Distribution of platinum-group elements and Os isotopes in chromite ores from Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt (eastern Cuba)

The Mayarí-Baracoa ophiolitic belt in eastern Cuba hosts abundant chromite deposits of historical economic importance. Among these deposits, the chemistry of chromite ore is very variable, ranging from high Al (Cr#=0.43–0.55) to high Cr (Cr#=0.60–0.83) compositions. Platinum-group element (PGE) contents are also variable (from 33 ppb to 1.88 ppm) and correlate positively with the Cr# of the ore. Bulk PGE abundances correlate negatively with the Pd/Ir ratio showing that chromite concentrates mainly Os, Ir and Ru which gives rise to the characteristic negatively sloped, chrondrite-normalized PGE patterns in many chromitites. This is consistent with the mineralogy of PGEs, which is dominated by members of the laurite–erlichmanite solid solution series (RuS₂–OsS₂), with minor amounts of irarsite (IrAsS), Os–Ir alloys, Ru–Os–Ir–Fe–Ni alloys, Ni–Rh–As, and sulfides of Ir, Os, Rh, Cu, Ni, and/or Pd. Measured ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios (from 0.1304 to 0.1230) are among the lower values reported for podiform chromitites. The ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios decrease with increasing whole-rock PGE contents and Cr# of chromite. Furthermore, γOs values of all but one of the chromitite samples are negative indicating a subchondiritc mantle source. γOs decrease with increasing bulk Os content and decreasing ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os ratios. These mineralogical and geochemical features are interpreted in terms of chromite crystallization from melts varying in composition from back-arc basalts (Al-rich chromite) to boninites (Cr-rich chromite) in a suprasubduction zone setting. Chromite crystallization occurs as a consequence of magma mixing and assimilation of preexisting gabbro sills at the mantle–crust transition zone. Cr#, PGE abundances, and bulk Os isotopic composition of chromitites are determined by the combined effects of mantle source heterogeneity, the degree of partial melting, the extent of melt-rock interactions, and the local sulfur fugacity. Small-scale (μm to cm) chemical and isotopic heterogeneities in the platinum-group minerals are controlled by the mechanism(s) of chromite crystallization in a heterogeneous environment created by the turbulent regime generated by successive inputs of different batches of melt.     

In situ Re–Os isotopic analysis of platinum-group minerals from the Mayarí-Cristal ophiolitic massif (Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt,eastern Cuba): implications for the origin of Os-isotope heterogeneities in podiform chromitites

Chromitite pods in the Mayarí-Cristal ophiolitic massif (eastern Cuba) were formed in the Late Cretaceous when island arc tholeiites and MORB-like back-arc basin basalts reacted with residual mantle peridotites and generated chromite-rich bodies enclosed in dunite envelopes. Platinum-group minerals (PGM) in the podiform chromitites exhibit important Os-isotope heterogeneities at the kilometric, hand sample and thin section scales. ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os calculated at the time of chromitite crystallization (~90 Ma) ranges between 0.1185 and 0.1295 (γOs = −7.1 to +1.6, relative to enstatite chondrite), and all but one PGM have subchondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os. Grains in a single hand sample have initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os that spans from 0.1185 to 0.1274, and in one thin section it varies between 0.1185 and 0.1232 in two PGM included in chromite which are only several millimeters apart. As the Os budget of a single micrometric grain derives from a mantle region that was at least several m³ in size, the variable Os isotopic composition of PGM in the Mayarí-Cristal chromitites probably reflects the heterogeneity of their mantle sources on the 10–100 m scale. Our results show that this heterogeneity was not erased by pooling and mingling of individual melt batches during chromitite crystallization but was transferred to the ore deposits on mineral scale. The distribution of the Os model ages calculated for PGM shows four main peaks, at ~100, 500, 750 and 1,000 Ma. These variable Os model ages reflect the presence of different depleted domains in the oceanic (Pacific-related) upper mantle of the Greater Antilles paleo-subduction zone. The concordance between the age of crystallization of the Mayarí-Cristal chromitites and the most recent peak of the Os model age distribution in PGM supports that Os in several grains was derived from fertile domains of the upper mantle, whose bulk Os isotopic composition is best approximated by that of enstatite chondrites; on the other hand, most PGM are crystallized by melts that tapped highly refractory mantle sources.     

