Study of oxygen fugacity during magma evolution and ore genesis in the Hongge mafic–ultramafic intrusion,the Panxi region,SW China

Economic concentrations of Fe–Ti oxides occurring as massive layers in the middle and upper parts of the Hongge intrusion are different from other layered intrusions (Panzhihua and Baima) in the Emeishan large igneous province, SW China. This paper reports on the new mineral compositions of magnetite and ilmenite for selected cumulate rocks and clinopyroxene and plagioclase for basalts. We use these data to estimate the oxidation state of parental magmas and during ore formation to constrain the factors leading to the abundant accumulation of Fe–Ti oxides involved with the Hongge layered intrusion. The results show that the oxygen fugacities of parental magma are in the range of FMQ?1.56 to FMQ+0.14, and the oxygen fugacities during the ore formation of the Fe–Ti oxides located in the lower olivine clinopyroxenite zone (LOZ) and the middle clinopyroxenite zone (MCZ) of the Hongge intrusion are in the range of FMQ?1.29 to FMQ?0.2 and FMQ?0.49 to FMQ+0.82, respectively. The MELTS model demonstrates that, as the oxygen fugacity increases from the FMQ?1 to FMQ+1, the proportion of crystallization magnetite increases from 11 % to 16 % and the crystallization temperature of the Fe–Ti oxides advances from 1134 to 1164 °C. The moderate oxygen fugacities for the Hongge MCZ indicate that the oxygen fugacity was not the only factor affecting the crystallization of Fe–Ti oxides. We speculated that the initial anhydrous magma that arrived at the Hongge shallow magma chamber became hydrous by attracting the H₂O of the strata. In combination with increasing oxygen fugacities from the LOZ (FMQ?1.29 to FMQ?0.2) to the MCZ (FMQ?0.49 to FMQ+0.82), these two factors probably account for the large-scale Fe–Ti oxide ore layers in the MCZ of the Hongge intrusion.     

Abundant Fe–Ti oxide inclusions in olivine from the Panzhihua and Hongge layered intrusions, SW China: evidence for early saturation of Fe–Ti oxides in ferrobasaltic magma

Abundant Fe–Ti oxide inclusions in cumulus olivine (Fo_77–81) from the Panzhihua and Hongge intrusions, Emeishan large igneous province, SW China, document the first evidence for early crystallization of Fe–Ti oxides in ferrobasaltic systems in nature. The intrusions also contain significant stratiform Fe–Ti–V oxide ores. The oxide inclusions are sub-rounded or irregular, range from ∼5 to 50 μm in diameter, and are dominated by either titanomagnetite or ilmenite. The fact that the inclusions are either titanomagnetite- or ilmenite-dominant suggests that they are trapped crystals, instead of immiscible oxide melt, formed during growth of the host olivine. The absence of other silicate phases in the inclusion-bearing olivine is difficult to reconcile with a possible xenocrystic origin of the oxide inclusions. These oxide inclusions are thus interpreted to be cumulus minerals crystallized together and trapped in olivine from the same parental magma. In addition to Fe–Ti oxides, some inclusions contain amphibole + biotite ± fluorapatite that might have formed by reaction of trapped hydrous liquid with the host olivine. Numerical modeling of high-Ti Emeishan basalts using the MELTS program successfully simulates early crystallization of olivine (∼Fo₈₁) and Fe–Ti spinel in the presence of a moderate amount of H₂O (∼1.5 wt%) under pressure and fO₂ conditions generally pertinent to the Panzhihua and Hongge intrusions. The modal mineralogy of the oxide inclusions is in good agreement with the bulk compositions of the ore, as inferred from whole-rock data, in a given intrusion. This is consistent with the interpretation that the stratiform oxide ores in the intrusions formed by accumulation of Fe–Ti oxide crystals that appeared on the liquidus with olivine and clinopyroxene.     

Geochemistry, Petrogenesis and Metallogenesis of the Panzhihua Gabbroic Layered Intrusion and Associated Fe-Ti-V Oxide Deposits, Sichuan Province, SW China

The Panzhihua gabbroic layered intrusion is associated withthe 260 Ma Emeishan Large Igneous Province in SW China. Thissill-like body hosts a giant Fe–Ti–V oxide depositwith 1333 million ton ore reserves, which makes China a majorproducer of these metals. The intrusion has a Marginal zoneof fine-grained hornblende-bearing gabbro and olivine gabbro,followed upward by Lower, Middle, and Upper zones. The Lowerand Middle zones consist of layered melanogabbro and gabbrocomposed of cumulate clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and olivine.These zones also contain magnetite layers. The Upper zone consistschiefly of leucogabbro composed of plagioclase and clinopyroxenewith minor olivine. Most rocks in the body show variable-scalerhythmic modal layering in which dark minerals, primarily clinopyroxene,dominate in the lower parts of each layer, and lighter minerals,primarily plagioclase, dominate in the upper parts. The oxideores occur as layers and lenses within the gabbros and are concentratedin the lower parts of the intrusion. Ore textures and associatedmineral assemblages indicate that the ore bodies formed by verylate-stage crystallization of V-rich titanomagnetite from animmiscible oxide liquid in a fluid-rich environment. The rocksof the Panzhihua intrusion become more evolved in chemistryupward and follow a tholeiitic differentiation trend with enrichmentin Fe, Ti, and V. They are enriched in light rare earth elementsrelative to heavy rare earth elements, and exhibit positiveNb, Ta, and Ti anomalies and negative Zr and Hf anomalies. Thesilicate rocks and oxide ores of the Panzhihua intrusion formedfrom highly evolved Fe–Ti–V-rich ferrobasaltic orferropicritic magmas. The textures of the ores and the abundanceof minor hydrous phases indicate that addition of fluids fromupper crustal wall-rocks induced the separation of the immiscibleoxide melts from which the Fe–Ti–V oxide ore bodiesin the lower part of the intrusion crystallized. KEY WORDS: magnetite; Fe–Ti-rich gabbro; layered intrusion; Panzhihua; SW China     

攀枝花岩体钛铁矿成分特征及其成因意义

峨眉大火成岩省是全球最大的钒钛磁铁矿床聚集区,攀枝花岩体是其中的典型代表。根据岩性特点,攀枝花岩体主体可划分为上、中、下三个岩相带,其中中部岩相带和下部岩相带岩性旋回非常发育,每个旋回从下向上铁钛氧化物和暗色硅酸盐矿物逐渐减少,块状铁钛氧化物矿石或磁铁矿辉长岩都出现在每个旋回的底部和下部。然而,尽管钛铁矿固相线以下固溶体出溶远弱于磁铁矿,从而能更好地保留成因信息,但其成分变化的成因意义没有受到足够重视。本次研究发现作为主要金属氧化物之一的钛铁矿的成分不仅在不同岩性中有明显差异,同时,中、下部岩相带的各岩性旋回中钛铁矿成分也具有周期性变化。例如,块状矿石中钛铁矿具有最高的MgO和TiO2及最低的FeO、Fe2O3和MnO,而辉长岩中钛铁矿则具有相反的成分特征。同时,钛铁矿的MgO含量与磁铁矿的MgO含量及橄榄石的Fo牌号具有显著的正相关关系。这种规律性变化说明每个旋回可以代表一次比较明显的岩浆补充,每次新岩浆补充后,钛铁矿和磁铁矿及橄榄石都是结晶较早的矿物。与Skaergaard岩体相比,攀枝花岩体钛铁矿的MgO含量较高,表明攀枝花岩体分离结晶过程中铁钛氧化物结晶较早;与挪威Tellnes斜长岩套铁钛矿床中的钛铁矿相比,攀枝花岩体的钛铁矿不仅具有较高的MgO和FeO,还具有极高的TiO2和MnO,但Fe2O3却很低,说明地幔柱背景下形成的钛铁矿与斜长岩套中钛铁矿的成分有显著的区别。     

Origin of the early Permian Wajilitag igneous complex and associated Fe–Ti oxide mineralization in the Tarim large igneous province,NW China

The Wajilitag igneous complex is part of the early Permian Tarim large igneous province in NW China, and is composed of a layered mafic–ultramafic intrusion and associated syenitic plutons. In order to better constrain its origin, and the conditions of associated Fe–Ti oxide mineralization, we carried out an integrated study of mineralogical, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic analyses on selected samples. The Wajilitag igneous rocks have an OIB-like compositional affinity, similar to the coeval mafic dykes in the Bachu region. The layered intrusion consists of olivine clinopyroxenite, coarse-grained clinopyroxenite, fine-grained clinopyroxenite and gabbro from the base upwards. Fe–Ti oxide ores are mainly hosted in fine-grained clinopyroxenite. Forsterite contents in olivines from the olivine clinopyroxenite range from 71 to 76 mol%, indicating crystallization from an evolved magma. Reconstructed composition of the parental magma of the layered intrusion is Fe–Ti-rich, similar to that of the Bachu mafic dykes. Syenite and quartz syenite plutons have ε_Nd(t) values ranging from +1.4 to +2.9, identical to that for the layered intrusion. They may have formed by differentiation of underplated magmas at depth and subsequent fractional crystallization. Magnetites enclosed in olivines and clinopyroxenes have Cr₂O₃ contents higher than those interstitial to silicates in the layered intrusion. This suggests that the Cr-rich magnetite is an early crystallized phase, whereas interstitial magnetite may have accumulated from evolved Fe–Ti-rich melts that percolated through a crystal mush. Low V content in Cr-poor magnetite (<6600 ppm) is consistent with an estimate of oxygen fugacity of FMQ + 1.1 to FMQ + 3.5. We propose that accumulation of Fe–Ti oxides during the late stage of magmatic differentiation may have followed crystallization of Fe–Ti-melt under high fO₂ and a volatile-rich condition.     

