ABSTRACT
Lazulite (MgAl2(PO4)2(OH)2)-quartz veins within the Lower Austroalpine Grobgneis complex, Austria, have Sc-contents up to 200 ppm. The predominant Sc-carrier is pretulite, SCPO4, and this phase occurs as a wide-spread accessory mineral. Vein formation took place at temperatures of 300–500° C and low pressure during Permo-Triassic extensional tectonics and fluid flow. Mg-enriched alteration zones suggest that vein material was not derived from the immediate host rocks. Eo-Alpine metamorphism and deformation overprinted the veins to varying degrees. Despite the low tonnage of the Sc-rich veins, this new type of Scmineralization may point to larger Sc-accumulations in similar phosphate-rich hydrothermal environments.
