Provenance of late Palaeozoic metasediments of the Patagonian proto-Pacific margin (southernmost Chile and Argentina)

In this provenance study of late Palaeozoic metasediments of the Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex (EAMC) along the south Patagonian proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana, the palaeogeological setting of the continental margin in Devonian–Carboniferous and Permian times is reconstructed. The study is based on detrital heavy mineral contents, chemical compositions of tourmaline grains, and whole rock element and Nd-Sr isotopic compositions. Element and isotopic compositions reveal that Devonian–Carboniferous metaturbidites deposited before the development of a Late Carboniferous–Permian magmatic arc along the margin were mainly fed from felsic, recycled, old continental rocks. The last recycling phase involved erosion of metasediments that were exposed in Patagonia. Feeder systems to the basin cut either through epidote-rich or garnet-rich metasediments. In Permian time, EAMC metaturbidites were deposited next to the evolving magmatic arc and were derived from felsic, crustal rocks. Two provenance domains are recognised. The metasediments of the northern one are chemically similar to those of the Devonian–Carboniferous metasediments. This domain was fed from the metasedimentary host rocks of the magmatic arc. The southern domain probably was fed from the arc proper, as indicated mainly by the dominance of metaplutonic lithic fragments, abundant detrital biotite, and the major element composition of the metasediments.     

Out-of-sequence thrusts and paleogeography of the Rhenodanubian Flysch Belt (Eastern Alps) revisited

The Oberstdorf nappe of the Western and the Laab nappe of the Eastern Rhenodanubian Flysch (ERF) were independently identified as out-of-sequence thrust units by facies studies (Mattern 1999) and zircon analyses (Trautwein et al. 2001a, b, c), respectively. A new look at both areas reveals mutual similarities and new evidence for the out-of-sequence concept. Paleocurrent and heavy mineral data make it possible to reconstruct the sediment influx directions. From the Barremian to the mid-Campanian, the western and eastern basin segments were fed with south-derived garnet and north-derived zircon/”ZTR” (i.e., zircon, tourmaline, and rutile). Because both out-of-sequence units are relatively rich in zircon/ZTR they must have occupied the northernmost basin position. In the Western Rhenodanubian Flysch segment, the Sigiswang nappe occupied the central and the Üntschen nappe the southernmost basin position. In the ERF segment the central basin is represented by the Greifenstein nappe and the southernmost basin by the Kahlenberg nappe. Both out-of-sequence units do not occur in the northernmost and tectonically lowest position in their respective nappe piles as they were thrust over the other nappes. The reconstructed basin positions of the thrust units are suggested by the observation of a gradient in heavy mineral content in the thrust units. This paleogeographic arrangement is least problematic and renders models with differently positioned thrust units, requiring debris-shedding intrabasinal ridges, as unnecessarily complicated. Instead, we suggest that gradual changes in heavy mineral composition existed in across-basin direction. Garnet may stem from the Central Gneiss Complex of the Tauern window and formerly exposed lateral equivalents, all representing the southern Mid-Penninic zone. We assign the Falknis/Tasna nappe and formerly exposed lateral equivalents to the northern Mid-Penninic zone which served as the zircon/ZTR source. Interpreting Ebbing’s (Ph.D. thesis, Freie Universität Berlin, pp 1-143, 2002; Fig. 6.10) density section, we suggest that Mid-Penninic crust exists beneath the Central Gneiss Complex. During the latest Cretaceous much garnet was also N-derived. This may reflect processes related to the consumption of the North Penninic basin.     

鄂尔多斯盆地黄陵、东胜地区地温场对比

鄂尔多斯盆地黄陵、东胜铀矿区分别处于盆地南部渭北隆起的北侧边缘和盆地北部伊盟隆起的东部,赋矿层位都是中侏罗统直罗组。盆地南、北铀矿区在现今地温场及古地温场都存在明显差异,南部现今大地热值及热演化程度明显高于北部。对于下侏罗统延安组和石炭—二叠系煤层,黄陵地区镜质体反射率都高于东胜地区。通过镜质体反射率资料得出同一埋深的一套地层经历的最大古地温和对应的古地温梯度也有南部高于北部的现象。由于早白垩世后期盆地普遍整体抬升使得现今地温相对古地温降低,南部黄陵地区抬升剥蚀量大于北部东胜地区,导致古、今地温差异也大于后者。盆地南部庆阳—富县一带局部构造热运动,导致南部异常地温场的形成,使得南部热演化程度高于北部。     

Upper Cretaceous carbonate hosted zinc–lead–barite deposits in Northern Thrust Zone, northern Iraq: petrography and geochemistry

Zinc–lead–barite deposits located in Lefan and Lower Banik localities of about 25 km northeast of Zakho City, Northern Iraq consist of a group of strata-bound sulfides hosted in Upper Cretaceous (Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian) dolomitic limestone. Carbonate-hosted ores contain 3.77% Zn, 2% Pb, and 5% Fe, while in lower Banik, they contain 1.5% Zn, 0.37% Pb, and 1.4% Fe. Diagenetic processes, such as dolomitization and recrystalization in addition to the type of microfacies, provided appropriate physical and chemical conditions that permitted the passage of ore-bearing fluids and participated in precipitation and ore localization. These deposits are precipitated in a platform and developed within the Foreland Thrust Belt. Ore precipitated as infill of intergranular dolomite porosity with replaced dolomite and rudist shells forming disseminated crystals that occupy intergranular pore spaces around dolomite and calcite and as infill of dissolution spaces and fractures.     

Variation in the composition of Lake Bonneville marl: a potential key to lake-level fluctuations and paleoclimate

Lake Bonneville marl provides a stratigraphic record of lake history preserved in its carbonate minerals and stable isotopes. We have analyzed the marl in shallow cores taken at three localities in the Bonneville basin. Chronology for the cores is provided by dated volcanic ashes, ostracode biostratigraphy, and a distinctive lithologic unit believed to have been deposited during and immediately after the Bonneville Flood.A core taken at Monument Point at the north shore of Great Salt Lake encompasses virtually the entire Bonneville lake cycle, including the 26.5 ka Thiokol basaltic ash at the base and deposits representing the overflowing stage at the Provo shoreline at the top of the core. Two cores from the Old River Bed area near the threshold between the Sevier basin and the Great Salt Lake basin (the main body of Lake Bonneville) represent deposition from the end of the Stansbury oscillation ( 20 ka) to post-Provo time ( 13 ka), and one core from near Sunstone Knoll in the Sevier basin provides a nearly complete record of the period when Lake Bonneville flooded the Sevier basin (20–13 ka).In all cores, percent calcium carbonate, the aragonite to calcite ratio, and percent sand were measured at approximately 2-cm intervals, and ¹⁸O and ¹³C were determined in one core from the Old River Bed area. The transgressive period from about 20 ka to 15 ka is represented in all cores, but the general trends and the details of the records are different, probably as a result of water chemistry and water balance differences between the main body and the Sevier basin because they were fed by different rivers and had different hypsometries. The Old River Bed marl sections are intermediate in position and composition between the Monument Point and Sunstone Knoll sections. Variations in marl composition at the Old River Bed, which are correlated with lake-level changes, were probably caused by changes in the relative proportions of water from the two basins, which were caused by shifts in water balance in the lake.This is the second paper in a series of papers published in this issue on Climatic and Tectonic Rhythms in Lake Deposits.     

Brønsted reactions on oxide mineral surfaces and the temperature-dependence of their dissolution rates

The pH-dependence of oxide dissolution rates is controlled by Brønsted acid-base reactions at the mineral surface. These reactions are rapid but depend explicitly on temperature, as do the subsequent slow rates of bond hydrolysis. The net result is that dissolution rates vary in a complicated fashion with temperature and solution pH. The enthalpy changes of acid-base reactions on oxide materials are sufficiently similar, however, that general statements can be made about their contribution. The enthalpy changes from proton adsorption to a hydroxyl functional group (SOH), or to a deprotonated functional group (SO ^–), are generally exothermic. The enthalpy changes become increasingly endothermic, however, as charge accumulates on the mineral surface and the charged species interact electrostatically. The result is that mineral dissolution rates are least sensitive to temperature, as measured with an Arrhenius-like rate law, at pH conditions near the Point of Zero Net Proton Charge.     

