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CHEMICAL AND TEXTURAL FEATURES OF TOURMALINE FROM THE SPODUMENE-SUBTYPE KOKTOKAY No. 3 PEGMATITE, ALTAI, NORTHWESTERN CHINA: A RECORD OF MAGMATIC TO HYDROTHERMAL EVOLUTION

Ai Cheng Zhang¹, Ru Cheng Wang^2,, Shao Yong Jiang², Huan Hu² and Hui Zhang³

¹ State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research and Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P.R. China, and Laboratory for Astrochemistry and Planetary Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, P.R. China
² State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research and Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P.R. China
³ Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, P.R. China

E-mail address: rcwang{at}nju.edu.cn

The Koktokay No. 3 pegmatite, Altai, northwestern China, is a spodumene-subtype granitic pegmatite. In this study, we report textural and chemical features of tourmaline from the altered country-rock, the contact zone, and the pegmatite. The tourmaline in the altered country-rock, Ca- and Fe-rich dravite, shows an obvious chemical heterogeneity within individual grains. Tourmaline in the contact zone consists of two generations: zoned Ca- and Fe-rich dravite and in interstitial foitite–schorl solid solution. Tourmaline from the altered country-rock and the contact zone reflects interaction between the country rock (metagabbro) and the pegmatite-forming melt or fluids derived from it. The chemical variation of these tourmalines depends on various contributions of components from the country rock and the pegmatite. The tourmaline in the outer zones (zones I to IV) of the pegmatite is elbaite–schorl solid solution with an intermediate composition between the end members; it is generally homogeneous within individual grains. In the inner zones (zones V, VI, and VIII), the tourmaline is dominantly elbaite with rare rossmanite in zone V. Elbaite is either abruptly zoned within individual grains, or has a replacement texture. Chemically, elbaite in the inner zones has a higher proportion of X-site vacancy than elbaite–schorl in the outer zones. Chemical trends of tourmaline compositions in the spodumene-subtype Koktokay No. 3 pegmatite are generally similar to those in other pegmatite subtypes (lepidolite, petalite, and elbaite subtype). Systematic variations in the internal textures of tourmaline from the outer zones to the inner zones suggest that exsolution of fluids occurred between zone IV and zone V. The outer zones crystallized from a volatile-unsaturated pegmatite-forming magma, whereas the inner zones crystallized from a hydrothermal system. This evolution process is consistent with the London model of internal evolution of granitic pegmatites.

Keywords: tourmaline, magmatic to hydrothermal evolution, spodumene subtype, granitic pegmatite, Koktokay No. 3, Altai, China.

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