Apatite geochemistry of the Taihe layered intrusion,SW China: Implications for the magmatic differentiation and the origin of apatite-rich Fe-Ti oxide ores

The Taihe intrusion is one of the layered intrusions situated in the central zone of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP), SW China. The cyclic units in the Middle Zone of the intrusion are composed of apatite-magnetite clinopyroxenite at the base and gabbro at the top. The apatite-rich oxide ores contain 6–12 modal% apatite and 20–50 modal% Fe-Ti oxides evidently distinguished from the coeval intrusions in which apatite-rich rocks are poor in Fe-Ti oxides. Most of apatites of the Taihe Middle and Upper Zones are fluorapatite, although four samples show slightly high Cl content in apatite suggesting that they crystallize from a hydrous parental magma. Compared to the apatite from the gabbro of the Panzhihua intrusion, situated 100 km to the south of the Taihe intrusion, the apatite of the Taihe rocks is richer in Sr and depleted in HREE relative to LREE. The calculated magma in equilibrium with apatite of the Taihe Middle and Upper Zones also shows weakly negative Sr anomalies in primitive mantle normalized trace element diagrams. These features indicate that the apatite of the Taihe Middle and Upper Zones crystallizes after clinopyroxene and before plagioclase. The apatite of the Taihe Middle and Upper Zones shows weakly negative Eu anomalies suggesting a high oxygen fugacity condition. The high iron and titanium contents in the oxidizing magma result in crystallization of Fe-Ti oxides. Crystallization of abundant Fe-Ti oxides and clinopyroxenes lowers the solubility of phosphorus and elevates SiO₂ concentration in the magma triggering the saturation of apatite. The positive correlations of Sr, V, total REE contents and Ce/Yb ratio in apatite with cumulus clinopyroxene demonstrate approximately compositional equilibrium between these phases suggesting they crystallized from the same ferrobasaltic magma. Early crystallization and accumulation of Fe-Ti oxide together with apatite produced the apatite-rich oxide ores at the base of the cyclic units of the Taihe Middle Zone.     

Mineral chemistry and genesis of the Permian Cihai and Cinan magnetite deposits,Beishan, NW China

Cihai and Cinan are Permian magnetite deposits related to mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the Beishan region, Xinjiang, NW China. The Cihai mafic intrusion is dominantly composed of dolerite, gabbro and fine-grained massive magnetite ore, while gabbro, pyrrhotite + pyrite-bearing clinopyroxenite and magnetite ore comprise the major units in Cinan. Clinopyroxene occurs in both deposits as 0.1–2 mm in diameter subhedral to anhedral grains in dolerite, gabbro and clinopyroxenite. High FeO contents (11.7–28.9 wt%), low SiO₂ (43.6–54.3 wt%) and Al₂O₃ contents (0.15–6.08 wt%), and low total REE and trace element contents of clinopyroxene in the Cinan clinopyroxenite imply crystallization early, at high pressure. This clinopyroxene is FeO-rich and Si and Ti-poor, consistent with the clinopyroxene component of large-scale Cu-Ni sulfide deposits in the Eastern Tianshan and Panxi ares, as well as Tarim mafic intrusion and basalt, implying the Cinan mafic intrusion and sulfide is related to tectonic activity in the Tarim LIP. The similar mineral chemistry of clinopyroxene, apatite and magnetite in the Cihai and Cinan gabbros (e.g., depleted LREE, negative Zr, Hf, Nb and Ta anomalies in clinopyroxene, lack of Eu anomaly in apatite and similarity of oxygen fugacity as indicated by V in magnetite), indicate similar parental magmatic characteristics. Mineral compositions suggest a crystallization sequence of clinopyroxenite/with a small amount of sulfide – gabbro – magnetite ore in the Cinan deposit, and magnetite ore – gabbro – dolerite in Cihai. The basaltic magma was emplaced at depth, with magnetite segregation (and formation of the Cinan magnetite ores) occurring in relatively low fO₂ conditions, after clinopyroxenite and gabbro fractional crystallization. The evolved Fe-rich basaltic magma rapidly rose to intermediate or shallow depths, forming an immiscible Fe-Ti oxide magma as fO₂ increased and leaving a Fe-poor residual magma in the chamber. The residual magmas was emplaced at different levels in the crust, forming the Cihai gabbro and dolerite, respectively. Finally, the immiscible Fe-Ti oxide magma was emplaced into the earlier formed dolerite because of late magma pulse uplift, resulting in a distinct boundary between the magnetite ores and dolerite.     

