Geology and genetic aspects of shear zone-related emerald deposits: an overview of emerald deposits in the Borborema Province, Northeastern Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9095.v21-180467Keywords:
Shear-zone controlled deposits, Classification schemes, Genetic models, Northern SubprovinceAbstract
Emerald is a grass-green beryl variety, and one of the rarest and most valuable gems in the world. Besides the magmatic and metamorphic characteristics of each deposit, crustal discontinuities are always present, being interpreted as the physical means for channeling mineralizing fluids. Important examples are seen in the Habachtal deposit in Austria, Carnaíba and Santa Terezinha de Goiás deposits in Brazil. In the Borborema Province (Northeastern Brazil), the connection between shear zones and emerald occurrences has aroused scientific and commercial interest, especially regarding structures associated with beryllium pegmatites. In this paper, a review on the evolution of knowledge of shear zone-related emerald mineralizations is developed, with recent classification schemes and adapted main schematic models, with a focus on the geological controls of the main deposits in northeastern Brazil. In the Fazenda Bonfim region (Rio Grande do Norte State), the development of emerald-bearing phlogopitites occurred in metasomatic zones. In the occurrences of Tauá and Coqui (Ceará State), mineralization is associated with pegmatite veins in phlogopite-schist and tremolitite bands, both strongly affected by strike-slip tectonics. In the Paraná deposit (Rio Grande do Norte State), an extensional component has been interpreted to be concomitant to the transcurrent tectonics, allowing the interaction between beryllium-bearing pegmatitic fluids and metabasic rocks containing chromophore elements. In conclusion, the ductile deformation regime linked to the regional shear zones represents one of the most important controls for prospecting emerald in the Borborema Province.
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