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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

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

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

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

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

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

Lithium-bearing fluor-arfvedsonite from Hurricane Mountain, New Hampshire: A crystal-chemical study

The structures of two crystals of Li-bearing fluor-arfvedsonite (1) (K0.32Na0.68)Na2(Li0.48Fe 2+2.83Mn2+0.10Zn 0.06Fe3+1.46Ti0.07) (Si7.88Al0.12)O22[Fu1.15(OH) 0.85] and (2) (K0.25Na0.75)Na2(Li0.48Fe 2+2.84Mn2+0.11Zn 0.05Fe3+1.45Ti0.07)(Si 7.89Al0.11)O22[F1.35(OH) 0.65] from a granitic pegmatite, Hurricane Mountain, New Hampshire, have been refined to R indices of 1.5(1.6)% based on 1380(1387) reflections measured with MoK?? X-radiation. The unit cell parameters are (1) a 9.838(4), b 17.991(6), c 5.315(2) A??, 103.78(3)??, V 913.7 A??3 and (2) a 9.832(3), b 17.990(7), c 5.316(3) A??, ?? 103.79(3)??, V 913.2 A??3. Site-scattering refinement shows Li to be completely ordered at the M(3) site in these crystals. The amphibole composition is intermediate between fluor-arfvedsonite and fluor-ferro-leakeite with a small component (???10%) of fluor-ferro-ferri-nybo??ite. These amphibole crystals project into miarolitic cavities in a pegmatitic phase of a riebeckite granite. The early-crystallizing amphibole is close to fluor-ferro-leakeite in composition, but becomes progressively depleted in Li and F as crystals project out into miarolitic cavities; the final amphibole to crystallize is a fibrous Li-poor riebeckite. Li plays a significant role in late-stage fractionation involving the crystallization of alkali amphibole in peralkaline granitic environments.

Canadian Mineralogist

Emerald mineralization and metasomatism of amphibolite, khaltaro granitic pegmatite - Hydrothermal vein system, Haramosh Mountains, Northern Pakistan

Emerald mineralization is found within 0.1- to 1-m-thick hydrothermal veins and granitic pegmatites cutting amphibolite within the Nanga Parbat - Haramosh massif, in northern Pakistan. The amphibolite forms a sill-like body within garnet-mica schist, and both are part of a regional layered gneiss unit of Proterozoic (?) age. The 40Ar/39Ar data for muscovite from a pegmatite yield a plateau age of 9.13 ?? 0.04 Ma. Muscovite from mica schist and hornblende from amphibolite yield disturbed spectra with interpreted ages of 9 to 10 Ma and more than 225 Ma, respectively, which indicate that peak Tertiary metamorphism reached 325 to 550??C prior to 10 Ma. Pegmatites were emplaced after peak metamorphism during this interval and are older than pegmatites farther south in the massif. At Khaltaro, simply zoned albite-rich miarolitic pegmatites and hydrothermal veins containing various proportions of quartz, albite, tourmaline, muscovite, and beryl are associated with a 1- to 3-m-thick heterogeneous leucogranite sill, that is locally albitized. The pegmatites likely crystallized at 650 to 600??C at pressures of less than 2 kbar. Crystals of emerald form within thin (<30 cm) veins of quartz and tourmaline-albite, and more rarely in pegmatite, near the contacts with altered amphibolite. The emerald-green coloration is produced by Cr and Fe. The Cr and total Fe contents, expressed as Cr2O3 and Fe2O3, respectively, decrease systematically from emerald (>0.20, 0.54-0.89 wt%), to pale blue beryl (<0.07, 0.10-0.63%), to colorless beryl (<0.07, 0.07-0.28%). The amphibolite is metasomatized in less than 20-cm-wide selvages that are symmetrically zoned around veins or pegmatites. A sporadic inner zone containing F-rich biotite, tourmaline, and fluorite, with local albite, muscovite, quartz, and rare beryl, gives way to an intermediate zone containing biotite and fluorite with local plagioclase and quartz, and to an outer zone of amphibolite containing sparse biotite and local quartz. The inner and intermediate zones experienced gains of K, H, F, B, Li, Rb, Cs, Be, Ta, Nb, As, Y and Sr, and losses of Si, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cr, V and Sc. The outer alteration zone has gained F, Li, Rb, Cs, and As. Oxygen isotope analyses of igneous and hydrothermal minerals indicate that a single fluid of magmatic origin with ??18OH2O = 8??? produced the pegmatite-vein system and hydrothermal alteration at temperatures between 550 and 400??C. The formation of emerald results from introduction of HF-rich magmatic-hydrothermal fluids into the amphibolite, which caused hydrogen ion metasomatism and released Cr and Fe into the pegmatite-vein system.

