Chromite Deposits:

Petrogenesis and Spatio-Temporal

Distribution

A Class Presentation by : Abhisekh Ghosh, Amrita Mukherjee, Anwesha Ghosh,

Arijit Laik, Sanchari Chatterjee, Sandip Choudhuri, Shaibi Dhar, and Suman Datta
Metallogenic Provinces and Metallogenic Epochs
A metallogenic province is a notable concentration of deposits of a certain metal
or metals within a large region or belt with one of its dimensions reaching as
much as 1000 km or more.

Note: Not all deposits in a province formed at the same time.

A metallogenic epoch is a period of time during which a significant

concentration of deposits of one metal formed in one or more provinces.

Metallogenic Provinces in relation to Plate Tectonic Setting is tabulated as

follows-
Interior Basins Placer Gold deposits (e.g. Witwatersrand)
Unconformity type U deposits (e.g. Athabasca
sands).
Evaporites (e.g. Zechstein)

Mid-Ocean Ridge Cyprus type VMS

settings Alpine type chromite deposits
Some evaporites (Red Sea type setting)
Pb – Zn deposits associated with brine pools
(Red Sea)

Island Arcs VMS deposits (Kuroko type).

Porphyry Cu and porphyry Mo deposits
Skarn deposits (magnetite).

Volcanic Arcs Porphyry Cu and porphyry Mo deposits

Skarn deposits (magnetite).
Sn deposits

Strike-slip Kaolinite deposits

settings Coal
Placer deposits
Oil & Gas
Mississippi Valley type Pb-Zn deposits
Metallogenic Epochs:

Archean:
Phanerozoic:
1. Chromite(Stratiform)
2. PGM 1. Phosphorites: Proterozoic –
3. Cu- Fe – Ni Cambrian boundary
4. Au 2. Podiform (Alpine type)
5. Some VMS chromite
Proterozoic: 3. Coal: Carboniferous
4. PCD’s (Mesozoic)
1. Placer Au & U deposits 5. Residual (Cretaceous – Recent).
2. PGM
3. Chromite
4. BIF
5. Fe – Ti oxides with anorthosite
massifs.
6. Diamonds in kimberlites
7. Sediment hosted Cu
Introduction: Chromite
Deposits
Chromite: It’s composition and uses-
Chromite (FeCr₂O₄) is a mineral of the spinel group.

The general formula of spinel group being AB₂O₄

where A= divalent cations (Fe²+, Mg²+, Zn²+)

B= trivalent cations (Al³+, Fe³+, Cr³+) Chromite form Abania

Natural chromite (chrome spinel) has the general formula -

(Mg,Fe²+)(Cr,AI,Fe³+)2O4.

The Mg:(Mg+Fe²+) ratio of chromite (referred to as magnesium ratio) is largely

temperature dependent. The variation in the Cr:(Cr+AI) ratio of chromites
(referred to as chrome ratio) is due to Cr-Al substitution and it is controlled partly
by variation in total pressure.
Uses:
● Chromite is the only ore mineral of chromium, a metal in demand for its
alloying and refractory properties.
● It is normally marketed, according to usage, under three
categories (Stow 1987a):

A. Metallurgical ore (commonly Cr2O3 >40% and Cr:Fe ratio

>2.2), which is smelted to produce ferrochrome or ferro-silicochrome for
addition to the furnace charge for the manufacture of special steels,
including stainless steel.

A. Chemical ore (Cr2O3 >42%),

the raw material for the production of Cr-chemicals used in a variety of
applications such as paints and electroplating.

