Towards a model for the in situ origin of PGE reefs in layered intrusions: insights from chromitite seams of the Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion, Scotland

The current debate on the origin of platinum-group element (PGE) reefs in layered intrusions centres mostly on gravity settling of sulphide liquid from overlying magma versus its introduction with interstitial melt/fluids migrating upward from the underlying cumulate pile. Here, we show that PGE-rich chromitite seams of the Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion provide evidence for an alternative origin of such deposits in layered intrusions. These laterally extensive 2-mm-thick chromitite seams occur at the bases of several cyclic mafic–ultramafic units and show lithological and textural relationships suggesting in situ growth directly at a crystal–liquid interface. This follows from chromitite development along the edges of steeply inclined culminations and depressions at unit boundaries, even where these are vertically oriented or overhanging. High concentrations of PGE (up to 2–3 ppm Pd + Pt) are controlled by fine-grained base-metal sulphides, which are closely associated with chromitite seams. The following sequence of events explains the origin of the PGE-rich chromitite seams: (a) emplacement of picritic magma that caused thermal and mechanical erosion of underlying cumulate, followed by in situ growth of chromite against the base, (b) precipitation of sulphide droplets on chromite grains acting as favourable substrate or catalyst for sulphide nucleation, (c) the scavenging of PGE by sulphide droplets from fresh magma continuously brought towards the base by convection. Since the rate of magma convection is 10⁵–10⁷ times higher than that of the solidification (km/year to km/day versus 0.5–1.0 cm/year), the in situ formed sulphide droplets can equilibrate with picritic magma of thousands to million times their own volume. As a result, the sulphide-bearing rocks are able to reach economic concentrations of PGE (several ppm). We tentatively suggest that the basic principles of our model may be used to explain the origin of PGE-rich chromitites and classical PGE reefs in other layered mafic–ultramafic intrusions.     

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。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

新疆喀拉通克铜镍硫化物矿床成矿岩浆作用过程

喀拉通克铜镍硫化物矿床3个主要含矿镁铁质岩体的主量元素、微量元素和铂族元素组成分析及母岩浆组成估算结果表明:3个岩体中不同类型岩石的主要氧化物含量的变化具玄武质岩浆结晶分异的特征;在MgO含量为10%～15%区间,SiO2含量迅速增高;微量元素和稀土元素原始地幔标准化配分模式相似,具Nb和Ta亏损,K、Sr富集的特征.与1号和2号岩体相比,3号岩体中大离子亲石元素及轻稀土元素相对富集,(La/Yb)N介于6.8～9.2之间,δEu显示轻微负异常,在460 m深度表现出Cu-Ni等成矿元素与SiO2含量同时剧变的特征,铂族元素配分模式与2号岩体相似.上述结果显示,3个岩体可能是同源岩浆不同期次的产物,原始岩浆为高镁玄武岩浆.成矿岩浆演化过程中经历的岩浆分离结晶作用和富硅地壳组分混染可能是成矿岩浆硫饱和及硫化物熔离的主要诱因.     

Phase Equilibria Constraints on Relations of Ore‐bearing Intrusions with Flood Basalts in the Panxi Region,Southwestern China

There are two types of temporally and spatially associated intrusions within the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP); namely, small ultramafic subvolcanic sills that host magmatic Cu-Ni-Platinum Group Element (PGE)-bearing sulfide deposits and large mafic layered intrusions that host giant Ti-V magnetite deposits in the Panxi region. However, except for their coeval ages, the genetic relations between the ore-bearing intrusions and extrusive rocks are poorly understood. Phase equilibria analysis (Q-Pl-Ol-Opx-Cpx system) has been carried out to elucidate whether ore-bearing Panzhihua, Xinjie and Limahe intrusions are co-magmatic with the picrites and flood basalts (including high-Ti, low-Ti and alkali basalts), respectively. In this system, the parental magma can be classified as silica-undersaturated olivine basalt and silica-saturated tholeiite. The equivalents of the parental magma of the Xinjie and Limahe peridotites and picrites and low-Ti basalts are silica-undersaturated, whereas the Limahe gabbro-diorites and high-Ti basalts are silica-saturated. In contrast, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be alkali character. Phase equilibria relations clearly show that the magmas that formed the Panzhihua intrusion and high-Ti basalts cannot be co-magmatic as there is no way to derive one liquid from another by fractional crystallization. On the other hand, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be related to Permian alkali intrusions in the region, but does not appear to be related to the alkali basalts recognized in the Longzhoushan lava stratigraphy. Comparably, the Limahe intrusion appears to be a genetic relation to the picrites, whereas the Xinjie intrusion may be genetically related to be low-Ti basalts. Additionally, the gabbro-diorites and peridotites of the Limahe intrusion are not co-magmatic, and the former appears to be derived liquid from high-Ti basalts.     

