Journal of Mineral and Material Science
[ ISSN : 2833-3616 ]
Anomalously High Concentrations of Cobalt in Granite Pegmatites of the Rkvia Variscan Pluton, Dzirula Crystalline Massif, the Caucasus
Institute of Earth Sciences, Ilia state University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Corresponding Authors
Abstract
Anomalously high cobalt concentrations have been identified in the granite pegmatites of the Rkvia Variscan Pluton within the Dzirula Massif of Transcaucasus microplate. Seven samples of these pegmatites, analyzed using LA-ICP-MS equipment at Canada’s MSALABS laboratory, exhibit cobalt contents ranging from 76 ppm to 205 ppm. The typical concentration of cobalt in felsic igneous rocks is approximately 1 ppm, suggesting that these anomalously high values likely result from post-magmatic hydrothermal alterations. Based on our research, we propose that the elevated cobalt concentrations in these pegmatites were induced by the injection of the cobalt-rich, ultrabasic Buja Intrusive during the Late Triassic period. Consequently, during the hydrothermal transformation of the granite pegmatites, cobalt likely replaced iron and magnesium isomorphically in biotite. It is probable that the cobalt content will increase with depth in the studied pegmatite field. We suggest that the anomalously high cobalt content in microcline-quartz-muscovite pegmatites represents a unique geochemical feature warranting further detailed investigation.