Compositional relations of pyroxenes in a ferrogabbro from Beaver Bay intrusion,Minnesota

Four different types of pyroxene found in a Beaver Bay ferrogabbro were analysed by microprobe. The crystallization sequence of pyroxene is augite-ferroaugite with exsolution lamellae of Ca-poor clinopyroxene → ferropigeonite with exsolution lamellae of augite → ferrohypersthene without exsolution lamellae+augite and ferroaugite without exsolution lamellae. The core of augite-ferroaugite with exsolution lamellae is cumulus pyroxene, whereas others, including the margin of augite-ferroaugite with lamellae, are interpreted to have crystallized from the intercumulus liquid. The sequence of crystallization of minerals from intercumulus liquid is different from that of minerals which have accumulated successively to the bottom and which were related to the fractionation of the whole layered series. The difference may be attributed to the different oxidation state of crystallization.     

The petrology of the layered gabbro intrusion, eastern gabbro, Coldwell alkaline complex, Northwestern Ontario, Canada: evidence for multiple phases of intrusion in a ring dyke

The Coldwell alkaline complex is a large (> 350 km²) gabbro and syenite intrusion on the north shore of Lake Superior. It was emplaced at 1108 Ma during early magmatic activity associated with the formation of the Mid-Continent Rift of North America. The eastern gabbro forms a partial ring dyke on the outer margin of the complex and consists of at least three discrete intrusions. The largest of these is the layered gabbro that comprises a 300 m thick fine- to medium-grained basal unit overlain by up to 1100 m of variably massive to layered gabbroic cumulates which vary from olivine gabbro to anorthosite. Several xenoliths of Archaean metamorphic rocks that range in size from 10's to 100's of meters are present in the central part of the intrusion. Within discrete horizons in the layered gabbro are many centimeter- to meter-scale, gabbroic xenoliths. The main cumulus minerals, in order of crystallization, are plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene ± Fe-Ti oxides. Biotite and Fe-Ti-oxide are the dominant intercumulus phases. Orthopyroxene occurs not as a cumulus phase but as peritectic overgrowths on cumulus olivine. A detailed petrographic and mineral chemical study of samples from two stratigraphically controlled traverses through the layered gabbro indicates that the stratigraphy cannot be correlated along the 33 km strike of the ring dyke. Mineral compositions show both normal and reversed fractionation trends. These patterns are interpreted to record at least three separate intrusions of magma into restricted dilatant zones within the ring dyke possibly associated with ongoing caldera collapse. Calculations of parental melt composition using mineral — melt equilibria show that even the most primitive gabbros crystallized from an evolved magma with mg# of 0.42-0.49. The presence of orthopyroxene overgrowths on cumulus olivine suggests rising silica activity in the melt during crystallization and implies a subalkaline parentage for the layered gabbro.     

Efficiency of compaction and compositional convection during mafic crystal mush solidification: the Sept Iles layered intrusion,Canada

Adcumulate formation in mafic layered intrusions is attributed either to gravity-driven compaction, which expels the intercumulus melt out of the crystal matrix, or to compositional convection, which maintains the intercumulus liquid at a constant composition through liquid exchange with the main magma body. These processes are length-scale and time-scale dependent, and application of experimentally derived theoretical formulations to magma chambers is not straightforward. New data from the Sept Iles layered intrusion are presented and constrain the relative efficiency of these processes during solidification of the mafic crystal mush. Troctolites with meso- to ortho-cumulate texture are stratigraphically followed by Fe–Ti oxide-bearing gabbros with adcumulate texture. Calculations of intercumulus liquid fractions based on whole-rock P, Zr, V and Cr contents and detailed plagioclase compositional profiles show that both compaction and compositional convection operate, but their efficiency changes with liquid differentiation. Before saturation of Fe–Ti oxides in the intercumulus liquid, convection is not active due to the stable liquid density distribution within the crystal mush. At this stage, compaction and minor intercumulus liquid crystallization reduce the porosity to 30%. The velocity of liquid expulsion is then too slow compared with the rate of crystal accumulation. Compositional convection starts at Fe–Ti oxide-saturation in the pore melt due to its decreasing density. This process occurs together with crystallization of the intercumulus melt until the residual porosity is less than 10%. Compositional convection is evidenced by external plagioclase rims buffered at An₆₁ owing to continuous exchange between the intercumulus melt and the main liquid body. The change from a channel flow regime that dominates in troctolites to a porous flow regime in gabbros results from the increasing efficiency of compaction with differentiation due to higher density contrast between the cumulus crystal matrix and the equilibrium melts and to the bottom-up decreasing rate of crystal accumulation in the magma chamber.     

