Kimberlite Types Research Articles

Rockbursting Potential of Kimberlite: A Case Study of Diavik Diamond Mine

The research described in this paper provides information about the rockbursting potential of kimberlite. Kimberlite is a diamond-bearing rock found in deposits around the world including northern Canada. This paper outlines three methods for the prediction of rockbursts based on the properties of a rock. The methods include the: strain energy index, strain energy density, and rock brittleness. Kimberlite samples collected from Diavik, a diamond mine in northern Canada, were tested to define the rock’s uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, and hysteresis loop. The samples were separated into sub-rock types based on their descriptions from the mine geologists. The results indicate that it is possible to produce rockbursts in kimberlite. It was also observed that the sub-rock types had a range of rockbursting properties. Some types of kimberlite exhibited little to no potential for producing bursts, while other types potentially could produce violent bursts. The diverse nature of kimberlite indicates that the rockbursting properties of the rock should not be generalized and are dependent on the sub-rock type being encountered.

A mantle origin for sulfates in the unusual “salty” Udachnaya-East kimberlite from sulfur abundances, speciation and their relationship with groundmass carbonates

The Udachnaya-East pipe in Yakutia in Siberia hosts a unique dry (serpentine-free) body of hypabyssal kimberlite (<0.64wt% H2O), associated with a less dry type of kimberlite and a serpentinized kimberlitic breccia. The dry kimberlite is anomalously rich in salts (Na2O and Cl both up to 6wt%) whereas the slightly less dry and the breccia kimberlite are salt free. Yet the Udachnaya kimberlite is a group-I kimberlite, as is the archetypical kimberlite from Kimberley, South Africa. Samples were studied from the three different types of kimberlite (dry-salty, n=8, non-salty, n=5 and breccia, n=3) regarding their mineralogy, geochemistry, and more specifically their sulfur content. Our results show the salty kimberlite is unprecedentedly rich in sulfur (0.13-0.57wt%) compared to the non-salty kimberlite (0.04-0.12wt%) and the breccia (0.29-0.33wt%). In the salty kimberlite, most of the sulfur is present as sulfates (up to 97% of Stotal) and is disseminated throughout the groundmass in close association with Na-K-bearing carbonates. Sulfates occur within the crystal structure of these Na-K-bearing carbonates as the replacement of (CO3) by (SO3) groups, or as Na- and K-rich sulfates (e.g. aphtitalite, (K,Na)3Na(SO4)2). The associated sulfides are djerfisherite; also Na- and K-rich species. The close association of sulfates and carbonates in these S-rich alkaline rocks suggests that the sulfates crystallized from a mantle-derived magma, a case that has strong implication for the oxygen fugacity of kimberlite magmatism and more generally for the global S budget of the mantle.

Origin of salts and alkali carbonates in the Udachnaya East kimberlite: Insights from petrography of kimberlite phases and their carbonate and evaporite xenoliths

The Udachnaya East kimberlite is characterized by the presence of chlorides, sulfates and alkali carbonates. This highly atypical mineralogy underpinned a model for an anhydrous alkali-rich primary kimberlite melt, despite the absence of petrographic studies providing textural context to the exotic minerals. The present work documents the petrography of the Udachnaya East kimberlite in order to address this problem. The pipe comprises two varieties of Fort-a-la-Corne type pyroclastic kimberlite, olivine-rich and magmaclast-rich, and coherent kimberlite. These kimberlites entrain xenoliths of limestones, altered shales and siltstones, halite-dominated rocks, dolomites, and coarse calcite rocks. The distinct varieties of the Udachnaya East kimberlite carry different populations of crustal xenoliths, which partially control the mineralogy of the host kimberlite. In magmaclast-rich pyroclastic kimberlite, where halite is absent from the crustal xenoliths, it is not observed in the interclast matrix, or within the magmaclasts. Halite occurs in the interclast matrix of olivine-rich pyroclastic kimberlite, where halite xenoliths are common. Large, ~30cm halite xenoliths are uniquely restricted to the coherent kimberlite and show a strong reaction with it. The halite xenoliths are sourced from depths of −1500 to −630m, where carbonate beds host multiple karst cavities filled with halite and gypsum and occasional sedimentary evaporites. The style of secondary mineralization at Udachnaya depends on whether the kimberlite is coherent or pyroclastic. Shortite, pirssonite and other alkali carbonates replacing calcite and possibly serpentine are abundant only in porous pyroclastic kimberlites of both types and in their shale/siltstone xenoliths. The lower porosity of the coherent kimberlite prevented the interaction of kimberlite with Na brines. Serpentinization localized around halite xenoliths started at temperatures above 500°C, as indicated by its association with high-temperature iowaite. The model of the “dry” Na and Cl-rich primary kimberlite melt is invalidated on the basis of 1) the restriction of exotic salt minerals to certain kimberlite types and xenoliths; and 2) the absence of halite-rich melt inclusions in olivine of coherent kimberlite.

