepest magmas from continental regions. In addition, kimberlite magmas transport abundant mantle and crustal xenoliths, thus providing fundamental information on the composition of the sub-continental lithosphere. Despite their importance, the composition and ascent mechanism(s) of kimberlite melts remain poorly constrained. Phlogopite is one of the few minerals that preserves a history of fluid migration and magmatism in the mantle and crust and is therefore an invaluable petrogenetic indicator of kimberlite magma evolution. Here we present major and trace element compositional data for phlogopite from the Bultfontein kimberlite (Kimberley, South Africa; i.e. the kimberlite type-locality) and from entrained mantle xenoliths. Phlogopite macrocrysts (~ > 0.3-0.5 mm) and microcrysts (between ~ 0.1 and 0.3 mm) in the Bultfontein kimberlite display concentric compositional zoning patterns. The cores of these phlogopite grains exhibit compositions typical of phlogopite contained in peridotite mantle xenoliths. However, the rims of some grains show compositions analogous to kimberlite groundmass phlogopite (i.e. high Ti, Al and Ba; low Cr), whereas other rims and intermediate zones (between cores and rims) exhibit unusually elevated Cr and lower Al and Ba concentrations. The latter compositions are indistinguishable from matrix phlogopite in polymict breccia xenoliths (considered to represent failed kimberlite intrusions) and from Ti-rich overgrowth rims on phlogopite in other mantle xenoliths. Consequently, it is likely that these phlogopite grains crystallized from kimberlite melts and that the high Ti-Cr zones originated from earlier kimberlite melts at mantle depths. We postulate that successive pulses of ascending kimberlite magma progressively metasomatised the conduit along which later kimberlite pulses ascended, producing progressively decreasing interaction with the surrounding mantle rocks. In our view, these processes represent the fundamental mechanism of kimberlite magma ascent. Our study also indicates that, in addition to xenoliths/xenocrysts and magmatic phases, kimberlite rocks incorporate material crystallized at various mantle depths by previous kimberlite intrusions (mantle-derived ‘antecrysts’).
Abstract: The lack of consensus on the possible range of initial kimberlite melt compositions and their evolution as they ascend through and interact with mantle and crustal wall rocks, hampers a complete understanding of kimberlite petrogenesis. Attempts to resolve these issues are complicated by the fact that kimberlite rocks are mixtures of magmatic, xenocrystic and antecrystic components and, hence, are not directly representative of their parental melt composition. Furthermore, there is a lack of direct evidence of the assimilation processes that may characterise kimberlitic melts during ascent, which makes understanding their melt evolution difficult. In this contribution we provide novel constraints on the interaction between precursor kimberlite melts and lithospheric mantle wall rocks. We present detailed textural and geochemical data for a carbonate-rich vein assemblage that traverses a garnet wehrlite xenolith [equilibrated at ~ 1060 °C and 43 kbar (~ 140-145 km)] from the Bultfontein kimberlite (Kimberley, South Africa). This vein assemblage is dominated by Ca-Mg carbonates, with subordinate oxide minerals, olivine, sulphides, and apatite. Vein phases have highly variable compositions indicating formation under disequilibrium conditions. Primary inclusions in the vein minerals and secondary inclusion trails in host wehrlite minerals contain abundant alkali-bearing phases (e.g., Na-K bearing carbonates, Mg-freudenbergite, Na-bearing apatite and phlogopite). The Sr-isotope composition of vein carbonates overlaps those of groundmass calcite from the Bultfontein kimberlite, as well as perovskite from the other kimberlites in the Kimberley area. Clinopyroxene and garnet in the host wehrlite are resorbed and have Si-rich reaction mantles where in contact with the carbonate-rich veins. Within some veins, the carbonates occur as droplet-like, globular segregations, separated from a similarly shaped Si-rich phase by a thin meniscus of Mg-magnetite. These textures are interpreted to represent immiscibility between carbonate and silicate melts. The preservation of reaction mantles, immiscibility textures and disequilibrium in the vein assemblage, suggests quenching, probably triggered by entrainment and rapid transport toward the Earth's surface in the host kimberlite magma. Based on the Sr-isotope systematics of vein carbonate minerals, and the close temporal relationship between carbonate-rich metasomatism and kimberlite magmatism, we suggest that the carbonate-rich vein assemblage was produced by the interaction between a melt genetically related to the Bultfontein kimberlite and wehrlitic mantle wall rock. If correct, this unique xenolith sample provides a rare snapshot of the assimilation processes that might characterise parental kimberlite melts during their ascent through the lithospheric mantle.
Abstract: Kimberlitic magmaclasts are discrete ovoid magmatic fragments that formed prior to emplacement from disrupted kimberlite magma. To provide new constraints on the origin and evolution of the kimberlite melts, we document the mineralogy and petrography of a magmaclast recovered from one of the ca. 520 Ma Venetia kimberlites, South Africa. The sample (BI9883) has a sub-spherical shape and consists of a ~ 10 mm diameter central olivine macrocryst, surrounded by porphyritic kimberlite. The kimberlitic material consists of concentrically aligned, altered olivine phenocrysts, set in a crystalline groundmass of calcite, chromite, perovskite, phlogopite, apatite, ilmenite, titanite, sulphides, rutile and magnetite along with abundant alteration phases (i.e. serpentine, talc and secondary calcite). These features are typical of archetypal hypabyssal kimberlites. We examined primary fluid/melt inclusions in chromite, perovskite and apatite containing a diversity of daughter phases. Chromite and perovskite host polycrystalline inclusions containing abundant alkali-carbonates (i.e. enriched in K, Na, Ba, Sr), phosphates, Na-K chlorides, sulphides and equal to lesser quantities of olivine, phlogopite and pleonaste. In contrast, apatite hosts polycrystalline assemblages with abundant alkali-carbonates and Na-K chlorides and lesser amounts of olivine, monticellite and phlogopite. Numerous solid inclusions of shortite (Na2Ca2(CO3)3), Na-Sr-carbonates and apatite occur in groundmass calcite along with fluid inclusions containing daughter crystals of Na-carbonates and Na-chlorides. The primary inclusions in chromite, perovskite and apatite are considered to represent remnants of fluid(s)/melt(s) trapped during crystallisation of the host minerals, whereas the fluid inclusions in calcite are probably secondary in origin. The component proportions of these primary fluid/melt inclusions were estimated in an effort to constrain the composition of the evolving kimberlite melt. These estimates suggest melt evolution from a silicate-carbonate kimberlite melt that became increasingly enriched in carbonates, phosphates, alkalis and chlorides, in response to the fractional crystallisation of constituent minerals (i.e. olivine to apatite). The concentric alignment of crystals around the olivine kernel and ovoid shape of the magmaclast can be ascribed to the low viscosity of the kimberlite melt and rapid rotation whilst in a liquid or partial crystalline state, or to progressive layer-by-layer growth of the magmaclast. Although the mineralogy of our sample is similar to hypabyssal kimberlites worldwide, it differs from hypabyssal kimberlite units in the main Venetia pipes, which contain monticellite-phlogopite rich assemblages and segregationary matrix textures. Therefore magmaclast BI9883 probably originated from a batch of magma distinct from those that produced known hypabyssal units within the Venetia kimberlite cluster.-
Abstract: The petrogenesis of kimberlites commonly is obscured by interaction with hydrothermal fluids, including deuteric (late-magmatic) and/or groundwater components. To provide new constraints on the modification of kimberlite rocks during overprinting by such fluids and on the fractionation of kimberlite magmas during crystallisation, we have undertaken a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of a hypabyssal sample (BK) from the Bultfontein kimberlite (Kimberley, South Africa).
Abstract: Kimberlitic magmaclasts are discrete ovoid magmatic fragments that formed prior to emplacement from disrupted kimberlite magma. To provide new constraints on the origin and evolution of the kimberlite melts, we document the mineralogy and petrography of a magmaclast recovered from one of the ca. 520 Ma Venetia kimberlites, South Africa. The sample (BI9883) has a sub-spherical shape and consists of a ~ 10 mm diameter central olivine macrocryst, surrounded by porphyritic kimberlite. The kimberlitic material consists of concentrically aligned, altered olivine phenocrysts, set in a crystalline groundmass of calcite, chromite, perovskite, phlogopite, apatite, ilmenite, titanite, sulphides, rutile and magnetite along with abundant alteration phases (i.e. serpentine, talc and secondary calcite). These features are typical of archetypal hypabyssal kimberlites. We examined primary fluid/melt inclusions in chromite, perovskite and apatite containing a diversity of daughter phases. Chromite and perovskite host polycrystalline inclusions containing abundant alkali-carbonates (i.e. enriched in K, Na, Ba, Sr), phosphates, Na-K chlorides, sulphides and equal to lesser quantities of olivine, phlogopite and pleonaste. In contrast, apatite hosts polycrystalline assemblages with abundant alkali-carbonates and Na-K chlorides and lesser amounts of olivine, monticellite and phlogopite. Numerous solid inclusions of shortite (Na2Ca2(CO3)3), Na-Sr-carbonates and apatite occur in groundmass calcite along with fluid inclusions containing daughter crystals of Na-carbonates and Na-chlorides. The primary inclusions in chromite, perovskite and apatite are considered to represent remnants of fluid(s)/melt(s) trapped during crystallisation of the host minerals, whereas the fluid inclusions in calcite are probably secondary in origin. The component proportions of these primary fluid/melt inclusions were estimated in an effort to constrain the composition of the evolving kimberlite melt. These estimates suggest melt evolution from a silicate-carbonate kimberlite melt that became increasingly enriched in carbonates, phosphates, alkalis and chlorides, in response to the fractional crystallisation of constituent minerals (i.e. olivine to apatite). The concentric alignment of crystals around the olivine kernel and ovoid shape of the magmaclast can be ascribed to the low viscosity of the kimberlite melt and rapid rotation whilst in a liquid or partial crystalline state, or to progressive layer-by-layer growth of the magmaclast. Although the mineralogy of our sample is similar to hypabyssal kimberlites worldwide, it differs from hypabyssal kimberlite units in the main Venetia pipes, which contain monticellite-phlogopite rich assemblages and segregationary matrix textures. Therefore magmaclast BI9883 probably originated from a batch of magma distinct from those that produced known hypabyssal units within the Venetia kimberlite cluster.
Abstract: The petrogenesis of kimberlites is commonly obscured by interaction with hydrothermal fluids, including deuteric (late-magmatic) and/or groundwater components. To provide new constraints on the modification of kimberlite rocks during fluid interaction and the fractionation of kimberlite magmas during crystallisation, we have undertaken a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of a hypabyssal sample (BK) from the Bultfontein kimberlite (Kimberley, South Africa). Sample BK consists of abundant macrocrysts (> 1 mm) and (micro-) phenocrysts of olivine and lesser phlogopite, smaller grains of apatite, serpentinised monticellite, spinel, perovskite, phlogopite and ilmenite in a matrix of calcite, serpentine and dolomite. As in kimberlites worldwide, BK olivine grains consist of cores with variable Mg/Fe ratios, overgrown by rims that host inclusions of groundmass phases (spinel, perovskite, phlogopite) and have constant Mg/Fe, but variable Ni, Mn and Ca concentrations. Primary multiphase inclusions in the outer rims of olivine and in Fe-Ti-rich (‘MUM’) spinel are dominated by dolomite, calcite and alkali carbonates with lesser silicate and oxide minerals. Secondary inclusions in olivine host an assemblage of Na-K carbonates and chlorides. The primary inclusions are interpreted as crystallised alkali-Si-bearing Ca-Mg-rich carbonate melts, whereas secondary inclusions host Na-K-rich C-O-H-Cl fluids. In situ Sr-isotope analyses of groundmass calcite and perovskite reveal similar 87Sr/86Sr ratios to perovskite in the Bultfontein and the other Kimberley kimberlites, i.e. magmatic values. The ?18O composition of the BK bulk carbonate fraction is above the mantle range, whereas the ?13C values are similar to those of mantle-derived magmas. The occurrence of different generations of serpentine and occasional groundmass calcite with high 87Sr/86Sr, and elevated bulk carbonate ?18O values indicate that the kimberlite was overprinted by hydrothermal fluids, which probably included a significant groundwater component. Before this alteration the groundmass included calcite, monticellite, apatite and minor dolomite, phlogopite, spinel, perovskite and ilmenite. Inclusions of groundmass minerals in olivine rims and phlogopite phenocrysts show that olivine and phlogopite also belong to the magmatic assemblage. We therefore suggest that the crystallised kimberlite was produced by an alkali-bearing, phosphorus-rich, silica-dolomitic melt. The alkali-Si-bearing Ca-Mg-rich carbonate compositions of primary melt inclusions in the outer rims of olivine and in spinel grains with evolved compositions (MUM spinel) support formation of these melts after fractionation of abundant olivine, and probably other phases (e.g., ilmenite and chromite). Finally, the similarity between secondary inclusions in kimberlite olivine of this and other worldwide kimberlites and secondary inclusions in minerals of carbonatitic, mafic and felsic magmatic rocks, suggests trapping of residual Na-K-rich C-O-H-Cl fluids after groundmass crystallisation. These residual fluids may have persisted in pore spaces within the largely crystalline BK groundmass and subsequently mixed with larger volumes of external fluids, which triggered serpentine formation and localised carbonate recrystallisation.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, Vol. 4, pp. 1-6.
Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe
metasomatism, geochronology
Abstract: Metasomatism, the chemical alteration of rocks by a variety of melts and fluids, has formed a key concept in studies of the Earth’s mantle for decades. Metasomatic effects are often inferred to be far-reaching and yet the evidence for their occurrence is usually based upon individual hand specimens or suites of rocks that display considerable heterogeneity. In rare cases, however, we are offered insights into larger-scale chemical modifications that occur in the mantle. Here we utilise the Lu–Hf systematics of zircon megacrysts erupted in kimberlite magmas to discern two temporally and compositionally discrete metasomatic events in the mantle beneath southern Africa, each having an influence extending over an area exceeding one million km2. These data provide unambiguous evidence for metasomatic processes operating at continental scales and seemingly unperturbed by the age and composition of the local lithospheric mantle. The most recent of these events may be associated with the major Jurassic-Karoo magmatism in southern Africa.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 401, pp. 132-147.
Africa, South Africa
metasomatism
Abstract: The Karoo igneous rocks (174-185 Ma) of southern Africa represent one of the largest continental flood basalt provinces on Earth. Available evidence indicates that Karoo magmas either originated in the asthenosphere and were extensively modified by interaction with the lithospheric mantle prior to emplacement in the upper crust; or were produced by partial melting of enriched mantle lithosphere. However, no direct evidence of interaction by Karoo melts (or their precursors) with lithospheric mantle rocks has yet been identified in the suites of mantle xenoliths sampled by post-Karoo kimberlites in southern Africa. Here we report U-Pb ages for lindsleyite-mathiasite (LIMA) titanate minerals (crichtonite series) from three metasomatised, phlogopite and clinopyroxene-rich peridotite xenoliths from the ?84 Ma Bultfontein kimberlite (Kimberley, South Africa), located in the southern part of the Karoo magmatic province. The LIMA minerals appear to have formed during metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle by fluids enriched in HFSE (Ti, Zr, Hf, Nb), LILE (K, Ba, Ca, Sr) and LREE. LIMA U-Pb elemental and isotopic compositions were measured in situ by LA-ICP-MS methods, and potential matrix effects were evaluated by solution-mode analysis of mineral separates. LIMA minerals from the three samples yielded apparent U-Pb ages of , and (). A single zircon grain extracted from the ?190 Ma LIMA-bearing sample produced a similar U-Pb age of , within uncertainty of the LIMA ages. These data provide the first robust evidence of fluid enrichment in the lithospheric mantle beneath the Kimberley region at ?180-190 Ma, and suggest causation of mantle metasomatism by Karoo melts or their precursor(s). The results further indicate that U-Pb dating of LIMA minerals provides a new, accurate tool for dating metasomatic events in the lithospheric mantle.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 482, pp. 253-264.
Africa, South Africa
metasomatism
Abstract: Radiogenic isotope variations unrelated to radiogenic ingrowth are common between minerals found in metasomatised mantle xenoliths entrained in kimberlite, basalts and related magmas. As the metasomatic minerals are assumed to have been in isotopic equilibrium originally, such variations are typically attributed to contamination by the magma host and/or interaction with mantle fluids during or before xenolith transport to surface. However, the increasing evidence of metasomatism by multiple, compositionally distinct fluids permeating the lithospheric mantle, coeval with specific magmatic events, suggests that isotopic disequilibrium might be a consequence of discrete, though complex, metasomatic events. Here we provide clear evidence of elemental and Sr isotope heterogeneity between coeval Ti-rich LIMA (lindsleyite–mathiasite) minerals at the time of their formation in the mantle. LIMA minerals occur in close textural association with clinopyroxene and phlogopite in low-temperature (?800–900?°C), strongly metasomatised mantle xenoliths from the ?84 Ma Bultfontein kimberlite (South Africa). Previous U/Pb dating of the LIMA phases was used to argue that each xenolith recorded a single event of LIMA crystallisation at ?180–190 Ma, coeval with the emplacement of Karoo magmas. SEM imaging reveals that up to four types of LIMA phases coexist in each xenolith, and occasionally in a single LIMA grain. Major element and in situ Sr isotope analyses of the different LIMA types show that each phase has a distinct elemental composition and initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio (e.g., 0.7068–0.7086 and 0.7115–0.7129 for two LIMA types in a single xenolith; 0.7053-0.7131 across the entire sample suite). These combined age and isotopic constraints require that multiple fluids metasomatised these rocks at broadly the same time (i.e. within a few thousands to millions of years), and produced similar mineralogical features. Elemental and isotopic variations between different LIMA types could be due to interaction between one (or more) Karoo-related Ti-rich silicate melts and previously metasomatised, phlogopite-rich lithospheric mantle. This study demonstrates that mantle metasomatic assemblages seemingly generated in a single event may instead result from the infiltration of broadly coeval fluids with variable compositions. This in turn implies that the isotopic variations recorded in mantle rocks may be an inherent feature of metasomatism, and that hot fluids infiltrating a rock do not necessarily cause equilibration at the cm scale, as has been assumed previously. Simple modelling of solid-state diffusion in mantle minerals shows that isotopic disequilibrium may be preserved for up to hundreds of Myr at mantle lithosphere temperatures (?1100–1200?°C), unless subsequently affected by transient heating and/or fluid infiltration events. Radiogenic isotope disequilibrium associated with mantle metasomatism may therefore be a common feature of mantle xenoliths.
