Table of Contents - SPE259: Geology of Titanium-Mineral Deposits

Abstract

Introduction; The impact of titanium-mineral geology on industry and trade

Uses and value of titanium minerals
Distribution of titanium and titanium minerals in the Earth's crust
Interplay of geologic and economic factors
Economic minerals
Deposit types
Recovery processes and relation to geology
The meaning of a titanium-mineral resource
Resource distribution and trade networks
Byproduct-coproduct relations

Metamorphism

Occurrence and deposits of titanium oxide minerals in metamorphic rocks

Variation in partitioning with rock composition
Variation in partitioning with metamorphic grade
Lower-grade metamorphic rocks
Rutile in altered lower-grade metamorphic rocks
High-grade metamorphic rocks of "normal" P-T ratios
High-grade metamorphic rocks of high-pressure type Major deposits
Piampaludo deposit, Italy
Sunnfjord region, Norway
Shubino Village deposit, U.S.S.R
Summary of eclogite-type deposits
Aluminosilicate-rutile deposits
Metamorphic-metasomatic blackwalls Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration

Igneous Processes

Titanium oxide minerals in anorthosite-ferrodiorite massifs

Magmatic ilmenite deposits
Facies
A transition between massifs and layered intrusions
Evidence of origin Contact-metasomatic rutile deposits
Rutile deposits on anorthosite margins
Rutile-bearing albitites Major deposits
Sanford Lake (Tahawus, MacIntyre) district, New York
Allard Lake (Lac Tio) district, Quebec
Tellnes district, Norway
Roseland district, Virginia
San Gabriel Range, California
Laramie Range, Wyoming
Duluth Complex, Minnesota
Pluma Hidalgo district, Mexico
Kragero district, Norway Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration

Titanium oxide minerals in alkalic igneous rocks

Mineralogy
Titanium-oxide mineral enrichments
Major deposits
Powderhorn (Iron Hill, Cebolla Creek), District, Colorado
Tapira and Salitre (Minas Gerais State) and Catalo I (Goias State) deposits, Brazil
Magnet Cove district, Arkansas
Kodal deposit, Norway Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration

Titanium oxide minerals in other igneous suites

Primary titanium oxide minerals of some igneous suites
Granitoid rocks
Basaltic rocks
Layered mafic Intrusions
Kimberlites
Other suites Rutile in hydrothermal alteration assemblages
Process of formation
Bingham, Utah, example
Use of rutile in exploration
Economic prognosis

Weathering

The weathering of titanium oxide minerals and the role of climate change

Economic importance
The behavior of titanium in the weathering environment
Silicate minerals
Residual enrichment of titanium oxide minerals
Alteration of ilmenite Sites of titanium-mineral weathering
Weathered rock
Fluvial transport
Intermediate sedimentary hosts
Postdepositional weathering Weathering of Quaternary shoreline deposits as a function of age and latitude
A proposed mechanism of ilmenite alteration
Climate and paleoclimate
Climate change and weathering
Variation with Quaternary sea levels Exploration implications

Sedimentation

Titanium oxide minerals in sedimentary rocks and principles of placer concentration

Distribution among sedimentary rocks
Placer concentration
Depositional equivalence
Entrainment equivalence
Transport equivalence
Dispersive equivalence Economic placer deposits of titanium minerals-A synthesis thus far

Placer deposits of titanium oxide minerals in nonmarine sediments

Relative importance of geologic controls
Fluvial deposits
Concentration and weathering limitations
Geomorphic and lithologic controls Glaciolacustrine deposits
Major deposits
Gbangbama district, Sierra Leone
Port Leyden delta, New York
Titanium oxide minerals as byproducts from fluvial deposits Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration

Placer deposits in shoreline-related sands of Quaternary age

General character
Processes of enrichment
Formation and preservation of whole deposits
In-place enrichments
Transported enrichments Facies
Beach deposits
Eolian deposits Sediment distribution
Time series of deposition, as recorded on flights of marine terraces
Deposits now offshore
Cementation and weathering
Major deposits
Jacksonville district, Florida and Georgia
Eastern Australia district
Geographe Bay (Bunbury-Capel) district, Western Australia
Eneabba district, Western Australia
Travancore Coast district, Kerala and Tamil Nadu States, India
Richards Bay district, South Africa Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration
Conceptual exploration
Favorable depositional environments
Geophysical exploration

Placer deposits in pre-Quaternary sedimentary rocks

Depositional environments and temporal variation
Intrastratal solution
Major deposits
Lakehurst district, New Jersey
McNairy Sand, Tennessee
Upper Cretaceous deposits of the western interior, United States
Karoo Basin, South Africa Economic prognosis
Methods of exploration

References cited