Phosphates of the Chalotskoe Pegmatite Deposit,Transbaikal Region

A number of rare phosphates have been found in specimens from the Chalotskoe pegmatite deposit, Transbaikal region, Russia: väyrynenite, MnBe[PO₄](OH,F); parascholzite, CaZn₂[PO₄]₂ · 2H₂O; messelite, Ca₂(Fe²⁺,Mn)[PO₄]₂ · 2H₂O; eosphorite, MnAl[PO₄](OH)₂ · H₂O; moraesite, Be₂[PO₄](OH)4H₂O; and fluorapatite. Väyrynenite forms pink grains 2–3 mm in size, less frequent prismatic crystals up to 0.8 × 3.0 cm, and spheres up to 3 mm in diameter. Parascholzite occurs as pockets up to 0.6 × 1.0 cm composed from snow-white small grains. Messelite forms pale yellow honeycomb grains and poorly shaped crystals up to 1 mm. Eosphorite has been seen in the Chalotskoe pegmatites before, but it has not been studied in detail. It occurs as red-brown prismatic crystals up to 8 cm in length, occasionally forming openbook- like aggregates and pink to pale pink grains up to 5 mm in size. Moraesite forms snow-white fibrous aggregates up to 5 × 6 mm, together with white spheres and short prismatic crystals of fluorapatite up to 1 mm. Microcline, albite, quartz, muscovite, beryl, schorl, almandine-spessartine, columbite-(Fe), and bertrandite are associated minerals. Väyrynenite and parascholzite are found for the first time in Russia.

     

Chlorine-bearing lizardite from metakimberlite of the Udachnaya-East pipe,northern Yakutia

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Mariinskite, BeCr2O4, a new mineral, chromium analog of chrysoberyl

A new mineral, mariinskite, BeCr₂O₄, the chromium analog of chrysoberyl, has been found at the Mariinsky (Malyshevo) deposit, the Ural Emerald Mines, the Central Urals, Russia. The mineral is named after its type locality. It was discovered in chromitite in association with fluorphlogopite, Cr-bearing muscovite, eskolaite, and tourmaline. Mariinskite occurs as anhedral grains ranging from 0.01 to 0.3 mm in size; in some cases it forms pseudohexagonal chrysoberyl-type twins. The mineral is dark-green, with a pale green streak; the Mohs’ hardness is 8.5, microhardness VHN = 1725 kg/mm². D _meas = 4.25(2) g/cm³, D _calc = 4.25 g/cm³. Microscopically, it is emerald-green, pleochroic from emerald-green (γ) to yellow-green (β) and greenish yellow (α). The new mineral is biaxial (+), γ = 2.15(1), β = 2.09(3), and α = 2.05(1), 2V _meas = 80 ± (10)°, 2V _calc = 80.5°. In reflected light, it is gray with green reflections; R _max (589) = 12.9%; R _min (589) = 12.3%, and there are strong, internal green reflections. The strongest absorption bands in the IR spectrum are as follows (cm^?1): 935, 700, 614, 534. Space group Pnma, a = 9.727(3), b = 5.619(1), c = 4.499(1) Å, V = 245.9(3) ų, Z = 4. The strongest reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are as follows (d Å, I, hkl): 4.08(40)(101), 3.31(90)(111), 2.629(50)(301), 2.434(50)(220), 2.381(40)(311), 2.139(60)(221), 1.651(100)(222). The average chemical composition of mariinskite (electron microprobe, wt %) is as follows: BeO 16.3, Al₂O₃ 23.89, Cr₂O₃ 58.67, Fe₂O₃ 0.26, V₂O₃ 0.26, TiO₂ 0.61, total is 99.98. The empirical formula, calculated on the basis of four O atoms is Be_1.03(Cr_1.22Al_0.74Ti_0.01Fe_0.01V_0.01)_1.99O₄. The compatibility index 1 ? (K_p/K_c), 0.019, is excellent. The type specimens are deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, and the Ural Geological Museum, Yekaterinburg, Russia.     