Evolution of the skærgaard magma: evidence from crystallized melt inclusions

Polymineralic aggregates composed of clinopyroxene, Fe-Ti oxide minerals, apatite and accessory K-feldspar, biotite, and amphibole are enclosed in cumulus plagioclase grains in the Middle Zone of the Skærgaard intrusion. The chemistry of the minerals in the aggregates, and the textural relations between the aggregates and the host plagioclase grains indicate that they represent inclusions of the contemporaneous melt of the Skærgaard intrusion. Through mass balance calculations a quantitative estimate of the melt composition for this level in the intrusion can be obtained, and this estimate confirms that the silica content in the Middle Zone melt was similar to, or possibly even lower than, the silica content in the initial Skærgaard melt, and relatively enriched in iron.     

The Fedorivka layered intrusion (Korosten Pluton, Ukraine): An example of highly differentiated ferrobasaltic evolution

This study documents the petrography and whole-rock major and trace element geochemistry of 38 samples mainly from a drill core through the entire Fedorivka layered intrusion (Korosten Pluton), as well as mineral compositions (microprobe analyses and separated mineral fraction analyses of plagioclase, ilmenite, magnetite and apatite) of 10 samples. The Fedorivka layered intrusion can be divided into 4 lithostratigraphic units: a Lower Zone (LZ, 72 m thick), a Main Zone (MZ, 160 m thick), and an Upper Border Zone, itself subdivided into 2 sub-zones (UBZ₂, 40 m thick; UBZ₁, 50 m thick). Igneous lamination defines the cumulate texture, but primary cumulus minerals have been affected by trapped liquid crystallization and subsolidus recrystallization. The dominant cumulus assemblage in MZ and UBZ₂ is andesine (An_39–42), iron-rich olivine (Fo_32–42), augite (En_29–35Fs_24–29Wo_42–44), ilmenite (Hem_1–6), Ti-magnetite (Usp_52–78), and apatite. The data reveal a continuous evolution from the floor of the intrusion (LZ) to the top of MZ, due to fractional crystallization, and an inverse evolution in UBZ, resulting from crystallization downwards from the roof. The whole-rock Fe/Mg ratio and incompatible element contents (e.g. Rb, Nb, Zr, REE) increase in the fractionating magma, whereas compatible elements (e.g. V, Cr) steadily decrease. The intercumulus melt remained trapped in the UBZ cumulates due to rapid cooling and lack of compaction, and cumulus mineral compositions re-equilibrated (e.g. olivine, Fe–Ti oxides). In LZ, the intercumulus melt was able to partially or totally escape. The major element composition of the MZ cumulates can be approximated by a mixing (linear) relationship between a plagioclase pole and a mafic pole, the latter being made up of all mafic minerals in (nearly) constant relative proportions. By analogy with the ferrobasaltic/jotunitic liquid line of descent, defined in Rogaland, S. Norway, and its conjugated cumulates occurring in the Transition Zone of the Bjerkreim-Sokndal intrusion (Rogaland, a monzonitic (57% SiO₂) melt is inferred to be in equilibrium with the MZ cumulates. The conjugated cumulate composition falls (within error) on the locus of cotectic compositions fixed by the 2-pole linear relationship. Ulvöspinel is the only Ti phase in some magnetites that have been protected from oxidation. QUIlF equilibria in these samples show that magnetite and olivine in MZ have retained their liquidus compositions during subsolidus cooling. This permits calculation of liquidus fO₂ conditions, which vary during fractionation from ΔFMQ = 0.7 to − 1.4 log units. Low fO₂ values are also evidenced by the late appearance of cumulus magnetite (Fo₄₂) and the high V³⁺-content of the melt, reflected in the high V-content of the first liquidus magnetite (up to 1.85% V).     

