The Formation of Magnesite Ores by Reactivation of Dunite Channels as a Key to Their Spatial Association to Chromite Ores in Ophiolites: An Example from Northern Evia, Greece

Abstract

Ophiolite magnesite deposits are among the main sources of magnesite, a raw material critical for the EU. The present work focuses on magnesite occurrences at Kymasi (Evia Island, Greece), in close spatial association with chromitite within the same peridotite massif, and on the relationship between ultramafic rocks and late magnesite veins. Chromitite lenses are hosted within dunite, in contact with a partially serpentinized peridotite cut by magnesite veins. Close to the veins, the peridotite shows evidence of carbonation (forming dolomitized peridotite) and brecciation (forming a serpentinite–magnesite hydraulic breccia, in contact with the magnesite veins). Spinel mineral chemistry proved to be crucial for understanding the relationships between different lithologies. Spinels within partially serpentinized peridotite (Cr# 0.55–0.62) are similar to spinels within dolomitized peridotite (Cr# 0.58–0.66). Spinels within serpentinite–magnesite hydraulic breccia (Cr# 0.83–0.86) are comparable to spinels within dunite and chromitite (Cr# 0.79–0.84). This suggests that older weak zones, such as dunite channels, were reactivated as fluid pathways for the precipitation of magnesite. Magnesite stable isotope composition, moreover, points towards a meteoric origin of the oxygen, and to an organic source of carbon. The acquired data suggest the following evolution of Kymasi ultramafic rocks: (i) percolation of Cr-bearing melts in a supra-subduction mantle wedge within dunite channels; (ii) obduction of the ophiolitic sequence and peridotite serpentinization; (iii) uplift and erosion of mantle rocks to a shallow crustal level; (iv) percolation of carbon-rich meteoric waters rich at shallow depth, reactivating the dunite channels as preferential weak zones; and (v) precipitation of magnesite in veins and partial brecciation and carbonation of the peridotite host rock.