Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China
Widespread alteration in the Early–Middle Triassic volcanic ash of the Xiejiacao section, south China, has resulted in significant occurrences of lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits with economic potential. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical investigations of Li-rich K-bentonite deposits from the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145314 |
| _version_ | 1811686102934749184 |
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| author | Lin, Yongjie Zheng, Mianping Zhang, Yongsheng Xing, Enyuan Redfern, Simon Anthony Turner Xu, Jianming Zhong, Jiaai Niu, Xinsheng |
| author2 | Asian School of the Environment |
| author_facet | Asian School of the Environment Lin, Yongjie Zheng, Mianping Zhang, Yongsheng Xing, Enyuan Redfern, Simon Anthony Turner Xu, Jianming Zhong, Jiaai Niu, Xinsheng |
| author_sort | Lin, Yongjie |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Widespread alteration in the Early–Middle Triassic volcanic ash of the Xiejiacao section, south China, has resulted in significant occurrences of lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits with economic potential. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical investigations of Li-rich K-bentonite deposits from the Xiejiacao section of Guangan city, South China, are presented here. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data and major element chemistry indicates that the Li-rich K-bentonite deposits contain quartz, clay minerals, feldspar, calcite and dolomite, and the clay minerals are dominated by illite and ordered (R3) illite/smectite (I/S). The concentrations of major and trace elements in Li-rich K-bentonite deposits altered from volcanic ashes are most likely derived from felsic magmas, associated with intense volcanic arc activity. The composition of the clay components suggests that the Li-rich K-bentonite deposits are probably altered from the smectite during diagenesis, whereas smectite is mainly formed by submarine alterations of volcanic materials and subsequently the I/S derived from the volcanogenic smectite illitization. Moreover, accurate determination of the structure in I/S reveals that the temperatures reached by the sedimentary series are around 180 °C with a burial depth of ~6000 m. The widely distributed lithium-rich clay deposits strongly indicate widespread eruptions of volcanic ashes in the Early–Middle Triassic, which released huge amounts of volcanic ash. Lithium fixed in the illite and I/S is considered to have leached from the volcanogenic products by a mixed fluid source (i.e., meteoric, porewater and hydrothermal fluids). These Li-rich clay minerals in the marine basin contain economically extractable levels of metal and are a promising new target for lithium exploration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:55:05Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/145314 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:55:05Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1453142023-02-28T16:40:37Z Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China Lin, Yongjie Zheng, Mianping Zhang, Yongsheng Xing, Enyuan Redfern, Simon Anthony Turner Xu, Jianming Zhong, Jiaai Niu, Xinsheng Asian School of the Environment Social sciences::Geography::Environmental sciences Li-rich K-bentonite Deposits Geochemistry Widespread alteration in the Early–Middle Triassic volcanic ash of the Xiejiacao section, south China, has resulted in significant occurrences of lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits with economic potential. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical investigations of Li-rich K-bentonite deposits from the Xiejiacao section of Guangan city, South China, are presented here. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data and major element chemistry indicates that the Li-rich K-bentonite deposits contain quartz, clay minerals, feldspar, calcite and dolomite, and the clay minerals are dominated by illite and ordered (R3) illite/smectite (I/S). The concentrations of major and trace elements in Li-rich K-bentonite deposits altered from volcanic ashes are most likely derived from felsic magmas, associated with intense volcanic arc activity. The composition of the clay components suggests that the Li-rich K-bentonite deposits are probably altered from the smectite during diagenesis, whereas smectite is mainly formed by submarine alterations of volcanic materials and subsequently the I/S derived from the volcanogenic smectite illitization. Moreover, accurate determination of the structure in I/S reveals that the temperatures reached by the sedimentary series are around 180 °C with a burial depth of ~6000 m. The widely distributed lithium-rich clay deposits strongly indicate widespread eruptions of volcanic ashes in the Early–Middle Triassic, which released huge amounts of volcanic ash. Lithium fixed in the illite and I/S is considered to have leached from the volcanogenic products by a mixed fluid source (i.e., meteoric, porewater and hydrothermal fluids). These Li-rich clay minerals in the marine basin contain economically extractable levels of metal and are a promising new target for lithium exploration. Published version 2020-12-17T02:41:07Z 2020-12-17T02:41:07Z 2020 Journal Article Lin, Y., Zheng, M., Zhang, Y., Xing, E., Redfern, S. A. T., Xu, J., . . . Niu, X. (2020). Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China. Minerals, 10(1), 69-. doi:10.3390/min10010069 2075-163X https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145314 10.3390/min10010069 1 10 en Minerals © 2020 The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Geography::Environmental sciences Li-rich K-bentonite Deposits Geochemistry Lin, Yongjie Zheng, Mianping Zhang, Yongsheng Xing, Enyuan Redfern, Simon Anthony Turner Xu, Jianming Zhong, Jiaai Niu, Xinsheng Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title | Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title_full | Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title_fullStr | Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title_short | Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Triassic lithium-rich K-bentonite deposits in Xiejiacao section, South China |
| title_sort | mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of triassic lithium rich k bentonite deposits in xiejiacao section south china |
| topic | Social sciences::Geography::Environmental sciences Li-rich K-bentonite Deposits Geochemistry |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145314 |
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