8/17/2017

Magmatic sulfide nickel –
copper ores: 
komatiite‐hosted 
deposits

CSIRO MINERAL RESOURCES

Steve Barnes

Geometries of ore-hosting mafic/ultramafic bodies

Komatiites: an introduction

What are Komatiites?

• Volcanic rocks with >18% MgO

in the liquid: ultramafic lavas
• Characteristic dendritic olivine
and pyroxene textures -
“spinifex”
• Predominantly Archaean
• Eruption temperatures up to
1600C

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Extremely high T (1600C), extreme low

viscosity lavas
Probably built low-aspect shield
volcanoes and large lava fields

Spinifex (Triodia)

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Komatiite phase equilibria

Komatiites crystallise olivine (+/- chromite) over a large part of their cooling history

Spinifex textures

B1 zone

Olivine spinifex

Spinifex textures

End-on

Pyroxene spinifex

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Olivine cumulate textures

1mm 1cm

Orthocumulate Adcumulate

A bit of theory: supersaturation, nucleation and crystal growth

Nucleation
dominates over
growth- ORTHO-
CUMULATES
Growth
dominates over
nucleation -
ADCUMULATES

Quenching to glass

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In‐situ nucleation‐growth mechanism for cumulates

Adcumulates Orthocumulates
Turbulent flow Laminar flow
Hot crystal bed Cooler crystal bed

Boundary layer

Adcumulates: Prolonged high-flux of lava over bed of

hot crystals

SUPERHEATED LAVA

TL Liquidus

Polyhedral
CRYSTALLISING
Adcumulate
TEMPERATURE

LAVA
Mesocumulate

“Hopper”

UNDER- Orthocumulate
COOLING
Harrisite

Dendritic
Spinifex

Komatiite facies model

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Thin Differentiated Flow Facies

Munro Township outcrop map (Arndt et al)

20 m

Black Swan drill hole BSD86 Pyke Hill, Ontario

Komatiite pahoehoe lobes, 
Gordon Sirdar (near Black Swan)

Thin Differentiated Flow Facies

UAV photogrammetry image by Greg Dering

Komatiite facies model

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Development of channelised sheet flows at Kambalda (Barnes et al 2013 Econ Geol)

Thick flows from low viscosity lavas: the importance of 
inflation. Pahoehoe flows, Kilauea, Hawaii

(Volcano Productions)

Lava tubes

UWA MSc Course Jan 2007 © CSIRO No unauthorised duplication

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Measuring thermal erosion rates

Date 6th May 12th May 17th May 7th June 5th July
Depth of
stream (m)
1.6
UWA MSc Course Jan 2007 © CSIRO No unauthorised duplication
2.0 2.8 4.8 5.2

Channelised flows and komatiite‐hosted ores –
the substrate erosion model

Komatiite facies model

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Olivine mol % Fo Channelised Dunite Facies - Perseverance

92 94
Mincor Komatiites and Nickel Sept 2010 (c) CSIRO no unauthorised duplication

Thermal erosion on a grand scale (~100s m)

Origin of dunite channel facies

Komatiite flow field model (modified from Hill et al., 1995, Gole and Barnes in prep)

20-100 km

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Komatiite flow field model (modified from Hill et al., 1995, Gole and Barnes in prep)

20-100 km

Komatiite flow field model (modified from Hill et al., 1995, Gole and Barnes in prep

20-100 km

Komatiite flow field model (modified from Hill et al., 1995, Gole and Barnes in prep

20-100 km

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Komatiite flow field model (modified from Hill et al., 1995, Gole and Barnes in prep

20-100 km

Komatiite-hosted Sulfide Ni Ores

20‐100 km
20-100 km

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Yilgarn Craton, WA
Mt KEITH

PERSEVERANCE

BLACK SWAN

KAMBALDA

Komatiite hosted deposits – size and scale

Kambalda ore environment

Sediment gap

Trough (embayment)

Pinchout

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Matrix ore

50 cm
Chromite

Primary contact

Invasive sulfide breccia

Massive ore

Kambalda massive ores

McLeay Shoot, Kambalda

Type 1 Ore 
profile
Komatiite-hosted nickel ores
Sulfide ore textures

Moran, Kambalda

What are the ore-hoisting embayments?

Basal Flow
Thermal erosion channels?
Pre-existing topography – volcanic?
Pre-existing topography – fault grabens?
Purely structural?

