THE PUBLISHING HOUSE GEONOMY OF THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY Research article THORITE, THOROGUMMITE AND XENOTIME-(Y) OCCURRENCE IN DITRAU ALKALINE INTRUSIVE MASSIF, EAST CARPATHIANS, ROMANIA PAULINA HIRTOPANU 1* , GYULA JAKAB 2, C. JENS ANDERSEN 3 and J. ROBERT FAIRHURST 3 1 Department of Mineralogy, University of Bucharest, Romania 2 IG Mineral Gheorgheni, Romania 3 University of Exeter, Camborne School of Mine, UK Corresponding author : *
[email protected] Received July 10, 2013 The thorite and thorogummite, closely associated with the xenotime-(Y) represent the characteristic paragenessis of the Belcina type mineralization of the Ditrau alkaline intrusive massif. The Belcina vein mineralization is localized in the South-East of the massif, within the Cambrian metamorphic Tulghes Group. Genetically the Belcina mineralization is linked to the red alkaline syenites, the fluid responsible for the mineralisation belonging to the late-stage hydrothermal event. Late stage calcite, siderite, ferrodolomite veins and development of the Fe-oxides and hydroxides (hematite, goethite, lepidocrocite), minor sulphides of Fe, Pb, Zn, Mo and Hg, may be present. Also, REE-apatite, monazite-(Nd), monazite-(Ce), brabantite, ferrocolumbite, manganocolumbite, Nb-rutile, zircon, magnetite, thorianite, Y-fluorite are present as primary mineralization sequence. The gangue associated to the ore is represented by feldspars (microcline, albite, orthoclase), quartz, different common carbonates of at least two generations, natrolite, pectolite and different chlorites. Electron microprobe analyses of many individual grains of thorite gave mainly ThO 2=70-80.00, SiO 2=15- 17.00, ZrO=0-6, FeO=0-4% and very little Ce 2O3, UO 2, Y 2O3, PbO and P 2O5 contents. Thorogummite has less ThO 2, more SiO 2, ZrO, FeO, CaO, PbO and P2O5, than thorite.