Mineral Collection Research Articles

Deep-sea Polymetallic Nodule Mining: Challenges Ahead for Technologists and Environmentalists

Although, offshore mining for mineral wealth is not required at present, it may be the only alternative in the future due to the continuous growing demand for certain metals that have no or limited land deposits. Risk involved in deep-sea mining is not less than that in space missions. Limited groups of mining engineers and environmental scientists are conducting studies that influence the development of mining systems and subsystems for collection, screening, lifting, and transportation of deep-sea minerals. Accepting this challenge more than 20 years ago, the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, started surveys and exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Indian Ocean and was the first to receive "Pioneer Status" recognition from the United Nations. Experiments have also been conducted to study the potential impacts of deep-seabed mining.

New interpretation of the origin of tiger's-eye

Tiger's-eye is an attractive and popular gemstone that is ubiquitous in stores that cater to rock and mineral collectors. For more than a century, textbooks and museum displays have identified the material as an archetype of pseudomorphism, i.e., the replacement of one mineral by another with the retention of the earlier mineral's shape. Our study has revealed that the textures responsible for the shimmer of tiger's-eye do not represent pseudomorphic substitution of quartz after preexisting crocidolite asbestos. Rather, we argue that tiger's-eye classically exemplifies synchronous mineral growth through a crack-seal vein-filling process.

Mineralogy and mineral collections in 18th-century France.

During the 18th century, mineralogy constituted an integral part of natural history, sharing the concerns of botany and zoology over collection and classification. In Paris, many people owned private mineral collections, but these have been largely neglected by historians. Here, I examine the place of private collections in the history of mineralogy, arguing that they contributed socially, economically and intellectually to the field in a period before the dominance of the large national collection. I also show how the interests of private collectors diverged from those of the curators of public collections, particularly following the French Revolution.

Scottish chemistry, classification and the early mineralogical career of the ‘ingenious’ Rev. Dr John Walker (1746 to 1779)

The Rev. Dr John Walker was the Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh from 1779 to 1803. Although his time in this position has been addressed by several studies, the previous thirty years that he spent ‘mineralizing’ have been virtually ignored. The situation is similar for many of the well-known mineralogists of the eighteenth century and there is a lack of studies that address how a mineralogist actually became a mineralogist. Using Walker's early career as a guide, this essay seeks to detail the making of an eighteenth-century Scottish mineralogist. The time frame under examination begins with Walker's matriculation at the University of Edinburgh in 1746 and it ends with his being appointed professor in 1779. The first section demonstrates that Walker's early mineralogical education at the Medical School and under William Cullen was closely linked to chemistry. The second section shows how he used chemical characters to classify minerals and to criticize the systems of Linnaeus, Da Costa, Wallerius and Cronstedt. Because Walker needed many ‘fossil’ samples to test the viability of his chemical mineralogy, the final section details how he used tours, patrons and correspondents to build his mineral collection.

Waldemar Lindgren Award for 2002* Citation of Jens Gutzmer

Mr. President, members and friends of the Society of Economic Geologists: I am pleased and honored to introduce Jens Gutzmer as the 36th recipient of the Lindgren Award. Jens is receiving this award on the grounds of his contribution towards understanding the genesis of manganese deposits in southern Africa and how some of these relate to laterites, paleoclimatic change, and the history of atmospheric oxygen. Jens was born and raised in Damme, Lower Saxony. His father was a forester and since early childhood Jens came into contact with nature and developed a keen interest in minerals and rocks, building up a beautiful small scientific mineral collection at home which is still well preserved, even today. It is thus not surprising that after school, in October 1988, he went to the Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, in the heart of the mineral-rich Harz Mountains, to study mineralogy. For his Diploma thesis Jens wanted to pursue applied economic geology, and this is how we first came into contact. At Clausthal, Jens worked as student assistant under Dr. Karl Strauss, the curator of the Mineralogical Museum. His brother, Harald Strauss, now professor at the University of Muenster, and I worked together on sulfur and carbon isotope signatures in Precambrian rocks from South Africa. Through this mutual contact, Jens enquired whether we perhaps had a project available in economic geology at RAU [Rand Afrikaans University]. At the time, early 1992, we knew that there was some relationship between normal faults and the grade and mineralogical composition of ore in the giant sedimentary Kalahari manganese field, but no details were available. I approached Associated Manganese Mines of South Africa and they made a small research grant available for Jens …

Murzinka: Alabashka Pegmatite Field.: By V.I. Popova, V.A. Popov and A.A. Kanonerov. Mineralogical Almanac, Volume 5, Ocean Pictures Ltd., Moscow, Russia, 2002, 136 pages, softbound, US$45, including shipping and handling. Available from Terry Huizing, 5341 Thrasher Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45247, U.S.A. ISBN 5 900395 32 4.

This is the latest book published under the series title Mineralogical Almanac. Three volumes in the series have previously been reviewed in these pages (Gold: Nuggets of Russia: Can. Mineral. 38 , 772; Mineral Collections of Russia, Part I: Can. Mineral. 38 , 773–774; Dalnegorsk: Notes on

Cordylite - history and survival as a mineral species

Cordylite [= cordylite-(Ce) in modern nomenclature] was discovered at the end of the 19 t h century from Narsarsuk, Greenland. Shortcomings of the original chemical analysis and an error in an early X-ray investigation caused that the same mineral was later described from China as baiyuneboite-(Ce). Fortunately, the type material of cordylite was preserved in the mineral collection of the Copenhagen Museum. Its re-investigation, together with work on material from other localities, showed that type cordylite and baiyuneboite-(Ce) are identical mineral species. Because cordylite has priority, the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names of IMA discredited baiyuneboite-(Ce) as a valid mineral name. The history of cordylite shows convincingly the importance of storing type material of any new mineral species in a collection where it is well preserved and where it will be available for re-investigation.

Hoganite and paceite, two new acetate minerals from the Potosi mine, Broken Hill, Australia

AbstractHoganite, copper(II) acetate monohydrate, and paceite (pronounced ‘pace-ite’), calcium(II) copper(II) tetraacetate hexahydrate, occur as isolated crystals embedded in ferruginous gossan from the Potosi Pit, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. They are associated with goethite, hematite, quartz, linarite, malachite, azurite, cerussite and cuprian smithsonite. Hoganite is bluish green with a pale blue streak and a Mohs hardness of 1½; it possesses perfect {001} and distinct {110} cleavages and has a conchoidal fracture. Chemical analysis of hoganite gave (wt.%) C 23.85; H 3.95; Cu 31.6; Fe 0.4; O (by difference) 40.2, yielding an empirical formula of C4H7.89O5.07Cu1.00Fe0.01. The simplified formula is C4H8O5Cu or Cu(CH3COO)2.H2O, the mineral being identical to the synthetic compound of the same formula. Single-crystal X-ray data for hoganite are: monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 13.162(3), b = 8.555(2), c = 13.850(3)Å, β = 117.08(3)°, Z = 8. The density, calculated from single-crystal data, is 1.910 g cm−3. The strongest lines in the X-ray powder pattern are [dobs (Iobs) (hkl)] 6.921 (100) (011); 3.532 (28) (202); 6.176 (14) (200); 3.592 (11) (22); 5.382 (10) (11); 2.278 (10) (204); 5.872 (9) (002). Hoganite (orientation presently unknown) is biaxial positive with α = 1.533(2), β = 1.541(3), γ = 1.554(2), 2V(meas.) = 85(5)°, 2V(calc.) = 76.8°, dispersion is r < v, medium (white light); it is strongly pleochroic with X = blue, Y = pale bluish, Z = pale bluish green and absorption X > Y > Z. The mineral is named after Graham P. Hogan of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, a miner and well-known collector of Broken Hill minerals.Paceite is dark blue with a pale blue streak and a Mohs hardness of 1½; it possesses perfect {100} and {110} cleavages and has an uneven fracture. Chemical analysis of paceite gave (wt.%) C 21.25; H 5.3; Ca 9.0; Cu 14.1; O (by difference) 50.35, yielding an empirical formula of C8H23.77O14.23Ca1.02-Cu1.00. The simplified formula is C8H24O14CaCu or CaCu(CH3COO)4.6H2O, the mineral being identical to the synthetic compound of the same formula. Unit-cell data (refined from X-ray powder diffraction data) for paceite are: tetragonal, space group I4/m, a = 11.155(4), c = 16.236(17)Å, Z = 4. The density, calculated from refined cell data, is 1.472 g cm−3. The strongest lines in the X-ray powder pattern are [dobs (Iobs) (hkl)] 7.896 (100) (110); 3.530 (20) (310); 5.586 (15) (200); 8.132 (8) (002); 9.297 (6) (101); 2.497 (4) (420); 3.042 (3) (321). Paceite is uniaxial positive with ω = 1.439(2) and ɛ = 1.482(3) (white light); pleochroism is bluish with a greenish tint (O), pale bluish with a greyish tint (E), and absorption O ⩾ E. The mineral is named after Frank L. Pace of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, an ex-miner and well-known collector of Broken Hill minerals.

