The distribution of gold and silver in the crystalline rocks of the Malvern Hills

Author(s):  
A. Brammall ◽  
D. L. Dowie

In re-examining the crystalline rocks of the Malvern Hills, the senior author has had occasion to apply quantitative spectroscopic data for the rarer constituents of hornblendes and micas. The recognition of silver in the spectrograms of biotite led to tentative fire-assays of granitic rocks in bulk-a procedure which revealed the presence also of gold.The assay results for this preliminary suite of granitic types are given below; values less than 5 grains per ton are returned as 'traces':The higher values appear to be related to the reddening of the felspars, which is a widespread 'late' pneumatolytic effect; it is conspicuous in the major granite masses and related pegmatites, but somewhat local and 'arterial' in its distribution over rocks of pre granite age. Among the igneous rocks of post-granite age, the intrusive granophyric quartz-diabase ('Ivy Scar' type) shows only feeble reddening; the newer dolerites are unaffected.

1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 1773-1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuch-Ning Shieh ◽  
Henry P. Schwarcz

The average 18O/16O ratios of the major rock types of the surface crystalline rocks in different parts of the Canadian Precambrian Shield have been determined, using 47 composite samples prepared from 2221 individual rock specimens. The sampling areas include Baffin Island, northern and southwestern Quebec, Battle Harbour – Cartwright, northern District of Keewatin, Fort Enterprise, Snowbird Lake, Kasmere Lake, and Saskatchewan, covering approximately 1 400 000 km2. The granitic rocks from the Superior, Slave, and Churchill Provinces vary only slightly from region to region (δ18O = 6.9–8.4‰) and are significantly lower in 18O than similar rock types from the younger Grenville Province (δ = 9.2–10.0‰). The sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks have δ18O = 9.0–11.7‰ and hence are considerably lower than their Phanerozoic equivalents, possibly reflecting the presence of a high percentage of little-altered igneous rock detritus in the original sediments. The basic rocks in most regions fall within a δ18O range of 6.8–7.6‰, except in northern and southwestern Quebec where the δ-values are abnormally high (8.5–8.9‰). The overall average 18O/16O ratio of the surface crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield is estimated to be 8.0‰, which represents an enrichment with respect to probable mantle derived starting materials by about 2‰.


Crystalline rocks, particularly granitic rocks and basalts, are one of the principal rock types under consideration as a potential host rock for a high-level radioactive waste repository. Permeability in such rocks is related to discontinuities of various scales, and the quantification and prediction of groundwater flow within both the fractures and the intact rock between the fractures is the major goal of field experiments. The Canadian Underground Research Laboratory is unique in that the hydrogeological conditions within a large volume of rock surrounding the experimental shaft are being monitored before, during and after excavation and the results compared with model predictions. In Switzerland twelve deep boreholes are being drilled to over 1000 m to investigate crystalline basement rocks beneath a cover of sediments. The Stripa Mine in Sweden has hosted a major experimental programme including heater tests to stimulate the thermal effect of radioactive waste and hydrogeological tests at various scales down to individual fractures. The United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and Finland have also embarked on major experimental programmes. Continuing research is needed, with an emphasis on field experiments and research in underground rooms, to provide the data on which detailed risk assessments can be based.


Author(s):  
John Horne

Perhaps the most difficult question in the science of Geology at present, is the explanation of the origin of the metamorphic crystalline rocks which occupy large areas on the surface of the globe. These rocks have been generally regarded as having undergone a vast amount of change in lithological character, to which the term metamorphism has been applied. By local or contact metamorphism is meant the transformation which has been effected in ordinary sedimentary strata by the intrusion of igneous rocks, the extent of which depends on the relative size of the intrusive mass.


Clay Minerals ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ducloux ◽  
A. Meunier ◽  
B. Velde

AbstractThree soil profiles developed on a serpentinite body (La Rochel'Abeille, near Limoges) show three stages of weathering. All soils contain iron-rich smectites and secondary chlorites. The latter are very silica-rich, more so than 14 Å chlorites from crystalline rocks. In the (B)1g horizon of the hydromorphic profile, these minerals seem to give a reaction of the type:This reaction, typical of a closed system, appears to be operative in a soil profile which is certainly, in part, open to chemical migration. The chemistry of the weathered serpentinite and the chemical composition of newly formed minerals as well as those of the serpentinite are used to indicate the chemiographic relations of clay minerals formed in the weathering profiles.


2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vahid Ahadnejad ◽  
Ann Hirt ◽  
Mohammad-Vali Valizadeh ◽  
Saeed Bokani

The ammonium content in the Malayer igneous and metamorphic rocks (Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone, Western Iran)The ammonium (NH4+) contents of the Malayer area (Western Iran) have been determined by using the colorimetric method on 26 samples from igneous and metamorphic rocks. This is the first analysis of the ammonium contents of Iranian metamorphic and igneous rocks. The average ammonium content of metamorphic rocks decreases from low-grade to high-grade metamorphic rocks (in ppm): slate 580, phyllite 515, andalusite schist 242. In the case of igneous rocks, it decreases from felsic to mafic igneous types (in ppm): granites 39, monzonite 20, diorite 17, gabbro 10. Altered granitic rocks show enrichment in NH4+(mean 61 ppm). The high concentration of ammonium in Malayer granites may indicate metasedimentary rocks as protoliths rather than meta-igneous rocks. These granitic rocks (S-types) have high K-bearing rock-forming minerals such as biotite, muscovite and K-feldspar which their potassium could substitute with ammonium. In addition, the high ammonium content of metasediments is probably due to inheritance of nitrogen from organic matter in the original sediments. The hydrothermally altered samples of granitic rocks show highly enrichment of ammonium suggesting external sources which intruded additional content by either interaction with metasedimentary country rocks or meteoritic solutions.


1970 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 491-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Thorpe

SummaryA series of dioritic, granodioritic and granitic igneous rocks, of Pre-Cambrian age, is exposed near Johnston in south Pembrokeshire. Chemical analyses of representative rocks show the suite to be of calcalkaline type. An origin is suggested involving magmatic differentiation of a diorite parent magma, and the granitic rocks are compared with a granophyre of similar composition in north Pembrokeshire.


2014 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCISCO J. RODRÍGUEZ-TOVAR ◽  
ALFRED UCHMAN ◽  
ÁNGEL PUGA-BERNABÉU

AbstractMarine invertebrate borings are very rare in crystalline rocks, providing evidence of particular strategies producers use to colonise these unfavourable substrates. In the Sorbas Basin (Almería, southern Spain), Upper Miocene transgressive successions contain blocks of metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Nevado–Filabride Complex of the Betic Cordillera. Ichnological analysis of the embedded blocks shows the presence of two types of macroborings located in gneiss boulders, revealed to be an extraordinary case worldwide. The most abundant are regular hemispherical depressions ascribed reservedly to the well-known, mostly bivalve boringGastrochaenolites. The second one is a pouch-like depression, tapering downward, elliptical in outline, and clearly different to other non-circular-in-outline, pouch-shaped macroborings. Thus, a new ichnogenus and ichnospeciesCuenulites sorbasensishas been defined. According to the overall shape, an endolithic or semi-endolithic bivalve using chemical means to bore is suggested as the tracemaker. Colonisation could be determined by sea-level coastal dynamics, with decreasing energy during advancing transgression allowing boring, which was then stopped due to supply of fine-grained sediment that killed the borers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-15
Author(s):  
Tomasz OLICHWER ◽  
◽  
Katarzyna PIOTROWSKA ◽  
Estera TEREŚKIEWICZ

Article presents a study on the permeability of weathering covers formed on crystalline rocks, which was conducted in south-western Poland (Sudety Mountains). Evaluation of the infiltration capacity was performed based on field measurements of the vertical hydraulic conductivity carried out by using the Porschet method and the ETC Pask Constant Head Permeameter. During the field investigations conducted in sixteen sites, 28 determinations of the hydraulic conductivity k were made, 16 by the Porschet method and 12 using the ETC Pask Permeameter. Ten sites represent weathering covers of metamorphic rocks (amphibolites, eclogites, mica-schists, crystalline limestones, gneisses) and the next six sites represent covers of igneous rocks (granites). The values of the vertical hydraulic conductivity k determined by the Porschet method ranged between 0.053 and 2.19 m/d, while those obtained using the ETC Pask Permeamet erranged between 0.012 and 0.76 m/d. In the first place, it should be noticed that the results determined during the field investigations conducted according to the Porschet method are generally 3-4 times higher than those obtained using the ETC Pask Permeameter. The results for the vertical hydraulic conductivity allow us to classify weathering sediments of metamorphic and igneous rocks, as semi-permeable to medium permeable rocks. Weathered gneisses were distinctly characterized by the worst capacity to conduct water (semi-permeable) among all types of weathering covers of crystalline rocks. Higher values (0,08-0,8 m/d) of the vertical hydraulic conductivity were found for the weathering covers of the other metamorphic rocks (low permeable). The best conditions to conduct water were found in the weathering covers of granite rocks, which in most cases are classified as medium permeable rocks (more than 0.8 m/d) and exhibit distinctly better permeability coefficients.


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