Neue Publikation zur Bildung des Minerals Malachit

Malachite is a common copper carbonate in many oxidation zones of copper deposits worldwide. Its isotopic composition carries information about its formation but without appropriate experimental work, this information cannot be extracted. In this new publication, we measured fractionation of oxygen, hydrogen, and copper between malachite and aqueous solution. Using the data, we could show that even the massive malachite samples from the Ural Mts. formed from meteoric water, with no contribution of other types of fluids or elevated temperature. We quantified the isotopic exchange of copper and showed for the first time that there is a weak temperature dependence of this exchange. These data can be used widely to determine isotopic composition of fluids that precipitated malachite in the geological past.

Plumhoff, A.M., Mathur, R., Milovský, R., Majzlan, J.: Fractionation of the copper, oxygen and hydrogen isotopes between malachite and aqueous phase. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.02.009Externer Link