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The discovery of kimberlites in Antarctica extends the vast Gondwanan cretaceous province

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 21:12 authored by Yaxley, GM, Vadim Kamenetsky, Nichols, GT, Maas, R, Belousova, E, Rosenthal, A, Norman, M
Kimberlites are a volumetrically minor component of the Earth's volcanic record, but are very important as the major commercial source of diamonds and as the deepest samples of the Earth's mantle. They were predominantly emplaced from =2,100 Ma to =10 ka ago, into ancient, stable regions of continental crust (cratons), but are also known from continental rifts and mobile belts. Kimberlites have been reported from almost all major cratons on all continents except for Antarctica. Here we report the first bona fide Antarctic kimberlite occurrence, from the northern Prince Charles Mountains, emplaced during the reactivation of the Lambert Graben associated with rifting of India from Australia-Antarctica. The samples are texturally, mineralogically and geochemically typical of Group I kimberlites from more classical localities. Their =120 Ma ages overlap with those of many kimberlites from other world-wide localities, extending a vast Cretaceous, Gondwanan kimberlite province, for the first time, into Antarctica.

History

Publication title

Nature Communications

Volume

4

Article number

2921

Number

2921

Pagination

1-7

ISSN

2041-1723

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Place of publication

London, UK

Rights statement

Copyright 2013 Macmillan Publishers

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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