Petrological characteristics of podiform chromitites and associated peridotites of the Pan African Proterozoic ophiolite complexes of Egypt

Mafic-ultramafic fragments of a dismembered ophiolite complex are abundant in the late Precambrian Pan African belt of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and north-east Sudan. The ultramafic bodies in the Eastern Desert of Egypt are mostly characterised by the harzburgite–dunite–chromitite association. Because of their severe metamorphism, almost all primary silicates were converted to secondary minerals and we use the chrome spinel as a reliable petrogenetic indicator. The podiform chromitite deposits are common as small and irregularly shaped masses in the central and southern parts of the Eastern Desert. They strongly vary in texture, degree of alteration and chemical composition of chrome spinel. The podiform chromitites exhibit a wide range of composition from high Cr to high Al varieties. The Cr of chrome spinel ranges from 0.65 to 0.85 in dunite, quite similar in the high-Cr chromitite, whereas it is around 0.5 in harzburgite. Primary hydrous mineral inclusions, amphibole and phlogopite, in chrome spinel are reported for the first time from the Pan African Proterozoic podiform chromitites. The petrological characteristics of Pan African podiform chromitites and associated peridotites of Egypt are similar to those of Phanerozoic ophiolites. The Proterozoic podiform chromitites may have formed in the same way as the Phanerozoic ones, namely by melt-harzburgite reaction and subsequent melt mixing. The similarity of the mantle section of the late Proterozoic and the Phanerozoic ophiolites suggests that the thermal conditions controlling genesis of the crust–mantle system basically have not changed since the late Proterozoic era. The Pan African harzburgite is very similar to abyssal peridotite at fast-spreading ridges, and the high-Cr, low-Ti character of spinel in chromitite and dunite indicates a genetic link with a supra-subduction zone setting. The late Proterozoic ophiolites of Egypt are possibly a fragment of oceanic lithosphere modified by arc-related magmatic rocks, or a fragment of back-arc basin lithosphere. Received: 26 October 1999 / Accepted: 28 June 2000     

Podiform chromitite in the arc mantle: chromitite xenoliths from the Takashima alkali basalt,Southwest Japan arc

Chromitite xenoliths from the Takashima alkali basalt in the Southwest Japan arc are classified into two types: Type 1 chromitite in thin layers in dunite or wehrlite xenoliths; and Type 2 chromitite in discrete xenoliths which has an orbicular texture, previously documented only from podiform chromitites in ophiolites. Type 1 may be equivalent to layered chromitites in ophiolitic cumulates and Type 2 to podiform chromitites in the transition zone of ophiolites. This example of podiform chromitite from the Southwest Japan arc suggest that these podiform chromitites may exist in the upper mantle beneath an arc, where their formation is favored.     

Upper crustal podiform chromitite from the northern Oman ophiolite as the stratigraphically shallowest chromitite in ophiolite and its implication for Cr concentration

A new type of podiform chromitite was found at Wadi Hilti in the northern Oman ophiolite. It is within a late-intrusive dunite body, possibly derived from olivine-rich crystal mush, between the sheeted dike complex and upper gabbro. This chromitite forms small (<30 cm in thickness) pods with irregular to lenticular shapes. Neither layering nor graded bedding is observed within the pods. The chromitite is in the upper crust, by far shallower in ophiolite stratigraphy than the other podiform chromitites that have ever been found in the Moho transition zone to the upper mantle. It is distributed along a small felsic to gabbroic melt pool within the dunite body, which was formed by melting of gabbroic blocks captured by the mush. Chromian spinel was precipitated due to mixing of two kinds of melt, a basaltic interstitial melt from the mush and an evolved, possibly felsic, melt formed by the melting of gabbro blocks. The podiform chromitite reported here is strikingly similar in petrography and spinel chemistry to the stratiform chromitite from layered intrusions. The former contains plagioclase and clinopyroxene as matrix silicates instead of olivine as well as includes euhedral and fine spinel with solid mineral inclusions. Chromian spinel of the upper crustal podiform chromitite from Oman has relatively low content of (Cr₂O₃ + Al₂O₃), the Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio of around 0.6, and the relatively high TiO₂ content ranging from 1 to 3 wt%. We conclude that assimilation of relatively Si-rich materials (crustal rocks or mantle orthopyroxene) by olivine-spinel saturated melts can explain the genesis of any type of chromitite.Editorial responsibility: V. Trommsdorff     