Petrogenesis and Metallogenesis of the Mazaertag Layered Intrusion in the Tarim Large Igneous Province, NW China

The Mazaertag layered intrusion is located in the northwestern part of the Tarim large igneous province where several early Permian layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions host important Fe-Ti oxide deposits. The intrusion covers an area of ～0.13 km~2 and has a vertical stratigraphic thickness of at least300 m. It consists chiefly of olivine clinopyroxenite, and is cut through by the nearby mafic-ultramafic dykes. In this paper, we report new mineral chemistry data and whole-rock chemical and isotopic compositions for the Mazaertag intrusion along with whole-rock isotopic compositions for the nearby mafic dykes. The averaged compositions of cumulus olivine, clinopyroxene and intercumulus plagioclase within individual samples range from Fo_(71-73),Mg~# = 76 to 79 and An_(65-75) but they do not define sustained reversals. The observed mineral compositions are consistent with the differentiation of a single batch of magma in a closed system. Rocks of the Mazaertag intrusion are characterized by enrichment in light REE relative to heavy REE, positive Nb and Ta anomalies and a small range of age-corrected ε_(Nd)(t)(-0.1 to +0.9) and initial ~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr values(0.7044 to 0.7068). The slightly lower ε_(Nd)(t), initial ~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb and higher initial ~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr values of the intrusion compared to those of the least contaminated dykes[ε_(Nd)(t) =+2.8 to +3.4;(~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb)_i = 18.516-18.521;(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i = 0.7038-0.7041] imply that the Mazaertag magma was subjected to small to modest degrees of contamination by the upper crust. The Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of the least contaminated dykes are consistent with derivation from a FOZO-like mantle source. The parental magma of the Mazaertag intrusion, estimated from clinopyroxene compositions using mineral-melt partition coefficients, has trace element compositions similar to some of the most primitive mafic dykes in the same area. This suggests that the Mazaertag intrusion and mafic dykes shared a similar mantle source. Therefore, the parental magma of the Mazaertag intrusion was interpreted to have originated from a mantle plume. Based on the Cr_2 O_3 contents in titanomagnetite and less-evolved characteristics of the Mazaertag intrusion compared to the Wajilitag Fe-Ti oxide deposit in Bachu, it is speculated that there might not be a potential to find economic Fe-Ti oxide mineralization in the intrusion.     

The Mordor Alkaline Igneous Complex,Central Australia: PGE-enriched disseminated sulfide layers in cumulates from a lamprophyric magma

The Mordor Alkaline Igneous Complex (MAIC) is a composite intrusion comprising a body of syenite and a funnel-shaped layered mafic–ultramafic intrusion of lamprophyric parentage, the Mordor Mafic–Ultramafic Intrusion or MMUI. The MMUI is highly unusual among intrusions of lamprophyric or potassic parentage in containing primary magmatic platinum-group element (PGE)-enriched sulfides. The MMUI sequence consists largely of phlogopite-rich pyroxenitic cumulates, with an inward dipping conformable layer of olivine-bearing cumulates divisible into a number of cyclic units. Stratiform-disseminated sulfide accumulations are of two types: disseminated layers at the base of cyclic units, with relatively high PGE tenors; and patchy PGE-poor disseminations within magnetite-bearing upper parts of cyclic units. Sulfide-enriched layers at cycle bases contain anomalous platinum group element contents with grades up to 1.5 g/t Pt+Pd+Au over 1-m intervals, returning to background values of low parts per billion (ppb) on a meter scale. They correspond to reversals in normal fractionation trends and are interpreted as the result of new magma influxes into a continuously replenished magma chamber. Basal layers have decoupled Cu and PGE peaks reflecting increasing PGE tenors up-section, due to increasing R factors during the replenishment episode, or progressive mixing of between resident PGE-poor magma and more PGE-enriched replenishing magma. The presence of PGE enriched sulfides in cumulates from a lamprophyric magma implies that low-degree partial melts do not necessarily leave sulfides and PGEs in the mantle restite during partial melting. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