Canadian Mineralogist

Mn-rich ilmenite from the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag deposit, British Columbia

Electron-microprobe analyses of 76 ilmenite grains from 13 locations in the footwall, hanging wall, and ore zone of the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag deposit, Kimberley, British Columbia, and from regionally developed tourmalinite of the Middle Proterozoic Aldridge Formation show two different modes that reflect two stages of formation. The first stage of ilmenite formation occurred as a result of greenschist-facies regional metamorphism, which also produced the associated Mn-rich garnet. Ilmenite from this stage forms inclusions within garnet and has a relatively low Mn content (<5.5 wt% MnO), owing to the preferential partitioning of Mn into the garnet. A second metamorphic or hydrothermal event resulted in the formation of ilmenite-bearing veinlets (+ chlorite + quartz + sulfides) that cut garnet and associated biotite. This latter type of ilmenite has a higher Mn content (up to 16.7 wt% MnO) that reflects remobilization of Mn within the local environment. Both types of Mn-rich ilmenite are considered to be derived from Mn originally concentrated in pools of dense brine that formed during synsedimentary, submarine-exhalative mineralization.

Canadian Mineralogist

Mineral intergrowths replaced by "elbow-twinned" rutile in altered rocks

Some aggregates of rutile, classically considered to be "elbow" twinned, instead are topotactic replacements of ilmenite or other hexagonal titaniferous precursors. Twinned rutile can be differentiated from the reticulated rutile of topotactic replacements by the angle of prism intersections, junction morphology, and the overall form of the aggregate. In a special case of topotactic replacement of ilmenite, rutile forms pseudomorphs of "trellis"-textured ilmenite lamellae in {111} of precursor magnetite. We trace the progress of rutile formation through the alteration of fine-grained magnetite-bearing host rocks. The sequential two-step topotaxy from magnetite through ilmenite to rutile requires rutile prisms to parallel the intersections of {111} planes in precursor magnetite. Some coarse reticulated rutile may result from the same paragenetic sequence.

Canadian Mineralogist

The atomic arrangement of iimoriite-(Y), Y2(SiO4)(CO3)

Iimoriite-(Y) from Bokan Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska has been studied using single-crystal X-ray-diffraction techniques. The mineral, ideally Y2(SiO4)(CO3), crystallizes in space group P1, with a 6.5495(13), b 6.6291(14), c 6.4395(11)A??, ?? 116.364(15), ?? 92.556(15) and ?? 95.506(17)??. The atomic arrangement has been solved and refined to an R value of 0.019. The arrangement of atoms consists of alternating (011) slabs of orthosilicate groups and carbonate groups, with no sharing of oxygen atoms between anionic complexes in adjacent slabs. Y1 atoms separate adjacent tetrahedra along [100] within the orthosilicate slab, and Y2 atoms separate adjacent carbonate groups along [100] within the carbonate slab. Adjacent orthosilicate and carbonate slabs are linked in (100) by bonding Y atoms from each slab to oxygen atoms of adjacent slabs, in the form of YO8 polyhedra. The Y1 atoms exist in Y12O14 dimers in the orthosilicate slab, and the Y2 atoms exist in continuous [011] ribbons of edge-sharing Y2O8 polyhedra in the carbonate slab.

Canadian Mineralogist

Feruvite from the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag deposit, British Columbia

Feruvite, an uncommon Ca- and Fe2+-rich tourmaline species, has been discovered in the footwall of the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag deposit (British Columbia) near gabbro sills and dikes. Its chemical composition varies according to occurrence: feruvite from the shallow footwall has lower Ca, higher Al, and higher X-site vacancies than that from the deep footwall. The major chemical substitution involved in the feruvite is the exchange vector CaMgO???-1Al-1(OH)-1. The most important factor controlling feruvite formation at Sullivan is likely the reaction of Fe-rich hydrothermal fluids with Ca-rich minerals in gabbro and host rocks. This reaction led to the breakdown of Ca-rich minerals (plagioclase and hornblende), with release of Ca to solution and its incorporation into feruvite. This process probably postdated the main stages of formation of fine-grained, intermediate schorl-dravite in the tourmalinite pipe in the footwall, and is attributed to postore intrusion of gabbro and associated albite-chlorite-pyrite alteration.

