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 BY
REFAEY ELWARDANY
DEFINITION OF PEGMATITE

COMPOSITION OF PEGMATITE

IMPORTANCE OF PEGMATITE

FORM OF PEGMATITE DEPOSITS

EXPLORATION GUIDES
 DEFINITION OF PEGMATITE
 pegmatites as: “essentially igneous rock, mostly of granitic composition, that is
distinguished from other igneous rocks by its extremely coarse but variable grain
size, or by an abundance of crystals with skeletal, graphic, or other strongly
directional growth habits.”
London(2008)

 Pegmatites are holocrystalline rocks typically composed of igneous rock-forming

minerals that are, in part, very coarse grained, although some are extremely varied in
grain size.
(Jahns, 1955).
COMPOSITION OF PEGMATITE
They are commonly granitic in composition, consisting mainly of quartz, feldspar,
and mica, but more mafic varieties composed of olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase
also occur. and accessory garnet, tourmaline, and apatite. Pegmatites that host
appreciable beryl, lithium aluminosilicates, phosphates other than apatite, oxides
other than magnetite or ilmenite, and other rare minerals are regarded as rare-
element pegmatites. Mafic pegmatites, however, have negligible economic
significance and are not considered in this review.

IMPORTANCE
On a world scale, pegmatites have been a major source of beryllium, lithium, cesium,
tantalum, muscovite mica, and feldspar, and a minor source of uranium, yttrium,
rare-earth elements, tin, and tungsten. Miarolitic pegmatites are an important source
of gemstones such as beryl (emerald), topaz, and tourmaline. The emphasis in this
review is on rare element pegmatite which are miner logically complex and typically
enriched in lithophile elements and rare metals. They also contain industrial minerals
such as feldspar and mica.
FORM OF DEPOSITS
Many pegmatites occur as dyke-like or lenticular bodies but they range considerably in
both shape and size. Pegmatites in high grade metamorphic rocks form irregular,
tabular to ellipsoidal bodies that are typically conformable to the foliation of the host
rocks. Some pegmatites in lower grade metamorphic rocks are conformable with the
host rocks, but others occupy discordant, crosscutting structures such as tension faults.
Pegmatites formed within larger granitic bodies have bulbous to highly irregular
shapes.

SIZE , GRADE OF DEPOSITS AND DISTRBUTION

-Pegmatite deposits that have been commercially exploited range in size from
thousands to millions of tonnes.

-Pegmatites and associated host rocks throughout the world range in age from early
Precambrian to Tertiary.

-Most pegmatites range in size from a few meters to hundreds of meters long and
from 1 cm to several hundred meters wide, although a few pegmatites are much
larger
Figure 1. World map showing the locations of LCT pegmatite deposits or districts,
including smaller districts in the United States. The symbols are color-coded by age.
Giant deposits are represented by larger symbols.
Fig 2. Age distributions of major LCT pegmatite fields Pe and granites Gr (Condie et al. 2009;
McCauley and Bradley 2014). Age distribution of major LCT pegmatite fields as determined by
Tkachev (2011). Age distribution peaks of the major (bold numbers) and minor pegmatite cycles.
The colored bars highlight the approximate assembly times of supercontinents. Red star
marksBikita and Tanco pegmatite fields with massive pollucite mineralisations
Granites vs. pegmatite
*Granites form large masses, cupolas or batholith etc.
* Uniform and mineralogically homogeneous rock,

*Most pegmatite bodies are small, with dimensions on the scale of meters
rather than kilometers.
* Internally heterogeneous in their composition and rock fabrics.
*They occur as segregations along the margins of the cupolas of granites
and as sharply discordant dikes that intrude igneous and metamorphic
rocks.
TYPES OF PEGMATITES

-METAMORPHIC PEGMATITES

-MAFIC PEGMATITES

-SYENITE PEGMATITES

-GRANITIC PEGMATITES
 A general classification scheme for granitic pegmatites
based on their environments of formation and mineralogical
features as suggested by Ginsburg (1984) and modified
by Cernf (1990, 1991b)
Table 1. Four main categories of Pegmatite classification (afterˇCerný, 1991).

Wm. B. “Skip” SIMMONS* and Karen L. WEBBER 2008

Table 2. The four classes of granitic pegmatites showing minor elements, metamorphic environment, relation
to granite, structural features and examples (after ˇCerný, 1991

Wm. B. “Skip” SIMMONS* and Karen L. WEBBER 2008

 Table 3. Relationships between Cˇ erný’s (1991)
pegmatite classes, families, types and subtypes,
showing the types and subtypes related to
LCT and NYF families.

Table 4. Petrogenetic affiliations (after

ˇCerný, 1991), showing geochemical
signature, orogenic affiliation, granite
bulk composition, source lithologies and
granite type (I, S, A).

Wm. B. “Skip” SIMMONS* and Karen L. WEBBER 2008

Table 5. The family system of petrologic classification of granitic pegmatites of plutonic derivation. For the
complete classification refer toˇCerný & Ercit (2005).

