The 650–621 Ma plume which impinged beneath the Siberian craton during the breakup of Rodinia caused the formation of several alkaline carbonatite massifs in craton margins of the Angara rift system. The Beloziminsky alkaline ultramafic carbonatite massif (BZM) in the Urik-Iya graben includes alnöites, phlogopite carbonatites and aillikites. The Yuzhnaya pipe (YuP) ~ 645 Ma and the 640–621 Ma aillikites in BZM, dated by 40Ar/39Ar, contain xenoliths of carbonated sulfide-bearing dunites, xenocrysts of olivines, Cr-diopsides, Cr-phlogopites, Cr-spinels (P ~ 4–2 GPa and T ~ 800–1250 °C) and xenocrysts of augites with elevated HFSE, U, Th. Al-augites and kaersutites fractionated from T ~ 1100–700 °C along the 90 mW/m2 geotherm. Higher T trend for Al-Ti augite, pargasites, Ti-biotites series (0.4–1.5 GPa) relate to intermediate magma chambers near the Moho and in the crust. Silicate xenocrysts show Zr-Hf, Ta-Nb peaks and correspond to carbonate-rich magma fractionation that possibly supplied the massif. Aillikites contain olivines, rare Cr-diopsides and oxides. The serpentinites are barren, fragments of ore-bearing Phl carbonatites contain perovskites, Ta-niobates, zircons, thorites, polymetallic sulphides and Ta-Mn-Nb-rich magnetites, ilmenites and Ta-Nb oxides. The aillikites are divided by bulk rock and trace elements into seven groups with varying HFSE and LILE due to different incorporation of carbonatites and related rocks. Apatites and perovskites reveal remarkably high LREE levels. Aillikites were generated by 1%–0.5% melting of the highly metasomatized mantle with ilmenite, perovskite apatite, sulfides and mica, enriched by subduction-related melts and fluids rich in LILE and HFSE. Additional silicate crystal fractionation increased the trace element concentrations. The carbonate-silicate P-bearing magmas may have produced the concentration of the ore components and HFSE in the essentially carbonatitic melts after liquid immiscibility in the final stage. The mechanical enrichment of aillikites in ore and trace element-bearing minerals was due to mixture with captured solid carbonatites after intrusion in the massif.
Mineral data from Yakutian kimberlites allow reconstruction of the history of lithospheric mantle. Differences occur in compositions of mantle pyropes and clinopyroxenes from large kimberlite pipes in the Alakit and Daldyn fields. In the Alakit field, Cr-diopsides are alkaline, and Stykanskaya and some other pipes contain more sub-calcic pyropes and dunitic-type diamond inclusions, while in the Daldyn field harzburgitic pyropes are frequent. The eclogitic diamond inclusions in the Alakit field are sharply divided in types and conditions, while in the Daldyn field they show varying compositions and often continuous Pressure–Temperature (P–T) ranges with increasing Fe# with decreasing pressures. In Alakit, Cr-pargasites to richterites were found in all pipes, while in Daldyn, pargasites are rare Dalnyaya and Zarnitsa pipes. Cr-diopsides from the Alakit region show higher levels of light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) and stronger REE-slopes, and enrichment in light Rare Earth Elements (LREE), sometimes Th-U, and small troughs in Nb-Ta-Zr. In the Daldyn field, the High Field Strength Elements HFSE troughs are more common in clinopyroxenes with low REE abundances, while those from sheared and refertilized peridotites have smooth patterns. Garnets from Alakit show HREE minima, but those from Daldyn often have a trough at Y and high U and Pb. PTXfO2 diagrams from both regions show similarities, suggesting similar layering and structures. The degree of metasomatism is often higher for pipes which show dispersion in P–Fe# trends for garnets. In the mantle beneath Udachnaya and Aykhal, pipes show 6–7 linear arrays of P–Fe# in the lower part of the mantle section at 7.5–3.0 GPa, probably reflecting primary subduction horizons. Beneath the Sytykanskaya pipe, there are several horizons with opposite inclinations which reflect metasomatic processes. The high dispersion of the P–Fe# trend indicating widespread metasomatism is associated with decreased diamond grades. Possible explanation of the differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of the mantle sections may relate to their tectonic positions during growth of the lithospheric keel. Enrichment in volatiles and alkalis possibly corresponds to interaction with subduction-related fluids and melts in the craton margins. Incorporation of island arc peridotites from an eroded arc is a possible scenario
2 April 2018 in Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy