Contact metamorphism in the aureole of the Easky adamellite produced andalusite at the expense of regional staurolite, kyanite, and garnet. In the inner aureole sillimanite and K-feldspar also grew. Cordierite is only rarely present. Conditions of metamorphism in the inner aureole have been deduced from five independent criteria as 595 ± 30 °C and 2.5 ± 0.5kb. The nearby Lough Talt adamellite was emplaced at slightly higher pressures. Some aureole rocks have undergone oxidation with conversion of regional garnet to magnetite and andalusite. The reacting assemblage buffered ƒO2 near 10−17 bars. It is inferred that oxidation was caused by movement of H2O from the country rocks into the intrusion.

The Freetown Intrusion, Sierra Leone, evolved by recurrent injection of olivine-bearing magma producing an aggregate thickness greater than 6000 m of rhythmically layered rocks. Sedimentation and constrained viscous flow of crystallizing magma concentrated olivine crystals during initial formation whilst concentration of volatiles locally lowered residual melt temperatures. This affected the crystallization of pyroxenes especially in pyroxene-troctolites where abundance of olivine caused deferred pyroxene growth. Three examples are described: (1) Flattened and elongated schlieren of augite enclosing plagioclase in ophitic intergrowths show preferred orientation cutting across primary layering defined by olivine, proving that pyroxene growth was secondary and influenced by stress directions in a relatively rigid rock. (2) In some pyroxene-troctolites, augite is segregated into coarse ophitic nodules which are widely and evenly spaced in a troctolitic host rock. Successful pyroxene nucleation and extensive diffusion caused development of domains of equilibration within a ‘cotectic’ pyroxene-plagioclase-volatile system. Crystallization within this was deferred compared with the surrounding olivine-plagioclase assemblage in which effects of granulitization are conspicuous. (3) Occasionally the pyroxenes are segregated in dispersed lenticular bodies of noritic pegmatite in troctolite. As in the previous cases, growth of pyroxene involved resorption and regrowth of olivine. This reflects the highest temperatures of crystallization in equilibrium with volatile-enriched pegmatite fluids. Temperatures decreased inwards giving a zonal structure and late growth of biotite, orthoclase, and apatite.

The formation of late crystalline pyroxenes and pegmatites thus involved extensive diffusion of volatile and other components accompanying the establishment of domains of reduced pressure in hot and slowly cooled rocks subjected to gradual deformation due to progressive subsidence of the central parts of the intrusion. The final fabric is therefore metamorphic resulting from annealing rather than crystal accumulation.

The nature of the upper mantle below the ancient cratonic areas can be deduced by study of the xenolith suites in kimberlites. Studies on the proportions of xenoliths, together with their mineralogy and chemistry, suggest an upper mantle containing an upper harzburgite zone and a lower lherzolite zone, with both of these zones containing chemical and mineralogical variants, together with minor rock types such as glimmerites, MARID-suite rocks, pyroxenites, and eclogites. Isotopic studies of the phases in xenoliths have yielded restricted ranges of values for the isotopic composition of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulphur which are tentatively identified as the true isotopic values for these elements in the upper mantle. In addition, recent discoveries suggest that diamond may be a primary uppermantle phase.

The textures and fabrics of the xenoliths indicate that plastic deformation has taken place in connection with the intrusive kimberlite event, and also in earlier events unconnected with the kimberlite event. In addition, brittle fracture has been observed, this fracturing often being accompanied by the filling of the ensuing veins and joints by fluids that have crystallized potassium-, titanium-, and water-rich phases; limited metasomatism of peridotite wall rocks accompanies this vein filling and more widespread pervasive metasomatism may also be present.

Although most upper-mantle rocks are now metamorphic, in some rare instances there are relics of earlier rock types that have not been completely obliterated by subsequent metamorphic events; most of these could be attributed to an igneous origin and in most cases during subsequent metamorphism the original rock types have been subjected to increasing pressures and/or lower temperatures.

Although the source of most materials now present at the earth's surface can be directly attributed to some identifiable source within upper-mantle rocks, no source has yet been identified for CO2, N, P, and the rare gases.

This paper discusses the relationship between the chemical composition of basic melts and the temperatures at which olivine, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase begin to crystallize at one atmosphere. Diagrams are given which show the correlation between crystallization temperature and melt composition and which allow some of the temperatures to be estimated. Because the relationship between melt composition and crystallization temperature is virtually linear over short compositional ranges, the data available can be subdivided and examined by linear multivariate statistical techniques. The result is a set of equations which permit the crystallization temperatures to be calculated with an average error of less than 6 °C and a maximum error of 27 °C. These equations have been tested by experimental determination of crystallization temperatures for a range of rocks from the Marquesas Islands.

