The nepheline syenites of the Pilansberg alkaline complex (South Africa) have undergone extensive subsolidus equilibration and alteration with a deuteric Cl- and Na-rich fluid phase. Complex assemblages of secondary minerals result from the replacement of primary alummosilicates, rinkite, eudialyte and fluorapatite. The composition of apatite group minerals formed during these alteration processes reflects the Sr- and rare earth element (REE) content, Na/Cl ratio and pH of the deuteric fluids. Apatite-group minerals are observed to have formed in the following sequence: orthomagmatic fluorapatite; strontian britholite-(Ce); strontian fluorapatite; Sr-apatite; REE-rich Sr-apatite; Sr-Na-REE- rich minerals approaching the stoichiometry of belovite-(Ce) and deloneite-(Ce); britholite-(Ce). Increasing alkalinity of the deuteric fluids is reflected by increasing amounts of Sr replacing Ca in apatite and culminates in the formation of Sr apatite containing 62.1 wt.% SrO (∼4.17 a.p.f.u. Sr). Pilansberg apatite-group minerals form a near-complete solid solution between fluorapatite and a fluorine analogue of Sr apatite with limited solution towards belovite-(Ce), Si-rich belovite-(Ce) and strontian britholite-(Ce).

The North Qôroq centre comprises a series of nested nepheline syenite intrusions and forms part of the mid-late Proterozoic Gardar province of South Greenland. Within the centre fractionation has produced varied rock types ranging from augite-syenite to lujavrite, a eudialyte microsyenite. Samples of eudialyte from the lujavrites of unit SN1B of the centre show evidence for two-stage alteration. This alteration ranges from slight modification along crystal margins to complete breakdown and replacement by new pseudomorphing phases. Modification to crystal margins is accompanied by increasing Nb and Zr contents and is related to metasomatism produced by the intrusion of younger syenite units of the North Qôroq centre. More extensive alteration is as a result of metasomatism followed by lower-temperature supergene alteration. Simplified reactions for this breakdown include eudialyte + metasomatic fluid = allanite + nepheline; eudialyte + metasomatic fluid = titanite + aegirine + møsandrite + wöhlerite; eudialyte + fluid = zirfesite + fluid. Mass balance calculations for altered compared with unaltered samples of lujavrite show that alteration took place at approximately constant volume with an overall increase in Fe (+2.41 g/100g), Si and K (+0.65 and +0.61 g/100g), whilst Na (−2.67 g/100g) and all trace elements, particularly La, Y, Nb and Zr (−5.6 to −166 g/10000g) are lost from the system.