Petrology and Mineral Compositions of the Middle Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

The two olivine-bearing zones of the Middle Banded series ofthe Stillwater Complex are characterized by an increase in thenumber of cumulus minerals with height. In each, anorthositeand anorthositic troctolite dominate the lower part whereasolivine gabbro and gabbronorite form much of the upper portions.Electron microprobe analyses of cumulus minerals indicate littleor no variation of average mineral compositions with height.In addition, no significant lateral variations in cumulus mineralcompositions occur along 8 km of section. Plagioclase from throughoutthese zpnes shows the complex, reverse and oscillatory zonationpatterns also seen in plagioclase from the thick (>500 m)anorthosites that sandwich the zones. The data suggest thatthe entire Middle Banded series is genetically related and thereforerequires models for the origin of the thick anorthosites toalso explain the olivine-bearing rocks between them. However,textural features such as discordant troctolites, pegmatoids,slump structures and variably developed mineral laminations,and chemical features such as zonation in clinopyroxene producedby intergranular exchange with orthopyroxene and large within-samplevariations in the mg-number of olivine in low-olivine troctolites,indicate that significant modification of these rocks by postcumulusprocesses has taken place, thereby obscuring evidence of theirgenesis. KEY WORDS: Stillwater Complex; Middle Banded series; layered intrusions; mineral chemistry; postcumulus processes ^*Corresponding author. Telephone: (919) 681-8169. Fax: (919) 684-5833. e-mail: wpm{at}roguegeo.dukeedu     

Investigations in the Stillwater Complex: Part II. Petrology and Petrogenesis of the Ultramafic Series

The Ultramafic series of the Stillwater Complex has been dividedinto two major zones: a Peridotite zone formed of 20 macro-rhythmicunits of dunite-harzburgite-orthopyroxenite, and an overlyingOrthopyroxenite zone. The stratigraphic section has been determinedat Mountain View (2065 m) and at Chrome Mountain (840 m). TheMountain View section apparently formed in a subsiding basinwhereas the rocks at Chrome Mountain accumulated in a relativelystable, higher area of the chamber floor. In both sections,Mg/(Mg + Fe) in cumulus mafic minerals increases with stratigraphicheight in the lower 400 m, then remains relatively constantthrough the rest of the series. The base of the series is marked by the first appearance oflaterally extensive olivine-rich cumulates. The accretion ofthe cumulates and the growth of the chamber proceeded throughperiodic injections of olivine-saturated mafic magma. The lowercontact of the cycles represents a hiatus in crystallizationand a return to a more primitive magma composition. Althoughhotter, the primitive magma was more dense, so it entered thechamber at or near the floor and did not immediately mix withthe more differentiated orthopyroxene-saturated magma alreadypresent. As it cooled by transfer of heat across its upper surface,the primitive magma crystallized olivine and differentiatedin situ to form the lower dunite. With the accumulation of olivinenear the base, the crystal/liquid ratio, and thus the density,decreased at the top of the layer eventually resulting in mixingand the formation of harzburgite. After removal of olivine byresorption and settling from the hybrid magma, orthopyroxenealone crystallized forming an orthopyroxenite. Chromitite layersprobably formed by the mixing of primitive olivine± chromite-saturatedmagma and narrow layers of orthopyroxene-saturated magma trappedunderneath. The Mg-enrichment trend in the lower 400 m resulted from reactionof cumulus olivine and/or orthopyroxene with progressively decreasingvolumes of intercumulus liquid. As heat loss through the floordecreased, accumulation rate approached a steady state, thefraction of trapped liquid remained more or less constant andvariation in Mg/(Mg + Fe) was governed dominantly by cumulusprocesses. The constant NiO abundances in olivine throughoutthe section are consistent with the model for the formationof the macro-rhythmic units. Depletion of NiO was dampened byrepeated additions of parental magma, localized equilibriumcrystallization, mixing, and the effect of postcumulus equi-librationwith varied amounts of trapped liquid. Discordant dunite bodies, which are common at Chrome Mountain,formed by the replacement by olivine of earlier formed cumulates.The replacement involved the incongruent dissolution of ortho-pyroxeneat near-solidus temperatures by a late-stage, hydrous vaporprobably derived from the magma. The vapor phase migrated alongfractures formed by the readjustment of the cumulate pile.     

High-temperature carbonate minerals in the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA

