Distinctive structural features of magmatic complexes of the central type associated with ring faults

On the basis of a study of a large quantity of deep-seated xenoliths from the kimberlites of the Malo-Botuobuya, Daldyn-Alakit, Upper Muna, and Lower Olenek regions of Yakutia, we have discussed the distribution of the ultrabasic rocks and eclogites in the kimberlite pipes both on the basis of petrographic composition, and also on depth facies, and a comparison is presented of the mineral composition of the deep-seated inclusions and of the amounts of defined types of xenoliths with the diamond capacity of the kimberlites. The conclusion has been reached that: 1. the amounts of inclusions of deep-seated rocks vary significantly not only in kimberlites from the various diamond fields, but also in the pipes of a single diamond-bearing region; 2. the composition of the ultrabasic rocks and eclogites of the diamond-bearing pipes is distinguished from that of the inclusions of the non-diamond kimberlites in these rocks; and 3. the diamond capacity of the kimberlites has been determined by the depth of occurrence of the magmatic focus and the velocity of uprise (intrusion) of the melt during the formation of the kimberlitic diatremes —Authors.     

The sulphides in griquaite and garnet-peridotite xenoliths in kimberlite

The sulphides in the garnet-peridotite and griquaite xenoliths in kimberlite were investigated microscopically, and the mineral assemblages and textural relationships are discussed. The results of a geochemical investigation of the K₂O, Na₂O, Cu, Co, Ni, and Zn contents of these nodules are discussed.It is concluded that the massive basaltic kimberlites (Frick, 1970) are the only kimberlites on which meaningful geochemical investigations could be attempted. It was also found that, owing to the amount of contamination induced by the kimberlite magma, neither the xenoliths nor the mineral separates derived from them can be used for a meaningful geochemical investigation. In an investigation of the upper mantle most of the geochemical work on these inclusions can therefore be disregarded.Two stages of sulphide mineralization can be distinguished in the garnet-peridotite xenoliths, and at least one stage of sulphide mineralization in the griquaite inclusions. The textural evidence supports a cumulate origin for the garnet-peridotite xenoliths, and strongly contradicts such an origin for the griquaite inclusions. It appears that the sulphides in the griquaite xenoliths form during the partial melting of the griquaite, as an immisible sulphide liquid. Although inconclusive, evidence does exist that the sulphur is disseminated in the lattices of the griquaitic clinopyroxenes.     

Eclogitic xenoliths from volcanic breccia at Kakanui,New Zealand

Eclogitic xenoliths consisting of tschermakitic augite and pyrope garnet, together with variable amounts of kaersutitic hornblende, are common in a volcanic breccia of Lower Oligocene age at Kakanui, New Zealand. The breccia also contains xenocrysts of these minerals, and xenoliths of peridotite. Modal analyses are given of a number of the eclogitic xenoliths, and chemical analyses of two of them and their component minerals. They are compared with similar xenoliths from Hoggar (Algeria), Salt Lake Crater (Hawaii), and Delegate (Australia), with eclogite xenoliths from kimberlites, and with garnet peridotites. These three types of igneous eclogites can be characterized by the nature of their clinopyroxene: tschermakitic in the xenoliths from basaltic rocks, jadeitic in the xenoliths from kimberlites, and chrome diopside in the garnet peridotites. The eclogitic xenoliths in basaltic rocks probably crystallized in the mantle at depths of about 60 km, but their rarity in contrast to the numerous occurrences of peridotite xenoliths poses some significant problems.     

Interaction between protokimberlite melts and mantle lithosphere: Evidence from mantle xenoliths from the Dalnyaya kimberlite pipe,Yakutia (Russia)

