Periodically Released Magmatic Fluids Create a Texture of Unidirectional Solidification (UST) in Ore-Forming Granite: A Fluid and Melt Inclusion Study of W-Mo Forming Sannae-Eonyang Granite, Korea

The Upper Cretaceous Sannae-Eonyang granite crystallized approximately 73 Ma and hosted the Sannae W-Mo deposit in the west and the Eonyang amethyst deposit in the east. The granite contained textural zones of miarolitic cavities and unidirectional solidification texture (UST) quartz. The UST rock sampled in the Eonyang amethyst mine consisted of (1) early cavity-bearing aplitic granite, (2) co-crystallization of feldspars and quartz in a granophyric granite, and (3) the latest unidirectional growth of larger quartz crystals with clear zonation patterns. After the UST quartz was deposited, aplite or porphyritic granite was formed, repeating the prior sequence. Fluid and melt inclusions occurring in the UST quartz and quartz phenocrysts were sampled and studied to understand the magmatic-hydrothermal processes controlling UST formation and W-Mo mineralization in the granite. The composition of melt inclusions in the quartz phenocrysts suggested that the UST was formed by fractionated late-stage granite. Some of the melt inclusions occurring in the early-stage UST quartz were associated with aqueous inclusions, indicating fluid exsolution from a granitic melt. Hypersaline brine inclusions allowed the calculation of the minimum trapping pressure of 80–2300 bars. Such a highly fluctuating fluid pressure might be potentially due to a lithostatic-hydrostatic transition of pressure-attending fluid loss during UST formation. Highly fluctuating lithostatic-hydrostatic pressures created by fluid exsolution allowed shifting of the stability field from a quartz-feldspar cotectic to a single-phase quartz. The compositions of brine fluid assemblages hosted in the quartz phenocrysts deviated from the fluids trapped in the UST quartz, especially regarding the Rb/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios and W and Mo concentrations. The study of melt and fluid inclusions in the Eonyang UST sample showed that the exsolution of magmatic fluid was highly periodic. A single pulse of magmatic fluids of variable salinities/densities might have created a single UST sequence, and a new batch of magmatic fluid exsolution would be required to create the next UST sequence.

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EOCENE MAGMA PLUMBING SYSTEM BENEATH CORTEZ HILLS CARLIN-TYPE GOLD DEPOSIT, NEVADA: IS THERE A DEEP-SEATED PLUTON?

Economic Geology ◽

10.5382/econgeo.4821 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Celestine N. Mercer

Keyword(s):

Gold Deposit ◽

Melt Inclusions ◽

Melt Inclusion ◽

Gold Mineralization ◽

Magma Reservoir ◽

Plumbing System ◽

Isotopic Tracers ◽

Geophysical Surveys ◽

Magmatic Fluids ◽

Gold Bearing

Abstract The magmatic-hydrothermal conceptual model for Carlin-type gold deposit genesis calls upon deep-seated Eocene plutons as the primary source of gold-bearing fluids. However, geophysical surveys, geologic mapping, drilling, geochronology, isotopic tracers, and fluid inclusion chemistry have returned ambiguous evidence for the existence of such plutons. The high-grade Cortez Hills gold deposit in northern Nevada hosts shallow, Eocene syn- and postmineralization intrusions, offering an ideal site to investigate the existence of a deep-seated pluton beneath the district. Here, major and trace element analyses of quartz-hosted melt inclusions from four Eocene rhyolite dikes cropping out within the Cortez Hills pit and results from independent thermobarometers provide a window into the subsurface Eocene magmatic plumbing system to test the existence of a deep-seated source pluton. Dissolved volatile contents, melt inclusion entrapment pressures, and thermodynamic phase equilibria indicate that dike magmas were sourced from ~4- to ≥9-km depth from a polybaric magma reservoir residing as a physically and geochemically interconnected crystal mush with extractable or eruptible magma pockets. Magmas ascended adiabatically (nearly isothermally), exsolving fluids, evolving modestly by fractional crystallization, while trapping quartz-hosted melt inclusions steadily from depth to subvolcanic levels where they were emplaced. These data represent the first unequivocal evidence for a deep-seated magma reservoir from which fluid-saturated magma emanated and released magmatic fluids beneath the Cortez district during gold mineralization. However, further investigation into the specific metallogenic potential and metal budget of parental magmas and the partitioning of gold between silicate melt and aqueous fluids will be necessary to provide evidence that exsolved magmatic fluids may have been gold bearing.

