Newly formed minerals of the Fe–P–S system in Kolyma fulgurite

Abstract

Newly obtained data from microscopic, geochemical, and thermomagnetic studies of the large Kolyma fulgurite are presented here: the fulgurite was formed in the Holocene as a result of lightning affected black shale alluvium. The composition is very close to that of glass formed from a melt. The glass has elevated concentrations of Y, Zr, Nb, and REEs. The newly formed mineral phases have been identified: those are Al–Si glass, α-cristobalite, moissanite, native iron with a phosphorus admixture, nickel-less shreibersite (?), troilite, and possibly cohenite. The formation of these minerals is related to the melt fractionation and the effects of element concentration and segregation of ore components under conditions of the rock melting caused by the effect of high-energy plasma (lightning strike).