Qiwei Zhang
2012 BSc Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing
2016 MSc Petrology, Mineralogy and Metallogeny, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, Supervisor: Prof. Jingao Liu
Sublithospheric diamonds, also known as super-deep diamonds, are the deepest (>250 km and in part even >660 km) natural samples we can get on Earth. They account for only ~1% percentage of mined diamonds, but provide a wealth of information about the deep convecting mantle.
My Ph.D. study area lies near Lac de Gras, on the Slave Craton, NWT, Canada, where diamonds were carried to the surface by the DO-27 kimberlite of the Tli Kwi Cho cluster. This diamond population has been shown to contain a high percentage of super-deep samples. The main task of my research is to perform an inclusion study and try to recover super-deep mineral phases (e.g., Mg- and Ca-rich Si-perovskites) that can be used for traditional and non-traditional isotopic studies. The results will provide insights into isotopic fractionations mechanisms operating in deep Earth and will be beneficial in unravelling the evolution of the early Earth.