J. A. Proenza

J. A. Proenza
University of Barcelona | UB · Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Applied Geology

PhD Geology

About

397
Publications
157,245
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6,460
Citations
Additional affiliations
December 2010 - present
University of Barcelona
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
Description
  • Mineral Deposits, Mineral Deposit Models, Geodynamic and Metallogeny
September 2001 - November 2010
University of Barcelona
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)
Description
  • Mineralogy, Crystallography and Mineralogy, Mineral Deposits, Metalogenetic Processes

Publications

Publications (397)
Article
The Moa Bay lateritic Ni-Co mining district (eastern Cuba) has total mineral resources of 198.54 million metric tonnes (Mt) at 1.07% Ni and 0.12% Co. Laterite profiles from this district are characterized by their oxide-dominated ore zones. Laterite profiles from the Yagrumaje Norte, Punta Gorda, and Yamanigüey deposits contain average Ni and Co co...
Article
Lead-bismuth (Pb-Bi) minerals of the galena (PbS)-matildite (AgBiS2) series and lillianite homologues (Pb3–2xAgxBi2+xS6) are intergrown with electrum (Au-Ag alloy) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) in specific bands within a colloform-banded vein at the Switchback epithermal deposit in southern Mexico. A macro-to-nano scale study revealed that these minera...
Conference Paper
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Maghemite is an iron oxide whose formula is (Fe 3+ 0.67 □ 0.33)Fe 3+ 2 O 4. Maghemite has usually been ignored in the study of Ni laterites due to the difficulty to differentiate maghemite from magnetite. Both minerals have euhedral octahedral morphologies, they are mainly composed of Fe, and conventional analytical techniques do not allow distingu...
Conference Paper
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The Camagüey ophiolitic massif (COM, central Cuba), with an approximate extension of 1200 km 2 , is mainly composed of mantle tectonites and a Moho transition zone (MTZ) overlain by layered gabbros typical of the lower oceanic crust, volcanic rocks, and sediments. The tectonites are strongly depleted harzburgites and dunites, similar to the restiti...
Conference Paper
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Scandium (Sc) is a critical metal with applications in the production of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and Al-Sc alloys, as well as in the aerospace, electronics, laser and ceramics industries. Ni-Co laterite deposits represent a significant source of Sc worldwide. Currently, there are various active exploration projects of Sc in laterites formed...
Conference Paper
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The Camagüey ophiolite (Cuba) contains the highest refractory-grade ophiolitic chromitites in the world (Al 2 O 3 > 20 wt.%, (Al 2 O 3 +Cr 2 O 3) > 57 wt.% and low Fe contents). Mantle-crust transition zone dunites and harzburgites are the main host of these chromitites. However, there is a group of chromitites hosted within anorthosites, troctolit...
Article
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The final magmatic arc—Miocene in age—of the long-lived Sierra Madre del Sur igneous province in southern Mexico hosts several epithermal deposits that have hitherto received little attention. The Natividad Au-Ag(-Ge) epithermal deposit is one of them and holds a mining record of > 200 years. Here, we present the first petrogenetic and metallogenic...
Article
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Ore microscopy, based on reflected light, is the most appropriate and widely used technique for the identification and characterisation of ‘opaque’ minerals in polished sections (blocks or thin sections). This methodology is essential in exploration, characterisation and evaluation of ore deposits. Moreover, it is helpful in petrographic studies of...
Article
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The Ni-laterite deposit at the San Felipe plateau, located 30 km northwest of Camagüey, in central Cuba, is the best example of a clay-type deposit in the Caribbean region. San Felipe resulted from the weathering of mantle peridotites of the Cretaceous Camagüey ophiolites. In this study, a geochemical and mineralogical characterization of two profi...
Conference Paper
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With Li contents ranging as high as ~2,000 to 4,000 ppm, the so-called Lithium-rich Tuff in the Macusani Volcanic Field hosts the main lithium resource in the recently discovered Falchani Project in southeastern Peru. These tuffs comprise quartz, plagioclase (albite), K-feldspar (sanidine), trioctahedral micas (zinnwaldite + lepidolite), kaolinite...
