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Formation of weathering-derived magnesite deposits in the New England Orogen, New South Wales, Australia: Implications from mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of the Attunga magnesite deposit

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Abstract

Nodular, cryptocrystalline, weathering-derived magnesite deposits in the New England Orogen, Australia, provide a significant source of high-purity magnesite. Common textural features and related isotopic fingerprints indicate a close genetic relationship between weathering-derived magnesite deposits hosted by ultramafic rocks at Attunga and by sediments at Kunwarara while silica-carbonate rock alteration and rare hydrothermal magnesite vein deposits reflect contrasting conditions of formation. Localised weathering of carbonates in a soil environment shifts stable isotopic composition towards low δ 13C and high δ 18O typical for weathering-derived magnesites while intrusion-related fluids do not significantly change the isotopic composition of affected carbonates. At Attunga, magnesite consists of irregular, nodular veins and masses filling faults and cracks in the weathered serpentinite host rock as well as soft powdery magnesite in pervasive serpentinite alteration zones. The high-grade magnesite at Attunga can be contaminated by amorphous silica and serpentine relicts but does not contain dolomite or ferroan magnesite as observed for its hydrothermal equivalent, the Piedmont magnesite deposit, or other widespread deposits of silica-carbonate rock in the Great Serpentinite Belt. Heavy δ 18O values are compatible with a supergene formation from meteoric waters while low δ 13C suggests C3-photosynthetic plants as the predominant source of carbon for the Attunga magnesites. We infer that weathering-derived, nodular magnesite deposits hosted in ultramafic rocks like the Attunga magnesite deposit have formed in a two-step process involving the hypogene formation of a pre-cursor magnesite deposit and complete supergene overprinting by meteoric waters that acquired carbon from percolation through soil.

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Acknowledgements

The first author is indebted to the University of Newcastle for a postgraduate research scholarship and to the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science (AINSE) for a Postgraduate Research Award (AINSTU10108). Dr. Russell Drysdale assisted in the acquisition of stable isotope data and kindly provided access to IRMS facility at the University of Newcastle. Dr. Sven Sindern kindly provided access to Leco carbon analyser at RWTH Aachen University. Jenny Zobec has assisted in the acquisition of bulk rock chemistry and powder diffraction data and the usage of the ICDD database. We would like to thank Linda Barry for acquisition of stable isotope data for soil samples. We acknowledge with gratitude Dr. Sasha Wilson (Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; now at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia) and Dr. Stephen Crowley (The University of Liverpool, UK) for the provision of samples and many insightful discussions on stable isotope measurement methods. We also thank Professor Greg Dipple (The University of British Columbia, Canada) for many valuable comments on magnesite deposits in Canada. We would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Fensbo for providing access to the study site.

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  1. Priority Research Centre for Energy, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Hans C. Oskierski, Judy G. Bailey, Eric M. Kennedy & Bogdan Z. Dlugogorski

  2. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Institute for Environmental Research PMB 1, Menai, NSW, 2234, Australia

    Geraldine Jacobsen

  3. School of Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Paul M. Ashley

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  1. Hans C. Oskierski
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Oskierski, H.C., Bailey, J.G., Kennedy, E.M. et al. Formation of weathering-derived magnesite deposits in the New England Orogen, New South Wales, Australia: Implications from mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of the Attunga magnesite deposit. Miner Deposita 48, 525–541 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-012-0440-5

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