Staging Chamber Research Articles

Up, down, or sideways: emplacement of magmatic Fe–Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide melts in large igneous provinces

The preferential localization of Fe–Ni–Cu–PGE sulfides within the horizontal components of dike–sill–lava flow complexes in large igneous provinces (LIPs) indicates that they were fluid dynamic traps for sulfide melts. Many authors have interpreted them to have collected sulfide droplets transported upwards, often from deeper “staging chambers”. Although fine (<1–2 cm) dilute (<10%–15%) suspensions of dense (∼4–5 g/cm3) sulfide melt can be transported in ascending magmas, there are several problems with upward-transport models for almost all LIP-related deposits: (1) S isotopic data are consistent with nearby crustal sources, (2) xenoliths appear to be derived from nearby rather than deeper crustal sources, (3) lateral sheet flow or sill facies of major deposits contain few if any sulfides, (4) except where there is evidence for a local S source, sulfides or chalcophile element enrichments rarely if ever occur in the volcanic components even where there is mineralization in the subvolcanic plumbing system, and (5) some lavas are mildly to strongly depleted in PGE >>> Cu > Ni > Co, indicating that unerupted sulfides sequestered PGEs at depth. Two potential solutions to this paradox are that (i) natural systems contained surfactants that lowered sulfide–silicate interfacial tensions, permitting sulfide melts to coalesce and settle more easily than predicted from theoretical/experimental studies of artificial/analog systems, and (or) (ii) sulfides existed not as uniformly dispersed droplets, as normally assumed, but as fluid-dynamically coherent pseudoslugs or pseudolayers that were large and dense enough that they could not be transported upwards. Regardless of the ultimate explanation, it seems likely that most high-grade Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide deposits in LIPs formed at or above the same stratigraphic levels as they are found.

A record of assimilation preserved by exotic minerals in the lowermost platinum-group element deposit of the Bushveld Complex: The Volspruit Sulphide Zone

Low-gradeplatinum-group element mineralisation in the Volspruit Sulphide Zone is sulphide-poor (<5 vol. %), distributed over a ~60 m-thick horizon in the lowermost cumulates of the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Unlike any other platinum-group element (PGE) deposit of the Bushveld Complex, the Volspruit Sulphide Zone is hosted exclusively within harzburgitic and dunitic cumulates in the Lower Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite.Here, we present a petrological investigation on the distribution of PGEs and chalcophile metals in mineralised pyroxenite cumulates from the Volspruit Sulphide Zone, to determine the origin of the PGE mineralisation in ultramafic cumulates and evaluate whether Volspruit-style mineralisation could occur in the stratigraphically lowest, ultramafic portions of other layered intrusions.Electron microscopy of pyroxenite cumulates revealed (1) chromite inclusions containing dolomite, albite, monazite, Pb-chlorides, base metal sulphides and Pt-As minerals, (2) the presence of exotic microxenocrysts (<300 μm diameter) in the pyroxenite matrix such as grains of CaCO3, U-Th-oxide and Mn-ilmenite, and (3) base metal sulphide assemblages enclosing grains of primary galena, sphalerite and Pb-chlorides.Systematic mapping of high-density mineral assemblages in pyroxenite cumulates across the Volspruit Sulphide Zone identified 196 precious metal mineral grains (Pt-, Pd-, Rh-, Au- or Ag-minerals), 98 Pb-sulphide grains (± Se, Cl), 27 Pb-chloride grains (± K, Se, Te, S), as well as 1 grain of Pb-telluride, 1 monazite grain and 1 grain of U–Pb-Th oxide. Trace element analyses of base metal sulphides reveal the highest S/Se values in pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite yet recorded in the Bushveld Complex. While some base metal sulphides are enriched in PGEs, the overall low-grade of the deposit and inferred fertile ultramafic magma(s) require relatively low R-factors (mass of silicate to sulphide melt) compared to other sulphide-poor PGE deposits, with a calculated R factor of ~500–3000.We consider that the presence of exotic inclusions in chromite, exotic microxenocrysts, and Pb/Zn/Cl grains enclosed within primary base metal sulphide assemblages provide strong evidence for crustal contamination in the Volspruit Sulphide Zone. The Malmani dolomite and the Black Reef quartzite within the lower Chuniespoort Group (2.2–2.4 Ga) are the most likely source of xenocrysts, assimilated in a staging chamber beneath the main Grasvally chamber, in which the Volspruit Sulphide Zone developed. It is possible that the Malmani dolomite contained an enrichment of Pb, Zn, Cl, and S minerals prior to assimilation. The assimilation of dolomite and limestone would locally increase the fO2 of the magma, triggering chromite crystallisation. The sudden removal of Fe from the melt, coupled with the addition of external sulfur triggered saturation of an immiscible sulphide melt in the ultramafic Volspruit magma. Chromite and base metal sulphides were subsequently emplaced into the main Grasvally magma chamber as a crystal-bearing slurry. Therefore, we consider it is possible for PGE mineralisation to occur in the ultramafic portion of any layered intrusion intruding in the vicinity of carbonate units. Even if this style of mineralisation in the lowermost portions of layered intrusions is sub-economic, it may reduce the grade or opportunity for PGE mineralisation higher up in the local magmatic stratigraphy, or in later magma emplacement events sourced from the same reservoir.The technique of specifically searching for microxenocrysts could be applied beyond layered intrusion research, to identify the range of crustal contaminants in other magmatic systems where macro-scale xenoliths are neither sampled nor preserved.

