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Archean Rare-Metal Pegmatites in Zimbabwe and Western Australia pp 103–125Cite as

Genesis of Massive Pollucite Mineralisation in Archean LCT Pegmatites

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Abstract

The 2650 to 2600 Ma LCT pegmatite formation within the Yilgarn, Zimbabwe and Superior cratons defines the first major LCT pegmatite formation event worldwide. Meso-Archean age pegmatites at Wodgina on the Pilbara Craton coincide with an earlier and minor formation event. The LCT pegmatites are commonly hosted in greenstone belt lithologies. It is possible to identify adjacent granitoid suites within the same age span, but no direct field evidence for a connection to potential source granites could be observed. Nd isotopic compositions of the pegmatites are close to depleted mantle, suggesting only minor Archean crustal contamination. Formation of massive pollucite mineralisation is favoured in flat lying and gently dipping large LCT pegmatite sheets. Whole rock geochemical data of the mineral zones in the studied pegmatites points to the classical fractional crystallisation with enrichment of incompatible elements. But the considerable gap in the Cs contents between the mineral zones and the massive pollucite mineralisation signals a second stage with an extreme enrichment of Cs, distinctly separated from the general development of LCT pegmatites. It is proposed that this Cs enrichment stage is initiated by melt/fluid immiscibility with separation of a melt with Cs-analcime composition, followed by enrichment of Cs in analcime melt droplets and accumulation in upper portions of a pegmatite sheet. After the accumulation, a transition to a fluid-controlled Cs enrichment of the melt toward Na-pollucite compositions takes place. The final pegmatite crystallisation with formation of cracks in massive pollucite mineralisation, passes to the late stage hydrothermal Cs-enrichment stage within a lepidolite vein network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Economic Geology and Petrology, Institute of Mineralogy, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Sachsen, Germany

    Thomas Dittrich, Thomas Seifert & Bernhard Schulz

  2. School of Earth and Environment, Centre for Exploration Targeting, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Steffen Hagemann

  3. Department of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany

    Axel Gerdes

  4. Ar-Ar-Lab/Division of Tectonophysics, Institute for Geology, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Sachsen, Germany

    Jörg Pfänder

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  1. Thomas Dittrich
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  2. Thomas Seifert
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  3. Bernhard Schulz
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  4. Steffen Hagemann
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  5. Axel Gerdes
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  6. Jörg Pfänder
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Dittrich, T., Seifert, T., Schulz, B., Hagemann, S., Gerdes, A., Pfänder, J. (2019). Genesis of Massive Pollucite Mineralisation in Archean LCT Pegmatites. In: Archean Rare-Metal Pegmatites in Zimbabwe and Western Australia. SpringerBriefs in World Mineral Deposits. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10943-1_7

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