西昆仑库地蛇绿岩富Al型豆荚状铬铁矿床成因

西昆仑库地蛇绿岩发育小规模的铬铁矿床,矿体呈豆荚状和层状、似层状,均与纯橄岩紧密伴生。这些纯橄岩主要由橄榄石和副矿物尖晶石组成,与方辉橄榄岩相比,橄榄岩中的橄榄石粒径粗(平均2.5mm),Mg#(88~90)低,这与它们全岩低Mg#(90)值,富Al_2O_3、TiO_2、Cr_2O_3、Fe_2O_3相吻合,与熔融残余成因的纯橄岩明显不同,反映了其很可能是由熔体与方辉橄榄岩反应而成。矿体主要由块状、浸染状及脉状铬铁矿石组成;铬铁矿石中的尖晶石具有低而相对稳定的Cr#(43~56),低于富铬型铬铁矿矿床中的铬铁矿(Cr#60)。块状矿石与纯橄岩呈突变接触,矿石中的尖晶石呈浑圆状,包裹有较多橄榄石、辉石等硅酸盐矿物及角闪石等含水硅酸盐矿物;浸染状铬铁矿石中的尖晶石与橄榄石颗粒构成交织结构,或呈云朵状,沿橄榄石颗粒边界相互连接,矿石的结构构造显示了熔/岩反应成因特征。通过计算分析,我们认为该区富铝型铬铁矿石是由拉斑玄武质熔体与地幔橄榄岩反应而成,由于熔体中含有较高的H_2O,参与反应的熔体可能源于弧后扩张脊环境。     

Podiform Chromitites in the Luobusa Ophiolite (Southern Tibet): Implications for Melt-Rock Interaction and Chromite Segregation in the Upper Mantle

The Luobusa ophiolite in the Indus—Yarlung Zangbo sutureof southern Tibet hosts the largest known chromite deposit inChina. The podiform chromitites occur in a well-preserved mantlesequence consisting of harzburgite with abundant lenses of dunite.The harzburgites have relatively uniform bulk-rock compositionswith mg-numbers [100 Mg/(Mg + Fe)] ranging from 89 to 91 andshow flat, unfractionated, chondrite-normalized platinum groupelement (PGE) patterns. Their accessory chromite varies widelyin cr-number [100Cr/(Cr + Al)] (18–66). These rocks areessentially residua left after extraction of mid-ocean ridgebasalt (MORB)-type magmas. The podiform chromitites displaynodular, massive, disseminated and banded textures and typicallyhave dunite envelopes that grade into the surrounding harzburgiteand diopsidic harzburgite with increasing pyroxene contents.They consist of relatively uniform chromite with high cr-numbers(74–82), have strongly fractionated, chondrite-normalizedPGE patterns with enrichment in Os, Ir and Ru relative to Rh,Pt and Pt, and are believed to have formed from a boniniticmagma produced by a second stage of melting. Dunites containaccessory chromite intermediate in composition between thoseof harzburgite and chromitite and are believed to be the productsof reaction between new boninitic magmas and old MORB-type peridotites.The melt-rock reaction removed pyroxene from the peridotitesand precipitated oli-vine, forming dunite envelopes around thechromitite pods. The melts thus became more boninitic in compositionand chromite saturated, leading to precipitation of chromitealone. The interplay of melt-rock interaction, chromite fractionationand magma mixing should lead to many fluctuations in melt composition,producing both massive and disseminated chromitites and phaselayering within individual podiform bodies observed in the Luobusaophiolite. KEY WORDS: boninitic magmas; dunite envelope; melt—rock interaction; MORB peridotities; podiform chromitites ^*Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Geology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ont, Canada P3E 2C6.     

西藏罗布莎蛇绿岩中不同产出的纯橄岩及成因探讨

罗布莎蛇绿岩中的纯橄岩有三种产出情况,除了与豆荚状铬铁矿伴生的薄壳状纯橄岩外,还有产在方辉橄榄岩底部被认为是堆晶岩的厚层状纯橄岩和方辉橄榄岩中的透镜状纯橄岩。厚层状纯橄岩约700～1000m厚,以橄榄石富镁(Fo93～95),单斜辉石低铝富镁(Al2O30.47%～0.85%,Mg#95～97),铬尖晶石高铬低镁(Cr#值平均77,Mg#平均51)为特征。该纯橄岩中的浸染状铬铁矿也是高铬低镁型,但Mg#值(平均59)高于厚层状纯橄岩的副矿物铬尖晶石。薄壳状纯橄岩与厚层状纯橄岩成分相近,其橄榄石Fo92～94,单斜辉石Al2O3<1%和Mg#95～97;铬尖晶石的Cr#值平均71,Mg#值平均52。与薄壳状纯橄岩伴生的块状铬铁矿为高镁高铬型,但Mg#值(平均68)相对更高些,Cr#值平均79。透镜状纯橄岩的特征是橄榄石Fo(91～92)和铬尖晶石Cr#(60左右)均低于前两类纯橄岩,但单斜辉石的Al2O3(1.41%～1.71%)则高于前两者。透镜状纯橄岩的矿物成分与方辉橄榄岩重叠,两者为渐变过渡关系。研究对比表明,罗布莎厚层状纯橄岩不同于经典的蛇绿岩的超镁铁质堆晶岩,认为将其成因解释为拉斑玄武质熔体与地幔橄榄岩的反应较为合理。透镜状纯橄岩与方辉橄榄岩存在成生联系,可能是地幔橄榄岩高度部分熔融的产物,或熔体和方辉橄榄岩在原位发生反应的产物;薄壳状纯橄岩成因与厚层状纯橄岩相同,但与其相伴的块状铬铁矿是否由拉斑玄武质熔体与方辉橄榄岩反应形成,值得商榷。     

Podiform chromitite formation in a low-Cr/high-Al system: An example from the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR)

Recent reassessment of abyssal peridotites obtained during the dredging of the oblique supersegment and the easternmost subsection of the Southwest Indian Ridge by the R/V Knorr Cruise 162 and the R/V Yokosuka YK98-07 revealed the occurrence of dunites containing podiform chromitites and dunites with variable chromite concentration closely associated with lherzolite and harzburgite. The size of the chromitite pods varies from a few mm to 2 cm in width. Chromites in the podifom chromitites have very low Cr# (=0.22–0.23) and low TiO₂ (<0.17 wt%). They are almost free of silicate inclusions except for a few euhedral sulfide grains which occur far from cracks and lamellae and are considered primary in origin. The lherzolite which possibly represents the wallrock hosting the dunites with podiform chromitites also show low spinel Cr#(=0.16) and low Cr# in the clinopyroxenes (=0.09–0.10) and orthopyroxenes (=0.07–0.09). The small size of the SWIR podiform chromitites is strongly controlled by the low Cr/Al available in the wallrock and the invading melt. The presence of sulfide inclusions and the absence of PGEs further attest to the low Cr/Al (i.e. low refractoriness) in the system involved in the genesis of the SWIR podiform chromitites. Lastly, the discovery of podiform chromitites in the SWIR implies that the formation of podiform chromitite at mid-oceanic ridges, regardless of its spreading rate, is highly possible.     

The chromite deposits associated with ophiolite complexes, Southeastern Desert, Egypt： Petrological and geochemical characteristics and mineralization

1 Introduction The association of massive Fe-Ni-Cu sulfides andchromite is a very unusual feature of podiformchromitites occurring in mantle tectonites of ophioliticcomplexes. It has only been described in theSoutheastern Desert, Egypt, where sulfides a…     

Early Palaeozoic sub-arc chromitite-bearing peridotite in the Kudi ophiolite on the westernmost Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACT

A chromite deposit was discovered in the Kudi ophiolite in the Palaeozoic western Kunlun orogenic belt. Chromite forms elongated (<2 m in width) and banded chromitite bodies (<0.1 m in width for each band) in dunite and podiform chromitite bodies (<1.5 m in width) in harzburgite. Dunite is classified into two types. Type I dunite hosting massive and banded chromitites shows low Fo in olivine (88.1–90.9), moderate Cr^# [=Cr/(Cr + Al), 0.47–0.56] in chromite, and a positively sloped primitive mantle-normalized platinum group elements (PGE) pattern, suggesting that it is a cumulate of a mafic melt. Harzburgite and type II dunite show olivine with high Fo (>91.1) and chromite with moderate to high Cr^# (0.44–0.61), and flat to negatively sloped primitive mantle-normalized PGE patterns, indicating that they are residual mantle peridotite after partial melting. Chromite in all three types of chromitites has relatively uniform moderate values Cr^# ranging from 0.43 to 0.56. Massive chromitite contains euhedral chromite with high TiO₂ (0.40–0.43 wt.%) and has a positively sloped primitive mantle-normalized PGE pattern, suggesting that it represents a cumulate of a melt. Rocks containing disseminated and banded chromite show overall low total PGE, < 117 ppb, and a negatively sloped primitive mantle-normalized PGE pattern. Chromite grains in these two types of occurrences are irregular in shape and enclose olivine grains, suggesting that chromite formed later than olivine. We suggest that chromite-oversaturated melt penetrated into the pre-existing dunite and crystallized chromite. The oxygen fugacity (fO₂ values of chromitites and peridotites are high, ranging from FMQ+0.8 (0.8 logarithmic unit above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer) to FMQ+2.3 for chromitites and from FMQ+0.9 to FMQ+2.8 for peridotites (dunite and harzburgite). The mineral compositions and high fO₂ values as well as estimated parental magma compositions of the chromitites suggest that the Kudi ophiolite formed in a sub-arc setting.     

豆荚状铬铁矿:古大洋岩石圈残片的重要证据

豆荚状铬铁矿为蛇绿岩的特征性矿产 ,保留了上地幔岩浆构造作用、高温变形以及岩石成因的重要信息。它们常见于方辉橄榄岩内 ,位于大洋岩石圈莫霍面下 1～ 2km的古深度范围内。豆荚状铬铁矿常被纯橄岩薄壳围限 ,保留特征的豆状、豆壳状等构造。豆荚状铬铁矿的TiO2 含量较低 ,铂族元素 (PGE)的分布模式显示特征的负斜率。普遍认为 ,豆荚状铬铁矿形成于部分熔融条件下 ,涉及原始地幔熔体与亏损地幔橄榄岩的相互作用 ,伴随复杂的岩浆混合及结晶过程。狭窄的上地幔岩浆通道或孔穴为豆荚状铬铁矿理想的堆积部位。超俯冲带 (弧后盆地、岛弧、弧前 )、大洋中脊、转换断层均可能是豆荚状铬铁矿形成的理想环境。其中 ,洋脊扩张模式及大洋上俯冲带模式较好地解释了豆荚状铬铁矿成因。对于经历高级变质及多期变形的华北大陆基底 ,豆荚状铬铁矿是研究古老蛇绿岩最直接而有效的地质标志 ,对于研究古大洋岩石圈增生过程 ,上地幔演化 ,探索早期板块构造意义重大。     

The effect of metasomatism on the Cr-PGE mineralization in the Finero Complex, Ivrea Zone, Southern Alps

The magmatic metasomatism that was responsible for producing chromitite–dunite bodies in the unusual phlogopite peridotite of the Finero Complex in Permian to Triassic times also influenced the Cr-platinum group elements (PGE) mineralization. At least the end stages of this metasomatism are recorded in compositional zoning of chromite grains in the podiform chromitite. Metasomatic melt, with or without vapor, reacted with chromite to produce core-to-rim Cr enrichment of extant chromite grains and was concurrent with pyroxene crystallization. Under conditions of lower melt/rock ratio, metasomatism resulted in core-to-rim Al enrichment in chromite and crystallization of amphibole between chromite and clinopyroxene. This early, high-temperature metasomatism is unrelated to the later and pervasive K-metasomatism that crystallized phlogopite and was associated with the intrusion of clinopyroxenite dikes that cut the peridotite. Much later, serpentinization of olivine locally depleted chromite in Al and enriched it in Fe and formed minor amounts of magnetite.The PGE, which are present mainly as laurite inclusions in chromite, were remobilized by the early metasomatism. This resulted in substantial variation in the PGE contents of chromitites and imposed a characteristic PGE pattern in which chondrite-normalized Os, Ir, Ru and Rh contents are high but Pt and Pd contents are low. The slopes of PGE chondrite-normalized concentration patterns are systematically related to absolute PGE abundance and to rock mode. Chromitites with low modal orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and amphibole exhibit negative PGE slopes and contain relatively high PGE concentrations, whereas chromitites rich in these silicate minerals have positive slopes and low PGE contents.     

