Stable (C, O, S) isotopes and whole-rock geochemistry of carbonatites from Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province, SE Brazil

Isótopos estáveis (C, O, S) e geoquímica de rocha total de carbonatitos da Província Ígnea Alto Paranaíba - SE Brasil

ABSTRACT:

The present work investigates the relationship between whole-rock geochemistry and stable isotope composition from carbonatites belonging to the Tapira, Araxá, Salitre, Serra Negra, Catalão I, and Catalão II alkaline-carbonatite complexes of the Alto Paranaiba Igneous Province (APIP), central Brazil and from the Jacupiranga Complex, of the Ponta Grossa Province, southeast Brazil. The APIP complexes are ultrapotassic, comprising bebedourites, phoscorites, nelsonites, and carbonatites, whereas Jacupiranga is a sodic complex composed of ijolite-series rocks, syenites, carbonatites, and alkaline gabbros. The geochemistry data allied to mineralogical constraints allowed us to classify the carbonatites into five groups, and to devise a chemical index (BaO/(BaO+SrO)) to gauge the magmatic evolution of the studied carbonatites.The APIP carbonatites evolve from apatite-rich calciocarbonatites toward Ba-, Sr-, and rare earth element (REE)-rich magnesiocarbonatites. This evolution is mostly driven by apatite, phlogopite, dolomite, and calcite fractionation and consequent enrichment in monazite, norsethite, and strontianite. Stable isotope data show a wide diversity of petrogenetic processes in play at the APIP, relatively to the Jacupiranga Complex, which is interpreted as a result of the shallower intrusion levels of the APIP complexes. Such shallower emplacement, at low lithostatic pressure, allowed for a complex interplay of fractional crystallization, liquid immiscibility, degassing, and interaction with hydrothermal and carbohydrothermal systems.

KEYWORDS:
Carbonatite; carbonates; geochemistry; stable isotopes; APIP