A. Refractory ore (SiO2 <10%, AI2O3>20%, Cr2O3

+ AI2O3>60%), used for foundry molding sands and furnace-lining
briquettes.
Chromite Deposits: Types
Chromite deposits are mainly classified as:
Stratiform Deposits
● Large, sheet-like bodies in layered
mafic to ultramafic igneous
complexes.
● Produce about a half of the globally
mined chromite but their chromite
reserves are ~ 98 % of the total
chromite reserves. Thus are
prospective for the future mining.
● Consist of multiple layers of
chromitite(a rock made mostly of
chromite)
● Layers are thin, (thickness 1 cm - 1
m), but laterally very extensive, with
lateral length up to 70 km.
● Example: Bushved complex, South
Africa; Sukinda valley(Orissa, India)
Podiform Deposits
● Confined to younger orogenic belts,
smaller than stratiform type, shaped
as pods, lenses & slabs.
● Show irregular form and erratic
distribution. A wide variation in size,
from a body weighing a few kgs to a
body weighing tens of tonnes.
● Often ophiolites or parts of
dismembered ophiolites (mostly
allochthonous and represent
transported fragments of oceanic
lithosphere)
● Example: Troodos, Cyprus; New
Caledonia; Cuba etc.
Stratiform deposit of Bushveld Complex, South Africa.
Various podiform chromitites.
Stratiform Deposits
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis

The textures of stratiform chromite deposits and their association with

ultramafic cumulates, indicate that the chromite-rich layers represent
segregation of chromite crystals that crystallized from a basaltic magma.

Additionally due to the very low solubility of chromium in basaltic magmas the
accumulation of stratiform chromitite layers must have involved the processing
of tremendous volumes of magma.
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis

FIG: A- Details of the Chromite–Olivine–SiO2 systems showing a possible

normal fractionation path for a liquid starting in the olivine phase field at point
‘a’. After Irvine (1975, 1977)
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis

The formation of thick chromitite layers has been a longstanding petrological

problem. Although there are several petrogenetic models that have been put
forward for the formation of stratiform chromite deposits.

These models can be classified as follows :

1. Magma- magma mixing

2. Contamination by a siliceous component

3. Pressure change on the magma chamber

4. Hydration of magma
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis

1. Magma- magma mixing

FIG:B- The mixing of most

primitive magma manifests as
the change in the crystallization
pathway
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis

2. Contamination by a siliceous component

FIG: C- Crystalization path of

the mafic parental magma when
it is extremely contaminated
with granitic material derived
from sialic roof rocks
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis
3. Pressure change on the magma chamber

FIG: D- Effect of changing

pressure on the chromite phase
field: Liquid on the olivine-
chromite cotectic at low
pressure (green circle on the
blue dashed line), will become
chromite saturated if pressure
on the chamber increases. After
the model suggested by Loferski
et al. (1990) and Lipin (1993).
Stratiform Deposits: Origin/Petrogenesis
4. Hydration of magma

FIG:E- Effect of H2O addition

to magma to expand the
olivine and chromite phase
fields: Liquid of
orthopyroxene-chromite
cotectic in a relatively ‘dry’
magma (green circle on the
red dashed line) becomes
saturated in chromite alone
with the shift of phase
boundaries after the addition
of H2O (blue solid line),
Redrawn after Ford et al. (1972)
Podiform Deposits
Podiform Deposits: Host Rock

● Podiform chromite deposit are associated with Alpine type ultramafic-mafic

complexes.
● Relatively small in size compared to layered complex
● Mostly Phanerozoic in age
● Two types- 1.Ophiolites, 2. Mantle diapirs
● Ophiolites are believed to have been generated initially at spreading centres
and subsequently obducted onto continental margins during plate
convergence(Coleman1977, Moores1982)
● The mechanism of emplacement is quite controversial(Dewey,1976)
● Mantle diapirs occur as small and lenticular isolated bodies of
ultramafic(peridotitic) composition and are believed to represent diapiric
emplacement of mantle material in a solid state
Podiform Deposits: Host Rock

The figure represents an ideal

ophiolite succession with likely
locations of sulfide and chromite
deposits. Podiform chromite bodies
(solid black blobs and rectangles)
tend to be most abundant in the
uppermost part of the tectonite unit
but also occur in deeper parts and in
the ultramafic cumulate unit
Podiform Deposit: Origin

