Geneses and evolutions of iron-bearing minerals in banded iron formations of >3760 to ca. 2200 million-year-old: Constraints from electron microscopic, X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopic investigations
We report high-resolution mineralogical investigations on BIF in a wide age range. Each iron-bearing mineral is first classified into different types in this study. The genesis and evolutions of each type of the iron minerals are discussed. The potential of each mineral in archiving ancient environments is discussed. This study can serve as a reference of future in situ geochemical investigations.