Evidence of melt/rock interaction in the Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi,India: Implications for nature of the metasomatic agent

Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi are found within the multiply deformed metasedimentary rocks of Singhbhum Group belonging to North Singhbhum Mobile Belt of eastern India. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical studies reveal that these rocks have suffered a two-stage alteration involving a deeper level modal and cryptic metasomatism and a subsequent shallower depth pervasive hydrothermal alteration. Cryptic metasomatism is defined by elevated LREE contents of the wehrlite and its clinopyroxne grains. Metasomatism induced changes in the modal mineralogy of the rocks include the absence of primary orthopyroxene grains, presence of secondary diopside-phlogopite(now present as vermiculite) defining disequilibrium reaction textures and secondary orthopyroxene rims around serpentinized olivine. The mineralogical and geochemical changes due to the metasomatic event present a contrasting picture in regard to the metasomatic history of the rocks. Possible scenarios involving a single stage or multiple stage metasomatism events have been discussed while explaining the metasomatic reactions that took place. An attempt has been made to estimate the REE concentrations of the final equilibrating melt from REE contents of clinopyroxene grains of the wehrlite. The possibility of the LREE-enriched equilibrating melt of the wehrlite rocks(the deeper level metasomatic agent) being similar to residual melts from the E-MORB type parental melts of nearby gabbro suite has been ruled out by geochemical modeling. REE abundance patterns of several natural enriched melts have been compared with REE pattern of calculated LREE-enriched equilibrating melt of the wehrlite and most resemblance has been observed with calcic and potassic melts. It is therefore suggested that the Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi has been affected by a calcio-potassic melt in deeper level, prior to the shallow level serpentinization event.     

Petrogenesis of the Pt–Pd mineralized Jinbaoshan ultramafic intrusion in the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province,SW China

The Jinbaoshan ultramafic intrusion is a sheet-like body with a thick wehrlite unit in the center and thin pyroxenite units at the margins. PGE are enriched in several disseminated sulfide zones in the intrusion. Olivine from the intrusion has low Fo and depleted Ni contents compared to olivine from coeval Emeishan picrites. Whole rock major and trace element concentrations suggest that the Jinbaoshan wehrlites originally contained <30% trapped liquid. The total amount of sulfide in the rocks exceeds that which could have been dissolved in the trapped liquid. The Jinbaoshan wehrlites are interpreted to represent residual assemblages formed by dissolution of plagioclase by passing magma. No clear evidence of crustal contamination is indicated by S, Nd and Os isotopes. We envision that sulfide saturation occurred at depth due to olivine and chromite crystallization. Immiscible sulfide droplets were transported to the Jinbaoshan conduit where they accumulated and reacted with magma successively passing through the conduit to achieve high PGE concentrations.     

Origin of Fe-rich lherzolites and wehrlites from Tok,SE Siberia by reactive melt percolation in refractory mantle peridotites

Lherzolite–wehrlite (LW) series xenoliths from the quaternary Tok volcanic field in the southeastern Siberian craton are distinguished from the more common lherzolite–harzburgite (LH) series by (a) low Mg numbers (0.84–0.89) at high modal olivine (66–84%) and (b) widespread replacement of orthopyroxene (0–12%) and spinel by clinopyroxene (7–22%). The LW series peridotites are typically enriched in Ca, Fe, Mn and Ti, and depleted in Si, Ni and Cr relative to refractory LH series rocks (Mg number ≥0.89), which are metasomatised partial melting residues. Numerical modelling of Fe–Mg solid/liquid exchange during melt percolation demonstrates that LW series rocks can form by reaction of host refractory peridotites with evolved (Mg numbers 0.6–0.7), silica-undersaturated silicate melts at high melt/rock ratios, which replace orthopyroxene with clinopyroxene and decrease Mg numbers. This process is most likely related to underplating and fractionation of basaltic magma in the shallow mantle, which also produced olivine–clinopyroxene cumulates found among the Tok xenoliths.     

