Geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of beach sand sediments in southwestern Black Sea: An approach to heavy mineral placers

Author(s):  
Hatice Nur Bayram ◽  
Asli Nur Uslu ◽  
Ali Erdem Bakkalbasi ◽  
Demet Kiran Yildirim ◽  
Zeynep Doner ◽  
...  

<p><strong>Geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of beach sand sediments in southwestern Black Sea: An approach to heavy mineral placers  </strong></p><p><strong> </strong><strong>Hatice Nur Bayram (1*), Aslı Nur Uslu (1), Ali Erdem Bakkalbaşı (1), Demet Kiran Yildirim (1), </strong><strong>Zeynep Doner (1), Ali Tugcan Unluer (1)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>(1) Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Mines, Department of Geological Engineering, Istanbul, Turkey (*[email protected])</p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong><strong> </strong></p><p>Coastal or beach placer deposits are enrichments of heavy minerals with significant metal content that have been mechanically formed. This work studies the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of beach sand sediments of southwestern Black Sea, Turkey which cover approximately 20 km<sup>2</sup> area. The study area has 4 main geological units: Upper Cretaceous moderately-K kalkalkaline Istanbul volcanics, Oligocene Danismen Formation which is dominated by flood plain, marshy and lake environments, Upper Miocene-Pliocene Belgrad Formation which is dominated by terrestrial deposits, mostly gravel, sand and clay dominated and Quaternary formations which include sandy beaches, sand dunes and river alluvials.</p><p>A total of 8 beach sand samples were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorecance (XRF). Mineralogical compositions are mainly dominated by quartz, siderite, albite, calcite and minor amount of magnetite. Siderite-rich beach sands are observed in western part of the study area and mostly derived from Danismen Formation. Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> contents of this area are determined up to 40%.  On the other hand, in eastern part of the study area REE-Th-U content of beach sands are relatively higher than source rocks which is defined as a high-Al moderately-K kalkalkaline felsic rocks. The highest HFSE concentration were determined in -250+125µm fraction which consists of 16.5% of eastern beach sand. In this fraction LREE-Zr-U content rise drastically. It can be considered that REE-LREE contents is related with monazite minerals and U contents is related with zircon minerals, considering the monazite and zircon minerals are resistant to weathering and likely to occur in the orthomagmatic phase in the source volcanics.</p><p><strong>Key words</strong>: Beach sand sediments; REE-Th-U; heavy minerals; southwestern of Black Sea; Turkey</p>

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Ahmed A.S.Seifelnasr ◽  
Eltahir M.M. Magbua

Several samples were collected from the beach sands accumulated in many places along the River Nile banks through the northern state, Sudan. The collected samples were subjected to microscopic, X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis. Mineralogical analysis has shown that the mineral components of those samples include magnetite, hornblende, garnet, ilmenite, rutile, zircon and monazite. Several separation techniques were also applied to separate the potential heavy minerals. The obtained results indicated that the tested beach sand samples contain substantial amounts of the potential heavy minerals, especially zircon and monazite.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bah Mamadou Lamine Malick ◽  
Hiroaki Ishiga

<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" lang="EN-US">Geochemistry of beach sand sediments collected from the Eastern San’in coast (n=17), Tango Peninsula (n=14) and Wakasa Bay (n=7) shorelines were investigated using XRF analyses for major and trace elements to characterize their composition, classification, maturity, provenance, tectonic setting and degree of weathering in source areas. Investigated sands from all sites were very similar showing depletion in all elements except SiO<sub>2</sub>, K<sub>2</sub>O and As relative to the UCCN and JUCN, suggesting a moderate geochemical maturation. Beach sand sediments from these locations can be classified as arkose, subarkose and litharenite that are chemically immature and formed under arid/semi-arid conditions with a tendency towards increasing chemical maturity suggesting that they are from multiple sources. The relatively low to moderate values of weathering indices of Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA) and Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), the beach sands from all sites in the source area have undergone low to moderate degree of chemical weathering. A-CN-K and A-CNK-FM plots, which suggest a granitic source composition, also confirm that the sand samples from these sites have undergone low to moderate degree of chemical weathering in consistent with CIA, PIA and CIW values. A plot of the analyzed beach sands data on the provenance discriminating function F1/F2 showed that most of the investigated beach sand sediments in all locations fall within mafic to intermediate ocean island arc source; similar to the tectonic setting discrimination diagrams based on major elements suggesting a passive margin.</span>


Author(s):  
Farah Deeba ◽  
Syed Hafizur Rahman ◽  
Mohammad Zafrul Kabir ◽  
Mohammad Rajib

