Zircon Mineralogy and Trace Elements Composition of the Metallogenic Granites in the Nanshankeng Mine,Eastern Nanling

1 Introduction Nanshankeng tungsten-tin polymetallic mine,which is located in the eastern Nanling metallogenic belt,is newly discovered by geological investigation and evaluation with prospecting potential(Xiao et

Accounting for mineralogical composition and origin of soils and sedimentary rocks in thermal property predictions

A methodology for calculating the thermal conductivity of soils and rocks is developed which takes into account their origin and mineralogical composition.This method utilizes three approaches.One is founded on the structural modeling of contact heat interaction between particles and fills and estimates the statistical probability distribution of the particles in the volume of the medium.The second approach analyses perturbation to the temperature field of the matrix medium by ellipsoidal inclusions.The third approach is to find the mean thermal conductivity of the solid skeleton in the universal model at different composition of rock-forming minerals.

Mass Concentration and Mineralogical Characteristics of Aerosol Particles Collected at Dunhuang During ACE-Asia

Measurements were performed in spring 2001 and 2002 to determine the characteristics of soil dust in the Chinese desert region of Dunhuang, one of the ground sites of the Asia-Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment （ACE-Asia）. The mean mass concentrations of total suspended particle matter during the spring of 2001 and 2002 were 317μg m^-3 and 307μg m^-3, respectively. Eleven dust storm events were observed with a mean aerosol concentration of 1095μg m^-3, while the non-dusty days with calm or weak wind speed had a background aerosol loading of 196μg m^-3 on average in the springtime. The main minerals detected in the aerosol samples by X-ray diffraction were illite, kaolinite, chlorite, quartz, feldspar, calcite and dolomite. Gypsum, halite and amphibole were also detected in a few samples. The mineralogical data also show that Asian dust is characterized by a kaolinite to chlorite （K/C） ratio lower than 1 whereas Saharan dust exhibits a K/C ratio larger than 2. Air mass back-trajectory analysis show that three families of pathways are associated with the aerosol particle transport to Dunhuang, but these have similar K/C ratios, which further demonstrates that the mineralogical characteristics of Asian dust are different from African dust.

Mineralogical Characteristics of Exsolved Spinel in the Panzhihua V-Ti Magnetite Deposit, Sichuan: Implications for the Mineralization Process

Spinel exsolution is widespread in titanomagnetite from the Fe-Ti oxide gabbro of the Panzhihua intrusion, Emeishan Large Igneous Province, SW China. However, little research has been conducted into the implications of patterns in the mineralogical characteristics of the spinel for spatial variation in the controls on the exsolution mechanism and, hence, the formation process of the ore deposit. This study selected the Lanjiahuoshan Ore Block in the Panzhihua V-Ti magnetite deposit to explore this issue, systematically studying exsolution textures in the titanomagnetite through petrographic observation and the integrated use of in-situ microanalysis. The results show that the exsolved spinel gradually becomes finer-grained and less abundant from the center to edge and the bottom to top of the ore bodies. Compositionally, there is an inverse correlation between the size of exsolved spinel grains and their Mg# value. In addition, there is compositional zonation in the spinel interiors, with a gradual increase in the Mg content and decrease in Fe content from the core to the rim. The analysis suggests that fractional crystallization of ferrotitanium magma with a high oxygen fugacity in a shallow magma chamber caused compositional differences in the primary magnetite solid solution in different parts of the Panzhihua intrusion. Additionally, the thermal evolution of the magnetite solid solution differed in different parts of orebody, bringing about variations in spinel development. Together, these effects resulted in spatial variation in the abundance, grain size, and morphology of spinel in different parts of the orebody and intrusion that follows an identifiable distribution law. Furthermore, the compositional zonation of exsolved spinels reflects the rapid growth of exsolution features in a high-temperature environment. Thus, the size, morphology, abundance, and composition of spinel exsolution features in titanomagnetite provide a valuable petrogenetic tool for estimating the maturity and formational environment of the deposit.

Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Miocene pelitic sedimentary rocks from the south-western part of the Pannonian Basin System(Croatia):Implications for provenance studies

Fifty-two samples of Miocene pelitic sedimentary rock from outcrops on Medvednica,Moslavacka Gora and Psunj Mts.,and boreholes in the Sava Depression and the Pozega Sub-depression were investigated.These sediments formed in different marine（with normal and reduced salinity）,brackish,and freshwater environments,depending on the development stage of the Pannonian Basin System.Carbonate minerals,clay minerals and quartz are the main constituents of all pelitic sedimentary rocks,except in those from Moslavacka Gora Mt in which carbonate minerals are not present.Feldspars,pyrite,opal-CT,and hematite are present as minor constituents in some rocks.Besides calcite,dependent on the sedimentary environment and diagenetic changes,high-magnesium calcite,aragonite,dolomite and ankerite/Cadolomite are also present.Smectite or illite-smectite is the main clay minerals in the samples.Minor constituents,present in almost all samples,are detrital illite and kaolinite.In some samples chlorite is also present in a low amount.Major elements,trace elements and rare earth elements patterns used in provenance analysis show that all analysed samples have a composition similar to the values of the upper continental crust（UCC）.The contents of major and trace elements as well as SiO2/Al2O3,K2O/Al2O3,Na2O/K2O,Eu/Eu＊,La/Sc,Th/Sc,La/Co Th/Co,Th/Cr,Ce/Ce＊ and LREE/HREE ratios,show that the analysed pelitic sedimentary rocks were formed by weathering of different types of mostly acidic（silicic）,i.e.felsic rocks.

Carbonate formation and water level changes in a paleo-lake and its implication for carbon cycle and climate change, arid China

Carbonate deposition is a main inorganic carbon sink in lakes, which varies depending on climate change and internal lake dynamics. Research on the relationship between lake carbonate and climate will help to understand mechanisms of carbon cycle in lacustrine systems. The approach of this study is to explicitly link carbonate formation with Holocene long-term climate change and lake evolution in a paleo-lake （Zhuye Lake）, which is a terminal lake of a typical inland drainage basin in arid China. This paper presents analysis on grain-size, carbonate content and mineralogical composition of sediment samples from different locations of Zhuye Lake. The results show that calcite and aragonite are two main components for the lake carbonate, and the carbonate enrichment is associated with lake expansion during the Late Glacial and early to middle Holocene. Holocene lake expansion in arid regions of China is usually connected with high basin-wide precipitation that can strengthen the basin-wide surface carbonate accumulation in the terminal lake. For this reason, Zhuye Lake plays a role of carbon sinks during the wet periods of the Holocene.

Mineralogical characteristics of soil dust from source regions in northern China

Mineral compositions of aerosol particles were investigated at four sites （Aksu, Dunhuang, Zhenbeitai, and Tongliao） in desert regions of northern China from March to May in 2001 and 2002 during the intensive field campaign period of ACE-Asia （Aerosol Characterization Experiments-Asia）. The X-ray diffraction （XRD） results show the main minerals for Asian dust are illite, chlorite, kaolinite, quartz, feldspar, calcite, and dolomite. Gypsum, hornblende, and halite are also detected in several samples. Semi-quantitative mineralogical data of aerosol samples show that carbonate content decreases from western to eastern source areas; that is, soil dust collected at western source area sites of Dunhuang and Aksu are enriched with carbonate, while northeastern source area site of Tongliao is associated with low carbonate content. But the spatial distribution of feldspar exhibits a different pattern as compared to carbonate, increasing from the western to the eastern sources. The total clay content is significantly higher （73% in average） at the deposition site of Changwu than those at source areas. Air-mass back trajectory studies for the three dust storm events observed at Changwu, showed that soil dust transport pathways were as expected from carbonate content for the source identification, further demonstrating that carbonate was a useful tracer for eolian dust on regional scale in northern China.