Kimberlitic sources of super-deep diamonds in the Juina area,Mato Grosso State,Brazil

The Juina diamond field, in the 1970–80s, was producing up to 5–6 million carats per year from rich placer deposits, but no economic primary deposits had been found in the area. In 2006–2007, Diagem Inc. discovered a group of diamondiferous kimberlitic pipes within the Chapadão Plateau (Chapadão, or Pandrea cluster), at the head of a drainage system which has produced most of the alluvial diamonds mined in the Juina area. Diamonds from placer deposits and newly discovered kimberlites are identical; they have super-deep origins from the upper-mantle and transition zone. Field observations and petrographic studies have identified crater-facies kimberlitic material at seven separate localities. Kimberlitic material is represented by tuffs, tuffisites and various epiclastic sediments containing chrome spinel, picroilmenite, manganoan ilmenite, zircon and diamond. The diamond grade varies from 0.2–1.8 ct/m³. Chrome spinel has 30–61 wt.% Cr₂O₃. Picroilmenite contains 6–14 wt.% MgO and 0.2–4 wt.% Cr₂O₃. Manganoan ilmenite has less than 3 wt.% MgO and 0.38–1.41 wt.% MnO. The ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio in kimberlitic zircons is 0.028288–0.28295 with ε_Hf = 5.9–8.3, and lies on the average kimberlite trend between depleted mantle and CHUR. The previously known barren and weakly diamondiferous kimberlites in the Juina area have ages of 79–80 Ma. In contrast, zircons from the newly discovered Chapadão kimberlites have a mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 93.6 ± 0.4 Ma, corresponding to a time of magmatic activity related to the opening of the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The most likely mechanism of the origin of kimberlitic magma is super-deep subduction process that initiated partial melting of zones in lower mantle with subsequent ascent of proto-kimberlitic magma.     

The first results of U/Pb dating and isotope geochemical studies of detrital zircons from the neoproterozoic sandstones of the Southern Timan (Djejim-Parma Hill)

This report presents the first results of U/Pb dating, isotope-geochemical, and geochemical studies of detrital zircons from the Neoproterozoic clastic rocks of the Southern Timan. Sixty-one zircon grains were treated, including 51 from red-colored sandstones and 10 grains from aleurosandstones of the Djejim Formation of the southern Chetlas-Djejim zone (Djejim-Parma Hill). It was found that the U/Pb-ages of zircons from the rocks of the Djejim Formation, varied from ∼2.97 to ∼1.20 Ga. The studies of microelement composition in 47 grains (of 61 U/Pb isotope ages obtained), on the basis of several empirical regularities found formerly, show that the detrital zircons had originated from “granites” (22 grains), “diorites” (12 grains), or their volcanic analogues, or more rarely, from “syenites” and “basites” (5 and 8 grains, respectively). The Lu/Hf isotope system of zircons allows one to estimate the model ages (T _DM^C) of the substrate magmatic rocks being parental to the zircons considered. In particular, Archean zircons are characterized by ∼2.84–3.36 Ga model ages of magmaforming rocks. For some of the grains, their model ages (∼2.84 Ga) are close to those of zircons as such (∼2.7–2.8 Ga), which points to the juvenile character of the substrate from which the parent magma of the zircons treated was fused. For Proterozoic (to Middle Riphean) zircons, the Lu/Hf isotope system allows one to estimate the model age of the substrate of their parental rocks within ∼2.00–3.36 Ga, which shows that these rocks were formed under the recycling of the Archean and Early-Proterozoic crust. The ages obtained for detrital zircons, as well as model ages of the substrate of the corresponding parental magmatic rocks, are quite comparable to the age of crystalline complexes of the ancient framework of the East European Platform (EEP), formed in the course of the Archean, Early-Proterozoic, and Early-Middle Riphean tectonomagmatic events. This permits us to conclude that the Neoproterozoic detrital complexes of the Timan were formed owing to the erosion of earlier Neoproterozoic and Early Precambrian complexes constituting the Neoproterozoic Baltica continent, presenting complexes of the passive margin of this continent. A variety of ages of detrital zircons from sandstones and aleurosandstones from the Djejim Formation of Djejim-Parma Hill, and of the estimates of magmatic rocks parental to these zircons, may be characterized as a Baltic Provenance signal.     

