The association of poorly ordered graphite, coke and bitumens in greenschist facies rocks of the Poniklá Group, Lugicum, Czech Republic: the result of graphitization of various types of carbonaceous matter

Greenschist facies rocks of the Poniklá Group (Ordovician-Silurian), Czech Republic, contain several types of carbonaceous matter that differ in their morphology, texture, reflectance and Raman characteristics. The first type consists of large (up to 3 mm) irregularly bound particles of low reflectance (R_omin = 0.9%; R_omax = 5.6%). The area ratio of the 1585 cm^-1 to 1350 cm^-1 Raman peaks (1.08–1.17) indicates an intermediate degree of graphitization. The formation of this type of highly porous particle, displaying a texture reminiscent of regular or needle coke, is attributed to the thermal alteration of the amorphous (structureless) kerogen of the precursor sediments. The second type consists of lamellar particles up to 30 μm thick, which can be associated with the latter or can occur independently in white mica-rich laminae. This type is characterized by high bireflectance (R_omin = 0.6%; R_omax = 11.9%) and by lower ratios (0.70–0.82) of the Raman peak areas. These particles are interpreted as the product of solid-state, diffusion-controlled graphitization of a chemically homogeneous organic material, e.g. of graptolite periderms. The third type consists of isometric, up to 2 mm large, commonly fractured grains and fragments which mainly occur in quartz-rich laminae. In reflected light, the texture is either homogeneous or consists of various types of anisotropic mozaics. The Raman peak area ratios (0.75–1.14) indicate a highly variable degree of structural ordering. These particles are considered as the remains of metamorphosed bitumens, accumulated in the sandy laminae of the original sediments. The fourth type consists of small particles of carbonaceous matter (maximum length 25 μm, thickness 1-2 μm), which occur adjacent to crystal faces of white micas. This type is probably the product of epitaxial growth of graphite from the gaseous phase. The results of this work indicate that the differences in the degree of graphitization of the carbonaceous matter in low-grade metamorphosed rocks can be mainly related to the initial nature of the sedimentary organic matter and to its premetamorphic history.