● Cumulate texture ,cyclical layering, silicate gangue minerals are all evidence
of a magmatic origin
● The mechanism by which chromite is precipitated is not so well understood
● It is not clear why chromite are abundant in some mantle sections and
totally absent in others(Roberts,1988)
● Johan et al.(1983) and Auge(1987) suggested that chromium can be extracted
from magmas by a fluid phase, but there is no experimental evidence to
support this interpretation
● Contaminations by wall rock assimilation was proposed for chromite
formation in the Muskox(Irvine.1975)& Kemi(Alapeti et al.,1989) layered
intrusions because alkali rich inclusions occur in Chromites from these
bodies.
Podiform Deposit: Origin

● Most podiform chromite have dunite envelopes which grade outward into
harzburgite
● These envelopes are believed to have formed by melt rock interaction in the
same manner as dunite around many dikes in peridotite
(Dick,1977;Quick,1981;Bodinier et al.,1990;Dick and Natland,1995)
● As batches of relatively primitive, mafic magma rise through the host
peridotite, pyroxenes are dissolved from the wall rock, leaving behind a
dunite residue a few centimeters thick.
● The characteristic occurrence of dunite envelopes around podiform
chromites suggests a genetic relationship between the two
Podiform Deposit: Origin

● Removal of pyroxenes from the host peridotite by melt rock reaction would
increase the silica content of the magma as demonstrated by experimental
results(Fisk,1986;Kelemen et al.,1990)
● Such an increase in silica would move the melts from the olivine-chromite
cotectic into the primary phase field of chromite
● Once the melt has moved into the chromite stability field and chromite
starts to precipitate, the melt would migrate towards the olivine chromite
co-tectic, when olivine and chromite would again precipitate together.
● Batches of new magma rising through the conduit would mix with the
fractionated melts, moving them back into the chromite stability field.
Podiform Deposit: Origin
Podiform Deposit: Origin

● The interplay of melt- rock reaction, chromite fractionation and magma

mixing would lead to many fluctuations in melt composition, producing
both massive and disseminated chromites .
● Continuous melt rock interaction would result in the precipitation of
chromite alone to form massive ores. If the magmas and host rock reached
equilibrium and interaction ceased, chromite and olivine would precipitate
together to form disseminated ores.
Podiform Deposits: Tectonic Setting(s)
Podiform chromites are normally either high Cr or high Al in composition and
typically one type occurs in any given ophiolite. High Cr and high Al Chromites
differ in both bulk rock and mineral geochemistry.
The abundance of volatile and alkali rich minerals and fluid inclusions in
Chromite grains indicates high water content in parental magma which in turn
indicate formation in supra-subduction zone. Zhou and Robinson (1994)
suggested that podiform chromites primarily occur in supra-subduction zone
mantle sections and their chemical compositions can be correlated with
formation in different tectonic settings specifically island arcs and nascent
spreading centres such as back arc basins ( FIG 5).

High Cr Chromitite
Beneath island arcs there is a high input of volatiles from the subducted slab
into the overlying mantle wedge leading to high degrees of partial melting and
the formation of boninitic or highly depleted tholeiitic melts. In this
environment the old lithospheric mantle immediately beneath the crust will be
invaded by large volumes of melt generated at depth by melting of depleted
harzburgites. The new magma will rise through and react with the old mantle
producing pods of high Cr chromitites with dunite envelopes.
Podiform Deposits: Tectonic Setting(s)
However some podiform chromitites could still form from melt-rock reactions
because melt compositions in these environment may change with time. For
example in Troodos ophiolite of Cyprus the melt became increasingly depleted
in time changing from highly enriched andesites and dacites to depleted tholeiite
to highly depleted boninites. Such depleted melt presumably form at depth
either by partial melting or remelting of progressively depleted source
(Crawford 1989). As the melt separate out from their source rocks and move
upwards through the mantle, they are no longer in equilibrium with the host
rocks and would react with them.

Ophiolites formed in such environments would be characterised by depleted

mantle peridotites produced by high degrees of partial melting. The magmas
from which chromitites crystallized will be more refractory than the host
peridotites and will react strongly with them producing high Cr chromitites.
Podiform Deposits: Tectonic Setting(s)
High Al Chromitite

In nascent spreading centres such as in back arc basin, melts will still be
generated in mantle wedges above subduction zone but less volatiles are added to
the wedge and the degree of partial melting is lower. The lower degree of partial
melting will produce less depleted magmas from which high Al chromites
crystallize. Melt generated by partial melting will rise into the pre-existing
lithospheric mantle which is thinned during spreading. As the melt passes
through the upper asthenosphere and lithospheric mantle, they react with the
wall rocks and precipitates high Al chromitites. However these melt are not far as
out of equilibrium with their host rocks as those beneath island arcs and less
reaction takes place. The residual peridotites formed in this environment would
be moderately depleted Cpx bearing harzburgites or lherzolites.

In new Caledonia, high Cr and high Al chromitites hosted in harzburgites and

lherzolite respectively associated with paleo-transform fault which suggest
formation in forearc environment where hot asthenosphere rising along
transform fault where subduction is initiated.
Podiform Deposits: Tectonic Setting(s)

Why Mature Spreading Centres Do Not Host Chromitite?

Beneath mature spreading centres such as those of mid oceanic ridges, pre-
existing lithospheric mantle is thinned and removed during spreading MORB
magmas remain remarkably constant through time. Thus magmas formed at
depth are relatively equilibrated with the wall rocks through which they pass and
little reaction takes place. Because the magma composition would not be
modified significantly by melt-rock reaction, no large chromite bodies will form.
Podiform Deposits: Tectonic Setting(s)

FIG 5: The diagram illustrates relationship between tectonic environment and

formation of podiform chromitites of different composition.
Podiform deposit:
Petrography and Textures
Petrography and Textures:

Silicates associated with chromite in podiform chromitites are mainly olivine

and, rarely, pyroxenes and plagioclase. Olivine in chromitites usually suffers
from hydration (formation of chlorite and serpentines) as compared with that in
surrounding peridotites. Chromite grains are mostly anhedral to subhedral.
Chromites in some podiform chromitites characteristically contain minute
inclusions of solid phases such as pargasite, aspidolite (the Na analogue of
phlogopite), diopside, enstatite, phlogopite, and sulfides.

● Chromite microstructures in chromitites:

Chromitites may show a wide range of primary microstructures,

Petrography and Textures :

The microstructures of chromitites can be classified into three groups:

(1) Massive (>80% chromite)

(2) Semi-massive (80–30% chromite)

(3) Disseminated (<30% chromite)

“Podiform chromitites” may mean chromitites that have pod-like bodies, but the
form of chromitite bodies is variable.

Specific varieties include nodular, orbicular and anti nodular types, found only
in ophiolitic chromitites, as well as banded, vein, net, breccia and schlieren
microstructures.
Petrography and Textures :

● Massive chromitites show two main types of structure (Leblanc and

Nicolas, 1992):

(1) A “compact” type with little scarce intergranular space, made up of large
equidimensional grains of chromite that may show curved faces and/or triple
junctions.

(2) Anhedral grains of chromite separated by an olivine matrix.

Chromite grains in semi-massive and disseminated chromitites show the whole

range of morphology but are predominantly euhedral against matrix olivine, and
less frequently subhedral to anhedral.
Petrography and Textures :

● Nodular chromitites consist of spherical or ovoid masses of chromite in a

matrix of dunite. Individual chromite nodules are as much as a few
centimetres in size and, in many cases, ovoid varieties exhibit a crude
alignment.
● Antinodular chromitites the chromitite surrounds relatively larger ovoid
masses of olivine (±chromite).
● Orbicular structures consists ellipsoidal or rounded cores of dunite,
enclosed by shells of chromite. The orbicules are usually set in a dunite
matrix, which contains chemically similar euhedral chromite grains. The
orbicular textures may grade to nodular as the dunite cores become smaller
and the chromite shells thicker.
● Schlieren chromitites are irregular lensoid disseminations of chromite in a
dunite matrix. The grains of chromite may show a wide range of
morphology from skeletal to euhedral.
Petrography and Textures :

● Banded chromitites consist of alternating layers of chromite and dunite.