Depletion and enrichment processes in the lithospheric mantle beneath the Kola Peninsula (Russia): Evidence from spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths

A suite of spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths from a Devonian kimberlite dyke near Kandalaksha, Kola Peninsula, Russia, has been studied to determine the nature of the lithospheric mantle beneath the northern Baltic Shield. Olivine modal estimates and Fo content in the spinel lherzolite xenoliths reveal that the lithosphere beneath the Archaean–Proterozoic crust has some similarities to Phanerozoic lithospheric mantle elsewhere. Modal metasomatism is indicated by the presence of Ti-rich and Ti-poor phlogopite, pargasite, apatite and picroilmenite in the xenoliths. Wehrlite xenoliths are considered to represent localised high-pressure cumulates from mafic–ultramafic melts trapped within the mantle as veins or lenses. Equilibration temperatures range from 775 to 969 °C for the spinel lherzolite xenoliths and from 817 to 904 °C for the wehrlites.

Laser ablation ICP-MS data for incompatible trace elements in primary clinopyroxenes and metasomatic amphiboles from the spinel lherzolites show moderate levels of LREE enrichment. Replacement clinopyroxenes in the wehrlites are less enriched in LREE but richer in TiO₂. Fractional melt modelling for Y and Yb concentrations in clinopyroxenes from the spinel lherzolites indicates 7–8% partial melting of a primitive source. Such a volume of partial melt could be related to the 2.4–2.5 Ga intrusion of basaltic magmas (now metamorphosed to garnet granulites) in the lower crust of the northern Baltic Shield. The lithosphere beneath the Kola Peninsula has undergone several episodes of metasomatism. Both the spinel lherzolites and wehrlites were subjected to an incomplete carbonatitic metasomatic event, probably related to an early carbonatitic phase associated with the 360–380 Ma Devonian alkaline magmatism. This resulted in crystallisation of secondary clinopyroxene rims at the expense of primary orthopyroxenes, with development of secondary forsteritic olivine and apatite. Two separate metasomatic events resulted in the crystallisation of the Ti–Fe-rich amphibole, phlogopite and ilmenite in the wehrlites and the low Ti–Fe amphibole and phlogopite in the spinel lherzolites. Alternatively, a single metasomatic event with a chemically evolving melt may have produced the significant compositional differences seen in the amphibole and phlogopite between the spinel lherzolites and wehrlites. The calculated REE pattern of a melt in equilibrium with clinopyroxenes from a cpx-rich pocket is identical to that of the kimberlite host, indicating a close petrological relationship.     

Metasomatism-induced wehrlite formation in the upper mantle beneath the Nógrád-G?m?r Volcanic Field(Northern Pannonian Basin):Evidence from xenoliths

Clinopyroxene-enriched upper mantle xenoliths classified as wehrlites are common(～20% of all xenoliths) in the central part of the Nograd-G(o| ")m(o|")r Volcanic Field(NGVF),situated in the northern margin of the Pannonian Basin in northern Hungary and southern Slovakia.In this study,we thoroughly investigated 12 wehrlite xenoliths,two from each wehrlite-bearing occurrence,to determine the conditions of their formation.Specific textural features,including clinopyroxene-rich patches in an olivine-rich lithology,orthopyroxene remnants in the cores of newlyformed clinopyroxenes and vermicular spinel forms all suggest that wehrlites were formed as a result of intensive interaction between a metasomatic agent and the peridotite wall rock.Based on the major and trace element geochemistry of the rock-forming minerals,significant enrichment in basaltic(Fe,Mn,Ti) and high field strength elements(Nb,Ta,Hf,Zr) was observed,compared to compositions of common lherzolite xenoliths.The presence of orthopyroxene remnants and geochemical trends in rock-forming minerals suggest that the metasomatic process ceased before complete wehrlitization was achieved.The composition of the metasomatic agent is interpreted to be a mafic silicate melt,which was further confirmed by numerical modelling of trace elements using the plate model.The model results also show that the melt/rock ratio played a key role in the degree of petrographic and geochemical transformation.The lack of equilibrium and the conclusions drawn by using variable lherzolitic precursors in the model both suggest that wehrlitization was the last event that occurred shortly before xenolith entrainment in the host mafic melt.We suggest that the wehrlitization and the Plio-Pleistocene basaltic volcanism are related to the same magmatic event.