USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Canadian Mineralogist”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1988

Isotopic studies of epigenetic features in metalliferous sediment, Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea

The unique depositional environment of the Atlantis II Deep brine pool in the Red Sea produces a stratiform metalliferous deposit of greater areal extent than deposits formed by buoyant-plume systems typical of the midocean ridges because of much more efficient metal entrapment. Isotopic analyses of strontium, sulfur, carbon, and oxygen from the metalliferous sediments indicate that three major sources contribute dissolved components to the hydrothermal system: seawater, Miocene evaporites, and rift-zone basalt. An areally restricted magnetite-hematite-pyroxene assemblage formed at high temperatures, possibly in response to hydrothermal convection initiated by intrusion of basalt into the metalliferous sediment. A correlation between smectite Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratios and oxygen isotope temperatures suggests that smectite is a potentially important chemical geothermometer, and confirms geochemical calculations indicating that Mg-rich smectite is more stable than Fe-rich smectite at elevated temperatures.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1988

COEXISTING GALENA, PbS//S//S AND SULFOSALTS: EVIDENCE FOR MULTIPLE EPISODES OF MINERALIZATION IN THE ROUND MOUNTAIN AND MANHATTAN GOLD DISTRICTS, NEVADA.

Studies of galena and Pb-Bi-Ag-Cu(Hg) sulfosalts of varied compositions in the Round Mountain and Manhattan gold districts of Nevada corroborate the occurrence of several distinct mineralized systems characterized by different mineral compositions and assemblages. The different episodes of mineralization are related to different Cretaceous and Tertiary magmatic-hydrothermal events, although the assignment of specific mineral compositions and associations with dated mineralized systems is still incomplete. At the Fairview mine, galena associated with Pb-Bi-Ag sulfosalts and simple sulfides occurs as intergrowths of discretely different composition controlled by silver and bismuth content. A galena-type phase (Pbs//s//s) with solid solution toward matildite, AgBiS//2(composition Gal//6//0Mat//4//0) was found. If silver and, to a lasser extent, bismuth are absent, the galena formed will be almost pure PbS. Some minor antimony may substitute for bismuth. This study confirms a linear relationship between a cell edge and Ag-Bi(Sb) content for galena containing less than about 15 wt. percent Ag and Bi(Sb).

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1984

BOWIEITE: A NEW RHODIUM-IRIDIUM-PLATINUM SULFIDE IN PLATINUM-ALLOY NUGGETS, GOODNEWS BAY, ALASKA.

Bowieite (Rh,Ir,Pt)//2S//3, a new mineral species, is found in three nuggets of platinum from Goodnews Bay, Alaska. In linearly polarized reflected light, and compared to the host, higher reflecting white platinum-iridium alloy, bowieite is pale gray to pale gray-brown; neither bireflectance nor reflectance pleochroism is apparent. With polars crossed, its anisotropic rotation tints vary from gray to dark brown. Luminance values (relative to the CIE illuminant C) for R//1 and R//2, computed from full spectral data for the most bireflectant grain, are 45. 8% and 48. 2% in air, and 30. 5% and 33. 0% in oil, respectively. VHN//1//0//0 1288 (858 to 1635). Bowieite is orthorhombic, space group Pnca, with a 8. 454(7) -8. 473(8), b 5. 995(1)-6. 002(7), c 6. 143(1)-6. 121(8) A, Z equals 4. Some grains that are 2. 6 to 3. 8 atomic % metal-deficient occur as an optically coherent rim on bowieite; the rim and the bowieite grain are not optically continuous.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1984

Manganese-rich red tourmaline from the Fowler talc belt, New York.

Red uvite containing up to 4.34 wt.% MnO is found in the Arnold talc mine near Fowler, New York, USA. Microprobe analyses give a composition of 51% uvite in the uvite-dravite series. Associated minerals in this manganiferous metamorphic assemblage (possibly an evaporite) are manganese-rich tremolite (hexagonite) braunite and quartz.-R.A.G.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1988

Composition of massive sulfide deposits from the sediment-covered floor of Escanaba Trough, Gorda Ridge: implications for depositional processes

Massive sulfide deposits with two distinct compositions are spatially related to volcanic edifices that penetrate up to 500 m of turbiditic sediment in Escanaba Trough (ET), southern Gorda Ridge. The mineralogy, metal content, sulfur isotope composition, and hydrocarbon content of massive sulfides from ET reflect the extensive interaction between underlying turbiditic sediment and hydrothermal fluid. Pyrrhotite-rich sulfide mounds are inferred to have formed under gentle temperature and chemical gradients related to diffuse, low-velocity flow through disrupted sediment near the sediment-capped hills.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1986

Akermanite: phase transitions in heat capacity and thermal expansion, and revised thermodynamic data.