Pyroxenes of the Dufek Intrusion, Antarctica

The Dufek intrusion is a stratiform mafic body, 24,000 to 34,000km² in area and 8 to 9 km thick, in the Pensacola Mountainsof Antarctica. Textures, structures, magmatic stratigraphy,and chemical variation indicate that layered gabbros and relatedrocks of this body developed by accumulation of crystals thatsettled on the floor of a magma chamber. The major cumulus phasesin the exposed part of the intrusion are plagioclase, pyroxene,and iron-titanium oxides. The base of the Dufek intrusion is not exposed, and both Ca-richand Ca-poor pyroxene coexist as cumulus phases in the lowerexposed rocks. The Ca-rich pyroxenes belong to an augite-ferroaugiteseries (Ca_36.4Mg_48.7Fe_14.9-Ca_30.0Mg_23.5Fe_46.5) that extendsup through the 300 m thick capping granophyre. The Ca-poor pyroxenesbelong to a bronzite-inverted pigeonite series (Ca_3.5Mg_69.1Fe_27.4-Ca_11.4Mg_34.0Fe_54.6)that extends only to about 200 m below the granophyre layer.In addition to the cumulus pyroxenes some rocks contain post-cumulusgreen calcic augite and ferrohypersthene. The compositional change of the cumulus pyroxenes with stratigraphicheight is one of general iron enrichment. Superimposed on thistrend are (1) a 1 km thick section in the lower part of thebody that shows slight to no iron enrichment and (2) a markedreversal in the Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio about 1 km below the top ofthe body. The variations from the general trend are associatedwith cyclic units and are best explained by convective overturnof the magma. In general, the pyroxene compositional trends are similar tothose of the Skaergaard and Bushveld intrusions. One significantdifference in the Dufek intrusion is the limited iron enrichmentof its Ca-rich pyroxenes, that may relate to a slower decreaseof P_O2 during crystallization of the Dufek magma.     

Pyroxenes from the Beaver Bay gabbro complex of Minnesota

Although the Beaver Bay ferrogabbro is a small-scale layered intrusion, Ca-rich pyroxenes show a strong iron enrichment during fractionation, ranging from augite (Mg₃₈Fe₂₄ Ca₃₈) to ferrohedengergite (Mg₁₀Fe₄₈Ca₄₂). Ca-poor pyroxenes from intermediate pigeonite (Mg₃₉Fe₅₀Ca₁₁) to ferriferous pigeonite (Mg₂₇Fe₆₅Ca₈) occur as intercumulus minerals. The pyroxenes from the non-layered Beaver River gabbro are included in the overall pyroxene fractionation trend of the Beaver Bay gabbro complex. The pyroxene trend of the Beaver Bay gabbro complex is similar to those of the Skaergaard and Bushveld; however, there is a slight difference in that the Ca-rich pyroxenes of Beaver Bay (having Mg content over 30%) are slightly richer in Ca than either the Skaergaard or Bushveld augites.     

Geochemistry of cumulates from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (S. Norway) Part II. REE and the trapped liquid fraction

Rare earth elements in bulk cumulates and in separated minerals (plagioclase, apatite, Ca-poor and Ca-rich pyroxenes, ilmenite and magnetite) from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (Rogaland Anorthosite Province, SW Norway) are investigated to better define the proportion of trapped liquid and its influence on bulk cumulate composition. In leuconoritic rocks (made up of plagioclase, Ca-poor pyroxene, ilmenite, ±magnetite, ±olivine), where apatite is an intercumulus phase, even a small fraction of trapped liquid significantly affects the REE pattern of the bulk cumulate, together with cumulus minerals proportion and composition. Contrastingly, in gabbronoritic cumulates characterized by the presence of cumulus Ca-rich pyroxene and apatite, cumulus apatite buffers the REE content. La/Sm and Eu/Eu* vs. P₂O₅ variations in leuconorites display mixing trends between a pure adcumulate and the composition of the trapped liquid, assumed to be similar to the parental magma. Assessment of the trapped liquid fraction in leuconorites ranges from 2 to 25% and is systematically higher in the north-eastern part of the intrusion. The likely reason for this wide range of TLF is different cooling rates in different parts of the intrusion depending on the distance to the gneissic margins. The REE patterns of liquids in equilibrium with primitive cumulates are calculated with mass balance equations. Major elements modelling (Duchesne, J.C., Charlier, B., 2005. Geochemistry of cumulates from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (S. Norway): Part I. Constraints from major elements on the mechanism of cumulate formation and on the jotunite liquid line of descent. Lithos. 83, 299–254) permits calculation of the REE content of melt in equilibrium with gabbronorites. Partition coefficients for REE between cumulus minerals and a jotunitic liquid are then calculated. Calculated liquids from the most primitive cumulates are similar to a primitive jotunite representing the parental magma of the intrusion, taking into account the trapped liquid fraction calculated from the P₂O₅ content. Consistent results demonstrate the reliability of liquid compositions calculated from bulk cumulates and confirm the hypothesis that the trapped liquid has crystallized as a closed-system without subsequent mobility of REE in a migrating interstitial liquid.     

