"Apatitites" - their origin and genetic relation to the Fe-oxide-apatite ores of the Bafq District, Iran. A key feature to the understanding of the genesis of the Kiruna-type Ores

Kiruna型磷灰石氧化铁矿床和氧化铁Au矿床可能是一个连续体的端元，代表了经济上重要的资源，但其起源却鲜为人知。一个突出的例子是伊朗巴夫克地区的世界级氧化铁<$磷灰石矿石，它与各种各样的不寻常的稀土元素（REE）轴承磷灰石丰富的岩浆和/或热液岩石在这里称为<$磷灰石<$。我们对这种类型的磷灰石-氧化铁矿化的理解被关键问题上的根本分歧所掩盖，特别是关于它们与岩浆类型和成矿流体来源的关系。为了有助于解决这一争议，我们建议对巴夫克磷灰石的矿物学和地球化学以及磷灰石中的流体包裹体和氧化铁矿物进行详细的研究。磷灰石矿石，以追踪渐进的地球化学和矿物学变化的复杂性质（共生组合、蚀变）与元素富集（成矿作用）以及富稀土磷灰石和铁氧化物的形成。矿石矿物（特别是磷灰石）和相关岩石的同位素组成有望提供有关流体来源和成矿年龄的信息。通过这项研究，我们希望了解这些矿床是如何形成的，以及它们是由哪些物质源形成的。

Kiruna-type apatite¿iron oxide deposits and iron-oxide¿Cu¿Au deposits are possibly end-members of a continuum and represent economically important resources with little-understood origins. A prominent example are the world-class iron-oxide¿apatite ores of the Bafq district, Iran, which are coeval with a wide variety of unusual rare earth element (REE)-bearing apatite-rich magmatic and/or hydrothermal rocks called ¿apatitites¿ here. Our understanding of this type of apatite¿Fe-oxide ore mineralization is obscured by fundamental disagreement on key issues, particularly with regard to their relation with magma-types and the source of ore-forming fluids. In order to contribute to the resolution of this controversy we propose to carry out a detailed study on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Bafq apatitites as well as on fluid inclusions in their apatites and minerals from the Fe oxide¿apatite ores in order to trace the complex nature of progressive geochemical and mineralogical changes (paragenetic association, alteration) with element enrichments (mineralization processes) and the formation of the REE-rich apatite and the Fe-oxides. The isotopic composition of ore minerals (in particular apatite) and related rocks is expected to provide information on the fluid source and on the age of ore mineralization. From this study we expect to learn how and from which source materials these deposits formed.