Apatite-hosted melt inclusions from the Panzhihua gabbroic-layered intrusion associated with a giant Fe–Ti oxide deposit in SW China: insights for magma unmixing within a crystal mush

The ～?2-km-thick Panzhihua gabbroic-layered intrusion in SW China is unusual because it hosts a giant Fe–Ti oxide deposit in its lower zone. The deposit consists of laterally extensive net-textured and massive Fe–Ti oxide ore layers, the thickest of which is ～?60 m. To examine the magmatic processes that resulted in the Fe enrichment of parental high-Ti basaltic magma and the formation of thick, Fe–Ti oxide ore layers, we carried out a detailed study of melt inclusions in apatite from a ～?500-m-thick profile of apatite-bearing leucogabbro in the middle zone of the intrusion. The apatite-hosted melt inclusions are light to dark brown in color and appear as polygonal, rounded, oval and negative crystal shapes, which range from ～?5 to ～?50 µm in width and from ～?5 to ～?100 µm in length. They have highly variable compositions and show a large and continuous range of SiO₂ and FeO_t with contrasting end-members; one end-member being Fe-rich and Si-poor (40.2 wt% FeO_t and 17.7 wt% SiO₂) and the other being Si-rich and Fe-poor (74.0 wt% SiO₂ and 1.20 wt% FeO_t). This range in composition may be attributed to entrapment of the melt inclusions over a range of temperature and may reflect the presence of µm-scale and immiscible Fe-rich and Si-rich components in different proportions. Simulating results for the motion of Si-rich droplets within a crystal mush indicate that Si-rich droplets would be separated from Fe-rich melt and migrate upward due to density differences in the interstitial liquid when the magma unmixed. Migration of the Si-rich, immiscible liquid component from the interstitial liquid caused the remaining Fe-rich melt in the lower part to react with plagioclase primocrysts (An_59–60), as evidenced by fine-grained lamellar intergrowth of An-rich plagioclase (An_79–84)?+?clinopyroxene in the oxide gabbro of the lower zone. Therefore, magma unmixing within a crystal mush, combined with gravitationally driven loss of the Si-rich component, resulted in the formation of Fe-rich, melagabbro and major Fe–Ti oxide ores in the lower part and Si-rich, leucogabbro in the upper part of the intrusion.     

磁铁矿和钛铁矿成分对四川太和富磷灰石钒钛磁铁矿床成因的约束

产于层状镁铁质-超镁铁质岩体中的太和岩浆型Fe-Ti氧化物矿床是峨眉山大火成岩省内带几个超大型Fe-Ti氧化物矿床之一。太和岩体长超过3km,宽2km,厚约1.2km。根据矿物含量和结构等特征,整个岩体从下向上可划分为下部岩相带、中部岩相带、上部岩相带。下部岩相带主要以(橄榄)辉长岩和厚层不含磷灰石的块状Fe-Ti氧化物矿层组成。中部岩相带韵律旋回发育,(磷灰石)磁铁辉石岩主要位于旋回的底部,旋回上部为(磷灰石)辉长岩。上部岩相带主要是贫Fe-Ti氧化物的磷灰石辉长岩。太和中部岩相带磷灰石磁铁辉石岩含有5%~12%磷灰石、20%~35%Fe-Ti氧化物、50%~60%硅酸盐矿物,且硅酸盐矿物与磷灰石呈堆积结构。磷灰石磁铁辉石岩中磁铁矿显示高TiO2、FeO、MnO、MgO,且变化范围与趋势接近于攀枝花岩体。钛铁矿FeO分别与TiO2、MgO显示负相关,而FeO分别与Fe2O3、MnO显示正的相关,且TiO2、FeO、MnO、MgO含量变化较大,这些特征都暗示磁铁矿和钛铁矿是从富Fe-Ti-P岩浆中分离结晶。因此,可以推断太和磷灰石磁铁矿辉石岩形成于矿物重力分选和堆积。太和下部岩相带包裹在橄榄石中磁铁矿含有相对较高Cr2O3(0.07%~0.21%),而中部岩相带包裹在橄榄石中磁铁矿Cr2O3(0.00%~0.03%)显著降低,且这些磁铁矿Cr2O3含量变化与单斜辉石Cr含量和斜长石An牌号呈正相关。这些特征印证了形成中部岩相带的相对演化的富Fe-Ti-P母岩浆可能是源自中部岩浆房的混合岩浆。上部岩相带磁铁矿和中部岩相带顶部少量磁铁矿显示较低Ti+V可能是由于岩浆房中累积的岩浆热液对磁铁矿成分进行了改造。     

Contamination of mafic magma by partial melting of dolomitic xenoliths

Mg-skarns enclosed in dunite cumulates of the Neo-Proterozoic Ioko-Dovyren intrusion (northern Baikal region, Russia) can be traced to silica-poor dolomitic host rock layers. The dominant minerals of the skarns are brucite (pseudomorph after periclase), forsterite and Cr-poor spinel. Rapid heating of quartz-poor dolomitic xenoliths led to the formation of minor olivine, followed by the breakdown of dolomite to calcite and periclase. Xenoliths were partially melted upon further heating resulting in a calcite melt. This low-density melt was quantitatively squeezed out, mixed with the surrounding mafic magma and left behind periclase and olivine. This caused the crystallization of new olivine with elevated CaO contents in zones above skarn-bearing horizons. Mixing of calcite melt with the surrounding mafic magma also resulted in the crystallization of Cats-rich clinopyroxene instead of plagioclase. The mineralogy of contaminated dunite cumulates is consistent with assimilation of approximately 4wt% CaO by the Ioko-Dovyren mafic magma.     

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.     

Siderophile and chalcophile elemental constraints on the origin of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposit, NW China

The Jinchuan deposit, NW China, is one of the world’s most important Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits related to a magma conduit system and is hosted in an ultramafic intrusion. The intrusion is composed of lherzolite and dunite with the two largest sulfide ore bodies (named as ore body 1 and 2) in its middle portion. The sulfide ores may be disseminated, net-textured, or massive. The disseminated and net-textured sulfide ores are characterized by variable but generally low PGE concentrations: 10-3200 ppb Pt, 240-9800 ppb Pd, 17-800 ppb Ir, 25-1500 ppb Ru, and 15-400 ppb Rh in 100% sulfides. The massive sulfide ores are extremely low in Pt (<30 ppb) on a 100% sulfides and have very high Cu/Pd ratios, ranging from 10⁴ to 4.5 × 10⁵. The low PGE contents suggest that the sulfide ores formed from the silicate magmas that had already experienced prior-sulfide separation.Our calculations indicate that if the first stage basaltic magmas had contained 6.3 ppb Pt, 6.2 ppb Pd, and 0.1 ppb Ir, 0.008% sulfide removal would result in PGE-depletion in the residual magma with 0.57 ppb Pt, 0.25 ppb Pd, and 0.009 ppb Ir. The Jinchuan sulfides were formed by a second stage of sulfide segregation from a PGE-depleted magma under silicate/sulfide liquid ratios (R-factor) ranging from 10³ to 10⁴ in a deep-seated staging chamber. The massive sulfide ores and some of the net-textured sulfide ores exhibit strong negative Pt-anomalies that cannot be explained by sulfide segregation under variable R-factors. Instead, the sulfide melts that formed the massive ores were segregated from magmas experienced prior fractionation of Pt-Fe alloy. Alternatively, the Pt may have been selectively leached by hydrothermal fluids during remobilization of the sulfide melts that produced the massive sulfides, which occur in cross-cutting veins. We propose that the Jinchuan intrusion and ore bodies were formed by injections of sulfide-free and sulfide-bearing olivine mushes from a deep-seated staging chamber.     