Such banding usually parallels the long axis of the chromitite pods or lenses,
which may be parallel to the foliation in the host pridotites.
● However,they can also represent stringers or veins of chromite grains or
massive chromitite, forming anastomosing chains and coalescing laterally .
These entwined stringers of chromite or veins of massive chromitite may
surround lenses or patches of olivine forming a network texture or may cut
through a dunite broken up into angular fragments, giving rise to a breccia
of dunite in chromitite. Conversely, veinlets of dunite or mafic rocks (e.g.
gabbros; Proenza et al.,2001) may cut the chromitite, producing brecciated
chromitites, with angular or subangular pieces of massive chromitite in a
dunitic or gabbroic matrix.
 Petrography and Textures :

FIG 6. Photographs of chromite

microstructures in ophiolitic
chromitites.

(a) and (b)massive chromitites in

contact with host dunite. Arrows in (b)
indicate small chromitite veins
penetrating into dunite.

(c) Sharp contact between a nodular

chromitites and dunite.

(d) A late dyke of nodular chromitite

cuts pre-existing dunite with
disseminated chromite.

(e) A vein of nodular chromitite

intrudes a chromite-free dunite.
Petrography and Textures :
FIG 6. Photographs of chromite
microstructures in ophiolitic
chromitites.

(f) Aligned nodules of chromite in

olivine-matrix are surrounded by
stringers of chromite, marking a
former melt-film network.

(g) Chromite-free dunite containing

nodules of chromite interconnected by
thin veins of chromite

(h), (i) and (j) represent different stages

of agglomeration of nodules to
produce massive chromitites.
Petrography and Textures :
FIG 6. Photographs of chromite
microstructures in ophiolitic
chromitites.

(k) Nodular chromitite with a

troctolite matrix composed of
plagioclase and olivine. The cores of
chromite nodules are rich in
plagioclase inclusions.

(l) Antinodular chromitite showing

rounded patches of dunite with
disseminated chromite.

(m) Breccia of chromitite produced by

intrusion of a late pegmatitic gabbro.

(n) Schlieren of chromite in dunite

Petrography and Textures :

FIG 7. Microphotograph of orbicular

(ring-shaped) chromitites set in
dunite with disseminated chromite
(black).

Src: Zhou et al. 2001

Petrography and Textures :

FIG 6. Photographs (a), (k) and (m) are from the Mayarí-Baracoa ophiolite, Cuba;

(n) Dobromirsti ophiolite, Central Rhodope, Bulgaria;

(j) and (f) Coolac Serpentinite Belt, Australia;

(b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), and (l) Lycian ophiolite, southwestern Turkey.

Sources:

J.M. González-Jiménez et al. / Lithos 189 (2014) 140–158

Robinson, Paul T., et al.(1997)

Zhou et al. 2001

 Chromite Genesis:
Mechanisms, Models and the
enigma*
Fact vs Models

a representation of
an idea, an object
or even a process
or a system that is
used to describe
and explain
phenomena that
cannot be
experienced
directly
Stratiform:
Magma Mixing
Somewhat Accepted Model(s)

Formation of monomineralic chromitite layers may occur via various processes

such:

