Scandium-bearing carbonates of the Tarr albitite complex,southeast Sinai

Unusually high Sc-concentrations (30 to 150 ppm) were found in the carbonate minerals (dolomite, breunnerite, calcite) of the Tarr albitite complex. Scandium is probably part of the carbonate crystal structure substituting for (Mg, Fe²⁺). Scandium is considered to have originated from a source of mantle-affinity, thus supporting an earlier suggestion that the Tarr albitite complex is related to an ophiolite at depth.