Liquidus phase relationships have been determined experimentally for the system Qz-Ab-Or with excess water and 1, 2, and 4 wt.% added fluorine at 1 kb pressure. With increasing fluorine content the position of the quartz-alkali feldspar field boundary moves away from the quartz apex. The position of the minimum melting composition and the minimum liquidus temperature change progressively from Qz₃₇Ab₃₄Or₂₉ and 730° C for the fluorine free system (Tuttle and Bowen 1958) to Qz₁₅Ab₅₈Or₂₇ and 630° C for the system with 4 wt.% added fluorine. Exploratory experiments have been carried out below the liquidus, and have indicated that for certain bulk compositions an assemblage consisting of two alkali feldspars, quartz, melt and vapour can exist at temperatures as low as 550° C at 1 kb.

The experimental results suggest that there may be an interaction between fluorine and aluminosilicate complexes present within the melt, to produce aluminofluoride (AlF ₆ ³⁻ ) complex anions (Manning et al. 1980). The observed changes in liquidus phase relationships with increasing fluorine content indicate that the compositions of certain fluorine-rich granitic rocks are consistent with an origin by crystallisation of residual melts enriched in fluorine by magmatic differentiation. Such residual melts may exist at relatively low temperatures, and may form part of a continuum between granite magmatism and associated hydrothermal activity. Because of the observed preference of fluorine for aluminosilicate phases at the magmatic stage, the presence of fluorine alone is not considered to play a direct part in the generation of residual mineralising hydrothermal fluids.