<p>EN-101, a rare albitite [Pl +Fe-Ti oxide +Ap +Zrn] xenolith from Elie Ness, Scottish Midland Valley, is hosted by a c. 290 Ma old alkali basaltic diatreme [1, 2].&#160; EN-101 is considered to belong to the Scottish &#8220;anorthoclasite suite&#8221; comprising xenoliths and megacrysts of various compositions which are interpreted as samples from the upper mantle &#8211; lower crust where they form (syenitic) vein or dyke-like bodies e.g., [3, 4, 5]. The &#8220;anorthoclasite suite&#8221; has been found in all Scottish terranes suggesting that the presumed dyke system must be extensive.</p><p>Xenoliths of the &#8220;anorthoclasite suite&#8221; primarily consist of Na-rich and Ca-poor feldspar megacrysts, with generally high Na/K ratios [3] that are typically accompanied by accessory zircon, apatite, biotite, magnetite and Fe-rich pyroxene whereas garnet and corundum with Nb-rich oxides are only occasionally present [3, 4, 5]. Upton et al. [4, 5] argued that the parental melt of the &#8220;anorthoclasite suite&#8221; formed though small&#8211;fraction melting of metasomatized mantle and subsequent melt&#8211;solid phase reaction was also involved.&#160; Upton et al. [5] proposed that crystallization of the anorthoclasite suite samples occurred shortly prior to- or contemporaneously with their entrainment. However so far no in-situ dating has been carried out on these samples.</p><p>Early attempts to date the anorthoclasite suite using zircon and feldspar megacrysts from Elie Ness suggested at least a two-stage formation mechanism, where zircon megacrysts yielded a U-Pb age of c. 318&#160;Ma, while euhedral feldspar xenocrysts are significantly younger and roughly coeval with the host volcanism yielding a K-Ar whole-rock age of c. 294 Ma [6].&#160; In this study we present the first in situ U-Pb dating of zircon, which yielded a concordia age of 328 &#177; 2 Ma (MSWD=0.19; n=12) for EN-101. Zircons &#949;Hf<sub>328</sub> values range from +5.2 to +7.5 consistent with a mildly depleted source refreshed by metasomatism. These results may indicate that the proposed extensive syenitic veining within the Scottish upper mantle not only has a complex source [5], but is possibly the result of repeated episodes of magma intrusion.</p><p>References:</p><ol><li>Gernon, T.M. et al. 2013 Bulletin of Volcanology. 75:1-20.</li>
<li>Gernon, T.M. et al. 2016 Lithos. 264:70-85.</li>
<li>Aspen, P. et al. 1990 European Journal of Mineralogy 2:503-17.</li>
<li>Upton, B.G.J. et al. 1990 Journal of Petrology.40:935-56.</li>
<li>Upton, B.G.J. et al. 2009 Mineral Mag. 73:943-56.</li>
<li>Macintyre, R.M. et al. 1981 Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 72:1-7.</li>
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