Paleoproterozoic Kimozero kimberlite (Karelian Craton): Geological setting and geochemical typing

Geological and structural mapping of Paleoproterozoic Kimozero kimberlite with account for lithological facies and geochemical specialization provides evidence for the multiphase structure of the kimberlite pipe, which underwent fragmentation as a result of shear–faulting deformations. Two geochemical types of kimberlite (magnesium and carbonate) are distinguished.

Geochemical comparison of kimberlites from the Siberian and East European platforms: Problems of genesis and spatial zoning

239. 1156 Kimberlites from two Russian provinces, the East European (EEP) and Siberian (SP) platforms, were compared in terms of their traceelement composition and the ages of emplacement and mantle enrichment (Ndmodel ages). Previous comparisons were focused on geological, geomorphological, and mineralogical data (1), whereas our works are mainly underlain by isotopegeochemical studies, which provide insight into key problems of kimberlite petrology. In order to exclude methodical errors, kimberlites were analyzed in several known laboratories (Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry; Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology and the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and the Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements) using a common scheme described in (2). Numerous varieties of kimberlites distinguished by statistical analyses of a great body of available data significantly complicated their comparison. There� fore, in this work, we limited ourselves to comparison on the basis of the TiO 2 content in kimberlites. It was taken into account that TiO 2 is the typomorphic ele� ment of all potassic ultrabasic rocks, being an indica� tor of the depth of melt formation. Three petrological types of kimberlites of EEP and SP. It was recently found that rocks previously ascribed to a single kimberlite clan are characterized by broad compositional variations. In 1985, two groups differing in Sr and Nd isotope composition were distinguished among the South Africa kimber� lites (3); two new kimberlite types enriched in trace elements were later recognized at Koidu (Sierra Leone, Africa) and Aries in Australia (4). In 1995, Mitchell (5) proposed to restrict the application of the term kimberlites to the rocks that were previously clas� sified as Group I kimberlites of South Africa. Since the composition of rocks and minerals of Group II kim� berlites of South Africa are transitional to lamproites (the presence of REErich phosphates, perovskite, as well potassium richterite in differentiated varieties), these kimberlites were referred to as orangeites. In the pastt decade, the number of kimberlite types increased: special attention was drawn to a new type of diamondiferous kimberlites which was referred to by us as the Zolotitsa type (2) after the Zolititsa occur� rence in the EEP, whose rocks are depleted in Ti and trace elements (Fig. 1). At the same time, Siberian geologists described geochemically similar (including low TiO 2 content) diamondiferous kimberlites in the Nakyn field (Yakutia) and Slave craton (Canada) and proposed to consider them as anomalous kimberlites. Since the TiO2 content is an indication of pressure, the low Ti content in the "Zolotitsa" and "anomalous" kimberlites indicates their highpressure origin. Kimberlites are subdivided into three petrologi�

The Pimenta Bueno kimberlite field, Rondônia, Brazil: Tuffisitic kimberlite and transitional textures

The Pimenta Bueno kimberlite field of Rondônia State, Brazil is located near the edge of the Amazon Craton and contains more than thirty bodies. A late to mid-Triassic emplacement age has been obtained for two kimberlites. The Pimenta Bueno kimberlite field includes pipes of up to 15 ha and a few apparently flat-lying hypabyssal kimberlite sills. In the three pipes and one sill examined, three textural end member types of kimberlite are recognized: hypabyssal kimberlite (HK), tuffisitic kimberlite (TK), and resedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite (RVK). There are gradations in textures between the three types. The overall gradation with depth is VKB, VK, TK, TKt, HKt to HK (where “t” denotes transitional varieties), and the textural gradations are apparent at all scales, megascopically to microscopically. Importantly, these gradations appear to occur within single phases of kimberlite. TK and the associated transitional varieties observed in the Pimenta Bueno field have striking similarities to those of many kimberlites of southern Africa and Canada. The Pimenta Bueno kimberlite field thus represents a newly recognized example of southern-African-style kimberlite pipes occurring on a third continent. The TK-bearing pipes of Pimenta Bueno, southern Africa, and Canada are markedly different from those found in the Canadian Prairies and Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories, which indicates that pipes containing TK and related textures are repeated in space and time but only form in certain circumstances. There is an apparent correlation between kimberlite texture and pipe size. In the larger pipes (> 5 ha), the TK is overlain by VKB. In the small pipes (< 3 ha) there is a textural gradation with depth from TK to HK and VKB is not present. One TKt–HKt transition appears to be ~ 60 m thick. The nature of the TK–TKt–HKt–HK textural transition suggests that TK developed by the textural modification of magmatic kimberlite within the pipe. The textures may reflect increased degrees of magma disruption associated with volatile exsolution.

Petrogeochemical characteristics of the kimberlites from the Middle Markha region with application to the problem of the geochemical heterogeneity of kimberlites

A comparative geochemical investigation of kimberlites from the Middle Markha region and traditional diamond-bearing areas of Yakutia supported the division of kimberlites into two geochemical types. One of them includes kimberlites from the traditional diamond-bearing areas of Yakutia, and the other is represented by the kimberlites of the Middle Markha region and the rocks of the Zolotitsa field and V. Grib pipe of the Arkhangelsk province. The obtained representative parameters of the two kimberlite types indicate a sharp geochemical contrast between them, and the individual features of correlation relationships between the elements in the rocks of the two types suggest that these differences are related to fundamental genetic factors, which concern primarily the group of highly charged incompatible trace and radioactive elements. The presence of geochemically contrasting rocks within a rather uniform petrochemical association and the geochemically specialized occurrences of kimberlites and related rocks are consequences of repeated metasomatic transformations of mantle rocks under the influence of deep-derived fluids or volatiles released during the recycling of subneous source and subsequent derivation of geochemically specialized types of deep magmas showing signatures of individual mantle sources.

Biological Transformation of Kimberlite Ores

The weathering of kimberlite ores leads to the weakening of the kimberlite structure, which allows the use of less intensive comminution procedures during the liberation of diamonds from the ore, resulting in a decrease in potential damage to the diamonds. The possibility to use iron- and sulphur-oxidising chemolithotrophic microorganisms as a way to accelerate the weathering of kimberlite ores was evaluated. It was demonstrated that the presence of sulphuric acid as well as ferric iron could result in changes in the clay component of these ores. The results provided promising evidence that weathering can be successfully accelerated, but showed that the degree of transformation varies between different kimberlite types with different mineralogical characteristics.

Geology of the Victor Kimberlite, Attawapiskat, Northern Ontario, Canada: cross-cutting and nested craters

The pipe shapes, infill and emplacement processes of the Attawapiskat kimberlites, including Victor, contrast with most of the southern African kimberlite pipes. The Attawapiskat kimberlite pipes are formed by an overall two-stage process of (1) pipe excavation without the development of a diatreme (sensu stricto) and (2) subsequent pipe infilling. The Victor kimberlite comprises two adjacent but separate pipes, Victor South and Victor North. The pipes are infilled with two contrasting textural types of kimberlite: pyroclastic and hypabyssal-like kimberlite. Victor South and much of Victor North are composed of pyroclastic spinel carbonate kimberlites, the main features of which are similar: clast-supported, discrete macrocrystal and phenocrystal olivine grains, pyroclastic juvenile lapilli, mantle-derived xenocrysts and minor country rock xenoliths are set in serpentine and carbonate matrices. These partly bedded, juvenile lapilli-bearing olivine tuffs appear to have been formed by subaerial fire-fountaining airfall processes.The Victor South pipe has a simple bowl-like shape that flares from just below the basal sandstone of the sediments that overlie the basement. The sandstone is a known aquifer, suggesting that the crater excavation process was possibly phreatomagmatic. In contrast, the pipe shape and internal geology of Victor North are more complex. The northwestern part of the pipe is dominated by dark competent rocks, which resemble fresh hypabyssal kimberlite, but have unusual textures and are closely associated with pyroclastic juvenile lapilli tuffs and country rock breccias±volcaniclastic kimberlite. Current evidence suggests that the hypabyssal-like kimberlite is, in fact, not intrusive and that the northwestern part of Victor North represents an early-formed crater infilled with contrasting extrusive kimberlites and associated breccias. The remaining, main part of Victor North consists of two macroscopically similar, but petrographically distinct, pyroclastic kimberlites that have contrasting macrodiamond sample grades. The juvenile lapilli of each pyroclastic kimberlite can be distinguished only microscopically. The nature and relative modal proportion of primary olivine phenocrysts in the juvenile lapilli are different, indicating that they derive from different magma pulses, or phases of kimberlite, and thus represent separate eruptions. The initial excavation of a crater cross-cutting the earlier northwestern crater was followed by emplacement of phase (i), a low-grade olivine phenocryst-rich pyroclastic kimberlite, and the subsequent eruption of phase (ii), a high-grade olivine phenocryst-poor pyroclastic kimberlite, as two separate vents nested within the original phase (i) crater. The second eruption was accompanied by the formation of an intermediate mixed zone with moderate grade. Thus, the final pyroclastic pipe infill of the main part of the Victor North pipe appears to consist of at least three geological/macrodiamond grade zones.In conclusion, the Victor kimberlite was formed by several eruptive events resulting in adjacent and cross-cutting craters that were infilled with either pyroclastic kimberlite or hypabyssal-like kimberlite, which is now interpreted to be of probable extrusive origin. Within the pyroclastic kimberlites of Victor North, there are two nested vents, a feature seldom documented in kimberlites elsewhere. This study highlights the meaningful role of kimberlite petrography in the evaluation of diamond deposits and provides further insight into kimberlite emplacement and volcanism.

The geology of kimberlite pipes of the Ekati property, Northwest Territories, Canada

This paper reviews key characteristics of kimberlites on the Ekati property, NWT, Canada. To date 150 kimberlites have been discovered on the property, five of which are mined for diamonds. The kimberlites intrude Archean basement of the central Slave craton. Numerous Proterozoic diabase dykes intrude the area. The Precambrian rocks are overlain by Quaternary glacial sediments. No Phanerozoic rocks are present. However, mudstone xenoliths and disaggregated sediment within the kimberlites indicate that late-Cretaceous and Tertiary cover (likely <200 m) was present at the time of emplacement. The Ekati kimberlites range in age from 45 to 75 Ma. They are mostly small pipe-like bodies (surface area mostly <3 ha but up to 20 ha) that typically extend to projected depths of 400–600 m below current surface. Pipe morphologies are strongly controlled by joints and faults. The kimberlites consist primarily of variably bedded volcaniclastic kimberlite (VK). This is dominated by juvenile constituents (olivine and lesser kimberlitic ash) and variable amounts of exotic sediment (primarily mud), with minor amounts of xenolithic wall-rock material (generally <5%). Kimberlite types include: mud-rich resedimented VK (mRVK); olivine-rich VK (oVK); sedimentary kimberlite; primary VK (PVK); tuffisitic kimberlite (TK) and magmatic kimberlite (MK). The presence and arrangement of these rock types varies widely. The majority of bodies are dominated by oVK and mRVK, but PVK is prominent in the lower portions of certain kimberlites. TK is rare. MK occurs primarily as precursor dykes but, in a few cases, forms pipe-filling intrusions. The internal geology of the kimberlites ranges from simple single-phase pipes (RVK or MK), to complex bodies with multiple, distinct units of VK. The latter include pipes infilled with steep, irregular VK blocks/wedges and at least one case in which the pipe is occupied by well-defined sub-horizontal VK phases, including a unique, 100-m-thick graded sequence. The whole-rock compositions of VK samples suggest significant loss of kimberlitic fines during eruption followed by variable dilution by surface sediment and concurrent incorporation of kimberlitic ash. Diamond distribution within the kimberlites reflects the amount and nature of mantle material sampled by individual kimberlite phases, but is modified considerably by eruption and depositional processes. The characteristics of the Ekati kimberlites are consistent with a two-stage emplacement process: (1) explosive eruption/s causing vent clearing followed by formation of a significant tephra rim/cone of highly fragmented, olivine-enriched juvenile material with varying amounts of kimberlitic ash and surface sediments (predominantly mud); and (2) infilling of the vent by direct deposition from the eruption column and/or resedimentation of crater rim materials. The presence of less fragmented, juvenile-rich PVK in the lower portions of certain pipes and the intrusion of large volumes of MK to shallow levels in some bodies suggest emplacement of relatively volatile-depleted, less explosive kimberlite in the later stages of pipe formation and/or filling. Explosive devolatilisation of CO2-rich kimberlite magma is interpreted to have been the dominant eruption mechanism, but phreatomagmatism is thought to have played a role and, in certain cases, may have been dominant.