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Badzhal tin magmatic-fluid system (Far east, Russia): the transition from the granite crystallization to the hydrothermal ore deposition

Геология рудных месторождений ◽

10.31857/s0016-77706133-30 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 3-30

Author(s):

N. S. Bortnikov ◽

L. Ya. Aranovich ◽

S. G. Kryazhev ◽

S. Z. Smirnov ◽

V. G. Gonevchuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxygen Isotope ◽

Melt Inclusions ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Far East ◽

Oxygen Isotope Composition ◽

Magmatic Fluid ◽

Fluid System ◽

Melt And Fluid Inclusions ◽

Isotope System ◽

Ore Deposition

With a view to reveal special characteristics of the transition stage from granite crystallization to rare-metal ore deposition it is studied Badzhal tin-bearing magmatic-fluid system of eponymously-named volcano-plutonic zone of the Middle Priamyrie. For that end the detail research of melt, fluid-melt and fluid inclusions and oxygen isotopes from minerals of granitoids from Verkne-Urmi massif from Badzhal volcano-plutonic zone and also minerals of Sn-W deposits Pravo-Urmi and Blizhnee have been carried out. The formation of greisens and hydrothermal veins were caused by the development of the integrated system associating with establishing of Verkne-Urmi granite massif which is one of a dome fold of Badzhal cryptobatholith. For the first time for tin deposits it has been followed up the transition from the magmatic phase of granite crystallization to the hydrothermal ore formation stage and the evolution of magmatic fluid from its separation from magmatic melt to Sn-W ore deposition. The direct evidence of tin-bearing fluid separation under melt crystallization is combined fluid-melt inclusions. Glass composition in inclusions shows that granites and granite-porphyry were crystallizing from acid and from limited to high-aluminous melts, that is value ASI changes from 0.95 to 1.33 and a content of alkalies varies from 6.02 up to 9.02 mass.%. Cl and F concentrations in glasses are according 0.03–0.14 and 0.14–0.44 mass.% and turned out to be higher of same in the total composition of rocks (0.02 and 0.05–0.13 mass.% in accordance). These differences indicate that Cl and F could be separated from granite melt under its crystallization and degasation. H2O content made from total deficiency electron microprobe analysis is 8–11 mass.%. This evaluation was made inclusive of a probable effect of “Na loss” (Nielsen, Sigurdson, 1981) under aqueous glass crystallization. Considering a high error of a such estimation (Devine et al., 1995), it should take to obtained values as a very approximate evaluation and consider that examined melts contained about 9,5–10,0 mass.% of H2O. The results of melt inclusion examination show that at any rate a part of melt forming magmatic rocks of Badzhal Ore Magmatic System are crystallizing at about T = 650 °C. These melts were acid, limited fluoride and meta- and high aluminous. The reason of low temperatures of its crystallization are likely a high pressure of aqua and also a increased content of F. Most likely that examined inclusions characterize the final stage of establishing of the massif, herewith at the system crystals, residual liquor and magmatic fluid phase coexist. The fluid from which greisens of Pravo-Urmi deposit formed is similar in properties to the supercritical fluid absorbing by magmatic minerals. The salinity of this fluid varying from ~9 to 12 mass.% equiv. NaCl, maximal T = 550 °C (with consideration for the temperature correction of T gom on a pressure ~1 кbar) are similar to such of magmatic fluid, which permit to connect its origin with pluton cooling. The formation of greisens and quartz-topaz veins of Pravo-Urmi deposit is related to fall of temperature of magmatic fluid from 550–450 up to 480–380 °C. The evolution of fluid deposited quartz-cassiterite veins of Blizhnee deposit, which based upon oxygen isotope composition (d18ОН2О ≈ 8.5‰) also separated from magma, was going at more subsurface conditions under much lesser pressure. That led to the gas separation of a fluid with salinity ~13 mass.% equa. NaCl under T = 420–340 °C on thin low salinity vapour and brine with concentration 33.5–37.4 mass.% equiv. NaCl. The research of oxygen isotope system testifies that oxygen isotope composition of ore-forming fluid controlled by equilibrium with granites at wide interval temperatures (from ~700 °С up to the beginning of greisen crystallization). Correspondence of measured and calculation data of the offered model indicates that the considerable volume of external fluid with other isotope characteristics which did not reach the isotope equilibrium with Verkhne-Urmi massif did not come into the magmatic isotope system. The discovered differences of physico-chemical conditions for two studied deposits are not “critical” and support an idea about their formation as the single magmatic-fluid system.

