Mineralogical Museum Research Articles

Re-examination of vesbine in vanadate-rich sublimate-related associations of Vesuvius (Italy): Mineralogical features and origin

Abstract A set of 23 vesbine-bearing samples from Vesuvius volcano (Italy), preserved in the collection of the Royal Mineralogical Museum of Naples, University Federico II (RMMN), have been investigated to identify the mineral assemblages and their mode of formation. In the late 19th century, fumarole-related yellow patinas coating some historical lavas from Vesuvius were believed by Scacchi to contain a new element, vesbium, similar to vanadium in a mineral he called vesbine. Subsequent studies rejected vesbium and showed that vesbine was a poorly defined mixture of copper vanadates and halides. The vesbine samples studied here consist of yellowish to yellow-green-blue encrustations on Vesuvius lavas and have been analyzed by combined optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, XRPD, FTIR, and TEM-HRTEM-EDS. Results reveal complex mineral associations, including vanadates, halides, carbonates, oxides, silicates, tungstates/molybdates, and sulfates. The vanadates correspond to mottramite, volborthite, and vanadinite; subordinate amounts of descloizite were detected by XRPD and FTIR investigations. Several additional non-essential elements have been detected in the vanadates, including Mn, Zn, and As. The occurrence of wulfenite- and stolzite-rich phases indicates the presence of Mo and W, along with Pb, in the mineralizing fluids. Mn-rich phases, commonly in mixtures with silicates and vanadates, were also observed. These minerals are formed by a combination of different processes, including rock-fluid interactions, gas-water interactions, and alteration/oxidation of primary fumarolic minerals. Temperatures for the depositions of the vanadates-bearing assemblages are interpreted to be in the range of 100 to 400 °C.

In memory of Boris Evgenievich Borutsky, leading researcher at the Mineralogical Museum

In memory of Boris Evgenievich Borutsky, leading researcher at the Mineralogical Museum

Traces of the Brazilian expedition of G.I. Langsdorff in the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Traces of the Brazilian expedition of G.I. Langsdorff in the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Tetrahedral aluminum in tourmaline from a spinel-pargasite-metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic rock

Abstract Tourmaline is a widespread borosilicate mineral, which is well known for its variable chemistry. Although major amounts of octahedral Al in tourmaline is commonplace, the occurrence of significant amounts of tetrahedral Al is relatively rare. This paper focuses on tourmaline from the collection of the A.E. Fersman Mineralogical Museum (Russia) originated from Italy with up to 25% of Si replaced by Al at the tetrahedral site. The tourmaline is characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, energy-dispersive and wavelength-dispersive X-ray analysis, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The studied tourmaline occurs as transparent dark blue crystals (with equant external morphology) up to 3 mm in size and forms veinlets cutting a (Mg,Al)-rich metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic rock (Mg≫Fe) composed of spinel, pargasite, clinochlore, phlogopite, and hydroxylapatite. The studied tourmaline meets the criteria defining magnesio-lucchesiite and can be compositionally formed via Tschermak-like ([6]Me2++[4]Si4+↔[6]Al3++[4]Al3+, where [6]Me2+=Mg, Fe) or plagioclase-like ([9]Ca2+ + [4]Al3+ ↔ [9]Na+ + [4]Si4+) substitutions. Zones with a relatively high Si content (Si-rich) have pronounced indications of dissolution, while silicon-depleted zones (Si-poor) overgrow Si-rich zones and eventually creates a visible replacement zone of the crystal. We suggest that Si-poor tourmaline result from the Si-rich tourmaline losing Si during a metasomatic process. The resulting empirical crystal-chemical formula for the Si-poor zone is: X(Ca0.95Na0.03□0.02)Σ1.00 Y(Mg1.08Al0.98Fe2+0.50Fe3+0.43)Σ3.00 Z(Al5.91Fe3+0.09)Σ6.00 T[(Si4.57Al1.43)Σ6.00O18] (BO3)3 V(OH)3 W[O0.95(OH)0.05]Σ1.00 (a = 15.9811(2), c = 7.12520(10) Å, R1 = 1.7 %) and for the Si-rich zone is: X(Ca0.89Na0.11)Σ1.00 Y(Mg1.55Al0.80Fe2+0.34Fe3+0.31)Σ3.00 Z(Al5.51Mg0.44Fe3+0.05)Σ6.00 T[(Si5.35Al0.65)Σ6.00O18] (BO3)3V(OH)3W[O0.93(OH)0.07]Σ1.00 (a=15.9621(3), c=7.14110(10) Å, R1=1.7 %). According to PT calculations of mineral assemblage stability and comparable data on synthetic [4]Al-rich tourmalines, the studied tourmaline was formed at 600–750 °C and 0.10-0.20 GPa. The formation of tetrahedral Al-rich tourmalines requires several unusual factors: (1) desilication of primary rocks and (2) high temperatures and relatively low pressures.

