Minerals formed and mineral formation from volcanic ash by weathering

Weathering of volcanic ash and pumice is unique regarding minerals formed and mineral formation. These minerals include allophane, imogolite, opaline silica and some halloysites, and have distinctive structures and properties. Studies on the surface and subsurface weathering of various volcanic ashes in different settings are reviewed. This review illustrates that relatively rapid weathering of finely comminuted volcanic ash well reflects the effects of climate, vegetation and time, and produces various combinations of weathering products. The moisture regime, the nature and amount of organic matter incorporated, the deposition of volcanic ash as overburden, and the chemical and mineralogical composition of parent ash are important in controlling the mineral formation in weathered volcanic ash.     

Petrophysical properties of kimberlites from the Komsomolsky Pipe and their relationship to its composition,formation conditions,and diamond content

The paper discusses the petrophysical properties of kimberlites from the Komsomolsky Pipe and statistical analysis of their relationships with the data of petrographic and ore microscopic studies. Comparison of the obtained results with data of analogous studies in other Yakutian kimberlite pipes showed that these data can be applied for prognostic evaluation of kimberlite contents in kimberlite bodies of this region.     

Type C Ca, Al-rich inclusions from Allende: Evidence for multistage formation

The coarse-grained, igneous, anorthite-rich (Type C) CAIs from Allende studied (100, 160, 6-1-72, 3529-40, CG5, ABC, TS26, and 93) have diverse textures and mineralogies, suggesting complex nebular and asteroidal formation histories. CAIs 100, 160, 6-1-72, and 3529-40 consist of Al,Ti-diopside (fassaite; 13-23 wt% Al₂O₃, 2-14 wt% TiO₂), Na-bearing åkermanitic melilite (0.1-0.4 wt% Na₂O; Åk_30-75), spinel, and fine-grained (∼5-10 μm) anorthite groundmass. Most of the fassaite and melilite grains have “lacy” textures characterized by the presence of abundant rounded and prismatic inclusions of anorthite ∼5-10 μm in size. Lacy melilite is pseudomorphed to varying degrees by grossular, monticellite, and pure forsterite or wollastonite. CAI 6-1-72 contains a relict Type B CAI-like portion composed of polycrystalline gehlenitic melilite (Åk_10-40), fassaite, spinel, perovskite, and platinum-group element nuggets; the Type B-like material is overgrown by lacy melilite and fassaite. Some melilite and fassaite grains in CAIs 100 and 160 are texturally similar to those in the Type B portion of 6-1-72. CAIs ABC and TS26 contain relict chondrule fragments composed of forsteritic olivine and low-Ca pyroxene; CAI 93 is overgrown by a coarse-grained igneous rim of pigeonite, augite, and anorthitic plagioclase. These three CAIs contain very sodium-rich åkermanitic melilite (0.4-0.6 wt% Na₂O; Åk_63-74) and Cr-bearing Al,Ti-diopside (up to 1.6 wt% Cr₂O₃, 1-23 wt% Al₂O, 0.5-7 wt% TiO₂). Melilite and anorthite in the Allende Type C CAI peripheries are replaced by nepheline and sodalite, which are crosscut by andradite-bearing veins; spinel is enriched in FeO. The CAI fragment CG5 is texturally and mineralogically distinct from other Allende Type Cs. It is anorthite-poor and very rich in spinel poikilitically enclosed by Na-free gehlenitic melilite (Åk_20-30), fassaite, and anorthite; neither melilite nor pyroxene have lacy textures; secondary minerals are absent. The Al-rich chondrules 3655b-2 and 3510-7 contain aluminum-rich and ferromagnesian portions. The Al-rich portions consist of anorthitic plagioclase, Al-rich low-Ca pyroxene, and Cr-bearing spinel; the ferromagnesium portions consist of fosteritic olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, and opaque nodules.We conclude that Type C CAIs 100, 160, 6-1-72, and 3529-40 formed by melting of coarse-grained Type B-like CAIs which experienced either extensive replacement of melilite and spinel mainly by anorthite and diopside (traces of secondary Na-bearing minerals, e.g., nepheline or sodalite, might have formed as well), or addition of silica and sodium during the melting event. CG5 could have formed by melting of fine-grained spinel-melilite CAI with melilite and spinel partially replaced anorthite and diopside. CAIs ABC, 93, and TS-26 experienced melting in the chondrule-forming regions with addition of chondrule-like material, such as forsteritic olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, and high-Ca pyroxene. Anorthite-rich chondrules formed by melting of the Al-rich (Type C CAI-like) precursors mixed with ferromagnesian, Type I chondrule-like precursors. The Allende Type C CAIs and Al-rich chondrules experienced fluid-assisted thermal metamorphism, which resulted in pseudomorphic replacement of melilite and anorthite by grossular, monticellite, and forsterite (100, 160, 6-1-72, 3592-40) or by grossular, monticellite, and wollastonite (ABC, 93, TS-26). The pseudomorphic replacement was followed or accompanied by iron-alkali metasomatic alteration resulting in replacement of melilite and anorthite by nepheline and sodalite, enrichment of spinel in FeO, and precipitation of salite-hedenbergite pyroxenes, wollastonite, and andradite in fractures and pores in and around CAIs.     

