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Tracking mineral evolution and element mobility during albitisation and subsequent kaolinisation of phyllite rocks: A case study from the Verrucano of Monti Pisani, Tuscany, Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2022

Massimo D'Orazio Open the ORCID record for Massimo D'Orazio [Opens in a new window] ,
Paolo Fulignati Open the ORCID record for Paolo Fulignati [Opens in a new window] ,
Anna Gioncada Open the ORCID record for Anna Gioncada [Opens in a new window]  and
Francesco Cavalcante Open the ORCID record for Francesco Cavalcante [Opens in a new window]
Massimo D'Orazio*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Paolo Fulignati
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Anna Gioncada
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Francesco Cavalcante
Affiliation:
Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale–CNR, 85050 Tito Scalo, Italy
*
*Author for correspondence: Massimo D'Orazio, Email: massimo.dorazio@unipi.it
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Abstract

This work describes the first occurrence of albitite rocks in the Middle Triassic Verruca Formation, Monti Pisani, Northern Apennines, northern Tuscany, Italy. The albitite formed by Na-metasomatism of phyllites (‘potassic white mica' + quartz + ‘chlorite' + hematite + albite) in an amagmatic environment. The albitisation process took place after the Miocene main phases of Apenninic deformation and was followed by the formation of veins of Fe-carbonate + quartz. Hydrothermal alteration progressed with the ingression, possibly favoured by the increase of permeability due to albitisation, of a slightly acidic, oxidising, aqueous fluid that led to the pervasive kaolinisation of the albitite and to the complete transformation of the Fe-carbonate of the veins into Fe-hydroxides. This stage was followed by supergene alteration that led to the formation of a pervasive network of halloysite veinlets and colloform (P–Al–Si)-bearing Fe-hydroxides. Finally, the hydrothermally altered rock underwent a localised brittle fracturing without new minerals being formed. The prominent compositional changes occurring during this multi-stage hydrothermal process were the inversion of the Na2O/K2O ratio of the whole rock (from 0.07 in the pristine phyllite to up to 200 for the kaolinised albitite), the loss of Fe and Mg, and the enrichment of Sb. The MREE were partially lost, whereas LREE and HREE behaved conservatively. Though pervasive hydrothermal alteration occurrences are common in central-southern Tuscany, mostly related to the post-collisional extensional regime, lithospheric thinning and emplacement of magmatic bodies in the crust, the rare Monti Pisani kaolinised albitite described in this investigation expands the effects of post-collisional hydrothermal activity in Tuscany northwards, far from potential magmatic sources.

Keywords

albitisationhydrothermal alterationkaolinisationMonti PisaniNorthern ApenninesVerrucano
Type
Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 86 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 459 - 477
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Giancarlo Della Ventura

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