The Dalnyaya kimberlite pipe(Yakutia,Russia) contains mantle peridotite xenoliths(mostly Iherzolites and harzburgites) that show both sheared porphyroclastic(deformed) and coarse granular textures,together with ilmenite and clinopyroxene megacrysts.Deformed peridotites contain high-temperature Fe-rich clinopyroxenes,sometimes associated with picroilmenites,which are products of interaction of the lithospheric mantle with protokimberlite related melts.The orthopyroxene-derived geotherm for the lithospheric mantle beneath Dalnyaya is stepped similar to that beneath the Udachnaya pipe.Coarse granular xenoliths fall on a geotherm of 35 mWm-2 whereas deformed varieties yield a 45 mWm-2)geotherm in the 2-7.5 GPa pressure interval.The chemistry of the constituent minerals including garnet,olivine and clinopyroxene shows trends of increasing Fe~#(=Fe/(Fe+Mg))with decreasing pressure.This may suggest that the interaction with fractionating protokimberlite melts occurred at different levels.Two major mantle lithologies are distinguished by the trace element patterns of their constituent minerals,determined by LA-ICP-MS.Orthopyroxenes,some clinopyroxenes and rare garnets are depleted in Ba,Sr,HFSE and MREE and represent relic lithospheric mantle.Re-fertilized garnet and clinopyroxene are more enriched.The distribution of trace elements between garnet and clinopyroxene shows that the garnets dissolved primary orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene.Later high temperature clinopyroxenes related to the protokimberlite melts partially dissolved these garnets.Olivines show decreases in Ni and increases in Al,Ca and Ti from Mg-rich varieties to the more Fe-rich,deformed and refertilized ones.Minerals showing higher Fe~#(0.11-0.15) are found within intergrowths of low-Cr ilmenite-clinopyroxene-garnet related to the crystallization of protokimberlite melts in feeder channels.In P-f(O_2) diagrams,garnets and Cr-rich clinopyroxenes indicate reduced conditions at the base of the lithosphere at-5 log units below a FMQ buffer.However,Cr-poor clinopyroxenes,together with ilmenite and some Fe-Ca-rich garnets,demonstrate a more oxidized trend in the lower part of lithosphere at-2 to 0 log units relative to FMQ.Clinopyroxenes from xenoliths in most cases show conditions transitional between those determined for garnets and megacrystalline Cr-poor suite.The relatively low diamond grade of Dalnyaya kimberlites is explained by a high degree of interaction with the oxidized protokimberlite melts,which is greater at the base of the lithosphere.     

The Fazenda Largo off-craton kimberlites of Piauí State, Brazil

In the late 1990s, the Fazenda Largo kimberlite cluster was discovered in the Piauí State of Brazil. As with earlier known kimberlites in this area – Redondão, Santa Filomena-Bom Jesus (Gilbues) and Picos – this cluster is located within the Palaeozoic Parnaiba Sedimentary Basin that separates the São Francisco and the Amazonian Precambrian cratons. Locations of kimberlites are controlled by the ‘Transbrasiliano Lineament’. The Fazenda Largo kimberlites are intensely weathered, almost completely altered rocks with a fine-grained clastic structure, and contain variable amounts of terrigene admixture (quartz sand). These rocks represent near-surface volcano-sedimentary deposits of the crater parts of kimberlite pipes. By petrographic, mineralogical and chemical features, the Fazenda Largo kimberlites are similar to average kimberlite. The composition of the deep-seated material in the Fazenda Largo kimberlites is quite diverse: among mantle microxenoliths are amphibolitised pyrope peridotites, garnetised spinel peridotites, ilmenite peridotites, chromian spinel + chromian diopside + pyrope intergrowths, and large xenoliths of pyrope dunite. High-pressure minerals are predominantly of the ultramafic suite, Cr-association minerals (purplish-red and violet pyrope, chromian spinel, chromian diopside, Cr-pargasite and orthopyroxene). The Ti-association minerals of the ultramafic suite (picroilmenite and orange pyrope), as well as rare grains of orange pyrope-almandine of the eclogite association, are subordinate. Kimberlites from all four pipes contain rare grains of G10 pyrope of the diamond association, but chromian spinel of the diamond association was not encountered. By their tectonic position, by geochemical characteristics, and by the composition of kimberlite indicator minerals, the Fazenda Largo kimberlites, like the others of such type, are unlikely to be economic.     

Garnets of crustal parageneses in alluvial deposits of the eastern Siberian Platform: genesis and search significance

We present results of study of the specific composition and parageneses of pyrope-almandine garnets from alluvial deposits of the Muna-Markha interfluve drainage in the Yakutian diamondiferous province. The data are correlated with the specific features of garnets (tentatively crustal) from Yakutian and Guinean kimberlites and their crustal xenoliths and from metamorphic rocks of the Anabar Shield. The conclusion is drawn that most of orange pyrope-almandine garnets from the alluvial deposits were generated from kimberlites with varying contents of disintegrated crustal material. This gives grounds to include the studied garnets into a complex of indicator minerals of kimberlites and use them in search for diamonds in the Yakutian diamondiferous province.     

