Table Of ContentAtlas of the Textural Patterns
of Ore Minerals
and Metallogenic Processes
Atlas of the Textural Patterns
of Ore Minerals and Metallogenic
Processes
Stylianos-Savvas P. Augustithis
W
DE
G
de Gruyter · Berlin · New York 1995
Professor Dr. rer. nat. Stylianos-Savvas P. Augustithis
Foreign Fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences of the Russian Federation
Laboratory of Textural Analysis, Athens, Greece
Laboratory of Textural Analysis, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
International Scientific Committee, Member of the Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Constitution,
Recycling and Dynamics,
Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, Wuhan, China
With 926 figures and 10 tables
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data
Augustithis, S. S.
Atlas of the textural patterns of ore minerals and metallogenic
processes / Stylianos-Savvas P. Augustithis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 3-11-013639-2
l.Ores. 2. Petrofabric analysis. I. Title.
QE390.A88 1994
669-dc20 94-41197
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — Cataloging-in-Publication-Data
Augustithis, Stylianos Savvas:
Atlas of the textual patterns of ore minerals and metallogenic
processes / Stylianos-Savvas P. Augustithis. - Berlin ; New York
de Gruyter, 1995
ISBN 3-11-013639-2
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and
durability.
© Copyright 1995 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin
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Printed in Germany.
Preface
More than thirty years ago, microprobe analysis intro- student under the guidance of Professor Ramdohr in
duced the possibility of analyzing quantitatively in situ the years 1954-55 and later in 1961-62 as a post-doc-
small surfaces of polished sections, rendering obsolete torate researcher. However, most of the samples were
many of the optical measurements and other data that collected by the author over a period of 40 years on
had been presented in many standard ore-mineralogy many field trips, visits to mines and expeditions in
textbooks, and thus a new approach to the subject was many parts of the world. Many samples made available
called for. In addition, it should also be pointed out to the author from other collections and sources are
that whereas many excellent books are available on the also included.
mineralogy of ore minerals (see page 218) and a The photomicrographs and the interpretations pre-
thorough treatment of mineral species is presented in sented [with the exception of Figs. 263, 567(b), 613,
their special sections, it is believed that as microprobe 622, 707 and 710, which are based on observations by
analytical facilities develop and are widely applied, the Ramdohr (I960)] represent the original work of the
identification and compositional variation of ore min- author which was carried out at Heidelberg University
erals will become more and more a matter of micro- (1954-55 and 1961-62), at the Ministry of Mines
probe analysis and x-ray studies. (Ethiopian Government) in the period 1956-61 and
In contrast to the rather "stereotyped" treatment of 1963-67, in the National Technical University of
textures in conjunction with ore minerals, the author Athens, Greece, in the period 1969-84 (when the
believes that a comparative study (i. e., by the applica- author was Professor and Head of the Department of
tion of the principles of comparative anatomy) of tex- Mineralogy, Petrography and Geology) and during the
tural patterns is also useful, particularly in following last decade at the Laboratory of Textural Analysis
the development and evolution of characteristic tex- (Athens, Greece).
tural patterns of ore minerals and thus new perspec- The author has dedicated Part I to the memory of his
tives in the understanding of the ore genesis are opened teacher Paul Ramdohr, without implying that his inter-
up. This is one of the aims of the present effort. pretations would have been approved by him.
The volume presents extensive studies of specific Part II (Consideration of Hypotheses and Theories
ore occurrences and incorporates geochemical and iso- on Metallogeny - Study Cases) includes some of the
topic studies, thus presenting a most sophisticated and most significant interpretations, hypotheses and theo-
up-to-date treatment of many problems of ore miner- ries which have been presented in the standard interna-
alogy and ore geochemistry. tional literature, and in papers, abstracts, translations
Part I (The Textural Patterns of Ore Minerals and and personal communications made available to the
Their Genetic Significance) attempts to present the author by a great number of colleagues, each of whom
most common and significant textural patterns of ore he thanks. He has tried to record some of the hypothe-
minerals and their genetic significance. Particular em- ses and theories that have dominated metallogeny in
phasis is given to the presentation of replacements, the last half century, where the roots of most of the
symplectic intergrowths and generally textures modern theories are to be traced, as well as their un-
resulting due to the great reactiveness of ore minerals folding with time, and has not hesitated to present his
(see List of Contents). In addition, textural analysis own personal interpretations or hypotheses. In his at-
introduces novel interpretations concerning many ore- tempt to implement this task, the author acknowledges
mineral intergrowths which have been differently his cooperation with Elsevier Publishing Company, in
interpreted up to now. his position as a member of the Editorial Board of
The author preferred the presentation of the ore-tex- Chemical Geology during the period 1964-81 and also
tures in black and white half-tone photographs and the with Theophrastus Publications where he acted as
labeling of the depicted minerals to the use of coloured Scientific Editor on a number of international volumes
photographs, (one of the reasons being that it is not al- on economic geology. Furthermore he is indebted to
ways easy to reproduce the exact colours of an ore ICSOBA (International Committee for the Study of
mineral, under reflected light, by a printed coloured Bauxites, Alumina and Aluminium), as President of
photomicrograph). Furthermore, Part I is based on the which, in the years 1978-83, he gained valuable expe-
polished-section collection of the Laboratory of Tex- rience particularly concerning the weathering mantel
tural Analysis, which incorporates polished-sections of the earth. Also, most valuable experience has
made in the Mineralogical-Petrographical Institute of proved to be his period as Councillor for Africa in the
Heidelberg University, where the author was a research IAGOD in the years 1966-68 concerning African ore
occurrences. Needless to say that it is a very difficult Ivanovitch Mendelejeff and Lothar Meyer, and to their
task to present the plethora of diverse and often con- more modern followers, whose work has been of fun-
tradictory hypotheses and theories put forward in the damental importance to the author in pointing out that
last decades, and the author did not hesitate to make the interrelationship of elements in accordance with
extensive reference to the literature and use quotations. the empirical "laws" of the periodic system was a main
Acknowledging the work of colleagues either men- (though not the exclusive) factor for their common
tioned or quoted (in addition to the full acknowledg- segregation in mineral paragenesis. Extensive consid-
ment made by the pertinent references), the author has eration of the other factors involved in the transporta-
dedicated Part II to "those who toil the hard soil", tion, derivation and segregation of elements to build
clearly expressing his gratitude for their immense con- mineral parageneses, is also included in Part III. The
tribution. significance of the interrelationships of elements in ac-
Part III (On the Distribution of Elements and Ore- cordance with the empirical laws of the periodic
Parageneses - The Empirical "Laws" of Element Seg- system for the common segregation of relatively rare
regation-Concentration in Ores) is a reconsideration of elements to build mineral parageneses was first sup-
the "laws" of element distribution (respectively segre- ported by the author in 1964 ("Geochemical and ore-
gation of metallic elements in mineral paragenesis) and microscopic studies of hydrothermal and pegmatitic
is rather based on the empirical "laws" of element in- primary uranium parageneses") and has been elabo-
terrelationships, according to the periodic system. rated since then. Most up-to-date isotope studies and
Whilst acknowledging the great contribution of V. M. information on specific elements and their derivation
Goldschmidt and his followers on the subject of ele- have been incorporated and a great number of mineral