Normal carbonatite magmas are characteristically associated with ijolites and produce extensive fenitization by alkali metasomatism, commonly feldspathization or phlogopitization. The sequence of carbonatites developed from this magma are characterized by igneous isotopic ratios, high contents of incompatible elements, their distinctive pattern of differentiation from sövite to beforsite, and a late-stage rare-earth element, baryte, fluorite mineralization. Carbonatite rock is composed mainly of calcite, but fluid inclusion and related data indicate that the original magma was highly alkaline and chemically similar to that known at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania. It is suggested that this carbonatite magma is secondary magma produced from carbonated nephelinite magma by liquid immiscibility. Carbonatite magma can also occur associated with kimberlites but these carbonatites are alkali-poor and do not produce the characteristic fenitization.

The Driggith vein is representative of the lead-zinc mineralization in the Caldbeck Fells area, with a primary mineral assemblage consisting of quartz, baryte, calcite, chalcedony, pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerire, bournonite, argentian tetrahedrite, and native antimony. Broadly similar assemblages are found in Pb-Zn mineralization of Upper Devonian to Permian age else-where in the Lake District. The paragenetic sequence appears to have been early pyrite and minor arsenopyrite associated with quartz; with later baryte, calcite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite enclosed by galena. Within the galena occur inclusions of tetrahedrite, bournonite, and native antimony. A later stage of baryte mineralization was followed by the alteration of primary sulphides to secondary minerals. Elsewhere in the Lake District, galena occurring in this association also contains inclusions of native antimony, bournonite, and other sulphosalts, and in this respect differs from galena associated with earlier veins composed dominantly of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and arsenopyrite. The inclusions make a major contribution to the high antimony values reported in trace element analyses of galena from the Lake District. The occurrence of these inclusions, which in some cases display preferred orientation within the host galena, is discussed in terms of phase relations involving PbS and AgSbS2.

Assessment of available geochronological information, as well as new whole-rock Rb-Sr data from several granitoid rocks of Saskatchewan, shows a close relationship between magmatic-metamorphic events in the Hudsonian orogen and uranium mineralization. Most uranium deposits lie to the west of the Needle Falls Shear Zone and occur as either: (i) vein-type deposits or (ii) unconformity-type deposits close to the contact between the Athabasca sediments and their basement. At least two metamorphisms have affected the pre-Athabasca rocks: the Kenoran at about 2500 Ma ago, and the more pervasive ‘main’ Hudsonian event at 1740 Ma. A much younger thermal event (perhaps associated with uplift and cooling) at 1540 Ma is also indicated. The post-Kenoran K-Ar dates suggest prolonged thermal activity from about 1900 Ma through to about 1500 Ma ago. Granitoid events at 1870 Ma and 1740 Ma ago are outlined by both U-Pb zircon and Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron data. Whole-rock Rb-Sr data from the unmetamorphosed Athabasca sediments suggest an approximate depositional age of 1450±50 Ma, a figure that is consistent with the age of the underlying Hudsonian basement and the truncation of the sediments by the Cree Lake diabase dyke swarm at about 1200–1300 Ma ago. Although several episodes of uranium deposition have been documented, the main ones seem to have occurred at 1860 Ma (syngenetic uraninite in pegmatites), 1740 Ma (the Beaverlodge vein-type deposits) and between 1300 and 800 Ma (the epigenetic uranium of the unconformity-type deposits). Whereas the two earlier episodes can be correlated with periods of either magmatic or metamorphic activity, the late Proterozoic episodes cannot. The close agreement between the age of the Cree Lake dyke swarm and the late Proterozoic mineralization suggests that at about 1300 Ma ago possible hydrothermal activity from relatively deep-seated fractures may have been responsible for the solution and transportation of the uranium of the unconformity-type deposits. The period 1300 Ma to about 900 Ma, in other parts of the Canadian Shield, was a time of crustal rifting, basic magmatism, carbonatite activity, and intense deformation. Prior to the deposition of the Athabasca sediments uranium was concentrated by Hudsonian magmatic and metamorphic processes whereas subsequently, transportation and intermittent deposition of the unconformity-type deposits were related to fairly long-lived, low-temperature hydrothermal activity.

The development of low- and hightemperature alteration products in a 23 m section of ocean-floor basalts is described. Analcime, calcite and dioctahedral smectite are ubiquitous. Trioctahedral smectite, smectite-chlorite mixed layers, chabazite and scolecite occur in the deeper sections with Fe3+ oxides/hydroxides progressively becoming more abundant in the upper regions. The upper layers of the sequence show marked chemical reduction. High-temperature chemical changes include Na and Mg enrichment accompanied by Ca and Fe2+ losses. Superimposed low temperature changes include gains in Fe3+ K, Li, and Rb, and losses in Na, Ca, and Fe2+ Many trace elements also show consistent behaviour.

