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Mineralogy of Natural Graphite
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Mineralogy of Natural Graphite

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2018) | Viewed by 24385

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. John A. Jaszczak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics and the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Interests: topgraphic mineralogy; graphite; Merelani; Tanzania; crystal growth; Raman spectroscopoy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The science of carbon is both old and vast, yet the study of carbon materials seems to be ever expanding, due in part to the discoveries of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. Studies of the importance of carbon in the Earth is the focus of the Deep Carbon Observatory (deeparbon.net) international research program. Composed solely of carbon, natural graphite forms in a wide variety of geological and even extraterrestrial environments, and in parallel with synthetic graphite, it also occurs in a wide assortment of morphologies, including not only tabular hexagonal crystals but also cones, spheres, pyramids, and even tubes. Although graphite has been used and studied for centuries, new studies continue to reveal surprises in regard to occurrences, morphologies, properties and applications. For this Special Issue we invite authors to submit original research spanning topics among all areas of the mineralogy of natural graphite. Topics of particular interest may include studies new or unusual graphite occurrences, morphological and structural studies of graphite crystals or aggregates, graphite nucleation and growth, microtopography of graphite surfaces due to growth or etching mechanisms, carbon isotope geochemistry of graphite, origin of large- or small-scale graphite deposits, role graphite in precious metal and gemstone deposits, extraterrestrial graphite, etc.

Prof. Dr. John A. Jaszczak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural graphite
  • mineralogy
  • crystal morphology
  • crystal nucleation and growth
  • graphite geochemistry
  • carbon isotopes

