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Moissanite in serpentinite from the Dabie Mountains in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

Shutong Xu ,
Weiping Wu ,
Wansheng Xiao ,
Jingsui Yang ,
Jing Chen ,
Shouyuan Ji  and
Yican Liu
Shutong Xu
Affiliation:
Anhui Institute of Geology, 19# Ningguo Road, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230001, China Laboratory of Continental Dynamics of Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Beijing, 100037, China
Weiping Wu
Affiliation:
Anhui Institute of Geology, 19# Ningguo Road, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230001, China
Wansheng Xiao
Affiliation:
Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China
Jingsui Yang
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Continental Dynamics of Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Beijing, 100037, China
Jing Chen
Affiliation:
School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China
Shouyuan Ji
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210008, China
Yican Liu
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
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Abstract

Although moissanite has been found in various rocks, reliable primary moissanite has been reported only from kimberlites and meteorites. The Dabie Mountain moissanite reported in this paper is the first occurrence of primary moissanite hosted by serpentinite. It differs from synthetic silicon carbide in optical properties, inclusions and infrared spectrum. The biaxiality of the Dabie Mountain moissanite is thought to be the result of intracrystal deformation. In reference to the ultrahigh pressure (7—8 GPa) signature of exsolution of rod-like apatite, clinopyroxene and rutile in garnets, and magnetite lamellae in olivine reported in the Dabieshan, we inferred that the moissanite from the Dabie Mountains was probably generated at a depth of 180 km; and then subducted to a depth of 210—250 km, where the moissanite became biaxial before its exhumation.

Keywords

moissanitesynthetic carbideserpentiniteDabie MountainsChina
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 72 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 899 - 908
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2008

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