The degree of metamorphism affecting the Devonian-Carboniferous rocks of the Palaeozoic Cinco Villas massif has been studied by (a) petrographic techniques, (b) illite crystallinity, and (c) degree of graphitization of the carbonaceous material. Some mineralogical differences have been found between the Devonian and Carboniferous rocks; paragonite and mixed-layer paragonite/muscovite, typical of anchimetamorphic areas, appear in the Devonian but are not found in the Carboniferous rocks. These are characterized by the local appearance of chloritoid, garnet, amphibole, epidote, andalusite and biotite, and the generalized presence of muscovite/chlorite. Illite crystallinity shows a metamorphic zonation (anchizone epizone) towards the granitic Aya massif, and a concentric pattern around the intrusive body.

The optical analysis shows that the first effects of the regional metamorphism began before the D2 deformation, reaching its paroxysm during this phase and continuing afterwards. The degree of graphitization evolves progressively with metamorphism, and this fact is reflected in an exponential relationship between d(002) and crystallinity Lc(002). The similarity in the degree of graphitization between homologous materials within and outside the Aya aureole suggests a similar kinetic factor for both the thermal and regional metamorphisms, or a similar duration time. This fact, as well as the distribution and relationship between the deformation and recrystallization of the minerals, suggests a syn-plutonic regional metamorphism developed at low pressures, in accordance with the value of the b0 parameter for the white micas, and probably a maximum temperature of about 500°C.

Subsilicic sodium gedrite has been found in a hydrothermal vein together with sekaninaite (Fe-cordierite), andalusite, plagioclase, topaz, sillimanite, quartz, biotite, magnetite, ilmenite, hercynite, wolframite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. This vein is part of a hydrothermal vein system consisting predominantly of quartz-feldspar veins, some of which contain andatusite, sekaninaite, biotite, muscovite, fluorite and accessory oxides and sulphides, which was formed during the later stages of crystallization of a high-level anorogenic Svecofennian granite. Petrographic observations suggest the following crystallization sequence for the quartz-feldspar veins: plagioclase-quartz-andalusite-sekaninaite-microcline-biotite-albite-oxides and sulphides-muscovite-fluorite, and for the subsilicic sodium gedrite-bearing vein: andalusite-sekaninaite-subsilicic sodium gedrite-biotite-quartz-albite-sillimanite-topaz-oxides and sulphides. Electron microprobe analysis revealed that all subsilicic sodium gedrite is relatively homogeneous with only the following compositional variation: Na(A) 0.57–0.81, Aliv 2.31–2.57, XMg 0.15–0.21. The temperature (T) for the formation of the hydrothermal vein system is estimated at 550–600°C and the pressure (P) is estimated to be less than 3 kbar.

Margarite occurs in Ordovician black slate within the contact aureole of the Wyangala Batholith, in the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales. This occurrence is the first described from New South Wales. It is a regional metamorphic mineral replacing chiastolitic andalusite, and contains up to 1.07% V2O3 and up to 0.37% Cr2O3. Vanadium and chromium here substitute for octahedral aluminium. Margarite is produced by a local reaction in which Ca and H2O are introduced into andalusite grains. There is a significant paragonite component in the margarite but negligible muscovite solid solution.

Thermometric and D-ICP analysis of fluid inclusions in calcite and fluorite show that the fluids responsible for extensive carbonate-hosted copper mineralization in the Ecton Hill area were low-temperature (< 100 °C), high-salinity (19.5 to 23 wt. % NaCl equivalents) brines strongly enriched in calcium (mean Ca:Na wt. ratio = 1.9). Compared with the fluids responsible for classical ‘Mississippi Valley type’ lead-zinc deposits elsewhere in the south Pennine orefield, the Ecton ore-fluids were of lower temperature and slightly more enriched in potassium. Despite these subtle differences, the data are consistent with a basinal brine model for ore genesis in this western part of the orefield similar to that envisaged for the remainder of the orefield. These Ca-Na-K-Cl, copper-bearing brines were most probably derived from the Cheshire basin located to the west of the Derbyshire Dome.

Glasses quenched from synthetic REE-carbonatite liquids in recent Tuttle bomb experiments require fast cooling rates. To study these glasses further, an internally-heated miniclave has been developed to increase quench rates and extend the operating P-T range of standard Tuttle bombs. The Haskel miniclave can achieve simultaneous P and T of up to 1200°C at 4 kbar for small diameter (1–2 mm) samples. Gas (Argon) pressure is supplied by a small intensifier unit and heating by an internal platinum-wound furnace. Because of the relatively small thermal mass, run temperatures can be reached within a few minutes and quench rates approach those of solid media apparatus.

Pyritic slates from the late Precambrian, Middle Dalradian Argyll Group Easdale Slate Formation, contain mainly quartz, muscovite and chlorite with variable amounts of dolomite, albite and paragonite. Slates from Easdale Island and Cuan Ferry contain pyrite porphyroblasts with δ34S = + 12 to + 16‰. The pyrite grew during a post-tectonic retrogressive event at the expense ofpyrrhotine which formed during the main regional metamorphism of the Grampian orogeny by reduction of diagenetic pyrite. Slate from Oban contains abundant diagenetic framboidal pyrite and small syn-tectonic pyrite porphyroblasts with δ34S = +22‰. This pyrite was not all reduced to pyrrhotine on metamorphism so there was little retrogressive growth of pyrite. Metamorphism appears to have homogenized local (cm scale at least) isotopic inhomogeneities and preserved an average seawater-sulphate-sulphide isotopic fractionation value. Middle Dalradian seawater-sulphate had a δ34S value of about + 35‰, so the small fractionations are appropriate for bacteriogenic reduction in bituminous sediments, the heavier sulphide in the case of the Oban slate indicating more rapid reduction of sulphate. Lower Dalradian Appin Group, Ballachulish slate contains pyrite with δ34S = +15±2‰ and is best interpreted as forming in the same manner as the Easdale slates of Easdale Island and Cuan Ferry; the sharp increase in late Precambrian ocean-sulphate sulphur isotope signature from +15 to > +30‰ therefore occurred by Lower Dalradian Appin Group times.

A comparison of R.P.M. Union and Amandelbult Sections reveals close geochemical and stratigraphic correlations, but the sequence at the latter is more complex. Mafic members at Union Section are consistently more magnesian than their equivalents at Amandelbult Section and (where available data allow comparisons) than at Rustenburg Section. This, taken together with regional patterns of progressive attenuation and elimination of leucocratic rocks beneath harzburgitic layers, identifies Union Section as proximally located with reference to an irruptive centre from which primitive liquids were injected along the floor/supernatant liquid interface. Successive injections led to thermal erosion of the floor, causing ‘dimpling’ and ‘potholing’ on a local scale, and elimination of noritic-anorthositic layers on a regional scale. Such erosion of the floors beneath new inputs of magmatic liquid is likely to be initiated by only partial remelting, mainly of lower-temperature phases (sodic rims to zoned plagioclase grains, and Fe-enriched pyroxenes) within intercumulus space. It is argued that resultant contamination of the primitive liquids may have led to direct superposition of anorthosites (accompanied by rare troctolite) upon harzburgite, without intervening pyroxenite members, as in the Pseudoreef Multicyclic Unit.

The holotype roggianite from Alpe Rosso (Novara, Italy) has been chemically re-analysed using modern analytical procedures (microprobe, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, TG analyses) and tested for its zeolitic behaviour. When compared with that given in the original description, the new chemical composition shows an appreciable amount of Be and a different Si/Al ratio. On the basis of its structural data, the chemical formula here proposed for roggianite is: (Ca14.24Sr0.01Na0.37K0.56)Σ15.18[(Be5.29Al14.92Si27.79)Σ48O89.96(OH)14](OH)2·33.68H2O

An accurate powder pattern, index taking into account the structural factors, is also given. Since the mineral showed an almost complete rehydration after heating to 750°C and an appreciable ion exchange capacity, it must be considered as belonging to the zeolitic group of minerals, and, in this frame, it represents the first and up to now the only zeolite with Be as fundamental constituent and, like partheite, with OH groups in the framework.

