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Emerald from the Habachtal: new observations

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Abstract

The emerald mineralization in the Habachtal (Austria) is geologically and tectonically complex, and previous investigators have identified fluid inclusion evidence for a hydrothermal/metamorphic origin for the emeralds. In this paper we report the discovery of emeralds with a distinctly different inclusion population including melt inclusions, which demonstrates that at least some and probably most of the emerald mineralization in the Habachtal occurred from an extremely fluid-rich pegmatite-like aluminosilicate melt under supercritical conditions, at high temperatures and moderate pressures (~700 °C, 5 kbar). This conclusion is based on the presence of very highly-ordered graphite, and extremely water-rich melt inclusions in emerald. The Lorentz distribution of MgCO3 against the water concentration is a very robust proof for the supercritical state. We suggest that the purely metamorphic model, based on the extrapolation of fluid inclusion data to the regional metamorphic conditions (550 °C and 5 kbar) by some previous investigators are inconsistent with our finding of high-temperature indications (well-ordered graphite, high-temperature fluid inclusions and melt inclusions). This apparent conflict suggests a more complex situation and requires a re-investigation of the emerald genesis in the Habachtal deposit.

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Acknowledgments

Emerald and beryl samples from Habachtal, Orlovka, Lened, and Yacopi were kindly made available by Lois and Andreas Steiner (Brambach, Austria), Elena Badanina (St. Petersburg, Russia), Dan Marshall (Burnaby, Canada), and Volker Lüders (Potsdam/Germany). We thank Uwe Dittmann (GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam) for the rapid preparation of a new and well-characterized emerald sample in biotite schist from the Habachtal emerald deposit. Extensive discussion with Günter Grundmann, Robert (Bob) Trumbull, and Johann Raith led to the clarification of some open questions. We thank reviewers Gaston Giuliani and JC (Hanco) Zwaan, and associate editor Anton Beran for valuable remarks on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geoscience – GFZ, Section 3.6. Chemistry and Physics of Earth Materials, Telegrafenberg, D-14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Rainer Thomas

  2. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia

    Paul Davidson

  3. Alemannenstr. 4a, D-14612, Falkensee, Germany

    Adolf Rericha

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  1. Rainer Thomas
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Correspondence to Paul Davidson.

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Editorial handling: A. Beran

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Thomas, R., Davidson, P. & Rericha, A. Emerald from the Habachtal: new observations. Miner Petrol 114, 161–173 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-020-00700-4

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