Liquid Immiscibility of Boninite in Xiangcheng, Southwestern China, and Its implication to Genetic Relationship between Boninite and Komatiitic Basalt

Boninitic rocks and associated high-magnesian basalt and high-iron tholeiite in the Xiangcheng area constitute the basal horizon of the arc volcanic sequence in the Triassic Yidun Island-Arc, southwestern China. The boninite occurs as pillow, massive and ocellar lavas; the last one possesses well-developed globular structure and alternates with the former two. The boninite is characterized by the absence of phenocrysts of olivine and low-Ca pyroxenes and by low CaO/Al2O3 ratios (<0.67) and high Cr (>1000 ppm) and Ni (>250 ppm). The normalized abundance patterns (NAP) of trace elements to primitive mantle are similar to the NAP of low-Ca modern boninites and SHMB in the Archaean and Proterozoic.

Study on the Tectonic Setting for the Ophiolites in Xigaze, Tibet

The Xigaze ophiolite is located in the middle section of the Yarlung Zangbo River ophiolite belt and includes a well-preserved sequence section of seven ophiolite blocks. The relatively complete ophiolitic sequence sections are represented by Jiding, Dejixiang, Baigang, and Dazhuqu ophiolites and consist of three-four units. The complete ophiolite sequence in order from the bottom to top consists of mantle peridotite, cumulates, sheeted sill dike swarms, and basic lavas±radiolarian chert. These cumulates are absent in the remaining blocks of Dejixiang and Luqu. The age of radiolaria in the radiolarian chert is Late Jurassic-Cretaceous. The basalt and ultramafic rock of the ophiolite also are overlaid by Tertiary Liuqu conglomerate, which contains numerous pebble components of ophiolite, indicating that the Tethys Ocean began to close at the end of Cretaceous Period. The isotopic data of gabbro, diabase, and albite granite in the Xigaze ophiolite are approximately 126-139 Ma, which indicates that the ophiolite formed in the Early Cretaceous. The K-Ar age of amphibole in garnet amphibolite in the ophiolite melange is 81 Ma, indicating that tectonic ophiolite emplacement occurred at the end of Late Cretaceous. Research in petrology, petrological chemistry, mineralogy, and geochemistry of volcanic rocks and dikes of the Xigaze ophiolite indicate the following characteristics： （1） They are mainly composed of basalt, basaltic andesite, dolerite, and diabase and are characterized by high TiO2 （0.7-1.47%）, low MgO （mostly less than 8%）, and low SiO2 （mostly less than 53%）. （2） The volcanic rocks and dikes of the Xigaze ophiolite show light rare earth element （LREE）-depleted rare earth element （REE） patterns. （3） The spider diagrams of the volcanic rocks and dikes of the Xigaze ophiolite exhibit LILE depletion relative to high-field-strength element （HFSE） patterns with left oblique features. （4） No protogenetic olivine and clinoenstatite was detected. （5） Some dikes show low TiO2 and high MgO, in which a few of Cr-enriched spinels and a very few pseudomorphs of olivine, orthopyroxene can be seen. They show more distinctive affinity as boninitic rock and canbe classified to boninite series rock. The previously mentioned features of the volcanic rocks and dikes in the Xigaze ophiolite implies that these ophiolites formed in a mid-ocean ridge （MOR） in the earlier stage and than forearc extension of subduction initiation occurred once at the later stage of the evolution of the Xigaze ophiolite. The forearc extention caused further melting of the residue-depleted mantle, resulting in the formation of melts with lower TiO2 and higher MgO. These melts formed as dikes and intruded into the oceanic crust formed in the earlier stage, resulting in a close association of mid-ocean ridge basalt and the boninite rock of the Xigaze ophiolite.