In-situ hafnium and lead isotope analyses of detrital zircons from the Devonian sedimentary basin of NE Greenland: a record of repeated crustal reworking

An intramontane collapse basin developed within the hanging wall above the large-scale extensional Fjord Regional Detachment of NE Greenland in middle to late Devonian times. The continental clastic sediments within the basin are derived locally from Laurentian source rocks, which makes them well suited for a study of the crustal evolution of the source terrain. This is the first integrated in-situ Pb and Hf isotope study to be presented, and zircon data on a selected sandstone from the basin are combined with Sm-Nd whole-rock data on sand/siltstones. Nd whole-rock ages of two samples of sandstones and a siltstone are 2.0-2.1 Ga. Peak frequencies of zircon ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages at 1,764-1,912 Ma, and ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf values at 0.28142-0.28163 (t_DM=2.47 to 2.06) for the sandstone suggest the generation of a considerable volume of juvenile continental crust in the ultimate zircon provenance at 1.9-2.0 Ga. The Hf isotopic compositions of Archaean zircons in the sandstone are distinct from those of the source materials of Proterozoic protocrust at 1.9-2.0 Ga, but zircons with elevated Hf-t_DM ages of up to 2.47 Ga can be related to a component of Archaean crust or reworked Archaean material in the ultimate zircon source area. Zircon ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages are also recorded at 1,480-1,572, 1,318 and 1,014 Ma (Grenvillian). The Hf isotope compositions of these zircons are consistent with reworking of the Proterozoic protocrust at these times, with little or no juvenile input. The Proterozoic zircons form two distinct groups defined by ¹⁷⁶Yb/¹⁷⁷Hf>0.05055 and ¹⁷⁶Yb/¹⁷⁷Hf<0.03301, and the latter group overlaps with Yb-Hf isotope data on the Archaean zircons. The two groups may represent zircons derived from evolved granites and intermediate to mildly felsic rocks, respectively. The repeated reworking of the continental crust also comprised erosion and deposition of sediments in the Proterozoic (the Krummedal sequence and the Eleonore Bay Supergroup, EBS) and intrusion of Caledonian anatectic granites in the EBS, which both represent provenance components to the Devonian sediments. No discrete Caledonian Pb-Pb zircon ages are recorded, but Caledonian magmatism may be represented by strongly discordant zircons which form arrays with a lower intercept age at ca. 400 Ma and an upper intercept at 1,600-2,000 Ma. One undated zircon records a ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio of 0.282218, higher than that of the Proterozoic protocrust in Caledonian/late-Caledonian times (380-450 Ma) which may represent a Caledonian mantle contribution.     

Petrological implications of some corona structures

Reactions between olivine and plagioclase, and between pyroxenes and plagioclase, commonly produce corona assemblages of lower volume and entropy. These coronas imply that assemblages representative of intermediate-and high-pressure granulite facies, and of eclogite facies (emphacite + garnet), can be produced by the cooling of dry olivine + plagioclase and pyroxene + plagioclase assemblages from igneous temperatures within the continental crust. They further imply that eclogite is a stable assemblage within the deeper parts of the continental crust; this in turn requires that dP/dT > 0 for the equilibrium curves for the relevant reactions. The general relations between T and rates of nucleation, growth and diffusion suggest that these coronas will only be formed in relatively deep-seated rocks (P > 6 kb ?). The formation of such coronasby regional or contact metamorphism, or by metasomatism, is unlikely; they are best regarded as retrograde features.     

Zoning in eclogite garnets from Nordfjord,West Norway

Some of the garnets in eclogites within the quartzo-feldspathic gneisses of Nordfjord, West Norway, are zoned with higher calcium, iron and manganese in the cores and more magnesium at the rims. The zoning is discussed in terms of the apparent distribution coefficients of Fe²⁺/Mg between garnet and clinopyroxene (which will be aberrantly high for the garnet cores) and in terms of the metamorphic evolution of the eclogites.Publication nr. 32 in The Norwegian geotraverse project.     

