Allanite in Mantle Eclogite Xenoliths
Authors: Mikhailenko Denis S , Aulbach Sonja , Stepanov Aleksandr S , Korsakov Andrey V , Zhang Le , Xu Yi-Gang 
Published: April 2024

Rare-Earth Elements (REE) are key geochemical tracers of crust–mantle differentiation, but there are few direct data on REE-rich minerals in mantle rocks. Here, we report the combined petrography and comprehensive chemical and isotopic characterization of three coesite- and kyanite-bearing eclogite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Siberian craton), which are unusual in that two xenoliths (one with diamond and graphite) contain discrete, idiomorphic crystals of allanite at the grain boundaries of garnet and omphacite. Another xenolith contains allanite as part of a complex aggregate of calcite, apatite, barite, and celestine hosted by serpentine, which is a low-temperature secondary minerals likely result from metasomatic reaction at shallower depths during the transport of eclogite by the erupting kimberlite melt. The bulk rock composition reconstructed from the trace element composition of garnet and omphacite show marked depletion in LREE, precluding equilibration with kimberlite melt, whereas the measured bulk compositions show chondrite-normalized REE patterns with conspicuous depletions of Ce–Pr–Nd relative to La and Sm. The presence of 0.005 to 0.008 wt % of allanite, texturally and chemically out of equilibrium with the rock-forming minerals, allows balancing the LREE and Sm–Nd budget of the rock, whereas Th and U require additional hosts. This not only highlights the utility of measuring bulk eclogite xenoliths in bringing this unusual component to light, but also demonstrates that the long-known incompatible element enrichment in bulk eclogites reflects the deposition of discrete phases rather than merely bulk kimberlite melt addition. Although allanite is stable in metabasalts at the pressure–temperature conditions of 1025°C to 1080°C and 3.6 to 4.8 GPa recorded by the eclogite xenoliths, its association with Ba-Sr minerals suggests its formation via reaction of the host eclogites with kimberlite melt. This is supported by the similarity in 143Nd/144Nd ratios between bulk eclogite (0.51227–0.51249) and the host kimberlite at eruption, whereas clinopyroxene in part retains unradiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70205 ± 0.00011) related to ancient depletion. The discovery of allanite in the Udachnaya eclogites demonstrates that this REE mineral can form when omphacite and grossular-rich garnet in eclogite breakdown in contact with REE- and alkali-rich carbonatite/kimberlite melt, and may be more common than hitherto recognized. Crystallization of allanite in the cratonic mantle eclogite reservoir may also help explain the difference in LREE abundances between the more strongly enriched carbonatite/kimberlite at depth and the final erupted product. It is likely that allanite is overlooked at eclogites xenoliths, while it is common accessory mineral, hosting REE in orogenic UHP/HP eclogites. Further studies are required to deciphered the peculiarities in metamorphic history recorded in eclogites xenoliths and orogenic eclogites, as well as the differences ancient (Archean/Proterozoic) and Phanerozoic subduction processes.