Petrogenesis of the post-collisional rare-metal-bearing Ad-Dayheen granite intrusion, Central Arabian Shield

At Hadhb't Ad-Dayheen, in the central Arabian Shield, a post-collisional igneous complex called the Ad-Dayheen intrusion is exposed. It was emplaced in the Early Ediacaran (613–625 Ma), during the final tectono-magmatic stage of Arabian Shield development. Despite limited and discontinuous ring-shaped outcrops due to alluvial cover and later faulting, three pulses of intrusion can be recognized in the field: an early pulse of monzogranite; a second pulse of syenogranite and alkali feldspar granite; and a final pulse of alkaline and peralkaline granite, mineralized microgranite, and pegmatite. Samples show distinctively low contents of CaO, MgO, and Sr in contrast to elevated concentrations of alkalis, Rb, Nb, Y, Ta, Hf, Ga, Zr and rare-earth elements (REE); these are common characteristics of post-collisional rare-metal-bearing A-type granites. The suite displays positive Nb–Ta anomalies and pronounced negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.11–0.35). The alkaline/peralkaline granites and microgranite of the Ad-Dayheen intrusion feature disseminated mineralization, whereas mineralization is localized in the pegmatite. The primary magma feeding the Ad-Dayheen intrusion was mostly generated by partial melting of the juvenile crust of the Arabian Shield, with a minor mantle contribution. We argue that an episode of lithospheric delamination led to crustal uplift, erosional decompression, and generation of mantle melts that supplied heat to drive crustal melting. The anatectic deep crustal melts assimilated a F-bearing component that also added rare metals to the magma. Each pulse can be described by a fractional crystallization model, but the parental liquid of each subsequent pulse was first modified by further addition of fluorine and rare metals and loss of CaO, Sr, Ba, and Eu due to fluorite fractionation. Texture and morphology of the ore minerals indicate that mineralization (U, Th, Zr, Nb, Ta, Y, Hf and REE) took place in two stages: a magmatic stage coinciding with emplacement of the intrusion, followed by a hydrothermal stage. The magmatic process enriched the residual melt in high field strength elements (HFSE) and REE. The later hydrothermal stage further localized these elements and increased their concentrations to economic grades. The pegmatite is highly mineralized and contains high concentrations of U (81–179 μg/g), Th (244–600 μg/g), Zr (2397–14,927 μg/g), Nb (1352–2047 μg/g), Ta (96–156 μg/g), Y (828–2238 μg/g), Hf (131–377 μg/g) and ∑REE (1969–4761 μg/g)

Suprasubduction-zone origin of the podiform chromitites of the Bir Tuluhah ophiolite, Saudi Arabia, during Neoproterozoic assembly of the Arabian Shield

The ultramafic section of a dismembered ophiolite is exposed at Bir Tuluhah, in the north-central part of the Arabian Shield. It is penetratively serpentinized and locally carbonate-altered to talc‑carbonate and quartz‑carbonate rocks (listvenite) along shear zones and fault planes. Despite the high degree of mineral replacement, preserved mesh and bastite textures and fresh relics of primary Cr-spinel and olivine show that the protoliths were mainly harzburgite with minor dunite, with sparse massive chromitite bodies of various forms and sizes. Olivine inclusions in the chromitite lenses have higher forsterite content and NiO concentrations than fresh olivine relics in the host harzburgites and dunites, due to subsolidus re-equilibration. Cr-spinels in the chromitites have higher Cr# (0.74–0.82) than those hosted in dunite (0.72–0.76) or harzburgite (0.55–0.66). The scarce Cr-spinel crystals in harzburgite that have Cr# < 0.6 are interpreted to represent the population least affected by melt-rock interaction. The chromitite bodies are interpreted to have formed just below the contact between the oceanic crust and mantle sections (i.e., the petrologic Moho). The primary olivine (high Fo and Ni content) and Cr-spinel core compositions (high Cr# and low TiO2 content) of the Bir Tuluhah serpentinized peridotite are typical of modern supra-subduction zone (SSZ) fore-arc peridotites and consistent with crystallization from boninitic magma. The multistage petrogenesis leading to the chromitite bodies begins with moderate to high degrees of melt extraction from the protoliths of the serpentinized harzburgites, followed by reaction with melt compositions that evolved from tholeiite to boninite and left dunite residues. The massive Cr-rich chromitites in the Bir Tuluhah ophiolite are most probably the residues of such interaction between depleted harzburgite and ascending melts; mixtures of the reacted melts formed boninites, which became saturated with chrome-rich spinel and crystallized chromite pods before ascending past the Moho. We offer a novel thermodynamic model of this mixing and reaction process that quantifies the yield of Cr-spinel

