Honvang serpentinite body of the Song Ma fault zone, Northern Vietnam: A remnant of oceanic lithosphere within the Indochina-South China suture

The Honvang serpentinite body in the Song Ma fault zone consists mainly of massive serpentinite, altered gabbro and rare chromitite. The serpentinite preserves relict chromian spinel with rare olivine inclusions. The compositional relationship between the Fo content of olivine (Fo(90-92)) and Y-Cr [atomic ratio Cr/(Cr+Al)=0.43-0.44] of chromian spinel suggests that the original peridotite was spinel-bearing Iherzolitic harzburgite. Chromitite is typically a high-Al type, consisting of chromian spinel with Y-Cr=0.43-0.44. Saussuritized fine-grained gabbros display nearly flat rare earth element patterns, suggesting MORB-like affinity. Considering this petrotectonic information, we suggest that the serpentinite body of the Song Ma fault zone represents a remnant of paleo-oceanic lithosphere between the Indochina and South China blocks. The Iherzolitic harzburgite may have formed in an environment with low degrees of melt depletion in a slow-spreading setting similar to some Tethyan paleo-oceanic lithospheres. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of International Association for Gondwana Research.