3/11/24, 11:23 PM 20.3.

Pegmatite Genesis: EOSC 118 99C 2023W2 Earth's Treasures: Gold and Gems

Pegmatite Genesis
Recall the definition by Prof. Simmons, "pegmatite is a textural term used to describe very coarse to
gigantic sized textures in intrusive igneous rocks". In addition, most pegmatites are genetically
associated with larger igneous bodies and will have a base geochemical signature similar to
their parental pluton. The parental pluton is simply the larger igneous body that created the
smaller "offspring" pegmatite. The parental pluton, commonly granite, is a key factor in the genesis of
most pegmatites in that it gives rise to, or feeds, a pegmatite.
During the magmatic history of a granite body it may undergo significant fractionation. Fractionation
is a process that involves the sequential crystallization of minerals as granitic magma cools. As
certain minerals crystallize, they essentially remove the elements required for it from the molten
magma. As the magma cools further, it becomes more depleted in the elements which make up the
minerals that have crystallized.
Fractionation is a very difficult concept to understand, so let's try and use a more realistic analogy:
the fantastic, candy-covered chocolate, Smarties. I highly recommend that you go buy a box to do
this experiment with me. You can also use any other type of food that comes in a variety of colours,
but fractionating your mixed veggies is far less fun.
When I was a kid, I always ate my Smarties in a specific order (weird I know, but I've also spent 5+
years studying pegmatites, so not totally unexpected). I started out with the colours I didn't like -
pink, then yellow, then brown - until I was left with all my favourite purple Smarties. I was essentially
"fractionating" the Smarties. When I started eating only the pink ones, I still had lots of Smarties
remaining, just not many pink ones and a larger proportion of the "residual" (non-pink) Smarties. In a
magma, these pink Smarties can be equated to the elements needed for the first type mineral to
crystallize. As this mineral crystallizes, the elements (pink Smarties) are removed but there will still be
magma remaining, just not much of the elements needed for the first crystallized mineral and a
greater proportion of "residual" elements (all the other colours of Smarties) not used in that first
mineral.
If we keep this going, we might finish all our pink Smarties and start eating the brown ones. Now our
residual batch of Smarties doesn't contain any pink ones, and is becoming depleted in brown ones.
We have relatively more blue, purple, green, etc. Smarties. What we are doing is progressively
evolving or fractionating the granitic magma and leaving a residual magma filled with rare-
elements such as beryllium and lithium. These elements do not fit nicely into the crystal structures of
the earlier crystallized minerals and consequently get strongly concentrated in the left over magma.
This is how we crystallize our prized gemstones (i.e., purple Smartie-bearing minerals).
When the conditions are just right, this highly evolved magma with high concentrations of rare
elements injects itself into the overlying host rock, forming dikes. These dikes are normally on the
order of a few meters but sometimes can be up to ~100 m across or only cm's.

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Three photos showing ranges of scale for pegmatites, from small (pencil for scale) to very
large (front end loader for scale)! Pegmatites are from Piute Pass (Colorado, USA), Capoeira
(Brazil) and Ipe (Brazil). Images from Cerny et al (August 2012 Elements Magazine)
Magmas that generate these highly fractionated pegmatites are often called fertile while those that
are not are called barren. Pegmatites originating from a fertile granite will often show geographic
zoning of rare metal enrichment. Typically, the farther from the fertile granite the more fractionated the
pegmatite is. This is because the pegmatites farther away from the granite have had more time to
fractionate, so they have relatively more rare-elements present when they crystallize.
All pegmatites contain large amounts of gases and volatiles that are effective fluxes for the pegmatite
magma. Fluxes are elements and/or compounds that reduce the freezing point of the magma. Lower
freezing points result in more time for crystal growth. Fluxes also decrease nucleation (formation of
seed crystals), which result in fewer crystals, and increase movement of elements to where crystals
are growing, which result in bigger crystals. In many pegmatites, fluxes include elements and
compounds such as H2O, F, Cl, carbonate (CO32–), borate (BO33–), Li, and phosphate (PO42–).
Although these fluxes facilitate the growth of large, gem-quality crystals, they can also destroy the
very crystals they helped grow if they are present at the end of a pegmatite's life. The fluxes can
corrode earlier-formed minerals, generally changing the sharp edges of a crystal into a more rounded
shape (see image below). They can even completely destroy them and replace them with other
minerals that are more stable in the growth conditions present at the end of pegmatite formation.

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3/11/24, 11:23 PM 20.3. Pegmatite Genesis: EOSC 118 99C 2023W2 Earth's Treasures: Gold and Gems

Schematic representation of regional geochemical zoning in pegmatites with an associated

fertile parental granite. Note the increasing degree of fractionation and geochemical
complexity away from the parent granite and that within the granite there will be little rare
elements remaining, as they have all moved outwards with the pegmatite magmas. Figure
after Selway et al., 2005.

A crystal of beryl from Brazil that has developed a "bullet" shape due to corrosion by fluxes after it
crystallized.

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