Petrogenesis of gold-bearing listvenites from the carbonatized mantle section of the Neoproterozoic Ess ophiolite, Western Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia

The variably serpentinized mantle peridotites of the Late Neoproterozoic Ess ophiolite (Western Saudi Arabia) are highly altered along shear zones and thrust planes to form erosion-resistant listvenites. The listvenites are distinguished petrographically and geochemically into three types: carbonate, silica-carbonate and silica (birbirite) listvenites. Geochemical analyses are consistent with expectations from petrography: carbonate listvenite is low in SiO₂ content but high in MgO, Fe₂O₃, and CaO relative to silica-carbonate and birbirite, which is remarkably high in SiO₂ at the expense of all other components. The total REE contents are low in silica-carbonate and carbonate listvenites but highly enriched in birbirite, with a large positive Eu anomaly. The host serpentinites have all the characteristics typically associated with highly depleted mantle harzburgite protoliths in supra-subduction fore-arc settings: bulk compositions are low in Al₂O₃ and CaO with high Mg# [molar Mg/(Mg + Fe)], relict Cr-spinel has high Cr# [molar Cr/(Cr + Al)] and low TiO₂, and relict olivine has high Mg# and NiO content. The Cr-spinel relics are also found in the listvenites; those in serpentinite and carbonate listvenites have significantly higher Mg# than those in silica-carbonate and birbirite, suggesting re-equilibration of Cr-spinel in the later phases of listvenitization. The varieties of listvenite capture successive stages of fluid-mediated replacement reactions. The carbonate listvenite appears to have developed syn-contemporaneously with serpentinization, whereas silica-carbonate listvenite and birbirite formed later. The listvenite formation resulted in leaching and removal of some components accompanied by deposition of others in the solid products, notably CO₃, SiO₂, REE (especially Eu), Au, Zn, As, Sb and K. Our data show that listvenitization concentrated gold at sub-economic to economic grades; measured gold concentrations in the host serpentinite are 0.5–1.7 ng/g, versus 4–2569 ng/g in carbonate listvenite, 43–3117 ng/g in silica-carbonate listvenite and 5–281 ng/g in birbirite. The listvenite deposits in the Jabal Ess area merit further exploration for gold

Petrogenesis of gold-bearing listvenites from the carbonatized mantle section of the Neoproterozoic Ess ophiolite, Western Arabian Shield, Saudi Arabia