Description and crystal structure of bobkingite, a new mineral from New Cliffe Hill Quarry, Stanton-under-Bardon, Leicestershire, UK

AbstractBobkingite, ideally is a new mineral from the New Cliffe Hill Quarry, Stantonunder-Bardon, Leicestershire, England. It occurs as very thin (⩽5 µm) transparent plates up to 0.2 mm across, perched on a compact fibrous crust of malachite and crystalline azurite attached to massive cuprite. Crystals are tabular on {001} with dominant {001} and minor {100} and {110}. Bobkingite is a soft pale blue colour with a pale-blue streak, vitreous lustre and no observable fluorescence under ultraviolet light. It has perfect {001} and fair {100} cleavages, no observable parting, conchoidal fracture, and is brittle. Its Mohs' hardness is 3 and the calculated density is 3.254 g/cm3. Bobkingite is biaxial negative with α = 1.724(2), β = 1.745(2), γ = 1.750(2), 2Vγmeas = 33(6)°, 2Vcalc = 52°, pleochroism distinct, X = very pale blue, Z = pale greenish blue, X^a = 22° (in β obtuse), Y = c, Z = b. Bobkingite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, unit-cell parameters (refined from powder data): a = 10.301(8), b = 6.758(3), c = 8.835(7)Å, β = 111.53(6)°, V = 572.1(7)Å3, Z = 2. The seven strongest lines in the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern are [d (Å), I, (hkl)]: 8.199, 100, (001); 5.502, 100, (110); 5.029, 40, (01); 2.883, 80, (310); 2.693, 40, (13); 2.263, 40, (113), (03); 2.188, 50, (23). Chemical analysis by electron microprobe and crystal-structure solution and refinement gave CuO 70.46, Cl 12.71, H2O 19.19, O≡Cl –2.87, sum 99.49 wt.%, where the amount of H2O was determined by crystal-structure analysis. The resulting empirical formula on the basis of 12 anions (including 8 (OH) and 2H2O) is Cu4.99Cl2.02O10H12. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined to an R index of 2.6% for 638 observed reflections measured with X-rays on a single crystal. Three distinct (Cuϕ6) (ϕ = unspecified anion) octahedra share edges to form a framework that is related to the structures of paratacamite and the Cu2(OH)3Cl polymorphs, atacamite and clinoatacamite. The mineral is named for Robert King, formerly of the Department of Geology, Leicester University, prominent mineral collector and founding member of the Russell Society. The mineral and its name have been approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names of the International Mineralogical Association.

Quantitative property-property relationship (QPPR) approach in predicting flotation efficiency of chelating agents as mineral collectors

The QPPR approach has been used to model cupferrons as mineral collectors. Separation efficiencies (Es) of these chelating agents have been correlated with property parameters namely, log P , log K oc , substituent-constant σ , Mullikan and ESP derived charges using multiple regression analysis. Es of substituted-cupferrons in the flotation of a uranium ore could be predicted within experimental error either by log P or log K oc and an electronic parameter. However, when a halo , methoxy or phenyl substituent was in para to the chelating group, experimental Es was greater than the predicted values. Inclusion of a Boolean type indicative parameter improved significantly the predictability power. This approach has been extended to 2-aminothiophenols that were used to float a zinc ore and the correlations were found to be reasonably good.

Paradise lost? Assessment of liabilities at a Uranium mine in the Slovak Republic: Novoveska Huta