Abstract: The compositions of kimberlite melts at depth and upon emplacement in the upper crust remain elusive. This can be attributed to the unquantified effects of multiple processes, such as alteration, assimilation, xenocryst contamination, and fractional crystallisation. The inability to accurately constrain the composition and physical properties of kimberlite melts prevents a comprehensive understanding of their petrogenesis. To improve constraints on the compositions of kimberlite melts, we have combined modal analysis including the discrimination of xenocrystic from magmatic phases, with mineral chemistry determinations to reconstruct a whole-rock composition. We apply this approach to a sample of “fresh” macrocrystic hypabyssal kimberlite (sample BK-1) from the Bultfontein mine (Kimberley, South Africa). The accuracy of this whole-rock reconstruction method is validated by the similarity between reconstructed and measured whole-rock compositions. A series of corrections are then applied to account for the effects of post-emplacement serpentinisation, pre-emplacement olivine crystallisation, and the inclusion and assimilation of mantle material. This approach permits discernment of melt compositions at different stages of kimberlite evolution. The primitive melt parental to the Bultfontein kimberlite is estimated to contain 17.4-19.0?wt% SiO2, 20.2-22.8?wt% MgO, 20.9-21.9?wt% CaO, 2.1-2.3?wt% P2O5, 1.2-1.4?wt% TiO2, 0.9-1.1?wt% Al2O3, and 0.6-0.7?wt% K2O, and has a Mg# of 83.4-84.4. Primary volatile contents (i.e., after an attempt to account for volatile loss) are tentatively estimated at ~2.1-2.2?wt% H2O and ~22.9-25.4?wt% CO2. This composition is deficient in SiO2, MgO and H2O, but enriched in CaO and CO2 compared with most previous estimates of primitive kimberlite melts. We suggest that the primitive melt parental to the Bultfontein kimberlite was a transitional silicate-carbonate melt, which was progressively enriched in SiO2, MgO, Al2O3, Cr2O3, and Na2O through the assimilation of lithospheric mantle material. Comparisons with experimentally produced low-degree melts of carbonated lherzolite indicate that the Bultfontein kimberlite could have formed by ~0.5% melting of asthenospheric mantle at ~6.0-8.6?GPa (i.e., ~190-285?km) and ~1400-1500?°C. The low calculated Na2O contents (<0.2?wt%), which are inconsistent with derivation from low-degree melting of lherzolite, suggest that an alkali-bearing, volatile-rich fluid was exsolved during ascent or released after emplacement, and subsequently removed.
Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available, 14p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Bultfontein
Abstract: MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) and PIC (Phlogopite-Ilmenite-Clinopyroxene) xenoliths are thought to be formed by intense Bprimary^ mantle metasomatism. These rocks also display secondary features, such as cross-cutting veins and geochemical zonation of matrix minerals, which probably reflect latermetasomatic events. To investigate the nature and origin(s) of these secondary features, 28 MARID and PIC xenoliths from southern African kimberlites and orangeites have been studied. MARID-hosted veins contain both carbonate and Ti-rich phases (e.g., titanite, phlogopite), suggesting that they formed by the infiltration of a carbonated silicate melt. Elevated TiO2 contents in MARID matrix mineral rims are spatially associated with carbonate-dominated veins, suggesting a genetic relationship between vein formation and geochemical zonation. Spongy rims around primaryMARID and PIC clinopyroxene are depleted in Na2O andAl2O3 relative to their cores, possibly reflecting mineral dissolution in the xenoliths during ascent and emplacement of the entraining kimberlite. The preservation of compositional differences between primary and secondary phases in MARID and PIC xenoliths indicates that metasomatism occurred shortly before, or broadly coeval with, kimberlite/orangeite magmatism; otherwise, at typical mantle temperatures, such features would have quickly re-equilibrated. Increased Na2O in some mineral rims (e.g., K-richterite) may therefore reflect equilibration with a more Na-enriched primitive kimberlite melt composition than is commonly suggested. Vein-hosted clinopyroxene 87Sr/86Sri (0.70539 ± 0.00079) in one MARID sample is intermediate between primary clinopyroxene in the sample (0.70814 ± 0.00002) and the host Bultfontein kimberlite (0.70432 ± 0.00005), suggesting that vein minerals are derived from interactions between primary MARID phases and kimberlite-related melts/fluids. Sulfur isotope compositions of barite (?34SVCDT = +4.69 ‰) and sulfides (?34SVCDT = ?0.69 ‰) in carbonate veins reflect equilibration at temperatures of 850-900 °C, consistent with sulfurrich melt/fluid infiltration in the lithospheric mantle. In contrast, vein carbonate C-O isotope systematics (?13CVPDB = ?9.18 ‰ ?18OVSMOW = +17.22‰) are not typical of kimberlites or other mantle carbonates (?13CVPDB = ?3 to ?8‰ ?18OVSMOW = 6 to 9 ), and may represent post-emplacement hydrothermal interactions of the cooling kimberlite with crustal fluids. These constraints suggest protracted metasomatism of MARID rocks shortly before and during entrainment by the host kimberlite.
Mineralogy and Petrology, June 14, DOI:10.1007/ s00710-018- 0593-8, 14p.
Africa, Botswana
deposit - Nxau
Abstract: The Nxau Nxau kimberlites in northwest Botswana belong to the Xaudum kimberlite province that also includes the Sikereti, Kaudom and Gura kimberlite clusters in north-east Namibia. The Nxau Nxau kimberlites lie on the southernmost extension of the Congo Craton, which incorporates part of the Damara Orogenic Belt on its margin. The Xaudum kimberlite province is geographically isolated from other known clusters but occurs within the limits of the NW-SE oriented, Karoo-aged Okavango Dyke Swarm and near NE-SW faults interpreted as the early stages of the East African Rift System. Petrographic, geochronological and isotopic studies were undertaken to characterise the nature of these kimberlites and the timing of their emplacement. The Nxau Nxau kimberlites exhibit groundmass textures, mineral phases and Sr-isotope compositions (87Sr/86Sri of 0.7036?±?0.0002; 2?) that are characteristic of archetypal (Group I) kimberlites. U-Pb perovskite, 40Ar/39Ar phlogopite and Rb-Sr phlogopite ages indicate that the kimberlites were emplaced in the Cretaceous, with perovskite from four samples yielding a preferred weighted average U-Pb age of 84?±?4 Ma (2?). This age is typical of many kimberlites in southern Africa, indicating that the Xaudum occurrences form part of this widespread Late Cretaceous kimberlite magmatic province. This time marks a significant period of tectonic stress reorganisation that could have provided the trigger for kimberlite magmatism. In this regard, the Nxau Nxau kimberlites may form part of a NE-SW oriented trend such as the Lucapa corridor, with implications for further undiscovered kimberlites along this corridor.
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/ s00710-018- 0568-9, 15p.
Africa, South Africa
geochronology
Abstract: The West Coast of Namaqualand in South Africa hosts extensive detrital diamond deposits, but considerable debate exists as to the provenance of these diamonds. Some researchers have suggested derivation of the diamonds from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites (also termed Group I kimberlites) and orangeites (also termed Group II kimberlites) located on the Kaapvaal Craton. However, others favour erosion of diamonds from the ca.300 Ma Dwyka Group sediments, with older, pre-Karoo kimberlites being the original source(s). Previous work has demonstrated that 40Ar/39Ar analyses of clinopyroxene inclusions, extracted from diamonds, yield ages approaching the time(s) of source kimberlite emplacement, which can be used to constrain the provenance of placer diamond deposits. In the current study, 40Ar/39Ar analyses were conducted on clinopyroxene inclusions from two similar batches of Namaqualand detrital diamonds, yielding (maximum) ages ranging from 117.5?±?43.6 Ma to 3684?±?191 Ma (2?) and 120.6?±?15.4 Ma to 688.8?±?4.9 Ma (2?), respectively. The vast majority of inclusions (88%) produced ages younger than 500 Ma, indicating that most Namaqualand diamonds originated from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites/orangeites, with few, if any, derived from the Dwyka tillites. The provenance of the Namaqualand diamonds from ca.115-200 Ma orangeites is consistent with Late Cretaceous paleo-drainage reconstructions, as these localities could have been sampled by the ‘paleo-Karoo’ River and transported to the West Coast via an outlet close to the current Olifants River mouth. At ca.90 Ma, this drainage system appears to have been captured by the ‘paleo-Kalahari’ River, a precursor to the modern Orange River system. This latter drainage is considered to have transported diamonds eroded from both ca.80-90 Ma kimberlites and ca.115-200 Ma orangeites to the West Coast, which were subsequently reworked along the Namibian coast, forming additional placer deposits.
Mineralogy and Petrology, June 14, DOI:10.1007/ s00710-018 -0588-5, 16p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - De Beers dyke
Abstract: We present petrographic and mineral chemical data for a suite of samples derived from the De Beers dyke, a contemporaneous, composite intrusion bordering the De Beers pipe (Kimberley, South Africa). Petrographic features and mineral compositions indicate the following stages in the evolution of this dyke: (1) production of antecrystic material by kimberlite-related metasomatism in the mantle (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite); (2) entrainment of wall-rock material during ascent through the lithospheric mantle, including antecrysts; (3) early magmatic crystallisation of olivine (internal zones and subsequently rims), Cr-rich spinel, rutile, and magnesian ilmenite, probably on ascent to the surface; and (4) crystallisation of groundmass phases (i.e., olivine rinds, Fe-Ti-rich spinels, perovskite, apatite, monticellite, calcite micro-phenocrysts, kinoshitalite-phlogopite, barite, and baddeleyite) and the mesostasis (calcite, dolomite, and serpentine) on emplacement in the upper crust. Groundmass and mesostasis crystallisation likely forms a continuous sequence with deuteric/hydrothermal modification. The petrographic features, mineralogy, and mineral compositions of different units within the De Beers dyke are indistinguishable from one another, indicating a common petrogenesis. The compositions of antecrysts (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite) and magmatic phases (e.g., olivine rims, magnesian ilmenite, and spinel) overlap those from the root zone intrusions of the main Kimberley pipes (i.e., Wesselton, De Beers, Bultfontein). However, the composition of these magmatic phases is distinct from those in ‘evolved’ intrusions of the Kimberley cluster (e.g., Benfontein, Wesselton water tunnel sills). Although the effects of syn-emplacement flow processes are evident (e.g., alignment of phases parallel to contacts), there is no evidence that the De Beers dyke has undergone significant pre-emplacement crystal fractionation (e.g., olivine, spinel, ilmenite). This study demonstrates the requirement for detailed petrographic and mineral chemical studies to assess whether individual intrusions are in fact ‘evolved’; and that dykes are not necessarily produced by differentiated magmas.
Mineralogy and Petrology, 10.1007/ s710-018- 0603-x 15p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Finsch, De Beers Pool, Koffiefontein
Abstract: Fibrous diamond growth zones often contain abundant high-density fluid (HDF) inclusions and these provide the most direct information on diamond-forming fluids. Noble gases are incompatible elements and particularly useful in evaluating large-scale mantle processes. This study further constrains the evolution and origin of the HDFs by combining noble gas systematics with ?¹³C, N concentrations, and fluid inclusion compositions for 21 individual growth zones in 13 diamonds from the Finsch (n = 3), DeBeers Pool (n = 7), and Koffiefontein (n = 3) mines on the Kaapvaal Craton. C isotope compositions range from ?2.8 to ?8.6‰ and N contents vary between 268 and 867 at.ppm, except for one diamond with contents of <30 at.ppm N. Nine of the thirteen studied diamonds contained saline HDF inclusions, but the other four diamonds had carbonatitic or silicic HDF inclusions. Carbonatitic and silicic HDFs yielded low He concentrations, R/Ra (³He/?Hesample/³He/?Heair) values of 3.2–6.7, and low ??Ar/³?Ar ratios of 390–1940. Noble gas characteristics of carbonatitic-silicic HDFs appear consistent with a subducted sediment origin and interaction with eclogite. Saline HDFs are characterised by high He concentrations, with R/Ra mostly between 3.9 and 5.7, and a wide range in ??Ar/³?Ar ratios (389–30,200). The saline HDFs likely originated from subducted oceanic crust with low He but moderate Ar contents. Subsequent interaction of these saline HDFs with mantle peridotite could explain the increase in He concentrations and mantle-like He isotope composition, with the range in low to high ??Ar/³?Ar ratios dependent on the initial ³?Ar content and extent of lithosphere interaction. The observed negative correlation between ?He contents and R/Ra values in saline HDFs indicates significant in situ radiogenic ?He production.
Noble gas geochemistry of fluid inclusions in South African diamonds: implications for the origin of diamond-forming fluids.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/s00710-018-0607-6 16p.
Canada, Northwest Territories, South America, Brazil
deposit - Ekati, Grizzly, Kaola, Limpeza-18, Tres Ranchos-04, Kaalvallei, Samada, New Robinson
Abstract: Olivine in kimberlites can provide unique insights into magma petrogenesis, because it is the most abundant xenocrystic phase and a stable magmatic product over most of the liquid line of descent. In this study we examined the petrography and chemistry of olivine in kimberlites from different tectonic settings, including the Slave craton, Canada (Ekati: Grizzly, Koala), the Brasilia mobile belt (Limpeza-18, Tres Ranchos-04), and the Kaapvaal craton, South Africa (Kaalvallei: Samada, New Robinson). Olivine cores display a wide range of compositions (e.g., Mg#?=?78-95). The similarity in olivine composition, resorption of core zones and inclusions of mantle-derived phases, indicates that most olivine cores originated from the disaggregation of mantle peridotites, including kimberlite-metasomatised lithologies (i.e. sheared lherzolites and megacrysts). Olivine rims typically show a restricted range of Mg#, with decreasing Ni and increasing Mn and Ca contents, a characteristic of kimberlitic olivine worldwide. The rims host inclusions of groundmass minerals, which implies crystallisation just before and/or during emplacement. There is a direct correlation between olivine rim composition and groundmass mineralogy, whereby high Mg/Fe rims are associated with carbonate-rich kimberlites, and lower Mg/Fe rims are correlated with increased phlogopite and Fe-bearing oxide mineral abundances. There are no differences in olivine composition between explosive (Grizzly) and hypabyssal (Koala) kimberlites. Olivine in kimberlites also displays transitional zones and less common internal zones, between cores and rims. The diffuse transitional zones exhibit intermediate compositions between cores and rims, attributed to partial re-equilibration of xenocrystic cores with the ascending kimberlite melt. In contrast, internal zones form discrete layers with resorbed margins and restricted Mg# values, but variable Ni, Mn and Ca concentrations, which indicates a discrete crystallization event from precursor kimberlite melts at mantle depths. Overall, olivine exhibits broadly analogous zoning in kimberlites worldwide. Variable compositions for individual zones relate to different parental melt compositions rather than variations in tectonic setting or emplacement mechanism.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi:10.1007/ s00710-018-0568-9 15p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Group I, orangeites Group II
Abstract: The West Coast of Namaqualand in South Africa hosts extensive detrital diamond deposits, but considerable debate exists as to the provenance of these diamonds. Some researchers have suggested derivation of the diamonds from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites (also termed Group I kimberlites) and orangeites (also termed Group II kimberlites) located on the Kaapvaal Craton. However, others favour erosion of diamonds from the ca.300 Ma Dwyka Group sediments, with older, pre-Karoo kimberlites being the original source(s). Previous work has demonstrated that 40Ar/39Ar analyses of clinopyroxene inclusions, extracted from diamonds, yield ages approaching the time(s) of source kimberlite emplacement, which can be used to constrain the provenance of placer diamond deposits. In the current study, 40Ar/39Ar analyses were conducted on clinopyroxene inclusions from two similar batches of Namaqualand detrital diamonds, yielding (maximum) ages ranging from 117.5?±?43.6 Ma to 3684?±?191 Ma (2s) and 120.6?±?15.4 Ma to 688.8?±?4.9 Ma (2s), respectively. The vast majority of inclusions (88%) produced ages younger than 500 Ma, indicating that most Namaqualand diamonds originated from Cretaceous-Jurassic kimberlites/orangeites, with few, if any, derived from the Dwyka tillites. The provenance of the Namaqualand diamonds from ca.115-200 Ma orangeites is consistent with Late Cretaceous paleo-drainage reconstructions, as these localities could have been sampled by the ‘paleo-Karoo’ River and transported to the West Coast via an outlet close to the current Olifants River mouth. At ca.90 Ma, this drainage system appears to have been captured by the ‘paleo-Kalahari’ River, a precursor to the modern Orange River system. This latter drainage is considered to have transported diamonds eroded from both ca.80-90 Ma kimberlites and ca.115-200 Ma orangeites to the West Coast, which were subsequently reworked along the Namibian coast, forming additional placer deposits.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 201-222.
Abstract: MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) and PIC (Phlogopite-Ilmenite-Clinopyroxene) rocks are unusual mantle samples entrained by kimberlites and other alkaline volcanic rocks. The formation of MARID rocks remains hotly debated. Although the incompatible element (for example, large ion lithophile element) enrichment in these rocks suggests that they formed by mantle metasomatism, the layered textures of some MARID samples (and MARID veins in composite xenoliths) are more indicative of formation by magmatic processes. MARID lithologies have also been implicated as an important source component in the genesis of intraplate ultramafic potassic magmas (e.g., lamproites, orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres), due to similarities in their geochemical and isotopic signatures. To determine the origins of MARID and PIC xenoliths and to understand how they relate to alkaline magmatism, this study presents new mineral major and trace element data and bulk-rock reconstructions for 26 MARID and PIC samples from the Kimberley-Barkly West area in South Africa. Similarities between compositions of PIC minerals and corresponding phases in metasomatised mantle peridotites are indicative of PIC formation by pervasive metasomatic alteration of peridotites. MARID genesis remains a complicated issue, with no definitive evidence precluding either the magmatic or metasomatic model. MARID minerals exhibit broad ranges in Mg# (e.g., clinopyroxene Mg# from 82 to 91), which may be indicative of fractionation processes occurring in the MARID-forming fluid/melt. Finally, two quantitative modelling approaches were used to determine the compositions of theoretical melts in equilibrium with MARID rocks. Both models indicate that MARID-derived melts have trace element patterns resembling mantle-derived potassic magma compositions (e.g., lamproites, orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres), supporting inferences that these magmas may originate from MARID-rich mantle sources.
