scholarly journals Gems and Placers—A Genetic Relationship Par Excellence

Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dill Harald G.
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Placer Deposits

Gemstones form in metamorphic, magmatic, and sedimentary rocks. In sedimentary units, these minerals were emplaced by organic and inorganic chemical processes and also found in clastic deposits as a result of weathering, erosion, transport, and deposition leading to what is called the formation of placer deposits. Of the approximately 150 gemstones, roughly 40 can be recovered from placer deposits for a profit after having passed through the “natural processing plant” encompassing the aforementioned stages in an aquatic and aeolian regime. It is mainly the group of heavy minerals that plays the major part among the placer-type gemstones (almandine, apatite, (chrome) diopside, (chrome) tourmaline, chrysoberyl, demantoid, diamond, enstatite, hessonite, hiddenite, kornerupine, kunzite, kyanite, peridote, pyrope, rhodolite, spessartine, (chrome) titanite, spinel, ruby, sapphire, padparaja, tanzanite, zoisite, topaz, tsavorite, and zircon). Silica and beryl, both light minerals by definition (minerals with a density less than 2.8–2.9 g/cm3, minerals with a density greater than this are called heavy minerals, also sometimes abbreviated to “heavies”. This technical term has no connotation as to the presence or absence of heavy metals), can also appear in some placers and won for a profit (agate, amethyst, citrine, emerald, quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, morganite, and aquamarine, beryl). This is also true for the fossilized tree resin, which has a density similar to the light minerals. Going downhill from the source area to the basin means in effect separating the wheat from the chaff, showcase from the jeweler quality, because only the flawless and strongest contenders among the gemstones survive it all. On the other way round, gem minerals can also be used as pathfinder minerals for primary or secondary gemstone deposits of their own together with a series of other non-gemmy material that is genetically linked to these gemstones in magmatic and metamorphic gem deposits. All placer types known to be relevant for the accumulation of non-gemmy material are also found as trap-site of gemstones (residual, eluvial, colluvial, alluvial, deltaic, aeolian, and marine shelf deposits). Running water and wind can separate minerals according to their physical-chemical features, whereas glaciers can only transport minerals and rocks but do not sort and separate placer-type minerals. Nevertheless till (unconsolidated mineral matter transported by the ice without re-deposition of fluvio-glacial processes) exploration is a technique successfully used to delineate ore bodies of, for example, diamonds. The general parameters that matter during accumulation of gemstones in placers are their intrinsic value controlled by the size and hardness and the extrinsic factors controlling the evolution of the landscape through time such as weathering, erosion, and vertical movements and fertility of the hinterland as to the minerals targeted upon. Morphoclimatic processes take particular effect in the humid tropical and mid humid mid-latitude zones (chemical weathering) and in the periglacial/glacial and the high-altitude/mountain zones, where mechanical weathering and the paleogradients are high. Some tectono-geographic elements such as unconformities, hiatuses, and sequence boundaries (often with incised valley fills and karstic landforms) are also known as planar architectural elements in sequence stratigraphy and applied to marine and correlative continental environments where they play a significant role in forward modeling of gemstone accumulation. The present study on gems and gemstone placers is a reference example of fine-tuning the “Chessboard classification scheme of mineral deposits” [1] and a sedimentary supplement to the digital maps that form the core of the overview “Gemstones and geosciences in space and time” [2].

scholarly journals Geochemistry of Recent Brahmaputra River Sediments: Provenance, Tectonics, Source Area Weathering and Depositional Environment

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Md Aminur Rahman ◽  
Sudeb Chandra Das ◽  
Mark I. Pownceby ◽  
James Tardio ◽  
Md Sha Alam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
River Sediments ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Brahmaputra River

