Home Physical Sciences Nickel in olivine as an exploration indicator for magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits: A data review and re-evaluation
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Nickel in olivine as an exploration indicator for magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits: A data review and re-evaluation

  • Stephen J. Barnes ORCID logo , Zhuo-Sen Yao ORCID logo , Ya-Jing Mao , Ana P. Jesus , Shenghong Yang , Valentina Taranovic and Wolfgang D. Maier
Published/Copyright: January 3, 2023
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Author Information
American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 108 Issue 1

Abstract

Nickel contents of olivine have been widely used as petrogenetic indicators and as fertility indicators for magmatic sulfide potential of mafic-ultramafic intrusions, on the assumption that olivines crystallized from magmas that had equilibrated with sulfide liquid should be relatively depleted in Ni compared with a sulfide-free baseline. This has given rise to a large accumulation of data that is brought together here, along with data on volcanic olivines, to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. We identify multiple sources of variance in Ni content of olivine at a given Fo content, including variability in mantle melt composition due to depth, water content (and possibly source), subsequent fractional crystallization with and without sulfide, recharge and magma mixing, batch equilibration between olivine and sulfide at variable silicate-sulfide ratio (R), and olivine/liquid ratio; and subsequent equilibration during trapped liquid crystallization in orthocumulates. Baselines for Ni in olivine in relation to Fo content are somewhat lower in orogenic belt settings relative to intrusions in continental large igneous provinces (LIPs). This is probably related to differences in initial parent magma compositions, with plume magmas generally forming deeper and at higher temperatures. No clear, universal discrimination is evident in Ni in olivine between ore-bearing, weakly mineralized, and barren intrusions, even when tectonic setting is taken into account. However, sulfide-related signals can be identified at the intrusion scale in many cases. Low-R factor and low-tenor sulfides are associated with low-Ni olivines in several examples, and these cases stand out clearly. Anomalously high-Ni olivines are a feature of some mineralized intrusions, in part due to trapped liquid reaction effects. However, in some cases, this mechanism cannot account for the magnitude of enrichment. In these cases, enrichment may be due to re-entrainment of “primitive” Ni-rich sulfide by a more evolved Fe-rich magma, driving the olivine to become Ni-enriched due to Fe-Ni exchange reaction between sulfide and olivine during transport. An extreme case of this process may account for ultra-Ni enriched olivine at Kevitsa (Finland), but more subtle signals elsewhere could be positive indicators. A lack of clear mineralized/barren distinction in specific groups of related intrusions, e.g., the deposits of NW China or the Kotalahti Belt in Finland, may well be due to “false negatives” where undiscovered mineralization exists in specific intrusions or in their feeder systems, or may also be due to a multiplicity of confounding factors. Wide variability of both Fo and Ni between related intrusions at regional scale may be a useful regional prospectivity indicator, more than an intrusion-scale discriminant, and is certainly informative as a petrogenetic indicator. In general, the use of Ni-olivine as a fertility tool is more likely to generate false negatives than false positives, but both are possible, and the technique should be used as part of a broader weight-of-evidence approach.

Keywords: Magmatic sulfides; nickel deposits; olivine; mantle melting

‡ Present address: School of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.

§ Present address: Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., 87 Adelaide Terrace, East Perth, Western Australia 6004, Australia.

Acknowledgments and Funding

We thank Yiguan Liu for assistance with data compilation. Louise Schoneveld provided a helpful review of a preliminary draft, and we are grateful to American Mineralogist reviewers James Brenan, Chusi Li, and Huan Chen for constructive suggestions. Data for the Halls Creek Orogen and for the Nova-Bollinger system were collected within industry-funded projects supported by Panoramic Resources and IGO Ltd., respectively.

References cited

Ariskin, A.A., and Barmina, G.S. (1999) An empirical model for the calculation of spinel-melt equilibria in mafic igneous systems at atmospheric pressure: 2. Fe-Ti oxides. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 134, 251–263.Search in Google Scholar