High-temperature carbonate minerals have been observed in association with sulfide minerals below the platiniferous Johns-Manville (J-M) reef of the Stillwater Complex in a stratigraphic section that has been previously shown to be characterized by unusually Cl-rich apatite. The carbonate assemblage consists of dolomite with exsolved calcite in contact with sulfide minerals: chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in the Peridotite Zone; and pyrrhotite with pentlandite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in Gabbronorite Zone I of the Lower Banded Series. A reaction rim surrounds the carbonate–sulfide assemblages, showing an alteration of the host orthopyroxene to a more calcium-enriched, Fe-depleted pyroxene. The calcite–dolomite geothermometer yields a minimum formation temperature as high as 950 °C for the unmixed assemblages. Iron and manganese concentrations exceed the range seen in carbonatite and mantle xenolith carbonates and are distinctly different from the nearly pure end-member carbonates associated with greenschist-grade (and lower) assemblages (e.g., carbonate veins in serpentinite) that occur locally throughout the complex. The association of high-temperature carbonates with sulfides beneath the J-M reef supports the hydromagmatic theory which involves a late-stage chloride–carbonate fluid percolating upwards, dissolving PGE and sulfides and redepositing them at a higher stratigraphic level. Characterization of the processes which form strategically important metal deposits, such as the J-M reef of the Stillwater Complex and the analogous Merensky reef of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, could potentially lead to better exploration models and, more broadly, a deeper understanding of the cooling and compositional evolution of large bodies of ultramafic and mafic magma and of carbonatites, on both a local and a regional scale.     

Rare Earth Element Evidence for the Petrogenesis of the Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, and its Anorthosites

A rare earth element (REE) study was made by isotope-dilutionmass spectrometry of plagioclase separates from a variety ofcumulates stratigraphically spanning the Banded series of theStillwater Complex, Montana. Evaluation of parent liquid REEpatterns, calculated on the basis of published plagioclase-liquidpartition coefficients, shows that the range of REE ratios istoo large to be attributable to fractionation of a single magmatype. At least two different parental melts were present throughoutthe Banded series. This finding supports hypotheses of previousworkers that the Stillwater Complex formed from two differentparent magma types, designated the anorthositic- or A-type liquidand the ultramafic- or U-type liquid. On the basis of our data,one melt has a REE pattern with a distinctive shallow slopeand is represented by samples from the thick, massive Anorthositezones I and II (AN I and AN II) of the Middle Banded series.Although samples from AN I and AN II are separated by as muchas 1400 m stratigraphically, they have remarkably similar calculatedparent liquid characteristics, with (Ce/Sm)n = 1.7–1.9,(Nd/Sm)n = 1.3–1.4 and (Ce/Yb)n = 2.9–4.6 (wheren denotes chondrite-normalized). These calculated liquids areprobably close to representing A-type magma. In addition, plagioclase-bronzitecumulates from Norite zones I and II (N I and N II), althoughthought to be U-type cumulates, contain plagioclase that hasA-type REE characteristics, implying that A-type magmas wereinjected into the magma chamber during formation of those zones.In contrast, calculated parent liquids of cumulus augite-bearingrocks have REE patterns that display distinctly steeper slopesthan the A-type REE pattern. The extreme is the calculated parentliquid of a plagioclase-bronzite-augite cumulated with (Ce/Sm)n= 2.9, (Nd/Sm)n = 1.7, and (Ce/Yb)n = 10.1. Analysis of published REE and Nd isotopic data for Stillwatercumulates reveals similarities between AN I, AN II, and otherthin plagioclase cumulate layers in the Lower and Upper Bandedseries, which supports the notion that they were all derivedfrom similar (A-type) parent melts. In contrast, plagioclaseseparates from cumulus augite-bearing rocks display light REEand Nd isotopic characteristics that are similar to U-type cumulatesfrom the Ultramafic series as described by previous studies.Thus far, the only cumulates from the Banded series that displayU-type REE and Nd isotopic characteristics are those that containcumulus augite. Therefore, cumulus augite appears to be an importantindicator of magmatic parentage. The REE and Nd isotopic ratios show erratic variation with stratigraphicposition, indicating that the magmas from which the Banded seriescrystallized were injected at various levels into the magmachamber. Different cumulate types crystallized from discreteliquids, as indicated by the correlation between REE signatureand cumulate type. Samples from Olivine-bearing zones III andIV (stratigraphically between AN I and AN II) display a rangein REE ratios; e.g., (Ce/Sm)n = 1.8–2.8 and (Ce/Yb)n =3.9–6.1, results that rule out the crystallization ofthe Middle Banded series from a single magma type. Furthermore,the possibility that AN I and AN II are directly related tothe underlying Ultramafic series, either as flotation cumulatesor as crystallization products of expelled liquids, is not substantiatedby the REE data because the calculated parent magma of AN Iand AN II was different from that of the Ultramafic series asdefined by previous studies. The REE data of this study further constrain interpretationsof published Pb isotopic data (Wooden et al., 1991) and indicatethat the magmas from which the Stillwater Complex formed werederived from two sources that had only small differences inPb isotopic composition. The REE and isotopic data, as wellas crystallization sequences of the two main parental magmas,indicate that the magmas were probably derived from two closelyrelated upper-mantle sources, one harzburgitic and the otherlherzolitic in composition, resulting in the U-type and A-typemagmas, from which orthopyroxene crystallized before and afterclinopyroxene, respectively. Both sources had been enrichedin large-ion lithophile elements, probably owing to mantle metasomatism.     

Serpentinization and alteration in an olivine cumulate from the Stillwater Complex,Southwestern Montana

Some of the olivine cumulates of the Ultramafic zone of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, are progressively altered to serpentine minerals and thompsonite. Lizardite and chrysotile developed in the cumulus olivine and postcumulus pyroxenes; thompsonite developed in postcumulus plagioclase. The detailed mineralogy, petrology, and chemistry indicate that olivine and plagioclase react to form the alteration products, except for H₂O, without changes in the bulk composition of the rocks.     

