A New Occurrence of Sapphirine in the High-Grade Pelitic Gneisses of Usilampatti, Tamil Nadu

Sapphirine is found in the pelitic gneisses of Kosavankovilpatti near Usilampatti in Tamil Nadu. It is intimately associated with melt products and the associated minerals are garnet, biotite, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, mesoperthite and K-feldspars. The sapphirine-bearing rock is characterised by (i) enrichment of MgO, depletion of SiO₂ (ii) absence of coronas and symplectites, (iii) presence ofmesoperthites (iv) high X_Mg values of the associated minerals and (v) high P-T conditions (855±20°C and 8.0±O.3 Kb) in contrast to the adjacent sapphiri ne absent rocks (750-800° and P of 6.5-7.5 Kb). This occurrence of prismatic sapphirines is in contrast with the reported sapphirine occurrences where it occurs as symplectites and coronas defining a decompression path (T= 700°C and p 5-7 Kb) in the adjacent Kodaikanal massif. It is suggested that the sapphirine being reported is of prograde origin.