Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Mineral textures
Primary growth textures
Magmatic textures Open-space textures

Primary growth textures - Magmatic

Indicative of cooling from a melt High-temperature minerals show no obstruction of faces If rapidly cooled, dendritic textures may be present Poikilitic crystals Cocrystallization = mutual boundaries of different angles (contrast to metamorphic) Low-temperature minerals fill interstices

Replacement textures Cooling-related textures

Exsolution Inversion Thermal stress

Deformation-related textures
Twinning Curvature of crystals

Metamorphic-related recrystallization

Chromite: The Great Dyke, Zimbabwe

Chromite: The great dyke, Zimbabwe

Euhedral chromite crystals (grey) are fractured, some fractures are along a poorly defined cleavage (bottom center) and are accompanied by incipient alteration (higher reflectance areas, center right). Silicate (dark grey) forms the matrix to the chromite and replaces it (bottom right). Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, air.

0.125 mm 07yb

Primary chromite, chalcopyrite and rutile: Bushveld

Chromite, chalcopyrite and rutile. Bushveld, Republic of South Africa

Euhedral, fractured cubic crystals of chromite (medium grey) are intergrown with silicate (dark grey). A single lath of rutile (light grey, center) is partially enclosed in chromite and partly in silicate. Minor amounts of interstitial chalcopyrite (yellow, left center) are present. Black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

rut

cpy 0.5 mm 7ya

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Exsolution lamellae of ilmenite in magnetite

Magnetite, ilmenite, TiO2 minerals and hematite. Guernsey, Channel Islands, Britain
A diorite contains magnetite (light brown-grey, centre right) that has oxidation-exsolution lamellae of ilmenite (light pink-brown, center) parallel to (111) of the magnetite. The lamellae have altered to a finegrained intergrowth of TiO2 minerals and hematite (blue-white to light grey, center left). Amphibole (bottom left) shows cleavage and biotite (top right) has light brown internal reflections. Polished thin section, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

14yb

Immiscible pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite: Merensky Reef, Bushveld

Pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite. Merensky Reef. Bushveld, Republic of South Africa
Pentlandite (light brown, center) is intergrown with chalcopyrite (yellow, right), pyrite (pale yellow-white, centre bottom) and minor amounts of pyrrhotite (lilacgrey, center right). Silicate gangue (grey) shows internal reflections. Black areas are polishing pits. The sulphides are interstitial to the silicates. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

0.25 mm 11yc

Ilmenite laths in silicate matrix: unrestrained growth

Ilmenite, spinel and iron-nickel alloy. Apollo 17, Lunar Sample 7018
A basalt fragment from the lunar regolith. Abundant subparallel ilmenite laths (pale brown), many of which are 'feather-like', lie within plagioclase (areas of lightcolored internal reflection, bottom right) which is intergrown with euhedral rhombic pyroxene (light grey, few internal reflections, left center). Small euhedral equant chromite-ulvspinel (pale brown, top left) and rounded iron-nickel alloy (white, very high reflectance, bottom left) are present in the plagioclase also. The high magnification and large variation in reflectance between the opaque phases makes accurate color photography difficult.

0.05 mm 04yd

Grain mount, plane polarized light, x 400, oil.

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Immiscible sulfide droplet in basalt, mid-Atlantic ridge

Primary growth textures Open space

Main characteristic is unimpeded growth of crystal faces, particularly for crystals that rarely exhibit crystal forms Comb structures, rhythmic banding, mineral zoning Dissolution features and skeletal crystals Colloform and banded ores

0.15 mm

Vug filling of earlier euhedral sphalerite followed by galena

Galena and sphalerite. Shullsburg, Wisconsin, USA

Sphalerite (light grey) occurs as radiating aggregates of different grain sizes. Very fine-grained sphalerite is poorly polished and shows reddish-brown or lightcolored internal reflections (top and bottom right). The central bands of sphalerite have grown into a vug and hence have euhedral crystal terminations. Galena (white) has infilled most of this central vug. Black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air. 0.25 mm 56yb

sl gn

Euhedral, zoned bravoite enclosed by euhedral zoned marcasite

Nickeliferous marcasite and bravoite. Oxclose Mine, South Pennines, Britain

Euhedral, zoned bravoites have lower reflectance than the enclosing zoned marcasite. Bravoite shows higher reflectance cores and lower reflectance outer zones and has a pentagonal dodecahedral habit (center left). The enclosing marcasite is coarse-grained and also shows faint nickel-rich zoning (center). Nickel-poor marcasite is unzoned, has a slightly higher reflectance, and occurs on the margin of the nickeliferous marcasite (bottom right). Different crystals show reflection pleochroism (green-blue to yellow, bottom center).