The variably serpentinized mantle peridotites of the Late Neoproterozoic Ess ophiolite (Western Saudi Arabia) are highly altered along shear zones and thrust planes to form erosion-resistant listvenites. The listvenites are distinguished petrographically and geochemically into three types: carbonate, silica-carbonate and silica (birbirite) listvenites. Geochemical analyses are consistent with expectations from petrography: carbonate listvenite is low in SiO₂ content but high in MgO, Fe₂O₃, and CaO relative to silica-carbonate and birbirite, which is remarkably high in SiO₂ at the expense of all other components. The total REE contents are low in silica-carbonate and carbonate listvenites but highly enriched in birbirite, with a large positive Eu anomaly. The host serpentinites have all the characteristics typically associated with highly depleted mantle harzburgite protoliths in supra-subduction fore-arc settings: bulk compositions are low in Al₂O₃ and CaO with high Mg# [molar Mg/(Mg + Fe)], relict Cr-spinel has high Cr# [molar Cr/(Cr + Al)] and low TiO₂, and relict olivine has high Mg# and NiO content. The Cr-spinel relics are also found in the listvenites; those in serpentinite and carbonate listvenites have significantly higher Mg# than those in silica-carbonate and birbirite, suggesting re-equilibration of Cr-spinel in the later phases of listvenitization. The varieties of listvenite capture successive stages of fluid-mediated replacement reactions. The carbonate listvenite appears to have developed syn-contemporaneously with serpentinization, whereas silica-carbonate listvenite and birbirite formed later. The listvenite formation resulted in leaching and removal of some components accompanied by deposition of others in the solid products, notably CO₃, SiO₂, REE (especially Eu), Au, Zn, As, Sb and K. Our data show that listvenitization concentrated gold at sub-economic to economic grades; measured gold concentrations in the host serpentinite are 0.5–1.7 ng/g, versus 4–2569 ng/g in carbonate listvenite, 43–3117 ng/g in silica-carbonate listvenite and 5–281 ng/g in birbirite. The listvenite deposits in the Jabal Ess area merit further exploration for gold

The common origin and alteration history of the hypabyssal and volcanic phases of the Wadi Tarr albitite complex, southern Sinai, Egypt

New data and interpretations are presented for the igneous albitites of the Wadi Tarr area, southern Sinai, Egypt. The albitite masses are isolated in outcrop from any granitic intrusions and have intrusive contacts against the country rocks without any structural control. They have marginal zones of breccias with jigsaw-fit angular clasts suggesting explosive, in-situ formation. The albitites are of two types: the western, medium-grained, hypabyssal albitite and the eastern, fine-grained porphyritic albitite. The field relations suggest emplacement at different levels in a magmatic cupola: the hypabyssal texture and steeply dipping slope of the upper contact of the western albitite imply deeper emplacement whereas the gently dipping contacts and porphyritic texture of the eastern albitite masses indicate that they define the probable location of the cupola apex. Both types of albitites consist of albite (92–97%) with minor amounts of quartz, K-feldspar and biotite. The accessory minerals include Fe-oxides, augite, sulphides, zircon, rutile, xenotime, titanite, allanite and monazite. The whole-rock compositions of the hypabyssal and porphyritic albitites are closely related, but the porphyritic type has lower abundances of Sr, Ba, Y, Nb, Th and Zr. We show that the hypabyssal and porphyritic albitites have a common petrogenetic origin, most likely as late-stage cumulates from a fractionating, strongly alkaline A-type magma, consistent with the compositions of the mafic minerals. The source magma was probably a tephritic liquid; we use MELTS models to show that only a sufficiently alkaline magma follows a differentiation path that both avoids quartz saturation and encounters the alkali feldspar solvus, reaching a residual liquid in equilibrium with highly sodic feldspar. Although the MELTS results show a chemically consistent means of forming igneous albitite, they are incomplete in that physical segregation mechanisms are still required to isolate the albite from mafic minerals and or a low-temperature aqueous alteration stage is needed to leach K from the feldspar. Alteration surrounding the Wadi Tarr albitites is extensive and dominated by alkali metasomatism similar to fenitization. Alteration in the marginal breccia zone of the albitite is dominated by precipitation of amphibole and carbonate in veins and in the breccia matrix, whereas the volcanic country rocks show replacement of feldspars by sericite, carbonate and epidote as well as vein carbonate. The altered volcanic country rocks show lower concentrations of Fe_2O_3, Sr, Cu, Pb, Ba and Ce, accompanied by higher concentrations of Na2O and MgO compared to unaltered equivalent samples

Assessment of magmatic versus post-magmatic processes in the Mueilha rare-metal granite, Eastern Desert of Egypt, Arabian-Nubian Shield

