Platinum-group elemental geochemistry of mafic and ultramafic rocks from the Xigaze ophiolite, southern Tibet

The Xigaze ophiolite in the central part of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone, southern Tibet, has a well-preserved sequence of sheeted dykes, basalts, cumulates and mantle peridotites at Jiding and Luqu. Both the basalts and diabases at Jiding have similar compositions with SiO2 ranging from 45.9 to 53.5 wt%, MgO from 3.1 to 6.8 wt% and TiO2 from 0.87 to 1.21 wt%. Their Mg#s [100Mg/(Mg + Fe)] range from 40 to 60, indicating crystallization from relatively evolved magmas. They have LREE-depleted, chondrite-normalized REE diagrams, suggesting a depleted mantle source. These basaltic rocks have slightly negative Nb- and Ti-anomalies, suggesting that the Xigaze ophiolite represents a fragment of mature MORB lithosphere modified in a suprasubduction zone environment. The mantle peridotites at Luqu are high depleted with low CaO (0.3-1.2 wt%) and Al2O3 (0.04-0.42 wtO/o). They display V-shaped, chondrite-normalized REE patterns with (La/Gd)(N) ratios ranging from 3.17 to 64.6 and (Gd/Yb)(N) from 0.02 to 0.20, features reflecting secondary metasomatism by melts derived from the underlying subducted slab. Thus, the geochemistry of both the basaltic rocks and mantle peridotites suggests that the Xigaze ophiolite formed in a suprasubduction zone. Both the diabases and basalts have Pd/Ir ratios ranging from 7 to 77, similar to MORB. However, they have very low PGE abundances, closely approximating the predicted concentration in a silicate melt that has fully equilibrated with a fractionated immiscible sulfide melt, indicating that the rocks originated from magmas that were S-saturated before eruption. Moderate degrees of partial melting and early precipitation of PGE alloys explain their high Pd/Ir ratios and negative Pt-anomalies. The mantle peridotites contain variable amounts of Pd (5.99-13.5 ppb) and Pt (7.92-20.5 ppb), and have a relatively narrow range of Ir (3.47-5.01 ppb). In the mantle-normalized Ni, PGE, Au and Cu diagram, they are relatively rich in I'd and depleted in Cu. There is a positive correlation between CaO and Pd. The Pd enrichment is possibly due to secondary enrichment by metasomatism. Al2O3 and Hf do not correlate with Ir, but show positive variations with Pt, Pd and Au, indicating that some noble metals can be enriched by metasomatic fluids or melts carrying a little Al and Hf. We propose a model in which the low PGE contents and high Pd/Ir ratios of the basaltic rocks reflect precipitation of sulfides and moderate degrees of partial melting. The high Pd mantle peridotites of Xigaze ophiolites were formed by secondary metasomatism by a boninitic melt above a subduction zone. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.