An Acid-Based Method for Highly Effective Baddeleyite Separation from Gram-Sized Mafic Rocks.

ABSTRACT: Dating mafic igneous rocks (silica-undersaturated) is difficult for the lack of suitable minerals such as zircons (ZrSiO₄) commonly found in the sialic rocks such as granites. In this regard, baddeleyite (ZrO₂) has been long recognized as the most important mineral to serve as a geochronometer for dating silica-undersaturated igneous rocks. However, separating baddeleyite is difficult due to its small grain size, typical tabular morphology, and low abundance in samples. The standard water-based separation technique requires kilogram-sized samples and usually has a very low recovery rate. In this study, a new separation method based on the different solubilities of the minerals within HF + HCl + HNO₃ reagents was developed to achieve a high recovery of badde

SUBMITTER: Guo Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8811884 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature