『Abstract
Two regolith profiles developed on the sericite-quartz schist
in subtropical humid environment were selected to investigate
behaviors of major and trace elements during weathering in Mengman
gold deposit of Yunnnan province, China. One profile located in
the mining district sheared by a fault and the other was outside
the mining area which represented the normal weathering profile
on the schist. Regolith samples were collected in both profiles
sequentially. Thirteen major oxides and 23 trace elements (including
REE) were analyzed and their behaviors were compared in these
two profiles. Based on the idea that immobile element is just
a relative notion, we presented a method of immobile plateau to
determine immobile elements during each stage in a progressive
geochemical process and used mass ratio (MR) to calculate the
percentage of gain or loss (Xgp) of each
element during the whole process.
In both profiles, only TiO2 was immobile
during the whole weathering. The regolith profile formed on the
mineralized schist recorded the weathering process more sensitively
than the regolith profile on the normal schist. REE was mobile
and fractionated during the schist weathering. LREE was loss in
mass during the soil development stage which resulted from the
chemical leaching, but was gain in mass during the pedogenesis
stage because of the preferential absorption of soil to LREE.
The LREE depletion near the fault during weathering was the collective
effects of chemical leaching and physical accumulation. HFSE were
all mobile in the mineralized regolith profile especially near
the fault. But Nb-Ta and Zr-Hf were covariant in both profiles
during the schist weathering.
Keywords: Weathering; Schist; Immobile plateau; REE fractionation;
Trace provenance』
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Site setting
2.2. Sampling
2.3. Analytical methods
3. Results
3.1. Major oxides
3.2. Trace elements
3.2.1. High field strength elements (HFSE)
3.2.2. Rare earth elements (REE)
4. Discussion
4.1. Immobile elements
4.1.1. Method of immobile plateau
4.1.2. Determination of MR during weathering in both profiles
4.1.3. Qualitative description of Xgp
4.2. Behavior of major oxides
4.2.2. Profile Pout
4.2.3. Profile Pin
4.2.4. Comparison with two profiles
4.3. Behavior of REE
4.3.1. Fractionation of REE during weathering
4.3.2. Mass transport of REE during weathering
4.4. Behavior of HFSE
4.4.2. Nb and Ta
4.4.3. Zr and Hf
4.4.4. Th
4.4.5. U
4.4.6. Sc
4.4.7. Y
5. Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References