Lovozero Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russiai

Regional Level Types
Lovozero Massif	Massif
Murmansk Oblast	Oblast
Russia	Country

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NOTE: Most lorenzenites labelled as coming from the Lovozero Massif have been found at the Selsurt ("Flora") Mt. locality in this massif (http://www.mindat.org/loc-2693.html).

The Lovozero massif is a layered laccolith. According to geophysical studies, alkaline rocks are traced to a depth of 7 km, and the lower limit of their distribution is not detected. The laccolith has a size of 20 km × 30 km at the top and about 12 km × 16 km at a 5 km depth. In the upper part, the intrusion contacts with host rocks are almost vertical.

The Lovozero massif consists of three main units: the Layered, Eudialyte, and Poikilitic complexes.

— The Layered complex comprises 77% of the massif volume, has a thickness of more than 1700 m, and consists of numerous layers (or rhythms). The idealised rhythm is a sequence of rocks (from top to bottom): lujavrite–foyaite–urtite. The transition between rocks within the rhythm is gradual, and contacts between the rhythms are sharp.

— The Eudialyte complex is located in the upper part of the Lovozero massif and occupies 18% of its volume. The thickness of this complex is from 100 m (in the east) to 800 m (in the northwest). The main rock type of the Eudialyte complex is lujavrite enriched in eudialyte group minerals – the so-called eudialyte lujavrite. Among eudialyte lujavrite, lenses and layers of foyaite, as well as fine-grained and porphyritic nepheline syenites, are irregularly located.

— The Poikilitic complex (5% of the massif's total volume) consists of feldspathoid (nepheline, sodalite, or vishnevite) syenites. These rocks form lenses, or irregularly shaped bodies, which are located in both the Layered and Eudialyte complexes.