不同类型基性层状侵入体的成因

论述了不同类型基性层状侵入体的成因。根据母岩浆特征划分出玄武岩浆侵入体和拉斑玄武岩浆侵入体两大类。     

Geochemical and Isotopic Geochemical Characteristics of PGE Mineralization in the Lukkulaisvaara Layered Massif,Karelia, Russia

The study of the Lukkulaisvaara layered massif from the Olang group of intrusions in northern Karelia corroborates the important role of supplementary intrusive phases of PGE mineralization. Injection and crystallization of new magma portions result in (1) the formation of potholelike depressions within intrusion and (2) a return to high-temperature olivine-bearing mineral assemblages in the mafic part of section. PGM formation is accompanied by crystallization of secondary minerals in a wide range of temperatures and pressures. To provide insight into these problems, a geochemical study of Nadezhda area has been performed and new data obtained for the distribution of isotopes in the Rb–Sr, Pb–Pb, and Sm–Nd systems.     

Stratigraphical distribution of platinum-group minerals in the Eastern Layered Series, Rum, Scotland

Abundant and diverse platinum-group minerals (PGM) occur throughout the Tertiary layered intrusion on Rum, Scotland. In this paper we document the distribution of PGM within the Eastern Layered Series (ELS) on Rum, which comprises 16 alternating units of olivine-dominant feldspathic peridotite grading to plagioclase-dominant allivalite. The PGM occur in six main chrome-spinel layers in the Eastern Layered Series and are clearly associated with minor concentrations of interstitial sulphides. Common PGM phases include: Pd–Cu alloys, Pt–Fe alloys, native Pt, laurite, moncheite, sperrylite, isomertiete, cooperite and braggite along with a large number of other less common arsenide, bismuthotelluride and sulphide phases. Analyses of the discrete chromitite layers yield up to ΣPGE + Au 2618 ppb. Although present throughout the 750-m-thick ELS, there are clear stratigraphical changes in the PGM assemblage. The presence of PGM in the ELS on Rum are interpreted as being caused by mantle melting associated with the proto-Icelandic `hot spot', followed by localised concentration because of the combined effects of magma mixing, sulphide-silicate liquid immiscibility and fractional crystallisation. Most of the PGM are magmatic in origin but some grains show evidence of hydrothermal alteration. Received: 27 November 1999 / Accepted: 27 April 2000     

岩浆硫化物矿床勘查研究的趋势与小岩体成矿系统

通过2009年西安Ni-Cu（Pt）岩浆矿床国际学术研讨会和近10年来的勘查研究现状,可以看出岩浆硫化物矿床勘查领域的发展趋势为：与大型层状岩体有关的铂族矿床仍然受到关注;Sudbury矿床的特殊性和不可参照性取得了共识;小岩体矿床是勘查研究的主流;通道成矿作用受到重视。以大型层状岩体Bushveld为例,介绍了其中的Merensky矿层、UG-2矿层和北翼接触带的Platreef矿床。由于中国没有发现这种大型层状岩体,因此应当重视那些中小型层状岩体中可能赋存的铂族矿床。迄今为止,除了Sudbury矿床这个特殊的实例之外,国内外所有具有经济意义的Ni-Cu矿床都寄生于小岩体中并自成一个成矿系统。这个小岩体成矿系统包含成矿背景、邻近深大断裂、原始岩浆、先导性岩浆成岩作用、继发性岩浆成矿作用以及深部熔离-分期贯入-终端岩浆房聚集成矿等。近10年的勘查实践进一步说明,这类小岩体矿床仍是中国今后的主要勘查研究方向。最后,介绍了Noril sk-Talnakh和Voisey s Bay矿床的深部熔离-通道成矿机制,这种机制增添了小岩体成矿作用的多样性;但是,其现存空间是开放性岩浆通道还是封闭性终端岩浆房,还有待更多的研究和实践。     

Petrogenesis and mineralization of the Hulu Ni-Cu sulphide deposit in Xinjiang,NW China: constraints from Sr-Nd isotopic and PGE compositions

The Permian Hulu intrusion is one of several sulphide-bearing Permian mafic–ultramafic intrusions in the eastern part of the eastern Tianshan located at the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in Xinjiang, NW China. The intrusion is composed of lherzolite, olivine websterite, gabbro, and gabbro-diorite. Disseminated and net-textured Ni-Cu sulphide ores are located at the bottom of the lopolith complex. Negative Zr, Hf, Nb, and Ta anomalies, whole-rock εNd(t) values of +5.7 to +8.8, and variable (Th/Nb)_PM values (from 1.06 to 8.13) suggest that the source of the Hulu complexes is depleted mantle metasomatized by subducted slab-derived fluid and/or melt (~5% global subducted sediment and 15% slab fluid) that has experienced approximately 3% lower crustal and 10% upper crustal contamination. The Hulu intrusion is characterized by low PGE abundances i.e. 0.03–1.08 ppb Ir, 0.04–0.69 ppb Ru, 0.02–2.15 ppb Rh, 0.30–48.71 ppb Pt, and 0.21–344 ppb Pd. Our calculations indicate that if the Pd, Os, Ir, and Cu contents of the primary magma were 2.1 ppb, 0.03 ppb, 0.05 ppb, and 200 ppm, respectively, a variable R-factor between 200 and 1600 with residual magma that had experienced 0.01% early-sulphide segregation can explain the variation in Pd, Os, and Ir contents of sulphide-poor and disseminated sulphide samples of the Hulu deposit. Basaltic magma fractionation and assimilation and/or contamination of sulphur-bearing crustal materials might have triggered sulphur saturation to form Cu-Ni sulphide ores. Tarim basaltic PGE contents cannot be used as the mineralized parent magma for the Hulu intrusion because of the differing evolutionary trends of the Ni/Pd and Cu/Ir values. However, similar Cu/Ni and Pd/Ir values in Tarim basalts and Hulu Cu-Ni sulphide ores, as well as the same early sulphide segregation process, show that certain genetic relationships between them and magma sources are probably similar to each other.     

Contrasting mineralogical and processing potential of two mineralization types in the platinum group element and Ni-bearing Kapalagulu Intrusion,western Tanzania

The Kapalagulu layered ultramafic and mafic intrusion is emplaced between the Paleoproterozoic Ubendian basement and overlying Neoproterozoic Itiaso Group metasedimentary rocks, located near the western shore of Lake Tanganyika. High-grade platinum group element (PGE) mineralization (1–6 g/t Pt + Pd + Au) is associated with chromitite and sulfide-bearing harzburgite within the southeastern extension of the intrusion, known as the Lubalisi Zone, which is covered by a layer of nickel-rich (0.2–2%Ni) laterite regolith that contains linear areas of PGE mineralization.In the Lubalisi Zone, the mineralization may be divided into several significant geometallurgical domains: (a) high-grade PGE mineralization (1–6 g/t Pt + Pd + Au) associated with stratiform PGE reefs and chromitite seams within a harzburgite unit; (b) high-grade PGE mineralization (up to 12 g/t Pt + Pd + Au) associated with small bodies and veins of nickel massive sulfide within harzburgite below PGE-bearing reefs and chromitite seams; (c) low-grade PGE mineralization (0.1–0.5 g/t Pt + Pd + Au) associated with a sulfide-mineralized harzburgite unit above the PGE-bearing reefs; (d) laterite style residual PGE mineralization (0.2–4 g/t Pt + Pd + Au) associated with chromite concentrations in the saprolite and overlying red clay horizons of the laterite regolith; and (e) supergene Ni associated with the saprock and overlying saprolite clay.Mineralogical study of three samples from the PGE reef consisting of high grade PGE chromitite and harzburgite indicate that this mineralization will give a good metallurgical response to conventional grinding and floatation due to the relatively coarse-grained nature of the PGM (P80 from ∼37 to 52 µm), association with base metal sulfides, and unaltered gangue minerals (Wilhelmij and Cabri, 2016). In contrast, mineralogical and metallurgical study of the Ni and PGE mineralized laterite indicate that it cannot be processed using conventional mineral processing techniques but that a hydrometallurgical route should be used to recover the base and precious metals. Because any process is very much deposit-controlled, significant metallurgical and geometallurgical testing of mineralized samples, as well as pilot plant testing, will be required to arrive at feasibility studies.     

