Diamond Genesis Mineralogy And Geochemistry

Diamond is the record-setter in many mineralogical properties such as hardness, diffusivity, thermal conductivity, purity, and covalency of bonding. Similarly, diamond, as the premier gemstone of the mantle holds primacy for geological features such as age and depth of origin. Diamond was among the first crystalline structures to be solved by X-ray diffraction and the first materials measured for their Raman spectrum. At more than 80 billion USD in yearly commercial value, diamond sets the record for the most traded, valuable mineral on the planet. Despite its chemical simplicity, diamond has been the object of more research effort, and had more scientific and popular press pages written about it, than any other mineral.

Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry (RiMG) volumes contain concise advances in theoretical and/or applied mineralogy, crystallography, petrology, and geochemistry.

This book presents an overview of recent advances in our understanding of the genesis of diamonds and the associated phases. It is divided into three main parts, starting with an introduction to the analysis of diamond inclusions to infer the formation processes. In turn, the second part of the book presents high-pressure experimental studies in mantle diamond-parental mineral systems with representative multicomponent boundary compositions. The experimental syngenesis phase diagrams provided reveal the physicochemical mechanisms of diamond nucleation and substantiate the mantle-carbonatite concept of the genesis of diamonds and associated phases. Lastly, the book describes the genetic classification of diamond-hosted mineral inclusions and experimentally determined RE “mineral-parental melt” partition coefficients. The physicochemical experimental evidence presented shows the driving forces behind the fractional evolution of the mantle magmas and diamond-parental melts. Given the depth and breadth of its coverage, the book offers researchers essential new insights into the ways diamonds and associated minerals and rocks are naturally created.

This book sheds valuable new light on the genetic mineralogy of lower-mantle diamonds and syngenetic minerals. It presents groundbreaking experimental results revealing the melting relations of ultrabasic and basic associations and a physicochemical peritectic mechanism of their evolution. The experimental investigations included here reveal the key multicomponent, multiphase oxide-silicate-carbonate-carbon parental media for lower-mantle diamonds and syngenetic minerals. Consequently, readers will find extensive information on the diamond-parental oxide-silicate-carbonate-carbon melts-solutions that supplement the general features of lower-mantle diamond genesis and the most efficient ultrabasic-basic evolution. The experimental results on physicochemical aspects, combined with analytical mineralogy data, make it possible to create a generalized composition diagram of the diamond-parental melts-solutions, there by completing the mantle-carbonatite concept for the genesis of lower-mantle diamonds and syngenetic minerals. This book addresses the needs of all researchers studying the Earth’s deepest structure, super-deep mineral formation including diamonds, and magmatic evolution.

The Canadian Shield and adjacent areas underlain by cratonic rocks are a highly prospective geologic environment for diamonds. This volume reviews the genesis of diamonds and the petrology of kimberlites and lamproites, the major diamond-bearing rock types. It then describes diamond exploration techniques, focusing on the use of indicator minerals as a means of identifying prospective areas. Topics covered include major-element geochemistry of indicator minerals, eclogitic paragenesis, and trace element techniques. The volume also discusses the indicator mineral geochemistry results from a study of 18 localities around the world. In addition, since conventional indicator mineral techniques are not always applicable to lamproite exploration, alternative pathfinder minerals are reviewed.

Volume 2, dedicated to Barry Hawthorne, presents papers concerned with the genesis of eclogites, the mineralogy of diamond and its inclusions, exploration methods for kimberlite, the geochemistry of the upper mantle and the character of cratons.