Geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopic studies of Paleoproterozoic (c. 2.3 Ga) meta-lamprophyre from the Rapuru area, Nellore Schist Belt, southern India: implications for back-arc basin magmatism and its relevance to the Columbia supercontinent assembly

Abstract This study reports on two lamprophyre dykes from the Rapuru area along the margin of the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) and the Nellore Schist Belt (NSB). The Rapuru lamprophyre (RL) dykes are situated along the southern extension of the Prakassam Alkaline Province (PAP). The RL dykes are deformed, yet still preserve a porphyritic–panidiomorphic texture, with mica phenocrysts, and amphibole and feldspars in the groundmass. Geochemically, the RL dykes have a low Mg# (0.28–0.37), and Ni (30–60 ppm) and Cr (119–228 ppm) concentrations that indicate their evolved nature, such as for other reported lamprophyres from the PAP and EDC. This is further supported by Sr–Nd isotopic ratios that show an affinity towards a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)–ocean island basalt (OIB)-like signature and a juvenile magmatic nature. The RL seems to have been affected by two major influences, namely, the primary source region, which is geochemically juvenile similar to the compositional field of enriched-MORB, and the continental lithosphere. Such magmas are known to have formed in a back-arc-basin environment. The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio (c. 0.7012–0.7045) and initial εNd ratios (3.13–7.93) are in line with back-arc basin basalts recorded in other parts of the world. The field observations and bulk-rock Sr–Nd radiogenic isotope values in the present study support the Paleoproterozoic nature of the RL. This concurrence of juvenile radiogenic isotopes and fluid-related trace element compositions apparently suggest dehydration of a subducted-slab-triggered metasomatism of the overlying mantle wedge in a subduction-related geodynamic setting. Such intrusive lamprophyre rocks of older ages are limited in India as well as other parts of the world. The 2.1 and 1.8 Ga rocks are widely considered to represent the initial accretion and final break-up of an erstwhile Columbia supercontinent assembly. We argue that the RL were formed in the Paleoproterozoic during the waxing stages of the Columbia supercontinent assembly in a back-arc basin environment, most probably due to the low degree of partial melting of the asthenosphere–lithospheric interaction caused by the introduction of an influx of subduction components into the arc–back-arc basin system.