The discovery of podiform chromite in west Liaoning and its implication for plate tectonics
辽西豆荚状铬铁矿的发现及其意义

The podiform chromite is identified associated with ultramafic blocks within a structural zone , which cut across a Neoarchean metamorphic terrain, west Liaoning. The characteristic structures of podiform chromite are shown by chromite deposits, such as structural layering, rootless folds, lenses, nodular structures, and antinodular structures etc. The geological occurrence and structures of the chromite ores are evidently comparable to the typical podiform chromites of ophiolites. As constrained by relevant isotopic age dating, the podiform chromite was generated about 2. 50Ga. Furthermore, the Neoarchean metamorphic mafic rocks of this area are chemically similar to MORB, and Neoarchean high-pressures are widely reported along the structural belt. It is suggested that the plate subduction and collision were regionally operated in the Neoarchean.