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Morphological and chemical evolution of corundum (ruby and sapphire): Crystal ontogeny reconstructed by EMPA, LA-ICP-MS, and Cr3+ Raman mapping

  • Elena S. Sorokina EMAIL logo , Wolfgang Hofmeister , Tobias Häger , Regina Mertz-Kraus , Stephan Buhre and John M. Saul
Published/Copyright: November 28, 2016
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 101 Issue 12

Abstract

The term “ontogeny,” which is commonly used in biology, was introduced into the Earth sciences in 1961 to include the genesis and evolution of single crystals and crystal aggregates. The term encompasses nucleation, growth, alteration, and destruction. We present results of studies concerning the ontogeny of natural corundum (rubies and sapphires), and the chemical and morphological evolution of corundum crystals from deposits in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar) and Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Trace-element compositions indicative for different corundum habits were determined by rim-to-rim LA-ICP-MS and electron microprobe analyses. Raman spectroscopy was applied for Cr3+ photoluminescence mapping. Results traced the development of corundum crystals and the evolution of their chemistry and morphology, and helped to clarify the geological processes within particular deposits. These variations of corundum morphology are directly correlated with Cr and Fe contents and varying P-T conditions that prevailed during crystal growth. Dipyramidal habits combined with white color in corundum from two deposits in the Mangari area in Kenya have Cr concentrations of ~200–700 μg/g in crystals that grew under high P-T conditions. Prismatic habit of bright red ruby crystals was linked to Cr concentrations of ≥1500 μg/g in samples from Luc Yen (Vietnam) and Mangari (Kenya), formed under lower P-T. Concentrations of Cr between 700–1500 μg/g are associated with pink color and combinations of different habits (dipyramidal, prismatic, or dipyramidal-prismatic) in these samples. Contents of Fe ~700 μg/g and Cr ~1200 μg/g in sapphire crystals from the Morogoro area of Tanzania caused pink color that correlated with dipyramidal habit and elongation along the c axis. Rhombohedral habit and blue-violet color were observed at Cr ~600 μg/g and Fe ≥2000 μg/g in sapphires from Andranondambo in Madagascar, formed during the final stage of contact metamorphism.

Keywords: Corundum; ruby; sapphire; ontogeny; evolution; genesis; geochemistry; crystal morphology; Kenya; Tanzania; Madagascar; Vietnam

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Centre of Gemstones Research of JGU for providing the samples for investigations. The former Director Viktor K. Garanin and colleague Dmitriy I. Belakovsky, Fersman Mineralogical Museum RAS, and Delia Rösel, Freiberg Mining Academy and University of Technology (Germany), provided helpful consultations on the results, which improved the manuscript. The research was supported by the scholarship A-13–00099 of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Centre for Gemstones Research of JGU.

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Received: 2015-10-27
Accepted: 2016-7-25
Published Online: 2016-11-28
Published in Print: 2016-12-1

© 2016 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2016-5614
Keywords for this article
Corundum; ruby; sapphire; ontogeny; evolution; genesis; geochemistry; crystal morphology; Kenya; Tanzania; Madagascar; Vietnam

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Review
  2. Physical basis of trace element partitioning: A review
  3. Special Collection: Apatite: A Common Mineral, Uncommonly Versatile
  4. A mineralogical view of apatitic biomaterials
  5. Special Collection: Apatite: A Common Mineral, Uncommonly Versatile
  6. Radionuclide removal by apatite
  7. Special Collection: Apatite: A Common Mineral, Uncommonly Versatile
  8. Hydrothermal mineral replacement reactions for an apatite-monazite assemblage in alkali-rich fluids at 300–600 °C and 100 MPa
  9. Chemistry and Mineralogy of Earth’s Mantle
  10. Raman spectroscopy of siderite at high pressure: Evidence for a sharp spin transition
  11. Chemistry and Mineralogy of Earth’s Mantle
  12. Electron diffraction determination of 11.5 Å and HySo structures: Candidate water carriers to the Upper Mantle
  13. Special collection: Mechanisms, Rates, and Timescales of Geochemical Transport Processes in the Crust and Mantle
  14. Influence of grain size, water, and deformation on dolomite reaction rim formation
  15. Special Collection: Apatite: A Common Mineral, Uncommonly Versatile
  16. Dissolution-reprecipitation and self-assembly of serpentine nanoparticles preceding chrysotile formation: Insights into the structure of proto-serpentine
  17. Research Article
  18. Submicrometer-scale spatial heterogeneity in silicate glasses using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy
  19. Research Article
  20. Growth of hydrothermal baddeleyite and zircon in different stages of skarnization
  21. Research Article
  22. Structural incorporation of W6+ into hematite and goethite: A combined study of natural and synthetic iron oxides developed from precursor ferrihydrite and the preservation of ancient fluid compositions in hematite
  23. Research Article
  24. Morphological and chemical evolution of corundum (ruby and sapphire): Crystal ontogeny reconstructed by EMPA, LA-ICP-MS, and Cr3+ Raman mapping
  25. Research Article
  26. High-pressure compressibility and vibrational properties of (Ca,Mn)CO3
  27. Research Article
  28. Transformation of pyrite to pyrrhotite in the presence of Au-Ag alloys at 500 °C
  29. Research Article
  30. An alternative method of calculating cleavage energy: The effect of compositional domains in micas
  31. Research Article
  32. 10.2138/am-2016-5717
  33. Research Article
  34. Collapsing minerals: Crackling noise of sandstone and coal, and the predictability of mining accidents
  35. Research Article
  36. Magnetite exsolution in ilmenite from the Fe-Ti oxide gabbro in the Xinjie intrusion (SW China) and sources of unusually strong remnant magnetization
  37. Research Article
  38. Statistical petrology reveals a link between supercontinents cycle and mantle global climate
  39. Letter
  40. An improved clinopyroxene-based hygrometer for Etnean magmas and implications for eruption triggering mechanisms
  41. Research Article
  42. New Mineral Names
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