Canadian Mineralogist

Cryptic trace-element alteration of Anorthosite, Stillwater complex, Montana

Evidence of cryptic alteration and correlations among K, Ba, and LREE concentrations indicate that a post-cumulus, low-density aqueous fluid phase significantly modified the trace-element contents of samples from Anorthosite zones I and II of the Stillwater Complex, Montana. Concentrations of Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sc, Sr, Th, Zn, and the rare-earth elements (REE) were measured in whole rocks and plagioclase separates from five traverses across the two main plagioclase cumulate (anorthosite) zones and the contiguous cumulates of the Stillwater Complex in an attempt to better understand the origin and solidification of the anorthosites. However, nearly the entire observed compositional range for many trace elements can be duplicated at a single locality by discriminating between samples rich in oikocrystic pyroxene and those which are composed almost entirely of plagioclase and show anhedral-granular texture. Plagioclase separates with high trace-element contents were obtained from the pyroxene-poor samples, for which maps of K concentration show plagioclase grains to contain numerous fractures hosting a fine-grained, K-rich phase, presumed to be sericite. Secondary processes in layered intrusions have the potential to cause cryptic disturbance, and the utmost care must be taken to ensure that samples provide information about primary processes. Although plagioclase from Anorthosite zones I and II shows significant compositional variation, there are no systematic changes in the major- or trace-element compositions of plagioclase over as much as 630 m of anorthosite thickness or 18 km of strike length. Plagioclase in the two major anorthosite zones shows little distinction in trace-element concentrations from plagioclase in the cumulates immediately below, between, and above these zones.

Canadian Mineralogist

Recommended nomenclature for zeolite minerals: report of the subcommittee on zeolites of the International Mineralogical Association, Commission on new Minerals and Mineral names

This report embodies recommendations on zeolite nomenclature approved by the International Mineralogical Association, Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names. In a working definition of a zeolite mineral used for this review, structures containing an interrupted framework of tetrahedra are accepted where other zeolitic properties prevail, and complete substitution by elements other than Si and Al is allowed. Separate species are recognized in topologically distinctive compositional series in which different extra-framework cations are the most abundant in atomic proportions. To name these, the appropriate chemicalsymbol is attached by a hyphen to the series name as a suffix, except for the names harmotome, pollucite and wairakite in the phillipsite and analcime series. Differences in space-group symmetry and in order-disorder relationships in zeolites having the same topologically distinctive framework do not in general provide adequate grounds for recognition of separate species. Zeolite species are not to be distinguished solely on the ratio Si:Al except for heulandite (Si:Al < 4.0) and clinoptilolite (Si:Al ??? 4.0). Dehydration, partial hydration, and overhydration are not sufficient grounds for the recognition of separate species of zeolites. Use of the term 'ideal formula' should be avoided in referring to a simplified or averaged formula of a zeolite. newly recognized species in compositional series are as follows: brewsterite-Sr, -Ba, chabazite-Ca, -Na, -K, clinoptilolite-K, -Na, -Ca, dachiardite-Ca, -Na, erionite-Na, erionite-Na, -K, -Ca, faujasite-Na, -Ca, -Mg, ferrierite-Mg, -K, -Na, gmelinite-Na, -Ca, -K, heulandite-Ca, -Na, -K, -Sr, levyne-Ca, -Na, paulingite-K, -Ca, phillipsite-Na, -Ca, -K, and stilbite-Ca, -Na. Key references, type locality, origin of name, chemical data, IZA structure-type symbols, space-group symmetry, unit-cell dimensions, and comments on structure are listed for 13 compositional series, 82 accepted zeolite mineral species, and three of doubtful status. Herschelite, leonhardite, dvetlozarite, and wellsite are discredited as mineral species names. Obsolete and discredited names are listed.