Petrology of the Partridge River Intrusion, Duluth

Drill core DDH-221 was drilled for the Minnamax Project by AMAX Exploration, Inc., as part of the exploration for Cu-Ni sulfidesin the basal rocks of the northwestern margin of the DuluthComplex. The drill core intersects 525 m of the Partridge RiverIntrusion before passing into the Virginia Formation footwall.The rocks in the drill core comprise plagioclase and olivinecumulates, with troctolite and olivine gabbro as the most commonrock types. Sulfide- and oxide-bearing gabbros are present inthe lowest 100 m of the core where decreases in the crystalsizes of plagioclase and olivine, and the appearance of ophitictextures adjacent to the footwall, indicate that the chilledmargin of the intrusion has been preserved (Chalokwu & Grant,1990). The concentrations of incompatible elements in the wholerocks and the iron contents of olivine and pyroxenes all increasesharply in the lowest 100 m of the drill core (Chalokwu &Grant, 1990), and are interpreted as the downward increase inintercumulus liquid now preserved as intercumulus phases, andthe reaction of this liquid with olivine and pyroxenes. Mass, balance calculations for rocks containing widely differentvolumes of intercumulus phases show that the intercumulus liquidwas a chemically uniform ferrodiorite that can be derived fromKeweenawan high-alumina olivine tholeiite by plagioclase (An₆₃),clinopyroxene (En₅₀Fs₁₀Wo₄₀), and olivine (Fo₇₁) fractionation. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values for plagioclase range between 0–704764and O-706335, with the highest values occurring adjacent tothe footwall Virginia Formation, and the lowest at intermediatedepths in the core. These variations are similar to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Srvalues reported earlier by Grant & Moiling (1981) From theadjacent core DDH-295, although the values are all greater thanpublished initial ratios for the least altered Keweenawan lavas.We attribute the isotopic variations in core DDH-221 to isotopicheterogeneities in the Partridge River Intrusion magmas, andto limited assimilation of the Virginia Formation within 50m of the footwall. Rare-earth and other trace elements in the intercumulus liquidfrom core DDH-221 have similar distributions to the same elementsin Keweenawan basic to intermediate lavas. We conclude that the rocks of the Partridge River Intrusionsampled in drill core DDH-221 comprise a mechanical mixtureof cumulus plagioclase and olivine and intercumulus liquid thatwere not in equilibrium with each other, and that the intercumulusliquid was broadly consanguineous with Keweenawan high-aluminaolivine tholeiite lavas, but was modified to a greater extentby assimilative exchange with continental crust. After emplacement,the crystal-liquid mixture was modified by flotation of thecumulus plagioclase out of the basal zone, and by limited —but not ubiquitous — assimilation of footwall VirginiaFormation.     

Magmatic metasomatism and formation of the Merensky reef,Bushveld Complex

The rare earth element (REE) contents of pyroxenes and other minerals from the Merensky reef and stratigraphically adjacent rocks of the Atok section, Bushveld Complex, have been determined with the ion microprobe. Merensky reef clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene contain much higher and more variable concentrations of the REE than their cumulus counterparts in rocks several meters below the reef. Chondrite-normalized Merensky clinopyroxene Ce contents vary from 10 to 90 for Ce and from 4 to 17 for Yb. They also possess deep, negative Eu anomalies, the Eu anomalics being deeper for crystals having high REE contents and relatively shallow for pyroxenes with low REE contents. Similar compositional characteristics are displayed by Cl-rich apatite, which is an accessory phase in the rocks. Interstitial pyroxene in cumulates above and below the reef also tends to have elevated REE contents and in general is not in equilibrium with coexisting cumulus minerals. The melt from which the cumulus minerals crystallized falls within the compositional range of continental basalts; that from which Merensky and postcumulus pyroxenes crystallized is inferred to be much more highly enriched in REE than any normal tholeiitic or alkalic basalt. Despite their highly evolved nature in terms of the REE, the Merensky reef pyroxenes are not evolved in terms of major elements. The decoupling of incompatible trace and major elements is best explained by a metasomatic process. It is speculated that metasomatism involved upward percolation of hydrated silicate melt through and its reaction with the crystalline cumulate pile. The fact that the rocks enriched in the platinum group elements are also those that show evidence for metasomatism suggests that these elements were also metasomatically redistributed.     

