Copper-gold endoskarns and high-Mg monzodiorite–tonalite intrusions at Mt. Shea,Kalgoorlie, Australia: implications for the origin of gold–pyrite–tennantite mineralization in the Golden Mile

Five Cu–Au epidote skarns are associated with the Mt. Shea intrusive complex, located in the 2.7–2.6 Ga Eastern Goldfields Province of the Archean Yilgarn craton, in greenstones bounded by the Boulder Lefroy and Golden Mile strike-slip faults, which control the Golden Mile (1,435 t Au) at Kalgoorlie and smaller “orogenic” gold deposits at Kambalda. The Cu–Au deposits studied are oxidized endoskarns replacing faulted and fractured quartz monzodiorite–granodiorite. The orebodies are up to 140 m long and 40 m thick. Typical grades are 0.5% Cu and 0.3 g/t Au although parts are richer in gold (1.5–4.5 g/t). At the Hannan South mine, the skarns consist of epidote, calcite, chlorite, magnetite (5–15%), and minor quartz, muscovite, and microcline. Gangue and magnetite are in equilibrium contact with pyrite and chalcopyrite. The As–Co–Ni-bearing pyrite contains inclusions of hematite, gold, and electrum and is intergrown with cobaltite and Cu–Pb–Bi sulfides. At the Shea prospect, massive, net-textured, and breccia skarns are composed of multistage epidote, actinolite, albite, magnetite (5%), and minor biotite, calcite, and quartz. Gangue and magnetite are in equilibrium with Co–Ni pyrite and chalcopyrite. Mineral-pair thermometry, mass-balance calculations, and stable-isotope data (pyrite δ³⁴S_CDT = 2.5‰, calcite δ¹³C_PDB = −5.3‰, and δ¹⁸O_SMOW = 12.9‰) indicate that the Cu–Au skarns formed at 500 ± 50°C by intense Ca–Fe–CO₂–S metasomatism from fluids marked by an igneous isotope signature. The Mt. Shea stock–dike–sill complex postdates the regional D1 folding and metamorphism and the main phase of D2 strike-slip faulting. The suite is calc-akaline and comprises hornblende–plagioclase monzodiorite, quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite, and quartz–plagioclase tonalite porphyry. The intrusions display a wide range in silica content (53–73 wt% SiO₂), in ratio (0.37–0.89), and in ratio (0.02–0.31). Chromium (62–345 ppm), Ni (23–158), Sr (311–1361 ppm), and Ba (250–2,581 ppm) contents are high, Sr/Y ratios are high (24–278, mostly >50), and the rare earth element patterns are fractionated . These features and a negative niobium anomaly relative to the normal mid-ocean ridge basalt indicate that the suite formed by hornblende fractionation from a subduction-related monzodiorite magma sourced from metasomatized peridotite in the upper mantle. The magnesian composition of many intrusions was enhanced due to hornblende crystallization under oxidizing hydrous conditions and during the subsequent destruction of igneous magnetite by subsolidus actinolite–albite alteration. At the Shea prospect, main-stage Cu–Au epidote skarn is cut by biotite–albite–dolomite schist and by red biotite–albite replacement bands. Post-skarn alteration includes 20-m-thick zones of sericite–chlorite–ankerite schist confined to two D3 reverse faults. The schists are mineralized with magnetite + pyrite + chalcopyrite (up to 0.62% Cu, 1.6 g/t Au) and are linked to skarn formation by shared Ca–Fe–CO₂ metasomatism. Red sericitic alteration, marked by magnetite + hematite + pyrite, occurs in fractured porphyry. The biotite/sericite alteration and oxidized ore assemblages at the Shea prospect are mineralogically identical to magnetite–hematite-bearing gold lodes at Kambalda and in the Golden Mile. Published fluid inclusion data suggest that a “high-pressure”, oxidized magmatic fluid (2–9 wt% NaCl equivalent, , 200–400 MPa) was responsible for gold mineralization in structural sites of the Boulder Lefroy and Golden Mile faults. The sericite–alkerite lodes in the Golden Mile share the assemblages pyrite + tennantite + chalcopyrite and bornite + pyrite, and accessory high-sulfidation enargite with late-stage sericitic alteration zones developed above porphyry copper deposits.     

