Note on the stable isotope values of vein calcite in the El-Seboah peralkaline granite (SW Egypt)

Abstract

Note on the stable isotope values of vein calcite in the El-Seboah peralkaline granite (SW Egypt)Stable isotope data for carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) are used to constrain the environments of calcite formation in two veins in the El-Seboah peralkaline granite in south-western Egypt. Vein I with calcite-magnetite-goethite-hematite-quartz, and vein II with calcite-magnetite-goethite-kaolinite-hematite-quartz are texturally distinct. The calcite of each vein has characteristic δ13C- and δ18O-values: + 0.32 and -7.28‰ for vein I and + 1.16 and - 1.21‰ for vein II, respectively. The observed differences between the δ13C values of the two veins indicate that they represent two separate systems of primary dissolved inorganic carbon formed at or near equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. The δ18O values, on the other hand, indicate calcite deposition from meteoric waters which were fresh for vein I and brackish for vein II.