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Hydrodynamics of magmatic and meteoric fluids in the vicinity of granitic intrusions

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s0263593300006660 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 87 (1-2) ◽

pp. 251-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

R. Brooks Hanson

Keyword(s):

Hydrothermal System ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Fluid Pressure ◽

Granitic Magma ◽

Magmatic Fluid ◽

Metamorphic Fluid ◽

Magmatic Fluids ◽

Fluid Production ◽

Granitic Intrusions ◽

Fluid Release

ABSTRACT:Numerical models that account for fluid flow, magmatic and metamorphic fluid production, topography and thermal expansion of the fluid following emplacement of a granitic magma in the upper crust reveal controls on the distribution of magmatic fluids during the evolution of a hydrothermal system. Initially, fluid pressures are close to lithostatic in and near an intrusion, and internally generated magmatic and metamorphic fluids are expelled. Later, fluid pressures drop to hydrostatic values and meteoric fluids circulate throughout the system. High permeabilities and low rates of fluid production accelerate this transition. Fluid production in the magma and wallrocks is the dominant mechanism elevating fluid pressures to lithostatic values. For granitic intrusions, about three to five times as much magmatic fluid is produced as metamorphic fluid. Continuous fluid release from a granitic magma with a vertical dimensions of 10 km produces a dynamic permeability of up to several tens of microdarcies.Near the surface, topography associated with a typical volcano acts to maintain a shallow meteoric flow system and drive fluids laterally. The exponential decay with depth of the influence of topography on fluid pressures results in a persistent zone of mixing at a depth of 1-2 km between these meteoric fluids and magmatic fluids despite variations in the strength of the magmatic hydrothermal system. However, in shallow systems where fluid release is episodic, dramatic changes in the region of mixing are still possible because fluid pressure is sensitive to variations in the rates of fluid production. At depth, high rates of metamorphic fluid production in the wallrocks and low permeabilities (< 1 μD) produce elevated fluid pressures, which hinder the lateral flow of magmatic fluids. Together, these patterns are consistent with the distribution and evolution of skarns and hydrothermal ore deposits around granitic magmas.

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A myriad of melt inclusions: a synchrotron microtomography study of melt inclusions and vapour bubbles from Colli Albani (Italy)

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13287 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Corin Jorgenson ◽

Luca Caricchi ◽

Michael Stueckelberger ◽

Giovanni Fevola ◽

Gregor Weber

Keyword(s):

Melt Inclusions ◽

Melt Inclusion ◽

Fluid Phase ◽

Volcanic Eruptions ◽

Mineral Chemistry ◽

Magma Ascent ◽

Vapour Bubble ◽

Electron Synchrotron ◽

Colli Albani ◽

Synchrotron Microtomography

Melt inclusions provide a window into the inner workings of magmatic systems. Both mineral chemistry and volatile distributions within melt inclusions can provide valuable information about the processes modulating magma ascent and preceding volcanic eruptions. Many melt inclusions host vapour bubbles which can be rich in CO2 and H2O and must be taken into consideration when assessing the volatile budget of magmatic reservoirs. These vapour bubbles can be the product of differential volumetric contraction between the melt inclusion and host phase during an eruption or indicate an excess fluid phase in the magma reservoir. Thus, determining the distribution of volatiles between melt and vapour bubbles is integral to our fundamental understanding of melt inclusions, and by extension the evolution of volatiles within magmatic systems.A large dataset of 79 high-resolution tomographic scans of clinopyroxene and leucite phenocrysts from the Colli Albani Caldera Complex (Italy) was recently acquired at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY). These tomograms allow us to quantify the volume of melt inclusions and associated vapour bubble both glassy and microcrystalline melt inclusions. Notably, in the glassy melt inclusions the vapour bubbles exist either as a single large vapour bubble in the middle of the melt inclusion or as several smaller vapour bubbles distributed around the edge of the melt inclusion. These two types of melt inclusions can coexist within a single crystal. We suggest that the occurrence of these rim- bubbles is caused by one of two exsolution pathways, either pre-entrapment and bubble migration or post entrapment with preferential exsolution at the rims. By combining the analysis of hundreds of melt inclusions with the chemistry of the host phase we aim to unveil magma ascent rates and distribution of excess fluids within the magmatic system of Colli Albani, which produced several mafic-alkaline large volume ignimbrites.

