Abstract:Area south of the 15°20′N Fracture Zone in Mid- Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is characterized by slow spreading rate, typical ocean core complex system and low magma supply condition, where abundant mantle peridotite is exposed on the seafloor along with localized pillow basalts and gabbro. Reassessment of abyssal peridotites obtained by a large mantle dredge haul (MM- 81) from a NOAA Researcher Cruise taken along the western wall of the rift valley of the MAR at 14°97′N area and cored sample by IODP Leg 209 in the same region revealed the occurrence of dunites containing chromitites closely associated with harzburgites, which substantiates chromitite formation at mid- oceanic ridges. The harzburgites which represent the wall rock hosting these veined dunites with chromitites showed refractory characters, including olivine Mg# of 90 to 92, elevated spinel Cr# of 45 to 68, and clinopyroxene with highly depleted rare earth elements contents. The size of the chromitite pods varies from a few mm to 5 cm in width. Chromite grains with nodular textures in dunite have medium Cr# (52~56), Mg# (45~52) and high TiO2 (=0. 60~0. 91) contents. EBSD orientation patterns did not recognize sub- grain fabrics within chromite cluster as those commonly appeared in ophiolitic chromite such as Oman samples (Boudier et al. ,2021). Pargasite and aspidolite are widely observed in multiphase solid inclusions within chromite, together with occurrence of diopside, enstatite, serpentine (transformed from olivine), few sulfides and rare apatite, indicating a highly evolved and water riched parental melt for chromite growth in mid- ocean ridge settings. This observation suggests that the occurrence of hydrous mineral assemblages within ophiolitic chromitite cannot be used as robust evidence for their subduction origin. More importantly, the same dredge also obtained high percentage of ‘impregnated peridotites’, include plagioclase- bearing harzburgite, olivine- rich troctolite, plagioclase- bearing dunite, amphibole- bearing dunite, clinopyroxene- rich dunite and veined pyroxenites. All these lithologies are formed by the reactive migration processes of mid- ocean ridge magma in the melt channel at sallower depth, and further revealing the complex result of melt induced metasomatism at slow spreading mid- ocean ridge settings.