PETROGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS AMPHIBOLE ASBESTOS IN THE KHATSAVIT DEPOSIT

Deposits of fibrous amphiboles which differ from previously known occurrances in the Central Caucasus in being of distinctive compositions and geologic positions. The deposit is in the top of an anticline of Devonian sediment volcanic strata. It is related to hydrothermal veins in metasomatized gabbroids. Small hypabyssal intrusions of granite-porphyry are structurally related to the asbestos veins. The petrography of the deposit and the related rocks is described in detail, as is the structure. Four generations of mineralization are recognized. Alteration shows a pronounced zonal distribution. The outer area of the zoning is well defined because of regional metamorphism. The asbestos is the result of interaction between the hydrothermal fluids and the country rock. Structurally a combination of folding with NE trending shears and NW trending tension fractures localize the ore deposits. The fibrosity of the actinolite is related to wild movement during tectonism. M. A. Klugman