Pyrope and Cr-diopside as indicators of mantle structure and diamond depth facies in the Kola region

PT parameters of crystallization have been determined for pyropes and Cr-diopsides from loose sediments of the Kola region, taking into account the chemical compositions of these minerals. Being either deep-seated xenocrysts or constituents of mantle xenoliths in kimberlites, pyropes and Cr-diopsides bear information on composition of the lithospheric mantle and its diamond resource potential. It was established that pyropes belong to the lherzolitic (45%), harzburgitic (30%), and eclogitic (25%) mineral assemblages. The Ni thermometry of pyropes yielded their formation temperature at 650–1250°C, which corresponds to a depth interval of 75–190 km. The distribution of different pyrope-bearing assemblages and their trace element composition allowed us to suggest a layered structure of the Kola lithospheric mantle. Its shallow unit (75–110 km) is mainly composed of depleted lherzolite; the medium-deep unit (110–170 km) consists of harzburgite, and the deep unit (170–190 km), of both lherzolite and harzburgite. About 16% of lherzolitic-harzburgitic pyropes were derived from the diamond mantle facies, i.e., from a depth of 140–190 km. Cr-diopsides are subdivided into two genetic groups: eclogitic (high Al₂O₃ and Na₂O, low MgO and CaO) and ultramafic (high MgO, CaO, and Cr₂O₃; low Al₂O₃ and Na₂O). The crystallization parameters of Cr-diopside from deep-seated ultramafic group were determined using the Cr-in-Cpx barometer and En-in-Cpx thermometer. Most samples fall into the graphite stability field (20–45 kbar and 700–1150°C). If these minerals were derived from kimberlites, this implies that the latter were constituents of carbonatite-ultramafic intrusions. Cr-diopsides may also be derived from diamond-free ultramafic xenoliths contained in alkaline ultramafic dikes. Nevertheless, 15% of Cr-diopside compositions fall in the field of diamond stability (55–60 kbar and 1000–1100°C). These conditions fit the geotherm characterizing a low heat flow. The results support the high resource potential of the Kola region for diamonds.     

Fluorine contents of some hydrous minerals derived from upper mantle and lower crust

Fluorine contents have been determined in about forty samples of amphibole, mica and apatite in alkali basalt and kimberlite and their incorporated xenoliths. They show a wide variation ranging from 15,000 to 100 ppm, corresponding to about 40 to 0.2 per cent substitution of F for OH in hydroxyl site of hydrous minerals. Fluorine abundances in these minerals reflect those of their host magmas or rocks; Itinome-gata xenoliths are the lowest and South African kimberlites and their xenoliths are the highest. F/OH and also. D/H (Kuroda et al. 1975) ratios in coexisting phlogopite-potassic richterite from peridotite and mica nodules are thoughts to have formed under no simple equlibrium conditions.     

Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Atsagin-Dush volcano, Dariganga lava plateau, Mongolia: a record of partial melting and cryptic metasomatism in the upper mantle

Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Atsagin-Dush volcanic centre, SE Mongolia range from fertile lherzolites to clinopyroxene(cpx)-bearing harzburgites. The cpx-poor peridotites typically contain interstitial fine-grained material and silicate glass and abundant fluid inclusions in minerals, some have large vesicular melt pockets that apparently formed after primary clinopyroxene and spinel. No volatile-bearing minerals (amphibole, phlogopite, apatite, carbonate) have been found in any of the xenoliths. Fifteen peridotite xenoliths have been analysed for major and trace elements; whole-rock Sr isotope compositions and O isotope composition of all minerals were determined for 13 xenoliths. Trace element composition and Sr-Nd isotope compositions were also determined in 11 clinopyroxene and melt pocket separates. Regular variations of major and moderately incompatible trace elements (e.g. heavy-rare-earth elements) in the peridotite series are consistent with its formation as a result of variable degrees of melt extraction from a fertile lherzolite protolith. The Nd isotope compositions of LREE (light-rare-earth elements)-depleted clinopyroxenes indicate an old (≥ 1 billion years) depletion event. Clinopyroxene-rich lherzolites are commonly depleted in LREE and other incompatible trace elements whereas cpx-poor peridotites show metasomatic enrichment that can be related to the abundance of fine-grained interstitial material, glass and fluid inclusions in minerals. The absence of hydrous minerals, ubiquitous CO₂-rich microinclusions in the enriched samples and negative anomalies of Nb, Hf, Zr, and Ti in primitive mantle-normalized trace element patterns of whole rocks and clinopyroxenes indicate that carbonate melts may have been responsible for the metasomatic enrichment. Low Cu and S contents and high δ³⁴S values in whole-rock peridotites could be explained by interaction with oxidized fluids that may have been derived from subducted oceanic crust. The Sr-Nd isotope compositions of LREE-depleted clinopyroxenes plot either in the MORB (mid-ocean-ridge basalt) field or to the right of the mantle array, the latter may be due to enrichment in radiogenic Sr. The LREE-enriched clinopyroxenes and melt pockets plot in the ocean island-basalt field and have Sr-Nd isotope signatures consistent with derivation from a mixture of the DMM (depleted MORB mantle) and EM (enriched mantle) II sources. Received: 18 January 1996 / Accepted: 23 August 1996     

徐淮地区镁铁质岩石捕虏体单斜辉石中石榴石和石英的出溶

徐淮地区早侏罗世侵入杂岩中榴辉岩,石榴辉石岩和单斜辉石岩捕虏体单斜辉石中可以观察丰富的出溶石英针和石榴石,黝帘石及角闪石的出溶叶片,榴辉岩中出溶石英针的绿辉石核部比其边部相对富含FeO和MgO,贫SiO2,Al2O3和CaO。在石榴辉石岩和单斜辉石岩捕虏体中具有出溶石榴石的单斜辉石。从靠近出溶石榴石的一侧向其核部,Al2O3,Na2O和TiO2含量降低,MgO,SiO2和CaO含量增加,单斜辉石中定向石英针的出溶表明曾经存在有超高压条件下（≥25×10^8Pa)稳定的过硅质绿辉石。单斜辉石中出溶石榴石表明温压条件的降低可能是引起出溶的一个主要原因,捕虏体中的矿物组合和岩相学特征表明它们曾经遭受了榴辉岩相和角闪岩相退化变质作用,这与因压力和温度降低引起矿物出溶的结果相吻合。     

Equilibrium between Clinopyroxene and Host Rocks: Implication for the Magmatic Source and Evolution of Alkali Basalts of the Taohekou Formation in the Northern Daba Mountains, China

The Taohekou Formation is a volcanic-sedimentary terrane formed in the early Silurian in the northern Daba Mountains, China. The volcanic rocks, with dominant alkali basalts and minor mantle xenoliths, are enriched in clinopyroxene phenocrysts. Geochemical analysis shows that the composition of clinopyroxenes from different lithofacies has a close affinity. There is a liner correlation present in composition of clinopyroxenes (including phenocryst, microcrystal and xenocryst) from coarse porphyritic basalts, pillow or fine porphyritic basalts to amygdaloidal basalts. All the clinopyroxenes, except the clinopyroxenes in mantle xenoliths, show a similar pattern of trace elements and REE, which indicates that they are likely products of successive fractional crystallization from cognate magma. Clinopyroxenes in mantle xenoliths, however, are mantle xenocrysts. The crystallization pressure of clinopyroxenes gradually decreases from mantle xenolith, deep-seated xenocryst, coarse porphritic basalts, pillow or fine porphritic basalts, to amygdaloidal basalts, which are 1.92-4.41 GPa, 1.18-2.36 GPa, 1.13-2.05 GPa, 0.44-0.62 GPa and 0.14-0.28 GPa respectively. Calculation results suggest that the primary magma originated from a mantle region deeper than 68 km and stagnates in intervals of 37-68 km, 15-20 km and 5-9 km during its ascent. The alkali basalts are characterized by increasing concentrations of Si and alkaline with the magmatic evolution. Meanwhile, they are markedly enriched in LREE, and the patterns of trace elements and REE are similar to those of oceanic island basalts.     