Lead isotopes in sulfides from the Stillwater Complex, Montana: evidence for subsolidus remobilization

Isotopic ratios of Pb in sulfide minerals (primarily pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandite) from a suite of samples from the platiniferous J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex were measured to elucidate the temporal and genetic relationship between sulfides and host silicate minerals. Results indicate that sulfides and coexisting plagioclases are generally not in isotopic equilibrium, that both sulfides and feldspars record highly radiogenic initial ratios at 2.7 Ga, and that a component of “post-emplacement” radiogenic Pb has mixed with common Pb in the sulfides. A model involving introduction of radiogenic Pb carried by fluids derived from sources external to the complex is favored. Analyses of the lead isotopic composition of sulfides in veins which cut the complex indicate that a significant fraction of the radiogenic lead which was added to the sulfides was externally derived during an extensive hydrothermal episode, associated with Proterozoic regional metamorphism around 1.7 Ga. The possibility that some fractions of the radiogenic Pb may have been derived from primary minerals altered during the low-grade metamorphism cannot be discounted. The amount of radiogenic lead added is variable and in some cases negligible. There is a good correlation between the lead isotope composition and the nature of the secondary mineral assemblage. Sulfides and plagioclases in samples that show little or no alteration of the primary minerals are generally in isotopic equilibrium and preserve isotope ratios consistent with magmatic crystallization at 2.7 Ga. Samples with the most radiogenic sulfides contain abundant secondary minerals (serpentine, talc, actinolite, chlorite and zoisite) associated with greenschist facies metamorphism. Some of the radiogenic Pb in the sulfides can be removed by progressive stepwise leaching. However, in most samples recrystallization of sulfides during metamorphism has mixed common Pb and radiogenic Pb throughout the crystal structure such that, in these samples, stepwise leaching does not recover initial Pb isotopic ratios. Plagioclases are much more resistant to low temperature recrystallization and in almost all cases, stepwise leaching reveals the initial lead isotopic composition. The reactivity of sulfides over a wide temperature range enhances their utility in understanding not only the processes involved in their formation at the time of magmatic emplacement but also postmagmatic processes which were important in the redistribution and enrichment of platinum group elements (PGE) within the ore zone. Received: 30 December 1998 / Accepted: 16 June 1999     

Sulfide saturation history of the Stillwater Complex, Montana: chemostratigraphic variation in platinum group elements

A platinum group element (PGE) investigation of a 5.3?km-thick stratigraphic section of the Stillwater Complex, Montana was undertaken to refine and test a geochemical technique to explore for platiniferous horizons in layered mafic/ultramafic complexes. PGE, Au, major, and trace elements were determined in 92 samples from outcrops along traverses in the Chrome Mountain and Contact Mountain areas in the western part of the Stillwater Complex where the J-M reef occurs ～1,460?m above the floor of the intrusion. A further 29 samples from a drill hole cored in the immediate vicinity of the J-M reef were analyzed to detail compositional variations directly above and below the J-M reef. Below the J-M reef, background concentrations of Pt (10?ppb) and Pd (7?ppb) are features of peridotites with intermediate S concentrations (mostly 100–200?ppm) and rocks from the Bronzitite, Norite I, and Gabbronorite I zones (mostly <100?ppm S). A sustained increase in S abundance commences at the J-M reef and continues to increase and peaks in the center of the 600?m-thick middle banded series. Over this same interval, Pt, Pd, and Au are initially elevated and then decrease in the order Pd?>?Pt?>?Au. Within the middle and upper banded series, S abundances fluctuate considerably, but exhibit an overall upward increase. The behavior of these elements records periodic sulfide saturation during deposition of the Peridotite zone, followed by crystallization under sulfide-undersaturated conditions until saturation is achieved at the base of the J-M reef. Following formation of the reef, sulfide-saturated conditions persisted throughout the deposition of most of the remaining Lower Layered Series. This resulted in a pronounced impoverishment in PGE abundance in the remaining magma, a condition that continued throughout deposition of the remainder of a succession, which is characterized by very low Pt (1.5?ppb) and Pd (0.7?ppb) abundances. Because only unmineralized rock was selected for study in the 5.3?km-thick section, the results provide an unbiased picture of the variation in background PGE levels during crystallization of the Stillwater Complex. In contrast, the variations in the drill core samples through the reef provide a detailed record of ore formation. Plots of Pt, Pd, Pd/S, and Pt?+?Pd as a function of stratigraphic height in the intrusion show that the location of the J-M reef is defined by an abrupt change in these concentrations and ratios. Although this is the most abrupt change, three other anomalies in PGE abundance and ratios are apparent in the profiles and coincide with known laterally extensive sub-economic sulfide concentrations above the J-M reef. The uppermost of these is the PGE-bearing Picket Pin sulfide horizon. The relative ease with which mineralized horizons can be pinpointed in these diagrams indicates that a similar approach could be used in exploration programs in other ultramafic/mafic intrusions. Our observations exclude the possibilities of either magma mixing within the Stillwater chamber or the fluxing of a volatile-rich fluid as the mechanisms responsible for the genesis of the J-M reef. Rather, our data indicate that the J-M reef formed from a parental magma that was strongly enriched in PGE; this magma likely formed at depth below the Stillwater magma chamber by the interaction of the parental magma with S-rich meta-sedimentary rocks, followed by the re-dissolution of these sulfides in the Stillwater magma.     

