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Title: | Discovery of Ni-smectite rich saprolite at Loma Ortega, Falcondo mining district (Dominican Republic): geochemistry and mineralogy of an unusual case of 'hybrid hydrous Mg silicate-clay silicate' type Ni-laterite |
Author: | Tauler i Ferré, Esperança Lewis, J. F. Villanova de Benavent, Cristina Aiglsperger, Thomas Hans Proenza Fernández, Joaquín Antonio Domènech Ortí, Cristina Gallardo, T. Longo, Francisco Galí Medina, Salvador, 1949- |
Keywords: | Geoquímica Mineralogia Níquel República Dominicana Geochemistry Mineralogy Nickel Dominican Republic |
Issue Date: | Jul-2017 |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Abstract: | Hydrous Mg silicate-type Ni-laterite deposits, like those in the Falcondo district, Dominican Republic, are dominated by Ni-enriched serpentine and garnierite. Recently, abundant Ni-smectite in the saprolite zone have been discovered in Loma Ortega, one of the nine Ni-laterite deposits in Falcondo. A first detailed study on these Ni-smectites has been performed (μXRD, SEM, EPMA), in addition to a geochemical and mineralogical characterisation of the Loma Ortega profile (XRF, ICP-MS, XRD). Unlike other smectite occurrences in laterite profiles worldwide, the Loma Ortega smectites are trioctahedral and exhibit high Ni contents never reported before. These Ni-smectites may be formed from weathering of pyroxene and olivine, and their composition can be explained by the mineralogy and the composition of the Al-depleted, olivine-rich parent ultramafic rock. Our study shows that Ni-laterites are mineralogically complex, and that a hydrous Mg silicate ore and a clay silicate ore can be confined to the same horizon in the weathering profile, which has significant implications from a recovery perspective. In accordance, the classification of "hybrid hydrous Mg silicate - clay silicate" type Ni-laterite deposit for Loma Ortega would be more appropriate. |
Note: | Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-017-0750-8 |
It is part of: | Mineralium Deposita, 2017, vol. 52, p. 1011-1030 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2445/160420 |
Related resource: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-017-0750-8 |
ISSN: | 0026-4598 |
Appears in Collections: | Articles publicats en revistes (Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada) |
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