Abstract
Spinel lherzolite xenoliths in basanites from the Newer Volcanics of Western Victoria, Australia contain sulphide inclusions along grain boundaries and within fractures in the silicates. The inclusions are complex intergrowths of pentlandite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite formed by the breakdown of Fe–Ni monosulphide solid solutions. During this process discrete grains of a platinum sulphide and a palladium stannide were exsolved from the pentlandite. We show here that this is the first evidence for sulphide fluids rich in platinum group elements in the upper mantle.
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Keays, R., Sewell, D. & Mitchell, R. Platinum and palladium minerals in upper mantle-derived lherzolites. Nature 294, 646–648 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294646a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/294646a0
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