Petrology of the G and H Chromitite Zones in the Mountain View Area of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

The Ultramafic Series of the Stillwater Complex in the MountainView area of the intrusion consists of 17 cyclic units thathave been numbered stratigraphically. A typical unit has olivinecumulates at the base, olivine–bronzite cumulates at intermediatelevels, and bronzite cumulates at the top. Most cyclic unitsalso have chromite-rich layers near their base, the thickestbeing the G and H chromitite zones in units 10 and 11. The Gand H zones are each separated from the top of the underlyingcyclic unit by 1–3 m of coarse-grained olivine cumulateand pegmatite; and they are both succeeded by thinner chromititezones, respectively called the hanging wall G (HWG) and thehanging wall H (HWH) zones, situated {small tilde}20 m and 5m above them. The G and H chromitite zones feature rhythmicsequences of thin layers that tend to progress upward from massivechromitite through chromite–olivine cumulate to olivine–chromitecumulate (the last with the minerals in approximately cotecticproportions of about 98:2). In cyclic units 10 and 11, variationsof Mg/Fe in the olivine and bronzite, and of Ni in the olivine,are small and show no clear stratigraphic fractionation trends.The abundance of Cr in the chromite in unit 10 does have a fractionationtrend, however, being generally highest at the bottom of theunit and lowest at the top, with a regression at the HWG zone.In general, Cr in chromite is highest at the base of a rhythmicunit and decreases upward, but it shows no overall decline throughsuccessive rhythmic units; Fe³ exhibits opposite variation,being lowest in the massive chromite, and highest in the disseminatedgrains. The G and H chromitite zones, in the Mountain View area, eachcontain enough chromite to form a single layer of massive chromitite{small tilde} 1 m thick. If their formation involved removalof only 30% of the Cr in the parental magmatic liquid (estimatedconcentration, 600 ppm), then this liquid could have amountedvolumetrically to an areally equivalent layer at least 2000m thick. Model calculations demonstrate that such a large volumeof liquid is consistent with the small variations of Mg/Fe inthe pyroxenes and olivines in the Stillwater cyclic units. We postulate that the G and H chromitite zones and cyclic unitsthat host them formed in response to the entry of new pulsesof primitive magmatic liquid into the Stillwater chamber. Fromexperimental observations, we infer that these pulses producedfountains in which the primitive liquid mixed with residualfractionated liquids, yielding hybrids that were compositionallywithin the chromite liquidus field (or volume) and that weresupercooled (supersaturated ) with respect to the oxide mineral.These effects may have been enhanced by low fO₂ (oxygen fugacity)in the primitive liquid and(or) by high fO₂ of the fractionatedliquid. The hybrid liquids probably collected at the bottomof the chamber in a zoned layer that then divided into double-diffusiveconvecting layers. In these circumstances, the lowest chromite-richlayer in a rhythmic sequence could have formed from the lowestdouble-diffusive liquid layer, and the next could then haveformed when this liquid mixed with the liquid layer above it—andso on up the sequence. We argue that the thick G and H chromititezones are situated toward the top of the Ultramafic Series becausethat level marks when the compositional contrasts between theinjected primitive liquid and the residual fractionated liquidsin the chamber were greatest.     

A lead isotopic study of the Stillwater Complex,Montana: constraints on crustal contamination and source regions

Analyses of the Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase from 23 samples covering the stratigraphic thickness of the Stillwater Complex indicate a narrow range of apparent initial isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb=13.95; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=14.95–15.01; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=33.6). The uniformity of our data is in contrast to, but not necessarily contradictory to, other recent investigations which give indications that the complex formed by repeated injection of magmas with at least two distinct compositions that were presumably derived from different source regions. Samples from the Basal series of the complex have consistently higher ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios, suggesting either minor contamination from adjacent country rocks or a slight distinction between parental magmas. Apparent initial Pb isotopic compositions of the complex are very radiogenic compared to Late Archean model-mantle values, but are nearly identical to initial Pb isotopic compositions found for the the adjacent, slightly older (2.73–2.79 Ga), Late Archean crustal suite in the Beartooth Mountains. Contamination of magmas parental to the Stillwater Complex by the Late Archean crustal suite is rejected for two reasons: (1) Th and U concentrations in Stillwater rocks and plagioclase are very low (about 0.08 and 0.02 ppm respectively), yet Th/U ratios are uniform at about 4, in contrast to the highly variable (2–26) but often high Th/U ratios found for the Late Archean crustal complex; (2) it seems improbable that any contamination process would have adjusted the isotopic compositions of the diverse magmas entering the Stillwater chamber to near-identical values. The preferred hypothesis to explain the Pb isotopic data for the Stillwater Complex and the associated Late Archean crustal suite involves a major Late Archean crust-forming event that resulted in a compositionally complex crust/mantle system with relatively homogeneous and unusual Pb isotopic compositions. The parental magmas of the Stillwater Complex were generated at different levels within this crust/mantle system, before isotopic contrasts could develop by radioactive decay within compositionally discrete reservoirs. This situation limits the utility of all isotopic tracer systems in discriminating among the various mantle and crustal reservoirs that may have affected the final isotopic character of the Stillwater magmas. The late Archean crustal complex and the Stillwater Complex melts were ultimately derived from the same distinct mantle without obvious direct interaction with the Middle to Early Archean crust present in the region.     

