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Genesis of Palygorskite in the Neogene Baiyanghe Formation in Yangtaiwatan Basin, Northwest China, Based on the Mineralogical Characteristics and Occurrence of Enriched Trace Elements and Ree

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Shuai Zhang ,
Lihui Liu ,
Qinfu Liu ,
Bingjie Zhang ,
Zhichuan Qiao  and
Brian J. Teppen
Shuai Zhang*
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Lihui Liu
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Qinfu Liu
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Bingjie Zhang
Affiliation:
Management Committee of Industrial Park in Linze County of Gansu Province, Linze, Zhangye 734200, China
Zhichuan Qiao
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Brian J. Teppen
Affiliation:
Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: szhang@cumtb.edu.cn
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Abstract

Palygorskite-rich mudstone interbedded with gypsum occurs in the Neogene Baiyanghe Formation in the Yangtaiwatan basin, northwest China, but the genesis of palygorskite in the mudstone is unclear. The objective of the present study was to clarify the manner by which the palygorskite evolved by analyzing the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the mudstone. The mineralogical composition of bulk-rock mudstone consisted of clay minerals, quartz, feldspar, dolomite, calcite, and gypsum. Palygorskite is dominant in the clay fraction together with illite and accessory chlorite and kaolinite. The interwoven rod-like palygorskite aggregates and delicate palygorskite particles indicated an authigenic origin. The bulk rock of palygorskite-rich mudstone was rich in the trace elements Cs, U, B, Li, Sb, Bi, and As, which, together with REE, all showed very positive correlation with major element oxides Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O, and TiO2 of the mudstone, indicating that the REE and trace elements occurred mainly in the clay minerals. The detrital illite, chlorite, and kaolinite were the main original host of the REE and enriched trace elements. Statistical analyses showed that the authigenic palygorskite had strong affinity to such elements compared to the detrital clay minerals. In addition, the chondrite-normalized REE of the bulk mudstone showed essentially the same pattern irrespective of the proportions of detrital illite, kaolinite, chlorite, and authigenic palygorskite present in the samples. Thus, the conclusion reached was that palygorskite was generated from the dissolution of detrital clay minerals. The REE and enriched trace elements in authigenic palygorskite were inherited from the detrital clay minerals.

Keywords

Authigenic originEnriched trace elementsLacustrine mudstonePalygorskite

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Article
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Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 69 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 23 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © The Clay Minerals Society 2020

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