A review and comparison of fracture mineral investigations and their application to radioactive waste disposal

A compilation and comparison of fracture mineral studies from the Canadian and Fennoscandian Shields and the French Massif Central shows many similarities indicating larger external control over fracture mineral deposition, with different rock types exerting local controls. The sites investigated represent a wide range of geological settings, and host rock types ranging from felsic intrusive and extrusives to ultramafic intrusives and volcanics that span an age range from 2.5 to 0.36 Ga. Typical fracture minerals found at Canadian Shield sites include calcite, quartz, chlorite and clays, and these do not appear to be dependant on age, erosional depth or geological environment. The Fennoscandian Shield has a much larger variety of fracture filling minerals with epidote, zeolites, prehnite, fluorite, pyrrhotite, Fe oxides, serpentine, graphite, magnesite and barite in addition to the minerals typically found at Canadian Shield sites. The major control on fracture mineral type is most likely variations in rock type, and fluid chemistry and temperature.