Melting of kimberlite of the Udachnaya-East pipe: Experimental study at 3–6.5 GPa and 900–1500°C

Abstract

200 Kimberlites are the products of crystallization of the deepest magmas generated in the Earth’s mantle (below 150 km) and are the main sources of natural diamonds. In spite of significant progress in under� standing kimberlite petrogenesis, many problems, such as reconstruction of the compositions of primary kimberlite melts and their evolution during intrusion, are still debatable. The main problem is that the com� position of kimberlites does not correspond to the composition of parental melts. First, kimberlites are contaminated by a significant portion of xenogenic material represented by xenoliths and their fragments (xenocrysts). Second, most kimberlites worldwide underwent postmagmatic alterations to various