Accessory Mineral Geochemistry and Its Application in Mineral Exploration

Accessory minerals are common in igneous rocks of intermediate to felsic composition. Their ability to incorporate a wide range of geochemically important trace elements, as well as their physical-chemical durability and resistance to alteration, makes these ideal minerals for fingerprinting granitoid fertility and tracing magma evolution. In contrast, some studies show that those ‘robust’ accessory mineral compositions sometimes exhibit signatures that are counter-indicative to their igneous host, particularly regarding regional fertility of granitoids. In this regard, it is of great importance and necessity to address the systematics of accessory mineral geochemistry in the field of granitic petrogenesis and its application in mineral exploration.

This Research Topic aims to underscore (1) advances in the understanding of isotopic and trace element signatures in accessory minerals, notably zircon, apatite, titanite, and monazite as they pertain to magmatic evolution in fertile and barren terranes; and (2) textural and petrological factors affecting accessory mineral compositions that may lead to indeterminate classification of plutonic suites and incorrect assessment of magmatic fertility. The Research Topic will provide useful guides on how to successfully apply accessory mineral geochemistry in assessing intrusion-centered magmatic-hydrothermal systems as well as develop some novel geochemical classifiers/tools, with the compilation of accessory mineral composition data and application of machine learning methods.

Submissions underlining accessory minerals (e.g., zircon, apatite, titanite, and monazite) from intrusion-centered magmatic-hydrothermal systems (e.g., porphyry and skarn deposits) are welcomed. Key themes include, but are not limited to:

• In-situ analysis of isotopic, major, and trace elements in accessory minerals
• Geochemical mapping of accessory minerals to identify the compositional variation within accessory minerals
• Contrasts of accessory minerals of magmatic and hydrothermal origin and their roles in explaining magmatic-hydrothermal systems
• New accessory mineral-based geochemical tools through the combination of machine-learning and other statistical approaches