Minor elements in Keweenawan lavas, Michigan

The distribution of minor elements in three basaltic flows of the Keweenawan series, of Michigan, is related to differentiation in the flows. Thus, nickel is most abundant in the early differentiates; nickel, chromium, and barium are generally deficient in the pegmatites, which formed late; whereas copper, vanadium, yttrium, and other minor elements are concentrated in the pegmatites.

The minor-element content of individual minerals in the Greenstone flow varies markedly from one mineral to another and seems to depend primarily on the presence or absence in the minerals of major elements for which the minor elements can substitute. Minor elements have substituted most readily for those major elements with similar ionic radii. Valence and electronegativity also seem to influence the ease of substitution.

The distribution of other minor elements in copper-bearing lodes of the Michigan copper district shows no apparent relation to copper mineralization.