EconomicGeology

VoL 56, 1961, pp. 431-441

SCIENTIFIC

COMMUNICATIONS

A MAGNETITE

"FLOW"
CHARLES

IN

NORTHERN
JR.

CHILE

F. PARK,

This short note is written as the result of a recenttrip into the Laco area of the highlands of northernChileto examinereportediron ore deposits. The
area lies at an altitude of about 15,000 feet, and is about 180 miles from the

coastat Antofagasta(Fig. 1). The Laco area has been visited by several geologists since the iron ore was first reportedin 1958. A smallamountof trenching and tunneling has beendone,but almostnothingis available concerning the natureof the deposits below the surface. Becauseof their unusual physical characteristics, the deposits have exciteda great deal of comment and discussion. The 6res

ICOPILLA !

FIG.

1.

Index map of the Province of Antofagasta,showingthe locationof Laco.

are principallymagnetite and hematite,the only impuritiesare tiny needles of apatiteand a few smallblebs and patches of silica. Four areasof outcrop
of the ox. ides are known within an airline distanceof about three kilometers.

These outcrops are on the side of a range of mountains that contains several activevolcanoes, and that appearsto be made up entirely of volcanicmaterials. Many of the rocksare of recentage, and probablymost are no older than Tertiary. The mostcommon materialnear the magnetite-hematite seems to be a light coloredtuff, probablynear dacite in composition, though no microscopic studyof it has beenmade. The deposits of magnetiteresemble basaltflows,and if they were composed of basaltinstead, of magnetite, their
431

Fit:. 2.

Stirface of magnetite-henmtite body, Laco Norte.

:
.. ..

- *'it ..1.;'-.

:. . :' ...:
.. :.a ..... ; :
4.
.:

....
:
.

ff .ff ',,.: .

'

:."..

' ..: ff
' 'L
.

:.

-.

-.

.....:

.'..; '

!,

o
Fit;. 3.

surfaceon fragment of magnetite. From surfaceat Laco Sur.

432

-.

, ...... : .,:.. ...........

......................................

FIG. 4. Blister of magnetite-hematite from the surface at Laco Norte. FIG. 5. A magnetite-hematite bubble, from the surface at Laco Sur.

, !

O
Fit;. 6.

Interior of the same 1)ubbleas shown in Fig. 5.

433

434

SCIENTIFIC

C03IM [ 'NI C.qTIONS

origin as flowswouldprobablygo tinquestioned.They showso manycharacteristics of shallov intrusions and flows that they are consideredto have solidified from a magmacomposed ahnostentirelyof iron oxidesand abundant gas. This "ore magma"appears to have intrudedthe tuff at shallowdepths, and in placesto have brokenout and flowed, over the stirface. The surfacesof the magnetite-henmtite bodies resemble in places the surfaces of aa flows of basalt (Fig. 2). lint elsewhere ropy surfaces are more

of the pahoehoe type (Fig. 3). The uppersurfaces showmanylargebubbles or blistersof magnetite-hematite (Figs. 4, 5, 6). and manv interesting hollov

7.

Vertical section in the Laco Sur magnetite-hematitedeposit. showing gas

tubes. The uppersurfaceof the depositis about 1 m abovethe hamn]er.

tubes thatareinterl)reted t() 1)e gasescape tul)es. In places these tul)es extend
for at leastseveral metersdowninto the magnetite-hematite.Figure 7 shows

thegastubes in a vertical section of the magnetite-hematite rockat I,aco Stir.

In detail the tul)es are lined with well-formedmagnetitecrystals,generally

lessthan 1 Clll in h)ngest (iimensi()n, thoughexcel)tional crystals5 cm or morein lengthare fOUlS(1. The Imlk of the lnagnetite aroundthe tul)esis

fine-grained. and lroken sections of the rock showalmond-sbal)ed vesicles (Fig. 8). Partsof the wailsof the tubes are extrelnely porous and spongy, with uI) to nearlyfifty percent of wilds(Fig. 9).

SCIENTIFIC

COMMI/NICATIOAr.''

435

The contacts 1)etween the magnetite-hematite and the tuff are poorly exposedand they yielded no information of interest. The processof replacement, if active at all, is extremely minor, and diligent searchrevealedonly a few small patches where rel)lacement was even suggested. I.ikewise, no evidencewas found that would point to an exhalative origin.

. .

.'-

..

. .

...

.y,.

.%.

F]. 8. Photogral)hof a broken gas tuhe i1 magnetite. showilig the crystalline character of the lining and the finer-grained magnetite in the walls. Note the vesiclesin the lower right hand corner of the specimen.

A moreprecise statement of the natureand originof the l.aco deposits

must await detailedstudies and possibly explorationat depth. So far as is known. no flow of magnetite-hematite has ever beendescribed. thoughmagmatic injection del)ositsof magnetiteare widely recognized. and some are thought to havebeenintruded at comparatively shallow or at moderate depths (1). A flcw of magnetite-hematite wouldappear to be a possilfility, prcvi,,led

436

SCIEN 7'!FIC COMM UXIt T!ONS

Fn;. 9. Photograph of a thin section along the border of a gas tube. Note the large areomit of voids in the maguetite. Larger crystals on the edge of the tube suggestrecrystallizationof magnetiteby gases.

its temperature was approxiniately1.500 C or niore (2). The large aniounts of gas indicatedby texturesand structnres may well have loweredthe melting temperature appreciably. The accompanying laboratorypliotogral>hs were taken liy Ruperto Laniz. and his patienceand excellentskill are deeply appreciated.
REFERENCES

1. Daly,

R. A., 1933, Igneous rocks and the depths of the Earth:

McGraw-Hill

Company,

p. 561.

2. Kracek. F. C.. 1942, Handbook of physical constants: Geol. Soc. America, Special Paper No. 36, p. 143.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA,

Dec. 14, 1960

RAI)IO,4CT! BLACK"

VI'/'Y IN MON..tZI TE, ZIRCON, ,.iN!) "R,41)!0.4 CTI lie GRAIN6 IN BL,4UK6AND6 OF RO6ETT,4. EGYPT
AMIN R. GINDY

Becauseof the contrastingprovenances drained by the upper reachesof the Nile, more than 50 different heavy minerals are known to occur in the Egyptian Nile deposits(7). Small scaleconcentrations of theseheavy minerals form on the present beachesof the Nile ddta of which the most
in11iortantoccur near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile. The mechanism of