New insights into precious metal enrichment on the Isle of Rum,Scotland

The Rum Layered Suite (NW Scotland) is generally regarded as one of a handful of classic examples of open‐system layered mafic‐ultramafic intrusions, or ‘fossilized’ basaltic magma chambers, world‐wide. The eastern portion of the Rum intrusion is constructed of sixteen repeated, coupled, peridotite–troctolite units. Each major cyclic unit has been linked to a major magma replenishment event, with repeated settling out of ‘crops’ of olivine and plagioclase crystals to form the cumulate rocks. However, there are variations in the lithological succession that complicate this oversimplified model, including the presence of chromitite (>60 vol. percent Cr‐spinel) seams. The ～2 mm thick chromitite seams host significant platinum‐group element (PGE) enrichment (e.g. ～2 ppm Pt) and likely formed in situ, i.e. at the crystal mush–magma interface. Given that the bulk of the world's exploited PGE come from a layered intrusion that bears remarkable structural and lithological similarities to Rum, the Bushveld Complex (South Africa), comparisons between these intrusions raise intriguing implications for precious metal mineralization in layered intrusions.     

PGE and PGM in the Luanga mafic-ultramafic intrusion in Serra dos Carajás (Pará State, Brazil)

The late Archean, Luanga mafic-ultramafic complex intrudes an Archean greenstone belt, that is mainly composed of ultramafic and mafic metavolcanics. The Luanga intrusion consists of dunite, peridotite, gabbro and norite; chromitite seams and layers are present in the ultramafic rocks.A metamorphic overprint transformed the primary paragenesis into a serpentine-talc-chlorite-tremolite and magnetite association. The magnetite is commonly altered to Fe-hydroxides. Unaltered chromite commonly displays atoll-like textures and a chemical composition typical of stratiform chromites (Cr₂O₃ below 45 wt%).Base-metal sulfides, base-metal alloys, platimum-group minerals and platinum group element bearing phases are present in the form of inclusions in the silicate assemblages and in or on the edges of chromite grains. The main minerals detected are pentlandite, pyrrhotite, millerite, chalcopyrite and mackinawite, Fe---Ni alloy, braggite, sperrylite and platinum group elements (PGE) bearing sulfo-arsenides. Braggite is associated with the chromite, whereas sperrylite lies on the edges of or is included in silicates. The PGE content of the massive and disseminated chromities is dominated by Pt (up to 8900 ppb) and the chondrite-normalized PGE profile shows a cuspidal shape with a Pt peak.The main hypothesis for the source of the PGE-rich magma, which fractionated the chromitite-bearing ultramafic magma, consists of a relatively primitive mantle that partially melted in the late Archean.     

Platinum-group element (PGE) deposits and occurrences: Mineralization styles,genetic concepts,and exploration criteria

PGE mineralization has been identified in various rock types and at various stratigraphic levels in layered intrusions of any age, size and magmatic lineage, but the most important deposits occur as relatively narrow stratiform reefs in the lower to central ultramafic–mafic portions of large tholeiitic intrusions of late Archean to early Proterozoic age. One of the main challenges in exploration is that the reefs tend to be sulfide-poor. In many chromitites, magnetitites and silicate-hosted ores, the rocks contain no visible sulfides, possibly due to (late) magmatic sulfide resorption. As a result, some deposits may have been overlooked, particularly those in the upper portions of the intrusions that were in the past considered to be relatively unprospective. Amongst lithogeochemical tools, Cu/Pd ratios have proven to be particularly useful to evaluate the PGE potential of intrusions and to delineate the position of the reefs within the intrusions.The origin of the PGE mineralization remains controversial. A possible explanation for the low sulfide contents of many PGE-rich intrusions is that most of their parental magmas were strongly undersaturated in sulfur and at least partially derived from the S-poor and PGE-enriched sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Sulfide saturation upon emplacement in the crust may have been reached during differentiation. Empirical evidence supports theoretical considerations that chromite and magnetite precipitation may be particularly conducive to trigger sulfide melt saturation, due to a pronounced decrease in FeO content of the magma. The importance of magma mixing in triggering sulfide supersaturation remains unclear. The same applies to contamination; some intrusions show a distinct crustal component, but many others do not, and there is little if any correlation between sulfide content and crustal component. Together with the general paucity of sulfides in the intrusions this could suggest that contamination is not critical in reef formation and may indeed be a negative factor.Other processes may also be relevant to reef formation. Data from the well-studied Bushveld Complex suggest that the magmas had reached sulfide saturation prior to emplacement, and that sulfides were entrained in the magma during ascent and emplacement. Sulfide entrainment has previously been recognised as one of the key factors in the formation of massive Ni–Cu sulfide deposits, and it is suggested here that it is also relevant to the formation of PGE deposits.     