0.05 mm 57yf

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 400, oil.

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Zoning in sphalerite evidenced by weak color variations

Sphalerite and gersdorffite. Nenthead, North Pennines, Britain

Small gersdorffite crystals (white, right) occur within zoned sphalerite. Zoning in the sphalerite is just visible as blue-grey (centre) and brown-grey (bottom right) areas. Black areas are polishing pits. Doubly polished thin section, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm 58yd

Zoning in sphalerite evidenced by stronger color variations in transmitted light

Sphalerite (and gersdorffite). Nenthead, North Pennines, Britain

This is the same field of view as 58d but in transmitted light. The fine scale of the growth banding in sphalerite is very clear. In thin section or polished thin section, much of the fine detail would be lost. The intensity of the colours are due to variations in the trace element content of the growth bands, most importantly the iron content. Doubly polished thin section, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm 58ye

Simple and polysynthetic twinning in marcasite

Marcasite. Ashover, South Pennines, Britain

simple An intergrowth of marcasite crystals shows their extreme anisotropy, variation in grain size, and twinning along (101) as coarse single twins (top left) and as polysynthetic twinning (center left). Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

polysynthetic

0.25 mm 57yd

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Open-space growth of early native Ag followed by niccolite and thin maucherite rims

Niccolite, native silver, acanthite and maucherite. Great Bear Lake, Canada
Native silver (white, scratched, center left) forms the cores to botryoidal niccolite (pink-brown) showing faint reflection pleochroism (light to dark pink-brown, center right) that is difficult to see. Thin rims of maucherite (grey-blue, center bottom) surround niccolite. Acanthite (light grey, bottom right) has replaced native silver in the core of a niccolite dendrite. Dark grey areas are calcite showing faint bireflectance (top center). Black areas are polishing pits.

0.25 mm 36yc

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

Cooling textures Exsolution

Separation of structurally-incompatible phases as T decreases, often in a characteristic pattern controlled by crystallography Different from replacement textures because of depletion of exsolved phase at intersections (spindleshaped lath textures)

kamacite ~7% Ni

taenite 27-65% Ni

Widmanstatten structure in Fe-Ni meteorites: example of exsolution (similar to mt-ilm)

gib100x2.gif

Exsolution of chalcopyrite and bornite from ISS during cooling

Bornite, chalcopyrite and altered pentlandite. Palabora, Republic of South Africa

Bornite (brown) is intergrown with laths and irregularshaped areas of chalcopyrite (yellow), much of which is crystallographically oriented along (100) of the bornite. Subhedral altered pentlandite (light yellow, center) is fractured. Dark grey areas are silicate gangue. Black areas are polishing pits. This type of chalcopyrite-bornite texture can be the result of exsolution or replacement processes. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm

Note the spindle-shaped laths that taper at intersections

13ya

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Twinning of hematite: bireflectance of hematite makes this look like two different minerals that are exsolved!

Haematite and magnetite. Skye, Scotland

This is the same field of view as the third plate above but with partially crossed polars. Hematite crystals show polysynthetic twinning along (1011). The silicate gangue shows light-colored internal reflections. Hematite (white, right) is coarse-grained and shows very faint bireflectance along (1011) twin planes, which are oriented north-south but difficult to see in plane polarized light. Magnetite (pink-brown, bottom left) is well polished and does not show twins. Dark grey areas are silicates, black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air

hm

mt 0.25 mm 64yf

Ilmenite exsolution from magnetite, resulting from oxidation during cooling

Magnetite and ilmenite. Derbyshire, Britain

Euhedral magnetite (light brown, center) carries abundant ilmenite lamellae (darker brown) oriented along (111) and the result of oxidation-exsolution. An incomplete magnetite rim around the euhedral crystal also carries exsolved ilmenite (center right). Very small grains of tarnished bornite (red-brown, center right) have replaced original chalcopyrite. Euhedral to subhedral pyroxene (light grey, left) and plagioclase (dark grey, light internal reflections, bottom right) are the main silicate phases. Minor amounts of relict carbon-coating are blue-grey (bottom center). Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, oil. 05yd

mt

ilm

0.125 mm

Exsolution stars of sphalerite in chalcopyrite from cooling

Chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite. Jersey, Channel Islands, Britain

Chalcopyrite (yellow) contains exsolved sphalerite stars (light grey, center) and two crystals of pyrite (light yellow, higher reflectance, top right) growing into a void (black). A very thin veinlet that is only just discernible (running north-south, centre) is marked by elongated polishing pits (black) and by stannite (light grey, higher reflectance than sphalerite, center) cutting across the central sphalerite star. Black areas are polishing pits.

0.22 mm 18yb

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 90, air.

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Exsolution pentlandite in pyrrhotite [along (0001)]

Pyrrhotite and pentlandite. Kambalda, Western Australia

Pyrrhotite (brown, center) carries flame-like exsolution bodies of pentlandite (light brown, higher reflectance, center right). Many of these exsolution bodies are associated with fractures in the pyrrhotite and are oriented along its (0001) plane. Black areas are silicates and polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

0.25 mm 10yc

Additional cooling-related textures

Inversion: difficult to recognize, sometimes by twinning or pseudomorphs Thermal stress:
Common in pentlandite because it has a different thermal expansion coefficient than pyrite or pyrrhotite

Cooling-related thermal stress in pentlandite caused cracking:note the difference between pyrrhotite and pentlandite polish

Pyrrhotite, magnetite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite. Strathcona Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Pyrrhotite crystals (light brown) have granular pentlandite crystals (light brown, higher reflectance, center left) along their grain boundaries but are free of flame-like exsolution bodies of pentlandite. Magnetite (grey, bottom left) encloses a crystal of chalcopyrite (yellow, bottom left). Black areas are polishing pits.

pn

mt 0.25 mm

po

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

12yd

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Cooling and contraction of HT cassiterite with subsequent infilling by Cu minerals cpy

cs

Chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, hematite and cassiterite. Wheal Jane, Cornwall, Britain
Equant and prismatic cassiterite (dark grey-brown, well polished, center) is intergrown with fine-grained hematite (light blue-grey, pitted, center bottom). Chalcopyrite (yellow) is veined by bornite (brown, top right) and chalcocite (light blue, top left). Chalcocite also forms a rim around the oxide minerals. Black areas are polishing pits. A single crystal of cassiterite (top right) is present within the copper-iron sulfides. The cross-cutting relationships show that the alteration sequence is chalcopyrite to bornite to chalcocite. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air. 31ye

cc cs

0.25 mm

bn

Equilibrium textures Symplectic intergrowths

Wide variety of terms are applied to various textural variants of these equilibrium textures:

Lamellar, emulsoid, myrmekitic, etc.

Chalcocite-bornite symplectic intergrowth

Chalcocite, bornite and pyrite. Levant Mine, Cornwall, Britain

Chalcocite (blue) has a symplectite-like intergrowth with bornite (brown, center right). Euhedral to subhedral pyrite (light yellow-white, center bottom) shows relief against chalcocite and its irregular shape suggests that it has been partially replaced by chalcocite. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

cc

py 0.25 mm

bn

32yb

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Chalcocite-bornite symplectic intergrowth bn st gn py

Stromeyerite, bornite, galena, chalcocite and tetrahedrite group mineral and pyrite. Unknown Provenance
Inclusion-free galena (white, center right) is intergrown with bornite (brown, top) and stromeyerite, showing purple-grey (left center) to blue-grey (bottom center) reflection pleochroism. Stromeyerite occurs in a symplectite-like intergrowth with chalcocite (light blue, center, bottom right) which is accentuated in the section by relief differences. Subhedral tetrahedrite (green-grey, moderate reflectance, center left, extreme bottom right) is pitted and is associated with euhedral quartz (dark grey, center left). Pyrite (light yellow-white, high reflectance, center) is subhedral to euhedral. tt 35yc Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

tt

cc st

0.25 mm

Intergrown magnetite-silicate mixture

Magnetite, ilmenite and haematite. Clee Hills, Shropshire, Britain

A large equant crystal of magnetite (pink-brown, left) is intergrown with, and encloses, plagioclase (dark grey, featureless). Oxidation-exsolution lamellae of ilmenite (pink-brown, lighter colored than magnetite, top centre) are present. Magnetite has extensively altered to hematite (white-blue) and minor TiO2 phases (light grey) along fractures and crystal boundaries (center bottom). Lobate ilmenite (right) is unaltered and is intergrown with plagioclase (dark grey and featureless). Pyroxene (grey, top right) is present.

0.125 mm 05yc

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, oil.

