Trace element catalyses mineral replacement reactions and facilitates ore formation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33654089.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-21684-5 and PMC identifier 7925538.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Reaction-induced porosity is a key factor enabling protracted fluid-rock interactions in the Earth's crust, promoting large-scale mineralogical changes during diagenesis, metamorphism, and ore formation. Here, we show experimentally that the presence of trace amounts of dissolved cerium increases the porosity of hematite (Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) formed via fluid-induced, redox-independent replacement of magnetite (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>), thereby increasing the efficiency of coupled magnetite replacement, fluid flow, and element mass transfer. Cerium acts as a catalyst affecting the nucleation and growth of hematite by modifying the Fe<sup>2+</sup>(aq)/Fe<sup>3+</sup>(aq) ratio at the reaction interface. Our results demonstrate that trace elements can enhance fluid-mediated mineral replacement reactions, ultimately controlling the kinetics, texture, and composition of fluid-mineral systems. Applied to some of the world's most valuable orebodies, these results provide new insights into how early formation of extensive magnetite alteration may have preconditioned these ore systems for later enhanced metal accumulation, contributing to their sizes and metal endowment.