Fe-Ti(-V) oxide deposits of the Kunene anorthosite complex (SW Angola): Mineralogy and thermo-oxybarometry

The Kunene Intrusive Complex (KIC), in NW Namibia and SW Angola, is one of the largest Proterozoic anorthosite massif-type exposures in the world. A geochemical, mineralogical and petrological study of four Fe-Ti(-V) oxide bodies located in the understudied Angolan part of the KIC has been performed...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Villanova de Benavent, Cristina, Torró i Abat, Lisard, Castillo Oliver, Montgarri, Campeny, Marc, Melgarejo i Draper, Joan-Carles, Llovet Ximenes, Xavier, Galí Medina, Salvador, 1949-, Gonçalves, Antonio Olimpo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/151679
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/151679
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Termometria
Magnetita
Temperature measurements
Magnetite
Descripción
Sumario:The Kunene Intrusive Complex (KIC), in NW Namibia and SW Angola, is one of the largest Proterozoic anorthosite massif-type exposures in the world. A geochemical, mineralogical and petrological study of four Fe-Ti(-V) oxide bodies located in the understudied Angolan part of the KIC has been performed. The massive Fe-Ti(-V) oxide bodies, locally apatite-rich (nelsonites), are lenticular or dike-like. They consist mostly of titaniferous magnetite, ilmenite and minor aluminous spinel, apatite, olivine and graphite. Titaniferous magnetite displays a wide variety of subsolvus features, including aluminous spinel-magnetite-ulvöspinel exsolutions and ilmenite (Trellis) exsolutions. This work estimated the composition of the titaniferous magnetite prior to the exsolution, in order to calculate the temperature and oxygen fugacity of the different lithologies of each ore body. The thermo-oxybarometry results obtained range from 600 °C to 820 °C and fO2 from 10−24.7 to 10−14.7. These values do not correspond to magmatic crystallization in equilibrium, but to a later re-equilibration. In addition, the mineralogical and geochemical results indicate that the studied ore bodies contain economic reserves of Ti, V, and possibly of P and REE.