Society of Economic Geology Geoscience and Exploration of the Argyle, Bunder, Diavik, and Murowa Diamond Deposits, Special Publication no. 20, pp. 379-402.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 506, pp. 15-26.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Newlands, Kimberley, Bultfontein
Abstract: MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) and PIC (Phlogopite-Ilmenite-Clinopyroxene) rocks occur as mantle-derived xenoliths in kimberlites and other alkaline volcanic rocks. Both rock types are alkaline and ultramafic in composition. The H2O and alkali metal enrichments in MARID and PIC rocks, reflected in abundant phlogopite, have been suggested to be caused by extreme mantle metasomatism. Radiogenic (Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb) isotope and trace element compositions for mineral separates from MARID (clinopyroxene and amphibole) and PIC (clinopyroxene only) samples derived from Cretaceous kimberlites (Kimberley) and orangeites (Newlands) from South Africa are used here to examine the source(s) of mantle metasomatism. PIC clinopyroxene is relatively homogeneous, with narrow ranges in initial isotopic composition (calculated to the emplacement age of the host Bultfontein kimberlite; 87Sr/86Sri: 0.7037-0.7041; ?Ndi: +3.0 to +3.6; ?Hfi: +2.2 to +2.5; 206Pb/204Pbi: 19.72-19.94) similar to kimberlite values. This is consistent with PIC rocks representing peridotites modified by intense metasomatic interaction with kimberlite melts. The MARID clinopyroxene and amphibole separates () studied here display broader ranges in isotope composition (e.g., 87Sr/86Sri: 0.705-0.711; ?Ndi: ?11.0 to ?1.0; ?Hfi: ?17.9 to ?8.5; 206Pb/204Pbi: 17.33-18.72) than observed in previous studies of MARID rocks. The Nd-Hf isotope compositions of kimberlite-derived MARID samples fall below the mantle array (??Hfi between ?13.0 and ?2.4), a feature reported widely for kimberlites and other alkaline magmas. We propose that such displacements in MARID minerals result from metasomatic alteration of an initial “enriched mantle” MARID composition (i.e., 87Sr/86Sri = 0.711; ?Ndi = ?11.0; ?Hfi = ?17.9; and 206Pb/204Pbi = 17.3) by the entraining kimberlite magma (87Sr/86Sr; ?Nd; ?Hf; 206Pb/204Pb). A model simulating the flow of kimberlite magma through a mantle column, thereby gradually equilibrating the isotopic and chemical compositions of the MARID wall-rock with those of the kimberlite magma, broadly reproduces the Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotope compositions of the MARID minerals analysed here. This model also suggests that assimilation of MARID components could be responsible for negative ??Hfi values in kimberlites. The isotopic composition of the inferred initial MARID end-member, with high 87Sr/86Sr and low ?Nd, ?Hf, and 206Pb/204Pb, resembles those found in orangeites, supporting previous inferences of a genetic link between MARID-veined mantle and orangeites. The metasomatic agent that produced such compositions in MARID rocks must be more extreme than the EM-II mantle component and may relate to recycled material that experienced long-term storage in the lithospheric mantle.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0588-5 17p.
Africa, South Africa
deposit - De Beers dyke
Abstract: We present petrographic and mineral chemical data for a suite of samples derived from the De Beers dyke, a contemporaneous, composite intrusion bordering the De Beers pipe (Kimberley, South Africa). Petrographic features and mineral compositions indicate the following stages in the evolution of this dyke: (1) production of antecrystic material by kimberlite-related metasomatism in the mantle (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite); (2) entrainment of wall-rock material during ascent through the lithospheric mantle, including antecrysts; (3) early magmatic crystallisation of olivine (internal zones and subsequently rims), Cr-rich spinel, rutile, and magnesian ilmenite, probably on ascent to the surface; and (4) crystallisation of groundmass phases (i.e., olivine rinds, Fe-Ti-rich spinels, perovskite, apatite, monticellite, calcite micro-phenocrysts, kinoshitalite-phlogopite, barite, and baddeleyite) and the mesostasis (calcite, dolomite, and serpentine) on emplacement in the upper crust. Groundmass and mesostasis crystallisation likely forms a continuous sequence with deuteric/hydrothermal modification. The petrographic features, mineralogy, and mineral compositions of different units within the De Beers dyke are indistinguishable from one another, indicating a common petrogenesis. The compositions of antecrysts (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite) and magmatic phases (e.g., olivine rims, magnesian ilmenite, and spinel) overlap those from the root zone intrusions of the main Kimberley pipes (i.e., Wesselton, De Beers, Bultfontein). However, the composition of these magmatic phases is distinct from those in ‘evolved’ intrusions of the Kimberley cluster (e.g., Benfontein, Wesselton water tunnel sills). Although the effects of syn-emplacement flow processes are evident (e.g., alignment of phases parallel to contacts), there is no evidence that the De Beers dyke has undergone significant pre-emplacement crystal fractionation (e.g., olivine, spinel, ilmenite). This study demonstrates the requirement for detailed petrographic and mineral chemical studies to assess whether individual intrusions are in fact ‘evolved’; and that dykes are not necessarily produced by differentiated magmas.
Abstract: The late evolution of kimberlite magmas, i.e., during and-following emplacement into the upper crust, remains a-controversial aspect of kimberlite petrogenesis. Likewise, it is-unclear whether or not there is a link between melt composition-and the emplacement mechanism of intrusive kimberlites (i.e.,-planar dykes/sills vs. irregular intrusions in the root zone of-pipes). Resolving these issues is hampered by the absence of-comparative studies of late-magmatic kimberlite phases (e.g.,-apatite, monticellite, mica) in dykes, sills, and root-zone-intrusions from the same locality.-Here we report petrographic and mineral-chemical results-for groundmass phases in samples of dykes, sills, and root zone-intrusions from the Kimberley kimberlites (South Africa).-Early crystalised phases (e.g., olivine, spinel) in dykes/sills and-root-zone intrusions have indistingushable compositions, and-hence crystallised from similar primitive melts. Conversely,-apatite major element compositions are variable and can-discriminate dykes/sills (i.e., low and constant Sr, with-increasing Si) from root zone intrusions (high but variable Sr,-low and constant Si). The Sr depletion in root zone apatite is-interpreted to represent fractional crystallisation of earlier-apatite, perovskite, and calcite from a broadly similar parental-melt. Silica enrichment of apatite from dykes/sills may be-attributed to the coupled incorporation of CO32- and Si into the-apatite structure, reflecting higher CO2 contents in the melts-that formed dykes/sills. CO2 enrichment in the dykes/sills is-consistent with petrographic obervations. Dykes/sills are-enriched in carbonates, may contain dolomite, and are depleted-in mica and monticellite compared to the groundmass of rootzone-kimberlites. This suggests the melts parental to-dykes/sills have a higher CO2/H2O ratio compared to those-parental to root zone intrusions. These two distinct melt-evolution paths cannot be due to crustal contamination before-emplacement because the Sr-isotope compositions of latecrystallised-carbonates are indistinguishable in dykes/sills and-root-zone intrusions. We speculate that CO2 is better retained-in dykes/sills due to a higher confining pressure (i.e., lack of-breakthrough to the surface).-
Abstract: Kimberlites are silica-poor, volatile-rich (CO2 ± H2O), volcanic rocks that are often described as ‘hybrid’, because their parental magmas include abundant xenocrystic (crustand mantle-derived) components. Unravelling the influence of mantle assimilation on kimberlite melt compositions represents an outstanding question of kimberlite petrology. To address this issue, we have carried out a comprehensive geochemical and petrographic investigation of nine kimberlites from the Kaavi-Kuopio field in Finland, that were emplaced on the southern margin of the Karelian Craton in the Neoproterozoic (~550-600 Ma). Olivine is the dominant mineral phase in kimberlites (~50 vol.%) with cores mainly derived from the disaggregation of mantle peridotite. In contrast, olivine rims crystallise directly from the kimberlitic melt and their Mg# (Mg/(Mg+Fe)) typically show remarkable homogeneity within and between kimberlites of a single cluster and field (e.g., Lac de Gras). The Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites appear to represent a unique case where there is a (statistically) significant difference between the average Mg# of olivine rims in different pipes (89.9 ± 0.2 to 88.5 ± 0.3). Importantly, the Mg# of olivine rims exhibit a strong correlation with the Mg# of olivine cores. Furthermore, the compositions of olivine cores (and rims) exhibit a strong correlation with those of spinel (e.g., Mg#, TiO2 contents). These geochemical variations correlate with the modal mineralogy of the kimberlites: for example, higher abundances of monticellite and lower abundances of ilmenite are associated with higher Mg# olivine. The robust relationship between entrained and assimilated lithospheric mantle material (i.e. olivine cores) and magmatic components (i.e. olivine rims, spinel, and other groundmass minerals) suggests that assimilation of lithospheric mantle has impacted the compositions of kimberlitic melts to a greater extent than previously recognised. These new data also suggest significant variations in the composition of the mantle lithosphere beneath the Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites, which are spaced less than 10 km apart.
Abstract: MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) and PIC (Phlogopite-Ilmenite-Clinopyroxene) rocks occur as mantle-derived xenoliths in kimberlites and other alkaline volcanic rocks. Both rock types are alkaline and ultramafic in composition. The H2O and alkali metal enrichments in MARID and PIC rocks, reflected in abundant phlogopite, have been suggested to be caused by extreme mantle metasomatism. Radiogenic (Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb) isotope and trace element compositions for mineral separates from MARID (clinopyroxene and amphibole) and PIC (clinopyroxene only) samples derived from Cretaceous kimberlites (Kimberley) and orangeites (Newlands) from South Africa are used here to examine the source(s) of mantle metasomatism. PIC clinopyroxene ( n = 4 ) is relatively homogeneous, with narrow ranges in initial isotopic composition (calculated to the emplacement age of the host Bultfontein kimberlite; 87Sr/86Sri: 0.7037-0.7041; ?Ndi: +3.0 to +3.6; ?Hfi: +2.2 to +2.5; 206Pb/204Pbi: 19.72-19.94) similar to kimberlite values. This is consistent with PIC rocks representing peridotites modified by intense metasomatic interaction with kimberlite melts. The MARID clinopyroxene ( n = 9 ) and amphibole separates ( n = 11 ) studied here display broader ranges in isotope composition (e.g., 87Sr/86Sri: 0.705-0.711; ?Ndi: ?11.0 to ?1.0; ?Hfi: ?17.9 to ?8.5; 206Pb/204Pbi: 17.33-18.72) than observed in previous studies of MARID rocks. The Nd-Hf isotope compositions of kimberlite-derived MARID samples fall below the mantle array (??Hfi between ?13.0 and ?2.4), a feature reported widely for kimberlites and other alkaline magmas. We propose that such displacements in MARID minerals result from metasomatic alteration of an initial “enriched mantle” MARID composition (i.e., 87Sr/86Sri = 0.711; ?Ndi = ?11.0; ?Hfi = ?17.9; and 206Pb/204Pbi = 17.3) by the entraining kimberlite magma (87Sr/86Sr ? i 0.704 ; ?Nd ? i + 3.3 ; ?Hf ? i + 2.3 ; 206Pb/204Pb ? i 19.7 ). A model simulating the flow of kimberlite magma through a mantle column, thereby gradually equilibrating the isotopic and chemical compositions of the MARID wall-rock with those of the kimberlite magma, broadly reproduces the Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotope compositions of the MARID minerals analysed here. This model also suggests that assimilation of MARID components could be responsible for negative ??Hfi values in kimberlites. The isotopic composition of the inferred initial MARID end-member, with high 87Sr/86Sr and low ?Nd, ?Hf, and 206Pb/204Pb, resembles those found in orangeites, supporting previous inferences of a genetic link between MARID-veined mantle and orangeites. The metasomatic agent that produced such compositions in MARID rocks must be more extreme than the EM-II mantle component and may relate to recycled material that experienced long-term storage in the lithospheric mantle.
Abstract: The late evolution of kimberlite magmas, i.e., during and following emplacement into the upper crust, remains a controversial aspect of kimberlite petrogenesis. Likewise, it is unclear whether or not there is a link between melt composition and the emplacement mechanism of intrusive kimberlites (i.e., planar dykes/sills vs. irregular intrusions in the root zone of pipes). Resolving these issues is hampered by the absence of comparative studies of late-magmatic kimberlite phases (e.g., apatite, monticellite, mica) in dykes, sills, and root-zone intrusions from the same locality. Here we report petrographic and mineral-chemical results for groundmass phases in samples of dykes, sills, and root zone intrusions from the Kimberley kimberlites (South Africa). Early crystalised phases (e.g., olivine, spinel) in dykes/sills and root-zone intrusions have indistingushable compositions, and hence crystallised from similar primitive melts. Conversely, apatite major element compositions are variable and can discriminate dykes/sills (i.e., low and constant Sr, with increasing Si) from root zone intrusions (high but variable Sr, low and constant Si). The Sr depletion in root zone apatite is interpreted to represent fractional crystallisation of earlier apatite, perovskite, and calcite from a broadly similar parental melt. Silica enrichment of apatite from dykes/sills may be attributed to the coupled incorporation of CO32- and Si into the apatite structure, reflecting higher CO2 contents in the melts that formed dykes/sills. CO2 enrichment in the dykes/sills is consistent with petrographic obervations. Dykes/sills are enriched in carbonates, may contain dolomite, and are depleted in mica and monticellite compared to the groundmass of rootzone kimberlites. This suggests the melts parental to dykes/sills have a higher CO2/H2O ratio compared to those parental to root zone intrusions. These two distinct melt evolution paths cannot be due to crustal contamination before emplacement because the Sr-isotope compositions of latecrystallised carbonates are indistinguishable in dykes/sills and root-zone intrusions. We speculate that CO2 is better retained in dykes/sills due to a higher confining pressure (i.e., lack of breakthrough to the surface).
Abstract: Kimberlites are mantle-derived, CO2 and H2O rich magmas that entrain abundant mantle material, including diamonds during rapid ascent to the surface. Most kimberlite magmas that reach the upper crust either erupt explosively or are emplaced as shallow hypabyssal intrusions. Catastrophic volatile exsolution, local geology and stress regimes, and interaction with external water are suggested as possible controls of magma explosivity. A full understanding of the processes promoting the explosive emplacement of kimberlite magmas has been hindered by common alteration and crustal contamination of pyroclastic kimberlites (PK). To address this issue, we have undertaken a detailed petrographic and mineral-chemical study of fresh pyroclastic and hypabyssal kimberlites (i.e. dykes either cross-cutting or isolated from volcanic pipes) from the Diavik Diamond Mine (Lac de Gras, Canada). Diavik kimberlites feature the same olivine compositions regardless of emplacement style. The cross-cutting kimberlite dykes (xHK) and pyroclastic kimberlites also feature the same chromite (i.e. liquidus spinel) compositions, and spinel evolution to indistinguishable magnesian ulvospinel-magnetite compositions. These results demonstrate that primitive melt compositions, and early magmatic evolutionary trends are the same for kimberlite melts that erupt explosively or those that are emplaced as shallow intrusions. The magmaclasts in PKs contain higher abundances of phlogopite, and lower contents of carbonate than the groundmass of xHKs suggesting higher H2O/CO2 ratios in the magmas that erupt explosively. This finding highlights divergence of the PK and xHK parental melt compositions after late spinel formation, which underpins explosive CO2 exsolution only in some magmas. While the causes of explosive volcanism remain uncertain, our study indicates that primitive melt composition has no significant influence on the emplacement style of kimberlites.
Abstract: The widely accepted paradigm of Earth's geochemical evolution states that the successive extraction of melts from the mantle over the past 4.5 billion years formed the continental crust, and produced at least one complementary melt-depleted reservoir that is now recognized as the upper-mantle source of mid-ocean-ridge basalts1. However, geochemical modelling and the occurrence of high 3He/4He (that is, primordial) signatures in some volcanic rocks suggest that volumes of relatively undifferentiated mantle may reside in deeper, isolated regions2. Some basalts from large igneous provinces may provide temporally restricted glimpses of the most primitive parts of the mantle3,4, but key questions regarding the longevity of such sources on planetary timescales—and whether any survive today—remain unresolved. Kimberlites, small-volume volcanic rocks that are the source of most diamonds, offer rare insights into aspects of the composition of the Earth’s deep mantle. The radiogenic isotope ratios of kimberlites of different ages enable us to map the evolution of this domain through time. Here we show that globally distributed kimberlites originate from a single homogeneous reservoir with an isotopic composition that is indicative of a uniform and pristine mantle source, which evolved in isolation over at least 2.5 billion years of Earth history—to our knowledge, the only such reservoir that has been identified to date. Around 200 million years ago, extensive volumes of the same source were perturbed, probably as a result of contamination by exogenic material. The distribution of affected kimberlites suggests that this event may be related to subduction along the margin of the Pangaea supercontinent. These results reveal a long-lived and globally extensive mantle reservoir that underwent subsequent disruption, possibly heralding a marked change to large-scale mantle-mixing regimes. These processes may explain why uncontaminated primordial mantle is so difficult to identify in recent mantle-derived melts.
Abstract: Kimberlites are complex, ‘hybrid’ igneous rocks because their parental magmas entrain abundant crust- and mantle-derived components that can be readily assimilated during ascent to surface. Recent studies of olivine zonation patterns have shown compositional relationships between xenocrystic cores and magmatic rims, suggesting that kimberlite melt compositions might be controlled by assimilation of mantle material during emplacement. However, the nature and extent to which this process, as well as assimilation of crustal material, influences melt compositions within single kimberlite fields remains unclear. To address this issue, we have conducted a comprehensive geochemical and petrographic investigation of kimberlites from eight pipes in the Kaavi-Kuopio field in Finland, which were emplaced on the southern margin of the Karelian craton during the Neoproterozoic (~550-600 Ma). While magmatic olivine rims are usually homogeneous in composition within and between kimberlites of a single cluster and field (e.g., Lac de Gras), the Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites appear to represent a unique case where there are statistically significant differences between the average Mg# of olivine rims in different pipes (89.9 ± 0.2 to 88.5 ± 0.3). Importantly, the Mg# of magmatic olivine rims exhibit a strong correlation with the Mg# of their mantle-derived xenocrystic cores. Furthermore, the compositions of olivine cores and rims exhibit a robust relationship with those of magmatic spinel (e.g., Mg#, TiO2 contents). These geochemical variations also align with the mineralogy of the kimberlites: whereby abundances of phlogopite and oxides (e.g., spinel) are negatively correlated with olivine rim Mg#. The robust relationship between entrained and assimilated lithospheric mantle material (i.e. olivine cores) and magmatic components (i.e. olivine rims, spinel, and groundmass mineral abundance), combined with numerical modelling suggests that up to 10 wt% assimilation of lithospheric mantle material has modified the compositions of the Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites. These new data are also consistent with significant variations in the lithospheric mantle composition of the Karelian craton beneath the closely spaced (<10 km) kimberlites. Finally, in addition to mantle assimilation, formation of Si-Fe-rich mica in some of the examined kimberlites might be linked to late-stage increases in oxygen fugacity potentially enhanced by crustal contamination. This study shows for the first time that variable assimilation of mantle and crustal material can generate significant variations in kimberlites derived from seemingly similar sources.
