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Evidence of Biogenic Activity in Quartz-Hematite Rocks of the Urals VMS Deposits

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Book cover Biogenic—Abiogenic Interactions in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Earth System Sciences ((LNESS))

Abstract

The textural, mineralogical, and geochemical features of quartz-hematite rocks associated with Urals VMS deposits indicate that the tube microfossils are responsible for immobilization and accumulation of chemical elements during precipitation of authigenic minerals. The crystallization of authigenic minerals is a result of submarine transformation of mixed hyaloclastitic, sulfide, and carbonate sediments and diagenetic processes, which modify the mineralogy and geochemistry of sediments. The tube microfossils about 100 μm across and up to 1 mm long consist of the external rim made up of fine-disperse hematite or hematite-quartz aggregates and of the internal channel filled with hematite and/or transparent quartz, fine-disperse hematite-quartz aggregates, leucoxene, rare sulfides, apatite, Fe-chlorite, and Mn-calcite. The carbon isotopic composition of calcite from quartz-hematite rocks with tube microfossils (up to −26.2 ‰) indicates its biogenic origin. The habitat conditions of the tube microfossils favored the mineral precipitation. The newly formed apatite, rutile, illite, monazite, dolomite, ankerite, siderite, monheimite, REE carbonates, anatase, leucoxene, Mn-oxides, titanomagnetite, and hematitized framboidal pyrite are observed in quartz-hematite matrix with abundant tube organisms in contrast to quartz-hematite rocks free of tube microfossils. Biomorphic hematite contains high contents of Mn (up to 9393 ppm), As (up to 1872 ppm), V (up to 779 ppm), W (up to 1091 ppm), Mo (up to 40 ppm), and U (up to 8.68 ppm), which are indicative of biological mechanisms of accumulation and conservation of these metals in the system.

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Acknowledgments

The mineralogical work was supported by the State Contract no. 01201350139. The analysis of trace element composition of quartz-hematite rocks was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 14-17-00691).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mineralogy, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Miass, Russia

    Nuriya R. Ayupova, Valeriy V. Maslennikov, Sergei A. Sadykov & Svetlana P. Maslennikova

  2. South Urals State University, Miass branch, Miass, Russia

    Nuriya R. Ayupova & Valeriy V. Maslennikov

  3. Centre for Deposit and Exploration Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia

    Leonid V. Danyushevsky

Authors
  1. Nuriya R. Ayupova
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  2. Valeriy V. Maslennikov
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  3. Sergei A. Sadykov
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  4. Svetlana P. Maslennikova
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  5. Leonid V. Danyushevsky
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Correspondence to Nuriya R. Ayupova .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Olga V. Frank-Kamenetskaya

  2. Department of Geochemistry, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Elena G. Panova

  3. Department of Botany, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Dmitry Yu. Vlasov

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Ayupova, N.R., Maslennikov, V.V., Sadykov, S.A., Maslennikova, S.P., Danyushevsky, L.V. (2016). Evidence of Biogenic Activity in Quartz-Hematite Rocks of the Urals VMS Deposits. In: Frank-Kamenetskaya, O., Panova, E., Vlasov, D. (eds) Biogenic—Abiogenic Interactions in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems. Lecture Notes in Earth System Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24987-2_10

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