The magmatic-hydrothermal transition in rare-element pegmatites from southeast Ireland: LA-ICP-MS chemical mapping of muscovite and columbite-tantalite

Combined petrographic and high-resolution geochemical analysis of two mineral species (which co-crystallize and incorporate the same elements of interest) is an effective tool to assess the complex processes of crystal-melt-fluid interaction. Our three-stage model may also be applicable to the still not well understood magmatic-hydrothermal transition from fertile granitic melts to formation of Sn-W veins and greisens or porphyry-type deposits.