Comparison between Paleozoic and Cenozoic Lithospheric Mantle in Eastern Part of North China Block: With a Discussion of Mantle Evolution

Basedontheconsiderationswhetherornottherearedif-ferencesincompositionsofthemantlematerial,betweenPale-ozoicandCenozoic,andthedifferencesinrocksamp1esfrommantleliewithinandoutsideoftheTancheng-Lujiang(Tanlu)faultzoneinCenozoic,themineralinclusionsindia-mQndandxenolithsfromMengyinandFuxiankimberliteswerechosenforconstrainingthenatureofPaleozoicSCLM,andthexenolithsfromtheShanwangandQixiabasaltswererepresentativelychosenforconstrainingthenatureofCeno-zoicSCLMinsideandoutsideoftheTanlufault…     

The origin of spongy texture in minerals of mantle xenoliths from the Western Qinling, central China

Spongy textures are observed in mantle peridotite xenoliths hosted in Cenozoic kamafugites from the Western Qinling, central China. These textures are mainly developed in clinopyroxenes and spinels, and occur as spongy rims consisting of low-Na clinopyroxene, ilmenite, and bubbles, enclosing nonspongy cores. The ilmenites and bubbles exhibit shapes and sizes that vary with the width of the spongy rims. The spongy-textured minerals preserve primary shapes and well-defined grain boundaries and do not show apparent interaction with contact minerals or observed melts except the subsequent melts forming melt pockets. The xenocrysts display reactive zoning textures with host magmas rather than spongy textures. Compositionally, the spongy rims are enriched in Ca, Ti, and most trace elements, have high Cr#, and are depleted in Na, Al, Fe, Al^VI, and Al^IV/Al^VI compared with the cores. These observations suggest that melts/host magmas did not play any significant role in the formation of the spongy textures. We therefore propose that spongy-textured clinopyroxenes and spinels in Western Qinling peridotite xenoliths developed from a decompression-induced partial melting event prior to formation of melt pockets and xenolith entrainment in host magmas.     

Evolution and composition of the lithospheric mantle underneath the western Arabian peninsula: constraints from Sr−Nd isotope systematics of mantle xenoliths

On the basis of their textures and mineral compositions spinel-peridotite xenoliths of the Cr-diopside group (group I) from Cenozoic volcanic fields of Arabia can be classified into different subtypes. Type IA is of lherzolitic to harzburgitic composition; mineral compositions are similar to those of group I mantle xenoliths from worldwide occurrences. Type IB xenoliths have lherzolitic to wehrlitic compositions; Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios of the clinopyroxenes (0.862–0.916) and olivines (0.872–0.914) are similar too or slightly lower than those of typical IA minerals. Texturally, type IB xenoliths are distinguished from type IA rocks by the presence of intragranular spinel, intragranular relict Cr-pargasite, and subordinate intergranular Ba-phlogopite (11.1% BaO). The hydrous minerals in type IB xenoliths are interpreted to document an earlier metasomatism 1 which did not affect type IA lithospheric mantle. Subsequent recrystallization caused the partial replacement of Cr-pargasite in type IB materials and resulted in the formation of less hydrous mineral assemblages. Some of the type IA xenoliths are characterized by secondary intergranular amphibole which must have formed recently. The absence or presence of this intergranular amphibole is used to distinguish an anhydrous subtype IA1 from a hydrous subtype IA2. Type IB xenoliths may also contain secondary intergranular amphibole (similar to the one in subtype IA2) or they contain abundant formermelt patches now consisting of glass and phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene, amphibole, and spinel. The secondary intergranular amphiboles and the former melt patches, both are interpreted as results of a second metasomatism (metasomatism 2). In their trace element and isotopic characteristics, type IA1 and type IA2 clinopyroxenes do not exhibit any systematic differences. Furthermore, type IA2 clinopyroxenes are in Sr isotopic disequilibrium with intergranular amphiboles. This suggests that type IA2 clinopyroxenes were not modified during the second metasomatism 2. All type IA clinopyroxenes have low Sr contents (100 ppm); most of them show Sm/Nd ratios higher than inferred for bulk earth. In their ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios, type IA clinopyroxenes exhibit a large spread from 0.70226–0.70376 and from 0.51375–0.51251, respectively. Highly variable Sr/Nd ratios (5.0–79.3) and variable T_UR and T_CHUR model age relationships require different evolutions of the respective mantle portions. Nevertheless, all but two type IA clinopyroxenes form a linear array in a Sm–Nd isochron diagram which probably can not be explained by mixing. If taken as an isochron the slope of the array corresponds to an age of around 700 Ma. The mean initial _Nd of 5.8±1.7 (1) is similar to values for juvenile Pan-African (i.e. 850–650 Ma old) crust of the Arabian-Nubian shield. It is suggested that type IA lithospheric mantle and the juvenile Pan-African crust are two counterparts fractionated from a common source during the earlier stages of the Pan-African. Type IB clinopyroxenes have high Sr contents (200 ppm), variable Sr/Nd ratios (9–111) and Sm/Nd ratios generally below that inferred for bulk earth, and show a small spread in their Sr and Nd isotopic compositions (0.70299–0.70318 and 0.51285–0.51278, respectively). In a Sm–Nd isochron diagram the data points form a linear, horizontal array indicating a close-to-zero age for the earlier metasomatism 1 and suggesting a close genetic relationship to mantle processes related to the formation of the Red Sea.     

Subduction geodynamics in Archean and formation of diamond-bearing lithospheric keels and early continental crust of cratons

The diamond-bearing mantle keels underlying Archean cratons are a unique phenomenon of Early Precambrian geology. The common stable assemblage of the Archean TTG early continental crust and underlying subcontinental lithospheric mantle clearly shows their coupled tectogenesis, which was not repeated in younger geological epochs. One of the least studied aspects of this phenomenon is concerned with the eclogitic xenoliths carried up by kimberlite pipes together with mantle-derived nodules. The eclogitic xenoliths reveal evidence for their subduction-related origin, but the Archean crustal counterparts of such xenoliths remained unknown for a long time, and the question of their crustal source and relationships to the formation of early continental crust remained open. The Archean crustal eclogites recently found in the Belomorian Belt of the Baltic Shield are compared in this paper with eclogitic xenoliths from kimberlites in the context of the formation of both Archean subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) and early continental crust. The crustal eclogites from the Belomorian Belt are identical in mineral and chemical compositions to the eclogite nodules (group B), including their diamond-bearing varieties. The eclogite protoliths are comparable in composition with the primary melts of the Meso- and Neoarchean oceanic crust, which was formed at a potential temperature of the upper mantle which exceeded its present-day temperature by 150–250 K. The reconstructed pathways of the Archean oceanic crust plunging in the upper mantle suggest that the Archean mantle was hotter than in the modern convergence settings. The proposed geodynamic model assumes coupled formation of the Archean diamond-bearing SCLM and growth of early continental crust as a phenomenon related to the specific geodynamics of that time controlled by a higher terrestrial heat flow.     

The geochemistry of carbon in mantle peridotites

Carbon abundances have been determined in mantle xenoliths from alkalic basalts and kimberlites and interpreted in terms of the nature and distribution of the C-rich phases. Anhydrous Cr-diopside Group I spinel lherzolites from basalts typically contain 15–50 ppm C, and amphibole-bearing ones have only marginally higher concentrations (40–100 ppm). Carbon abundances in Al-augite Group II pyroxenites are not significantly different from those of the Group I rocks. Although most LREE-depleted lherzolite xenoliths contain less C than enriched samples, there is no clear relationship between abundances of C and the incompatible trace elements.In the suite of deformed cumulate peridotite and dunite xenoliths of the 1801 Kaupulehu flow of the Hualalai volcano, Hawaii, C abundances are clearly related to texture, modal composition, and style of deformation. The most C-rich rocks are wehrlites in which the clinopyroxenes deformed more brittly and thus possess higher fluid inclusion and crack densities than the surrounding olivines.Regardless of their lithology, all xenoliths from kimberlites (including both peridotites and eclogites) are C-rich compared to those from basalts. Most of the C in these xenoliths exists as calcite or carbonaceous matter associated with serpentine veins and was thus probably contributed by the kimberlite host. Primary carbonates are extremely rare in all xenoliths, although occasionally they have been observed as daughter products in fluid inclusions.Although most C exists as inclusions of CO₂-rich vapor, condensed carbonaceous matter also appears to occur in all rocks as discrete platy grains and as a film on natural surfaces such as grain boundaries and cracks.     