The Mueilha rare-metal granite, exposed in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt, is a post-collisional intrusion that formed in the final magmatic stage of the evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. The Mueilha intrusion was emplaced as a high-level magmatic cupola into metamorphic country rocks. It consists of two cogenetic intrusive bodies: an early phase emplaced at shallow depth and now penetratively altered to white albite granite and a later phase of red granites emplaced at greater depth that better preserve magmatic features. The albite granite is less common and represents the upper margin of the Mueilha intrusion, the apex of the magmatic cupola. The red granites are volumetrically dominant and appears to have crystallized from the margins inward, forming a composite pluton zoned from muscovite granite to alkali feldspar granite. All parts of the Mueilha pluton appear to have been emplaced within a short time interval, before complete crystallization of the earliest phase. The geochemistry of the Mueilha granites is typical of rare-metal granites, characterized by high SiO₂, Na₂O + K₂O, Nb, Rb, Ta, Y, U, Th, Sn, and W with depletion in P, Mg, Ti, Sr and Ba. They are weakly peraluminous and highly fractionated with A-type character. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns have strongly negative Eu anomalies, typical of highly differentiated granites that evolved through a transitional magmatic–hydrothermal stage. The primary magma feeding the Mueilha intrusion was generated by partial melting of the juvenile crust of the Arabian-Nubian Shield; it subsequently underwent extensive fractional crystallization and metasomatism by late- to post-magmatic fluids. Separation of fluids from the oversaturated melt promoted both diffuse greisenization and focused segregation of pegmatite and fluorite and quartz veins. Alkalis liberated from feldspars consumed by greisenization were redeposited during albitization in the uppermost part of the magma chamber. Despite penetration of the intrusion boundary by discrete dikes, veins, and aphophyses, diffuse alteration of the metamorphic country rocks is not apparent. Primary columbite-series minerals crystallized from the melt and were later partly replaced by secondary Nb and Ta minerals (fluorcalciomicrolite and wodginite) during hydrothermal alteration

Mineralogical and geochemical study of rodingites and associated serpentinized peridotite, Eastern Desert of Egypt, Arabian-Nubian Shield

We studied rodingite and rodingite-like rocks within a serpentinized ultramafic sequence and ophiolitic mélange at Um Rashid, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The Um Rashid ophiolite is strongly deformed, metamorphosed, and altered by serpentinization, carbonatization, listvenitization, rodingitization and silicification. The textures, whole-rock chemistry, and composition of fresh primary mineral relics show that the serpentinite protoliths were strongly melt-depleted harzburgite and minor dunite, typical of a supra-subduction zone fore-arc setting. The light-colored rocks replacing gabbro are divided on the basis of field relations, mineral assemblages and geochemical characteristics into typical rodingite and rodingite-like rock. Typical rodingite, found as blocks with chloritite blackwall rims within ophiolitic mélange, contains garnet, vesuvianite, diopside and chlorite with minor prehnite and opaque minerals. Rodingite-like rock, found as dykes in serpentinite, consists of hercynite, preiswerkite, margarite, corundum, prehnite, ferropargasite, albite, andesine, clinozoisite and diaspore. Some rodingite-like rock samples preserve relict gabbroic minerals and texture, whereas typical rodingite is fully replaced. Rodingite is highly enriched in CaO, Fe₂O₃, MgO, and compatible trace elements, whereas rodingite-like rock is strongly enriched in Al₂O₃ and incompatible trace elements. Based on geochemistry and petrographic evidence, both types of rodingitic rocks likely developed from mafic protoliths in immediate proximity to serpentinite but were affected by interaction with different fluids, most likely at different times. Typical rodingite development likely accompanied serpentinization and shows mineral assemblages characteristic of low-Si, high-Ca fluid infiltration at about 300 °C. Rodingite-like rock, on the other hand, likely developed from seawater infiltration