The dolomite-ferroan-dolomite-ankerite series of carbonate minerals has been investigated in flowing carbon dioxide using high-temperature DSC. Decomposition products were analysed by X-ray diffraction. The minerals studied included dolomite containing no iron, and members substituted by iron in the molar ratio range of 0.082 to 0.49. Complete resolution of the three main endothermic features was observed and enthalpy values ΔH, determined from each. The individual and total enthalpy values showed a linear dependence upon the Fe and Mg content of the members across the series. A decrease in the enthalpy of decomposition occurs with increasing Fe content. The effect of Fe substitution was readily observed and the estimated limit of detection is less than 1% FeO. Accuracy of the measurements was limited by the purity of the minerals themselves.

Sixteen fluorapatite specimens from regional skarns in granulite terrain were associated with Al-zoned diopside ± scapolite ± actinolite ± calcite(+ rare phlogopite). Apatite was low in Ce (ave. 0.19% Ce2O3) and enriched in LREE relative to HREE (La/Yb = 31 to 74 in 4 specimens). Some specimens showed small negative Eu anomalies and some crystals were zoned in REE. SrO averaged 0.36%. The mineral contained some carbonate (ave. 0.5% CO2 in 5 specimens), appreciable silica (ave. 0.5%), and variable sulphate (0.1 to 1.2% SO3). Excess charge due to S6+ was largely compensated by Si4+. Chlorine was minor and F accounted for 75–98% of the F, Cl and OH ions. Apatite from marble lacking amphiboles and pyroxenes has a similar chemical composition, but apatite from later carbonatite and fenite contains more Ce and Sr. Apatite from Gatineau fenite, Gatineau carbonatite and world-wide siliceous igneous rock generally contains less S. Apatite from Gatineau skarns normally contains more Cl and less S than that from phosphorite. Magnesian marble was silicated to skarn by reaction with siliceous gneiss. Phosphorus, REE, and Sr were removed from nearby rocks and transported in aqueous, carbonated solutions containing minor amounts of F, Cl and S at granulite-facies conditions. Apatite and calcite precipitation took place in skarns and marble during the Grenville (Proterozoic) orogeny.

Soda-rich pyroxenes in felsic rocks from the Warrumbungle Volcano, central New South Wales, contain up to 14.5 wt. % ZrO2, which is more than double the previously reported maximum ZrO2 in pyroxene. Zr is believed to enter aegirine as the component Na(Fe2+,Mn,Mg)0.5Zr0.5Si2O6 via the coupled substitution: (Fe2+,Mn,Mg)VI+ZrVI = 2(Fe3+)VI. This component exceeds 50 mol. % in some analyses.

Pronounced pyroxene Zr-enrichment is restricted to rocks in which sodic amphibole is the major ferromagnesian mineral, with pyroxene only a minor late-stage phase. The Zr-rich pyroxenes resulted from a combination of host lava peralkalinity, low oxygen fugacity, rapid disequilibrium crystallization and low mobility of the Zr ion. These factors collectively led to the development of interstitial Zr-enriched microdomains in the felsic hosts during their final stages of crystallization.

