Diamonds were formed in the mantle lithosphere,mostly at depths of 150~200km in the centres of Precambrian cratons,the buoyant ancient cores of continents.From there they were normally transported into the upper crust...Diamonds were formed in the mantle lithosphere,mostly at depths of 150~200km in the centres of Precambrian cratons,the buoyant ancient cores of continents.From there they were normally transported into the upper crust in kimberlite pipes whose diamonds are largely colourless and light yellow related to trace element N(Ia type),although brown,green,and more rarely blue-coloured diamonds are related to lattice defect and trace amounts of H,more rarely B and Ni.Pink diamonds are extremely rare in the approximately 90 diamondiferous pipes mined globally.Although small quantities have been discovered elsewhere,about 90%have been mined from the ca.1.3Ga Argyle diamond pipe in Western Australia,with the Arkhangelskaya diamond pipe in Russia the only other significant source.The pink colour at both Argyle and Arkhangelskaya is unrelated to trace elements and instead results from absorption of light from nanoscale(550nm)defects related to shear stress and plastic deformation.Macroscopically,defects are shown by glide planes,lamellae,and grain lines imposed on the originally colourless diamonds derived from their mantle source.The key question is why these defects were uniquely acquired in diamonds in the Argyle and Arkhangelskaya pipes.Unlike most diamondiferous pipes,Argyle is a rare diamondiferous volatile-rich lamproite pipe that was emplaced into the multiply deformed and rifted NNE-trending Halls Creek Orogen on the margin of the Kimberley Craton.Similarly,Arkhangelskaya in the Devonian Lomonosov kimberlite cluster is a volatile-rich low-Ti type kimberlite,a close relative to lamproite,that was emplaced into the multiply deformed Lapland-Kola Orogen on the rifted margin of the Kola Craton.These craton margins are underlain by subduction-induced volatile-enriched metasomatized mantle lithosphere in contrast to the more primeval mantle under craton centres.It is thus likely that shear stresses were exacerbated at Argyle and Arkangelskaya by rapid vertical emplacement of the anomalous volatile-enriched magmas at supercritical pressures and temperatures,that induced catastrophic phase separation of these volatiles and'mini seismic events'during rapid pressure drops during ascent from 200km depth to the surface.Such a mechanism is consistent with the presence of strongly resorbed and plastically deformed small brown industrial diamonds in the Argyle pipe.From a China perspective,it is potentially important that at 1.3Ga the alkaline Argyle pipe in northern Australia is placed adjacent to the North China Craton(NCC),with numerous world-class mineral deposits including the giant ca.1.4~1.2Ga alkaline Bayan Obo REE system on its margin.However,it is the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Craton and the Jiangnan Orogen with their lamproite pipes derived from metasomatized mantle lithosphere that present the most prospective regions for pink diamond occurrences.展开更多
文摘Diamonds were formed in the mantle lithosphere,mostly at depths of 150~200km in the centres of Precambrian cratons,the buoyant ancient cores of continents.From there they were normally transported into the upper crust in kimberlite pipes whose diamonds are largely colourless and light yellow related to trace element N(Ia type),although brown,green,and more rarely blue-coloured diamonds are related to lattice defect and trace amounts of H,more rarely B and Ni.Pink diamonds are extremely rare in the approximately 90 diamondiferous pipes mined globally.Although small quantities have been discovered elsewhere,about 90%have been mined from the ca.1.3Ga Argyle diamond pipe in Western Australia,with the Arkhangelskaya diamond pipe in Russia the only other significant source.The pink colour at both Argyle and Arkhangelskaya is unrelated to trace elements and instead results from absorption of light from nanoscale(550nm)defects related to shear stress and plastic deformation.Macroscopically,defects are shown by glide planes,lamellae,and grain lines imposed on the originally colourless diamonds derived from their mantle source.The key question is why these defects were uniquely acquired in diamonds in the Argyle and Arkhangelskaya pipes.Unlike most diamondiferous pipes,Argyle is a rare diamondiferous volatile-rich lamproite pipe that was emplaced into the multiply deformed and rifted NNE-trending Halls Creek Orogen on the margin of the Kimberley Craton.Similarly,Arkhangelskaya in the Devonian Lomonosov kimberlite cluster is a volatile-rich low-Ti type kimberlite,a close relative to lamproite,that was emplaced into the multiply deformed Lapland-Kola Orogen on the rifted margin of the Kola Craton.These craton margins are underlain by subduction-induced volatile-enriched metasomatized mantle lithosphere in contrast to the more primeval mantle under craton centres.It is thus likely that shear stresses were exacerbated at Argyle and Arkangelskaya by rapid vertical emplacement of the anomalous volatile-enriched magmas at supercritical pressures and temperatures,that induced catastrophic phase separation of these volatiles and'mini seismic events'during rapid pressure drops during ascent from 200km depth to the surface.Such a mechanism is consistent with the presence of strongly resorbed and plastically deformed small brown industrial diamonds in the Argyle pipe.From a China perspective,it is potentially important that at 1.3Ga the alkaline Argyle pipe in northern Australia is placed adjacent to the North China Craton(NCC),with numerous world-class mineral deposits including the giant ca.1.4~1.2Ga alkaline Bayan Obo REE system on its margin.However,it is the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Craton and the Jiangnan Orogen with their lamproite pipes derived from metasomatized mantle lithosphere that present the most prospective regions for pink diamond occurrences.
文摘近些年,我们在西藏罗布莎蛇绿岩型铬铁矿中发现金刚石和柯石英等超高压矿物和异常地幔矿物,成果多次在美国 AGU 会议上做特邀报告,发表在2007年《Geology》和国内期刊上,并有4个新矿物获得国际新矿物委员会批准。这些成果在国内外引起广泛关注,也引发出一系列新的科学问题,例如,金刚石的赋存状态,物质来源和成因?与其伴随的铬铁矿的成因,与金刚石的关系?两者形成的地质背景、物理化学环境、保存和运移的规律、机制,等等。为了探讨这些问题,我们认为除了研究罗布莎铬铁矿之外,还应该开展铬铁矿的围岩地幔橄榄岩的研究,看看它们中都有什么矿物,与铬铁矿中的矿物究竟存在什么异同以及两者之间的成因联系?为此,我们从西藏罗布莎铬铁矿31号矿体不同高度取回两个各自为1吨重的方辉橄榄岩围岩样品,开展人工重砂矿物的分选。通过矿物成分、激光拉曼和 X 射线衍射光谱的研究,从中识别出金刚石等50余种矿物。经初步对比,认为铬铁矿围岩方辉橄榄岩中发现的矿物组合与铬铁矿中相似,表明两者存在成因上的联系,并可能共同经历了从深部到浅部的地质过程。
