Mineralogical and Petrographical Characteristics of Hornfels from Kowary (The Lower Silesia)

Abstract

Abstract Hornfels from the closed “Wolność” mine (Kowary, the Lower Silesia) are recognized as thermally metamorphosed rocks belonging to hornblende-hornfels facies or locally a facies of pyroxene hornfels. Their texture reveal the traces of some deformations such as folding or fractures. Their protholit is described as a pelitic deposit enriched with clay minerals. The sediment was altered into meta-pelities-aleurites after the diagenesis, and later the rock was intensely thermally metamorphosed at the contact with the intrusion of the Karkonosze granitoid. Three varieties are distinguished based on their colour: green, grey and black. Green and black colours result from the predominance of hornblende and biotite over other rock components, respectively. Whereas grey hornfels are composed of similar amounts of both mafic minerals: biotite and hornblende. Quartz, mica minerals (biotite and muscovite), amphibole, (hornblende), acid plagioclase and andalusite, epidote group (clinozoisite), orthoclase and pyroxene make up hornfels components. Locally, andalusite is accompanied by sillimianite, which indicates a higher degree of contact metamorphism alterations. Three generations of minerals are distinguished in the rocks: allogenic (I), metamorphic (II) and hydrothermal (III). The allogenic phases are represented by heavy minerals such as zircon, apatite and monazite, which are characteristic of the protholit. The main components of the rocks (e.g. quartz, hornblende, feldspars, andalusite, sillimanite, mica minerals) belong to metamorphic minerals. Chalcopyrite, pyrite and fluorite are surely hydrothermally originated phases. Granitoides found at the contact zone with hornfels indicate traces of metasomatic alteration as a result of endomorphism in this region.