RT Journal Article
T1 High-Resolution Analysis of Critical Minerals and Elements in Fe–Mn Crusts from the Canary Island Seamount Province (Atlantic Ocean)
A1 Marino, Egidio
A1 González, Francisco Javier
A1 Lunar Hernández, María Del Rosario
A1 Reyes, Jesús
A1 Medialdea, Teresa
A1 Castillo Carrión, Mercedes
A1 Bellido, Eva
A1 Somoza Losada, Luis
AB Two Fe–Mn crusts among 35 samples, from six seamounts in the Canary Island Seamount Province, were selected as representatives of the endpoint members of two distinct types of genetic processes, i.e., mixed diagenetic/hydrogenetic and purely hydrogenetic. High-resolution analyses pursued the main aim of distinguishing the critical elements and their association with mineral phases and genetic processes forming a long-lived Fe–Mn crust. The Fe–Mn crust collected on the Tropic Seamount is composed of dense laminations of Fe-vernadite (>90%) and goethite group minerals, reflecting the predominance of the hydrogenetic process during their formation. Based on high-resolution age calculation, this purely hydrogenetic crust yielded an age of 99 Ma. The Fe–Mn crust collected on the Paps Seamount shows a typical botryoidal surface yielding an age of 30 Ma. electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) spot analyses show two main types of manganese oxides, indicating their origin: (i) hydrogenetic Fe-vernadite, the main Mn oxide, and (ii) laminations of interlayered buserite and asbolane. Additionally, the occurrence of calcite, authigenic carbonate fluor-apatite (CFA) and palygorskite suggests early diagenesis and pervasive phosphatization events. Sequential leaching analysis indicated that Co, Ni, Cu, Ba and Ce are linked to Mn minerals. Therefore, Mn-oxides are enriched in Ni and Cu by diagenetic processes or in Co and Ce by hydrogenetic processes. On the other hand, Fe-oxides concentrate V, Zn, As and Pb. Moreover, the evidence of HREE enrichment related to Fe-hydroxides is confirmed in the mixed hydrogenetic/diagenetic crust.
PB MDPI
SN 2075-163X
YR 2018
FD 2018-07-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/13100
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/13100
LA eng
NO Unión Europea. H2020
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
NO Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 abr 2025