Stockwork tectonics in the Appalachian Piedmont of South Carolina and Georgia

The northeast trending belts in the crystalline Appalachian Piedmont of South Carolina are discussed and related to a detailed study in northwestern South Carolina and to a reconnaissance study of the Piedmont along the South Carolina - Georgia border.A regional tectonic stockwork model based on these studies is proposed for the Appalachian Piedmont. The inner portion of the Piedmont, characterized by recumbent isoclinal folds and nappes, containing migmatitic sillimanite mica schist and gneiss, amphibolite and granite gneiss comprises the infrastructure. Lower grade, tightly folded, non-migmatitic and partially cataclastized zones flanking both sides of this innermost Piedmont belt are considered the detachment zone. The suprastructure is believed to be preserved within the Piedmont near the Atlantic Coastal Plain offlap as two belts. One consists of a moderately deformed, low grade metamorphosed slaty assemblage of volcanics and elastics; the other belt is similar, but extensively intruded by plutons and consequently raised in metamorphic grade.

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Zusammenfassung Diese Studie diskutiert die nordöstlich verlaufenden Faltengürtel der kristallinen appalachischen Vorgebirge Südkarolinas und bezieht sich auf eine detaillierte Studie Nordwest-Südkarolinas sowie auf eine Untersuchungsstudie der Vorgebirge entlang der Grenze Südkarolinas und Georgias.Aufgrund dieser Studien ist ein regionales tektonisches Stockwerkmodell für die appalachischen Vorgebirge vorgeschlagen worden. Der Kern des Vorgebirges stellt den Unterbau dar und ist durch liegende isokline Falten und Decken gekennzeichnet, die migmatischen Sillimanit-Glimmerschiefer und Gneise sowie Amphibolit und Granitgneis enthalten. Kleingefaltete, unmigmatische und teilweise kataklastische Zonen von niedriger Temperatur begrenzen beide Seiten dieser Kernzone und werden für Abscherungszonen gehalten. Es wird angenommen, da\ der Oberbau innerhalb der Vorgebirge in der NÄhe der atlantischen Küstenauflage als zwei Faltengürtel erhalten ist. Der eine besteht aus einer mÄ\ig durchbewegten, niedrig metamorphisierten Schieferansammlung von Vulkaniten und detritischen Ablagerungen; der andere Gürtel hat eine Ähnliche Zusammensetzung, besitzt aber ausgedehnte Plutone und folglich eine intensivere Metamorphose.

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Résumé Les zones de plissement courant vers le nord-est qui se trouvent dans le Piedmont cristallin des Appalaches de la Caroline du Sud sont le sujet d'une discussion que l'on rapproche d'une étude détaillée de la région nord-ouest de la Caroline du Sud et d'une étude de reconnaissance du Piedmont le long de la frontière entre la Géorgie et la Caroline du Sud.Un modèle tectonique des strates de la région, basé sur ces études, est proposé pour le Piedmont appalachien. La partie intérieure du Piedmont (l'infrastructure) se caractérise par des plis couchés isoclinaux et par des nappes, et elle contient du schiste, du gneiss de sillimanite migmatitiques, et du gneiss amphibolitique et granitique. Certaines zones non-migmatitiques, partiellement cataclastiques, étroitement pliées et d'un degré inférieur se trouvant de chaque cÔté de cette région centrale du Piedmont sont considérées comme la zone de détachement. Dans le Piedmont près de la plaine sédimentaire littorale de l'Atlantique d'origine marine, la superstructure, semble-t-il, reste intacte, formant deux bandes: l'une comprenant un mélange un peu déformé de matière volcanique et clastique, métamorphosé, d'apparence ardoiseuse, et de qualité inférieure; l'autre semblable, mais contenant de grandes quantités de matière plutonique d'injection ayant élevé sa qualité métamorphique.

