Experimental study of interaction between fluid-bearing basaltic melts and peridotite: A mantle-crustal source of trap magmas in the Norilsk area

Abstract

The paper reports data on the geology and tectono-magmatic reactivation of the Norilsk area and on the stratigraphy and geochemistry of its volcanic sequence, with the discussion of the sources and genesis of the ore magmas and the scale of the ore-forming process. According to the geochemistry of the lavas and intrusive rocks (Ti concentration and the La/Sm and Gd/Yb ratios), two types of the parental magmas are recognized: high-Ti magmas of the OIB type (from bottom to top, suites iv, sv, and gd of phase 1) and low-Ti magmas (suites hk, tk, and nd of phase 2 and suites mr-mk of phase 3), which were derived from the lithospheric mantle. The magmatic differentiation of the parental low-Ti magma of the tk type into a magma of the nd type was associated with the derivation of an evolved magma of the nd type, which was depleted in ore elements, and an ore magma, which was a mixture of silicate and sulfide melts, protocrysts of silicate minerals, and chromite. Judging from their geochemical parameters, the intrusions of the lower Norilsk type were comagmatic with the lavas of the upper part of the nd suite, and the ore-bearing intrusions of the upper Norilsk type were comagmatic with the lavas of the mr-mk suites. When the ore-bearing intrusions were emplaced, their magmas entrained droplets of sulfide melt and protocrysts of olivine and chromite and brought them to the modern magmatic chamber. These protocrysts are xenogenic with respect to the magma that formed the intrusions. In certain instances (Talnakh and Kharaelakh intrusions), the moving magma entrained single portions of sulfide magma, which were emplaced as individual subphases. The experimental study of the peridotite-basalt-fluid system shows that mantle reservoirs with protoliths of subducted oceanic crustal material could serve as sources of relatively low-temperature (1250–1350°C) high-Ti magnesian magmas of the rifting stage from an olivine-free source.