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53-573: The Gascoyne Complex is a terrane of Proterozoic granite and metamorphic rock in the central-western part of Western Australia . The complex outcrops at the exposed western end of the Capricorn Orogen, a 1,000 km-long arcuate belt of folded, faulted and metamorphosed rocks between two Archean cratons ; the Pilbara craton to the north and the Yilgarn craton to the south. The Gascoyne Complex

106-559: A pegmatitic gabbro ) is a coarse-grained rock containing patches of much coarser-grained rock of essentially the same composition. Individual crystals in pegmatites can be enormous in size. It is likely that the largest crystals ever found were feldspar crystals in pegmatites from Karelia with masses of thousands of tons. Quartz crystals with masses measured in thousands of pounds and micas over 10 meters (33 ft) across and 4 meters (13 ft) thick have been found. Spodumene crystals over 12 meters (40 ft) long have been found in

159-412: A composition similar to granite , so that their most common minerals are quartz , feldspar , and mica . However, other pegmatite compositions are known, including compositions similar to nepheline syenite or gabbro . The term pegmatite is thus purely a textural description. Geologists typically prefix the term with a compositional description, so that granitic pegmatite is a pegmatite with

212-450: A few pegmatites have a complex composition, with numerous unusual minerals of rare elements. These complex pegmatites are mined for lithium , beryllium , boron , fluorine , tin , tantalum , niobium , rare earth elements , uranium , and other valuable commodities. The word pegmatite derives from Homeric Greek , πήγνυμι ( pēgnymi ), which means “to bind together”, in reference to the intertwined crystals of quartz and feldspar in

265-511: A group of metamorphic rocks dominated by pelitic and psammitic schists derived from the metamorphism of shales and sandstones. This unit also includes some metamorphosed mafic igneous rocks and carbonate rocks. The sedimentary precursors to the Morrissey Metamorphics were deposited after about 1840 Ma, and were deformed and metamorphosed at amphibolite facies during the 1830–1780 Ma Capricorn Orogeny, before being intruded by granites of

318-611: A higher aluminium content (peraluminous granites). Intermediate pegmatites (NYF + LCT pegmatites) are known and may have formed by contamination of an initially NYF magma body with melted undepleted supracrustral rock. Pegmatites often contain rare elements and gemstones . Examples include aquamarine , tourmaline, topaz, fluorite, apatite, and corundum , often along with tin , rare earth, and tungsten minerals, among others. Pegmatites have been mined for both quartz and feldspar. For quartz mining, pegmatites with central quartz masses have been of particular interest. Pegmatites are

371-449: A rate ranging from 1 m to 10 m per day. Pegmatites are the last part of a magma body to crystallize. This final fluid fraction is enriched in volatile and trace elements. The residual magma undergoes phase separation into a melt phase and a hydrous fluid phase saturated with silica , alkalis , and other elements. Such phase separation requires formation from a wet magma, rich enough in water to saturate before more than two-thirds of

424-1042: A simple composition, often being composed entirely of minerals common in granite, such as feldspar, mica, and quartz. The feldspar and quartz often show graphic texture . Rarely, pegmatites are extremely enriched in incompatible elements , such as lithium , caesium , beryllium , tin , niobium , zirconium , uranium , thorium , boron, phosphorus, and fluorine. These complex pegmatites contain unusual minerals of these elements, such as beryl, spodumene, lepidolite, amblygonite, topaz, apatite, fluorite, tourmaline, triphylite , columbite , monazite , and molybdenite . Some of these can be important ore minerals. Some gemstones , such as emerald , are found almost exclusively in pegmatites. Nepheline syenite pegmatites typically contain zirconium, titanium , and rare earth element minerals. Gabbroic pegmatites typically consist of exceptionally coarse interlocking pyroxene and plagioclase . Pegmatites are enriched in volatile and incompatible elements , consistent with their likely origin as

477-518: Is Wise's (2022) pegmatite classification, which focuses mostly on the source of the magma from which the pegmatite crystalizes. Pegmatites form under conditions in which the rate of new crystal nucleation is much slower than the rate of crystal growth . Large crystals are favored. In normal igneous rocks, coarse texture is a result of slow cooling deep underground. It is not clear if pegmatite forms by slow or rapid cooling. In some studies, crystals in pegmatitic conditions have been recorded to grow at

530-850: Is a chilled margin whose composition is representative of the original melt. Pegmatites derived from batholiths can be divided into a family of NYF pegmatites, characterized by progressive enrichment in niobium , yttrium , and fluorine as well as enrichment in beryllium, rare earth elements, scandium , titanium, zirconium, thorium, and uranium; and a family of LCT pegmatites, characterized by progressive accumulation of lithium, caesium , and tantalum, as well as enrichment in rubidium , beryllium, tin, barium, phosphorus, and fluorine. The NYF pegmatites likely fractionated from A- to I-type granites that were relatively low in aluminium (subaluminous to metaluminous granites). These granites originated from depleted crust or mantle rock. LCT pegmatites most likely formed from S-type granites or possibly I-type granites, with

583-603: Is a granite suite which was intruded into the Gascoyne Complex during the Mangaroon Orogeny. It is composed of two suites of granites Most intrusions of this age are heavily sheared orthoclase porphyroclastic granites. Geochronology on the granites is sparse, but has constrained the intrusions to 1680 to 1620 Ma, which is syntectonic to post-tectonic with the Mangaroon Orogeny. Several fold and thrust belts and sedimentary basins are peripheral, and potentially related, to

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636-403: Is a mesocratic, foliated to gneissic diorite to tonalite, which is typically pegmatite banded. At any given locality this rock type is intruded by several granite phases, typically in the following order: foliated biotite monzogranite and leucocratic tonalite, then biotite granodiorite and monzogranite and, finally, biotite monzogranite, syenogranite and pegmatite . The Morrissey Metamorphics are

689-655: Is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture , with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than 1 cm (0.4 in) and sometimes greater than 1 meter (3 ft). Most pegmatites are composed of quartz , feldspar , and mica , having a similar silicic composition to granite . However, rarer intermediate composition and mafic pegmatites are known. Many of the world's largest crystals are found within pegmatites. These include crystals of microcline , quartz , mica , spodumene , beryl , and tourmaline . Some individual crystals are over 10 m (33 ft) long. Most pegmatites are thought to form from

742-427: Is broad agreement on the basic mechanisms by which they form, the details of pegmatite formation remain enigmatic. Pegmatites have characteristics inconsistent with other igneous intrusions. They are not porphyritic , and show no chilled margin . On the contrary, the largest crystals are often found on the margins of the pegmatite body. While aplites are sometimes found on the margins, they are as likely to occur within

795-533: Is divided into two parts, the 1840–1620 Ma northern and central Gascoyne Complex, and the 2005–1970 Ma Glenburgh Terrane in the southern Gascoyne Complex. The two are separated by a major east-southeast trending fault, the Chalba Shear Zone. Rocks of the Glenburgh Terrane do not outcrop at surface north of the Chalba Shear Zone, but it is unclear as to whether or not rocks of this terrane floor all or part of

848-467: Is followed by deposition of albite , lepidolite , gem tourmaline , beryl, spodumene, amblygonite , topaz , apatite , and fluorite , which may partially replace some of the minerals in the earlier zone. The center of the pegmatite may have cavities lined with spectacular gemstone crystals. Some pegmatites have more complex zoning. Five distinct zones are recognized in the Harding Pegmatite in

901-489: Is found. Pegmatites are found as irregular dikes , sills , or veins , and are most common at the margins of batholiths (great masses of intrusive igneous rock). Most are closely related spatially and genetically to large intrusions. They may take the form of veins or dikes in the intrusion itself, but more commonly, they extend into the surrounding country rock, especially above the intrusion. Some pegmatites surrounded by metamorphic rock have no obvious connection to

954-448: Is incongruous with the c. 1830 Ma Capricorn Orogeny, is strike-slip to oblique-slip in nature and is most likely the Mangaroon Orogeny. Terrane There is also an older usage of the term terrane , which described a series of related rock formations or an area with a preponderance of a particular rock or rock group. A tectonostratigraphic terrane did not necessarily originate as an independent microplate , since it may not contain

1007-460: Is on the order of magnitude of one to a few hundred meters. Compared to typical igneous rocks they are rather inhomogeneous and may show zones with different mineral assemblages. Crystal size and mineral assemblages are usually oriented parallel to the wall rock or even concentric for pegmatite lenses. Modern pegmatite classification schemes are strongly influenced by the depth-zone classification of granitic rocks published by Buddington (1959), and

1060-455: Is that the present spatial relations are incompatible with the inferred geologic histories. Where terranes that lie next to each other possess strata of the same age, they are considered separate terranes only if it can be demonstrated that the geologic evolutions are different and incompatible. There must be an absence of intermediate lithofacies that could link the strata. The concept of tectonostratigraphic terrane developed from studies in

1113-670: Is thought to record the collision of these two different Archean continental fragments during the Capricorn Orogeny at 1830–1780 Ma. The Gascoyne Complex is separated from the Yilgarn Craton to the south by a major fault, the Errabiddy Shear Zone. To the east and northeast rocks of the complex are overlain unconformably by fine-grained Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Edmund Basin and Collier Basin (formerly known as

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1166-581: The Appalachian belt of North America.... Support for the new hypothesis came not only from structural and lithological studies, but also from studies of faunal biodiversity and palaeomagnetism . When terranes are composed of repeated accretionary events, and hence are composed of subunits with distinct history and structure, they may be called superterranes . Africa Asia Taiwan Tibet Australasia Europe Fennoscandia North America South America Pegmatite A pegmatite

1219-512: The Black Hills of South Dakota , and beryl crystals 8.2 meters (27 ft) long and 1.8 meters (6 ft) in diameter have been found at Albany, Maine . The largest beryl crystal ever found was from Malakialina on Madagascar, weighing about 380 tons, with a length of 18 m (59 ft) and a crosscut of 3.5 m (11 ft). Pegmatite bodies are usually of minor size compared to typical intrusive rock bodies. Pegmatite body size

1272-503: The Picuris Mountains of northern New Mexico , US. These are: Large crystals nucleate on the margins of pegmatites, becoming larger as they grow inward. These include very large conical alkali feldspar crystals. Aplites are commonly present. These may cut across the pegmatite, but also form zones or irregular patches around coarser material. The aplites are often layered, showing evidence of deformation. Xenoliths may be found in

1325-459: The texture known as graphic granite . The term was first used by René Just Haüy in 1822 as a synonym for graphic granite . Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger first used the term in its present meaning in 1845. Pegmatites are exceptionally coarse-grained igneous rocks composed of interlocking crystals , with individual crystals usually over 1 centimeter (0.4 in) in size and sometimes exceeding 1 meter (3 ft). Most pegmatites have

1378-449: The 1970s of the complicated Pacific Cordilleran orogenic margin of North America , a complex and diverse geological potpourri that was difficult to explain until the new science of plate tectonics illuminated the ability of crustal fragments to "drift" thousands of miles from their origin and attach themselves, crumpled, to an exotic shore. Such terranes were dubbed " accreted terranes " by geologists . Geologist J. N. Carney writes: It

1431-554: The Bangemall Basin). Several inliers of granite within these sedimentary basins also belong to the Gascoyne Complex. To the west, the Gascoyne Complex is overlain unconformably by sedimentary rocks of the Phanerozoic Carnarvon Basin . To the north, schist of the Gascoyne Complex probably pass with decreasing intensity of metamorphism into metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the upper Wyloo Group. The Gascoyne Complex

1484-757: The Capricorn Orogeny resulted in northeast-southwest deformation of the Bryah-Padbury Basin with flood basalts in the Yerrida Basin. The Gascoyne Complex rocks, namely the Yarlarweelor Gneiss are thrusted eastward onto the upper rock units of the Bryah Basin and the whole succession of the Padbury Basin. The Yerrida Basin was affected by this wast-west compression adjacent to the Goodin Fault. This event

1537-602: The Gascoyne Complex. Between approximately 2000-1800 Ma, on the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton , the c. 1890 Ma Narracoota Volcanics of the Bryah Basin formed in a transverse back-arc rift sag basin during collision. Culmination of the cratonic collision resulted in the foreland sedimentary Padbury Basin. To the east the Yerrida and Earaheedy Basins were passive margins along the Yilgarn's northern margin. The c. 1830 Ma phase of

1590-490: The Ginsburg & Rodionov (1960) and Ginsburg et al. (1979) classification which categorized pegmatites according to their depth of emplacement and relationship to metamorphism and granitic plutons. Cerny’s (1991) revision of that classification scheme is widely used, Cerny’s (1991) pegmatite classification, which is a combination of emplacement depth, metamorphic grade and minor element content, has provided significant insight into

1643-531: The Glenburgh Terrane. These rocks were first deformed during the 2005–1960 Ma Glenburgh Orogeny, when they were also intruded by granites of the Dalgaringa Supersuite. The Dalgaringa Supersuite comprises sheets, dykes and veins of 2005–1985 Ma foliated and gneissic tonalite , granodiorite , quartz diorite and monzogranite , intruded by a large pluton of c. 1975 Ma mesocratic and leucocratic tonalite. The oldest, and possibly most abundant, rock type

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1696-676: The Kibara Belt of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Kenticha mine of Ethiopia the Alto Ligonha Province of Mozambique , and the Mibra (Volta) mine of Minas Gerais , Brazil. Notable pegmatite occurrences are found worldwide within the major cratons , and within greenschist -facies metamorphic belts. However, pegmatite localities are only well recorded when economic mineralisation

1749-490: The Moorarie Supersuite at 1810–1780 Ma. The Pooranoo Metamorphics are a sequence of biotite - muscovite - quartz - plagioclase +/- sillimanite schists and gneisses with an interpreted psammitic and pelitic (sedimentary) protolith. They have attained a peak of amphibolite facies, within the sillimanite grade. The Pooranoo Metamorphics were deposited at the end of the Capricorn Orogeny. The maximum depositional age of

1802-589: The Pooranoo Metamorphics is constrained by detrital zircon dates of 1680 +/- 14 Ma derived from arenaceous metasediments. The Pooranoo Metamorphics are intruded by granites of the Durlacher supersuite, which has been dated at 1680 Ma. The metamorphic grade of the Pooranoo Metamorphics varies, with two belts of different metamorphic character and timing during the Mangaroon orogeny recognised. These are divided by

1855-608: The Ti Tree Creek Lineament, a multiply reactivated fault which bisects the Gascoyne Complex. The Moorarie Supersuite consists of voluminous granites intruded across the Gascoyne Complex at c. 1830–1780 Ma and are syntectonic with the Capricorn Orogeny. The granites are predominantly biotite granites. The Moorarie Supersuite includes granites of the Minne Creek batholith which include a molybdenum - tungsten mineralised leucocratic granite porphyry . The Durlacher Supersuite

1908-474: The Yilgarn Craton to the south. The c. 2000 Ma component of the Halfway Gneiss overlaps with the age of the Dalgaringa Supersuite (2005–1960 Ma), and probably represents an intensely deformed portion of the supersuite. The Moogie Metamorphics consist of schist and gneiss , which represent deformed and metamorphosed sandstone , siltstone and shale , and carbonate rocks. This rock unit is known only from

1961-455: The body of the pegmatite, but their original mineral content is replaced by quartz and alkali feldspar, so that they are difficult to distinguish from the surrounding pegmatite. Pegmatite also commonly replaces part of the surrounding country rock. Because pegmatites likely crystallize from a fluid-dominated phase, rather than a melt phase, they straddle the boundary between hydrothermal mineral deposits and igneous intrusions . Although there

2014-488: The body of the pegmatite. The crystals are never aligned in a way that would indicate flow, but are perpendicular to the walls. This implies formation in a static environment. Some pegmatities take the form of isolated pods, with no obvious feeder conduit. As a result, metamorphic or metasomatic origins have sometimes been suggested for pegmatites. A metamorphic pegmatite would be formed by removal of volatiles from metamorphic rocks, particularly felsic gneiss , to liberate

2067-419: The central and northern Gascoyne Complex. The Gascoyne Complex has been shaped by four orogenies , the most important and widespread of which were the 1830–1780 Ma Capricorn Orogeny and the 1680–1620 Ma Mangaroon Orogeny. Both of these orogenies were marked by extensive folding, faulting and metamorphism, and were accompanied by the intrusion of large volumes of granite referred to as supersuites. The effects of

2120-426: The classification is the petrogenetic component of the classification, which shows the association of LCT pegmatites with mainly orogenic plutons, and NYF pegmatites with mainly anorogenic plutons. Lately, there have been a few attempts to create a new classification for pegmatites less dependent on mineralogy and more reflective of their geological setting. On this issue, one of the most notable efforts on this matter

2173-545: The component rock units of the Gascoyne Complex, and the orogenies that shaped the complex, are discussed in order of decreasing age. This rock unit is exposed only in the Glenburgh Terrane at the southern end of the Gascoyne Complex. The gneiss is a composite of c. 2540 Ma granites and c. 2000 Ma granites that were together deformed and metamorphosed during the Glenburgh Orogeny. Although the c. 2540 Ma granites are Archean in age, they are younger than any known granites from

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2226-481: The composition of granite while nepheline syenite pegmatite is a pegmatite with the composition of nepheline syenite. However, the British Geological Survey (BGS) discourages this usage, preferring terms like biotite-quartz-feldspar pegmatite for a pegmatite with a typical granitic composition, dominated by feldspar with lesser quartz and biotite. Under BGS terminology, a pegmatitic rock (for example,

