SpringerBriefs in World Mineral Deposits Archean Rare-Metal Pegmatites in Zimbabwe and Western Australia - Thomas Dittrich Thomas Seifert Bernhard Schulz Steffen Hagemann Axel Gerdes Jörg Pfänder Kartoniert (TB)

Lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites are important resources for rare metals. For Cs only the LCT pegmatites with the zeolite group mineral pollucite at Bikita (Zimbabwe Craton) and Tanco (Superior Province Craton) are of commercial importance. Common characteristics of world-class LCT pegmatite deposits include their Meso- to Neoarchean age and geological setting within greenstone belt lithologies on Archean Cratons. This study presents the first coherent and comparative scientific investigation of five major LCT pegmatite systems from the Yilgarn Pilbara and Zimbabwe Craton. For the ev aluation of their Cs potential and of the genetic concepts of pollucite formation the pegmatites from Wodgina Londonderry Mount Deans and Cattlin Creek were compared to the Bikita pollucite mineralization. The integration of the new data (e.g. geochronological and radiogenic isotope data) into the complex geological framework: 1) enhances our knowledge of the formation of LCT pegmatite systems and 2) will contribute to the further exploration of additional world-class LCT pegmatite deposits which 3) may host massive pollucite mineralisations.