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Chromite chemistry of a massive chromitite seam in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa: correlation with the UG-2 in the eastern and western limbs and evidence of variable assimilation of footwall rocks.

ABSTRACT: The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is known for its laterally extensive platinum group element-bearing layers, the most famous being the Merensky Reef and the UG-2 chromitite in the eastern and western limbs of the complex. In the northern limb, the Platreef mineralization and a thick chromitite seam below it (referred to as the "UG-2 equivalent" or UG-2E) have been proposed to be the stratigraphic equivalents of the Merensky Reef and the UG-2, respectively. In this study, we compare a suite of UG-2E samples from the Turfspruit project with a UG-2 reference suite from the western limb using petrography, electron probe microanalysis, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results show that (a) in Mg# vs. Cr# diagrams, UG-2E chromites have a distinct compositional field; however, when samples of similar chromite modal abundance (≥ 80%) are used, the UG-2E chromites overlap the field that characterizes UG-2 chromites; (b) the UG-2E is more variable in chromite modal abundance than the UG-2; and (c) variations in Mg# and Fe³⁺/ΣFe in the UG-2E indicate contamination of the magma by metasedimentary rocks of the Duitschland Formation (Transvaal Supergroup) during emplacement, followed by partial re-equilibration of chromite grains with a trapped melt. Thus, we conclude that for chromite modes higher than 80%, the chromite composition retains enough information to allow correlation and that the UG-2E in the northern limb is very likely the UG-2 chromitite.

SUBMITTER: Langa MM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7831339 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The subduction system in southern Patagonia provides direct evidence for the variability of the position of an active continental arc with respect to the subducting plate through time, but the consequences on the arc magmatic record are less well studied. Here we present a geochemical and geochronological study on small plutons and dykes from the upper crust of the southern Patagonian Andes at ~?51°S, which formed as a result of the subduction of the Nazca and Antarctic plates beneath the South American continent. In situ U-Pb geochronology on zircons and bulk rock geochemical data of plutonic and dyke rocks are used to constrain the magmatic evolution of the retro-arc over the last 30 Ma. We demonstrate that these combined U-Pb and geochemical data for magmatic rocks track the temporal and spatial migration of the active arc, and associated retro-arc magmatism. Our dataset indicates that the rear-arc area is characterized by small volumes of alkaline basaltic magmas at 29-30 Ma that are characterized by low La/Nb and Th/Nb ratios with negligible arc signatures. Subsequent progressive eastward migration of the active arc culminated with the emplacement of calc-alkaline plutons and dikes?~?17-16 Ma with elevated La/Nb and Th/Nb ratios and typical subduction signatures constraining the easternmost position of the southern Patagonian batholith at that time. Geochemical data on the post-16 Ma igneous rocks including the Torres del Paine laccolith indicate an evolution to transitional K-rich calc-alkaline magmatism at 12.5?±?0.2 Ma. We show that trace element ratios such as Nb/Ta and Dy/Yb systematically decrease with increasing SiO2, for both the 17-16 Ma calc-alkaline and the 12-13 Ma K-rich transitional magmatism. In contrast, Th/Nb and La/Nb monitor the changes in the source composition of these magmas. We suggest that the transition from the common calc-alkaline to K-rich transitional magmatism involves a change in the source component, while the trace element ratios, such as Nb/Ta and Dy/Yb, of derivative higher silica content liquids are controlled by similar fractionating mineral assemblages. Analysis of a global compilation of Nb/Ta ratios of arc magmatic rocks and simple geochemical models indicate that amphibole and variable amounts of biotite exert a major control on the low Dy/Yb and Nb/Ta of derivative granitic liquids. Lastly, we suggest that the low Nb/Ta ratio of silica-rich magmas is a natural consequence of biotite fractionation and that alternative models such as amphibolite melting in subduction zones and diffusive fractionation are not required to explain the Nb/Ta ratio of the upper continental crust.

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Chromite chemistry of a massive chromitite seam in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa: correlation with the UG-2 in the eastern and western limbs and evidence of variable assimilation of footwall rocks.

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