我国夕卡岩铁(铜)矿床伴生钴的地球化学特征

夕卡岩铁(铜)矿床中伴生的钴,占全国钴总储量的14.9%,是我国钻矿原料的重要来源之一.本文根据我们多年的工作成果和有关资料,对该类钴矿的某些地球化学特征,进行初步探讨.一钴的地球化学属性及其在夕卡岩矿床中的富集情况钴是一个高度分散的元素,自然界中难以形成独立的矿床.钴的地壳丰度为O.0025%,地核丰度0.042%,地球丰度0.026%(黎彤,1976),地壳丰度与地核丰度之比为1∶17,即具有地壳分散、地核富集的特征.钴具有亲铁和亲硫的双重性质.亲铁性表现在地核中铁、镍、钴可以互熔并高度富集,亲硫性远不及镍、铜,在岩浆矿床中难     

核-幔物质晶体化学、矿物学及矿床学初探

大量的高温、高压实验表明随着温度和压力的增加 ,地幔氧化物及硅酸盐的晶体结构会发生与其温度和压力相适应的多型转变 ,并导致元素金属性的增加 ,即氧离子半径的缩小以及硅和其他阳离子半径的增大。来自地核部分物质的晶体化学及晶体物理目前还很少涉及 ,根据其物质组成 ,可能具有金属及金属互化物的性质 ,即原子呈等大球最紧密堆积 ,具有高熔点、难溶性等特征。在地球形成时作为地核物质是最先凝聚的 ,并由于重力分异沉入地核 ,上升至浅部时不与其他元素化合 ,保持了零价状态 ;等大球最紧密堆积使其在地球各层圈中晶体结构保持恒定。地幔热柱使核、幔物质上升至地球浅部成为可能 ,并形成矿物及矿床。以西藏罗布莎铬铁矿床为例 ,已经发现了多达 5 0种的铂族元素矿物、铁族元素矿物及其金属互化物 ,包括成分复杂多变的Os Ir ,Os Ir Ru ,Pt Fe ,Ir Fe Ni,Fe Ni Cr及Fe Co等矿物 ,它们还与来自核幔边界的Si,Fe ,FexSiy,FeO和SiO2 矿物共生 ,其中铂属矿物及其金属互化物矿物应视为来自E层的地核矿物 ;探讨了该区矿物与陨石矿物在共生组合方面的相似性 ,地核矿物的聚集可能会形成新型的金属元素矿床     

地核物态及其量子地球动力探讨

根据量子力学原理对核物质状态进行分析，简要计算了现代地球内核超固态物质原子中被公有公电子的平均值、地核物质的公有化自由电子浓度、现代地球内核中自由电子平均运动速度、早期产生地核物质量子效应的自引力压强临界值和起动地球整体膨胀的自引力压强、地核发生超固态量子力学效应所需要的能量等参数。内地核物质很可能是在超高压环境下形成的一种特殊物质状态-超固态。地核超固态产生的量子排斥压强超过地球自引力收缩压强的临界值时，导致地球发生整体的膨胀，由此引出量子地球构造动力的概念。     

地球旋转膨胀与冈瓦纳古陆裂解

地球自转速度变慢说明地球在旋转的同时其体积在膨胀。这与红移现象等说明的宇宙膨胀是一致的。地球放射性物质的放射性能导致软流圈及塑性地核外核的形成。地球自转的惯性与地球塑性层的共同作用导致了地球的层间滑动。地球外圈应相对于内圈转动较慢。转动较快的内层层圈的运动方向为自西向东,或左旋剪切。即,软流圈之下的下地幔应相对于岩石圈自西向东转动较快;塑性地核外核之下的内核应相对于外核自西向东转动较快。在地球层圈之间的剪切力和地球放射性能所引起的热能的共同作用下,在软流圈产生物质的对流,形成地幔物质对流。推测地核的外核也可能会产生塑性物质的对流。地轴倾角ε的变化以及潮汐转矩和岁差转矩是地球动力学的重要因素。地球的旋转膨胀是板块运动的地球动力学基础,也是冈瓦纳古陆裂解的运动学基础。     