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Trace elements in garnets and chromites: Diamond formation in the Siberian lithosphere

Proton-microprobe analyses of trace elements in garnet and chromite inclusions in diamonds (DI) from the Mir, Udachnaya, Aikhal and Sytykanskaya kimberlites in Yakutia, CIS, provide new insights into the processes that form diamond. Equivalent data on garnet and chromite concentrates from these pipes yield information on the thermal state and chemical stratification of the Siberian lithosphere. Peridotite-suite diamonds from Yakutia have formed over a temperature interval of ca. 600°C, as measured by Ni and Zn thermometry on garnet and chromite inclusions in diamonds. Individual diamonds contain inclusions recording temperature intervals of >400°C; ranges of >100°C are common. Diamond formation followed a severe depletion event(s), and a separate enrichment in Sr. Comparison of temperatures on DI garnet and spinel with temperatures derived from diamondiferous harzburgites, exposed inclusions in boart and concentrate minerals suggests that the diamond-containing part of the lithosphere has cooled significantly since the Siberian diamonds crystallized. The peridotite-suite diamonds probably formed mainly in response to one or more relatively short-lived thermal events, related to magmatic intrusion. The northern part of the Daldyn-Alakit district may have had a typical cratonic geotherm at the time of diamond formation, and during kimberlite intrusion. The southern part of the district, and the Malo-Botuobiya kimberlite field, probably had a relatively low geotherm (ca. 35 mW/m²). The vertical distribution of garnet and chromite types indicates that the mantle above 120 km depth is dominated by lherzolites, whereas the deeper parts of the lithosphere are a mixture of lherzolites and more depleted harzburgites and dunites.     

Calculation of equilibration conditions for garnet granulite and garnet websterite nodules in African kimberlite pipes

Summary Pressure/temperature estimates based on different combinations of calibrated mineralogical thermometers and barometers and alternative assumptions concerning the Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺) ratios in the mineral phases are compared for a suite of fourteen nodules. PreferredP/T values have been obtained by simultaneous solution of eq. (12) ofWood (1974) for garnet-orthopyroxene equilibria and theEllis andGreen (1979) equation defining theP,T,X dependence of the Fe²⁺–Mg²⁺ partition coefficient for coexisting garnet and clinopyroxene. However, to obtain realistic results it is first necessary to calculate the Fe³⁺ contents in the minerals—conveniently done on a charge balance basis. The favoured meanP/T estimates of 654±36°C and 10.8±3.1 kbs are compatible with a lower crustal origin for this nodule suite.

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Berechnung von Gleichgewichts-Bedingungen von Granat-Granulit und Granat-Websterit-Xenolithen in afrikanischen Kimberliten

Zusammenfassung Druck-Temperatur-Berechnungen auf Grund verschiedener Kombinationen von kalibrierten mineralogischen Thermometern und Barometern sowie alternativer Modelle der Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺)-Verhältnisse in den Mineralen einer Gruppe von 14 Einschlüssen werden verglichen. BevorzugteP/T-Werte ergaben sich durch simultane Lösung der Gl. (12) für Granat-Orthopyroxen-Gleichgewichte vonWood (1974) und der Gleichung vonEllis undGreen (1979), die dieP-T-X-Abhängigkeit des Fe²⁺–Mg²⁺-Verteilungskoeffizienten für koexistierende Granat und Clinopyroxen definiert. Um realistische Ergebnisse zu erhalten, ist es jedoch zuerst notwendig, die Fe³⁺-Gehalte der Minerale zu berechnen, vorzugsweise auf der Grundlage des Ladungsausgleichs. Die bevorzugten Durchschnittswerte von 654°±36°C und 10.8–3.1 kb sind in guter Übereinstimmung mit einer Herkunft aus der unteren Kruste.

     

Whitlockite and apatite from lunar rock 14310 and fromÖdegården,Norway

Microprobe analyses show that whitlockite from lunar rocks is enriched in REE relative to the associated apatite, whereas a terrestrial whitlockite is severely depleted in REE relative to the associated apatite. After considering other possibilities, we suggest that the lunar whitlockite originally crystallized as the high-T polymorph, which is capable of taking up excess CaO (and REE?). Inversion to the low-T form has been inhibited by the non-stoichiometry, so that the present “whitlockite” phase is poorly crystalline. Similar relations may exist in terrestrial basalts of low water content, but would be easily overlooked in petrographic studies.