Abstract Presented here are the results of the first studies of silicate melt inclusions hosted in quartz crystals from the two late granitic facies of the Paleoproterozoic Madeira pluton in the Pitinga mine, State of Amazonas, Brazil. The study of these magmatic inclusions in the anorogenic granites of Pitinga furnished reliable results because the original composition of the trapped silicate liquids is well preserved. Petrographic, morphological, and chemical data show that both porphyritic hypersolvus alkali feldspar granite and albite-rich granite were formed by melt-melt immiscibility from a precursor magma. After phase separation, albite-rich granite evolution was characterized by strong enrichment in F, Na, Sn, Nb, Ta, Zr, Th, Y, Rb, and REE compared to the porphyritic granite, based on data obtained from analyses of both trace elements by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and major elements by electron microprobe. These elements make up the polymetallic magmatic ore of the Pitinga mine. The contrasting evolutionary trends, peralkaline and peraluminous, stand out in the different geochemical signatures of the analyzed melt inclusions. The preliminary results of our studies on melt inclusions trapped in rare metal granite minerals from Sn-polymetallic deposits in Brazil suggest abundant possibilities for using this methodology in future petrological and metallogenic research.

RESUMO: Este trabalho investiga um ambiente caracterizado por depósitos de urânio usando assinaturas isotópicas de Pb. A área de estudo apresenta escassez de água superficial, sendo assim, a água subterrânea adquire importância, não só, para o desenvolvimento econômico referente à exploração de urânio, mas, sobretudo, para a sobrevivência e fixação da população local. O objetivo da investigação é a caracterização das assinaturas de Pb em águas subterrâneas e sedimentos, bem como a identificação de ambientes com influências de fontes geogênicas e/ou antropogênicas. Em relação aos sedimentos, verificaram-se que suas assinaturas sofreram influência das fontes geogênicas presentes no contexto geológico e, que o enriquecimento antrópico em urânio foi restrito a um único ponto de amostragem na área da mina. Embora dados na literatura, relativos a estudos ambientais, consideram valores de razões 206Pb/207Pb ≤ 1,20 como indicativo de Pb antropogênico, foi determinado para a maioria das águas subterrâneas razões 206Pb/207Pb entre 1,14 e 1,19, sendo similares aos dados reportados para as rochas (1,09 a 1,96) na área mineralizada em U.

ABSTRACT: This work presents the investigation in an environment that contains uranium deposits by using Pb isotope signatures. The study area, southeast of Brazil, is characterized by the lack of surface water and, as a consequence, the groundwater plays an important role in the economy of the region, such as the supply to the uranium industry and, above all serving the needs of the local population. The objective of the present investigation is the determination of the signatures of Pb in groundwater and sediments as well as the identification of environments under influences of geogenic and/or anthropogenic sources. It was determined that the Pb in the majority of sediments was geogenic in origin. Although data from the literature, related to the environmental studies, consider 206Pb/207Pb isotopic ratio values below or close to 1.2 as an indicative of anthropogenic Pb, the 206Pb/ 207Pb determined for the majority of groundwater samples ranged from 1.14 to 1.19, and are similar to the data reported for rocks samples (1.09 to 1.96) from area with U mineralization. It was also determined that the anthropogenic influence of the uranium was restricted to a single sampling point within the mining area.

As assinaturas químicas dos óxidos de ferro presentes no itabirito dolomítico e no minério de ferro de alto teor do Depósito de Esperança, localizado no Quadrilátero Ferrífero, indicam que processos policíclicos envolvendo mudanças nas condições químicas e de redox são res ponsáveis pelo enriquecimento em ferro na Formação Cauê do Supergrupo Minas. A variação nos conteúdos relativos de Mn, Mg e Sr nas diferentes gerações de óxidos de ferro encontradas no itabirito dolomítico, no minério de ferro de alto teor e nos veios de quartzo-carbonato-hematita associados à mineralização denotam uma estreita relação entre a formação do corpo de minério de ferro de alto teor e a alteração dos carbonatos. Isso indica que o itabirito dolomítico é o principal precursor do corpo de minério naquele depósito. Percolação de longa duração de fluidos hidrotermais e mudança nas condições de redox contribuíram para a alteração das razões Y/Ho, elementos terras raras leves/pesados e da anomalia de Ce com sucessivas gerações de óxido de ferro (martita-hematita granular), bem como depleção dos conteúdos de elementos traço, incluindo os elementos terras raras das gerações mais recentes de especularita.

Chemical signatures of iron oxides from dolomitic itabirite and high-grade iron ore from the Esperança deposit, located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, indicate that polycyclic processes involving changing of chemical and redox conditions are responsible for the iron enrichment on Cauê Formation from Minas Supergroup. Variations of Mn, Mg and Sr content in different generations of iron oxides from dolomitic itabirite, high-grade iron ore and syn-mineralization quartz-carbonate-hematite veins denote the close relationship between high-grade iron ore formation and carbonate alteration. This indicates that dolomitic itabirite is the main precursor of the iron ore in that deposit. Long-lasting percolation of hydrothermal fluids and shifts in the redox conditions have contributed to changes in the Y/Ho ratio, light/heavy rare earth elements ratio and Ce anomaly with successive iron oxide generations (martite-granular hematite), as well as lower abundance of trace elements including rare earth elements in the younger specularite generations.

Binary mixture phase diagrams are normally obtained from thermal analysis involving freezing point curves. However, that approach is not always reliable and easy to follow to all kinds of mixtures in any proportion. In fact, even for a simple system, such as NaCl-H2O, this freezing methodology gives mixed results when one starts from a solid-solution system, due mostly to the formation of the NaCl.2H2O, which has an incongruent melting point, and the dependence of its solubility with the temperature. In this work we report a trustworthy, simple and cheap method involving heating curves to drawn the NaCl-H2O phase diagram.

O método de análise não-destrutivo denominado Microfluorescência de Raios X. (µSXRF, radiação Sincrotron) tem sido utilizado recentemente em laboratórios de luz Sincrotron de vários países para identificar e, em situações especiais, quantificar elementos menores, maiores e traços em inclusões fluidas. Com esse intuito, a estação de µSXRF do LNLS (Laboratório Nacional de Luz Sincrotron, Campinas) foi utilizada para desenvolver estudos composicionais de inclusões fluidas em minerais transparentes (quartzo, adulária, esmeralda, piroxênio) de diferentes jazidas minerais e minérios opacos de Ag e Fe.

Synchrotron radiation micro X-ray fluorescence (SµXRF) analysis is a non-destructive method that can be used to identify, and in special cases, to quantify major, minor, and trace elements present in fluid inclusions. In spite of the relevant results, this technique has been used only in a few studies, which, moreover, are mostly focused on either synthetic or natural fluid inclusions in transparent minerals. To investigate fluid inclusions in transparent and opaque minerals, the synchrotron radiation X-ray microprobe station from the µSXRF fluorescence beamline at the LNLS-Campinas was used. This analytical method has been proven to be efficient in the chemical characterization of the fluid inclusions constituents of some transparent (quartz, adularia, emerald, etc.) and opaque minerals (pyrargyrite and hematite).