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Results for “Canadian Mineralogist”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2001

Olivine-liquid relations of lava erupted by Kilauea volcano from 1994 to 1998: Implications for shallow magmatic processes associated with the ongoing east-rift-zone eruption

From 1994 through 1998, the eruption of Kîlauea, in Hawai’i, was dominated by steady-state effusion at Pu‘u ‘Ô‘ô that was briefly disrupted by an eruption 4 km uprift at Nāpau Crater on January 30, 1997. In this paper, I describe the systematic relations of whole-rock, glass, olivine, and olivine-inclusion compositions of lava samples collected throughout this interval. This suite comprises vent samples and tube-contained flows collected at variable distances from the vent. The glass composition of tube lava varies systematically with distance and allows for the “vent-correction” of glass thermometry and olivine–liquid K D as a function of tube-transport distance. Combined olivine–liquid data for vent samples and “vent-corrected” lava-tube samples are used to document pre-eruptive magmatic conditions. K D values determined for matrix glasses and forsterite cores define three types of olivine phenocrysts: type A (in equilibrium with host glass), type B (Mg-rich relative to host glass) and type C (Mg-poor relative to host glass). All three types of olivine have a cognate association with melts that are present within the shallow magmatic plumbing system during this interval. During steady-state eruptive activity, the compositions of whole-rock, glass and most olivine phenocrysts (type A) all vary sympathetically over time and as influenced by changes of magmatic pressure within the summit-rift-zone plumbing system. Type-A olivine is interpreted as having grown during passage from the summit magma-chamber along the east-rift-zone conduit. Type-B olivine (high Fo) is consistent with equilibrium crystallization from bulk-rock compositions and is likely to have grown within the summit magma-chamber. Lower-temperature, fractionated lava was erupted during non-steady-state activity of the Nāpau Crater eruption. Type-A and type-B olivine–liquid relations indicate that this lava is a mixture of rift-stored and summit-derived magmas. Post- Nāpau lava (at Pu‘u ‘Ô‘ô) gradually increases in temperature and MgO content, and contains type-C olivine with complex zoning, indicating magma hybridization associated with the flushing of rift-stored components through the eruption conduit.

Hawaii↗
USGS2002

Ordonezite from the Theodoso Soto Mine, Sapioris, Durango, Mexico: New data and structure refinement

A new occurrence of the rare mineral species ordonezite has been found at the Theodoso Soto tin mine, near Sapioris, Durango, Mexico. The average composition of the samples is (Zn 0.98 Fe 0.02 ) Σ1.00 Sb 2.00 O 6 ; the core of the crystals is slightly richer in Fe than the rim. The mineral is uniaxial (+), with all n greater than 2.30 (n calc is 2.38 at 589 nm); D obs 6.66 g/cm 3 , D calc 6.67 g/cm 3 . It is isostructural with ferrotapiolite, with a 4.668(2), c 9.269(6) A (from powder-diffraction data), space group P4 2 /mnm, and is twinned on {103}. Its crystal structure, refined to R=4.1, wR=4.3% using 163 observed reflections, is fully cation-ordered.

Durango↗
USGS2003

Bobjonesite, V4+ O (SO4) (H2O)3, a new mineral species from Temple Mountain, Emery County, Utah, U.S.A

Bobjonesite, V 4+ O (SO 4 ) (H 2 O) 3 , is a new mineral species from Temple Mountain, Emery County, Utah, U.S.A. It occurs as blue-green crusts and efflorescences in fractures in a fossil (Triassic) tree; individual crystals are <<1 mm and are intimately intergrown. Bobjonesite hydrates very easily, and is unstable in all but the driest atmosphere. Its structure was determined on a crystal of bobjonesite; however, the physical properties, optical properties and X-ray powder-diffraction pattern were recorded on the synthetic equivalent, and an electron-microprobe analysis was not possible. Bobjonesite has a pale blue streak, a vitreous luster and no observable fluorescence under ultraviolet light. It has no cleavage or parting. The Mohs hardness is ~1, and the calculated density is 2.28 g/cm 3 . Bobjonesite is biaxial positive, with α 1.555(2), β 1.561(1), γ 1.574(2), 2 V (obs.) = 72(1)°, 2 V (calc.) = 69°; it is non-pleochroic, X = b , Y ≈ a , Z ∧ c ≈ 19° (in β obtuse). Bobjonesite is monoclinic, space group P 2 1 / n , cell dimensions from single-crystal data: a 7.3940(5), b 7.4111(3), c 12.0597(9) Å, β 106.55(1)°, V 633.5(1) Å 3 , Z = 4. The strongest seven lines in the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [ d in Å( I )( hkl )] are as follows: 5.795(100)(002), 3.498(90)(112), 3.881(48)(1̅03), 5.408(37) (101), 4.571(20)(012), 6.962(11)(1̅01) and 6.254(11)(011). The chemical formula was derived from crystal-structure analysis; the end-member formula is V O (SO 4 ) (H 2 O) 3 . The crystal structure of bobjonesite was refined to an R index of 3.6% for 1105 observed (| F o | > 5> F ) reflections measured with an automated four-circle X-ray diffractometer using Mo K α X-radiation. There is one V site occupied by V 4+ and surrounded by three O atoms and three (H 2 O) groups in an octahedral arrangement, with one short vanadyl bond (1.577 Å), four similar equatorial bonds (<2.022 Å>), and one longer V–O bond (2.278 Å) trans to the vanadyl bond. The structure consists of isolated [V 4+ 2 O 2 (H 2 O) 6 (SO 4 ) 2 ] clusters linked by hydrogen bonds.

Utah↗
USGS2005

Foliation development and reaction softening by dissolution and precipitation in the transformation of granodiorite to orthogneiss, Glastonbury Complex, Connecticut, U.S.A

Textures, microstructures, and patterns of chemical zoning in minerals in a granodioritic orthogneiss in the Glastonbury Complex, Connecticut, lead to the interpretation that foliation development was facilitated by retrograde hydration reactions in the presence of an aqueous fluid. Incomplete replacement of the metastable magmatic minerals K-feldspar + hastingsite + magnetite produced foliation-defining biotite + epidote + quartz. These reaction products did not replace K-feldspar – hastingsite interfaces; rather, either biotite or epidote replaced the amphibole, and plagioclase replaced K-feldspar. Biotite and epidote precipitated syntectonically in discrete layers that define the foliation in the orthogneiss, whereas quartz precipitated primarily in ribbons, further enhancing the fabric. Metastable REE-rich igneous titanite also dissolved, and was incompletely replaced by REE-poor, Al-bearing metamorphic titanite. The similar concentrations of the REE in epidote and titanite show that the REE released by titanite dissolution were precipitated locally as the allanite component in adjacent grains of epidote. The entire process was syntectonic, with most grains showing multiple overgrowths in the direction of extension as defined by stretched xenoliths. Sufficient U was present in the titanite overgrowths to allow SHRIMP dating of cores, mantles, and rims. These results suggest at least three retrograde Alleghanian events of growth in a span of ~30 m.y. Thus the dissolution – transportation –precipitation process not only describes the reaction mechanism but also leads to the redistribution of reaction products into nearly monomineralic layers, thus contributing to metamorphic differentiation and to the development of the foliation. The resulting orthogneiss was much weaker that the granodiorite protolith, owing to this reaction and textural softening.

Connecticut↗
USGS2005

Mineralogy and provenance of clays in miarolitic cavities of the Pikes Peak batholith, Colorado

Clay samples from 105 cavities within miarolitic granitic pegmatites throughout the Pikes Peak batholith, in Colorado, were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Smectite (beidellite), illite, and kaolinite were found within the cavities. Calculation of crystallite-thickness distribution (CTD), mean thickness of the crystallites, and variance in crystallite thickness, as deduced from XRD patterns, allowed a determination of provenance and mode of formation for illite and smectite. Authigenic miarolitic-cavity illite and smectite show lognormal CTDs and larger mean thicknesses of crystallites than do their soil-derived counterparts; non-lognormal illite in a cavity results from mixing of cavity and soil illite. Analysis of mean thickness and thickness variance shows that crystal growth of illite is initiated by a nucleation event of short duration, followed by surface-controlled kinetics. Crystallization of the miarolitic cavity clays is presumed to occur by neoformation from hydrothermal fluids. The assessment of provenance allows a determination of regional and local distributions of clay minerals in miarolitic cavities within the Pikes Peak batholith.

