Work

Experimental Study of Phenakite Solubility in Aluminosilicate Melts: Implication for the Genesis of Be Deposits

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The solubility of phenakite (Be 2 SiO 4 ) in granite melts was experimentally studied at temperatures of 1000 and 1100°C and pressures of 1 and 4 kbar in dry conditions and in the presence of 10 wt % H 2 O. The starting materials were granite glasses with agpaitic coefficient of 1–2.5 and natural phenakite. It was found that the solubility of phenakite increases with increasing agpaitic index (Na + K)/Al of the melt, and the solubility of BeO in hydrous melts is higher than in dry ones. The solubility of phenakite also increases with pressure. The obtained experimental data were generalized with the previous data in the form of an equation describing the solubility of BeO in alkaline-granite melts coexisting with crystalline Be phases depending on the agpaitic index, temperature, and pressure. The results of the experiments and their generalizations support the model of Be concentration in alkaline hydrous melts—the products of differentiation of granite magmas.

Source: Petrology

DOI: 10.1134/s0869591125700110

Authors: N. I. Suk, B. B. Damdinov, A. R. Kotelnikov, L. B. Damdinova, V. B. Khubanov, N. S. Bortnikov