Geochemical structure of the Kivakka layered olivinite-norite-gabbronorite intrusion,North Karelia: Distribution of chalcophile elements

The distribution of elements and their correlations were analyzed throughout the section of the Kivakka intrusion to formulate the geochemical tendencies in the behavior of elements of different groups during formation of layered basic-ultrabasic complexes. (1) It was shown that the distribution of trace elements in the layered series is controlled by their ability or inability to enter isomorphically the cumulus minerals. The distribution of trace elements that occur as isomorphic admixtures in cumulus minerals (Cr, Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, and Ti), regardless of their geochemical type, is correlated with the crystallization order and distribution of minerals in the silicate matrix of the rocks. Elements that practically are not involved into silicates (S, Cu, Ag) show no any systematic variations; i.e., they are not controlled by fractionation of major rock-forming mineral. Their behavior is driven by the appearance of individual phase—sulfide melt, whose localization, formation time, and scales of fractionation are determined by saturation of parental melt in sulfide sulfur and general degree of its fractionation. (2) The comparison of cross-section variations of elements that isomorphically substitute for major elements in the Fe-Mg silicates, but differ in chalcophile affinity (in order of increase of chalcophile affinity: Mn → Zn → Co → Ni) reflects the contribution of unmixing and fractionation of sulfide melt during intrusion solidification. This is quantitatively defined primarily by partitioning coefficients of elements between cumulus silicates and magmatic melt, on the one hand, and between magmatic and sulfide melts, on the other hand. (3) The absence of simple correlation between local sulfide-rich horizons and silicate matrix of the rocks and signs of independent fractionation of sulfide melt prevent any attempts to predict the localization and scales of local sulfide mineralization within the layered series on the basis of petrochemical and related criteria. Only tendencies in the distribution of ore elements and sulfur across the section can be used for these purposes.     

Chemical Evolution of Intercumulus Liquid, as Recorded in Plagioclase Overgrowth Rims from the Skaergaard Intrusion

The intercumulus liquid of a crystal mush fills pore spaces,and typically solidifies to form overgrowths on cumulus grainsand poikilitic post-cumulus minerals. If the liquid is immobile,solidification produces zoned intercumulus minerals, as a resultof progressive fractionation of the residual liquid. Convectionwithin the mush results in buffering of the liquid composition,and thus limits mineral zonation. For fully solidified cumulates,‘fossil’ changes in liquid composition or porosityare difficult to identify. However, detailed study of immobileminor components of plagioclase overgrowth rims can provideinformation about the progressive solidification of intercumulusmaterial. Ti contents of plagioclase overgrowths, in samplesfrom the lowermost parts of the Skaergaard Intrusion, show strongvariations with anorthite content. With decreasing X_An, Ti concentrationsfirst rise and then fall, consistent with changing TiO₂ contentsof the intercumulus liquid during solidification. TiO₂ in plagioclasedecreases sharply at An₅₅, reflecting local saturation of Fe–Tioxides. Ti in clinopyroxene oikocrysts also falls rimward, butzoning in faster diffusing species (Fe, Mg) is limited. Otherthan slight reverse zones that may occur on the plagioclasemargins, X_An falls continuously during crystallization. Thereverse zoning is interpreted as the result of compaction-drivendissolution and reprecipitation of plagioclase. The continualdecrease in X_An is exploited, together with back-scattered electronimages of the cumulates, to produce calibrated images showingregions of progressive crystallization. This allows the regionscrystallizing at each stage of solidification to be visualized.These images show that the final remnants of interstitial meltwere present in triangular pockets and as thin grain-boundarymelt films. This approach can provide information about theprogressive reduction of porosity during cumulate solidification. KEY WORDS: residual liquid; cumulate; plagioclase; porosity; Skaergaard     

Mineral chemistry of submarine lavas from Hilo Ridge, Hawaii: implications for magmatic processes within Hawaiian rift zones