Conference Paper
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Ni and Co have been listed as critical energy metals for a sustainable economic development by several government agencies. Ni-Co laterite deposits are among the first resources of both metals in the world. The correct identification of Ni-and Co-bearing mineral phases is essential to increase the efficiency of extraction of both metals in these de...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Moa Bay is a world-class Ni laterite mining district with reserve estimates of 53.4 Mt at 1.16 % grade Ni. The vast majority of the deposits belong to the oxide type, and are mined for their Ni-bearing Fe-oxyhydroxides in the oxide zone. One exception is Yamanigüey which can be classified as a hydrous Mg silicate Ni-laterite deposit. The study of a...
Conference Paper
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The Falchani Lithium Project has a resource of 0.9 Mt Li hosted in Neogene volcanic tuffs and breccias of the Macusani Volcanic Field. The main host is a newly-defined unit known as 'Lithium-rich Tuff' in which Li contents are mostly between 3,000 and 4,000 ppm. Although this tuff is pervasively altered to clays (dioctahedral smectite and kaolinite...
Article
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Epithermal bonanza-type ores, characterized by weight-percent contents of e.g., gold and silver in a few mm to cm, are generated by mixtures of magmatic-derived hydrothermal brines and external fluids (e.g., meteoric) that transport a variety of metals to the site of deposition. However, the low solubilities of precious metals in hydrothermal fluid...
Conference Paper
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Onshore manganese nodules and vein coatings were recovered from Pliocene sedimentary beds in the Pisco Basin of southern Peru. Identified manganese minerals include todorokite and cryptomelane suggesting a diagenetic origin. However, the chemical composition suggests a mixed hydrogenetic/hydrothermal-diagenetic origin probably due to modification o...
Conference Paper
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The ultramafic rocks of the Herbeira massif in the Cabo Ortegal Complex host chromitite bodies. On the basis of their morphology, host rocks and unaltered chromite cores compositions, they can be grouped into two types: Type-I chromitites, which are massive pods in dunites with Cr# values [Cr/(Cr+Al) atomic ratio] between 0.60-0.63; and Type-II chr...
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Roadside dust contains many mineral grains and, among them, some of REEs (Rare Earth Elements) which have an uncertain origin. This paper characterizes and illustrates for the first time the occurrence of such REEs' particles from four locations near Barcelona (Spain), by means of mineralogical studies, with the aim of identifying their source and...
Article
Chromitite bodies can be found within ophiolitic mantle sections in three locations in Colombia: Medellín, Planeta Rica, and La Guajira. These chromitites are typically massive pods that are often surrounded by lateritic soil in Medellín and Planeta Rica, or small discoidal bodies in La Guajira. Inclusions in chromite are preserved to varying degre...
Article
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We evaluated the mobility of a wide suite of economic metals (Ni, Co, REE, Sc, PGE) in Ni-laterites with different maturities, developed in the unconventional humid/hyper-humid Mediterranean climate. An embryonic Ni-laterite was identified at Los Reales in southern Spain, where a saprolite profile of ~1.5 m thick was formed at the expense of perido...
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Recent studies have reported the significant role of Au-bearing nanoparticles in the formation of hydrothermal gold deposits. Despite the ever-increasing understanding of the genesis and stability of Au-bearing nanoparticles, it is still unknown how they behave when exposed to hydrothermal fluids. Here, we study the nanostructural evolution of Au-A...
Article
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The ophiolitic Villa Clara serpentinite-matrix mélange, central Cuba, forms part of the large ophiolitic belt of the Greater Antilles. The composition of ultramafic and mafic rocks allows classifying them into two main groups, revealing a complex multi-stage formation of oceanic lithosphere in varied tectonic settings: i) group 1 matches fertile MO...
Article
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Sphalerite in Mississippi Valley–type (MVT) deposits hosts significant resources of both germanium and gallium. Here, we provide a survey on the distribution of Ge, Ga, and other minor and trace elements in sphalerite from MVT deposits in the Eastern Cordillera and sub-Andean regions of Peru, including the San Vicente deposit and the nearby Chilpes...
Article
Uplift and unroofing of Jurassic-Cretaceous, mantle and crust, arc-and plume-related rock units in the Median Belt of the Dominican Republic exposed basement rocks with a protracted record of tectono-thermal events delineating the evolution of the northern edge of the Caribbean plate. In this article we focus on crustal rock units in the northeaste...
