Authenticity and provenance studies of copper-bearing andesines using Cu isotope ratios and element analysis by fs-LA-MC-ICPMS and ns-LA-ICPMS

Whereas colored andesine/labradorite had been thought unique to the North American continent, red andesine supposedly coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Mongolia, and Tibet has been on the market for the last 10 years. After red Mongolian andesine was proven to be Cu-diffused by heat treatment from colorless andesine starting material, efforts were taken to distinguish minerals sold as Tibetan and Mongolian andesine. Using nanosecond laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), the main and trace element composition of andesines from different origins was determined. Mexican, Oregon, and Asian samples were clearly distinguishable by their main element content (CaO, SiO(2) Na(2)O, and K(2)O), whereas the composition of Mongolian, Tibetan, and DR Congo material was within the same range. Since the Li concentration was shown to be correlated with the Cu concentration, the formerly proposed differentiation by the Ba/Sr vs. Ba/Li ratio does not distinguish between samples from Tibet and Mongolia, but only between red and colorless material. Using femtosecond laser ablation multi-collector ICPMS in high-resolution mode, laboratory diffused samples showed variations up to 3aEuro degrees for (65)Cu/(63)Cu within one mineral due to the diffusion process. Ar isotope ratio measurements proved that heat treatment will reduce the amount of radiogenic (40)Ar in the samples significantly. Only low levels of radiogenic Ar were found in samples collected on-site in both mine locations in Tibet. Together with a high intra-sample variability of the Cu isotope ratio, andesine samples labeled as coming from Tibet are most probably Cu-diffused, using initially colorless Mongolian andesines as starting material. Therefore, at the moment, the only reliable source of colored andesine/labradorite remains the state of Oregon.