Colorado↗
USGS2005

The composition of coexisting jarosite-group minerals and water from the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California

Jarosite-group minerals accumulate in the form of stalactites and fine-grained mud on massive pyrite in the D drift of the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California. Water samples were collected by placing beakers under the dripping stalactites and by extracting pore water from the mud using a centrifuge. The water is rich in Fe 3+ and SO 4 2− , with a pH of approximately 2.1, which is significantly higher than the extremely acidic waters found elsewhere in the mine. Electron-microprobe analysis and X-ray mapping indicate that the small crystals (<10 μm in diameter) are compositionally zoned with respect to Na and K, and include hydronium jarosite corresponding to the formula (H 3 O) 0.6 K 0.3 Na 0.1 Fe 3 3+ (SO 4 ) 2 (OH) 6 . The proton-microprobe analyses indicate that the jarosite-group minerals contain significant amounts of As, Pb and Zn, and minor levels of Bi, Rb, Sb, Se, Sn and Sr. Speciation modeling indicates that the drip waters are supersaturated with respect to jarosite-group minerals. The expected range in composition of jarosite-group solid-solution in equilibrium with the pore water extracted from the mud was found to be consistent with the observed range in composition.

California↗
USGS2008

Mineral chemistry and shrimp U-Pb Geochronology of mesoproterozoic polycrase-titanite veins in the sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit, British Columbia

Small polycrase-titanite veins 0.1-2 mm thick cut the tourmalinite feeder zone in the deep footwall of the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag deposit, southeastern British Columbia. Unaltered, euhedral crystals of polycrase and titanite 50-100 ??m in diameter are variably replaced by a finer-grained alteration-induced assemblage composed of anhedral polycrase and titanite with local calcite, albite, epidote, allanite, and thorite or uranothorite (or both). Average compositions of the unaltered and altered polycrase, as determined by electron-microprobe analysis, are (Y0.38 REE0.49 Th0.10 Ca0.04 Pb0.03 Fe0.01U0.01) (Ti1.48 Nb0.54 W0.04 Ta0.02)O6 and (Y0.42 REE0.32 Th0.15 U0.06 Ca0.04 Pb0.01 Fe0.01) (Ti1.57 Nb0.44 W0.04 Ta0.02)O6, respectively. The unaltered titanite has, in some areas, appreciable F (to 0.15 apfu), Y (to 0.40 apfu), and Nb (to 0.13 apfu). SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of eight grains of unaltered polycrase yields a weighted 207Pb/206Pb age of 1413 ?? 4 Ma (2??) that is interpreted to be the age of vein formation. This age is 50-60 m.y. younger than the ca. 1470 Ma age of synsedimentary Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization in the Sullivan deposit, which is based on combined geological and geochronological data. SHRIMP ages for altered polycrase and titanite suggest later growth of minerals during the ???1370-1320 Ma East Kootenay and ???1150-1050 Ma Grenvillian orogenies. The 1413 ?? 4 Ma age for the unaltered polycrase in the veins records a previously unrecognized post-ore (<1470 Ma) and premetamorphic (>1370 Ma) mineralizing event in the Sullivan deposit and vicinity. The SHRIMP U-Pb age of the polycrase and high concentrations of REE, Y, Ti, Nb, and Th in the veins, together with elevated F in titanite and the absence of associated sulfides, suggest transport of these high-field-strength elements (HFSE) by F-rich and S-poor hydrothermal fluids unrelated to the fluids that formed the older Fe-Pb-Zn-Ag sulfide ores of the Sullivan deposit. Fluids containing abundant REE, HFSE, and F may have been derived from a geochemically specialized magma such as those that form alkaline granites, pegmatites, or carbonatites. In an alternative model. preferred here, these fluids were associated with a rift-related, crustal metasomatic event in the region. Determination of a Mesoproterozoic age for the polycrase-titanite veins establishes the first known occurrence of pre-Grenvillian REE-rich mineralization in the Belt-Purcell basin.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS2009

The weathering of a sulfide orebody: Speciation and fate of some potential contaminants