Association of platinum-group elements with chromitite within the Merensky reef, Western Limb, Bushveld Complex: Results of a high resolution mineralogical and geochemical study

We present the results of a high-resolution mineralogical and geochemical study conducted across three intersections of Merensky reef at Impala Platinum Mines on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex. We studied two intersections of non-pegmatoidal Merensky reef and one intersection of pegmatoidal Merensky reef in an attempt to reconstruct the petrogenesis of this economically important ore horizon and in order to establish the relationship between non-pegmatoidal and pegmatoidal reef intersections. Our results indicate a much stronger correlation between PGE and Cr than between PGE and S (or Cu as a proxy for sulfides), which favours a model in which chromite and associated PGEs were introduced from a deeper staging chamber to result in the formation of the chromitite layers of the Merensky reef. The geochemistry of chromite in the Merensky reef is suggestive of the fact that the bottom chromitite layer of the pegmatoidal reef is a lateral correlate of the chromitite of the non-pegmatoidal reef, in which only a single chromitite layer occurs. We propose that the Merensky reef at Impala Platinum Mines is a product of the introduction of chromite-laden basal flows into the Bushveld Complex magma chamber and that the relationship between pegmatoidal and non-pegmatoidal reef intersections is related to non-deposition, rather than erosion, as was shown to be the case at other localities within the Western Limb.

A synthesis of magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits in the ∼260 Ma Emeishan large igneous province, SW China and northern Vietnam

Magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits in the ca. 260-Ma Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) are all hosted in relatively small, mafic-ultramafic intrusions with surface areas usually less than 1 km2. These deposits are mainly distributed in the Danba, Panzhihua-Xichang (Panxi), Huili, Yuanmou, Midu, Funing and Jinping regions in SW China and the Ta Khoa region in northern Vietnam. They include Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide-dominated, Ni-Cu sulfide-dominated, and PGE-dominated types. Sulfide ores of the Ni-Cu-(PGE) and Ni-Cu sulfide-dominated deposits contain more than 10 vol% sulfides and have low PGE concentrations relative to the ores that contain <3 vol% sulfides in the PGE-dominated deposits. The parental magmas of the host mafic-ultramafic intrusions may have been derived primarily from low-Ti picritic magmas that were produced by high degrees of partial melting of a depleted mantle source. The primary low-Ti picrites of the Emeishan LIP have relatively restricted εNd(t) and γOs(t) isotopic compositions, however, some of the host intrusions exhibit a large range of both εNd(t) (−9.5 to +0.8) and γOs(t) (+5.4 to +77), indicating that they experienced variable degrees of crustal contamination during emplacement. In addition, sulfides from sulfide ores of the Ban Phuc intrusion in northern Vietnam and those from sulfide veins in country rocks have δ34S values ranging from −6.7 to −3.4‰, whereas sulfides from sulfide ores of the Baimazhai No.3, Yingpanjie, Jinbaoshan and Nantianwan intrusions in SW China have highly variable δ34S ranging from −0.2 to +21.4‰, indicating the addition of crustal sulfur into the mantle-derived mafic magmas. Platinum-group minerals (PGM) are abundant in the Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing intrusions, and they span a wide range of composition. More than 130 PGM grains have been identified in the Pt-Pd-rich Jinbaoshan intrusion, whereas only one small froodite (PdBi2) grain was observed in the Ni-Cu sulfide-dominated Baimazhai No. 3 intrusion. Overall, the three types of Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits in the Emeishan LIP can be taken as a spectrum of Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide mineralization, the formation of which involved similar magmatic processes in open systems of magma conduits. The magma conduits developed along the cross-linking structures created by numerous strike-slip faults and each intrusion appears to be part of a connecting trellis of conduits that formed complex pathways from the mantle to the surface. The Ni-Cu sulfide-dominated deposits are attributed to a single sulfide segregation event in staging magma chambers, whereas the PGE-dominated deposits were likely formed by a multistage-dissolution, upgrading process in the staging chambers. The Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide-dominated deposits may have experienced interaction between successive pulses of S-undersaturated mafic magma and early segregated sulfide melts in the staging chambers. This study is intended to provide a better understanding of the magmatic processes related to the formation of conduit-type Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits associated with continental flood basalt magmatism.

Multiple S isotope studies of the Stillwater Complex and country rocks: An assessment of the role of crustal S in the origin of PGE enrichment found in the J-M Reef and related rocks

The J-M Reef in the Stillwater Complex of Montana is the highest grade Pd deposit in the world, averaging approximately 14ppm Pd. One suggestion for the origin of the enrichment centers on the sequestration of metals in staging chambers via immiscible sulfide liquids that formed in response to the addition of crustal S. Because δ34S values alone are often insufficient to document in igneous rocks the assimilation of S from Archean sedimentary rocks, a combined study of both δ33S and δ34S values, and computed Δ33S values, was undertaken. δ34S and Δ33S values of cordierite-bearing hornfels, as well as massive sulfides in the metasedimentary rocks of the contact aureole can be divided into two populations. One is characterized by anomalous positive Δ33S values from 0 to 0.32‰ and δ34S values from 0.5 to −1.6‰, whereas the other is characterized by anomalous negative Δ33S values from 0 to −0.22‰ and δ34S values from 1.5 to 5.8‰. δ34S and Δ33S values for rocks from the Basal Series of the Complex range from −0.9 to 3.0‰ and 0.01 to 0.18‰, respectively; the anomalous S isotope ratios indicate that for some samples at least 50% of the their S was of crustal origin. In contrast, most of the rocks from the J-M Reef are characterized by δ34S and Δ33S values between −1.3 and 1.8‰ and −0.06 to 0.06‰, respectively. These values deviate only slightly, if at all, from those thought to be representative of mantle S, and suggest that (i) contamination was not an important process for PGE enrichment in the Complex, (ii) the contaminant was also characterized by near 0 Δ33S values, or (iii) S isotopic exchange in the staging chambers was an important process. Upgrading of PGE values via reaction between sulfide in the chamber and uncontaminated mantle-derived magma may also have resulted in the conversion of S isotopic ratios that may have been indicative of crustal S addition, to mantle-like values. Rare δ34S values up to 7.2‰ in the J-M Reef and 8.2‰ in chromitite from the Ultramafic Series provide strong evidence for localized assimilation of crustal S which did not experience isotopic homogenization. The S isotopic ratios of the J-M Reef are non-unique in terms of a specific genesis as they may be interpreted in either a downward, sulfide collection model, or an upward fluid transport model.

