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Petrogenesis of chromites from the Manipur ophiolite belt, NE India: evidence for a supra-subduction zone setting prior to Indo-Myanmar collision

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Abstract

The Manipur ophiolite belt within the Western Ophiolite Belt of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR), consists of tectonised to massive serpentinised peridotite, dunite pods, chromitite pods/lenses, cumulates, dykes, volcanic rocks and pelagic sediments. Chromitite pods and lenses hosted in peridotitic mantle rocks show magmatic textures, post magmatic brecciation and ferritchromitisation. Electron microprobe analyses show two types of massive chromitite, with one group having high-Cr (Cr# 75–76), medium-Al (Al2O3 12.2–12.4 wt%) chromites (Sirohi-type) and the other group (Gamnom-type) having a wide range of compositions with generally lower Cr and higher Al (Cr# 65–71, Al2O3 15.7–19 wt%). Accessory chromites in peridotitic mantle rocks have consistently low Cr (Cr# 38–39) and high Al (Al2O3 34–35 wt%), whereas chromites in dunite pods have intermediate compositions (Cr# ~60; Al2O3 20.7–21.2 wt%). The chromite chemistry suggests moderate (20 %) partial melting of the tectonised mantle harzburgite. The estimated Al2O3melt, (FeO/MgO)melt and TiO2melt for the Sirohi-type chromites indicate boninitic parentage, whereas chromite compositions from the Gamnom area suggest mixed boninitic—island arc tholeiitic magmas. The compositions of magmatic chromites suggest that the Manipur ophiolite was formed in a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) setting.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the administrative supports of Dy Director General, ER, Dy DG-Mission-IV and Dy. DG, NER of Geological Survey of India (GSI). The authors are grateful to Sri Sujit Tripathy and Dr. Sandeep Nandi, EPMA laboratory, GSI, Kolkata for their help with EPMA analyses. The authors deeply acknowledge the support of Sri Dilip Singh, DGM, Manipur for his support to the field work. Careful formal reviewers have significantly improved the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of India, ER, Kolkata, India

    Tapan Pal, Anindya Bhattacharya & G. Nagendran

  2. Geological Survey of India, NER, SU: M&N, Dimapur, India

    N. M. Yanthan

  3. Division Geology and Mining, Imphal, Manipur, India

    R. Singh & N. Raghumani

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  1. Tapan Pal
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  2. Anindya Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Tapan Pal.

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Pal, T., Bhattacharya, A., Nagendran, G. et al. Petrogenesis of chromites from the Manipur ophiolite belt, NE India: evidence for a supra-subduction zone setting prior to Indo-Myanmar collision. Miner Petrol 108, 713–726 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-014-0320-z

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