Type-locality granulites: high-pressure rocks formed at eclogite-facies conditions

Summary The type-locality granulites from the Granulitgebirge of Saxony, Germany, are rocks of broadly granitic composition containing minor garnet and kyanite within a commonly mylonitised matrix of feldspars and quartz. Petrographic evidence indicates a primary assemblage of ternary feldspar + quartz + garnet + kyanite + rutile, most likely resulting from partial melting of a granitic protolith, for which equilibrium temperature and pressure conditions of >1000 °C and >1.5 GPa have been deduced. These extreme (for crustal rocks) conditions, and the inferred peak assemblage, are supported by the newly-developed Zr-in-rutile geothermometer and experimental studies on the same bulk composition, respectively. As these conditions lie above those required for plagioclase stability in quartz tholeiites, they are thus in the eclogite facies. Widespread modification of the peak assemblage, for example mesoperthite formation after ternary feldspar, deformation-induced recrystallisation of perthites to two-feldspar + quartz aggregates, biotite replacing garnet, Ca-loss at garnet rims, sillimanite replacing kyanite or secondary garnet growth, makes reliable interpretation of equilibrium assemblages and compositions very difficult and explains the spread of published pressure-temperature values and consequent confusion about formation depths and the validity of tectonometamorphic models. Such extreme metamorphic conditions in rock compositions typical for the upper continental crust, reflecting a hot subduction environment, has important consequences for understanding some collisional orogens.     

Kerogen: chemical structure and formation conditions

The available data on the composition of the pyrolysis products of kerogen from the Mesozoic carbonaceous strata of the Russian Plate evidence that changes in the contents of total organic carbon (TOC) lead to a regular change of the mechanisms of organic-matter (OM) conservation in sediments. Each mechanism prevails for particular TOC contents. The initial increase in the TOC content of rocks is accounted for by the fact that the higher is the biologic productivity of the basin, the higher is the portion of nonmineralized organic matter. This is due mainly to the mechanism of selective accumulation of the most stable biochemical components such as algaenan. The appearance of H₂S first in the pore waters of sediment and then in the water column increases the degree of preservation of initial OM at the expense of its sulfurization. This process runs first in the lipid and then in the carbohydrate fractions of initial OM.     

Lebediny gold deposit,Central Aldan: Mineral parageneses,stages, and formation conditions