Ariskin, A.A., Danyushevsky, L.V., Bychkov, K.A., McNeill, A.W., Barmina, G.S., and Nikolaev, G.S. (2013) Modeling solubility of Fe-Ni sulfides in basaltic magmas: the effect of Ni in the melt. Economic Geology, 108, 1983–2003.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J. (1986) The effect of trapped liquid crystallization on cumulus mineral compositions in layered intrusions. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 93, 524–531.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J. (2007) Cotectic precipitation of olivine and sulfide liquid from komatiite magma, and the origin of komatiite-hosted disseminated nickel sulfide mineralization at Mt Keith and Yakabindie. Economic Geology, 102, 299–304.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., and Fiorentini, M.L. (2012) Komatiite magmas and nickel sulfide deposits: a comparison of variably endowed Archean terranes. Economic Geology, 107, 755–780.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., and Mungall, J.E. (2018) Blade shaped dykes and nickel sulfide deposits: a model for the emplacement of ore-bearing small intrusions. Economic Geology, 113, 789–798.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., and Naldrett, A.J. (1985) Geochemistry of the JM (Howland) Reef of the Stillwater Complex, Minneapolis Adit area. I. Sulfide chemistry and sulfide-olivine equilibrium. Economic Geology, 80, 627–645.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., and Robertson, J.C. (2019) Time scales and length scales in magma flow pathways and the origin of magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE ore deposits. Geoscience Frontiers, 10, 77–87.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Hill, R.E.T., Perring, C.S., and Dowling, S.E. (2004) Lithogeochemical exploration for komatiite-associated Ni-sulfide deposits: strategies and limitations. Mineralogy and Petrology, 82, 259–293.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Makkonen, H.V., Dowling, S.E., Hill, R.E.T., and Peltonen, P. (2009) The 1.88 Ga Kotalahti and Vammala Nickel Belts, Finland: geochemistry of the mafic and ultramafic metavolcanic rocks. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 81, 103–141.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Godel, B., Gürer, D., Brenan, J.M., Robertson, J., and Paterson, D. (2013a) Sulfide-olivine Fe-Ni exchange and the origin of anomalously Ni-rich magmatic sulfides. Economic Geology, 108, 1971–1982.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Heggie, G.J., and Fiorentini, M.L. (2013b) Spatial variation in platinum group element concentrations in ore-bearing komatiite at the Long-Victor deposit, Kambalda Dome, Western Australia: Enlarging the footprint of nickel sulfide orebodies. Economic Geology, 108, 913–933.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Mungall, J.E., and Maier, W.D. (2015) Platinum group elements in mantle melts and mantle samples. Lithos, 232, 395–417.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Cruden, A.R., Arndt, N.T., and Saumur, B.M. (2016) The mineral system approach applied to magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide deposits. Ore Geology Reviews, 76, 296–316.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Mole, D.R., Hornsey, R., and Schoneveld, L.E. (2019) Nickel-copper sulfide mineralization in the Ntaka Hill Ultramafic Complex, Nachingwea region, Tanzania. Economic Geology, 114, 1135–1158.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Taranovic, V., Miller, J.M., Boyce, G., and Beresford, S.W. (2020) Sulfide emplacement and migration in the Nova-Bollinger Ni-Cu-Co deposit, Albany-Fraser Orogen, Western Australia. Economic Geology, 115, 1749–1776.Search in Google Scholar

Barnes, S.J., Stanley, C.R., and Taranovic, V. (2022) Compositions and Ni-Cu-PGE tenors of Nova-Bollinger ores with implications for the origin of Pt anomalies in PGEpoor massive sulfides. Economic Geology, https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4894.Search in Google Scholar

Brenan, J.M. (2003) Effects of fO2 fS2, temperature, and melt composition on Fe-Ni exchange between olivine and sulfide liquid: Implications for natural olivine–sulfide assemblages: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67, 2663–2681.Search in Google Scholar

Burnham, O.M., Halden, N., Layton-Matthews, D., Lesher, C.M., Liwanag, J., Heaman, L., Hulbert, L., Machado, N., Michalak, D., Pacey, M., and others. (2003) Geology, stratigraphy, petrogenesis, and metallogenesis of the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba: Final Report for CAMIRO Project 97E-02, p. 410 pp. Mineral Exploration Research Centre, Sudbury.Search in Google Scholar

Campbell, I.H., and Naldrett, A.J. (1979) The influence of silicate:sulphide ratios on the geochemistry of magmatic sulphides. Economic Geology, 74, 1503–1506.Search in Google Scholar

Clark, T. (1980) Petrology of the Turnagain ultramafic complex, northwestern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 17, 744–757.Search in Google Scholar

Deblond, A., and Tack, L. (1999) Main characteristics and review of mineral resources of the Kabanga-Musongati mafic-ultramafic alignment in Burundi. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 29, 313–328.Search in Google Scholar

