A study of the kimberlites, diamonds and associated rocks and minerals from the monastery mine, South Africa. Volume 1: Text
The hypabyssal quarry kimberlite is the most abundant phase at Monastery. Four petrographically distinct varieties are recognized. Mineralogically, the Ql and Q4 kimberlites are opaque oxide-rich serpentine-phlogopite kimberlites, the Q2, a phlogopite-monticellite kimberlite and the Q3, a monticellite-phlogopite kimberlite. The East-end kimberlite is an opaque oxide-rich serpentine-monticellite kimberlite, but is poorly exposed and highly weathered. The breccia kimberlite hosts abundant country rock fragments in a soft serpentinous matrix. It is an opaque oxide-rich phlogopite serpentine kimberlite breccia. The precursor kimberlite dyke associated with the diatreme is an opaque oxide-rich calcite kimberlite. The ultramafic xenoliths at Monastery are predominantly coarse grained and exhibit a high incidence of modal metasomatism. Some textures intermediate between porphyroclastic and granuloblastic were noted. Significant annealing has occurred. Garnet, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene may have been derived by exsolution from high temperature aluminous orthopyroxenes. Minerals in the peridotites and pyroxenites have similar compositions to those from other localities. Two groups of phlogopite composition have been noted. Wehrlitic rocks have phlogopite similar to that in richterite-bearing peridotites from Kimberley.
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