The geology of kimberlite pipes of the Ekati property, Northwest Territories, Canada

This paper reviews key characteristics of kimberlites on the Ekati property, NWT, Canada. To date 150 kimberlites have been discovered on the property, five of which are mined for diamonds. The kimberlites intrude Archean basement of the central Slave craton. Numerous Proterozoic diabase dykes intrude the area. The Precambrian rocks are overlain by Quaternary glacial sediments. No Phanerozoic rocks are present. However, mudstone xenoliths and disaggregated sediment within the kimberlites indicate that late-Cretaceous and Tertiary cover (likely <200 m) was present at the time of emplacement. The Ekati kimberlites range in age from 45 to 75 Ma. They are mostly small pipe-like bodies (surface area mostly <3 ha but up to 20 ha) that typically extend to projected depths of 400–600 m below current surface. Pipe morphologies are strongly controlled by joints and faults. The kimberlites consist primarily of variably bedded volcaniclastic kimberlite (VK). This is dominated by juvenile constituents (olivine and lesser kimberlitic ash) and variable amounts of exotic sediment (primarily mud), with minor amounts of xenolithic wall-rock material (generally <5%). Kimberlite types include: mud-rich resedimented VK (mRVK); olivine-rich VK (oVK); sedimentary kimberlite; primary VK (PVK); tuffisitic kimberlite (TK) and magmatic kimberlite (MK). The presence and arrangement of these rock types varies widely. The majority of bodies are dominated by oVK and mRVK, but PVK is prominent in the lower portions of certain kimberlites. TK is rare. MK occurs primarily as precursor dykes but, in a few cases, forms pipe-filling intrusions. The internal geology of the kimberlites ranges from simple single-phase pipes (RVK or MK), to complex bodies with multiple, distinct units of VK. The latter include pipes infilled with steep, irregular VK blocks/wedges and at least one case in which the pipe is occupied by well-defined sub-horizontal VK phases, including a unique, 100-m-thick graded sequence. The whole-rock compositions of VK samples suggest significant loss of kimberlitic fines during eruption followed by variable dilution by surface sediment and concurrent incorporation of kimberlitic ash. Diamond distribution within the kimberlites reflects the amount and nature of mantle material sampled by individual kimberlite phases, but is modified considerably by eruption and depositional processes. The characteristics of the Ekati kimberlites are consistent with a two-stage emplacement process: (1) explosive eruption/s causing vent clearing followed by formation of a significant tephra rim/cone of highly fragmented, olivine-enriched juvenile material with varying amounts of kimberlitic ash and surface sediments (predominantly mud); and (2) infilling of the vent by direct deposition from the eruption column and/or resedimentation of crater rim materials. The presence of less fragmented, juvenile-rich PVK in the lower portions of certain pipes and the intrusion of large volumes of MK to shallow levels in some bodies suggest emplacement of relatively volatile-depleted, less explosive kimberlite in the later stages of pipe formation and/or filling. Explosive devolatilisation of CO2-rich kimberlite magma is interpreted to have been the dominant eruption mechanism, but phreatomagmatism is thought to have played a role and, in certain cases, may have been dominant.

Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic evidence for sources of southern African Cretaceous kimberlites

Previously reported initial 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios of non-micaceous southern African Cretaceous kimberlites indicate that their mantle source rocks are undifferentiated to slightly depleted relative to the bulk Earth1–6. Anomalously radiogenic Pb isotopic ratios of these kimberlites, on the other hand, are smilar to those of oceanic island basalts and indicate that the source regions have had high U/Pb ratios7. Some micaceous kimberlites have a different Sr and Pb isotopic character, reflecting different source regions characterized by higher Rb/Sr, but lower U/Pb ratios1,2,7. Nd isotopic analyses have not been reported for the micaceous kimberlites. I present here new whole-rock Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic analyses of examples of both types of kimberlite which, in conjunction with previously published data, confirm the existence of both depleted and enriched upper mantle sources for southern African Cretaceous kimberlites.