铂族元素在地壳中的富集:以布什维尔德杂岩为例(英文)

地幔是地壳铂族元素富集的主要源库。铂族元素迁移主要有两个途径:(1)地幔部分熔融物质侵入地壳;(2)地幔板片就位于俯冲/碰撞带。前一途径比后一途径重要得多。地幔物质进入地壳造成铂族元素富集并成为可供开采的主矿产而非副产品,这一过程可包含许多成矿作用机制:(i)基性侵入体中Ni-Cu硫化物矿浆的发育,岩浆冷却与分离结晶作用导致富含Cu,Pt,Pd的硫化物矿浆的形成;(ii)层状侵入体一定层位形成高品位的铂族元素硫化物层,伴生或不伴生铬铁岩;(iii)富铂族元素及硫化物的岩浆沿着层状侵入体的边缘就位;(iv)直至层状侵入体结晶分异作用晚期的硫化物不混溶滞后分离;(v)不发育硫化物不混溶作用的铬铁矿结晶作用;(vi)低程度硫化物浸染带中的热液作用与铂族元素富集;(vii)乌拉尔-阿拉斯加型侵入体重结晶过程中的铂族元素与铬铁矿的次生富集作用,岩体在风化过程中形成砂矿床;(viii)黑色页岩形成过程中Pt的富集。南非布什维尔德火成杂岩蕴藏世界Pt资源的75%,Pd资源的54%,Rh资源的82%,并具有(ii)、(iii)、(iv)、(v)、(vi)成矿作用的实例。在这些作用中,作用(ii)形成的现有经济储量和资源量占90%,作用(iii)占9%。Merensky矿层(占总资源量30%)是一个铂族元素富集层位,它含1~3铬铁矿薄层,在可采宽度内硫化物平均含量为1%~3%(质量分数)。硫化物一般被认为是铂族元素的主要聚集体。该矿层由两个或两个以上含硫化物的基性热岩浆上升汇聚而成。这些岩浆的汇聚造成超镁铁质堆晶岩的厚度(主要是斜方辉石岩,某些地区包括橄榄岩)变化于50cm至数米之间。开采通常集中在厚度不到1m的地带。矿层的成因至今仍存在争议,一些观点认为铂族元素来自下部上升的热液流体,另一些观点认为铂族元素来自上部岩浆的硫化物沉降作用,并形成了Merensky辉石岩。已经知道矿层上覆的辉石岩、苏长岩和斜长岩中矿物来自两种岩浆类型:一种富含MgO(12%,质量分数)和Cr,而贫Al2O3(12%);另一种含典型的粒玄岩成分。UG-2铬铁岩含有全部经济资源量的58%,由一0.6~1m厚的铬铁岩层(有时见辉石岩夹层)和上覆的1~3层由铬铁矿所构成的薄层。虽然硫化物被认为至少是某些情况下对铂族元素的富集起作用,但UG-2的硫化物含量(0.5%~1.5%)显著低于Merensky矿层。UG-2层之下共有13个铬铁岩层位,所有的都含铂族元素,虽然铂族元素总含量和(Pt+Pd)/(Ru+Ir+Os)比值远低于UG-2。UG-2内所含的辉石岩"夹层"具高的87Sr/86Sr比值,说明与顶部熔融岩石的混合促进了铬铁岩和硫化物的形成。作用(iii)的主要实例是Platreef。目前它占总资源量的9%。不过,沿该带正积极开展找矿勘探工作,这一比例将来还会提高。这一矿层的厚度比Merensky和UG-2都要大,目前开采厚度达50多米。Platreef呈带状,上部为斜方辉石岩的堆晶岩;下部为辉石岩、长石辉石岩和苏长岩,它们与页岩、铁矿层和白云岩强烈相互作用,直接形成了底盘岩石。笔者认为Platreef是不同期次岩浆作用的结果,这些作用形成了不同的单元产物,包括布什维尔德主岩浆房的UG-2和Merensky矿层。新的岩浆进入主岩浆房会造成先存岩浆移位、岩浆错动并会冲破岩浆房的壁。圆筒状、带状岩管中的超镁铁岩含极高的Pt品位,在布什维尔德杂岩的下部切穿堆晶层,被认为是热液再活化的产物。它们现在未被开采,只是构成存封的铂族元素资源,对整个杂岩体资源没有重要的贡献。     

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.     

3-D Distribution of Sulphide Minerals in the Merensky Reef (Bushveld Complex, South Africa) and the J-M Reef (Stillwater Complex, USA) and their Relationship to Microstructures Using X-Ray Computed Tomography

Large mafic–ultramafic layered intrusions may containlayers enriched in platinum-group elements (PGE). In many cases,the PGE are hosted by disseminated sulphides. We have investigatedthe distribution of the sulphides in three dimensions in twooriented samples of the Merensky Reef and the J-M Reef. Theaim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the sulphidescrystallized from a base metal sulphide liquid that percolatedthrough the cumulate pile during compaction. The distributionof sulphides was quantified using: (1) X-ray computed tomography;(2) microstructural analysis of polished thin sections orientedparallel to the paleovertical; (3) measurement of dihedral anglesbetween sulphides and silicates or oxides. In the Merensky Reefand the J-M Reef, sulphides are connected in three dimensionsand fill paleovertical dilatancies formed during compaction,which facilitated the downward migration of sulphide liquidin the cumulate. In the melanorite of the Merensky Reef, thesulphide content increases from top to bottom, reaching a maximumvalue above the underlying chromitite layer. In the chromititelayers sulphide melt connectivity is negligible. Thus, the chromititemay have acted as a filter, preventing extensive migration ofsulphide melt downwards into the footwall. This could partiallyexplain the enrichment in PGE of the chromitite layer and theobserved paucity of sulphide in the footwall. KEY WORDS: X-ray computed tomography; microstructures; sulphides; Merensky Reef; J-M Reef     

Age and significance of voluminous mafic–ultramafic magmatic events in the Murchison Domain,Yilgarn Craton

Mafic–ultramafic rocks in structurally dismembered layered intrusions comprise approximately 40% by volume of greenstones in the Murchison Domain of the Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton. Mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Murchison Domain may be divided into five components: (i) the ～2810 Ma Meeline Suite, which includes the large Windimurra Igneous Complex; (ii) the 2800 ± 6 Ma Boodanoo Suite, which includes the Narndee Igneous Complex; (iii) the 2792 ± 5 Ma Little Gap Suite; (iv) the ～2750 Ma Gnanagooragoo Igneous Complex; and (v) the 2735–2710 Ma Yalgowra Suite of layered gabbroic sills. The intrusions are typically layered, tabular bodies of gabbroic rock with ultramafic basal units which, in places, are more than 6 km thick and up to 2500 km² in areal extent. However, these are minimum dimensions as the intrusions have been dismembered by younger deformation. In the Windimurra and Narndee Igneous Complexes, discordant features and geochemical fractionation trends indicate multiple pulses of magma. These pulses produced several megacyclic units, each ～200 m thick. The suites are anhydrous except for the Boodanoo Suite, which contains a large volume of hornblende gabbro. They also host significant vanadium mineralisation, and at least minor Ni–Cu–PGE mineralisation. Collectively, the areal distribution, thickness and volume of mafic–ultramafic magma in these complexes is similar to that in the 2.06 Ga Bushveld Igneous Complex, and represents a major addition of mantle-derived magma to Murchison Domain crust over a 100 Ma period. All suites are demonstrably contemporaneous with packages of high-Mg tholeiitic lavas and/or felsic volcanic rocks in greenstone belts. The distribution, ages and compositions of the earlier mafic–ultramafic rocks are most consistent with genesis in a mantle plume setting.     

Dispersion Pattern of PGE and Ag in Chromiferous Ultramafic Suite of Rocks in Sukinda Valley,India

Potential chromite ore deposits of India are situated in Sukinda, Odisha, which may also be considered as a potential resource for platinum group elements (PGEs). This paper reports on PGE geochemistry in twenty six samples covering chromite ores, chromitites and associated ultramafic rocks of the Sukinda ultramafic complex. Platinum group element contents range from 213 to 487 ppb in the chromite ore body, from 63 to 538 ppb in rocks that have chromite dendrites or dissemination and from 38 to 389 ppb in associated olivine–peridotite, serpentinite, pyroxenite and brecciated rocks. The PGEs are divided into two sub‐groups: IPGE (Ir, Os, and Ru) and PPGE (Pd, Pt, and Rh) based on their chemical behaviour. The IPGE and PPGE in these three litho‐members show a contrasting relationship e.g. average IPGE content decreases from chromite to chromitite and associated rocks while PPGE increases in the same order. Appreciable Ag in chromitite (270–842 ppb) is recorded. Positive correlation between IPGE with Cr₂O₃ and with Al₂O₃ is observed while these are negatively correlated with MgO. Covariant relationships between Au and Mg in rocks devoid of chromite and between Ag and Fe in chromitite sample are observed. Chromite in all seams and some chromitite samples exhibit an IPGE‐enriched chondrite normalized pattern while PPGE are highly fractionated and show a steep negative slope, thereby indicating that PGE in the parental melt fractionates and IPGE‐compatible elements prefer to settle with chromite. The rocks devoid of chromite and rocks containing accessory chromite exhibit a nearly flat pattern in chondrite‐normalized PGE plots and this suggests a limited fractionation of PGE in these rocks. Variation in the distribution pattern of PGE and Ag in three typical litho‐members of the Sukinda Valley may be related to multiple intrusion of ultramafic magma, containing variable volume percentage of chromite.     

Thick chromitite of the Jacurici Complex (NE Craton São Francisco,Brazil): Cumulate chromite slurry in a conduit

The Jacurici Complex, located in the NE part of the São Francisco Craton, hosts the largest chromite deposit in Brazil. The mineralized intrusion is considered to be a single N-S elongated layered body, disrupted into many segments by subsequent deformation. The ore is hosted in a thick, massive layer. Two segments, Ipueira and Medrado, have been previously studied. We provide new geological information, and chromite composition results from the Monte Alegre Sul and Várzea do Macaco segments located farther north, and integrate these with previous results. The aim of this study is to determine and discuss the magma chamber process that could explain the formation of the thick chromitite layer. All segments exhibit similar stratigraphic successions with an ultramafic zone (250 m thick) hosting a 5–8 m thick main chromitite layer (MCL), and a mafic zone (40 m thick). The chromite composition of the MCL, Mg-numbers (0.48–0.72) and Cr-numbers (0.59–0.68), is similar to chromites from layered intrusions and other thick chromitites. Previous work concluded that the parental magma of the mineralized intrusion was very primitive based on olivine composition (up to Fo₉₃) and orthopyroxene composition (up to En₉₄) from harzburgite samples, and that it originated from an old subcontinental lithospheric mantle. We estimate that the melt from which the massive chromitite layer crystallized was similar to a boninite, or low siliceous high-Mg basalt, with a higher Fe/Mg ratio. The petrologic evidence from the mafic-ultramafic rocks suggests that a high volume of magma flowed through the sill, which acted as a dynamic conduit. Crustal contamination has previously been considered as the trigger for the chromite crystallization, based on isotope studies, as the more radiogenic signatures correlate with an increase in the volumetric percentage of amphibole (up to 20%). The abundant inclusions of hydrous silicate phases in the chromites from the massive ore suggest that the magma was hydrated during chromite crystallization. Fluids may have played an important role in the chromite formation and/or accumulation. However, the trigger for chromite crystallization remains debatable. The anomalous thickness of the chromitite is a difficult feature to explain. We suggest a combined model where chromite crystallized along the margins of the magma conduit, producing a semi-consolidated chromite slurry that slumped through the conduit forming a thick chromitite layer in the magma chamber where layered ultramafic rocks were previously formed. Subsequently, the conduit was obstructed and the resident magma fractionated to produce a more evolved composition.     

Recent research developments on the Isle of Rum,NW Scotland

The appearance in 1997 of the British Geological Survey's memoir on Rum was followed by a period of intense research, leading to upwards of 35 papers, books and other articles. The scope of these publications, and the research progress over the last 15 years since publication of the memoir, is reviewed here. Igneous activity on Rum was short lived, possibly only ca. 500 ka, and, at about 60.5 Ma. The Rum central complex thus pre‐dates the nearby Skye central complex. The earliest, acidic and mixed acidic/basic magmatism on Rum involved both shallow intrusions and ignimbrite eruptions into a collapsing caldera bound by the Main Ring Fault, a structure which probably also exercised a structural influence on subsequent mafic and ultrabasic magmatism. Subsequent emplacement of gabbros and ultrabasic rocks caused only limited thermal metamorphism of the surrounding Torridonian sandstones, contrasting markedly with the intense alteration of uplifted masses of Lewisian gneiss within the ring fault. Detailed textural studies on the gabbroic and ultrabasic rocks allow distinction between intrusive peridotites and peridotite that formed as part of the classic layered units of Rum and, furthermore, this work and that on the chromite seams and veins in these rocks shows that movements of trapped magma and magma derived from later intrusions, may produce textures and structures hitherto regarded as primary features of cumulate rocks. Rare picritic dykes provide an indication of likely parent magma for the mafic and ultrabasic rocks, but these and other magmatic rocks on Rum have all undergone varying degrees of crustal contamination, involving both Lewisian granulite and amphibolite crust but, notably, not Moine rocks as at Ardnamurchan. Sulphides in the chromite seams and ultrabasic rocks show possible influences from assimilated Jurassic sediments. From recent apatite fission track studies it seems likely that Rum, in common with other Palaeogene centres, underwent a brief, but significantly younger (Mesozoic) heating event.     

