Synthetic Eu-anorthite of the alkali feldspar structure type has been refined to Rw = 4.7% using 3-D counter diffractometer data and full-matrix least-squares methods. The chemical composition of the feldspar is Eu0.92Al1.76Si2.24O8, based on both occupancy refinement of the Eu atom site and estimation of the Al/Si distribution calculated from the mean T-O bond length. The unit cell parameters are a = 8.373(1), b = 12.959(1), c = 7.124(1) Å, and β = 115.51(1)° and the symmetry is enhanced to C2/m. Mean bond lengths are T(1)-O = 1.677 Å, T(2)-O = 1.668 Å, and Eu-O = 2.721 Å. The average Al/Si distribution over the T(1) and T(2) sites calculated from the mean T-O bond length is in fairly good agreement with an estimate of the Al content from the bond strength calculation; the Al partition is calculated as t1 = 0.47 and t2 = 0.41 respectively. Summing the bond strengths of these Eu and partially disordered Al/Si cations approximates to electrostatic neutrality for the anion content of the feldspar structure, indicating that this synthetic Eu feldspar can be non-stoichiometric, signifying vacancies on the alkali cation site.

Plagioclase and melilite generally show a positive Eu anomaly. A fair insight into the driving force of this anomaly can be afforded by the crystallo-chemical affinities of Eu2+ and Eu3+ cations to the crystal structures of their host minerals; (1) ioinic radius, (2) electrostatic charge balance and (3) tolerance for non-stoichiometry of the crystal structure.

Two feldspars of composition Ca0.3Sr0.7Al2Si2O8 (An30SrF70) and Ca0.6Sr0.4Al2Si2O8 (An60SrF40) were synthesized from gel and annealed at temperatures between 1150 and 1480ºC for durations between 0.025 (1.5 min) and 1073 h. The An60SrF40 feldspar is triclinic for all annealing temperatures, whereas the An30SrF70 possesses, at room temperature, a monoclinic symmetry, C2/m in the shortest annealing runs and I2/c after slightly longer heating, and becomes triclinic after prolonged annealing. A TTT plot for the triclinic–monclinic transition shows an activation energy of 101±12 kcal, less than, but still close to, that observed for Al-Si order in anorthite. TEM investigation shows antiphase domains and Carlsbad twins the size of which increases with annealing. IR spectroscopy was performed on a series of samples of An30SrF70, annealed at T = 1350ºC. The linewidth in hard mode is related to the spontaneous strain of the monoclinic–triclinic transition via . The evolution of the order parameter with time can be modelled as lnt, as predicted in order-disorder processes at intermediate degrees of order. It is shown that even after the longest annealing runs in An30SrF70, equilibrium was not obtained whereas, under the same conditions, equilibrium Al-Si order can be obtained in anorthite and Sr-feldspar.

In a study of the liquidus surface in the silica-undersaturated part of the system Q-An-Ne-Ks at P(H2O) = 5 kbar, several two-feldspar plus liquid assemblages were obtained. The compositions of the feldspars were determined by electron microprobe analysis. The products of short runs (one or two days) consisted of fine intergrowths of two feldspars which may have crystallized during the heating period, or in the early stages of the run. Runs of four days were of sufficient length to coarsen these intergrowths such that individual euhedral crystals could be observed. However, analyses of the feldspar crystals from the longer runs showed a greater amount of ternary solid solution than expected. This may be attributed to the persistence of a small quantity of the second feldspar intergrown in the crystals. The slope of the tie-line joining one of the inferred pairs has been shown to be reproducible for gel and crystalline starting materials, hence the slopes of the tie-lines are believed to represent their equilibrium slopes.

Nanoscale characterization (TEM on FIB-SEM-prepared foils) was undertaken on feldspars undergoing transformation from early post-magmatic (deuteric) to hydrothermal stages in granites hosting the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, and from the Cu-Au skarn at Hillside within the same iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) province, South Australia. These include complex perthitic textures, anomalously Ba-, Fe-, or REE-rich compositions, and REE-flourocarbonate + molybdenite assemblages which pseudomorph pre-existing feldspars. Epitaxial orientations between cryptoperthite (magmatic), patch perthite (dueteric) and replacive albite (hydrothermal) within vein perthite support interface-mediated reactions between pre-existing alkali-feldspars and pervading fluid, irrespective of micro-scale crystal morphology. Such observations are consistent with a coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reaction mechanism, which assists in grain-scale element remobilization via the generation of transient interconnected microporosity. Micro-scale aggregates of hydrothermal hyalophane (Ba-rich K-feldspar), crystallizing within previously albitized areas of andesine, reveal a complex assemblage of calc-silicate, As-bearing fluorapatite and Fe oxides along reaction boundaries in the enclosing albite-sericite assemblage typical of deuteric alteration. Such inclusions are good REE repositories and their presence supports REE remobilization at the grain-scale during early hydrothermal alteration. Iron-metasomatism is recognized by nanoscale maghemite inclusions within ‘red-stained’ orthoclase, as well as by hematite in REE-fluorocarbonates, which reflect broader-scale zonation patterns typical for IOCG systems. Potassium-feldspar from the contact between alkali-granite and skarn at Hillside is characterized by 100–1000 ppm REE, attributable to pervasive nanoscale inclusions of calc-silicates, concentrated along microfractures, or pore-attached. Feldspar replacement by REE-fluorcarbonates at Olympic Dam and nanoscale calc-silicate inclusions in feldspar at Hillside are both strong evidence for the role of feldspars in concentrating REE during intense metasomatism. Differences in mineralogical expression are due to the availability of associated elements. Lattice-scale intergrowths of assemblages indicative of Fe-metasomatism, REE-enrichment and sulfide deposition at Olympic Dam are evidence for a spatial and temporal relationship between these processes.

Isotope ratios of elements such as Sr, Nd, Pb and Hf can be used as tracers of magmatic sources and processes. Analytical capabilities have evolved so that isotope ratios can now be analysed in situ, and isotopic tracers can therefore be used within single minerals to track the changing magmatic environment in which a given mineral grew. This contribution shows that Sr isotope ratios in feldspars that make up plutonic rocks will typically preserve initial isotopic variations, provided precise and accurate age corrections can be applied. Variations in initial isotope ratio can give a core-to-rim record of magmatic evolution and can be used to diagnose open system events such as contamination and magma recharge and mixing.

New single grain Sr isotope data are presented from the Dais Intrusion, Antarctica, which reflect an open system origin for the crystals. The crystal cargo appears to be aggregated and assembled during transport and emplacement. This model, as opposed to a magma body crystallising post emplacement, may be more applicable to plutonic rocks in general, and is testable using the in situ isotopic determination methods described here.

Isotope ratios of elements such as Sr, Nd, Pb and Hf can be used as tracers of magmatic sources and processes. Analytical capabilities have evolved so that isotope ratios can now be analysed in situ, and isotopic tracers can therefore be used within single minerals to track the changing magmatic environment in which a given mineral grew. This contribution shows that Sr isotope ratios in feldspars that make up plutonic rocks will typically preserve initial isotopic variations, provided precise and accurate age corrections can be applied. Variations in initial isotope ratio can give a core-to-rim record of magmatic evolution and can be used to diagnose open system events such as contamination and magma recharge and mixing.

New single grain Sr isotope data are presented from the Dais Intrusion, Antarctica, which reflect an open system origin for the crystals. The crystal cargo appears to be aggregated and assembled during transport and emplacement. This model, as opposed to a magma body crystallising post emplacement, may be more applicable to plutonic rocks in general, and is testable using the in situ isotopic determination methods described here.