| Title | Temporal variation of titanite morphology and chemistry in a long-lived shear zone: the Clarke Head syenite in the Minas Fault Zone, Nova Scotia |
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| Author | Pe-Piper, G; Piper, D J W ; Nagle, J |
| Source | Lithos vol. 372-373, 105670, 2020 p. 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105670 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200052 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Province | Nova Scotia |
| NTS | 21H/08 |
| Area | Clarke Head |
| Lat/Long WENS | -64.5000 -64.0000 45.5000 45.2500 |
| Subjects | tectonics; mineralogy; geochemistry; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; bedrock geology; structural features; shear zones; fault zones; titanite; crystallography; morphology, crystal;
hydrothermal alteration; syenites; fluid dynamics; tectonic history; magmatism; hydrothermal systems; Minas Fault Zone; Clarke Head Syenite; Phanerozoic; Paleozoic; Carboniferous; Mississippian |
| Illustrations | geoscientific sketch maps; photographs; photomicrographs; tables; plots; histograms; schematic cross-sections; geochronological charts |
| Released | 2020 07 12 |
| Abstract | The mineral chemistry of titanite has been studied in a hydrothermally altered syenite preserved as blocks in a salt wall within a regional intracontinental shear zone. The study focusses on the
controls on temporal variation in REEs, Zr, Nb, U and Th. Several generations of titanite are recognised on the basis of morphology, chemistry, and relationship to other secondary minerals. Magmatic euhedral to subhedral titanite has Ti and Zr
contents characteristic of magmatic titanite in other studies, but does not have a magmatic abundance of REE. Rather, it is 102-104 times depleted in LREE and only slightly depleted in HREE. The leaching of LREE began during a regionally recognised
phase of potassic alteration, as amphiboles and biotites in gabbros and diorites recrystallized along shear zones and released K, Ca, and F. Later, some 15 Ma after emplacement, the alkali feldspars in the syenite were largely altered to scapolite
and analcime by interaction with adjacent halite and gypsum deposits. Titanite formed at that time, from dissolution-reprecipitation reactions in large rutile crystals, is less depleted in LREE, as a result of the dominance of Cl- in hydrothermal
waters. Following that event, F- -dominated hydrothermal waters prevailed again, resulting in more LREE depletion in previously formed titanite and in neoformed hydrothermal titanite. At that time, there was also depletion in Zr and U. The trace
elements in hydrothermal titanite are thus very informative on the hydrothermal history of the rocks. A combination of morphology and trace-element signature allows different hydrothermal stages to be distinguished. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Titanite is a common minor mineral in commercial ore deposits. We demonstrate how its morphology and chemical composition provides evidence of the style
of interaction of hydrothermal fluids with hot rocks. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 326079 |
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