Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

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Chromites from meta-anorthosites, Sittampundi layered igneous complex,

Tamil Nadu, southern India
Biswajit Ghosh , Ritam Konar
University of Calcutta, Department of Geology, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata 700 019, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 10 November 2010
Received in revised form 24 July 2011
Accepted 25 July 2011
Available online 3 September 2011
Keywords:
Sittampundi Complex
Chromitite
Parental melt
Tholeiitic basalt
Eclogite-facies

a b s t r a c t
Chrome-spinels of anorthosite-hosted chromitite bodies from Sittampundi layered igneous complex,
southern India, metamorphosed under eclogite-facies condition have been studied. Besides anorthosites
as the dominant rock type discontinuous layers of peridotite, pyroxenite and lenses of gabbroic granulite/
eclogite occur at the bottom of the complex. Chromite grains are deformed exhibiting features of intracrystalline deformation and exsolved needle shaped rutile inclusions. Chrome-spinels are of refractory
grade with Cr2O3 and Al2O3 contents varying between 3440 wt.% and 2328 wt.% respectively. In the
bivariate Cr# (=Cr/[Cr + Al]) vs. Mg# (=Mg/[Mg + Fe2+]) diagram, Sittampundi chromitites show close
afnity with the Archean Fiskenaesset type deposit. The calculated Al2O3 values for the parental melt
of Sittampundi chromitites are consistent with the Al2O3 content of mid-ocean ridge basalts whereas
the values for FeO/MgO ratio are higher. It is suggested that an initial basic magma, similar to that of
mac granulite composition evolved in the magma chamber through fractionation of peridotite and
pyroxenite to Fe,Al-rich basaltic melt, parental to the chromitite bands.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The composition of chromite in chromitite bodies is used as a
petrogenetic and geotectonic indicator (Cameron, 1975; Dick and
Bullen, 1984; Stowe, 1994; Barnes, 1998; Mondal et al., 2006).
Although, subsolidus reequilibration and/or metamorphism could
modify the primary high-T composition of Cr-spinel (Irvine,
1967; Mitra et al., 1992; Eales and Reynolds, 1986; Barnes, 2000;
Lord et al., 2004), massive chromitite minimizes the effects of
reequilibration with adjacent silicates during cooling, and thus is
likely closest to its magmatic composition. Suita and Streider
(1996) showed that, regardless of the metamorphic changes, the
cores of Cr-spinel grains in massive chromitites preserve the chromites primary chemical composition.
The Neoarchaean Sittampundi Complex, Tamil Nadu, southern
India (Bhaskar Rao et al., 1996) is a metamorphosed anorthositic
complex, preserving an original igneous stratigraphy overprinted
by high-grade metamorphic assemblages (Subramaniam, 1956;
Janardhanan and Leake, 1975; Windley and Selvan, 1975; Windley
et al., 1981). The origin of the Sittampundi Complex, southern India
has been the subject of controversy for some time. The rst report
of granulites from the Sittampundi area was made by Iyer (1933)
who described the mac granulites of the area as the early differentiates of the magma parental to the felsic granulites, mostly

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: bghosh_geol@hotmail.com (B. Ghosh).
1367-9120/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2011.07.024

anorthosites. Subramaniam (1956) rst described Sittampundi

anorthositic complex as a metamorphosed layered igneous complex while Naidu (1963) and prior to that Nehru (1955) opined
the anorthosite-gneisses as originating from marly and pelitic sediments. However, later workers (Windley and Selvan, 1975;
Ramadurai et al., 1975; Janardhanan and Leake, 1975) recognized
and emphasized the Sittampundi Complex as an Archean layered
anorthositic igneous complex.
The meta-anorthosites of the Sittampundi Complex that contain
conformable horizons of chromite rich layers, henceforth described
as chromitite, are grouped into stratiform rather than Alpine-type
(Subramaniam, 1956). Ghisler (1970) compared the chromite
deposits of the Sittampundi Complex with that of early Precambrian metamorphosed, folded, stratiform-type Fiskenaesset deposit of West Greenland. The complex was subducted to pressure
>20 kbar at a temperatures >1000 C (Sajeev et al., 2009), later
exhumed and that the subductionexhumation gave rise to a
hairpin-type anticlockwise PT trajectory, probably in the latest
NeoproterozoicCambrian (Santosh and Sajeev, 2006). This paper
focuses on the detailed description of the petrological characteristics, mineral chemistry of chromitites of Sittampundi layered igneous complex with special emphasis on the composition of the
parental melt from which the chromitites crystallized. This study
has immense importance in understanding the processes that control the composition of the melt and the mechanism that triggers
the precipitation of the Fe-rich chromites in association with
highly calcic plagioclase, typical for some Archean anorthosites,
in a subduction-controlled milieu.