In Niger, uranium occurs in upper Palaeozoic and lower Mesozoic continental sedimentary basins west of the Aïr mountains, but the source of the uranium had not been identified. Geochemical studies and fissiontrack observations on alkaline ignimbrites preserved in two Palaeozoic anorogenic centres in Aïr show that uranium is concentrated in the matrix and on secondary iron-oxide coatings surrounding lithic and crystal fragments. Based on variable Th/U ratios and degree of oxidation, it is concluded that the original ignimbrite field was enriched in uranium, but that a considerable proportion was leached during the weathering of the volcanic pile. Tectonic uplift, anorogenic magmatism, followed by weathering and erosion of the volcanic cover, with sedimentation in nearby continental basins, have all contributed to the development of uranium mineralization in Niger. The petrological and geochemical similarities between the Palaeozoic ring complexes in Niger and the Nigerian Mesozoic ring structures suggest that sedimentary uranium deposits may also be found in Nigeria if the tectonic and sedimentological controls were favourable.

Enriched concentrations of uranium have been discovered in the exposed granitic roof zones of the Nigerian subvolcanic centres, with Th/U ratios approaching unity. Thus local vein deposits of uraninite, as well as dispersed uranium in recent sedimentary horizons, could be discovered particularly in the drainage systems entering the Chad Basin.

Strontium-rich (up to 16 wt% SrO) melilite occurs as microphenocrysts in a nosean-leucite-nephelinite lava from Etinde, Cameroon. Electron microprobe analyses show that the melilite is very strongly zoned with Sr, Fe, and Na enrichment towards the crystal rims. Sodium melilite and sodium ferrimelilite are the dominant end-member molecules and together account for up to 76 mole%. The crystals are optically negative and strongly birefringent with birefringence ranging from 0.014 in the cores to 0.032 at the crystal rims. Refractive indices measured at the rim of one crystal gave ω = 1.656, ɛ = 1.628. The cell dimensions of strontian melilite are a = 7.765Å, c = 5.054Å.

Grunerite asbestos (var. amosite) from Penge, Transvaal, contains lamellae consisting of multiple-chain I-beams which frequently terminate within the structure. Such terminations may be either coherent or incoherent, the latter involving disturbances of the structure akin to dislocations. These may be of the nature of edge dislocations or of dislocations having both edge and screw components.

Models are presented which have been used to elucidate the structural disturbances associated with the termination and side-stepping of multiple-chain lamellae. Odd-multiple-chains are shown to be of particular significance in giving rise to dislocations with a screw component along the c-axis.

Examination of cotype cosmochlore from the Toluca meteorite confirms Laspeyres's observations (1897) in every respect, except that what he determined as iron was largely titanium. His data are completed by an electron-probe analysis and by full optical and X-ray data. Accepting the identity of cosmochlore and ureyite, the optical data of Frondel and Klein (1965) for the latter are partly in error or misprinted.

Field gamma-ray spectrometry is a rapid and effective quantitative method of mapping variations of radioelements within igneous intrusions. A field procedure for radioelement mapping demonstrates the value of the method to studies of late-stage magmatic processes during the emplacement of granite intrusions and the determination of their present-day heat productivities. Methods and problems of instrument calibration using both natural and artificial sources are discussed. Calibration based on neutron activation analysis of samples from natural outcrops achieves results comparable with those obtained using artificial sources and has the advantage that it relates directly to field conditions; furthermore it enables secular disequilibrium in the uranium and thorium decay series to be recognized.

Textural relationships shown by oxide phases in olivine melilitites from Namaqualand-Bushmanland, South Africa, indicate early crystallization of picroilmenite from a relatively reduced magma. Evolution of a CO2-rich vapour during magma ascent led to an increase in oxygen activity and liquidus temperatures, causing rapid crystallization of titanomagnetite. Higher oxygen activities, together with the increase in calcium activity following CO2 loss from the magma, resulted in perovskite replacing ilmenite as the stable Ti phase.

A range of sodic pyroxenes (Jd78Ac2Aug20Jd24Ac9Aug67) from the Nybö eclogite pod, Norway, have been examined by electron-microprobe analysis and by transmission electron microscopy.. Five different microprobes give generally compatible results and new analyses completely fill the natural composition gap in jadeite-rich omphacites with ∼ 3–12% acmite, confirming complete miscibility at high temperatures (⩾ 700 °C). Crystals with omphacite compositions around jadeite: augite = 1:1 contain antiphase domains resulting from the C2/c → P2/n cation ordering transformation. Exsolution microstructures were not observed, from which it is concluded that there are no two-phase regions separating the P2/n and C2/c stability fields at high temperatures (∼ 620–750 °C) and that cooling was too rapid for exsolution to occur in the jadeite/omphacite and omphacite/augite low-temperature solvi. Crystals whose compositions depart significantly from Jd:Aug= 1:1 have weak, diffuse h + k = odd reflections in selected area electron diffraction patterns which are interpreted as being due to short-range ordering outside the true P2/n stability field. The short-range ordering and lack of exsolution are consistent with a previous suggestion that the order/disorder transformation in omphacite is second (or higher) order in character. The average antiphase domain sizes (up to ∼ 3500 Å) are larger than any previously recorded in omphacites and are consistent with available petrological evidence for a long period of annealing at high temperatures before tectonic uplift and cooling.