New thermodynamic models and revised calibrations for the Ti-in-zircon and Zr-in-rutile thermometers

The models recognize that ZrSiO₄, ZrTiO₄, and TiSiO₄, but not ZrO₂ or TiO₂, are independently variable phase components in zircon. Accordingly, the equilibrium controlling the Zr content of rutile coexisting with zircon is ZrSiO₄ = ZrO₂ (in rutile) + SiO₂. The equilibrium controlling the Ti content of zircon is either ZrSiO₄ + TiO₂ = ZrTiO₄ + SiO₂ or TiO₂ + SiO₂ = TiSiO₄, depending whether Ti substitutes for Si or Zr. The Zr content of rutile thus depends on the activity of SiO₂ as well as T, and the Ti content of zircon depends on and as well as T. New and published experimental data confirm the predicted increase in the Zr content of rutile with decreasing and unequivocally demonstrate that the Ti content of zircon increases with decreasing . The substitution of Ti in zircon therefore is primarily for Si. Assuming a constant effect of P, unit and that and are proportional to ppm Zr in rutile and ppm Ti in zircon, [log(ppm Zr-in-rutile) + log] = A₁ + B₁/T(K) and [log(ppm Ti-in-zircon) + log − log] = A₂ + B₂/T, where the A and B are constants. The constants were derived from published and new data from experiments with buffered by either quartz or zircon + zirconia, from experiments with defined by the Zr content of rutile, and from well-characterized natural samples. Results are A₁ = 7.420 ± 0.105; B₁ = −4,530 ± 111; A₂ = 5.711 ± 0.072; B₂ = −4,800 ± 86 with activity referenced to α-quartz and rutile at P and T of interest. The zircon thermometer may now be applied to rocks without quartz and/or rutile, and the rutile thermometer applied to rocks without quartz, provided that and are estimated. Maximum uncertainties introduced to zircon and rutile thermometry by unconstrained and can be quantitatively assessed and are ≈60 to 70°C at 750°C. A preliminary assessment of the dependence of the two thermometers on P predicts that an uncertainty of ±1 GPa introduces an additional uncertainty at 750°C of ≈50°C for the Ti-in-zircon thermometer and of ≈70 to 80°C for the Zr-in-rutile thermometer.     

Spatial and temporal zoning of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization in the Sossego iron oxide–copper–gold deposit,Carajás Mineral Province,Brazil: paragenesis and stable isotope constraints

The Sossego iron oxide–copper–gold deposit (245 Mt @ 1.1% Cu, 0.28 g/t Au) in the Carajás Mineral Province of Brazil consists of two major groups of orebodies (Pista–Sequeirinho–Baiano and Sossego–Curral) with distinct alteration assemblages that are separated from each other by a major high angle fault. The deposit is located along a regional WNW–ESE-striking shear zone that defines the contact between metavolcano–sedimentary units of the ∼2.76 Ga Itacaiúnas Supergroup and tonalitic to trondhjemitic gneisses and migmatites of the ∼2.8 Ga Xingu Complex. The deposit is hosted by granite, granophyric granite, gabbro, and felsic metavolcanic rocks. The Pista–Sequeirinho–Baiano orebodies have undergone regional sodic (albite–hematite) alteration and later sodic–calcic (actinolite-rich) alteration associated with the formation of massive magnetite–(apatite) bodies. Both these alteration assemblages display ductile to ductile–brittle fabrics. They are cut by spatially restricted zones of potassic (biotite and potassium feldspar) alteration that grades outward to chlorite-rich assemblages. The Sossego–Curral orebodies contain weakly developed early albitic alteration and very poorly developed subsequent calcic–sodic alteration. These orebodies contain well-developed potassic alteration assemblages that were formed during brittle deformation that resulted in the formation of breccia bodies. Breccia matrix commonly displays coarse mineral infill suggestive of growth into open space. Sulfides in both groups of deposits were precipitated first with potassic alteration and more importantly with a later assemblage of calcite–quartz–epidote–chlorite. In the Sequeirinho orebodies, sulfides range from undeformed to deformed; sulfides in the Sossego–Curral orebodies are undeformed. Very late, weakly mineralized hydrolytic alteration is present in the Sossego/Currral orebodies. The sulfide assemblage is dominated by chalcopyrite with subsidiary siegenite, and millerite. Pyrrhotite and pyrite are minor constituents of ore in the Sequerinho orebodies while pyrite is relatively abundant in the Sossego–Curral bodies. Oxygen isotope partitioning between mineral pairs constrains temperatures in the deposit spatially and through time. In the Sequeirinho orebody, the early sodic–calcic alteration stage was characterized by temperatures exceeding 500°C and values for the alteration fluid of 6.9 ± 0.9‰. Temperature declines outward and upward from the zone of most intense alteration. Paragenetically later copper–gold mineralization displays markedly lower temperatures (<300°C) and was characterized by the introduction of ¹⁸O-depleted hydrothermal fluids −1.8 ± 3.4‰. The calculated δD_H2O and values suggest that the fluids that formed the early calcic–sodic alteration assemblage were of formational/metamorphic or magmatic origin. The decrease of values through time may reflect influx of surficially derived waters during later alteration and mineralization events. Influx of such fluids could be related to episodic fluid overpressure, resulting in dilution and cooling of the metalliferous fluid, causing deposition of metals transported as metal chloride complexes.     

