Magnetic Petrology applied to the characterization of Pegmatite Dykes in Eastern Colombia

Abstract

In the sector of San Jose, Macanal, and Tabaquen, in eastern Colombia, granitic rocks cut by pegmatite dikes and quartz veins appear with the presence of magnetite, ilmenite, and ilmenorutile. Using magnetic petrology and geochemistry concepts and methods, the main objective is to determine if these types of rocks are genetically related and how the fluid chemically evolves during its crystallization and cooling. This work was conducted in three stages. Petrography and opaque metallography for identifying the occurrence, paragenesis, and secondary processes that transform the oxides. In a second stage and utilizing an Electron Probe Microanalyzer (EPMA), 214 quantitative analyses (WDS) and four compositional maps for magnetite, ilmenite, and ilmenorutile were performed, measu-ring the oxides FeO, TiO2, V2 O3, MgO, MnO, Nb2 O5, Ta2 O5, Al2 O3, Ga2 O3, NiO, CaO, Cr2 O3, SnO, and WO3. Since magnetite and ilmenite are favorable geothermometers that also allow the calculation of oxygen fugacity, the ILMAT program was used to calculate these values. In closing, integrate the data with the magnetic susceptibility values. The results determine crystallization temperatures between 358-414 °C for the granitic-host rock and 402-499 °C for pegmatites dykes, in a system where oxygen fugacity increases, the Mn2+ is enriched in the ilmenite, and magnetite preserves a low content of trace elements thorough the evolution of the fluid. Taken together with the martitization and exsolution of hematite and rutile within ilmenite found in the petrography, these results allow us to conclude that an oxide-silicate re-equilibration process controls the evolution of this magmatic-hy-drothermal fluid with a KUIlB cooling trend-type reaction. Based on the Al + Mn vs. Ti + V ratio, the signature of the magnetite is like the Lucky Friday mine’s signature studied by Nadoll. However, the analysis of the 95th percentile shows a different concentration of trace elements in the magnetite of both sectors. Therefore, a new field of discrimination is proposed for this environment of anorogenic pegmatites of the NYF family. Finally, the magnetic susceptibility is controlled only by the abundance of magnetite in each type of rock. The granitic host rocks have the highest susceptibility values, followed by pegmatites and quartz veins with the lowest.