First occurrence of dumortierite in Croatia: its chemical composition and appearance as an igneous mineral in leucogranite-hosted pegmatite

Abstract

In this article, dumortierite from Croatia is described for the first time. Dumortierite formed in a pegmatite dyke cutting through Cretaceous two-mica leucogranite of the magmatic-metamorphic complex of Mt. Moslavačka Gora. The pegmatite dyke shows a magmatic mineral association of coarse-grained quartz, orthoclase, microcline and albite, less abundant muscovite, biotite, pinkish andalusite and blue-coloured prismatic dumortierite I crystals. Subsequent alteration by titanium-rich hydrothermal fluids led to partial replacement of dumortierite I and andalusite by secondary fibrous to acicular purple dumortierite II enriched in Mg and Ti. During temperature decrease perthite developed in feldspars and at a still later stage, sericite partially replaced not only feldspars but also andalusite and both types of dumortierite along grain boundaries and cracks. Final alteration at very low temperatures caused formation of clay minerals at the expense of feldspars. According to mineral chemical analyses, the feldspars are represented by albite and K-feldspar with a low albite component. Biotite corresponds to annite and its subhedral shape and chemical composition point to magmatic crystallisation from a peraluminous melt derived from a crustal source. Coarse muscovite flakes contain 1.31-1.48 wt.% FeO and 0.56-0.70 wt.% TiO2. Their Na/(Na+K) ratios (0.08–0.09) prove a magmatic origin, whereas lower ratios in sericite (0.04–0.06) indicate formation during retrogression. Magmatic muscovite is in textural equilibrium with andalusite, also implying an igneous origin for the latter, which belongs to the S3 textural type of andalusite in felsic igneous rocks. Electron microprobe analyses clearly show a strong positive correlation between Si tetrahedral deficiency (3-Si) and the sum of Al+Ti, (R2= 0.85) in both types of dumortierite, implying Al replacement by Ti. However, Al replacement by Ti is not restricted to Al in the octahedral position, as generally accepted, but most probably also in the tetrahedral position. Distinct pleochroic colours in dumortierite are usually explained by the [Fe/(Fe+Ti)]x100 factor, but according to this study, elevated Mg contents stabilize red to violet coloured dumortierite at higher [Fe/(Fe+Ti)] x100 factors than those previously suggested.