Ephesite, Na(LiAl2) [Al2Si2O10] (OH)2: II. Thermodynamic analysis of its stability and compatibility relations, and its geological occurrences

Abstract

The trioctahedral mica ephesite, Na(LiAl2) [Al2Si2O10] (OH)2, has a large $$P_{H_2 O}$$ -T stability field in the quaternary system NaAlSiO4-LiAlSiO4-Al2O3-H2O. At temperatures below 400–500° C it coexists with diaspore, while at higher temperatures it occurs with corundum, until it decomposes to nepheline +eucryptite+corundum+H2O at 600–800° C (Fig. 1). Nature faithfully reflects these phase relations; ephesite is found to coexist with diaspore or corundum in silicadeficient metamorphosed rocks or in hydrothermally altered nepheline-syenite pegmatite. Thermodynamic analysis of phase relations of ephesite in the silica saturated portion of the quinary system NaAlSiO4-LiAlSiO4-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O shows that the assemblage quartz+ephesite is always metastable with respect to paragonite+spodumene or paragonite+petalite at temperatures down to approximately 300° C (Fig. 3). At lower temperatures, a number of other phases like bikitaite, cookeite, Na-montmorillonite, and analcime are stabilized. Stability and compatibility relations involving these phases are presently not amenable to thermodynamic treatment due to lack of suitable data. Nevertheless, the absence of the assemblage quartz+ephesite in nature seems to vindicate our conclusion that it is metastable down to at least 300° C. The frequently encountered assemblage quartzspodumene (or petalite)-microcline-albite of some lithium pegmatites contains muscovite (±lepidolite), rather than paragonite. The absence of paragonite in such rocks is best explained by the inherent metastability of the phase-pair paragonite+microcline with respect to muscovite+albite. The pegmatite bulk compositions plot in the four-phase field spodumene (petalite)-microcline-muscovite-albite, cutting out paragonite from the observed assemblage Thus, absence of paragonite-spodumene or paragonitepetalite in nature reflects lack of suitable bulk compositions in rocks.