Sediments from stable sand bars along a 40 km section of the Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh were analyzed for their major, trace and rare earth element contents to determine their provenance, compositional maturity, source area weathering and tectonic setting. Geochemically, the sediments were classified as litharenites and the Index of Compositional Variability (ICV) varied between 1.4 and 2.0, indicating low compositional and mineralogical maturity. A high mean SiO2 concentration (72.9 wt.%) and low Al2O3 (11.1 wt.%) were consistent with a low abundance of shale and clay components. The depletion of the oxide components Na2O, CaO and K2O relative to average upper crustal compositions (UCC) reflected loss of feldspar during chemical weathering in the source region. Average TiO2 values for most samples were higher than average crustal levels, consistent with the northern section of the Brahmaputra River being a potential resource for valuable Fe-Ti oxide heavy minerals. Major and trace element ratios indicated the sediments represented erosional products from typical felsic upper continental crustal materials with contamination (30%–40%) from more intermediate/mafic compositions. The rare earth element patterns showed negative Eu anomalies (0.57–0.71), indicating they were derived mainly from fractionated felsic rocks. Resemblance of the sediment compositions to mean compositions from Higher Himalaya crystalline rocks pointed to these being potential source rocks but with components from a mafic source also present. Major element chemistries and low to intermediate weathering indices for all sediments indicated a lack of substantial chemical weathering. Evidence from tectonic discrimination diagrams suggested the Brahmaputra River sediments were derived from rock types that formed in a transitional tectonic setting ranging from an ancient passive margin to an active continental margin. Deposition occurred under cool to semi-arid climatic conditions in an oxic environment.

Mineralogy and origin of the upper Eastend and Whitemud Formations of south-central and southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta

1969 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. Byers
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Major Constituent ◽  
Abrupt Decrease ◽  
South Central ◽  
Mechanical Weathering ◽  
Kaolinitic Clay

The Upper Cretaceous non-marine Whitemud Formation of south-central and southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta consists of kaolinitic, metamorphic lithic sands and silts, and kaolinitic clays. The sands and silts are not highly feldspathic as was originally thought. The major constituent is metamorphic lithic grains with minor kaolinitic clay and vermicular kaolin, clear angular quartz, chert, muscovite, and minor volcanic lithic grains and feldspar. The upper part of the Upper Cretaceous Eastend Formation, which conformably underlies the Whitemud Formation, consists of non-marine sands, silts, and clays. Kaolin is very rare. The bulk of the sands are composed of volcanic lithic grains with minor metamorphic lithic grains, clear angular quartz, chert, feldspar, muscovite, and biotite.The contact is characterized by the following changes from the Eastend Formation upward into the Whitemud Formation: an abrupt decrease in volcanic lithic grains and increase in metamorphic lithic grains; the appearance of kaolin and the disappearance of biotite and apatite; a slight increase in clear angular quartz and muscovite and a decrease in feldspar; a general increase in metamorphic heavy minerals; and an increase in the percentage of ilmenite (both as solitary grains and intergrown with magnetite), which is altered to leucoxene.On the basis of mineralogy, the Whitemud Formation is definitely a correlative of the Colgate Member of the Fox Hills Formation in Montana and North Dakota.The upper Eastend and Whitemud Formations were derived from Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks, Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic rocks, and Paleozoic carbonates all situated in Montana. Upper Eastend sediments represent fast mechanical weathering of mountains of freshly extruded volcanic rocks, whereas the Whitemud sediments represent slow chemical weathering and leaching, which predominated once the mountainous volcanic rocks were worn down. This deep chemical weathering altered the volcanic tuffs and flows into kaolinitic clay at the source area; the kaolin of the Whitemud Formation is not derived from the weathering of feldspars at the site of deposition.It is suggested that the Frenchman and Ravenscrag Formations were also derived from Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary volcanic rocks in Montana.

scholarly journals Micro-Raman—A Tool for the Heavy Mineral Analysis of Gold Placer-Type Deposits (Pianu Valley, Romania)

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 988
Author(s):  
Andreea Elena Maftei ◽  
Andrei Buzatu ◽  
Gheorghe Damian ◽  
Nicolae Buzgar ◽  
Harald G. Dill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Radius ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Solid Solution Series ◽  
Mineral Analysis ◽  
Gold Placer ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Micro Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Placer Deposits ◽  
Heavy Mineral Analysis

In the current study, different heavy minerals typical of gold placer deposits were identified by means of micro-Raman spectroscopy, and their chemical composition analyzed and discussed (garnet, kyanite, staurolite, zircon, allanite, monazite, xenotime, rutile, anatase, cassiterite, titanite, barite). Even complex solid solution series, such as those of garnets, can be deciphered with the aid of systematic trends observed in Raman line frequencies. The ν1 mode in garnets will shift from high to low frequencies as a function of the ionic radius of the X2+ cation, from Mg2+, to Fe2+ and Mn2+, while the presence of Ca2+ will make the band to be shifted strongly to even lower wavenumbers. This approach has successfully been taken to differentiate between polymorph triplets such as kyanite-sillimanite-andalusite and rutile-anatase-brookite. Minerals under consideration with high contents of REE, U and Th are affected by intensive metamictization, particularly zircon and titanite. Raman peak features, such as shape, symmetry and intensity, respond to this radiation damage of the lattice and enable fine-tuning of these heavy minerals, such as in the case of fluorite (fetid fluorite).

scholarly journals HEAVY CLASTIC MINERALS AS AN INDICATOR OF GEODYNAMIC SETTINGS OF ACCUMULATION AND PROVENANCE OF CRETACEOUS SEDIMENTS OF THE WEST SAKHALIN TERRANE

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-86
Author(s):  
A.I. Malinovsky ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Clastic Material ◽  
The West ◽  
Geodynamic Settings ◽  
Eurasian Continent ◽  
Ocean Boundary ◽  
By Products

The article discusses the results of studying heavy clastic minerals from the Cretaceous sandy rocks of the West Sakhalin Terrane, and also presents their paleogeodynamic interpretation. It is shown that in terms of mineralogical and petrographic parameters, the terrane sandstones correspond to typical graywackes and are petrogenic rocks formed mainly by destruction of igneous rocks of the source areas. The sediments were found to contain both sialic, granite-metamorphic association minerals, and femic, formed by products of the destruction of basic and ultrabasic volcanic rocks. The interpretation of the entire set of data on the content, distribution and microchemical composition of heavy minerals was carried out by comparing them with minerals from older rocks and modern sediments accumulated in known geodynamic settings. The results obtained indicate that during the Cretaceous, sedimentation occurred along the continent-ocean boundary in a basin associated with large-scale left-lateral transform movements of the Izanagi Plate relative to the Eurasian continent. The source area that supplied clastic material to that basin combined a sialic landmass composed of granite-metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, a mature deeply dissected ensialic island arc, and fragments of accretion prisms, in the structure of which involved ophiolites.

The ratio of mechanical to chemical denudation in alluvial systems, derived from geochemical mass balance

1993 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Large River ◽  
Suspended Load ◽  
Bed Load ◽  
Load Transport ◽  
Bed Load Transport ◽  
Dissolved Load

ABSTRACTMass balance equations are derived which link the ratios Ts/ (suspended load/dissolved load from chemical weathering) and Tb/Ts (bed load/suspended load), with any two geochemical components present in the source rock and the alluvial system. If the dissolved load is unknown the ratios can be estimated from the relatively insoluble silica and alumina. The ratio Ts/, which for large river basins depends on climate and relief, can thus potentially be determined from ancient alluvial sequences.The equations help define the source composition of a group of 13 modern rivers for which Ts, and alluvial geochemistry are known. These rivers together drain 27% of the continental surface. For a source area with the average continental sandstone to shale ratio of 0·6 the observed average value of Ts/ is obtained when limestone, sandstone and shale are present in the proportions 6·7:21·6:35·7. The figure of 64% sediment in the source area is very similar to the 66% determined by Blatt and Jones (1975) from geological maps of the continents. The equations also show that average bed load transport rate into these 13 basins is about 27% of total transport, and into the Amazon basin about 37%. Bed load transport rates out of the basins, into the sea, are relatively very small.

scholarly journals Provenance and weathering index of the Upper Cretaceous São Carlos Formation and its tectonic significance in the eastern Bauru Basin, SE Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-94
Author(s):  
Lara Ferreira Neves ◽  
Alessandro Batezelli
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Major And Trace Elements ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Weathering Index ◽  
Se Brazil ◽  
Eastern Border

Geochemistry of major and trace elements has been used as an important tool for the study of provenance and tectonic and climatic evolution of sedimentary basins. The São Carlos Formation is an Upper Cretaceous unit that lies on the eastern border of the Bauru Basin. Despite the paleontological and paleodepositional studies performed in this unit in the last years, little is known about the correspondence between tectonic and climatic conditions acting during the first stages of sedimentation. The hypothesis of this paper is to evaluate São Carlos and Araçatuba formations and understand the evolution of the eastern border of the basin. Thus, were conducted geochemical studies using X-ray fluorescence on sandstones, siltstones, and shales from the São Carlos Formation. According to the chemical weathering index, which presented values ranging from 57.12 to 71.58%, the oxides of major elements indicate that moderate weathering processes affected the source area, possibly associated with the arid-semiarid climate. Alkaline rocks, granites, gneisses, and metasediments were the main lithotypes of the source area. Ternary diagrams show that the tectonic environment was equivalent to the passive continental margin, coinciding with the Serra do Mar and, secondarily, Alto Paranaíba Uplift regions. Based on major and trace elements, their ratios, and published data on the basin, was elaborated a paleogeographic model of the eastern border of the Bauru Basin, concluding that the source area of the sediments was constituted by intermediate and felsic rocks, sometimes recycled by sedimentary processes.

Origin, weathering, and geochemical composition of loess in southwestern Hungary

2008 ◽  
Vol 69 (03) ◽  
pp. 421-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gábor Újvári ◽  
Andrea Varga ◽  
Zsuzsanna Balogh-Brunstad
Keyword(s):  
Source Area ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Chemical Compositions ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Geochemical Parameters ◽  
Chemical Index Of Alteration ◽  
Active Tectonism

Loess geochemistry generally reflects paleo-weathering conditions and it can be used to determine the average composition of the upper continental crust (UCC). In this study, major and trace element concentrations were analyzed on loess samples from southwestern Hungary to determine the factors influencing their chemical compositions and to propose new average loess compositions. All studied loess samples had nearly uniform chemical composition, suggesting similar alteration history of these deposits. Chemical Index of Alteration values (58–69) suggested a weak to moderate degree of weathering in a felsic source area. Typical non-steady state weathering conditions were shown on the Al2O3–CaO+Na2O–K2O patterns, indicating active tectonism of the Alpine–Carpathian system during the Pleistocene. Whole-rock element budgets were controlled by heavy minerals derived from a felsic magmatic or reworked sedimentary provenance. Geochemical parameters indicated that dust particles must have been recycled and well homogenized during fluvial and eolian transport processes.

Lithofacies and fluvial–lacustrine environments of the Palaeogene Sevkhuul and Ergil members (Ergiliin Zoo Formation, South Gobi, Mongolia)

2006 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. DILL ◽  
S. KHISHIGSUREN ◽  
J. BULGAMAA ◽  
KH. BOLORMA ◽  
F. MELCHER
Keyword(s):  
Source Area ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Gobi Desert ◽  
Carbonate Minerals ◽  
Delta Front ◽  
Delta Plain ◽  
Sheet Silicates

The clastic sequence of the Ergiliin Zoo Formation stretches along the Mongolian–Chinese border in the southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Its members (Sevkhuul, Ergil) exposed in the Erdene Sum region are well known for their vertebrate remains of Late Eocene and Oligocene age. Based upon field work, the continental red beds were subdivided into four units described as (I) prodelta/mud-sand flat, (II) delta front, (III) delta plain and (IV) calcretes. All sub-environments are in a fluvial–lacustrine setting. Electronmicroprobe analysis, in addition to conventional thin-section examination, was applied to shed some light on the complex mineral association made up of light minerals (quartz, plagioclase, ternary feldspar, orthoclase, smectite, illite, rare palygorskite), heavy minerals (almandine–pyrope solid solution series, zoisite–epidote s.s.s.) and abundant goethite and carbonate minerals (calcite, dolomite). Igneous rocks being exposed in the source area have contributed to the formation of carbonate minerals and Mg-bearing sheet silicates during diagenesis. Higher up on the delta plain transitional between distal alluvial and deltaic deposits, fluids emerged from the distal alluvial–fluvial deposits and formed calcareous duricrusts. Drawing conclusions from the rock colour, the mineral assemblage and the palaeoecological data, the climatic conditions may be described as alternating wet and dry seasons, closely resembling those conditions of a modern savannah.

scholarly journals Heavy-mineral analysis in Polish investigations of Quaternary deposits: a review

Geologos ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogusław Marcinkowski ◽  
Elżbieta Mycielska-Dowgiałło
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Mineral Analysis ◽  
Quaternary Deposits ◽  
Mineral Research ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Stratigraphic Position ◽  
Heavy Mineral Analysis

Abstract The composition of heavy-mineral assemblages is one of the main textural features of sediments because they can have significant value for the interpretation of, among others, their depositional environment, their depositional processes, and their stratigraphic position. Distinctive features of heavy minerals include their resistance to chemical weathering and mechanical abrasion, their habit, and their density. These parameters are the most widely used in the heavy-mineral research of Quaternary deposits in Poland, as well as in such research in other countries conducted by Polish scientists. Several other heavy-mineral parameters can also be used in various types of interpretation. It is discussed whether heavy-mineral analysis is decisive in the evaluation of deposits or whether it plays mainly a role that may support evidence obtained by other types of analysis. The attention is mainly devoted to transparent heavy minerals; the significance of opaque heavy minerals for interpretational purposes is only mentioned.

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