Wm. B. “Skip” SIMMONS* and Karen L. WEBBER 2008

Zonation in pegmatites occurs at two scales:
(1) Internal zonation, themineralogical and textural changes within
individual pegmatite bodies.

(2) Regional zonation, manifested as increasing chemical complexity with

distance from their granitic or other thermal source, and
 INTERNAL ZONATION
HOMOGENEOUS PEGMATITES
Majority of pegmatites are mineralogically simple, unzoned and consist mostly of
coarse grained quartz and feldspar with subordinate mica, and are uniform in both
composition and texture. Some of the homogeneous pegmatites are economically
important source of lithium, feldspar and quartz. E.g.: Kings mountain district, North
Carolina, USA , Manona-Kitole, Zaire

HETEROGENEOUS PEGMATITES
Heterogeneous pegmatites result from igneous processes rather than
recrystallization or palin genesis associated with metamorphism. They are thought to
have formed as a result of one period of crystallization, after injection of a water rich
siliceous late stage melt, during which the first formed minerals react with a
progressively changing residual magmatic fluid from the outer to the inner zones with
time. These are economically important
INTERNAL ZONATION

Fig. 3. A zoned pegmatite from

near Palomar Mountain, San
Diego County, California,
shows typical zonation and
texture in a layered pegmatite.
Unidirectional solidification
texture (UST) is prominent
from the wall zones into the
core. Garnet defines the
banding in the layered aplite.
Modified from London (2008).
INTERNAL ZONATION

Fig. 4. Surface exposure of pegmatite at the San Diego mine, Mesa Grande district, San Diego County,
California (USA), inwhich large K-feldspar crystals that constitute an intermediate zone grewup fromthe
footwall contact with aplite. Megacrystic K-feldspar is absent along the hanging wall,which is plagioclase-rich.
R.H. Jahns delivered his rendition of the Jahns–Burnham model from atop this outcrop in 1979.
INTERNAL ZONATION

Fig. 5. Panel b, Jan Loun photo, with permission. Panel c,

Milan Novak photo, with permission. Panel d,
University of New Mexico Archives photo, with
permission. Panels e and f are from London(2008).
INTERNAL ZONATION

Fig. 6. Layered aplites. Creamy-beige

amblygonite occurs as upward branching
skeletal crystals that span ~1 m. Dark
gray quartz also shows upward-branching
UST. Panel a is from London (2008).
 INTERNAL ZONATION

Fig. 7 Illustrations of models for internal zonation of pegmatite.Panel a is adapted from Vlasov (1961);
panel b is adapted fromJahns and Burnham (1969); and panel c is adapted from Uebel (1977).
REGIONAL ZONING Some pegmatites associated
with granitic intrusions,
particularly rare element
pegmatites, are distributed in
zonal patterns around such
intrusions. In general, the
pegmatites most enriched in rare
metals and volatile components
are located farthest from the
intrusions (Trueman and Cernj.,
1982; Cernjl, 1989b

Fig. 8. Schematic representation of the regional zonation of pegmatites (red)

around a granite intrusion (modified from Trueman and Cern$, 1982).
REGIONAL ZONING

Fig. 9 Regional zonation within a pegmatite group of the LCT family. Pegmatite
segregations (“facial pegmatites”: Černý, 1991b) form along the upper margin of the
pluton. Dotted white lines are isothermal surfaces. FromLondon (2014a).
 Chemical composition
The chemical compositions of most pegmatites are similarto those of differentiated
granitic rocks with respect to major elements, except that pegmatites tend to have
lower total Fe, MgO, and CaO, and higher A1203 (Cerny, 1991b).

Rare element pegmatites, however, display extreme fractionation and enrichment in

lithophile elements such as Li, Rb, Cs, 71, Be, Nb, Ta, and Ga, and volatiles such as B,
F, and P (Cernjr et al., 1985).

Some rare element pegmatites, for example, contain as much as 2% Li20, 1% Rb20 or
more, 1.5% Cs20, 0.8% B203, and 1% F (Cernjr, 1982a).

Pegmatites in high grade metamorphic rocks have high contents of Ca, Ba, Sr, Fe, Mn,
Ti, and, in some cases, B, F, and rare-earth elements, but the content of rare metals in
these pegmatites is low
Geochemical fractionation

Fig10. Fractionation trends of Ta/(Ta+Nb) vs. Mn/(Mn+Fe) of columbite group minerals in pegmatites: A-
Greer Lake field, Canada; Bblack Hills, South Dakota and Himalaya pegmatite, California; C-Yellowknife
field, NWT, Canada; Altai field, China; Cross Lake field, Manitoba (after ˇ Cerný et al., 1986).
Geochemical fractionation

Fig 11. K/Rb vs. Cs weight percent of Fig. 12. Tantalum and
blocky K-feldspar in pegmatitesof the Manganese enrichment trends in
Winnipeg River district, southeastern fluorine-ri chand fluorine-poor
Manitoba,Canada (after ˇCerný, 1989b). pegmatites (after ˇCerný, 1989b).
Geochemical fractionation