Chalcopyrite disease in sphalerite: Not an exsolution texture, but replacement or epitaxial growth

Sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and galena. Great Gossan Lead, Virginia, USA
Sphalerite (light grey, right) has chalcopyrite inclusions aligned along crystallographic directions and about grain boundaries. Hence, it shows chalcopyrite disease. It is rimmed by chalcopyrite (yellow, center) and pyrrhotite (brown, top left), together with minor galena (white, center bottom). Dark grey area is silicate, black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm 62yc

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Replacement textures
Problems with complete replacement, recognition of replaced material: fossils & organic structures Replacement of other minerals is dependent on:
Presence of crystal surfaces for deposition Crystal structure of host mineral Chemistry of fluid and host mineral

Replacement is often visible as a different mineral along crystal surfaces, cracks, cleavages, etc. that allow fluid entry Compositionally-zoned minerals may exhibit selective replacement
Replacement of wood by pyrite, preserving the cellular structure

TiO2 replacing ilmenite lamellae in titanomagnetite; magnetite is completely altered to limonite (brown)

TiO2 minerals and sphene. Central Wales, Britain

A metadolerite in which a trellis-like intergrowth of a TiO2 mineral (light grey), often called 'leucoxene', has replaced ilmenite lamellae within a titanomagnetite which has been completely removed and is represented by iron-stained non-opaque minerals showing brown internal reflections. The original titanomagnetite aggregate can be seen to have comprised two crystals. Sphene (light grey, center right) is present. The matrix is silicate.

0.125 mm 60yb

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, oil.

Hematite replacement of bauxite pisolith: note the two generations of bauxite formation

Gibbsite, boehmite and haematite. Gove, Northern Territories, Australia

A pisolitic bauxite in which an angular fragment of an earlier pisolith has been extensively hematitized (bluewhite, center). Hematite is the only mineral that can be identified by reflected light microscopy in this section. The matrix, which is light red-brown due to finely disseminated iron minerals, comprises gibbsite and boehmite which were identified by X-ray diffraction. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm 49ye

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Supergene replacement; pyrrhotite altering to marcasite along (0001); pentlandite altering to violarite

Pyrrhotite, violarite and altered pyrrhotite. Kambalda, Australia

The primary ore was pyrrhotite and pentlandite but these minerals have suffered extensive supergene alteration. Relict pyrrhotite (brown, well polished, left, center right) has an alteration rim of zwischenprodukt (light brown-white, highest reflectance, right bottom) and clearly shows that the alteration of pyrrhotite is crystallographically controlled along (0001). Pentlandite has been totally pseudomorphed by violarite (brown-white, finely pitted surface, center) but its cleavage and crystal boundaries have been preserved. Silicates are black. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

pn vi

po 0.25 mm

Crystal structure often controls replacement 50ya

Pyrrhotite replaced by chalcopyrite and cubanite: note the (0001) cleavage of pyrrhotite extends into the replacing minerals

Chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, cubanite and pentlandite. Stillwater. Montana, USA

Pyrrhotite (dark brown, top right) has a well developed cleavage which extends into chalcopyrite (yellow, top center and left) and cubanite (blue-grey, center right) areas, suggesting that chalcopyrite and cubanite are replacing pyrrhotite. Dark brown areas within chalcopyrite are relict pyrrhotite (bottom left). Pentlandite (pale brown-white, bottom) forms flames which are parallel with the basal (0001) cleavage of pyrrhotite. Silicates are black. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, oil.

cpy

cb

po

0.125 mm 12yc

Digenite replaced by covellite along fractures and more extensively replaced by bornite and chalcopyrite

Digenite, bornite, haematite and chalcopyrite. English Lake District, Britain

Digenite (blue, top left) shows minor replacement by covellite (deep blue) along cleavage and small fractures. More extensive replacement is shown by bornite (brown-pink, center) which contains relict digenite. Minor amounts of chalcopyrite (yellow, right center) occur on the edge of bornite but are difficult to see. Two distinct generations of hematite are present. Hematite laths (light blue, hard, center bottom) occur within digenite and bornite, whereas most hematite (green-grey) is very fine-grained and replaces bornite along grain edges (bottom center). Quartz is dark grey. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

di bn

0.5 mm 51ya

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

0.25 mm

Covellite, bornite, hematite, wittichenite and arsenopyrite. English Lake District, Britain
Digenite has been totally replaced by fine-grained covellite which shows reflection pleochroism from dark to light blue (center). Only the cleavage of digenite shows its former presence. Bornite (orange-brown) and minor wittichenite (cream, top center) surround covellite and are rimmed by fine-grained hematite (green-grey, top left). A euhedral crystal of arsenopyrite (white, high reflectance, center) occurs within covellite. Dark grey areas are quartz crystals (top left). Black areas are polishing pits.