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What lies beneath? Reconstructing the primitive magmas fueling voluminous silicic volcanism using olivine-hosted melt inclusions

Geology ◽

10.1130/g47422.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (5) ◽

pp. 504-508 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Simon J. Barker ◽

Michael C. Rowe ◽

Colin J.N. Wilson ◽

John A. Gamble ◽

Shane M. Rooyakkers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Melt Inclusions ◽

Melt Inclusion ◽

Taupo Volcanic Zone ◽

Mantle Dynamics ◽

Silicic Volcanism ◽

Depleted Mantle ◽

Basaltic Magmas ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Basaltic Melts ◽

Eruptive Centers

Abstract Understanding the origins of the mantle melts that drive voluminous silicic volcanism is challenging because primitive magmas are generally trapped at depth. The central Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ; New Zealand) hosts an extraordinarily productive region of rhyolitic caldera volcanism. Accompanying and interspersed with the rhyolitic products, there are traces of basalt to andesite preserved as enclaves or pyroclasts in caldera eruption products and occurring as small monogenetic eruptive centers between calderas. These mafic materials contain MgO-rich olivines (Fo79–86) that host melt inclusions capturing the most primitive basaltic melts fueling the central TVZ. Olivine-hosted melt inclusion compositions associated with the caldera volcanoes (intracaldera samples) contrast with those from the nearby, mafic intercaldera monogenetic centers. Intracaldera melt inclusions from the modern caldera volcanoes of Taupō and Okataina have lower abundances of incompatible elements, reflecting distinct mantle melts. There is a direct link showing that caldera-related silicic volcanism is fueled by basaltic magmas that have resulted from higher degrees of partial melting of a more depleted mantle source, along with distinct subduction signatures. The locations and vigor of Taupō and Okataina are fundamentally related to the degree of melting and flux of basalt from the mantle, and intercaldera mafic eruptive products are thus not representative of the feeder magmas for the caldera volcanoes. Inherited olivines and their melt inclusions provide a unique “window” into the mantle dynamics that drive the active TVZ silicic magmatic systems and may present a useful approach at other volcanoes that show evidence for mafic recharge.

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Interstitial dynamics in rats with early stage experimental cirrhosis of the liver

AJP Renal Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajprenal.1989.256.3.f497 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 256 (3) ◽

pp. F497-F503

Author(s):

E. Sanz ◽

C. Caramelo ◽

J. M. Lopez-Novoa

Keyword(s):

Sodium Excretion ◽

Interstitial Fluid ◽

Early Stage ◽

Fluid Pressure ◽

Extracellular Fluid ◽

Ringer Solution ◽

Urine Flow ◽

Cirrhosis Of The Liver ◽

Experimental Cirrhosis ◽

Albumin Infusion

Pathogenesis of edema in cirrhosis of the liver is still incompletely understood. The present study was designed to examine interstitial fluid dynamics in cirrhotic, non-ascitic rats, measuring interstitial fluid pressure by means of a subcutaneous plastic capsule in basal conditions during extracellular fluid volume expansion with Ringer solution and during albumin infusion. Urine flow and sodium excretion and plasma and interstitial fluid volumes were simultaneously measured. Cirrhotic rats exhibited reduced urine flow and sodium excretion, both in basal conditions and in response to expansion maneuvers. Plasma and interstitial fluid volumes were higher in cirrhotic than in control animals. Remarkable alterations were present in capsular pressures in cirrhotic rats. In the control rats, basal capsular pressure values were negative, and they increased after Ringer infusion and markedly decreased with albumin infusion. In contrast, in cirrhotic rats, basal capsular pressures were in the positive range and they remained nearly constant during ringer infusion and albumin administration. These results suggest that in cirrhotic rats there are significant alterations in systemic interstitial dynamics, even before ascites formation. Altered systemic capillary dynamics may therefore be important early changes that precede and thus contribute to the formation of edema in cirrhosis.