Refractory chromitites recovered from the Eretria mine,East Othris massif (Greece): Implications for metallogeny and deformation of chromitites within the lithospheric mantle portion of a forearc-type ophiolite

The chrome ores of the abandoned Eretria mine of the East Othris ophiolite occur within a pervasively serpentinized and sheared harzburgite body. They consist of massive chromitites with mylonitic fabric in imbricate shaped pods. Modal analyses of these ores average at about 90–95% chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) and 5–10% secondary silicates. Chromian spinel compositions vary in Cr# [Cr/(Cr + Al) × 100] and Mg# [Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) × 100] from 44 to 62 and from 59 to 81, respectively. Trace element (Ti, Ni, V, Mn, Zn, Sc, Co and Ga) contents in Cr-spinel do not show significant variations from grain cores to grain boundaries. However, Cr-spinel compositions show depletions in Ti, Zn and Sc when compared to the composition of accessory Cr-spinel from typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Mineral inclusions hosted in Cr-spinel comprise a range of (hydrous and anhydrous) silicate and base metal (BM) minerals occasionally intergrown with phosphate minerals and rare intermetallic compounds. A number of these inclusions have Cr-spinel rims with higher Cr# (63–68) than those of the enclosing Cr-spinel grains.The absence of dunite sheaths around chromitites is interpreted as an artifact of dunite structural obliteration during prolonged ductile shearing within harzburgite. The microtextural characteristics of a number of inclusions in Cr-spinel imply that they were initially fully molten. Furthermore, primary hydrosilicate (amphibole, phlogopite) inclusions in Cr-spinel indicate that chromitites crystallized from a water-bearing melt. Chromian spinel rims around silicate inclusions probably represent early crystals generated from a primitive magma produced by melting of a depleted mantle source.Geochemical calculations demonstrate that the parental melts of chromitites had intermediate affinity between MORB and arc-related magmas. Our preferred hypothesis for the genesis of the Eretria chromitites is that they were formed from a melt originated within the hydrated mantle wedge beneath a nascent forearc basin during subduction initiation.     

Platinum‐Group Elements Geochemistry and Chromian Spinel Composition in Podiform Chromitites and Associated Peridotites from the Cheshmeh‐Bid Deposit,Neyriz, Southern Iran: Implications for Geotectonic Setting

Dunite and serpentinized harzburgite in the Cheshmeh-Bid area, northwest of the Neyriz ophiolite in Iran, host podiform chromitite that occur as schlieren-type, tabular and aligned massive lenses of various sizes. The most important chromitite ore textures in the Cheshmeh-Bid deposit are massive, nodular and disseminated. Massive chromitite, dunite, and harzburgite host rocks were analyzed for trace and platinum-group elements geochemistry. Chromian spinel in chromitite is characterized by high Cr~#(0.72-0.78), high Mg~#(0.62–0.68) and low TiO_2(0.12 wt%-0.2 wt%) content. These data are similar to those of chromitites deposited from high degrees of mantle partial melting. The Cr~# of chromian spinel ranges from 0.73 to 0.8 in dunite, similar to the high-Cr chromitite, whereas it ranges from 0.56 to 0.65 in harzburgite. The calculated melt composition of the high-Cr chromitites of the Cheshmeh-Bid is 11.53 wt%–12.94 wt% Al_2O_3, 0.21 wt%–0.33 wt% TiO_2 with FeO/MgO ratios of 0.69-0.97, which are interpreted as more refractory melts akin to boninitic compositions. The total PGE content of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitite, dunite and harzburgite are very low(average of 220.4, 34.5 and 47.3 ppb, respectively). The Pd/Ir ratio, which is an indicator of PGE fractionation, is very low(0.05–0.18) in the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites and show that these rocks derived from a depleted mantle. The chromitites are characterized by high-Cr~#, low Pd + Pt(4–14 ppb) and high IPGE/PPGE ratios(8.2–22.25), resulting in a general negatively patterns, suggesting a high-degree of partial melting is responsible for the formation of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites. Therefore parent magma probably experiences a very low fractionation and was derived by an increasing partial melting. These geochemical characteristics show that the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites have been probably derived from a boninitic melts in a supra-subduction setting that reacted with depleted peridotites. The high-Cr chromitite has relatively uniform mantle-normalized PGE patterns, with a steep slope, positive Ru and negative Pt, Pd anomalies, and enrichment of PGE relative to the chondrite. The dunite(total PGE = 47.25 ppb) and harzburgite(total PGE =3 4.5 ppb) are highly depleted in PGE and show slightly positive slopes PGE spidergrams, accompanied by a small positive Ru, Pt and Pd anomalies and their Pdn/Irn ratio ranges between 1.55–1.7 and 1.36-1.94, respectively. Trace element contents of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites, such as Ga, V, Zn, Co, Ni, and Mn, are low and vary between 13–26, 466–842, 22-84, 115–179, 826–-1210, and 697–1136 ppm, respectively. These contents are compatible with other boninitic chromitites worldwide. The chromian spinel and bulk PGE geochemistry for the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites suggest that high-Cr chromitites were generated from Cr-rich and, Ti-and Al-poor boninitic melts, most probably in a fore-arc tectonic setting related with a supra-subduction zone, similarly to other ophiolites in the outer Zagros ophiolitic belt.     

豆荚状铬铁矿铂族元素地球化学研究进展

豆荚状铬铁矿是蛇绿岩中特有的一类矿产，按其化学成分可分为高Cr型和高Al型两种。其中的PGE主要以RuS2和Os、Ir、Ru合金等包体形式存在，或以类质同像形式进入铬铁矿晶格。两种类型的铬铁矿均表现出负倾斜型PGE配分模式，其Pt、Pd含量相近；与高Al型铬铁矿相比，高Cr型铬铁矿有更高的Os、Ir、Ru含量，部分豆荚状铬铁矿表现出Pt、Pd相对富集的平坦到正倾斜型PGE配分模式。目前对豆荚状铬铁矿PGE含量及配分模式还缺少一个统一的解释，但其PGE地球化学可为豆荚状铬铁矿的成因及构造背景解释提供更多的信息。     

蛇绿岩型铬铁矿床包壳纯橄榄岩中的流体过程印记:来自西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带罗布莎和泽当岩体的地质学、岩石学和橄榄石晶体化学证据

岩浆型矿床一般认为是岩浆分异的产物,因为这类矿床通常缺乏强烈的近矿围岩蚀变。蛇绿岩中的豆荚状铬铁矿被认为是一种典型的岩浆型矿床,流行的成因模型包括岩浆通道模型和熔体-岩石反应模型。深部晶体群的大量发现,表明铬铁矿成矿系统不是一种理想系统,而是至少由两类子系统组成的复杂性动力系统。因此,流行模型不再适用,必须构建能够整合新证据的成因模型。这类矿床的典型地质特征是具有从方辉橄榄岩围岩经包壳纯橄榄岩到铬铁矿石的分带,且包壳纯橄榄岩与铬铁矿之间为渐变接触关系,包壳纯橄榄岩与方辉橄榄岩之间既可以为渐变接触关系,也可以为截然接触关系或侵入接触关系。因此,阐明纯橄榄岩的成因是理解豆荚状铬铁矿形成机制的关键。西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带中罗布莎和泽当两个代表性超镁铁质杂岩体的新观察揭示:(1)包壳纯橄榄岩的出露宽度变化于厘米级到百米级,但岩石具有均匀的细粒结构,流行模型难以解释;(2)包壳纯橄榄岩可以划分为至少两种构造类型:块状纯橄榄岩和片理化纯橄榄岩,暗示了纯橄榄岩形成过程的多阶段特点;(3)包壳纯橄榄岩主要由变晶橄榄石组成,仅含有少量由熔体或流体析出的橄榄石晶体;(4)与方辉橄榄岩相比,包壳纯橄榄岩中的橄榄石具有高MgO、Cr2O3、CaO和低MnO、Al2O3的特点,展示了矛盾的晶体化学特征;(5)邻近铬铁矿体的纯橄榄岩中常见反豆状结构,类似于多相稀释流体流体制中紊流产生的中尺度结构。上述看似矛盾的证据表明包壳纯橄榄岩的形成过程有大量深部流体的参与,因而流体过程可以作为构建一个新的整合模型的基础。据此,文中提出一个熔体-流体流模型,其基本机制是溶解-沉淀反应Opx+Fluid→Ol±Sp±Cpx±Pl±SiO2(fluid),而基本前提则是深部还原流体的持续供给和熔体-流体流的快速上升。此外,文中还表明,依据火成岩地质学、岩石学和名义无水矿物晶体化学证据也可以再造岩浆系统的流体过程。     