Digenite completely replaced by covellite and bornite-chalcopyrite Only cleavage remains to suggest original digenite 51ye

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

Pyrite extensively replaced by galena and sphalerite: note the original crystal shape is retained

Galena, sphalerite and pyrite. Shullsburg, Wisconsin, USA

Pyrite (yellow-white, center) as lath-shaped crystals has been extensively replaced by galena (blue-white, center) and minor sphalerite (light grey, center right). This replacement is crystallographically controlled. Inclusion-free galena (center right, bottom center) is intergrown with replaced pyrite and with sphalerite. Sphalerite (light grey, bottom right and left) is inclusion-free. Dark grey areas are carbonate (top) grains. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

0.25 mm py gn

sl 56ye

Hematite replacing phyllosilicates along cleavage (left)

Hematite and TiO2 minerals. St Bees Sandstone, Cumbria, Britain

Very fine-grained hematite lies along the fabric of phyllosilicate grains (left). Both the green-white color and incipient red internal reflections are characteristic of this type of fine-grained hematite. TiO2 (pinkbrown) forms euhedral crystals with faint light-colored internal reflections (bottom right), but is present as a rounded detrital grain that forms the light brown core (centre) to euhedral lanceolate hematite crystals (white, center). The original iron-titanium oxide grain is now pseudomorphed by a fine-grained intergrowth of very minor hematite (white) and TiO2 (pink-white). Other white areas are hematite.

0.11 mm 42yd

Grain mount, plane polarized light, x 180, oil.

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

cv

Arsenopyrite and covellite. Cligga Head, Cornwall, Britain

Characteristic rhombic crystals of arsenopyrite (white, high reflectance, center) occur within quartz (low reflectance, bottom center) and the main gangue phase, tourmaline, which shows bireflectance (greys, center). Banded covellite (deep blue, top left) has extensively replaced a large arsenopyrite crystal. Black areas are vugs and polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air. 0.25 mm Covellite replacing arsenopyrite Note the characteristic shape of the arsenopyrite 34ya

apy

Galena replaced by anglesite and cerussite: a classic example of replacement caries texture

Galena, cerussite and anglesite. South Pennines, Britain

Galena (white, top) shows well developed plucking along (100) to give characteristic triangular pits (black). It is altered and replaced by rhythmical aggregates of cerussite (light greys) showing faint bireflectance (bottom left) and anglesite (lower reflectance, poorly polished bands, center right). This is a fine example of a caries texture. Smaller crystals of galena are totally pseudomorphed by cerrussite and anglesite (bottom). Dark grey areas are fluorite, black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air. 50ye

0.25 mm

Effect of chemical composition: Often just a change in oxidation state of cation (e.g. py hm)

Placer magnetite grains with alteration rims of hematite

Magnetite, ilmenite and hematite. New Zealand

A river placer containing euhedral magnetite (brown) that has a slightly deeper color than an irregular grain of ilmenite (brown, top left). The central magnetite crystals have oxidized to hematite. Blue-white hematite forms a rim around unaltered magnetite (center right) but also forms martite (white, center left) with relict magnetite (brown). Crystallographic control of the hematite oxidation along (111) planes of the original magnetite is clearly seen. 0.11 mm 44ya Grain mount, plane polarized light, x 180, oil.

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Oxidation effects in the Fe-S-O system

Deformation-related textures
May be seen in some minerals not normally thought to be metamorphosed Twinning:

A common replacement sequence in samples is from pyrrhotite to pyrite/magnetite to hematite This is an expected result of oxidation

Growth twins: lamellar, irregular width, uneven distribution Inversion twins: spindle-shaped, intergrown networks throughout grain Deformation twins: uniformly thick lamellae, associated with bending, cataclasis; twins often cross grain boundaries

Curvature & offset of linear features Infill and flow of softer sulfides around harder ones Fracturing and brecciation

Molybdenite showing basal cleavage and deformation-related kink banding

Molybdenite. Jersey, Channel Islands, Britain

Coarse blades and laths of molybdenite show strong bireflectance and reflection pleochroism. The strong basal cleavage of molybdenite (left) parallel to (0001) is clearly seen, as are deformation effects similar to kink banding (center). The dark grey area (bottom) is quartz. Four trigonal carbonate crystals showing bireflectance are lighter grey (bottom left). Black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

0.5 mm 18yd

Deformation twins in stibnite

Stibnite. Unknown Provenance

Stibnite showing deformation twins (center), 'pressure lamellae', and strong bireflectance and reflection pleochroism. Black areas are polishing pits. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

0.25 mm

Uncrossed nicols 41yb

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Deformation twins in stibnite

Stibnite. Unknown Provenance

This is the same field of view as the previous section but with crossed polars. Stibnite showing strong anisotropy along complex deformation twins and 'pressure lamellae'. Polished block, crossed polars, x 80, air.