地球系统演化原因研究的回顾与展望

简略回顾了地球系统的研究历史,指出人类数千年来关于地球系统的研究可分为古代、大分化和大融合 3个阶段,提出"地球系统学"在今后相当一段时间内将是地学研究的主流。第二部分探索地球系统演化的原因,指出："热"是影响地球系统的途径,但地表面受热的准周期性变化不应是整个地球系统演化的主要原因;对于各种引力的准周期性变化对气候变化的影响,归纳出这样一条可能的途径：天体引力→地核环流变化→通过地幔热柱影响软流圈波动变化→通过地热影响气候变化;宇宙磁场通过"变压器效应"调制地核中的Lorenz力,使地核环流变化,进而影响地球系统演化。第三部分提出"外核环流是主导地表系统演化的总枢纽"假说。最后指出：一定要从宇地相互作用中寻求地球系统演化的原因;宇地之间相互联系的热、力和电磁三种物理过程中,"磁"是最值得予以关注的;核幔边界层很可能是推动地核环流和地幔对流的能源区。     

前寒武纪地球动力学(Ⅱ):早期地球

早期地球(early Earth)是指冥古宙(或称dark ages,黑暗时代)的地球,也称为"Hadean Earth",即是45.6亿年至40亿年的地球。早期地球是地球科学研究的前沿,是诸多地质、地球化学理论或模型必须面对的基本科学问题。本文系统综合了与早期地球相关的研究进展,特别是近10年来的进展,以建立地质理论的各种大地质现象起源为主线,包括原始地核、原始地壳、地幔对流、岩石圈、地幔不均一性、陆壳和洋壳、水及大气圈和海洋、板块构造、早期生命等起源问题。这些都是地球科学的重大前沿科学问题,也与地球物质起源相关的宇宙起源、元素起源密切相关。原始地核出现最早,在原始地球形成之初的几个百万年内就形成了,4 450 Ma地球发生了最后一次全球整体的大规模熔融事件,地球的原始地幔和原始地核再次均一化,原始地核可能消失;4 450 Ma之后的地核大小与现今的地核大小基本一致,只是液态外核在不断冷却缩小,而固态内核在不断增大;从锆石年龄得出最早地壳大于4 408Ma,而从Sm-Nd体系获得的最早地壳年龄为4 470 Ma,比后期地核形成要早。总之,原始地壳从原始地幔中分离出来的时间大体为44.5亿年。一些最老的锆石中Nd、Hf的地球化学特征也证明原始地幔分异发生在43亿年前。岩浆抽吸后的原始地幔上部经冷却,原则上可能构成原始地壳下部的原始岩石圈地幔,从而开始出现上地幔和下地幔的分异演化。但是,地球40亿年前的原始岩石圈没有大洋岩石圈和大陆岩石圈之分。对地幔对流循环起源有3种认识,最可能产生于44.5亿年前的偶然撞击事件。地幔不均一性起源可能与地幔对流循环有关,可用地幔柱理论或地幔翻转过程给予解释,且早于板块构造体制起源,板块构造增强了其不均一性。水、大气圈和海洋的起源早于陆壳和洋壳的分异。最早的水最可靠的直接证据来自发现的最老锆石的氧同位素,表明水在40亿年前就在原始地球表面稳定存在。但是,地球最早的矿物记录残存在西澳伊尔岗克拉通中(Mt.Narryer和Jack Hills地区),为一颗44亿年的锆石。这颗最早的锆石也意味着最早的硅铝壳(陆壳)应当在44亿年前就出现了。陆壳记录远远早于板块构造在地球上运行的可靠记录,因而早期陆壳起源机制很可能是独立于板块构造体制之外的前板块构造体制制约,触发式拆沉驱动的构造-岩浆过程和3个世代的岩浆分异过程最终导致大规模TTG(陆壳)爆发式形成。水是生命起源的必备条件,因此地球生命起源时间晚于4.0Ga,化石确证生命至少起源于3.7Ga前,且生命最可能出现在海洋中的热液喷口。总之,本文概要介绍了诸多地球科学成就的菁华和前沿,也有助于全面认识与早期地球组成、结构、演化及动力学过程相关的不同学科前沿的最新重大成就。     

古地磁场研究:挑战与机遇

地磁场源于地核流体的运动,至少已有约35亿年历史.地磁场的起源及演化一直是地球科学研究的前沿领域之一,这是因为它既是地球宜居环境的重要保障,也是探究地球系统各圈层联系的重要途径.本文重点围绕保留在岩石中的"深时"古地磁场记录,分析在地球内部磁场的形成与维持、地磁场极性倒转、以及地磁场强度变化等古地磁场研究三个方面的主要...     

