Skip to main content
Earth, Planets and Space
Download PDF

Volume 58 Supplement 10

Special Issue: Paleomagnetism and Tectonics in Latinamerica

Berthierine and chamosite hydrothermal: genetic guides in the Peña Colorada magnetite-bearing ore deposit, Mexico

Earth, Planets and Space volume 58, pages 1389–1400 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

We report the first finding of berthierine and chamosite in Mexico. They occur in the iron-ore deposit of Peña Colorada, Colima. Their genetic characteristics show two different mineralization events associated mainly to the magnetite ore. Berthierine is an Fe-rich and Mg-low 1:1 layer phyllosilicate of hydrothermal sedimentary origin. Its structure is 7 Å, dhkl [10 0] basal spacing and low degree structural ordering. The phyllosilicate has been identified by a lack of 14 Å basal reflection on X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. These data were supported by High Resolution Transmision Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images that show thick packets of berthierine in well defined parallel plates. From the analysis of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), we found around [1 0 0] reflections of berhierine 7.12 Å and corresponding angles of hexagonal crystalline structure. Berthierine has a microcrystalline structure, dark green color, and high refraction index (1.64 to 1.65). Birefringence is low, near 0.007 to null and it is associated to nanoparticles (<15 nm) and microparticles of magnetite (<25 μm), fine grain siderite, and organic matter. Its texture is intergranular-interstratified with colloform banding. The chamosite Mg-rich is of hydrothermal epigenetic origin affected by low-degree metamorphism. It is an Fe-rich 2:1 layer silicate, with basal space of 14 Å, dhkl [0 0 1]. The chamosite occurs as lamellar in sizes ranging from 50 to 150 μm. It has intense green color and refraction index from 1.64 to 1.65. The birefringence is near 0.008, with biaxial (-) orientation and a 2V small. It is associated mainly to sericite, epidote, clay, feldspar, and magnetite. Chamosite is emplaced in open spaces filling and linings. Mössbauer spectra of berthierine and chamosite are similar. They show the typical spectra of paramagnetic substances, with two well defined unfoldings corresponding to the oxidation state of Fe+2 and Fe+3. Chemical composition of both minerals was obtained by an electron probe X-ray micro-analyzer (EPMA). The radio Fe+Mg+Mn vs Si and Al show similar chemical compositions and different XRD patterns in the crystalline structure provoked by the environmental conditions of emplacement. A hydrothermal environment was predominant, occurring before, during, and after the magnetite mineralization. The identification of magnetite nanoparticles supports the hypothesis of a marine environment, specifically exhalative sedimentary (SEDEX) for the berthierine.

References

  • Bailey, S. W., X-Ray diffraction identification of the polytypes of mica, serpentine and chlorite, Clays and Clay Minerals, 36(3), 193–213, 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, S. W., Structures and composition of other trioctahedral 1:1 phyllosilicates, Hydrous Phyllosilicates (exclusive of micas), Reviews in mineralogy, 19, 179–181, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, S. W. and B. E. Brown, Chorite polytypism: I. Regular and semirandom one-layer structures, Americal Mineral., 47, 819–850, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharyya, D. P., Origin of berthierine in ironstones, Clays and Clay Minerals, 31(3), 173–182, 1983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brindley, G. W., Chemical compositions of berthierine—a review, Clays and clay Minerals, 30(2), 151–155, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brindley, G. W., The crystal structures of some chamosite minerals, Mineral. Mag., 29, 502–525, 1951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brindley, G. W., Kaolin, serpentine, and Kindred minerals, in The X-ray Identification and Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals, edited by G. Brown, Mineralogical Society London, pp. 51–131, 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brindley, G. W. and R. F. Youell, Ferrous chamosite and ferric chamosite, Mineralog. Mag., 30, 220, 57-70, 1953.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, D., Clay Minerals: A Guide to their X-ray Identification, The Geological Society of America, Special Paper, 126, 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, C. D. and D. A. Spears, The formation of sedimentary Iron Minerals, Econ. Geol., 67, 257–270, 1968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damyanov, Z. and M. Vassileva, Authigenic phyllosilicates in the middle Triassic Kremikovtsi sedimentary exhalative siderite iron formation, Western Balkan, Bulgaria, Clays and Clay Minerals, 49, 6, 559–585, 2001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deer, W. A., R. A. Howie, and J. Zussman, Rock-Forming Minerals. Vol. 5 Non-Silicates, John Wiley and Sons Inc., pp. 62–124, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Del Mar Abad-Ortega, M. and F. Nieto, Extension and closure of the compositional gap between Mn and Mg rich chorites toward Fe-rich compositions, European J. Mineral., 7(2), 363–367, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, J. B., Polytypism of chorite in sedimentary rocks, Clays and Clay Minerals, 18, 285–306, 1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich, E. W., Microscopic Identification of Minerals, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirt, A. M. and A. U. Gehring, Thermal alteration of the magnetic mineralogy in ferruginous rocks, J. Geophys. Res., 96(B6), 9947–9953, 1991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, A. and R. Matsumoto, Berthierine and chamosite in coal measures of Japan, Clay and clay Minerals, 30(4), 264–274, 1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimberley, M., Exhalative origins of iron formations, Ore Geol. Rev., 5, 13145, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, S. D. and W A. Elders, Authigenic layer silicate minerals in borehole Elmore I, Salton Sea geothermal field, California, USA, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 74, 293–310, 1980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pirajno, F, Hydrothermal mineral deposits, in Principles and Fundamental Concepts for the Exploration Geologist, SpringerVerlag Berlin Heidelberg, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Retallack, G., Reappraisal of a 2200 Ma-old paleosol near Waterval Onder, South Africa, Precambrian Res., 32(2–3), 195–232, 1986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slack, J. F, J. Wel-The, D. R. Peacor, and P. M. Okita, Hydrothermal and metamorphic berthierine from the Kidd Creek volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, Timmins, Ontario, Can. Mineralogist, 30, 1127–1142, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toth, T. A. and S. J. Fritz, An Fe-berthierine from a Cretaceous laterite: Part I. Charaterization, Clays and Clay Minerals, 45(4), 564–579, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velde, B., Clay minerals: A physicochemical explanation of their occurrence, Developments in Sedimentology 40, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, S. H., J. M. Huggett, and H. F Shaw, Electron-optical studies of phyllosilicate intergrowths in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, Mineral. Magazine, 49, 413–423, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiewiora, A., A. Wilamowski, L. Bozena, M. Kuzniarski, and D. Grabska, Chamosite from oolitic ironstones: The necessity of a combined XRD-EDX approach, Can. Mineralogist, 36, 1547–1557, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wybrecht, E, J. Duplay, A. Piqué, and F Weber, Mineralogical and chemical evolution of whit micas and chlorites, from diagenesis to low-grade metamorphism; data from various size fractions of greywackes (Middle Cambrian, Morocco), Mineral. Magazine, 49, 401–411, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, H. and D. R. Veblen, Interstratification and other reaction microstruc-tures in the chlorite-berthierine series, Contrib. Mineral Petrol., 124, 291–301, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida, K., Formation of plications in the Miocene bivalve Mytilus (Pli-catomytilus) ksakurai as a consequence of architectural constraint, Paleontol. Res., 2(4), 224–238, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo y Geofísica Nuclear, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, (D. F.), 04510, México

    M. L. Rivas-Sanchez, L. M. Alva-Valdivia & J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi

  2. Laboratorio Central de Microscopía, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, (D. F.), 04510, México

    J. Arenas-Alatorre

  3. Dirección General y Dirección de Tecnología, Consorcio Minero Benito Juárez, Peña Colorada, S. A. de C.V., Av. del Trabajo No. 1000, Manzanillo, Colima, México

    M. Ruiz-Sandoval & M. A. Ramos-Molina

Authors
  1. M. L. Rivas-Sanchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L. M. Alva-Valdivia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Arenas-Alatorre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M. Ruiz-Sandoval
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. M. A. Ramos-Molina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. M. Alva-Valdivia.

Rights and permissions

Open Access  This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rivas-Sanchez, M.L., Alva-Valdivia, L.M., Arenas-Alatorre, J. et al. Berthierine and chamosite hydrothermal: genetic guides in the Peña Colorada magnetite-bearing ore deposit, Mexico. Earth Planet Sp 58, 1389–1400 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352635

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352635

Key words