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

2. Geological setting
Sittampundi layered complex is dominantly a metamorphosed
anorthositic body within PalghatCauvery Suture Zone (PCSZ). This
suture zone represents the eastern extension of the Mozambique
Suture (Collins and Windley, 2002) in Madagascar that signies
the closure of the Mozambique Ocean in the Neoproterozoic, leading to the amalgamation of Gondwana supercontinent (Meert,
2003; Collins, 2006; Meert and Lieberman, 2008; Santosh et al.,
2009a,b). Recently, Yellappa et al. (2011) reported ca. 2.5 Ga
Neoarchaean subduction system from this zone. The PCSZ marks
a tectonic boundary between Archean Dharwar continental block
to the north and Proterozoic Madurai block to the south. These
crustal blocks have different isotopic characteristics, age, structure,
metamorphism and magmatism (Harris et al., 1996; Bartlett et al.,
1998; Meissner et al., 2002; Bhaskar Rao et al., 2003). Besides anorthosites as the dominant rock type discontinuous layers of ultramacs viz. peridotites, pyroxenites and lenses of gabbroic
granulite/eclogite occur at the bottom of the complex.
Subramaniam (1956) and Naidu (1963) suggested the complex
consisted of a single stratigraphic succession. Later, Ramadurai
et al. (1975) recognized the complex comprising of a repeated
stratigraphic sequence, the duplication being the result of the isoclinal anticline structure. The co-magmatic rocks of the Sittampundi Complex have a whole rock SmNd isochron age of ca.
2935 60 Ma interpreted as the time of rst metamorphism soon
after its emplacement (Bhaskar Rao et al., 1996). Ghisler (1970)
and Windley and Selvan (1975) compared the rocks of this complex to the pre-metamorphic folded Fiskenaesset-type stratiform
complex of Greenland.
The Sittampundi Complex is surrounded by amphibolite grade
hornblende-biotite gneisses and migmatitic hornblende gneisses
(TTG gneisses) (Fig. 1). Although the contact with the TTG gneisses
is ill preserved, the anorthosites of the complex are intruded by tongues and pegmatitic veins of TTG gneisses. Moreover, the Sittampundi Complex is structurally more deformed than the surrounding.
It has been folded into a tight isoclinal antiform, not seen in the
TTG gneisses, which later refolded by an open fold with NS trending
axial plane giving rise to the present arcuate map pattern. Replica of
the earlier fold is sometimes seen within anorthosites (Fig. 2a).
Noteworthy to mention here is that a key feature of wedge exhumation in a subduction zone is the development of an isoclinal anticline
(Kawai et al., 2007). So, on the basis of (a) differences in structural
complexity and grade of metamorphism, (b) cross cutting relation
between TTG gneisses and the anorthosites of the complex and (c)
tectonic enclave like appearance of the complex, it appears that
the Sittampundi Complex is older and intruded by TTG gneisses.
Rollinson et al. (2010) also established the same age relationship
in case of Fiskensset anorthositic complex, West Greenland. Within the anorthosite gneiss of the Sittampundi Complex, distinct bands
and lenses of chromitite and chromiferous amphibole-rich bands of
varying dimensions are present in the entire complex. The general
strike of this band varies from WNWESE in the western part to
ENEWSW in the central part and to NWSE in the eastern part.
3. Petrography
The metamorphosed co-magmatic rocks of the Sittampundi
Complex include a range of anorthositic variants that host chromitite bands and lenses of macultramac granulites.
3.1. Macultramac granulites
The macultramac granulitic rocks cover a variety of rock
types ranging from meta-websterites, sometimes garnet-bearing