Ding, X., Li, C., Ripley, E.M., Rossell, D., and Kamo, S. (2010) The Eagle and East Eagle sulfide ore-bearing mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the Midcontinent Rift System, upper Michigan: Geochronology and petrologic evolution. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11, Q03003, doi:10.1029/2009GC002546Search in Google Scholar

Duchesne, J.-C., Liégeois, J.-P., Deblond, A., and Tack, L. (2004) Petrogenesis of the Kabanga-Musongati layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions in Burundi (Kibaran belt): Geochemical, Sr-Nd isotopic constraints and Cr-Ni behaviour. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 39, 133–145.Search in Google Scholar

Duke, J.M. (1979) Computer simulation of the fractionation of olivine and sulfide from mafic and ultramafic magmas. Canadian Mineralogist, 76, 507–514.Search in Google Scholar

Evans, D.M., Boadi, I., Byemelwa, L., Gilligan, J., Kabete, J., and Marcet, P. (2000) Kabanga magmatic nickel sulphide deposits, Tanzania: Morphology and geochemistry of associated intrusions. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 30, 651–674.Search in Google Scholar

Gao, J.-F., and Zhou, M.-F. (2013) Magma mixing in the genesis of the Kalatongke dioritic intrusion: Implications for the tectonic switch from subduction to post-collision, Chinese Altay, NW China. Lithos, 162-163, 236–250.Search in Google Scholar

Gleeson, M.L.M., and Gibson, S.A. (2019) Crustal controls on apparent mantle pyroxenite signals in ocean-island basalts. Geology, 47, 321–324.Search in Google Scholar

Godel, B., Barnes, S.J., and Barnes, S.-J. (2013) Deposition mechanisms of magmatic sulphide liquids: evidence from high-resolution X-ray computed tomography and trace element chemistry of komatiite-hosted disseminated sulphides. Journal of Petrology, 54, 1455–1481.Search in Google Scholar

Häkli, T.A. (1971) Silicate nickel and its application to the exploration of nickel ores. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 43, 247–263.Search in Google Scholar

Hart, S.R., and Davis, K.E. (1978) Ni partitioning between olivine and silicate melt. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 40, 203–219.Search in Google Scholar

Helmy, H.M., and Mogessie, A. (2001) Gabbro Akarem, Eastern Desert, Egypt; Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization in a concentrically zoned mafic-ultramafic complex. Mineralium Deposita, 36, 58–71.Search in Google Scholar

Herzberg, C., Vidito, C., and Starkey, N.A. (2016) Nickel-cobalt contents of olivine record origins of mantle peridotite and related rocks. American Mineralogist, 101, 1952–1966.Search in Google Scholar

Huhma, H., Hanski, E., Kontinen, A., Vuollo, J., Mänttäri, I., and Lahaye, Y. (2017) Sm-Nd and U-Pb isotope geochemistry of the Palaeoproterozoic mafic magmatism in eastern and northern Finland. Geological Survey of Finland Bulletin, 405, 1–153.Search in Google Scholar

Jesus, A., Mateus, A., Benoit, M., Tassinari, C., and Bento dos Santos, T. (2020) The timing of sulfide segregation in a Variscan synorogenic gabbroic layered intrusion (Beja, Portugal): Implications for Ni-Cu-PGE exploration in orogenic settings. Ore Geology Reviews, 126, 103767.Search in Google Scholar

Jugo, P.J., Luth, R.W., and Richards, J.P. (2005) Experimental data on the speciation of sulfur as a function of oxygen fugacity in basaltic melts. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69, 497–503.Search in Google Scholar

Kiseeva, E.S., and Wood, B.J. (2015) The effects of composition and temperature on chalcophile and lithophile element partitioning into magmatic sulphides. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 424, 280–294.Search in Google Scholar

Kohanpour, F., Gorczyk, W., Lindsay, M.D., and Occhipinti, S.A. (2017) Examining tectonic scenarios using geodynamic numerical modelling: Halls Creek Orogen, Australia. Gondwana Research, 46, 95–113.Search in Google Scholar

Lamberg, P. (2005) From genetic concepts to practice—lithogeochemical identification of Ni-Cu mineralised intrusions and localization of the ore. Geological Survey of Finland Bulletin, 402, 1–266.Search in Google Scholar

Le Vaillant, M., Fiorentini, M.L., and Barnes, S.J. (2016) Review of lithogeochemical exploration tools for komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide deposits. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 168, 1–19.Search in Google Scholar

