Accessory(silicates)andOxideMinerals

Commonaccessoryandmetaloxidespeciesareoftenvaluableoreminerals orimportantphasesforpetrographicinterpretation. Anaccessorymineral <1%ofarockbyvolume Anoremineral Theoccurrenceofamineralinquantities sufficientforeconomicexploitation.

Themostimportantrockformingaccessoryandoxidesincludetitanite (sphene),thespinelgroup,rutile,ilmenite,andzircon.

Accessoryphasesilicatesaretypifiedbysmallgrainsize,highrelief, highbirefringence. birefringence Oxidemineralsaretypicallyopaque implicationsfor transmitted lightmicroscopy?

Titanite(sphene) CaTi[SiO4](O,OH,F)
Anesosilicatewherethedominantstructural unitarecornersharingTiO6 octahedra. WhatisspecialabouttheCa coordination?

Sphene is monoclinic, +ve, with a 2V = 27. Pale pinkish-brown to dark brown with 4th order birefringence. It has a very distinctive form, particularly in thin section, and is a common accessory phase in many magmatic rocks. It will also form large crystals under correct metamorphic terranes. Its occurrence in alkaline (syenites nepheline) can be of economic value.

Zircon ( (Zr[SiO [ 4])

Anorthosilicate orthosilicate,whichisveryspecialinthe mineralworld,becauseofitstextural,chemical andisotopic p complexity p y

Itisalsoextremelystable: b thphysically both h i ll and dchemically. h i ll

Zircongrowthrequiresthelocalgeological(chemical) systemtobesaturatedwithZrandSiO2.

Zirconstability akeytothepast
Theseverysmallcrystalscontainverysmallconcentrationsof 238Uand235U. Theelementsareradiogeneicanddecayto206Pband207Pb respectively. Itispossibletomeasuretheratiosoftheseelementsinazircon againstaknownstandard(normallymanmade205Pb).Thenwe canusetheverywellconstrainedhalflivesanddecayconstants of238Uand235U,tocalculatetheageofthatgrain.

Thegreatstabilityofzirconmeansthatafterthe238Uand235Uare enclosedinthestructure,aninternalclockisstartedandifoften notstoppeduntilageologistwantsitstopped. East Greenland 380 Ma SIP Hidra 930 Ma M 565 Ma Naantali ~1.8 18G Ga Himalaya Zircons 10-25 Ma

Acasta Gneiss ~4 4.1 1 Ga Alpine Basement 460 Ma

Eastern Papua New Guinea 4.3 Ma

Malawi 730 Ma

Jack Hills ~4.4 Ga

ThetechniqueisrobustfromshortlyafterEarthsformation(4.5Ga)untilrecently.

Zirconistetragonal(+ve) and dgrowsin i many differentforms. Highrelief, relief highbirefringence, birefringence andwhereenclosedin phyllosilicates,maygiveriseto radiationhalos. halos Undercorrectconditions itwillformp perfect euhedralbipyramids. 3 cm

Spinel Group (AB2O4)

Thespinelgroupmineralsconsistof6endmembers,with variableoccupancyoftheA andBsites. Spinel,(MgAl2O4)andhercynite,(FeAl2O4)makeupthesimplestsolidsolution. OthervariationsinthisseriesincludeZnandMnendmembers.

Analternativesubstitutionoccursat theBsitewithFe3+ replacingAl. Al Themostcommonformbeing magnetite(Fe2+Fe23+O4). ) ThereisalsoaCr3+ substitution.

Ilmenite (FeTiO3)
Ilmenitehasahexagonalstructurecomparabletocorundum(Al2O3).

Itisfairlyubiquitousinmanyigneousandmetamorphicrocks, occurringasanaccessoryphase,orinveinsorstratiformlayers, where h it i canoccuraseconomic i deposits. d i Compositionally,itwillpartakeinsolidsolutionwithhematite(Fe2O3).

Whilenicecrystalsarenot uncommon,mostoresaredarkgrey andnondescript,whilegrainsinthin p q sectionareopaque.

