Search

The REE enrichment process in fluorapatite and the REE redistribution among fluorapatite, monazite, and allanite were studied in a series of three sets of experimental runs at P-T conditions of 0.5 to 4 GPa and 650 to 900 °C. The first two sets of experimental runs utilized fluorapatite as a P-source, synthetic monazite or allanite as the REE sources, albite, quartz, and NaF-H2O or NaCl-H2O. The third set of runs was carried out with powdered Ca3(PO4)2, allanite, quartz, (±Al2O3), and a NaF-H2O solution. In all runs REE-bearing fluorapatite with up to 28 wt% ∑REE2O3 formed at the expense of monazite or allanite; either as narrow zones at the margin of synthetic fluorapatite in runs 1 and 2 or as discrete grains in run 3. The REE-enrichment of fluorapatite in melt-bearing runs is explained in terms of the high solubility of monazite in the presence of alkali-rich melts together with the high partitioning values for REEs among fluorapatite and alkali-rich melts. The formation of REE-enriched fluorapatite in melt-absent runs implies that the solubility of monazite and the REE-uptake of fluorapatite are similarly high in both alkali-rich melts and fluids and depends foremost on the activity of alkalis in fluids or melts. The results from this study show the importance of fluorapatite as a REE-carrier in rocks whose petrogenesis involved alkali-bearing fluids/melts. In metamorphic rocks, alkali-enriched fluids or melts will likely form under higher-grade conditions, explaining the preferential occurrence of REE-enriched fluorapatite in granulite and eclogite-facies rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has shown that fluorine and chlorine X-ray count rates vary with exposure to the electron beam during electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) of apatite. Stormer et al. (1993) and Stormer and Pierson (1993) demonstrate that the EPMA-operating conditions affect the halogen intensities in F-rich natural Durango and Wilberforce apatites and in a Cl-rich apatite. Following these studies, we investigated the effects of operating conditions on time-dependent X-ray intensity variations of F and Cl in a broad range of anhydrous fluor-chlorapatites. We tested 7, 10, and 15 kV accelerating voltages; 4, 10, and 15 nA beam currents; 2, 5, and 10 µm diameter fixed spot sizes; and the influence of 2 distinct crystal orientations under the electron beam. We find that the halogen X-ray intensity variations fluctuate strongly with operating conditions and the bulk F and Cl contents of apatite. We determined the optimal EPMA operating conditions for these anhydrous fluor-chlorapatites to be: 10 kV accelerating voltage, 4 nA beam current (measured at the Faraday cup), 10 µm diameter fixed spot, and the apatite crystals oriented with their c-axes perpendicular to the incident electron beam. This EPMA technique was tested on a suite of 19 synthetic anhydrous apatites that covers the fluorapatite-chlorapatite solid-solution series. The results of these analyses are highly accurate; the F and Cl EPMA data agree extremely well with wet-chemical analyses and have an R² value >0.99. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a natural Th-absent xenotime [(Y+HREE)PO4], is enriched in specific areas with respect to Th + Si utilizing a series of alkali-bearing fluids that included 2NNaOH, 2NKOH, Na2Si2O5 + H2O, and NaF + H2O, in addition to ThO2 and SiO2. Charge and fluid were sealed in Au capsules and placed in the piston-cylinder apparatus (CaF2 assemblies) at 1000 MPa and 900 °C (8 to 25 days) or in cold-seal autoclaves on a hydrothermal line at 500 MPa and 600 °C (23 days). BSE imaging, EMP analysis, and TEM indicate that a fraction of the xenotime grains in the 2NKOH, Na2Si2O5 + H2O, and NaF + H2O experiments have altered areas enriched in Th + Si. No reaction was observed in the 2NNaOH experiments. The altered areas occur as a series of curvilinear intergrowths with sharp compositional boundaries that extend from the edge of the xenotime grain into the interior. Formation of these Th + Si enriched areas is interpreted as a consequence of fluid-mediated coupled dissolution-reprecipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of synthetic apatite crystals along the fluorapatite-chlorapatite Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl) join have been synthesized at 1220 to 1375 °C from Ca3(PO4)2 dissolved in a CaF2-CaCl2 melt. The solid solutions have then been characterized both chemically and structurally. Because of well-known difficulties in measuring the chemical composition of apatites containing