The mineral parageneses and succession of their formation are considered for the first time for the Zverevsky, Orekhovy, and Vodonosny ore lodes of the Lebediny gold deposit and the Radostny prospect in the Central Aldan ore district, which are genetically related to the epoch of Mesozoic tectonomagmatic reactivation. The orebodies, represented by two morphological varieties—ribbonlike lodes and steeply dipping veins—are hosted in lower part of the Vendian–Cambrian dolomitic sequence, which is cut through by Mesozoic subalkaline intrusive bodies. The chemistry of fahlore and rare minerals, including native gold and bismuth, altaite, aikinite, tetradymite, and sulfosalts of lillianite series, has been studied. Native gold is related to the late hydrothermal process and occurs in skarn and in quartz–tremolite–sulfide and quartz–carbonate–sulfide veins. The data on stable sulfur (δ³⁴S) isotopes of sulfides, oxygen (δ₁₈O) and carbon (δ₁₃C) isotopes of carbonates, as well as on fluid inclusions in various generations of tremolite and quartz, provide evidence for the heterogeneity of ore-bearing solutions, their relationships to magmatism, the depth of the source feeding each specific lode, and different sources of ore-forming hydrothermal solutions.     

Abiotic formation of hydrocarbons under hydrothermal conditions: Constraints from chemical and isotope data

To understand reaction pathways and isotope systematics during mineral-catalyzed abiotic synthesis of hydrocarbons under hydrothermal conditions, experiments involving magnetite and CO₂ and H₂-bearing aqueous fluids were conducted at 400 °C and 500 bars. A robust technique for sample storage and transfer from experimental apparatus to stable isotope mass spectrometer provides a methodology for integration of both carbon and hydrogen isotope characterization of reactants and products generated during abiogenic synthesis experiments. Experiments were performed with and without pretreatment of magnetite to remove background carbon associated with the mineral catalyst. Prior to experiments, the abundance and carbon isotope composition of all carbon-bearing components were determined. Time-series samples of the fluid from all experiments indicated significant concentrations of dissolved CO and C₁-C₃ hydrocarbons and relatively large changes in dissolved CO₂ and H₂ concentrations, consistent with formation of additional hydrocarbon components beyond C₃. The existence of relatively high dissolved alkanes in the experiment involving non-pretreated magnetite in particular, suggests a complex catalytic process, likely involving reinforcing effects of mineral-derived carbon with newly synthesized hydrocarbons at the magnetite surface. Similar reactions may be important mechanisms for carbon reduction in chemically complex natural hydrothermal systems. In spite of evidence supporting abiotic hydrocarbon formation in all experiments, an “isotopic reversal” trend was not observed for ¹³C values of dissolved alkanes with increasing carbon number. This may relate to the specific mechanism of carbon reduction and hydrocarbon chain growth under hydrothermal conditions at elevated temperatures and pressures. Over time, significant ¹³C depletion in CH₄ suggests either depolymerization reactions occurring in addition to synthesis, or reactions between the C₁-C₃ hydrocarbons and carbon species absorbed on mineral surfaces and in solution.     

The conditions of chondrule formation, Part I: Closed system

Mixing was an important process in the early solar nebula and is often used as an argument to explain the compositional scatter among chondrules—mm-sized, once molten silicate spherules in chondritic meteorites. If it is hypothesized that chondrules only acted as closed systems and the scatter in chondrule bulk chemical compositions is only the result of mixing heterogeneous precursor grains—the basic components of chondrules—, it is in turn possible to determine the sizes of the precursor grains using statistical calculations. In order to reproduce the observed compositional scatter in chondrules not more than ∼10 precursor grains should contribute to a single chondrule, each with a diameter of several 100 μm. This finding has important implications for the conditions of chondrule formation and replaces the so far widely accepted model that chondrules formed from fine-grained “dust-balls”. Chondrules rather formed from coarse-grained precursor aggregates with variable amounts of μm-fine matrix material. As a consequence, only chondrite matrix or interstellar material winnows as precursor material. Large grains of variable composition serving as precursor grains must have been formed prior to chondrule formation. Chondrules probably have not been their immediate precursors, as only 1-2 chondrule recycling steps would have homogenized bulk chondrule compositions. Chondrule recycling can therefore only have occurred to a limited extent. Chondrule formation needed at least three steps: (1) production of large and heterogeneous chondrule precursor grains, (2) agglomeration of large precursor grains and fine-grained precursors into aggregates, (3) formation of chondrules during transient heating events. Al-rich chondrules can in this context be explained by the admixture of CAIs to either chondrule precursors or a population of existing chondrules.     

