Geology of the BK9 kimberlite (Damtshaa, Botswana): implications for the formation of dark volcaniclastic kimberlite

• Published in: Bulletin of volcanology 2011-10, Vol.73 (8), p.1029-1045
• Main Authors: Buse, B., Sparks, R. S. J., Field, M., Schumacher, J. C., Chisi, K., Tlhaodi, T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Basalt; Crystalline rocks; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; Geochemistry; Geology; Geophysics; Geophysics/Geodesy; Igneous and metamorphic rocks petrology, volcanic processes, magmas; Mineralogy; Natural hazards: prediction, damages, etc; Pipes; Research Article; Rocks; Sedimentology; Silica; Silt; Volcanoes; Volcanology
• ISSN: 0258-8900; 1432-0819
• DOI: 10.1007/s00445-011-0491-y

The BK9 kimberlite consists of three overlapping pipes. It contains two dark varieties of massive volcaniclastic kimberlite, informally termed dark volcaniclastic kimberlite (DVK). DVK(ns) is present in the north and south pipes and is interbedded with lenses of basalt breccia at the margins of the pipes. DVK(c) is present within the central pipe where it is overlain by a sequence of basalt breccias with interbedded volcanogenic sediments. The features observed within the DVK units of the BK9 kimberlite provide strong evidence for gas fluidisation of the accumulating pyroclastic material. These include the massive interior of the pipes, marginal epiclastic units, well-dispersed country-rock xenoliths and small-scale heterogeneities in lithic clast abundance. The upper portions of the central pipe provide a record of the transition from pyroclastic eruption and infill to passive epiclastic infilling of the crater, after the eruption has ceased. The wall-rock of the BK9 kimberlite dips inwards and is interpreted as post pipe-fill subsidence of the adjacent country rock. The two DVK units contain interstitial, silt-sized pyroclasts. The DVK(ns) has a higher fraction of former melt and displays evidence of incipient welding, as a result of differences in eruption dynamics. These units demonstrate that whilst DVK is comparable in many respects to MVK and forms part of a spectrum of volcaniclastic rocks formed by fluidisation, it differs in frequently containing silt-sized particles and including agglutinated and welded varieties with a high melt fraction. The DVK varieties, studied here, also have a distinctive hydrothermal assemblage, resulting from the abundance of low-silica accidental lithic clasts. Both the hydrothermal alteration and the abundance of silt-sized particles contribute to the DVKs distinctive dark colour.