Re–Os isotopic constraints on magma mixing in the Peridotite Zone of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA

Chromite separates within the Peridotite Zone of the 2,700 Ma-old Stillwater Complex are characterized by low ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os (0.009 to 1.74) and relatively high Os concentrations (8.74 to 78.2 ppb). Their calculated initial Os isotopic compositions likely reflect the compositions of the magmas from which they crystallized. The chromites show variable initial Os isotopic compositions (%_Os of +2.0 to +16.4) over the vertical extent of the Peridotite Zone, implicating at least two sources of Os. Both the range of %_Os and values of %_Os decrease upsection. These variations in %_Os were caused by mixing of variable proportions of two magmas having different Os isotopic compositions. One of the magmatic components was a more primitive magma with a nearly chondritic Os isotopic composition. The other magma had a radiogenic Os isotopic composition as a result of assimilation of crust, perhaps of sedimentary rocks beneath the Stillwater Complex. The gradual decrease in the initial %_Os values of the chromite layers with increasing stratigraphic height implies a decreasing relative contribution from the contaminated magma throughout the growth of the Peridotite Zone. Small variations in %_Os between different chromite occurrences within the H multicyclic unit reflects the petrologic requirement that chromite layers crystallize from slightly different proportions of the magmas, compared to chromite from olivine- and orthopyroxene-rich layers.     

Multiphase inclusions in plagioclase from anorthosites in the Stillwater Complex,Montana: implications for the origin of the anorthosites

Multiphase inclusions, consisting of clinopyroxene+ilmenite+apatite, occur within cumulus plagioclase grains from anorthosites in the Stillwater Complex, Montana, and in other rocks from the Middle Banded series of the intrusion. The textures and constant modal mineralogy of the inclusions indicate that they were incorporated in the plagioclase as liquid droplets that later crystallized rather than as solid aggregates. Their unusual assemblage, including a distinctive manganiferous ilmenite and the presence of baddeleyite (ZrO₂), indicates formation from an unusual liquid. A process involving silicater liquid immiscibility is proposed, whereby small globules of a liquid enriched in Mg, Fe, Ca, Ti, P, REE, Zr and Mn exsolved from the main liquid that gave rise to the anorthosites, became trapped in the plagioclase, and later crystallized to form the inclusions. The immiscibility could have occurred locally within compositional boundaries around crystallizing plagioclase grains or it could have occurred pervasively throughout the liquid. It is proposed that the two immiscible liquids were analogous, n terms of their melt structures, to immiscible liquid pairs reported in the literature both in experiments and in natural basalts. For the previously reported pairs, immiscibility is between a highly polymerized liquid, typically granitic in composition, and a depolymerized liquid, typically ferrobasaltic in composition. In the case of the anorthosites, the depolymerized liquid is represented by the inclusions, and the other liquid was a highly polymerized aluminosilicate melt with a high normative plagioclase content from which the bulk of the anorthosites crystallized. Crystallization of the anorthosites from this highly polymerized liquid accounts for various distinctive textural and chemical features of the anorthosites compared to other rocks in the Stillwater Complex. A lack of correlation between P contents and chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) ratios of plagioclase separates indicates that the amount of apatite in the inclusions is too low to affect the REE signature of the plagioclase separates. Nevertheless, workers should use caution when attempting REE modelling studies of cumulates having low REE contents, because apatite-bearing inclusions can potentially cause problems.     

Re--Os and Sm--Nd Isotope Geochemistry of the Stillwater Complex, Montana: Implications for the Petrogenesis of the J-M Reef

Re—Os and Sm—Nd isotopic data have been obtainedfor mafic and ultramafic cumulates from the 2700-Ma StillwaterComplex and associated fine-grained sills and dykes, so as tobetter constrain the geochemical characteristics of Stillwaterparental magmas and to trace the source(s) of the precious metalsthat have been concentrated in the J-M Reef, the major platinum-groupelement mineral deposit in the complex. Initial Os isotopiccompositions (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os) for chromitites from the Ultramaficseries range from a radiogenic isotopic composition of 0.1321(_Os = +21) for the platinum group element (PGE)-enriched B chromititeseam from the West Fork area to a near-chondritic isotopic compositionof 0.1069–0.1135 (_Os=–2 to +4.1) for the PGE-poorG and H chromitite seams, respectively, near the middle of theUltramafic series. Osmium isotopic data for the PGE-rich B chromititeseam are generally isochronous with whole-rock and mineral datafor the J-M Reef (_Os = + 12 to + 34). Re—Os isotopic datatherefore document a contrast between PGE-poor cumulates fromthe Ultramafic series and PGE-enriched cumulates from both theUltramafic series and the J-M Reef, suggesting that Os and probablythe other PGE were derived from at least two isotopically distinctsources. Moreover, these Re-Os isotopic characteristics correlatewith petrogenetic subdivisions of the Stillwater Complex basedon field mapping, petrology, REE geochemistry, and Sm—Ndisotope geochemistry. The data are best explained by mixingof two magma types, referred to as U-type and A-type magmas,with differing major element, trace element, and precious metalabundances and isotopic compositions. Although crustally contaminatedkomatiites can mimic the Os and Nd isotopic characteristicsof the U-type magma, the combination of low initial Os isotopicvalues (_Os0) with low initial Nd isotopic values (_Nd–1),high ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb for a given ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (Wooden et al., 1991),and high (Ce/Yb)_n ratios in U-type cumulates and fine-grainedsills and dykes is more consistent with the involvement of aRe-poor, but trace-element-enriched portion of the subcontinentallithospheric mantle in the petrogenesis of Stillwater U-typemagmas. However, the radiogenic initial Os isotopic compositionsof the J-M Reef and other portions of the intrusion with elevatedPGE concentrations suggest that A-type parental magmas incorporatedOs from radiogenic early Archaean crust. The relatively largerange in (Ce/Yb)_n, _Os, and _Nd values suggests that mixing ofgeochemically distinct magmas may have been an important processthroughout the history of the Stillwater magma chamber. Magmamixing may then explain not only the PGE-enriched J-M Reef butalso the anomalous enrichment of the PGE in the B chromititeseam from the West Fork area and the variable values observedin other chromitite seams of the Ultramafic series. The intimateassociation of these magma types, derived from or modified inthe Archaean continental lithosphere, may then be crucial tothe formation of magmatic PGE mineral deposits.     

Argon diffusion and absorption studies of pyroxenes from the Stillwater complex,Montana

Diffusion of argon from two bronzite pyroxenes from the Ultramafic Zone of the Stillwater complex, Montana, has been measured by both a stepwise heating Ar release process and long term isothermal heating. Both pyroxenes contained excess Ar⁴⁰. This amounted to at least 88% of the total radiogenic Ar⁴⁰ in the minerals. The Ar release occurred by at least two mechanisms, and possibly a third. One of the most important, quantitatively, occurs between 600° and 1000° C and has an activation energy in excess of 72 kcal/gm-atom Ar. A second occurs above 1000° C. A small, but possibly significant, loss occurs rapidly below 600° C. Both of the major Ar release processes yield some excess Ar, and there is no single temperature range or mechanism which can be assigned unambiguously to the in-situ produced radiogenic Ar. Consequently, no K-Ar age can be obtained which gives the true age unambiguously.Ar³⁶ tracer was used to conduct absorption experiments using the same bronzites. Runs were made at 800° and 1000° C at Ar pressures equal to total pressure of 1 atm. The absorption was found to be the same at the two temperatures and was 6 × 10^–5 sccAr/Atmos.-gm px.It is suggested that the excess Ar in the bronzites was introduced at the time of their crystallization. The ambient Ar partial pressure in the melt at that time would have been 0.1 atm. Estimates of the Ar in the melt yield values of (3 to 80) × 10^–6 sccAr/gm melt.     

An evaluation of models of apatite compositional variability using apatite from the Middle Banded series of the Stillwater Complex,Montana

 Apatite is a relatively common accessory mineral in the olivine-bearing zones (OB-III and OB-IV) of the Middle Banded series of the Stillwater complex, occurring interstitial to cumulus grains, as monomineralic inclusions in cumulus grains, and in polymineralic clusters which may or may not be included in the cumulus grains. Eighty-nine of 185 samples examined were found to contain some apatite. The F-Cl-OH content of the apatite show distinct stratigraphic variations. XClAp (mole fraction Cl in apatite) of interstitial apatite increases upsection in both OB-III and OB-IV with average values ranging from 0.15 to 0.85 in OB-III and from 0.03 to 0.60 in OB-IV. XFAp varies inversely with XClApwith average values ranging from 0.00 to 0.70, while XOHAp remains relatively constant near 0.40 or decreases slightly with height. These variations are remarkable given that no appreciable stratigraphic variations in either the major or trace element compositions of any of the cumulus minerals are found in the 800 m of section that comprise OB-III and OB-IV. Within-sample variation of XClAp for samples containing Cl-rich apatite is substantially larger (up to 0.65 XClAp) than for samples with more F-rich apatite (XClAp varies by approximately 0.15). Although interstitial apatite is found throughout OB-III and OB-IV, apatite occurring as monomineralic inclusion in cumulus grains or in polymineralic clusters is almost exclusively found in samples with Cl-rich apatite. The data are best explained by a model involving the degassing of a Cl-rich volatile phase from the crystallizing interstitial liquid. The up-section migration of this fluid resulted in the crystallization of F-rich apatite in the lower portion and progressive Cl-enrichment in the apatite with height. The presence of hornblende-bearing dikes, veins and pegmatoids at the level of maximum Cl-enrichment is consistent with a fluid migration model. Received: 5 October 1995 / Accepted: 19 March 1996     

