Tectonic environments of sapphire and ruby revealed by a global oxygen isotope compilation

Wong, Jacqueline; Verdel, Charles

doi:10.1080/00206814.2017.1327373

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…A plethora of detailed data now exists on ruby characteristics available from many global sites, as exploration, mining and gem researchers, gem institutions and trade laboratories continue to openup studies on this valuable gemstone [2,[81][82][83]. This, with improved techniques of characterizing ruby through analytical advances [84], and more sophisticated statistical methods of identifying links/differences in analytical data from known sources [85][86][87][88], will enlighten future studies. Detailed mineral assemblage studies and P-T conditions of their formation within ruby-host lithology will become further refined to use as potential exploration vectors for new ruby deposits [5].…”

Section: Ruby Diversity and Geographic Typingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity in Ruby Geochemistry and Its Inclusions: Intra- and Inter- Continental Comparisons from Myanmar and Eastern Australia

et al. 2019

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Ruby in diverse geological settings leaves petrogenetic clues, in its zoning, inclusions, trace elements and oxygen isotope values. Rock-hosted and isolated crystals are compared from Myanmar, SE Asia, and New South Wales, East Australia. Myanmar ruby typifies metasomatized and metamorphic settings, while East Australian ruby xenocrysts are derived from basalts that tapped underlying fold belts. The respective suites include homogeneous ruby; bi-colored inner (violet blue) and outer (red) zoned ruby; ruby-sapphirine-spinel composites; pink to red grains and multi-zoned crystals of red-pink-white-violet (core to rim). Ruby ages were determined by using U-Pb isotopes in titanite inclusions (Thurein Taung; 32.4 Ma) and zircon inclusions (Mong Hsu; 23.9 Ma) and basalt dating in NSW, >60–40 Ma. Trace element oxide plots suggest marble sources for Thurein Taung and Mong Hsu ruby and ultramafic-mafic sources for Mong Hsu (dark cores). NSW rubies suggest metasomatic (Barrington Tops), ultramafic to mafic (Macquarie River) and metasomatic-magmatic (New England) sources. A previous study showed that Cr/Ga vs. Fe/(V + Ti) plots separate Mong Hsu ruby from other ruby fields, but did not test Mogok ruby. Thurein Taung ruby, tested here, plotted separately to Mong Hsu ruby. A Fe-Ga/Mg diagram splits ruby suites into various fields (Ga/Mg < 3), except for magmatic input into rare Mogok and Australian ruby (Ga/Mg > 6). The diverse results emphasize ruby’s potential for geographic typing.

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Section: Ruby Diversity and Geographic Typingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity in Ruby Geochemistry and Its Inclusions: Intra- and Inter- Continental Comparisons from Myanmar and Eastern Australia

et al. 2019

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“…Marble-hosted rubies 16.3-23% . This framework has been further validated by numerous subsequent corundum oxygen isotope studies [3][4][5]11,13,20,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. A summary of worldwide oxygen isotope values for gem sapphires, along with their host rock and Ga/Mg ratios, is presented in Table 5.…”

Section: Oxygen Isotope Groupingsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Enigmatic Alluvial Sapphires from the Orosmayo Region, Jujuy Province, Northwest Argentina: Insights into Their Origin from in situ Oxygen Isotopes

Graham¹,

Harris²,

Martin³

et al. 2019

Minerals

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This study sought to investigate in situ oxygen isotopes (δ18O) within alluvial colorless-white to blue sapphires from the Orosmayo region, Jujuy Province, NW Argentina, in order to provide additional constraints on their origin and most likely primary geological environment. Analyses were conducted using the in situ SIMS oxygen isotope technique on the same grains that were analyzed for their mineral inclusions and major and trace element geochemistry using EMPA and LA–ICP–MS methods in our previous study. Results show a significant range in δ18O across the suite, from +4.1‰ to +11.2‰. Additionally, akin to their trace element chemistry, there is significant variation in δ18O within individual grains, reaching a maximum of 1.6‰. Both the previous analyses and δ18O results from this study suggest that these sapphires crystallized within the lower crust regime, involving a complex interplay of mantle-derived lamprophyres and carbonatites with crustal felsic rocks and both mantle- and crustal-derived metasomatic fluids. This study reinforces the importance of the in situ analysis of gem corundums, due to potential significant variation in major and trace element chemistry and ratios and even oxygen isotope ratios within discrete zones in individual grains.

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“…It was previously assumed that sapphire is the early crystallization phase carried up to the ground surface in an unstable form. However, basalts are not corundum-normative rocks [9][10][11]. The impossibility of corundum direct crystallization from basaltic melt was proven experimentally [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naryn-Gol Creek Sapphire Placer Deposit, Buryatia, Russia

et al. 2022

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A new gem corundum occurrence has been discovered in the Naryn-Gol Creek placer of the Dzhida volcanic field (Russia). In this placer deposit, sapphire associates with large crystals of garnet, spinel, augite, olivine, enstatite, ilmenite, Ti-magnetite, and alkali feldspar. Such a combination of minerals is typical for the placer deposits associated with alkali basalts widely distributed in Southeastern Asia and Australia. We have also found sapphire crystals in phonotephrites of the nearby Cenozoic alkali-basalt paleovolcano Barun Khobol Pravyi, and in basalt sample and trachybasalt from the valley flood basalts. The chemical composition of sapphire is generally typical for ‘basalt’ corundum: it is rich in Fe, and depleted in Ti and Cr. The δ18O SMOW values of corundum and related megacrysts range from 4.6 to 6.8 ‰, thus corresponding to the isotopic signature of igneous rocks. Etched and corroded surfaces of sapphire and other megacrysts indicate that they are in non-equilibrium with their host alkali basalts. Volatile components, CO2 in particular, played a significant role during sapphire formation as gas inclusions reveal.

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Tectonic environments of sapphire and ruby revealed by a global oxygen isotope compilation

Cited by 10 publications

References 61 publications

Diversity in Ruby Geochemistry and Its Inclusions: Intra- and Inter- Continental Comparisons from Myanmar and Eastern Australia

Diversity in Ruby Geochemistry and Its Inclusions: Intra- and Inter- Continental Comparisons from Myanmar and Eastern Australia

Enigmatic Alluvial Sapphires from the Orosmayo Region, Jujuy Province, Northwest Argentina: Insights into Their Origin from in situ Oxygen Isotopes

Naryn-Gol Creek Sapphire Placer Deposit, Buryatia, Russia

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