X-ray absorption contrast images of binary chemical reactions

Low-divergence synchrotron-sourced X-rays enable a radiographic imaging scheme for full characterization of binary chemical reactions and characterization by type of more complex reactions, in situ, in diamond anvil cells (DAC). Spatially resolved reactants are induced to react by laser heating of their interface. The spatially intermediate products are observed through X-ray absorption contrast. Limits to the technique include the ability to maintain controlled experiment geometry during compression and the ability to resolve chemical differences between reactants and products by X-ray absorption. The ability to make in situ observations at experimental pressure and temperature obviates the problem with quenching techniques for capturing liquid compositions in experiments with dimensions smaller than the diffusion length during quenching time. Partially molten Fe-alloy systems, of poor quenchability, are examined at DAC pressures and temperatures for relevance to Earth's core constitution and evolution. Determinations of eutectic melting in Fe–FeS match known results. Of the probable light elements that may alloy with Fe in the Earth's liquid outer core, Fe–FeS experiments show only modest quenching problems, but C and Si alloy experiments are highly vulnerable to quenching artifacts. The observed reactivity of FeS, Fe₃C, FeSi, and FeO(OH) with Fe in DAC makes the observed non-reactivity between Fe and FeO more significant, reducing the probability that oxygen alone is the major alloy in Earth's molten outer core.     

山东费县大井头地区金刚石原生矿找矿前景探讨

山东费县大井头地区第四系中金刚石及其指示矿物分布异常丰富 ,并且具有较高的集中度 ;该区的加里东期超基性火山碎屑岩、沉火山碎屑岩及其他一些岩石中均有金刚石和 (或 )指示矿物存在 ;该地区的铬铁矿异常属于矿致异常。研究证明该区第四系中金刚石指示矿物与当地的相关岩体关系密切 ;加里东期超基性火山碎屑岩某些特征与火山口相金伯利岩十分相似。大井头地区所处的构造位置有利于金刚石成矿 ,具有良好的找矿前景 ,值得进一步研究探索。     

常温和压力0.1～1300 MPa下硬石膏的拉曼光谱研究

利用立方氧化锆压腔装置测量了高压下硬石膏中硫酸根离子内部S-O键的四个振动（对称伸缩振动、弯曲振动、反对称伸缩振动和变形弯曲振动）的拉曼位移,研究结果表明：在25℃和0．1～1300MPa压力范围内硬石膏未发生相变,所观察到的硬石膏各个拉曼峰的位移值随压力的增加而线性增加,它们与压力之间的关系可分别表达为：υ1018=0．0053p＋1016.8,υ417=0．0013p＋416．82,υ498=0．0044P＋499．25,υ1129=0．0052p＋1128．5,υ1160=0．0067p＋1159．5,υ608=0．0028p＋608．76,υ627=0．0036p＋627．01,υ675=0．0039p＋675．32,且伸缩振动受压力的影响比弯曲振动大。其1018cm^-1峰强度大,是石英464cm^-1峰的6倍,因此硬石膏也是宝石压腔良好的压力标定物质。     

Recent Developments in Marine Diamond Mining

The marine diamond deposits of southern Africa owe their existence to fluvial transport down the Orange River to the South Atlantic. On the coast, they were moved, sorted and concentrated by high-energy sea and wind conditions to create a veneer of diamondiferous gravels on the sea floor. Large scale, offshore production by De Beers Marine commenced in 1989 in Namibian waters. The company now acts as a contractor for Namdeb, a corporation owned jointly with the Namibian governments. Some junior public companies also produce diamonds by large-scale mechanized means and conduct extensive exploration programs. Two important developments have occurred recently. Firstly, equipment for the recovery of diamonds from the seabed has been successfully borrowed from other industries. Large drills from onshore civil engineering have been modified for marine sampling and mining. Remotely controlled, seabed-mounted, excavational systems have assumed a major role. The new systems allow both evaluation sampling and subsequent mining to be undertaken by similar or the same equipment, making the results compatible. They permit highly selective extraction and enhanced recovery of the gravels from irregular bedrock in water approaching 200 m deep. But none is universally applicable offshore, each being the preferred system under different conditions. Secondly, the total output of sea diamonds from Namibian waters has increased to 0.8 million carats annually and now exceeds that from all the country's onshore sources. An industry has become established. Corporate and individual perseverence, government encouragement, new technology, shareholders' risk finance, and De Beers' diamond marketing have all played a role in the success. Future diamond production may increase as companies meet the challenge of working lower grade, higher volume deposits, which will require new approaches to the mining process. With a decrease in the physical risk of marine mining, the most variable inputs in operational planning and production forecasting are recovered grade and throughout rate, together with equipment availability. The importance of reliable grade estimation from sufficient sampling density is widely perceived, but the greatest performance risk can involve the predicted excavation rate and ''mineability'' of the seabed sediments. Published reserve statements would benefit from a requirement to specify the planned mining method, the consequent cutoff grade to be employed, and whether or not test mining has been undertaken.     

