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International audienceIn New Caledonian Ni deposits, the richest Ni silicate ores occur in fractures within the bedrock and saprolite, generally several tens of meters to hundred meters below the present-day surface. Fracture-related Ni silicate ore accounts for high Ni grades, at least a few weight percent above the average exploited grade (2.5 %). These Ni-rich veins are affected by active dissolution-precipitation processes at the level of the water table. Ni in solution is precipitated as silicates in thin layer cementing joints. This mineralization is characterized by chemical and mineralogical concentric zoning with an outer green rim around an inner white zone composed, from the edge to the centre of the block, (i) a highly oxidized and altered zone, (ii) a green pure Ni-rich pimelite zone, (iii) a zone (limited to a few centimetres) with a mixture of Ni-poor kerolite and Ni-rich pimelite and intermediate colours and (iv) a large white Mg-kerolite mineralization zone. This study proposes that the concentric zonation results from evapo-precipitation process related to alternate periods of hydration and drying, induced by water table movements. This extensive dispersion of Ni in concentrically zoned ores can partly explain the rather monotonous Ni grade of the bulk exploitation at the base of the regolith with values between 2 and 3 wt%

The stable isotope compositions of veins provide information on the conditions of fluid-rock interaction and on the origin of fluids and temperatures. In New Caledonia, magnesite and silica veins occur throughout the Peridotite Nappe. In this work, we present stable isotope and clumped isotope data in order to constrain the conditions of fluid circulation and the relationship between fluid circulation and nickel ore-forming laterization focusing on the Koniambo Massif. For magnesite veins occurring at the base of the nappe, the high d18O values between 27.8‰ and 29.5‰ attest to a low temperature formation. Clumped isotope analyses on magnesite give temperatures between 26°C and 42°C that are consistent with amorphous silica -magnesite oxygen isotope equilibrium. The meteoric origin of the fluid is indicated by calculated d18Owater values between -3.4‰ to +1.5‰ Amorphous silica associated with magnesite or occurring in the coarse saprolite level displays a narrow range of d18O values between 29.7‰ and 35.3‰. For quartz veins occurring at the top of the bedrock and at the saprolite level, commonly in association with Ni-talc-like minerals, the d18O values are lower, between 21.8‰ and 29.0‰ and suggest low-temperature hydrothermal conditions (~40-95°C). Thermal equilibration of the fluid along the geothermic gradient before upward flow through the nappe and/or influence of exothermic reactions of serpentinization could be the source(s) of heat needed to form quartz veins under such conditions. Dear Editor, Please find attached the revised version of manuscript #GCA-D-15-00678, entitled "Paired stable isotope (O, C) and clumped isotope thermometry of magnesite and silica veins in the New Caledonia Peridotite Nappe", by B. Quesnel, P. Boulvais , P. Gautier, M. Cathelineau, C.M. John, M. Dierick, P. Agrinier and M. Drouillet, which required moderate revisions before final acceptance for publication in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. You can find on this file our answers (in red below) to reviewer's comments. Accordingly to these comments, the text and some figures have been modified. For the text, we have let these changes visible on the manuscript to make easier your lecture. Note also that we have taken into account the minor editorial suggestions of reviewers (for example those noticed in yellow boxes in pdf files); these changes do not appear in the new version. We have also built new tables that could be useful for the geochemists community; these calculations have been suggested by reviewers 1 and reviewer A. Gilg (we now present a temperature range for quartz formation of 40-95°C, instead of 40-80°C in the previous version; conclusions remain unchanged). These tables are introduced as electronic supplements to preserve the ms as short and clear as it was.Best regards, Benoit Quesnel and co-authors *Cover LetterDear Editor, Please find attached the revised version of manuscript #GCA-D-15-00678, entitled "Paired stable isotope (O, C) and clumped isotope thermometry of magnesite and silica veins in the ...

International audienceThe weathering of mantle peridotite tectoni-cally exposed to the atmosphere leads commonly to natural carbonation processes. Extensive cryptocrystalline mag-nesite veins and stock-work are widespread in the ser-pentinite sole of the New Caledonia ophiolite. Silica is systematically associated with magnesite. It is commonly admitted that Mg and Si are released during the laterization of overlying peridotites. Thus, the occurrence of these veins is generally attributed to a per descensum mechanism that involves the infiltration of meteoric waters enriched in dissolved atmospheric CO 2. In this study, we investigate serpentinite carbonation processes, and related silicifica-tion, based on a detailed petrographic and crystal chemical study of serpentinites. The relationships between serpen-tine and alteration products are described using an original method for the analysis of micro-X-ray fluorescence images performed at the centimeter scale. Our investigations highlight a carbonation mechanism, together with precipitation of amorphous silica and sepiolite, based on a dis-solution–precipitation process. In contrast with the per descensum Mg/Si-enrichment model that is mainly concentrated in rock fractures, dissolution–precipitation process is much more pervasive. Thus, although the texture of rocks remains relatively preserved, this process extends more widely into the rock and may represent a major part of total carbonation of the ophiolite