Increase in total pressure within the magma chamber (Cameron, 1977; Lipin,
1993; Cawthorn, 2005), or an increase in pressure due to shock waves associated
with earthquakes (Cawthorn, 2015), assimilation by the parental magma of
siliceous country rocks or roof rocks (Irvine, 1975; Kinnaird et al., 2002;Spandler
et al., 2005), mixing of a primitive (ultramafic U-type) and an evolved
(anorthositic A-type) magma (e.g., Sharpe and Irvine, 1983), or mixing of
magmas of differing temperatures and fO2 (Cameron and Desborough, 1969;
Ulmer, 1969; Murck and Campbell, 1986), replenishment of the magma chamber
by chromite-crystal bearing mush (e.g., Eales, 2000; Mondal and Mathez,2007;
Eales and Costin, 2012), and lastly, the addition of water (e.g., Nicholson and
Mathez, 1991;Sisson and Grove, 1993; Gaetani et al., 1994).[]
Possibly the most Widely Accepted Model

Magma Mixing: Irvine (1977) showed that in the MgO-Cr 2 O 3 -SiO 2 system
mixing of a chemically primitive melt on the olivine-chromite cotectic with a
more evolved cotectic melt or even one saturated in orthopyroxene may result in
a mixture saturated in chromite alone, as a result of the manner in which the
olivine-chromite cotectic is curved.

Note: For Specific Deposits/Site, Literature suggests that: one or a combination

of these models might explain and or fail to explain the genesis from the point
of view of the available evidences (petrological and or geochemical)
For Example

Irvine (1975) proposed that chromitite layers may have formed by the
contamination of mafic magma by silica from digestion of granitic roof rocks.
He subsequently rejected the idea, pointing out that the addition of alkalis would
shift the olivine-orthopyroxene reaction boundary toward silica such that
‘geologically improbable amounts of contamination would be required to induce
the crystallization change.

Nicholson & Mathez (1991) proposed that the thin chromitite seams of the
Merensky Reef formed at fronts of hydrous interstitial melt migrating through
the crystal pile. BUT The formation of a chromitite by this mechanism would
require dissolution of about 50 times its mass in clinopyroxene and nearly 100
times its mass in orthopyroxene, based on the observed Cr contents of these
minerals.
Podiform: Melt-Rock
(inter/re)action
The reaction between harzburgite and magma is an essential process in the
formation of silica-rich magmas and dunitic residues (e.g., Araiand Yurimoto,
1994, 1995; Arai, 1997) along the melt conduit in the mantle (Lago et al., 1982).

It should be noted that the reaction comprises consumption of orthopyroxene to

produce olivine and secondary melt as well as precipitation of olivine to promote
orthopyroxene decomposition.

The silica-rich magma thus formed, is mixed in the mantle melt conduit with a
subsequently supplied less modified, olivine-chromite saturated, melt to form
chromite-oversaturated melts which precipitate solely chromites (= chromitites)
in varied textural manifestations
Mantle-derived olivine-chromite saturated melt (A) reacted with orthopyroxene of the harzburgite to
form silica-rich melt (B) and dunite. The silica-rich melt (B) mixed with the intact mantle-derived melt
(A) to produce a chromite-oversaturated melt (C), which precipitated only chromite to form chromitites.
(Arai and Makoto, 2016)
Small-scale chromitite from Wadi Hilti, Oman ophiolite.
Arai and Miura (2016)
Wall-rock chemical control of chromitite formation. (a) Hypothetical system olivine-SiO 2-chromite (Cr-spinel + Al-
spinel). (b) A high-Cr# system. PM is primary magma. SM is secondary silica-rich magma formed by the reaction. (c)
A low-Cr# system. (d, f) Photomicrographs of olivine-rich reaction products between orthopyroxene in peridotite
xenoliths (d, harzburgite; e, lherzolite) and the host alkali basalt from Kawashimo, Japan. Note the chromite
concentration only around the harzburgite orthopyroxene. (Arai and Miura 2016
The large-scale system needed for chromitite formation. A large space for Cr uptake through a magma-peridotite
reaction is indispensable for formation of chromitite in a limited space. If a large area for Cr uptake is available,
chromitites can be formed even within highly depleted harzburgite. (Arai and Miura 2016)
 High -AI
High-Cr