Petrography,chemical composition,and Raman spectra of chrome spinel: Constraints on the diamond potential of the No. 30 pipe kimberlite in Wafangdian,North China Craton

Conventional diamond exploration seldom searches directly for diamonds in rock and soil samples. Instead, it focuses on the search for indicator minerals like chrome spinel, which can be used to evaluate diamond potential. Chrome spinels are preserved as pristine minerals in the early Paleozoic (∼465 Ma), hydrothermally altered, Group I No. 30 pipe kimberlite that intruded the Neoproterozoic Qingbaikou strata in Wafangdian, North China Craton (NCC). The characteristics of the chrome spinels were investigated by petrographic observation (BSE imaging), quantitative chemical analysis (EPMA), and Raman spectral analysis. The results show that the chrome spinels are mostly sub-rounded with extremely few grains being subhedral, and these spinels are macrocrystic, more than 500 µm in size. The chrome spinels also have compositional zones: the cores are classified as magnesiochromite as they have distinctly chromium-rich (Cr₂O₃ up to 66.56 wt%) and titanium-poor (TiO₂ < 1 wt%) compositions; and the rims are classified as magnetite as they have chromium-poor and iron-rich composition. In the cores of chrome spinels, compositional variations are controlled by Al³⁺-Cr³⁺ isomorphism, which results in a strong Raman spectra peak (A_1g mode) varying from 690 cm⁻¹ to 702.9 cm⁻¹. In the rims of chrome spinel, compositional variations result in the A_1g peak varying from 660 cm⁻¹ to 672 cm⁻¹. The morphology and chemical compositions indicate that the chrome spinels are mantle xenocrysts. The cores of the spinel are remnants of primary mantle xenocrysts that have been resorbed, and the rims were formed during kimberlite magmatism. The compositions of the cores are used to evaluate the diamond potential of this kimberlite through comparison with the compositions of chrome spinels from the Changmazhuang and No. 50 pipe kimberlites in the NCC. In MgO, Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ versus Cr₂O₃ plots, the chrome spinels from the Changmazhuang and No. 50 pipe kimberlites are mostly located in the diamond stability field. However, only a small proportion of chrome spinels from No. 30 pipe kimberlite have same behavior, which indicates that the diamond potential of the former two kimberlites is greater than that of the No. 30 pipe kimberlite. This is also supported by compositional zones in the spinel grains: there is with an increase in Fe³⁺ in the rims, which suggests that the chrome spinels experienced highly oxidizing conditions. Oxidizing conditions may have been imparted by fluids/melts that have a great influence on diamond destruction. Here, we suggest that chrome spinel compositions can be a useful tool for identifying the target for diamond potential in the North China Craton.     

金刚石压腔实验技术应用于生烃动力学研究浅析

金刚石压腔实验技术自发明以来就被广泛应用于高压领域的研究,成为高压下进行物质结构、性质等方面实验研究的重要方法。另一方面,生烃动力学近年来被广泛应用于含油气盆地烃源岩评价与勘探。文中对生烃动力学原理进行了介绍,对当前确定生烃动力学参数的热解实验装置进行评述,并对金刚石压腔实验技术应用于生烃动力学研究进行了分析。     

高温高压实验及原位测量技术

文中简述了高温高压实验技术及其发展现状,主要涉及高温高压实验装置及高温高压原位实验测量技术两方面内容。重点介绍了:(1)金刚石压腔、大体积压力机、高压釜等静态高压实验技术和动高压实验技术及其特征;(2)拉曼、红外、X-射线衍射及同步辐射等高温高压原位谱学研究;(3)超声波、布利渊散射、核共振非弹性X-射线散射等高压物质弹性波速原位测量技术研究现状及其进展;(4)金刚石压腔、大压力机中高温高压电导率的原位测量技术研究现状及其进展。     