Abstract In central and eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, prevailing economic and political conditions resulted in a rapid closure of many uranium mining and processing activities. These closures have left a long-lived human health impact. In countries and regions of relatively sparse economic resources, it is essential to understand the true significance of arising impacts and the financial consequences of their mitigation. A pilot study performed at a former site of uranium mining in the Slovak Republic illustrates a methodology to evaluate human health and environmental impact. The main findings are: • The former mining site shows complexity typical of an area in which there is diffuse contamination arising from leaching from waste heaps, and uncontrolled discharges from adits into water courses. In particular, significant hazards occur at the sites due to the presence of uranium ore and its progeny at the surface, which may result in radiological exposure via direct irradiation, ingestion and inhalation of dust or radon. • Site characterization considered both traditional areas of sampling and analysis (rock, soil, dust, radon and water) and identification of those activities and groups or individuals directly or potentially affected by exposure to contamination at the site. These ranged from workers occupying offices and workshops on one of the waste rock heaps, to house builders using waste rock (and potentially ore) for construction purposes, to a range of people exposed due to their recreational activities at the sites (hikers, mineral collectors, rock climbers and gatherers of wild produce). • Historical recultivation measures performed at the site in the 1980s were generally ineffective at curtailing the whole range of radiological hazards. Measures were taken at most sites to bury exposed ore to minimize external irradiation. However, in those cases in which recultivation of heaps was successful, it did little to reduce the impact of radon emanation. Instead, recultivation appeared to have the surprising consequence of reducing the potential dose to the public, via an unrelated route, by making waste rock/ore more difficult to remove for the purpose of construction. • When the importance of all the hazards were ranked, the most significant risk factor arose from inhalation of radon emanating from foundations built from waste rock material. • Of all of the liabilities, a partially water-filled waste rock pit resulted in the highest dose rates. When time spent at this relatively remote site was taken into account, the potential doses received remained to be comparatively high. The most at risk groups were those working, in buildings, on the waste rock heaps and those people who have removed waste rock/ore for building purposes. • Mitigation measures to reduce doses experienced by the exposed groups can be summarized as: — prevention of the use of waste rock material for the purpose of house building; — reducing the overall accessibility to the sites, using barriers; — restricting the recreational value of the sites, by placement of warning signs/fencing (short term); — relocation of offices and laboratories on the heaps or improvement of the overall ventilation of the working areas.

N‐arylhydroxamic acids as mineral collectors for ore‐beneficiation

AbstractSeveral arylhydroxamic acids were synthesized, characterized and tested as collectors in the flotation of a Cu‐Zn sulphide ore. Arylhydroxamic acids floated copper in preference to iron and zinc minerals. Substitution in the N‐phenyl ring increased the efficiency of the collector. However, increase in alkyl‐chain beyond C6 in the acyl group decreased the flotation efficiency of the collector. N‐butanoylphenylhydroxylamine was found to give the best result and floated about 93 wt% of Cu in about 32 wt% of the feed taken and the collector usage was only about 70 g per tonne of the ore. Pyrite flotation was minimum at pH 11.

FENCOOPERITE, Ba6Fe3+3Si8O23(CO3)2Cl3{middle dot}H2O, A NEW MINERAL SPECIES FROM TRUMBULL PEAK, MARIPOSA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Fencooperite, a new mineral species having the ideal formula Ba 6 Fe 3+ 3 Si 8 O 23 (CO 3 ) 2 Cl 3 ·H 2 O, is trigonal, P 3 m 1, with unit-cell parameters refined from powder data: a 10.727(5), c 7.085(3) A, V 706.1(5) A 3 , c / a 0.6605, Z = 1. The strongest seven lines of the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [ d in A ( I )( hkl )] are: 3.892(100)(201), 3.148(40)(211), 2.820(90)(202), 2.685(80)(220), 2.208(40)(401), 2.136(40)(222) and 1.705(35)(421). The mineral occurs as a dominant phase within black aggregates 2 mm across in barium-silicate-rich lenses at Trumbull Peak, Mariposa County, California. It is a primary phase, formed after barite, in an aggregate assemblage that includes alforsite, barite, celsian, gillespite, quartz, pyrrhotite and sanbornite. Additional minerals found within the lenses are anandite, benitoite, bigcreekite, fresnoite, kinoshitalite, krauskopfite, macdonaldite, pellyite, titantaramellite, walstromite, witherite, biotite, diopside, fluorapatite, pentlandite, schorl, vesuvianite and three undefined species. Individual grains of fencooperite are anhedral to somewhat rounded to occasionally platy, are jet black to a dirty grey-brown (on very thin edges), do not exceed 100 μm in size, and have an uneven to subconchoidal fracture. Neither morphological forms nor twinning were observed. The streak is greyish black, tenacity is brittle, luster is vitreous to adamantine, and diaphaneity, opaque to translucent (on thin edges). There is no obvious cleavage; D (calc.) 4.338 (for the ideal formula), 4.212 g/cm 3 (for the empirical formula). It is nonfluorescent in ultraviolet light; H (VHN load 10 g) 269 to 367, H (Mohs) 4.5 to 5. Fencooperite is uniaxial negative, O 1.723(4), E 1.711(2), very strongly pleochroic from blue-black ( O ) to light greenish grey ( E ); absorption O ≫ E . Averaged results of electron-microprobe analyses yield BaO 50.51, Fe 2 O 3 12.77, MnO 0.15, SiO 2 27.38, Al 2 O 3 1.35, P 2 O 5 0.16, Cl 3.23, CO 2 [4.81], H 2 O [0.98], sum 101.34, less O = Cl −0.73, total [100.61] wt.%. The empirical formula, derived from results of the crystal-structure analysis and electron-microprobe analyses, is Ba 5.89 (Fe 3+ 2.86 Mn 2+ 0.04 ) ∑2.90 (Si 8.14 Al 0.47 P 0.04 ) ∑8.65 O 23.18 (CO 3 ) 1.95 (Cl 1.63 O 1.37 ) ∑3.00 ·0.97 H 2 O, on the basis of O + Cl = 33. The infrared-absorption spectrum shows bands for carbonate and possibly for structural H 2 O. The mineral name honors Joseph Fenimore Cooper, Jr., Santa Cruz, California, in recognition of his substantive contributions to both mineralogy and mineral collecting in the western United States.