地震起源的新假设

白俄罗斯科学家尤里·米哈伊洛夫认为,地核移动是地震和火山喷发的起因。地核是固体,它应当沿着比地球外壳更稳定的轨道移动,它不在地球的正中间,常常游动到地球的“腹部”。观察地核可预报地震。     

核幔成矿物质(流体)的反重力迁移——地幔热柱多级演化成矿作用

地壳中矿床分布极不均匀 ,这与地球的形成与演化密切相关。在地球演化的早期 ,由于在引力收缩和热力膨胀的统一作用支配下 ,放射性、卤族、稀有、稀土元素及碱金属向上迁移 ,而贵金属、有色、铁族、铂族等密度较大的元素则有逐渐向地核聚集的趋势 ,以至于铁、镍、金等元素主要聚集在地核之中。但是 ,在地球形成圈层结构的同时 ,由于地球内外温度差、压力差、粘度差等的存在 ,导致地球发生以地幔热柱多级演化为主要形式的垂向物质运动 ,两者互为依存 ,并构成幔壳运动的原动力。地幔热柱多级演化沟通了深部矿质的迁移通道 ,聚集在地核及核幔界面上的气态金等重元素得以作为地幔热柱的热物质流 ,呈反重力迁移至岩石圈 ,并进而以气 液态向近地表迁移 ,在有利的构造扩容带中聚集成矿。这可能是金银铜铅锌等多种元素的重要成矿作用方式。     

氢——地球深部流体的重要源泉

介绍了近年来金刚石包裹体中流体研究结果，特别是分子氢和羟基的发现。基于地幔中氢的发现，论证了氢在地球内部的赋存形式。地核和地幔中有氢化物存在得到高压低温实验、地球物理和天文物理测定的支持。从而提出，氢是地幔羽中的原始热物质。核幔边界或地幔中氢化物释放出的氢，发生化学反应，形成地幔流体，推动地球演化。地幔羽应称为氢羽。     

地球内核与地球深部动力学

地球内核由外核富含铁元素的液态物质结晶而成。经证实,内核正以约１（°）／ａ的速率相对于地幔向东转动。内核的旋转是通过穿过内核的地震波的走时随时间变化推测得到的。这种变化是最近十多年来揭示出的内核各向异性在空间方位的改变所造成。内核的各向异性被认为起因于各向异性的铁晶体的有序排列,但这种有序排列的机制还不清楚。内核在地球发电机中起着重要的作用。利用大型的并行计算机,人们已得到能产生像地磁场一样的三维发电机数值模拟。地震学观测到的内核差速旋转为最近的发电机数值模拟提供了支持。这种数值模拟曾预测：导体内核与外核产生的磁场的电磁耦合驱动了内核每年几度向东旋转。地核通过核幔边界的接触及内核与地幔的引力耦合与地幔存在强烈的相互作用。多学科领域的突破为认识地球的深部动力过程提供了极好的机会和手段。     

The composition of the Earth

Compositional models of the Earth are critically dependent on three main sources of information: the seismic profile of the Earth and its interpretation, comparisons between primitive meteorites and the solar nebula composition, and chemical and petrological models of peridotite-basalt melting relationships. Whereas a family of compositional models for the Earth are permissible based on these methods, the model that is most consistent with the seismological and geodynamic structure of the Earth comprises an upper and lower mantle of similar composition, an Fe---Ni core having between 5% and 15% of a low-atomic-weight element, and a mantle which, when compared to CI carbonaceous chondrites, is depleted in Mg and Si relative to the refractory lithophile elements.The absolute and relative abundances of the refractory elements in carbonaceous, ordinary, and enstatite chondritic meteorites are compared. The bulk composition of an average CI carbonaceous chondrite is defined from previous compilations and from the refractory element compositions of different groups of chondrites. The absolute uncertainties in their refractory element compositions are evaluated by comparing ratios of these elements. These data are then used to evaluate existing models of the composition of the Silicate Earth.The systematic behavior of major and trace elements during differentiation of the mantle is used to constrain the Silicate Earth composition. Seemingly fertile peridotites have experienced a previous melting event that must be accounted for when developing these models. The approach taken here avoids unnecessary assumptions inherent in several existing models, and results in an internally consistent Silicate Earth composition having chondritic proportions of the refractory lithophile elements at 2.75 times that in CI carbonaceous chondrites. Element ratios in peridotites, komatiites, basalts and various crustal rocks are used to assess the abundances of both non-lithophile and non-refractory elements in the Silicate Earth. These data provide insights into the accretion processes of the Earth, the chemical evolution of the Earth's mantle, the effect of core formation, and indicate negligible exchange between the core and mantle throughout the geologic record (the last 3.5 Ga).The composition of the Earth's core is poorly constrained beyond its major constituents (i.e. an Fe---Ni alloy). Density contrasts between the inner and outer core boundary are used to suggest the presence ( 10 ± 5%) of a light element or a combination of elements (e.g., O, S, Si) in the outer core. The core is the dominant repository of siderophile elements in the Earth. The limits of our understanding of the core's composition (including the light-element component) depend on models of core formation and the class of chondritic meteorites we have chosen when constructing models of the bulk Earth's composition.The Earth has a bulk Fe/Al of 20 ± 2, established by assuming that the Earth's budget of Al is stored entirely within the Silicate Earth and Fe is partitioned between the Silicate Earth ( 14%) and the core ( 86%). Chondritic meteorites display a range of Fe/Al ratios, with many having a value close to 20. A comparison of the bulk composition of the Earth and chondritic meteorites reveals both similarities and differences, with the Earth being more strongly depleted in the more volatile elements. There is no group of meteorites that has a bulk composition matching that of the Earth's.     

