FIELD DETERMINATION OF SERPENTINISATION

AT SOROAKO

FIELD DETERMINATION OF SERPENTINISATION AT SOROAKO

JUNE 2002
Jacques Babineau
 PLAN OF PRESENTATION

1. The olivine problem in the East Block coarse fraction (> 1 inch)

2. Classification of serpentinisation degree for field determination

3. Observations to be made on rock samples

4. Comparative rock show 1

5. Tests to be performed on rock samples

6. Comparative rock show 2

7. Practice on real rock samples

 THE OLIVINE PROBLEM:
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

•Unserpentinised peridotites are composed of 70 to 80% olivine

•East Block rocks are serpentinised at variable degrees: some olivine left

•Olivine melts at very high temperature (up to 1890 degrees Celsius)

•High olivine % in E-Block coarse fraction (> 1 inch) do not melt in furnace

•Unmelted olivine tends to block heat flow & slag tap in the furnace

•Chris Doyle has determined that <15% olivine is not a problem

•Chris Doyle has determined that >40% olivine is definitely a problem

 PETROGRAPHIC OBSERVATION:
SERPENTINE VS OLIVINE

Soroako Bedrock

100.00 West type 3

West type 2 Field of
West type 1
Serp > 40%
Observed Modal Olivine (%)

80.00 Hybrid
East -6" Ol < 40%
East -18"
60.00
y=
-1 All
.11 Field of
Linear (All)
6x Serp > 60%
+
40.00 80 Ol <15%
.8
84
20.00

0.00
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00
Observed Modal Serpentine (%)
 FIELD CLASSIFICATION OF SERPENTINISATION

• VERY LOW (OR ABSENT) <5% - Serpentine

undetectable
• LOW 5 to 39%
• MODERATE (MEDIUM) 40 to 59%
• HIGH 60 to 100%

Note: Serpentinisation is gradational and the properties of the

serpentinised rocks to be observed are also gradational
 SERPENTINISATION:
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ROCK?

OLIVINE SERPENTINE + MAGNETITE

OPX SERPENTINE + MAGNETITE

•Grain size decreases

•Magnetic susceptibility increases

 SERPENTINISATION DETERMINATION
OBSERVATIONS: WHAT DO YOU SEE?

1. COLOR ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE

- Gets darker with increasing serpentinisation
2. ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE: GLASSY TO DULL
- Gets dull or amorphous with serpentinisation
3. COLOR ON DRY DRILL CORE AND SAW-CUT SURFACES
- Gets darker with increasing serpentinisation
4. TEXTURE ON DRY DRILL CORE AND SAW-CUT SURFACES
- Dark serpentine stringers increase in thickness and proportion
- grain size & % of matrix in stringers decrease with serpentinisation
THIN SECTION VIEW
TEXTURE ON DRY DRILL CORE AND SAW-CUT
SURFACES
LOW SERPENTINISATION (30%)
LAILA HARZBURGITE
RX307115
40% OL

CROSSED NICOLS

SERPENTINE STRINGERS WITH FINE-GRAINED OLIVINE SUB-GRAINS

 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACES

Light
color
Dark color
Glassy &
Dull
Crystallin
amorphous
e
aspect
aspect

5 mm

VERY LOW LOW MEDIUM HIGH

0% SERP 20% SERP 50% SERP 80% SERP
 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACES

1 cm
VERY LOW LOW MEDIUM HIGH
0% SERP 10% SERP 45% SERP 60% SERP
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY (WET?) CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

MEDIUM
50% SERP
VERY LOW RX307116
0% SERP
RX307104 Dark color
serpentine
Light color stringers
no serpentine fine-grained
stringers matrix
No fine-grained
matrix
LOW HIGH
20% SERP 70% SERP
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY (WET?) CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

VERY LOW
0% SERP
RX307101

LOW MEDIUM HIGH

20% SERP 45% SERP 90% SERP
 SERPENTINISATION DETERMINATION TESTS:
WHAT DO YOU FEEL AND SEE?

1. HARDNESS ON ANY FRESH SURFACE

- Decreases with serpentinisation from hard (up to 7) to soft (2.5)
2. ROUGHNESS (TOUCH) ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE
- Decreases with serpentinisation from rough to smooth
- Highly serpentinised rocks may have a soapy or waxy touch
3. ATTRACTION TO A PEN-MAGNET
- Increases with serpentinisation from none (0) to medium (2.5)
4. MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY
- Increases with serpentinisation from 0 to 20, or higher?
4. DENSITY: Decreases with serpentinisation from roughly 3.4 to 2.5
 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE

10% SERP 15% SERP 20% SERP 30% SERP

RX307160 RX307138 RX307126 RX307115

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

LOW
SERPENTINISATION
 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

HIGH SERPENTINISATION

80% SERP
60% SERP RX307139 80% SERP 90% SERP
RX307125 RX307127 RX307109
 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

MEDIUM
SERPENTINISATION
40% SERP
RX307144
45% SERP 50% SERP
RX307114 RX307113
 COLOR & ASPECT ON FRESH BROKEN SURFACE

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

VERY LOW /ABSENT

SERPENTINISATION

0% SERP 0% SERP 0% SERP <5% SERP

RX307120 RX307158 RX307103 RX307101
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

SUBHEDRAL ANHEDRAL
OPX CPX

HIGH SERPENTINISATION

60% SERP 80% SERP 90% SERP

RX307125 RX307124 RX307146
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

LOW SERPENTINISATION

30% SERP
20% SERP 20% SERP RX307115
RX307126 RX307161
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

MEDIUM
SERPENTINISATION

40% SERP 45% SERP 45% SERP

RX307144 RX307112 RX307114
 COLOR AND TEXTURE
ON DRY CORE & SAW CUT SURFACES

HOW MUCH SERPENTINISATION IN THESE ROCKS ?

VERY LOW / ABSENT SERPENTINISATION

0% SERP 0% SERP 0% SERP 0% SERP

RX307158 RX307104 RX307101 RX307103
 FIELD DETERMINATION OF SERPENTINISATION
TOOLS NEEDED

•Your eyes

•Your hands

•A knife or a nail

•A pen-magnet or/and a magnetic susceptibility-meter

•Use the combination of all the properties of the rock

 FIELD DETERMINATION OF SERPENTINISATION
AT SOROAKO: CONCLUSION

•The serpentinisation degree is gradational between 2 end members

•The properties of the serpentinised rocks are also gradational

•There is an overlap of some of the properties between the classes

•Do not use only one property to determine the serpentinisation degree

•Use the combination of all the properties of the rock

 THE END : LETS PRACTICE!

FIELD CLASSIFICATION OF SERPENTINISATION

• VERY LOW (OR ABSENT) <5%

• LOW 5 to 39%
• MODERATE (MEDIUM) 40 to 59%
• HIGH 60 to 100%

Note: Serpentinisation is gradational and the properties of the

serpentinised rocks to be observed are also gradational