Influence of temperature,composition, silica activity and oxygen fugacity on the H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O storage capacity of olivine at 8 GPa

Olivine crystals were grown in the presence of a hydrous silicate fluid during multi-anvil experiments at 8 GPa and 1,000–1,600°C. Experiments were conducted both in a simple system (FeO–MgO–SiO₂–H₂O) and in a more complex system containing additional elements (CaO–Na₂O–Al₂O₃–Cr₂O₃–TiO₂–FeO–MgO–SiO₂–H₂O). Silica activity was buffered by the presence of either pyroxene (high a _SiO2) or ferropericlase (low a _SiO2), and was buffered by the presence of Ni + NiO or Fe + FeO, or constrained by the presence of Fe₂O₃. Raman spectroscopy was used to identify pyroxene polymorphs in the run products. Clinoenstatite was present in the 1,000°C experiment, and enstatite in experiments at 1,400–1,520°C. The H₂O content of olivine was measured using secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the nature of hydrous defects. The H₂O storage capacity of olivine decreases with increasing temperature at 8 GPa. In contrast to previous experimental results at ≤2 GPa, no significant effect of varying oxygen fugacity is evident, but H₂O storage capacity is enhanced under conditions of low silica activity. No significant growth of low wavenumber (<3,400 cm⁻¹) peaks, generally associated with high at low pressure, was observed in the FTIR spectra of olivine from the high experiments. Our experiments show that previous high pressure H₂O storage capacity measurements for olivine synthesized under more oxidizing conditions than the Earth’s mantle are not likely to be compromised by the of the experiments. However, the considerable effect of temperature on H₂O storage capacity in olivine must be taken into account to avoid overestimation of the bulk upper mantle H₂O storage capacity.     

Genesis of secondary uranium minerals associated with jasperoid veins,El Erediya area,Eastern Desert,Egypt

Uranium mineralization in the El Erediya area, Egyptian Eastern Desert, has been affected by both high temperature and low temperature fluids. Mineralization is structurally controlled and is associated with jasperoid veins that are hosted by a granitic pluton. This granite exhibits extensive alteration, including silicification, argillization, sericitization, chloritization, carbonatization, and hematization. The primary uranium mineral is pitchblende, whereas uranpyrochlore, uranophane, kasolite, and an unidentified hydrated uranium niobate mineral are the most abundant secondary uranium minerals. Uranpyrochlore and the unidentified hydrated uranium niobate mineral are interpreted as alteration products of petscheckite. The chemical formula of the uranpyrochlore based upon the Electron Probe Micro Analyzer (EPMA) is . It is characterized by a relatively high Zr content (average ZrO₂ = 6.6 wt%). The average composition of the unidentified hydrated uranium niobate mineral is , where U and Nb represent the dominant cations in the U and Nb site, respectively. Uranophane is the dominant U⁶⁺ silicate phase in oxidized zones of the jasperoid veins. Kasolite is less abundant than uranophane and contains major U, Pb, and Si but only minor Ca, Fe, P, and Zr. A two-stage metallogenetic model is proposed for the alteration processes and uranium mineralization at El Erediya. The primary uranium minerals were formed during the first stage of the hydrothermal activity that formed jasperoid veins in El Eradiya granite (130–160 Ma). This stage is related to the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous phase of the final Pan-African tectono-thermal event in Egypt. After initial formation of El Erediya jasperoid veins, a late stage of hydrothermal alteration includes argillization, dissolution of iron-bearing sulfide minerals, formation of iron-oxy hydroxides, and corrosion of primary uranium minerals, resulting in enrichment of U, Ca, Pb, Zr, and Si. During this stage, petscheckite was altered to uranpyrochlore and oxy-petscheckite. Uranium was likely transported as uranyl carbonate and uranyl fluoride complexes. With change of temperature and pH, these complexes became unstable and combined with silica, calcium, and lead to form uranophane and kasolite. Finally, at a later stage of low-temperature supergene alteration, oxy-petscheckite was altered to an unidentified hydrated uranium niobate mineral by removal of Fe.     