Reaction between liquid iron and (Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskite and solubilities of Si and O in molten iron at 27 GPa

The Earth’s core contains light elements and their identification is essential for our understanding of the thermal structure and convection in the core that drives the geodynamo and heat flow from the core to the mantle. Solubilities of Si and O in liquid iron coexisting with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite, a major constituent of the lower mantle, were investigated at temperatures between 2,320 and 3,040 K at 27 GPa. It was observed that Si dissolved in the liquid iron up to 1.70 wt% at 3,040 K and O dissolved in the liquid iron up to 7.5 wt% at 2,800 K. It was also clearly seen that liquid iron reacts with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite to form magnesiowüstite and it contains Si and O at 27 GPa and at 2,640 and 3,040 K. The amounts of Si and O in the liquid iron are 1.70 and 2.25 wt% at 3,040 K, respectively. The solubilities of Si and O in liquid iron coexisting with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite have strong positive temperature dependency. Hence, they can be plausible candidates for the light elements in the core.     

Dynamics and evolution of the deep mantle resulting from thermal,chemical, phase and melting effects

The core–mantle boundary (CMB) – the interface between the silicate mantle and liquid iron alloy outer core – is the most important boundary inside our planet, with processes occurring in the deep mantle above it playing a major role in the evolution of both the core and the mantle. The last decade has seen an astonishing improvement in our knowledge of this region due to improvements in seismological data and techniques for mapping both large- and small-scale structures, mineral physics discoveries such as post-perovskite and the iron spin transition, and dynamical modelling. The deep mantle is increasingly revealed as a very complex region characterised by large variations in temperature and composition, phase changes, melting (possibly at present and certainly in the past), and anisotropic structures. Here, some fundamentals of the relevant processes and uncertainties are reviewed in the context of long-term Earth evolution and how it has led to the observed present-day structures. Melting has been a dominant process in Earth's evolution. Several processes involving melting, some of which operated soon after Earth's formation and some of which operated throughout its history, have produced dense, iron rich material that has likely sunk to the deepest mantle to be incorporated into a heterogeneous basal mélange (BAM) that is now evident seismically as two large low-velocity regions under African and the Pacific, but was probably much larger in the past. This BAM modulates core heat flux, plume formation and the separation of different slab components, and may contain various trace-element cocktails required to explain geochemical observations. The geographical location of BAM material has, however, probably changed through Earth's history due to the inherent time-dependence of plate tectonics and continental cycles.     

Core formation in the Earth and Moon: new experimental constraints from V, Cr, and Mn

