Vol 59, No 8 (2017)

This paper presents the results of a complex study (morphology of grains, internal texture in cathodoluminescence and backscattered electrons, microprobe analysis, Lu–Hf data) of five groups (generations) of zircon crystals differing in age and separated from the same granulite sample pertaining to the Bug River Complex of the Ukrainian Shield. The data show that the oldest zircon crystals of the first group (3.74 Ga in age) are xenogenic and initially crystallized from a granitic melt; zircon of the second group (3.66 Ga) formed from a mafic melt contaminated by felsic country rocks. The third group (3.59 Ga) is represented by zircons that formed about 100 Ma later than the second group under conditions of granulite-facies metamorphism and with the participation of fluid-saturated anatectic melt. Two Paleoproterozoic zircon groups (~2.5 and 2.1 Ga) also formed under granulite-facies conditions; to a certain extent, their structure and composition were controlled by fluid. The geochemistry of all zircon generations provides evidence for their crystallization in the continental crust, but from the sources differing in the contribution of mantle-derived material and in oxygen fugacity.

The study of the Lukkulaisvaara layered massif from the Olang group of intrusions in northern Karelia corroborates the important role of supplementary intrusive phases of PGE mineralization. Injection and crystallization of new magma portions result in (1) the formation of potholelike depressions within intrusion and (2) a return to high-temperature olivine-bearing mineral assemblages in the mafic part of section. PGM formation is accompanied by crystallization of secondary minerals in a wide range of temperatures and pressures. To provide insight into these problems, a geochemical study of Nadezhda area has been performed and new data obtained for the distribution of isotopes in the Rb–Sr, Pb–Pb, and Sm–Nd systems.

The paper presents data on accessory rutile in Cr–V-rich metamorphic rocks of the Slyudyanka crystalline (granulite) complex in the southern Baikal region. The geochemical features of the studied rutile are unique in combining isomorphic admixtures typical of the mineral from either mafic (Cr) or felsic igneous and associated metasomatic rocks (W), as well as the Nb and V contents, which are abnormally high for metamorphic rocks. The highest concentrations of these elements are as follows, wt %: 15.38 V₂O₃, 4.33 Cr₂O₃, 11.09 Nb₂O₅, 12.36 WO₃. These high W and V contents have never been measured in natural rutile. The studied rutile is compared to that from other Cr–V-bearing rocks in the world and various genetic types. The optimal isomorphic substitutions and probable conditions of their realization are discussed.

Data on the occurrence, morphology, anatomy, composition, and formation conditions of loparite-(Ce) in the Khibiny alkaline pluton are given. Loparite-(Ce), (Na,Ce,Sr)(Ce,Th)(Ti,Nb)2O6, resulted from metasomatic alteration and assimilation of metamorphic host rocks at the contact with foyaite as well as foyaite on the contact with foidolite. This alteration was the highest in pegmatite, and albitite developed there. A decrease in temperature resulted in enrichment of the perovskite and tausonite endmembers in loparite-(Ce) owing to a decrease in the loparite and lueshite endmembers. La and Ce sharply predominate among rare earth elements in the composition of loparite-(Ce).

The paper describes the first finding of quintinite [Mg₄Al₂(OH)₁₂][(CO₃)(H₂O)₃] at the Mariinsky deposit in the Central Urals, Russia. The mineral occurs as white tabular crystals in cavities within altered gabbro in association with prehnite, calcite, and a chlorite-group mineral. Quintinite is the probable result of late hydrothermal alteration of primary mafic and ultramafic rocks hosting emerald-bearing glimmerite. According to electron microprobe data, the Mg: Al ratio is ~2: 1. IR spectroscopy has revealed hydroxyl and carbonate groups and H₂O molecules in the mineral. According to single crystal XRD data, quintinite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, a =5.233(1), b = 9.051(2), c = 7.711(2) Å, β = 103.09(3)°, V = 355.7(2) ų. Based on structure refinement, the polytype of quintinite should be denoted as 1M. This is the third approved occurrence of quintinite-1M in the world after the Kovdor complex and Bazhenovsky chrysotile–asbestos deposit.

A new finding of Zn-spinel (gahnite) in biotite metasomatic rock of the Verkhneurmiysky copper–tungsten–tin ore cluster is described in this paper, including the chemical composition of gahnite, its paragenesis, and place in the regional evolution history of hydrothermal processes. Gahnite is commonly localized in biotite–microcline metasomatic rocks at the lower subore stage of the greisen metasomatic column in proximity to the exocontact of the rare-metal granite massif. Gahnite from rare-metal ore occurrences belongs to the hercynite–gahnite–franklinite isomorphic series and contains significant isomorphic admixtures of iron (24.3%) and manganese (0.65%). Based on our results and earlier published data, it is suggested that gahnite can be a mineral-indicator of rare-metal metasomatism.