再论蛇绿岩中豆荚状铬铁矿的成因——质疑岩石/熔体反应成矿说

着重论述了蛇绿岩地幔橄榄岩中豆荚状铬铁矿的成因,并对现今盛行的岩石/熔体反应成矿说提出了质疑。世界含铬铁矿的地幔橄榄岩均显示上部偏基性、下部偏酸性的垂直熔融分带,与蛇绿岩堆晶岩中上部偏酸性、下部偏基性的岩浆分异垂直层序恰恰相反。豆荚状铬铁矿与熔融剖面上部的纯橄岩或纯橄岩-方辉辉橄岩杂岩带紧密伴生。豆荚状铬铁矿是原始地幔岩高度熔融再造的产物,高铬型铬铁矿与PPG型蛇绿岩伴生,形成于岛弧或弧前盆地环境;高铝型铬铁矿与PTG型蛇绿岩伴生,形成于扩张脊（MOR）或弧后盆地环境。玻安岩（boninite）与高铬型豆荚状铬铁矿无成因关系,铬铁矿（或富铬矿浆）的形成反而为boninite提供了其形成所需的残余地幔;高铝型铬铁矿不是地幔橄榄岩/拉斑玄武质熔体反应形成的,而是富铬矿浆与基性熔体发生再平衡的产物。豆荚状铬铁矿中超高压矿物包体的出现为其地幔深部成因提供了佐证,而boninite形成于浅部较低压的条件;豆荚状铬铁矿中富集强相容元素IPGE（Os、Ir、Ru）合金,boninite富集不相容元素PPGE (Pt、Pd)硫（砷）化物, 而亏损IPGE,显示其形成较晚。因此,boninite与铬铁矿无生因关系,两者均受岛弧（或弧前盆地）环境的制约而在空间上相伴产出。     

High-Cr and High-Al Podiform Chromitites,Western China: Relationship to Partial Melting and Melt/Rock Reaction in the Upper Mantle

Podiform chromitites include both high-Cr and high-Al varieties with distinctly different geochemical characteristics. A comparison of high-Cr and high-Al deposits in western China has demonstrated that both varieties are magmatic in origin and that chromite compositions reflect the degree of partial melting in the mantle source area. The chromitites of the Sartohay ophiolite of Xinjiang Province have chromites with low Cr numbers (<70) and are hosted in highly depleted harzburgites. In both deposits melt/wall rock interaction has produced highly depleted dunite envelopes around the chromitites. In Sartohay, high-Al magmas reacted with lherzolites to produce high-Al dunites and harzburgites, whereas in Luobusa the reaction between more refractory melts and depleted harzburgites yielded only highly depleted dunite envelopes. This study suggests that high-Al deposits can occur in weakly depleted mantle sequences (lherzolite ophiolite type or transitional type) that are locally depleted by melt/rock reaction in the immediate vicinity of the chromitite pods.     

Mineralogy and distribution of Platinum-Group Minerals (PGM) and other solid inclusions in the Faryab ophiolitic chromitites, Southern Iran

High-Cr podiform chromitites hosted by upper mantle depleted harzburgite were investigated for PGM and other solid inclusions from Faryab ophiolitic complex, southern Iran. Chemical composition of the chromian spinels, Cr#[100*Cr/(Cr+Al) = 77–85], Mg# [100*Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) = 56–73], TiO₂≤0.25wt%, and the presence of abundant primary hydrosilicates included in the chromian spinels indicate that the deposits were formed from aqueous melt generated by high degree of partial melting in a suprasubduction zone setting. Solid phases hosted by chromian spinel grains from the Faryab ophiolitic chromitites can be divided into three categories: PGM, base-metal minerals and silicates. Most of the studied PGM occurred as very small (generally less than 20 μm in size) primary single or composite inclusions of IPGE-bearing phases with or without silicates and base metal minerals. The PGM were divided into the three subgroups: sulfides, alloys and sulfarsenides. Spinel-olivine geothermometry gives the temperatures 1,131–1,177 °C for the formation of the studied chromitites. At those temperatures, fS₂ values ranged from 10^?3 to 10^?1 and provided a suitable condition for Ru-rich laurite formation in equilibrium with Os-Ir alloys. Progressive crystallization of chromian spinel was accompanied by increase of fS₂ in the melt. The formation of Os-rich laurite, erlichmanite and then sulfarsenides occurred by increase of fS₂ and slight decrease in temperature of the milieu. The compositional and mineralogical determinations of PGM inclusions respect to their spatial distribution in chromian spinels show that the minerals regularly distributed within the chromitites, reflecting cryptic variation consistent with magmatic evolution during host chromian spinel crystallization.     