ReflectedLightMicroscopy
Thisisatechniquewhichisapplicabletoopaquemineralsandusesasetof observationsremarkablysimilartothosemadeduringtransmittedlight work. Colour Simpleobservation,orbycomparisonwithknowns. Reflectivity Theamountoflightreflectedbacktophotocell. Hardness MicrohardnessindentationorpseudoBeckeline line. Texture Cleavagetextures,orthogonalvsobliqueandpitting. Bireflectance apropertyakintopleochroism;mineralchangescolouronrotation. py ap property p yakintobirefringence g incrosspolarised p light. g Anisotropy

Ilmenitetorutile
Whileilmeniteisfairlycommoninmostgreenschist,amphiboliteandeven granulitefaciesrocks,itisfarlesscommonatpressuresabove~11kbar. Atthesepressuresitistypicallyconvertedtorutile(TiO2)

TiO2

Rutile (tetragonal + ve) Share edges are parallel

Anatase (tetragonal - ve) Shared edges are perpendicular

Brookite (orthorhombic + ve)

Opticalpropertiesofilmeniteare difficulttodetermineintransmitted light.Possibleindicatorsareafaint purpletingewhenviewedwithintense l h light. Rutile,ontheotherhand,hasa characteristicdeepredbrowncolour, extreme t birefringence bi f i and dhigh hi hrelief. li f

TiO2 isavaluableore,butitslimited paragenesismakeeconomicdeposits unviable.Instead,largeilmenitedeposits areexploited. l i d Thi Thishas h anadded dd db bonus ofhighpurityFeorebyproducts. Tiisusedinpaints paints,plasticsandpaper paper, mostcommonlyasapigment.

Rutile overgrowing hematite hematite.

Other important, but uncommon oxides.

Fe2O3 - Hematite SnO2 - Cassiterite F C 2O4 - Chromite FeCr Ch it

Al2O3 Corundum

HydroxideMinerals
Therearetwoimportanthydroxidemineralsthatyoushouldbeawareof. Brucite(Mg[OH]2),becauseof itspotentialroleinCO2 sequestrationandthefactthat itdefinestheoctahedrally coordinatedsiteinthe trioctahedralphyllosilicates. phyllosilicates Gibbsite(Al[OH]2),becauseit definestheoctahedrally coordinatedsiteinthe dioctahedralphyllosilicates,and itistheworldsformostsource ofAlmetal.

SulphidesandSulphates
Importantmineralsinoredepositgeologyandtheir occurrenceiscontrolled,primarily,bytheREDOX conditions ofthelocalgeologicalsystem. system

Reductionmaybesimplydefinedasthegainofanelectron electron,whileoxidationis thelossofanelectron.Oftentheyoccurtogether,"linked",inwhatare referredtoasreduction/oxidation(REDOX)reactions.

Anoxicenvironments sulphides
Thebiggestgeneratorofsulphidemineralsareblacksmokers. Theprimarycomponentofsuchsmokersispyrite(FeS2) whichaccumulatesinstratiformdepositsthatmayresult inMississippiValleyTypeeconomicdeposits.

Pyrite,whilesometimesoccurringin Pyrite largeeconomicdepositsisa commonaccessorymineralismany igneous, g ,sedimentary yand metamorphicrocks.

Ithasahighmetalliclustre,isoftenyellow/gold incolour, colour highdensity(5.1), (5 1) andadarkstreak. streak ItsstructureiscloselyrelatedtoNaCl.

Pyriteisacommonmineralinfossils,using componentsintheimmediateenvironmentto replacetheskeletalstructureofdeadorganisms.

OtherSulphideMinerals
Commonly occurring together are sphalerite (ZnS) and Galena (PbS) Thesetwomineralsaretheprincipleoremineralsforbothmetalsandalso formeconomicdepositsoftheMississippiValleytype. type Themining operationswillalsolooktorecoversignificantCu,Ag,SbandBi. Observablepropertiesnotdissimilar,butPbSismuchheavier! Znisthe4thmostcommonmetalinuse. Pb,perhapshasmoreformerusesthan presentuses,butisstillimportant.

Sulphates hydrousoranhydrous
100sofspeciesknown,twoarerockforming,andonlyfour willbecommonlyfoundinrockformingstrata.
Anhydrite CaSO4 Celestite SrSO4 Gypsum CaSO4.2H2O EvaporiteDeposits

Baryte(Barite) BaSO4isa primaryconstituentofwhite smokers. smokers