Evolution and Li Mineralization of the No. 134 Pegmatite in the Jiajika Rare-Metal Deposit, Western Sichuan, China: Constrains from Critical Minerals

Abstract

The Jiajika rare-metal deposit located in western Sichuan Province (China) is renowned as the largest lithium deposit in Asia, and the No. 134 pegmatite dike is the largest lithium pegmatite under mining conditions in the area. On the basis of a detailed characterization of textures and minerals in the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite, two zones (the barren Zone I and the spodumene Zone II) and three subzones (Zone II was subdivided into microcrystalline, medium-fine grained and coarse-grained spodumene zones) have been identified. The detailed mineralogical characteristics of lithium minerals and other indicator minerals from each zone were evaluated by EPMA for illustrating the magmatic–hydrothermal evolution and the cooling path of the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite. From the outer zone inwards, grain size gradually increased, the typical graphic pegmatite zone was absent, and spodumene randomly crystallized throughout nearly the whole pegmatite body. This evidence indicated a Li-saturated melt prior to pegmatite crystallization, which could be the main cause of the super-large-scale Li mineralization of the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite. A comparison of the Cs content between primary beryl in the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite and other important Li-Cs-Ta pegmatites in the world indicates that No. 134 pegmatite shows a high degree of fractional crystallization. The evolution of mica species from muscovite to Li-micas from Zone I to Zone II marks the transition from the magmatic to the hydrothermal stage in pegmatite evolution. The absence of individual lepidolite and the relatively limited scale of alteration of spodumene (<10 vol%) suggest that the activity of the hydrothermal fluids in the system is limited, which contributes to the preservation of the easily altered Li ores and is also an important controlling factor of the super-large-scale Li mineralization of the pegmatite. Spodumene–quartz intergrowth (SQI) usually occurs partly along the rims of the spodumene grains in the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite. Combined with the pegmatite mineral equilibria, the results of fluid inclusion studies of the pegmatite and the metamorphic conditions in the area, a constrained P-T path of the magmatic–hydrothermal crystallization of the Jiajika No. 134 pegmatite is proposed. The unusual steeply sloped cooling path of the No. 134 pegmatite could be attributed to the fast pressure drop triggered by the intrusion of a pegmatitic melt along the fractures surrounding the Majingzi granite, which could also be the dominant evolution process for other spodumene pegmatites with similar SQI features in the world. The feature of limited internal geochemical fractionation suggested by mineral-scale geochemical analyses of spodumene and micas, combined with the clear textural zoning of the No. 134 pegmatite, can best be ascribed to the effect of undercooling during pegmatite formation. This effect might be one of the non-negligible rules of pegmatite petrogenesis, and would significantly upgrade the potential of Li mineralization by minimizing diffusional Li transfer to the country rocks.