Abstract
A microprobe study of olivine found in allivalite nodules from lavas discharged by Malyi Semyachik Volcano and of olivine phenocrysts from basalts discharged by Klyuchevskoi Volcano revealed the presence of rhonite as a daughter mineral, for the first time ever. Rhonite was found in small (10–50 μm) grains that are xenomorphic in intergrowths with other minerals and have regular crystallographic outlines in contact with glass. We also found high-alumina clinopyroxene, chromium-free spinel, and hornblende. Residual glass is distinguished by its higher concentrations of SiO2, Al2O3, alkalies, and by lower concentrations of FeO, MgO, and CaO. The chemical composition of the rhonite we studied is characterized by limited variations of the major components and fits the formula (Si,Al)6(Ti,Al,Fe+3,Fe+2,Mn,Mg)6(Ca,Na)2O20 well. The data points in the composition of the rhonites we have studied lie in the overall field of much more variable compositions to be found in the field. Unlike the previous findings in alkaline and subalkaline rocks, the rhonite we describe in the present report was found in rocks of the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series.
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