An updated classification scheme for mantle-derived garnet, for use by diamond explorers

Mantle-derived garnets recovered in diamond exploration programs show compositional variations in Cr, Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti that reflect the chemical, physical and lithological environments in which they occur, occasionally together with diamond. The association of diamond with mantle garnet has progres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Lithos 2004-09, Vol.77 (1), p.841-857
Main Authors: Grütter, Herman S., Gurney, John J., Menzies, Andrew H., Winter, Ferdi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ca-intercept
Diamond exploration
Eclogite
G10
Megacryst
Peridotite
Pyrope
Pyroxenite
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Summary:Mantle-derived garnets recovered in diamond exploration programs show compositional variations in Cr, Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti that reflect the chemical, physical and lithological environments in which they occur, occasionally together with diamond. The association of diamond with mantle garnet has progressed through a number of geochemical advances, most notably those of Dawson and Stephens (1975) and Gurney (1984), which are integrated in this work with less well known petrological advances made primarily in xenolith and experimental petrology. A simple, robust garnet classification scheme is formulated which accommodates empirical garnet–diamond relationships for peridotitic (G10, G9, G12), megacrystic (G1), Ti-metasomatised (G11), pyroxenitic (G4, G5) and eclogitic (G3) lithologies in eight distinct garnet classes. The calcium-saturation characteristics of harzburgitic (G10), lherzolitic (G9) and wehrlitic (G12) garnets are described by a Ca-intercept projection that also shows promise as a relative barometer for garnet lherzolite (Grütter and Winter, 1997). Thermobarometric aspects of garnet–diamond associations are highlighted in the scheme through the use of the minor elements Mn and Na, though analysis by anything other than an electron microprobe is not required for classification. A “D” suffix is added to the G10, G4, G5 or G3 categories to indicate a strong compositional and pressure–temperature association with diamond. The scheme remains open to improvement, particularly with regard to delineation of pyroxenitic (or websteritic) diamond associations and to advances in Ca-in-garnet and Na-in-garnet thermobarometry.
ISSN:0024-4937
1872-6143
DOI:10.1016/j.lithos.2004.04.012