30 Applications of Igneous Petrology, Geochemistry, and Geochronology to Understanding Earth and Other Planetary Systems

This session invites contributions that explore igneous systems through traditional and nontraditional methods. Studies that link crustal evolution, planetary formation, resource potential, and comparative planetology across temporal and spatial scales are especially encouraged.

Tuesday, 10 March 2026
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
RCC, 104

Sequential Extraction for Altered Ultramafic Rocks: Investigating Metal Mobility of Oman Altered Peridotites

Paper number: 30-5
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

The Oman Drilling Project (OmanDP) was a large-scale investigation into the Samail Ophiolite involving multiple nations, organizations, and over 120 scientists and researchers. The goal of which was to acquire extensive core data and samples of the Samail Ophiolite, a large (~100,000 square kilometers) late-Cretaceous oceanic plate formation approximately 95 million years old spanning the United Arab Emirates and Oman. As a fragmented and obducted piece of the Tethyan ocean, it serves as a key tool in understanding oceanic crust formation, plate tectonics, and ultramafic rock geochemistry. This study focuses on the investigation and modification of established sequential extraction methods for select altered peridotites from the Oman Drilling Project Hole BT1B. The BT1B borehole consists of oxidized, serpentinized, and carbonated peridotites, which may host critical metals (e.g., Ni, Co) distributed in various mineral forms – the current distribution of which is unknown. This investigation will quantify the host mineral phases for various metal cations. Results will improve our understanding of mineral alteration pathways and metasomatism, and how alteration mobilizes minerals of interest and where they settle. From preliminary testing of sequential extraction methods following Hall et al. (1996), cation phases targeted for sequential extraction include: exchangeable & absorbed, carbonate, sulfide, amorphous oxyhydroxides, crystalline oxides, and residual silicates. To aid in the extraction of these phases, modification of prior extraction techniques and incorporation of more extraction methodologies, such as Piatak et al. (2007), will enable targeted digestion of mineral phases. This project will characterize the host phases for critical metals (Ni and Co), complementing results of microanalytical techniques. Moreover, by characterizing the host minerals for Ni and Co and their mobility, this work can also inform efficient and sustainable extraction methods that can be optimized for each of the ultramafic mineralization types explored in this work.

 

References:

Hall et al. (1996). J. Anal. At. Spectrom.

Piatak et al. (2007). USGS Open File Report

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026SE-411524

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