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Our products Mica
Micas are minerals that are abundant in nature and make up approximately 3.8% of the Earth’s crust. The most abundant variety at the Penouta Mine is white mica, more specifically muscovite.
Muscovite is found in the mineralized granite, in the greisen and the metamorophic host rock. In the metamorphic layer in a gneis called Ollo de Sapo, there is also biotite mica. Both muscovite and biotite can appear in the Penouta Mine, even though there is significantly higher proportion of muscovite.
Various types of muscovite have been found in the albitic granite at Penouta using an electron microprobe, which give the granite different tonality:
- In the upper part, the white mica varies between magnesium-rich fengite and muscovite with lower magnesium contents and predominantly pale green color. These type of mica is also presenta in the greisen. This same type of mica is also found in the greisen.
- The most magnesium-rich micas occur in asociation with beryl.
- Toing deeper, the white mica in the granite is darker and tends to be more iron-rich, varying between having fengitic and muscovitic features./li>
The petrographic study conducted on granite samples reveals that muscovite crystallized late in the sequence. This falls in line with the antagonistic character of the white mica's distribution compared to potassium feldspar. This peculiar feature could indicate that the white mica was formed by an alteration of the potassium feldspar.
Characterization of mica concentrate
Potential mica applications
Technical Datasheet - White Mica