Le Vaillant, M., Hill, E.J., and Barnes, S.J. (2017) Simplifying drill-hole domains for 3D geochemical modelling: An example from the Kevitsa Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit. Ore Geology Reviews, 90, 388–398.Search in Google Scholar

Le Vaillant, M., Barnes, S.J., Mole, D.R., Fiorentini, M.L., LaFlamme, C.K., Denyszyn, S., Austin, J., Patterson, B., Godel, B., Neaud, A., and others. (2020) Multidisciplinary study of a complex magmatic system: The Savannah Ni-Cu-Co Camp, Western Australia. Ore Geology Reviews, 117, 103292.Search in Google Scholar

Lehnert, K., Su, Y., Langmuir, C.H., Sarbas, B., and Nohl, U. (2000) A global geochemical database structure for rocks. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 1, 1012.Search in Google Scholar

Lesher, C.M. (2017) Roles of residues/skarns, xenoliths, xenocrysts, xenomelts, and xenovolatiles in the genesis, transport, and localization of magmatic Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides and chromite. Ore Geology Reviews, 90, 465–484.Search in Google Scholar

Lesher, C.M. (2019) Up, down, or sideways: emplacement of magmatic Fe–Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide melts in large igneous provinces. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 56, 756–773.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C., and Naldrett, A.J. (1999) Geology and petrology of the Voisey’s Bay intrusion: reaction of olivine with sulfide and silicate liquids. Lithos, 47, 1–31.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C.S., and Ripley, E.M. (2005) Empirical equations to predict the sulfur content of mafic magmas at sulfide saturation and applications to magmatic sulfide deposits. Mineralium Deposita, 40, 218–230.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C.S., and Ripley, E.M. (2010) The relative effects of composition and temperature on olivine-liquid Ni partitioning: Statistical deconvolution and implications for petrologic modeling. Chemical Geology, 275, 99–104.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C., Naldrett, A.J., and Ripley, E.M. (2007) Controls on the Fo and Ni contents of olivine in sulfide-bearing mafic/ultramafic intrusions: Principles, modeling, and examples from Voisey’s Bay. Earth Science Frontiers, 14, 177–183.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C., Zhang, M., Fu, P., Qian, Z.Z., Hu, P., and Ripley, E.M. (2012) The Kalatongke magmatic Ni-Cu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, NW China: Product of slab window magmatism? Mineralium Deposita, 47, 51–67.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C., Ripley, E.M., Thakurta, J., Stifter, E.C., and Liang, Q. (2013) Variations of olivine Fo-Ni contents and highly chalcophile element abundances in arc ultramafic cumulates, southern Alaska. Chemical Geology, 351, 15–28.Search in Google Scholar

Li, C., Zhang, Z., Li, W., Wang, Y., Sun, T., and Ripley, E.M. (2015) Geochronology, petrology and Hf-S isotope geochemistry of the newly-discovered Xiarihamu magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposit in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, western China. Lithos, 216-217, 224–240.Search in Google Scholar

Lu, Y., Lesher, C.M., and Deng, J. (2019) Geochemistry and genesis of magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) and PGE-(Cu)-(Ni) deposits in China. Ore Geology Reviews, 107, 863–887.Search in Google Scholar

Luolavirta, K., Hanski, E., Maier, W., and Santaguida, F. (2017) Whole-rock and mineral compositional constraints on the magmatic evolution of the Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide ore-bearing Kevitsa intrusion, northern Finland. Lithos, 296-299, 37–53.Search in Google Scholar

Luolavirta, K., Hanski, E., Maier, W., Lahaye, Y., O’Brien, H., and Santaguida, F. (2018) In situ strontium and sulfur isotope investigation of the Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide orebearing Kevitsa Intrusion, northern Finland. Mineralium Deposita, 53, 1019–1038.Search in Google Scholar

Maier, W.D., Peltonen, P., and Livesey, T. (2007) The ages of the Kabanga north and Kapalagulu intrusions, western Tanzania: A reconnaissance study. Economic Geology, 102, 147–154.Search in Google Scholar

Maier, W.D., Barnes, S.J., Sarkar, A., Ripley, E.M., Li, C., and Livesey, T. (2010) The Kabanga Ni sulfide deposit, Tanzania: I. Geology, petrography, silicate rock geochemistry, and sulfur and oxygen isotopes. Mineralium Deposita, 45, 419–441.Search in Google Scholar

Maier, W.D., Barnes, S.-J., and Ripley, E.M. (2011) The Kabanga Ni Sulfide Deposits, Tanzania: A Review of Ore-Forming Processes. Reviews in Economic Geology, 17, 217–234.Search in Google Scholar

Maier, W.D., Barnes, S.-J., and Groves, D.I. (2013) The Bushveld Complex, South Africa; formation of platinum-palladium, chrome- and vanadium-rich layers via hydrodynamic sorting of a mobilized cumulate slurry in a large, relatively slowly cooling, subsiding magma chamber. Mineralium Deposita, 48, 1–56.Search in Google Scholar

Maier, W.D., Smithies, R.H., Spaggiari, C.V., Barnes, S.J., Kirkland, C.L., Yang, S., Lahaye, Y., Kiddie, O., and MacRae, C.M. (2016) Petrogenesis and Ni-Cu sulphide potential of mafic-ultramafic rocks in the Mesoproterozoic Fraser Zone within the Albany-Fraser Orogen, Western Australia. Precambrian Research, 281, 27–46.Search in Google Scholar

Mäkitie, H., Data, G., Isabirye, E., Mänttäri, I., Huhma, H., Klausen, M.B., Pakkanen, L., and Virransalo, P. (2014) Petrology, geochronology and emplacement model of the giant 1.37 Ga arcuate Lake Victoria dyke swarm on the margin of a large igneous province in eastern Africa. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 97, 273–296.Search in Google Scholar

Makkonen, H.V. (2015) Nickel deposits of the 1.88 Ga Kotalahti and Vammala Belts. In W.D. Maier, R. Lahtinen, and H. O’Brien, Eds., Mineral Deposits of Finland, p. 253–287. Elsevier.Search in Google Scholar

Makkonen, H.V., Makinen, J., and Kontoniemi, O. (2008) Geochemical discrimination between barren and mineralized intrusions in the Svecofennian (1.9 Ga) Kotalahti nickel belt, Finland. Ore Geology Reviews, 33, 101–114.Search in Google Scholar

Mao, J.W., Pirajno, F., Zhang, Z.H., Chai, F.M., Wu, H., Chen, S.P., Cheng, L.S., Yang, J.M., and Zhang, C.Q. (2008) A review of the Cu-Ni sulphide deposits in the Chinese Tianshan and Altay orogens (Xinjiang Autonomous Region, NW China): Principal characteristics and ore-forming processes. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 32, 184–203.Search in Google Scholar

Mao, Y.J., Qin, K.Z., Barnes, S.J., Ferraina, C., Iacono-Marziano, G., Verrall, M.R., Tang, D.M., and Xue, S.C. (2018) A revised oxygen barometry in sulfide-saturated magmas and application to the Permian magmatic Ni-Cu deposits in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Mineralium Deposita, 53, 731–755.Search in Google Scholar

Mao, Y.J., Barnes, S.J., Godel, B., Schoneveld, L.E., Qin, K.Z., Tang, D.M., Williams, M.J., and Kang, Z. (2022) Sulfide ore formation of the Kalatongke Ni-Cu deposit as illustrated by sulfide textures. Economic Geology, https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4914.Search in Google Scholar

Matzen, A.K., Baker, M.B., Beckett, J.R., and Stolper, E.M. (2013) The temperature and pressure dependence of nickel partitioning between olivine and silicate melt. Journal of Petrology, 54, 2521–2545.Search in Google Scholar

Matzen, A.K., Baker, M.B., Beckett, J.R., Wood, B.J., and Stolper, E.M. (2017a) The effect of liquid composition on the partitioning of Ni between olivine and silicate melt. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. Beitrage zur Mineralogie und Petrologie, 172, 3.Search in Google Scholar

Matzen, A.K., Wood, B.J., Baker, M.B., and Stolper, E.M. (2017b) The roles of pyroxenite and peridotite in the mantle sources of oceanic basalts. Nature Geoscience, 10, 530–535.Search in Google Scholar

Mole, D.R., Barnes, S.J., Le Vaillant, M., Martin, L.A.J., and Hick, J. (2018) Timing, geochemistry and tectonic setting of intrusion-hosted Ni-Cu sulfide deposits of the Halls Creek Orogen. Lithos, 314-315, 425–446.Search in Google Scholar

Mutanen, T. (1997) Geology and ore petrology of the Akanvaara and Koitelainen mafic layered intrusions and the Keivitsa-Satovaaa layered complex, northern Finland. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Finland, 395.Search in Google Scholar