Fig.13. Na/Li vs. Cs weight percent for late beryl from Fig. 14. K/Rb vs. Cs wt. % in micas across Tanco
granite pegmatites: (modified pegmatite. Dashed boundaries are approximately
from ˇCerný, 2002). between muscovite (ms), lithian muscovite (Li-ms)
and lepidolite (lpd) zones (after ˇCerný, 2005).
Fluid and melt inclusions

Fig. 15. Cooling curve for the George Ashley dike calculated with latent heat of
crystallization, emplacement temperature of 650 ◦C into 150 ◦C country rock. Half-width of
the dike is plotted with the dike center at 0. The position of the contact between the country
rock and the dike is shown. The interval where layered aplite (line rock) occurs within the
dike is between the 2 heavy lines (Webber et al., 1997).
Pressure and temperature

Fig. 16. Pressure and temperature relationships between the four

major categories of pegmatite classification, MSC-Muscovite, ABAbyssal,
RE- Rare-Element and MI- Miarolitic (after ˇCerný, 1991).
Temperatures of formation

Fig. 17. Two-feldspar temperatures for the Little Three pegmatiteaplite dike,
California with respect to height above the base of the footwall aplite (after
Morgan & London, 1999).
Most pegmatites occur in orogenic belts, although the type of pegmatite formed differs
according to the nature of its geological setting.

Abyssal class pegmatites typically occur in migmatitic rocks of upper amphibolite to

granulite facies metamorphism.

Muscovite class pegmatites occur in slightly lower grade Barrovian-type metamorphic

terranes, mainly amphibolite facies. For both abyssal and muscovite class pegmatites,
the host rocks represent deeply eroded root zones of orogenic belts.

Rare element pegmatites occur in less deeply eroded Abu kuma-type metamorphic
terranes, generally of cordierite-amphibolite facies. They are commonly peripheral to
larger granitic plutons that, in many cases, represent the parental granite from which
the pegmatite was derived.
Fig 18. Schematic geological map of the Kalu’an-Azubai pegmatite field (after
[Ma, Z.L.; Zhang et al 2015,]).
Fig 19. Field photos showing typical textures and mineralogy of the Li-rich
pegmatites at Kalu’an-Azubai pegmatite field.
Fig 20. Photomicrographs showing typical CGM-bearing mineral assemblages in the
investigated Li-rich pegmatites at Kalu’an.
Fig 21. #Ta-#Mn quadrilateral diagram [Cˇ erný, P. 1989] for CGMs from
the Li pegmatites at Kalu’an..
 For No. 802 pegmatite
on the core of the CGM grains were analyzed. The Ca and REE concentrations are
generally below the detection limits, except one analysis showing 64 ppm Ca). The core
of the CGMs from this pegmatite contains <1 ppm Sc, <1 ppm Y, 328.9 ± 143.8 ppm Zr,
10.1 ± 3.7 ppm Sn, 25.4 ± 10.8 ppm Hf, and 3581.1 ± 983.0 ppm W. The U, Th, and Pb
concentrations are 406.9 ± 109.3 ppm, 12.3 ± 6.8 ppm, and 73.6 ± 37.1 ppm, respectively.
Fig 22 .the U and Pb concentrations of the dated CGMs show an excellent positive
correlation The U and Th concentrations also exhibit positive correlation, except for
one analysis on the CGMs from No. 803 pegmatite which shows extraordinarily
high U and Th concentrations (Fig.10b)
Fig 23 they showed that this analysis compared to the CGMs from No. 802 and No.
803 pegmatites, CGM-I from No. 805 pegmatite is generally characterized by
relatively low W and Sn concentrations and low Zr/Hf ratio but relatively high and
variable Y concentrations
Fig 24. Binary plots showing correlations between columbite LA-ICP-MS U-Pb
ages and #Mnand #Ta values of CGMs from the Kalu’an lithium pegmatites,
Fig 25. Binary plots showing correlations between columbite LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages and
the W concentrations of CGMs
 1989

Fig 26. Backscattered electron (BSE) and secondary electron (SE) images showing
that the discordant ages of some analytical spots are likely caused by the presence of
fractures.
Exploration guide lines for rare element pegmatites (Trueman and Cernf, 1982; Cernf,
1989b, 1991c) include the following:

1. Geological setting: rare element pegmatites typically occur in rock suites of medium
grade Abukuma-type metamorphic facies, along fault systems and lithological
boundaries, or closely associated with anorogenic granitoid plutons.

2. Regional zoning: identification of zonal patterns of pegmatite distribution can

help isolate specific areas of interest.

3. Fractionation: mineral assemblages and chemistry of individual minerals in

pegmatites indicate fractionation levels and economic potential.
4. Geochemical approaches: primary dispersion aureoles in host rocks (e.g. Li, Rb, Cs,
Be, B), secondary dispersion halos in overburden, and light plus heavy minerals
in stream sediments (e.g. beryl, spodumene, tourmaline, columbite-tantalite) help
identify target areas at both regional and local scales.

5. Geophysical approaches: radiometric surveys may be useful for identifying parent

granites andlor associated pegmatites that are enriched in U and Th. Gravity surveys
can be used to outline pegmatites in host rocks of contrasting density.
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