Abstract
At the Matauri Bay halloysite deposit, economically valuable halloysite-rich clays are hosted by a sanidine rhyolite dome (Ar–Ar dated at 10.1 ± 0.03 Ma). The rhyolite dome intrudes an older basalt and is overlain by alluvial sediments and a younger basalt (4.0 ± 0.7 Ma). A blanket-like, halloysite-rich zone is restricted to depths of 10–30 m from the present day erosion surface. Primary sanidine and plagioclase phenocrysts in rhyolite are completely leached out in the halloysite-rich zone but are only partially leached out at greater depth. Halloysite was formed by hydrolysis and cation leaching of sanidine and plagioclase phenocrysts and groundmass glass in the rhyolite, resulting in loss of K, Ca, Na and Si and enrichment in OH (LOI 6–10%) and Al2O3 (20–30%) relative to least-altered rhyolite with 1.8% LOI and 14.5% Al2O3. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope data indicate the halloysite is supergene rather than hydrothermal in origin, which is consistent with the absence of pyrite, alunite and other acid-sulphate type hydrothermal minerals, and with the blanket-like alteration profile. The dominance of halloysite over kaolinite was favoured by water-saturated weathering conditions during the late Miocene-Pliocene subtropical weathering regime in Northland.
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Acknowledgements
Ray Soong and Mark Simpson provided XRD analyses, Neville Orr prepared the thin sections and Carolyn Hume drafted Fig. 1 using digital data provided by David Heron. Kay Card, Scott Morgan and John Futter provided SEM images, and Spectrachem Analytical provided the XRF chemical analyses. Dallas Mildenhall determined the pollen ages and their paleoenvironment. Paul van den Bogaard of the IFM-GEOMAR Geochronology Laboratory provided and commented on the Ar–Ar analyses and Christian Timm helped in drafting Fig. 4. Colin Harvey and Agnes Reyes reviewed the manuscript and provided helpful suggestions. The paper benefited from comments by Noel White and Nick Jansen. The New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and Imery’s Tableware NZ Ltd provided support for this research.
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Brathwaite, R.L., Christie, A.B., Faure, K. et al. Origin of the Matauri Bay halloysite deposit, Northland, New Zealand. Miner Deposita 47, 897–910 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-012-0404-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-012-0404-9