Lithium content of minerals from the Buntsandstein, Permian and Hercynien granites from the Upper Rhine Graben and analogues in the Central Vosges – ANR GLITER project

Selected samples of Buntsandstein and Permian sandstones come from the EPS1 well, the Schwabwiller well (SCB102), and the Schweigenhouse 2 well (SCG2) in the Upper Rhine graben (URG) and from the Adamswiller and Rothbach quarries. Lithium contents were measured in clay minerals, major illite and muscovite, minor chlorite and biotite, the most favourable Li-carrier- minerals in Buntsandstein and Permian sandstones.
Selected samples of Hercynian granites include biotite-amphibole granites from the EPS1, GPK2 and GPK3 wells in the URG and from analogues in Central Vosges (Ringelbach, Windstein) and biotite-muscovite granites in Central Vosges (Strengbach, Saint Pierre Bois quarry, Metzeral) and in northeastern part of URG (Heidelberg). Biotite is the major primary magmatic Li-carrier mineral, followed by muscovite, amphibole (for biotite-amphibole granite), feldspars and magmatic quartz, while chlorite is the major secondary hydrothermal Li-carrier mineral, followed by possibly hydrothermal quartz, muscovite and illite.

The analyses of major elements (23Na, 24Mg, 27Al, 29Si, 39K, 48Ti, 56Fe), lithium (7Li) and other trace elements in minerals were performed using a UVl laser-ablation microsampler CETAC® Excite (193 nm) coupled to an Agilent triple quadrupole plasma mass spectrometer at the French Geological Survey laboratory in Orléans (France), according to the laser configuration of Monnié et al. (2018). The laser spot diameter was 35 µm in granite and 15 µm in sandstones. Ablation spots were performed at 8 Hz frequency with energy of ∼6 J/cm2 for quartz and ∼4 J/cm2 for other silicates. Analysis time for each spot was 60 s, including 20 s of background measurement with the laser off and 40 s of analysis time with the laser on. For each sample, about 20 analyses were carried out on each phase.
Quantification was performed with Glitter® software. All data were calibrated against the external standard NIST SRM 612 (Pearce et al., 1997), and the internal standard of the Si value in the mineral.
The table includes the site (outcrop or well), its coordinates in WGS84 system, the depth (in meter) for wells, the type of rock, the analysed mineral and the elements contents (major elements in wt% oxides and trace elements in ppm or mg per kg of mineral).