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Saponite from the Emet Colemanite Mines, Kütahya, Turkey
- Mümtaz Çolak, Cahit Helvaci, Marino Maggetti
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- Journal:
- Clays and Clay Minerals / Volume 48 / Issue 4 / August 2000
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 28 February 2024, pp. 409-423
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Clay mineralogy and whole-rock chemistry of the borate-bearing layers of the Hisarcik and Esbey mines were examined. The Hisarcik clays occur as laminated or unlaminated clay layers with sharp contacts. Unlaminated layers contain quartz derived from metamorphic rocks and carbonate fragments in a clay matrix, and are interpreted as reworked tuffs deposited in playa-lake environments. An important feature is that the unlaminated clays contain little MgO (3–15 wt. %) as compared with the laminated clays (15–30 wt. %). As previous studies have shown, the clay fraction of the studied profile contains predominantly Li-bearing saponite, and accounts for 60–90 wt. % of the clay fraction (<2 μm). Illite in the clay fraction varies from 0 to 67 wt. % and the average illite percentage never exceeds 40 wt. %. Chlorite is scarce (2–5 wt. %). Illite-smectite interstratified clays (illite at 70%, smectite at 30%) were only found in low concentrations in the laminated clay layers of the upper limestone unit (above the borate zone), where illite-2M of detrital origin is also present. The Esbey clays occur interstratified with colemanite layers and envelope colemanite nodules. Calcite is the major mineral of the clays whereas quartz, plagioclase, feldspar, colemanite, and cahnite are minor components. The MgO contents vary between 4.70–13.95 wt. % in the clays interstratified with colemanite layers, between 7.24–11.89 wt. % in the enveloping clays, and between 10.27–21.25 wt. % in clays located above the colemanite zone. The composition of the clay fraction (<2 μm) in all samples is similar. Smectite represents between 40–90 wt. % of the clay fraction in the upper portion of the stratigraphic profile and decreases towards the lower part of the stratigraphic profile. Smectite always occurs with illite which may vary from 20 to 90 wt. % of the clay fraction, and a small amount of kaolinite and chlorite. Illite-2M polytype is abundant. The d(060)-reflection position suggests that the smectite minerals from the Hisarcik and Esbey colemanite mines contain both dioctahedral and trioctahedral smectites to form a transitional zone. These smectites are a product of a magnesium-rich alkaline playa-lake environment.
Composition and Genesis of the Nickel-Chrome-Bearing Nontronite and Montmorillonite in Lateritized Ultramafic Rocks in the Muratdği Region (Uşak, Western Anatolia), Turkey
- Selahattın Kadır, M. Selman Aydoğan, Ömer Elıtok, Cahıt Helvaci
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- Journal:
- Clays and Clay Minerals / Volume 63 / Issue 3 / June 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 January 2024, pp. 163-184
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Widespread lateritized ultramafic rocks in the southern part of the Muratdağı region of Turkey constitute a significant source of Ni-Cr-bearing ore with economic potential. However, no mineralogical or geochemical characterizations of these important materials have been performed previously. The aim of the present study was to describe the mineralogy, geochemistry, and genesis of Ni-Cr-bearing smectite in garnierite and ferruginous saprolite associated with the lateritized ophiolite-related ultramafic rocks. The lateritic zones are well developed over serpentinized harzburgitic mantle peridotites. The lateritized units and related bedrocks were examined using polarized-light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, and chemical and isotopic methods. The garnierite-containing saprolites are enriched in smectite, Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide phases, and opal-CT. Micromorphological images revealed that flaky smectite and, locally, Fe-rich particles, alunite, gypsum, gibbsite, and sulfur crystals developed along the fractures and dissolution voids. The development of saprolite demonstrates chemical weathering. The presence of silicified and Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide phases associated with gypsum, alunite, and local native sulfur in vertical and/or subvertical fractures and fault infillings are indicative of hydrothermal processes along the extensional, tectonically related fault systems. Chemical weathering and hydrothermal processes, which probably started during the Oligocene and Miocene, led to the formation of nontronite, Fe-bearing montmorillonite, and local Fe-rich kaolinite. Nickel and Cr are concentrated significantly in the saprolite zone and are positively correlated with Fe2O3 content, which is controlled by the formation of nontronite, montmorillonite, and Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide phases. Nickel-Cr-bearing nontronite and montmorillonite precipitated from alkaline water as a result of the increasing (Fe2O3+Al2O3+Cr2O5+Ni+Co)/(MgO+SiO2) ratio under the control of both chemical weathering and hydrothermal processes. The Fe and Mg (associated with Ni and Cr) required for the formation of smectite were supplied by solutions from both chemical weathering and hydrothermal alteration of Ni-Cr-bearing olivine and pyroxene in the harzburgitic bedrock; the Al was supplied by schists, granite, and volcanic units.
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