1395

to garnetiferous meta-gabbros. The meta-pyroxenites are

considered to be fractionated remnants somewhere near the bottom
of the complex (Ramadurai et al., 1975; Janardhanan and Leake,
1975; Sajeev et al., 2009). The meta-gabbros consist of mineral
assemblagegarnet + clinopyroxene orthopyroxene + amphibole +
plagioclase + ilmenite. Sajeev et al. (2009) identied lensoid retrogressed eclogite within this meta-gabbro layer where orthopyroxenes are completely absent and garnets contain rutile needles and
omphacite inclusions, suggesting a near-peak eclogite-facies condition. Although plagioclase is never found as porphyroblasts in our
samples, it occurs as symplectitic intergrowth with amphibole
around garnet in association with both clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene (Fig. 2b). The peak metamorphic assemblages were later
overprinted by retrogressed assemblages due to uid inux and related hydration during decompression. Clinopyroxene porphyroblasts are altered to amphiboles along margins and those
occurring as small inclusions in garnets are completely converted
to amphiboles because of the uid inow along the cracks and fractures of the host garnets.
3.2. Chromitite
Chromitites were sampled mainly from trenches made across
the strike of the chromitite layers around Karungalpatti village
(Fig. 1). Chromitites occur as bands/layers with a maximum thickness of 5 m within anorthosites. Bands are devoid of pyroxenes and
consist mainly of chromites and amphiboles with varying proportions; rest is occupied by accessory rutiles. These melanocratic
massive bands are generally dark in color and they contain about
6070% of granular chromite with the remaining 30% constituted
by amphibole and other accessory minerals. With increasing proportion of amphibole, the rock grades into chromiferous which
constitutes up to 70% amphibole and remaining chromite with
other accessory minerals. These amphibole-rich bands are distinctly bottle-green in color, due to their enrichment in chromium.
The amphiboles within the chromitite layers often show preferred
orientations parallel to the primary layering. A layer parallel crude
foliation is observed in chromitites where smaller chromite grains
are elongated and aligned parallel to it (Fig. 3a). Thin sections parallel to foliations show relict cumulus texture although the euhedral margins of the chromite grains are modied (Fig. 3b).
Chromites contain abundant silicate inclusions, larger inclusions
are found to be amphiboles. These included amphiboles themselves contain tiny chromite grains, depicting simultaneous crystallization of these two minerals (Fig. 3c). No relict pyroxene was
observed either as inclusion within chromites or as coexisting
phases with the chromites.
Chromite grains exhibit features of intracrystalline deformation
like development of polygonal, new faceted grains within older
grains (Figs. 3d and e). Polycrystalline, mosaic of subgrains characterized by networks of dislocations, seen as bright lines in back
scattered electron (BSE) images are commonly observed in chromites (Fig. 3f). Rutiles, the common accessory mineral, occur in two
distinct modes. Larger independent grains are present coexisting
with chromites (Fig. 3g) whereas, tiny exsolved needle/lath shaped
rutile inclusions are arranged in crystallographic directions within
chromites (Fig. 3h). Similar rutile exsolution had been earlier described by Ghisler (1970) from Fiskenaesset Complex, Greenland.
4. Mineral chemistry
Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) was carried out from the
Geological Survey of India, Kolkata Laboratory on polished sections
with a CAMECA SX100 Electron Probe Micro Analyzer at 15 kV,
12 nA using 1 lm beam diameter. Instrument calibration was per-

1396

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

Fig. 1. (a) The inset map at the top left corner represents the generalized geological framework of southern India. PCSZ: PalghatCauvery Suture Zone; MTSZ: Mettur Shear
Zone; ASZ: Achankovil Shear Zone. (b) The geological map of the Sittampundi layered complex (modied after Subramaniam, 1956).