International Workshop on ＂Central Asian Orogenesis and Metallogeny＂

An ＂International Workshop on Central Asian Orogenesis and Metallogeny＂, sup- ported by Department of Science and Tech- nology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Geosciences Department of the Natural Science Foundation of China, the Bureau of Science and Technology for Resources and Environment, the Chinese Academy of Science, Xinjiang Petroleum Company, and China National Petroleum Corporation, was held in Urumqi, Xinjiang, from 18-24 September, 2007 （hosted by the National 305 Project Office）.     

IGCP-649项目第三届蛇绿岩国际研讨会在古巴成功举办

2017年4月3至14日,国际地球科学研究计划"金刚石与地幔再循环"项目(IGCP-649)在中美洲古巴举办了第三届蛇绿岩国际研讨会, 并组织了对古巴Mayarí-Baracoa蛇绿岩及铬铁矿的野外考察.     

Extensional Structures in the Ophiolites from Cuba and China: New Constraints to Slowly‐Spreading Ancient Oceanic Lithosphere

A group of low‐angle normal faults developed in banded gabbro of Moa Ophiolite, Cuba. The dark gabbro was cut into puddings by several normal faults, while light gabbro was just swelling in layer thickness. In Hongliuhe ophiolite at eastern segment of South Tien Shan Suture Zone in China, the extensional deformation concentrates on fine cumulus gabbro which is typically mylonitized. Abundant structural features were discovered in HLH ophiolite such as S‐C foliation, C’ foliation, extensional crenulation cleavage, small toughness normal fault, low‐angle normal faults and high‐angle normal faults. According to the above tectonic phenomenon from the ophiolite belts in Cuba and China, we will get the conclusion: the maximum principal compressive stress (b1) is vertical to cumulus bedding, and the maximum tensile stress (b3) is paralleling to cumulus bedding. Considering of the above evidence, the extensional tectonic event should developed at mid‐ocean ridge. Due to seafloor spreading, the maximum tensile stress is paralleling to cumulus layer, and extensional tectonic is kept in cumulus gabbro. In this way, normal faults developed in dark gabbro, while brittle‐ductile extensional developed in light gabbro. A large number of domes, folds paralleling to ocean ridge and detachment faults represented by low angle normal fault were discovered near ocean ridge in Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. In this way, materials from deep oceanic lithosphere (e.g. gabbro, mantle peridotite) outcrop at the crust surface of ocean basin. The above evidences from China and Cuba are consistent with extensional tectonic and metamorphic core complex from slowly and super‐slowly spreading Indian Ocean and Atlantic Oceanic lithosphere based on ODP. Therefore, extensional deformation in the ophiolite belt is of significant meaning for clarifying the formation process and mechanism of ancient oceanic basin.     

Diamonds, Super-Reduced and Crustal Minerals in Chromitites of the Hegenshan and Sartohay Ophiolites, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, China

