Layered intrusion

A layered intrusion is a large sill-like body of igneous rock which exhibits vertical layering or differences in composition and texture. These intrusions can be many kilometres in area covering from around to over and several hundred metres to over in thickness. While most layered intrusions are Archean to Proterozoic in age (for example, the Paleoproterozoic Bushveld complex), they may be any age such as the Cenozoic Skaergaard intrusion of east Greenland or the Rum layered intrusion in Scotland. Although most are ultramafic to mafic in composition, the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex of Greenland is an alkalic intrusion. Layered intrusions are typically found in ancient cratons and are rare but worldwide in distribution. The intrusive complexes exhibit evidence of fractional crystallization and crystal segregation by settling or floating of minerals from a melt. Ideally, the stratigraphic sequence of an ultramafic-mafic intrusive complex consists of ultramafic peridotites and pyroxenites with associated chromitite layers toward the base with more mafic norites, gabbros and anorthosites in the upper layers. Some include diorite, and granophyre near the top of the bodies. Orebodies of Nickel-Copper-Platinum group elements (Ni-Cu-PGE), chromite, magnetite, and ilmenite are often associated with base metal Sulfide mineral assemblages within these rare intrusions. Additionally, an often overlooked topic regarding economically significant Ni-Cu-PGE deposits can occur within the country rock spatially associated with the layered intrusion. Mafic-ultramafic layered intrusions occur at all levels within the crust, from depths in excess of to depths of as little as . The depth at which an intrusion is formed is dependent on several factors: Density of the melt. Magmas with high magnesium and iron contents are denser and are therefore less likely to be able to reach the surface. Interfaces within the crust. Typically, a horizontal detachment zone, a dense, impermeable layer or even a lithological interface may provide a horizontal plane of weakness which the ascending magma will exploit, forming a sill or lopolith.

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Troilite

Troilite is a rare iron sulfide mineral with the simple formula of FeS. It is the iron-rich endmember of the pyrrhotite group. Pyrrhotite has the formula Fe(1-x)S (x = 0 to 0.2) which is iron deficient. As troilite lacks the iron deficiency which gives pyrrhotite its characteristic magnetism, troilite is non-magnetic. Troilite can be found as a native mineral on Earth but is more abundant in meteorites, in particular, those originating from the Moon and Mars.

Bushveld Igneous Complex

The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is the largest layered igneous intrusion within the Earth's crust. It has been tilted and eroded forming the outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin: the Transvaal Basin. It is approximately 2 billion years old and is divided into four different limbs: the northern, southern, eastern, and western limbs. The Bushveld Complex comprises the Rustenburg Layered suite, the Lebowa Granites and the Rooiberg Felsics, that are overlain by the Karoo sediments.

Cumulate rock

Cumulate rocks are igneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma either by settling or floating. Cumulate rocks are named according to their texture; cumulate texture is diagnostic of the conditions of formation of this group of igneous rocks. Cumulates can be deposited on top of other older cumulates of different composition and colour, typically giving the cumulate rock a layered or banded appearance. Cumulate rocks are the typical product of precipitation of solid crystals from a fractionating magma chamber.

Transition from Vertical to Lateral Diking at the Neutral Buoyancy Line

Brice Tanguy Alphonse Lecampion, Andreas Möri, Dmitriy Garagash

Buoyant hydraulic fractures (HF) are a viable approach to model propagating magmatic intrusions in the lithosphere. Solutions for fully planar three-dimensional (3D) HF suggest the existence of a family of solutions as a function of fluid and solid propert ...

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Magmatic Intrusions From a Hydraulic Fracture Modeling Perspective

Brice Tanguy Alphonse Lecampion, Andreas Möri

The emplacement of magmatic intrusions in the earth’s crust has been investigated for decades. The driving mechanism is the density difference between the fluid and the rock. In the absence of heterogeneities, this difference creates a constant buoyancy fo ...

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Propagation of planar three-dimensional buoyant hydraulic fractures

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Hydraulic fractures are driven by an internal fluid pressure exceeding the minimum compressive stress, propagating in a direction perpendicular to the latter. This class of tensile fractures has gained interest over the last fifty years due to the developm ...

EPFL2023