Origin and Evolution of Ultramafic Rocks along the Sagaing Fault, Myanmar

Abstract

The active Sagaing fault in Myanmar defines the boundary between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate and causes seismic damage in the major cities of Myanmar. Small bodies of serpentinite occur along the fault. We for the first time investigated the highly sheared serpentinite bodies in the Sheinmagar area and Yega Inn area along the Sagaing fault. Extensively sheared/brecciated serpentinites and related rocks, such as talc and/or chlorite-bearing rocks contains small rock fragments of serpentinites. Serpentine texture and mineral chemistry indicate that the protolith of these serpentinites were mainly harzburgite with minor amounts of dunite, some of which are cut by gabbroic veins. No shape-preferred orientation of the antigorite is present, indicating that the serpentinization was occurred under relatively static conditions. Protolith and serpentine minerals are similar to those of the jadeitite-bearing serpentinites in the north of the Sagaing fault (the Jade Mine belt). Chemical variations of spinels in the studied area are within the compositional range of forearc peridotites and those in the mantle section of nearby ophiolites. After the formation of antigorite serpentinite under static conditions, these serpentinites were subsequently, but locally deformed, probably due to the activity of the Sagaing fault, resulting in the formation of serpentinite schist/brecciated rock. The presence of the less-deformed antigorite serpentinite in the sheared/brecciated zone indicates the strain localization mainly along the surrounding serpentine-talc (±chlorite) schistose rocks, which is probably formed by the reaction between serpentinite and country rocks. Further studies are needed to better understand whether the distribution of serpentinized peridotites cause variations in the activity of the Sagaing fault.

Keywords

Sagaing fault / serpentinite / deformation / ophiolite

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