Cervandonite-(Ce) in ores of the Berezitovoe deposit: Second finding in the world

The supposedly second finding of rare arsenosilicate cervandonite-(Ce) in the world is characterized. The mineral was recognized in the ore-bearing metasomatic rocks of the Berezitovoe gold-base metal deposit (Upper Priamurye, Russian Far East) in association with quartz, biotite, muscovite, orthoclase, garnet (almandine-spessartine), tourmaline, basic plagioclase, and sulfides. The cervandonite is represented by optically homogeneous and heterogeneous aggregates with visible crystals from 10 fum to 0.1–0.3 mm in size. Based on the microprobe analysis, the average chemical composition of the homogeneous cervandonite-(Ce) aggregates is as follows (wt %): Ce₂O₃ - 13.00, La₂O₃ - 5.70, Nd₂O₃ - 5.20, Pr₂O₃ - 1.41, Y₂O₃ - 0.77, Sm₂O₃ - 0.77, Eu₂O₃ - 0.23, Gd₂O₃ - 0.54, Dy₂O₃ - 0.31, ThO₂ - 1.12, UO₂ - 0.30, TiO₂ - 12.86, Al₂O₃ - 9.24, Fe₂O₃ - 8.93, FeO - 2.68, CaO - 0.14, SiO₂ - 19.98, As₂O₃ - 16.19. The comparative study of the cervandonite-(Ce) from the Berezitovoe deposit and the analogous minerals from the Alpine mica gneiss of Mt. Pizzo Cervandone (Central Alps) showed that the former mineral can be assigned to a new variety of cervandonite-(Ce) in terms of its compositional features. This variety is characterized by an ordered stoichiometric composition corresponding to the simpler theoretical formula (Ce,Nd,La)(Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺, Ti⁴⁺, Al)₃ (Si₂As³⁺)₃O₁₂.