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- Title
Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Clay-Type Ni-Laterite Deposit of San Felipe (Camagüey, Cuba).
- Authors
Tauler, Esperança; Galí, Salvador; Villanova-de-Benavent, Cristina; Chang-Rodríguez, Alfonso; Núñez-Cambra, Kenya; Khazaradze, Giorgi; Proenza, Joaquín Antonio
- Abstract
The Ni-laterite deposit at the San Felipe plateau, located 30 km northwest of Camagüey, in central Cuba, is the best example of a clay-type deposit in the Caribbean region. San Felipe resulted from the weathering of mantle peridotites of the Cretaceous Camagüey ophiolites. In this study, a geochemical and mineralogical characterization of two profiles (83 and 84) from the San Felipe deposit has been performed by XRF, ICP-MS, quantitative XRPD, oriented aggregate mount XRD, SEM, FE-SEM, and EMPA. Core 83, with a length of 23 m and drilled in the central part of the plateau, presents a notable concentration of cryptocrystalline quartz fragments and a rather poor content of NiO, averaging 0.87 wt.%. Core 84, which is 12 m long and drilled at the border of the plateau, lacks silica fragments and presents a higher NiO content, averaging 1.79 wt.%. The smectite structural formulae reveal that they evolve from trioctahedral to dioctahedral towards the top of the laterite profiles. Quantitative XRD analyses indicate that smectite is a dominant Ni-bearing phase, accompanied by serpentine and minor chlorite. Serpentine, as smectite, is enriched in the less soluble elements Fe3+, Al, and Ni towards the top of the profiles. Core 83 seems to have been affected by collapses and replenishments, whereas core 84 may have remained undisturbed.
- Subjects
CUBA; CAMAGUEY (Cuba); GEOCHEMISTRY; SMECTITE; SERPENTINE; LATERITE; QUARTZ; X-ray diffraction
- Publication
Minerals (2075-163X), 2023, Vol 13, Issue 10, p1281
- ISSN
2075-163X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/min13101281