Naldrett, A.J., Duke, J.M., Lightfoot, P.C., and Thompson, J.F.H. (1984) Quantitative modelling of the segregation of magmatic sulphides: An exploration guide. Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Bulletin, 77, 46–56.Search in Google Scholar

Pu, X., Moore, G.M., Lange, R.A., Touran, J.P., and Gagnon, J.E. (2021) Experimental evaluation of a new H2O-independent thermometer based on olivine-melt Ni partitioning at crustal pressure. American Mineralogist, 106, 235–250.Search in Google Scholar

Qin, K.-Z., Su, B.-X., Sakyi, P.A., Tang, D.M., Li, X.H., Sun, H., Xiao, Q.H., and Liu, P.P. (2011) Sims zircon U-Pb geochronology and Sr-Nd isotopes of Ni-Cu-bearing mafic-ultramafic intrusions in Eastern tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts in Tarim basin (NW China): Constraints on a Ca. 280 Ma mantle plume. American Journal of Science, 311, 237–260.Search in Google Scholar

Santaguida, F., Luolavirta, K., Lappalainen, M., Ylinen, J., Voipio, S., and Jones, S. (2015) The Kevitsa Ni-Cu-PGE deposit in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Finland. In W.D. Maier, R. Lahtinen, and H. O’Brien, Eds., Mineral Deposits of Finland, p. 195–210. Elsevier.Search in Google Scholar

Sarbas, B. (2008) The GEOROC database as part of a growing geoinformatics network. In S.R. Brady, A.K. Sinha, and L.C. Gunderson, Eds., Geoinformatics 2008—data to knowledge, Proceedings. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5172, p. 42–43.Search in Google Scholar

Savov, I.P., Ryan, J.G., D’Antonio, M., and Fryer, P. (2007) Shallow slab fluid release across and along the Mariana arc-basin system; insights from geochemistry of serpentinized peridotites from the Mariana fore arc. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, B09205.Search in Google Scholar

Schoneveld, L.E., Barnes, S.J., Makkonen, H.V., Le Vaillant, M., Paterson, D.J., Taranovic, V., Wang, K.-Y., and Mao, Y.-J. (2020) Zoned pyroxenes as prospectivity indicators for magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8.Search in Google Scholar

Sobolev, A.V., Hofmann, A.W., Sobolev, S.V., and Nikogosian, I.K. (2005) An olivine-free mantle source of Hawaiian shield basalts. Nature, 434, 590–597.Search in Google Scholar

Sobolev, A.V., Hofmann, A.W., Kuzmin, D.V., Yaxley, G.M., Arndt, N.T., Chung, S.-L., Danyushevsky, L.V., Elliott, T., Frey, F.A., Garcia, M.O., and others. (2007) The amount of recycled crust in sources of mantle-derived melts. Science, 316, 412–417.Search in Google Scholar

Song, X.-Y., Xie, W., Deng, Y.-F., Crawford, A.J., Zheng, W.-Q., Zhou, G.-F., Deng, G., Cheng, S.-L., and Li, J. (2011a) Slab break-off and the formation of Permian mafic–ultramafic intrusions in southern margin of Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Xinjiang, NW China. Lithos, 127, 128–143.Search in Google Scholar

Song, X., Wang, Y., and Chen, L. (2011b) Magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposits in magma plumbing systems; features, formation and exploration. Geoscience Frontiers, 2, 375–384.Search in Google Scholar

Song, X., Xie, W., Deng, Y., Crawford, A.J., Zheng, W., Zhou, G., Deng, G., Cheng, S., and Li, J. (2011c) Slab break-off and the formation of Permian mafic-ultramafic intrusions in southern margin of Central Asian orogenic belt, Xinjiang, NW China. Lithos, 127, 128–143.Search in Google Scholar

Song, X., Yi, J., Chen, L., She, Y., Liu, C., Dang, X., Yang, Q., and Wu, S. (2016) The giant Xiarihamu Ni-Co sulfide deposit in the East Kunlun orogenic belt, northern Tibet Plateau, China. Economic Geology and Geology, 111, 29–55.Search in Google Scholar

Song, X.-Y., Wang, K.-Y., Barnes, S.J., Yi, J.-N., Chen, L.-M., and Schoneveld, L.E. (2020) Petrogenetic insights of chromite in ultramafic cumulates: Implications from the Xiarihamu intrusion, northern Tibet Plateau, China. American Mineralogist, 105, 479–497.Search in Google Scholar

