Experimental study of ore gabbro liquid immiscibility

In this paper, the authors present the results of a preliminary experimental study on partial melting of fine-grained gabbro, Panzhihua, Sichuan Province, China. Experiments were conducted under (confining) pressure ranging from 450 to 500 MPa and temperature of 900–1200°C. The results show that the initial melt is distributed along grain boundaries and triple junctions. Liquid immiscibility phenomena are noted in the melt with two compositional different melt phases, i.e. matrix and sphere phases. The matrix phase is relatively rich in Si, Al and K, and is depleted in Mg, Fe, Ca, Na and Ti, whereas the sphere phase shows opposite trends. The calculation of the melt free energy indicates that the liquid immiscibility is governed by the rule of thermodynamics, as the liquid immiscibility would result in the decrease in free energy of the melt system. The field relationships suggest that the liquid immiscibility may have played an important role in the generation of ore magma of Panzhihua V-Ti magnetite ore deposit. This study thus provides experimental constraints on the mechanism of the formation of V-Ti magnetite deposite.