Intrusive origin for Upper Group (UG1, UG2) stratiform chromitite seams in the Dwars River area, Bushveld Complex, South Africa

Detailed geological mapping, core logging and petrographic analysis are supplemented with geochemical data to evaluate the petrogenesis of the Upper Group (UG1, UG2) stratiform chromitite seams in the Dwars River area, Bushveld Complex. Seven important and widespread features of UG1 and UG2 chromitite are addressed: (1) chromitite seams are dissociated from specific silicate successions and enclosed in Cr-rich silicates with a common genetic origin, (2) chromitite seams cut structures and textures in host silicates, have vein-like structures and host xenoliths, (3) chromitite seams are braided, (4) chromite grain distributions suggest flow segregation, (5) silicates in chromitite seams have modal proportions, forms and compositions different from those in binding silicate rocks, (6) PGE distributions in UG2 chromitite suggest flow segregation, and (7) chromitite seams are bound by coarse-grained silicates possibly formed through contact heating and/or de-volatization. These features are integrated into a model whereby UG chromitite seams developed from the intrusion of chromite crystal slurries. This model proposes that chromite grains first accumulated within structural traps of the Bushveld conduits, and that these accumulations were then re-mobilized with silicate melt (± sulfides and/or fluids?) to spread laterally as chromite crystal slurries within the layered ultramafic-mafic cumulates of the Bushveld Complex.     

塔里木板块东北部坡一镁铁质-超镁铁质层状侵入体岩石成因

坡一侵入体位于塔里木板块东北部坡北岩体内,是该岩体第三阶段岩浆活动形成的十几个小侵入体中的一个,锆石U-Pb年龄为278±2Ma。该侵入体属于以超镁铁质岩石为主的层状岩系,堆晶结构与韵律性堆晶层理非常发育。岩浆分异充分,形成了从纯橄岩到石英闪长岩的多种岩石类型。在超镁铁质岩石中,所有的橄榄石和大部分斜方辉石是堆晶相,少量斜方辉石是填隙相,大部分单斜辉石、褐色普通角闪石和黑云母是填隙相。在镁铁质岩石中,橄榄石和斜方辉石全部是堆晶相,单斜辉石与斜长石既可以是堆晶相,也可以是填隙相;褐色普通角闪石、黑云母和石英均为填隙相。超镁铁质岩石属拉斑玄武岩系列,镁铁质岩石属钙碱性系列。侵入体中大量存在的捕掳体、微量元素地球化学、Nd-Sr同位素组成的EMⅡ型演化趋势,充分证明了同化混染作用伴随岩浆演化过程而逐渐增强,并不断促进了岩浆的分异,而且导致了岩石化学系列的转化。PGE和亲硫元素地球化学以及硫同位素组成证明,硫主要来自于岩浆,硫化物形成于岩浆阶段,岩浆未经历过早期硫化物熔离作用,硫化物熔离起始于橄榄岩相结晶的晚期阶段,并伴随着此后的岩浆演化过程而继续熔离。硫化物熔离是岩浆自身演化和同化混染共同作用的结果。橄榄石Fo分子含量和全岩FeO含量显示,原生岩浆是苦橄质岩浆;源区物质应该是石榴石辉石岩;岩浆生成于地幔柱轴部。在塔里木板块东北部还存在分别来自于软流圈和亏损型大陆岩石圈地幔的二叠纪岩浆岩,它们都应该是塔里木大火成岩省的组成部分。     

Compositional variations in the Mesoarchean chromites of the Nuggihalli schist belt, Western Dharwar Craton (India): potential parental melts and implications for tectonic setting

The chromite deposits in the Archean Nuggihalli schist belt are part of a layered ultramafic–mafic sequence within the Western Dharwar Craton of the Indian shield. The 3.1-Ga ultramafic–mafic units occur as sill-like intrusions within the volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Nuggihalli greenstone belt that are surrounded by the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) suite of rocks. The entire succession is exposed in the Tagdur mining district. The succession has been divided into the lower and the upper ultramafic units, separated by a middle gabbro unit. The ultramafic units comprise of deformed massive chromitite bodies that are hosted within chromite-bearing serpentinites. The chromitite bodies occur in the form of pods and elongated lenses (~60–500 m by ~15 m). Detailed electron microprobe studies reveal intense compositional variability of the chromite grains in silicate-rich chromitite (~50% modal chromite) and serpentinite (~2% modal chromite) throughout the entire ultramafic sequence. However, the primary composition of chromite is preserved in the massive chromitites (~60–75% modal chromite) from the Byrapur and the Bhaktarhalli mining district of the Nuggihalli schist belt. These are characterized by high Cr-ratios (Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.78–0.86) and moderate Mg-ratios (Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) = 0.38–0.58). The compositional variability occurs due to sub-solidus re-equilibration in the accessory chromite in the serpentinite (Mg-ratio = 0.01–0.38; Cr-ratio = 0.02–0.99) and in silicate-rich chromitite (Mg-ratio = 0.06–0.48; Cr-ratio = 0.60–0.99). In the massive chromitites, the sub-solidus re-equilibration for chromite is less or absent. However, the re-equilibration is prominent in the co-existing interstitial and included olivine (Fo_96–98) and pyroxene grains (Mg-numbers = 97–99). Compositional variability on the scale of a single chromite grain occurs in the form of zoning, and it is common in the accessory chromite grains in serpentinite and in the altered grains in chromitite. In the zoned grains, the composition of the core is modified and the rim is ferritchromit. In general, ferritchromit occurs as irregular patches along the grain boundaries and fractures of the zoned grains. In this case, ferritchromit formation is not very extensive. This indicates a secondary low temperature hydrothermal origin of ferritchromit during serpentinization. In some occurrences, the ferritchromit rim is very well developed, and only a small relict core appears to remain in the chromite grain. However, complete alteration of the chromite grains to ferritchromit without any remnant core is also present. The regular, well-developed and continuous occurrence of ferritchromit rims around the chromite grain boundaries, the complete alteration of the chromite grains and the modification of the core composition indicate the alteration in the Nuggihalli schist belt to be intense, pervasive and affected by later low-grade metamorphism. The primary composition of chromite has been used to compute the nature of the parental melt. The parental melt calculations indicate derivation from a high-Mg komatiitic basalt that is similar to the composition of the komatiitic rocks reported from the greenstone sequences of the Western Dharwar Craton. Tectonic discrimination diagrams using the primary composition of chromites indicate a supra-subduction zone setting (SSZ) for the Archean chromitites of Nuggihalli and derivation from a boninitic magma. The composition of the komatiitic basalts resembles those of boninites that occur in subduction zones and back-arc rift settings. Formation of the massive chromitites in Nuggihalli may be due to magma mixing process involving hydrous high-Mg magmas or may be related to intrusions of chromite crystal laden magma; however, there is little scope to test these models because the host rocks are highly altered, serpentinized and deformed. The present configurations of the chromitite bodies are related to the multistage deformation processes that are common in Archean greenstone belts.     

Settling and compaction of chromite cumulates employing a centrifuging piston cylinder and application to layered mafic intrusions

The time scales and mechanics of gravitationally driven crystal settling and compaction is investigated through high temperature (1,280–1,500 °C) centrifuge-assisted experiments on a chromite-basalt melt system at 100–1,500g (0.5 GPa). Subsequently, the feasibility of this process for the formation of dense chromite cumulate layers in large layered mafic intrusions (LMIs) is assessed. Centrifugation leads to a single cumulate layer formed at the gravitational bottom of the capsule. The experimentally observed mechanical settling velocity of a suspension of ~24 vol% chromite is calculated to be about half (~0.53) of the Stokes settling velocity, with a sedimentation exponent n of 2.35 (3). Gravitational settling leads to an orthocumulate layer with a porosity of 0.52 (all porosities as fraction). Formation times for such a layer from a magma with initial chromite contents of 0.1–1 vol% are 140–3.5 days, equal to a growth rate of 0.007–0.3 m/day for grain sizes of 1–2 mm. More compacted chromite layers form with increasing centrifugation time and acceleration through chemical compaction: An increase of grain contact areas and grain sizes together with a decrease in porosity is best explained by pressure dissolution at grain contacts, reprecipitation and grain growth into the intergranular space and a concomitant expulsion of intergranular melt. The relation between the porosity in the cumulate pile and effective pressure integrated over time (Δρ · h · a · t) is best fit with a logarithmic function, in fact confirming that a (pressure) dissolution–reprecipitation process is the dominant mechanism of compaction. The experimentally derived equation allows calculating compaction times: 70–80 % chromite at the bottom of a 1-m-thick chromite layer are reached after 9–250 years, whereas equivalent compaction times are 0.2–0.9 years for olivine (both for 2 mm grain size). The experiments allow to determine the bulk viscosities of chromite and olivine cumulates to be of magnitude 10⁹ Pa s, much lower than previously reported. As long as melt escape from the compacting cumulate remains homogeneous, fluidization does not play any role; however, channelized melt flow may lead to suspension and upward movement of cumulate crystals. In LMIs, chromitite layers are typically part of a sequence with layers of mafic minerals, compaction occurs under the additional weight of the overlying layers and can be achieved in a few years to decades.     

Crystallization of Podiform Chromitites from Silicate Magmas and the Formation of Nodular Textures

Abstract: Podiform chromite deposits consist of numerous individual accumulations of chromite in the mantle sequences of ophiolites, suggesting formation in separate, mini-magma conduits in the upper mantle. They may show unique nodular and orbicular textures. Simple mixing of two distinct magmas, invoked for chromite deposits in layered intrusions, is inadequate to explain the formation of podiform chromite deposits. More likely, melt/rock interaction triggers the precipitation of chromite by addition of newly-formed droplets of melt to the main body of magma passing through a conduit, a process similar to that of magma mingling but involving a turbulent, moving magma so that newly-formed melt droplets behave like snowballs. These droplets concentrate chromite to form an outer shell and, while the magma is moving upwards, less dense silicate melts are squeezed out of the droplets as the shell collapses to form a nodule. Upon cooling, both orbicular and nodular textures are preserved in the chromitite.     