The system Fe-Si-O: Oxygen buffer calibrations to 1,500K

The five solid-phase oxygen buffers of the system Fe-Si-O, iron-wuestite (IW), wuestite-magnetite (WM), magnetite-hematite (MH), quartz-iron-fayalite (QIF) and fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) have been recalibrated at 1 atm pressure and temperatures from 800°–1,300° C, using a thermogravimetric gas mixing furnace. The oxygen fugacity, \(f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\) was measured with a CaO-doped ZrO₂ electrode. Measurements were made also for wuestite solid solutions in order to determine the redox behavior of wuestites with O/Fe ratios varying from 1.05 to 1.17. For FMQ, additional determinations were carried out at 1 kb over a temperature range of 600° to 800° C, using a modified Shaw membrane. Results agree reasonably well with published data and extrapolations. The reaction parameters K, ΔG _r ^o , ΔH _r ^o , and ΔS _r ^o were calculated from the following log \(f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\) /T relations (T in K): $$\begin{gathered} {\text{IW }}\log f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } = - 26,834.7/T + 6.471\left( { \pm 0.058} \right) \hfill \\ {\text{ }}\left( {{\text{800}} - 1,260{\text{ C}}} \right), \hfill \\ {\text{WM }}\log f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } = - 36,951.3/T + 16.092\left( { \pm 0.045} \right) \hfill \\ {\text{ }}\left( {{\text{1,000}} - 1,300{\text{ C}}} \right), \hfill \\ {\text{MH }}\log f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } = - 23,847.6/T + 13.480\left( { \pm 0.055} \right) \hfill \\ {\text{ }}\left( {{\text{1,040}} - 1,270{\text{ C}}} \right), \hfill \\ {\text{QIF }}\log f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } = - 27,517.5/T + 6.396\left( { \pm 0.049} \right) \hfill \\ {\text{ }}\left( {{\text{960}} - 1,140{\text{ C}}} \right), \hfill \\ {\text{FMQ }}\log f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } = - 24,441.9/T + 8.290\left( { \pm 0.167} \right) \hfill \\ {\text{ }}\left( {{\text{600}} - 1,140{\text{ C}}} \right). \hfill \\ \end{gathered}$$ These experimentally determined reaction parameters were combined with published 298 K data to determine the parameters G_f, H_f, and S_f for the phases wuestite, magnetite, hematite, and fayalite from 298 K to the temperatures of the experiments. The T? \(f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} }\) data for wuestite solid solutions were used to obtain activities, excess free energies and Margules mixing parameters. The new data provide a more reliable, consistent and complete reference set for the interpretation of redox reactions at elevated temperatures in experiments and field settings encompassing the crust, mantle and core as well as extraterrestrial environments.     

Aenigmatite stability in silica-undersaturated rocks

Aenigmatite is common in many trachytes, phonolites and agpaitic nepheline syenites. Petrographic evidence suggests that the aenigmatite in these rocks arises by the reaction of Ti-magnetite with a peralkaline silica-undersaturated liquid, and it is postulated that a no-oxide field, where aenigmatite is stable, exists in alkaline undersaturated magmas. This field is similar to that found in silicic liquids but lies below the FMQ buffer curve in space and is probably confined within narrow limits of temperature and oxygen fugacity. The hydrated equivalent of aenigmatite is possibly astrophyllite and the latter mineral is frequently associated with Na-amphiboles in natural rocks. This suggests that the stability field of astrophyllite is similar to that of Na-amphiboles with respect to temperature and .     

