Petrology and geochemistry of the ultramafic–mafic Mawpyut complex,Meghalaya: a Sylhet trap differentiation centre in northeastern India

The present article describes, for the first time, petrological and geochemical details of the Mawpyut differentiated complex which is related to the Sylhet trap located at Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, northeastern India. The Mawpyut complex occurs as an arcuate body that intrudes into the surrounding Shillong Group rocks. The complex in general contains ‘ultramafic’ and ‘mafic’ rocks, as well as minor syenitic veins that postdate the main units. The lithotypes correspond to cumulate and noncumulate units. The cumulate unit is represented by olivine clinopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, plagioclase‐bearing ultramafic, olivine gabbronorite, mela‐gabbronorite, melagabbro, orthopyroxene gabbro, and gabbro, all with a pronounced cumulus texture. The noncumulate unit is marked by gabbro, monzonite, monzodiorite, and quartzsyenite. The use of several major and trace element variation diagrams suggests that magmatic differentiation led to the formation of cumulate and noncumulate units. In chondrite‐normalized REE diagrams the cumulate rocks show flat LREE and MREE patterns and a moderate positive Eu anomaly (in plagioclase‐bearing ultramafics) due to plagioclase cumulation. The rocks of the noncumulate unit show a strongly fractionated REE pattern and no Eu anomaly. The noncumulate mafic rocks are geochemically comparable to high‐phosphorous/high‐titanium basalts (HPT) indicative of low pressure fractional crystallization. In a primitive mantle‐normalized multielement diagram some of the cumulate rocks show pronounced negative anomalies for K and P, indicating anorogenic mafic magmatism in a within‐plate setting. The rocks of the noncumulate unit show a slight negative anomaly for Yb and a Nb–Ta trough, indicating a subduction‐related signature that perhaps is inherited from subducted sedimentary rocks incorporated during crustal contamination of the derived magma (left after crystal cumulation) with country rocks. Various trace element ratios for the cumulate mafic rocks indicate parent EMI/EMII/HIMU sources with a very limited crustal signature. The noncumulate mafic rocks (corresponding to the derived evolved magma) indicate EMI/EMII/HIMU sources with a pronounced crustal contamination. The Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the Mawpyut samples typically plot in the continental flood basalt field, with an affinity to the EMII source. The isotopic compositions of the noncumulate rocks also clearly indicate crustal contamination. We suggest that partial melting (involving garnet in the residue) of the enriched mantle source EMI/EMII/HIMU could have derived the parental melt; this melt, in turn, underwent assimilation and fractional crystallization to produce the variety of cumulate‐noncumulate lithologies of the Mawpyut complex. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新疆东昆仑达拉库岸镁铁-超镁铁质岩体年代学、地球化学及成矿条件

达拉库岸镁铁-超镁铁质岩体位于东昆仑造山带南带之喀拉米兰晚古生代沟弧系,主要由二辉橄榄岩、单辉橄榄岩、橄榄二辉岩、单辉辉石岩和辉长岩组成。辉长岩的锆石U-Pb谐和年龄为244.4±1.5Ma,属于中三叠世。岩石普遍弱富集稀土元素和大离子亲石元素(Rb、Ba、Sr),亏损不相容元素(Nb、Ta)。岩体原生岩浆为高镁拉斑玄武质岩浆(Mg O 11.4%,Fe O10.8%)。元素地球化学和Nd、Sr同位素组成特征表明岩浆源区为富集岩石圈地幔,岩浆运移和侵位过程中遭受不同程度地壳物质的同化混染作用。依据橄榄石组分模拟获得橄榄石结晶过程中母岩浆达到硫饱和,并发生硫化物的熔离作用。从岩体特征、矿石结构、原生岩浆性质、深部硫化物熔离和物探信息等方面综合分析,岩体具有形成岩浆型铜镍硫化物矿床的良好条件。     

Mineral chemistry of ultramafic and mafic cumulates as an indicator of the arc-related origin of the Mersin ophiolite (southern Turkey)