Microtextural characterisation of the Lower Zone in the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa: evidence for extensive melt migration within a sill complex

The Lower Zone of the Bushveld Complex comprises an up to 2-km-thick package of different ultramafic rock types with an approx. 90-cm-thick, sulphide-bearing noritic interval that occurs in the western and eastern limbs. The distribution and geometry of the zone are highly variable across the Complex, showing pronounced, yet laterally discontinuous layering on different scales. Together with the ubiquitous lack of large-scale fractionation in the Mg# of orthopyroxene, variable Sr isotope compositions and erratic Pt/Pd ratios, these observations strongly suggest an emplacement of the Lower Zone as a sill complex, as these contrasting geochemical characteristics are difficult to account for in a large Bushveld magma chamber, as previously suggested. It is more likely that these sills were episodically fed from a sub-Bushveld staging chamber, and variably contaminated, while passing through the crust before their final emplacement in the Lower Zone. Detailed mineralogical and microtextural work based on high-resolution elemental mapping of a set of samples, covering the entire Lower Zone stratigraphy of the western Bushveld shows that the variations in the late crystallising interstitial mineral mode are different from what would be expect, if all phases crystallised from a fixed initial mass of interstitial liquid. The interstitial mineral mode, represented by plagioclase, clinopyroxene and other late stage phases, shows variable ratios of these minerals ranging from ca. 21:15:64 to 75:17:8. In comparison to modelled expected ratios, most of the analysed rocks have higher amounts of early crystallising interstitial phases (e.g. plagioclase, clinopyroxene), relative to late crystallising phases (e.g. quartz, alkali feldspar). Therefore, interstitial melt must have migrated at different stages of fractionation during cumulate solidification, as a consequence of either compaction or displacement by convecting interstitial liquids. Two samples, however, show the opposite: late phases are relatively more abundant than early ones, which is consistent with a convection-driven replacement of primitive interstitial liquid by more evolved liquid. These results have important implications for the interpretation of the Lower Zone and, by extension, for layered intrusions in general: (1) interstitial sulphide mineralisation may be introduced into a cumulate through infiltrating melts, i.e. the liquid components of a sulphur-saturated crystal mush are not withheld from further migration, upon interaction with a cumulate pile; (2) most importantly, late stage minerals, such as zircon, rarely crystallise from trapped liquid that was initially in equilibrium with the cumulate. Therefore, dating of interstitial zircon from cumulates is unlikely to record the actual timing of emplacement, but merely the crystallisation of a later episode of residual melt that migrated through the cumulate.

Lithological and geochemical constraints on the magma conduit systems of the Huangshan Ni-Cu sulfide deposit, NW China

Magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits in northern Xinjiang, China, are associated with small mafic-ultramafic complexes, with the sulfide ores generally occurring in ultramafic rocks. The Huangshan deposit (up to 65 Mt of ore at 0.49% Ni and 0.31% Cu), one of the largest magmatic Ni-Cu deposits in northern Xinjiang, is composed of a layered sequence of lower websterite, lower lherzolite, websterite, norite-gabbro, gabbro, diorite, and gabbronorite, with sulfide mineralization mainly found in the lower lherzolite, lower websterite, and websterite. Systematic variations of the major oxides and trace elements suggest that the rocks of the Huangshan deposit are fractionated from the same parental magma, with the sharp contact and discontinuous trends of major oxide contents between different lithologies implying intrusion of four distinct stages of magma from a single deep-seated staging chamber. The reversals in olivine Fo contents and major oxides in the lower lherzolite were the result of inhomogeneity in olivine within the lower chamber. The Se/S ratios (63.1∼150 × 10−6) and the negative correlation between Se/S and δ34S (0.63∼2.42‰) of the sulfide ores suggest that a large contribution of crustal S caused the sulfide segregation. The sulfides in the lower lherzolite have lower Cu contents (1386–2200 ppm) and Cu/Pd ratios (2.31 × 105–1.36 × 106) relative to those in the mineralized lower websterite (Cu = 2300 to 18,700 ppm, and Cu/Pd = 6.65 × 105 to 2.73 × 106). A positive correlation between Pd/Ir and Ni/Ir for the vein-textured sulfides in the lower websterite likely reflects fractionated sulfides picked up by a new pulse of magma. In contrast, the restricted range of Pd/Ir ratios indicates that the PGE contents of the disseminated sulfides in the lower lherzolite resulted from reaction between the sulfides and new pulses of S-undersaturated magma.