Solubility and partitioning of water in synthetic forsterite and enstatite in the system MgO–SiO2–H2O±Al2O3

The solubility of water in coexisting enstatite and forsterite was investigated by simultaneously synthesizing the two phases in a series of high pressure and temperature piston cylinder experiments. Experiments were performed at 1.0 and 2.0 GPa at temperatures between 1,100 and 1,420°C. Integrated OH absorbances were determined using polarized infrared spectroscopy on orientated single crystals of each phase. Phase water contents were estimated using the calibration of Libowitzky and Rossman (Am Mineral 82:1111–1115, 1997). Enstatite crystals, synthesized in equilibrium with forsterite and an aqueous phase at 1,350°C and 2.0 GPa, contain 114 ppm H₂O. This is reduced to 59 ppm at 1,100°C, under otherwise identical conditions, suggesting a strong temperature dependence. At 1,350°C and 1.0 GPa water solubility in enstatite is 89 ppm, significantly lower than that at 2.0 GPa. In contrast water solubility in forsterite is essentially constant, being in the range 36–41 ppm for all conditions studied. These data give partition coefficients in the range 2.28–3.31 for all experiments at 1,350°C and 1.34 for one experiment at 1,100°C. The incorporation of Al₂O₃ in enstatite modifies the OH stretching spectrum in a systematic way, and slightly increases the water solubility.     

A regional gradient in the composition of metamorphic fluids in pelitic schist,Pecos Baldy,New Mexico

Two metamorphic isograds cut across graphitic schist near Pecos Baldy, New Mexico. The southern isograd marks the first coexistence of staurolite with biotite, whereas the northern isograd marks the first coexistence of andalusite with biotite. The isograds do not record changes in temperature or pressure. Instead, they record a regional gradient in the composition of the metamorphic fluid phase. Ortega Quartzite, which contains primary hematite, lies immediately north of the graphitic schist. Mineral compositions within the schist change gradually toward the quartzite, reflecting gradients in and . The chemical potential gradients, locally as high as 72 cal/m in and 9 cal/m in , controlled the positions of the two mapped isograds. The staurolite-biotite isograd records where fell below 0.80, at near 10^–23 bars; the andalusite-biotite isograd records where fell below 0.25, at near 10^–22 bars. Dehydration and oxidation were coupled by graphite-fluid equilibrium.The chemical potential gradients apparently formed during metamorphism, as graphite in schist reacted with hematite in quartzite. Local oxidation of graphite formed CO₂ which triggered dehydration reactions along the schistquartzite contact. This process created a C-O-H fluid which infiltrated into overlying rocks. Upward infiltration, local fluid-rock equilibration and additional infiltration proceeded until the composition of the infiltrating fluid evolved to that in equilibrium with the infiltrated rock. This point occurs very close to the staurolite-biotite isograd. Pelitic rocks structurally above this isograd show no petrographic evidence of infiltration, even though calculations indicate that volumetric fluid/rock ratios may have exceeded 15 and thin, rare calc-silicate beds show extensive K-metasomatism and quartz veining.     

Igneous garnet and amphibole fractionation in the roots of island arcs: experimental constraints on andesitic liquids