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 95644 KiB  
Article
Natural Graphite Cuboids
by Andrey V. Korsakov, Olga V. Rezvukhina, John A. Jaszczak, Dmitriy I. Rezvukhin and Denis S. Mikhailenko
Minerals 2019, 9(2), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9020110 - 14 Feb 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 8742
Abstract
Graphite cuboids are abundant in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks and are generally interpreted as products of partial or complete graphitization of pre-existing diamonds. The understanding of the graphite cuboid structure and its formation mechanisms is still very limited compared to nanotubes, cones, and other [...] Read more.
Graphite cuboids are abundant in ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks and are generally interpreted as products of partial or complete graphitization of pre-existing diamonds. The understanding of the graphite cuboid structure and its formation mechanisms is still very limited compared to nanotubes, cones, and other carbon morphologies. This paper is devoted to the natural occurrences of graphite cuboids in several metamorphic and magmatic rocks, including diamondiferous metamorphic assemblages. The studied cuboids are polycrystalline aggregates composed either of numerous smaller graphite cuboids with smooth surfaces or graphite flakes radiating from a common center. Silicates, oxides, and sulphides are abundant in all the samples studied, testifying that the presence of oxygen, sulfur, or sulphides in natural systems does not prevent the spherulitic growth of graphite. The surface topography and internal morphology of graphite cuboids combined with petrological data suggest that graphite cuboids originated from a magmatic or metamorphic fluid/melt and do not represent products of diamond-graphite transformation processes, even in diamond-bearing rocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy of Natural Graphite)
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17 pages, 2920 KiB  
Article
Carbon Sources and the Graphitization of Carbonaceous Matter in Precambrian Rocks of the Keivy Terrane (Kola Peninsula, Russia)
by Ekaterina Fomina, Evgeniy Kozlov, Kirill Lokhov, Olga Lokhova and Vladimir Bocharov
Minerals 2019, 9(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9020094 - 8 Feb 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4699
Abstract
The Precambrian rocks of the Keivy Terrane reveal five types of carbonaceous matter (CM): Fine-grained, flaky, nest, vein, and spherulitic. These types differ in their distribution character, carbon isotope composition, and graphitization temperatures calculated by the Raman spectra of carbonaceous material (RSCM) geothermometry. [...] Read more.
The Precambrian rocks of the Keivy Terrane reveal five types of carbonaceous matter (CM): Fine-grained, flaky, nest, vein, and spherulitic. These types differ in their distribution character, carbon isotope composition, and graphitization temperatures calculated by the Raman spectra of carbonaceous material (RSCM) geothermometry. Supracrustal rocks of the Keivy Terrane contain extremely isotopically light (δ13CPDB = –43 ± 3‰) carbon. Presumably, its source was a methane–aqueous fluid. According to temperature calculations, this carbon matter and the host strata underwent at least two stages of metamorphism in the west of the Keivy Terrane and one stage in the east. The CM isotope signatures of several samples of kyanite schists (δ13CPDB = –33 ± 5‰) are close to those of oils and oil source rocks, and they indicate an additional carbon reservoir. Thus, in the Keivy territory, an oil-and-gas bearing basin has existed. Heavy carbon (δ13CPDB = −8 ± 3‰) precipitated from an aqueous CO2-rich fluid is derived from either the lower crust or the mantle. This fluid probably migrated from the Keivy alkaline granites into the surrounding rocks previously enriched with “methanogenic” carbon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy of Natural Graphite)
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13 pages, 3453 KiB  
Article
Carbonaceous Materials in the Longmenshan Fault Belt Zone: 3. Records of Seismic Slip from the Trench and Implications for Faulting Mechanisms
by Jialiang Si, Haibing Li, Li-Wei Kuo, Jyh-Rou Huang, Sheng-Rong Song, Junling Pei, Huan Wang, Lei Song, Jiann-Neng Fang and Hwo-Shuenn Sheu
Minerals 2018, 8(10), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8100457 - 16 Oct 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3443
Abstract
In recent studies on the recognition of graphitized gouges within the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the Longmenshan fault in China, we proposed that the presence of graphite might be evidence of fault slip. Here, we characterized the clay- and carbonaceous-rich gouges of [...] Read more.
In recent studies on the recognition of graphitized gouges within the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the Longmenshan fault in China, we proposed that the presence of graphite might be evidence of fault slip. Here, we characterized the clay- and carbonaceous-rich gouges of the active fault zone of the Longmenshan fault belt using samples collected from the trench at Jiulong, which was deformed during the 2008 MW-7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, to determine if graphite is present and study both the processes influencing fault behavior and the associated faulting mechanism. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses of the Jiulong trench sample show the presence of a hydrothermal mineral (i.e., dickite) integrated with dramatic relative chemical enrichment and relative depletion within a yellowish zone, suggesting the presence of vigorous high-temperature fluid–rock interactions, which are likely the fingerprint of thermal pressurization. This is further supported by the absence of carbonaceous materials (CMs) given the spectrometric data obtained. Interestingly, the Raman parameters measured near the carbonaceous-rich gouge fall within the recognized range of graphitization in the mature fault zone, implying the origin of a mature fault, as shown in the companion paper. According to both the sharp boundary within the very recent coseismic rupture zone of the 2008 MW-7.9 Wenchuan earthquake and the presence of kinetically unstable dickite, it is strongly implied that the yellow/altered gouge likely formed from a recent coseismic event as aconsequence of hydrothermal fluid penetration. We further surmise that the CM characteristics varied according to several driving reactions, e.g., transient hydrothermal heating versus long-term geological metamorphism and sedimentation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy of Natural Graphite)
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12 pages, 2582 KiB  
Article
Carbonaceous Materials in the Fault Zone of the Longmenshan Fault Belt: 2. Characterization of Fault Gouge from Deep Drilling and Implications for Fault Maturity
by Li-Wei Kuo, Jyh-Rou Huang, Jiann-Neng Fang, Jialiang Si, Sheng-Rong Song, Haibing Li and En-Chao Yeh
Minerals 2018, 8(9), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8090393 - 7 Sep 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3539
Abstract
In recent works on the determination of graphitization of carbonaceous materials (CM) within the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the Longmenshan fault (China), we demonstrated that the formation of graphite, resulted from strain and frictional heating, could be evidence of past seismic slip. [...] Read more.
In recent works on the determination of graphitization of carbonaceous materials (CM) within the principal slip zone (PSZ) of the Longmenshan fault (China), we demonstrated that the formation of graphite, resulted from strain and frictional heating, could be evidence of past seismic slip. Here we utilize Raman Spectroscopy of CM (RSCM) on the CM-bearing gouges in the fault zone of the Longmenshan fault belt, at the borehole depth of 760 m (FZ760) from the Wenchuan earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling project-1 (WFSD-1), to quantitatively characterize CM and further retrieve ancient fault deformation information in the active fault. RSCM shows that graphitization of CM is intense in the fault core with respect to the damage zone, with the graphitized carbon resembling those observed on experimentally formed graphite that was frictionally generated. Importantly, compared to the recognized active fault zone of the Longmenshan fault, the RSCM of measured CM-rich gouge shows a higher degree of graphitization, likely derived from high-temperature-perturbation faulting events. It implies that FZ760 accommodated numerous single-event displacement and/or at higher normal stresses and/or in the absence of pore fluid and/or along a more localized slip surface(s). Because graphite is a well-known lubricant, we surmise that the presence of the higher degree graphitized CM within FZ760 will reduce the fault strength and inefficiently accumulate tectonic stress during the seismic cycle at the current depth, and further infer a plausible mechanism for fault propagation at the borehole depth of 590 m during the Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy of Natural Graphite)
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13 pages, 2745 KiB  
Article
Carbonaceous Materials in the Fault Zone of the Longmenshan Fault Belt: 1. Signatures within the Deep Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Zone and Their Implications
by Li-Wei Kuo, Jyh-Rou Huang, Jiann-Neng Fang, Jialiang Si, Haibing Li and Sheng-Rong Song
Minerals 2018, 8(9), 385; https://doi.org/10.3390/min8090385 - 4 Sep 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3112
Abstract
Graphitization of carbonaceous materials (CM) has been experimentally demonstrated as potential evidence of seismic slip within a fault gouge. The southern segment of the Longmenshan fault, a CM-rich-gouge fault, accommodated coseismic slip during the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake and potentially preserves a [...] Read more.
Graphitization of carbonaceous materials (CM) has been experimentally demonstrated as potential evidence of seismic slip within a fault gouge. The southern segment of the Longmenshan fault, a CM-rich-gouge fault, accommodated coseismic slip during the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake and potentially preserves a record of processes that occurred on the fault during the slip event. Here, we present a multi-technique characterization of CM within the active fault zone of the Longmenshan fault from the Wenchuan earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling-1. By contrast with field observations, graphite is pervasively and only distributed in the gouge zone, while heterogeneously crystallized CM are present in the surrounding breccia. The composite dataset that is presented, which includes the localized graphite layer along the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake principal slip zone, demonstrates that graphite is widely distributed within the active fault zone. The widespread occurrence of graphite, a seismic slip indicator, reveals that surface rupturing events commonly occur along the Longmenshan fault and are characteristic of this tectonically active region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralogy of Natural Graphite)
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