An overview of nickel mineralisation in Africa with emphasis on the Mesoproterozoic East African Nickel Belt (EANB)

Nickel production in Africa takes place principally in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with much of the South African and Zimbabwean production being a by-product of platinum-group element mining in the Bushveld Complex and Great Dyke. Several large nickel deposits have been discovered elsewhere in Africa but until recently, their development has been hindered by political risk and limitations in energy and transport infrastructure. Most of the continent is significantly underexplored with respect to base metals, including the area covered by the East African Nickel Belt (EANB). The known nickel deposits of the EANB all occur in mafic-ultramafic intrusive rocks of the Mesoproterozoicage Kibaran igneous event. These intrusive bodies take the form of medium to large layered intrusions, small dynamic magma conduits (chonoliths and sills) and dyke swarms. Laterite deposits are developed over exposed dunite and peridotite lithologies in the basal sequence of larger layered intrusions, whereas nickel sulphide deposits are developed at the base of the small chonoliths. Geochronological and geochemical data suggests that all intrusions in the EANB formed in a single magmatic event (1350 to 1400 Ma) and were derived from a picritic parental magma, which was variably contaminated in mid to upper-crustal staging chambers by metasedimentary rocks. As a result, nickel sulphide mineralisation was formed in all of the intrusions, but in most, the grades and tenors are too low to be considered economic in the foreseeable future. In the 1970s, government-led regional surveys identified a large nickel laterite deposit at Musongati in Burundi and a nickel sulphide deposit at Kabanga in the northwest of Tanzania. These deposits have subsequently been explored and delineated by mining companies, but they remain undeveloped due to their distance to the coast and a lack of transport and energy infrastructure. The Kabanga sulphide deposit now comprises a total mineral resource of 58 million tonnes grading 2.6% nickel. The Musongati laterite deposit comprises an overall resource of 122 million tonnes with a grade of 1.4% nickel.

Petrogenesis and Ni–Cu sulphide potential of mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Mesoproterozoic Fraser Zone within the Albany–Fraser Orogen, Western Australia

The Albany Fraser Orogen is located along the southern and southeastern margins of the Archean Yilgarn Craton. The orogen formed during reworking of the Yilgarn Craton, along with variable additions of juvenile mantle material, from at least 1810Ma to 1140Ma. The Fraser Zone is a 425km long and 50km wide geophysically distinct belt near the northwestern edge of the orogen, hosting abundant sills of predominantly metagabbroic non-cumulate rocks, but including larger cumulate bodies, all emplaced at c. 1300Ma. The gabbroic rocks are interpreted to have crystallised from a basaltic magma that had ∼8.8% MgO, 185ppm Ni, 51ppm Cu, and extremely low contents of platinum-group elements (PGE, <1ppb). Levels of high field-strength elements (HFSE) in the least enriched rocks indicate that the magma was derived from a mantle source more depleted than a MORB source. Isotope and trace element systematics suggest that the magma was contaminated (εNd 0 to −2 throughout, La/Nb around 3) with small (<10%) amounts of crust before and during ascent and emplacement. Larger bodies of cumulate rocks show evidence for additional contamination, at the emplacement level, with country-rock metasedimentary rocks or their anatectic melts. The area has been the focus of considerable exploration for Ni–Cu sulphides following the discovery of the Nova deposit in 2012 in an intrusion consisting of olivine gabbronoritic, noritic and peridotitic cumulates, interlayered with metasedimentary rocks belonging to the Snowys Dam Formation of the Arid Basin. Disseminated sulphides from a drillcore intersecting the structurally upper portion of the intrusion, above the main ore zone, have tenors of ∼3–6.3% Ni, 1.8–6% Cu and mostly <500ppb PGE, suggesting derivation from magma with the same composition as the regional Fraser Zone metagabbroic sills, at R factors of ∼1500. However, the Nova rocks tend to have higher εSr (38–52) and more variable δ34S (−2 to +4) than the regional metagabbros (εSr 17–32, δ34S around 0), consistent with the geochemical evidence for enhanced crustal assimilation of the metasedimentary country-rock in a relatively large magma staging chamber from which pulses of sulphide bearing, crystal-charged magmas were emplaced at slightly different crustal levels. Preliminary investigations suggest that the critical factors determining whether or not Fraser Zone mafic magmas are mineralised probably relate to local geodynamic conditions that allow large magma chambers to endure long enough to sequester country-rock sulphur.

Multiple S isotopes, zircon Hf isotopes, whole-rock Sr-Nd isotopes, and spatial variations of PGE tenors in the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit, NW China

Previous geochemical data for the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-(platinum-group elements, PGE) deposit, the single largest magmatic sulfide deposit in the world, are derived primarily from the upper parts of the deposit. This paper reports new PGE and S-Hf-Sr-Nd isotope data for the lower parts of the deposit that have become accessible for sampling by ongoing underground mining activity. New PGE data from this study, together with previous results, indicate that PGE tenors in the bulk sulfide ores of the deposit increase eastward, except for two fault-offset ore zones which occur together within the western part of the deposit. Generally, these two ore zones show depletions in IPGE (Ir, Ru, Rh) but not in PPGE (Pt, Pd) and Cu, and more fractionated olivine and Cr-spinel compositions than the rest of the deposit. These differences can be explained by a more evolved parental magma for the IPGE-depleted ore zones. The eastward increase of PGE tenors in the rest of the deposit can be explained by upgrading of preexisting sulfide liquid in a subhorizontal conduit by a new surge of magma moving through the conduit from west to east, which took place before the formation of the IPGE-depleted ore zones. The Jinchuan ultramafic rocks are characterized by elevated initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.7077 to 0.7093, negative e Nd values from −9.2 to −10.5, and zircon e Hf values from −4 to −7. These data indicate up to 20 % of crustal contamination in the Jinchuan magma. Four of nine multiple sulfur isotope analyses for the Jinchuan deposit show anomalous ∆33S values varying from 0.12 to 2.67 ‰. These results, together with elevated δ34S values (>2 ‰) for some of the samples analyzed previously by other researchers, indicate the involvement of external sulfur from Archean and Proterozoic sedimentary rocks. Modeling results based on our olivine data and magma compositions estimated previously by other researchers indicate that fractional crystallization did not play a major role in triggering sulfide saturation in the Jinchuan magma and that the parental magma experienced previous sulfide segregation during ascent or in staging chambers.