To evaluate the role of garnet and amphibole fractionation at conditions relevant for the crystallization of magmas in the roots of island arcs, a series of experiments were performed on a synthetic andesite at conditions ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 GPa, 800–1,000°C and variable H₂O contents. At water undersaturated conditions and fO₂ established around QFM, garnet has a wide stability field. At 1.2 GPa garnet + amphibole are the high-temperature liquidus phases followed by plagioclase at lower temperature. Clinopyroxene reaches its maximal stability at H₂O-contents ≤9 wt% at 950°C and is replaced by amphibole at lower temperature. The slopes of the plagioclase-in boundaries are moderately negative in space. At 0.8 GPa, garnet is stable at magmatic H₂O contents exceeding 8 wt% and is replaced by spinel at decreasing dissolved H₂O. The liquids formed by crystallization evolve through continuous silica increase from andesite to dacite and rhyolite for the 1.2 GPa series, but show substantial enrichment in FeO/MgO for the 0.8 GPa series related to the contrasting roles of garnet and amphibole in fractionating Fe–Mg in derivative liquids. Our experiments indicate that the stability of igneous garnet increases with increasing dissolved H₂O in silicate liquids and is thus likely to affect trace element compositions of H₂O-rich derivative arc volcanic rocks by fractionation. Garnet-controlled trace element ratios cannot be used as a proxy for ‘slab melting’, or dehydration melting in the deep arc. Garnet fractionation, either in the deep crust via formation of garnet gabbros, or in the upper mantle via formation of garnet pyroxenites remains an important alternative, despite the rare occurrence of magmatic garnet in volcanic rocks.     

Thermodynamic mixing properties of Mg(Al,Cr)2O4 spinel crystalline solution at high temperatures and pressures

Three Al-Cr exchange isotherms at 1,250°, 1,050°, and 796° between Mg(Al, Cr)₂O₄ spinel and (Al, Cr)₂O₃ corundum crystalline solutions have been studied experimentally at 25 kbar pressure. Starting from gels of suitable bulk compositions, close approach to equilibrium has been demonstrated in each case by time studies. Using the equation of state for (Al, Cr)₂O₃ crystalline solution (Chatterjee et al. 1982a) and assuming that the Mg(Al, Cr)₂O₄ can be treated in terms of the asymmetric Margules relation, the exchange isotherms were solved for Δ G ^*, and . The best constrained data set from the 1,250° C isotherm clearly shows that the latter two quantities do not overlap within three standard deviations, justifying the choice of asymmetric Margules relation for describing the excess mixing properties of Mg(Al, Cr)₂O₄ spinels. Based on these experiments, the following polybaric-polythermal equation of state can be formulated: , P expressed in bars, T in K, G _m ^ex and W _G,i ^Sp in joules/mol. Temperature-dependence of G _m ^ex is best constrained in the range 796–1,250° C; extrapolation beyond that range would have to be done with caution. Such extrapolation to lower temperature shows tentatively that at 1 bar pressure the critical temperature, T _c, of the spinel solvus is 427° C, with dT_c/dP≈1.3 K/kbar. The critical composition, X _c, is 0.42 , and changes barely with pressure. Substantial error in calculated phase diagrams will result if the significant positive deviation from ideality is ignored for Al-Cr mixing in such spinels.     

Thermodynamic Properties of Brucite Determined by Solubility Studies and Their Significance to Nuclear Waste Isolation

Solubility experiments were conducted for the dissolution reaction of brucite, Mg(OH)₂ (cr): Experiments were conducted from undersaturation in deionized (DI) water and 0.010–4.4 m NaCl solutions at 22.5°C. In addition, brucite solubility was measured from supersaturation in an experiment in which brucite was precipitated via dropwise addition of 0.10 m NaOH into a 0.10 m MgCl₂ solution also at 22.5°C. The attainment of the reversal in equilibrium was demonstrated in this study. The solubility constant at 22.5°C at infinite dilution calculated from the experimental results from the direction of supersaturation by using the specific interaction theory (SIT) is: with a corresponding value of 17.0 ± 0.2 (2σ) when extrapolated to 25°C. The dimensionless standard chemical potential (μ°/RT) of brucite derived from the solubility data in 0.010 m to 4.4 m NaCl solutions from undersaturation extrapolated to 25°C is −335.76 ± 0.45 (2σ), with the corresponding Gibbs free energy of formation of brucite, , being −832.3 ± 1.1 (2σ) kJ mol⁻¹. In combination with the auxiliary thermodynamic data, the is calculated to be 17.1 ± 0.2 (2σ), based on the above Gibbs free energy of formation for brucite. This study recommends an average value of 17.05 ± 0.2 in logarithmic unit as solubility constant of brucite at 25°C, according to the values from both supersaturation and undersaturation. Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.     

