Geochemistry of REE-bearing minerals from the Stara Kamienica schist belt (NE Bohemian Massif, SW Poland)

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1832

Keywords:

monazite, xenotime, Ce-allanite, plumbogummite group minerals, REE, tin deposits, Stara Kamienica, Sudetes

Abstract

Complementary micro-area mineralogical investigations using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) allowed for the identification of several REE-bearing mineral phases, including monazite-(Ce) [(Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO₄], xenotime-(Y) [YPO₄], allanite-(Ce) [(Ce,Ca,Y)₂(Al,Fe)₃(SiO₄)₃(OH)], plumbogummite [PbAl₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₅·(H₂O)], and unidentified fluorocarbonate minerals occurring in close association with cassiterite-sulphide mineralization in the Stara Kamienica schist belt (Sudetes, SW Poland). Based on whole-rock data, as well as EPMA analyses of mineral chemical compositions, the environmental origins of xenotime-(Y) and monazite-(Ce) were determined as detrital, metamorphic, and hydrothermal, reflecting the complex geological history of the study area. REE-bearing fluorocarbonates, allanite-(Ce), and plumbogummite, identified for the first time in the Stara Kamienica schist belt, require further mineralogical and geochemical investigations to clarify their origins and roles within the mineral paragenesis. The results of this study provide new insights into the genesis and evolutionary history of both the Stara Kamienica schist belt and the entire Karkonosze-Izera Massif. Exploration of the Stara Kamienica mining site has been focused so far basically just on tin mineralisation, and this study provides the first comprehensive documentation of REE-bearing phases there.

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Published

2026-01-09

Issue

Vol. 69 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Articles

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