Metamorphic garnet pyroxenite from the 540–600 m main borehole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) project

Compared to other mafic and ultramafic rocks from the CCSD main borehole as well as from the outcrops, rocks from the 540–600 m section is extraordinary in terms of its geophysical as well as geochemical properties. It consists of > 70% hematite–ilmenite garnet pyroxenite (HI-GPX) and < 30% intercalated rutile garnet pyroxenite (R-GPX). Whole-rock geochemical data show that HI-GPXs have: (1) relatively high V with an average of 606 ppm, but lower Nb and Ta; (2) highest TFeO, Fe2O3/FeO ratio, and highly variable but strong positive Eu anomalies with Eu/Eu⁎ up to 2.9; (3) anomalously high V/Sc ratios ranging from 8.39 to 43.23, average 15.03; and (4) high amounts of hematite–ilmenite solid solutions with a very fine intergrowth structure down to nanometer scale. V/Sc ratios in the CCSD garnet pyroxenites are correlated negatively with MgO, but positively with Fe2O3/FeO ratios. Both suites of pyroxenites have similar rare earth elements and high field strength elements geochemistry. These features demonstrate that these pyroxenites were formed from metamorphism of high-Fe and/or -Ti gabbroic cumulates. This can account not only for low high field strength elements (HFSE) and rare earth elements (REE) but also low Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios in these rocks. Seemingly negative correlation between Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf in the CCSD metabasites, not significantly affected by UHP metamorphism, is also consistent with the silicate differentiation trend in a basaltic magma chamber.