2279-402: The final melt fraction of a crystallizing body of magma. However, it is difficult to get a representative composition of a pegmatite, due to the large size of the constituent mineral crystals. Hence, pegmatite is often characterised by sampling the individual minerals that compose the pegmatite, and comparisons are made according to mineral chemistry. A common error is to assume that the wall zone

2332-429: The full thickness of the lithosphere . It is a piece of crust that has been transported laterally, usually as part of a larger plate, and is relatively buoyant due to thickness or low density. When the plate of which it was a part subducted under another plate, the terrane failed to subduct, detached from its transporting plate, and accreted onto the overriding plate. Therefore, the terrane transferred from one plate to

2385-556: The hydrous phase is completely depolymerized, existing almost entirely as orthosilicate , with all oxygen bridges between silicon ions broken. The low viscosity promotes rapid diffusion through the fluid, allowing growth of large crystals. When this hydrous fluid is injected into the surrounding country rock , minerals crystallize from the outside in to form a zoned pegmatite, with different minerals predominating in concentric zones. A typical sequence of deposition begins with microcline and quartz, with minor schorl and garnet . This

2438-418: The last fluid fraction of a large crystallizing magma body. This residual fluid is highly enriched in volatiles and trace elements, and its very low viscosity allows components to migrate rapidly to join an existing crystal rather than coming together to form new crystals. This allows a few very large crystals to form. While most pegmatites have a simple composition of minerals common in ordinary igneous rock,

2491-456: The magma is crystallized. Otherwise, the separation of the fluid phase is difficult to explain. Granite requires a water content of 4 wt% at a pressure of 0.5  GPa (72,500  psi ), but only 1.5 wt% at 0.1 GPa (14,500 psi) for phase separation to take place. The volatiles (primarily water, borates , fluorides , chlorides , and phosphates ) are concentrated in the hydrous phase, greatly lowering its viscosity. The silica in

2544-424: The oldest orogeny, the 2005–1960 Ma Glenburgh Orogeny, although known only from the southern end of the complex, reflect a period of substantial granite magmatism and intense deformation and metamorphism. The Neoproterozoic Edmundian Orogeny mainly consists of the reactivation of earlier formed faults in the Gascoyne Complex, along with folding and faulting of the overlying Edmund and Collier basins. In this section

2597-653: The origin of pegmatitic melts and their relative degrees of fractionation. Granitic pegmatites are commonly ranked into three hierarchies (class – family – type – subtype) depending upon their mineralogical-geochemical characteristics and depth of emplacement according to Cerny (1991). Classes are Abyssal, Muscovite, Rare-Element and Miarolitic. The Rare-Element Class is subdivided based on composition into LCT and NYF families: LCT for Lithium, Cesium, and Tantalum enrichment and NYF for Niobium, Yttrium, and Fluorine enrichment. Most authors classify pegmatites according to LCT- and NYF-types and subtypes. Another important contribution of

2650-474: The other. Typically, accreting terranes are portions of continental crust which have rifted off another continental mass and been transported surrounded by oceanic crust, or they are old island arcs formed at some distant subduction zones. A tectonostratigraphic terrane is a fault-bounded package of rocks of at least regional extent characterized by a geologic history that differs from that of neighboring terranes. The essential characteristic of these terranes

2703-465: The primary source of lithium either as spodumene, lithiophyllite or usually from lepidolite. The primary source for caesium is pollucite , a mineral from a zoned pegmatite. The majority of the world's beryllium is sourced from non-gem quality beryl within pegmatite. Tantalum, niobium, and rare-earth elements are sourced from a few pegmatites worldwide, such as the Greenbushes Pegmatite ,

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2756-439: The right constituents and water, at the right temperature. A metasomatic pegmatite would be formed by hydrothermal circulation of hot alteration fluids upon a rock mass, with bulk chemical and textural change. Metasomatism is currently not favored as a mechanism for pegmatite formation and it is likely that metamorphism and magmatism are both contributors toward the conditions necessary for pegmatite genesis. Most pegmatites have

2809-506: Was soon determined that these exotic crustal slices had in fact originated as "suspect terranes" in regions at some considerable remove, frequently thousands of kilometers, from the orogenic belt where they had eventually ended up. It followed that the present orogenic belt was itself an accretionary collage, composed of numerous terranes derived from around the circum- Pacific region and now sutured together along major faults. These concepts were soon applied to other, older orogenic belts, e.g.

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