Abstract

Two new monoclinic (P21/m) epidote supergroup minerals manganiakasakaite-(La) and ferriakasakaite-(Ce) were found in the small Mn ore deposit of Monte Maniglia, Bellino, Varaita Valley, Cuneo Province, Piedmont, Italy. Manganiakasakaite-(La) occurs as subhedral grains embedded in pyroxmangite. Its empirical formula is A(1)(Ca0.62Mn2+0.38) A(2)(La0.52Nd0.08Pr0.07Ce0.07Y0.01Ca0.25) M(1)(Mn3+0.52Fe3+0.28Al0.18V3+0.01) M(2)Al1.00 M(3)(Mn2+0.60Mn3+0.27Mg0.13) T(1−3)(Si2.99Al0.01) O12 (OH), corresponding to the end-member formula CaLaMn3+AlMn2+(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH). Unit-cell parameters are a = 8.9057(10), b = 5.7294(6), c = 10.1134(11) Å, β = 113.713(5)°, V = 472.46(9) Å3, Z = 2. The crystal structure of manganiakasakaite-(La) was refined to a final R1 = 0.0262 for 2119 reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo) and 125 refined parameters. Ferriakasakaite-(Ce) occurs as small homogeneous domains within strongly inhomogeneous prismatic crystals, where other epidote supergroup minerals coexist [manganiandrosite-(Ce), “androsite-(Ce)”, and epidote]. Associated minerals are calcite and hematite. Its empirical formula is A(1)(Ca0.64Mn2+0.36) A(2)(Ce0.37La0.17Nd0.06Pr0.03Ca0.35□0.02) M(1)(Fe3+0.61Al0.39) M(2)Al1.00 M(3)(Mn2+0.64Mn3+0.33Fe3+0.02Mg0.01) T(1−3)Si3.01 O12 (OH), the end-member formula being CaCeFe3+AlMn2+(Si2O7)(SiO4)O(OH). Unit-cell parameters are a = 8.9033(3), b = 5.7066(2), c = 10.1363(3) Å, β = 114.222(2)°, V = 469.66(3) Å3, Z = 2. The crystal structure of ferriakasakaite-(Ce) was refined to a final R1 = 0.0196 for 1960 unique reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo) and 124 refined parameters.

Highlights

  • Epidotes are mixed-anion silicates with general formula A2 M3 [T2 O7 ][TO4 ](O,F)(OH,O) [1] which typically occur as rock-forming minerals in low- to medium-grade metamorphic rocks, in hydrothermal settings, or as accessory phases in magmatic rocks

  • We describe manganiakasakaite-(La) and ferriakasakaite-(Ce), two new minerals belonging to the allanite group

  • The names of the two new minerals are in keeping with the above guidelines, as they represent chemical variants of the mineral ferriakasakaite-(La), which was first described from Japan [2]

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Summary

Introduction

Epidotes are mixed-anion silicates with general formula A2 M3 [T2 O7 ][TO4 ](O,F)(OH,O) [1] which typically occur as rock-forming minerals in low- to medium-grade metamorphic rocks, in hydrothermal settings, or as accessory phases in magmatic rocks. We describe manganiakasakaite-(La) and ferriakasakaite-(Ce), two new minerals belonging to the allanite group. In this group, a trivalent cation, typically a REE, is dominant at the A(2) site, and a divalent cation is dominant at the M(3) site. The names of the two new minerals are in keeping with the above guidelines, as they represent chemical variants of the mineral ferriakasakaite-(La), which was first described from Japan [2]. Both manganiakasakaite-(La) and ferriakasakaite-(Ce) were found in the Mn ore deposit of Monte Maniglia, Bellino, Varaita Valley, Cuneo Province, Piedmont, Italy. Type material has been deposited in the mineralogical collections of the Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, Calci (PI), Italy, under the catalogue numbers 19907 for manganiakasakaite-(La) and 19903 for ferriakasakaite-(Ce)

Occurrence and Physical Properties
Chemical Data
Back-scattered
X-ray Crystallography
Crystal Structure Description
Relationships with other Allanite Group Minerals

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