An exotic Cretaceous kimberlite linked to metasomatized lithospheric mantle beneath the southwestern margin of the S?o Francisco Craton,Brazil

We present major and trace element compositions of mineral concentrates comprising garnet xenocrysts,ilmenite,phlogopite,spinel,zircon,and uncommon minerals(titanite,calzirtite,anatase,baddeleyite and pyrochlore)of a newly discovered Late Cretaceous kimberlite(U-Pb zircon age 90.0±1.3 Ma;2σ)named Osvaldo Franca 1,located in the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province(APIP),southeastern Brazil.Pyrope grains are lherzolitic(Lherz-1,Lherz-2 and Lherz-3),harzburgitic(Harz-3)and wehrlitic(Wehr-2).The pyrope xenocrysts cover a wide mantle column in the subcratonic lithosphere(66–143 km;20–43 kbar)at relatively low temperatures(811–875°C).The shallowest part of this mantle is represented by Lherz-1 pyropes(20–32 kbar),which have low-Cr(Cr_(2)O_(3)=1.74–6.89 wt.%)and fractionated middle to heavy rare earth elements(MREE-HREE)pattern.The deepest samples are represented by Lherz-2,Lherz-3,Harz-3,and Wehr-2 pyropes(36–43 kbar).They contain high-Cr contents(Cr_(2)O_(3)=7.36–11.19 wt.%)and are characterized by sinusoidal(Lherz-2 and Wehr-2)and spoon-like(Lherz-3 and Harz-3)REE patterns.According to their REE and trace elements,pyrope xenocrysts have enriched nature(e.g.,Ce and Yb vs.Cr_(2)O_(3)),indicating that the cratonic lithosphere has been affected by a silicate melt with subalkaline/tholeiite composition due to their low Zr,Ti and Y concentrations.Besides minerals with typical kimberlitic signatures,such as ilmenite and zircon,the exotic compositions of phlogopite and ulvöspinel suggest an enriched component in the magma source.The formation of rare mineral phases with strong enrichment of light-REE(LREE)and high field strength elements(HFSE)is attributed to the late-stage kimberlitic melt.We propose a tectonic model where a thermal anomaly,represented by the low-velocity seismic anomaly observed in P-wave seismic tomography images,supplied heat to activate the alkaline magmatism from a metasomatized cratonic mantle source during the late-stages of Gondwana fragmentation and consequent South Atlantic Ocean opening.The metasomatism recorded by mineral phases is a product of long-lived recycling of subducted oceanic plates since the Neoproterozoic(Brasiliano Orogeny)or even older collisional events,contributing to the exotic character of the Osvaldo Fran?a 1 kimberlite,as well as to the cratonic lithospheric mantle.

Recycling process and proto-kimberlite melt metasomatism in the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath the Amazonian Craton recorded by garnet xenocrysts and mantle xenoliths from the Carolina kimberlite

Here we present new data on the major and trace element compositions of silicate and oxide minerals from mantle xenoliths brought to the surface by the Carolina kimberlite,Pimenta Bueno Kimberlitic Field,which is located on the southwestern border of the Amazonian Craton.We also present Sr-Nd isotopic data of garnet xenocrysts and whole-rocks from the Carolina kimberlite.Mantle xenoliths are mainly clinopyroxenites and garnetites.Some of the clinopyroxenites were classified as GPP–PP–PKP(garnet-phlogopite peridotite,phlogopite-peridotite,phlogopite-K-richterite peridotite)suites,and two clinopyroxenites(eclogites)and two garnetites are relicts of an ancient subducted slab.Temperature and pressure estimates yield 855–1102℃ and 3.6–7.0 GPa,respectively.Clinopyroxenes are enriched in light rare earth elements(LREE)(La_(N)/Yb_(N)=5–62;Ce_(N)/Sm_(N)=1–3;where N=primitive mantle normalized values),they have high Ca/Al ratios(10–410),low to medium Ti/Eu ratios(742–2840),and low Zr/Hf ratios(13–26),which suggest they were formed by metasomatic reactions with CO_(2)-rich silicate melts.Phlogopite with high TiO_(2)(>2.0 wt.%),Al_(2)O_(3)(>12.0 wt.%),and FeOt(5.0–13.0 wt.%)resemble those found in the groundmass of kimberlites,lamproites and lamprophyres.Conversely,phlogopite with low TiO_(2)(<1.0 wt.%)and lower Al_(2)O_(3)(<12.0 wt.%)are similar to those present in GPP-PP-PKP,and in MARID(mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside)and PIC(phlogopite-ilmenite-clinopyorxene)xenoliths.The GPP-PP-PKP suite of xenoliths,together with the clinopyroxene and phlogopite major and trace element signatures suggests that an intense proto-kimberlite melt metasomatism occurred in the deep cratonic lithosphere beneath the Amazonian Craton.The Sr-Nd isotopic ratios of pyrope xenocrysts(G3,G9 and G11)from the Carolina kimberlite are characterized by high ^(143)Nd/^(144)Nd(0.51287–0.51371)and eNd(+4.55 to+20.85)accompanied with enriched ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr(0.70405–0.71098).These results suggest interaction with a proto-kimberlite melt compositionally similar with worldwide kimberlites.Based on Sr-Nd whole-rock compositions,the Carolina kimberlite has affinity with Group 1 kimberlites.The Sm-Nd isochron age calculated with selected eclogitic garnets yielded an age of 291.9±5.4 Ma(2σ),which represents the cooling age after the proto-kimberlite melt metasomatism.Therefore,we propose that the lithospheric mantle beneath the Amazonian Craton records the Paleozoic subduction with the attachment of an eclogitic slab into the cratonic mantle(garnetites and eclogites);with a later metasomatic event caused by proto-kimberlite melts shortly before the Carolina kimberlite erupted.