Successive episodes of reactive liquid flow through a layered intrusion (Unit 9, Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion,Scotland)

We present a detailed microstructural and geochemical study of reactive liquid flow in Unit 9 of the Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion, Scotland. Unit 9 comprises an underlying lens-like body of peridotite overlain by a sequence of troctolite and gabbro (termed allivalite), with some local and minor anorthosite. The troctolite is separated from the overlying gabbro by a distinct, sub-horizontal, undulose horizon (the ‘major wavy horizon’). Higher in the stratigraphy is another, similar, horizon (the ‘minor wavy horizon’) that separates relatively clinopyroxene-poor gabbro from an overlying gabbro. To the north of the peridotite lens, both troctolite and gabbro grade into poikilitic gabbro. Clinopyroxene habit in the allivalite varies from thin rims around olivine in troctolite to equigranular crystals in gabbro and to oikocrysts in poikilitic gabbro. The poikilitic gabbros contain multiple generations of clinopyroxene, with Cr-rich (~1.1 wt% Cr₂O₃) anhedral cores with moderate REE concentrations (core1) overgrown by an anhedral REE-depleted second generation with moderate Cr (~0.7 wt% Cr₂O₃) (core2). These composite cores are rimmed by Cr-poor (~0.2 wt% Cr₂O₃) and REE-poor to -moderate clinopyroxene. We interpret these microstructures as a consequence of two separate episodes of partial melting triggered by the intrusion of hot olivine-phyric picrite to form the discontinuous lenses that comprise the Unit 9 peridotite. Loss of clinopyroxene-saturated partial melt from the lower part of the allivalite immediately following the early stages of sill intrusion resulted in the formation of clinopyroxene-poor gabbro. The spatial extent of clinopyroxene loss is marked by the minor wavy horizon. A second partial melting event stripped out almost all clinopyroxene from the lowest allivalite to form a troctolite, with the major wavy horizon marking the extent of melting during this episode. The poikilitic gabbro formed from clinopyroxene-saturated melt moving upwards and laterally through the remobilized cumulate pile and precipitating clinopyroxene en route. This process, called reactive liquid flow, is potentially important in open magma chambers.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113000303

The Xinjie layered intrusion in the Panxi region,SW China,hosts both Fe-Ti oxide and platinum-group element（PGE） sulfide mineralization.The intrusion can be divided,from the base upward,into UnitsⅠ,ⅡandⅢ,in terms of mineral assemblages.UnitsⅠandⅡare mainly composed of wehrlite and clino-pyroxenite, whereas UnitⅢis mainly composed of gabbro.PGE sulfide-rich layers mainly occur in Unit I, whereas thick Fe-Ti oxide-rich layers mainly occur in UnitⅢ.An ilmenite-rich layer occurs at the top of UnitⅠ.Fe-Ti oxides include magnetite and ilmenite.Small amounts of cumulus and intercumulus magnetite occur in UnitsⅠandⅡ.Cumulus magnetite grains are commonly euhedral and enclosed within olivine and clinopyroxene.They have high Cr₂O₃ contents ranging from 6.02 to 22.5 wt.%,indicating that they are likely an early crystallized phase from magmas.Intercumulus magnetite that usually displays ilmenite exsolution occupies the interstices between cumulus olivine crystals and coexists with interstitial clinopyroxene and plagioclase.Intercumulus magnetite has Cr₂O₃ ranging from 1.65 to 6.18 wt.%, lower than cumulus magnetite.The intercumulus magnetite may have crystallized from the trapped liquid.Large amounts of magnetite in UnitⅢcontains Cr₂O₃（<0.28 wt.%） much lower than magnetite in UnitsⅠandⅡ.The magnetite in UnitⅢis proposed to be accumulated from a Fe-Ti-rich melt.The Fe-Ti-rich melt is estimated to contain 35.9 wt.%of SiO₂,26.9 wt.%of FeO^t,8.2 wt.%of TiO₂,13.2 wt.%of CaO, 8.3 wt.%of MgO,5.5 wt.%of Al₂O₃ and 1.0 wt.%of P₂O₅.The composition is comparable with the Fe-rich melts in the Skaergaard and Sept Iles intrusions.Paired non-reactive microstructures,granophyre pockets and ilmenite-rich intergrowths,are representative of Si-rich melt and Fe-Ti-rich melt,and are the direct evidence for the existence of an immiscible Fe-Ti-rich melt that formed from an evolved ferro-basaltic magma.     

In-situ LA-ICP-MS trace elemental analyses of magnetite: Fe–Ti–(V) oxide-bearing mafic–ultramafic layered intrusions of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province,SW China