After Zhou, 1994

Numerous droplets rich in Si and Crystallization of chromite forms a
Cr, formed through melt/rock "snowball" with a shell of chromite in
interaction, reach the main magma a turbulent, moving magma
body separately

After Zhou, 2001

Snowballing and condensation of Deposition of nodular ores as the
chromite shells form nodular magma cools.
textures

After Zhou, 2001

Several stages of hybridization and chromite accumulation in high-pressure?? melt droplets
immersed in low-pressure?? melt. The hybrid layer (shaded grey with small chromite nuclei).
initially less dense than the high-pressure melt droplet it surrounds, would tend to form a
buoyant cap on top of the melt blob. From there it would channel downward into the blob after
sufficient chromite nucleation has increased its bulk density. (Ballhaus,1998)
Ophiolites...
Competing models for the formation of ophiolites (modified after Pearce,
2014). (a) The conventional mid-ocean ridge model; (b) the subduction
initiation model.
Mid Oceanic Ridge? Chromite?

H.R. Rollinson, J. Adetunji S. Arai, M. Miura

Mantle podiform chromitites do not form Podiform chromitites do form beneath

beneath ocean ridges: a case study from the mid-ocean ridges
Moho transition zone of the Oman ophiolite ………………………………………….

Lithos, 177 (2013), pp. 314-327 Lithos, 232 (2015), pp. 143-149

Comment on ‘Podiform chromitites do form Reply to the comment of rollinson and

beneath mid-ocean ridges’ by Arai, S. and adetunji “podiform chromitites do form
Miura, M beneath mid-ocean ridges”

Lithos, 254–255 (2016), pp. 131-133 Lithos, 254(255), pp.134-136.

 It has been proposed on the basis that large chromitite pods, common in many
ophiolites, had not been reported from modern mid-ocean ridge samples
obtained either through dredging or drilling that podiform chromitites in the
mantle harzburgite section of ophiolites only form in a subduction zone setting
and do not form during mid-ocean ridge magmatism at all. Thus they have the
potential to act as a powerful discriminant between the two different tectonic
environments (Rollinson and Adetunji, 2013, 2016), although this proposal has
been disputed (Arai and Miura, 2015).

It is almost impossible to see intact oceanic lithosphere via ophiolites, and so it

is essentially difficult to deny the presence of appreciable-sized podiform
chromitites in the oceanic mantle from the information obtained from
ophiolites. Arai et al. maintain that podiform chromitites are present in the
segment-centre mantle of slow- and fast-spreading ridges, which can be only
examined by deep ocean drilling into mantle drilling such as the Mohole project
(Arai and Miura, 2015) and also suggest that podiform chromitites can form
available, e.g., in an intraplate setting (e.g., Wagner and Grove, 1998), if the
optimum conditions are satisfied, i.e., availability of harzburgite and reaction
with magma
Global and Indian
Distribution
MAJOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF
CHROMITE
MAJOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF
CHROMITE
❖ STRATIFORM TYPE

DEPOSIT NAME AGE BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Bushveld Complex(South- About 2 Ga Thickness of stratiform vary from 30-90 can.It is

Africa) actually the richest chromite deposits of
world.Chromite mainly occurs in association
with norite and ore body is mainly contained by
sulphide layer.

The Great Dyke(Zimbabwe) 2.575 Ga Chromite mainly occurs in association with

harzburgite,dunite,pyroxinite. Lowermost layer
of ultramafic sequence usually contain chromite.

Stillwater Complex(USA) 2700 Ma Three zones has been identified,

Lowermost zone consists of chilled gabbro
overlained by norite,middle zone is ore bearing
ultramafic zone with
hurzburgite,bronzite,chromitite.
And uppermost zone is formed of anorthosite
MAJOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF
CHROMITE
❖ STRATIFORM TYPE

DEPOSIT NAME AGE BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Bacuri ultramafic complex 2.2 Ga Large layered intrusion has been

(Brazil) identified,thickness may vary from 30-120 cm.
Occur in association with dunite,norite etc

Kemi complex(Finland) 2.44 Ga Hosted mainly in early Proterozoic

time.Lowermost part of the intrusion contain
peridotite ana pyroxinite along with chromite
ore.Uppermost part is lacked of mafic
rocks.Chromite grain suffer alteration but central
part represent original composition.
MAJOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF
❖ PODIFORM TYPE
CHROMITE
DEPOSIT NAME AGE BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Ural Mountain(Perm mining 300-550 Ma age Eastern region of Ural contain

district) 300-550 Ma age podiform deposits of
chromite.chromite occurs along
with platinum,gold etc

Albania Mainly come from Bulqiza and

Bartra mines.In 1980 it was third
highest chromite producing
country.This deposits are of very
high quality chromite.
Cr:Fe is 2.5:1

Ladakh and Manipurarea(India) Precambrian in age They mainly occur in nodular

form in association with dunite
and serpentinite.Emplaced into
Precambrian in ag Mesozoic-Tertiary geosynclines

Turkey Like Albania the deposits of

Turkey is also very high
grade,containing upto 38% of Cr
INDIAN DISTRIBUTION OF CHROMITE
❖ STRATIFORM TYPE
STATE LOCATION

Bihar Jojohatu near chaibasa(Singhbhum)

Andhra Pradesh Kondapalli(Krishna district)

Tamilnadu Sitampundi complex(salem district)

Orissa Sukinda and katpal(Cuttack)

Nausahi(keonjhar)

Jammu Kashmir Dras(Kargil)

Karnataka Sindhuvalli and Byarapur(Mysore)

Maharastra Pauni( Bhandara)

Kankauli(Ratnagiri)
MAJOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF
CHROMITE
❖ PODIFORM TYPE

STATE LOCATION

Manipur Sirohi peak,Nepali basti(Ukhrul)

Ladakh Indus suture zone

WORLD RESOURCE OF CHROMITE
TOTAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE(USGS)
References and Further
Reading List
Evans, Anthony M. Ore geology and industrial minerals: an introduction. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

Misra, Kula. Understanding mineral deposits. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.

Roberts, Stephen, and Christopher Neary. "Petrogenesis of ophiolitic chromitite." Geological Society,
London, Special Publications 76.1 (1993): 257-272.

Arai, Shoji. "Origin of podiform chromitites." Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 15.2-3 (1997): 303-310.

Ballhaus, Chris. "Origin of podiform chromite deposits by magma mingling." Earth and Planetary
Science Letters 156.3-4 (1998): 185-193.

Mukherjee, Ria, et al. "Compositional variations in the Mesoarchean chromites of the Nuggihalli schist
belt, Western Dharwar Craton (India): potential parental melts and implications for tectonic setting."
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160.6 (2010): 865-885.

Lago, Bernard L., MICHEL RABINOWICZ, and ADOLPHE NICOLAS. "Podiform chromite ore bodies: a
genetic model." Journal of Petrology 23.1 (1982): 103-125.

Robinson, Paul T., et al. "Podiform chromitites: their composition, origin and environment of formation."
Episodes (1997).

Deb, S., and K. L. Chakraborty. "Origin of chromite deposits associated with the ultrabasic rocks of the
eastern part of the Indian peninsula." Proceedings of the National Institute of Sciences of India Part A,
Physical sciences. Vol. 27. No. 5. 1962.
ZHOU, Mei‐Fu, et al. "Crystallization of podiform chromitites from silicate magmas and the formation of
nodular textures." Resource Geology 51.1 (2001): 1-6.

Schulte, Ruth F., et al. Stratiform chromite deposit model. No. 2010-1232. US Geological Survey, 2010.

Pearce, Julian A., S. J. Lippard, and S. Roberts. "Characteristics and tectonic significance of supra-
subduction zone ophiolites." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 16.1 (1984): 77-94.

Stowe, Clive William. "Compositions and tectonic settings of chromite deposits through time." Economic
Geology 89.3 (1994): 528-546.