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The “Exceptionally Fresh” Udachnaya-East Kimberlite: Evidence for Brine and Evaporite Contamination

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Proceedings of 10th International Kimberlite Conference

Abstract

The composition of the serpentine-free Udachnaya-East kimberlite containing alkali carbonate, gypsum, halite, and other Na-, Cl-, and S-rich minerals has been the basis for a model of alkali-rich primary kimberlite melt. The interpretation of these minerals as mantle-derived, however, contradicts geology and hydrogeology of the Yakutian kimberlite province, as well as petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic evidence. The Udachnaya-East pipe is similar to many other southern Yakutian kimberlites, which emplace through 2-km-thick evaporite-bearing terrigenous carbonate sediments saturated with brines. A secondary origin of Na-, Cl-, and S-rich minerals in the southern Yakutian kimberlites is supported by (1) a regional correlation between the geology and hydrogeology of the local country rocks and the kimberlite mineralogy, in particular the difference between southern and northern Yakutian kimberlites; (2) a restriction of halite or gypsum mineralization to certain depth horizons where pipes intersect country rock strata with similar mineralogy; (3) the localization of the highest abundances of Na–Cl–S-bearing minerals at a depth interval that correlates across three magmatic phases of kimberlites and coincides with the roof of the aquifer carrying Na brines; (4) the presence of evaporite xenoliths and veins of halite, gypsum, and carbonate cutting through kimberlite and xenoliths; (5) crystallization of halite and alkali carbonate after serpentine and other groundmass minerals as evidenced by the rock textures; (6) geochemical evidence for crustal contamination, including high bulk CO2 and CaO content, the absence of correlation between bulk Na2O and any geochemical parameters, as well as initial Sr ratios, δ13C, δ18O, δ37Cl, and δ34S intermediate between crustal and mantle values. We propose that the Udachnaya-East kimberlites acquired high Na, S, and Cl contents by interaction with buried Cambrian Na–Ca–Cl brines or assimilating evaporite xenoliths from the 500-m-thick Chukuck suite formed in the Daldyn-Markha carbonate bank.

Revised for the 10th IKC Proceedings Volume, November 2012.

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Acknowledgments

The studies were supported by the integration projects of the Russian Academy of Sciences № 59, 115, and 27.1 and by an NSERC Discovery Grant to MGK. The authors thank G. Sandimirova and Yu. Pakhol’chenko for isotopic analyses, A. Polozov for helpful discussions, and E. Smith for the editorial help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

    S. I. Kostrovitsky & D. A. Yakovlev

  2. Department of Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    M. G. Kopylova

  3. Institute of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS, Irkutsk, Russian Federation

    K. N. Egorov

Authors
  1. S. I. Kostrovitsky
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  2. M. G. Kopylova
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  3. K. N. Egorov
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  4. D. A. Yakovlev
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. I. Kostrovitsky .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    D Graham Pearson

  2. Dept of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Herman S Grütter

  3. School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Jeff W Harris

  4. Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Bruce A Kjarsgaard

  5. Finland Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Espoo, Finland

    Hugh O’Brien

  6. Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    N V Chalapathi Rao

  7. School of Earth Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Steven Sparks

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Kostrovitsky, S.I., Kopylova, M.G., Egorov, K.N., Yakovlev, D.A. (2013). The “Exceptionally Fresh” Udachnaya-East Kimberlite: Evidence for Brine and Evaporite Contamination. In: Pearson, D., et al. Proceedings of 10th International Kimberlite Conference. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1170-9_6

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