Fig. 2. (a) Field photograph of a tight isoclinal rst generation fold in meta-anorthosites. The marker pen indicates the trace of the axial plane which is parallel to the gneissic
foliation of the meta-anorthosites. (b) Photomicrograph of a meta-gabbro showing retrograded mineral assemblages. Gt: garnet; Cpx: clinopyroxene; Opx: orthopyroxene;
Amp: amphibole; Sym: symplectitic intergrowth around garnet.

formed using mineral standards supplied by BRGM, France and results were corrected with a PAP matrix correction program. The
standards were analyzed at regular intervals to check the precision
of analysis. The Fe2+Fe3+ partitioning in chromites was calculated
according to the charge balance equation of Droop (1978).
Since the chromites of the chromitite bands do not show much
compositional variation across the grain, the chrome-spinel analyses presented in Table 1 represent core compositions. Chromites

have a fairly variable range of chemical composition (Table 1).

The Cr2O3 and Al2O3 contents vary between 3440 wt.% and
2328 wt.% respectively. Sittampundi chromites meet the criteria
of refractory grade chromite (Al2O3 > 20 wt.%, and Cr2O3 + Al2O3 > 60 wt.%). In the CrAlFe3+ ternary discrimination diagram
(after Stevens, 1944), the chromites mostly occupy the eld of
Cr-spinel with few plots in the Al-chromite eld (Fig. 4a). The
amphiboles in the chromitite bands occurring either as inclusions

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

1397

Fig. 3. (a) BSE image showing elongated chromite grains aligned parallel to foliation. Photomicrographs of (b) a thin section parallel to foliation showing relict cumulus
texture dened by chromite grains (bright) with intercumulus amphiboles; (c) chromite with inclusions of amphiboles. Note that these included amphiboles themselves
contain tiny chromite grains. (d) Photomicrograph of chromite grains exhibiting development of polygonal, new faceted grains within older grains. (e) Same as Fig. 3d in back
scattered image. (f) BSE image showing mosaic of subgrains, boundaries dened by bright lines representing networks of dislocations. Photomicrographs showing rutile
(bright) occurring (g) at the grain contact with chromite and (h) as tiny exsolved needles within chromites.

within chromites or as coexisting phases (Table 2) are tschermakitic hornblende (Fig. 4b).
The chrome spinels of the Sittampundi chromitites have moderate Cr# (=Cr/[Cr + Al]) (0.440.53) and low Mg# (=Mg/[Mg + Fe2+])
(0.320.37) compared to spinel compositions of modern volcanic
rocks and in a bivariate diagram between these two they plot close
to the eld of Alaskan-type ultramacmac rocks (Fig. 5a). In the
same bivariate diagram for Archean igneous rocks discriminating
between komatiite- and anorthosite-related chromitites (after
Rollinson et al., 2002), when compared to two other Archean anorthosite-hosted chromitite associations of the world the plots for

Sittampundi chromitites show close afnity with Fiskenaesset type

(Fig. 5b). On the Fe3+# (=Fe3+/[Fe3+ + Cr + Al]) vs. Mg# diagram they
again plot close to the eld of Alaskan-type ultramacmac rocks
(Fig. 6a). The chemical compositions of all analyzed spinels from
Sittampundi chromitites are plotted on the same CrAlFe3+ ternary diagram as in Fig. 4a, together with the spinel compositional
elds from different metamorphic facies where compositional
changes in spinel have been recorded with increasing metamorphic grade (Evans and Frost, 1975; Frost, 1991; Suita and Streider,
1996; Barnes and Roeder, 2001) (Fig. 6b). The compositions of
chrome spinels of Sittampundi chromitites plot close to the com-

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B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

Table 1
Representative electron microprobe analyses of chrome-spinels from Sittampundi chromitites.
Sample no.