Oldsagssamlinger på danske herregårde

Oldsagssamlinger på danske herregårde

New Jersey Artist Daniel J. McHugh (b. 1939), Nick Zipco, Franklin Mlner and Mineral Collector

New Jersey Artist Daniel J. McHugh (b. 1939), Nick Zipco, Franklin Mlner and Mineral Collector

A mineral collection in the Ulster Museum matched with a lecture syllabus of Sir Charles Giesecke (1761-1833)

Sir Charles Giesecke (1761-1833) was a mineral collector and dealer before becoming Professor of Mineralogy at the Royal Dublin Society in 1813. After his appointment he continued to deal in minerals and he supplied collections to museums in Europe, to Trinity College, Dublin and -- it seems -- to his students. One such student collection was recently discovered in the Ulster Museum, where it had been stored unrecorded for nearly a century. It was recognised by linking numbered specimen labels to an original lecture syllabus in the museum's archives. The history of the collection was established from a succession of signatures. The uncovering of this early 19th century collection resulted from careful observation during practical hands-on curation.

Seasonal formation of ikaite (caco 3 · 6h 2o) in saline spring discharge at Expedition Fiord, Canadian High Arctic: Assessing conditional constraints for natural crystal growth

—Spring discharge at Expedition Fiord (Pollard et al., 1999) on Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian High Arctic produces a variety of travertine forms in addition to a diverse collection of mineral precipitates. This paper focuses on clusters of thermally unstable crystals believed to be the mineral ikaite (CaCO 3 · 6H 2O) growing seasonally along two spring outflows at Colour Peak. This form of calcium carbonate mineral occurs along small sections of discharge outflow as white euhedral crystals up to 0.5 cm in length. Difficulty in sampling, storage and transport of the samples for analysis has hampered attempts to confirm the presence of ikaite by X-ray diffraction. However, various field observations and the remarkable instability of these crystals at normal ambient temperatures strengthens our argument. This paper provides a description of these particular CaCO 3 · 6H 2O crystals and their environmental surroundings, and attempts to determine the validity of ikaite precipitation at this site by theoretical geochemical modeling: these results are compared with other reported observations of ikaite to both understand their occurrence and help delineate their geochemical characteristics. It is believed that the restrictive combination of spring water chemistry and long periods of low temperatures characteristic of arctic climates are necessary for ikaite growth at this site. The fact that ikaite is not forming at a second group of saline springs 11 km away allows us to more specifically outline conditions controlling its presence.

Digital Mineral Photography

Digital photography is now accessible to the average consumer. Because more control than ever is directly in the hands of the photographer, the creative potential is enormous. Learn the basics of how to photograph your mineral collection.

Dalnegorsk: Notes on Mineralogy.: By V.V. Moroshkin and N.I. Frishman, with three chapters written by O.L. Sveshnikova. Edited by I.V. Pekov. Mineralogical Almanac, volume 4. Ocean Pictures Ltd., Moscow, Russia, 2001, 136 pages. US$35. ISBN 5-900395-28-6.

The book represents the fourth issue in a series on Russian mineral localities and mineral collections produced by the Ministry of the Natural Resources of Russia, the Russian Geological Society and the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. It is a welcome addition to the literature on a world-

Mineral Collecting in Russia

Mineral Collecting in Russia