The region of Lamim, in the southeastern portion of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), is composed of gnaisses, metamafic and metaultramafic rocks. The last ones belong to the Nova Lima group, base of the Archean Rio das Velhas greenstone belt. The main metaultramafic rocks are soapstone, largely exploited in the QF, and sepentinite. Rocks preserving olivine, interpreted as the magmatic protolith of the metaultramafic rocks, distinguish the region of Lamim. These rocks are olivine-amphibole fels with cumulus-like textures characterized by the inclusion of several grains of olivine within larger amphibole crystals. The relatively high Fe-content of olivine (Fo75Fa25) is an indication of its magmatic origin. Two types of amphibole were identified, centimetric tremolite crystals involving olivine grains, interpreted as pseudomorphs replacing the original intercumulus pyroxene, and acicular anthophyllite. The amounts of serpentine, chlorite, dolomite and talc vary. Rock chemistry and textures suggest that the most probable protolith of the metaultramafic rocks are plutonic komatiitic peridotites and not volcanic komatiites found elsewhere in the QF. The peridotite was variably metamorphosed under conditions of higher greenschist to lower amphibolite facies during infiltration of aqueous fluids accompanying the metamorphic-metassomatic process.
petrogenesis; metaultramafic rock; komatiite; protolith; soapstone; serpentinite; geochemistry; Minas Gerais; Quadrilátero Ferrífero
