Structures in podiform chromite from the Maqsad district (Sumail ophiolite,Oman)

About 15 chromite bodies have been recognized in the Maqsad area of the Oman ophiolite. The occurrence in this area of three chromite bodies within the cumulate sequence must be integrated into the classification of Cassard et al. (1981) which presently explains only those pods lying in the uppermost mantle sequence (plastically deformed harzburgites and dunites). The occurrence of chromite bodies within the cumulates and the abundance of chromite in the Maqsad area are related to the exceptional magmatic activity and the unusual plastic-flow pattern particular to this area. It was probably a feeding zone along the oceanic spreading center sitting on top of a mantle diapir.