The Mersin ophiolite, represented by approximately 6-km-thick oceanic lithospheric section on the southern flank of the Taurus calcareous axis, formed in the Mesozoic Neo-Tethyan ocean some time during Late Cretaceous in southern Turkey. The ultramafic and mafic cumulates having over 3 km thickness consist of dunite ± chromite, wehrlite, clinopyroxenite at the bottom and pass into gabbroic cumulates in which leucogabbro, olivine-gabbro and anorthosite are seen. Crystallization order is olivine (Fo₉₁₋₈₀) ± chromian spinel (Cr# 60-80), clinopyroxene (Mg#₉₅₋₇₇), plagioclase (An_95.6−91.6) and orthopyroxene (Mg#₆₈₋₇₇). Mineral chemistry of ultramafic and mafic cumulates suggest that highly magnesian olivines, clinopyroxenes and absence of plagioclase in the basal ultramafic cumulates are in good agreement with products of high-pressure crystal fractionation of primary basaltic melts beneath an island-arc environment. Major, trace element geochemistry of the cumulative rocks also indicate that Mersin ophiolite was formed in an arc environment. Coexisting Ca-rich plagioclase and Forich olivine in the gabbroic cumulates show arc cumulate gabbro characteristics. Field relations as well as the geochemical data support that Mersin ophiolite formed in a supra-subduction zone tectonic setting in the southern branch of the Neo-Tethys in southern Turkey.     

New textural and mineralogical constraints on the origin of the Hongge Fe-Ti-V oxide deposit, SW China

The Hongge magmatic Fe-Ti-V oxide deposit in the Panxi region, SW China, is hosted in a layered mafic–ultramafic intrusion. This 2.7-km-thick, lopolith-like intrusion consists of the lower, middle, and upper zones, which are composed of olivine clinopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, and gabbro, respectively. Abundant Fe-Ti oxide layers mainly occur in the middle zone and the lower part of the upper zone. Fe-Ti oxides include Cr-rich and Cr-poor titanomagnetite and granular ilmenite. Cr-rich titanomagnetite is commonly disseminated in the olivine clinopyroxenite of the lower parts of the lower and middle zones and contains 1.89 to 14.9 wt% Cr₂O₃ and 3.20 to 16.2 wt% TiO₂, whereas Cr-poor titanomagnetite typically occurs as net-textured and massive ores in the upper middle and upper zones and contains much lower Cr₂O₃ (<0.4 wt%) but more variable TiO₂ (0.11 to 18.2 wt%). Disseminated Cr-rich titanomagnetite in the ultramafic rocks is commonly enclosed in either olivine or clinopyroxene, whereas Cr-poor titanomangetite of the net-textured and massive ores is mainly interstitial to clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The lithology of the Hongge intrusion is consistent with multiple injections of magmas, the lower zone being derived from a single pulse of less differentiated ferrobasaltic magma and the middle and upper zones from multiple pulses of more differentiated magmas. Cr-rich titanomagnetite in the disseminated ores of the lower and middle zones is interpreted to represent an early crystallization phase whereas clusters of Cr-poor titanomagnetite, granular ilmenite, and apatite in the net-textured ores of the middle and upper zones are thought to have formed from an Fe-Ti-(P)-rich melt segregated from a differentiated ferrobasaltic magma as a result of liquid immiscibility. The dense Fe-Ti-(P)-rich melt percolated downward through the underlying silicate crystal mush to form net-textured and massive Fe-Ti oxide ores, whereas the coexisting Si-rich melt formed the overlying plagioclase-rich rocks in the intrusion.     

Vanadium bearing titaniferous magnetite ore bodies of Ganjang,Karbi-Anglong District,Northeastern India

A new occurrence of (syenite-hosted) Vanadium bearing titaniferous magnetite ore body has been reported from Ganjang (26°09′35″ N: 93°20′ E), Karbi-Anglong, Northeastern India. The magnetite ore bodies have lumpy and sporadic occurrences within the host syenite pluton intrusive into gneissic country rocks. Ore microscopic studies reveal that magnetite is often associated with haematite and ilmenite depicting different textural patterns. Critical consideration of several elemental patterns suggests magmatic differentiation to be main ore-forming process. The ore body is suggested to have been formed as late stage segregation from a differentiating alkaline magma in a fluid enriched milieu.     

Spinel and orthopyroxene exsolved from clinopyroxene in the Haladala pluton in the middle Tianshan (Xinjiang,China)

Mineralogy and Petrology - The Haladala pluton, consisting of troctolite, olivine gabbro and gabbro with zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age of 309 ± 2&nbsp;Ma (MSWD = 0.72),...     

Evaluation of phase chemistry and petrochemical aspects of Samchampi-Samteran differentiated alkaline complex of Mikir Hills,northeastern India

The Samchampi-Samteran alkaline complex occurs as a plug-like pluton within the Precambrian granite gneisses of Mikir Hills, Assam, northeastern India and it is genetically related to Sylhet Traps. The intrusive complex is marked by dominant development of syenite within which ijolitemelteigite suite of rocks is emplaced with an arcuate outcrop pattern. Inliers of alkali pyroxenite and alkali gabbro occur within this ijolite-melteigite suite of rocks. The pluton is also traversed by younger intrusives of nepheline syenite and carbonatite. Development of sporadic, lumpy magnetite ore bodies is also recorded within the pluton. Petrographic details of the constituent lithomembers of the pluton have been presented following standard nomenclatorial rules. Overall pyroxene compositions range from diopside to aegirine augite while alkali feldspars are typically orthoclase and plagioclase in syenite corresponds to oligoclase species. Phase chemistry of nepheline is suggestive of Na-rich alkaline character of the complex. Biotite compositions are typically restricted to a uniform compositional range and they belong to ‘biotite’ field in the relevant classification scheme. Garnets (developed in syenite and melteigite) typically tend to be Ti-rich andradite, which on a closer scan can be further designated as melanites. Opaque minerals mostly correspond to magnetite. Use of Lindsley’s pyroxene thermometric method suggests an equilibration temperature from ∼450°–600°C for melteigite/alkali gabbro and ∼400°C for syenite. Critical assessment of other thermometric methods reveals a temperature of equilibration of ∼700°–1350°C for ijolite-melteigite suite of rocks in contrast to a relatively lower equilibration temperature of ∼600°C for syenite. Geobarometric data based on pyroxene chemistry yield an equilibration pressure of 5.32–7.72 kb for ijolite, melteigite, alkali pyroxenite, alkali gabbro and nepheline syenite. The dominant syenite member of the intrusive plug records a much higher (∼11 kb) equilibration pressure indicating a deeper level of intrusion. Major oxide variations of constituent lithomembers with respect to differentiation index (D.I.) corroborate a normal magmatic differentiation. A prominent role of liquid immiscibility is envisaged from field geological, petrographic and petrochemical evidences. Tectonic discrimination diagrams involving clinopyroxene chemistry strongly suggest within plate alkaline affinity for the parental magma which is in conformity with the regional plume tectonics.     

Simple statistical and mineralogical studies as petrogenetic indicator for neoproterozoic mylliem porphyritic granites of east Khasi Hills,Meghalaya, Northeastern India

The porphyritic granite body (∼ 600 Ma) around Mylliem (25°32′N: 91°52′E), east Khasi hills district, Meghalaya occurs as a distinct intrusive body into the host rock of low- grade meta-sediments belonging to Proterozoic Shillong Group. The porphyritic granite body manifests prominent lath- shaped feldspar phenocrysts giving rise to dominant porphyritic texture. Further, this porphyritic granite body is characterized by primary foliation (defined by parallely arranged feldspar laths), tongues and appophyses and xenoliths of older metamorphics. Petrographically, the Mylliem porphyritic granite is grey leucocratic, coarse grained, phanerocrystalline with modal variants ranging from granite to granodiorite tending to tonalite. Simple statistical studies based on correlation coefficient values involving modal variables of the Mylliem porphyritic granite bodies appear significant in majority of the cases indicating magmatic crystallization. Use of relevant thermometric method indicates temperature of equilibration of the body in the range of 369°C to 507°C. The crystallization of the Mylliem porphyritic granite pluton initiated at an average lithostatic pressure in the tune of ∼11 Kb followed by dominant P_H2O controlled milieu. Spatially projected mineralogical parameters suggest a general trend of the magmatic cooling of the body from margin inward with sudden influx of volatile matters that occasionally offsets mineralogical trends.     

