Lithium-mica composition as pathfinder and recorder of Grenvillian-age greisenization,Rondonia Tin Province,Brazil

The tin-greisens of the Rondonia Tin Province, Brazil, are related with the intrusion of a 995−975 Ma evolved rapakivi granite suite interpreted as post-collisional with respect to the Grenvillian orogeny during assembly of Rodinia. Lithium-iron mica (‘zinnwaldite’) is the main mineral in late- to post-magmatic and ore stages of such greisens, and has the potential of being a recorder of the mineralization processes. We provide bulk rock geochemistry of granite, greisen, and greisenized granite, coupled with in-situ major and trace element analyses in mica. Trace element and Li contents in mica were assessed via LA-ICP-MS analysis to avoid interference from ore-mineral inclusions. There is a large-scale zoning (hundreds of meters) of the composition of magmatic mica within the massif. Within 200 m of greisen zones, the mica composition in granite becomes similar to hydrothermal greisen mica, i.e. mica composition is suggested as a proximity indicator for greisen. Mica records the evolution of the system from magmatic to hydrothermal. Early-magmatic mica is Li, Rb and F poor and Mg, Ti and Fe rich, as opposed to greisen mica. Rare metals (e.g. Sn, Ta, W) display complex behavior, as their content in mica increases from magmatic to transitional stages, but decreases from transitional to ore (greisen and vein) stages. This can be explained by a complex interaction between enrichment of metals in the fluid, crystallization order of HFSE-bearing minerals, a decrease in the acceptance of HFSE in mica due to Ti depletion, and a change in the system from melt-dominated to fluid-dominated. Depletion of rare metals in mica can be an important factor for mineralization, since binding these metals to silicates reduces the amount of ore minerals. In granite, up to 86 % of Sn is bound to mica, while in greisen, up to 95 % of it is available to form cassiterite. Niobium behaves differently than other rare metals, likely due to its very high initial partition coefficient in mica and its lower solubility in fluids when compared to Sn and Ta. As such, changes in the Nb/Sn ratio in mica can be used as a proxy for the rock/fluid ratios. Mica pseudomorphs after feldspar in greisenized granite have anomalously high Sr contents inherited from their albite precursor.