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Ni-phyllosilicates (garnierites) from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic): mineralogy, nanotextures, and formation mechanisms by HRTEM and AEM

  • Cristina Villanova-De-Benavent EMAIL logo , Fernando Nieto , Cecilia Viti , Joaquín A. Proenza , Salvador Galí and Josep Roqué-Rosell
From the journal American Mineralogist

Abstract

Ni-bearing magnesium phyllosilicates (garnierites) are significant Ni ores in Ni-laterites worldwide. The present paper reports a detailed TEM investigation of garnierites from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic). Different types of garnierites have been recognized, usually consisting of mixtures between serpentine and talc-like phases that display a wide range of textures at the nano-meter scale. In particular, chrysotile tubes, polygonal serpentine, and lizardite lamellae are intergrown with less crystalline, talc-like lamellae. Samples consisting uniquely of talc-like and of sepiolitefalcondoite were also observed, occurring as distinctive thin lamellae and long ribbon-shaped fibers, respectively. HRTEM imaging indicates that serpentine is replaced by the talc-like phase, whereas TEM-AEM data show preferential concentration of Ni in the talc-like phase. We suggest, therefore, that the crystallization of Ni-bearing phyllosilicates is associated with an increase in the silica activity of the system, promoting the replacement of the Ni-poor serpentine by the Ni-enriched talc-like phase. These results have interesting implications in material science, as garnierites are natural analogs of Ni-bearing phyllosilicate-supported synthetic catalysts. Finally, SAED and HRTEM suggest that the Ni-bearing talc-like phase corresponds to a variety of talc with extra water, showing larger d001 than talc (i.e., 9.2–9.7 Å), described as “kerolite”-“pimelite” in clay mineral literature.

Acknowledgments

This research has been financially supported by the Spanish projects CGL2009-10924, CGL2012-36263, CGL2011-30153, and CGL2012-32169, the Catalan project SGR 2009-444, an FPU Ph.D. grant sponsored by the Ministerio de Educación (Spain), and the “Estancias Breves” (Ministerio de Educación, Spain) and “Borsa de Viatges” scholarships (Universitat de Barcelona) to C.V.d.B. The help and hospitality extended by the staff at Falcondo Glencore-Xtrata mine, especially by F. Longo and G. Bloise, are also gratefully acknowledged. Technical support by F. Mata, A. Villuendas (UB), I. Nieto, M.M Abad, J.D. Montes (CIC-UGR), C. Magrini, and E. Mugnaioli (UniSi) was essential to this study. The authors also thank J.F. Lewis, without whom the execution of the fieldwork would not have been as profitable and instructive as it was. The careful and detailed revisions of the manuscript made by Alain Baronnet, Martin Wells, and an anonymous reviewer increased the quality and accuracy of the text and are greatly acknowledged, as well as the supervision made by Keith D. Putirka and Warren Huff.

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Received: 2015-7-30
Accepted: 2016-2-5
Published Online: 2016-6-3
Published in Print: 2016-6-1

© 2016 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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