A re-evaluation of stannopalladinite using modern analytical techniques

AbstractAn investigation of sample 41647 from the Platinum Placer of Ugol'nyi Ruchei, Norilsk Cu–Ni deposit, Russia, stored in the systematic collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, revealed that it contained a mineral that can be identified as the original stannopalladinite described in 1947. As the literature information on the latter is controversial, the mineral was re-investigated using modern analytical techniques. Stannopalladinite occurs as spherical and ovoid-shaped grains up to 0.08 mm, closely intergrown with tetraferroplatinum as part of flattened, prismatic crystals up to 6 mm long. The micro-indentation hardness of stannopalladinite (VHN, 30 g load) is 244 kg/mm2 (range 233–266, n = 4), corresponding to a Mohs hardness of 4. The calculated density is 9.781 g/cm3. In reflected light, stannopalladinite is pale pink. The bireflectance is noticeable only in oil immersion. In crossed nicols the mineral exhibits strong anisotropy with colour effects changing from reddish purple to greyish blue and polysynthetic twinning of grains. The reflectance curves show distinct anomalous dispersion. The chemical composition (wt.%, electron microprobe data, mean of 11 analyses) is: Cu 8.48, Pd 61.21, Pt 0.89, Sn 25.87, Pb 3.70, total 100.15. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 4 atoms per formula unit is (Pd2.42Cu0.56Pt0.02)Σ3.00(Sn0.92Pb0.08)Σ1.00. The ideal chemical formula of stannopalladinite is therefore proposed as (Pd,Cu)3Sn instead of Pd3Sn2 used in the official IMA List of Minerals. The strongest powder X-ray diffraction lines are [dobs, Å (I, %) (hkl) ]: 2.292 (42) (231), 2.166 (100) (331), 2.034 (10) (710), 1.916 (15) (141) and 1.851 (15) (630). The powder X-ray data are indexed in the orthorhombic unit cell with a = 14.634(2), b = 8.5253(6), c = 4.5946(3) Å and V = 573.24(7) Å3 (Z = 8). Stannopalladinite can be reliably identified among all other minerals belonging to the binary Pd–Sn and ternary Pd–Cu–Sn systems by a combination of chemical, optical and X-ray data.

Digital Tools for the Promotion of Geological and Mining Heritage: Case Study from the Thames Goldfield, Aotearoa, New Zealand

The geoheritage value in the Thames District, North Island, New Zealand, is notable for its over 50 epithermal gold deposits associated with the Coromandel Volcanic Zone, significant to the region’s geological, cultural, and mining heritage. This case study was conducted in collaboration with the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum to develop a series of web-based applications for public outreach and an accessible museum experience through the utilization of specimens from the mineralogical museum. This research applies a conceptual framework of ex situ geoheritage to explore links between local geology with cultural and mining heritage. Minerals and rock specimens collected for the Thames School of Mines Mineralogical Museum were used to create 3D virtual models demonstrating the epithermal mineralization in the Thames Goldfield. Outputs of this project consist of two digital products, including a digital mineral and rock repository and the dissemination of the geological collection through integrating the photogrammetric models into a user-friendly outreach, ArcGIS Storymaps, to depict the geoheritage relationship of the specimens to regional gold mining, and at the same time, to be developed to be implemented in geoscience education and communication. The results of this paper are intended to promote the use of digital tools for enhancing and raising awareness of the geoheritage values of the Thames Goldfield. This approach has relevance for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands in raising awareness of geological, mineral, and mining heritage within widely distributed and often isolated communities across island archipelago nations.

