Characterization of lead and selected trace elements in amazonitic potassium-feldspar

Amazonitic K-feldspar is characteristic of evolved granitic pegmatites of NYF (niobium-yttrium-fluorine) type, associated with A-type granite emplacement. In this work, I focus on four notable examples of such an association: (1) West Keivy, Kola Peninsula, Russia, (2) Saint-Ludger-de-Milot, Quebec, (3) Lac Sairs, Quebec, and (4) Morefield, Virginia. A fifth locality, the Broken Hill metamorphosed exhalative-type volcanogenic deposits in Australia, is an unusual type of amazonitic K-feldspar formed in an ore environment. A total of nineteen samples of amazonitic K-feldspar were characterized geochemically and mineralogically on the basis of X-ray diffraction, electron-microprobe and laser-ablation ICP-MS analyses. Lead, as an essential requirement for formation of the blue-green amazonitic color, has received particular attention. In every case, the analytical data show elevated amounts of Pb and rare alkalis, which strongly partition into the K-rich phase of the perthite intergrowth. Unusual micrometric grains, highly enriched in Pb, are found in cracks in the material from West Keivy. Some of the grains represent a new mineral species, a Pb-dominant feldspar. The presence of amazonitic K-feldspar in a granitic pegmatite is more than a curiosity. It can shed light on important petrogenetic issues such as metasomatic rejuvenation of crustal rocks prior to regional melting in a period of extension.