Mineralogy and Geology of the \Vkgnerite Occurrence Co Santa Fe Mountain, Front Range, Cobrado
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Mineralogy and Geology of the \Vkgnerite Occurrence co Santa Fe Mountain, Front Range, Cobrado GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 955 Mineralogy and Geology of the Wignerite Occurance on Santa Fe Mountain, Front Range, Colorado By DOUGLAS M. SHERIDAN, SHERMAN P. MARSH, MARY E. MROSE, and RICHARD B. TAYLOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 955 A detailed mineralogic study of wagnerite, a rare phosphate mineral occurring in the report area in Precambrian gneiss; this is the first recorded occurrence of wagnerite in the United States UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1976 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR THOMAS S. KLEPPE, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Mineralogy and geology of the wagnerite occurrence on Santa Fe Mountain, Front Range, Colorado. (Geological Survey Professional Paper 955) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Wagnerite Colorado Santa Fe Mountain. 2. Geology Colorado Santa Fe Mountain. I. Sheridan, Douglas M., 1921- II. Series: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 955. QE391.W3M56 549'.72 76-10335 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, B.C. 20402 Stock Number 024-001-02844-1 CONTENTS Page Metric-English equivalents .............................. Descriptive mineralogy Continued Page Abstract............................................................ 1 Wagnerite............................................... 5 Introduction..................................................... 1 Other minerals....................................... 8 Acknowledgments............................................ 2 Mineral assemblages and textural relations. 11 Geologic setting............................................... 2 Chemistry...................................................... 14 Occurrence....................................................... 3 X-ray crystallography................................... 15 Descriptive mineralogy.................................... 5 Origin............................................................ 19 Methods used for optical determinations. 5 References cited............................................. 22 ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 1. Map of east-central Front Range showing Santa Fe Mountain wagnerite locality and location of figure 2.................................. 2 2. Map showing distribution of rutile-bearing light-colored gneisses in the Santa Fe Mountain-Beaver Brook-Soda Creek area ...................................................................................................................................................................................^ 3 3. Geologic map of wagnerite locality, Santa Fe Mountain ................................................................................................................. 4 Photomicrographs: 4. Large ameboid-shaped grain of wagnerite...................................................................................................................... 6 5. Large blocky grain of wagnerite poikiloblastically enclosing rows of rutile grains..................................................... 7 6. Complex intergrowth of closely spaced grains of wagnerite and plagioclase............................................................... 7 7. Part of a large wagnerite grain that is crowded with tiny inclusions ........................................................................... 8 8, 9. Rims of apatite on wagnerite.......................................................................................................................................... 8, 9 10. Prismatic to blocky inclusions of apatite in wagnerite.................................................................................................. 9 11, 12. Wagnerite strongly oriented parallel to foliation defined by fibrolitk sillimanite....................................................... 11, 12 13, 14. Prismatic sillimanite cutting wagnerite and other minerals.......................................................................................... 12, 13 15. Corundum containing numerous needles of sillimanite................................................................................................ 13 16. Corundum and rutile along grain boundaries of wagnerite.......................................................................................... 13 17. X-ray powder photographs of wagnerite, ferroan wagnerite, magniotriplite, and triplite........................................... 20 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Modes of light-colored gneisses, Santa Fe Mountain wagnerite locality, Colorado......................................................................... 