pegmatite

pegmatite
pegmatitic /peg'meuh tit"ik/, adj.
/peg"meuh tuyt'/, n. Petrol.
a coarsely crystalline granite or other high-silica rock occurring in veins or dikes.
[1825-35; < Gk pegmat- (s. of pêgma) anything fastened together, a bond (Compare pegnýein to stick) + -ITE1]

* * *

Almost any wholly crystalline igneous rock that is at least in part very coarse-grained, the major constituents of which include minerals typically found in ordinary igneous rocks (such as granites) and in which extreme textural variations, especially in grain size, are characteristic.

Usually found as irregular dikes, lenses, or veins, pegmatite deposits occur in all parts of the world and are the chief source of commercial feldspar, sheet mica, and beryllium, tantalum-niobium, and lithium minerals.

* * *

rock
      almost any wholly crystalline igneous rock that is at least in part very coarse grained, the major constituents of which include minerals typically found in ordinary igneous rocks and in which extreme textural variations, especially in grain size, are characteristic. Giant crystals, with dimensions measured in metres, occur in some pegmatites, but the average grain size of all such rocks is only 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches).

      Most bodies of pegmatite are tabular, podlike (cigar-shaped), or irregular in form and range in size from single crystals of feldspar to dikes (tabular bodies injected in fissures) many tens of metres thick and more than a kilometre long; many are intimately associated with masses of fine-grained aplite. Pegmatites occur in all parts of the world and are most abundant in rocks of relatively great geologic age. Some are segregations within much larger bodies of intrusive igneous rocks, others are distributed in the rocks that surround such bodies, and still others are not recognizably associated with igneous rocks.

      Granitic and syenitic pegmatite deposits are the chief source of commercial feldspar, sheet mica, and beryllium, tantalum–niobium, and lithium minerals. They also yield significant quantities of gem minerals, mica, molybdenite, cassiterite, tungsten minerals, rare-earth minerals, and certain types of kaolin, either directly or as the sources of placer deposits. Economic lode concentrations generally occur in zoned pegmatite bodies (i.e., those within which two or more different rock types are systematically disposed).

      Pegmatites are little different from the common igneous rocks in major elements of bulk composition, and they range from felsic to mafic (silica-rich to silica-poor); granitic and syenitic types are most abundant. Quartz and alkali feldspars are the essential constituents; the most common varietal and accessory minerals are muscovite, biotite, apatite, garnet, and tourmaline. Many granitic pegmatites contain unusual concentrations of the less-abundant elements. Ore minerals, chiefly sulfides and oxides, are widespread in pegmatites but rarely are abundant.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pegmatite — is a very coarse grained igneous rock that has a grain size of 20 mm or more; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic .Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar and mica; in essence a granite . Rarer intermediate and mafic pegmatite… …   Wikipedia

  • pegmatite — [ pɛgmatit ] n. f. • 1807; du gr. pêgma, pêgmatos « conglomération » ♦ Minér. Roche magmatique dont les cristaux granitoïdes de grande taille peuvent contenir des éléments rares (lithium, uranium). « la terre de bruyère, maigre et sèche, [...]… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Pegmatite — présentant des inclusions feldspath et de saphir …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pegmatite — Peg ma*tite, n. [From Gr. ? something fastened together, in allusion to the quartz and feldspar in graphic granite: cf. F. pegmatite. See {Pegm}.] (Min.) (a) Graphic granite. See under {Granite}. (b) More generally, a coarse granite occurring as… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pegmatite — s. f. [Geologia] Rocha ordinariamente granulosa que tem por base o feldspato e o quartzo …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • pegmatite — [peg′mə tīt΄] n. [< Gr pēgma (gen. pēgmatos), a framework, something fastened together (< IE base * paĝ : see FANG) + ITE1: from its texture] a light colored, coarsegrained, intrusive igneous rock, usually granitic, containing large… …   English World dictionary

  • Pegmatite — Pegmatịte   [zu griechisch pẽgma, pe̅gmatos »Festgewordenes«], Singular Pegmatịt der, s, aus einer an leichtflüchtigen Bestandteilen reichen, meist granitische Restschmelze des Magmas (Differenziation) entstandene grob bis riesenkörnige… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • pegmatite — noun A coarsely crystalline igneous or plutonic rock composed primarily of feldspar and quartz, normally with muscovite and/or biotite mica. Often contains other minerals, which may be of economic importance. Pegmatite is chemically identical to… …   Wiktionary

  • pegmatite — pegmatitas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Rūgšti magminė gyslinė stambiagrūdė uoliena. atitikmenys: angl. pegmatite rus. пегматит …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • pegmatite — noun Etymology: French, from Greek pēgmat , pēgma something fastened together, from pēgnynai to fasten together more at pact Date: circa 1828 a coarse variety of granite occurring in dikes or veins • pegmatitic adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”