Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Granite Petrogenesis Diagrams

2016 (approx.)

Detailed Description

Southeast United States plutons having high contents of Ga, F, Nb, Sn, Ta, Y, Zr, and rare earth elements (ΣREE: 300~1500 ppm) include the Robertson River batholith, and the Stewartsville, Striped Rock, Suck Mountain, and Beech plutons. Granite petrogenesis diagrams show that the compositional ranges of large igneous suites of the Southeast U.S. generally match those typical for A-type or highly fractionated I-type granitic rocks and are comparable to granites of China (oval outline) that host economic rare earth element ion-adsorption clay (REE IAC) deposits. Data source: Foley and Ayuso, 2015; Ayuso and Foley, 2016. 

Sources/Usage

Public Domain.

Foley and Ayuso, 2015.
Foley, N. and Ayuso, R., 2015, REE enrichment in granite-derived regolith deposits of the Southeastern United States: Prospective source rocks and accumulation processes, In: Simandl, G.J. and Neetz, M., (Eds.), Symposium on Strategic and Critical Materials Proceedings, November 13-14, 2015, Victoria, British Columbia, British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia Geological Survey Paper 2015-3, pp. 131-138.

Ayuso and Foley, 2016.
Ayuso, R.A., and Foley, N.K., 2016, Pb-Sr isotopic and geochemical constraints on sources and processes of lead contamination in well waters and soil from former fruit orchards, Pennsylvania, USA: A legacy of anthropogenic activities: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 170, p. 125-147, doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.08.008.