High-pressure granulites: formation, recovery of peak conditions and implications for tectonics

High‐pressure granulites are characterised by the key associations garnet‐clinopyroxene‐plagioclase‐quartz (in basic rocks) and kyanite‐K‐feldspar (metapelites and felsic rocks) and are typically orthopyroxene‐free in both basic and felsic bulk compositions. In regional metamorphic areas, two essential varieties exist: a high‐ to ultrahigh‐temperature group and a group representing overprinted eclogites. The high‐ to ultrahigh‐temperature type formerly contained high‐temperature ternary feldspar (now mesoperthite) coexisting with kyanite, is associated with garnet peridotites, and formed at conditions above 900 °C and 1.5 GPa. Clinopyroxene in subordinate basic rocks is Al‐rich and textural evidence points to a high‐pressure–high‐temperature melting history. The second variety contains symplectite‐like or poikilitic clinopyroxene‐plagioclase intergrowths indicating former plagioclase‐free, i.e. eclogite facies assemblages. This type of rock formed at conditions straddling the high‐pressure amphibolite/high‐pressure granulite field at around 700–850 °C, 1.0–1.4 GPa. Importantly, in the majority of high‐pressure granulites, orthopyroxene is secondary and is a product of reactions at pressures lower than the peak recorded pressure. In contrast to low‐ and medium‐pressure granulites, which form at conditions attainable in the mid to lower levels of normal continental crust, high‐pressure granulites (of nonxenolith origin) mostly represent rocks formed as a result of short‐lived tectonic events that led to crustal thickening or subduction of the crust into the mantle. Short times at high‐temperature conditions are reflected in the preservation of prograde zoning in garnet and pyroxene. High‐pressure granulites of both regional types, although rare, are known from both old and young metamorphic terranes (e.g. c. 45 Ma, Namche Barwa, E Himalaya; 400–340 Ma, European Variscides; 1.8 Ga Hengshan, China; 1.9 Ga, Snowbird, Saskatchewan and 2.5 Ga Jianping, China). This spread of ages supports proposals suggesting that thermal and tectonic processes in the lithosphere have not changed significantly since at least the end of the Archean.     

P-T-X conditions of calc-silicate formation: evidence from fluid inclusions and phase equilibria; Llano Uplift, central Texas, USA

Abstract The Llano Uplift in central Texas is a Grenville aged (c. 1.1 Ga) metamorphic terrane consisting predominantly of amphibolite facies mineral assemblages. The formation of these assemblages has been attributed to the emplacement of relatively late granite plutons throughout the area. Two types of granitic intrusion have previously been recognized: (1) Town Mountain Granites, which occur as relatively large, circular-shaped bodies of coarse-grained granite, and (2) Younger Granites which are present as smaller and more irregular bodies of finer-grained granite. In the central part of the uplift, wollastonite-bearing calc-silicate rocks occur within the Valley Spring Gneiss. The development of these calc-silicate rocks has been linked to infiltrating fluids presumably derived from spatially associated Younger Granites. The stability of coexisting quartz, calcite, wollastonite, grossular and anorthite and coexisting quartz, calcite, wollastonite, andradite and hedenbergite shows that the calc-silicate rocks equilibrated under H₂O-rich conditions with χCO₂ <0.10. Fluid inclusions present within the calc-silicate minerals are H₂O-rich with salinities of <17 wt% equivalent NaCl. The absence of any detectable CO₂ in the fluid inclusions may indicate entrapment of the inclusions at lower pressures and more H₂O-rich conditions compared to the stability of the peak metamorphic mineral assemblage. Homogenization temperatures, measured for texturally primary inclusions, range from 360 to 368° C corresponding to a density range from 0.53 to 0.82 g/cm³. Isochores for these fluid inclusions, when combined with the stability of the solid-solid equilibria Grs + Qtz = Wo + An, yield formation conditions of 500–550° C at 1–2 kbar. This indicates that the granitic intrusions involved in the formation of the Blount Mountain calc-silicates were emplaced at a pressure of at least 1–2 kbar.     