KPT/5

KPT/5

KPT/5

KPT/5

KPT/5

KPT/5

KPT/6

KPT/6

KPT/6

KPT/6

KPT/6

CPT/6

CPT/6

CPT/6

CPT/6

CPT/6

Cr2O3
Al2O3
TiO2
FeOt
MgO
MnO
NiO

36.83
25.46
0.09
29.83
7.36
0.40
0.16

37.11
24.98
0.10
29.73
7.52
0.33
0.09

39.81
24.41
0.10
29.81
7.19
0.31
0.00

38.00
24.90
0.08
30.09
7.44
0.39
0.00

37.79
24.24
0.10
30.20
7.23
0.19
0.00

35.99
26.48
0.10
28.71
7.76
0.32
0.06

35.43
26.86
0.00
28.30
7.80
0.27
0.27

40.31
23.51
0.26
29.47
6.76
0.27
0.04

34.76
26.62
1.17
28.01
7.84
0.27
0.00

36.93
25.80
0.06
28.91
7.62
0.16
0.19

36.00
25.96
0.03
30.08
7.47
0.28
0.15

34.18
28.73
0.07
28.53
7.43
0.28
0.09

34.57
27.50
0.13
29.55
7.15
0.35
0.00

35.08
28.16
0.00
28.98
7.64
0.32
0.00

36.66
26.20
0.03
29.24
7.12
0.32
0.00

37.15
26.47
0.06
29.10
7.13
0.25
0.00

Total

100.13

99.86

101.63

100.90

99.75

99.42

98.93

100.62

98.67

99.67

99.97

99.31

99.25

100.18

99.57

100.16

7.580
7.251
0.019
1.111
5.317
2.734
0.008
0.000
0.34
0.51
0.07
14.92
3.36

7.149
7.844
0.019
0.955
5.093
2.906
0.037
0.012
0.36
0.48
0.06
15.47
3.17

7.054
7.975
0.000
0.956
5.019
2.928
0.027
0.055
0.37
0.47
0.06
15.57
3.13

6.945
7.931
0.222
0.672
5.256
2.953
0.028
0.000
0.36
0.47
0.04
15.51
3.32

7.348
7.656
0.011
0.959
5.141
2.858
0.003
0.038
0.36
0.49
0.06
15.31
3.21

7.144
7.682
0.006
1.142
5.194
2.794
0.029
0.030
0.35
0.48
0.07
15.35
3.30

6.750
8.461
0.013
0.753
5.217
2.766
0.030
0.018
0.35
0.44
0.05
16.00
3.64

6.876
8.156
0.025
0.906
5.325
2.681
0.045
0.000
0.33
0.46
0.06
15.72
3.55

Formula units based on 32 oxygens

Cr
7.320
7.399
7.860
Al
7.546
7.427
7.187
Ti
0.017
0.019
0.019
1.080
1.115
0.902
Fe3+
Fe2+
5.211
5.175
5.337
Mg
2.758
2.827
2.676
Mn
0.054
0.039
0.032
Ni
0.032
0.018
0.000
Mg#
0.35
0.35
0.33
Cr#
0.49
0.50
0.52
Fe3+#
0.07
0.07
0.06
Al2O3melt
15.23
15.11
14.96
FeO/MgOmelt
3.33
3.20
3.46

7.517
7.346
0.015
1.088
5.228
2.775
0.050
0.000
0.35
0.51
0.07
15.09
3.28

8.083
7.030
0.050
0.779
5.482
2.555
0.023
0.008
0.32
0.53
0.05
14.73
3.71

6.883
8.239
0.000
0.866
5.160
2.826
0.038
0.000
0.35
0.46
0.05
15.87
3.48

7.314
7.795
0.006
0.868
5.315
2.678
0.037
0.000
0.34
0.48
0.05
15.41
3.40

7.368
7.829
0.011
0.772
5.343
2.666
0.022
0.000
0.33
0.48
0.05
15.47
3.65

Fig. 4. (a) CrAlFe3+ ternary discrimination diagram (after Stevens, 1944). (b) Plots of amphiboles from Sittampundi chromitite layers on classication diagram after Leake
et al. (1997).

positional eld of chrome-spinel from the lower amphibolite

facies.
5. Parent melt composition
Since, massive chromitite occurring as bands minimizes the effects of reequilibration with adjacent silicates during cooling, and
thus is likely closest to its magmatic composition; the liquidus
chromite compositions for massive chromitite are used in determining the parental melt composition of the Sittampundi chromitites. Experimental studies indicate that Al2O3 content and FeO/
MgO ratios of the chromites are directly related to its parental melt
and this relation is not affected by crystallization and temperature
(Maurel and Maurel, 1982). The nature of parental melt is assessed
on the basis of the composition of liquidus spinels i.e. cumulus chromites from massive chromitites occurring as bands which would
be little changed by equilibration due to the lever rule (Irvine,
1965, 1967; Dick, 1977).
The chromite-melt inclusion data in volcanic rocks shows that
there is a linear relationship between the Al2O3- and TiO2-content
of chromites and the Al2O3- and TiO2-concentrations, respectively,
in the melt (Maurel and Maurel, 1982; Kamenetsky et al., 2001).
Experimental data on peridotite melting by Wasylenki et al.
(2003) also corroborates the observations made by the earlier

