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Discovering Indicator Minerals for Kimberlites

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Discovering Indicator Minerals for Kimberlites

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Kimberlites are a variety of ultramafic volcanic and sub-volcanic rock and are the main source of diamonds worldwide. They occur as clusters of pipes probably along major crustal fracture zones. Common alteration minerals that can be detected by spectroscopy include biotite/phlogopite, Fe-amphibole, Fe, Mg chlorite, serpentine, calcite, saponite and nontronite. The primary indicator minerals for kimberlites are garnet, chromite, ilmenite, Crdiopside and olivine. Using EZ-ID with the three spectral libraries, a geologist can quickly identify an indicator mineral that may not be readily identifiable by sight, by matching an unknown sample against a known spectral library.

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