Regional tectonics, geology, magma chamber processes and mineralisation of the Jinchuan nickel-copper-PGE deposit, Gansu Province, China: A review

The Jinchuan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit (>500 Mt @ 1.2% Ni, 0.7% Cu, ∼0.4 g/t PGE), one of the largest magmatic sulphide deposits in the world, is located within the westernmost terrane of the North China Craton. It is hosted within the 6.5 km long, Neoproterozoic (∼0.83 Ga) Jinchuan ultramafic intrusion, emplaced as a sill-like body into a Palaeoproterozoic suite of gneisses, migmatites, marbles and amphibolites, below an active intracratonic rift. The parental magma was high-Mg basalt, generated through melting of sub-crustal lithospheric mantle by a mantle plume during the initiation of Rodinia supercontinent breakup. The lower Palaeozoic collision of the exotic Qilian Block with the breakup-related southern margin of the craton accreted a subduction complex, and emplaced voluminous granitic intrusions and foreland basin sequences within the craton, to as far north as Jinchuan. During the Cainozoic, allochthonous lower Palaeozoic rocks were thrust up to 300 km to the northeast over cratonic basement, to within 25 km of the Jinchuan deposit.The Jinchuan ultramafic intrusion was injected into three interconnected sub-chambers, each containing a separate orebody. It essentially comprises an olivine-orthopyroxene-chromite cumulate, with interstitial orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and phlogopite, and is predominantly composed of lherzolite (∼80%), with an outer rim of olivine pyroxenite and cores of mineralised dunite. Mineralisation occurs as disseminated and net-textured sulphides, predominantly within the dunite, with lesser, PGE rich lenses, late massive sulphide accumulations, small copper rich pods and limited mineralised diopside skarn in wall rock marbles. The principal ore minerals are pyrrhotite (the dominant sulphide), pentlandite, chalcopyrite, cubanite, mackinawite and pyrite, with a variety of platinum group minerals and minor gold. The deposit underwent significant post-magmatic tremolite-actinolite, chlorite, serpentine and magnetite alteration. The volume of the Jinchuan intrusion accounts for <3% of the total parental magma required to generate the contained olivine and sulphide. It is postulated that mafic melt, intruded into the lower crust, hydraulically supported by density contrast buoyancy from below the Moho, ponded in a large staging chamber, where crystallisation and settling formed a lower sulphide rich mush. This mush was subsequently injected into nearby shallow dipping faults to form the Jinchuan intrusion.

Evidence for multiple pulses of crystal-bearing magma during emplacement of the Doros layered intrusion, Namibia

The Doros Complex is a relatively small (maximum 3.5km×7.5km) shallow-level, lopolithic, layered mafic intrusion in the early Cretaceous Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province. The stratigraphy broadly comprises a minor, fine-grained gabbroic sill and a sequence of primitive olivine-cumulate melagabbros, with a basal chilled margin, an intermediate plagioclase-cumulate olivine gabbro, and a sequence of mineralogically and texturally variable, intermediate, strongly foliated, plagioclase-, olivine- or magnetite-cumulate gabbros. An evolved syenitic (bostonite) phase occurs as cross-cutting dykes or as enclaves within the foliated gabbros. Major element modelling of the liquid line of descent shows that the spectrum of rock types, including the bostonite, is consistent with the fractionation of a basaltic parental magma that crystallised olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, magnetite, K-feldspar and apatite. However, the stratigraphic succession does not correspond to a simple progressive differentiation trend but instead shows a series of punctuated trends, each defined by a compositional reversal or hiatus. Incompatible trace element concentrations do not increase upwards though the body of the intrusion. The major units show similar, mildly enriched rare earth element patterns, with minimal Eu anomalies. Back-calculation of the rare earth element concentrations of these cumulate rocks produces relatively evolved original liquid compositions, indicating fractionation of this liquid from a more primitive precursor.Based on combined field, petrographic, geochemical and geophysical evidence, we propose an origin for the Doros Complex by a minimum of seven closely spaced influxes of crystal-bearing magmas, each with phenocryst contents between 5% and 55%. These findings represent a departure from the traditional single-pulse liquid model for the formation of layered mafic intrusions and suggest the presence of an underlying magmatic mush column, i.e., a large, complex system of interconnected conduits and staging chambers that host a range of co-existing magmas of different compositions and crystal contents.

Multiple, isotopically heterogeneous plagioclase populations in the Bushveld Complex suggest mush intrusion

The Bushveld Complex and other layered intrusions show significant initial isotopic heterogeneity, both between and within co-existing cumulate minerals. Various processes have been proposed to account for this, including (i) intrusion of variably contaminated crystal mushes from deeper staging chambers, (ii) blending of semi-consolidated crystal mushes as a result of subsidence during cooling, (iii) variable infiltration of contaminants into a partially solidified crystal mush, (iv) density-driven mixing of minerals from isotopically distinct magma pulses, (v) contamination of crystals at the roof of the intrusion and mechanical incorporation of such contaminated crystals into the lower crystallisation front as a result of gravitational instability at the upper crystallisation front, and (vi) late-stage metasomatic processes. In order to assess the likely process(es) responsible for initial isotopic heterogeneities within the Bushveld Complex, we analysed core and rim domains of 12 plagioclase crystals from the Main and Upper zones of the Bushveld Complex for their Sr-isotopic compositions. The data show the presence of multiple, isotopically heterogeneous populations of plagioclase occurring within the same rocks. The data presented here are best explained through the intrusion of variably contaminated crystal mushes derived from a sub-compartmentalized, sub-Bushveld staging chamber that underwent different degrees of contamination with crustal rocks of the Kaapvaal craton.

