Rare chemical constituents of amelia (Virginia) pegmatite dikes, and their mineral sources

Abstract

Students of Igneous phenomena have long since become familiar with the occurrence of rare minerals in pegmatitic bodies. The great local concentration of rare elements in pegmatite minerals provides a remarkably good opportunity for the Investigation of deep‐seated rock constituents, for it is reasonable to suppose that these same elements are widely distributed in minute amounts through the parent rocks to which they are genetically related; but their concentration in pegmatite bodies affords a record of their presence that is lacking in other rocks.The unusual number of rare minerals of the Amelia, Virginia, pegmatites has long attracted attention, and the rare elements of the more abundant minerals which have been investigated in the laboratories of the United States Geological Survey afford an unusual opportunity to study the rare constituents of a pegmatite. This famous locality for rare minerals is situated 38 miles southwest of Richmond, just south of Appomattox River, on the Piedmont plateau.