Petrology and geochemistry of peridotite xenoliths from the Letlhakane kimberlites, Botswana

The diamondiferous Letlhakane kimberlites are intruded into the Proterozoic Magondi Belt of Botswana. Given the general correlation of diamondiferous kimberlites with Archaean cratons, the apparent tectonic setting of these kimberlites is somewhat anomalous. Xenoliths in kimberlite diatremes provide a window into the underlying crust and upper mantle and, with the aid of detailed petrological and geochemical study, can help unravel problems of tectonic setting. To provide relevant data on the deep mantle under eastern Botswana we have studied peridotite xenoliths from the Letlhakane kimberlites. The mantle-derived xenolith suite at Letlhakane includes peridotites, pyroxenites, eclogites, megacrysts, MARID and glimmerite xenoliths. Peridotite xenoliths are represented by garnet-bearing harzburgites and lherzolites as well as spinel-bearing lherzolite xenoliths. Most peridotites are coarse, but some are intensely deformed. Both garnet harzburgites and garnet lherzolites are in many cases variably metasomatised and show the introduction of metasomatic phlogopite, clinopyroxene and ilmenite. The petrography and mineral chemistry of these xenoliths are comparable to that of peridotite xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton. Calculated temperature-depth relations show a well-developed correlation between the textures of xenoliths and P-T conditions, with the highest temperatures and pressures calculated for the deformed xenoliths. This is comparable to xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton. However, the P-T gap evident between low-T coarse peridotites and high-T deformed peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton is not seen in the Letlhakane xenoliths. The P-T data indicate the presence of lithospheric mantle beneath Letlhakane, which is at least 150 km thick and which had a 40mW/m² continental geotherm at the time of pipe emplacement. The peridotite xenoliths were in internal Nd isotopic equilibrium at the time of pipe emplacement but a lherzolite xenolith with a relatively low calculated temperature of equilibration shows evidence for remnant isotopic disequilibrium. Both harzburgite and lherzolite xenoliths bear trace element and isotopic signatures of variously enriched mantle (low Sm/Nd, high Rb/Sr), stabilised in subcontinental lithosphere since the Archaean. It is therefore apparent that the Letlhakane kimberlites are underlain by old, cold and very thick lithosphere, probably related to the Zimbabwe craton. The eastern extremity of the Proterozoic Magondi Belt into which the kimberlites intrude is interpreted as a superficial feature not rooted in the mantle. Received: 19 March 1996 / Accepted: 16 October 1996     

Nd-isotopes in selected mantle-derived rocks and minerals and their implications for mantle evolution

The Sm-Nd systematics in a variety of mantle-derived samples including kimberlites, alnoite, carbonatite, pyroxene and amphibole inclusions in alkali basalts and xenolithic eclogites, granulites and a pyroxene megacryst in kimberlites are reported. The additional data on kimberlites strengthen our earlier conclusion that kimberlites are derived from a relatively undifferentiated chondritic mantle source. This conclusion is based on the observation that the _Nd values of most of the kimberlites are near zero. In contrast with the kimberlites, their garnet lherzolite inclusions show both time-averaged Nd enrichment and depletion with respect to Sm. Separated clinopyroxenes in eclogite xenoliths from the Roberts Victor kimberlite pipe show both positive and negative _Nd values suggesting different genetic history. A whole rock lower crustal scapolite granulite xenolith from the Matsoku kimberlite pipe shows a negative _Nd value of -4.2, possibly representative of the base of the crust in Lesotho. It appears that all inclusions, mafic and ultramafic, in kimberlites are unrelated to their kimberlite host.The above data and additional Sm-Nd data on xenoliths in alkali basalts, alpine peridotite and alnoite-carbonatites are used to construct a model for the upper 200 km of the earth's mantle — both oceanic and continental. The essential feature of this model is the increasing degree of fertility of the mantle with depth. The kimberlite's source at depths below 200 km in the subcontinental mantle is the most primitive in this model, and this primitive layer is also extended to the suboceanic mantle. However, it is clear from the Nd-isotopic data in the xenoliths of the continental kimberlites that above 200 km the continental mantle is distinctly different from their suboceanic counterpart.     

