The Khairkhan dunite-troctolite-gabbro massif (Lake Zone of the Western Mongolia) - example of syncollision Middle Cambrian mafic intrusion

Geological, mineralogical, petrochemical and geochronological data are considered for the Khairkhan dunite-troctolite-gabbro massif in the Lake zone of Western Mongolia. The massif intrude the Lower Cambrian molasse stratum and intruded by the Middle Cambrian diorite-plagiogranite bodies (507 Ma). Mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical data show typical suprasubduction characteristics: high An component of plagioclases with increased iron content of olivines, high whole-rock alumina content, low contents of titanium and alkalis, Ta, Nb, Zr and Hf minima. The layered series is characterized by a layers of orbicular gabbros, which can be considered as gabbro-gabbro mingling. At the same time, high-temperature viscous-plastic deformations are characteristic of the layered series, which cover the entire volume of the intrusion. These observations, together with geological and geochronological data related to the melting of the suprasubduction mantle in the Cambrian-Ordovician time, allow treating the Khairkhan massif as an example of syncollisional stratified gabbroids

The Overmaraat-Gol Alkaline Pluton in Northern Mongolia: U–Pb Age and Preliminary Implications for Magma Sources and Tectonic Setting

A new Wenlockian zircon U–Pb age (~426 Ma) of the Overmaraat-Gol nepheline syenite (foyaite, juvite) pluton in the SW Lake Hovsgol area (Northern Mongolia) prompts a long history of alkaline magmatism in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt, exceeding the duration of the Devonian and Permian–Triassic events. The LILE and HFSE patterns of pluton samples analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) methods indicate intrusion in a complex tectonic setting during interaction of a mantle plume with accretionary-collisional complexes that previously formed on the active continental margin. As a result, the parent magma had a heterogeneous source with mixed mantle (PREMA and EM) and crustal components. This source composition is consistent with Nd–Sr isotope ratios of the Overmaraat-Gol alkaline rocks, from −0.1 to −1.2 εNd(t) and from ~0.706 to 0.707 87Sr/86Sr(t)

Geochemical evidence for multi-depth magma generation for Permian-Triassic dolerite and Late Cretaceous basanite of the Minusa Paleorift, Siberia

The chemical composition of alkaline (Late Cretaceous basanite) and subalkaline (Permian-Triassic dolerite) basaltoids of different ages in the northern part of the Minusa Trough was studied by optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. The revealed differences of subvolcanic rocks in the nature of enrichment in HFS- and LIL-elements may indicate the generation of primary magmas at different depths and small degrees of melting of garnet and spinel mantle peridotite. The model of decompression partial melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle under the garnet stability conditions is applicable to the formation of basanite. It is assumed that the formation of dolerite magma was due to the interaction of the melt from shallower spinel peridotite with the OIB component of the sublithospheric mantle plume

In-Situ Crystallization and Continuous Modification of Chromian Spinel in the "Sulfide-Poor Platinum-Group Metal Ores" of the Norilsk-1 Intrusion (Northern Siberia, Russia)

Layers rich in chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) occur in numerous differentiated and layered intrusions. These layers are often characterized by elevated and even economic concentrations of platinum-group-elements (PGEs), but only scarce sulfide mineralization. One particular type of such lithology occurs in the roof parts of the Norilsk-type differentiated intrusions (Russia) and is referred to as the "sulfide-poor PGE ores". We investigated rocks containing variable enrichments in Cr-spinel, sulfides, and platinum-group minerals (PGMs) from two sections of the upper zone of the Norilsk-1 intrusion, with a focus on Cr-spinel. The rocks are dominated by two lithological types: (1) leucogabbro/troctolitic and (2) olivine-gabbro. Fine-grained (5-100 mu m) disperse disseminations with varying modal abundances of Cr-spinel are characteristic for the rocks studied. Those abundances range from scarce mineralization through to very dense (up to 30 vol. % Cr-spinel) cloud-like accumulations. However, compact-grained accumulations and cumulate-like textures, which are typical for chromitites of layered intrusions, are not characteristic for the studied rocks. Instead, the disseminations exhibit chain- and trail-like alignments of Cr-spinel grains, which cross the boundaries between enclosing silicates, and sub-circular arrangements. The study revealed millimeter-scaled patchy distribution of Cr-spinel compositions within a given dissemination with Cr-spinel chemistry being strongly correlated with a kind of the enclosing silicate. (1) In unaltered rocks, plagioclase hosts more magnesian Cr-spinel (Mg# 30-60), while Cr-spinel in mafic minerals is less magnesian (Mg# 18-35). (2) In altered rocks, more magnesian Cr-spinel is hosted by less altered silicates, while strongly altered silicates mainly host less magnesian Cr-spinel. Systematics of trivalent cations exhibits divergent trends, even on a scale of a thin section, and depends on a kind of hosting lithology. Leucogabbro/troctolite lithologies contain Cr-spinel with anomalously low Fe(3+)and extremely high Ti contents, whereas Cr-spinel from olivine-gabbro lithologies have moderate Fe(3+)and moderately-high Ti contents. It is envisaged that crystallization of Cr-spinel and their host rocks occurred from viscous mingled magmas, which had different compositions and redox state. Subsequent processes involved (1) high-temperature re-equilibration of Cr-spinel with enclosing silicates and (2) post-magmatic alteration and partial recrystallization of Cr-spinel. During these processes, Cr-spinel was losing Mg and Al and gaining Fe and Ti. These chemical trends are generally coincident with those established for other intrusions worldwide, but the upper zone of the Norilsk-1 intrusion seems to possess an exceptional variety of Cr-spinel compositions, not recorded elsewhere.Peer reviewe

