NEPHELINITES AND CARBONATITES

INTRODUCTION

 Nephelinite is the commonest of the ultra-alkaline

basic lavas and plutonic equivalent is ijolite.
 Carbonatites where it occurs, is nearly always
associated with ijolitic rocks.
 So that Le Bas (1977) writes of a carbonatite-
nephelinite association, in which carbonatites,
nephelinites, ijolites, pyroxenites and fenites are the
principal members which fenitization is characteristic
feature.
Typical rocks by mineralogy

 Nephelinites are lavas composed of nepheline and

clinopyroxene, olivine, leucite or melilite may also be
present.
 Plutonic rocks composed of nepheline and clinopyroxene
show a much wider range of composition than their
volcanic equivalent rock.
 urtite (>70% of nepheline),
 Ijolite (nepheline>clinopyroxene), IJOLITE SERIES
 Melteigite(clinopyroxene>nepheline),
 Chemically the average nephelinite is most similar to
melteigite.
Associated rocks with Nephelinites
 Some of the Ultramafic rocks associated with ijolites are
pyroxenite, dunites and melilitites.
 The pyroxenite are typically composed of
clinopyroxene(diopside or titanaugite) with abundant
magnetite, apatite and perovskite.
 Dunites are composed of olivine and often contain
large amounts of magnetite and phlogopite.
 Melilitite is the most silica-undersaturated rock having
low content of SiO2(30-40%),high CaO(~15-20%),
Na2O in similar range to basalt. They contain
melilite,clinopyroxene, olivine as essential constituents
and perovsite, apatie and calcite are accessory
minerals.
 What is fenitization ?
 Around most carbonatites and some alkaline
ultrabasic intrusion, the country rocks are not only
thermally metamorphosed but are metasomatism.
 This contact metasomatism called fenitization.
 Its principle effects are replacement of

Quartz alkali feldspar

feldspar nepheline
 And the development of some sodic ferromagnesian
mineral such as aegirine and arfvedsonite.
Differentiation of Nephelinite Magma
 Crystallization differentiation is likely more effective
than basaltic magmas because of their lower viscosity
of nephelinitic magma.
 Differentiation is not only brought about by crystal
settling. Nepheline-rich rock may be formed by crystal
flotation as in the usaki complex in kenya(le bas 1977).
 Trachybasalt, phonolite or nepheline syenite are
associated with nephelinite and ijolite at many
localities, but they do not necessarily represent
differentiated liquid fraction
 Origin of Nephelinites magmas
 Highly undersaturated melts are most likely to be formed
under any or all the following conditions.
➢ A low degree of partial melting;
➢ High pressure;
➢ High P Co2;
 If Nephelinites is the initial product of partial melting of a
mantle which on futher melting would yeild basalt, then one
might expect to see nephelinites as the first magmas
erupted during an episode of predominately basaltic
volcanism.
 Such relationship observed in the karroo province of south
africa(cox et al.1965).
 The presence of CO2 is necessary for partial melting
of peridotite to yield such highly under saturated
melts as carbonated nephelinite or melilitite.
 If the nephelinite is a primary magma type, the high
Na content (average 5% Na2O) requires the presence
of Na-bearing phase in the rocks under going partial
melting.
 Pargasite NaCa2 Mg4AlSi6Al2O22(OH)2
kaersuite NaCa2 Mg4TiSi6Al2(O+OH)24

 Both hydrated mineral are capable of carrying a

wide range of trace elements which are concentrated
in alkaline rocks.
 Carbonatite nomenclature
Table 19-4. Some Minerals in Carbonatites.

Carbonates Sulfides
Table 19-3. Carbonatite Nomenclature Calcite Pyrrhotite
Dolomite Pyrite
Alternative Ankerite Galena
Name
Coarse Med.-Fine Siderite Sphalerite
Calcite-carbonatite sövite alvikite Strontanite Oxides-Hydroxides
Dolomite-carbonatite rauhaugite* beforsite Bastnäsite (Ce,La)FCO3) Magnetite
Ferrocarbonatite * Nyerereite ((Na,K)2Ca(CO3)2) Pyrochlore
Natrocarbonatite * Gregoryite ((Na,K)2CO3) Perovskite
* Rarely used, beforsite may be applied to any grain size. Silicates Hematite
Pyroxene Ilmenite
Aegirine-augite Rutile
Diopside Baddeleyite
Augite Pyrolusite
Olivine Halides
Monticellite Fluorite
Alkali amphibole Phosphates
Allanite Apatite
Andradite Monazite
Phlogopite
Zircon
Source: Heinrich (1966), Hogarth (1989) * only in natrocarbonatite
 Table 19-5. Representative Carbonatite Compositions

Calcite- Dolomite- Ferro- Natro-

% carbonatite carbonatite carbonatite carbonatite
ppm
Li 0.1 - 10 -
Be 2 <5 12 -

Carbonatite Geochemistry Sc
V
7
80
14
89
10
191
-
116
Cr 13 55 62 0
Co 11 17 26 -
Ni 18 33 26 0
Cu 24 27 16 -
Zn 188 251 606 88
Ga <5 5 12 <20
Table 19-5. Representative Carbonatite Compositions Rb 14 31 - 178
Y 119 61 204 7
Zr 189 165 127 0
Calcite- Dolomite- Ferro- Natro-
Nb 1204 569* 1292 28
% carbonatite carbonatite carbonatite carbonatite Mo - 12 71 125
SiO2 2.72 3.63 4.7 0.16 Ag - 3 4 -
TIO2 0.15 0.33 0.42 0.02 Cs 20 1 1 6
Hf - 3 - 0
Al2O3 1.06 0.99 1.46 0.01 Ta 5 21 1 0
Fe2O3 2.25 2.41 7.44 0.05 W - 10 20 49
FeO 1.01 3.93 5.28 0.23 Au - - 12 -
Pb 56 89 217 -
MnO 0.52 0.96 1.65 0.38
Th 52 93 276 4
MgO 1.80 15.06 6.05 0.38
U 9 13 7 11
CaO 49.1 30.1 32.8 14.0 La 608 764 2666 545
Na2O 0.29 0.29 0.39 32.2 Ce 1687 2183 5125 645
K2O 0.26 0.28 0.39 8.38 Pr 219 560 550 -
Nd 883 634 1618 102
P2O5 2.10 1.90 1.97 0.85
Sm 130 45 128 8
H2O+ 0.76 1.20 1.25 0.56 Eu 39 12 34 2
CO2 36.6 36.8 30.7 31.6 Gd 105 - 130 -
BaO 0.34 0.64 3.25 1.66 Tb 9 5 16 -
Dy 34 - 52 2
SrO 0.86 0.69 0.88 1.42
Ho 6 - 6 -
F 0.29 0.31 0.45 2.50 Er 4 - 17 -
Cl 0.08 0.07 0.02 3.40 Tm 1 - 2 -
S 0.41 0.35 0.96 Yb 5 10 16 -
SO3 0.88 1.08 4.14 3.72 Lu 1 0 - 0
Wooley & Kempe (1989), natrocarb. from Keller & Spettel (1995).
* one excluded analysis contained 16,780 ppm Nb.
Carbonatites
Figure 19.11. Idealized cross
section of a carbonatite-alkaline
silicate complex with early ijolite
cut by more evolved urtite.
Carbonatite (most commonly
calcitic) intrudes the silicate
plutons, and is itself cut by later
dikes or cone sheets of
carbonatite and ferrocarbonatite.
The last events in many
complexes are late pods of Fe and
REE-rich carbonatites. A fenite
aureole surrounds the
carbonatite phases and perhaps
also the alkaline silicate magmas.
After Le Bas (1987) Carbonatite
magmas. Mineral. Mag., 44, 133-40.
Winter (2001) An Introduction to
Igneous and Metamorphic
Petrology. Prentice Hall.
Some of the occurrence
Origin of carbonatites
 There are three know ways carbonatites magma
might originate;
❖ The initial product of partial melting of mantle
containing small proportion of carbonate minerals;
❖ The final product of differentiation of a silicate melt
containing dissolved carbonate;
❖ By liquid immiscibility from an homogeneous
carbonate-bearing silicate melt.
 Carbonatites petrogenesis
Figure 19.16. Schematic
cross section of an
asthenospheric mantle
plume beneath a
continental rift
environment, and the
genesis of nephelinite-
carbonatites and
kimberlite-carbonatites.
Numbers correspond to
Figure 19-13. After Wyllie
(1989, Origin of
carbonatites: Evidence from
phase equilibrium studies.
In K. Bell (ed.),
Carbonatites: Genesis and
Evolution. Unwin Hyman,
London. pp. 500-545) and
Wyllie et al., (1990, Lithos,
26, 3-19). Winter (2001) An
Introduction to Igneous and
Metamorphic Petrology.
Prentice Hall.
• Primary carbonatite melts meight accumulate at the
lithosphere- asthenosphere boundary because of
mechanical resistance due to more rigid nature of the
lithosphere.
• The rising of asthenospheric plumes may result in higher
degree of partial melting and produce alkaline silicate
melts, such as nephelinites or melilitite, in carbonatite
and kimberlites.
Initial melt
 The temperature at which dolomite decarbonates by
the reaction
En + Dol Di + Fo +Co2 intersects the solidus in
the system CaO-MgO-SiO2-CO2 at a pressure of
about 25-29 kilobars.
 The formation of carbonatite melt as the first product
of melting of natural garnet-lherzolite in the presence
of excess CO2 at a pressure of 30 kbars and same
material melted in the presence of excess CO2 at 15
kilobars gave an initial melt which was tholeiitic.
Initial melt
 FINAL MELT FRACTION
➢ The system NaAlSiO4-CaCO4-H2O was studied under 1
kilobar. They found that fractional crystallization of
carbonated nepheline-rich liquid in equilibrium with
vapour could give successively to the crystal
assemblages:
➢ Nepheline, nepheline+melilite,hauyne+melilite,

