The Sytykanskaya kimberlite pipe: Evidence from deep-seated xenoliths and xenocrysts for the evolution of the mantle beneath Alakit, Yakutia, Russia

•Lineal Opx-Gar mantle geotherm in Alakit is close to 35 mW/m2 at the SCLM base and 600 °C near Moho.•Highly metasomatized mantle column was created according to 40Ar/39Ar dating 1120, 1050, 600, 385 Ma episodes.•Layered structure of the mantle column consists of 5 large units with 3.5–4.5 GPa metasomatized pyroxenite layer.

Mantle xenoliths (>150) and concentrates from late autolithic breccia and porphyritic kimberlite from the Sytykanskaya pipe of the Alakit field (Yakutia) were analyzed by EPMA and LAM ICP methods. In P-T-X-f(O2) diagrams minerals from xenoliths show widest variations, the trends P-Fe#-CaO, f(O2) for minerals from porphyric kimberlites are more stepped than for xenocrysts from breccia. Ilmenite PTX points mark moving for protokimberlites from the lithosphere base (7.5 GPa) to pyroxenite lens (5–3.5 GPa) accompanied by Cr increase by AFC and creation of two trends P-Fe#Ol ∼10–12% and 13–15%. The Opx-Gar-based mantle geotherm in Alakit field is close to 35 mW/m2 at 65 GPa and 600 °C near Moho was determined. The oxidation state for the megacrystalline ilmenites is lower for the metasomatic associations due to reduction of protokimberlites on peridotites than for uncontaminated varieties at the lithosphere base. Highly inclined linear REE patterns with deep HFSE troughs for the parental melts of clinopyroxene and garnet xenocrysts from breccia were influenced by differentiated protokimberlite. Melts for metasomatic xenoliths reveal less inclined slopes without deep troughs in spider diagrams. Garnets reveal S-shaped REE patterns. The clinopyroxenes from graphite bearing Cr-websterites show inclined and inflected in Gd spectrums with LREE variations due to AFC differentiation. Melts for garnets display less inclined patterns and Ba-Sr troughs but enrichment in Nb-Ta-U. The 40Ar/39Ar ages for micas from the Alakit mantle xenoliths for disseminated phlogopites reveal Proterozoic (1154 Ma) age of metasomatism in early Rodinia mantle. Veined glimmerites with richterite – like amphiboles mark ∼1015 Ma plume event in Rodinia mantle. The ∼600–550 Ma stage manifests final Rodinia break-up. The last 385 Ma metasomatism is protokimberlite-related.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide