Mineralogical and geochemical studies on the different types of turquoise from Maanshan area, East China

Abstract

In this paper, several different types of turquoise from Maanshan area, south Anhui Province, China, have been chosen for mineralogical and gemological investigations as well as a geochemical study to try to illustrate both the mineralogical features and the genetic problems of the different types of turquoise in Maanshan area. By means of physical analyses and REE chemical compositions of the different types of turquoise, we discussed gem properties of the turquoise and the reason for the enrichment and depletion of the different types of turquoise in this region.