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Volume 10
Issue 2
10.3390/min10020198
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Article

Agates from Western Atlas (Morocco)—Constraints from Mineralogical and Microtextural Characteristics

by
Jaroslav Pršek
*,
Magdalena Dumańska-Słowik
,
Tomasz Powolny
,
Lucyna Natkaniec-Nowak
,
Tomasz Toboła
,
Damian Zych
and
Dominika Skrepnicka
Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH UST, University of Science and Technology, 30 Mickiewicz Av., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2020, 10(2), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020198
Submission received: 13 January 2020 / Revised: 18 February 2020 / Accepted: 19 February 2020 / Published: 22 February 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agates: Types, Mineralogy, Deposits, Host Rocks, Ages and Genesis)
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Abstract

Agate samples collected from the vicinity of Asni and Agouim (Western Atlas, Morocco) were investigated using microscopic observations supported by Raman micro-spectroscopy. The agates are marked by the presence of various microtextures typical of epithermal vein deposits, including jigsaw-puzzle, feathery, and lattice-bladed. The first two indicate that the formation of agates was likely marked by recrystallization of metastable silica phases (i.e., opaline silica or massive chalcedony). The presence of lattice-bladed (after barite and calcite) quartz may be, in turn, ascribed to the boiling-related conditions that could have triggered the formation of abundant copper and iron sulfides found within silica matrix. Additionally, the local occurrence of growth lines (so-called Bambauer quartz) and intergrowth of length-slow and length-fast chalcedony are linked to the variations of physico-chemical conditions during rock formation (alkaline-acidic). According to Raman spectroscopy, silica matrix of the agates is made of α-quartz with a local admixture of moganite (from 0.0 up to 78 wt.%), but also contains numerous solid inclusions of hematite, celadonite, as well as poorly-organized carbonaceous material and rutile. These phases were likely emplaced during low-temperature hydrothermal activity of SiO2-bearing fluids that originated from post-magmatic hydrothermal activity developed within host rocks and/or meteoric waters.
Keywords: Moroccan agates; ore minerals; microtexture; moganite; Raman spectra Moroccan agates; ore minerals; microtexture; moganite; Raman spectra

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MDPI and ACS Style

Pršek, J.; Dumańska-Słowik, M.; Powolny, T.; Natkaniec-Nowak, L.; Toboła, T.; Zych, D.; Skrepnicka, D. Agates from Western Atlas (Morocco)—Constraints from Mineralogical and Microtextural Characteristics. Minerals 2020, 10, 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020198

AMA Style

Pršek J, Dumańska-Słowik M, Powolny T, Natkaniec-Nowak L, Toboła T, Zych D, Skrepnicka D. Agates from Western Atlas (Morocco)—Constraints from Mineralogical and Microtextural Characteristics. Minerals. 2020; 10(2):198. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020198

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pršek, Jaroslav, Magdalena Dumańska-Słowik, Tomasz Powolny, Lucyna Natkaniec-Nowak, Tomasz Toboła, Damian Zych, and Dominika Skrepnicka. 2020. "Agates from Western Atlas (Morocco)—Constraints from Mineralogical and Microtextural Characteristics" Minerals 10, no. 2: 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020198

APA Style

Pršek, J., Dumańska-Słowik, M., Powolny, T., Natkaniec-Nowak, L., Toboła, T., Zych, D., & Skrepnicka, D. (2020). Agates from Western Atlas (Morocco)—Constraints from Mineralogical and Microtextural Characteristics. Minerals, 10(2), 198. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020198

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