Magmatic Cu–Ni sulfide mineralization of the Huangshannan mafic–untramafic intrusion, Eastern Tianshan, China

The Huangshannan Ni–Cu (–PGE) sulfide deposit, a new discovery from geological prospecting in Eastern Tianshan, is in a belt of magmatic Ni–Cu (–PGE) sulfide deposits along the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The host intrusion of the Huangshannan deposit is composed of a layered ultramafic sequence and a massive gabbro–diorite unit. The major sulfide orebodies occur mainly within websterite and lherzolite in the layered ultramafic sequence. In-situ zircon U–Pb dating analyses yielded a crystallization age of 282.5±1.4Ma, similar to the ages of the Permian Tarim mantle plume. Samples from the Huangshannan intrusion are characterized by nearly flat rare earth elements patterns, negative Zr, Ti and Nb anomalies, arc-like Th/Yb and Nb/Yb ratios, and significantly lower rare earth element and immobile trace element contents than the Tarim basalts. These characteristics suggest that the Huangshannan intrusion was not generated from the Tarim mantle plume. The primary magma for the Huangshannan intrusion and its associated sulfide mineralization were formed from different pulses of picritic magma with different degrees of crustal contamination. The first pulse underwent an initial removal of 0.016% sulfide in the deep magma chamber. The evolved magma reached sulfide saturation again in the shallow magma chamber and formed sulfide ores in lherzolite. The second pulse of magma reached a level of 0.022% sulfide segregation at staging chamber before ascending up to the shallow magma chamber. In the shallow conduit system, this sulfide-unsaturated magma mixed with the first pulse of magma and with contamination from the country rocks, leading to the formation of sulfide ores in websterite. The third magma pulse from the deep chamber formed the unmineralized massive gabbro–diorite unit of the Huangshannan intrusion.

Trace Element Variations in Olivine from the Eastern Deeps Intrusion at Voisey's Bay, Labrador, as a Monitor of Assimilation and Sulfide Saturation Processes

Ni-Cu-Co sulfide mineralization in the Mesoproterozoic Voisey’s Bay intrusion is spatially and genetically associated with magmatic breccia zones within an extensive dike system and, in particular, with the entry point of this system into a larger intrusion (Eastern Deeps intrusion). The massive sulfide- and breccia-bearing inner basal margin of this upper intrusion is enveloped by weakly mineralized variable-textured troctolite that progressively decreases in sulfide content, contains fewer paragneiss fragments, and eventually grades into a largely sulfide-barren, homogeneous plagioclase and olivine (meso)cumulate, termed normal troctolite, toward the top of the intrusion. Olivine from the troctolite lithologies, the mineralized basal breccia sequence, and the uppermost olivine gabbro in the Eastern Deeps intrusion was analyzed with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). We present multitrace element data (including petrogenetically important elements V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Sr, and Y), which indicate that four petrological processes important to ore formation are recorded by the compositional diversity of olivine. The heterogeneous Ni-Co-Fo contents of olivine in the Eastern Deeps intrusion (Co/Ni ratios in olivine gabbro: 0.18–1.1, normal troctolite: 0.07–0.26, variable-textured troctolite: 0.11–0.29, basal breccia sequence: 0.20–0.34) are due to variable modification of original compositions by reequilibration with trapped silicate and sulfide liquids. The abrupt changes of Fe (Fo79–Fo66) and Ni (~2,500 to ~80 ppm) contents and some trace elements (up to 1.5x more Sr, up to 3x more Y than average normal troctolite olivine) in olivine from intervals in the barren upper normal troctolite indicate that olivine crystallized from separate pulses of magma with variable degrees of differentiation. The severe Ni depletion of one troctolite melt batch (~10 ppm Ni vs. 290 ppm Ni for average normal troctolite magma) is likely a result of sulfide saturation and segregation, either in a deeper staging chamber, or in the conduit, prior or contemporary to olivine precipitation and emplacement. The gradational increase of Fe (from Fo80 to Fo62), Mn (from ~4,000 to ~10,000 ppm), and Zn (from ~400 to ~620 ppm) in olivine from the weakly mineralized and contaminated lower part of the variable-textured troctolite downward into the massive sulfide-bearing and strongly contaminated basal breccia sequence is consistent with olivine fractionation from an increasingly country rock-contaminated, sulfide-saturated, silicate magma. Olivine here crystallized prior to or contemporaneously with the segregation of an immiscible sulfide liquid. Olivine grains that are enclosed by sulfide display homogeneous forsterite contents (~Fo62) with pronounced intragrain trace element zonation (Mn>Ni>Co>Zn). Diffusion profiles (Mn-Ni) indicate a relatively short immersion time (<<1,000 years) of these olivine grains in sulfide liquid, which likely resulted in the partial retention of Ni in the olivine. Olivine in the vicinity of massive sulfides in the Eastern Deeps intrusion (from variable-textured troctolite to basal breccia sequence) has a distinct minor and trace element signature (V-Cr-Mn-Co-Ni-Zn) compared to olivine from the barren troctolite and olivine gabbro. A multiple regression analysis using these data yields an index that describes the relative vertical proximity of olivine to massive sulfides. In conjunction with the stratigraphic context of the host lithology, this information could potentially be used as a vector toward massive sulfide mineralization in the Eastern Deeps intrusion and also support Ni exploration in other olivine-bearing mafic intrusions with similar style of sulfide mineralization.