ment distribution, he has dedicated Part III to Dimitri parageneses (study cases) are considered.
VI
Contents
Preface V Chapter 14
Tectonic Effects 94
Part I: The Textural Patterns of Ore Minerals
and Their Genetic Significance Chapter 15
Weathering and Alteration of Ore Minerals . .. 98
Chapter 1
Introductory Concepts 1 Chapter 16
Leaching, Diffusion and Element
Chapter 2 Concentration 103
Consideration of the Concepts of Paragenesis,
Temperature Determination and Replacement, Chapter 17
Based on Edward's Book Penetrability (Wegsamkeit) 105
Chapter 3 Part Π: Consideration of Hypotheses and
Inductive Versus Deductive Approach in the Theories on Metallogeny (Study Cases)
Interpretation of Textures 14
Chapter 18
Chapter 4 Global Tectonics and Metallogeny 107
Mantle and Lower Crust Derivatives 17
Chapter 19
Chapter 5 Differentiation and Metallogeny . . . . Ill
Replacement Patterns and Processes 23
Chapter 20
Chapter 6 Metallogeny Related to Ultrabasics 114
Replacement Versus Ex-Solutions 41
Chapter 21
Chapter 7 Granites/Pegmatites and Related Metallogeny . . 118
Symplectites 52
Chapter 22
Chapter 8 Granitization - Anatexis 123
Crystalloblastesis 64
Chapter 23
Chapter 9 Metallogeny Related to Granodiorites-
Zonal Growths 68 Monzonites 126
Chapter 10 Chapter 24
Epitaxis - Epitactic Growths 71 Metallogeny Related to Porphyries 127
Chapter 11 Chapter 25
Inclusions 74 Skarns-Pyrometasomatic Metallogeny
(and Superimposed Metallogeny) 129
Chapter 12
Colloform Structures (Gel Structures) 77 Chapter 26
Pneumatolytic to Hydrothermal-Hypothermal . . 139
Chapter 13
Sphaeroidal Structures and Textures 85 Chapter 27
Controversies - Various Aspects of Metallogeny 143
vn
Chapter 28 Chapter 44
The Witwatersrand Controversy 157 Redistribution - Mobilization - Remobilization . 211
Chapter 29 Chapter 45
The Broken Hill Controversy 159 Zonal Distribution of Elements and Minerals . . 213
Chapter 30 Chapter 46
Mount Isa Controversy 161 Source and Recipient Geoenvironments of
Mineralization 215
Chapter 31
The Role of Brines in Metallogeny (The Part Π:Ι On the Distribution of Elements and
Tennessee Valley-Type of Deposits) 163 Ore Parageneses. The Empirical Laws of
Element Segregation-Concentration in Ores
Chapter 32
The Role of Brines and the Mixed Fluids Chapter 47
Hypothesis 165 The Empirical "Laws" of Element Segrega-
tion/Crystallochemistry/Isotope Chemistry
Chapter 33 Versus Genesis of Ores - State of the Art. . . . 219
Lateral Segregation Processes 167
Chapter 48
Chapter 34 Segregation of Elements in Accordance with
Volcanogenic (Volcano-Sedimentary) Deposits . 169 Their Interrelationships to Form Mineral
Association-Parageneses 221
Chapter 35
Consideration of Certain Aspects of Banded Iron Chapter 49
Formations (BIFs) with Emphasis on Pre- Common (Joint) Segregation of Elements.... 225
cambrian BIFs 173
Chapter 50
Chapter 36 Hydrothermal and Pegmatitic Element Segrega-
Fluid Inclusions 180 tion to Form U-Parageneses 230
Chapter 37 Chapter 51
Some Aspects of the Role of Fluids in Superimposed Paragenesis (Element
Metamorphogenic Ores 183 Segregation/Distribution Processes) 237
Chapter 38 Chapter 52
Sulphur in Metallogeny 188 Ti, V, Cr - Their Interrelationships and
Antipathies 239
Chapter 39
Study Cases of Isotopes and Their Significance Chapter 53
in Metallogeny 191 The Te, Se, Bi, Au, Ag Element
Segregation/Distribution (in Paragenetic
Chapter 40 Associations) 242
Mass-Replacement of Rocks by Ores and Palaeo-
Karst-Type Deposits 195 Chapter 54
Realgar, Orpiment - Cinnabar - Metacinnabar
Chapter 41 Parageneses 244
Hypogene, Supergene and Oxidation
Mineralizations 199 Chapter 55
A Special Case of Non-Ferrous Metal Minerali-
Chapter 42 zation in Evaporites 246
Some Aspects of Manganese Mineral Formation -
Transformation - Alteration - Oxidation and in Chapter 56
General Mn-Mobilization/Remobilization.... 204 The Segregation (Distribution) of Sn, Mo and W
to Form Concentrations or Ore Deposits . . .. 247
Chapter 43
The Significance of Leaching and Diffusion Chapter 57
Processes in Ore Formation 208 Special Cases of Element Segregation/Distribu-
tion 251
VIII
Chapter 58 Chapter 62
Element Segregation/Distribution in the Geoenvironment - Mobilization - Remobiliza-
Manganese Parageneses 255 tion (Redistribution of Elements) 267
Chapter 59 Chapter 63
Trace Elements in Sulfides (Compatible with Conclusions of Part III 273
a Joint Segregation of Elements in Accordance
with the Empirical "Laws" of Element Inter- Illustrations 275
relations) 258
References 589
Chapter 60
Study Cases of Agents of Metal Transportation . 260 Author Index 617
Chapter 61 Subject Index to the Text Part 625
Goldschmidt's 'Laws of Element Distribution'
and the Empirical "Laws" of Interrelated Subject Index to the Illustrations 654
Element Segregation (Metallic Element
Concentration) 262
IX