cancrinite+melilite,calcite+cancrinite+melilite,with
enrichment of the residual liquid in carbonate.
➢ Wyllie and huang (1976) concluded that at low pressures
the crystallization of a basic magma with dissolved CO2
would yield silicates and free CO2 rather than carbonate
rich liquid.
➢ But at high pressures differentiation to give carbonatite
liquid would be possible.
 LIQUID IMMISCIBILITY

 In the system of NaAlSi3O8-CaAl2Si2O8-

Na2CO3-H2O and NaFeSi2O6-CaCO3 presence
of volatiles, three fluid phase coexist:
➢ A silicate liquid, which is undersaturated,
peralkaline and low in Ca;
➢ A carbonate liquid , which contains Na and Ca;
➢ A CO2-H2O rich vapour which contains
appreciable dissolved Na and Si , which cause
fenitization .
LIQUID IMMISCIBILITY
 ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF CARBONATITE
 The very low SiO2, very high REE and
volatile(CO2,F,Cl,S) contents characterize carbonatite as
completely unique.
 Carbonatite are the principal economic source for
Nb,REE and phosphate. Some are mined for Ba, fluorite,
Sr, V, Th, U, Zr and Cu.
 All the characteristics that cannot realistically be
produced by fractional crystallization of typical mantle
melts and must be inherently high in the primary
carbonatite magma sources.
NEPHELINITE LAVA (GREY) CONTAINING A
XENOLITH OF PERIDOTITE (YELLOW),
KAISERSTUHL, GERMANY.
CARBONATITE FROM JACUPIRANGA, BRAZIL.
THIS ROCK IS COMPOUND OF CALCITE,
MAGNETITE AND OLIVINE
CARBONATITE LAVA AT OL DOINYO
LENGAI VOLCANO, TANZANIA.
THANK YOU…