Small-scale Sr and O isotope variations through the UG2 in the eastern Bushveld Complex: The role of crustal fluids

A detailed study of the Sr- and O- isotopic composition of minerals in the Upper Group 2 (UG2) unit of the eastern Bushveld Complex revealed significant variations in the pegmatoidal footwall pyroxenite and the UG2 chromitite layer itself. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (Sri) of interstitial plagioclase in the footwall rocks are significantly higher than in adjacent rocks of the Critical Zone. The δ18O values of plagioclase-pyroxene and plagioclase-chromite mineral pairs in footwall pyroxenite and chromitite are consistent with oxygen isotope exchange from crystallization temperatures down to 700 °C and 800 °C, respectively, whereas in other parts of the UG2, plagioclase and pyroxene δ18O values are consistent with O isotope equilibration at liquidus crystallization temperatures of approximately 1150 °C.