Canadian Mineralogist

Primitive magmas at five Cascade volcanic fields: Melts from hot, heterogeneous sub-arc mantle

Major and trace element concentrations, including REE by isotope dilution, and Sr, Nd, Pb, and O isotope ratios have been determined for 38 mafic lavas from the Mount Adams, Crater Lake, Mount Shasta, Medicine Lake, and Lassen volcanic fields, in the Cascade arc, northwestern part of the United States. Many of the samples have a high Mg# [100Mg/(Mg + FeT) > 60] and Ni content (>140 ppm) such that we consider them to be primitive. We recognize three end-member primitive magma groups in the Cascades, characterized mainly by their trace-element and alkali-metal abundances: (1) High-alumina olivine tholeiite (HAOT) has trace element abundances similar to N-MORB, except for slightly elevated LILE, and has Eu/Eu* > 1. (2) Arc basalt and basaltic andesite have notably higher LILE contents, generally have higher SiO2 contents, are more oxidized, and have higher Cr for a given Ni abundance than HAOT. These lavas show relative depletion in HFSE, have lower HREE and higher LREE than HAOT, and have smaller Eu/Eu* (0.94-1.06). (3) Alkali basalt from the Simcoe volcanic field east of Mount Adams represents the third end-member, which contributes an intraplate geochemical signature to magma compositions. Notable geochemical features among the volcanic fields are: (1) Mount Adams rocks are richest in Fe and most incompatible elements including HFSE; (2) the most incompatible-element depleted lavas occur at Medicine Lake; (3) all centers have relatively primitive lavas with high LILE/HFSE ratios but only the Mount Adams, Lassen, and Medicine Lake volcanic fields also have relatively primitive rocks with an intraplate geochemical signature; (4) there is a tendency for increasing 87Sr/86Sr, 207Pb/204Pb, and ??18O and decreasing 206Pb/204Pb and 143Nd/144Nd from north to south. The three end-member Cascade magma types reflect contributions from three mantle components: depleted sub-arc mantle modestly enriched in LILE during ancient subduction; a modern, hydrous subduction component; and OIB-source-like domains. Lavas with arc and intraplate (OIB) geochemical signatures were erupted close to HAOT, and many lavas are blends of two or more magma types. Pre-eruptive H2O contents of HAOT, coupled with phase-equilibrium studies, suggest that these magmas were relatively dry and last equilibrated in the mantle wedge at temperatures of ~1300 degrees C and depths of ~40 km, virtually at the base of the crust. Arc basalt and basaltic andesite represent greater extents of melting than HAOT, presumably in the same general thermal regime but at somewhat lower mantle separation temperatures, of domains of sub-arc mantle that have been enriched by a hydrous subduction component derived from the young, relatively hot Juan de Fuca plate. The primitive magmas originated by partial melting in response to adiabatic upwelling within the mantle wedge. Tectonic extension in this part of the Cascade arc, one characterized by slow oblique convergence, contributes to mantle upwelling and facilitates eruption of primitive magmas.

Canadian Mineralogist

The variable role of slab-derived fluids in the generation of a suite of primitive calc-alkaline lavas from the Southernmost Cascades, California

The compositional continuum observed in primitive calc-alkaline lavas erupted from small volcanoes across the southernmost Cascade arc is produced by the introduction of a variable proportion of slab-derived fluid into the superjacent peridotite layer of the mantle wedge. Magmas derived from fluid-rich sources are erupted primarily in the forearc and are characterized by Sr and Pb enrichment (primitive mantle-normalized Sr/P > 5.5), depletions of Ta and Nb, low incompatible-element abundances, and MORB-like Sr and Pb isotopic ratios. Magmas derived from fluid-poor sources are erupted primarily in the arc axis and behind the arc, and are characterized by weak enrichment in Sr [1.0 < (Sr/P)N < 1.3], weak depletions in Ta and Nb, higher incompatible-element abundances, and OIB-like Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic ratios. Fluxing the mantle wedge above the subducting slab with H2O-rich fluid stabilizes amphibole and enriches the wedge peridotites in incompatible elements, particularly unradiogenic Sr and Pb. The hydrated amphibole-bearing portion of the mantle wedge is downdragged beneath the forearc, where its solidus is exceeded, yielding melts that are enriched in Sr and Pb, and depleted in Ta and Nb (reflecting both high Sr and Pb relative to Ta and Nb in the fluid, and the greater compatibility of Ta and Nb in amphibole compared to other silicate phases in the wedge). A steady decrease of the fluid-contributed geochemical signature away from the trench is produced by the progressive dehydration of the downdragged portion of the mantle wedge with depth, resulting from melt extraction and increased temperature at the slab-wedge interface. Inverse correlation between incompatible-element abundances and the size of the fluid-contributed geochemical signature is generated by melting of more depleted peridotites, rather than by significant differences in the degree of melting. High-(Sr/P)N lavas of the forearc are generated by melting of a MORB-source-like peridotite that has been fluxed with a greater proportion of slab-derived fluid, and low (Sr/P)N lavas of the arc axis are produced by melting of an OIB-source-like peridotite in the presence of a smaller proportion of slab-derived fluid. This study documents the control that a slab-derived fluid can have on incompatible element and isotopic systematics of arc magmas by 1) the addition of incompatible elements to the wedge, 2) the stabilization of hydrous phases in the wedge, and 3) the lowering of peridotite solidi.

