The discovery of kimberlites in Antarctica extends the vast Gondwanan Cretaceous province

Gregory M. Yaxley (), Vadim S. Kamenetsky, Geoffrey T. Nichols, Roland Maas, Elena Belousova, Anja Rosenthal and Marc Norman
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Gregory M. Yaxley: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University
Vadim S. Kamenetsky: ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania
Geoffrey T. Nichols: GEMOC, Macquarie University
Roland Maas: School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne
Elena Belousova: GEMOC, Macquarie University
Anja Rosenthal: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University
Marc Norman: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Kimberlites are a volumetrically minor component of the Earth’s volcanic record, but are very important as the major commercial source of diamonds and as the deepest samples of the Earth’s mantle. They were predominantly emplaced from ≈2,100 Ma to ≈10 ka ago, into ancient, stable regions of continental crust (cratons), but are also known from continental rifts and mobile belts. Kimberlites have been reported from almost all major cratons on all continents except for Antarctica. Here we report the first bona fide Antarctic kimberlite occurrence, from the northern Prince Charles Mountains, emplaced during the reactivation of the Lambert Graben associated with rifting of India from Australia-Antarctica. The samples are texturally, mineralogically and geochemically typical of Group I kimberlites from more classical localities. Their ≈120 Ma ages overlap with those of many kimberlites from other world-wide localities, extending a vast Cretaceous, Gondwanan kimberlite province, for the first time, into Antarctica.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3921

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