Diamond and Other Exotic Mineral-Bearing Ophiolites on the Globe: A Key to Understand the Discovery of New Minerals and Formation of Ophiolitic Podiform Chromitite

Abstract

Ophiolite-hosted diamond from peridotites and podiform chromitites significantly differs from those of kimberlitic diamond and ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic diamond in terms of occurrence, mineral inclusion, as well as carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. In this review, we briefly summarize the global distribution of twenty-five diamond-bearing ophiolites in different suture zones and outline the bulk-rock compositions, mineral and particular Re-Os isotopic systematics of these ophiolitic chromitites and host peridotites. These data indicate that the subcontinental lithospheric mantle is likely involved in the formation of podiform chromitite. We also provide an overview of the UHP textures and unusual mineral assemblages, including diamonds, other UHP minerals (e.g., moissanite, coesite) and crustal minerals, which robustly offer evidence of crustal recycling in the deep mantle along the suprasubduction zone (SSZ) and then being transported to shallow mantle depths by asthenospheric mantle upwelling in mid-ocean-ridge and SSZ settings. A systematic comparison between four main genetic models provides insights into our understanding of the origin of ophiolite-hosted diamond and the formation of podiform chromitite. Diamond-bearing peridotites and chromitites in ophiolites are important objects to discover new minerals from the deep earth and provide clues on the chemical composition and the physical condition of the deep mantle.

Keywords

• diamond
• ophiolite
• chromitite
• peridotite
• crustal recycling into deep mantle