Distinctive melt activity and chromite mineralization in Luobusa and Purang ophiolites, southern Tibet: constraints from trace element compositions of chromite and olivine

Abstract

To investigate the factors controlling the mineralization in ophiolites we systematically compared the petrology and mineral compositions of the harzburgites/lherzolites, dunites and chromitites in the Luobusa and Purang ophiolites. Generally, the petrological features and trace element compositions of chromite and olivine in peridotite and chromitite are distinctly different between the two ophiolites. In Luobusa, boninitic melts are inferred to have interacted with the harzburgites and modified the distributions of some trace elements (e.g., Ni, Mn and V) in chromite and olivine. The subsequently formed dunites and chromitites experienced significant elemental exchange. In contrast, the Purang ophiolite contains a wider range of chromitite compositions and records diverse melt activities, such as the growth of relatively abundant secondary clinopyroxene. The metasomatic melts were enriched in Al and depleted in Si, Na and highly incompatible trace elements (e.g., Nb, Zr). Such melts resemble MORB-like melts proposed in the literature but are assumed to be more hydrous than typical MORB because of presence of hydrous minerals. The parental magmas of the Purang dunites and intermediate chromitites are inferred to be compositionally intermediate between boninitic and MORB-like melts. In addition, the more refractory nature of the Luobusa harzburgites facilitated a high Cr concentration gradient with the interacting melts, making it easier to increase Cr in the melts. Crystallization of clinopyroxene and amphibole in the Purang ophiolite accommodated significant amounts of Cr and water, respectively, and negatively affected Cr concentration and chromite crystallization. The concentration of chromite to form chromitites requires the presence of focused melt channels.