Geochemical aspects of minor and rare earth elements in the Gheshlagh bauxitic deposit, Golestan province, North of Iran.

The Gheshlagh bauxitic deposit is located in ~110 km southeast of Gorgan city. Mineralogical studies indicated the presence of minerals such as boehmite, diaspore, kaolinite, hematite, goethite, anatase, rutile, chamosite, calcite, moscovite, clinoclar, provskite, quartz, and dolomite. Based on quantitative mineralogy this deposite made up of (1) bauxitic clay, (2) clayey bauxite, (3) bauxitic clayey iron ore and (4) bauxitic iron ore. Calculations of the enrichment factors, with assumption of upper continental crust (UCC) as parent rocks, showed that elements such as Rb, Cs and Ba were depleted during bauxitization processes whereas elements like Y, Cr, Co, Ni, V and HREEs were encountered enrichment.Elements like Sr, Ga, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, U, Th and LREEs underwent both leaching and fixation processes during development of the weathered profile. Combination of the results obtained from mineralogical and geochemical investigations showed that factors such as adsorption, scavenging by metallic oxides and hydroxides, fluctuation of underground water level, type and stability of metal-containing complexes, stability of primary bearing minerals, presence in mineral phases resistant to weathering and changes in chemistry of the solutions responsible for weathering played prominent role in distribution and mobilization of elements in the studied bauxitic ores.