Pegmatites: DAVID LONDON. 368 Pp. The Canadian Mineralogist. Special Publication 10. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Quebec, QC G1K 9A9. ISBN 978-0-921294-47-4. 2008. Price US$125.00, MAC Members US$100.00.

Abstract

If asked to name a type of unaltered igneous rock with economic potential, many geologists would respond, “pegmatite.” And, if they didn’t know already, the economic geologists among them would be gratified to learn that a commonly used classification system of pegmatites is a chemical one (LCT for Li-Cs-Ta pegmatites, and NYF for Nb-Y-F pegmatites), and that pegmatites concentrate more elements of the periodic table to mineable grade than any other igneous rock, not to mention their additional considerable gem (tourmaline, beryl, topaz, garnet) and ceramic (feldspar, quartz, muscovite) potential. Economically attractive, certainly, but with their bewilderingly large range of chemical compositions, minerals, textures, and relationships to granites, pegmatites also present an almost intractable petrogenetic challenge. David London has crystallized his considerable knowledge of pegmatites into a single attractive gem of a book. Pegmatites is part coffee table book (with its wealth of high-quality color photographs and effective line drawings), part igneous petrology textbook (with good explanations of all the necessary concepts, and its raising of the pedagogical standard), and part pegmatite polemic (with its strong, but controversial, advancement of the London model for the origin of pegmatites). Pegmatites is an outstanding example …