Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites of the World

Setup during HiTech AlkCarb: an online database of alkaline rock and carbonatite occurrences

Goldie

stripes

Occurrence number: 
174-00-087
Country: 
United States
Region: 
Colorado
Location: 
Longitude: -105.52, Latitude: 38.43
Carbonatite: 
Yes

Narrow bands of carbonatite up to 0.7 m thick and 100 m long are associated with carbonated lamprophyre dykes. Wall rock gneisses are fenitized with the formation of riebeckite, aegirine and red K-feldspar. Fetid gasses including fluorinated hydrocarbons are released from freshly broken igneous and associated metamorphic rocks of the occurrence (Heinrich and Anderson, 1965). The carbonatites vary from simple calcite rocks to varieties containing baryte, fluorite and a range of rare fluorides including cryolite, pachnolite, prosperite, ralstonite and weberite.

References: 

HEINRICH, E.W. 1977. Aluminofluoride minerals of the Goldie carbonatite Fremont County, Colorado. Mountain Geologist, 14: 33-46.
HEINRICH, E.W. and ANDERSON, R.J. 1965. Carbonatites and alkalic rocks of the Arkansas River area, Fremont County, Colorado. 2. Fetid gas from carbonatite and related rocks. American Mineralogist, 50: 1914-20

Map: 
Fig. 1_156 The Wet Mountains alkaline province (based on Armbrustmacher, 1984a, Fig. 1 and Heinrich and Salotti, 1975, Fig. 1).
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith