GEOTECTONIC CONTROLS OF PRIMARY DIAMOND DEPOSITS - IMPLICATIONS FOR AREA SELECTION

Area selection in modern diamond exploration should be based on (1) pr ediction of regions under which diamonds may have formed, (2) selectio n of those areas under which the diamonds may have survived until entr ained by younger kimberlites or lamproites, and (3) identification of mantle-root-friendly structures which served as pathways for diamondif erous kimberlites or lamproites in the appropriate areas. Prediction o f diamond-prospective areas should incorporate petrological, geochemic al, geotectonic and geophysical studies to detect diamondiferous litho spheric roots under exposed and tectonically buried Archean cratons. A rea selection must be guided by the concept of mantle-root-friendly an d mantle-root-destructive structures and processes to constrain the ge otectonic environment of diamondiferous kimberlite magmatism.