Discordant bodies from olivine-bearing zones III and IV of the Stillwater Complex, Montana – evidence for postcumulus fluid migration and reaction in layered intrusions

Mineralogically zoned and unzoned discordant bodies composed predominately of plagioclase with up to 35% olivine, occur at three different levels in Olivine-Bearing zones III and IV of the Middle Banded series of the Stillwater complex. The discordant bodies are elongate perpendicular to the layering of the host cumulates with slender concordant apophyses. Although the host olivine-gabbros are foliated with tabular plagioclase, the discordant bodies lack a discernible fabric and have blocky plagioclase. Average olivine in the host rocks is slightly more magnesian than that of the discordant bodies (Mg#_{75.8 ± 0.7} versus Mg#_{74.6 ± 0.3} respectively) but plagioclase compositions are indistinguishable (An_{77.6 ± 2.0} versus An_{76.6 ± 4.3}– average host and discordant bodies respectively). Whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions of the discordant bodies are generally indistinguishable from cumulates with similar modal abundance. However, bulk compositions of anorthositic cores from the discordant bodies are enriched in K, Na, Ba, Sr and P. We conclude that the discordant bodies formed when cooler volatile fluids or fluid-rich silicate liquids moved upward and encountered a hotter undersaturated solid-plus-liquid assemblage. Continued liquid/fluid fluxing increased the permeability along the flow path and focused the flow, allowing the original bulk compositions to be modified and leaving plagioclase-rich troctolites and anorthosites. The shapes of the discordant bodies suggest that the cumulus pile had anisotropic permeability during late-stage liquid/fluid flow. Chemical and mineralogical evidence from other parts of Olivine-Bearing zones III and IV suggests that the processes that formed the discordant bodies may have influenced other cumulates. In fact, it appears that the same processes that formed the discordant bodies operated within an anorthositic layer, strongly modifying the chemistry of the rock but leaving no mineralogical or textural evidence. Received: 10 December 1996 / Accepted: 12 August 1997     

The geology and petrology of the Adamsfield Ultramafic Complex,Tasmania

The Adamsfield Ultramafic Complex is one of a dozen Tasmanian ultramafic-mafic and ophiolite complexes emplaced during Cambrian time in the Tasman Geosyncline.The Adamsfield complex is composed of partlyserpentinized dunites, olivine orthopyroxenites and orthopyroxenites. Rocks are commonly layered and alternately rich in olivines (Fo_93–84) and orthopy roxenes (En_94–87). Spinels are a minor but widely disseminated phase. Orthopyroxenes and spinels are poor in Al₂O₃ and TiO₂. Clinopyroxenes are rare, plagioclase or garnet have not been found.Nominal equilibration temperatures calculated from coexisting mineral assemblages range from quasi-magmatic values (1200±100 °C) for little-deformed rocks down to subsolidus values (950 °C) for deformed and reacted assemblages. Olivine kink band orientations imply that deformation also took place at lower temperatures (<800 °C) but mineral compositions apparently failed to react further.Adamsfield mineral assemblages probably crystallized originally at low pressures from highly magnesian, titania-poor tholeiitic or andesitic magmas. Fine-grained igneous rocks from the Tasmanian ultramafic-mafic and ophiolite complexes include highmagnesia andesites of appropriate compositions and comprise a distinctive compositional group termed the Low-titania Ophiolite Association, poor in TiO₂ (<0.5 wt%), P₂O₅ (<0.1 wt%) and Zr, and rich in MgO, Ni, and Cr.     

Purang Ultramafic Complex and Their Geological Origin, Southwest Tibet

<正>Neoproterozoic ophiolitic Serpentinites are common in the Arabian–Nubian Shield(ANS)of the Eastern Desert(ED)of Egypt,which were formed in arc stage in different tectonic setting.Thus they might subject to exchange with the crustal material derived from recycling subducting oceanic lithosphere.This caused metasomatism enriching     

Chromian Spinel-Silicate Chemistry in Ultramafic Rocks of the Jijal Complex, Northwest Pakistan