Mesozoic lithospheric mantle of the northeastern Siberian craton (evidence from inclusions in kimberlite)

Several thousand clinopyroxene, garnet, and phlogopite inclusions of mantle rocks from Jurassic and Triassic kimberlites in the northeastern Siberian craton have been analyzed and compared with their counterparts from Paleozoic kimberlites, including those rich in diamond. The new and published mineral chemistry data make a basis for an updated classification of kimberlite-hosted clinopyroxenes according to peridotitic and mafic (eclogite and pyroxenite) parageneses. The obtained results place constraints on the stability field of high-Na lherzolitic clinopyroxenes, which affect the coexisting garnet and decrease its Ca contents. As follows from analyses of the mantle minerals from Mesozoic kimberlites, the cratonic lithosphere contained more pyroxenite and eclogite in the Mesozoic than in the Paleozoic. It virtually lacked ultradepleted harzburgite-dunite lithologies and contained scarce eclogitic diamonds. On the other hand, both inclusions in diamond and individual eclogitic minerals from Mesozoic kimberlites differ from eclogitic inclusions in diamond from Triassic sediments in the northeastern Siberian craton. Xenocrystic phlogopites from the D’yanga pipe have ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 384.6, 432.4, and 563.4 Ma, which record several stages of metasomatic impact on the lithosphere. These phlogopites are younger than most of Paleozoic phlogopites from the central part of the craton (Udachnaya kimberlite). Therefore, hydrous mantle metasomatism acted much later on the craton periphery than in the center. Monomineral clinopyroxene thermobarometry shows that Jurassic kimberlites from the northeastern craton part trapped lithospheric material from different maximum depths (170 km in the D’yanga pipe and mostly < 130 km in other pipes). The inferred thermal thickness of cratonic lithosphere decreased progressively from ~ 260 km in the Devonian-Carboniferous to ~ 225 km in the Triassic and to ~ 200 km in the Jurassic, while the heat flux (Hasterok-Chapman model) was 34.9, 36.7, and 39.0 mW/m², respectively. Dissimilar PT patterns of samples from closely spaced coeval kimberlites suggest different emplacement scenarios, which influenced both the PT variations across the lithosphere and the diamond potential of kimberlites.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114001273

Mantle xenoliths(150) and concentrates from late autolithic breccia and porphyritic kimberlite from the Sytykanskaya pipe of the Alakit field(Yakutia) were analyzed by EPMA and LAM ICP methods.In P-TX-f(O_2) diagrams minerals from xenoliths show widest variations,the trends P-Fe~#-CaO,f(O_2)for minerals from porphyric kimberlites are more stepped than for xenocrysts from breccia.Ilmenite PTX points mark moving for protokimberlites from the lithosphere base(7.5 GPa) to pyroxenite lens(5-3.5 GPa) accompanied by Cr increase by AFC and creation of two trends P-Fe#OI ~ 10-12%and13-15%.The Opx-Gar-based mantle geotherm in Alakit field is close to 35 mW/m2 at 65 GPa and 600 C near Moho was determined.The oxidation state for the megacrystalline ilmenites is lower for the metasomatic associations due to reduction of protokimberlites on peridotites than for uncontaminated varieties at the lithosphere base.Highly inclined linear REE patterns with deep HFSE troughs for the parental melts of clinopyroxene and garnet xenocrysts from breccia were influenced by differentiated protokimberlite.Melts for metasomatic xenoliths reveal less inclined slopes without deep troughs in spider diagrams.Garnets reveal S-shaped REE patterns.The clinopyroxenes from graphite bearing Cr-websterites show inclined and inflected in Gd spectrums with LREE variations due to AFC differentiation.Melts for garnets display less inclined patterns and Ba-Sr troughs but enrichment in Nb-Ta-U.The~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar ages for micas from the Alakit mantle xenoliths for disseminated phlogopites reveal Proterozoic(1154 Ma) age of metasomatism in early Rodinia mantle.Veined glimmerites with richterite- like amphiboles mark ~1015 Ma plume event in Rodinia mantle.The ~600-550 Ma stage manifests final Rodinia break-up.The last 385 Ma metasomatism is protokimberlite-related.