The lower crust is, on average, mafic in composition and composed of minerals that remain mechanically strong up to high temperatures. Here we show that dissolution-precipitation creep (as a type of diffusion creep) plays a major role in deformation of gabbro bodies at upper amphibolite facies conditions. The Kågen gabbro, N. Norway, is comprised of undeformed gabbro lenses enclosed by mylonitised ...