Mechanisms of hydrogen incorporation and diffusion in iron-bearing olivine

The incorporation and diffusion of hydrogen in San Carlos olivine (Fo₉₀) single crystals were studied by performing experiments under hydrothermal conditions. The experiments were carried out either at 1.5 GPa, 1,000°C for 1.5 h in a piston cylinder apparatus or at 0.2 GPa, 900°C for 1 or 20 h in a cold-seal vessel. The oxygen fugacity was buffered using Ni–NiO, and the silica activity was buffered by adding San Carlos orthopyroxene powders. Polarized Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized to quantify the hydroxyl distributions in the samples after the experiments. The resulting infrared spectra reproduce the features of FTIR spectra that are observed in olivine from common mantle peridotite xenoliths. The hydrogen concentration at the edges of the hydrogenated olivine crystals corresponds to concentration levels calculated from published water solubility laws. Hydrogen diffusivities were determined for the three crystallographic axes from profiles of water content as a function of position. The chemical diffusion coefficients are comparable to those previously reported for natural iron-bearing olivine. At high temperature, hydrogenation is dominated by coupled diffusion of protons and octahedrally coordinated metal vacancies where the vacancy diffusion rate limits the process. From the experimental data, we determined the following diffusion laws (diffusivity in m² s⁻¹, activation energies in kJ mol⁻¹): for diffusion along [100] and [010]; for diffusion along [001]. These diffusion rates are fast enough to modify significantly water contents within olivine grains in xenoliths ascending from the mantle.     

The activity of silica in kimberlites,revisited

The activity of silica in a silicate liquid in equilibrium with olivine and orthopyroxene decreases with increasing pressure. In contrast, the activity of silica in an unbuffered silicate liquid changes little with pressure. Although the implications of these pressure dependencies have been considered by previous authors in terms of inferring pressures of origin of magmas, less consideration has been given to the implications of these dependencies on the evolution of the magma en route to the surface, or to the mantle through which the magma passes. In this paper, a combination of Schreinemakers’ analysis in isothermal section and calculated reactions in space is used to (a) rationalize the absence of orthopyroxene xenocrysts in kimberlites and the relative abundance of olivine “megacrysts” therein, (b) propose another reason for the paucity of xenocrystic mantle-derived carbonates in kimberlites, (c) explain why clinopyroxene is much less reactive in the kimberlite melt than is orthopyroxene, and (d) explore the implications of the relative stabilities of olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene in kimberlitic magma for the mantle through which the magma transits.

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Amphibole composition in tonalite as a function of pressure: an experimental calibration of the Al-in-hornblende barometer

The Al-in-hornblende barometer, which correlates Al^tot content of magmatic hornblende linearly with crystallization pressure of intrusion (Hammarstrom and Zen 1986), has been calibrated experimentally under water-saturated conditions at pressures of 2.5–13 kbar and temperatures of 700–655°C. Equilibration of the assemblage hornlende-biotite-plagioclase-orthoclasequartz-sphene-Fe-Ti-oxide-melt-vapor from a natural tonalite 15–20° above its wet solidus results in hornblende compositions which can be fit by the equation: P(±0.6 kbar) = –3.01 + 4.76 Al _hbl ^tot r ²=0.99, where Al^tot is the total Al content of hornblende in atoms per formula unit (apfu). Al^tot increase with pressure can be ascribed mainly to a tschermak-exchange ( ) accompanied by minor plagioclase-substitution ( ). This experimental calibration agrees well with empirical field calibrations, wherein pressures are estimated by contact-aureole barometry, confirming that contact-aureole pressures and pressures calculated by the Al-in-hornblende barometer are essentially identical. This calibration is also consistent with the previous experimental calibration by Johnson and Rutherford (1989b) which was accomplished at higher temperatures, stabilizing the required buffer assemblage by use of mixed H₂O-CO₂ fluids. The latter calibration yields higher Al^tot content in hornblendes at corresponding pressures, this can be ascribed to increased edenite-exchange ( ) at elevated temperatures. The comparison of both experimental calibrations shows the important influence of the fluid composition, which affects the solidus temperature, on equilibration of hornblende in the buffering phase assemblage.     

