Carbonatite-related contact metasomatism in the Fen complex, Norway: effects and petrogenetic implications

Abstract

AbstractIn the Fen complex (Telemark, S.E. Norway), carbonatites of different compositions have penetrated feldspathic fenites (alkali feldspar(s) + aegirine augite ± alkali amphibole) or older carbonatites, inducing different types of contact metasomatic alterations in their wall-rocks. (1) Pyroxene søvite has induced alkali metasomatism (i.e. fenitization s.s.), with alkali feldspars remaining stable and aegirine-augite transformed to nearly pure aegirine. (2) Søvite and dolomite carbonatite with phlogopite and/or alkali or alkali-calcic amphibole have caused replacement of feldspathic fenite by phlogopite, i.e. magnesium metasomatism. (3) Granular (dyke facies) ferrocarbonatite has increased the ferromagnesian components in calcite in wall-rock søvite. (4) Heterogeneous (pyroclastic) ferrocarbonatite induced pseudomorphic replacement of phlogopite by chlorite (leaching of alkalis). The different contact metasomatic processes reflect contrasts in compositional character among carbonatite magmas in the Fen complex, which may be evaluated in terms of differences in alkali and magnesium carbonate activities. The different types of carbonatite magma represent the products of local evolutionary trends, and are genetically related to spatially associated silicate rocks, rather than to a single ‘primitive’ carbonatite parent magma.