A soil vermiculite formed from a meta-gabbro, Loire-Atlantique, France

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Abstract
Microprobe and atomic absorption analyses of large vermiculite crystals present in the upper horizon of a weathering profile on gabbro show that they differ appreciably in chemical composition. This together with the lack of any phyllosilicate precursor of comparable grain size, strongly suggests that the vermiculites were formed by precipitation of dissolved silicate matter, higher in the profile the vermiculite becomes unstable and is replaced by an Fe-rich smectite.