This paper presents a literature survey of compositions of the fibrous zeolites mesolite, natrolite, thomsonite and their derivatives such as pseudomesolite, high-Na mesolite, tetranatrolite, paranatrolite, ranite, and gonnardite, and evaluates them in the light of new electron probe analyses and X-ray powder data for gonnardites and associated minerals from Aci Castello, Gignat, Hills Port, Kladno, and Lamo. The analyses are plotted on the basis of bivalent vs. trivalent cations per 80 oxygen cell and a new chemical classification is tentatively proposed. It is concluded that ranite is definitely not synonymous with gonnardite and until species status is confirmed it is useful to retain this term as a Ca- and Al-rich disordered variety of natrolite. It is further concluded that natrolite and tetranatrolite contain up to 2 Ca, ranite 2–4 Ca, gonnardite 4–6 Ca and thomsonite 6–8 Ca atoms with corresponding limits on the Al atoms. Compositions are governed by NaSi = CaAl and to some extent by Na2 = Ca type replacements and the Al-content generally varies sympathetically with Ca-content. The plot reveals that most high-Na mesolites are ranites, a number of gonnardites are ranites and one or two are tetranatrolites. The compositional field of gonnardite crosses that of mesolite (and pseudomesolite), but these minerals can be easily distinguished optically and by their powder patterns. The unit cell volumes increase in the order tetranatrolite, ranite, gonnardite and paranatrolite, therefore if the 1040 (or 1460) line can be identified in the powder patterns one can distinguish between these minerals. New infrared spectra of gonnardite, ranite and tetranatrolite are compared with each other and with published spectra, and differences are noted. DSC results for gonnardite and ranite are compared and appear to be diagnostic.

Analyses of tourmaline and coexisting muscovite in tourmaline-bearing rocks from SE Ireland indicate that the content of Si in tourmaline is not fixed but is dependent on bulk chemistry, varying inversely with Al. Zoning patterns within tourmaline reflect this and, despite theoretical objections, substitution of Si by Al in the tetrahedral site must occur in nature. Ti may also substitute for Si. Ca and Ti are generally involved in a coupled substitution. Estimates of the degree of alkali-defect and proton-loss substitution in SE Ireland tourmalines indicate that the former process is at least as important as the latter and that bulk chemistry is important in determining which substitution occurs. The general importance of alkali-defect substitution and Al⇌Si suggests that the most useful way to treat microprobe data for schorl-dravite tourmalines is to assume the presence of 3B and 4(OH) and calculate on the basis of 24.5 oxygen atoms.

Phosphorus contents in cumulus rocks occurring close to the level of apatite appearance in the basic rocks of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, provide a method of calculating the proportion of intercumulus component in these rocks. Previous experimental studies have accurately constrained the phosphorus content of magmas when apatite becomes stable. The ratio of the phosphorus content in the cumulates immediately below the appearance of apatite to this liquid composition defines the proportion of trapped liquid.

Application of this method to rocks from the uppermost mafic rocks of the Bushveld Complex leads to the conclusion that there is from 1 to 6 per cent intercumulus component. Many of these rocks are multiphase cumulates and in such rocks estimation of intercumulus component from textural criteria is difficult.

If crystals grow In situ on the floor of the magma chamber such small proportions of interstitial component can be produced without appealing to excessive diffusion and circulation of magma through an unconsolidated crystal pile. The geometry of the intrusion as well as its size might have a major influence on the proportion of the liquid ultimately solidifying within a cumulus rock.

Eight samples (seven volcanic rocks and one quartz sandstone) have been dredged from the Funk Seamount, 60 km NW of Marion Island in the southwest Indian Ocean (lat. 46° 15′S, long. 37° 20′ E). The volcanic rocks are fine-grained vesicular basanitoids and glass-rich volcanic breccias geochemically similar to the Marion Island lavas. Lavas and breccias contain a suite of megacryst minerals and of small polymineralic xenoliths, in both of which kaersutite is a prominent constituent.

The megacryst suite comprises large unzoned single grains of kaersutite, plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite and ilmenite, all showing textural evidence of resorption/reaction with the basanitoid host. The megacrysts have a limited range of compositions except for the plagioclase which ranges from oligoclase to labradorite.

The small (2 mm to ∼ 3 cm) xenoliths are mostly two-pyroxene amphibole assemblages with or without olivine, magnetite, ilmenite, plagioclase and apatite. The xenoliths show some evidence of reaction with the basanitoid host and most have undergone recrystallization and/or localised decompression melting.

