Mount Kawate
Iri-Sukawa, Minakami city, Tone county, Gunma pref., Japan
Closed to collecting as it is a natural monument.
Occurrence
Acidic metasomatic rocks of Pyrophyllite zone
Pyrophyllite deposit formed in the late Miocene (11 Ma) rhyolitic pyroclastic rocks of the Mitsumineyama Formation by hydrothermal alteration of the quartz diorite of the early Pliocene (5.0 Ma) Tanigawa Plutonic Complex. The Tanigawa Plutonic Complex is I-type (Magnetite-series). Approximately 500 m apart from the quartz diorite, the heat source. Ages of volcanic rocks were determined by K-Ar radiometric dating of whole rock and biotite, and fission track dating of zircon.
Outcrop of the rhyolitic pyroclasitc rock of the Mitsumineyama Formation subjected to phyrophyllitization alteration by intrusion of quartz diorite. The flow structure is observed from the upper right to the lower left of this photograph. The massive brown parts are limonite, and scattered white grains are zunyite.
Reported Minerals
- Zunyite
- Limonite
- Diaspore
Mineral Assemblage
- Limonite - Zunyite
Localities
- Momura (B rich)
- Kyonosawa (B rich)
- Shima Mine (B rich)
- Hinomaru-Nako Mine (P rich)
- Yoji Mine (Al,F rich)
- Shin-yo Mine (Al,F rich)
- Mount Kawate (Zunyite)
- Mount Shoko (Al rich)
- Nekoyama (Al rich)
- Mitsuishi (Al rich)
- Isshiki Mine (Al rich)
- Toho Mine (Al rich)
- Hongo Mine (Sulfide deposit)
- Masutomi Mine (Sulfide deposit)
Related Occurrences
- Halloysite zone (Alunite zone, Argillized zone)
- Kaolinite zone (Alunite zone, Argillized zone)
- Minamiite-Alunite zone (Alunite zone)
- Pyrophyllite zone
- Smectite zone (Argillized zone)
- Interstratified mineral zone (Argillized zone)
- Illite-Chlorite zone (Propylite zone)
- Epidote-Actinolite zone
- Stilbite-Mordenite zone (Zeolite zone)
- Heulandite-Analcime zone (Zeolite zone)
- Laumontite-Albite zone (Zeolite z., Propylite z.)
- Wairakite-Albite zone (Zeolite zone)