Tactite
“Contact metamorphism's colorful creation”
Tactite is a term sometimes used interchangeably with skarn, referring to the hard, dense rock formed when hot magmatic fluids react with carbonate rocks. Tactite is specifically used when the resulting rock is dominated by calcium-magnesium silicates like garnet and pyroxene.
garnet (andradite/grossular), diopside, wollastonite, vesuvianite, epidote
Iron Springs (Utah, USA), Banat (Romania), Dalnegorsk (Russia), Kamioka Mine (Japan)
6-7
Tactite deposits at Japan's Kamioka Mine were once mined for zinc and lead; the underground caverns left behind now house the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector.
Test Your Knowledge
How does tactite formation differ from regional metamorphism that produces rocks like gneiss?
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