Category Archives: Publications

Trace-element geochemistry of transform-fault serpentinite in high-pressure subduction mélanges (eastern Cuba): implications for subduction initiation Abstract The Sierra del Convento and La Corea mélanges (eastern Cuba) are vestiges of a Cretaceous subduction channel in the Caribbean realm. Both mélanges contain blocks of oceanic crust and serpentinite subducted to high pressure within a serpentinite matrix. The…

Re-Os and U-Pb Geochronology of the Doña Amanda and Cerro Kiosko Deposits, Bayaguana District, Dominican Republic: Looking Down for the Porphyry Cu-Mo Roots of the Pueblo Viejo-Type Mineralization in the Island-Arc Tholeiitic Series of the Caribbean Abstract Hosted in the Early Cretaceous bimodal tholeiite volcanic series of the Los Ranchos Formation, the Doña Amanda and…

Petrogenesis of meta-volcanic rocks from the Maimón Formation (Dominican Republic): Geochemical record of the nascent Greater Antilles paleo-arc Abstract Metamorphosed basalts, basaltic andesites, andesites and plagiorhyolites of the Early Cretaceous, probably pre-Albian, Maimón Formation, located in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, are some of the earliest products of the Greater Antilles arc magmatism.…

The accumulation of Ni in serpentines and garnierites from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic) elucidated by means of μXAS Abstract Ni-bearing serpentines and garnierites (Ni-bearing Mg-phyllosilicates) are the main Ni ores in the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic). In the present paper a set of garnierite samples and the associated Ni-bearing serpentines with characteristic…

Fibrous Platinum-Group Minerals in “Floating Chromitites” from the Loma Larga Ni-Laterite Deposit, Dominican Republic Abstract This contribution reports on the observation of enigmatic fibrous platinum-group minerals (PGM) found within a chromitite body included in limonite (“floating chromitite”) from Ni-laterites in the Dominican Republic. Fibrous PGM have a Ru-Os-Ir-Fe dominated composition and are characterized by fibrous…

Supergene neoformation of Pt-Ir-Fe-Ni alloys: multistage grains explain nugget formation in Ni-laterites Abstract Ni-laterites from the Dominican Republic host rare but extremely platinum-group element (PGE)-rich chromitites (up to 17.5 ppm) without economic significance. These chromitites occur either included in saprolite (beneath the Mg discontinuity) or as ‘floating chromitites’ within limonite (above the Mg discontinuity). Both…

High-pressure greenschist to blueschist facies transition in the Maimón Formation (Dominican Republic) suggests mid-Cretaceous subduction of the Early Cretaceous Caribbean Arc Abstract The Maimón Formation (Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic) is formed of metamorphosed bi-modal mafic-felsic volcanic rocks and sedimentary horizons of Early Cretaceous age deposited in the forearc of the nascent Caribbean island arc. Two…

Fe–Ni-bearing serpentines from the saprolite horizon of Caribbean Ni-laterite deposits: new insights from thermodynamic calculations Abstract Fe–Ni-bearing serpentine from the saprolite horizon is the main Ni ores in hydrous silicate-type Ni laterites and formed by chemical weathering of partially serpentinized ultramafic rocks under tropical conditions. During lateritization, Mg, Si, and Ni are leached from the…

The geology of Cuba: A brief overview and synthesis Abstract Cuba is the largest island in the Greater Antilles, and its geology records three important episodes: (1) the Jurassic breakup of North and South America (Pangea) and associated passive margin and oceanic sedimentary and magmatic evolution; (2) the sedimentary, magmatic, and metamorphic evolution of an…

Twenty-five million years of subduction-accretion-exhumation during the Late Cretaceous-Tertiary in the northwestern Caribbean: The Trinidad Dome, Escambray Complex, Central Cuba Abstract The Trinidad dome, Escambray complex, Central Cuba, forms part of an accretionary wedge built-up during intra-oceanic subduction in the Caribbean from the Late Cretaceous (∼75 Ma) to Tertiary. Fieldwork, microscopic studies, P-T estimates and…

Petrogenesis and 40Ar/39Ar dating of proto-forearc crust in the Early Cretaceous Caribbean arc: The La Tinta mélange (eastern Cuba) and its easterly correlation in Hispaniola Abstract The La Tinta mélange is a small but singular ultramafic mélange sheet that crops out in eastern Cuba. It is composed of dolerite-derived amphibolite blocks embedded in a serpentinite…

Geochemical record of subduction initiation in the sub-arc mantle: Insights from the Loma Caribe peridotite (Dominican Republic) Abstract The Loma Caribe peridotite body is mainly composed of serpentinized spinel harzburgites and lherzolites and minor orthopyroxene-bearing dunites and dunites. Modal proportions, mineral and whole-rock major and trace element compositions generally coincide with those of abyssal mantle…

Critical metals (REE, Sc, PGE) in Ni laterites from Cuba and the Dominican Republic Abstract Ni laterites are considered worthy targets for critical metals (CM) exploration as Rare Earth Elements (REE), Sc and platinum group elements (PGE) can be concentrated during weathering as a result of residual and secondary enrichment. In this contribution geochemical and…

To Cite this article: Chang-Rodríguez, A., Tauler, E., Lavaut-Copa, W., Rojas-Purón, A., Proenza, J.A. (2016): Caracterizaciongeoquimica del perfil litologico del yacimiento lateritico de niquel "San Felipe", Camaguey, Cuba. Ciencias de la Tierra y del Espacio (IN PRESS).

To Cite this article: Chang-Rodríguez, A., Tauler, E., Rojas-Purón, A., Proenza, J.A. (2016): Mineralogia del yacimiento laterítico de niquel San Felipe, Camaguey, Cuba. Minería y Geología (IN PRESS).

To Cite this article: Lázaro, C., Blanco-Quintero, I., Proenza, J.A., Rojas-Agramonte, Y., Neubauer, F., Núñez-Cambra, K., Garcia-Casco, A. (2016): Petrogenesis and 40Ar/39Ar dating of proto-forearc crust in the early Cretaceous Caribbean Arc: The La Tinta mélange (eastern Cuba) and its easterly correlation in Dominican Republic. International Geology Review (IN PRESS).

Ni-phyllosilicates (garnierites) from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic): Mineralogy, nanotextures, and formation mechanisms by HRTEM and AEM Abstract Ni-bearing magnesium phyllosilicates (garnierites) are significant Ni ores in Ni-laterites worldwide. The present paper reports a detailed TEM investigation of garnierites from the Falcondo Ni-laterite deposit (Dominican Republic). Different types of garnierites have been recognized, usually…

Recycling and transport of continental material through the mantle wedge above subduction zones: A Caribbean example Abstract Estimates of global growth rates of continental crust critically depend upon knowledge of the rate at which crustal material is delivered back into the mantle at subduction zones and is then returned to the crust as a component…

Weathering profile of the Cerro de Maimón VMS deposit (Dominican Republic): textures, mineralogy, gossan evolution and mobility of gold and silver Abstract Cerro de Maimón, in the central Dominican Republic, is currently the only VMS deposit under production in the Caribbean region. It is hosted in the Maimón Formation, of early Cretaceous age, which is…