LI Xiao-guang, LIU Qin-fu, CHENG Hong-fei, KANG Yan-xia, SUN Bo

School of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China

Abstract：Berthierine is a kind of clay mineral that similar to chlorite, having the serpentine-type structure. It was often mistaken for kaolinite or chamosite in former studies. This paper discussed the characteristics of berthierine formation in different environments around the world. The formation environment of berthierine can be divided into two categories: ①marine environment, in which berthierine often has a relationship with marine oolitic ironstones. It can be authigenic as spherical particles in tropical waters. Berthierine often indicates a reducing marine environment of warm and Fe-rich. ②non-marine environment including arctic desert soil, coal swamp, laterite, fresh to brackish floodplain and estuarine, massive sulfide deposit, delta, flint clay, exhalative-sedimentary ores and granitic pegmatite. These kinds of berthierine can be transformed from glauconite, chlorite, kaolinite, odinite or laterite. It is of great significance for the study of clay mineralogy and paleoenvironmental analysis of the research area to study the mineralogy characteristics and forming environment of berthierine.

Key Words： berthierine; 0.7nm chlorite; chemical constituents; structure; formation environment

Bulletin of Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry Vol. 33, No.1, 2014, page 116-123