The Taihe, Baima, Hongge, Panzhihua and Anyi intrusions of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP), SW China, contain large magmatic Fe–Ti–(V) oxide ore deposits. Magnetites from these intrusions have extensive trellis or sandwich exsolution lamellae of ilmenite and spinel. Regular electron microprobe analyses are insufficient to obtain the primary compositions of such magnetites. Instead, laser ablation ICP-MS uses large spot sizes (~ 40 μm) and can produce reliable data for magnetites with exsolution lamellae. Although magnetites from these deposits have variable trace element contents, they have similar multi-element variation patterns. Primary controls of trace element variations of magnetite in these deposits include crystallography in terms of the affinity of the ionic radius and the overall charge balance, oxygen fugacity, magma composition and coexisting minerals. Early deposition of chromite or Cr-magnetite can greatly deplete magmas in Cr and thus Cr-poor magnetite crystallized from such magmas. Co-crystallizing minerals, olivine, pyroxenes, plagioclase and apatite, have little influence on trace element contents of magnetite because elements compatible in magnetite are incompatible in these silicate and phosphate minerals. Low contents and bi-modal distribution of the highly compatible trace elements such as V and Cr in magnetite from Fe–Ti oxide ores of the ELIP suggest that magnetite may not form from fractional crystallization, but from relatively homogeneous Fe-rich melts. QUILF equilibrium modeling further indicates that the parental magmas of the Panzhihua and Baima intrusions had high oxygen fugacities and thus crystallized massive and/or net-textured Fe–Ti oxide ores at the bottom of the intrusive bodies. Magnetite of the Taihe, Hongge and Anyi intrusions, on the other hand, crystallized under relatively low oxygen fugacities and, therefore, formed net-textured and/or disseminated Fe–Ti oxides after a lengthy period of silicate fractionation. Plots of Ge vs. Ga + Co can be used as a discrimination diagram to differentiate magnetite of Fe–Ti–(V) oxide-bearing layered intrusions in the ELIP from that of massif anorthosites and magmatic Cu–Ni sulfide deposits. Variable amounts of trace elements of magmatic magnetites from Fe–Ti–(P) oxide ores of the Damiao anorthosite massif (North China) and from Cu–Ni sulfide deposits of Sudbury (Canada) and Huangshandong (northwest China) demonstrate the primary control of magma compositions on major and trace element contents of magnetite.     

Petrogenetic implications of mineral chemical data for the Permian Baima igneous complex, SW China

The Late Permian Fe-Ti oxide ore-bearing Baima igneous complex (BIC) is one of three gabbro-granitoid complexes with the Emeishan large igneous province. Mineral compositions are determined for the BIC layered gabbro in order to constrain subsolidus and magma chamber processes. The averaged compositions of cumulus olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase within individual samples range from Fo_65-76, Mg# = 75 to 82 and An_49-64 but they are not correlative. The observed mineral compositions are consistent with those modeled using the pHMELTS program. Highly variable magnetite compositions are consistent with extensive subsolidus re-equilibration and exsolution. The occurrence of reversely-zoned granular olivine in Fe-Ti oxide ores is a manifestation of Mg transfer between Fe-Ti oxides and olivine at relatively high (<1150?°C) subsolidus temperatures. The primary oxide is inferred to be an aluminous titanomagnetite. Similar to other layered intrusions in the region, the gabbroic unit of the BIC displays Zr depletion which is consistent with loss of a residual liquid during magma differentiation. If the most Zr-rich syenites of the complex are taken into account, the Zr budgets between the combined gabbro-syenite and the basalts are similar. This indicates that the BIC most likely represents a closed system in terms of magma extraction.     

Mineralogy,geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Khopoli mafic intrusion,Deccan Traps,India

The Khopoli intrusion, exposed at the base of the Thakurvadi Formation of the Deccan Traps in the Western Ghats, India, is composed of olivine gabbro with 50–55 % modal olivine, 20–25 % plagioclase, 10–15 % clinopyroxene, 5–10 % low-Ca pyroxene, and <5 % Fe-Ti oxides. It represents a cumulate rock from which trapped interstitial liquid was almost completely expelled. The Khopoli olivine gabbros have high MgO (23.5–26.9 wt.%), Ni (733–883 ppm) and Cr (1,432–1,048 ppm), and low concentrations of incompatible elements including the rare earth elements (REE). The compositions of the most primitive cumulus olivine and clinopyroxene indicate that the parental magma of the Khopoli intrusion was an evolved basaltic melt (Mg# 49–58). Calculated parental melt compositions in equilibrium with clinopyroxene are moderately enriched in the light REE and show many similarities with Deccan tholeiitic basalts of the Bushe, Khandala and Thakurvadi Formations. Nd-Sr isotopic compositions of Khopoli olivine gabbros (εNd_t?=??9.0 to ?12.7; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.7088–0.7285) indicate crustal contamination. AFC modelling suggests that the Khopoli olivine gabbros were derived from a Thakurvadi or Khandala-like basaltic melt with variable degrees of crustal contamination. Unlike the commonly alkalic, pre- and post-volcanic intrusions known in the Deccan Traps, the Khopoli intrusion provides a window to the shallow subvolcanic architecture and magmatic processes associated with the main tholeiitic flood basalt sequence. Measured true density values of the Khopoli olivine gabbros are as high as 3.06 g/cm³, and such high-level olivine-rich intrusions in flood basalt provinces can also explain geophysical observations such as high gravity anomalies and high seismic velocity crustal horizons.     