Journal of Petrology, in press available, 79p. Pdf
Europe, Finland
deposit - Kuusamo
Abstract: Kimberlites are often closely associated, both in time and space, with a wide variety of alkaline ultramafic rock types; yet the question of a genetic relationship between these rock types remains uncertain. One locality where these relationships can be studied within the same cluster is the Karelian craton in Finland. In this study we present the first petrographic, mineral and whole-rock geochemical results for the most recently discovered kimberlite cluster on this craton, which represents an example of the close spatial overlap of kimberlites with ultramafic lamprophyres. The Kuusamo cluster incorporates seven bodies (Kasma 45, Kasma 45 south, Kasma 47, Kalettomanpuro (KP), Kattaisenvaara (KV), Dike 15 and Lampi) distributed along a 60?km NE-SW corridor. Hypabyssal samples from KV, KP, Kasma 45 and Kasma 47 consist of altered olivine macrocrysts and microcrysts and phlogopite phenocrysts in a groundmass of perovskite, apatite, spinel, ilmenite, serpentine, and calcite. These petrographic features combined with mineral (e.g., Mg-rich ilmenite, Al-Ba-rich, Ti-Fe-poor mica) and whole-rock incompatible trace element compositions (La/Nb = 0.8 ± 0.1; Th/Nb = 0.07 ± 0.01; Nb/U = 66 ± 9) are consistent with these rocks being classified as archetypal kimberlites. These Kuusamo kimberlites are enriched in CaO and poor in MgO, which combined with the absence of chromite and paucity of olivine macrocrysts and mantle-derived xenocrysts (including diamonds), suggest derivation from differentiated magmas after crystal fractionation. Samples from Lampi share similar petrographic features, but contain mica with compositions ranging from kimberlitic (Ba-Al-rich cores) to those more typical of orangeites/lamproites (increasing Si-Fe, decreasing Al-Ti-Ba), and have higher bulk-rock SiO2 contents than the Kuusamo kimberlites. These features, combined with the occurrence of quartz and titanite in the groundmass, indicate derivation from a kimberlite magma that underwent considerable crustal contamination. This study shows that crustal contamination can modify kimberlites by introducing features typical of alkaline ultramafic rock types. Dike 15 represents a distinct carbonate-rich lithology dominated by phlogopite over olivine, with lesser amounts of titaniferous clinopyroxene and manganoan ilmenite. Phlogopite (Fe-Ti-rich) and spinel (high Fe2+/Fe2++Mg) compositions are also distinct from the other Kuusamo intrusions. The petrographic and geochemical features of Dike 15 are typical of ultramafic lamprophyres, specifically, aillikites. Rb-Sr dating of phlogopite in Dike 15 yields an age of 1178.8 ± 4.1?Ma (2?), which is considerably older than the ?750?Ma emplacement age of the Kuusamo kimberlites. This new age indicates significant temporal overlap with the Lentiira-Kuhmo-Kostomuksha olivine lamproites emplaced ?100?km to the southeast. It is suggested that asthenospheric aillikite magmas similar to Dike 15 evolved to compositions akin to the Karelian orangeites and olivine lamproites through interaction with and assimilation of MARID-like, enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle. We conclude that the spatial coincidence of the Kuusamo kimberlites and Dike 15 is likely the result of exploitation of similar trans-lithospheric corridors.
Abstract: Kimberlites are mantle-derived magmas that either crystallise as hypabyssal intrusions, erupt explosively after rapid ascent to the surface, or less commonly form lava lakes and flows, thereby creating texturally distinct kimberlite units. Efforts to fully understand the processes responsible for the explosive eruption of kimberlite magmas have been hindered by the widespread alteration and crustal contamination of most volcaniclastic kimberlites. To address this issue, we have undertaken a detailed petrographic and mineral chemical study of fresh (i.e. minimally altered) pyroclastic and hypabyssal kimberlites (HK) from the ca. 55-56?Ma A154 North and South kimberlite pipes in the Diavik Mine (Lac de Gras, Canada). These localities host exceptionally fresh kimberlites and are therefore ideally suited to this study. Kimberlite emplacement at A154 North and South initiated with the intrusion of hypabyssal kimberlite (external dykes), and was followed by the explosive formation of kimberlite pipes and volcaniclastic kimberlite infill. Subsequent kimberlite magmas intruded the volcaniclastic kimberlite units forming multiple cross-cutting, internal dykes. The studied volcaniclastic units feature abundant rounded magmaclasts and massive textures, suggestive of primary deposits. These units are classified as pyroclastic kimberlites (PK). Pyroclastic and hypabyssal kimberlite units at Diavik exhibit subtle mineral compositional differences. Samples from both internal HK units and PK units feature identical compositions for liquidus olivine rims (Mg#?=?90.5?±?0.1 and 90.7?±?0.2, respectively), with a marginally lower Mg# of 90.2?±?0.2 in olivine rims from the external HK dykes. Similarly, early-formed chromite compositions are the same for internal HK and PK units (Cr#?=?79.1?±?3.4 and 78.3?±?5.7; Mg#?=?60.0?±?1.3 and 60.0?±?2.2), but, differ in the external HK units (Cr#?=?86.9?±?2.7; Mg#?=?52.8?±?1.9). The internal HK and PK units also exhibit lower carbonate contents than the internal HK units. These compositional differences indicate that the external dykes were probably derived from slightly different primitive melt compositions to those parental to the internal HK and PK units. Spinel evolutionary trends from chromite to magnesian ulv?spinel-magnetite (MUM) compositions (Fe3+#?=?47.2?±?5.8 and 49.7?±?9.3; Cr#?=?25.7?±?11.0 and 17.0?±?14.0 for MUM) are indistinguishable in internal HK and PK samples. These results demonstrate that the primitive melt compositions and early magmatic evolution processes are identical for the internal kimberlite units, regardless of whether the kimberlite melts erupted explosively or were emplaced as shallow intrusions. However, magmaclasts in the PK units contain higher abundances of phlogopite (<52 vol%) and lower quantities of carbonate (<4 vol%) than the groundmass of the hypabyssal kimberlite samples (<2 vol% and 25-65 vol%, respectively). This indicates that the explosively erupted magmas featured higher H2O/CO2 ratios. In contrast, abundant carbonates, including dolomite, in the internal HK samples indicate that CO2, and therefore low H2O/CO2 ratios, were retained during the emplacement of this magma, which likely prevented phlogopite crystallisation. Lower K and Rb whole-rock compositions for internal HK samples compared to PK samples, are attributed to the removal of these components in late-stage kimberlitic fluids, as indicated by hydrothermal alteration of the adjacent volcaniclastic kimberlite units. The above results clearly rule out variations in primitive melt composition and melt evolution trajectories as a primary control on the explosive behaviour of the kimberlite magmas at Diavik. Our study also emphasises how volatile loss resulting from different emplacement styles can have a profound effect on the whole-rock compositions and petrography of kimberlite units. Controls on kimberlite explosivity at Diavik are likely due to external factors, such as local stress regimes, the availability of groundwater (i.e. phreatomagmatism) and differing magma supply rates.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 175, 21p. Pdf
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Kimberley
Abstract: Kimberlites are pipe-like igneous bodies, consisting of a pyroclastic crater and diatreme, commonly underlain by coherent root-zone rocks, and with associated dyke/sill complexes. The processes that control the different modes of coherent kimberlite emplacement remain uncertain. In addition, late evolution of kimberlite melts during emplacement into the upper crust remains poorly constrained. Therefore, it is unclear whether there is a link between melt composition/evolution and the emplacement mechanism of coherent kimberlites (i.e. planar dykes/sills vs. irregular bodies in the root zone). An absence of comparative studies on late-stage magmatic phases across the different emplacement modes of coherent kimberlite from the same locality hamper resolution of these issues. Therefore, we report petrographic and mineral chemical data for groundmass apatite in samples of dyke, sill, and root-zone kimberlites from the Kimberley cluster (South Africa). Early crystallised phases (olivine, spinel, Mg-ilmenite) in dyke/sill and root-zone kimberlites have indistinguishable compositions, and hence crystallised from similar primitive melts. Conversely, apatite compositions are generally distinct in dyke/sill (low Sr, high and variable Si) and root-zone kimberlites (high and variable Sr, low Si). The Si enrichment of apatite in dykes/sills is attributed to the coupled incorporation of CO32? and SiO44? for PO43?, reflecting higher CO2 contents in their parental melts, and potentially higher Si contents due to the preferential crystallisation of carbonates over mica/monticellite. The low Sr contents of apatite in dyke/sill kimberlites reflect equilibrium with a (kimberlite) melt (i.e. DSr is close to unity for carbonate and silicate melts), whereas the higher Sr contents of apatite in root-zone kimberlites require crystallisation from, or overprinting by a H2O?±?CO2 fluid (significantly higher DSr). The relative enrichment of CO2 in kimberlite dykes/sills is evident from the abundance of carbonates, the presence of mesostasis dolomite and calcite phenocrysts in some samples, and concomitant reduced proportions of other groundmass phases (e.g. serpentine, mica, monticellite). During late alteration of kimberlite dykes/sills, monticellite is typically replaced by carbonates, whereas olivine and pleonaste are relatively stable, indicating the melts which form dykes/sills evolve to higher CO2/H2O ratios. It is unlikely that these two distinct evolutionary paths were caused by crustal contamination before or during near surface magma emplacement, because crustal assimilation is not recorded in the O and Sr isotopic composition of late crystallising olivine rinds or carbonates, respectively. We suggest that higher concentrations of CO2 are retained in kimberlite dykes/sills due to higher confining pressures (i.e. lack of breakthrough to the surface). In contrast, exsolution of CO2 from root-zone kimberlites increased melt H2O/CO2 ratios and promoted the crystallisation of mica and monticellite at the expense of dolomite and calcite. Apatite compositions have the potential to aid in the discrimination of kimberlites from lamproites (higher LREE, Sr, F, and S, lower Si contents) and carbonatites (higher LREE, F, Cl and S, lower Fe contents). However, the compositions of kimberlitic apatite overlap those from aillikites, probably due to similar late-stage melt compositions.
Abstract: Quantifying the compositional evolution of mantle-derived melts from source to surface is fundamental for constraining the nature of primary melts and deep Earth composition. Despite abundant evidence for interaction between carbonate-rich melts, including diamondiferous kimberlites, and mantle wall rocks en route to surface, the effects of this interaction on melt compositions are poorly constrained. Here, we demonstrate a robust linear correlation between the Mg/Si ratios of kimberlites and their entrained mantle components and between Mg/Fe ratios of mantle-derived olivine cores and magmatic olivine rims in kimberlites worldwide. Combined with numerical modeling, these findings indicate that kimberlite melts with highly variable composition were broadly similar before lithosphere assimilation. This implies that kimberlites worldwide originated by partial melting of compositionally similar convective mantle sources under comparable physical conditions. We conclude that mantle assimilation markedly alters the major element composition of carbonate-rich melts and is a major process in the evolution of mantle-derived magmas.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 175, 49 dor.org./10.1007 /s00410-020-01686-0
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Kimberley
Abstract: Kimberlites are pipe-like igneous bodies, consisting of a pyroclastic crater and diatreme, commonly underlain by coherent root-zone rocks, and with associated dyke/sill complexes. The processes that control the different modes of coherent kimberlite emplacement remain uncertain. In addition, late evolution of kimberlite melts during emplacement into the upper crust remains poorly constrained. Therefore, it is unclear whether there is a link between melt composition/evolution and the emplacement mechanism of coherent kimberlites (i.e. planar dykes/sills vs. irregular bodies in the root zone). An absence of comparative studies on late-stage magmatic phases across the different emplacement modes of coherent kimberlite from the same locality hamper resolution of these issues. Therefore, we report petrographic and mineral chemical data for groundmass apatite in samples of dyke, sill, and root-zone kimberlites from the Kimberley cluster (South Africa). Early crystallised phases (olivine, spinel, Mg-ilmenite) in dyke/sill and root-zone kimberlites have indistinguishable compositions, and hence crystallised from similar primitive melts. Conversely, apatite compositions are generally distinct in dyke/sill (low Sr, high and variable Si) and root-zone kimberlites (high and variable Sr, low Si). The Si enrichment of apatite in dykes/sills is attributed to the coupled incorporation of CO32? and SiO44? for PO43?, reflecting higher CO2 contents in their parental melts, and potentially higher Si contents due to the preferential crystallisation of carbonates over mica/monticellite. The low Sr contents of apatite in dyke/sill kimberlites reflect equilibrium with a (kimberlite) melt (i.e. DSr is close to unity for carbonate and silicate melts), whereas the higher Sr contents of apatite in root-zone kimberlites require crystallisation from, or overprinting by a H2O?±?CO2 fluid (significantly higher DSr). The relative enrichment of CO2 in kimberlite dykes/sills is evident from the abundance of carbonates, the presence of mesostasis dolomite and calcite phenocrysts in some samples, and concomitant reduced proportions of other groundmass phases (e.g. serpentine, mica, monticellite). During late alteration of kimberlite dykes/sills, monticellite is typically replaced by carbonates, whereas olivine and pleonaste are relatively stable, indicating the melts which form dykes/sills evolve to higher CO2/H2O ratios. It is unlikely that these two distinct evolutionary paths were caused by crustal contamination before or during near surface magma emplacement, because crustal assimilation is not recorded in the O and Sr isotopic composition of late crystallising olivine rinds or carbonates, respectively. We suggest that higher concentrations of CO2 are retained in kimberlite dykes/sills due to higher confining pressures (i.e. lack of breakthrough to the surface). In contrast, exsolution of CO2 from root-zone kimberlites increased melt H2O/CO2 ratios and promoted the crystallisation of mica and monticellite at the expense of dolomite and calcite. Apatite compositions have the potential to aid in the discrimination of kimberlites from lamproites (higher LREE, Sr, F, and S, lower Si contents) and carbonatites (higher LREE, F, Cl and S, lower Fe contents). However, the compositions of kimberlitic apatite overlap those from aillikites, probably due to similar late-stage melt compositions.
Abstract: The Karelian Craton in Finland is host to (at least) two distinct pulses of kimberlite magmatism. Twenty kimberlite occurrences have so far been discovered on the southwest margin of the craton at Kaavi-Kuopio and seven kimberlites are located in the Kuusamo area within the core of the craton. Comprehensive radiometric age determinations (U-Pb, Ar- Ar and Rb-Sr) reveal that all kimberlite activity was restricted to the Proterozoic. The Kaavi-Kuopio field was emplaced over a protracted period from ~610 to 550 Ma and is predated by the Kuusamo cluster that represents a relatively short pulse of magmatism at ~750 to 730 Ma. The emplacement of kimberlites globally has recently been linked to supercontinent reorganisation and we propose a similar scenario for these Finnish occurrences which, at the time of kimberlite emplacement, were situated on the Baltica paleo-continent. This land mass was contiguous with Laurentia in the Proterozoic and together formed part of Rodinia. The breakup of Rodinia is considered to have commenced at ~750 Ma and initiation of the opening of the Iapetus ocean at ~615 Ma. Contemporaneous with Kaavi-Kuopio magmatism, this latter period of Neoproterozoic crustal extension also includes the emplacement of kimberlites and related rocks in areas that were linked with Baltica as part of Rodinia - West Greenland and eastern North America. Both the initial and final periods of Rodinia’s breakup have been linked to mantle upwellings from the core-mantle boundary. We suggest that kimberlite magmatism in Finland was promoted by the influx of heat from mantle upwellings and lithospheric extension associated with the demise of Rodinia. Although both magmatic episodes are potentially linked to the breakup of Rodinia, whole-rock and perovskite radiogenic isotope compositions for the Kuusamo kimberlites (?Nd(i) +2.6 to +3.3, ?Hf(i) +3.1 to +5.6) are distinct from the Kaavi-Kuopio kimberlites (?Nd(i) -0.7 to +1.8, ?Hf(i) -6.1 to +5.2). The spread in Hf isotope compositions for the Kaavi-Kuopio magmas may be linked to variable assimilation of diverse mantle lithologies.
South America, Brazil, Africa, South Africa, Canada, Northwest Territories
geochronology
Abstract: Kimberlites emplaced since ~2 Ga show Nd and Hf isotopic compositions that follow a remarkably consistent linear evolution [1]. However, kimberlites emplaced <200 Ma within a few thousand kilometers of the western paleo-margin of Pangea (i.e. Brazil, southern Africa, and Lac de Gras in western Canada) deviate towards more enriched Nd and Hf isotopic compositions possibly due to contribution by recycled crustal material, introduced to the deep kimberlite source via subduction [1]. To address this anomaly further we have compared new and existing geochronological and Nd isotopic data for 28 kimberlites from Lac de Gras (LDG; ca. 47 - 75 Ma) with their olivine and spinel mineral chemistries. Olivine grains typically include mantle-derived xenocrystic cores (Mg# = 83.5-94.2) overgrown by magmatic rims with relatively constant Mg# values. Olivine rims and chromite are the first magmatic phases to crystallise from kimberlite and can be used as proxies for primitive melt compositions. The average Mg# of olivine cores from each kimberlite is positively correlated with average olivine rim Mg#, suggesting that assimilation of heterogeneous lithospheric mantle contributed to the primitive melt compositions. The ?Nd(i) values from whole-rock and perovskite from LDG kimberlites vary between -3.4 and -0.4 that are negatively correlated with their emplacement ages. This correlation is indicative of an evolving kimberlite source which may have resulted from a progressively lower contribution of recycled material. No systematic relationships were observed between olivine rim or chromite compositions and age or Nd isotopic composition. This observation highlights decoupling between kimberlite source evolution and primitive melt compositions due to the combined effects of crustal recycling in the kimberlite source and lithospheric mantle assimilation during kimberlite ascent.
