Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Eclogitic diamonds of Proterozoic age from Cretaceous kimberlites

Nature volume 346, pages 54–56 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

DIAMONDS with eclogitic inclusions ('eclogitic diamonds') from the Premier kimberlite and Argyle lamproite were previously shown to be of Proterozoic age1–3 and distinct in origin from peridotitic diamonds of Archaean age4 and deep-continental-mantle (tectospheric5) provenance. The Premier and Argyle host rocks are themselves of Proterozoic age, suggesting a link between eclogitic diamond formation and kimberlite or lamproite magmatism1. Here we test this link by examining eclogitic diamonds from younger southern African kimberlites. Eclogitic garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions in Orapa and Finsch diamonds yield Sm-Nd isochron ages of 990 and 1,580 Myr respectively, compared with host kimberlite emplacement ages of ∼ 100 Myr. These eclogitic diamond ages are again Proterozoic, and distinct from the ∼3,200-Myr age of Finsch peridotitic diamonds4. Thus peridotitic and eclogitic diamonds from the same locality are evidently both xenocrysts, having been stored in the deep continental mantle beneath the Kaapvaal craton for extended periods before being sampled by kimberlite. Such mantle storage may not be detected by the 40Ar–39Ar laser-probe dating technique as applied to Premier diamonds2,3.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Richardson, S. H. Nature 322, 623–626 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Burgess, R., Turner, G., Laurenzi, M. & Harris, J. W. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 94, 22–28 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Phillips, D., Onstott, T. C. & Harris, J. W. Nature 340, 460–462 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Richardson, S. H., Gurney, J. J. Erlank, A. J. & Harris, J. W. Nature 310, 198–202 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jordan, T. H. in Oceanic and Continental Lithosphere: Similarities and Differences (eds Menzies, M. A. & Cox, K. G.) 11–37 (Oxford University Press, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Davies, G. L. Yb. Carnegie Inst. Wash. 76, 631–635 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hawthorne, J. B. Phys. Chem. Earth 9, 1–15 (1975).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gurney, J. J., Harris, J. W. & Rickard, R. S. in Kimberlites II: The Mantle and Crust-Mantle Relationships (ed. Kornprobst, J.) 3–10 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1984).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Smith, C. B., Allsopp, H. L., Kramers, J. D., Hutchinson, G. & Roddick, J. C. Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 88, 249–266 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Smith, C. B. et al. in Kimberlites and Related Rocks (eds Ross, J. et al.) 853–863 (Blackwell, Melbourne, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Gurney, J. J., Harris, J. W. & Rickard, R. S. in Kimberlites. Diatremes and Diamonds (eds Boyd. F. R. & Meyer, H. O. A.) 1–15 (Am. geophys. Un., Washington, DC, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Meyer, H. O. A. in Mantle Xenoliths (ed. Nixon, P. H.) 501–522 (Wiley, Chichester, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Deines, P., Gurney, J. J. & Harris, J. W. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 48, 325–342 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Boyd, F. R., Gurney, J. J. & Richardson, S. H. Nature 315, 387–389 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geochemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa

    S. H. Richardson & A. J. Erlank

  2. Department of Geology and Applied Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK

    J. W. Harris

  3. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    S. R. Hart

Authors
  1. S. H. Richardson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. J. Erlank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. W. Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. R. Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Richardson, S., Erlank, A., Harris, J. et al. Eclogitic diamonds of Proterozoic age from Cretaceous kimberlites. Nature 346, 54–56 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/346054a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/346054a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing