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In rare-metal granites, niobium and tantalum are generally hosted by Nb-Ta oxides. However, in SE China, the Nb-specialized Huangshan granites are a unique occurrence in which Nb is essentially hosted by Li-Fe micas. The Huangshan granites are part of the Early Cretaceous (Late Yanshanian) Lingshan granite complex and belong to the A-type granite series, with two facies differing by their mica compositions: medium-grained \"protolithionite\" granite and medium-grained lithian (lithium-rich) annite granite. The granites are characterized by elevated whole-rock Nb contents (average 144 ppm in \"protolithionite\" granite and 158 ppm in annite granite), quite low Ta contents (average 9 and 4 ppm, respectively), leading to very high Nb/Ta ratios (average 15.3 and 31.2). Niobium is mainly hosted in the micas, with an average Nb content of 1347 ppm in the lithian annite and 884 ppm in the \"protolithionite,\" which is the highest ever reported in granitic mica. With an estimated endowment of ∼80 kt Nb, the Huangshan granites represent a new style of potential Nb resource. Contrasting with the great rarity of columbite, there is abundant Hf-rich zircon, Y-rich fluorite, and Th-rich fluocerite included in the Huangshan micas. Such accessory minerals being typical of alkaline rhyolitic magmas and niobium enrichment in the Huangshan granites results from A-type melt. The extreme Nb enrichment in the micas results from the highly compatible behavior of Nb in this melt, combined with the high magma temperature (estimated at 790-800 °C) and possibly enhanced magma oxidation.

Granite-related wolframite-quartz veins are the world's most important tungsten mineralization and production resource. Recent progress in revealing their hydrothermal processes has been greatly facilitated by the use of infrared microscopy and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of both quartz- and wolframite-hosted fluid inclusions. However, owing to the paucity of detailed petrography, previous fluid inclusion studies on coexisting wolframite and quartz are associated with a certain degree of ambiguity. To better understand the fluid processes forming these two minerals, free-grown crystals of intergrown wolframite and quartz from the giant Yaogangxian W deposit in South China were studied using integrated in situ analytical methods including cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, infrared microthermometry, Raman microspectroscopy, and fluid inclusion LA-ICP-MS analysis. Detailed crystal-scale petrography with critical help from CL imaging shows repetition of quartz, wolframite, and muscovite in the depositional sequence, which comprises a paragenesis far more complex than previous comparable studies. The reconstruction of fluid history in coexisting wolframite and quartz recognizes at least four successive fluid inclusion generations, two of which were entrapped concurrently with wolframite deposition. Fluctuations of fluid temperature and salinity during precipitation of coexisting wolframite and quartz are reflected by our microthermometry results, according to which wolframite-hosted fluid inclusions do not display higher homogenization temperature or salinity than those in quartz. However, LA-ICP-MS analysis shows that both primary fluid inclusions in wolframite and quartz-hosted fluid inclusions associated intimately with wolframite deposition are characterized by strong enrichment in Sr and depletion in B and As compared to quartz-hosted fluid inclusions that are not associated with wolframite deposition. The chemical similarity between the two fluid inclusion generations associated with wolframite deposition implies episodic tungsten mineralization derived from fluids exhibiting distinct chemical signatures. Multiple chemical criteria including incompatible elements and Br/Cl ratios of fluid inclusions in both minerals suggest a magmatic-sourced fluid with the possible addition of sedimentary and meteoric water. Combined with microthermometry and Raman results, fluid chemical evolution in terms of B, As, S, Sr, W, Mn, Fe, and carbonic volatiles collectively imply fluid phase separation and mixing with sedimentary fluid may have played important roles in wolframite deposition, whereas fluid cooling and addition of Fe and Mn do not appear to be the major driving factor. This study also shows that fluid inclusions in both wolframite and coexisting quartz may contain a substantial amount of carbonic volatiles (CO2 ± CH4) and H3BO3. Ignoring the occurrence of these components can result in significant overestimation of apparent salinity and miscalculation of LA-ICP-MS elemental concentrations. We suggest that these effects should be considered critically to avoid misinterpretation of fluid inclusion data, especially for granite-related tungsten-tin deposits.

The Himalayan leucogranite occurs as two extensive（〉1000 km） E-W trending belts on the Tibetan Plateau with the unique features. The leucogranite comprised biotite granite, two-mica/muscovite granite, tourmaline granite and garnet granite, which have been identified in previous studies, as well as albite granite and granitic pegmatite that were identified in this investigation. Fifteen leucogranite plutons were studied and 12 were found to contain rare-metal bearing minerals such as beryl（the representative of Be mineralization）, columbite-group minerals, tapiolite, pyrochlore-microlite, fergusonite, Nb-Ta rutile（the representative of Nb-Ta mineralization）, and cassiterite（the representative of Sn mineralization） mainly based on the field trip,microscope observation and microprobe analysis. The preliminary result shows that the Himalayan leucogranite is commonly related to the rare-metal mineralization and warrants future investigation. Further exploration and intensive research work is important in determining the rare-metal resource potential of this area.

The Nanling metallogenic belt in South China is characterized by well-developed tungsten-tin mineralization related to multi- ple-aged granitoids. This belt is one of the 5 key prospecting and exploration areas among the 19 important metallogenic tar- gets in China. Important progress has been made in recent years in understanding the Nanling granitoids and associated miner- alization, and this paper introduces the latest major findings as follows： （1） there exists a series of Caledonian, Indosinian, and Yanshanian W-Sn-bearing granites; （2） the Sn-bearing Yanshanian granites in the Nanling Range form an NE-SW trending aluminous A-type granite belt that stretches over 350 km. The granites typically belong to the magnetite series, and dioritic micro-granular enclaves with mingling features are very common; （3） the Early Yanshanian Sn- and W-bearing granites pos- sess different petrological and geochemical features to each other： most Sn-bearing granites are metaluminous to weakly per- aluminous biotite （hornblende） granites, with zircon tHe（t） values of ca. -2 to -8, whereas most W-bearing granites are peralu- minous two-mica granites or muscovite granites with CHf（t） values of ca. -8 to -12; （4） based on the petrology and geochemis- try of the W-Sn-bearing granites, mineralogical studies have shown that common minerals such as titanite, magnetite, and bio- tite may be used as indicators for discriminating the mineralizing potential of the Sn-bearing granites. Similarly, W-bearing minerals such as wolframite may indicate the mineralizing potential of the W-bearing granites. Future studies should be fo- cused on examining the internal relationships between the multiple-aged granites in composite bodies, the metallogenic pecu- liarities of multiple-aged W-Sn-bearing granites, the links between melt evolution and highly evolved ore-bearing felsic dykes, and the connections between granite domes and mineralization.

Large deposits of unusual black talc interstratified with dolostone layers of the late Neoproterozoic Dengying Formation were discovered in Guangfeng County, Jiangxi Province, southeastern China. The black talc ore exhibits primarily oolitic structures and consists mainly of talc (30-70 wt%), dolomite, and quartz, with trace amounts of pyrite and apatite. The ooids are composed of nearly pure black talc crystals, most of which consist of ultrafine nano-plates. The black talc contains small amounts of carbon, which causes the black coloring. Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate structural disorder and chemical impurities within bonds (e.g., sp3 hybridized carbon and C-O bonds) in the carbonaceous material, instead of perfectly structured graphite or graphene. Isolated graphene-like carbon interlayers are present in the talc nano-crystals, as shown by Z-contrast transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging. Based on previous studies on Mg-silicate precipitation from surface water, we propose a sedimentary formation mechanism for the black talc, in which tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral (T-O-T) layers of Mg-silicates, 1∼2 unit-cells thick, co-precipitated with abundant organic matter derived from microorganisms thriving in locally Al-depleted sea water with high concentrations of Mg2+ and SiO2 (aq), in a shallow marine or lagoonal environment. The involvement of organic matter may have facilitated the precipitation of Mg-silicate. Further diagenesis and re-crystalliztion of the biomass-coated precursor resulted in the formation of graphene-like layers between neighboring talc nano-crystals with same orientation.

The accuracies of two different approaches to model thermodynamic mixing properties of solid solutions are explored using the rutile-cassiterite solid solution as an example. Both methods employ an expansion of the configurational enthalpy in terms of pairwise interactions energies. In the first method the partition function is directly computed from the excess energies of all Ti/Sn configurations within a 2 × 2 × 4 supercell. In the second method the free energy of mixing is calculated by a thermodynamic integration of the thermally averaged enthalpies computed with the Monte Carlo method using an 8 × 12 × 16 supercell. The phase relations derived from Monte Carlo simulations agree well with the available experimental data, under the condition that the free energy is corrected for the effect of the excess vibrational entropy. The direct calculation of the partition function provides reasonable phase relations only when the configurational entropy is corrected to be consistent with the ideal mixing in the high-temperature limit. Advantages and drawbacks of the both approaches are discussed. The findings are generally applicable to models of isostructural solid solutions.

The Nanling and adjacent regions of South China host a series of tin deposits related to Mesozoic granites with diverse petrological characteristics. The rocks are amphibole-bearing biotite granites, or （topaz-） albite-lepidolite （zinnwaldite） granites, and geochemically correspond to mealuminous and peraluminous types, respectively. Mineralogical studies demonstrate highly distinctive and critical patterns for each type of granites. In mealuminous tin granites amphibole, biotite and perthite are the typical rock-forming mineral association; titanite and magnetite are typical accessory minerals, indicating highjO2 magmatic conditions; cassiterite, biotite and titanite are the principal Sn-bearing minerals; and pure cassiterite has low trace-element contents. However, in peraluminous tin granites zirmwaldite-lepidolite, K-feldspar and albite are typical rock-forming minerals; topaz is a common accessory phase, indicative of high peraluminity of this type of granites; cassiterite is present as a uniquely important tin mineral, typically rich in Nb and Ta. Mineralogical distinction between the two types of tin granites is largely controlled by redox state, volatile content and differentiation of magmatic melts. In oxidized metaluminous granitic melts, Sn4＋ is readily concentrated in Ti-bearing rock-forming and accessory minerals. Such Sn-bearing minerals are typical of oxidized tin granites, and are enriched in granites at the late fractionation stage. In relatively reduced peraluminous granitic melts, Sn2＋ is not readily incorporated into rock-forming and accessory minerals, except for cassiterite at fractionation stage of granite magma, which serves as an indicator of tin mineralization associated with this type of granites. The nature of magma and the geochemical behavior of tin in the two types of granites thus result in the formation of different types of tin deposits. Metaluminous granites host disseminated tin mineralization, and are locally related to deposits of the chlorite quartz-vein, greisen, and skarn types. Greisen, skarn, and quartz-vein tin deposits can occur related to peraluminous granites, but disseminated mineralization of cassiterite is more typical.

Crystallization is one of the most fundamental processes for both solid inorganic and organic materials in nature. The classical crystallization model mainly involves the monomer-by-monomer addition of simple chemical species. Recently, nanoparticle attachment has been realized as an important mechanism of crystallization in comparatively low-temperature aqueous natural and synthetic systems. However, no evidence of crystallization by particle attachment has been reported in petrologically important melts. In this study, we described spherical (Mg,Fe)-oxides with a protrusion surface in a shock-induced melt pocket from the martian meteorite Northwest Africa 7755. Transmission electron microscopic observations demonstrate that the (Mg,Fe)-oxides are structure-coherent intergrowth of ferropericlase and magnesioferrite. The magnesioferrite is mainly present adjacent to the interface between (Mg,Fe)-oxides spherules and surrounding silicate glass, but not in direct contact with the silicate glass. Thermodynamic and kinetic considerations suggest that development of the spherical (Mg,Fe)-oxides can be best interpreted with crystallization by particle attachment and subsequent Ostwald ripening. This indicates that crystallization by particle attachment can also take place in high-temperature melts and has potential implications for understanding the nucleation and growth of early-stage crystals in high-temperature melts, such as chondrules in the solar nebula, erupted volcanic melts, and probably even intrusive magmas.

Phosphorus-rich olivine (P2O5>1 wt%) is a mineral that has been reported only in a few terrestrial and extraterrestrial occurrences. Previous investigations suggest that P-rich olivine mainly forms through rapid crystallization from high-temperature P-rich melts. Here, we report a new occurrence of P-rich olivine in an ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Dar al Gani (DaG) 978. The P-rich olivine in DaG 978 occurs as lath-shaped grains surrounding low-Ca pyroxene and olivine grains. The lath-shaped olivine shows a large variation in P2O5 (0-5.5 wt%). The P-rich olivine grains occur in a chondrule fragment and is closely associated with chlorapatite, merrillite, FeNi metal, and troilite. Tiny Cr-rich hercynite is present as inclusions within the P-rich olivine. The lath-shaped texture and the association with Cr-rich hercynite indicates that the P-rich olivine in DaG 978 formed by replacing low-Ca pyroxene precursor by a P-rich fluid during a thermal event, rather than by crystallization from a high-temperature melt. The large variation of P2O5 within olivine grains on micrometer-scale indicates a disequilibrium formation process of the P-rich olivine. The occurrence of P-rich olivine in DaG 978 reveals a new formation mechanism of P-rich olivine.

To increase the assembly construction efficiency of low-rise and multi-story buildings in rural areas, the precast shear wall for RC composite column confined uniform hollow panels was designed in this paper. The seismic performance and failure mechanism of the structure are studied by combining low cyclic load test with finite element and theoretical analysis. The study found that the connection between the components is safe. The structure has three progressive failure processes that are the interaction stage, composite column constrained dense column work stage and weak framework stage. The structure has good bearing and capacity of energy dissipation, and the ductility coefficient of the specimen is 2.89. In addition, the finite element model is established based on ABAQUS, and the damage evolution process of the structure is visually represented by the damage nephogram. In combination with test and simulation, calculation methods of shear capacity of the shear wall are established. The ratio of test value to calculated value in the interaction stage and weak framework stage is 1.14 and 1.06 respectively. The calculation method is reliable and has clear physical significance. The study can provide a reference for the application in low-rise and multi-story buildings.