The mantles of the Earth and Moon are similarly depleted in V, Cr, and Mn relative to the concentrations of these elements in chondritic meteorites. The similar depletions have been used as evidence that the Moon inherited its mantle from the Earth after a giant impact event. We have conducted liquid metal-liquid silicate partitioning experiments for V, Cr, and Mn from 3 to 14 GPa and 1723 to 2573 K to understand the behavior of these elements during planetary core formation. Our experiments have included systematic studies of the effects of temperature, silicate composition, metallic S-content, metallic C-content, and pressure. Temperature has a significant effect on the partitioning of V, Cr, Mn, with all three elements increasing their partitioning into the metallic liquid with increasing temperature. In contrast, pressure is not observed to affect the partitioning behavior. The experimental results show the partitioning of Cr and Mn are hardly dependent on the silicate composition, whereas V partitions more strongly into depolymerized silicate melts. The addition of either S or C to the metallic liquid causes increased metal-silicate partition coefficients for all three elements. Parameterizing and applying the experimental data, we find that the Earth’s mantle depletions of V, Cr, and possibly Mn can be explained by core formation in a high-temperature magma ocean under oxygen fugacity conditions about two log units below the iron-wüstite buffer, though the depletion of Mn may be due entirely to its volatility. However, more oxidizing conditions proposed in recent core formation models for the Earth cannot account for any of the depletions. Additionally, because we observe no pressure effect on the partitioning behavior, the data do not require the mantle of the Moon to be derived from the Earth’s mantle, although this is not ruled out. All that is required to create depletions of V, Cr, and Mn in a mantle is a planetary body that is hot enough and reducing enough during its core formation. Such conditions could have existed on the Moon-forming impactor.     

Cascaded Evolution of Mantle Plumes and Metallogenesis of Core- and Mantle-derived Elements

Mineral deposits are unevenly distributed in the Earth's crust, which is closely related to the formation and evolution of the Earth. In the early history of the Earth, controlled by the gravitational contraction and thermal expansion, lighter elements, such as radioactive, halogen-family, rare and rare earth elements and alkali metals, migrated upwards; whereas heavier elements, such as iron-family and platinum-family elements, base metals and noble metals, had a tendency of sinking to the Earth's core, so that the elements iron, nickel, gold and silver are mainly concentrated in the Earth's core. However, during the formation of the stratified structure of the Earth, the existence of temperature, pressure and viscosity differences inside and outside the Earth resulted in vertical material movement manifested mainly by cascaded evolution of mantle plumes in the Earth. The stratifications and vertical movement of the Earth were interdependent and constituted the motive force of the mantle-core movement.     

Conditions of core formation in the earth: Constraints from Nickel and Cobalt partitioning

The abundances of Ni and Co in the Earth’s mantle are depleted relative to chondrites due to terrestrial core formation. Recently, the observed mantle depletions of these elements have been explained by liquid metal-liquid silicate equilibrium during core formation in a high pressure, high temperature magma ocean on the early Earth. However, different magma ocean models, which would be expected to give consistent results, have proposed vastly different pressures (24 to 59 GPa), temperatures (2200 to >4000 K) and oxygen fugacities (−0.15 to −2.4 ΔIW) for the Earth’s magma ocean. In an attempt to resolve the contradictory results from different magma ocean models and determine the thermodynamic conditions appropriate for core formation in the Earth, experiments were conducted to better constrain the influences of temperature and C on the partitioning behaviors of Ni and Co. Results of experiments at 7 GPa with temperatures of 1923-2673 K show that the metal-silicate partition coefficients for both Ni and Co decrease with increasing temperature, with the effect being more significant for Ni. Little change in the partitioning behaviors of either Ni or Co with varying C-content of the metallic liquid was found. By combining the new temperature data with previous results from pressure and oxygen fugacity studies, we parameterized the partitioning behavior of Ni and Co and applied the parameterizations to core formation in a terrestrial magma ocean. Multiple combinations of pressure, temperature, and oxygen fugacity can explain the observed mantle depletions of Ni and Co, and all of the very different previously proposed magma ocean conditions are generally consistent with valid solutions. By using the FeO content of the Earth’s mantle as an additional constraint on the oxygen fugacity, magma ocean conditions of 30-60 GPa, > 2000 K, and −2.2 ΔIW are suggested. Similar systematic approaches and studies of other moderately siderophile elements could further constrain the magma ocean conditions on the early Earth.     