“Pinchout” Trough with undercut margins

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Long, Victor, Moran

Drained lava tubes or channels? (Gresham and Loftus Hills, Squire et al 1998)
Mauna Loa flows (Google Earth)

10 km

1 km

Gaps between parallel non-overlapping flows? (Lesher, 1984, 1989…)

Mauna Loa flows (Google Earth)

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~ 3 m

Drained lava channel, Mauna Ulu, Kilauea, Hawaii

Long, Victor, Moran

100 km

Graben topography, Iceland

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Thermomechanical
erosion of footwall
basalts at Kambalda

(Staude et al., 2016, 2017)

Black Swan (Yilgarn, WA)

BlackSwan dissem

Cygnet dissem

Silver Swan massive ore

Silver Swan (massive) and

Black Swan (disseminated) 10m

Section looking
down plunge

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10m
Silver Swan (massive) and
Black Swan (disseminated)

sulfide

dacite

10m
Silver Swan (massive) and
Black Swan (disseminated) sulfide

dacite

Silicate “plumes” in sulfide

CSIRO Ni Exploration Kalgoorlie August 2007 © CSIRO  unauthorised reproduction prohibited

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Komatiite hosted deposits – size and scale

3D model by Caroline Perring, with permission of BHP-Billiton

Perseverance

© 2007 CSIRO No unauthorised duplication

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Perseverance – metamorphic sulfide 
textures (not spinifex!)

© 2007 CSIRO No unauthorised duplication

© 2007 CSIRO No unauthorised duplication

Perseverance (dissem) – Mt Keith type Disseminated ores in

komatiitic olivine cumulates

2 cm

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Sulfide mineralogy – pentlandite 
rich ores

Perseverance – ultra‐high Ni assemblages in fresh dunite

“Bleb” size and distribution of nickel sulfides (Mount Keith – Yakabindie deposits)

(Colour coded by volume)

4.45 vol%
sulfide

Finely disseminated
sulfide with larger blebs

25 mm

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Particle size analysis (CSD, crystal size distribution)
“Bleb” size and distribution of nickel sulfides
Typical Mt Keith
Straight line implies homogenous
population of crystals/droplets with
constant growth rate
Log number of particles/cc per size of bin

Y intercept = nucleation density

Slope = residence time
Population density

Kinked curve = mechanical

sorting (adding large
Growth with drops/crystals)
time

Size

Size‐distribution of Mt Keith 
sulfides
Two populations – both with log-
linear size distribution. Why?
Both in situ nucleation and growth
and droplet breakup generate log-
linear size distributions

In situ nucleation and growth

of droplets at deposition site

Log-linear size distribution

generated by breakup of
large droplets during
transport
(Godel et al., J Pet 2013)

Dissolved and reprecipitated

(abundance matches
expected cotectic proportion)

Transported and mechanically deposited

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Transported and
deposited sulfide
droplets
More enriched in Pd

“in situ” cotectic sulfide

Conclusion: small blebs

are the result of in situ
nucleation/growth....

Disseminated ores are mixture of in‐situ 
cotectic and transported entrained 
droplet populations
Ore deposition can happen a long way 
from the original S source
Purely cotectic sulfides are not a good 
indicator of proximity to high grade ore 
– although they may have high tenors 
(R = 100‐200). Coarse blebs with high 
(> 2 ppm) Pd are better indicators of 
proximity to high‐grade ore

Characteristic tenor range of

purely cotectic sulfides in
komatiites

How much magma?
MKD orebody ~ 2% sulfide, R factor 200
Minimum 4x rock volume of magma

Characteristic tenor range of

purely cotectic sulfides in
komatiites

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S isotopes and S sources

Comparative Ni endowment (ktonnes)
EGS combined

Thompson Belt

Pechenga
Contained Ni metal, thousands of tonnes

10000 Abitibi

Raglan

Zimbabwe

Forr-LakeJ-Rav

1000
Thompson Belt

EGS Kurnalpi
EGS Agnew-

EGS Kalgoorlie

Forr-LakeJ-Rav
Terrain S

terrane
Wiluna

100
Raglan

Abitibi West

10

Barnes and Fiorentini 2011 Econ Geol

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E Goldfields Kalgoorlie terrane + Agnew‐
Wiluna
81 85 87 89 91 92 93 94
Fo
Fo8585
1414

pure olivine
% vol free

Liquids
Fo
Fo9090
FeO* wtF eO

99

Olivines

Fo 95
EE Yilgarn Kalgoorlie
>10TiO2<1 S-Ni terrane + Agnew-Wiluna Fo95
Yilgarn (clipped) MgO filter n=1848
44
10 20
20 30
30
MgO
MgO wt % vol free
40 50
50

E Goldfields – Kurnalpi, Burtville
81 85 87 89 91 92 93 94
Fo
Fo8585
1414

pure olivine
O vol free

Fo
Fo9090
FeO* wtF e%

99

Fo 95
ESYilgarn
EG Kurnalpi/Burtville
eastern terranes Terranes
MgO>10TiO2<1 S-Ni filter n=465
Fo95
44
10 20
20 30
30 40
MgO wt % vol free 50
50

