Unaltered kimberlite of Internationalnaya pipe (Mirny field)

The porphyry kimberlite block (intrusive coherent kimberlite, after Scott-Smith, 2013) on the deep horizons of the Internationalnaya pipe is characterized by the lack of olivine macrocryst serpentinization, and the minimum degree of postmagmatic alteration in the matrix minerals. Garnet keliphitization and the composition of olivine and phlogopite outer zones are due to the interaction of deep minerals and the surrounding kimberlite melt at depth. The rapid melt crystallization contributed to the heterogeneous magma structure represented by the macrocryst (porphyry) and aphyric schlieren.

Multiphase Mineral Inclusions in Ferrikaersutite Megacrysts : Implications for Postmagmatic Alteration of the Kaersutite Host

Primary and secondary multiphase mineral inclusions, without preserved fluid are found in ferrikaersutite megacrysts from the Cenozoic Harrat Ash Sham Volcanic Field in ٍSyria. Mineral phases in the inclusions are magnetite, hematite, pseudobrookite and pyrrhotite. The kaersutite megacrysts formed from a hydrous basanitic melt at depth. Silicate minerals in the inclusions are olivine, plagioclase, phlogopite, hornblende, clino- and orthopyroxene. These silicate minerals crystallized from melt penetration and infillings of veins and fractures in the kaersutite. Magnetite and pyrrhotite inclusion formed through magmatic crystallization which was followed by low temperature alteration and re-equilibration. Late stage near-surface alteration resulted in the formation of hematite, limonite and fine-grained weathering products which comprise high-Fe-Si-, Si-Mg-Al-, Si-Fe-Al-, Si-Al- and Si-Ti-Al-Fe-Ca-rich alterations. The composition of these late stage alteration products was governed by low-temperature post-magmatic alteration of kaersutite along cleavage planes and fractures.

Le magmatisme de la région de Kwyjibo, Province du Grenville (Canada) : intérêt pour les minéralisations de type fer-oxydes associées

The granitic plutons located north of the Kwyjibo property in Quebec's Grenville Province are of Mesoproterozoic age and belong to the granitic Canatiche Complex . The rocks in these plutons are calc-alkalic, K-rich, and meta- to peraluminous. They belong to the magnetite series and their trace element characteristics link them to intraplate granites. They were emplaced in an anorogenic, subvolcanic environment, but they subsequently underwent significant ductile deformation. The magnetite, copper, and fluorite showings on the Kwyjibo property are polyphased and premetamorphic; their formation began with the emplacement of hydraulic, magnetite-bearing breccias, followed by impregnations and veins of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and fluorite, and ended with a late phase of mineralization, during which uraninite, rare earths, and hematite were emplaced along brittle structures. The plutons belong to two families: biotite-amphibole granites and leucogranites. The biotite-amphibole granites are rich in iron and represent a potential heat and metal source for the first, iron oxide phase of mineralization. The leucogranites show a primary enrichment in REE (rare-earth elements), F, and U, carried mainly in Y-, U-, and REE-bearing niobotitanates. They are metamict and underwent a postmagmatic alteration that remobilized the uranium and the rare earths. The leucogranites could also be a source of rare earths and uranium for the latest mineralizing events.[Traduit par la Rédaction]

The agpaitic rocks - an overview

It is now generally agreed that the term ‘agpaitic’ should be restricted to peralkaline nepheline syenites (and phonolites) containing minerals such as eudialyte and rinkite, that is complex silicates of Zr, Ti, the rare earth elements (REE), and F and other volatiles. There are, however, cases of transition into more common types of nepheline syenites containing zircon, titanite, ilmenite, etc.The agpaitic rocks are characterized by extremely high contents of rare elements such as Li, Be, Nb, Ta,REE, Zr, Th, etc. and of volatiles, first of all F and Cl. This gives rise to a wealth of mineral species, more than 500 in the Lovozero and Khibina complexes of the Kola peninsula, about 250 in Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada, and about 200 in the type locality, the Ilímaussaq complex, South Greenland.These rocks have very long melting intervals and solidus temperatures as low as 500 to 400°C. They are accompanied by a gas phase rich in methane and other hydrocarbons and most probably also by sodium-rich fluids as indicated by the presence of minerals such as ussingite (NaAlSi3O8·NaOH) and villiaumite (NaF) and of pegmatites and hydrothermal veins rich in sodium and rare and volatile elements.Agpaitic nepheline syenites are considered to have been formed by consolidation of melts oversaturated in alkalis, especially sodium, under conditions preventing the volatiles from escaping. These melts have been derived by extreme fractionation processes in alkali basaltic or nephelinitic magmas. The main stage of crystallization of the melts is characterized by minerals such as nepheline (sometimes also sodalite), alkali feldspars, arfvedsonite, aegirine and eudialyte, but the most highly developed, hyperagpaitic lujavrites of the Ilímaussaq complex have been formed from melts with extreme concentrations of sodium and volatiles resulting in the formation of naujakasite instead of nepheline, ussingite instead of sodalite and alkali feldspars, and steenstrupine instead of eudialyte. During the late stages of crystallization, sodium-rich fluids are the cause of late- and postmagmatic alteration and of the formation of hydrothermal mineralizations. The late stages are characterized by water-soluble sodium-rich minerals of which more than 80 have been found in the Khibina and Lovozero complexes.