芬兰科密铬铁矿床研究新进展

芬兰科密铬铁矿床是欧洲规模最大的铬铁矿床。对该矿床的地质背景、矿床特征、矿床成因及找矿标志进行了总结。结果表明,该矿床与古元古代层状超镁铁质杂岩体具有密切的时空分布关系,杂岩体内的铬铁矿床具典型的层状堆积特征,矿层延伸稳定。由于Cr/Fe值较低,该矿床矿石品位在世界同类矿床中属偏低水平。同位素年代学证据表明,其形成于古元古代早期(2.44 Ga),是由卡累利阿造山作用诱发多期次岩浆侵入活动并与新太古代基底岩层发生混染作用形成的。科密铬铁矿床属于层状铬铁矿床,其地质特征与中国目前已发现的豆荚状或似层状铬铁矿床存在一定区别。     

Petrogenesis and geotectonic setting of early Svecofennian arc cumulates in the Roslagen area,east‐central Sweden

Several intrusions of ultrabasic to basic composition occur in the Roslagen area of east‐central Sweden in close spatial and temporal association with the surrounding 1.90–1.87 Ga old early orogenic Svecofennian granitoids. An imprecise Sm‐Nd WR errorchron yields an age of 1895 ± 71 Ma. In spite of the penetrative deformation in the granitoids, the basic–ultrabasic rocks mostly appear undeformed and largely preserve magmatic textures with plagioclase, olivine (in some rock types), orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, and amphibole as major constituents. The plagioclase is typically very anorthitic (ca. An₉₀). The Roslagen intrusions range in composition from primitive to evolved (Mg# 80 to 49) but contain only 40–50 wt% SiO₂. Many samples are highly elevated in Al₂O₃ (up to 30 wt%), CaO (up to 16 wt%) and Sr (up to 800 ppm), with strongly positive Eu and Sr anomalies, in line with being plagioclase cumulates. Although masked by cumulus effects, the relative trace element contents indicate a volcanic arc signature. The initial Nd isotope composition is homogeneously ‘mildly depleted’, with ε_Nd of +0.3 to +1.1, and the initial Sr isotope composition ‘mildly enriched’, with ε_Sr of +8 to +15. Non‐cumulus rocks with small Eu and Sr anomalies can be used to deduce the composition of the parental magma. This LILE‐ and LREE‐enriched and HFSE‐depleted high‐alumina basalt magma, with Mg# of ca. 50–60 and Ca# of ca. 80, most likely formed by partial melting of mantle material, enriched by fluids in a subduction environment, at 1.9 Ga. The cumulate rocks apparently crystallized from a somewhat more evolved water‐rich magma with Mg# of ca. 40. Crystallization was followed by the development of late‐magmatic to post‐magmatic coronas between olivine and plagioclase in the presence of H₂O‐rich fluids. The subduction‐related setting would make these intrusions Palaeoproterozoic counterparts of Alaskan‐type ultramafic intrusions, but they differ from those in being plagioclase enriched, possibly reflecting different levels of exposure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.