Mafic-Ultramafic Layered Intrusions: Genesis, Composition and Mineralization

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Deposits".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 July 2023) | Viewed by 4821

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Dobretsov Geological Institute of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Sakh’yanovoi st. 6a, 670047 Ulan-Ude, Russia
Interests: mafic–ultramafic intrusions; Ni–Cu; Cr; PGE mineralization; nephrite; Mg raw materials; geological heritage
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Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Interests: mantle petrology; ophiolite genesis; chromite ore genesis; geochemistry and mineralogy of mantle-derived rocks
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mafic–ultramafic layered intrusions have attracted increased attention among researchers both due to the unusual stratification–cyclical alternation of rocks contrasting in composition, and due to the varied mineralization associated with them. They are distributed on all continents, in different tectonic conditions, and formed at different time periods, from the Precambrian to the Phanerozoic. Associated with them are stratiform PGE reef-style mineralization, Ni-Cu-(PGE) ores, stratiform Fe-Ti-V-(P) horizons, and chromitite seams. They are also often associated with various metasomatic rocks. Many questions around their formation, primarily their remarkable layering, are far from resolved. This Special Issue aims to publish articles on a wide range of issues related to layered intrusions, such as age, geodynamic position, geochemistry, including isotope, mineralogy, and petrology, and features of the composition and origin of various types of mineralization.

Dr. Evgeniy Kislov
Prof. Dr. Shoji Arai
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • layered intrusions
  • geodynamic position
  • geochronology
  • petrology
  • PGE
  • Ni-Cu
  • Fe-Ti-V
  • chromitite

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6028 KiB  
Article
X-ray Computed Tomography of PGE-Rich Anorthosite from the Main Reef of the Yoko–Dovyren Layered Massif
by Ivan V. Pshenitsyn, Alexey A. Ariskin, Dmitry V. Korost, Sergei N. Sobolev, Vasily O. Yapaskurt, Georgy S. Nikolaev and Evgeny V. Kislov
Minerals 2023, 13(10), 1307; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13101307 - 9 Oct 2023
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Abstract
For the first time, we present results of a detailed X-ray computed tomography of mineralized anorthosite from the main low-sulfide PGE-rich horizon of the Yoko–Dovyren intrusion in Southern Siberia. These studies were carried out in three stages with the acquisition of information on [...] Read more.
For the first time, we present results of a detailed X-ray computed tomography of mineralized anorthosite from the main low-sulfide PGE-rich horizon of the Yoko–Dovyren intrusion in Southern Siberia. These studies were carried out in three stages with the acquisition of information on different scales. At the first stage, a 5 × 6 cm size sample was scanned with a resolution as high as 200 µm; at the second stage, two 10 mm cores were drilled out of its most sulfide-rich zones, in which probable platinum group minerals (PGM) were found; the third stage included drilling out 3 mm cores in the areas potentially enriched in PGMs. Such a systematic study made it possible to visualize the distribution of sulfide in the volume of the plagioclase matrix, as well as to establish the spatial relationships of sulfides and PGMs. The mineralized layers of the anorthosite are characterized by a heterogeneous distribution of sulfides within 1 cm, while their contents do not exceed 10 vol.%. Most PGMs look like sub-isometric ones, as they are confined to the edges of sulfide segregations, less often occurring inside them; their size does not exceed 135 µm. Based on the results of stereological reconstructions, two small polished mounts were prepared that exposed the two largest grains of the probable PGMs. According to the results of SEM studies, one grain 35 µm in diameter in association with chalcopyrite and epidote at the margin of a sulfide segregation was identified as moncheite, and an elongated 135 µm long grain in the intergrowth with cubanite was identified as electrum. Full article
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22 pages, 8725 KiB  
Article
Using 1D Thermal Modeling to Evaluate Formation Models of Mafic-Ultramafic Intrusions and Associated Sulfide Cu-Ni-PGE Mineralization
by Dmitry Stepenshchikov and Nikolay Groshev
Minerals 2023, 13(8), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13081046 - 6 Aug 2023
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Abstract
In this paper, we trace the thermal history of the mafic–ultramafic intrusions of the Monchegorsk (MC), Fedorova–Pana (FPC), and Norilsk ore-bearing complexes (NC) using an upgraded version of the author’s software Gehenna 2.2. It is shown that a key role in the concentration [...] Read more.
In this paper, we trace the thermal history of the mafic–ultramafic intrusions of the Monchegorsk (MC), Fedorova–Pana (FPC), and Norilsk ore-bearing complexes (NC) using an upgraded version of the author’s software Gehenna 2.2. It is shown that a key role in the concentration of sulfides in the lower parts of the intrusions belongs to the preliminary heating of the host rocks by early magmatic influxes. In the presence of late ore-bearing magmatic phases of a relatively small volume, the pattern of sulfide distribution within such a phase can be used to estimate the time gap with the main influx. Thermal modeling shows that the Gabbro-10 massif, an additional ore-bearing phase of the Nyud-Poaz intrusion of the MC, is separated from the main influx by a time gap of no more than 100 ka, while the minimum gap between the magmatic phases of the Fedorova intrusion of the FPC is 650–700 ka. The development of a hornfels halo around mafic–ultramafic rocks makes it possible to estimate the duration of the process of continuous magma flow inside intrusions, which, as an example from the Kharaelakh intrusion of the NC shows, can reach 1000 years and more. Thermal modeling is recommended both for formulating genetic hypotheses and for testing different scenarios for the formation of sulfide Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization in mafic–ultramafic complexes. Full article
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35 pages, 9069 KiB  
Article
Paleoproterozoic Layered Intrusions of the Monchegorsk Ore District: Geochemistry and U–Pb, Sm–Nd, Re–Os Isotope Analysis
by Valery F. Smol’kin and Artem V. Mokrushin
Minerals 2022, 12(11), 1432; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12111432 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1872
Abstract
The paper concerns the geochemical analysis of rocks from the ore-bearing layered intrusions that belong to two age groups of the Monchepluton and the Imandra–Umbarechka Complex (2.50 and 2.44 Ga) and the largest gabbro-anorthosite of the Main Ridge Complex (2.51–2.45 Ga). The intrusion [...] Read more.
The paper concerns the geochemical analysis of rocks from the ore-bearing layered intrusions that belong to two age groups of the Monchepluton and the Imandra–Umbarechka Complex (2.50 and 2.44 Ga) and the largest gabbro-anorthosite of the Main Ridge Complex (2.51–2.45 Ga). The intrusion of these complexes happened at different depths when the endogenous and geodynamic settings changed at the beginning of the Paleoproterozoic Era. Five megacycles are distinguished in a generalized cross-section of the two-chamber Monchepluton. The megacycles differ in rock composition, rock geochemical features, and mineralization types, i.e., the chromite, sulfide Cu–Ni–PGE and low-sulfide PGE types. The abrupt changes in isotope indicators (εNd, 87Sr/86Sr) mark their boundaries. At a depth of 2037–2383 m, the M-1 borehole intersects a standalone intrusive body that is essentially a magma feeder channel. The intrusive body’s geochemical characteristics and U–Pb isotope age correlate to the Monchepluton rocks. The gabbro-anorthosite massifs united in the Main Ridge Complex were intruded in the following order: the Monchetundra, Chunatundra, Volchetundra, and Losevo–Medvezhye tundras. The largest Monchetundra massif was formed as a result of multiple intrusions of mafic magmatic melt from the deep reservoirs. The melts intruded in two stages, i.e., 2.51–2.49 Ga and 2.48–2.47 Ga, and their composition changed gradually. The gabbro-pegmatites and coeval harrisite dykes are more recent ones (2.46–2.45 Ga). The summarized results of the U–Pb, Sm–Nd, and Re–Os systems research allowed us to establish genetic relations between the studied geological objects. We proposed a model where there was an uplift of a mantle plume to the lower crust area at the age of 2.5 Ga, the deep mantle reservoirs were formed, and a large-scale interaction happened between the parental magma and granulite–eclogite complex rocks. Local contamination and assimilation processes took place during the uplifting of magmas in areas where the magmatic feeding system contacted the host amphibolite–gneiss Archean complexes. Full article
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