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Ni-sepiolite-falcondoite in garnierite mineralization from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit, Dominican Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

E. Tauler ,
J. A. Proenza ,
S. Galí ,
J. F. Lewis ,
M. Labrador ,
E. García-Romero ,
M. Suarez ,
F. Longo  and
G. Bloise
E. Tauler*
Affiliation:
Departament de Cristallografia, Mineralogia i Dipòsits Minerals, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès s/n, E–08028 Barcelona, Spain
J. A. Proenza
Affiliation:
Departament de Cristallografia, Mineralogia i Dipòsits Minerals, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès s/n, E–08028 Barcelona, Spain
S. Galí
Affiliation:
Departament de Cristallografia, Mineralogia i Dipòsits Minerals, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès s/n, E–08028 Barcelona, Spain
J. F. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052, USA
M. Labrador
Affiliation:
Departament de Cristallografia, Mineralogia i Dipòsits Minerals, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès s/n, E–08028 Barcelona, Spain
E. García-Romero
Affiliation:
Departamento de Cristalografía y Mineralogía, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, E-28040, Madrid, Spain
M. Suarez
Affiliation:
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, E-37008, Salamanca, Spain
F. Longo
Affiliation:
Falcondo XStrata Nickel, Box 1343, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
G. Bloise
Affiliation:
Falcondo XStrata Nickel, Box 1343, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
*
*E-mail: esperancatauler@ub.edu
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Abstract

New chemical and structural data on sepiolite-falcondoite in garnierite veins from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposits, central Dominican Republic, are reported. Samples of Ni-sepiolite-falcondoite vary in colour from whitish green to green depending on the NiO content (wt.%) and the amount of silica present. The texture is normally schistose and friable but samples with considerable quartz and/or amorphous silica are compact and hard. Back-scattered electron images indicate that the samples are composed of at least three generations of Ni-sepiolite-falcondoite. The extreme refined cell parameters for Ni-sepiolite-falcondoite vary from 13.400(2), 27.006(4), 5.273(1) Å to 13.340(3), 27.001(6), 5.267(1) Å (space group Pncn). As the Ni content increases there is a small reduction in the a parameter. Chemical compositions determined by electron probe microanalysis cover a large interval of the Ni-sepiolite-falcondoite solid solution (Fal3 and Fal77). Individual samples show a considerable range in composition with the widest range determined in one sample from 4.63 to 22.40 wt.% NiO.

Keywords

Ni-sepiolitefalcondoitegarnieritecrystal chemistryFalcondoNi-lateritesDominican Republic
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 435 - 454
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2009

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