Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:34:38.940Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

REE-bearing minerals in the albitites of central Sardinia, Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

G. Carcangiu
Affiliation:
Centro Studi Geominerari e Mineralurgici del C.N.R., Fac. di Ingegneria, Università. di Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
M. Palomba
Affiliation:
Centro Studi Geominerari e Mineralurgici del C.N.R., Fac. di Ingegneria, Università. di Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
M. Tamanini
Affiliation:
Centro Studi Geominerari e Mineralurgici del C.N.R., Fac. di Ingegneria, Università. di Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy

Abstract

Recent studies on albitite rocks located in the granodiorite complex of Central Sardinia have revealed that epidote has a widespread occurrence as a light rare-earth element (LREE)-bearing accessory common phase. Titanite has been recorded as a heavy rare earth element (HREE)-bearing mineral. The Hercynian granodiorite complex of Central Sardinia is composed chiefly of quartz, Ca-plagioclase, K-feldspar and biotite and of a wide variety of secondary assemblages, mainly allanite, titanite and zircon. Albitic plagioclase and quartz are the main mineral components of the albitites. Additional minerals include, besides allanite and epidote, a more calcic-plagioclase (oligoclase), K-feldspar, chlorite, titanite and more rarely muscovite. The mineral assemblages and REE-bearing minerals of albitites were analysed by wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS). Chemical data suggest that there is a near complete solid-solution between epidote and allanite whereas little variations in HREE of titanites were detected. In epidote-group minerals a pronounced zoning in REE was observed while titanite was recorded unzoned. Textural relations were studied by SEM to distinguish primary from secondary epidotes. Chemical criteria to recognize magmatic from alteration epidotes were also applied. The alteration epidotes mainly occur and generally originate from plagioclase alteration and from leaching of magmatic allanite. Comparison of textures using both the SEM technique and EPMA data showed that the characteristic ‘patchy zoning’, observed in epidotes, corresponds with different amounts of REE in these minerals.

The schematic model proposed for the epidote-forming reactions during the metasomatic processes that affected the granodiorites involves: (i) the instability of the anorthitic component of plagioclase; (ii) the simultaneous formation of albite; (iii) the leaching of the magmatic allanite with a redistribution of REE in the epidotes of the albitites.

