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Closed system differentiation of sulfides in olivine Diabase, Missouri

August 1, 1967

Two small bodies of Precambrian basic intrusive rock in southeastern Missouri show uninterrupted differentiation of olivine diabase that produced ferrogabbro. Olivine diabase, foliated gabbro and coarse gabbro constitute the major textural rock types. Gravitational settling of plagio-clase, olivine and Fe-Ti oxides occurred in both intrusives and iron enrichment is a conspicuous feature. Plagioclase ranges from An58 to An35 and olivine varies from Fa36 to Fa57. Because these rocks were intruded into volcanic rocks at a substantial depth and were slowly cooled in an apparently closed system, they afford an opportunity to trace the differentiation trends exhibited by the disseminated sulfides. Pyrrhotite, chal-copyrite, pentlandite, sphalerite and cubanite are the most abundant sulfides deposited initially as unmixed sulfide solid solutions which were essentially coprecipitates with the major silicates. Paragenesis and abundance of primary sulfides are directly related to the differentiation parameters shown by the silicates. The extreme fractionation of these intrusives did not lead to a large concentration of any of the sulfides at any stage during consolidation. 

Publication Year 1967
Title Closed system differentiation of sulfides in olivine Diabase, Missouri
DOI 10.2113/gsecongeo.62.5.595
Authors G. A. Desborough
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Economic Geology
Index ID 70221304
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse