Hydrothermal wallrock alterations

Physicochemical accents. The book shows the possibilities of applying of the physicochemical petrological research methods for an in-depth study of the processes of wallrock alterations and obtaining new original data in metasomatic petrology. The author's investigation on mineral equilibria in the system K₂О-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O-SO₃ is of particular importance for studying of the physicochemical conditions of mineral formation during the acid metasomatism of rocks. By investigating the mineral equilibria on this system, it is possible to develop a complete facies subdivision of secondary quartzes mineral family under different facies conditions. Physicochemical petrological investigations of the wallrock alterations in the Rodalquilad gold-alunite deposits (Southeast Spain) show the possibilities of obtaining important genetic data on an epithermal acid-sulfate type of gold deposit with a high degree of knowledge about it. New to metasomatic petrology are the data on the crystallochemical aspect (energy and structure) of metasomatic processes.

Milko Kanazarski graduated in Geochemistry and Chemistry from St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University. In 1964 he became a research associate in the Geological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), where he worked until retirement as Senior Prof. in 2006, gaining his PhD in 1982, DSc in 1996. Between 1978 and 1985 he was Deputy head of Central Laboratory of Experimental and Technical Mineralogy of BAS. He leads the course in Wallrock Alterations for MSc students at the St. Ivan Rilski University of Mining and Geology in Sofia. He had the exceptional opportunity to specialize with one of the most outstanding representatives of the physicochemical school of metasomatic petrology, Academian D. S. Korzhinskii at the Russian Academy of Sciences and to work with his research team. The scientific interests of Milko Kanazirski are in the metasomatic petrology with an emphasis on physicocmeistry of the processes of wallrock alterations - physicochemical analysis of mineral paragenses, experimental modeling of mineral equilibria and metasomatic zoning and numerical modeling of metasomatic processes.

Preface
Genetic classifications in metasomatic petrology

• Genetic classifications of wallroc alterations
• Creasey's classifications (1959) of the hydrothermal wallrock alterations in porphyry copper deposits
• Meyer and Hemley's systematics (1967) of wallrock alterations
• Corbett and Leach's classification (1998) of the hydrothermal wallrock alterations
• Genetic classifications of metasomatites
• Zharikov and Omelyanenko's formation-based classification of metasomatites (Жираков и Омельяненко, 1978)
• Physycochemical systematization of the main metasomatic formations. Systematics of metasomatic rocks proposed by the Subcommissiones on the Systematics of Metamorphic Rocks

Physicochemical petrologic methods for studying the metasomatic processes

• Basic conclusions from the physicochemical theory of metasomatic processes
• Physicochemical analysis of mineral paragenses
• Composition-paragenesis diagrams
• Chemical potential diagrams
• Experimental modeling of metasomatic processes
• Experimental investigations of mineral equilibria and metasomatic processes
• Experimental modeling of metasomatic zoning
• Experimental modeling of metasomatic zoning during acid metasomatism
• Experimental modeling of metasomatic zoning during alkaline metasomatism
• Experimental modeling of bimetasomatic skarn formation processes
• Experimental modeling of metasomatic zoning in the upper parts of the Asarel porphyry copper deposit
• Numerical modeling of metasomatic processes
• Numerical modeling of mineral equilibria
• Numerical modeling of mineral equilibria in the system Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O-HCl-KCl
• Quantitative analysis of the ore mineral parageneses in the system Fe-Cu-S-O at T = 400° C and P = 1 kbar
• Numerical modeling of metasomatic zoning

Mineral equilibria in the system K₂О-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O-SO₃

• Prediction diagram of the state of the system K₂О-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O-SO₃
• Facies subdivision of the secondary quartzite formation

Thermodynamic basis for identifying acid-sulfate and adularia-sericite rock alterations in epithermal deposits and genetic analogues with metasomatites from the formation-based classification

• Paragenetic incompatibility of the acid-sulfate and adularia-sericite rock alterations in epithermal deposits
• Subdivision of the advanced argillization and mineralogical equivalent of the acid-sulfate rock alteration
• Problems in detemining the type of epithermal deposit

Physicochemical petrologic investigations of the wallrock alterations in the Rodalquilad gold-alunite deposit (Southeast Spain)

• Wallrock alterations in the Rodalquilar deposit
• Metasomatic zoning, facies analysis and formational belonging of the altered wallrocks in the Rodalquilar deposit
• Lateral zoning in the Rodalquilar deposit
• Facies analysis and formational belonging of the altered rocks in the Rodalquilar deposit

Psysicochemical analysis of the mineral parageneses in the advanced argillic altered rocks in the Rodalquilar deposit
Basic equilibrium factors for the acid-chloride and acid-sulfate alterations

• Acid-cloride (dickite and dickite-pyrophyllite) alteration type
• Acid-sulfate (alunite and alunit-ekaolinite) alteration type

Crystallochemical aspect of metasomatic processes (energy and structure)

• Energy and structure trend of silicate minerals
• A crystallochemical trend of wallrock alterations in Meyer & Hemley's classification and their genetic analogues in Zharikov & Omelyanenko's formation-based classification
• A paragenetic trend in the temperature sequence of forming the equilibrium mineral assemblages in the secondary quartzite formation depending on the crystallochemical features of minerals

Conclusion
References