Journal of Petrology, in press available, 90p. Pdf
Africa, South Africa
deposit - Kimberley
Abstract: Olivine is the most abundant phase in kimberlites and is stable throughout most of the crystallization sequence, thus providing an extensive record of kimberlite petrogenesis. To better constrain the composition, evolution, and source of kimberlites we present a detailed petrographic and geochemical study of olivine from multiple dyke, sill, and root zone kimberlites in the Kimberley cluster (South Africa). Olivine grains in these kimberlites are zoned, with a central core, a rim overgrowth, and occasionally an external rind. Additional ‘internal’ and ‘transitional’ zones may occur between the core and rim, and some samples of root zone kimberlites contain a late generation of high-Mg olivine in cross-cutting veins. Olivine records widespread pre-ascent (proto-)kimberlite metasomatism in the mantle including the following features: (1) relatively Fe-rich (Mg# <89) olivine cores interpreted to derive from the disaggregation of kimberlite-related megacrysts (20?% of cores); (2) Mg-Ca-rich olivine cores (Mg# >89; >0•05?wt% CaO) suggested to be sourced from neoblasts in sheared peridotites (25?% of cores); (3) transitional zones between cores and rims probably formed by partial re-equilibration of xenocrysts (now cores) with a previous pulse of kimberlite melt (i.e. compositionally heterogeneous xenocrysts); (4) olivine from the Wesselton water tunnel sills, internal zones (I), and low-Mg# rims, which crystallized from a kimberlite melt that underwent olivine fractionation and stalled within the shallow lithospheric mantle. Magmatic crystallization begins with internal olivine zones (II), which are common but not ubiquitous in the Kimberley olivine. These zones are euhedral, contain rare inclusions of chromite, and have a higher Mg# (90•0 ± 0•5), NiO, and Cr2O3 contents, but are depleted in CaO compared with the rims. Internal olivine zones (II) are interpreted to crystallize from a primitive kimberlite melt during its ascent and transport of olivine toward the surface. Their compositions suggest assimilation of peridotitic material (particularly orthopyroxene) and potentially sulfides prior to or during crystallization. Comparison of internal zones (II) with liquidus olivine from other mantle-derived carbonate-bearing magmas (i.e. orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres, melilitites) shows that low (100×) Mn/Fe (?1•2), very low Ca/Fe (?0•6), and moderate Ni/Mg ratios (?1•1) appear to be the hallmarks of olivine in melts derived from carbonate-bearing garnet-peridotite sources. Olivine rims display features indicative of magmatic crystallization, which are typical of olivine rims in kimberlites worldwide; that is, primary inclusions of chromite, Mg-ilmenite and rutile, homogeneous Mg# (88•8 ± 0•3), decreasing Ni and Cr, and increasing Ca and Mn. Rinds and high-Mg olivine are characterized by extreme Mg-Ca-Mn enrichment and Ni depletion, and textural relationships indicate that these zones represent replacement of pre-existing olivine, with some new crystallization of rinds. These zones probably precipitated from evolved, oxidized, and relatively low-temperature kimberlite fluids after crustal emplacement. In summary, this study demonstrates the utility of combined petrography and olivine geochemistry to trace the evolution of kimberlite magmatic systems from early metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle by (proto-)kimberlite melts, to crystallization at different depths en route to surface, and finally late-stage deuteric or hydrothermal fluid alteration after crustal emplacement.
Abstract: Olivine is one of the most abundant phases in kimberlites and cratonic lamproites, where it occurs as mantle-derived xenocrysts and magmatic phenocrysts or rims overgrowing xenocrystic cores, indicating its prevalence throughout most of the crystallisation sequence of these magmas. Thus, olivine can provide valuable insights into kimberlite and lamproite petrogenesis. Here, we present a detailed study of olivine compositional zoning in two lamproites (P2 and P12) of the Mesoproterozoic Wajrakarur kimberlite-lamproite field in southern India and use these data to propose a genetic link between lamproites and kimberlites in the region. Olivine macrocrysts (i.e., anhedral grains >1 mm) from the P2 and P12 intrusions are strongly zoned. Comparisons with olivine from mantle xenoliths worldwide demonstrate that the cores of olivine macrocrysts are xenocrysts derived from disaggregated mantle wall-rocks. The internal zones and overgrowth rims of olivine macrocrysts and the cores of olivine phenocrysts from P2 and P12 contain magmatic Mg-chromite and Ti-magnetite inclusions and hence crystallized from the host lamproite melt. These magmatic olivine zones show increasing Mg# (molar Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)), CaO and MnO contents with decreasing NiO. This reverse differentiation trend appears to be a characteristic feature of olivine in lamproites from the Wajrakarur field. To evaluate potential petrogenetic links between coeval lamproites and kimberlites from Wajrakarur, the composition of olivine xenocrysts (i.e., macrocryst cores) was compared with that of early crystallized olivine in P2, P12 and previously studied kimberlites and lamproites. The average Mg# of olivine macrocryst cores is directly correlated with the average Mg# of magmatic olivine in lamproites and kimberlites from Wajrakarur. Coupled with their indistinguishable Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions, these data suggest derivation of the Wajrakarur lamproites and kimberlites from a common source, The more Fe-rich composition of liquidus olivine in the Wajrakarur lamproites compared to coeval kimberlites suggests a higher degree of assimilation of metasomatised Fe-richer lithospheric mantle by the lamproites and provides a plausible explanation for the different petrological features of the Wajrakarur lamproites and kimberlites Our results suggest that cratonic lamproites can have a remarkably similar petrogenetic history to kimberlites.
Geostandards and Geoanalysis Research, doi.org/10.1111/GGR.12419 34p. Pdf
Australia
geochemistry
Abstract: To promote a more efficient and transparent geochemistry data ecosystem, a consortium of Australian university research laboratories called the AuScope Geochemistry Network (AGN) assembled to build a collaborative platform for the express purpose of preserving, disseminating, and collating geochronology and isotopic data. In partnership with geoscience-data-solutions company Lithodat Pty Ltd, the open, cloud-based AusGeochem platform (https://ausgeochem.auscope.org.au) was developed to simultaneously serve as a geosample registry, a geochemical data repository, and a data analysis tool. Informed by method-specific groups of geochemistry experts and established international data reporting practices, community-agreed database schemas were developed for rock and mineral geosample metadata and secondary ion mass spectrometry U-Pb analysis, with additional models for laser ablation inductively-coupled mass spectrometry U-Pb and Lu-Hf, Ar-Ar, fission-track and (U-Th-Sm)/He under development. Collectively, the AusGeochem platform provides the geochemistry community with a new, dynamic resource to help facilitate FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data management, streamline data dissemination and advanced quantitative investigations of Earth system processes. By systematically archiving detailed geochemical (meta-)data in structured schemas, intractably large datasets comprising thousands of analyses produced by numerous laboratories can be readily interrogated in novel and powerful ways. These include rapid derivation of inter-data relationships, facilitating on-the-fly data compilation, analysis, and visualisation.
Science Advances, doi.10.1126/sciadv.abj1325 1p. Pdf
Mantle
subduction
Abstract: Earth’s carbon cycle is strongly influenced by subduction of sedimentary material into the mantle. The composition of the sedimentary subduction flux has changed considerably over Earth’s history, but the impact of these changes on the mantle carbon cycle is unclear. Here, we show that the carbon isotopes of kimberlite magmas record a fundamental change in their deep-mantle source compositions during the Phanerozoic Eon. The 13C/12C of kimberlites before ~250 Ma preserves typical mantle values, whereas younger kimberlites exhibit lower and more variable ratios-a switch coincident with a recognized surge in kimberlite magmatism. We attribute these changes to increased deep subduction of organic carbon with low 13C/12C following the Cambrian Explosion when organic carbon deposition in marine sediments increased significantly. These observations demonstrate that biogeochemical processes at Earth’s surface have a profound influence on the deep mantle, revealing an integral link between the deep and shallow carbon cycles.
Journal of Petrology, 10.1093/petrology/egac028/6553928 24p. pdf
Canada, Northwest Territories
deposit - Lac de Gras
Abstract: In the Lac de Gras (LDG) kimberlite field, Northwest Territories, Canada, coherent kimberlites (CKs) occur as tabular dykes, pipe-shaped diatremes, and irregular bodies without well-defined geometries. Combining the morphology of CK bodies with the occurrence of fragmented olivine microcrysts allows distinction of four CK types at LDG: (1) dykes with no broken olivine; (2) CK without well-defined but probable sheet geometry and no broken olivine; (3) pipe-filling CK (pfCK) with abundant broken olivine and (4) pfCK with no broken olivine. These features suggest an intrusive origin for type 1 and, probably, type 2 CK; a high-energy extrusive emplacement for CK type 3 and a low-energy intrusive or extrusive emplacement for the CK type 4. Here, we compare petrographic and whole-rock, olivine and spinel compositional data for high-energy extrusive pfCK, low-energy pfCK and intrusive CK units to understand the factors controlling their variable emplacement styles. Extrusive CK contain more abundant groundmass phlogopite and monticellite, lower carbonate/silicate mineral abundance ratios and significantly lower dolomite and pleonaste-spinel abundances compared to intrusive CK. This indicates greater CO2 loss and higher H2O/CO2 in the melt phase for the extrusive CK during emplacement. Lower incompatible element concentrations in the extrusive CKs and different chromite Ti# and olivine rim Mg# indicate derivation from distinct primitive melt compositions. The extrusive CK feature higher ?Ndi and marginally higher ?Hfi compositions than the intrusive CK, pointing to derivation from distinct sources. These findings strongly imply that distinct primary melt compositions were largely responsible for the differences in emplacement styles of CK at LDG. Low-energy pfCKs have similar olivine rim Mg#, chromite Ti# and, hence, primitive melt compositions to the high-energy extrusive CK samples. Their marginally different emplacement styles may depend on local factors, such as changing stress regimes, or slightly different volatile concentrations. Both types of pfCK might reflect the waning stages of volcanic sequences resulting from the eruption of a segregated magma column that started with pipe excavation and the explosive emplacement of gas-rich magma (volcaniclastic kimberlite), followed by the less energetic emplacement of melt-rich magma (pfCK). This hypothesis underscores different primary melt compositions for dyke vs pipe-forming (and filling) kimberlites and hence a fundamental primary melt control on the explosivity of kimberlites.
Abstract: In May of 2000, a meeting was convened in Kimberley, South Africa, and attended by representatives of the diamond industry and leaders of African governments to develop a certification process intended to assure that rough, exported diamonds were free of conflictual concerns. This meeting was supported later in 2000 by the United Nations in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly. By 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was ratified and signed by both diamond-producing and diamond-importing countries. Over 70 countries were included as members at the end of 2007. To prevent trade in "conflict" diamonds while protecting legitimate trade, the KPCS requires that each country set up an internal system of controls to prevent conflict diamonds from entering any imported or exported shipments of rough diamonds. Every diamond or diamond shipment must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process (KP) certificate and be contained in tamper-proof packaging. The objective of this study was to assess the alluvial diamond resource endowment and current production capacity of the alluvial diamond-mining sector in Ghana. A modified volume and grade methodology was used to estimate the remaining diamond reserves within the Birim and Bonsa diamond fields. The production capacity of the sector was estimated using a formulaic expression of the number of workers reported in the sector, their productivity, and the average grade of deposits mined. This study estimates that there are approximately 91,600,000 carats of alluvial diamonds remaining in both the Birim and Bonsa diamond fields: 89,000,000 carats in the Birim and 2,600,000 carats in the Bonsa. Production capacity is calculated to be 765,000 carats per year, based on the formula used and available data on the number of workers and worker productivity. Annual production is highly dependent on the international diamond market and prices, the numbers of seasonal workers actively mining in the sector, and environmental conditions, which influence seasonal farming.
Yellowknife Forum NWTgeoscience.ca, abstract volume p. 42-43.
Canada, Northwest Territories
kimberlite
Abstract: Mineral exploration in northern latitudes is challenging in that undiscovered deposits are likely buried beneath significant glacial overburden. The development of innovative exploration strategies and robust techniques to see through cover is imperative to future discovery success. Microbial communities are sensitive to subtle environmental fluctuations, reflecting these changes on very short timescales. Shifts in microbial community profiles, induced by chemical differences related to geology, are detectable in the surficial environment, and can be used to vector toward discrete geological features. The modernization of genetic sequencing and big-data evaluation allows for efficient and cost-effective microbial characterization of soil profiles, with the potential to see through glacial cover. Results to date have demonstrated the viability of microbial fingerprinting to directly identify the surface projection of kimberlites in addition to entrained geochemical signatures in till. Soils above two kimberlites in the Northwest Territories, have undergone microbial community profiling. These community-genome derived datasets have been integrated with chemistry, mineralogy, surface geology, vegetation type and other environmental variables including Eh and pH. Analyses show significant microbial community shifts, correlated with the presence of kimberlites, with a distinct community response at the species level directly over known deposits. Diversity of soil bacteria is also depressed in the same regions of the microbial community response. The relationship between microbial profiles and buried kimberlites has led to the application of microbial fingerprinting as a method to accurately delineate potential ore deposits in covered terrain. The integration of microbial community information with soil chemistry and landscape development coupled with geology and geophysics significantly improves the drill / no-drill decision process and has proven to be far more accurate than traditional surficial exploration methods. There is high potential for application as a field-based technique as microbial databases for kimberlites in northern regions are refined, and as sequencing technology is progressively developed into portable platforms.
Abstract: Recently, the rapid growth in synthetic diamond production-particularly in melee sizes-and the salting of melee parcels with synthetics have generated a commensurate increase in the need for diamond verification instruments (DVIs). Ongoing independent third-party testing of these instruments is being done through the Assure Program. DVI performance is tested in a UL laboratory using carefully developed testing standards and sample sets (i.e. natural diamonds and as-grown and treated synthetics, as well as simulants as appropriate). The initial phase of testing was performed during latter 2018 and the first part of 2019, and as of July 2019 results for 16 widely available devices from 12 DVI manufacturers were published online in the Assure Directory (https://diamondproducers.com/assure/assure-directory). From these test results, the authors have evaluated several important parameters that will help users select the best instrument for their needs. Performance results from several additional DVIs are expected to be released in the near future, and further testing and publi-cation of the data will occur as new instruments are introduced and existing ones are updated.
Rising to the challenge: hunting for diamonds (arctic) De Beers, Mountain Province, GGL, Diamondex, Peregrine, New Nadina, Sanatana, Indicator, Shear, SouthernEra
Diamonds in Canada Magazine, Northern Miner, November pp. 11-15.
Constraints on lithospheric structure from satellite potential field at:Africa and Asia. Analysis and interpretation of Magsat anomalies over NorthAfrica
National Technical Information Service, No. N86-21968/0 104p
Report on a Joint Meeting on Placer Deposits Organized by The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and the British Geomorphological Research Group. Held November 14, 1984.
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Transactions, Vol. 94, SECT. B, PP. B46-48.
Mineralogical Association of Canada, Special Publications no. 12, 272p. ISBN 978-0-921294-58-0 approx. 70.00
Gem minerals
Abstract: Gemstones have fascinated people for thousands of years because of their beauty, rarity, and monetary value. However, a true understanding of gemstones and their properties has only come about in the past two centuries resulting from the developing science of geology and mineralogy and an increasing need to distinguish natural gemstones from those that are treated or grown in the laboratory. Numerous books describe minerals, and a number of them report on the distinctive properties of gemstones, but there are almost no books that present a more detailed mineralogical description of the gem minerals, along with a clear explanation of basic concepts of interest from both mineralogy and geology.
Abstract: A group of geochemists suggests they have found the smoking gun in the Karoo magma province. Their new article reports the discovery of primitive picrite lavas that may provide the first direct sample of a hot mantle plume underneath southern Africa in the Jurassic period.
Science, Vol. 369, 6507, pp. 110-1113. doi. 10.1126/ science.aba.1948
Mantle
water
Abstract: The abundances of Earth's chemical elements and their isotopic ratios can indicate which materials formed Earth. Enstatite chondrite (EC) meteorites provide a good isotopic match for many elements but are expected to contain no water because they formed in the hot inner Solar System. This would require Earth's water to be from a different source, such as comets. Piani et al. measured hydrogen contents and deuterium/hydrogen ratios (D/H) in 13 EC meteorites (see the Perspective by Peslier). They found far more hydrogen than is commonly assumed, with D/H close to that of Earth's mantle. Combining these data with cosmochemical models, they show that most of Earth's water could have formed from hydrogen delivered by EC meteorites.
Abstract: Polycrystalline diamond aggregates (diamondites) are produced by rapid crystal nucleation caused by extreme carbon supersaturation in mantle fluids. They may form episodically and under variable chemical conditions, providing snapshots of diamond formation in the Earth’s mantle. Diamondites, thus, represent an extreme end member of diamond formation mechanisms, while forming via the same processes and ingredients as the gem-sized diamonds. We present results on a large suite of diamondites from the Venetia mine (South Africa), comprising a complete characterisation of the diamonds and their silicate inclusions and intergrowths. The highlighted characteristic of this sample suite is its heterogeneity in all aspects, from affiliated silicate to diamond composition and texture of the diamond aggregates. The diamond grains in the samples are intergrown with silicates (garnets, clinopyroxenes, phlogopites) comprising a websteritic-eclogitic and a peridotiticpyroxenitic suite of minerals. Diamonds, regardless of their affiliation based on their silicate phases, overlap in carbon and nitrogen composition and have ?13C values between -28 and -8 ‰, ?15N values of 0.8 to 16.3 ‰ and nitrogen contents of 4 to 2329 ppm. The entire range of carbon and nitrogen variability of the suite is also reflected in some individual samples. Cathodoluminescence imaging visualizes different zones in the samples that can be interpreted as different growth events with differing nitrogen contents and ?15N decoupled from ?13C values, in line with the variability off nitrogen aggregation states. Electron backscatter diffraction analyses identify an original texture of randomly intergrown diamond grains that is partly changed by deformation and newly grown smaller diamond grains. The large overall variability suggesting episodic formation of diamondite with nitrogen from crustal sources.
Howell, D., Piazolo, S., Dobson, D.P., Wood, I.G., Jones, A.P., Watte, N., Frost, D.J., Fisher, D., Griffin, W.L.
Quantitative characterization of plastic deformation of single diamond crystals: a high pressure high temperature (HPHT) experimental deformation study combines with electron backscatter diffraction.
Diamond and Related Materials, Vol. 30, pp. 20-30.
Sverkhtverdie Materiali ( Ukraine) in RUSSIAN, No. 2, pp. 3-17.
Technology
Morphology of lonsdaleite, diamond
Abstract: External and internal morphologies of natural impact apographitic diamonds (paramorphoses) have been studied. The (0001) surface morphology of the paramorphoses reflects their phase composition and the structural relationship of its constituting phases. Growth and etch figures together with the elements of crystal symmetry of lonsdaleite and diamond are developed on these surfaces. The crystal size of lonsdaleite is up to 100 nm, and that of diamond is up to 300 nm. Two types of structural relations between graphite, lonsdaleite, and diamond in the paramorphoses are observed: the first type (black, black-gray, colorless and yellowish paramorphoses): the (0001) graphite face is parallel to the (100) lonsdaleite face and parallel to (111) diamond; the second type (milky-white paramorphoses): the (0001) graphite is parallel to the (100) lonsdaleite and parallel to the (112) diamond. The first type of the paramorphoses contains lonsdaleite, diamond, graphite or diamond, lonsdaleite, the second type of the paramorphoses contains predominantly diamond. The direct phase transition of graphite ? lonsdaleite and/or graphite ?diamond occurred in the paramorphoses of the first type. A successive phase transition graphite ? lonsdaleite ? diamond was observed in the paramorphoses of the second type. The structure of the paramorphoses of this type shows characteristic features of recrystallization.
