Geochemical and Typological Peculiarities of Detrital Zircons from the Paleogene Sosnov Formation (Russian Platform)

The Paleogene Sosnov Formation is represented by glass quartz sands which are widely occurred in the eastern part of the Russian Platform. Interest in Paleogene quartz sands in Russia is increasing due to the growing needs of the glass industry. But by now, the mineral resource base of glass raw materials in the European part of Russia is of almost complete exhaustion. In recent years, the comprehensive study using modern mineralogical and geochemical methods is undertaken resulting in substantiation of the injecting mechanism of formation of Sosnov quartz sands. The current paper presents the results of the study of morphologic and geochemical features of detrital zircons extracted from the sands of the Paleogene Sosnov Formation and the Bathonian Lukoyanov Formation. The latest can be proposed as a source layer for the Paleogene sand injectites. It has been determined that zircons from both strata are of the same Pupin`s morphological types and regarded to be originated from predominantly intermediate, mafic, and rarely felsic rocks. The Puchezh-Katunk endogenous structure is suggested to be the most probable source area. The assumption that the Bathonian Lukoyanov sandstones are the most probable source for the injection of the Paleogene sands is confirmed.