Thermochemistry of sulfide liquids IV: density measurements and the thermodynamics of O–S–Fe–Ni–Cu liquids at low to moderate pressures

We present the results of a series of density experiments in the system O–S–Fe–Ni–Cu. These experiments were designed to extend our understanding of the physical properties of sulfide liquids, and to extend one-bar thermochemical models for sulfide liquids to apply to low to moderate pressures. Density measurements indicate both positive and negative deviations from linear mixing of partial molar volumes across this five-dimensional composition space. In terms of the homogeneous speciation model of Kress (in Contrib Mineral Petrol 154:191–204, 2007), the best fit to experimental data can be achieved by starting with a model where the volume of formation reaction for associated species initially is set to zero. Further refinement of this first-order fit yields a volume mixing model which reproduces experimental data to within nearly the estimated experimental uncertainty. Experimental ultrasonic and X-ray absorption data from the literature, along with the bulk modulus–volume relation of Anderson and Nafe (J Geophys Res 16:3951–3963, 1965), allow the estimation of the pressure dependence of partial molar volumes for sulfide liquid species. The resulting combined thermochemical model should be valid to about 2,000 K and 3 GPa. Application of this thermochemical model in a simple adiabatic magma ascent scenario confirms earlier work suggesting that the pressure dependence of sulfur solubility in sulfide-saturated magma will decrease with increasing pressure along geologically reasonable paths in P–T–– space.     

The volatile component of quaternary ignimbrite magmas from the North Island,New Zealand

Ignimbrites from the central North Island consist mainly of glass or its devitrified product (70–95%); their phenocryst mineralogy is varied and includes plag., hyp., ti-mag., ilm., aug., hblende, biot., san., qtz, ol., with accessory apatite, zircon and pyrrhotite. The Fe-Mg minerals can be used to divide the ignimbrites into four groups with hyp.+aug. reflecting high quench temperatures and biot.+hblende +hyp.+aug., low quench temperatures. Oxygen fugacities lie above the QMF buffer curve and even in ignimbrites with low crystal contents the solid phases apparently buffered fO₂. Some ignimbrites contain the assemblage actinolite, gedrite, magnetite and hematite, reflecting post-eruption oxidation. The mineralogy also allows estimation of using pyrrhotite and thence , . The assemblage biotite-sanidine can be used to estimate and thence . Water fugacity is calculated in a variety of ways using both biotite and hornblende as well as the combining reaction . It is high and approaches P _total in most ignimbrites (~4kb) but is lower in unwelded pumice breccias. Comparison of temperature estimates using mineral geothermometers for the various phenocryst phases suggests that the ignimbrite magmas showed temperature differences of 60–100 °C and pressure differences of several kilobars. Individual magma chambers therefore, would have extended over several kilometres vertically. The chemical potential of water may have been constant through the magma.     

P,T, f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} } and f_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}} during metamorphism of calcareous sediments in the Waterville-Vassalboro area,south-central Maine

In a regional metamorphic terrain where six isograds have been mapped based on mineral reactions that are observed in metacarbonate rocks, the P-T conditions and fugacities of CO₂ and H₂O during metamorphism were quantified by calculations involving actual mineral compositions and experimental data. Pressure during metamorphism was near 3,500 bars. Metamorphic temperatures ranged from 380° C (biotite-chlorite isograd) to 520° C (diopside isograd). \(f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) and \(f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) / \(f_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) in general is higher in metacarbonate rocks below the zoisite isograd than in those above the zoisite isograd. Calculated \(f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) and \(f_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) are consistent with carbonate rocks above the zoisite isograd having equilibrated during metamorphism with a bulk supercritical fluid in which \(P_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) + \(P_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) = P _total. Calculations indicate that below the zoisite isograd, however, \(P_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) + \(P_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) was less than P_total, and that this condition is not due to the presence of significant amounts of species other than CO₂ and H₂O in the system C-O-H-S. Calculated \(P_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) /( \(P_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) + \(P_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) ) is low (0.06–0.32) above the zoisite isograd. The differences in conditions above and below the zoisite isograd may indicate that the formation of zoisite records the introduction of a bulk supercritical H₂O-rich fluid into the metacarbonates. The results of the study indicate that \(f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) and \(f_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) are constant on a thin section scale, but that gradients in \(f_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} }\) and \(f_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}\) existed during metamorphism on both outcrop and regional scales.