The crustal history of volcanic rocks can be inferred from the mineralogy and compositions of their phenocrysts which record episodes of magma mixing as well as the pressures and temperatures when magmas cooled. Submarine lavas erupted on the Hilo Ridge, a rift zone directly east of Mauna Kea volcano, contain olivine, plagioclase, augite ±orthopyroxene phenocrysts. The compositions of these phenocryst phases provide constraints on the magmatic processes beneath Hawaiian rift zones. In these samples, olivine phenocrysts are normally zoned with homogeneous cores ranging from ∼ Fo₈₁ to Fo₉₁. In contrast, plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene phenocrysts display more than one episode of reverse zoning. Within each sample, plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene phenocrysts have similar zoning profiles. However, there are significant differences between samples. In three samples these phases exhibit large compositional contrasts, e.g., Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg+Fe⁺²)] of augite varies from 71 in cores to 82 in rims. Some submarine lavas from the Puna Ridge (Kilauea volcano) contain phenocrysts with similar reverse zonation. The compositional variations of these phenocrysts can be explained by mixing of a multiphase (plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene) saturated, evolved magma with more mafic magma saturated only with olivine. The differences in the compositional ranges of plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene crystals between samples indicate that these samples were derived from isolated magma chambers which had undergone distinct fractionation and mixing histories. The samples containing plagioclase and pyroxene with small compositional variations reflect magmas that were buffered near the olivine + melt ⇒Low-Ca pyroxene + augite + plagioclase reaction point by frequent intrusions of mafic olivine-bearing magmas. Samples containing plagioclase and pyroxene phenocrysts with large compositional ranges reflect magmas that evolved beyond this reaction point when there was no replenishment with olivine-saturated magma. Two of these samples contain augite cores with Mg# of ∼71, corresponding to Mg# of 36–40 in equilibrium melts, and augite in another sample has Mg# of 63–65 which is in equilibrium with a very evolved melt with a Mg# of ∼30. Such highly evolved magmas also exist beneath the Puna Ridge of Kilauea volcano. They are rarely erupted during the shield building stage, but may commonly form in ephemeral magma pockets in the rift zones. The compositions of clinopyroxene phenocryst rims and associated glass rinds indicate that most of the samples were last equilibrated at 2–3 kbar and 1130–1160 °C. However, in one sample, augite and glass rind compositions reflect crystallization at higher pressures (4–5 kbar). This sample provides evidence for magma mixing at relatively high pressures and perhaps transport of magma from the summit conduits to the rift zone along the oceanic crust-mantle boundary. Received: 8 July 1998 / Accepted: 2 January 1999     

Petrology and origin of the shergottite meteorites

Shergottites contain cumulus pigeonite and augite, probably without cumulus plagioclase and crystallized under relatively oxidizing conditions. Shergotty and Zagami may differ in the relative proportions of cumulus pyroxenes and crystallized intercumulus liquid, but the compositions of pyroxenes and liquid are similar in both meteorites. Absence of olivine in melting experiments suggests that the shergottites crystallized from fractionated derivatives of primary liquids. Low-Ca pyroxene and augite apparently began to crystallize from these primary liquids prior to plagioclase. Shergottites can be readily distinguished from other achondrite groups by their mineralogies, crystallization sequences and inferred source region compositions. However, the source regions of the shergottites may be related to those of other achondrite types by addition or loss of volatile components.The bulk composition of the Earth's upper mantle overlaps that of permissible shergottite source regions. Shergottites and terrestrial basalts display similarities in oxidation state and concentrations of trace and minor elements with a wide range of cosmochemical and geochemical affinities. Accretion of similar materials to produce the terrestrial upper mantle and the shergottite parent body or accretion of the Earth's upper mantle from planetesimals similar to the shergottite parent body may account for many of their similarities. Models of the origin of the Earth's upper mantle which attribute its oxidation state, its siderophile element abundances and its volatile element abundances to uniquely terrestrial processes or conditions, or to factors unique to the origin and differentiation of large bodies, are unattractive in light of the similarities between shergottites and terrestrial basalts.     