0.25 mm

Crossed nicols 41yc

Polysynthetic twinning along (0111) twin planes of curved hematite laths

Hematite. Devon, Britain

Curved laths of hematite show anisotropy and polysynthetic twinning along (0111) twin planes. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 180, air.

0.11 mm 32yd

Replacement and fracture fill of bornite after pyrite

Bornite, pyrite and chalcopyrite. Aarja, Oman

py Radiating pyrite aggregates (light yellow-white, center top) have been fractured and cemented by quartz (top center). They have been extensively replaced by bornite (brown, center), which locally is intergrown with minor amounts of chalcopyrite (yellow, center left). In the cores of the original pyrite aggregates, where bornite replacement is complete, there is an almost total absence of relict pyrite. Bands of bornite (top left) between pyrite are probably fracture infilling rather than replacement. Quartz (grey) is the gangue. Polished thin section, plane polarized light, x 80, air. 26yb

bn

0.25 mm

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Twinning of ilmenite with exsolution hematite

Hemoilmenite. Allard Lake, Quebec, Canada

Large crystals of an ilmenite host (brown) contain irregular exsolution discs of hematite (white) plus very fine-grained hematite exsolution bodies (bottom left). Multiple twinning is present (north-south orientation, lower reflectance, right), some of which can be confused with parallel scratches (northwest-southeast orientation, left) in plane polarized light. Black areas are polishing pits and fractures, many of the polishing pits are concentrated along twinning of the ilmenite. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

twin planes

polishing scratches

0.25 mm 08ya

0.25 mm

Mobilization of sulfides into interstitial zones of silicates during metamorphism

Sphalerite, pyrrhotite and galena. Unknown Provenance

Pyrrhotite (brown, bottom) is intergrown with sphalerite (light grey, left) and galena (white, center). A central silicate crystal has curved cleavage planes along which galena, pyrrhotite and sphalerite have penetrated. Dark grey areas are silicates. Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

silicate

gn

sl

po 61yc

Metamorphic-related textures
Most common is annealing, which results in equant crystals with 120 interfacial angles Metamorphism results in increased grain size, development of idioblastic or porphyroblastic textures with zoned inclusions Sketch of a large pyrite from Ducktown, TN showing rotated inclusions in a porphyroblastic crystal

Mineral textures

Hydrothermal Geochemistry

Annealing texture in pyrrhotite + sphalerite po

Pyrrhotite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. Unknown Provenance

Pyrrhotite crystals (brown) show bireflectance and reflection pleochroism (light brown to darker brown, centre). They are equidimensional and have triple junctions which suggest they have recrystallized. Inclusion-free sphalerite (light grey, bottom) is intergrown and encloses a grain of galena (white, bottom right) and chalcopyrite (top center). Polished block, plane polarized light, x 80, air.

sl

0.25 mm 61ya

Metamorphosed BIF: note interfacial angles

Hematite. Little Broken Hill, Australia

A highly metamorphosed iron formation. Coarsely crystalline hematite (white) has totally replaced magnetite and so is martite. The poorly polished cores (center top) show less complete replacement than the well polished rims. The matrix comprises a mosaic of equigranular garnet (light grey, center bottom) and quartz (dark grey) with characteristic 120 angles between adjacent crystals. Black areas are polishing pits.

0.5 mm 49yd

Polished block, plane polarized light, x 40, air.

Bornite, chalcopyrite and valleriite. Palabora, Republic of South Africa

Bornite (pink-brown, top) is replaced by chalcopyrite (yellow, center right) along (100). Valleriite (golden yellow, center top and blue-green anisotropy colors, top center) forms an incomplete rim around the copper-iron sulfides. The gangue is trigonal carbonate and shows curved deformation twins (center top) and very faint internal reflections. Both valleriite and trigonal carbonates are strongly anisotropic, although the anisotropy of carbonates is often masked by their strong internal reflections. 0.125 mm 13ye Polished block, plane polarized light, x 160, air.

Mineral textures