Forrestania – Lake Johnston
81 85 87 89 91 92 93 94
Fo8585
Fo
1414

pure olivine
eO vol free

Fo
Fo9090
FeO* wtF%

99

Fo 95
Fo95
Forrestania – Lake
Forrestania - Lake Johnston Johnston
MgO>10 TiO2<1 S-Ni filter n=853
44
10 20
20 30
30
MgO
40
wt % vol free
50
50
MgO

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Abitibi
81 85 87 89 91 92 93 94
Fo85
Fo 85
1414

pure olivine
eO vol free

Fo
Fo9090
FeO* wt F%

99

Abitibi Fo 95
Fo95
Abitibi MgO>10TiO2<1 S-Ni filter n=1087
44
10 20 30 40 50
20 30 MgO wt % vol free 50
MgO

Characteristics of sulfide‐bearing komatiite belts
(Barnes and Fiorentini, Economic Geology 107 2012)

Belt Komatiite  Olivine ‐ Liquid  Adcum‐ Contamination Chalcophile 

K
type maximum Fo max MgO ulates depletion

EGoldfields ‐ AUDK 94 28‐30 Yes Widespread Local

Agnew‐Wiluna
Thompson AUDK* 93 20‐25 Yes Widespread Wide‐
spread
EGoldfields ‐ AUDK 94 28‐30 Yes Local Local
Kalgoorlie S
Raglan AUDK* 89 19 No Widespread Wide‐
spread
Forrestania/ ADK 93 25 Yes Local Local
Lake Johnston
Abitibi (West) AUDK 94 28 Rare Local Rare

EGoldfields ‐ AUDK 93 25‐28 Rare Minor No

Kurnalpi

Critical combo: abundant very olivine-rich cumulates; high MgO magmas;

widespread contamination

Kalgoorlie Terrane vs other greenstone settings
Richest terranes contain high proportion of very olivine‐rich rocks 
(adcumulates) – not necessarily the host rocks
Richest terrane of all (E Goldfields) contains most forsteritic 
adcumulates 
Abitibi, E Goldfields have similar range of liquid compositions
All seem to have formed from depleted mantle plume source
Depth of melting (Al depletion) not crucial
The only mineralised ADK terrane (Forrestania‐Lake J) contains 
adcumulate dunites
Similar PGE contents for same MgO – limited depletion, komatiites 
erupted S‐undersaturated
No evidence of unusually Ni or PGE rich magmas

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Ni deposits and craton margins

Radio Hill

Nova

East Yilgarn Craton, WA

MT KEITH

PERSEVERANCE
500 Km

BLACK SWAN

World’s third largest

Nickel Sulfide
province, >10 mt Ni
metal
KAMBALDA

Probing the structure of the continent

Champion and
Cassidy Sm/Nd
model age in
granites – proxy
for age of lower
crust

Stars=Ni deposits

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Mantle – crust geochemistry 101
Isotopic composition of this

Tells us about age and composition of this

Crust Hf isotopes in zircon tell us about history

of deep source rocks at different times

Older crust melts to form granite or dacite

Mantle melts to form basalt or komatiite

Zircons are the time capsules

Mantle

Champion
and Extent of 2690-
Cassidy 2705 East Yilgarn
Sm/Nd volcanic
model age assemblage – the
in EYLIP
granites –
proxy for
age of
lower
crust

Belt of high-Mg komatiites + Ni deposits

along margin of >3.2 Ga Youanmi cratonic
nucleus or “Archon” – Kalgoorlie Terrane Stars=Ni deposits

Lu‐Hf time‐slices: 2720‐2600 Ma

Slide from David Mole  (Mole et al., PNAS, 2014)

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Lu‐Hf time‐slices: 3050‐2820 Ma

Are these craton

margins too? At
what age? Can we
locate a new
bonanza Ni – Au
ore setting?

Craton margin was

here at the time the
Forrestania Ni
deposits formed
2,900 million years
ago

Mole et al., PNAS 2014

Plume model for 
~2700 E Yilgarn 
“EYLIP” volcanism

(Barnes et al, Aust J Earth Sci 2012)

Pause for reflection…

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Perring 2015 Econ Geol

Komatiite flow types
Excess olivine: based on average MgO content of entire flow profile, compared 
with MgO content of liquid

Ponded,
Thin compound lobes differentiated

Komatiite facies mode

Flow through and olivine accumulation

Ponding and differentiation

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Komatiite sub‐facies – thick cumulate‐rich units

Mincor Komatiites and Nickel Sept 2010 (c) CSIRO no unauthorised duplication

Komatiite facies model

Flow through and olivine accumulation

Ponding and differentiation

Komatiite sub‐facies –cumulate‐rich units, thin flow lobes
Thickness (Inflation and flow-through)

Internal differentiation, crystal fractionation

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