This study presents geochemical characterization, as well as, quantification of rare earth elements in the recent beach deposition at the two major islands of the eastern Bay of Bengal-Kutubdia and Moheshkhali. Placer sand samples from near surface depositions were analyzed by heavy mineral separation, mineralogical identification, chemical composition and elemental mapping. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were used to obtain these results. The heavy mineral concentration in different raw sand samples resulted by heavy liquid separation technique revealed that the average abundance of heavy minerals is 69.67% in Kutubdia island and 9.32% in Moheshkhali island, respectively. The X-ray patterns of Kutubdia and Moheshkhali sand samples show the presence of zircon, quartz, hematite, magnetite, ilmenite, chromite, kyanite, anatase, rutile and garnet. Chemical composition of heavy mineral sands from Kutubdia and Moheshkhali islands were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence method (XRF) for major oxides and trace elements. The concentration is of Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P, K2O, CaO, TiO2, V2O5, Cr2O3, MnO, Fe2O3, CoO, ZnO, SrO, Y2O3 ZrO2, Nb2O5, MoO3, HfO2, WO3, ThO2, U3O8, CeO2, Nd2O and Er2O3 were determined. A significant amount of various rare earth elements (REEs) in the elemental composition of few samples was also identified. The study is expected to be useful in the baseline and environmental aspects of both the islands.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Dorota Chmielowska ◽  
Dorota Salata

This study is focused on the loess-like deposits accumulated on glaciofluvial fans of the Czarny Dunajec River in the Orava Basin (Southern Poland). The deposition of these sediments took place during three cold intervals of the Pleistocene: Würm, Riss, and Günz/Mindel. So far, the provenance and age of the deposits has not been precisely defined, even though the development of each fan is believed to be related to the successive glacial periods in the Tatra Mountains. Heavy minerals were studied to determine the source of the deposits. Heavy mineral analyses revealed that zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, amphibole, epidote, and apatite are the typical constituents of the heavy mineral fraction. Abundances of heavy minerals differ in each of the Pleistocene fans of the Czarny Dunajec River, especially the amphibole content. However, the chemical composition of garnet, amphibole, and tourmaline is rather uniform. This research showed that mainly medium-grade metamorphic rocks with a subordinate share of high-grade metamorphics, and granitic rocks are the dominant source rocks of the deposits studied. Such rocks are exposed in the Western Tatra Mountains, which most probably supplied the Orava Basin with clastic material. Change in abundances of heavy minerals in the succession may reflect the progressive erosion of the source area. Grain-size distribution and textural features of the sampled sediments suggest fluvial and aeolian modes of transportation. Additionally, this study indicated that heavy minerals may be used to correlate the loess covers in the Orava Basin.


Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Gonçalves ◽  
Paulo Braga

In Brazil, heavy mineral sand deposits are still barely exploited, despite some references to Brazilian reserves and ilmenite concentrate production. The goal of this project is to characterize and investigate the potential recovery of heavy minerals from selected Brazilian placer occurrences. Two areas of the coastal region were chosen, in Piaui state and in Bahia Provinces. In all samples, the heavy minerals of interest (ilmenite, monazite, rutile, and zircon) were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and also quantified by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The total heavy minerals (THM) in the Piaui samples were 6.45% and 10.14% THM, while the figure for the Bahia sample was 3.4% THM. The recovery test of the Bahia sample, using only physical separation equipment such as a shaking table and magnetic separator, showed valuable metallurgical recoveries at around or greater than 70% for each stage, and the final concentrate of pure ilmenite was composed of up to 60.0% titanium dioxide after the differential magnetic separation. Another aim is to compile accessible information about Brazilian heavy mineral main deposits complemented with a short economic overview.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
G. U. Ozulu ◽  
A. U. Okoro ◽  
V. O. Ndubueze

The petrography and geochemistry of major and trace elements distribution pattern for the Lokoja Sandstones, Southern Bida Basin, Nigeria; were used to interpret their provenance, weathering conditions and paleotectonic setting. A total of seven (7) representative sandstone samples were selected for petrographic, heavy minerals and inorganic geochemical analyses; that is X- ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Results of the petrographic analysis showed 52.14 % quartz, 39.29 % feldspar, 2.00 % rock fragments, 5.14 % matrix and cement fraction as well as 1.43 % unfilled voids. Results of major elements and oxides suggests intermediate to felsic source rocks while the dominance of Na-rich feldspar to the k-feldspar and high value of Fe2O3+MgO shows contribution from ferromagnesian minerals of mafic igneous source provenance and oceanic island arc region. Average concentrations of designated trace elements in the studied sandstones are low in concentrations. The lower concentrations of Cr, Co, and Ni and higher concentrations of Zr, Ba, and Sr suggest a felsic progenitor rock. But significantly high values of Ni (7.02 ppm), La/Co (7.99), and Ni/Co (3.28) as well as the low concentration value of Y, (3.23 ppm) suggests contributions from mafic source rocks. Low average ratios for La/Co, Th/Co, Th/Sc, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Sc, Cr/Th, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Th, Cr/Sc, Th/Sc, La/Co and Th/Co also suggest a felsic source provenance. An average CIA value of 78.04% is indicative of an intense recycling in the source area while an average MIA value of 56.13% suggests a moderate degree of weathering. The high clay matrix and feldspar content have been used to classify the sandstones as feldspathic greywackes deposited in dry arid climatic conditions under a basement uplifted tectonic setting.   


