Kinetically driven successive sodic and potassic alteration of feldspar

Gan Duan (), Rahul Ram, Yanlu Xing, Barbara Etschmann and Joël Brugger ()
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Gan Duan: Monash University
Rahul Ram: Monash University
Yanlu Xing: Monash University
Barbara Etschmann: Monash University
Joël Brugger: Monash University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The dynamic evolutions of fluid-mineral systems driving large-scale geochemical transformations in the Earth’s crust remain poorly understood. We observed experimentally that successive sodic and potassic alterations of feldspar can occur via a single self-evolved, originally Na-only, hydrothermal fluid. At 600 °C, 2 kbar, sanidine ((K,Na)AlSi3O8) reacted rapidly with a NaCl fluid to form albite (NaAlSi3O8); over time, some of this albite was replaced by K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8), in contrast to predictions from equilibrium reaction modelling. Fluorine accelerated the process, resulting in near-complete back-replacement of albite within 1 day. These findings reveal that potassic alteration can be triggered by Na-rich fluids, indicating that pervasive sequential sodic and potassic alterations associated with mineralization in some of the world’s largest ore deposits may not necessarily reflect externally-driven changes in fluid alkali contents. Here, we show that these reactions are promoted at the micro-scale by a self-evolving, kinetically-driven process; such positive feedbacks between equilibrium and kinetic factors may be essential in driving pervasive mineral transformations.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24628-1

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