A small but sharp anomaly in the heat capacity of akermanite at 357.9 K, and a discontinuity in its thermal expansion at 693 K, as determined by XRD, have been found. The enthalpy and entropy assigned to the heat-capacity anomaly, for the purpose of tabulation, are 679 J/mol and 1.9 J/(mol.K), respectively. They were determined from the difference between the measured values of the heat capacity in the T interval 320-365 K and that obtained from an equation which fits the heat-capacity and heat-content data for akermanite from 290 to 1731 K. Heat-capacity measurements are reported for the T range from 9 to 995 K. The entropy and enthalpy of formation of akermanite at 298.15 K and 1 bar are 212.5 + or - 0.4 J/(mol.K) and -3864.5 + or - 4.0 kJ/mol, respectively. Weak satellite reflections have been observed in hk0 single-crystal X-ray precession photographs and electron-diffraction patterns of this material at room T. With in situ heating by TEM, the satellite reflections decreased significantly in intensity above 358 K and disappeared at about 580 K and, on cooling, reappeared. These observations suggest that the anomalies in the thermal behaviour of akermanite are associated with local displacements of Ca ions from the mirror plane (space group P421m) and accompanying distortion of the MgSi2O7 framework.-L.C.C.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1989

Pb-Bi-Ag-Cu-(Hg) chemistry of galena and some associated sulfosalts. A review and some new data from Colorado California and Pennsylvania

Galena, associated with Pb-Bi-Ag sulfosalts and simple sulfides, contains varied amounts of Ag and Bi in the Dandy vein system, Idarado mine, Ouray, Colorado; the Jackass mine, Darwin District, California; and the Leadville district, Colorado. Silver- and bismuth-bearing galena associated with minor amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite occur at the Pequea mine, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Ag and Bi contents in the Dandy suite of galena range from about 1.4 to 3.4 and 2.5 to 6.5 wt.% respectively, and are comparable or lower in galena from the other localities. Exsolved matildite is present in galena from the Dandy, Jackass and Leadville localities. The presence in significant amounts of both Ag and Bi in a Pb-rich sulfide system is necessary for formation of PbSss (galena solid-solution). If Ag (especially) and Bi (to a lesser extent) are absent, the galena formed will be essentially pure PbS. Some minor Sb may substitute for Bi. Compositional data for all of the galena samples are in agreement with a previously proposed linear relationship between a and Ag-Bi(Sb) content. Matildite and seven additional Pb-Bi-Ag-Cu sulfosalts have been identified from the Dandy vein system, based on electron-microprobe analyses and some X-ray powder-diffraction data.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1989

Chloritization and associated alteration at the Jabiluka unconformity-type uranium deposit, Northern Territory, Australia

Jabiluka is the largest of four known uncomformity-type uranium deposits that are hosted by brecciated and altered metasedimentary rocks in the Pine Creek geosyncline, Northern Territory, Australia. The alteration zone at Jabiluka is dominated by chlorite, but also contains white mica, tourmaline and apatite; hematite is present, but only in minor amounts. Added quartz is mainly restricted to fractures and breccias. Chlorite, which formed during episodic fluid movement, partly to totally replaced all pre-existing minerals. Chloritized rocks are enriched in Mg, and depleted in K, Ca, Na and Si. Five types of chlorite are optically and chemically distinguishable in the rocks at Jabiluka. Chloritization is proposed as a mechanism that lowered the pH of the circulating fluid, and also caused significant loss of silica from the altered rocks. The proposed constraints on alteration, and presumably on at least part of the uranium mineralization, neither require nor preclude the existence of the unconformity as necessary for the formation of ore.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1989

Mineralogy and paragenesis of the McAllister Sn-Ta-bearing pegmatite, Coosa County, Alabama

The McAllister Sn-Ta deposit (Alabama) is localized in a complex pegmatite that contains large zones of mineralized late-stage replacement-type saccharoidal albite and nearly monomineralic muscovite 'greisen-like' pipes. The dyke is at least 450 m long and averages approximately 9 m in thickness. At least two 'greisen-like' pipes, as much as 7.6 m by 4.5 m in cross-section and extending at least 76 m down a steep easterly pitch, occur near the center of the dyke. The dyke is hosted by an approximately 300-Ma-old pluton of a group referred to as the Rockford Granite, a mesozonal to epizonal two-mica, peraluminous tin-bearing granite. The pluton is genetically affiliated with a well-defined sequence of simple to complex pegmatite dykes and quartz-casiterite veins that occur near its margin and within the immediately adjacent metasedimentary rocks of the Wedowee Group.

Alabama↗
USGS1994

The crystal structure and crystal chemistry of fernandinite and corvusite

Using type material of fernandinite from Minasragra, Peru, and corvusite from the Jack Claim, La Sal Mountains, Utah, the properties and crystal chemistry of these minerals have been determined by Rietveld analysis of the powder X-ray-diffraction patterns. The crystal structure of both species is isotypic with the V2O5 -type layer first found for ??-Ag0.68V2O5; it consists of chains of VO6 octahedra linked by opposite corners (parallel to b) condensed by edge-sharing to form the layer. The vanadium has average valence 4.8, and the resulting layer-charge is balanced by varying amounts of Ca, Na, and K in the interlayer region accompanied by labile water. This study has confirmed the validity of fernandinite as a unique mineral species. It is closely related to corvusite, from which it is distinguished on the basis of the dominant interlayer cation: Ca for fernandinite, Na for curvusite. -Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1992

Petrogenesis of the Pd-rich intrusion at Salt Chuck, Prince of Wales island: an early Paleozoic Alaskan-type ultramafic body

The early Paleozoic Salt Chuck intrusion has petrographic and chemical characteristics that are similar to those of Cretaceous Alaskan-type ultramafic-mafic bodies. The intrusion is markedly discordant to the structure of the early Paleozoic Descon Formation, in which it has produced a rather indistinct contact aureole a few meters wide. Mineral assemblages, sequence of crystallization, and mineral chemistry suggest that the intrusion crystallized under low pressures (~2 kbar) with oxidation conditions near those of the NNO buffer, from a hydrous, silica-saturated, orthopyroxene-normative parental magma. The Salt Chuck deposit was probably formed by a two-stage process: 1) a stage of magmatic crystallization in which the sulfides and PGE accumulated in a disseminated manner in cumulus deposits, possibly largely in the gabbro, and 2) a later magmatic-hydrothermal stage during which the sulfides and PGE were remobilized and concentrated in veins and fracture-fillings. In this model, the source of the sulfides and PGE was the magma that produced the Salt Chuck intrusion. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1992

Hydrothermal and metamorphic berthierine from the Kidd Creek volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, Timmins, Ontario

Berthierine, a 7 A?? Fe-Al member of the serpentine group, occurs in the footwall stringer zone of the Archean Kidd Creek massive sulfide deposit, associated with quartz, muscovite, chlorite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and local tourmaline, cassiterite, and halloysite. Petrographic and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies reveal different types of berthierine occurrences, including interlayers within the rims on deformed chlorite, intergrowths with muscovite and halloysite, and discrete coarse grains. This is the first reported occurrence of berthierine from volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. Textural relations suggest that most of the berthierine formed as a primary hydrothermal mineral at relatively high temperatures (~350??C) in the footwall stringer zone, probably by the replacement of a pre-existing aluminous phase such as muscovite or chlorite. However, the intergrowth textures observed by SEM and TEM suggest that some of the berthierine originated by syn- or post-metamorphic replacement of chlorite. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1992

A monoclinic, pseudo-orthorhombic Au-Hg mineral of potential economic significance in Pleistocene Snake River alluvial deposits of southeastern Idaho

A mineral with the approximate composition of Au94Hg6 - Au88Hg12 (atomic %) has been identified in Pleistocene Snake River alluvial deposits. The gold-mercury mineral occurs as very small grains or as polycrystalline masses composed of subhedral to nearly euhedral attached crystals. Vibratory cold-polishing techniques with 0.05-??m alumina abrasive for polished sections revealed a porous internal texture for most subhedral crystals after 48-72 hours of treatment. Thus, optical character (isotropic or anisotropic) could not be determined by reflected-light microscopy, and pore-free areas were too small for measurement of reflectance. X-ray-diffraction lines rather than individual reflections (spots), on powder camera X-ray films of unrotated spindles of single grains that morphologically appear to be single crystals, indicate that individual subhedral or euhedral crystals are composed of domains in random orientation. Thus, no material was found suitable for single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1994