大别杂岩中混合岩的矿物空间分布研究

介绍了矿物空间分布研究的基本原理及两种统计方法(接触频数法和线切法)。作者对混合岩矿物空间分布的研究表明:(1)前人提出的统计方法存在方法上的缺陷和应用上的局限性,作者推导出矿物接触类型的概率公式;(2)部分浅色体中矿物显示聚集分布的特征,而绝大部分的浅色体中矿物具有分散分布的特点。结合质量平衡和地球化学研究认为:大别杂岩中主体混合岩成因机制是重熔和交代作用。     

中国南方离子吸附型稀土矿床成矿类型及其母岩控矿因素探讨

传统认为中国南方的离子吸附型稀土矿床可划分为以“足洞式”为代表的重稀土型和以“河岭式”(或“花山式”)为代表的轻稀土型两种矿化类型。然而，近年来发现的许多矿床(如清溪、寨背和馒头山等)的赋矿风化壳中出现了轻稀土矿与重稀土矿并存现象，表现出特殊的“上轻下重”双层矿体结构。这指示了除重稀土型和轻稀土型之外，还存在着轻重稀土共生型的过渡类型。本研究通过对三种不同成矿类型的若干典型矿床系统对比，指出成矿类型的多样性与母岩性质密切相关，尤其是母岩的稀土元素地球化学和稀土载体矿物属性是制约成矿类型变化的关键因素。统计数据表明，从重稀土型→轻重稀土共生型→轻稀土型，成矿母岩的全岩稀土总量变化不大(ΣREY: 200×10-6~450×10-6→200×10-6~500×10-6→200×10-6~800×10-6)，但轻重稀土配分值出现较显著的区间性差异(ΣLREE/ΣHREY: 02~1→1~5→2~10)。与之同时，母岩中能为离子相稀土提供物源且具有重稀土配分属性的稀土副矿物类型和数量明显减少，这与全岩稀土元素地球化学特征中重稀土分量占比的降低趋势也互相匹配。该结果指示，以往认为重稀土配分母岩形成重稀土矿床、轻稀土配分母岩形成轻稀土矿床的传统观点需要外延，即一部分具有低度轻稀土配分属性(1＜ΣLREE/ΣHREY＜5)且含有丰富易风化稀土副矿物的母岩还可能形成轻重稀土共生型矿床，该认识可为今后离子吸附型稀土矿床勘查工作提供新的找矿依据。     

碳中和目标下关键矿产在清洁能源转型中的作用、供需分析及其建议

在"碳中和"目标的驱动下，全球能源系统向清洁化、低碳化甚至无碳化发展已是大势所趋。针对向清洁能源转型的需求，采用了统计对比、分类汇总、综合分析等方法，分析研究了关键矿产在电池、电网、低碳发电和氢能等行业中的作用和需求。结合当前关键矿产产量的地理集中度高、项目开发周期长、资源质量下降等矿产供应和投资计划不能满足清洁能源转型的需求等问题，提出确保关键矿产多样性供应，推动价值链各环节的技术创新，扩大回收利用，增强供应链弹性和市场透明度，将更高的环境、社会和治理标准纳入主流程及加强生产者和消费者之间的国际合作等建议。     

Interactive effects of the type of milling media and CuSO4 addition on the flotation performance of sulphide minerals from Merensky ore Part II: Froth stability

The limitations of pulp chemistry measurements in the flotation of a platinum group mineral (PGM) bearing Merensky ore were demonstrated in Part 1 of this article. In this paper the importance of the contribution of the froth structure due to changing froth stability is analysed using the batch flotation data. The effects of mild steel (MS) and stainless steel (SS) milling media and the addition of copper sulphate on the flotation performance of the sulphide minerals in Merensky ore have been evaluated in relation to the changes in stability of the froth phase. The effects of pulp chemistry and froth stability on the flotation of sulphide minerals were distinguished by using two different rate constants (k_t and k_w). The rate constant (k_w) calculated as a function of cumulative water recovery was used to describe characteristics of froth phase and k_t was calculated as a function of flotation time. The results revealed that the type of grinding media and copper sulphate addition had an interactive effect on the froth stability. While mild steel (MS) milling increased the froth stability due to the presence of hydrophilic iron hydroxides and colloidal metallic iron, the addition of copper sulphate reduced the stability, especially with stainless steel (SS) milling. Copper sulphate addition had a dual role in the flotation of Merensky ore in that it caused destabilisation of the froth zone as well as activation of selected sulphide minerals. The dominant effect was found to depend on the type of milling media and floatability of the mineral in question and this work has demonstrated the importance of using a combination of measurements to evaluate flotation performance holistically.