Veins in the Central Aar granite consisting of zoisite, plagioclase, albite, alkali feldspar, muscovite, tremolite, quartz, and calcite are described. The zoisite is a thulite with up to 0.20 wt% MnO. It is argued that the zoisite is derived from granite plagioclases and has recrystallized in veins during alpine greenschist metamorphism. By later increasing XCO2 or decreasing temperature zoisite decomposed to calcite, plagioclase, and muscovite.

Thulites from different localities were investigated by X-ray and by electron microprobe analysis. Both orthorhombic and monoclinic members of the epidote group having low MnO contents have been described as thulites. It is suggested that low MnO values in the range 0.05 to 0.9 wt% cause the pink colour of thulites, regardless of symmetry.

Found by J. E. DuHamel, at a prospect near Payson, Arizona, where it occurs with chrysocolla, malachite, rare fornacite, wulfenite, and bismutite. Colour chartreuse green (RHS 1A), H = 3, D = 5.80. Pleochroism in yellow weak; α = 2.08, β = 2.11. Crystals are minute orthorhombic fibres a = 7.49 Å, b = 9.66, c = 5.87, Z = 1, Dcalc 5.99 g/cm3. Strongest lines: 5.014(4), 4.828(3), 3.493(5), 3.159(7), 2.950(10), 2.642(9), 1.870(3), 1.755(3). Wet analysis (avg. of 3) gave CuO 20.4%, PbO 28.4, Bi2O3 15.9, V2O5 23.1, H2O 11.8.

Cesanite occurs both as a solid vein (1 cm thick) and as a cavity-filling of an explosive breccia in core samples of the Cesano 1 geothermal well (Cesano area, Latium, Italy).

Cesanite is coloudess, medium to coarse grained, soft (H = 2 to 3) and light (ρmeas 2.786±0.002 g cm−3). It is uniaxial negative, ε = 1.564, ω = 1.570, with space group P63/m and cell parameters a = 9.442 (4), c = 6.903 (3) Å, for c/a = 0.730. Identifying spacings are 8.161, 2.822, 2.727,1.844 Å, in X-ray powder patterns strikingly similar to those of apatite. The chemical formula (microprobe analyses on two grains) is Ca1.53Sr0.03Na3.42K0.02[(Cl0.06F0.06OH0.44)(S2.99O12)]·0.44H2O, while the theoretical formula, derived from considerations on structural identity with apatite, is Ca2Na3[(OH)(SO4)3]. Cesanite is the end member of the apatite-wilkeite ellestadite series where [PO4]3− is entirely substituted by [SO4]2−, the charge balance being made up by Na+ substituting for Ca2+.

Some genetic models for Lower Proterozoic gold- and uranium-bearing pyritic conglomerates favour a modified placer origin in which low levels of atmospheric oxygen are used to account for the survival of uraninite and pyrite. There are many difficulties with such models—for example magnetite is absent in the ore-bearing horizons although it is stable in anoxic conditions, while it is abundant in over- and under-lying strata. Compact and porous pyrite grains are not in hydraulic equivalence and the deposits lack a normal detrital heavy-mineral assemblage. Moreover uranium and gold show evidence of diagenetic remobilization, the uranium becoming associated with secondary titaniferous phases and uranium and gold being enriched in reduzate facies sediments.

New evidence concerning the genesis of the deposits is derived from a clast of ferric iron clay thought to represent a precursor sediment of the Witwatersrand Basin. Reworking of such clays and transport of a magnetite and ferric clay assemblage with subsequent sulphidation, could account for the porous pyrites, the absence of magnetite and the lack of hydraulic equivalence of the mineral grains in the conglomerates. The presence of oxygen, as indicated by the ferric iron clasts, would account for the evidence of mobility of uranium and of gold and would enhance their extraction from source rocks; particularly the release of gold from a precursor auriferous iron formation source. It is suggested that some aspects of the genesis of uranium deposits of the Witswatersrand and Elliot Lake may be similar to those of the Phanerozoic ‘Roll Front’ ores involving interaction between oxidizing uraniferous groundwaters and previously sulphidized and reduzate facies sediments.