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Bentonites from Cabo de Gata, Almería, Spain: a mineralogical and geochemical overview

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

E. Caballero ,
C. Jiménez de Cisneros ,
F. J. Huertas ,
F. Huertas ,
A. Pozzuoli  and
J. Linares
E. Caballero*
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain
C. Jiménez de Cisneros
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain
F. J. Huertas
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain
F. Huertas
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain
A. Pozzuoli
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy
J. Linares
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008 Granada, Spain
*
E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The Neogene volcanic region of Cabo de Gata, Almería, SE Spain, is dotted with many outcrops of bentonite, some of them of significant economic interest. The bentonites have their origin in the hydrothermal alteration of pyroclastic rocks (15-7 Ma). The deposits are usually associated with fractures. The major mineral is a dioctahedral Fe- and Mg-smectite (89-75%) and this is accompanied by minor amounts of feldspars, quartz, amphiboles, pyroxenes, biotite, zeolites, disordered tridymite, calcite, etc. This paper describes the geological background, the general characteristics of the bentonites and major aspects of their formation, e.g. type of low-temperature hydrothermal solutions, mass balance, chemical evolutions of the smectites and geochemistry of trace elements. Finally, the characteristics of three of the most important deposits are described.

Keywords

bentonite genesissmectitemass balancetrace elementshydrothermal alterationhydrothermal solutionsgeochemistryCabo de GataAlmeríaSpain
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 40 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 463 - 480
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2005

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