Hydrothermal Alteration Zoning and Kinetic Process of Mineral‐Water Interactions

Abstract This study reports the kinetic experimental results of albite in water and in KCl solution at 22 MPa in the temperature range of 25 to 400°C. Kinetic experiments have been carried out in an open flow‐through reaction system (packed bed reactor). Albite dissolution is always incongruent in water at most temperatures, but becomes congruent at 300°C (close to the critical point 374°C). At temperatures from 25 to 300°C, the incongruent dissolution of albite is reflected by the fact that sodium and aluminum are easily dissolved into water, from 300 to 400°C it is reflected by silicon being more easily dissolved in water than Al and Na. Maximum albite dissolution rates in the flow hydrothermal systems have been repeatedly observed at 300°C, independent of flow rates. The kinetic experiments of albite dissolution in a KCl aqueous solution (0.1 mol KCl) indicate that the dissolution rate of albite increases with increasing temperature. Maximum silicon release rates of albite have been observed at 400°C, while maximum aluminum release rates of albite at 374°C. The reaction rates of albite also depend on the potassium concentration in the aqueous solution. These results can be used to interpret the mechanism for forming hydrothermal alteration. The kinetic experiments of mineral‐aqueous solutions interactions in the hydrothermal system from 25 to 400°C and at 22 MPa indicate that the formation of the feldspar‐mica‐kaolinite zoning occurring in some ore deposits may depend not only on the mineral stability but also on the kinetics of feldspar hydration, which is affected by the water property variation when crossing the critical point.