Sequence of magma emplacement and sulfide saturation in the Gaojiacun–Lengshuiqing intrusive complex (SW China)

The Lengshuiqing area contains several small intrusions made up of peridotite ± quartz diorite ± granite spatially associated with the Gaojiacun pluton (gabbroids + peridotite + diorite). Ni–Cu sulfide ore occur at Lengshuiqing, hosted in peridotite. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating produced the ages of 803 ± 4.2 Ma (peridotite), 807 ± 2.6 Ma (oikocrystic hornblende gabbro), 809 ± 4.3 Ma (hornblende gabbronorites) for the Gaojiacun pluton and 807 ± 3.8 Ma (diorite, intrusion I), 817 ± 6.3 Ma (quartz diorite, intrusion II) and 817 ± 5 Ma (peridotite, intrusion 101) for Lengshuiqing. These ages suggest the emplacement of the Gaojiacun pluton later than the intrusions from Lengshuiqing. The olivine from Lengshuiqing does not contain sulfide inclusions and is relatively Ni-rich (1,150–1,550 ppm Ni), suggesting its crystallisation before the sulfide saturation that generated the Ni–Cu deposits. The olivine of the gabbros in the Gaojiacun pluton is Ni-poor (250–800 ppm), which indicates crystallisation from a severely metal-depleted magma after a sulfide saturation event. The olivine in the peridotites from the Gaojiacun pluton has 800–1,150 ppm Ni and contains sulfide inclusions. Moreover, geological evidence suggests the genesis of the peridotites from Gaojiacun in conduits that were ascending through the gabbroids. A sequence of at least three stages of magma emplacement is proposed: (1) Lengshuiqing; (2) gabbroids from Gaojiacun; (3) peridotites from Gaojiacun. Given the age differences, the intrusions at Lengshuiqing and the Gaojiacun pluton might have been produced by different magmatic events.     

Gabbroic intrusions and magmatic metasomatism in harzburgites from the Garrett transform fault: implications for the nature of the mantle–crust transition at fast-spreading ridges

 Mafic and ultramafic rocks sampled in the Garrett transform fault at 13°28′S on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) provide insight on magmatic processes occurring under a fast-spreading ridge system. Serpentinized harzburgite from Garrett have modal, mineral and bulk chemical compositions consistent with being mantle residue of a high degree of partial melting. Along with other EPR localities (Terevaka transform fault and Hess Deep), these harzburgites are among the most residual and depleted in magmatophile elements of the entire mid-ocean ridge system. Geothermometric calculations using olivine-spinel pairs indicate a mean temperature of 759 ± 25 °C for Garrett residual harzburgite similar to the average of 755 °C for tectonite peridotites from slow-spreading ridges. Results of this study show that mid-ocean ridge peridotites are subject to both fractional melting and metasomatic processes. Evidence for mantle metasomatism is ubiquitous in harzburgite and is likely widespread in the entire Garrett peridotite massif. Magma-harzburgite interactions are very well preserved as pyroxenite lenses, plagioclase dunite pockets or dunitic wall rock to intrusive gabbros. Abundant gabbroic rocks are found as intrusive pockets and dikes in harzburgite and have been injected in the following sequence: olivine-gabbro, gabbro, gabbronorite, and ferrogabbro. The wide variety of magmas that crystallized into gabbros contrast sharply with present-day intratransform basalts, which have a highly primitive composition. Ferrogabbro dikes have been intruded at the ridge-transform intersection and as they represent the last event of a succession of gabbros intrusive into the peridotite, they likely constrain the origin of the entire peridotite massif to the same location. In peridotite massifs from Pacific transform faults (Garrett and Terevaka), primitive to fractionated basaltic magmas have flowed and crystallized variable amounts of dunite (±plagioclase) and minor pyroxenite, followed by a succession of cumulate gabbroic dikes which have extensively intruded and modified the host harzburgitic rocks. The lithosphere and style of magmatic activity within a fast-slipping transform fault (outcrops of ultramafic massif, discontinuous gabbro pockets intrusive in peridotite, magnesian and phyric basalts) are more analogous to slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge type than the East Pacific Rise. Received: 13 October 1997 / Accepted: 5 February 1999     

Complete preservation of ophiolite suite from south Andaman,India: A mineral-chemical perspective

