Mantle metasomatism and refertilization beneath the SW margin of the São Francisco Craton, Brazil

A suite of kimberlite-hosted mantle xenoliths from the Catalão region, southwestern margin of the São Francisco Craton (SFC), Brazil, consists of spinel lherzolites (type I and II) and garnet-phlogopite wehrlites. The chemical composition of these xenoliths provides evidence of enrichment and refertilization of the SFC lithosphere which were caused by distinct metasomatic agents. Garnet-phlogopite wehrlites have porphyroclastic textures and were equilibrated between 1005 and 1010 °C and 2.9–3.0 GPa (∼99 km). They record metasomatism caused by carbonatite and proto-kimberlite melts. Type I spinel lherzolite contains spinel-pyroxene symplectites indicating garnet destabilization due to variations of the P-T conditions. The minerals in this rock were equilibrated between 975 and 990 °C and their chemical compositions contain evidence for carbonatite metasomatism. High-Cr and low-Al clinopyroxene of garnet-phlogopite wehrlites and type I spinel lherzolite have high Mg#, Ca/Al, La/YbN, Zr/Hf ratios, and high Sr contents, coupled with low to intermediate Ti/Eu and Ti/Nb, which also suggests that they were formed by carbonatite melt. These geochemical features, together with the presence of carbonate inclusions in the olivines, corroborate the interaction with carbonatite melt. The low-Ti-Cr phlogopite (Phl1), which is restricted to only the garnet-phlogopite wehrlites, was probably produced through the release of volatiles components from the carbonatite melt that reacted with garnet porphyroclasts. Furthermore, metasomatic reactions involving garnet-phlogopite wehrlites and a proto-kimberlite melt formed high-Ti-Cr phlogopite (Phl2), consuming the original phlogopite (Phl1). Phl2 occurs as rims around Phl1, as isolated flakes around garnets, and in the matrix of wehrlites. Therefore, we assume that the proto-kimberlite metasomatism responsible for generation of Phl2 occurred prior to the eruption of the host kimberlite magma.