Article
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Exotic blocks of massive antigorite-serpentinite (antigoritite) document a deep-seated subduction channel in the Villa Clara serpentinite-matrix mélange, central Cuba. The petrological and geochemical characteristics of antigoritite allow distinguishing two types of rock: i) antigoritite and ii) dolomite-bearing antigoritite. Both types are intimat...
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This study presents a new geochemical, petrological, and geochronological U–Pb dataset from Ediacaran metabasites of the Canigó and Cap de Creus massifs, Eastern Pyrenees. The rocks are composed of calcic amphibole + plagioclase + chlorite + epidote ± quartz plus titanite + apatite + ilmenite ± biotite ± rutile as accessory phases and show relict i...
Article
The Hamutenha intrusion (Huíla province, SW Angola) is a 3-km-long elongated magmatic body defined by a set of two intrusive units. The northern unit is formed by alternating bands of dunites and olivine gabbros, while the southern unit is composed of amphibole diorites. The Hamutenha body is hosted by the Paleoproterozoic Epupa Complex in the Ango...
Article
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Platinum-group elements (PGEs) occur in ophiolitic chromitite in the Dominican Republic as platinum-group minerals (PGMs) in spatial association with hydrothermal uvarovite and chromian clinochlore. Bulk-rock total PGE content in a single analyzed chromitite sample is of 6.54 g/t. Three main PGM types are distinguished: euhedral magmatic laurite co...
Article
Ultramafic-hosted volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (UM-VMS) located in the Havana-Matanzas ophiolite (Cuba) are the only known example of this type of mineralization in the Caribbean realm. UM-VMS from Havana-Matanzas are enriched in Cu, Ni, Co, Au, and Ag. The mineralization consists of massive sulfide bodies mostly composed of pyrrhotite and...
Article
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Cobalt demand is increasing due to its key role in the transition to clean energies. Although the main Co ores are the sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Co is also a by-product of Ni–Co laterite deposits, where Co extraction efficiency depends, among other factors, on the correct identification of C...
Article
In this study we tested the dissolution kinetics of three garnierite types (serpentine-, talc- and sepiolite-dominated) at pH of 3 and 5 and room temperature by means of flow-through experiments. The samples selected for the study cover a wide range of mineralogical composition (Xtalc, between 0.34 and 0.78) and Ni content (between 0.8 and 2.4 atom...
Article
This study provides the first-ever report of U-Pb isotopic ages of zircon and rutile from high-Cr chromitites of the Orhaneli Ophiolite Complex (OOC). The chromites within the OOC chromitites yield Cr-numbers between 0.77 and 0.86, Mg-numbers between 0.46 and 0.71 and TiO2 < 0.26 wt%. They exhibit V, Ga and Ni depletion and Sc, Ti, Zn, Co and Mn en...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Germanium is a critical raw material in increasing demand. Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits represent an important source of Ge. This research provides new textural and compositional data of sphalerite from the San Vicente and Shalipayco MVT deposits in Peru. In San Vicente, seven textural types of sphalerite, deposited during two steps of mi...
Conference Paper
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The mineralogy and mineral chemistry of REE phosphates and REE carbonates has been investigated in three localities of the Bahoruco karst bauxites, Dominican Republic, by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), petrographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and electron microprobe (EMP). The identified REE minerals include primary...
Article
Trace element compositions of sphalerite and chalcopyrite have been investigated for four arc-hosted Cretaceous VMS deposits (María Teresa, Perubar, and Palma in Peru, and Cerro de Maimón in the Dominican Republic) using laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In sphalerite, Fe, Mn, Cd, Hg, Ag, Sb, Se, In, Ge, and Ga are lattic...
Article
Variscite is a rare mineral that offers new opportunities for research on the mobility of raw materials in America during pre-Hispanic times through the provenance study of the source material. In this article we address a detailed characterization of the texture, mineralogy and chemical composition of the variscite beads belonging to the Nahuange...
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In this short communication, we present preliminary data on the Re-Os isotopic systematics of platinum-group minerals (PGM) recovered from different horizons in the Falcondo Ni-laterite in the Dominican Republic. The results show differences in the Os-isotope composition in different populations of PGM: (i) pre-lateritic PGM yield 187Os/188Os varyi...
Article
The Tampanchi Ultramafic–Mafic Complex (TUMC), located in the central segment of the Cordillera Real (Ecuador), is an oval-shaped intrusive body of approximately 18 km² emplaced within a Cretaceous metavolcano-sedimentary sequence. Field investigations, zircon geochronology, mineral and whole-rock elemental and isotopic compositions constrain the n...
Conference Paper
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The Habana-Matanzas ophiolites (western Cuba) host several hydrothermal ultramafic-hosted Cu-Au-Co rich massive sulfide deposits (e.g. Loma Majana and Salomón). The ore mineralogy of these deposits consists of pyrrhotite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite, with minor Co-Fe-Ni arsenides/sulfarsenides (mainly safflorite and cobaltite), gold (electrum), and re...
Article
The Neoproterozoic Bou Azzer ophiolite in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas Panafrican belt hosts numerous chromitite orebodies within the peridotite section of the oceanic mantle. The chromitites are strongly affected by serpentinization and metamorphism, although they still preserve igneous relicts amenable for petrogenetic interpretation. The major, minor...
Article
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Cu-Ni-Co-PGE mineralization occurs at Haidbachgraben in the Early Palaeozoic, Subpenninic Hollersbach Complex of the Central Tauern Window, Austria. Massive sulfide ore formed from sulfide melt segregated from silicate melt during intrusion of pyroxenite into magmatic rocks formed in an MORB-type environment. Relics of magmatic minerals include chr...
Conference Paper
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Although experimental work predicts that platinum-group elements (PGE) are soluble in hydrothermal fluids at temperatures <500 ºC during serpentinization in ophiolite complexes, mineralization-mechanisms driving to the formation of hydrothermal epigenetic PGE mineralizations are still poorly understood. In this communication we describe hydrotherma...
Book
Full-text available
The Geology of Colombia book provides an updated background of the geological knowledge of Colombia by integrating the most up–to–date research covering paleontology, biostratigraphy, sedimentary basin analysis, sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, stratigraphy, geophysics, geochronology, geochemistry, thermochronology, tectonics, structure, volca...
Article
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The region that encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean is a preferential destination for mining and mineral exploration, according to the Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020 of the US Geological Survey (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/). The region contains important resources of copper, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, iron, niobium, aluminum, zi...
Article
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Mineralogical studies on platinum-group minerals found in placer deposits from the Río Santiago (Ecuador) are scarce. In this investigation, one sample collected from the Río Santiago alluvial placer was studied via a multi-disciplinary approach, including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and Raman spectroscopy...
Article
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Fe-Ti oxide ores are commonly associated with Proterozoic massif-type anorthosite bodies emplaced during the Grenville orogeny (~1.2-1.0 Ga). Some of these anorthositic bodies occur in the northernmost part of the Santa Marta Massif, Colombia. They locally contain crosscutting Fe-Ti(-V) ore bodies between the El Hierro creek and the Don Dieguito ri...
Article
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The Medellin Metaharzburgitic Unit (MMU), emplaced onto the western continental margin of Pangea during Triassic time, is located in the Central Cordillera of Colombia and consists of metaharzburgites, minor metadunites and chromitite bodies (Patio Bonito and San Pedro ore deposits). The ultramafic rocks contain relicts of mantle-derived olivine, c...
Article
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Nickel laterite deposits developed on ultramafic rocks have traditionally been a significant source of Ni and Co and recently of Sc. Although the Loma de Hierro deposit (Venezuela) has been in operation for more than 50 years, it lacks detailed studies on the mineralogical and geochemical composition of the lateritic profile. In this study, we pres...
Article
Full-text available
Platinum-group elements (PGE) are included among the so-called critical metals, and are essential metals for the technological industry. However, there are very few deposits in the world from which these metals can be extracted. The present work investigates three Ni-laterite profiles (hydrous Mg silicate type) formed over the ultramafic rocks of C...
Article
Full-text available
The Havana-Matanzas Ophiolite contains one of the few examples of ophiolitic platinum group minerals (PGM)-rich chromitites associated with orthopyroxenites in the mantle section of ophiolitic complexes. The chromitites occur as veins hosted by ortho-pyroxenite bands within mantle peridotites. The peridotites are mostly harzburgites and their acces...