Geochemistry and genesis of Mehredjan bentonite deposit, southeast of Khoor, Isfehan province

Mehredjan bentonite deposit is located ~33 km southeast of Khoor in Isfehan province. It includes 15 discrete outcrops and occurs as layered and massive forms within a volcano-clastic sequence. Bentonitization process was accompanied with development of minerals such as montmorillonite, quartz, cristobalite, calcite, kaolinite, halite, albite, orthoclase, and muscovite. The collected field and laboratory data indicate that this deposit was developed by authigenic alteration of tuffs ranging in composition from trachyandesite, through andesite to basaltic andesite in a shallow marine environment. The distribution patterns of REEs normalized to chondrite in both bentonite and enclosing tuffs illustrate similar trend indicating the fractionation and enrichment of LREEs relative to HREEs and negative anomalies for Eu. Geochemical data revealed that transformation of tuffs into bentonite took place in an open system where leaching and fixation processes were two basic regulating factors in concentrating of common trace and rare earth elements. By pointing to the obtained results, factors such as differences of alteration intensity of protolith, physico-chemical conditions of alteration environment, adsorbing mechanism, structural incorporation, existing of organic matters, effects of diagenesis, carbonate complexation, ionic exchange, physical concentrations, and existing of resistant minerals played important roles in development of Mehredjan bentonite. Further geochemical considerations unveiled that relatively humid environmental conditions brought about residual concentration of elements such as Al, Nb, Zr, Hf, Sc, and Th in Mehredjan bentonite