Thermodynamics of arsenates, selenites, and sulfates in the oxidation zone of sulfide ores: V. Chalcomenite and its synthetic analog, properties, and formation conditions

Understanding the mechanisms of selenium behavior under near-surface conditions is a topical problem of modern mineralogy and geochemistry that is very important in solving some environmental problems. The objective of this study is to develop techniques of synthesizing a chalcomenite analog and to study its speciation and properties. The synthesis was performed by boiling-dry aqueous Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂ solutions and selenium acid H₂SeO₃. The obtained samples were identified by X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. The Eh-pH diagrams were calculated using the Geochemist’s Workbench (GMB 7.0) software package. The database comprises the thermodynamic parameters of 46 elements, 47 main particles, 48 redox pairs, 551 particles in solution, 624 solid phases, and 10 gases. The Eh-pH diagrams have been calculated for the Cu-Se-CO₂-H₂O system for the average content of these elements in underground waters and their contents in acidic waters in the oxidation zones of sulfide deposits. The formation of chalcomenite and malachite under near-surface conditions is discussed.     

就地应力条件下岩石静动态力学性质的研究

岩石力学性质参数可以通过模拟地层应力条件下的室内岩石力学实验得到,但它只能代表一些离散点,所以,在实际应用中的大多数情况下,石油工程师采用连续的测井曲线计算岩石力学参数,然而由于加载频率的不同,计算值与室内准静态条件下测得的参数值有一定的差异,只有校核后的测井曲线才能用于工程应用中。为了从室内实验结果中得到校核后的连续的测井曲线,对模拟就地应力条件下静动态岩石力学性质进行了初步的研究。     

Gold-telluride mineralization of the Western Chukchi Peninsula, Russia: Mineralogy, geochemistry, and formation conditions

Mineralogy, geochemistry, and formation conditions of the Sentyabr’sky prospect—the first economic occurrence of Au-Te mineralization in the Chukchi Peninsula—was studied. Gold occurs in native form and as telluride compound (petzite). Petzite and hessite are the major ore minerals of the gold-telluride assemblage; native gold is superimposed on them. Altaite, coloradoite, and paratellurite have been also identified. The study of fluid inclusions in sphalerite and quartz associated with ore minerals shows that the Au-Te mineralization of the Sentyabr’sky prospect and the low-sulfide Au-Ag ore of the adjacent Dvoinoi deposit were formed from different fluids and under different conditions. The multistage hydrothermal process developed in the frames of long-living porphyry-epithermal system functioned in the Ilirnei district. The Au-Te mineralization at the Sentyabr’sky prospect is related to alkaline magmatism. The high-salinity (above 5 wt % NaCl equiv) fluid inclusions in hydrothermal quartz can be indicators of such mineralization. Mineralogy and geochemistry of ore at the Sentyabr’sky prospect provide evidence for its deposition at the middle level of porphyry-epithermal system and testify to prospectivity of deep levels.     

Upper Precambrian sandstones in the Volga-Ural region: Mineralogy, petrography, lithogeochemistry, and formation conditions

The paper presents data on the mineralogy, petrography, and lithogeochemistry of Riphean and Vendian sandstones in the Volga-Ural region. The studied rocks generally differ in several parameters. The Zr/Sc and Th/Sc values typical of psammites suggest that the rocks are dominated by the petrogenic clastic material. This conclusion is supported by median K₂O/Al₂O₃ values (from 0.39 to 0.45). The fine-grained clastic rocks associated with sandstones are also characterized by sufficiently high K₂O/Al₂O₃ values, indicating the prevalence of the first cycle material therein. It is shown that the Prikamsk and Tukaevo sandstones include, in addition to the petrogenic quartz, a significant amount of lithogenic (multifold redeposited) quartz, whereas ratio of these rock types is approximately equal in the Leonidovo and Baikibashevo sandstones. Sandstones of the Kairovo and Shkapovo groups are dominated by the petrogenic quartz. Analysis of the ln(Q/L + CE)-ln(Q/F) diagram shows that the Vendian psammites are dominated by disintegration products of plutonic rocks, whereas the Riphean psammites contain a significant portion of clastic material (related to the erosion of metamorphic rocks) along with felsic and intermediate-felsic igneous rocks. Relationships of feldspars, rock clasts, polycrystalline quartz, and quartz, in general, reflected in the Q_t/(F + R)-Q_p/(F + R) diagram indicate that the Riphean psammites were deposited in a humid setting; the Vendian psammites, in a semihumid/semiarid setting.     