The approximately 150 km² Jijal complex occupies a deep-levelsection of the Cretaceous Kohistan are obducted along the Indussuture. The complex consists of mafic garnet granulites, anda > 10 km ? 4 km slab of pyroxenites (diopsidite > websterite;? olivine), dunite, and subordinate peridotite, all of whichare devoid of plagioclase. These contain chromite either inlenses, layers, and veins or as disseminated grains. The chromiteis mostly medium grained, subhedral to euhedral, shows pull-aparttexture, and may contain inclusions of associated silicates.Chromite grains within thin sections of chromitite are generallyhomogeneous in composition, but dunite and pyroxenite samplescommonly contain chromite grains of variable composition. Thesegregated chromite has higher Cr₂O₃ wt%, cr-number, and mg-number,and lower fe'-number than the accessory chromite. These variationsare mainly attributed to subsolidus exchange of Mg and Fe betweenchromite and associated olivine or pyroxene, and to inheritancefrom a magmatic source, but other factors may also be responsible.In general, the chromite grains are altered along margins andfractures to ferritchromit that is enriched in cr-number (andgenerally Fe³⁺, Mn, and Ti) and impoverished in mg-number comparedwith the parent grains. Chromian chlorite (clinochlore, penninite,with up to 7?3 wt.% Cr₂O₃) is commonly associated with the alteration,as is serpentine in most silicate rocks and some chromitites.The chlorite shows considerable compositional variation fromgrain to grain and in some cases within a single grain. Clinopyroxene is low-Al, -Na and high-Ca diopside. Orthopyroxeneranges from En₉₁ to En₈₂ and olivine from Fo₉₈ to Fo₈₄ (ignoringone analysis each). The mg-number of these minerals is higherin chromitites than in dunites and pyroxenites. Several aspectsof the petrogenesis of the ultramafic rocks (e.g., the abundanceof diopsidite) are not clear, but they seem to have passed througha complex history. The high cr-numbers (>60) in the chromiteindicate that the rocks may have originated from some form ofoceanic lithosphere-island are interaction. Petrography andmineral compositional data suggest that the rocks are ultramaficcumulates derived from an are-related (?primitive) high-Mg tholeiiticmagma, possibly at pressures in excess of 8 kb.There also aresmall ultramafic bodies in the form of conformable layers andemplaced masses within the garnet granulites. These containmagnetite and pleonaste with < 10 wt.% Cr₂O₃, and less magnesianolivine and pyroxene than the principal ultramafic mass. Thesealso have the characteristics of island are plutonic rocks,but it is not clear whether the garnet granulites constitutea continuous sequence of are cumulates with the principal ultramaficmass or the two are produced from different source magmas.     

Using apatite to dispel the “trapped liquid” concept and to understand the loss of interstitial liquid by compaction in mafic cumulates: an example from the Stillwater Complex, Montana

The size, paragenetic setting, distribution, and composition of apatite grains in 16 thin sections from one sample of an olivine gabbro from the Stillwater Complex, Montana were documented to determine whether they grew from trapped interstitial liquid or in an open system. The grains show extreme variability in cross-sectional area, ranging from <150 to >300,000 μm². The apatite grains are not associated with quartz, Fe–Ti oxides, or evolved overgrowths on cumulus grains as expected for the crystallization of a trapped liquid, which suggests that they grew in an open system. The grains are very irregularly distributed, with a single cluster comprising almost 25% of the cumulative apatite cross-sectional area from all 16 slides. The spatial patterns of the apatite indicate that the interstitial liquid moved in tubular channels during the final stages of compaction. The trace-element composition of liquids calculated from apatite and silicate mineral compositions are similar, indicating that the apatite crystallized from liquids that were not dramatically enriched in incompatible elements. We conclude that the interstitial liquid never actually became trapped, that liquid was lost in an open system to essentially zero porosity, and that the model of cumulates as a combination of cumulus grains and trapped liquid should be discarded.     

Talc-, Magnesite- and Ti-Clinohumite-Bearing Ultrahigh-Pressure Meta-Mafic and Ultramafic Complex in the Dabie Mountains, China

The Bixiling mafic-ultramafic metamorphic complex is a 1•5km² tectonic block within biotite gneiss in the southern Dabieultrahigh-pressure terrane, central China. The complex consistsof banded eclogites that contain thin layers of garnet-bearingcumulate ultramafic rock. Except for common eclogitic phases(garnet, omphacite, kyanite, phengite, zoisite and rutilc),banded eclogites contain additional talc and abundant coesiteinclusions in omphacite, zoisite, kyanite and garnet. Some metaultramaficrocks contain magnesite and Ti-clinohumite. Both eclogites andmeta-ultramafic rocks have undergone multi-stage metamorphism.Eclogite facies metamorphisrn occurred at 610–700C andP>27 kbar, whereas amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphismis characterized by symplectites of plagioclase and hornblendeafter omphacite and replacement of tremolite after talc at P<6–15kbar and T <600C. The meta-ultramafic assemblages such asolivine + enstatite + diopside + garnet and Ti-clinohumite +diopside + enstatite + garnet + magnesite olivine formed at700–800C and 47–67 kbar. Investigation of the phaserelations for the system CaO-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O-CO₂ and the experimentallydetermined stabilities of talc, magnesite and Ti-clinohumiteindicate that (1) UHP talc assemblages are restricted to Mg-Algabbro composition and cannot be an important water-bearingphase in the ultramafic mantle, and (2) Ti-clinohumite and magnesiteare stable H₂O-bearing and CO₂-bearing phases at depths >100km. The mafic-ultramafic cumulates were initially emplaced atcrustal levels, then subducted to great depths during the Triassiccollision of the Sine-Korean and Yangtze cratons. KEY WORDS: eclogite; magnesite; meta-ultramafics; talc; ultrahigh-P metamorphism ^*Corresponding author