The chloritizan in the Uruguai Mine, Camaquã Mines, RS - Brazil

Abstract

The area of Camaquã Mines is part of the camaquã basin, which has NE-NW directions and is filled out by silliciclastics sediments interbedded with volcanic rocks. Chlorite is the most abundant clay mineral in the area and appears in high amount in the halos of hydrothermal alteration present in the host's mineralization rocks. This work consists on the chlorite's petrologic, chemical and structural characterization, supplying important information on different processes and formation conditions of the hydrothermal environment. The following procedures were made: optical petrography, X-ray diffraction, difractograms modeling through the Reynolds Newmod^© program, and scanning electron microscopy ( secondary electrons and microanalysis - EDS) in representative samples of the different identified hydrothermal alteration zones. Chlorites are present under three different tendencies: Chlorite I takes place with a pervasive aspect over the matrix rocks located near the mineralized veins; it is classified as Fe-chlinoclore, presents fraction ˂1 µm predominance of plytype IIb and a Mg²⁺  enrichment in the fraction of  ˂10 µm predominance of polytype Ib (90°) and Fe_total enrichment. Chlorite II occurs as veins filling out small fractures; it is classified as Chamosite and presents structural polytype IIb. Chlorite III occurs altering detrital minerals; it is classified as Mg-chamosite. The variation on the amount of Fe of the chlorites generated over the hydrothermal processes ( Chlorite I ˂10 µm and Chlorite II) indicates the occurrence of at least two pulses in the process of the hydrothermal alteration: one is responsible for the great matrix and clasts alternation and the other one for the generation of the late veins. The variation in the amount of Fe_total of the two different responsible fluids for the crystallization of the chlorites is was quite more enriched in iron than the early fluid that crystallized Chlorite I ˂10 µm.