Type
Mineralogy
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afifi, A.M. and Essene, E.J. (1988) MINFILE: A microcomputer program for storage and manipula-tion of chemical data on minerals. Amer. Mineral., 73, 3-4. 446-8.Google Scholar
Balashov, Y.A. and Kriegman, L.D. (1975) The effects of alkalinity and volatiles on rare earth separation in magmatic systems. Geochem. Intern., 12, 165—70.Google Scholar
Beccaluva, L., Macciotta, G., Siena, F. and Zeda, O. (1989) Harzburgite - lherzolite xenoliths and clinopyroxene megacrysts of alkaline basic lavas from Sardinia (Italy). Chem. Geol., 77, 331-45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornioli, R., Carcangiu, G., Palomba, M., Peretti, R., Tamanini, M. and Zucca, A. (1993) REE-miner-alization in the albitite deposits of Central Sardinia (Italy). Geological, mineralogical and petrological aspects, REE-bearing minerals. Abstracts of Congress Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin and Ore Deposits, 12. April, London, 15-7.Google Scholar
Bornioli, R., Fadda, S., Fiori, M., Grillo, S.M. and Marini, (1996) Genetic aspects of albitite deposit from Central Sardinia: mineralogical and geochemical evidence. Explor. Mining Geol., 5, 61—72.Google Scholar
Bornioli, R., Carcangiu, G., Palomba, M., Peretti, R., Tamanini, M. and Zucca, A. (in press) Rare earth elements in the albitites of Central Sardinia (Italy). Note I: the mineralization of Ottana.Google Scholar
Bralia, A., Ghezzo, C., Guasparri, G. and Sabatini, G. (1982) Aspetti genetici del batolite sardo-corso. Rend. Soc. Ital. Mineral. Petr., 38, 701-64.Google Scholar
Campbell, H.I., Lesher, C.M., Coad, P., Franklin, J.M., Gorton, M.P. and Thurston, P.C. (1984) Rare earth elements mobility in alteration pipes below massive Cu-Zn sulfide deposits. Chem. Geol., 45, 439-87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carcangiu, G., Franceschelli, M., Palomba, M. and Tamanini, M. (1993) Allanite-(Ce) and epidotes in a feldspar deposit from Central Sardinia, Italy. Abstracts of Congress Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin, and Ore Deposits, 12. April, London, 2324.Google Scholar
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A. and Zussman, J. (1986) Rock-forming Minerals, 2nd ed., Vol. 1A., Longmans, London.Google Scholar
Del Moro, A., Di Simplicio, P., Ghezzo, C., Guasparri, G., Rita, F. and Sabatini, G. (1975) Radimetric data and intrusive sequence in the Sardinian Batholith. Neues Jahrb. Mineral., Abh., 126, 2844.Google Scholar
Dollase, W.A. (1971) Refinement of the crystal structures of epidote, allanite and hancockite. Amer. Mineral., 56, 447—64.Google Scholar
Droop, G.T.R. (1987) A general equation for estimating Fe3+ concentration in ferromagnesian silicates and oxides from microprobe analyses, using stoichio-metric criteria. Mineral. Mag., 51, 431—5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elter, F.M., Franceschelli, M., Ghezzo, C., Memmi, I. and Ricci, C.A. (1986) The geology of Northern Sardinia Final Meet. of 1GCP, May 26-31, Newsletter, special issue , 87—97.Google Scholar
Exley, R.A. (1980) Microprobe studies of REE-rich accessory minerals: implications for Skye granite petrogenesis and REE mobility in hydrothermal systems. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 48, 97-110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiori, M., Garbarino, C., Grillo, S.M., Marcello, A., Marini, C. and Pretti, S. (1994) Relazioni genetiche tra le mineralizzazioni ad albite e quelle a clorite-talco della Sardegna centrale. Atti Cony. ‘Giornata di Studio in ricordo di S. Zucchetti’;, 139—45.Google Scholar
Flynn, R.T. and Burnham, C.W. (1978) An experimental determination of rare earth partition coefficients between a chloride containing vapor phase and silicate melts. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 42, 685-701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghezzo, C. and Orsini, J.B. (1982) Lineamenti strutturali e composizionali del batolite ercinico sardo-corso in Sardegna. Soc. Geol. It., Proceed. Congr. “Geologia del Paleozoico Sardo”, May 1982, Cagliari, 165-81.Google Scholar
Gieré, R. (1986) Zirconolite, allanite and hoegbomite in a marble skarn from the Bergell contact aureole: implications for mobility of Ti, Zr an. REE. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 93, 459-70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, T.H. and Pearson, N.J. (1986) Rare earth elements partitioning between sphene and coexisting silicate liquid at high pressure and temperature. Chem. Geol., 55, 105-19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphris, S.E. (1984) The REE mobility of the rare earth elements in crust. In: Rare Earth Element Geochemistry (Henderson, P., Ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 317-42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, G.E. (1987) Atomic number and cristallographic contrast images with the SEM: a review of back-scattered electron techniques. Mineral. Mag., 51, 3-19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maaskant, P., Coolen, J.J.M.M.M. and Burke, E.A.J. (1980) Hibonite and coexisting zoisite and clinozoi-site in a calc-silicate granulite from southern Tanzania. Mineral Mag., 43, 9951003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pan, Y. and Fleet, M.E. (1990) Halogen-bearing allanite from the White River gold occurrence, Hemlo area, Ontario. Canad. MineraL, 28, 6775.Google Scholar
Pan, Y. and Fleet, M.E. (1991) Vanadian allanite-(La) and vanadian allanite-(Ce) from the Hemlo gold deposit, Ontario, Canada. Mineral. Mag., 55, 497-507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakai, C., Higashino, T. and Enami, M. (1984) REE-bearing epidote from Sanbagawa pelitic schists, Central Shikoku, Japan. Geochem. J., 18, 45-53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Semenov, E.I. (1958) Relationship between composition of rare earths and composition and structures of minerals. Geochem., 53, 574—86.Google Scholar
Taylor, R.P. and Fries, B.J. (1983) Rare earth elements lithogeochemistry of granitoid mineral deposits. Cam. Inst. MetalL Bull., 76, 74-84.Google Scholar
Tulloch, A.J. (1979) Secondary Ca-AI silicates as tow grade alteration products of granitoid biotite. Contrib. Mineral Petrol., 69, 105-17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tulloch, A.J. (1986) Comment on ‘Implications of magmatic epidote-bearing plutons on crustal evolution in the accreted terraines of north-western North America’ and ‘Magmatic epidote and its petrologic significance’;. Geol., 14, 186—7.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vyhnal, C.R., McSween, H.Y.Jr. and Speer, J.A. (1991) Hornblende chemistry in Southern Appalachian granitoids: implications for aluminium horneblende thermobarometry and magmatic epidote stability. Amer. Mineral., 76, 176-88.Google Scholar