Field studies supplemented by petrographic analyses clearly reveal complete preservation of ophiolite suite from Port Blair (11°39′N: 92°45′E) to Chiriyatapu (11°30′24″N: 92°42′30″E) stretch of South Andaman. The ophiolite suite reveals serpentinite at the base which is overlain unconformably by cumulate ultramafic-mafic members with discernible cumulus texture and igneous layering. Basaltic dykes are found to cut across the cumulate ultramafic-mafic members. The succession is capped by well exposed pillow basalts interlayered with arkosic sediments. Olivine from the basal serpentinite unit are highly magnesian (Fo_80.1–86.2). All clinopyroxene analyses from cumulate pyroxenite, cumulate gabbro and basaltic dyke are discriminated to be ‘Quad’ and are uniformly restricted to the diopside field. Composition of plagioclase in different lithomembers is systematically varying from calcic to sodic endmembers progressively from cumulate pyroxenite to pillow basalt through cumulate gabbro and basaltic dyke. Plagioclase phenocrysts from basaltic dyke are found to be distinctly zoned (An_60.7-An_35.3) whereas groundmass plagioclase are relatively sodic (An₃₃-An_23.5). Deduced thermobarometric data from different lithomembers clearly correspond to the observed preservation of complete ophiolite suite.     

Petrology,geochemistry and geochronology of the magmatic suite from the Jianzha Complex,central China: Petrogenesis and geodynamic implications

The intermediate–mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Jianzha Complex (JZC) at the northern margin of the West Qinling Orogenic Belt have been interpreted to be a part of an ophiolite suite. In this study, we present new geochronological, petrological, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data and provide a different interpretation. The JZC is composed of dunite, wehrlite, olivine clinopyroxenite, olivine gabbro, gabbro, and pyroxene diorite. The suite shows characteristics of Alaskan-type complexes, including (1) the low CaO concentrations in olivine; (2) evidence of crystal accumulation; (3) high calcic composition of clinopyroxene; and (4) negative correlation between FeO^tot and Cr₂O₃ of spinels. Hornblende and phlogopite are ubiquitous in the wehrlites, but minor orthopyroxene is also present. Hornblende and biotite are abundant late crystallized phases in the gabbros and diorites. The two pyroxene-bearing diorite samples from JZC yield zircon U–Pb ages of 245.7 ± 1.3 Ma and 241.8 ± 1.3 Ma. The mafic and ultramafic rocks display slightly enriched LREE patterns. The wehrlites display moderate to weak negative Eu anomalies (0.74–0.94), whereas the olivine gabbros and gabbros have pronounced positive Eu anomalies. Diorites show slight LREE enrichment, with (La/Yb)_N ratios ranging from 4.42 to 7.79, and moderate to weak negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu¹ = 0.64–0.86). The mafic and ultramafic rocks from this suite are characterized by negative Nb–Ta–Zr anomalies as well as positive Pb anomalies. Diorites show pronounced negative Ba, Nb–Ta and Ti spikes, and typical Th–U, K and Pb peaks. Combined with petrographic observations and chemical variations, we suggest that the magmatism was dominantly controlled by fractional crystallization and crystal accumulation, with limited crustal contamination. The arc-affinity signature and weekly negative to moderately positive ε_Nd(t) values (−2.3 to 1.2) suggest that these rocks may have been generated by partial melting of the juvenile sub-continental lithospheric mantle that was metasomatized previously by slab-derived fluids. The lithologies in the JZC are related in space and time and originated from a common parental magma. Geochemical modeling suggests that their primitive parental magma had a basaltic composition. The ultramafic rocks were generated through olivine accumulation, and variable degrees of fractional crystallization with minor crustal contamination produced the diorites. The data presented here suggest that the subduction in West Qinling did not cease before the early stage of the Middle Triassic (∼242 Ma), a back-arc developed in the northern part of West Qinling during this period, and the JZC formed within the incipient back-arc.     