Enrichment of PGE through interaction of evolved boninitic magmas with early formed cumulates in a gabbro–breccia zone of the Mesoarchean Nuasahi massif (eastern India)

The Mesoarchean Nuasahi chromite deposits of the Singhbhum Craton in eastern India consist of a lower chromite-bearing ultramafic unit and an upper magnetite-bearing gabbroic unit. The ultramafic unit is a ∼5 km long and ∼400 m wide linear belt trending NNW-SSE with a general north-easterly dip. The chromitite ore bodies are hosted in the dunite that is flanked by the orthopyroxenite. The rocks of the ultramafic unit including the chromitite crystallized from a primitive boninitic magma, whereas the gabbro unit formed from an evolved boninitic magma. A shear zone (10–75 m wide) is present at the upper contact of the ultramafic unit. This shear zone consists of a breccia comprising millimeter- to meter-sized fragments of chromitite and serpentinized rocks of the ultramafic unit enclosed in a pegmatitic and hybridized gabbroic matrix. The shear zone was formed late synkinematically with respect to the main gabbroic intrusion and intruded by a hydrous mafic magma comagmatic with the evolved boninitic magma that formed the gabbro unit. Both sulfide-free and sulfide-bearing zones with platinum group element (PGE) enrichment are present in the breccia zone. The PGE mineralogy in sulfide-rich assemblages is dominated by minerals containing Pd, Pt, Sb, Bi, Te, S, and/or As. Samples from the gabbro unit and the breccia zone have total PGE concentrations ranging from 3 to 116 ppb and 258 to 24,100 ppb, respectively. The sulfide-rich assemblages of the breccia zone are Pd-rich and have Pd/Ir ratios of 13–1,750 and Pd/Pt ratios of 1–73. The PGE-enriched sulfide-bearing assemblages of the breccia zone are characterized by (1) extensive development of secondary hydrous minerals in the altered parts of fragments and in the matrix of the breccia, (2) coarsening of grain size in the altered parts of the chromitite fragments, and (3) extensive alteration of primary chromite to more Fe-rich chromite with inclusions of chlorite, rutile, ilmenite, magnetite, chalcopyrite, and PGE-bearing chalcogenides. Unaltered parts of the massive chromitite fragments from the breccia zone show PGE ratios (Pd/Ir = 2.5) similar to massive chromitite (Pd/Ir = 0.4–6.6) of the ultramafic unit. The Ir-group PGE (IPGE: Ir, Os, Ru) of the sulfide-rich breccia assemblages were contributed from the ultramafic–chromitite breccia. Samples of the gabbro unit have fractionated primitive mantle-normalized patterns, IPGE depletion (Pd/Ir = 24–1,227) and Ni-depletion due to early removal of olivine and chromite from the primitive boninitic magma that formed the ultramafic unit. Samples of the gabbro and the breccia zone have negative Nb, Th, Zr, and Hf anomalies, indicating derivation from a depleted mantle source. The Cu/Pd ratios of the PGE-mineralized samples of the breccia zone (2.0 × 10³–3.2 × 10³) are lower than mantle (6.2 × 10³) suggesting that the parental boninitic magma (Archean high-Mg lava: Cu/Pd ratio ∼1.3 × 10³; komatiite: Cu/Pd ratio ∼8 × 10³) was sulfur-undersaturated. Samples of the ultramafic unit, gabbro and the mineralized breccia zone, have a narrow range of incompatible trace element ratios indicating a cogenetic relationship. The ultramafic rocks and the gabbros have relatively constant subchondritic Nb/Ta ratios (ultramafic rocks: Nb/Ta = 4.1–8.8; gabbro unit: Nb/Ta = 11.5–13.2), whereas samples of the breccia zone are characterized by highly variable Nb/Ta ratios (Nb/Ta = 2.5–16.6) and show evidence of metasomatism. The enrichment of light rare earth element and mobile incompatible elements in the mineralized samples provides supporting evidence for metasomatism. The interaction of the ultramafic fragments with the evolved fluid-rich mafic magma was key to the formation of the PGE mineralization in the Nuasahi massif.     

