NON-PEGMATITIC DEPOSITS OF BERYLLIUM: MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, PHASE EQUILIBRIA AND ORIGIN

Abstract

Non-pegmatitic occurrences of Be minerals constitute a diverse set of geologic environments of considerable mineralogical and petrological interest; they currently provide the majority of the world’s Be ore and emeralds and they contain the greatest resource of these commodities. Of the approximately 100 Be minerals known (see Chapter 1 by Grew; Appendix A1), most occur in hydrothermal deposits or non-pegmatitic igneous rocks, where their distribution varies systematically with the setting and origin (Table 11, Fig. 11). Beryllium minerals are best known from geologic systems associated with felsic magmatism. They also occur in a variety...