Geochemical structure of the Yoko-Dovyren layered dunite-troctolite-gabbro-norite massif,northern Baikal area

The application of the principle and algorithm of the cluster analysis of rock compositions in magmatic complexes, which were described elsewhere, made it possible to reveal the spaceless and spatial geochemical structure of the Yoko-Dovyren layered mafic-ultramafic massif. The diversity of rocks composing this intrusion was demonstrated to comprise eleven discrete geochemical types (clusters): dunites, harzburgites, melanotroctolites, troctolites, two types of olivine gabbro, two types of olivine gabbronorites, quartz gabbronorites, and granophyres. These geochemical types of rocks and the corresponding fractionation parameters (the iron atomic fraction f of mafic minerals and the anorthite concentration An of plagioclase) define a succession corresponding to the tendencies in the crystallization of a magma of respective composition. This geochemical succession is in complete agreement with the succession in which rocks were formed in the intrusion (from dunite in its bottom part to quartz gabbronorites and granophyres near its roof) and is complicated by cyclical repetitions. The main tendency revealed in the cyclic layering is as follows: cyclical intercalations consist of rocks corresponding to the neighboring members of the rock succession (plagiodunites and melanotroctolites, melanotroctolites and troctolites, troctolites and olivine gabbro, olivine gabbro and olivine gabbronorites). These tendencies are closely similar to those identified in the Kivakka intrusion, a fact suggesting that these tendencies can be common for all layered complexes of mafic and ultramafic rocks. Original Russian Text ? A.A. Yaroshevskii, S.V. Bolikhovskaya, E.V. Koptev-Dvornikov, 2006, published in Geokhimiya, 2006, No. 10, pp. 1027–1039.     

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the forbidden zone: the Xugou garnet peridotite, Sulu terrane, eastern China

The Xugou garnet peridotite body of the southern Sulu ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) terrane is enclosed in felsic gneiss, bounded by faults, and consists of harzburgite and lenses of garnet clinopyroxenite and eclogite. The peridotite is composed of variable amounts of olivine (Fo₉₁), enstatite (En_92?93), garnet (Alm_20?23Prp_53?58Knr_6?9Grs_12?18), diopside and rare chromite. The ultramafic protolith has a depleted residual mantle composition, indicated by a high‐Mg number, very low CaO, Al₂O₃ and total REE contents compared to primary mantle and other Sulu peridotites. Most garnet (Prp_44?58) clinopyroxenites are foliated. Except for rare kyanite‐bearing eclogitic bands, most eclogites contain a simple assemblage of garnet (Alm_29?34Prp_32?50Grs_15?39) + omphacite (Jd_24?36) + minor rutile. Clinopyroxenite and eclogite exhibit LREE‐depleted and LREE‐enriched patterns, respectively, but both have flat HREE patterns. Normalized La, Sm and Yb contents indicate that both eclogite and garnet clinopyroxenite formed by high‐pressure crystal accumulation (+ variable trapped melt) from melts resulting from two‐stage partial melting of a mantle source. Recrystallized textures and P–T estimates of 780–870 °C, 5–7 GPa and a metamorphic age of 231 ± 11 Ma indicate that both mafic and ultramafic protoliths experienced Triassic UHP metamorphism in the P–T forbidden zone with an extremely low thermal gradient (< 5 °C km^?1), and multistage retrograde recrystallization during exhumation. Develop of prehnite veins in clinopyroxenite, eclogite, felsic blocks and country rock gneiss, and replacements of eclogitic minerals by prehnite, albite, white mica, and K‐feldspar indicate low‐temperature metasomatism.     

Assimilation of peridotite in zoned calc-alkaline plutonic complexes: evidence from the Big Jim complex,Washington Cascades

