Serpentinization of mantle formations in the Mauritanides Belt: regions of Agane and Gouérarate (middle-western Mauritania)

Abstract

Regions of Agane and Gouerarate represent an ancient fragment of ophiolitic suture localized in the axial area of the Mauritanides Belt. These two regions are characterized by the abundance of completely serpentinized formations. In this study, we present the first use of Raman spectroscopy for identifying the species of serpentine present in the Mauritanides Belt. Serpentinites of Agane are derived from refractory peridotites composed of dunites–harzburgites; however, there are also rare serpentinites derived from ultramafic cumulates. Antigorite represents the dominant species in the serpentinite. Furthermore, chrysotile is found as post-antigorite veins. These veins are post-obduction and mark the final phase of serpentinization. The abundance of antigorite and the absence of lizardite confirm that subduction was the environment of serpentinization in these two regions, and that “the oceanic opening” responsible for the formation of ophiolitic sutures in the Mauritanides Belt was limited. The term “serpentinite” is no longer applicable to the formations of Gouerarate. As a result, these formations correspond to old serpentinites transformed to birbirites which are in phase of transformation into laterites.