Uraniferous opal, Virgin Valley, Nevada: conditions of formation and implications for uranium exploration

Uraniferous, fluorescent opal, which occurs in tuffaceous sedimentary rocks at Virgin Valley, Nevada, records the temperature and composition of uranium-rich solutions as well as the time of uranium-silica coprecipitation. Results are integrated with previous geologic and geochronologic data for the area to produce a model for uranium mobility that may be used to explore for uranium deposits in similar geologic settings.Uraniferous opal occurs as replacements of diatomite, or silicic air-fall ash layers in tuffaceous lakebeds of the Virgin Valley Formation (Miocene) of Merriam (1907). Fission-track radiography shows uranium to be homogeneously dispersed throughout the opal structure, suggesting coprecipitation of dissolved uranium and silica gel. Fluid inclusions preserved within opal replacements of diatomite have homogenization temperatures in the epithermal range and are of low salinity. Four samples of opal from one locality all have U-Pb apparent ages which suggest uraniferous opal precipitation in late Pliocene time. These ages correspond to a period of local, normal faulting, and highangle faults may have served as vertical conduits for transport of deep, thermalized ground water to shallower levels. Lateral migration of rising solutions occurred at intersections of faults with permeable strata. Silica and some uranium were dissolved from silica-rich host strata of 5–20 ppm original uranium content and reprecipitated as the solutions cooled. The model predicts that in similar geologic settings, ore-grade concentrations of uranium will occur in permeable strata that intersect high-angle faults and that contain uranium source rocks as well as efficient reductant traps for uranium. In the absence of sufficient quantities of reductant materials, uranium will be flushed from the system or will accumulate in low-grade disseminated hosts such as uraniferous opal.     

Neotectonic stage in the formation of the Khokhlovskoe uranium deposit, eastern Transural region: Structural, hydrochemical, mineralogical, and geochemical formation conditions

The structural, hydrochemical, mineralogical, and geochemical features of the Khokhlovskoe uranium deposit related to neotectonic processes are considered. The structural feature is expressed in neotectonic dislocations in the form of overall intense fragmentation of host rocks and widespread low-amplitude strike-slip faulting. The hydrochemical specificity is determined by the appearance of thermal carbonated formation water in ore-bearing aquifers. This water is similar in chemical and gas composition to hydrothermal solutions in fluid inclusions and mineral waters abundant in this district. The mineralogical and geochemical features comprise the occurrence of newly formed ferroan carbonates and late iron hydroxides in altered (bleached) pelitic rocks; the formation of silicic opal segregations in ore-bearing sand and sandstone; late sulfides, arsenides, and selenides of iron and other metals; and multiphase gel-pitchblende enriched in Zr especially typical of high-grade uranium ore. The age of high-grade ore determined by a precision uranium-ionium method coincides with the time when thermal carbonated water appeared in the host rocks. This time was estimated from a mathematical model of heat transfer and regional dynamics of underground water. This coincidence clearly indicates that the aforementioned processes are related to the late Quaternary neotectonic reactivation of the eastern Transural region.     

极端酸性环境下形成的施威特曼石（schwertmannite）及其环境学意义

施威特曼石(schwertmannite)是近年来发现存在于含SO42-丰富的极端酸性环境下的一种次生羟基硫酸高铁矿物,其结晶度较差,形态特殊,表面基团活性强,对其存在环境中有毒重(类)金属元素的迁移与钝化有重要影响。本文详细地介绍了施威特曼石的形成、组成结构、稳定性能、溶解度及其与重(类)金属元素的相互作用等方面的研究进展,并对其在地下水除砷中的应用前景进行了讨论。