Archean-Paleoproterozoic Lithospheric Mantle at the Northern Margin of the North China Craton Represented by Tectonically Exhumed Peridotites

Tectonically emplaced peridotites from North Hebei Province, North China Craton, have retained an original harzburgite mineral assemblage of olivine （54%-58%） ＋ orthopyroxene （40%-46%） ＋minor clinopyroxene （〈1%）＋spinel. Samples with honinite-like chemical compositions also coexist with these peridotites. The spinels within the peridotites have high-A1 end-members with A1203 content of 30 wt%-50 wt%, typical of mantle spinels. When compared with experimentally determined melt extraction trajectories, the harzburgites display a high degree of melting and enrichment of SiO2, which is typical of cratonic mantle peridotites. The peridotites display variably enriched light rare earth elements （REEs）, relatively depleted middle REEs and weakly fractionated heavy REEs, which suggest a melt extraction of over 25% in the spinel stability field. The occurrence of are- and SSZ-type chromian spinels in the peridotites suggests that melt extraction and metasomatism occurred mostly in a subduction-related setting. This is also supported by the geochemical data of the coexisting boninite-like samples. The peridotites have lS7Os/lSSOs ratios ranging from 0.113-0.122, which is typical of cratonic iithospheric mantle. These lSTOs/ISSOs ratios yield model melt extraction ages （TRD） ranging from 981 Ma to 2054 Ma, which may represent the minimum estimation of the melt extraction age. The Ai203- lSTOs/lSSOs-proxy isochron ages of 2.4 Ga-2.7 Ga suggest a mantle melt depletion age between the Late Achaean and Early Paleoproterozoic. Both the peridotites and boninite-like rocks are therefore interpreted as tectonically exhumed continental lithospheric mantle of the North China Craton, which has experienced mantle melt depletion and subduction-related mantle metasomatism during the Neoarchean- Paleoproterozoic.

Genesis of pyroxenite veins in supra-subduction zone peridotites:Evidence from petrography and mineral composition of Egiingol massif(Northern Mongolia)

Swarms of orthopyroxenite and websterite veins are found within Egiingol residual SSZ peridotite massif of Dzhida terrain(Central Asian Orogenic Belt,Northern Mongolia).The process of Egiingol pyroxenite veins formation is investigated using new major and trace element analyses of pyroxenite minerals,calculations of closure temperatures and composition of equilibrium melt.The pyroxenites show abundant petrographic and geochemical evidence for replacement of the residual peridotite minerals by ortho-and clinopyroxene due to melt-rock interaction.Relics of peridotite olivines are found in pyroxenites,Cr#of spinel increases from peridotites to pyroxenites,and compositions of ortho-and clinopyroxene change from peridotite to pyroxenite.The authors show that calculated equilibrium melts for investigated pyroxenites are very similar to compositions of boninite lavas from the Dzhida terrain.Therefore,formation of pyroxenite veins most likely resulted from percolation of boninite melts through the Egiingol peridotites.Orthopyroxenite veins formed at first,followed by websterite veins.Thus,the authors assume that pyroxenite veins represent the channels for boninitic melts migration in supra-subduction environment.

THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE WEST KUNLUN MOUNTAINS: A TECTONIC RECONSTRUCTION BASED ON STUDIES OF MAGMATISM

The Kunlun Mountains is situated in the north margin of the Tibetan plateau and is one of crucial areas for unraveling the tectonic evolutionary history of the plateau and Eurasia. However, there is no widely accepted model for this area. One of the reasons is that some basic issues for the tectonic reconstruction have not been well settled, they are: (1) Is the Kunlun Mountains an ancient accretion prism, or a mini continent with old basement?(2) What is the age of the Kudi ophiolite, early Paleozoic or late Paleozoic?(3) When did the South Kunlun Block accrete to the Tarim Block?(4) Do the fifth and the forth sutures represent different oceans, or they are just the chronologically different relics of the same ocean?(5) Did the Kunlun Mountains experience continuous subduction since Neoproterozoic?(6) When did the Paleo\|Tethys closed in the West Kunlun range?