The Big Jim complex is a concentrically zoned ultramafic to felsic plutonic complex which intruded the pelitic Chiwaukum schist. Most of the major plutonic rock types (from websterite through hornblendite, gabbronorite, hornblende gabbro and diorite, to granodiorite) enclose harzburgite and metaperidotite xenoliths similar to foliated metaperidotite lenses included in the Chiwaukum schist. The larger xenoliths preserve tectonite fabrics. All have Mg#'s (mole fraction MgO/(MgO+FeO^*)) from 0.90 to 0.89, the same as those of Chiwaukum metaperidotites, and distinctly different from undeformed Big Jim dunite (Mg#'s 0.84 to 0.82) and websterite (0.82 to 0.78). Contact relations indicate widespread, stepwise replacement of harzburgite by pyroxenite, hornblendite, gabbro and diorite. Thermodynamic modelling using an expanded regular solution model for silicate liquids (Ghiorso 1985; Ghiorso and Carmichael 1985) predicts that reaction between olivine (Fo90) and a liquid with the composition of Big Jim diorite +1.5 wt% H₂O, at 1,100° C and 3 kb, would produce websterite (Mg#'s 0.75 to 0.81) and dunite (0.79 to 0.82). This process is exothermic and results in a negative change in volume, since it increases total solid mass. Under conditions of decreasing temperature, modelled crystal fractionation with assimilation of olivine reproduces important features of the chemical variation observed in the Big Jim complex where crystal fractionation alone fails. The Big Jim complex has affinities with other ultramafic to felsic plutonic complexes such as the Bear Mountain complex (Snoke et al. 1981, 1982) and the Emigrant Gap complex (James 1971). The latter have wehrlite and clinopyroxenite, rather than websterite, but both have concentric zoning, with olivine-bearing rock types surrounded by successively more felsic pyroxenite, gabbro and diorite. In general, concentrically zoned complexes of this type may form where magma reacts with mantle-derived wall rock or ultramafic cumulates. Assimilation of peridotite in fractionating magma may be important in subduction-related magmatic arcs.     

Sm–Nd geochronology and geochemistry of a Neoproterozoic gabbro in the Kuluketage block,north-western China

In this article, we report whole-rock and mineral Sm–Nd isotopic and whole-rock elemental and Sr–Nd isotopic data of Xingdi No. 1 mafic–ultramafic intrusion in the western Kuluketage block, north-eastern Tarim. Xingdi No. 1 mafic–ultramafic intrusion is the largest in the Xingdi mafic–ultramafic belt, with an exposed area of ca. 20 km². It intruded into the Palaeoproterozoic basement. Gabbro is the major rock type and there is minor olivine pyroxenite. Sm–Nd geochronometry of the gabbro gives an isochron age of 761.2 ± 31.2 million years, identical to the intrusive age of Xingdi No. 2 pluton (760 ± 6 million years). The gabbro is systematically enriched in large ion lithosphile elements and light rare earth elements and depleted in high field strength elements and heavy rare earth elements. The studied rocks are characterized by low whole-rock and mineral ?Nd_(t) values (?7.8 to??7.1) and elevated (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) _i values (0.7066–0.7073). These geochemical characteristics, together with the presence of abundant hornblende, biotite, bladed biotite enclosed in amphibole, and crescent-shaped Palaeoproterozoic wall-rock xenoliths in the intrusion, are key features of magma mixing in the source or assimilation during its emplacement. The rocks have a Zr/Y ratio of 3.81–13, which falls in the within-plate basalt area. As Xingdi No. 1 and No. 2 plutons formed at the same period and display similar geochemical characteristics, we propose that they formed within the same tectonic setting and were derived from the same source, but No. 1 pluton experienced a higher extent of evolution and contamination. Previous studies have shown that the Neoproterozoic tectonic and magmatic events in Kuluketage comprise syn-collisional granite around TC (ca. 1.0–0.9 Ga), post-collisional K-rich granite and alkaline mafic–ultramafic intrusions (ca. 830–800 Ma), and rifting-related mafic–ultramafic plutons, dikes, and bimodal volcanic rocks (ca. 774–744 Ma).     

Petrology and Emplacement of Reversely Zoned Gabbro-Diorite Plutons in the Smartville Complex, Northern California

