Compositions of micas in peraluminous granitoids of the eastern Arabian shield

Compositions and pleochroism of micas in fourteen peraluminous alkali-feldspar granites in the eastern part of the Late Proterozoic Arabian Shield are unlike those of micas (principally biotite) in most calc-alkaline granitoid rocks. Compositions of these micas are distinguished by elevated abundances of Li₂O, F, and numerous cations and by low MgO abundances. These micas, constituents of highly evolved rare-metal enriched granitoids, represent an iron-lithium substitution series that ranges from lithium-poor siderophyllite to lithium-rich ferroan lepidolite. The eastern Arabian Shield also hosts six epizonal granitoids that contain colorless micas. Compositions of these micas, mostly muscovite, and their host granitoids are distinct from those of the iron-lithium micas and their host granitoids. Compositions of the analyzed micas have a number of petrogenetic implications. The twenty granitoids containing these micas form three compositional groups that reflect genesis in particular tectonic regimes; mica compositions define the same three groups. The presence of magmatic muscovite in six of these shallowly crystallized granitoids conflicts with experimental data indicating muscovite stability at pressures greater than 3 kbar. Muscovite in the Arabian granitoids probably results from its non-ideal composition; the presence of muscovite cannot be used as a pressure indicator. Finally, mineral/matrix partition coefficients are significantly greater than 1.0 for a number of cations, the rare-earth elements in particular, in many of the analyzed iron-lithium micas. Involvement of these types of micas in partial melting or fractionation processes can have a major influence on silicate liquid compositions.