Magmatism and metallogeny of the Early Earth as a reflection of its geologic evolution

The paper is focused on the evolution of the Earth starting with the planetary accretion and differentiation of the primordial material (similar in composition to CI chondrites) into the core and mantle and the formation of the Moon as a result of the impact of the Earth with a smaller cosmic body. The features of the Hadean eon (ca. 4500–4000 Ma) are described in detail. Frequent meteorite-asteroid bombardments which the Earth experienced in the Hadean could have caused the generation of mafic/ultramafic primary magmas. These magmas also differentiated to produce some granitic magmas, from which zircons crystallized. The repeated meteorite bombardments destroyed the protocrust, which submerged into the mantle to remelt, leaving refractory zircons, indicators of the Early Earth’s geologic conditions, behind.The mantle convection that started in the Archean could possibly be responsible for the Earth’s subsequent endogenous evolution. Long-living deep-seated mantle plumes could have promoted the generation of basalt-komatiitic crust, which, thickening, could have submerged into the mantle as a result of sagduction, where it remelted. Partial melting of the thick crust, leaving eclogite as a residue, could have yielded tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) melts. TTG rocks are believed to compose the Earth’s protocrust. Banded iron bodies, the only mineral deposits of that time, were produced in the oceans that covered the Earth.This environment, recognized as LID tectonics combined with plume tectonics, probably existed on the Earth prior to the transitional period, which was marked by a series of new geologic processes and led to a modern-style tectonics, involving plate tectonics and plume tectonics mechanisms, by 2 Ga. The transitional period was likely to be initiated at about 3.4 Ga, with the segregation of outer and inner cores, which terminated by 3.1 Ga. Other rocks series (calc-alkaline volcanic and intrusive) rather than TTGs were produced at that time. Beginning from 3.4-3.3 Ga, mineral deposits became more diverse; noble and siderophile metal occurrences were predominant among ore deposits. Carbonatites, hosting rare-metal mineralization, could have formed only by 2.0 Ga. From 3.1 to 2.7 Ga, there was a period of “small-plate” tectonics and first subduction and spreading processes, which resulted in the first supercontinent by 2.7 Ga. Its amalgamation indicates the start of superplume-supercontinent cycles.Between 2.7 and 2.0 Ga, the D″ layer formed at the core-mantle interface. It became a kind of thermal regulator for the ascending already tholeiitic mantle plume magmas. All deep-seated layers of the Earth and large low-velocity shear provinces, called mantle hot fields, partially melted enriched EM-I and EM-II mantles, and the depleted recent asthenosphere mantle, which is parental for midocean-ridge basalts, were finally generated by 2 Ga. Therefore, an interaction of all Earth’s layers began from that time.     

Isotopic constraints on the age of the Earth’s core: Mutual consistency of the Hf-W and U-Pb systems

The estimation of the time of Earth??s core formation on the basis of isotopic systems with short-lived and long-lived parent nuclides gives significantly different results. Isotopic data for the ¹⁸²Hf-¹⁸²W system with a ¹⁸²Hf half-life of approximately 9 Myr can be interpreted in such a way that the core was formed 34 Myr after the origin of the solar system assuming complete core-mantle equilibrium. Similar estimates on the basis of the U-Pb isotopic system suggest a significantly longer mean time of core formation of approximately 120 Myr. If the Earth??s core were formed instantaneously, both isotopic systems would have shown identical values corresponding to the true age. The discrepancy between the U-Pb and Hf-W systems can be resolved assuming prolonged differentiation of prototerrestrial material into silicate and metallic phases, which occurred not simultaneously and uniformly in different parts of the mantle. This resulted in the isotopic heterogeneity of the mantle, and its subsequent isotopic homogenization occurred slowly. Under such conditions, the mean isotopic compositions of W and Pb in the mantle do not correspond to the mean time of the separation of silicate and metallic phases. This is related to the fact that the exponential function of radioactive decay is strongly nonlinear at high values of the argument, and its mean value does not correspond to the mean value of the function. There are compelling reasons to believe that the early mantle was heterogeneous with respect to W isotopic composition and was subsequently homogenized by convective mixing. This follows from the fact that the lifetime of isotopic heterogeneities in the mantle is close to 1.8 Gyr for various long-lived isotopic systems. There is also no equilibrium between the mantle and the core with respect to the contents of siderophile elements. Because of this, the mean isotopic ratios of W and Pb cannot be used for the direct computation of the time of metal-silicate differentiation in the Earth. Such estimation requires more sophisticated models accounting for the duration of the differentiation process using several isotope pairs. Given the prolonged core formation, which has probably continued up to now, the question about its age becomes ambiguous, and only the most probable growth rate of the core can be estimated. The combined use of the U-Pb and Hf-W systems constrains the time of formation of 90% of the core mass between 0.12 and 2.7 billion years. These model estimates could have been realistic under the condition of complete disequilibrium between the silicate and metallic phases, which is as improbable as the suggestion of complete equilibrium between them on the whole Earth scale.