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An unusual occurrence of palygorskite from Montestrutto, Sesia-Lanzo zone, internal Western Alps (Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

R. Giustetto  and
R. Compagnoni
R. Giustetto*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Mineralogiche e Petrologiche, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy
R. Compagnoni
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Mineralogiche e Petrologiche, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy
*
*E-mail:roberto.giustetto@unito.it
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Abstract

An unusual occurrence of palygorskite was found near Montestrutto, lower Val d'Aosta (Italy), within an eclogite-facies leucogneiss of the Sesia-Lanzo zone. Under the optical microscope the mineral appears as a felt of fibres hundreds of μm long and a few μm thick. SEM observation proved each filament to be a bundle of smaller but remarkably long fibres (length mostly 15–20 μm and thickness <1 μm). EDS and TGA showed a water content [zeolitic H2O ( ≅ 6%) + structural OH2 (≅8%) + framework OH (≅2%) ≅l6 wt.%] lower than average (≅20 wt.%). Structure refinement by the Rietveld method confirmed the clay dioctahedral character and coexistence of two polymorphs, monoclinic [77.4(4)%] and orthorhombic [22.6(6)%], the latter showing anomalous variations of some cell parameters [c shortens to 5.138(3) and a lengthens to 12.903(7) Å]. The high crystallinity of this palygorskite suggests that it formed under low-T hydrothermal conditions due to interaction between Mg-rich hydrous fluids, derived from mantle ultramafics, and Al-rich continental rocks. Predominance of unusually long fibres (>5 μm) causes the Montestrutto palygorskite to be potentially carcinogenic.

Keywords

palygorskitescanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometrythermogravimetryX-ray powder diffractionRietveld methodzeolitic H2Olow-T hydrothermal genesis
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 371 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2011

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