攀西地区红格层状岩体的地球化学特征

红格岩体赋存有大型钒钛磁铁矿床，在橄辉岩相带和辉石岩相带底部有铂族元素（PEG）的矿化，是攀西层状岩体中重要的岩体之一，系统分析了红格层状岩体不同岩相带的微量元素和稀土元素特征，探讨了岩浆的结晶分异演化过程，提出岩体主体上是由一个岩浆房经正常的结晶分异形成的，底层的硫化物富集带和中上层位的钒钛磁铁矿是岩浆结晶分异产生的堆积相，并非是岩浆多次脉动式补给的结果。     

Petrogenesis of the Piqiang mafic-ultramafic layered intrusion and associated Fe-Ti-V oxide deposit in Tarim Large Igneous Province,NW China

ABSTRACT

The Piqiang intrusion is one of the two important ma?c-ultrama?c layered intrusions that host giant Fe-Ti-V oxide deposits in the Permian Tarim Large Igneous Province, NW China. The intrusion mainly consists of gabbro, anorthosite and minor plagioclase-bearing clinopyroxenite in the marginal zone. Disseminated to massive Fe-Ti oxide ores occur as layers and lenses within the gabbro. SHRIMP zircon U-Pb results from both a gabbro from the Piqiang intrusion and a granite from the surrounding granitic dyke yield ages of ~270 Ma. Geochemically, the Piqiang silicate rocks are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE) and large ion lithophile elements (LILE), moderately depleted in high ?eld strength elements (HFSE), and have a limited range of Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions. The similar mineralogy, mineral compositions, and trace element characteristics of the layered units suggest that all the rocks are co-magmatic. The parental magma is Fe-Ti-rich and is akin to the most primitive diabasic dyke which is associated with the Piqiang intrusion. Partial melting of the Tarim mantle plume with involvement of a subduction-metasomatized lithospheric mantle source best explains the geochemistry and petrogenesis of the parental magmas of the Piqiang intrusion. We propose that the lithospheric mantle source may have been metasomatized by subduction-related materials and the metasomatic enrichment of this source region which may be correlated with oceanic sediment recycling during southward subduction of the South Tianshan oceanic slab during the Early-Middle Paleozoic. Crystal settling and mechanical sorting is the predominant process responsible for the formation of the massive Fe-Ti oxide ores in the Piqiang intrusion. Central to ore formation is a combination of the protracted differentiation history of a Fe-Ti-enriched parental magma and the later addition of external H₂O from the country rocks to the slowly cooling magma chamber.     

Ultramafic tectonite of the Miyamori ophiolitic complex in the Kitakami Mountains,Northeast Japan: hydrous upper mantle in an island arc

The ultramafic tectonite of the Miyamori ophiolitic complex is divided into two types, one bearing aluminous spinel (Cr/(Cr+Al)< 0.4) and the other, chromian spinel(Cr/(Cr + Al)<0.4) (denoted ASPP and CSPP respectively). ASPP consists mainly of harzburgite and lherzolite and occurs as isolated kilometric patches in CSPP, which can be subdivided into massive and layered types. Massive CSPP consists mainly of magnesian harzburgite and dunite, whereas layered CSPP commonly is stratified and consists of less magnesian harzburgite, dunite, wehrlite, lherzolite, websterite, and clinopyroxenite. The 2 km thick layered CSPP occurs within the massive CSPP, and their lithologies are transitional. The structural and lithologic features of CSPP and the chemical variations of its olivine and spinel suggest that the layered CSPP crystallized from segregated partial melt, leaving the massive CSPP as a strongly depleted residue. Hornblende is invariably present in both the ASPP and CSPP, whereas phlogopite ispresent only in CSPP. The hornblende in CSPP is distinctly richer in K₂O (0.4–1.0 wt%) than that in ASPP(<0.1 wt%), but residual peridotite of CSPP is more depleted in major elements than that of ASPP. The low TiO₂/K₂O ratio of hornblende and the presence of TiO₂ poor phlogopite suggest that partial melting, melt segregation, and crystallization to form CSPP took place in the upper mantle beneath an island arc. By contrast, ASPP could be the source material of CSPP which formed as slightly depleted residue beneath a back-arc basin.