Further Study on Geochemical Characteristics and Genesis of the Boninitic Rocks from Bikou Group, Northern Yangtze Plate

Compared with the major and trace elements of typical boninite, the metabasalts collected from the Nanfanba （南范坝）-Miaowanli （庙湾里） region in the Bikou （碧口） block could be treated as boninite characterized by low-Si, low-Ti, low-P, high-Mg^2 and high Al2O3/TiO2, consistent with geochemical features of boninite. The normal mid-ocean ridge basalt （N-MORB） normalized spider diagram displays fairly depleted high field strong elements （HFSE） （Zr, Y, Ti）. Enriched refractory elements （Cr, Co, Ni） as well as light rare earth elements （LREE）-depleted chondrite-normalized REE distribution patterns suggest the boninitic magmas are derived from an extremely depleted mantle wedge in the presence of a hydrous fluid, meanwhile signifying the source region had previously undergone a high degree partial melting process yielding primary magmas with enriched large ion lithophile elements （LILE）. In addition, almost all the samples in the Nb-Zr-Y and Ti-Zr-Y discrimination diagrams were plotted in the island arc basalt （IAB） field. Coupled with the island arc tholeiitic （IAT） basalt in the study region, therefore, the geochemical characteristics of the studied rocks indicate the meta-basalts probably occurred in a fore-arc subduction setting. This conclusion may be of great significance for the further study of the tectonic background of the Bikou volcanism.

Platinum-Group Elements Geochemistry and Chromian Spinel Composition in Podiform Chromitites and Associated Peridotites from the Cheshmeh-Bid Deposit, Neyriz, Southern Iran: Implications for Geotectonic Setting

Dunite and serpentinized harzburgite in the Cheshmeh-Bid area, northwest of the Neyriz ophiolite in Iran, host podiform chromitite that occur as sehlieren-type, tabular and aligned massive lenses of various sizes. The most important chromitite ore textures in the Cheshmeh-Bid deposit are massive, nodular and disseminated. Massive chromitite, dunite, and harzburgite host rocks were analyzed for trace and platinum-group elements geochemistry. Chromian spinel in chromitite is characterized by high Cr#（0.72-0.78）, high Mg#（0.62-0.68） and low TiO2 （0.12 wt%-0.2 wt%） content. These data are similar to those of chromitites deposited from high degrees of mantle partial melting. The Cr# of chromian spinel ranges from 0.73 to 0.8 in dunite, similar to the high-Cr chromitite, whereas it ranges from 0.56 to 0.65 in harzburgite. The calculated melt composition of the high-Cr chromitites of the Cheshmeh-Bid is 11.53 wt%-12.94 wt% A1203, 0.21 wt%-0.33 wt% TiO2 with FeO/MgO ratios of 0.69-0.97, which are interpreted as more refractory melts akin to boninitic compositions. The total PGE content of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitite, dunite and harzburgite are very low （average of 220.4, 34.5 and 47.3 ppb, respectively）. The Pd/Ir ratio, which is an indicator of PGE fractionation, is very low （0.05- 0.18） in the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites and show that these rocks derived from a depleted mantle. The chromitites are characterized by high-Cr#, low Pd ＋ Pt （4-14 ppb） and high IPGE/PPGE ratios （8.2- 22.25）, resulting in a general negatively patterns, suggesting a high-degree of partial melting is responsible for the formation of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites. Therefore parent magma probably experiences a very low fractionation and was derived by an increasing partial melting. These geochemical characteristics show that the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites have been probably derived from a boninitic melts in a supra-subduction setting that reacted with depleted peridotites. The high-Cr chromitite has relatively uniform mantle-normalized PGE patterns, with a steep slope, positive Ru and negative Pt, Pd anomalies, and enrichment of PGE relative to the chondrite. The dunite （total PGE = 47.25 ppb） and harzburgite （total PGE =3 4.5 ppb） are highly depleted in PGE and show slightly positive slopes PGE spidergrams, accompanied by a small positive Ru, Pt and Pd anomalies and their PdJIrn ratio ranges between 1.55-1.7and 1.36-1.94, respectively. Trace element contents of the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites, such as Ga, V, Zn, Co, Ni, and Mn, are low and vary between 13-26, 466-842, 22-84, 115- 179, 826-1210, and 697-1136 ppm, respectively. These contents are compatible with other boninitic chromitites worldwide. The chromian spinel and bulk PGE geochemistry for the Cheshmeh-Bid chromitites suggest that high-Cr chromitites were generated from Cr-rich and, Ti- and Al-poor honinitic melts, most probably in a fore-arc tectonic setting related with a supra-subduction zone, similarly to other ophiolites in the outer Zagros ophiolitic belt.