Differentiation of the Cuthbert Lake ultramafic dikes and related mafic dikes

In the Cuthbert Lake region of north-central Manitoba, northeasterly trending ultramafic-mafic dikes, part of the Molson dike swarm, show a range of composition from gabbro to olivine-hornblende pyroxenite to hornblende peridotite. The major dike which is ultramafic in composition is 60 m thick. Olivine and chromian spinel were the earliest cumulus phases formed in a subcrustal magma chamber before the emplacement of the dikes. Orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene were formed following emplacement at about 1120° C. Plagioclase and hornblende were the latest phases to crystallize from the intercumulus melt. Mineralogical and chemical variations across the major dike are interpreted to have resulted from flow differentiation of multiple injections of magma carrying suspended olivine crystals. Olivine phenocrysts changed their compositions from about Fo₈₇ to values ranging from Fo₈₀to Fo₇₃ as a function of the amount of intercumulus melt. The composition of this melt is estimated to have been basaltic. A mafic dike, about 10 m thick and occurring about 20 m away from the main ultramafic dike, is believed to have been formed from magmas that were tapped from an upper layer overlying the olivine-rich zone in a subcrustal magma chamber. Separation must have occurred when clinopyroxene and plagioclase appeared on the liquidus.Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 36486     

Fe-rich tholeiitic liquids and their cumulate products in the Pleasant Bay layered intrusion, coastal Maine

Fe-rich tholeiitic liquids are preserved as chilled pillows and as the chilled base of a 27 meter thick macrorhythmic layer in the Pleasant Bay mafic-silicic layered intrusion. The compositions of olivine (Fo₁) and plagioclase (An₁₃₋₈) in these extremely fine grained rocks suggest that they represent nearly end stage liquids that formed by fractionation of tholeiitic basalt. Their major element compositions (∼17.5 wt% FeO_T and 54 wt%SiO₂) closely resemble highly evolved glasses in the Loch Ba ring dike and some recent estimates of end-stage liquids related to the Skaergaard layered intrusion, and are consistent with recent experimental studies of tholeiite fractionation. Their trace element compositions are consistent with extensive earlier fractionation of plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite and apatite. The mineral assemblage of the chilled rocks (olivine, clinopyroxene, quartz, ilmenite and magnetite), apatite saturation temperatures, and very low Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺indicate conditions of crystallization at temperatures of about 950 °C and f _{O 2} about two log units below FMQ. Cumulates that lie about 3 meters above the chilled base of the macrorhythmic layer contain cumulus plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene, ilmenite, apatite and zircon. This mineral assemblage and the Fe-Mg ratio in clinopyroxene cores suggest that this cumulate was in equilibrium with a liquid having a composition identical to that of the chilled margin which lies directly beneath it. The high FeO_T and low SiO₂ concentrations of this cumulate (23.3 and 45.8 wt%, respectively) are comparable to those in late stage cumulates of the Skaergaard and Kiglapait intrusions. This association of a chilled liquid and cumulate in the Pleasant Bay intrusion suggests that late stage liquids in tholeiitic layered intrusions may have been more SiO₂-rich than field-based models suggest and lends support to recent experimental studies of tholeiite fractionation at low f _O2 which indicate that saturation of an Fe-Ti oxide phase should cause FeO_T to decrease in the remaining liquid. Received: 17 January 1997 / Accepted: 10 June 1997     

Magmatic unmixing in spinel from late Precambrian concentrically-zoned mafic–ultramafic intrusions, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Spinel is widespread in the ultramafic core rocks of zoned late Precambrian mafic–ultramafic complexes from the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These complexes; Gabbro Akarem, Genina Gharbia and Abu Hamamid are Precambrian analogues of Alaskan-type complexes, they are not metamorphosed although weakly altered. Each intrusion is composed of a predotite core enveloped by pyroxenites and gabbros at the margin. Silicate mineralogy and chemistry suggest formation by crystal fractionation from a hydrous magma. Relatively high Cr₂O₃ contents are recorded in pyroxenes (up to 1.1 wt.%) and amphiboles (up to 1.4 wt.%) from the three plutons. The chrome spinel crystallized at different stages of melt evolution; as early cumulus inclusions in olivine, inclusions in pyroxenes and amphiboles and late-magmatic intercumulus phase. The intercumulus chrome spinel is homogenous with narrow-range of chemical composition, mainly Fe³⁺-rich spinel. Spinel inclusions in clinopyroxene and amphibole reveal a wide range of Al (27–44 wt.% Al₂O₃) and Mg (6–13 wt.% MgO) contents and are commonly zoned. The different chemistries of those spinels reflect various stages of melt evolution and re-equilibration with the host minerals. The early cumulus chrome spinel reveals a complex unmixing structures and compositions. Three types of unmixed spinels are recognized; crystallographically oriented, irregular and complete separation. Unmixing products are Al-rich (Type I) and Fe³⁺-rich (Type II) spinels with an extensive solid solution between the two end members. The compositions of the unmixed spinels define a miscibility gap with respect to Cr–Al–Fe³⁺, extending from the Fe³⁺–Al join towards the Cr corner. Spinel unmixing occurs in response to cooling and the increase in oxidation state. The chemistry and grain size of the initial spinel and the cooling rate control the type of unmixing and the chemistry of the final products. Causes of spinel unmixing during late-magmatic stage are analogous to those in metamorphosed complexes. The chemistry of the unmixed spinels is completely different from the initial spinel composition and is not useful in petrogenetic interpretations. Spinels from oxidized magmas are likely to re-equilibrate during cooling and are not good tools for genetic considerations.     

