Mafic-ultramafic rocks and alkaline-carbonatitic magmatism and associated hydrothermal mineralization: A special issue (Part-I) dedicated to Piero Comin-Chiaramonti

We have much pleasure in presenting this Special Issue of Central European Journal of Geosciences containing a collection of papers to celebrate the life and work of Professor Piero Comin-Chiaramonti – a reputed emeritus Italian scientist and scholar of carbonatites and alkaline rocks. The research themes cover many of the subjects which most interested him, especially processes related to geological causes that control the migration of fluids and their interference with the surrounding rocks. The increasing demand for precious metals and strategic elements from the global market has seen a focus from geoscientists around the globe on unravelling the development of maficultramafic and associated alkaline and carbonatitic rocks for their outstanding potential as exploration targets for these commodities. The exploration of new deposits and the diversification of sources are mainly based on an understanding of fluid migration and evolution at both mantle and crustal levels. In addition, many reported alkaline complexes are being reviewed and examined in terms of tectonics, magmatic and mantle texture, metallogenesis and hydrothermal alteration. Many papers concentrate on these relationships, which is the main focus of this special volume dedicated to Piero Comin-Chiaramonti. This special volume collects contributions from senior researchers who have accumulated experience in various regions of the world which are famous for their alkaline complexes such as Brazil, India, Italy and Malawi. Their papers open a working hypothesis that may connect the global carbonatitic and alkaline rocks to the crucial supply of minerals containing Nb, REEs and other useful elements. The development of genetic models for strategic mineralisation in different environments is complex, but it is important to test a wide range of potential resources and demonstrate a capacity of certain geological features to reveal a deposit’s propensity to exploitation. This special volume presents a variety of occurrences and conditions of formation of typical Nb-Ta, REE and Zr-bearing minerals and other strategic metals associated with the multifaceted world of alkaline rocks. The examples presented range from large intrusive complexes of both mafic and felsic alkaline rocks, to smaller and widespread swarms of subvolcanic rocks or even large strato-volcanoes or small diatreme-maar systems.