Various potentially toxic trace elements such as As, Cu, Pb and Zn have been remobilized by the weathering of a sulfide orebody that was only partially mined at Leona Heights, California. As a result, this body has both natural and anthropogeni- cally modified weathering profiles only 500 m apart. The orebody is located in a heavily urbanized area in suburban Oakland, and directly affects water quality in at least one stream by producing acidic conditions and relatively high concentrations of dissolved elements (e.g., ??500 ??g/L Cu, ??3700 ??g/L Zn). Micrometric-scale mineralogical investigations were performed on the authigenic metal-bearing phases (less than 10 ??m in size) using electron-probe micro-analysis (EPMA), micro-Raman, micro X-ray absorption spectroscopy (??XAS), scanning X-ray diffraction ((??SXRD) and scanning X-ray fluorescence (??-SXRF) mapping techniques. Those measurements were coupled with classical mineralogical laboratory techniques, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Authigenic metal-bearing phases identified are mainly sulfates (jarosite, epsomite, schwertmannite), Fe (oxy-)hydroxides (goethite, hematite and poorly crystalline Fe products) and poorly crystalline Mn (hydr-)oxides. Sulfates and Fe (oxy-)hydroxides are the two main secondary products at both sites, whereas Mn (hydr-) oxides were only observed in the samples from the non-mining site. In these samples, the various trace elements show different affinities for Fe or Mn compounds. Lead is preferentially associated with Mn (hydr-)oxides and As with Fe (oxy-)hydroxides or sulfates. Copper association with Mn and Fe phases is questionable, and the results obtained rather indicate that Cu is present as individual Cu-rich grains (Cu hydroxides). Some ochreous precipitates were found at both sites and correspond to a mixture of schwertmannite, goethite and jarosite containing some potentially toxic trace elements such as Cu, Pb and Zn. According to the trace element distribution and relative abundance of the unweathered sulfides, this orebody still represents a significant reservoir of potential contaminants for the watershed, especially at the non-mining site, as a much greater proportion of sulfides is left to react and because of the lower porosity at this site.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS2014

The global age distribution of granitic pegmatites

An updated global compilation of 377 new and previously published ages indicates that granitic pegmatites range in age from Mesoarchean to Neogene and have a semi-periodic age distribution. Undivided granitic pegmatites show twelve age maxima: 2913, 2687, 2501, 1853, 1379, 1174, 988, 525, 483, 391, 319, and 72 Ma. These peaks correspond broadly with various proxy records of supercontinent assembly, including the age distributions of granites, detrital zircon grains, and passive margins. Lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites have a similar age distribution to the undivided granitic pegmatites, with maxima at 2638, 1800, 962, 529, 485, 371, 309, and 274 Ma. Lithium and Ta resources in LCT pegmatites are concentrated in the Archean and Phanerozoic. While there are some Li resources from the Proterozoic, the dominantly bimodal distribution of resources is particularly evident for Ta. This distribution is similar to that of orogenic gold deposits, and has been interpreted to reflect the preservation potential of the orogenic belts where these deposits are formed. Niobium-yttrium-fluorine (NYF) pegmatites show similar age distributions to LCT pegmatites, but with a strong maximum at ca. 1000 Ma.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1985

Durangite from the Black Range, New Mexico, and new data on durangite from Durango and Cornwall.

Durangite, associated with cassiterite, hematite, quartz, tridymite, cristobalite and clinopyroxene, occurs in small veinlets within flows, ash-flow tuffs and lithic tuffs in a tin mine near Boiler Peak, New Mexico. It is clear to semi-translucent, pale yellow-orange to medium orange-red with a vitreous lustre, pale yellow streak; H. 5-5.5%; irregular to conchoidal fracture and a good (110) cleavage; elongate along c with (110), (010), (021) and (111) the prominent forms; Dmeas 3.90, Dcalc 3.92 g/cm3; alpha medium yellow orange 1.634(3), beta pale yellow orange 1.663(3), gamma colourless 1.685(3); weak to moderate dispersion r < v. The structural formula is: (Na0.93Li0.07)SIGMA 1.00(Al0.89Fe0.07Mn0.06)SIGMA 1.02As0.99O4(F0.90(OH)0.07)SIGMA 0.97. Indexed XRD powder data are tabulated; a 6.574(1), b 8.505(2), c 7.019(1) A, beta 115.34o; space group C2/c; Z = 4. Additional X-ray and chemical data on durangite from Durango and Cornwall are also included.-L.T.T.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1984

PALLADIUM, PLATINUM, RHODIUM, RUTHENIUM AND IRIDIUM IN PERIDOTITES AND CHROMITITES FROM OPHIOLITE COMPLEXES IN NEWFOUNDLAND.

Samples of spinel lherzolite, harzburgite, dunite, and chromitite from the Bay of Islands, Lewis Hills, Table Mountain, Advocate, North Arm Mountain, White Hills Periodite Point Rousse, Great Bend and Betts Cove ophiolite complexes in Newfoundland were analyzed for the platinum-group elements (PGE) Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru and Ir. The ranges of concentration (in ppb) observed for all rocks are: less than 0. 5 to 77 (Pd), less than 1 to 120 (Pt), less than 0. 5 to 20 (Rh), less than 100 to 250 (Ru) and less than 20 to 83 (Ir). Chondrite-normalized PGE ratios suggest differences between rock types and between complexes. Samples of chromitite and dunite show relative enrichment in Ru and Ir and relative depletion in Pt and Pd.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
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↗
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↗