The first allanite-bearing eclogite xenolith in kimberlite

Abstract:

Here we report the first allanite-bearing mantle eclogite xenolith, entrained in the 173 Ma Jericho kimberlite pipe, located in the Slave craton, northwestern Canada. This eclogite is unique among the other Jericho eclogites by an extreme LREE enrichment in all phases, and garnet alteration rims that are more calcic than the garnet cores. Allanite is an abundant accessory phase, present as dull orange, subhedral crystals. Other minerals in the paragenesis are garnet, clinopyroxene, apatite and sulfides; two compositionally and texturally distinct generations of phlogopite constitute a secondary paragenesis where allanite is no longer stable. Allanite in this sample is La-, Ce- and Th- rich, with concentrations at the weight % level, while Y is only present at the relatively low concentration of ~100 ppm. Electron backscatter imaging reveals complex zonation within the allanite crystals that is off-centre, non-symmetric, and patchy.

It is often asserted that eclogite xenoliths represent subducted oceanic lithosphere, despite significant differences in the composition and mineralogy between mantle-derived eclogite xenoliths and eclogite massif material. Both types of eclogite occurrences can contain quartz/coesite; massif eclogites often have small, sparse allanite inclusions, but allanite has never been reported in eclogite xenoliths in kimberlite. Allanite in massif eclogite is thought to form during subduction by the break-down of lawsonite and the incorporation of LREE into zoisite. Lawsonite breaks down into grossular and H₂0 at high pressures, which may explain the anomalous high-Ca rims measured in some garnets in this sample. This allanite-bearing eclogite may provide an unprecedented window for exploring a crucial stage of eclogite metamorphism and fluid mobilization in subduction zones. In addition, the U-Pb systematics currently under investigation may constrain the age of eclogitization.