Petrology and geochemistry of high Cr# podiform chromitites of Bulqiza,Eastern Mirdita Ophiolite (EMO), Albania

The ultramafic massif of Bulqiza, which belongs to the eastern ophiolitic belt of Albania, is a major source of metallurgical chromitite ore. The massif consists of a thick (> 4 km) sequence, composed from the base upward of tectonized harzburgite with minor dunite, a transitional zone of dunite, and a magmatic sequence of wehrlite, pyroxenite, troctolite and gabbro. Only sparse, refractory chromitites occur within the basal clinopyroxene-bearing harzburgites, whereas the upper and middle parts of the peridotite sequence contain abundant metallurgical chromitites. The transition zone dunites contain a few thin layers of metallurgical chromitite and sparse bodies are also present in the cumulate section. The Bulqiza Ophiolite shows major changes in thickness, like the 41–50 wt.% MgO composition similar with forearc peridotite as a result of its complex evolution in a suprasubduction zone (SSZ) environment. The peridotites show abundant evidence of mantle melt extraction at various scales as the orthopyroxene composition change from core to rim, and mineral compositions suggest formation in a forearc, as Fo values of olivine are in 91.1–93.0 harzburgite and 91.5–91.9 in dunite and 94.6–95.9 in massive chromitite. The composition of the melts passing through the peridotites changed gradually from tholeiite to boninite due to melt–rock reaction, leading to more High Cr# chromitites in the upper part of the body. Most of the massive and disseminated chromitites have high Cr# numbers (70–80), although there are systematic changes in olivine and magnesiochromite compositions from harzburgites, to dunite envelopes to massive chromitites, reflecting melt–rock reaction. Compositional zoning of orthopyroxene porphyroblasts in the harzburgite, incongruent melting of orthopyroxene and the presence of small, interstitial grains of spinel, olivine and pyroxene likewise attest to modification by migrating melts. All of the available evidence suggests that the Bulqiza Ophiolite formed in a suprasubduction zone mantle wedge.     

Genesis and tectonic setting of ophiolitic chromitites from the Dehsheikh ultramafic complex (Kerman,southeastern Iran): Inferences from platinum-group elements and chromite compositions

Chromitite bodies of various sizes associated with dunite envelopes have been found in the Dehsheikh ultramafic massif, in the southeastern part of the outer Zagros ophiolite belt. The chromitites occur as layered and lenticular bodies, and show both magmatic and deformational textures, including massive, disseminated, banded and nodular types. The Dehsheikh chromitites display a variation in Cr# [100 × Cr / (Cr + Al)] from 69 to 78, which is typical of high-Cr chromitites. The Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents of chromites range from 10.3 wt.% to 16.9 wt.% and 0.12 wt.% to 0.35 wt.%, respectively. The Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and FeO/MgO values calculated for parental melts of Dehsheikh chromitites are within the range of boninitic melts. Chondrite-normalized distribution patterns of platinum-group elements show relative enrichments in Ru, Ir, and Os, and depletions in Rh, Pd, and Pt that are typical of chromitites associated with ophiolites formed by high degrees of mantle partial melting. The presence of Na-rich amphibole inclusions in chromite grains, together with the mineralogical and chemical composition of the chromitites and estimates of their parental melt compositions are used to help establish the tectono-magmatic setting. It is shown that the Dehsheikh massif is an ophiolite formed in a suprasubduction zone setting. We suggest that the composition of the rocks in this section was influenced by hydrous partial melts which might be formed in the subduction zone. Variable melt/rock interaction produced melt channel networks in the dunite which allowed the parental melt of the chromitite to percolate through them. Similar characteristics have been observed in other ophiolite complexes from the outer Zagros Iranian ophiolitic belt; these are believed to be the product of magmatism in a fore-arc environment.