Precambrian Banded Iron-formations: Physicochemical Conditions Of Formation

Developments in Precambrian Geology 5 PRECAMBRIAN BANDED IRON-FORMATIONS Physicochemical Conditions of Formation DEVELOPMENTS IN PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY Advisory Editor B.F. Windley Further titles in this series 1. B.F. WINDLEY and S.M. NAQVI (Editors) Archaean Geochemistry 2. D.R. HUNTER (Editor) Precambrian of the Southern Hemisphere 3. K.C. CONDIE Archaen Greenstone Belts 4. A. KRONER (Editor) Precambrian Plate Tectonics DEVELOPMENTSIJY PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY 5 PRECAMBRIAN BANDED IRON-FORMATIONS PHYSICOCHEMICAL CONDITIONS OF FORMATION Y.P. MEL’NIK Institute of Geochemistry and Mineral Physics, Kiev, U.S.S.R. Translation from the Russian by Dorothy B. Vitaliano ELSEVIER SCI ENTlFlC PUB LlSHlNG COMPANY 1982 Amsterdam - Oxford - New York ELSEVIER SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING COMPANY Molenwerf 1, 1014 AG Amsterdam P.O. Box 21 1, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Distributors for the United Srates and Canada: ELSEVIER NORTH-HOLLAND INC. 52, Vanderbilt Avenue New York, N.Y' 10017 Librarb 01 ('ongrt,\\ C a t a l o g i n g in P u b l i c a t i o n D a t a Mel'iiyk, $. P. Precambrian banded i r o n - f o r m a t i o n s . (Developments i n Precambrian geology ; 5 ) T r a n s l a t i o n o f : F i z i k o - k h i m i c h e s k i e uslox-i$, 03 r a z ovani dolcemb r i< s="" k="" i="" k="" h="" z="" h="" e="" l="" e="" zis="" t="" ykh="" kvar="" t="" s="" 1t="" ov="" .="" on="" t="" .="" p="" .="" :="" i="" n="" s="" t="" i="" t="" u="" t="" e="" of="" geochemistry="" and="" mineral="" physics,="" kiev,="" u.s.s.r.="" i="" n="" c="" l="" u="" d="" e="" s="" bibliographical="" r="" e="" f="" e="" r="" e="" n="" c="" e="" s="" a="" n="" d="" i="" n="" d="" e="" x="" .="" 1.="" q="" u="" a="" r="" t="" z="" i="" t="" e="" .="" 2="" .="" i="" r="" o="" n="" o="" r="" e="" s="" .="" 3.="" geology,="" s="" t="" r="" a="" t="" i="" g="" r="" a="" p="" h="" i="" c="" i="" .="" t="" i="" t="" l="" e="" .="" 11.="" s="" e="" r="" i="" e="" s="" .=""> a w475 .&3M4413 553' .3 ISBN 0-444-41934-9 81-15134 AACR2 ISBN 0-444-41934-9 (Val. 5) ISBN 0-444-41719-2 (Series) 0 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, 1982 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, P.O. Box 330, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Printed in The Netherlands V Preface to the English edition Work on the book “Physicochemical conditions of formation of the Precambrian ferruginous quartzites”, published in Russian in Kiev (“Naukova Dumka” Publishing House, 1973), was finished in 1971- 1972. In the ensuing years numerous scientific works have been published, both in the U.S.S.R. and abroad, containing new data on the genetic position of the banded iron-formations (BIF), the mineralogical composition and chemistry of iron cherts, the geochemistry of the stable isotopes, and the evolution of the hydrosphere and biosphere. Of special interest were the results of detailed investigations of slightly metamorphosed BIF in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and some other areas, and also new finds of traces of ancient organisms and organic compounds in Archean iron-formations. Naturally, the new edition of my book in English would be incomplete without taking account of these data. In addition, in 1971-1977 I carried out new mineralogical and geochemical investigations on the BIF of the Ukrainian shield, and also experimental and theoretical study of the mechanism of precipitation and crystallization of iron-hydroxide and silica sediments under different conditions, and of the stability of the main minerals of the BIF-goethite, hematite, m