Spaggiari, C.V., Kirkland, C.L., Smithies, R.H., Wingate, M.T.D., and Belousova, E. (2015) Transformation of an Archean craton margin during Proterozoic basin formation and magmatism: The Albany-Fraser Orogen, Western Australia. Precambrian Research, 266, 440–466.Search in Google Scholar

Su, B.-X., Qin, K.-Z., Sakyi, P.A., Li, X.-H., Yang, Y.-H., Sun, H., Tang, D.-M., Liu, P.-P., Xiao, Q.-H., and Malaviarachchi, S.P.K. (2011) U-Pb ages and Hf-O isotopes of zircons from Late Palaeozoic mafic–ultramafic units in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Tectonic implications and evidence for an Early-Permian mantle plume. Gondwana Research, 20, 516–531.Search in Google Scholar

Taranovic, V., Barnes, S.J., Beresford, S.W., Williams, M.J., MacRae, C., and Schoneveld, L.E. (2022) Nova-Bollinger Ni-Cu sulfide ore deposits, Fraser Zone, Western Australia: Petrogenesis of the host intrusions. Economic Geology, 117, 455–484.Search in Google Scholar

Thakurta, J., Ripley, E.M., and Li, C.S. (2008) Pre-requisites for sulphide-poor PGE and sulphide-rich Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization in Alaskan-type Complexes. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 72, 611–622.Search in Google Scholar

Thakurta, J., Ripley, E.M., and Li, C. (2014) Platinum group element geochemistry of sulfide-rich horizons in the Ural-Alaskan-type ultramafic complex of Duke Island, southeastern Alaska. Economic Geology and Geology, 109, 643–659.Search in Google Scholar

Wei, B., Wang, C.Y., Li, C., and Sun, Y. (2013) Origin of PGE-depleted Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization in the Triassic Hongqiling No. 7 Orthopyroxenite Intrusion, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, Northeastern China. Economic Geology, 108, 1813–1831.Search in Google Scholar

Xue, S., Qin, K., Li, C., Tang, D., Mao, Y., Qi, L., and Ripley, E.M. (2016) Geochronological, Petrological, and Geochemical Constraints on Ni-Cu Sulfide Mineralization in the Poyi Ultramafic-Troctolitic Intrusion in the Northeast Rim of the Tarim Craton, Western China. Economic Geology, 111, 1465–1484.Search in Google Scholar

Yang, S.-H., Maier, W.D., Hanski, E.J., Lappalainen, M., Santaguida, F., and Maatta, S. (2013) Origin of ultra-nickeliferous olivine in the Kevitsa Ni-Cu-PGE-mineralized intrusion, northern Finland. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 166, 81–95.Search in Google Scholar

Yao, Z-S., and Mungall, J.E. (2021) Linking the Siberian Flood Basalts and Giant Ni-Cu-PGE Sulfide Deposits at Norilsk. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126, e2020JB020823.Search in Google Scholar

Yao, Z., Qin, K.Z., and Mungall, E. (2018) Tectonic controls on Ni and Cu contents of primary mantle-derived magmas for the formation of magmatic sulfide deposits. American Mineralogist, 103, 1545–1567.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, Z.C., Ma, J.W., Wang, F.S., Hao, Y.L., and Mahoney, J.J. (2005) Mantle plume activity and melting conditions: Evidence from olivines in Picritic-Komatiitic rocks from the Emeishan Large Igneous Province, Southwestern China. Episodes, 28, 171–176.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, Z.C., Mao, J.W., Chai, F.M., Yan, S.H., Chen, B.L., and Pirajno, F. (2009) Geochemistry of the Permian Kalatongke Mafic Intrusions, Northern Xinjiang, Northwest China: Implications for the genesis of magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits. Economic Geology, 104, 185–203.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, M., Li, C., Fu, P., Hu, P., and Ripley, E. (2011) The Permian Huangshanxi Cu-Ni deposit in western China: Intrusive-extrusive association, ore genesis, and exploration implications. Mineralium Deposita, 46, 153–170.Search in Google Scholar
Received: 2021-10-04
Accepted: 2022-01-05
Published Online: 2023-01-03
Published in Print: 2023-01-27