Abstract: Diamonds and their inclusions are unique probes into the deep Earth, tracking the deep carbon cycle to >800?km. Understanding the mechanisms of carbon mobilization and freezing is a prerequisite for quantifying the fluxes of carbon in the deep Earth. Here we show direct evidence for the formation of diamond by redox reactions involving FeNi sulfides. Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction identifies an arrested redox reaction from pyrrhotite to magnetite included in diamond. The magnetite corona shows coherent epitaxy with relict pyrrhotite and diamond, indicating that diamond nucleated on magnetite. Furthermore, structures inherited from h-Fe3O4 define a phase transformation at depths of 320 -330?km, the base of the Kaapvaal lithosphere. The oxidation of pyrrhotite to magnetite is an important trigger of diamond precipitation in the upper mantle, explaining the presence of these phases in diamonds.
Abstract: One of the most controversial diamond types is carbonado, as its origin and geological history are still under debate. Here, we investigate selected carbonado samples using neutron diffraction and high resolution orientation mapping in combination with numerical simulations. Neutron diffraction analyses show that fine grained carbonado samples exhibit a distinct lack of crystallographic preferred orientation. Quantitative crystallographic orientation analyses performed on transmission electron microscope (TEM) sections reveal that the 2-10 ?m grains exhibit locally significant internal deformation. Such features are consistent with crystal plastic deformation of a grain aggregate that initially formed by rapid nucleation, characterized by a high number of nucleation sites and no crystallographic preferred orientation. Crystal plastic deformation resulted in high stress heterogeneities close to grain boundaries, even at low bulk strains, inducing a high degree of lattice distortion without significant grain size reduction and the development of a crystallographic preferred orientation. Observed differences in the character of the grain boundary network and internal deformation structures can be explained by significant post-deformation annealing occurring to variable degrees in the carbonado samples. Differences in intensity of crystal bending and subgrain boundary sharpness can be explained by dislocation annihilation and rearrangement, respectively. During annealing grain energy is reduced resulting in distinct changes to the grain boundary geometry. Grain scale numerical modelling shows that anisotropic grain growth, where grain boundary energy is determined by the orientation of a boundary segment relative to the crystallographic orientation of adjacent grains results in straight boundary segments with abrupt changes in orientation even if the boundary is occurring between two triple junctions forming a "zigzag" pattern. In addition, in diamond anisotropic grain growth results in triple junctions that rarely show 120° angles. Our results support the interpretation that carbonados may have undergone at least 2 or 3 stages of development with rapid nucleation, crystal plastic deformation to low strains and variable degrees of post-deformation annealing. Such a history is commonly observed in Earth's crustal or mantle rocks. Hence, for carbonados it is not necessary to invoke an extraordinary and/or extraterrestrial origin and history. The combination of methods utilized here, promises to help advance our understanding of diamond and diamond aggregates in the future.
Abstract: One of the most controversial diamond types is carbonado, as its origin and geological history are still under debate. Here, we investigate selected carbonado samples using neutron diffraction and high resolution orientation mapping in combination with numerical simulations. Neutron diffraction analyses show that fine grained carbonado samples exhibit a distinct lack of crystallographic preferred orientation. Quantitative crystallographic orientation analyses performed on transmission electron microscope (TEM) sections reveal that the 2-10 ?m grains exhibit locally significant internal deformation. Such features are consistent with crystal plastic deformation of a grain aggregate that initially formed by rapid nucleation, characterized by a high number of nucleation sites and no crystallographic preferred orientation. Crystal plastic deformation resulted in high stress heterogeneities close to grain boundaries, even at low bulk strains, inducing a high degree of lattice distortion without significant grain size reduction and the development of a crystallographic preferred orientation. Observed differences in the character of the grain boundary network and internal deformation structures can be explained by significant post-deformation annealing occurring to variable degrees in the carbonado samples. Differences in intensity of crystal bending and subgrain boundary sharpness can be explained by dislocation annihilation and rearrangement, respectively. During annealing grain energy is reduced resulting in distinct changes to the grain boundary geometry. Grain scale numerical modelling shows that anisotropic grain growth, where grain boundary energy is determined by the orientation of a boundary segment relative to the crystallographic orientation of adjacent grains results in straight boundary segments with abrupt changes in orientation even if the boundary is occurring between two triple junctions forming a “zigzag” pattern. In addition, in diamond anisotropic grain growth results in triple junctions that rarely show 120° angles. Our results support the interpretation that carbonados may have undergone at least 2 or 3 stages of development with rapid nucleation, crystal plastic deformation to low strains and variable degrees of post-deformation annealing. Such a history is commonly observed in Earth's crustal or mantle rocks. Hence, for carbonados it is not necessary to invoke an extraordinary and/or extraterrestrial origin and history. The combination of methods utilized here, promises to help advance our understanding of diamond and diamond aggregates in the future.
Abstract: Kimberlites are not only the most economically important source of diamonds; they also carry unique information encapsulated in rock fragments entrained as the magma traverses the whole thickness of the lithosphere. The Nurbinskaya pipe in the Siberian kimberlite province (Russia) is one of several intruded along the Vilyui Rift, a major terrane boundary. The pipe contains three populations of mantle-derived zircon xenocrysts: Archean (mean age 2709 ± 9 Ma), Devonian (mean age 371 ± 2.3 Ma), and a subset of grains with evidence of brittle deformation and rehealing, and a range of ages between 370 and 450 Ma. The Hf-isotope, O-isotope and trace-element signatures of the last group provide a link between the Archean and Devonian events, indicating at least three episodes of magmatic activity and zircon crystallization in the lithosphere beneath the pipe. The emplacement of the Nurbinskaya pipe ca 370 Ma ago was only the youngest activity in a magma plumbing system that has been periodically reactivated over at least 2.7 billion years, controlled by the lithosphere-scale structure of the Vilyui Rift.
Abstract: Polycrystalline diamond aggregates (framesites, boart, diamondite) are an understudied variety of mantle diamond, but can make up 20% of the production in some Group I kimberlites. Their polycrystalline nature indicates rapid precipitation from carbon-oversaturated fluids and individual PDAs often contain a chemically heterogeneous suite of websteritic and pyroxenitic inclusions and minerals intimately intergrown with the diamond crystals. Geochemical and microstructural evidence suggests that fluid-driven redox reactions with lithospheric material occurring episodically over millions of years play a major role in freezing carbon in the subcratonic lithosphere (Jacob et al., 2000; 2016; Mikhail et al., 2014). A suite of 39 samples from the Venetia kimberlite pipe in South Africa allows a more detailed look at the diamondforming fluids. 13C values in the diamonds measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry range from +2 to -28 and cover the entire range for PDA from the literature. Nitrogen concentrations are mostly very low (less than 100 at ppm), but reach up to 2660 at ppm in individual samples. These high nitrogen concentrations in concert with mostly positive 15N values of up to +17 and some very negative 3C values suggest crustal material as the source of the nitrogen and the carbon. However, detailed analysis of the sample provides evidence for a more complex growth history followed by alteration. Individual diamond crystals show complex growth zonations by cathodoluminescence imaging that can be related with the carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions and points to growth incorporating several pulses of carbon-nitrogen fluid with distinct isotopic compositions. Most of these growth events show decoupled carbon and nitrogen systematics. In addition, EBSD identifies deformation and recrystallization and nitrogen aggregation states range from pure IaA to pure IaB, supporting a heterogeneous and episodic growth history.
Diamonds and Related Materials, in press available 36p. Pdf
Africa, Ghana
deposit - Akwatia
Abstract: Magnetic mineral inclusions, as iron oxides or sulfides, occur quite rarely in natural diamonds. Nonetheless, they represent a key tool not only to unveil the conditions of formation of host diamonds, but also to get hints about the paleointensity of the geomagnetic field present at times of the Earth's history otherwise not accessible. This possibility is related to their capability to carry a remanent magnetization dependent on their magnetic history. However, comprehensive experimental studies on magnetic inclusions in diamonds have been rarely reported so far. Here we exploit X-ray diffraction, Synchrotron-based X-ray Tomographic Microscopy and Alternating Field Magnetometry to determine the crystallographic, morphological and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic Fe-oxides entrapped in diamonds coming from Akwatia (Ghana). We exploit the methodology to estimate the natural remanence of the inclusions, associated to the Earth's magnetic field they experienced, and to get insights on the relative time of formation between host and inclusion systems. Furthermore, from the hysteresis loops and First Order Reversal Curves we determine qualitatively the anisotropy, size and domain state configuration of the magnetic grains constituting the inclusions.
Abstract: Magnetic mineral inclusions, as iron oxides or sulfides, occur quite rarely in natural diamonds. Nonetheless, they represent a key tool not only to unveil the conditions of formation of host diamonds, but also to get hints about the paleointensity of the geomagnetic field present at times of the Earth's history otherwise not accessible. This possibility is related to their capability to carry a remanent magnetization dependent on their magnetic history. However, comprehensive experimental studies on magnetic inclusions in diamonds have been rarely reported so far. Here we exploit X-ray diffraction, Synchrotron-based X-ray Tomographic Microscopy and Alternating Field Magnetometry to determine the crystallographic, morphological and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic Fe-oxides entrapped in diamonds coming from Akwatia (Ghana). We exploit the methodology to estimate the natural remanence of the inclusions, associated to the Earth's magnetic field they experienced, and to get insights on the relative time of formation between host and inclusion systems. Furthermore, from the hysteresis loops and First Order Reversal Curves we determine qualitatively the anisotropy, size and domain state configuration of the magnetic grains constituting the inclusions.
Geological Society of London, Special Publication, Vol. 470, doi:10.1144 /SP470.10
Mantle
wilson cycle
Abstract: Although the Wilson cycle is usually considered in terms of wide oceans floored with normal oceanic crust, numerous orogens result from the closure of embryonic oceans. We discuss how orogenic and post-orogenic processes may be controlled by the size/maturity of the inverted basin. We focus on the role of lithospheric mantle in controlling deformation and the magmatic budget. We describe the physical properties (composition, density, rheology) of three types of mantle: inherited, fertilized and depleted oceanic mantle. By comparing these, we highlight that fertilized mantle underlying embryonic oceans is mechanically weaker, less dense and more fertile than other types of mantle. We suggest that orogens resulting from the closure of a narrow, immature extensional system are essentially controlled by mechanical processes without significant thermal and lithological modification. The underlying mantle is fertile and thus has a high potential for magma generation during subsequent tectonic events. Conversely, the thermal state and lithology of orogens resulting from the closure of a wide, mature ocean are largely modified by subduction-related arc magmatism. The underlying mantle wedge is depleted, which may inhibit magma generation during post-orogenic extension. These end-member considerations are supported by observations derived from the Western Europe-North Atlantic region.
Abstract: The subparallel maflc dykes of the Aorida-Durazno-S.José region (SW Uruguay) trend N60-80W and vary in thickness from 0.6 to 50 m. They are part of the mafic dyke swarms intrudlng granitic-gnelssic basement that were mappecl by BOSSI et ai. (1989), In an ares approximately 200 km In length and 100 km in bresdth. Plagioclass, augite, subcalclc augite (plgeonite) and opaques are the maln components of the dykes. Orthopyroxene and oIlvine are very rare. Blotite and homblende are secondary minerais. Quartz-feldspar Intergrowths occur In the coarser gralnecl dykes. The characterlstlc textures are subophitic and intersertal.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 250, 1, pp. 49-75.
Mantle
picrites
Abstract: The oxygen fugacities of nine mantle-derived komatiitic and picritic systems ranging in age from 3.55?Ga to modern day were determined using the redox-sensitive partitioning of V between liquidus olivine and komatiitic/picritic melt. The combined set of the oxygen fugacity data for seven systems from this study and the six komatiite systems studied by Nicklas et al. (2018), all of which likely represent large regions of the mantle, defines a well-constrained trend indicating an increase in oxygen fugacity of the lavas of ?1.3 ?FMQ log units from 3.48 to 1.87?Ga, and a nearly constant oxygen fugacity from 1.87?Ga to the present. The oxygen fugacity data for the 3.55?Ga Schapenburg komatiite system, the mantle source region of which was previously argued to have been isolated from mantle convection within the first 30?Ma of the Solar System history, plot well above the trend and were not included in the regression. These komatiite’s anomalously high oxygen fugacity data likely reflect preservation of early-formed magma ocean redox heterogeneities until at least the Paleoarchean. The observed increase in the oxygen fugacity of the studied komatiite and picrite systems of ?1.3 ?FMQ log units is shown to be a feature of their mantle source regions and is interpreted to indicate secular oxidation of the mantle between 3.48 and 1.87?Ga. Three mechanisms are considered to account for the observed change in the redox state of the mantle: (1) recycling of altered oceanic crust, (2) venting of oxygen from the core due to inner core crystallization, and (3) convection-driven homogenization of an initially redox-heterogeneous primordial mantle. It is demonstrated that none of the three mechanisms alone can fully explain the observed trend, although mechanism (3) is best supported by the available geochemical data. These new data provide further evidence for mantle involvement in the dramatic increase in the oxygen concentration of the atmosphere leading up to the Great Oxidation Event at ?2.4?Ga.
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Vol. 175, 97, 30p. Pdf
Africa, Tanzania
craton
Abstract: U-Pb petrochronology of deep crustal xenoliths and outcrops across northeastern Tanzania track the thermal evolution of the Mozambique Belt and Tanzanian Craton following the Neoproterozoic East African Orogeny (EAO) and subsequent Neogene rifting. At the craton margin, the upper-middle crust record thermal quiescence since the Archean (2.8-2.5 Ga zircon, rutile, and apatite in granite and amphibolite xenoliths). The lower crust of the craton documents thermal pulses associated with Neoarchean ultra-high temperature metamorphism (ca. 2.64 Ga,?>?900 °C zircon), the EAO (600-500 Ma rutile), and fluid influx during rifting (5 Ma apatite). Rutile in garnet granulite xenoliths exhibits partial Pb loss related to slow cooling of the lower crust after the EAO and suggests residence at 500-600 °C prior to entrainment. In contrast to the craton, the entire crust of the Mozambique Belt underwent differential cooling following the EAO. Both the upper and middle crust record metamorphism from 640 to 560 Ma (zircon, monazite, and titanite) and rapid exhumation at 510-440 Ma (rutile and apatite). Lower crustal xenoliths contain Archean zircon, but near-zero age rutile and apatite, indicating residence?>?650 °C (above Pb closure of rutile and apatite) at the time of eruption. Zoned titanite records growth during cooling of the lower crust at 550 Ma, followed by fluid influx during slow cooling and exhumation (0.1-1 °C/Myr after 450 Ma). Permissible lower-crustal temperatures for the craton and orogen suggest variable mantle heat flow through the crust and reflect differences in mantle lithosphere thickness rather than advective heating from rifting.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 554, doi.org/10.1016/ j.epsl.2020. 116664 13p. Pdf
Mantle
eclogite
Abstract: Results from numerical modelling and experimental petrology have led to the hypothesis that partial melting was important in facilitating exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks from mantle depths. However, the melting reactions responsible are rarely well-documented from natural examples. Here we report microstructural features and compositional data that indicate in situ partial melting dominated by breakdown of omphacite in UHP eclogite from the Sulu belt, China. Diagnostic microstructures include: (i) the presence of in situ leucosome pockets composed of plagioclase, euhedral amphibole, minor K-feldspar and epidote within host zoisite- and phengite-bearing eclogite; (ii) skeletal omphacite within the leucosome pockets that has a lower jadeite content (25-45 mol.%) than rock-forming omphacite (39-54 mol.%); and, (iii) seams of Na-rich plagioclase that extend along grain boundaries separating phengite, quartz and zoisite, and which commonly exhibit low dihedral angles where they terminate at triple grain-boundary junctions. Major oxide proportions of 57 leucosome pockets, calculated using mineral modes and compositions, yield leucodiorite bulk compositions characterized by intermediate SiO2, high Al2O3 and Na2O, and low K2O contents. In primitive mantle-normalised trace element diagrams, the leucosome pockets show enrichment in large ion lithophile elements, U, Pb, Zr, Hf and Ti, but depletion in Th and Ta, patterns that are similar to those of rock-forming omphacite. Rather than forming predominantly by breakdown of phengite and/or zoisite, as widely proposed in the literature, the leucosome pockets have petrographic characteristics and major oxide and trace element compositions that are consistent with partial melting dominated by omphacite breakdown. Based on conventional thermobarometry, the eclogite was exhumed from pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions of 3.6-3.1 GPa and 900-840 °C. Partial melting led to the formation of the leucosome pockets, which equilibrated with the rims of surrounding rock-forming garnet and pyroxene during crystallisation. Conventional thermobarometry using rim compositions yields P-T conditions of 1.6-1.2 GPa and 780-690 °C, broadly consistent with calculated phase equilibria and Ti-in-zircon temperatures from zircon overgrowths. Weighted mean ages of ca 217-214 Ma from thin overgrowths on zircon are interpreted to record melt crystallisation. This study provides insight into an overlooked mechanism by which eclogites partially melt during exhumation from UHP conditions, and permits a better understanding of the processes that assist deeply-subducted continental crust to return to shallower depths.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 20, 4, pp. 1679-1697.
Mantle
plate tectonics
Abstract: It has been believed that early Earth featured higher mantle temperature. The mantle temperature affects the geodynamic processes, and, therefore, the production of the continental crust, which has been a stable environment for the developing of life since Earth's infancy. However, our knowledge of the processes operating during the early Earth is still not definitive. The wide range of the mantle temperature estimation (from 1500 to 1600 °C) hampered our ability to understand early Earth's dynamic and geological data alone cannot provide a definitive answer. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate them with numerical modeling. Our contribution conjugates petrological modeling with thermal?mechanical simulations to unveil the effect of continental crust production. Continental crust's extraction from partially melted hydrated basalts leaves behind dense rocks that sink into the mantle dragging part of surface hydrated rocks. These drips produce a major compositional change of the mantle and promote the production of new basaltic/continental crust. The combination of these processes cools the mantle, suggesting that it could not have been extremely hot for geological timescales. We show that such processes can be active even in a relatively cool mantle (1450-1500 °C), providing new constraints to understand the infancy of our planet.
Abstract: Many Archean terranes are interpreted to have a tectonic and metamorphic evolution that indicates intra-crustal reorganization driven by lithospheric-scale gravitational instabilities. These processes are associated with the production of a significant amount of felsic and mafic crust, and are widely regarded to be a consequence of plume-lithosphere interactions. The juvenile Archean felsic crust is made predominantly of rocks of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite, which are the result of partial melting of hydrous metabasalts. The geodynamic processes that have assisted the production of juvenile felsic crust, are still not well understood. Here, we perform 2D and 3D numerical simulations coupled with the state-of-the-art of petrological thermodynamical modelling to study the tectonic evolution of a primitive Archean oceanic plateau with particular regard on the condition of extraction of felsic melts. In our numerical simulations, the continuous emplacement of new, dry mafic intrusions and the extraction of the felsic melts, generate an unstable lower crust which drips into the mantle soon after the plume arrival. The subsequent tectonic evolution depends on the asthenosphere TP. If the TP is high enough (? 1500 ?C) the entire oceanic crust is recycled within 2 Myrs. By contrast at low TP, the thin oceanic plateau slowly propagates generating plate-boundary like features.
Abstract: We present major and trace element data on coexisting garnet and clinopyroxene from experiments carried out between 1.3 and 10 GPa and 970 and 1400 °C. We demonstrate that the lattice strain model, which was developed for applications to mineral-melt partitioning, can be adapted to garnet-clinopyroxene partitioning. Using new and published experimental data we develop a geothermometer for coexisting garnet and clinopyroxene using the concentration of rare earth elements (REE). The thermometer, which is based on an extension of the lattice strain model, exploits the tendency of minerals at elevated temperatures to be less discriminating against cations that are too large or too small for lattice sites. The extent of discrimination against misfit cations is also related to the apparent elasticity of the lattice site on which substitution occurs, in this case the greater stiffness of the dodecahedral X-site in garnet compared with the eightfold M2-site in clinopyroxene. We demonstrate that the ratio of REE in clinopyroxene to that in coexisting garnet is particularly sensitive to temperature. We present a method whereby knowledge of the major and REE chemistry of garnet and clinopyroxene can be used to solve for the equilibrium temperature. The method is applicable to any scenario in which the two minerals are in equilibrium, both above and below the solidus, and where the mole fraction of grossular in garnet is less than 0.4. Our method, which can be widely applied to both peridotitic and eclogitic paragenesis with particular potential for diamond exploration studies, has the advantage over commonly used Fe-Mg exchange thermometers in having a higher closure temperature because of slow interdiffusion of REE. The uncertainty in the calculated temperatures, based on the experimental data set, is less than ±80 °C.
Abstract: Sulfur-bearing monazite-(Ce) occurs in silicified carbonatite at Eureka, Namibia, forming rims up to ~0.5 mm thick on earlier-formed monazite-(Ce) megacrysts. We present X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data demonstrating that sulfur is accommodated predominantly in monazite-(Ce) as sulfate, via a clino-anhydrite-type coupled substitution mechanism. Minor sulfide and sulfite peaks in the X-ray photoelectron spectra, however, also indicate that more complex substitution mechanisms incorporating S2 and S4+ are possible. Incorporation of S6+ through clino-anhydrite-type substitution results in an excess of M2+ cations, which previous workers have suggested is accommodated by auxiliary substitution of OH for O2. However, Raman data show no indication of OH, and instead we suggest charge imbalance is accommodated through F substituting for O2. The accommodation of S in the monazite-(Ce) results in considerable structural distortion that may account for relatively high contents of ions with radii beyond those normally found in monazite-(Ce), such as the heavy rare earth elements, Mo, Zr and V. In contrast to S-bearing monazite-(Ce) in other carbonatites, S-bearing monazite-(Ce) at Eureka formed via a dissolutionprecipitation mechanism during prolonged weathering, with S derived from an aeolian source. While large S-bearing monazite-(Ce) grains are likely to be rare in the geological record, formation of secondary S-bearing monazite-(Ce) in these conditions may be a feasible mineral for dating palaeo-weathering horizons.
Abstract: Carbonate-bearing fluorapatite rocks occur at over 30 globally distributed carbonatite complexes and represent a substantial potential supply of phosphorus for the fertiliser industry. However, the process(es) involved in forming carbonate-bearing fluorapatite at some carbonatites remain equivocal, with both hydrothermal and weathering mechanisms inferred. In this contribution, we compare the paragenesis and trace element contents of carbonate-bearing fluorapatite rocks from the Kovdor, Sokli, Bukusu, Catalão I and Glenover carbonatites in order to further understand their origin, as well as to comment upon the concentration of elements that may be deleterious to fertiliser production. The paragenesis of apatite from each deposit is broadly equivalent, comprising residual magmatic grains overgrown by several different stages of carbonate-bearing fluorapatite. The first forms epitactic overgrowths on residual magmatic grains, followed by the formation of massive apatite which, in turn, is cross-cut by late euhedral and colloform apatite generations. Compositionally, the paragenetic sequence corresponds to a substantial decrease in the concentration of rare earth elements (REE), Sr, Na and Th, with an increase in U and Cd. The carbonate-bearing fluorapatite exhibits a negative Ce anomaly, attributed to oxic conditions in a surficial environment and, in combination with the textural and compositional commonality, supports a weathering origin for these rocks. Carbonate-bearing fluorapatite has Th contents which are several orders of magnitude lower than magmatic apatite grains, potentially making such apatite a more environmentally attractive feedstock for the fertiliser industry. Uranium and cadmium contents are higher in carbonate-bearing fluorapatite than magmatic carbonatite apatite, but are much lower than most marine phosphorites.
Examination of a Remarkable Red Sandstone from the Junction of the Diamond Limestone and Sandstone at Nurmoor in the Kurnool Territory, Southern India.
Asiatic Soc. Bengal Journal, Vol. 13, PP. 336-338.
International Geology Review, Vol. 58, 12, pp. 1461-1480.
India
carbonatites
Abstract: The South Indian Granulite Terrane (SGT) is a collage of Archaean to Neoproterozoic age granulite facies blocks that are sutured by an anastomosing network of large-scale shear systems. Besides several Neoproterozoic carbonatite complexes emplaced within the Archaean granulites, there are also smaller Paleoproterozoic (2.4 Ga, Hogenakkal) carbonatite intrusions within two NE-trending pyroxenite dikes. The Hogenakkal carbonatites, further discriminated into sövite and silicate sövite, have high Sr and Ba contents and extreme light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment with steep slopes typical of carbonatites. The C- and O-isotopic ratios [?13CVPDB = ?6.7 to ?5.8‰ and ?18OVSMOW = 7.5-8.7‰ except a single 18O-enriched sample (?18O = 20.0‰)] represent unmodified mantle compositions. The ?Nd values indicate two groupings for the Hogenakkal carbonatites; most samples show positive ?Nd values, close to CHUR (?Nd = ?0.35 to 2.94) and named high-?Nd group while the low-?Nd group samples show negative values (?5.69 to ?8.86), corresponding to depleted and enriched source components, respectively. The 87Sr/86Sri ratios of the two groups also can be distinguished: the high-?Nd ones have low 87Sr/86Sri ratios (0.70161-0.70244) while the low-?Nd group shows higher ratios (0.70247-0.70319). We consider the Nd-Sr ratios as primary and infer derivation from a heterogeneous mantle source. The emplacement of the Hogenakkal carbonatites may be related to Paleoproterozoic plume induced large-scale rifting and fracturing related to initiation of break-up of the Neoarchean supercontinent Kenorland.
International Geology Review, Vol. 58, 12, pp. 1461-1480.
India
Carbonatite
Abstract: The South Indian Granulite Terrane (SGT) is a collage of Archaean to Neoproterozoic age granulite facies blocks that are sutured by an anastomosing network of large-scale shear systems. Besides several Neoproterozoic carbonatite complexes emplaced within the Archaean granulites, there are also smaller Paleoproterozoic (2.4 Ga, Hogenakkal) carbonatite intrusions within two NE-trending pyroxenite dikes. The Hogenakkal carbonatites, further discriminated into sövite and silicate sövite, have high Sr and Ba contents and extreme light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment with steep slopes typical of carbonatites. The C- and O-isotopic ratios [?13CVPDB = ?6.7 to ?5.8‰ and ?18OVSMOW = 7.5-8.7‰ except a single 18O-enriched sample (?18O = 20.0‰)] represent unmodified mantle compositions. The ?Nd values indicate two groupings for the Hogenakkal carbonatites; most samples show positive ?Nd values, close to CHUR (?Nd = ?0.35 to 2.94) and named high-?Nd group while the low-?Nd group samples show negative values (?5.69 to ?8.86), corresponding to depleted and enriched source components, respectively. The 87Sr/86Sri ratios of the two groups also can be distinguished: the high-?Nd ones have low 87Sr/86Sri ratios (0.70161-0.70244) while the low-?Nd group shows higher ratios (0.70247-0.70319). We consider the Nd-Sr ratios as primary and infer derivation from a heterogeneous mantle source. The emplacement of the Hogenakkal carbonatites may be related to Paleoproterozoic plume induced large-scale rifting and fracturing related to initiation of break-up of the Neoarchean supercontinent Kenorland.
www.minsocam.org /MSA/Centennial/ MSA_Centennial _Symposium.html The next 100 years of mineral science, June 20-21, p. 27. Abstract
Mantle
eclogites
Abstract: Omphacite is a clinopyroxene solid solution of Fe-bearing diopside and jadeite, and is stable up to about 500 km depth in the Earth’s interior. It is also a major mineral component of eclogite (up to 75 vol%). Basalt, which makes up most of the Earth’s oceanic crust, transforms into eclogite at the depth > ~60 km. Due to the ~20% higher density of eclogite, it is considered one of the main driving forces for the slab subduction. Subducted eclogite is also an important source of the chemical heterogeneities in the Earth’s mantle, which are the potential reservoirs for the enriched geochemical components. Thus, studying the geophysical properties of omphacite at elevated pressure-temperature conditions is of great interest for both the geophysical and geochemical community. Previous studies have proposed to utilize the unique anisotropic seismic properties of eclogite to identify possible subduction channels and eclogite-rich regions in the Earth’s interior. Due to the elastically isotropic nature of garnet and the relatively small proportion (< 10 vol%) of the silica minerals in eclogite, the seismic anisotropy of eclogite is primarily caused by the lattice preferred orientation of omphacite. Thus, in this study, in addition to determining the densities, and isotropic velocities of omphacite at the high pressuretemperature condition, we also paid special attention to the elastic anisotropy of omphacite. We combined the synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction at Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory with offline Brillouin spectroscopy experiments at University New Mexico to investigate the anisotropic thermoelastic properties of omphacite. Incorporated with the preexisting thermoelastic database of other relevant mantle mineral phases, we compared the anisotropic seismic properties of eclogite (slab crust) with pyrolite (ambient mantle) along mantle geotherms down to 500 km depth. The maximum isotropic and anisotropic velocities contrast between pyrolite and eclogite is at 310-410 km, making it an optimal depth range for seismologists to search for eclogite-rich heterogeneities in the Earth’s interior. The ~5%-7% velocity difference between eclogite and pyrolite also needs to be taken into account when estimating the slab temperatures between 310-410 km depth. Otherwise, the slab temperature could be underestimated by a few hundred K without considering the possible lithology difference.
Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 126, 1, pp. 66-72.
Global
diamond - green
Abstract: Treated green diamonds can show residual radioactivity, generally due to immersion in radium salts. We report various activity measurements on two radioactive diamonds. The activity was characterized by alpha and gamma ray spectrometry, and the radon emanation was measured by alpha counting of a frozen source. Even when no residual radium contamination can be identified, measurable alpha and high-energy beta emissions could be detected. The potential health impact of radioactive diamonds and their status with regard to the regulatory policy for radioactive products are discussed.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 21, 2, 66p. Pdf
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: Supercontinent assembly and breakup can influence the rate and global extent to which insulated and relatively warm subcontinental mantle is mixed globally, potentially introducing lateral oceanic?continental mantle temperature variations that regulate volcanic and weathering controls on Earth's long?term carbon cycle for a few hundred million years. We propose that the relatively warm and unchanging climate of the Nuna supercontinental epoch (1.81.3 Ga) is characteristic of thorough mantle thermal mixing. By contrast, the extreme cooling?warming climate variability of the Neoproterozoic Rodinia episode (10.63 Ga) and the more modest but similar climate change during the Mesozoic Pangea cycle (0.30.05 Ga) are characteristic features of the effects of subcontinental mantle thermal isolation with differing longevity. A tectonically modulated carbon cycle model coupled to a one?dimensional energy balance climate model predicts the qualitative form of Mesozoic climate evolution expressed in tropical sea?surface temperature and ice sheet proxy data. Applied to the Neoproterozoic, this supercontinental control can drive Earth into, as well as out of, a continuous or intermittently panglacial climate, consistent with aspects of proxy data for the Cryogenian?Ediacaran period. The timing and magnitude of this cooling?warming climate variability depends, however, on the detailed character of mantle thermal mixing, which is incompletely constrained. We show also that the predominant modes of chemical weathering and a tectonically paced abiotic methane production at mid?ocean ridges can modulate the intensity of this climate change. For the Nuna epoch, the model predicts a relatively warm and ice?free climate related to mantle dynamics potentially consistent with the intense anorogenic magmatism of this period.
Proceedings of National Academy of Science USA, Vol. 113, 40, pp. 11127-11130.
Mantle
Iron
Abstract: We performed laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments combined with state-of-the-art electron microanalysis (focused ion beam and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy) to study the distribution and valence of iron in Earth’s lower mantle as a function of depth and composition. Our data reconcile the apparently discrepant existing dataset, by clarifying the effects of spin (high/low) and valence (ferrous/ferric) states on iron partitioning in the deep mantle. In aluminum-bearing compositions relevant to Earth’s mantle, iron concentration in silicates drops above 70 GPa before increasing up to 110 GPa with a minimum at 85 GPa; it then dramatically drops in the postperovskite stability field above 116 GPa. This compositional variation should strengthen the lowermost mantle between 1,800 km depth and 2,000 km depth, and weaken it between 2,000 km depth and the D” layer. The succession of layers could dynamically decouple the mantle above 2,000 km from the lowermost mantle, and provide a rheological basis for the stabilization and nonentrainment of large low-shear-velocity provinces below that depth.
Proceedings of National Academy of Science USA, Vol. 113, no. 40, pp. 11127-11130.
Mantle
UHP
Abstract: We performed laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments combined with state-of-the-art electron microanalysis (focused ion beam and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy) to study the distribution and valence of iron in Earth's lower mantle as a function of depth and composition. Our data reconcile the apparently discrepant existing dataset, by clarifying the effects of spin (high/low) and valence (ferrous/ferric) states on iron partitioning in the deep mantle. In aluminum-bearing compositions relevant to Earth's mantle, iron concentration in silicates drops above 70 GPa before increasing up to 110 GPa with a minimum at 85 GPa; it then dramatically drops in the postperovskite stability field above 116 GPa. This compositional variation should strengthen the lowermost mantle between 1,800 km depth and 2,000 km depth, and weaken it between 2,000 km depth and the D" layer. The succession of layers could dynamically decouple the mantle above 2,000 km from the lowermost mantle, and provide a rheological basis for the stabilization and nonentrainment of large low-shear-velocity provinces below that depth.
Abstract: The heat flux across the core-mantle boundary (QCMB) is the key parameter to understand the Earth/s thermal history and evolution. Mineralogical constraints of the QCMB require deciphering contributions of the lattice and radiative components to the thermal conductivity at high pressure and temperature in lower mantle phases with depth-dependent composition. Here we determine the radiative conductivity (krad) of a realistic lower mantle (pyrolite) in situ using an ultra-bright light probe and fast time-resolved spectroscopic techniques in laser-heated diamond anvil cells. We find that the mantle opacity increases critically upon heating to ~3000 K at 40-135 GPa, resulting in an unexpectedly low radiative conductivity decreasing with depth from ~0.8 W/m/K at 1000 km to ~0.35 W/m/K at the CMB, the latter being ~30 times smaller than the estimated lattice thermal conductivity at such conditions. Thus, radiative heat transport is blocked due to an increased optical absorption in the hot lower mantle resulting in a moderate CMB heat flow of ~8.5 TW, at odds with present estimates based on the mantle and core dynamics. This moderate rate of core cooling implies an inner core age of about 1 Gy and is compatible with both thermally- and compositionally-driven ancient geodynamo.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 123, 8, pp. 6195-6214.
Canada, Ontario
geochronology
Abstract: Similar to a magnetic tape, rocks can retain the direction of ancient Earth's magnetic field. Scientists use this record (known as paleomagnetism) to reconstruct past positions of continents and to decipher the geological history of our planet. We investigated paleomagnetism and chemical composition of the ~1.14 Ga?old intrusive rocks called lamprophyres exposed in Northwestern Ontario (Canada). We found that the paleomagnetic field directions recorded in lamprophyres are indistinguishable from those recorded by another similar age suite of basaltic intrusions called the Abitibi dikes, from the same area. The combined data from these rocks allowed us to constrain the position of an ancient supercontinent called Laurentia at ~1.14 billions of years ago more accurately than it was possible before. Our results convincingly show that, during that time, Laurentia moved with a velocity comparable to present?day plate velocities, before switching to an extremely rapid motion approximately 35 millions of years later. The lamprophyre and Abitibi rocks also share similar chemical signatures, close to those observed for ocean island basalts (e.g., Hawaii). These observations support the hypothesis that a failed ocean opening attempt called the North American Midcontinent Rift was instigated by the arrival of a hot mantle material upwelling to the Earth surface.
Abstract: The original connections of Archean cratons are becoming traceable due to an increasing amount of paleomagnetic data and refined magmatic barcodes. The Uauá block of the northern São Francisco craton may represent a fragment of a major Archean craton. Here, we report new paleomagnetic data from the 2.62 Ga Uauá tholeiitic mafic dyke swarm of the Uauá block in the northern São Francisco craton, Eastern Brazil. Our paleomagnetic results confirm the earlier results for these units, but our interpretation differs. We suggest that the obtained characteristic remanent magnetization for the 2.62 Ga swarm is of primary origin, supported by a provisionally-positive baked contact test. The corresponding paleomagnetic pole (25.2°N, 330.5°E, A95 = 8.1° N = 20) takes the present northern part of the São Francisco craton to moderate latitudes. Based on the comparison of the paleolatitudes of cratons with high-quality paleomagnetic data and magmatic barcodes, we suggest that the northern part of the São Francisco craton could have been part of the proposed Supervaalbara supercraton during the Archean. Supervaalbara is proposed as including (but not limited to) the part of the São Francisco craton as well as the Superior, Wyoming, Kola + Karelia, Zimbabwe, Kaapvaal, Tanzania, Yilgarn, and Pilbara cratons.
Digestion fractional crystallization (DFC): an important process in the genesis of kimberlites. Evidence from olivine in the Majuagaa kimberlite, southern West Greenland.
Journal of Petrology, Vol. 54, 7, July pp. 1399-1425.
Abstract: Numerous unique geological processes [1] took place during the early Earth evolution; several of them, especially those occurring in the Hadean—Early Archean and later, are reflected in the modern geological (geophysical, geochemical, etc.) pattern. One such significant enigmatic feature is the preservation of extremely dense and heavy platinum group elements (PGEs): Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os. Concentration of PGEs during this period could have taken place in two ways: 1) presence of particular matter capable of preserving PGEs near the earth's surface, 2) transportation of PGEs by magma flows from deep lithospheric (asthenospheric) layers (slabs) to the subsurface. Clearly, much of the dense and heavy PGEs did not sink through to the Earth’s mantle (core) at the time of the magma-ocean, and occur near Earth’s surface in abundances for formation of ore deposits with PGE concentrations found to be 2 - 3 orders of magnitude greater than those in their host media. Their enrichments are associated in numerous cases with such enigmatic phenomena as formation of anorthosites and anorthosite-bearing layered magmatic intrusions. PGE deposits and mineralization zones are also found in associations with chromitites, dunites and serpentinites. In this review, problems related to the initial concentration and preservation of PGEs, their association with anorthosites, and formation of layered intrusions are discussed in detail. The main aim of this article is analysis of the requirements—initial concentration and preservation of PGE and PGM (Platinum Group Minerals) during the early Earth evolution, as well as examination of the distribution behavior of some PGEs in different ore deposits and meteorites. It is supposed that meteoritic bombardment of Earth has played a significant role in formation of PGEs deposits. Some conclusions made in this article may be useful for developing and enhancing strategies of prospecting for PGEs deposits.
ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 3-32. pdf doi: 10.33677 /ggianas20200200043
Mantle
geodynamics
Abstract: Numerous attempts have been made to understand the rules of Earth’s tectono-geodynamic processes over the past centuries. While no paradigm has offered comprehensive answers to all of the questions, the present review aims to acquaint readers with the modern state of developments in the tectonic insights of Earth's evolution. A number of very interesting and unique processes and features took place during the evolution of early Earth. Most of these, however, were largely erased over the course of Earth’s ensuing evolution; some leaving only traces of their existence and some remnant phenomena, especially those taking place in the Hadean and Early to Late Archean. Among such processes and features are: the planetary accretion of Earth, formation of unique rock complexes, initiation of the plate tectonics phenomenon, main forces driving plate tectonics, significant influence of thermal parameters, role of overpressure under different physical-geological environments, stratification of Earth's crust and lithosphere by density, and various other thermodynamic models. Nearly all of these remain enigmatic, due to considerable uncertainty in the timing and methods of their evolution, and the ambiguity of their secondary processes and tectono-geophysical indicators. At the same time, majority of tectono-geodynamic processes and features are also interrelated, and the simultaneous fluctuation of myriad different factors played a significant role in their influence to the geological medium. Some of these intricate questions are discussed in this paper. For instance, what is the role of the plate tectonics phenomenon and when did this process initiate on Earth? Especial attention is paid in the review to the sophisticated methods of understanding tectonic processes over the course of various generations of geoscientists. In the conducted analyses, certain physical data derived from other planets of the Solar System were utilized as well.
Geological Society of America Special Paper, No. 514, pp. SPE14-17.
Mantle
Melting, metasomatism
Abstract: Various hypotheses for the origin of alkaline sodic mafic magmas have been proposed. This diversity of models is mainly related to the various constraints used to develop them. The goal of this paper is to test these different models using petrological and geochemical constraints in an attempt to understand why alkaline sodic rocks are so similar even while their environment of formation varies from oceanic to continental rift. Incompatible trace-element contents of alkaline basalts from ocean islands and continents show that the sources of these rocks are more enriched than primitive mantle. A fundamental question then is how the sources of alkaline rocks acquire these trace-element enrichments. Recycled oceanic crust, with or without sediment, is often invoked as a source component of alkaline magmas to account for their trace-element and isotopic characteristics. However, the fact that melting of oceanic crust produces silica-rich liquids seems to exclude the direct melting of eclogite derived from mid-ocean-ridge basalt to produce alkaline lavas. Recycling oceanic crust in the source of alkaline magma requires either (1) that the mantle "digests" this component producing metasomatized CO2-rich peridotitic sources or (2) that low-degree melt from recycled oceanic crust reacts with peridotite in the presence of CO2, producing low-silica alkaline melt by olivine dissolution and orthopyroxene precipitation. These two hypotheses are plausible in terms of major elements. However, they have specific implications about the type and proportion of recycled lithologies present in the asthenosphere to explain the specific trace-element pattern of intraplate alkaline lavas. A third hypothesis for the formation of alkaline magmas is the melting of metasomatized lithosphere. In this model, the major- and trace-element signature of alkaline magma is not controlled by the asthenospheric source (i.e., the amount of oceanic crust or CO2 present in the asthenosphere), but by the petrological process that controls the percolation and differentiation of low-degree asthenospheric melts across the lithosphere. This process forms amphibole-bearing metasomatic veins that are a candidate source of alkaline rocks. This hypothesis offers an explanation for the generation of the Na-alkaline lavas with similar major- and trace-element composition that are observed worldwide and for the generation of K- and Na-alkaline magma observed in continental settings. This hypothesis requires the formation of significant amounts of metasomatic veins within the lithosphere. Qualitative analyses of the thermal implication of the potential models for the generation of alkaline rocks demonstrate that such magma requires low potential temperature (Tp: 1320 °C to 1350 °C). If temperatures are higher, melting of the convecting mantle will erase any signature of low-degree melts produced from fertile mantle lithologies. This analysis suggests that a role for hot thermal plumes in the generation of intraplate volcanoes dominated by alkaline magmas is unrealistic.
Abstract: Oceanic lithospheric mantle is generally interpreted as depleted mantle residue after mid-ocean ridge basalt extraction. Several models have suggested that metasomatic processes can refertilize portions of the lithospheric mantle before subduction. Here, we report mantle xenocrysts and xenoliths in petit-spot lavas that provide direct evidence that the lower oceanic lithosphere is affected by metasomatic processes. We find a chemical similarity between clinopyroxene observed in petit-spot mantle xenoliths and clinopyroxene from melt-metasomatized garnet or spinel peridotites, which are sampled by kimberlites and intracontinental basalts respectively. We suggest that extensional stresses in oceanic lithosphere, such as plate bending in front of subduction zones, allow low-degree melts from the seismic low-velocity zone to percolate, interact and weaken the oceanic lithospheric mantle. Thus, metasomatism is not limited to mantle upwelling zones such as mid-ocean ridges or mantle plumes, but could be initiated by tectonic processes. Since plate flexure is a global mechanism in subduction zones, a significant portion of oceanic lithospheric mantle is likely to be metasomatized. Recycling of metasomatic domains into the convecting mantle is fundamental to understanding the generation of small-scale mantle isotopic and volatile heterogeneities sampled by oceanic island and mid-ocean ridge basalts.
International Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 109, 4, pp. 1487-1500.
Africa, Madagascar
tectonics
Abstract: This study uses gravimetric data integrated with recent seismic data published on south Madagascar to investigate geometry of crust-mantle interface. The regional tectonic framework of Madagascar is characterised by anastomosing network of up to 15-km-wide, 600-km-long and north-oriented high-strain zones, which originated during Neoproterozoic convergence. The studied Bouguer anomalies obtained from the International Gravimetric Bureau were high-pass filtered to emphasise short-wavelength gravimetric variations (shorter than 200 km). The Pan-African high-strain zones coincide with the positive gravimetric anomalies suggesting a link with deep seated high-density material. Considering the present-day thickness of the crust (35 km) and its seismic velocity record, the gravimetric anomalies can be visualised as narrow vertical tabular bodies located at the base of the Moho. Modelling further confirmed that such narrow vertical bodies could be stable over geologic time scale since these structures are relatively small (10 to 30 km wide). The vertical tabular bodies possibly reflect material transfer such as vertical motion of sub-crustal weak and possibly partially molten mantle along vertical deformation zones. It is proposed that these structures were initiated by folding of weak mantle-crust interface characterised by low-viscosity contrast between weak mantle and stronger granulitized lower crust during bulk pure shear-dominated horizontal shortening. It is proposed that the cuspate-lobate "mullion-type" geometry mimics rheological inversions of mafic and felsic rocks and shape of folds of variable scale observed in southern Madagascar. The formation of such mega-mullion structures is possibly an expression of "crème brulée" rheological model, where the deformation of the lithosphere is governed by stronger granulitic lower crust and weaker partially molten and/or hydrated mantle.
Pilidou, SA., Priestley, K., Gudmundsson, O., Debayle, E.
Upper mantle S-wave speed heterogeneity and anisotropy beneath the North Atlantic from regional surface wave tomography: the Iceland and Azores plumes.
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 159, 3, pp. 1057-1076.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: G3, Vol. 16, 10, pp. 3555-3574.
Canada, Saskatchewan, Alberta
Rae Craton
Abstract: Reconstruction of the 3-dimensional tectonic assembly of early continents, first as Archean cratons and then Proterozoic shields, remains poorly understood. In this paper, all readily available geophysical and geochemical data are assembled in a 3-D model with the most accurate bedrock geology in order to understand better the geometry of major structures within the Rae craton of central Canada. Analysis of geophysical observations of gravity and seismic wave speed variations revealed several lithospheric-scale discontinuities in physical properties. Where these discontinuities project upward to correlate with mapped upper crustal geological structures, the discontinuities can be interpreted as shear zones. Radiometric dating of xenoliths provides estimates of rock types and ages at depth beneath sparse kimberlite occurrences. These ages can also be correlated to surface rocks. The 3.6-2.6 Ga Rae craton comprises at least three smaller continental terranes, which "cratonized" during a granitic bloom. Cratonization probably represents final differentiation of early crust into a relatively homogeneous, uniformly thin (35-42 km), tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite crust with pyroxenite layers near the Moho. The peak thermotectonic event at 1.86-1.7 Ga was associated with the Hudsonian orogeny that assembled several cratons and lesser continental blocks into the Canadian Shield using a number of southeast-dipping megathrusts. This orogeny metasomatized, mineralized, and recrystallized mantle and lower crustal rocks, apparently making them more conductive by introducing or concentrating sulfides or graphite. Little evidence exists of thin slabs similar to modern oceanic lithosphere in this Precambrian construction history whereas underthrusting and wedging of continental lithosphere is inferred from multiple dipping discontinuities.
Mineralogy and Petrology, doi.org/10.1007/ s00710-018-0619-2. 15p.
Mantle
Geophysics
Abstract: As three-dimensional (3-D) modelling of the subcontinental mantle lithosphere is increasingly performed with ever more data and better methods, the robustness of such models is increasingly questioned. Resolution thresholds and uncertainty within deep multidisciplinary 3-D models based on geophysical observations exist at a minimum of three levels. Seismic waves and potential field measurements have inherent limitations in resolution related to their dominant wavelengths. Formal uncertainties can be assigned to grid-search type forward or inverse models of observable parameter sets. Both of these uncertainties are typically minor when compared to resolution limitations related to the density and shape of a specific observation array used in seismological or potential field surveys. Seismic wave source distribution additionally applies in seismology. A fourth, more complex level of uncertainty relates to joint inversions of multiple data sets. Using independent seismic wave phases or combining diverse methods provides another measure of uncertainty of particular physical properties. Extremely sparse xenolith suites provide the only direct correlation of rock type with observed or modelled physical properties at depths greater than a few kilometers. Here we present one case study of the Canadian Mohorovi?i? (Moho) discontinuity using only two data sets. Refracted and converted seismic waves form the primary determinations of the Moho depth, gravity field modeling provide a secondary constraint on lateral variations, the slope of the Moho, between the sparse seismic estimates. Although statistically marginal, the resulting co-kriged Moho surface correlates better with surface geology and is thus deemed superior.
African Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 44, 1, pp. 49-60.
Africa, Namibia
mining
Abstract: Coastal diamond mining in southern Namibia involves constructing seawalls to hold the sea at bay, and seaward accretion of the shoreline by up to 800 m opens what was previously the surf zone for excavation and extraction of bedrock alluvial diamonds. This has created large coastal wetland ponds of up to 380 000 m2 as the sea overtops the seawalls or seeps into the excavated areas. The ages of these ponds span 1-38 years. We investigated physical conditions in the ponds to determine whether they can function as saline wetlands equivalent to blind estuaries. Water temperatures were 6-10 °C higher than in the sea, as expected of shallow enclosed waterbodies. Dissolved oxygen was 82-137%, peaking at midday owing to photosynthesis, and the ponds were never hypoxic. Correlated with oxygen levels, pH values spanned 7.7-8.3, and always exceeded the pH of seawater. Chlorophyll a concentrations matched or exceeded the levels in seawater, reaching 76 µg l?1. The southern and central ponds had salinities close to those of seawater, but the salinity of northern ponds exceeded 80 after ?15 years, thus limiting their capacity to support wetland communities. Apart from this, these ponds are viable habitat that can support flora and fauna typical of saline wetlands, a habitat that is scarce along this arid coastline.
African Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 44, 1, pp. 61-68.
Africa, Namibia
mining
Abstract: Coastal diamond mining in southern Namibia involves constructing seawalls to hold the sea at bay, and seaward accretion of the shoreline by up to 800 m opens what was previously the surf zone for excavation and extraction of bedrock alluvial diamonds. This has created large coastal wetland ponds of up to 380 000 m2 as the sea overtops the seawalls or seeps into the excavated areas. The ages of these ponds span 1-38 years. We investigated physical conditions in the ponds to determine whether they can function as saline wetlands equivalent to blind estuaries. Water temperatures were 6-10 °C higher than in the sea, as expected of shallow enclosed waterbodies. Dissolved oxygen was 82-137%, peaking at midday owing to photosynthesis, and the ponds were never hypoxic. Correlated with oxygen levels, pH values spanned 7.7-8.3, and always exceeded the pH of seawater. Chlorophyll a concentrations matched or exceeded the levels in seawater, reaching 76 µg l?1. The southern and central ponds had salinities close to those of seawater, but the salinity of northern ponds exceeded 80 after ?15 years, thus limiting their capacity to support wetland communities. Apart from this, these ponds are viable habitat that can support flora and fauna typical of saline wetlands, a habitat that is scarce along this arid coastline.
C-isotopic and N-isotopic composition and the infrared absorption spectraof coated diamonds-evidence regional uniformity of CO2-H2) rich fluids lithospheric mantle
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 108, No. 1-3, January pp. 139-150
Abstract: The transition zone (TZ) is believed to be the primary destination of subducted water [1], with the main TZ minerals (wadsleyite and ringwoodite) capable of holding up to ~ 3 wt.% H2O in their structures’. Observations of high attenuation and elevated conductivity suggest some areas of the transition zone are hydrated [2,3]. Combined with the observation of ~ 1.4 wt% H2O in a diamond-hosted ringwoodite inclusion [4], it is probable that the transition zone is at least regionally, if not globally, “wet”. The presence of water can induce partial melting, alter chemical partitioning and drastically change the strength of rocks. The detailed effect of water’s presence in the TZ will strongly depend on hydrogen’s incorporation mechanism, i.e. exchange with Si4+, Mg2+, Fe2+ cations or coupled substitution with Fe3+ in ringwoodite. Recent developments in neutron single-crystal Laue diffraction now allow measurements on crystals smaller than 0.1 mm3 [5]. Here we quantitatively study the incorporation of hydrogen in a synthetic iron-bearing ringwoodite. A multi-technique approach, with independent determination of chemistry, ferric iron content, water content and structure via x-ray and neutron diffraction allows a detailed study of the hydrous ringwoodite structure and the incorporation mechanism of water throughout Earth’s TZ.
Abstract: Despite the advanced stage of diamond thin-film technology, with applications ranging from superconductivity to biosensing, the realization of a stable and atomically thick two-dimensional diamond material, named here as diamondene, is still forthcoming. Adding to the outstanding properties of its bulk and thin-film counterparts, diamondene is predicted to be a ferromagnetic semiconductor with spin polarized bands. Here, we provide spectroscopic evidence for the formation of diamondene by performing Raman spectroscopy of double-layer graphene under high pressure. The results are explained in terms of a breakdown in the Kohn anomaly associated with the finite size of the remaining graphene sites surrounded by the diamondene matrix. Ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations are employed to clarify the mechanism of diamondene formation, which requires two or more layers of graphene subjected to high pressures in the presence of specific chemical groups such as hydroxyl groups or hydrogens.
Hauser, N., Matteini, M., Omarini, R.H., Pimentel, M.M.
Constraints on metasomatized mantle under central South America: evidence from Jurassic alkaline lamprophyre dykes from the eastern Cordillera, NM Argentina.
International Geology Review, Vol. 58, 13, pp. 1596-1615.
India
Boninites
Abstract: Nd-isotope and lithogeochemistry of an early Palaeoproterozoic high-Si high-Mg boninite -norite (BN) suite of rocks from the southern Bastar craton, central India, are presented to understand their nature, origin, and tectonic setting of emplacement. Various types of evidence, such as field relationships, radiometric metamorphic ages, and the global distribution of BN magmatism, suggest emplacement in an intracratonic rift setting, commonly around 2.4 -2.5 Ga. On the basis of geochemistry these high-Si high-Mg rocks are classified as high-Ca boninites, high-Mg norites, and high-Mg diorites. Nd-isotope data indicate that the high-Mg norite and the high-Mg diorite samples are similar, whereas the high-Ca boninites have a different isotopic character. The high-Mg norite and the high-Mg diorite samples have younger TDM model ages than the high-Ca boninites. Geochemical and Nd-isotopic characteristics of the studied rocks indicate some prospect of crustal contamination; however, the possibility of mantle metasomatism during ancient subduction event cannot be ignored. Trace-element modelling suggests that the high-Ca boninites may have crystallized from a magma generated by a comparatively greater percentage of melting of a lherzolite mantle source than the source for the other two varieties. Furthermore, the high-Ca boninite rocks are most likely derived from an Archaean subduction process (the Whundo-type), whereas the other two types are the products of the interaction of subduction-modified refractory mantle wedge and a plume, around the Neoarchaean -Palaeoproterozoic boundary. The emplacement of the high-Mg norites and the high-Mg diorites may be linked to crustal thickening and associated cratonization at the end of the Archaean.