Abstract
Phosphate deposits are found in the Khormuj anticline at the end of the Folded Zagros Zone of Iran and are enriched in REE and trace metals. Field surveys, petrography, X-ray diffraction and whole-rock geochemistry were used to determine the petrogenesis of these phosphate deposits and evaluate the mechanisms of trace metal enrichment. Khormuj anticline phosphate layers are hosted by carbonate rocks of the Pabdeh Formation (Lower Paleocene–Oligocene). The phosphatic layers are composed of phosphorus grainstone–packstone with microfossils and contain green glauconite. Whole-rock compositions of phosphates indicate a minimal detrital component and enrichment of HREE and U. These elements are not enriched in the limestone units that overlie and underlie the phosphate layers. Overall, the textures and trace-element compositions of phosphate layers are interpreted to represent accumulation on a basin margin carbonate ramp, in the reduced and suboxic-to-anoxic zone, with low detrital input but occasional high-energy erosional events. Upwelling played a fundamental role in the deposition of the sandy glauconite-bearing phosphate layers. Phosphate mineralization has syngenetic, diagenetic, and epigenetic components. Positive correlations between P2O5 and REE, U and other trace elements suggest that cation substitution into carbonate fluorapatite and not ion adsorption is the dominant mechanism for metal enrichment in these phosphates. REE patterns in these phosphate layers show strong negative Ce anomalies, positive Eu and Y anomalies, and high La/Yb ratios (> 10). Yttrium versus (La/Nd)N ratios are consistent with seawater and have been affected by diagenesis. These elevated ratios suggest that the phosphates are relatively enriched in both the LREE and HREE. This enrichment is related to their marine origin, and weathering had no effect on the phosphate horizons. This research shows that marine phosphates have a high potential to preferentially fractionate the HREE and U and could represent a potential source of these metals in the future.
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Acknowledgements
This research was performed with the support of Faculty of Earth Sciences in Shahid Beheshti University, Applied Research Center of the Geological Survey of Iran (Karaj), the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo. We appreciate Mr. Hasan Khavesh for assistance in the petrographic studies. We thank two reviewers for constructive comments on this manuscript.
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FH prepared the manuscript, figures, and tables. The diagrams and figures were checked by CY, and Fig. 9 was prepared by him. MY and KK helped with the analysis of the cost. MY, CY, and MB reviewed the manuscript.
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Haddad, F., Yazdi, M., Behzadi, M. et al. Mineralogy, geochemistry, and depositional environment of phosphates in the Pabdeh Formation, Khormuj anticline, SW of Iran. Environ Earth Sci 82, 418 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11090-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11090-z