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Petrogenesis of Ultramafic Lamprophyres from the Terina Complex (Chadobets Upland, Russia): Mineralogy and Melt Inclusion Composition

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10050419 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 419 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ilya Prokopyev ◽

Anastasiya Starikova ◽

Anna Doroshkevich ◽

Yazgul Nugumanova ◽

Vladislav Potapov

Keyword(s):

Mineral Composition ◽

Fractional Crystallization ◽

Fluid Inclusions ◽

Siberian Craton ◽

Melt Inclusions ◽

Melt Inclusion ◽

Inclusion Composition ◽

Accessory Minerals ◽

Secondary Minerals ◽

Peridotite Mantle

The mineral composition and melt inclusions of ultramafic lamprophyres of the Terina complex were investigated. The rocks identified were aillikites, mela-aillikites, and damtjernites, and they were originally composed of olivine macrocrysts and phenocrysts, as well as phlogopite phenocrysts in carbonate groundmass, containing phlogopite, clinopyroxene and feldspars. Minor and accessory minerals were fluorapatite, ilmenite, rutile, titanite, and sulphides. Secondary minerals identified were quartz, calcite, dolomite, serpentine, chlorite, rutile, barite, synchysite-(Ce), and monazite-(Ce). Phlogopite, calcite, clinopyroxene, Ca-amphibole, fluorapatite, magnetite, and ilmenite occurred as daughter-phases in melt inclusions. The melt inclusions also contained Fe–Ni sulphides, synchysite-(Ce) and, probably, anhydrite. The olivine macrocrysts included orthopyroxene and ilmenite, and the olivine phenocrysts included Cr-spinel and Ti-magnetite inclusions. Crystal-fluid inclusions in fluorapatite from damtjernites contain calcite, clinopyroxene, dolomite, and barite. The data that were obtained confirm that the ultramafic lamprophyres of the Terina complex crystallized from peridotite mantle-derived carbonated melts and they have not undergone significant fractional crystallization. The investigated rocks are considered to be representative of melts that are derived from carbonate-rich mantle beneath the Siberian craton.

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Iron Isotopes Constrain the Metal Sources of Skarn Deposits: A Case Study from the Han-Xing Fe Deposit, China

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10110951 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 951

Author(s):

Bin Zhu ◽

Hongfu Zhang ◽

M. Santosh ◽

Benxun Su ◽

Pengfei Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Major Elements ◽

Ore Deposits ◽

Magmatic Fluid ◽

Skarn Deposit ◽

Mass Balance Calculation ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Fe Isotopes ◽

Magmatic Fluids ◽

Skarn Deposits

Magmatic fluids and leaching of rocks are regarded as the two sources of magmatic hydrothermal deposits, but their relative contributions to the metals in the deposits are still unclear. In this study, we combine major elements and Fe isotopes in two sets of rocks from the Han-Xing iron skarn deposit in China to constrain the iron sources. The positive correlation between the δ56Fe and ∑Fe2O3/TiO2 of altered diorites (∑Fe2O3 refers to the total iron) demonstrates that heavy Fe isotopes are preferentially leached from diorites during hydrothermal alteration. However, except for the pyrite, all the rocks and minerals formed in the skarn deposit are enriched in the light Fe isotope relative to the fresh/less altered diorites. Therefore, besides the leaching of rocks, the Fe isotopically light magmatic fluid also provides a large quantity of iron for this deposit. Based on the mass balance calculation, we conclude that iron from magmatic fluid is almost 2.6 times as large as that from the leaching of rocks. This is the first study to estimate the relative proportions of iron sources for Fe deposits by using Fe isotopes. Here, we propose that the high δ56Fe of magmatic intrusions combining the positive correlation between their ∑Fe2O3/TiO2 and δ56Fe could be taken as a fingerprint of exsolution or interaction with magmatic fluids, which contributes to the exploration of magmatic hydrothermal ore deposits.