McCrillisite, NaCs(Be,Li)Zr2(PO4)4.1-2H2O, a new mineral species from Mount Mica, Oxford County, Maine, and new data for gainesite

McCrillisite, a member of the gainesite group, occurs in the Mount Mica granitic pegmatite, South Paris, Oxford County, Maine. The mineral is a product of late-stage hydrothermal alteration and is associated with approximately 20 other silicate, oxide, carbonate, arsenite and phosphate minerals. Crystals occur in mm- to cm-sized cavities, and individuals are up to 1.2 mm in maximum dimension. The crystallography and mineral chemistry of McCrillisite are described. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1994

Hogtuvaite, a new beryllian member of the aenigmatite group from Norway, with new X-ray data on aenigmatite

Hogtuvaite is a new beryllian member of the aenigmatite group that was discovered in Nordland County, Norway. It is a metamorphic mineral, hosted by Proterozoic granitic gneisses and mafic pegmatites of metamorphic origin. Compositional variations within and between gneiss-hosted samples of hogtuvaite are minimal; however, pegmatite-hosted samples of hogtuvaite are significantly different, containing less Al and Sn, and more Ti and Mn, than those from the gneisses. The mineralogical, optical and crystallographic properties of hogtuvaite are described. A new and uniquely indexed set of X-ray powder diffraction data for aenigmatite is presented. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1994

Partitioning of zinc among common ferromagnesian minerals and implications for hydrothermal mobilization

In systems where metals are scavenging from crystalline rocks by through-flowing fluids, the important host minerals must be dissolved or must undergo cation-exchange reactions with the fluid. Whereas copper resides in sulfides, zinc resides in magnetic and, to a lesser extent, in biotite, clinopyroxene and olivine. Magnetite is known from petrographic studies to be more resistant to alteration than sulfides. For metals extracted from crystalline rocks, the Cu:Zn mass ratio may thus decrease with progressive alteration. In systems where metals are scavenged from cooling magmas by exsolving fluids, the metals are partitioned among melt, fluid and any crystals that have fractionated. For zinc, crystal fractionation may be an important sink if magnetite or biotite crystallize before fluid saturation. The zinc concentrations of magmatic fluids will thus be reduced. -from Author

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1993

Thortveitite and associated Sc-bearing minerals from Ravalli County, Montana

The rare Sc mineral thortveitite, (Sc,Y)2Si2O7, occurs as ??m- to mm-sized crystals in fluorite-bearing granitic pegmatites and the host melagabbro within the Crystal Mountain fluorite deposit, Ravalli County, Montana. Thortveitite is found as colorless and clear to smoky and translucent, subhedral to euhedral prisms up to 3 mm in length in the massive fluroite, as mm-sized anhedra to subhedra in diopside and edenite, and as ??m-sized droplet-like crystals in actinolite. Micrometric textures suggest that some thortveitite exsolved from actinolite, which contains between 1.2 and 2.9 wt.% Sc2O3. The source of the Sc is believed to be magmatic. The physical, optical and crystallographic properties of thortveitite are described. -from Authors

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1996

Occurrence and significance of stalactites within the epithermal deposits at Creede, Colorado

In addition to the common and abundant features in karst terranes, stalactites involving a wide variety of minerals have also been found in other settings, including epigenetic mineral deposits, but these are almost always associated with supergene stages. Here we describe a different mode of occurrence from the Creede epithermal ore deposits, in Colorado, wherein stalactites of silica, sphalerite, galena, or pyrite formed in a vapor-dominated setting, below the paleo-water table, and except possibly for pyrite, as part of the hypogene mineralization. Axial cavities may, or may not, be present. No stalagmites have been recognized. The stalactites are small, from a few millimeters to a few centimeters long and a few millimeters in outer diameter. They represent only a small fraction of one percent of the total mineralization, and are covered by later crystals. Their growth orientation usually is unobservable; however, the parallel arrangement of all stalactites in a given specimen, consistency with indicators of gravitational settling, and the common presence of axial structures make the stalactitic interpretation almost unavoidable. In contrast with common carbonate stalactites, the growth mechanism for the sulfide and silica stalactites requires extensive evaporation. Stalactitic forms have also been reported from other deposits, mostly epithermal or Mississippi-Valley-type occurrences, but we caution that stalactite-like features can form by alternative processes.

Canadian Mineralogist↗