International audienceSets of fractures and breccia sealed by Ni-rich silicates and quartz occur within saprock of the New Caledonian regolith developed over ultramafic rocks. The crystallization sequence in fractures is as follows: (1) serpentine stage: lizardite > polygonal serpentine > white lizardite; (2) Ni stage: Ni-Mg kerolite followed by red-brown microcrystalline quartz; and (3) supergene stages. The red-brown microcrystalline quartz corresponds to the very last stage of the Ni sequence and is inferred to have precipitated within the 50–95 °C temperature range. It constitutes also the main cement of breccia that has all the typical features of hydraulic fracturing. The whole sequence is therefore interpreted as the result of hydrothermal fluid circulation under medium to low temperature and fluctuating fluid pressure. Although frequently described as the result of a single downward redistribution of Ni and Mg leached in the upper part of the regolith under ambient temperature, the Ni silicate veins thus appear as the result of recurrent crack and seal process, corresponding to upward medium temperature fluid convection, hydraulic fracturing and subsequent fluid mixing, and mineral deposition

We present a structural analysis of serpentine-bearing faults and shear zones in the Koniambo Massif, one of the klippes of the Peridotite Nappe of New Caledonia. Three structural levels are recognized. The upper level is characterized by a dense network of fractures. Antigorite and polygonal serpentine form slickenfibers along fault planes with distinct kinematics. As a result, the upper level keeps the record of at least two deformation events, the first associated with the growth of antigorite (WNW-ESE extension), the second with the growth of polygonal serpentine (NW-SE compression). The lower level coincides with the 'serpentine sole' of the nappe, which consists of massive tectonic breccias overlying a layer of mylonitic serpentinites. The sole records pervasive tangential shear with top-to-SW kinematics and represents a décollement at the base of the nappe. The intermediate level is characterized by

International audienceResulting from the weathering of the Peridotite Nappe, laterites are abundant in New Caledonia and host one of the largest nickel deposits worldwide. This work presents a 3D model of the Koniambo nickel laterite ore deposit. It shows that the laterites are located along the ridges of the massif and organized as hectometric-sized patches obliquely cut by the topography and distributed at various elevations. Three kinds of geometry were observed: (i) a thick laterite cover (between 20 and 40 m) overlying saprolite and mainly localized on topographic highs, (ii) a thin laterite cover (from a few meters to 20 m) mainly localized on areas with gentle slopes, and (iii) exposure of saprolite without laterite cover. Our data show that Ni-rich and Ni-poor areas are organized as hectometric-sized patches which broadly correlate with the distribution of the laterite thickness. The highest Ni areas are localized on slopes where laterite cover is thin or absent. The areas with lowest Ni are located in topographic highs under the thickest laterite cover. The vertical Ni mass balance for each borehole shows that, in areas with thick laterite cover, Ni is sub-equilibrated to slightly depleted whereas in areas with thin laterite cover, Ni is enriched. This suggests the existence of lateral infiltration of water rich in dissolved Ni, from areas such as topographic highs to downstream slope areas, in a process leading to enrichment of saprolite in Ni in slope areas. Mechanical transport and leaching of laterite material on slopes, including Ni-bearing material, could also contribute to local enrichment of Ni in the saprolite

During the Albian, the hyperextension of the Pyrenean passive margin led to a hyperthinning of the continental crust and the subsequent subcontinental mantle exhumation. The giant Trimouns talc-chlorite deposit represents the most prominent occurrence of Albian metasomatism in the Pyrenees, with the occurrence of the largest talc deposit worldwide. Consequently, this deposit, which is located on a fault zone and a lithological contact, represents one of the major drains at the scale of the Pyrenees and one of the best geological targets in order to determine the origin(s) of the fluid(s) that circulated during this period. Talc-chlorite ore is characterized by the presence of brines trapped in dolomite, quartz, and calcite fluid inclusions in the vicinity of the talc-rich zone. Considered as being responsible for the formation of talc, these fluids may be interpreted in several ways: (i) primary brines expelled from Triassic evaporites, (ii) secondary brines produced through halite leaching by diagenetic/metamorphic fluids, and (iii) brines derived from seawater serpentinization of mantle rocks. Stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ18O, δD, and δ37Cl) and Cl/Br ratio measurements in fluid inclusions and their host minerals were carried out in order to determine the origin of the fluid(s) involved in the formation of the ore deposit. The data are consistent with a primary brine origin for the mineralizing fluid, which could have been expelled from the Triassic levels. Other hypotheses have been tested, for example, the production of brines via the seawater concentration during serpentinization. The geochemical proxies used in this study provide equivocal results. The first hypothesis is by far the most realistic one considering the numerous occurrences of Trias formations nearby, their deformation during the extension, and the drainage of the expulsed brines as evidenced by the high-salinity fluid inclusions found all around the deposit. Alternatively, the exhumation of the mantle is considered as a major source of heat and stress that favored brine migration along the major shear zones. Our results fit well with brine circulation in a hyperextensional geodynamic context, which is related to the formation of the talc-chlorite ore, the thinning of the continental crust, and the exhumation of the subcontinental mantle, in accordance with recent works.