© 2023 by Mineralogical Society of America

Articles in the same Issue

  1. MSA Review
  2. Nickel in olivine as an exploration indicator for magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits: A data review and re-evaluation
  3. Repeat, fast, and high-resolution mapping of fine-scale trace element distribution in pyrite and marcasite by LA-Q-ICP-MS with the Aerosol Rapid Introduction System (ARIS)
  4. Continuous Be mineralization from two-mica granite to pegmatite: Critical element enrichment processes in a Himalayan leucogranite pluton
  5. An evolutionary system of mineralogy, Part VI: Earth’s earliest Hadean crust (>4370 Ma)
  6. Oxidation or cation re-arrangement? Distinct behavior of riebeckite at high temperature
  7. Fe3+/FeT ratios of amphiboles determined by high spatial resolution single-crystal synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy
  8. How clay delamination supports aseismic slip
  9. The influence of Al2O3 on the structural properties of MgSiO3 akimotoite
  10. Atomistic insight into the ferroelastic post-stishovite transition by high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction
  11. Epidote as a conveyor of water into the Earth’s deep mantle in subduction zones: Insights from coupled high-pressure and high-temperature experiments
  12. Potential link between antigorite dehydration and shallow intermediate-depth earthquakes in hot subduction zones
  13. Stability of Fe5O6 and its relation to other Fe-Mg-oxides at high pressures and temperatures
  14. From schwertmannite to natrojarosite: Long-term stability and kinetic approach
  15. Trace element and isotopic (S, Pb) constraints on the formation of the giant Chalukou porphyry Mo deposit, NE China
  16. Textural and chemical evolution of magnetite from the Paleozoic Shuanglong Fe-Cu deposit: Implications for tracing ore-forming fluids
  17. Jingwenite-(Y) from the Yushui Cu deposit, South China: The first occurrence of a V-HREE-bearing silicate mineral
  18. Wenjiite, Ti10(Si,P,◻)7, and kangjinlaite, Ti11(Si,P)10, new minerals in the ternary Ti-P-Si system from the Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet, China
  19. Evaluating the physicochemical conditions for gold occurrences in pyrite
  20. Letter
  21. Synthesis and structural analysis of CaFe2O4-type single crystals in the NaAlSiO4-MgAl2O4-Fe3O4 system
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8327
Keywords for this article
Magmatic sulfides; nickel deposits; olivine; mantle melting

Articles in the same Issue

  1. MSA Review
  2. Nickel in olivine as an exploration indicator for magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits: A data review and re-evaluation
  3. Repeat, fast, and high-resolution mapping of fine-scale trace element distribution in pyrite and marcasite by LA-Q-ICP-MS with the Aerosol Rapid Introduction System (ARIS)
  4. Continuous Be mineralization from two-mica granite to pegmatite: Critical element enrichment processes in a Himalayan leucogranite pluton
  5. An evolutionary system of mineralogy, Part VI: Earth’s earliest Hadean crust (>4370 Ma)
  6. Oxidation or cation re-arrangement? Distinct behavior of riebeckite at high temperature
  7. Fe3+/FeT ratios of amphiboles determined by high spatial resolution single-crystal synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy
  8. How clay delamination supports aseismic slip
  9. The influence of Al2O3 on the structural properties of MgSiO3 akimotoite
  10. Atomistic insight into the ferroelastic post-stishovite transition by high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction
  11. Epidote as a conveyor of water into the Earth’s deep mantle in subduction zones: Insights from coupled high-pressure and high-temperature experiments
  12. Potential link between antigorite dehydration and shallow intermediate-depth earthquakes in hot subduction zones
  13. Stability of Fe5O6 and its relation to other Fe-Mg-oxides at high pressures and temperatures
  14. From schwertmannite to natrojarosite: Long-term stability and kinetic approach
  15. Trace element and isotopic (S, Pb) constraints on the formation of the giant Chalukou porphyry Mo deposit, NE China
  16. Textural and chemical evolution of magnetite from the Paleozoic Shuanglong Fe-Cu deposit: Implications for tracing ore-forming fluids
  17. Jingwenite-(Y) from the Yushui Cu deposit, South China: The first occurrence of a V-HREE-bearing silicate mineral
  18. Wenjiite, Ti10(Si,P,◻)7, and kangjinlaite, Ti11(Si,P)10, new minerals in the ternary Ti-P-Si system from the Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet, China
  19. Evaluating the physicochemical conditions for gold occurrences in pyrite
  20. Letter
  21. Synthesis and structural analysis of CaFe2O4-type single crystals in the NaAlSiO4-MgAl2O4-Fe3O4 system
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 26.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.2138/am-2022-8327/html
Scroll to top button