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• Some Fe-oxide grains crystallized from silicate melt were incorporated into downward percolated sulfide liquid. • Fe-oxide in massive ores crystallized from the sulfide liquid pool mingled with the downward percolated sulfide liquid. • Downward percolation of sulfide liquid is crucial in the formation of the net-textured and massive ores. The mineralogy and chemical composition of magnetite and chromite series (simplified as magnetite) can provide valuable insights into the formation processes of magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits. Previous studies mainly focus on magnetite in disseminated ores and massive ores, but very little is known about the magnetite in net-textured ores. In this study, magnetite in net-textured ores (type 1 magnetite) and massive ores (type 2 magnetite) from the Zhdanov Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit in the Pechenga ore field, were recognized and analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Both the type 1 and type 2 magnetite grains show zoned textures with Cr concentration decreasing from the core to the rim. Type 1 magnetite has higher Al and Mg concentrations than type 2 magnetite. These observations indicate that type 1 and type 2 magnetite crystallized from and record the solidification process of silicate melt and sulfide liquid, respectively. Type 1 magnetite within sulfides of net-textured ores has identical chemical composition to that within silicates, which suggests that the chemical composition of magnetite is not significantly affected by sub-solidus re-equilibrium with sulfide minerals. It also suggests that the type 1 magnetite within sulfides was incorporated into sulfide liquid later during the downward percolation of sulfide liquid through the magnetite-bearing olivine crystal mush. On the other hand, type 2 magnetite has comparable concentrations of W, Sc, Ga, Cr, Mo, and Mn to the type 1 magnetite. Such compositional similarity can be explained by the crystallization of type 2 magnetite from the sulfide liquid pool that have been mingled with the downward percolated sulfide liquid. Accordingly, the downward percolation of sulfide liquid plays an important role in the formation of net-textured ores and massive ores in the Zhdanov deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents petrochemical, geochemical, and mineralogical data on rocks of the phoscorite–carbonatite complex in the Kovdor alkaline–ultramafic massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. In contrast to what is usually thought, trace elements were determined to be concentrated not in the carbonatites themselves but in the related phoscorites. The paper presents data on the evolution of the compositions and zoning of minerals in successive generations of both rock types as a result of the fractional crystallization of their parental magmas, and data on general trends in the concentrations of trace elements. The Fe-rich phosphate–carbonate melt seems to have separated from the primitive alkaline–ultramafic silicate melt during its advanced differentiation. The Fe-rich phosphate–carbonate magma was parental for the phoscorite–carbonatite complex. The possibility of its splitting into immiscible Fe-rich phosphate and carbonatite melts is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]