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB)is a huge tectonic mélange that lies between the North China Craton and the Siberian Block.It is composed of multiple orogenic belts,continental fragments,magmatic and metamorphic rocks,suture zones and discontinuous ophiolite belts.Although the Hegenshan and Sartohay ophiolites are separated by nearly 3000 km and lie in completely different parts of the CAOB,they are remarkably similar in many respects.Both are composed mainly of serpentinized peridotite and dunite,with minor gabbro and sparse basalt.They both host significant podiform chromitites that consist of high-Al,refractory magnesiochromite with Cr#s[100Cr/(Cr+Al)]averaging60.The Sartohay ophiolite has a zircon U-Pb age of ca.300 Ma and has been intruded by granitic plutons of similar age,resulting in intense hydrothermal activity and the formation of gold-bearing listwanites.The age of the Hegenshan is not firmly established but is thought to have formed in the Carboniferous.Like many other ophiolites that we have investigated in other orogenic belts,the chromitites in these two bodieshave abundant diamonds,as well as numerous super-reduced and crustal minerals.The diamonds are mostly,colorless to pale yellow,200-300μm across and have euhedral to anhedral shapes.They all have low carbon isotopes(δ14C=-18 to-29)and some have visible inclusions.These are accompanied by numerous super-reduced minerals such as moissanite,native elements(Fe,Cr,Si,Al,Mn),and alloys(e.g.,Ni-Mn-Fe,Ni-Fe-Al,Ni-Mn-Co,Cr-Ni-Fe,Cr-Fe,Cr-Fe-Mn),as well as a wide range of oxides,sulfides and silicates.Grains of zircon are abundant in the chromitites of both ophiolites and range in age from Precambrian to Cretaceous,reflecting both incorporation of old zircons and modification of grains by hydrothermal alteration.Our investigation confirms that high-Al,refractory chromitites in these two ophiolites have the same range of exotic minerals as high-Cr metallurgical chromitites such as those in the Luobusa ophiolite of Tibet.These collections of exotic minerals in ophiolitic chromitites indicate complex,multi-stage recycling of oceanic and continental crustal material at least to the mantle transition zone,followed by uprise and emplacement of the peridotites into relatively shallow ophiolites.     

Probing the Troodos Ophiolite: IGCP-649 Workshop and Field Excursion Held in Agros-Cyprus

正The second IGCP-649 Workshop,held in Agros-Cyprus during 14-20 May 2016,brought together nearly fifty international scientists from around the world,and included a 5-day field excursion on the classic Troodos ophiolite.Organized by the IGCP-649 Project Leadership and the Geological Survey Department of Cyprus,the     

Multi‐stage Melting Processes of Ophiolitic Chromitites from Purang Peridotite,the Western Yarlung‐Zangbo Suture Zone,Tibet

The Purang ophiolite, which crops out over an area of about 600 km2 in the western Yarlung‐Zangbo suture zone, consists chiefly of mantle peridotite, pyroxenite and gabbro. The mantle peridotites are mostly harzburgite and minor lherzolite that locally host small pods of dunite. Some pyroxenite and gabbro veins of variable size occur in the peridotites, and most of them strike NW. On the basis of their mineral chemistry podiform chromitites are divided into high‐alumina (Cr# = 20‐60) (Cr# = 100*Cr/(Cr+Al)) and high‐chromium (Cr# = 60‐80) varieties (Thayer, 1970). Typically, only one type occurs in a given peridotite massif, although some ophiolites contain several massifs which can have different chromitite compositions. However, the Purang massif contains both high chrome and high alumina chromitites within a single mafic‐ultramafic body. Seven small, lenticular bodies of chromitite ore have been found in the harzburgite, with ore textures ranging from massive to disseminated to sparsely disseminated; no nodular ore has been observed. Individual ore bodies are 2‐6 m long, 0.5‐2 m wide and strike NW, parallel to the main structure of the ophiolite. Ore bodies 1 and 6 consist of Al‐rich chromitite (Cr# = 52‐55), whereas orebodies 2, 3, 4 and 5 are Cr‐rich varieties (Cr # = 63 to 89). In addition to magnesiochromite, all of the orebodies contain minor olivine, amphibole and serpentine. Mineral structures show that the peridotites experienced plastic deformation and partial melting. On the basis of magnesiochromite and olivine/clinopyroxene compositions two stages of partial melting are identified in the Purang peridotites, an early low‐partial melting event (about 8%), and a later high‐partial melting event (about 40%). We interpret the Al‐rich chromitites as the products of early MORB magmas, whereas the Cr‐rich varieties are thought to have been generated by the later SSZ melts..