5 2. Optical data for wagnerite from Santa Fe Mountain, Colorado....................................................................................................... 5 3. Comparison of optical data for wagnerite......................................................................................................................................... 5 4. Optical data for other minerals from wagnerite locality, Santa Fe Mountain, Colorado................................................................ 10 5. Chemical analyses of wagnerite ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 6. Microprobe analysis of wagnerite from Santa Fe Mountain, Colorado............................................................................................ 15 7. Crystallographic, compositional, and density data compared for wagnerite, ferroan wagnerite, magniotriplite, and triplite......................................................................................................................................................... ig 8. X-ray powder diffraction data for wagnerite, Mg2(PO4)F................................................................................................................. 17 III IV CONTENTS METRIC-ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS Metric unit English equivalent Metric unit English equivalent Length Specific combinations Continued millimetre (mm) = 0.03937 inch (in) litre per second (1/s) = .0353 cubic foot per second metre (m) = 3.28 feet (ft) cubic metre per second kilometre (km) = .62 mile (mi) per square kilometre [(m»/s)/km2] Area square mile [(fts/s)/rni2] metre per day (m/d) = 3.28 feet per day (hydraulic square metre (m2) = 10.76 square feet (ft2) conductivity) (ft/d) square kilometre (km2) = .386 square mile (mi2) metre per kilometre hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres (m/km) = 5.28 feet per mile (ft/mi) kilometre per hour (km/h) = .9113 foot per second (ft/s) Volume metre per second (m/s) 3.28 feet per second cubic centimetre (cm3) = 0.061 cubic inch (in3 ) metre squared per day litre (1) = 61.03 cubic inches (m2/d) = 10.764 feet squared per day (ft2/d) cubic metre (m3) = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) (transmissivity) cubic metre = .00081 acre-foot (acre-ft) cubic metre per second cubic hectometre (hm3 = 810.7 acre-feet (mVs) = 22.826 million gallons per day litre = 2.113 pints (pt) (Mgal/d) litre = 1.06 quarts (qt) cubic metre per minute litre = .26 gallon (gal) (rn3/min) = 264.2 gallons per minute (gal/min) cubic metre = .00026 million gallons (Mgal or litre per second (1/s) = 15.85 gallons per minute 10« gal) litre per second per cubic metre = 6.290 barrels (bbl) (1 bbl = 42 gal) metre [(l/s)/m] = 4.83 gallons per minute per foot [( gal/min) /ft] kilometre per hour Weight (km/h) .62 mile per hour (mi/h) gram (g) = 0.035 ounce, avoirdupois (oz sivdp) metre per second (m/s) = 2.237 miles per hour gram = .0022 pound, avoirdupois (Ib avdp) gram per cubic tonne (t) = 1.1 tons, short (2,000 Ib) centimetre (g/crn3) = 62.43 pounds per cubic foot (lb/fts) tonne = .98 ton, long (2,240 Ib) gram per square centimetre (g/cm2) 2.04S pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) gram per square Specific combinations centimetre .0142 pound per square inch (lb/in2) kilogram per square centimetre (kg/cm2) = 0.96 atmosphere (atm) Temperature kilogram per square centimetre = .98 bar (0.9869 atm) degree Celsius (°C) = 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (°P) cubic metre per second degrees Celsius (mVs) = 35.3 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) (temperature) = [(l.SX°C)+32] degrees Fahrenheit MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY OF THE WAGNERITE OCCURRENCE ON SANTA FE MOUNTAIN, FRONT RANGE, COLORADO By DOUGLAS M. SHERIDAN, SHERMAN P. MARSH, MARY E. MROSE, and RICHARD B. TAYLOR ABSTRACT magniotriplite; this material should not be referred to as ferroan The first known occurrence in the United States of wagnerite, a rare wagnerite. Although X-ray powder-diffraction patterns of ferroan magnesium fluophasphate, is on Santa Fe Mountain near Idaho Springs wagnerite and magniotriplite resemble the diffraction pattern of in the Colorado Front Range. Wagnerite occurs as a minor constituent of wagnerite, the pattern for wagnerite has a line at 5.66 A which thin lenses of sillimanite-plagioclase gneiss of Precambrian age. Other distinguishes it from triplite-group minerals. minerals in the gneiss are corundum, rutile, pale-brown biotite, apatite, Rutile-bearing gneisses in the east-central Front Range are believed to monazite, zircon, and tourmaline. The sillimanite-plagioclase gneiss is a have formed by metamorphism of bentonitic clays that were generated local lithologic variant of a persistent layer of rutile-bearing sillimanite- during intense weathering of intermediate to basic