Enigmatic diamonds in Archean calc-alkaline lamprophyres of Wawa, southern Ontario, Canada

A suite of 80 macrodiamonds recovered from volcaniclastic breccia of Wawa (southern Ontario) was characterized on the basis of morphology, nitrogen content and aggregation, cathodoluminescence (CL), and mineral inclusions. The host calc-alkaline lamprophyric breccias were emplaced at 2.68–2.74 Ga, contemporaneously with voluminous bimodal volcanism of the Michipicoten greenstone belt. The studied suite of diamonds differs from the vast majority of diamond suites found worldwide. First, the suite is hosted by calc-alkaline lamprophyric volcanics rather than by kimberlite or lamproite. Second, the host volcanic rock is amongst the oldest known diamondiferous rocks on Earth, and has experienced regional metamorphism and deformation. Finally, most diamonds show yellow-orange-red CL and contain mineral inclusions not in equilibrium with each other or their host diamond. The majority of the diamonds in the Wawa suite are colorless, weakly resorbed, octahedral single crystals and aggregates. The diamonds contain 0–740 ppm N and show two modes of N aggregation at 0–30 and 60–95% B-centers suggesting mantle storage at 1,100–1,170°C. Cathodoluminescence and FTIR spectroscopy shows that emission peaks present in orange CL stones do not likely result from irradiation or single substitutional N, in contrast to other diamonds with red CL. The diamonds contain primary inclusions of olivine (Fo₉₂ and Fo₈₉), omphacite, orthopyroxene (En₉₃), pentlandite, albite, and An-rich plagioclase. These peridotitic and eclogitic minerals are commonly found within single diamonds in a mixed paragenesis which also combines shallow and deep phases. This apparent disequilibrium can be explained by effective small-scale mixing of subducted oceanic crust and mantle rocks in fast “cold” plumes ascending from the top of the slabs in convergent margins. Alternatively, the diamonds could have formed in the pre-2.7–2.9 Ga cratonic mantle and experienced subsequent alteration of syngenetic inclusions related to host magmatism and ensuing metamorphism. Neither orogenic nor cratonic model of the diamond origin fully explains all of the observed characteristics of the diamonds and their host rocks. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

In Situ Multi-Element Analysis of the Mount Pinatubo Quartz-Hosted Melt Inclusions by NIR Femtosecond Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Microscopic melt inclusions found in magmatic minerals are undoubtedly one of the most important sources of information on the chemical composition of melts. This paper reports on the successful application of near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser ablation (LA) - inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to in situ determination of incompatible trace elements (Li, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Cs, Ba, REE, Ta, Th, U) and ore metals (As, Mo, Pb) in individual melt inclusions hosted in quartz from the Mount Pinatubo dacites, Philippines. The determined elements cover a concentration range of five orders of magnitude. Femtosecond LA-ICP-MS analyses of twenty-eight individual melt inclusions demonstrate the efficiency of the microanalytical technique and suggests a spectacular homogeneity of the entrapped melt, at least with respect to the following incompatible trace elements: Rb, Sr, Nb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pb, Th. The analytical precision (1s) for Na, Ca, Rb, Sr, Y, Nb, Ba and LREE ranged from 3 to 20%. Comparison of trace element concentrations in Mt. Pinatubo melt inclusions determined by femtosecond LA-ICP-MS with those of melt inclusions previously analysed by secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis (SIMS) and those of matrix glasses previously determined by nanosecond LA-ICP-MS showed an agreement typically within 30–40%. The homogeneity of trace element concentrations of the Mt. Pinatubo melt inclusions and the matrix glasses is consistent with the melt inclusion origin as homogeneous rhyolitic melt that was trapped in quartz phenocrysts at the final crystallisation stages of the host adakite (dacite) magma.