magmatism, being higher silica melts, tends to form a more typical shield volcano architecture. Intrusive komatiites Komatiite magma is extremely dense and unlikely to reach the surface, being more likely to pool lower within the crust. Modern (post-2004) interpretations of some of the larger olivine adcumulate bodies in the Yilgarn craton have revealed that the majority of komatiite olivine adcumulate occurrences are likely to be subvolcanic to intrusive in nature. This is recognised at the Mt Keith nickel deposit where wall-rock intrusive textures and xenoliths of felsic country rocks have been recognised within the low-strain contacts. The previous interpretations of these large komatiite bodies was that they were "super channels" or reactivated channels, which grew to over 500 m in stratigraphic thickness during prolonged volcanism. These intrusions are considered to be channelised sills, formed by injection of komatiitic magma into the stratigraphy, and inflation of the magma chamber. Economic nickel-mineralised olivine adcumulate bodies may represent a form of sill-like conduit, where magma pools in a staging chamber before erupting onto the surface. Economic importance The economic importance of komatiite was first widely recognised in the early 1960s with the discovery of massive nickel sulfide mineralisation at Kambalda, Western Australia. Komatiite-hosted nickel-copper sulfide mineralisation today accounts for about 14% of the world's nickel production, mostly from Australia, Canada and South Africa. Komatiites are associated with nickel and gold deposits in Australia, Canada, South Africa and most recently in the Guiana shield of South America. See also References Bibliography Hess, P. C. (1989), Origins of Igneous Rocks, President and Fellows of Harvard College (pp. 276–285), . Hill R.E.T, Barnes S.J., Gole M.J. and Dowling S.E. (1990), Physical volcanology of komatiites; A field guide to the komatiites of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt, Eastern Goldfields Province, Yilgarn Block, Western Australia., Geological Society of Australia. Blatt, Harvey and Robert Tracy (1996), Petrology, 2nd ed., Freeman (pp. 196–7), . S. A. Svetov, A. I. Svetova, and H. Huhma, 1999, Geochemistry of the Komatiite–Tholeiite Rock Association in the Vedlozero–Segozero Archean Greenstone Belt, Central Karelia, Geochemistry International, Vol. 39, Suppl. 1, 2001, pp. S24–S38. PDF accessed 7-25-2005 Vernon R.H., 2004, A Practical Guide to Rock Microstructure, (pp. 43–69, 150–152) Cambridge University Press. Arndt, N.T., and Nisbet, E.G. (1982), Komatiites. Unwin Hyman, . Hardcover. Arndt, N.T., and Lesher, C.M. (2005), Komatiites, in Selley, RC, Cocks, L.R.M., Plimer, I.R. (Editors), Encyclopedia of Geology 3, Elsevier, New York, pp. 260–267 Faure,