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Kimberlites and lamproites: Criteria for similarity and differences

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Abstract

Based on original data on the East European and Siberian platforms and materials on the best studied foreign objects, a comparative analysis of kimberlites and lamproites was conducted and the criteria of their differences were formulated. Among most significant differences are the following: (1) the high-Mg potassic rocks (kimberlites and lamproites) show major-component variations, which are significantly wider in lamproites as compared to kimberlites. Kimberlites differ from lamproites not only in the content of SiO2, but also in alkalis, volatiles, and some trace elements. Kimberlites are characterized by CO2-dominated regime, whereas formation of lamproites was assisted by essentially H2O fluid; (2) Kimberlites are localized within ancient cratons, while within-plate lamproites are restricted to adjacent Proterozoic belts. Kimberlites are produced in the low-heat flow regions, whereas lamproites occur in the high-heat flow regions; (3) Kimberlites and lamproites were formed in different time; in particular, most productive kimberlitic magmatism was observed in the EEP and SP in the Devonian; (4) Kimberlite and lamproite bodies have different morphology: lamproites compose small subvolcanic bodies with lava flows, while kimberlites form volcanic pipes with no lavas; (5) Kimberlites contain highly silica-undersaturated minerals, while ultrabasic lamproites—silica-undersaturated ones; priderite and wadeite, the characteristic accessory minerals of lamproites, are not observed in kimberlites; (6) The primary melts of kimberlites and lamproites were derived from different types of mantle. The moderate and low-Ti kimberlites were generated from BSE or EMI type mantle. Precisely these types of kimberlites host diamond deposits, including economic grade objects in EEP. The lamproite sources were localized only in the enriched mantle (EMI and EMII). At the same time, these rocks share some similarities, primarily, with respect to their genesis and classification. Diamonds are common accessory minerals of kimberlites (low-Ti and some other types), but are observed only in only lamproite variety—olivine lamproites.

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  1. Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetnyi per. 35, Moscow, 119017, Russia

    V. A. Kononova, O. A. Bogatikov & I. A. Kondrashov

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  1. V. A. Kononova
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Original Russian Text © V.A. Kononova, O.A. Bogatikov, I.A. Kondrashov, 2011, published in Petrologiya, 2011, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 35–55.

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Kononova, V.A., Bogatikov, O.A. & Kondrashov, I.A. Kimberlites and lamproites: Criteria for similarity and differences. Petrology 19, 34–54 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869591111010024

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