Geochemistry of platinum-group elements in the podiform chromitites and associated peridotites of the Nain ophiolites,Central Iran:Implications for geotectonic setting

The Nain ophiolite complex with an extent of[600 km2 is a part of the Central Iranian ophiolite,which is related to the opening and subsequent closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean.Dunite and serpentinized harzburgite in the Nain area host podiform chromitites that occur as three(eastern Hajhossein,western Hajhossein,and Soheil Pakuh)schlieren-type tabular and aligned massive lenses with various sizes.The most common chromitite ore textures are massive,nodular,disseminated,and banded,reflecting crystal settling processes.The Cr#[Cr/(Cr+Al)]ranges from 0.43 to 0.81(average 0.63).The Mg#[Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)]varies from 0.25 to 0.78(average0.62).The Nain ophiolite and hosted chromitite are generally characterized by high Cr#,reflecting crystallization from a very hot boninite magma in a MORB setting.The high Cr#in the Nain chromitite also indicates a high degree of melting(15%–35%)of the depleted peridotite.The average total PGE content in the ophiolitic host rock(harzburgite and dunite)and chromite are 107 and 221 ppb,respectively.The Nain ophiolite and chromitite have high IPGE/PPGE and negative Pt*(Pt/Pt*=0.6)anomaly,which is a characteristic of high Cr#chromitite.The U-shaped REE pattern of dunite host rock suggests the interaction of depleted mantle peridotite with boninitic melt.Geochemical data suggest that the Nain chromitites are related to the boninitic magma emplacement in a suprasubduction zone.

Geochemical characteristics and genesis of Dachadaban ophiolite in North Qilian area

There are three groups of pillow volcanics in the Dachadaban ophiolite. Group 1 is typical boninite, enriched in Si, Mg and depleted in Ti, HREE and HFSE; group 2 is the evolved boninite, slightly higher abundance of Ti, HREE, HFSE and large variation of Mg’ due to fractional crystallization; and group 3 is tholeiite with MORB character. The existence of MORB and boninite indicates that the Dachadaban ophiolite was probably formed in islandare and back-arc environments.

Experimental Constraints on Formation of Low-Cr# Chromitite: Effect of Variable H2O and Cr2O3 on Boninitic-Magma and Harzburgite Reactions

Reactions between a boninitic or basaltic magma and harzburgite at shallow mantle depths are thought to be closely related to the formation of podiform chromitites,but little experimental data is available on these reactions.In this study,a series of experiments were conducted at 1.5GPa and 1 000–1 400 oC to investigate the interactions between boninitic magma and harzburgite in homogenous mixed systems with varied bulk concentrations of water(~0.7 wt.%–10 wt.%)and Cr2O3(~0.2 wt.%–4 wt.%).In the experimental charges,chromite grains can be observed coexisting with orthopyroxene,clinopyroxene±olivine,and quenched melt in the Cr-bearing systems.The bulk concentration of Cr2O3 in the starting material has a slight effect on compositional changes in the chromites generated.However,the Cr#(Cr#=100×Cr/(Cr+Al))and Mg#(Mg#=100×Mg/(Mg+Fe))values for the chromites exhibit positive and negative correlations,respectively,with the bulk H2O concentrations.At 1 100 oC,chromite Cr#values range from^33–35 to^58–65,and chromite Mg#values range from^70–73 to^55–58when bulk H2O contents in the starting material are increased from^0.7 wt.%to^10 wt.%.The experimentally produced chromites have compositions(as expressed by Cr#,Mg#,and Ni O and Mn O contents)similar to natural chromites from low-Cr#chromitite bodies.We suggest that the interactions between boninitic magmas with varied H2O contents and harzburgite in a shallow mantle wedge could be a possible mechanism that forms the low-Cr#chromitites found in ophiolites.We emphasize here that H2O may play an important role in the compositional evolutions of natural chromitites.