Chromitite bodies hosted in peridotites typical of suboceanic mantle (s.l. ophiolitic) are found in the northern and
central part of the Loma Caribe peridotite, in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic. These chromitites
are massive pods of small size (less than a few meters across) and veins that intrude both dunite and harzburgite.
Compositionally, they are high-Cr chromitites [Cr# ¼ Cr/(Cr þ Al) atomic ratio ¼ 0.71–0.83] singularly enriched
in TiO2 (up to 1.25 wt.%), Fe2O3 (2.77–9.16 wt.%) as well as some trace elements (Ga, V, Co, Mn, and Zn) and
PGE (up to 4548 ppb in whole-rock). This geochemical signature is unknown for chromitites hosted in oceanic
upper mantle but akin to those chromites crystallized from mantle plume derived melts. Noteworthy, the melt
estimated to be in equilibrium with such chromite from the Loma Caribe chromitites is similar to basalts derived
from different source regions of a heterogeneous Caribbean mantle plume. This mantle plume is responsible for
the formation of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP). Dolerite dykes with back-arc basin basalt (BABB)
and enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB) affinities commonly intrude the Loma Caribe peridotite, and are
interpreted as evidence of the impact that the Caribbean plume had in the off-axis magmatism of the back-arc
basin, developed after the Caribbean island-arc extension in the Late Cretaceous. We propose a model in
which chromitites were formed in the shallow portion of the back-arc mantle as a result of the metasomatic
reaction between the supra-subduction zone (SSZ) peridotites and upwelling plume-related melts.European Union (EU)Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO)
CGL2015-65824Ministerio de Glenda, Innovation y Universidades (MICINN)
RTI2018-099157-A-100Ramon y Cajal Fellowship (MICINN)
RYC-2015-17596MINECO
BES-2016-076887Mexican research programs Glenda Basica - Consejo Nacional de CiencM y Tecnologia (CONACYT) from Mexico
Al -S14574Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigation e Innovation tecnologica - UNAM
IA-101419University of BarcelonaUniversity of Granada, Spai