预压层叠式钻齿型孕镶金刚石钻头的研制

分析了高品质钻头的应用需求,指明了高品质钻头的研究方向。设计了一种层叠式结构钻齿,采用预冷压工艺进行压制后,再经过装模热压烧结的新型孕镶金刚石钻头。给出了此类钻头的原材料选择和制作工艺参数,分析了钻探试验结果。结果表明：预压层叠式钻齿型孕镶金刚石钻头,有利于改善钻进条件,提高钻进效率,有效地实现钻头制造过程中节能降耗,是一种广谱性应用前景的孕镶金刚石钻头新型式。     

Petrogenesis of lherzolites from the Purang ophiolite,Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone,Tibet: origin and significance of ultra-high pressure and other ‘unusual’ minerals in the Neo-Tethyan lithospheric mantle

ABSTRACT

The Purang ultramafic massif, located in the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) of the Tibetan Plateau, consists mainly of harzburgites and minor lherzolites. The spinel-bearing lherzolites of the NW part of the massif display a granular texture, consisting of large olivine and pyroxene crystals with curvilinear grain boundaries. These lherzolites contain chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) of low Cr# [100 × Cr/(Cr +Al) = 24.7–30.2], enstatite with high Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) = 90.0–91.2] and relatively high Al₂O₃ content (3.3–4.1 wt%), and diopside with high Mg# (90.2–93.3) and Al₂O₃ content (4.6–5.0 wt%). These compositions are analogous to those of spinel and pyroxenes from residual peridotites. However, the Purang lherzolites show U-shaped primitive mantle (PM)-normalized rare earth element (REE)-profiles, which are not consistent with a potential origin as melting residues. The high LREE contents and positive Ti anomalies shown by the investigated lherzolites coupled with the low TiO₂ content of their mineral constituents imply that these rocks possibly stored LREE- and Ti-bearing arc-related melts/fluids in their groundmass.

A mineral assemblage composed of diamond, super-reduced [(SuR) moissanite, native Cr] and crustal-derived minerals (zircon, corundum, rutile), has been separated from the Purang lherzolites. Uranium-Pb geochronological dating of zircons yielded an age range between 1718 and 465 Ma, indicating that they represent ancient crustal material delivered into the upper mantle via previous subduction events. Diamonds and old zircons (± crustal minerals) were carried to shallow mantle levels by asthenospheric magmas produced during a slab rollback-induced decompression melting process. The recovery of SuR minerals is consistent with fluid percolation and crystallization of alteration-related minerals in the lithospheric parts of a (hydrated) mantle wedge, resulting in the formation of highly reduced micro-environments.     

Diamond economics of the Prairie Creek lamproite, Murfreesboro, AR, USA

The Prairie Creek lamproite is the largest of seven ultramafic vents that make up the Prairie Creek lamproite province. Diamonds were first discovered in 1906, and commercial mining continued intermittently until about 1931. The evaluation program undertaken by the Arkansas State Parks Commission in the 1990s resulted in the mapping and evaluation of four major vent facies rock types: olivine lamproite, epiclastic sediments, phlogopite-rich tuff and olivine-rich tuff. Significant diamond contents were found only within the phlogopite-rich tuff (0.11 carat/100 tonnes) and olivine-rich tuff (1.1 carats/100 tonnes).Stratigraphic relationships indicate that the diamondiferous tuffs have undergone <50 m of erosion. Extrapolation of the surface rock units and their diamond contents to the pre-erosion surface suggests that 93,000 carats of diamonds were liberated and then concentrated as a natural surface enrichment. Early commercial production focused on the natural surface concentrations, an assumption supported by historic mining records. Historical grades suggest that 58,000 carats were contained in these surface deposits, about half of those diamonds being recovered during commercial operation. These relationships suggest that 35,000 carats remain as eluvial and alluvial deposits adjacent to the existing tourist area. This erosion model minimizes the prospects for either primary or alluvial commercial mining; however, it does validate early historic mining records and suggests areas for further tourist development within existing park boundaries.