Komatiitic rocks occur mainly in Archean greenstone belts, less commonly in Paleoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary belts, and only rarely in younger volcanic settings. As in most other greenstone belts worldwide, komatiitic rocks are locally abundant in the Abitibi greenstone belt but generally represent only a small proportion of the volcanic rocks in the volcanic succession. Although only locally exposed, glacially sculpted exposures of only weakly metamorphosed and mildly deformed komatiites of mineralized and unmineralized komatiites in the Abitibi greenstone belt are among the best in the world, characterized by excellent textural preservation and, in some cases, excellent mineralogical preservation.

Komatiitic rocks...