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Bennett Frank Buie

Publications and source records attributed to Bennett Frank Buie.

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The igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains of central Montana

The study of the Highwood Mountains was undertaken by a group of men from Harvard University under a grant from the Shaler Memorial Fund of the Department of Geology. The work was under the general direction of Larsen, who, with the assistance of Norman A. Haskell, mapped most of the volcanic rocks. Hurlbut and Griggs worked mostly on the laccoliths, Burgess on the stocks, and Buie on the dikes. The party spent two summers in the field. The laboratory work is far from complete. We cooperated closely in all the work.

Montana

Geology and industrial mineral resources of the Macon-Gordon kaolin district, Georgia

The Macon-Gordon kaolin district is about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. It extends across the boundary between, and includes parts of, the Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic provinces. The rocks in the Piedmont are mainly intensely folded sericite schist and granite gneiss containing irregular masses of amphibolite and feldspathic biotite gneiss and scattered igneous intrusive rocks. Most of the crystalline rocks are thought to be of Paleozoic age, but some of the intrusive rocks may be younger. The crystalline rocks are cut by a major unconformity and are overlain by sedimentary formations ranging in age from Cretaceous to Miocene. The valuable kaolin deposits occur in the Cretaceous beds, undivided, and in the Huber Formation which is of Paleocene to middle Eocene age. The resources of kaolin in the district are estimated in millions of metric tons as follows: reserves, 100; subeconomic resources, 700 to 900; undiscovered resources, probably 700 to 1,000. In addition to kaolin, the leading mineral commodity mined in the district, crushed stone and sand are now being produced, and fuller's earth and a minor amount of limestone were formerly produced. The crushed stone is quarried from igneous rocks in the Piedmont province. The sand is washed from the Cretaceous beds, undivided. The fuller's earth was mined from the Twiggs Clay Member of the Barnwell Formation, and limestone was dug from the Tivola Limestone.

Georgia

Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana: Part V. Contact Metamorphism

Very near the contacts of the stocks the sediments have been replaced by sanidine and diopside, through magmatic reaction. An irregular zone of indurated sediments, produced largely by hydrothermal agents, extends outward from the stocks for as much as half a mile. Locally, more intense hydrothermal metamorphism has formed orthoclase and fibrous amphibole with some diopside and locally garnet, phlogopite, spinel, and cordierite. Along the dikes metamorphism extends out from the contacts for a distance of a few inches up to 5 feet. Thermal metamorphism produced recrystallization of the fine interstitial material of the sandstone. Aegirite, calcite, hematite, and pyrite were deposited by hydrothermal solutions. Magmatic reaction produced diopside. Reaction between sandstone and the magma of the headed dike caused a progressive replacement of plagioclase and quartz by potash feldspar. Granitic inclusions in the biotite phonolite dikes have a marginal shell in which plagioclase has been replaced by orthoclase. Surrounding each inclusion is a zone of mixed rock which contains quartz grains much embayed and surrounded by 0.1 mm. prisms of pyroxene.

Montana

Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana: Part VI. Mineralogy

The minerals of the igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains are described. The primary hornblende of the quartz latites is basaltic and it has been partly replaced by a common green hornblende. Hornblende is rare in the alkalic rocks. Augite is an abundant mineral of the alkalic rocks; in the syenites it contains some acmite, especially on the borders of the crystals. Aegirite is a common metamorphic mineral. The olivine of the shonkinites contains from 12 to 22 mol per cent of fayalite, that of the syenite from Square Butte 50 per cent. Monticellite twinned into trillings on (031) is an abundant mineral in one small intrusive body. In the alkalic rocks barium sanidine is abundant and plagioclase rare; leucite, primary analcime, and pseudoleucite are common and sodalite rare. Natrolite, thomsonite, and other zeolites are widespread and very abundant.

Montana

Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana: Part VII. Petrology

In the shonkinite series olivine, leucite, and analcime crystallized only from magmas with over 20 per cent of mafites. At this stage the leucite and analcime inverted to pseudoleucite. Pyroxene crystallized over the whole range of rocks and changed little in composition until the magma reached the composition of nepheline syenite when it became richer in aegirite. A little pale biotite crystallized early, but most of the biotite is dark and crystallized late. A little barium rich sanidine crystallized early. The abundant late feldspar is poor in barium. Four petrographic subprovinces are represented in the area. The older quartz latites are near lime-alkalic rocks, the syenites and monzonites of Highwood Peak are somewhat farther removed, and the shonkinite series are potash-rich alkalic rocks. The alnoites are very rich in lime. The parent mafic magmas of the various subprovinces formed in depth by differentiation of a primary basaltic magma. These parent magmas were erupted toward the surface and there differentiated in a different way. The differentiation of the shonkinite magma was chiefly by settling of augite, olivine, and some biotite.

Montana