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-47
Author(s):  
Farah Deeba ◽  
Syed Hafizur Rahman ◽  
Mohammad Zafrul Kabir ◽  
Mohammad Rajib

This study presents geochemical characterization, as well as, quantification of rare earth elements in the recent beach deposition at the two major islands of the eastern Bay of Bengal-Kutubdia and Moheshkhali. Placer sand samples from near surface depositions were analyzed by heavy mineral separation, mineralogical identification, chemical composition and elemental mapping. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were used to obtain these results. The heavy mineral concentration in different raw sand samples resulted by heavy liquid separation technique revealed that the average abundance of heavy minerals is 69.67% in Kutubdia island and 9.32% in Moheshkhali island, respectively. The X-ray patterns of Kutubdia and Moheshkhali sand samples show the presence of zircon, quartz, hematite, magnetite, ilmenite, chromite, kyanite, anatase, rutile and garnet. Chemical composition of heavy mineral sands from Kutubdia and Moheshkhali islands were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence method (XRF) for major oxides and trace elements. The concentration is of Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P, K2O, CaO, TiO2, V2O5, Cr2O3, MnO, Fe2O3, CoO, ZnO, SrO, Y2O3 ZrO2, Nb2O5, MoO3, HfO2, WO3, ThO2, U3O8, CeO2, Nd2O and Er2O3 were determined. A significant amount of various rare earth elements (REEs) in the elemental composition of few samples was also identified. The study is expected to be useful in the baseline and environmental aspects of both the islands.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao He ◽  
Liwei Zhang ◽  
Jianxin Yao ◽  
Shuai Li ◽  
Qi Li

Heavy minerals are extremely sensitive indicators of provenance. Applying the methods of heavy mineral combination analysis, content distribution analysis, SPSS statistical component analysis, and correlation analysis, 18 heavy minerals are identified in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (NW Junggar). According to the analysis of the heavy mineral characteristics and coefficients, 4 heavy mineral combinations are developed in the study area: Zircon-tourmaline-monazite-apatite-anatase, rutile-ilmenite-leucoxene-apatite-galenite, hematite-limonite-pyrite, and magnetite-epidote-hornblende. Previous results predicted that source rocks consist of intermediate-acidic magmatite, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks, and intermediate-acidic magmatite is considered to be the main source rock. Furthermore, combined with the geological background of NW Junggar, Qier-Halaalat Mountain, which belongs to the Zaire Mountain front, is shown to be the provenance of the study area. The main sources of sediments are flesh-red granite, grey and greyish-green andesite, andesitic-porphyrite, grey and grayish-black tuff, siltstone, and sandstone of the Lower Carboniferous Tailegula Formation. Additionally, because of the high content of the angular-subangular and subangular-subrounded heavy mineral grains, these heavy minerals are both from near and distal provenance, with most being near-provenance deposits. During the process of provenance propulsion on the margin of the basin, clastics are mixed together and affected by regional dynamic metamorphism, which is probably the main reason for the existence of the metamorphic component.


1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (21) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Clemens ◽  
Paul D. Komar

The study of sand mineralogy and grain rounding can help answer many questions of immediate concern to coastal engineers or to broader issues of beach preservation. The heavy-mineral contents of sands, together with statistical techniques such as factor analysis, can be used to delineate sediment sources, trace transport paths, and map out patterns of mixing during sediment dispersal. Variations in the degree of grain rounding can similarly be used to trace sand movements, or to obtain additional information concerning the history of the sediment particles. The techniques of studying sand mineralogies and grain rounding, and the types of problems they can address, are illustrated by research on the Oregon coast. Heavy mineral compositions of Oregon beach sands are the products of mixing contributions from four sources; the Columbia River on the north, the smaller rivers draining the Coast Range, the Umpqua River on the southern Oregon coast, and the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. Numerous headlands now prevent the longshore transport and mixing of sands from these multiple sources. The beach-sand compositions instead reflect along-coast mixing during Pleistocene lowered sea levels when blockage by headlands was absent. At that time there was a net littoral sand transport to the north, evident from the dispersal of Klamath-derived sands. With a rise in sea level and accompanying migrations of the beaches, headlands eventually interrupted the along-coast mixing of nearshore sands. Therefore, the north to south variation in compositions of beach sands is in part a relict pattern inherited from mixing during lowered sea levels. This has been modified during the past several thousand years by some additions of sand to the beaches from sea-cliff erosion and from rivers. However, studies of sediment mineralogy and grain rounding indicate that sands derived from most rivers draining the Coast Range are presently trapped in estuaries and so are not significant sources of beach sand. The Columbia River now supplies sand to Oregon beaches only to the first headland, Tillamook Head. At that headland there is a marked change in mineralogy and grain rounding with angular, recently supplied Columbia River sand to the north and rounded relict sand to the south.


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