Mica
~ variety Phlogopite
Phlogopite is a yellow,
greenish, or reddish-brown member of the
mica family of phyllosilicates. It is
also known as magnesium mica.
Phlogopite is the magnesium endmember of
the biotite solid solution series, with
the chemical formula
KMg3AlSi3O10(F,OH)2. Iron substitutes
for magnesium in variable amounts
leading to the more common biotite with
higher iron content. For physical and
optical identification, it shares most
of the characteristic properties of
biotite.
Paragenesis
Phlogopite is an important and
relatively common end-member composition
of biotite. Phlogopite micas are found
primarily in igneous rocks, although it
is also common in contact metamorphic
aureoles of intrusive igneous rocks with
magnesian country rocks.
The occurrence of phlogopite mica within
igneous rocks is difficult to constrain
precisely because the primary control is
rock composition as expected, but
phlogopite is also controlled by
conditions of crystallisation such as
temperature, pressure, and vapor content
of the igneous rock. Several igneous
associations are noted: high-alumina
basalts, ultrapotassic igneous rocks,
and ultramafic rocks.
Basaltic association
The basaltic occurrence of
phlogopite is in association with
picrite basalts and high-alumina
basalts. Phlogopite is stable in
basaltic compositions at high pressures
and is often present as partially
resorbed phenocrysts or an accessory
phase in basalts generated at depth.
Ultrapotassic association
Phlogopite mica is a commonly
known phenocryst and groundmass phase
within ultrapotassic igneous rocks such
as lamprophyre, kimberlite, lamproite,
and other deeply sourced ultramafic or
high-magnesian melts. In this
association phlogopite can form well
preserved megacrystic plates to 10 cm,
and is present as the primary groundmass
mineral, or in association with
pargasite amphibole, olivine, and
pyroxene. Phlogopite in this association
is a primary igneous mineral present
because of the depth of melting and high
vapor pressures.
Ultramafic rocks
Phlogopite is often found in
association with ultramafic intrusions
as a secondary alteration phase within
metasomatic margins of large layered
intrusions. In some cases the phlogopite
is considered to be produced by
autogenic alteration during cooling. In
other instances, metasomatism has
resulted in phlogopite formation within
large volumes, as in the ultramafic
massif at Finero, Italy, within the
Ivrea zone. Trace phlogopite, again
considered the result of metasomatism,
is common within coarse-grained
peridotite xenoliths carried up by
kimberlite, and so phlogopite appears to
be a common trace mineral in the
uppermost part of the Earth's mantle.
Phlogopite is encountered as a primary
igneous phenocryst within lamproites and
lamprophyres, the result of highly
fluid-rich melt compositions within the
deep mantle.
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