workers. Using the data from Kamenetsky et al. (2001) and Roeder
and Reynolds (1991), Rollinson (2008) obtained power law expression between melt-Al2O3 and spinel-Al2O3 for MORB lava and logarithmic expression for arc lava (Fig. 7). However, in case of meltTiO2 vs. spinel-TiO2, the relationship maintains a power law both
for MORB and arc lava.
We calculated the Al2O3 contents of the parent melt from which
the Sittampundi chromitites were formed, using both the approaches as given by (a) Maurel and Maurel (1982) (Table 1) and
by (b) Rollinson (2008). In the rst case, it was determined using
the formula as:

Al2 O3 wt:% in chromite 0:035Al2 O2:42

in parent melt
3
In the second case the same was determined from the point of
intersection of the regression line with the lines representing the
Al2O3-spinel composition. In this case, only the line for the MORB
lava was considered because the Al2O3-spinel of Sittampundi chromitites is beyond the limit of arc-spinel trend (Fig. 7). The TiO2
contents of the parental melt were not determined because of
the presence of ne exsolved rutile inclusions all throughout the
grains. The Al2O3 contents of the parent melt of the massive chromitites thus obtained ranges between 14 and 16 wt.% which is con-

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

Table 2
Representative electron microprobe analyses of amphiboles of chromitite layers and
plagioclases of pure anorthosite layers from the Sittampundi Complex.
Sample no.

CPT/6

CPT/6

CPT/6

Amp
Coexist

CPT/
6
Amp
Inclu

L10

L10

Amp
Coexist

CPT/
6
Amp
Inclu

Mineral
Nature of
grain

Amp
Coexist

Plag

Plag

SiO2
TiO2
Al2O3
FeO
Cr2O3
MnO
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K2O

44.24
0.59
14.71
6.07
2.01
0.11
15.84
11.37
1.96
0.11

44.6
0.54
15.12
6.30
1.54
0.11
15.45
11.27
2.06
0.15

44.35
0.61
14.25
5.97
1.81
0.13
15.56
11.8
1.70
0.13

44.52
0.51
14.72
5.86
1.72
0.18
15.83
11.63
1.85
0.07

44.91
0.55
14.28
5.82
2.31
0.13
15.81
11.7
1.93
0.12

42.73
0.03
35.42
0.25

0.00
0.02
20.62
0.18
0.02

43.17
0.00
36.16
0.34

0.00
0.11
19.68
0.23
0.00

Total

97.01

97.14

96.31

96.89

97.56

99.27

99.69

O
Si
Ti
IV
Al
VI
Al
Altotal
Fe3+
Fe2+
Cr
Mn
Mg
Ca
Na
K
An%

23
6.286
0.063
1.714
0.748
2.462
0.357
0.365
0.226
0.014
3.355
1.731
0.540
0.020

23
6.338
0.058
1.662
0.868
2.53
0.339
0.410
0.173
0.014
3.273
1.716
0.568
0.027

23
6.356
0.066
1.644
0.761
2.405
0.279
0.437
0.205
0.016
3.325
1.812
0.472
0.024

23
6.326
0.055
1.674
0.789
2.463
0.340
0.357
0.193
0.022
3.353
1.771
0.510
0.013

23
6.362
0.059
1.638
0.744
2.382
0.286
0.403
0.258
0.016
3.339
1.776
0.530
0.022

32
8.012
0.004

7.822
0.000
0.039

0.000
0.006
3.956
0.072
0.012
98.3

32
8.030
0.000

7.921
0.000
0.053

0.000
0.031
3.922
0.083
0.000
97.9

Amp: amphibole; Plag: plagioclase; Coexist: amphibole coexisting with chromites;

Inclu: amphibole inclusion within chromites.

