Geologia Croatica, Vol. 77 No. 1, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.4154/gc.2024.01
First occurrence of dumortierite in Croatia: its chemical composition and appearance as an igneous mineral in leucogranite-hosted pegmatite
Vesnica Garašić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Zagreb, Croatia
Boško Lugović †
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Zagreb, Croatia
Mirjana Krsnik
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Zagreb, Croatia
Šime Bilić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Zagreb, Croatia
Hans-Peter Meyer
; Heidelberg University, Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Institute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg, Germany
Ralf Schuster
; Geosphere Austria, Geophysics and Applied Geology, Vienna, Austria
Maja Vrkljan
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In this article, dumortierite from Croatia is described for the first time. Dumortierite formed in a pegmatite dyke cutting through Cretaceous two-mica leucogranite of the magmatic-metamorphic complex of Mt. Moslavačka Gora. The pegmatite dyke shows a magmatic mineral association of coarse-grained quartz, orthoclase, microcline and albite, less abundant muscovite, biotite, pinkish andalusite and blue-coloured prismatic dumortierite I crystals. Subsequent alteration by titanium-rich hydrothermal fluids led to partial replacement of dumortierite I and andalusite by secondary fibrous to acicular purple dumortierite II enriched in Mg and Ti. During temperature decrease perthite developed in feldspars and at a still later stage, sericite partially replaced not only feldspars but also andalusite and both types of dumortierite along grain boundaries and cracks. Final alteration at very low temperatures caused formation of clay minerals at the expense of feldspars. According to mineral chemical analyses, the feldspars are represented by albite and K-feldspar with a low albite component. Biotite corresponds to annite and its subhedral shape and chemical composition point to magmatic crystallisation from a peraluminous melt derived from a crustal source. Coarse muscovite flakes contain 1.31-1.48 wt.% FeO and 0.56-0.70 wt.% TiO2. Their Na/(Na+K) ratios (0.08–0.09) prove a magmatic origin, whereas lower ratios in sericite (0.04–0.06) indicate formation during retrogression. Magmatic muscovite is in textural equilibrium with andalusite, also implying an igneous origin for the latter, which belongs to the S3 textural type of andalusite in felsic igneous rocks. Electron microprobe analyses clearly show a strong positive correlation between Si tetrahedral deficiency (3-Si) and the sum of Al+Ti, (R2= 0.85) in both types of dumortierite, implying Al replacement by Ti. However, Al replacement by Ti is not restricted to Al in the octahedral position, as generally accepted, but most probably also in the tetrahedral position. Distinct pleochroic colours in dumortierite are usually explained by the [Fe/(Fe+Ti)]x100 factor, but according to this study, elevated Mg contents stabilize red to violet coloured dumortierite at higher [Fe/(Fe+Ti)] x100 factors than those previously suggested.
Dumortierite-bearing pegmatite and host two-mica leucogranite show strong chemical similarities in their major, minor and trace element contents. Both rock types have a strong peraluminous character (ASI = 1.6 in pegmatite vs 1.8 in leucogranite), low CaO/Na2O ratios (0.11 vs 0.14), high Rb/Ba (74.5 vs 16.4) and Rb/Sr ratios (78.4 vs 43.3) as well as relatively high Al2O3/TiO2 ratios (261 vs 210). For the leucogranitic melt these characteristics indicate derivation from a pelitic source and low melting rates at relatively low temperatures. With respect to the field relationships and the chemical similarities, formation of the pegmatitic melt by fractional crystallisation during solidification of the two-mica leucogranite is inferred. Based on the mineralogical composition, the dumortierite-bearing pegmatite from Mt. Moslavačka Gora may be a member of the abyssal pegmatite class and the AB-BBe subclass. However, its formation by fractional crystallisation from a granitic melt argues against this interpretation, as all other dumortierite-bearing granitic pegmatites occur in high-grade metamorphic host rocks and are thought to be products of anatectic melting of country rocks. Therefore, the investigated pegmatite is quite unique and not fully comparable with any previously described dumortierite-bearing pegmatite worldwide.
Keywords
dumortierite; andalusite; granitic pegmatite; Mt. Moslavačka gora; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
314670
URI
Publication date:
28.2.2024.
Visits: 155 *