Concentration of Particulate Platinum-Group Minerals during Magma Emplacement; a Case Study from the Merensky Reef, Bushveld Complex

AbstractThe petrology, mineralogy and geochemistry of a section of the Merensky Reef at Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM) are described. A model for the formation of platinum-group minerals (PGM), sulphide and chromitite is proposed that explains the stratigraphic relationships observed in the Merensky Reef, both at BRPM and at other locations in the Bushveld Complex. To achieve this it is necessary to understand platinum-group element (PGE) behaviour in naturally occurring mafic systems and for this reason comparisons are drawn from core TN207 through the Platreef at Tweefontein. The common link between the Platreef and Merensky Reef is the presence of unusually high concentrations of As, Sb, Bi and Te that promote the crystallisation of semi-metal bearing PGM from sulphide liquids. Under conditions of increasing semi-metal contamination, Pt is the first PGE to be extracted from a sulphide liquid followed by Rh, Ru, Os and Ir. While some Pd is released to form Pd-PGM much of it remains within the Ni-rich sulphide phase that crystallizes to form pentlandite. A critical aspect is the timing of their introduction into the magmatic system. For the Merensky magmas, contamination occurred predominantly within a staging chamber owing to wall-rock interaction with Transvaal sediments. This led to the formation of sulphide liquids that captured PGE and, ultimately, the crystallization of Pt- and Ru-PGM. The extreme enrichment in PGE and the high Pt/Pd ratios in the Merensky chromitites are attributed to density-driven concentration of PGM transported by magmas displaced from a staging chamber. Emplacement of these magmas into the Bushveld Complex resulted in thermo-mechanical erosion of the floor and deposition of chromites + sulphides + PGM. In places, these assemblages collected in sedimentary-like scour channels. In the Platreef, contamination occurred largely after magma emplacement owing to interaction with the local Transvaal sediments. As a result, mechanical separation of PGM did not occur and most PGM remain spatially associated with their original sulphide hosts.The Merensky Reef is a prime example of highly efficient PGE concentration resulting from mechanical processes, whereas the Platreef is a prime example of highly efficient PGE removal from sulphide liquids in response to extreme contamination by semi-metals.

Two‐stage polybaric formation of the new enriched, pyroxene‐oikocrystic, lherzolitic shergottite, NWA 7397

AbstractNorthwest Africa (NWA) 7397 is a newly discovered, enriched, lherzolitic shergottite, the third described example of this group. This meteorite consists of two distinct textural lithologies (1) poikilitic—comprised of zoned pyroxene oikocrysts, with chadacrysts of chromite and olivine, and (2) nonpoikilitic—comprised of olivine, low‐Ca and high‐Ca pyroxene, maskelynite, and minor abundances of merrillite, spinel, ilmenite, and pyrrhotite. The constant Ti/Al ratios of pyroxene oikocrysts suggests initial crystallization of the poikilitic lithology at depth (equivalent to pressures of approximately 10 kbar), followed by crystallization of the nonpoikilitic lithology at shallower levels. Oxygen fugacity conditions become more oxidizing during crystallization ranging from fO2 conditions of approximately QFM‐2 to QFM‐0.7. Magma calculated to be in equilibrium with the major rock‐forming minerals is LREE‐enriched relative to depleted or intermediate shergottites and has flat overall profiles. Therefore, we suggest that the parental magma for NWA 7397 had sampled an enriched, oxidized, Martian geochemical source, similar to that of other enriched basaltic and olivine‐phyric shergottites. We present a polybaric formation model for the lherzolitic shergottite NWA 7397, to account for the petrologic constraints. Three successive stages in the development of NWA 7397 are discussed (1) formation of a REE‐enriched parental magma from a distinct Martian mantle reservoir; (2) magma ponding and development of a staging chamber concomitant with initial crystallization of the poikilitic lithology; and (3) magma ascent to the near surface, with entrainment of cumulates from the staging chamber and subsequent crystallization of the nonpoikilitic lithology en route to the surface.

Origin of the Tudun Cu–Ni sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan, NW China: Constraints on the geochemistry of platinum group elements

This study documents the geochemistry of sulfide ores of the Tudun Cu–Ni sulfide deposit, located at the western end of the Huangshan–Jing'erquan ore belt in the northern part of eastern Tianshan. The ores have been classified as (1) disseminated sulfide ores, (2) net-textured sulfide ores, and (3) massive sulfide ores.The geochemistry of barren rocks shows Ni and Cu contents ranged 889–1330ppm and 145–253ppm, respectively. The rocks generally contained ~0.10ppb Rh, Ir, Ru and Os, and ~1ppb Pt and Pd, as well as high Cu/Pd ratios (133–246). The contents of Cu, Ni and PGEs in sulfide ores were calculated on a 100% sulfide basis. Total PGEs on a 100% sulfide basis ranged from 13.2ppb to 443ppb (average=144ppb), which were lower than the values in the Huangshandong deposit (average=186ppb) in the eastern Tianshan ore belt, one order of magnitude lower than the Jinchuan deposit, and two orders of magnitude lower than the Noril'sk–Talnakh deposit. The R factor value ranged from 168 to 1810 in sulfide ores of the Tudun deposit, indicating Cu and Ni enrichment, although PGEs enrichment did not reach recoverable grades.In the Tudun deposit, the Pd/Ir ratio of sulfide ores was less than 100, showing weak hydrothermal fluid alteration. The massive sulfide ores exhibited less primitive mantle-normalized PGEs patterns, which are depleted in PPGEs and different from PPGEs-rich intrusions, as well as disseminated and net-textured sulfide ores. In addition, the massive sulfide ores exhibit a strong negative Pt anomaly. This may be due to fractionation of Pt–Fe alloys in the magma batches prior to its intrusion into the staging chamber. It could also be caused by selective Pt leaching from the sulfides by hydrothermal fluids during remobilization within the Tudun chamber.