1399

sistent with the modern MORB parental melt (Wilson, 1989; Mondal et al., 2006).
Another important point to be established is the FeO/MgO ratio
of the melt. In order to calculate this ratio we require the composition of minerals supposed not to have undergone reequilibration,
which is the case for chromite in massive ore. Maurel and Maurel
(1982) has shown that the FeO/MgO ratio can be obtained for spinel using the following formula:
3
LnFeO=MgOspinel 0:47  1:07YAl
spinel 0:64YFespinel

lnFeO=MgOmelt
3
3
3
where
YAl
spinel Al=Al Cr Fe and YFespinel Fe =Al Cr
3
Fe .
Results are presented in Table 1 and it shows that the FeO/MgO
ratio of the parental melt for Sittampundi chromitites is >3 which
is higher than the limit of modern MORB melts and reects a highFe (Mondal et al., 2006). It is inferred that the melt parental to the
chromitite was Fe-rich aluminous basaltic melt.

6. Oxygen fugacity
Presence of exsolved needles of rutile indicates that Ti4+ was
present in solid solution during the crystallization of chromite.
Ti4+ could enter in spinel structure by couple substitution with
Fe2+ replacing two trivalent ions like Fe3+ at octahedral B site. It
implies that Fe2+ was present originally at the B site of the chromites, signifying that the chromites crystallized with partly inverse
spinel structure form. Inverse spinel structure is argued in literature as an indication of high oxygen fugacity (Robbins et al.,
1971). Mitra and Samanta (1996) have speculated that further oxidation, possibly related with metamorphism might have liberated
titanium which on combining with oxygen formed rutile exsolution within the chromites.

Fig. 5. Chromite chemistry plotted on bivariate Fe2+/(Fe2++Mg) vs. Cr/(Cr + Al) diagram. (a) Compositional elds of boninites, MORB and Alaskan-type macultramac rocks
were taken from Eyuboglu et al. (2011). (b) Compositions from two other Archean anorthosite-hosted chromitite associations of the world (after Rollinson et al., 2002) have
been superposed on this diagram. Sittampundi chromites show close afnity to Fiskenaesset deposits.

1400

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

Fig. 6. (a) Plots of Sittampundi chromites on Fe3+# vs. Mg# diagram with the compositional elds taken from Eyuboglu et al. (2011). (b) Compositional changes in spinels
from Sittampundi Complex expressed in a triangular Fe3+CrAl plot. Spinel compositional elds from different metamorphic facies are from Proenza et al. (2004).

Fig. 7. Al2O3-spinel vs. Al2O3-melt compositional relationship (after Rollinson,

2008) of Sittampundi chromites.

7. Discussion
The composition of chromite in chromitite bodies is used as a
petrogenetic and geotectonic indicator (Stowe, 1994), although,
chemical modications related to subsolidus reequilibration and
metamorphic hydrothermal processes can signicantly inuence
the primary high-T composition of Cr-spinel. However, Suita and
Streider (1996) demonstrated that, regardless of the metamorphic
changes, the cores of Cr-spinel grains in massive chromitites preserve the primary chemical composition. Moreover the degree of
metamorphic reequilibration in metamorphosed chrome-spinels
depends on the ratio of P H2 O and Ptotal. Candia and Gaspar (1997)
found that when PH2 O P total , complete metamorphic reequilibration occurred, but when PH2 O < Ptotal , relict igneous cumulate textures were preserved. Proenza et al. (2004) suggested that at
high pressure conditions there is no resetting of the primary igneous composition of chromites. Thus the Sittampundi chromites,