The Grader layered intrusion (Havre-Saint-Pierre Anorthosite, Quebec) and genesis of nelsonite and other Fe–Ti–P ores

The Grader layered intrusion is part of the Havre-Saint-Pierre anorthosite in the Grenville Province (Quebec, Canada). This intrusion has a basin-like morphology and contains significant resources of Fe–Ti–P in ilmenite and apatite. Outcropping lithologies are massive oxide alternating with anorthosite layers, banded ilmenite–apatite–plagioclase rocks and layered oxide apatite (gabbro-)norites. Drill cores provide evidence for stratigraphic variations of mineral and whole rock compositions controlled by fractional crystallization with the successive appearance of liquidus phases: plagioclase and ilmenite followed by apatite, then orthopyroxene together with magnetite, and finally clinopyroxene. This atypical sequence of crystallization resulted in the formation of plagioclase–ilmenite–apatite cumulates or “nelsonites” in plagioclase-free layers. Fine-grained ferrodiorites that cross-cut the cumulates are shown to be in equilibrium with the noritic rocks. The high TiO₂ and P₂O₅ contents of these assumed liquids explains the early saturation of ilmenite and apatite before Fe–Mg silicates, thus the nelsonites represent cumulates rather than crystallized Fe–Ti–P-rich immiscible melts. The location of the most evolved mineral and whole rock compositions several tens of meters below the top of the intrusion, forming a sandwich horizon, is consistent with crystallization both from the base and top of the intrusion. The concentrations of V and Cr in ilmenite display a single fractionation path for the different cumulus assemblages and define the cotectic proportion of ilmenite to 21 wt.%. This corresponds to bulk cotectic cumulates with ca. 8 wt.% TiO₂, which is significantly lower than what is commonly observed in the explored portion of the Grader intrusion. The proposed mechanism of ilmenite-enrichment is the lateral removal of plagioclase due to its relative buoyancy in the dense ferrodiorite melt. This plagioclase has probably accumulated in other portions of the intrusion or has not been distinguished from the host anorthosite.     

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.     

Clinopyroxenes and Coexisting Mafic Minerals from the Alkaline Ilimaussaq Intrusion, South Greenland

The Ilímaussaq intrusion consists of an augite syeniteshell and a central cumulitic series of layered peralkaline(agpaitic) nepheline syenites with both roof and bottom cumulates.Microprobe analyses of the strongly zoned mafics show that thepyroxenes range from ferro-salite through hedenbergite to aegirine,the amphiboles from hastingsite through katophorite to arfvedsonite,and the olivines from Fo_16.8 to F_O0.2. Aenigmatite analysesare also presented. The crystal chemistry of the pyroxenes isdiscussed in detail. The behaviour of the various elements isdiscussed in relation to the conditions in the coexisting magma.The relation between oxygen fugacity and silica activity andthe stability of fayalite and Na-poor pyroxenes in over-andundersaturated magmas is considered. The persistent stabilityof these minerals in the strongly undersaturated Ilimaussaqmagma shows that the oxygen fugacities in Ilímaussaqwere lower than in any other known alkaline suites. Based onthe compositional development in the mafic minerals it is inferredthat the intrusion formed from at least three separate pulsesof successively more differentiated magma: (1) an augite syenitemagma congealed inwards from the sides, (2) a peralkaline undersaturatedmagma gave rise to the roof cumulates which congealed successivelydownwards. The differentiating magma was water-undersaturatedand underwent depletion in Mg and enrichment in Zr and Na. Thecontemporaneous bottom cumulates are hidden beneath the nowvisible bottom cumulates which possess a still more differentiatedliquidus mineral assemblage and are ascribed to a third separatemagma pulse.