<p>The Ray-Iz (or Rai-Iz) peridotite massif, the main part of the Paleozoic Ray-Iz ophiolite in the Polar Urals, comprises harzburgite, lherzolite, and dunite lenses, which contain abundant chromitite pods. The metaperidotite zone occurs as the ENE-WSW linear zone (width: ~4&#xa0;km) at the center of the Ray-Iz peridotite massif. We sampled peculiar orthopyroxene-rich peridotites from the metaperidotite zone that contain radial aggregates of orthopyroxene. This investigation provided insights into the key petrologic nature of the Ray-Iz peridotite massif, particularly its P-T history. The orthopyroxene-rich peridotites and their surrounding metaperidotites contain various metamorphic minerals, such as tremolite, chlorite, serpentines (lizardite and chrysotile), and talc. Furthermore, olivine and orthopyroxene in these lithologies contain minute inclusions of opaque spinels (“ferritchromite” and Cr-rich magnetite) and other metamorphic minerals (tremolite, chlorite, serpentine minerals, etc.). The spinel occurs both as discrete grains and inclusions in the rocks containing abundant radial orthopyroxene aggregates and exhibits low Al and high Fe³⁺ concentrations, and the contents of Ca, Al, and Cr in orthopyroxene are extremely low. The presence of high-Fe³⁺ spinel inclusions in olivine and orthopyroxene, combined with the presence of radial aggregates of orthopyroxene and the extremely low Ca and Al concentrations in orthopyroxene, indicates deserpentinization as the origin of the metaperidotites, including the studied orthopyroxene-rich peridotites. Contact metamorphism appears to be unbefitting as the cause of the deserpentinization because of the lack of a heat source close to the Ray-Iz massif. Instead, we propose that a hydration–dehydration process resulting from the subduction and exhumation of the forearc mantle wedge peridotite shall have been responsible for the deserpentinization.</p>