although metamorphosed under eclogite-facies condition, are considered preserving their primary composition at least at the core.
Sittampundi anorthosites belong to gravity stratied anorthosites (not orogenic). Bowen (1956) opined that magmas of anorthositic composition never existed and that all gravity stratied
anorthosites formed by magmatic differentiation of a parental gabbroic magma. Sittampundi chromitites have high Al2O3 contents,
typical of refractory grade chromitites. Experimental studies indicate that Cr/Al ratio of chromite in equilibrium with a given melt
is controlled by the total concentration of Cr2O3 and Al2O3 in the
melt (Maurel and Maurel, 1982; Roeder and Reynolds, 1991). Alrich chromitites are considered to form from tholeiitic melts,
whereas Cr-rich chromitites are from boninitic melts (Zhou and
Robinson, 1997). The calculated Al2O3 values for the parental melt
of Sittampundi chromitites are similar to the Al2O3 content of midocean ridge basalts (Wilson, 1989; Mondal et al., 2006).
We assume that the amphiboles in the chromitite bands are primary and the melt parental to the anorthosite and chromitite
bands was more hydrous than the initial melt parental to the
macultramac cumulates because of (a) presence of abundant
amphiboles and contrastingly complete absence of any relict
pyroxene as inclusion within chromites and also as coexisting
phases with the chromites, (b) near end-member high-An content
of plagioclase of pure anorthosite layers (Table 2) with absence of
other phases where there is little chances of compositional change
by late metamorphism. Takagi et al. (2005) has shown that high-An
content of plagioclase is favored by high water content of the melt.
The role of water during the crystallization of chromite has also
been demonstrated by Matveev and Ballhaus (2002).
Besides Messina and Fiskenaesset, chromite is known to commonly occur in plagioclase bearing cumulates from British Tertiary
Igneous Province (BTIP) in Scotland (Dunham and Wilkinson,
1985; Bell and Claydon, 1992) and from Ujaragssuit nunat layered
body of west Greenland (Rollinson et al., 2002). Since the later is a
metamorphosed, early Archean occurrence, comparison with Sittampundi chromites is pertinent. However, in both the occurrences
chromite compositions preserved two different evolutionary
trends linked to the same mac magma. Rollinson et al. (2002) suggested that the main magmatic trend in Ujaragssuit nunat area is
the Fe-enrichment trend resulted through fractionation process
followed by an anorthositic replacement trend (Al-enrichment)
produced by reaction with MgAl-rich residual interstitial melt.
On the contrary, the Fe-enrichment trend for Sittampundi chrom-

B. Ghosh, R. Konar / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 (2011) 13941402

ites is lacking and it shows a single trend resembling the replacement one described aforesaid. Since the iron content of Sittampundi chromites is high and there is no Fe-enrichment trend found we
propose the anorthositic trend as the magmatic trend which crystallized from a Fe-rich basaltic magma. Thus the mac granulites
might represent an initial basic magma, not much hydrous in nature which on fractionation of anhydrous peridotite and pyroxenite
evolved to Fe-rich aluminous hydrous basaltic melt. Comparable
subduction-related high-alumina hydrous basaltic magma has also
been conceived by Eyuboglu et al. (2011) in case of Alaskan type
macultramac rocks from eastern Pondites, N. Turkey. Higher
geothermal gradients in the Archean may have provided optimized
conditions for slab melting that metasomatised the sub-arc mantle
wedge by slab-derived melts (Polat et al., 2011) and converted it
unusually aluminous which acted as a source for this hydrous aluminous basalt. Nevertheless, the subduction-related anorthosite
complexes have important implications on plate tectonic processes
in Proterozoic convergent margins (Dharma Rao et al., 2011). Noteworthy to mention here is that Moses et al. (1999) described the
mac granulites of the Sittampundi Complex belonging to tholeiitic series and plot mostly in the komatiitic basalt eld with an iron
enrichment trend towards high-Fe tholeiitic basalt eld. Till this
point plagioclase and chromite crystallization were possibly suppressed. As the magma evolved towards an Fe,Al-rich composition
and plagioclase became a liquidus phase, chromiferous bands
might have started crystallizing within anorthosite host. The triggering factor for the late precipitation of chromite is likely to be
the removal of Al from the basaltic melt through plagioclase crystallization with increasing saturation of Cr. Since chromite crystallized together with amphibole, crystallization followed the Al
enrichment trend with the early formed spinels being relatively
more chrome-rich.
Acknowledgements
The eld work was carried out with the nancial support received from UGC-DRS Phase-II, 20092010, Government of India.
S. Sengupta and S. Nandy of Geological Survey of India, EPMA Laboratory, Kolkata are thankfully acknowledged for their assistance
during the microprobe analyses. The authors express their heartiest thanks to M. Santosh, M.F. Zhou and K. Sajeev for their insightful comments to improve the manuscript. Finally, the authors
would like to thank J.G. Liou for handling the manuscript and also
for his very helpful comments for which we are very grateful.
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