Sodium - a geochemical indicator of emerald mineralization in the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia

Emerald-bearing deposits in the Cordillera Oriental are structurally controlled, localized at the intersection of two fault systems. At these intersections zones of intense fracturing affected by sodium and carbonate metasomatism host the emerald mineralization. Albitization, carbonatization and hydrothermal leaching of potassium and trace metals are characteristics of the metasomatically altered Cretaceous black shales which compose the emerald-bearing tectonic zones.Stream sediments collected in areas which have metasomatically altered shales in the drainage basin have a low K/Na ratio. It is possible to use this ratio, or the sodium content of the sediments, to locate areas worthy of further exploration.