Xenolith and megacryst assemblages are interpreted as being associated with the formation and partial crystallization of a hydrous basanitoid melt at depth.

Amphiboles in dykes from the dominantly silica-undersaturated Monteregian series range from pargasitic megacrysts and xenocrysts to kaersutitic, pargasitic and hastingsitic phenocrysts, groundmass prisms and reaction rims. Amphiboles in dykes and plutons from the silica-oversaturated White Mountain Magma Series range from kaersutite, through hornblende, hastingsite and edenite, to sodic-calcic and sodic varieties. This contrast between the amphiboles from the two series is probably a reflection of differing melt silica activity and is a useful petrologic discriminant. In most cases, pargasitic amphibole megacrysts from Monteregian monchiquites reflect the Mg numbers of their host rocks and are considered cognate. The megacrysts are lower in Ti and higher in Mg and Al than their phenocryst mantles and rims. This is probably a result of higher pressures of formation.

Ganophyllite and [Na+ + Al3+]-substituted tobermorite exhibited similar cation exchange properties and, in particular, selective cesium exchange. [Na+ + Al3+]-substituted tobermorite and ganophyllite showed a selective Cs exchange of 10.77 and 8.71 meq/100 g from 0.02N NaCl and of 11.08 and 9.04 meq/100 g from 0.02N CaCl2, respectively. The [Na+ + Al3+]-substituted tobermorite is structurally similar to ganophyllite: both are roughly analogous to 2:1 layer silicates, both have cross-linking tetrahedra across the interlayer region, and both have exchangeable cations located in zeolite-like sites in the interlayer region. The similarities in cation exchange properties imply that the residual charge configuration of the analogue 2 : 1 layer must be approximately equivalent also.

Mössbauer spectra of iron-bearing tourmaline, obtained at different temperatures, show the existence of thermally-activated charge delocalization among clusters of iron atoms situated in the Y and Z octahedra of the tourmaline structure. The temperature dependence indicates an unusually high activation energy for the delocalization process which suggests that the process takes place between crystallographically non-equivalent sites. Annealing of the tourmaline in hydrogen is observed to inhibit the delocalization process, thus localizing the electron into the Z-site.

The major and trace element composition of over 40 wolframites from the Barroca Grande mine of the Panasqueira W-Sn-Cu quartz-vein hosted orebody have been determined by electron probe microanalysis.

The hübnerite content of wolframite is largely uniform (12 to 20 mol. %) throughout most of the mine, suggesting relative uniformity in composition of the main stage ore-forming fluids. However, wolframites show a striking pattern of enrichment in niobium adjacent to major sub-vertical fault zones. Typical wolframite Nb2O5 contents are below 1000 ppm, whilst values greater than 1000, 2000 and 4000 ppm are generally only found in wolframites less than 50, 30, and 10 metres respectively from major sub-vertical faults. This strongly suggests that some of these fault zones acted as major pathways for hydrothermal fluid migration during ore formation. The idea that the greisened cupola at Panasqueira was the sole major pathway for fluid movement is discounted.

Almandine garnets in the cordierite-bearing granite of Sweltor Quarry, Dartmoor, contain < 10 mol. % of the spessartine end-member, whilst those in the Lundy granite have c. 10 mol. % spessartine. Experimental work indicates that such compositions can grow in equilibrium with siliceous melts at depths of 18–25 km. This evidence, reaction rims, lack of marked zoning and comparison with garnets in other siliceous calc-alkaline siliceous rocks point to a genesis involving partial melting of the ‘local’ lower crust. A restite origin rather than direct crystallization from magma is favoured but the evidence is equivocal. The Dartmoor granite (Hercynian) is a typical peraluminous late- to post-tectonic S-type granite. The S-type character of the Lundy (Tertiary) granite is revealed by the occurrence of garnet and topaz together with biotite enriched in Rb, Cs and F, despite its close association with Tertiary basic magmatism in an anorogenic setting.