Distribution of rutile in metamorphic rocks and implications for placer deposits

Pelitic units in the eastern Great Smoky Mountains of the North Carolina Blue Ridge contain rutile grains only in kyanite and higher zones. Adjacent non-pelitic rocks do not contain rutile at kyanite grade but commonly contain sphene. Detrital rutile breaks down at metamorphic grades lower than those at which metamorphic rutile forms. Similarly, pelitic rocks in southeastern Connecticut contain rutile grains above, but not below, the sillimanite isograd. Most non-pelitic rocks there contain rutile only in the hypersthene zone. The slight difference in behavior of rutile in the two terranes is attributed primarily to a slight difference in calcium content of the pelites. In both areas, rutile commonly appears first as inclusions in garnet. Geologic maps showing metamorphic and stratigraphic or compositional information should be useful as prospecting tools for placer deposits. A variety of rocks at granulite facies and pelitic rocks of the upper amphibolite facies contain rutile and these could provide an extensive source for rutile in rutile placer deposits.