Controls on disseminated PGE–Cu–Ni sulfide mineralization within the Rietfontein deposit, Eastern Limb, Bushveld Complex, South Africa: Implications for the formation of contact-type magmatic sulfide deposits

The Rietfontein platinum group element (PGE)–Cu–Ni sulfide deposit of the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex hosts disseminated contact-style mineralization that is similar to other economic magmatic sulfide deposits in marginal settings within the complex. The mineralization at Rietfontein consists of disseminated PGE-bearing base metal sulfides that are preferentially located at the contact between a distinct package of marginal norites overlain by a thick heterogeneous unit dominated by gabbronorites with lesser norites and ultramafic rocks. Down-hole composite data and metal scatterplots indicate that the PGE correlate well with Ni, Cu and S and that only minor metal remobilization has taken place within the basal norite sequence. Plots of (Nb/Th)PM vs. (Th/Yb)PM indicate that the melts that formed the Rietfontein intrusive sequence were strongly crustally contaminated prior to emplacement at Rietfontein, whereas inverse relationships between PGE tenors and S/Se ratios indicate that these magmas assimilated crustal S, causing S-saturation and the formation of immiscible sulfides under high R-factor conditions that generated high PGE tenor sulfides. Reverse zoning of cumulus minerals at Rietfontein suggests that fresh primitive melts were introduced to a partially fractionated staging chamber. The introduction of new magmas into the chamber caused overpressure and the forced evacuation of the contents of the chamber, leading to the emplacement of the existing magmas within the staging chamber at Rietfontein in two separate pulses. The first pulse of magma contained late-formed cumulus phases, including low Mg# orthopyroxene and plagioclase, was emplaced between footwall unreactive and S-poor Pretoria Group quartzites and a hangingwall sequence of Rooiberg Group felsites, and was rapidly chilled to form the basal norite sequence at Rietfontein. The second pulse of magma contained early formed cumulus phases, including olivine, chromite, and high Mg# orthopyroxene, and was emplaced above the chilled norite sequence as a crystal mush to form gabbronorites and ultramafic rocks. This second pulse of magma also contained PGE-bearing base metal sulfides that accumulated at the contact between this second batch of magma and the already chilled basal norite sequence. The formation of Platreef-type mineralization outside of the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex confirms there are a number of areas within the Bushveld Complex that are prospective for this style of mineralization.

A modified genetic model for the Huangshandong magmatic sulfide deposit in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Xinjiang, western China

The Huangshandong Ni–Cu deposit is the largest magmatic sulfide deposit discovered to date in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in northern Xinjiang, western China. The host intrusion is a 274-Ma composite mafic–ultramafic intrusion consisting of four separate intrusive units: a large layered gabbroic sequence (phase I), a sheet-like ultramafic body (phase II), a dyke-like gabbronorite body (phase III), and an irregular ultramafic unit (phase IV). Important sulfide mineralization is present in the last three intrusive units, predominantly as disseminated and net-textured sulfides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite). The Huangshandong mafic–ultramafic intrusive rocks are characterized by arc-like geochemical signatures such as low Ca content in olivine and negative Nb–Ta anomalies in whole rocks. This, together with a post-subduction setting for the East Tianshan in the Permian, suggests that the source mantle was modified previously by slab-derived fluids in the Carboniferous. The mantle-derived magma was ponded in a staging chamber in the lower part of the newly formed arc crust. The first batch of magma to arrive at Huangshandong was most fractionated and depleted in Ni, crystallizing Fe-rich and Ni-depleted olivine (Fo67, <300 ppm Ni). The second batch of magma was more primitive, crystallizing more primitive olivine (Fo81–84). The third batch of magma was also highly fractionated and depleted in Ni, crystallizing Fe-rich and Ni-depleted olivine (Fo72, ~600 ppm Ni). The final batch of magma became more primitive again, crystallizing the most primitive olivine (Fo81–86). The occurrence of rounded sulfide inclusions in olivine primocrysts in the Huangshandong ultramafic rocks indicates that immiscible sulfide liquid droplets were present during olivine crystallization. The Ni tenors of disseminated sulfide ores in the gabbronorite dyke vary mainly between 5 and 8 wt%, which are too high to have been produced by the parental magma of the dyke. The Ni, Cu, and platinum-group elements (PGE) tenors of disseminated sulfide ores in the dyke (phase III) and the ultramafic sheet (phase II) are remarkably similar. These observations, together with the sequence of magma emplacement, suggest that the sulfide liquids entrapped in the magma of the dyke formed at depth by a previous pulse of more primitive magma. The estimated parental magma for the most primitive lherzolites in the Huangshandong intrusion contains 10 wt% MgO. Modeling shows that sulfide saturation in the parental magma of the Huangshandong lherzolites could have resulted from fractional crystallization. Significant PGE depletions relative to Ni and Cu in the disseminated sulfide ores of the Huangshandong deposit may be due to sulfide retention in the source mantle.