Chalcophile element geochemistry of the Baima layered intrusion, Emeishan Large Igneous Province, SW China: implications for sulfur saturation history and genetic relationship with high-Ti basalts

The Permian Baima mafic layered intrusion, believed to be related to the S-undersaturated Emeishan high-Ti basalts, hosts a giant Fe–Ti-V oxide deposit in the lower part of the intrusion. Uniformly high Cu/Pd (1.9 × 10⁶–6.1 × 10⁴) and low Pd/Zr (<0.1) indicate that the Baima parental magma experienced prior sulfide segregation. Mantle-liked δ³⁴S values and low S/Se values indicate negligible external sulfur addition. Primitive mantle-normalized PGE patterns and MELTS calculations indicate that extensive fractional crystallization (~59 %) of chromite, olivine and pyroxene at depth drove the primitive picritic magma to S saturation. Strong positive correlation between IPGE and PPGE and between PGE and V, Cr and S suggest that magmatic sulfide is the dominant mineral controlling the distribution of PGE in the Baima intrusion. A positive correlation between S and Cr, FeO_T + TiO₂ and V content, together with MELTS calculations, indicate that the parental magma of the Baima intrusion reached a second stage of S saturation in the shallower Baima magma chamber, which was likely triggered by decreasing Fe²⁺ accompanying magnetite precipitation. Primitive mantle-normalized PGE patterns for Baima intrusion rocks display similar trends to high-Ti basalts inside the Panxi area, suggesting that they are comagmatic, and following a similar differentiation trend. However, the lavas erupted before they reached sulfide saturation. The more evolved nature of high-Ti basalts outside the Panxi area indicate that they experienced more extensive pre-eruption fractional crystallization. Further fractional crystallization process led these lavas show more PGE fractionated feature.     

Atypical stratiform sulfide-poor platinum-group element mineralisation in the Agnew – Wiluna Belt komatiites,Wiluna, Western Australia

A new style of komatiite-associated sulfide-poor platinum-group element (PGE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) mineralisation has been identified at Wiluna in the strongly nickel sulfide (NiS) mineralised Agnew – Wiluna Greenstone Belt, Western Australia. The komatiite sequence at Wiluna is ～200 m thick and comprises a basal pyroxenite layer, a thick ortho-to-mesocumulate-textured peridotite core, which is overlain by rhythmically layered wehrlite, oikocrystic pyroxenite and thick upper gabbroic margins. Pegmatoid and dendritic (harrisitic) domains are common features, whereas spinifex-textured horizons and flow-top breccias are absent. The presence of anomalous PGE-enriched horizons (ΣPt – Pd = 200 – 500 ppb) in the oikocrystic pyroxenite and in the layered melagabbro and gabbronorite horizons directly overlying the wehrlite unit is due to the presence of fine-grained (1 – 10 μm) platinum-group minerals (PGMs). More than 70 PGM grains were identified, and a considerable mineralogical variability was constrained. However, only Pd – Pt-bearing phases were identified, whereas no Ir – Ru-bearing PGMs were found in any of the sections examined. Interestingly, all PGMs are not in paragenetic association with sulfides, and only sulfide-poor/free intervals contain significant PGM concentrations. The whole-rock PGE sequence largely reflects the PGM distribution. It is hypothesised that the Pd – Pt enrichment in the oikocrystic pyroxenite and melagabbros and the overall Ir – Ru depletion in the upper mafic section of the sequence are the result of extensive olivine and chromite crystallisation in the basal ultramafic section. PGE saturation was driven by extensive crystallisation of silicate and oxide phases in a sulfide-undersaturated environment. The crystallisation of clinopyroxene in the oikocrystic pyroxenite horizon may have triggered the formation of Pt – Pd-bearing alloys and arsenides, which were the first PGMs to form. Stratiform sulfide-poor PGE mineralisation at Wiluna is more similar in stratigraphic setting, style and composition to PGE-rich sulfide-poor mineralisation zones in thick differentiated intrusions, rather than to other PGE-enriched zones in komatiite-hosted systems, where PGE enrichment is directly associated with accumulations of magmatic sulfides.     

Chromite compositions in nickel sulphide mineralized intrusions of the Kabanga-Musongati-Kapalagulu Alignment,East Africa: Petrologic and exploration significance

Chromite is a ubiquitous accessory mineral in the olivine-pyroxene cumulate bodies that host massive and disseminated nickel sulphide mineralization in intrusions of the Kabanga-Musongati-Kapalagulu Alignment in East Africa. Its composition is related to the conditions of emplacement and petrologic evolution of its host magma in a spectrum of intrusions ranging from classical lopolithic layered intrusions to groups of smaller, discrete sill-like chonoliths.The Kapalagulu lopolithic intrusion, emplaced into polymetamorphosed Archæan-Palæoproterozoic crust, contains abundant chromite with relatively oxidized compositions, whereas chromites from the highly-mineralized Kabanga chonolith intrusions, emplaced into graphitic and sulphidic schists, are strongly reduced in terms of their Fe³⁺/Fe^total ratio. Ni in chromite correlates with Ni in olivine: Ni in both is depleted in the more strongly sulphide-mineralized intrusions. The Musongati intrusion, also emplaced through graphitic schists, but much larger and less-well mineralized in sulphides than Kabanga, has chromites intermediate in character. The compositions of the chromites can be used to determine the petrologic history of the intrusions, and may prove to be a useful exploration tool in such mineralized belts.