Carbonate- and silicate-rich globules in the kimberlitic rocks of northwestern Tarim large igneous province, NW China: Evidence for carbonated mantle source

摘要

We report carbonate- and silicate-rich globules and andradite from the Wajilitage kimberlitic rocks in the northwestern Tarim large igneous province, NW China. The carbonate-rich globules vary in size from 1 to 3 mm, and most have ellipsoidal or round shape, and are composed of nearly pure calcite. The silicate-rich globules are elliptical to round in shape and are typically larger than the carbonate-rich globules ranging from 2 to several centimeters in diameter. They are characterized by clear reaction rims and contain several silicate minerals such as garnet, diopside and phlogopite. The silicate-rich globules, reported here for the first time, are suggested to be related to the origin of andradite within the kimberlitic rocks. Our results show that calcite in the carbonate-rich globules has a high X_(Ca) (＞0.97) and is characterized by extremely high concentrations of the total rare earth elements (up to 1500 ppm), enrichment in Sr (8521-10,645 ppm) and LREE, and remarkable depletion in Nd, Ta, Zr, Hf and Ti. The calcite in the silicate-rich globules is geochemically similar to those in the carbonate-rich globules except the lower trace element contents. Garnet is dominantly andradite (And_(59.56-92.32)Grs_(5.67-36.03)Pyr_(0.36-4.61)Spe_(0-0.33)) and is enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) and relatively depleted in Rb, Ba, Th, Pb, Sr, Zr and Hf. Phlogopite in the silicate-rich globules has a high Mg~# ranging from 0.93 to 0.97. The composition of the diopside is Wo_(45.82-51.39)En_(39.81-49.09)Fs_(0.88-0.95) with a high Mg~# ranging from 0.88 to 0.95. Diopside in the silicate-rich globules has low total rare earth element (REE) contents (14-31 ppm) and shows middle REE- (Eu to Gd), slight light REE- and heavy REE-enrichment with elevated Zr, Hf and Sr contents and a negative Nb anomaly in the normalized diagram. The matrix of the kimberlitic rocks are silica undersaturated (27.92-29.31 wt.% SiO_2) with low Al_2O_3 (4.51-5.15 wt.%) and high CaO (17.29-17.77 wt.%) contents. The samples are characterized by incompatible element enrichment with high (La/Yb)_N values (41-58) and remarkable negative anomalies in HFSEs (e.g. Ta, Zr, Hf). Our new data suggest that the carbonate-rich globule most likely crystallized at high-temperature and does not represent immiscible liquids, whereas the silicate-rich globules are related to carbonate-rich deuteric hydrothermal fluids during the later-stage of melt evolution. The fluids reacted with the surrounding silicate melts resulting in the formation of skarn minerals such as phlogopite, diopside and andradite. The presence of the carbonate-bearing globules indicates that the Wajilitage kimberlitic rocks are carbonate-rich and most likely derived from an enriched mantle with abundant carbonate. We correlate the carbonated mantle to metasomatism by the migration of deep-seated fluids (carbonate-rich) in response to the impingement of the early Permian mantle plume.