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X‐ray fluorescence analysis applied to geochemistry of quartz in Argentina
Author(s) -
Pérez D.,
Rubio M.,
Bonalumi A.,
Sfragulla J.,
López A.,
Guereschi A.,
Vázquez C.,
Gozalvez M.,
Luchesi M.,
Badini R. G.,
Cuffini S. L.,
Sphan G.,
Inga M.,
Germanier A.,
Servant R. E.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.761
Subject(s) - quartz , pegmatite , impurity , batholith , hydrothermal circulation , mineral , mineralogy , geology , analytical chemistry (journal) , geochemistry , fluorescence spectrometry , fluorescence , chemistry , materials science , metallurgy , environmental chemistry , physics , paleontology , organic chemistry , seismology , tectonics , quantum mechanics
The growing demand for high‐purity quartz in the international market led to the systematic investigation of the geochemical quality of this mineral in deposits Argentina. This study is a contribution to the scarce information on the geochemistry of quartz in Argentina. A total of 525 multielemental chemical analyses were performed with XRF spectrometry in less than 3 months. SiO 2 concentration was calculated by difference from XRF impurity determinations. As a result of this study, 36 sites over 141 sampled deposits were identified as being of desirable quality. Low‐ Z oxides, considered critical impurities for quartz, were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, only in samples of these selected sites, because of high XRF detection limits. The analytical results allowed the classification of the quality of quartz according to its environment and geological genesis. It could be determined that better purity quartz corresponds to veins far away from the Achala and Alpa Corral batholith and occurs in metamorphic rocks, followed by pegmatitic quartz from inside the batholith and lastly by quartz of well‐known hydrothermal origin. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.