The Carbonatite-Related Morro do Padre Niobium Deposit, Cataldo II Complex, Central Brazil

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dc.contributor.authorPalmieri, Matheus
dc.contributor.authorBrod, Jose Affonso
dc.contributor.authorCordeiro, Pedro
dc.contributor.authorGaspar, Jose Carlos
dc.contributor.authorRibeiro Barbosa, Paulo Afonso
dc.contributor.authorde Assis, Luis Carlos
dc.contributor.authorJunqueira-Brod, Tereza Cristina
dc.contributor.authorEduardo e Silva, Serio
dc.contributor.authorMilanezi, Bruno Palhares
dc.contributor.authorMachado, Sergio Augusto
dc.contributor.authorJacomo, Marta Henriques
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T21:02:07Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T21:02:07Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractThe Morro do Padre deposit contains a valuable niobium resource estimated at 14.5 Mt at 1.52 wt % Nb2O5 (at a cut-off grade of 0.5% Nb2O5) hosted in carbonatite-related rocks and their regolith in the southern part of the Catalao II Complex, in central Brazil. Morro do Padre shares numerous geologic features with some of the biggest niobium producers in the world (the Boa Vista mine, also in Catalao II, the Mina II in Catalao I, and the CBMM mine in the Araxa Complex) and can help advance our understanding of the ore formation processes involved. The Morro do Padre hypogene zone is characterized by E-W-trending dike swarms of tetraferri-phlogopite phoscorites (magnetite-apatite-carbonate-tetraferriphlogopite-pyrochlore rocks) and carbonatites intrusive within Precambrian rocks. The magmatic origin of these Nb-rich rocks is supported by country rock xenoliths within dikes and ponding into a stratified sill with repetitive cumulus layers. At least two tetraferri-phlogopite phoscorite phases (apatite-rich or pegmatoidal P1 and the magnetite-rich P2) and two carbonatite phases (C1 calcite carbonatite and C2 dolomite carbonatite) are present. The bulk of hypogene mineralization is primarily controlled by the emplacement of P2 dikes and secondarily by C1 and C2 dikes where pyrochlore is accessory. Whole-rock and pyrochlore chemistry and textural and spatial relationships suggest that the genesis of P2 (and that of the niobium deposit) is due to the emplacement of a parental dolomite carbonatite magma that crystallized medium-to coarse-grained magnetite, apatite, tetraferriphlogopite, and pyrochlore on dike walls upon cooling, in an elaborate magmatic type of "cumulate dike build-up. " Weathering generated the regolith zone, where the dissolution of barren phases compounded the Nb concentration even further. Morro do Padre showcases the role of carbonatite-phoscorite magmatism in producing Fe-P-Nb-rich rocks and economic niobium mineralization.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.5382/econgeo.4951
dc.identifier.eissn1554-0774
dc.identifier.issn0361-0128
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4951
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/93015
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000861733000003
dc.issue.numero7
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final1520
dc.pagina.inicio1497
dc.revistaEconomic geology
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.titleThe Carbonatite-Related Morro do Padre Niobium Deposit, Cataldo II Complex, Central Brazil
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen117
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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