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The chlorine-isotopic composition of lunar KREEP from magnesian-suite troctolite 76535

American Mineralogist ◽

10.2138/am-2020-7467 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 105 (8) ◽

pp. 1270-1274

Author(s):

Francis M. McCubbin ◽

Jessica J. Barnes

Keyword(s):

Isotopic Composition ◽

Melt Inclusions ◽

Melt Inclusion ◽

Isotopic Fractionation ◽

Magma Ocean ◽

Geochemical Composition ◽

Isotopic Compositions ◽

Stable Isotopic ◽

Lunar Samples

Abstract We conducted in situ Cl isotopic measurements of apatite within intercumulus regions and within a holocrystalline olivine-hosted melt inclusion in magnesian-suite troctolite 76535 from Apollo 17. These data were collected to place constraints on the Cl-isotopic composition of the last liquid to crystallize from the lunar magma ocean (i.e., urKREEP, named after its enrichments in incompatible lithophile trace elements like potassium, rare earth elements, and phosphorus). The apatite in the olivine-hosted melt inclusion and within the intercumulus regions of the sample yielded Cl-isotopic compositions of 28.3 ± 0.9‰ (2σ) and 30.3 ± 1.1‰ (2σ), respectively. The concordance of these values from both textural regimes we analyzed indicates that the Cl-isotopic composition of apatites in 76535 likely represents the Cl-isotopic composition of the KREEP-rich magnesian-suite magmas. Based on the age of 76535, these results imply that the KREEP reservoir attained a Cl-isotopic composition of 28–30‰ by at least 4.31 Ga, consistent with the onset of Cl-isotopic fractionation at the time of lunar magma ocean crystallization or shortly thereafter. Moreover, lunar samples that yield Cl-isotopic compositions higher than the value for KREEP are likely affected by secondary processes such as impacts and/or magmatic degassing. The presence of KREEP-rich olivine-hosted melt inclusions within one of the most pristine and ancient KREEP-rich rocks from the Moon provides a new opportunity to characterize the geochemistry of KREEP. In particular, a broader analysis of stable isotopic compositions of highly and moderately volatile elements could provide an unprecedented advancement in our characterization of the geochemical composition of the KREEP reservoir and of volatile-depletion processes during magma ocean crystallization, more broadly.

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Conductive Channels in the Deep Oceanic Lithosphere Could Consist of Garnet Pyroxenites at the Fossilized Lithosphere–Asthenosphere Boundary

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10121107 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1107

Author(s):

Thomas P. Ferrand

Keyword(s):

Plate Tectonics ◽

Early Stage ◽

Experimental Petrology ◽

Oceanic Lithosphere ◽

High Conductivity ◽

Stability Field ◽

Cocos Plate ◽

Lithospheric Plates ◽

Oceanic Plates ◽

Garnet Stability Field

Magnetotelluric (MT) surveys have identified anisotropic conductive anomalies in the mantle of the Cocos and Nazca oceanic plates, respectively, offshore Nicaragua and in the eastern neighborhood of the East Pacific Rise (EPR). Both the origin and nature of these anomalies are controversial as well as their role in plate tectonics. The high electrical conductivity has been hypothesized to originate from partial melting and melt pooling at the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB). The anisotropic nature of the anomaly likely highlights high-conductivity channels in the spreading direction, which could be further interpreted as the persistence of a stable liquid silicate throughout the whole oceanic cycle, on which the lithospheric plates would slide by shearing. However, considering minor hydration, some mantle minerals can be as conductive as silicate melts. Here I show that the observed electrical anomaly offshore Nicaragua does not correlate with the LAB but instead with the top of the garnet stability field and that garnet networks suffice to explain the reported conductivity values. I further propose that this anomaly actually corresponds to the fossilized trace of the early-stage LAB that formed near the EPR about 23 million years ago. Melt-bearing channels and/or pyroxenite underplating at the bottom of the young Cocos plate would transform into garnet-rich pyroxenites with decreasing temperature, forming solid-state high-conductivity channels between 40 and 65 km depth (1.25–1.9 GPa, 1000–1100 °C), consistently with experimental petrology.

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