Canadian Mineralogist

Diverse primitive magmas in the Cascade arc, Northern Oregon and Southern Washington

Bulk-rock major- and trace-element composition, petrography and mineral compositions are presented for a diverse suite of 22 primitive mafic lavas in the Cascade Range of northern Oregon and southern Washington. With the exception of an early Western Cascade basalt, all the rocks are younger than 7 Ma. Intensive parameters [F(H2O), f(O2), T, P] for the magmas have been inferred mostly from equilibrium olivine-liquid and plagioclase-liquid relations. Nearly anhydrous, MORB-like, low-K tholeiite was probably derived from relatively high degrees of decompression-induced melting of shallow, depleted, relatively unmetasomatized lithospheric mantle during intra-arc rifting. The degree of partial melting decreases northward along the arc, whereas the depth of average melt generation increases. OIB-like basalt represents deeper, wetter, smaller-degree melts of more enriched asthenospheric mantle, unaffected by subduction. Olivine analcimite resembles the silicate melt considered responsible for within-plate mantle metasomatism. Post-7-Ma subduction-related basalt was derived by low degrees of partial melting of subduction-metasomatized garnet lherzolite, similar to OIB-like basalt source-mantle before modification. The spectrum of subduction-related basalt from cooler and wetter (and slightly more oxidized) absarokite to progressively hotter and drier high-K calc-alkaline basalt and calc-alkaline basalt seems to be due to varying degrees of metasomatism of the deep mantle wedge by relatively cool, wet, LILE-rich absarokitic magmas coming from near the subducted slab. Early Western Cascade basalt is more typically arc-like in its composition and mineralogy, and was probably generated under H2O-rich conditions when more vigorous subduction prevailed. Depleted basaltic andesite may have been generated by low degrees of partial melting of residual harzburgite, possibly formed during the generation of early Western Cascade basalt.

Canadian Mineralogist

The chemical evolution and paragenesis of uranium minerals from the ruggles and palermo granitic pegmatites, New Hampshire

A study of the chemical evolution and paragenesis of the uranium minerals at the Palermo No. 1 and Ruggles granitic pegmatites, Grafton County, New Hampshire, revealed four stages of secondary mineralization. A total of eight uranium minerals were identified in the four stages. The first stage is a mixture of uranyl oxide hydroxide-hydrates represented by mineral "A", which surrounds and replaces a uraninite core. The second stage is a carbonate stage found only at the Palermo No. 1 pegmatite, and is represented by rutherfordine. The third stage is represented by uranyl silicates. At the Palermo No. 1 pegmatite, this stage consists of ??-uranophane, and at the Ruggles pegmatite, it consists of soddyite and ??-uranophane. A final fourth stage is a phosphate stage represented by phosphuranylite and meta-autunite I. The first three stages of mineralization developed from hydrothermal and meteoric processes. With dropping temperatures, hydrothermal fluids reached meteoric temperatures and acquired the characteristics of meteoric water. The pH shifted from acidic (pH less than about 6 at 100??C) to alkaline (pH > 7 at 25??C). Since mineral "A" contains hydroxyl and a low amount of molecular water, it probably formed at a temperature greater than 100??C in the acidic environment. After the first stage, the hydrothermal fluids likely reached the temperatures of meteoric water. The initial pH of the meteoric water was acidic (pH less than about 6 at 25??C) and then slowly shifted to alkaline. The mineralizing fluids became oversaturated in CO3, Ca, K, and Si. Uraninite and mineral "A" became unstable and were replaced by rutherfordine and uranyl silicates. The fourth or phosphate stage developed from the introduction of groundwater. The uranyl phosphate minerals precipitated from an acidic fluid (pH < 7 at 25??C) that was oversaturated with Ca, K, U, and P.

Canadian Mineralogist