Study of olivine-hosted melt and spinel inclusions from the Song Da ultramafic volcanic suite, northern Vietnam: Compositions, crystallization temperatures, and origin of the low-Ti komatiite-like and high-Ti primary melts

International audienceThe Permian (~260 Ma) Song Da volcanic suite in Vietnam is one of very few known occurrences of Phanerozoic ultramafic volcanic rocks that are similar in composition to komatiites. Despite continuous efforts to determine the primary melt composition of Song Da ultramafic lavas, the concentrations of the volatile and fluid-mobile elements are still poorly constrained due to widespread alteration and low-grade metamorphism of bulk rocks. This study reports high-precision in-situ major- and trace element abundances in host olivine and in­ clusions of melt and Cr-spinel from the Song Da ultramafic lavas. Two different types were identified: low-Ti lavas, previously described as komatiites, and newly discovered Ti- and Na-rich picrites. The application of olivine-melt Sc/Y, olivine-spinel Al, and olivine-melt Fe/Mg geothermometers indicates crystallization temper­ atures of up to 1450 ◦C for the Song Da low-Ti suite, which are within the range of komatiite crystallization temperatures, and up to 1330 ◦C for the high-Ti picrites. These conditions correspond to mantle potential temperatures of 1590 ◦C and 1450 ◦C, respectively. The estimation of oxygen fugacity, based on V partitioning between olivine and melt and Fe2+/Fe3+ between spinel and melt, indicates that low-Ti melts crystallized in a closed system under reducing conditions starting from one to half an order of magnitude below the QFM buffer. The high-Ti melt crystallized at higher oxygen fugacity (ΔQFM +0.5) in a buffered open system. The primary melt of the Song Da komatiites contained 0.7 wt% H2O, which was likely entrained from the hydrated Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ) by a partially molten plume. Our results indicate that the Song Da low-Ti ultramafic volcanics were likely derived from an ultramafic komatiite-like parental melt with an MgO content between 21 and 23 wt%. It was produced by a high degree (\textgreater26%) of partial melting of a depleted mantle source. The highTi picrite melt had 17–18 wt% MgO and was produced by a lower degree of partial melting (\textless9%) in a colder part of the same plume

Origin of chromitites in the Norilsk-1 intrusion (Siberian LIP) triggered by assimilation of argillaceous rocks by Cr-rich basic magma

Сhromite-rich rocks and monomineralic chromitites occur in mafic-ultramafic layered intrusions worldwide, and are economically important as they host major resources of chromium and platinum group elements. One of the acknowledged genetic concepts for such mineralization advocates bulk chromite crystallization in a response to hybridization of Cr-rich basic magma with felsic melts, derived from partial melting of the wall rocks. However, there has been lack of direct insights into this process and its details have been remaining largely obscured. In this study, we report data on chromite-rich assemblages of the Noril'sk-1 intrusion (Siberian LIP), with a particular focus on chromite-hosted multiphase inclusions. Composition of the latter is different from the rocks of the Noril'sk-1 intrusion and inherits geochemical fingerprints of the wall rock argillites and, therefore, represent snapshots of the heavily-contaminated medium of the magma-wall rock reaction front. Mineral relationships in chromite-rich breccias with fragments of the wall rocks also provide valuable insight into chromite mineralization mechanisms. Our results, along with geological evidence and data on other Noril'sk-type intrusions, indicate that bulk crystallization of chromite, aided by partial suppression of silicate crystallization, occurred in the hybrid medium during digestion of the wall rocks by ascending and emplacing basic magma. Continuous flow of the magma around outshoots of the wall rocks or through a “magmatic karst” in the wall rocks, allowed for a continuous precipitation of chromite. Concentration of chromite grains to form dense mineralization apparently occurred due to formation of chromite-rich blobs around the wall rock fragments, and selective collection and transport of chromite by fluid bubbles, which formed via degassing of wall rocks and then carried chromite and relics of the wall rocks (xenoliths) to the upper parts of the pluton. We propose that assimilation-driven formation of chromite-rich lithologies in intrusions requires: (1) sufficient Cr contents in magma, which allow for its oversaturation in Cr-spinel only by a sudden cooling and addition of SiO2, K2O or/and H2O; (2) efficient disintegration and digestion of the host rocks, releasing considerable amounts of these components to the magma, and (3) a mechanism ensuring accumulation of excess chromite within a small volume (e.g. continuous reaction of Cr-rich magma with the products of the host rocks' assimilation or/and mechanical concentration of chromite).</p