F and Cl by electron microprobe a new semi-micro wet chemical method has been developed. Apatite is relatively well dissolved in mineral acids including HNO3. Nitric acid digestion of apatite for analysis of F and Cl has not been applied in the past to our knowledge. One reason is the potential risk of losing gaseous HF and HCl during acid decomposition. We present an analytical procedure that enables the analyses of F, Cl, Ca, P, and trace elements after digestion of 10 mg apatite with a small amount of 1 N HNO3 in gas-tight PTFE tubes at 80 °C. Analytical results from three independent closed acid digestions of 20 synthetic fluorchlorapatites are presented. The reliability of this method was tested on the basis of charge balance, the Ca/P, Ca/(F+Cl), and P/(F+Cl) ratios, and the total cation sum. Independently derived Cl/F ratios by XRD using Rietveld refinement of apatite crystals from the same synthesis experiments are additionally presented. The apatite solid solutions were characterized by IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction using Rietveld refinements (XRD), and single-crystal diffraction (SCXRD) structure determinations. IR spectra indicate no or only a very minor hydroxylapatite component in the solid solutions. Lattice parameters of the apatite solid solutions vary systematically with composition. The a-lattice parameter varies linearly. In contrast to F- , which occupies a special position at (0,0, 1/4;) in the unit cell, Cl- occupies split positions ranging from 0.346(4) to 0.4428(2) in the z-coordinate because of the larger ionic Cl- radius. Single-crystal structure determinations reveal that the Ca2 site is also split into Ca2A and Ca2B sites for F- and Cl- as nearest neighbors, respectively. In comparison to the Ca2A-F- arrangements, the larger Cl- ion presses the triangular arrangement of Ca-ions outward to facilitate an energetic more favorable constellation resulting in the formation of Ca2B-Cl- arrangements. The occupancies of the Ca2A and Ca2B sites, as determined by SCXRD, correlate strictly with the F-Cl content. Apatites rich in Cl (xCl > 0.5) show a deficiency in halogens, which is probably charge balanced by oxygen (Cl-- ↔ O² + □) forming an oxyapatite component. The oxyapatite component prevents the F-absent, Cl-rich apatite from crystallizing with a monoclinic symmetry and stabilizes the observed hexagonal symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Ivrea-Verbano Zone in northern Italy, while highlighting the existence of K-feldspar microveins in granulite facies rock found in that region. Differences between granulite facies gneisses and charnockitized gneiss found in the Seward Peninsula; Information on the Ivrea-Verbano Zone; Features of IZ93-61 and IZ96-181 samples.

Various styles of ore deposits may form from a single magmatic-hydrothermal system. Identification of a possible genetic link between different ore types in a region is not only of critical importance for a better understanding of the magmatic-hydrothermal processes, but can also help in successful mineral exploration. Both iron oxide-apatite (IOA) and iron skarn deposits are closely associated with intrusive rocks of intermediate to felsic in composition, but whether these two ore types can form from the same magmatic intrusion remains poorly understood. In this study, we present a comparative study between a newly identified subsurface IOA ore body located at the apex of a diorite porphyry and the iron skarn ore bodies located immediately above it in the Jinniu volcanic basin of the Daye district, Middle-Lower Yangtze River metallogenetic belt (MLYRMB), eastern China in order to highlight a genetic link between these two styles of mineralization. The IOA ores are dominated by Ti-rich magnetite with variable amounts of fluorapatite, diopside, and actinolite. This mineralogical assemblage is distinctly different from the iron skarn ores, which consist mainly of Ti-depleted magnetite and subordinate pre-ore garnet and diopside, and post-ore quartz, chlorite, calcite, and pyrite. In addition, magnetite from the IOA ores is characterized by well-developed ilmenite lamellae and has high concentrations of Ni, V, Co, and Ga, consistent with high temperature crystallization, whereas magnetite grains from the iron skarn ores usually exhibit oscillatory growth zones and contain much lower Ni, V, Co, and Ga, indicating their formation under relatively low temperatures. Titanite and fluorapatite from the IOA ores have U-Pb ages of 132.5 ± 2.4 Ma to 128.4 ± 3.0 Ma, which match a titanite U-Pb age for the associated iron