KOKCHETAVITE: A NEW POTASSIUM-FELDSPAR POLYMORPH FROM THE KOKCHETAV ULTRAHIGH-PRESSURE TERRANE

Abstract

Kokchetavite, a new polymorph of K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8), has been identified as micrometer-size inclusions in clinopyroxene and garnet in a garnet-pyroxene rock from the Kokchetav ultrahigh-pressure terrane, Kazakhstan. Kokchetavite has a hexagonal structure with a =5.27(1), c=7.82(1), V=188.093, Z=1, and is found to be associated with phengite+/-cristobalite (or quartz)+siliceous glass phlogopite/titanite/calcite/zircon, occurring as multi-phase inclusions in clinopyroxene and garnet. It is concluded that kokchetavite could not be an exsolution phase in host minerals. Instead, it might be metastably precipitated from an infiltrated K-rich melt during rock exhumation. Alternatively, although less likely, kokchetavite might be derived from dehydration of K-cymrite, which, in turn, was formed at high pressures. In either case, kokchetavite is a metastable polymorph of K-feldspar.