Discovery of low aluminium nevadaite from the Kara-Chagyr Area,Kyrgyzstan

The rare phosphate—nevadaite has been found at Kara-Chagyr (Batken region, Kyrgyzstan) in a zone of alteration of vanadium bearing “black shales”. It occurs as blue crusts of spherulitic aggregates of tiny tabular crystals (0.1–10 μm). It is associated with metahewettite, hummerite, carnotite, minyulite, fluellite, crandallite, variscite, and woodhouseite. Optical properties: n = 1.542–1.555, D _meas (for aggregates) = 2.58(1) g/cm³, D _calc = 2.582 g/cm³. The most intense X-ray powder reflections are as follows: [d/n, Å, (I _meas), (hkl)]: 9.54 (80) (020), 6.03 (100) (200), 5.61 (100) (130), 3.91 (60) (310), 3.41 (80) (041), 2.982 (100) (241), 2.804 (60) (331), 2.672 (70) (061), 1.845 (60) (352) 1.507 (70) (243). Calculated cell dimensions are: a = 12.072(10) Å, b = 18.958(15) Å, c = 4.969(5) Å, α = β = γ = 90°, V = 1137.2 ų. Electron microprobe analyses gives (wt %): (observed (average of 8 analyses); (calculated for 22H₂O)): P₂O₅ 34.69 (31.85), SiO₂ 0.25 (0.24), Al₂O₃ 25.61 (23.50), V₂O 5.58 (5.13), Fe₂O₃ 0.48 (0.46), MnO 0.03 (0.03), CuO 10.79 (9.90), ZnO 0.69 (0.65), CaO 0.18 (0.15), MgO 0.17 (0.17), K₂O 0.08 (0.08), F 7.40 (6.79), H₂O 17.16 (by diff.) (23.90), ?F₂ =O \(\bar 3\).11 (\(\bar 2\).86), total 100.00 (100.00).The crystal-chemical formula of the mineral is (Cu _2.2 ⁺² □_2.03V _1.21 ⁺³ Al_0.15Zn_0.14Fe_0.10Mg_0.07Ca_0.05K_0.03Mn_0.01)_6.00(Al_8.00(P_7.93Si_0.07O₃₂)F_6.32(OH)_2.98 · 22(H₂O) for the ideal number of water molecules. Nevadaite from Kara-Chagyr differs from that from the type locality, Gold Quarry (Nev., USA), by its lower Al content. The IR-spectrum, and microphotographs of nevadaite and associated minerals are given.     

Indicators in Estimation of Land Degradation Neutrality for Russian Boreal Forests

Doklady Earth Sciences - In this paper, we analyze the applicability of the land degradation neutrality (LDN) concept of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification to the Russian boreal forests....     

Avdeevite,a Na-Dominant Alkali Beryl: Determination as Valid Mineral Species and New Data

Geology of Ore Deposits - Abstract—This paper describes the first Na-dominant member of the beryl group, named avdeevite. The sample, which became its holotype, was found in a granitic...     

Tatarinovite Са<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al(SO<Subscript>4</Subscript>)[В(ОH)<Subscript>4</Subscript>](ОH)<Subscript>6</Subscript> · 12H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O,a new ettringite-group mineral from the Bazhenovskoe deposit,Middle Urals,Russia, and its crystal structure

A new mineral, tatarinovite, ideally Са₃Аl(SO₄)[В(ОН)₄](ОН)₆ · 12Н₂O, has been found in cavities of rhodingites at the Bazhenovskoe chrysotile asbestos deposit, Middle Urals, Russia. It occurs (1) colorless, with vitreous luster, bipyramidal crystals up to 1 mm across in cavities within massive diopside, in association with xonotlite, clinochlore, pectolite and calcite, and (2) as white granular aggregates up to 5 mm in size on grossular with pectolite, diopside, calcite, and xonotlite. The Mohs hardness is 3; perfect cleavage on (100) is observed. D _meas = 1.79(1), D _calc = 1.777 g/cm³. Tatarinovite is optically uniaxial (+), ω = 1.475(2), ε = 1.496(2). The IR spectrum contains characteristic bands of SO₄ ^2?, CO₃ ^2?, B(OH)₄ ^?, B(OH)₃, Al(OH)₆ ^3-, Si(OH)₆ ^2-, OH^–, and H₂O. The chemical composition of tatarinovite (wt %; ICP-AES; H₂O was determined by the Alimarin method; CO₂ was determined by selective sorption on askarite) is as follows: 27.40 CaO, 4.06 B₂O₃, 6.34 A1₂O₃, 0.03 Fe₂O₃, 2.43 SiO₂, 8.48 SO₃, 4.2 CO₂, 46.1 H₂O, total is 99.04. The empirical formula (calculated on the basis of 3Ca apfu) is H_31.41Ca_3.00(Al_0.76Si_0.25)_Σ1.01 · (B_0.72S_0.65C_0.59)Σ_1.96O_24.55. Tatarinovite is hexagonal, space gr. P6₃, a = 11.1110(4) Å, c = 10.6294(6) Å, V = 1136.44(9) A³, Z = 2. Its crystal chemical formula is Са₃(Аl_0.70Si_0.30) · {[SO₄]_0.34[В(ОН)₄]_0.33[СO₃]0.₂₄}{[SO₄]_0.30[В(ОН)₄]_0.34[СО₃]_0.30[В(ОН)₃]_0.06}(ОН_5·73О_0.27) · 12Н₂O. The strongest reflections of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [d, Å (I, %) (hkl)] are 9.63 (100) (100), 5.556 (30) (110), 4.654 (14) (102), 3.841 (21) (112), 3.441 (12) (211), 2.746 (10) (302), 2.538 (12) (213). Tatarinovite was named in memory of the Russian geologist and petrologist Pavel Mikhailovich Tatarinov (1895–1976), a well-known specialist in chrysotile asbestos deposits. Type specimens have been deposited at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.