skarn ores (132.3 ± 2.0 Ma), and are consistent with zircon U-Pb ages for the ore-hosting diorite porphyry (130.4 ± 0.7 Ma to 130.3 ± 0.5 Ma). This age consistency supports a possible genetic link among the diorite porphyry, IOA ores, and iron skarn ores. We propose that the IOA and skarn ores are the products of two consecutive mineralization stages of the same magmatic-hydrothermal system, involving a high-temperature, hypersaline fluid coexisting with the diorite porphyry magma during emplacement and a subsequent low temperature, diluted hydrothermal fluid. Other IOA and iron skarn deposits of similar ages (130 Ma) are found in a series of volcanic basins in the MLYRMB, which forms one of the world's largest IOA metallogenic belts. The close association of the two ore styles identified at Daye provides a useful exploration guide for IOA and iron skarn deposits both on a local and regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hewan granite porphyry is a newly discovered, highly evolved Au deposit in north China. Two types magmatic zircon are found in the porphyry. Type I is CL-dark and only occurs in the core of some zircons. Type II is CL-bright and mantles Type I zircon or occurs as individual grains. The two Types are close in age, i.e. 138.0 ± 2.2 Ma for Type I and 135.9 ± 2.1 Ma for Type II. Type I zircon is enriched in Y, U, Th, Nb, Ta, P, REE, while Type II zircon is relatively depleted in these elements, which reflects a reverse in the magma evolution. Whole-rock geochemistry and the presence of xenocrystic zircons (2522 ± 18 Ma), combined with ε Hf (t) (−20.2 to −22.3) and δ18O (5.3 to 6.6 ‰) for Type I zircons, suggests that the Hewan granite porphyry was mainly derived from the melting of the surrounding older, country rock gneiss. The higher ε Hf (t) (−16.5 to −19.4) and lower δ18O (5.0 to 6.0‰) of Type II zircon indicates that Type II zircon formed during infiltration of a later fluid. This later fluid also had a higher oxygen fugacity (Ce/Ce* Z = 248 to 3663) and a higher H 2 O activity. We propose that the Hewan granite porphyry originated from the shallow melting of regional gneisses due to heat from underplating mafic magmas related to a subduction event. Type I zircons, which formed during this event where later mantled or totally replaced by Type II zircon due to an influx of Cl-, S-, and Au-bearing fluids from these crystallizing underplating mafic magmas. The high F and pH in this shallow magma promoted decoupling of AuCl− in the upwelling fluids, which allowed for the deposition of elemental Au. • Proposed potential genesis of the Hewan granite porphyry. • Based on changes in zircon composition, we propose the genesis of Hewan granite porphyry and potential mechanism for Au enrichment. • Give insight into finding Au deposits in high-silica granites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Monazite and xenotime are important accessory minerals in metasediments because they host REE and are useful for geochronology and geothermometry. It is therefore essential to understand their behavior during metasomatic processes that attend metamorphism and subduction. In order to constrain the solubility of monazite and YPO4 xenotime at high pressure and temperature, we carried out weight-loss experiments on synthetic single crystals of CePO4 (monazite) and YPO4 (xenotime) using hydrothermal piston-cylinder methods at 800°C and 1GPa, in H2O and H2O–NaCl fluids. Results indicate that CePO4 and YPO4 dissolved congruently, and that their solubilities in pure H2O are very low: 0.04±0.04 and 0.25millimolal, respectively. The solubility of CePO4 rises to an increasing extent with added NaCl, to 7.94±0.07millimolal at 50mol% NaCl. In contrast, the solubility of YPO4 rises to a decreasing degree with increasing NaCl, to 4.36±0.08millimolal at 50mol% NaCl. Best fit equations for the solubilities of the two phases areand The solubility of YPO4 is greater than that of CePO4 at NaCl mole fractions (X NaCl) of 0.00–0.27. The solubility enhancement behavior implies that Ce dissolves as anhydrous chloride complexes, whereas Y forms mixed Cl–OH solutes. The results provide a simple mechanism for redistributing REE and Y in deep-crustal and upper mantle environments. The H2O/Ce ratio inferred for subduction-zone melts and silicate-rich fluids can also be produced by a CePO4-saturated fluid with X NaCl =0.1. In addition, neutral-pH H2O–NaCl fluids can transport substantial REE and Y, obviating the need to invoke highly acid solutions in environments where they are unlikely. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]