Finding dolomitic melnoite diatreme at Badou in the Laiwu-Zibo area, Shandong province, China

Abstract

We found a highly dolomitic lamprophyre diatreme at Badou, Shandong province, China for the first time. Although a number of silicate-rich carbonatite and glimmerite dikes and sheets were found around Badou, no alkaline rock-carbonatite plutonic complex exists nearby. Dolomitic lamprophyre diatreme that is not related with plutonic complex is not known yet either, and this is the first report of such an unusual occurrence. We report the whole-rock major and trace element chemistries of the lamprophyric rocks. The rocks consist of dominant dolomite with associated phlogopite, clinopyroxene, olivine, apatite and carry a number of xenoliths. Judging from all the geochemical and mineralogical data, the rock from Badou pipe should belong to the group of ultramafic lamprophyre and, more strictly, it should be called melnoite defined by Mitchell (1994).1) This finding should contribute to the understanding of the origin of carbonatite magma and the relationships between carbonatite and silicate magmas.