LA-ICP-MS and LIBS Applied to Minerals

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 2793

Special Issue Editors

Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Interests: earth systems history; geochronology of accessory minerals; carbonate geochemistry; in-situ geochemistry of volcanic phenocrysts
Department of Geology and Environmental Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
Interests: detrital minerals; sandstone petrology; U-Pb geochronology of zircons

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are welcoming the submission of manuscripts to a Special Issue of Minerals that focuses on recent developments in all aspects related to high-resolution, in situ, laser-ablation-based analyses of different (bio)minerals. While the focus will be on Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), we also invite contributions dealing with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) research.

The goal of this Special Issue is not only to capture research using these techniques to decipher many geological processes: we will also welcome submissions on the latest methods for data acquisition, standardization, quantitative and qualitative elemental and isotopic analysis and mapping/imaging, novel data reduction schemes including machine-learning and artificial intelligence, the automation of analytical and data reduction protocols, geochronology, and the development of data bases for integrating data with existing data sets for different (bio)minerals.

Dr. Achim Herrmann
Dr. John T. Haynes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)
  • laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)
  • geochemistry and geochronology
  • elemental mapping
  • (bio)minerals

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

37 pages, 17041 KiB  
Article
Trace Element Analysis of Pyrite and Arsenopyrite Using the LA-ICPMS Technique in Pulai, Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia
by Nur Nadwa Syahirah Ai Zamruddin, Nor Syazwani Zainal Abidin, Zakaria Endut, Charles Makoundi, Low Keng Lok and Mohd Suhaili Ismail
Minerals 2023, 13(8), 1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13081026 - 31 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1188
Abstract
The Pulai gold deposit is one of the most promising gold prospects in the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. It is found within the Permian-Triassic Gua Musang sequence of metasediments and metavolcanics and in a structurally controlled NE-SW major fault. Various ore minerals, [...] Read more.
The Pulai gold deposit is one of the most promising gold prospects in the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. It is found within the Permian-Triassic Gua Musang sequence of metasediments and metavolcanics and in a structurally controlled NE-SW major fault. Various ore minerals, including pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, and galena are typically associated with this deposit. Four types of pyrite (Pyrite 1, Pyrite 2, Pyrite 3, and Pyrite 4) and two types of arsenopyrite (Arsenopyrite 1 and Arsenopyrite 2) were characterised based on their morphological and textural differences. In this region, gold occurs as refractory gold in the nanoparticle form and in the state of Au+ within the structure of sulphides of variable concentrations. Through the detailed laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) trace element mapping analysis of pyrite and arsenopyrite, the main Au-bearing sulphides were found within vein-hosted Pyrite 4 and Arsenopyrite 2 during late phase mineralisation, while Pyrite 3 had the lowest Au concentration. Two phases of Au enrichment were recorded in Pyrite 4, mainly in the core (2 to 11.7 ppm; average 1.4 ppm) and margin of the grain (0.3 to 8.8 ppm; average 1.2 ppm), whereas the highest Au content was detected in the core of Arsenopyrite 2 (0.3 to 137.1 ppm; mean 31.9 ppm). The enrichment of Au is associated with As, forming a zoning elemental pattern distribution. Other trace elements, including Co, Ni, Sb, Pb, Bi, Cu, and Zn, show systematic variation in their composition between the various types of pyrite and arsenopyrite. For early-phase sulphides, the Au enrichment localised at the margin of Pyrite 2 and Arsenopyrite 1, together with Co–Ni, Pb–Bi–Sb, and Ag in the same oriented pattern, suggesting the remobilisation and redistribution of Au in sulfides. Meanwhile, the late crystallisation phase of vein-hosted sulphides formed a rich Au–As ore zoning pattern in the core of Arsenopyrite 2 and Pyrite 4. The second phase of Au enrichment continued at the margin of Pyrite 4 through the remobilisation and precipitation of Au together with Ni, Co, Sb, Pb, Bi, Ag, and Cu. Subsequent deformation then reactivated the late fluid system with the enrichment of Sr, Ba, Rb, Ag, and Zn along the fractures and outermost rim of Pyrite 4 and Rb–Sr–Ba–Pb–Bi along the rim of Arsenopyrite 2. The Pulai gold prospect is interpreted as an orogenic-style gold mineralisation where arsenic can be used as an indicator for proximity to ore mineralisation in exploration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue LA-ICP-MS and LIBS Applied to Minerals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 23715 KiB  
Article
Testing Tectonostratigraphic Hypotheses of the Blountian Phase of the Taconic Orogeny in the Southern Appalachians through an Integrated Geochronological and Sedimentological Study of Ordovician K-Bentonites and Quartz Arenites
by Achim D. Herrmann, John T. Haynes, Richard Robinet, Peter D. Clift and Keith E. Goggin
Minerals 2023, 13(6), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13060807 - 13 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1178
Abstract
The tectonic setting of the southernmost part of the eastern margin of Laurentia during the Blountian tectophase (~472–452 Ma) of the Ordovician Taconic Orogeny remains unresolved. Tephras produced by explosive volcanism during this early phase of the orogeny are now K-bentonites, and in [...] Read more.
The tectonic setting of the southernmost part of the eastern margin of Laurentia during the Blountian tectophase (~472–452 Ma) of the Ordovician Taconic Orogeny remains unresolved. Tephras produced by explosive volcanism during this early phase of the orogeny are now K-bentonites, and in many locations, they are interbedded with mature to supermature quartz arenites. We conducted U-Pb analyses of detrital zircons from the sandstones, and of zoned magmatic zircons from the K-bentonites, to constrain the tectonostratigraphic setting with more precision. We also used geochemical fingerprinting of apatite phenocrysts to correlate the K-bentonites in these sandstones along the tectonic front, and we then integrated these results with a depositional systems study of the quartz arenites to further constrain and test competing models of the regional tectonomagmatic setting during that time. The general dearth of detrital zircons that have ages contemporaneous with the volcanic activity, coupled with the predominantly Precambrian ages of the zircons in these Lower Paleozoic quartz arenites that otherwise lack volcaniclastic components—such as detrital VRFs or a muddy matrix derived from an eroding volcanic arc—suggests that magmatic zircons from the tephra layers entered the depositional system only occasionally, and that the volcanic centers were separated geographically from where these quartzose sands were being deposited. Our findings support a tectonostratigraphic and tectonomagmatic model analogous to a combination of select modern settings in the western Pacific and Indonesia, specifically (1) New Guinea, where mature quartz arenites occur in the Cenozoic foreland succession, and (2) Sumatra, where the enormous Toba caldera formed in association with subduction beneath the Cretaceous-aged continental crust of Sumatra. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue LA-ICP-MS and LIBS Applied to Minerals)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop