The Phase Relations of Aluminous Iron Biotites in the System KAISi3O8-KAISiO4-AI2O3-Fe-O-H

The experimental work on biotites has primarily involved compositionsalong the annite-phlogopite join, but most natural biotitescontain significantly larger amounts of aluminum. At the sametime, the aluminum content of natural biotites varies considerably.The available evidence indicates that these variations in thealuminum content of biotite depend on the conditions of formationand the whole rock chemistry. Experiments on the phase relations of aluminous iron biotitesin the silica deficient system KAlSiO₄-KAlSi₃O₈-Al₂O₃-Fe-O-H(pfluid = 2 kb) indicate that compositions up to Ann₇₅ can besynthesized on the join annite K₂Fe₆Al₂Si₆O₂₀(OH)₄]-aluminumbiotite K₂Al₆Al₂Al₆O₂₀(OH)₄]. The aluminous biotites are stableto higher temperatures than annite. An isobaric divariant equilibrium,Bio_ss-Mt_ss-Sa-Lc-V, extends to higher oxygen fugacities fromthe Ann-Mt-Sa-Lc-V curve of Eugster & Wones (1962). Compositioncontours on this surface indicate that both the magnetite andbiotite become more aluminous with increasing temperature and/oroxygen fugacity. The Bio_ss-Mt_ss-Sa-Lc-V reaction surface isterminated by equilibria involving the additional phases muscovite,corundum, and hercynite respectively as the conditions becomemore reducing. At 2 kb fluid pressure; aluminum-rich iron biotiteis stable to 555 °C on the HM buffer, 763 °C on theMt-Hc-Cor buffer, 820 °C on NNO, and about 860 °C onQFM. The data obtained can be applied to a number of biotitesyenites and appears to explain why iron-rich aluminum biotitesoccur in these rocks.