Gabbroic plutons are part of the intrusive substructure of theSmartville Complex, a late Jurassic, rifted, ensimatic arc locatedin the northern Sierra Nevada of California. The plutons rangefrom unzoned, equant bodies of olivine gabbro less than 1 kmin diameter to elongate intrusions up to 25 km in length thatare reversly zoned from olivine gabbro cores to quartz dioriterims. The felsic rocks dip inward beneath the mafic core, indicatingthat this zoning reversal continues to depth. The zoned plutonshave relatively shallow keels. We interpret the reversed zoningas an emplacement feature, analogous to the compositional zoningin a zoned tephra sheet. It formed as a result of tapping analready zoned, deeper level magma chamber. Whether the originalzoning of the magma was concentric or stratiform cannot be readilydeduced. During emplacement, considerable amounts of cumulaterocks were mobilized. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the reversely zoned plutonsindicate that they contain two suites of rocks: a cumulate suiterepresented by olivine gabbro and olivine clinopyroxenite anda differentiated suite of non-cumulate olivine gabbros, gabbronorites,and diorites that lie along a compositional continuum and approximateliquid compositions. Plagioclase and olivine compositions inthe Smartville Complex cumulate suite are identical to thosein modern arc cumulates and are characteristic of the arc cumulatesuite. The differentiated rocks form a compositionally continuousseries that is geochemically very similar to a differentiatedsuite of arc tholeiitic basalts and andesites. Fractionationmodeling indicates that removal of mineral phases found in thecumulate gabbros from the mafic members of the differentiatedsuite can produce the lithologic variation seen in the zonedplutons. Plutons such as those in the Smartville Complex indicatethat there is a genetic link between cumulate rocks and a basalt-andesitefractionation trend in arcs, supporting the hypothesis thatarc andesites form by crystal fractionation. The gabbroic plutonsand related Alaska-type ultramafic complexes contain ultramaficcumulates that can rectify the discrepancy between the cumulatemode predicted by fractionation models and the observed modeof gabbroic cumulates in arcs.     

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.     

西南天山哈拉达拉岩体的锆石SHRIMP年代学及地球化学研究

西南天山哈拉达拉侵入体由橄长岩、橄榄辉长岩和辉长岩组成,橄长岩和橄榄辉长岩具有典型的堆晶结构,堆晶矿物以斜长石和橄榄石为主。辉石、角闪石和金云母主要为堆晶间隙矿物。辉长岩发育辉长—辉绿结构。结晶分异作用在岩浆演化过程中起重要作用。对从辉长岩中分选出来的锆石进行的SHRIMP年代学研究表明,辉长岩形成于308.3±1.8Ma （MSWD=0.86,n=15）。哈拉达拉岩体稀土元素配分模式与E-MORB相似,具有高Rb、Cs、Ba及Sr的特点,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr初始比值0.7040~0.7050。这些特征表明,岩浆源区具有富集地幔的特征(古南天山洋俯冲流体交代形成了富集地幔)。根据平坦的稀土元素配分模式以及Gd、Sm、Nb、Zr等微量元素的地球化学行为判别,岩浆源区岩石为含角闪石的尖晶石二辉橄榄岩。批式熔融模拟计算显示,地幔岩10%~15%的部分熔融能够形成哈拉达拉岩体的母岩浆。母岩浆通过48%~50%的结晶分异作用则能够形成哈拉达拉岩体。早期结晶的橄榄石和斜长石通过堆晶作用形成橄长岩和橄榄辉长岩,剩余岩浆结晶形成辉长岩。     

东昆仑志留纪辉长岩地球化学特征及与铜镍成矿关系探讨

东昆仑造山带新发现的夏日哈木超大型岩浆铜镍矿床、石头坑德大型岩浆铜镍矿床及冰沟南小型岩浆铜镍矿床,其矿体均赋存于橄榄辉石岩内,而辉长岩又是该含矿橄榄辉石岩的直接围岩,并且辉长岩的形成时代相近(夏日哈木辉长岩431Ma、石头坑德辉长岩425Ma、冰沟南辉长岩427Ma),产出位置属于同一大的构造单元,均邻近昆北及昆中断裂。通过对辉长岩的地球化学特征研究,发现明显富集轻稀土元素和明显的Nb-Ta负异常,亏损高场强元素。Sr-Nd同位素研究,表明东昆仑夏日哈木和石头坑德辉长岩岩体的母岩浆来自一个曾经被交代富集的地幔源区,可能揭示了由于从洋壳释放出的流体交代地幔楔的岩石成因。结合区域构造演化和辉长岩形成时代,认为东昆仑夏日哈木和石头坑德辉长岩形成于碰撞后伸展环境。辉长岩岩浆源区性质与赋矿辉石岩存在明显不同,并非同一岩浆活动的产物。辉长岩在东昆仑造山带地区直接充当了含矿辉石岩的直接围岩,与岩浆铜镍硫化物矿体的形成没有关系,富含橄榄石的超镁铁质岩石更有利于形成具有较大经济价值的铜镍矿体。这为指导东昆仑找矿实践和岩浆铜镍矿床成矿理论研究提供了基础。