Petrogenetic implications of ophiolitic chromite from Rutland Island, Andaman—a boninitic parentage in supra-subduction setting

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Chromites occurring in different modes have been characterized from ophiolites of Rutland Island, a part of Burma-Andaman-Java subduction complex in the Bay of Bengal. Chromite mainly occurs as massive chromitite pods in mantle ultramafic tectonite and as thin massive chromitite bands together with minor disseminations in crustal ultramafic cumulate. Other than pods chromite also appears as: (a) anhedral restitic grains, (b) strings occurring as exsolved phases and as (c) symplectitic intergrowth with orthopyroxene in mantle tectonite. The chromites occurring as massive chromitite pods and bands contain high Cr (Cr#—73 to 80). Restitic chromite grains in mantle ultramafics are high-Mg (Mg#—58), high-Al (Al2O3—34 wt.%) and intermediate-Cr (Cr#—37) chromites. The bivariant plots of TiO2 wt.% vs 100Cr#, Mg# vs Cr# and Cr-Al-Fe3+ ternary discrimination diagram show that the massive and disseminated chromites fall in the boninitic field. The (Al2O3)melt and (FeO/MgO)melt values for the massive chromitites are estimated as 10 wt.% to 11 wt.% and 0.67–1.78 respectively, corroborating a boninitic parentage. Massive chromitite on Fe2+/Fe3+ vs Al2O3 wt.% and TiO2 wt.% vs Al2O3 wt.% plots occupy mainly the field of supra-subduction zone peridotites. High-Mg olivine (Fo91−93), high-Mg orthopyroxene (En∼90) and high-Cr chromites of Rutland ophiolite are all supportive of boninitic source at supra-subduction zone setting. 57Fe Mossbauer study of chromite of beach placer shows that chromites occur in partly inverse spinel structure with iron distribution as Fe3+(A)Fe2+(A)Fe2+(B) which might be a result of oxidation. The olivine-spinel geothermometry shows 650–700°C re-equilibration temperature which is much lower than near crystallization temperature (950–1,050°C) derived from orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene assemblage. At supra-subduction setting an oxidizing hydrous fluid derived from subducting slab might have a major influence during the formation of Rutland ophiolite in this part of Burma-Java subduction complex.