Г.Н. Потанин и В.И. Вернадский: опыт научного взаимодействия

For the first time in the research literature, the paper highlights the cooperation of the outstanding Russian investigators G.N. Potanin (1835-1920) and V.I. Vernadsky (1863-1945). The basis of interaction between these scientists was determined by the fact that both of them were students of Natural Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Imperial St. Petersburg University. They carried the knowledge and interest in research gained at the university throughout their lives. Based on authentic sources, the authors revealed the role of A.A. Inostrantsev (1843-1919) as the organizer and ruler of the geological cabinet (museum) at St. Petersburg University, where G.N. Potanin acquired the necessary knowledge for his scientific expeditions to Central Asia in 1874. Under the influence of Dr. Inostrantsev, Potanin realized the importance of museums in geology and other branches. Besides, he supported V.V. Dokuchaev (1846-1903) in conducting soil science research in Russia. The paper emphasizes the participation of the university student Vladimir Vernadsky in Prof. Dokuchaev’s expeditions and in the preparation of a soil exposition at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Following in the footsteps of his teachers and mentors, V.I. Vernadsky joined the museum science, became the curator of the Mineralogical Museum in Alma Mater, and then, some years later, in the Imperial Moscow University. Immediate communication between V.I. Vernadsky and G.N. Potanin occurred in the 1890s - 1900s, when they participated in discussions on ideological and political reorganization of Russia, pondered on the problems of regional self-government in the country. As a brief conclusion from this publication, the authors postulate free thought and scientific creativity, which related to Vernadsky and Potanin, as relevant ideas of our days.

Hasanovite KNa(MoO<sub>2</sub>)(SO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, a New Mineral from Natural Underground Coal Fires at the Fan-Yagnob Coal Deposit, Tajikistan

The new mineral hasanovite KNa(MoO2)(SO4)2 was discovered in sublimates of a natural underground coal fire at the Fan-Yagnob coal deposit in the upper reaches of the Kuhi-Malik ravine in the Aini district, Central Tajikistan. The mineral is named in honor of the petrographer Abdurahim Hasanovich Hasanov (born 1933). Hasanovite occurs as small (50–200 µm) grains on a burnt siltstone in association with anhydrite, baryte, anglesite, molybdite, native tellurium, and understudied Sb-K, K-Mg, Tl-V, and Sn sulfates. The mineral is transparent, colourless with a vitreous luster and white streak. It is brittle, with no cleavage. VHN 103 (range from 84 to 113). The Mohs’ hardness is 3. Dmeas = 2.93(2) and Dcalc = 2.94 g/cm3. Hasanovite is colourless in transmitted light, pleochroism is not observed; it is optically biaxial (+), 2V = 50(3)°, α = 1.584(2), β(calc.) = 1.590(3), γ = 1.620(2) (590 nm). Strong lines in the Raman spectrum are as follows: 1034, 958, 916, 648, 469, 390, 273 and 232 cm–1. Hasanovite is insoluble in water and ethanol but soluble in HCl. The chemical composition studied by electron microprobe (wt %) is: Na2O 4.54, K2O 13.81, Tl2O 1.80, MoO3 38.75, SO3 40.10, total 99.00. The empirical formula, calculated on the basis of O = 10 atoms per formula unit, is K1.16Na0.58Tl0.03Mo1.06S1.98O10. The strongest lines in the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are [d, Å(I, %)(hkl)]: 7.30(36)(110); 6.57(48)(011); 4.34(75)(\(\overline 1 \)21); 3.64(100)(211); 3.44(58)(031); 3.34(74)(\(\overline 2 \)02, 022); 3.20(63)(\(\overline 2 \)12); 2.879(73)(\(\overline 2 \)31); 2.729(50)(140); 2.436(44)(\(\overline 1 \)23). Hasanovite is monoclinic, space group is P21/c, a =9.6225(2), b = 11.4049(3), c = 8.1421(2) Å, β = 99.1790(10)°, V = 882.10(4) Å3, Z = 4. The crystal structure (R1 = 2.7%) is close to the structure of synthetic K2(MoO2)(SO4)2. The holotype specimen of hasanovite is deposited in the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of RAS (Moscow), registration number 5568/1.

Lev Perovsky and the “Emerald of Kokovin”

In 1835, auditor L. F. Yaroshevitsky discovered many unaccounted precious and semi-precious stones in the apartment of Ya. V. Kokovin, the commander of the Ekaterinburg Lapidary Factory. Among them was a large emerald, which, according to the auditor, “almost surpassed the dignity of the emerald in the crown of Julius Caesar”. The stones were packed in boxes, sealed, and sent to St Petersburg. After the boxes were opened in the capital, it turned out that the specified emerald had disappeared without a trace. The search for the gem remained fruitless. In the Essays on the History of Stone published in 1961 by academic A. E. Fersman, L. A. Perovsky, the vice-president of the Appanage Department and owner of a large collection of minerals was claimed to have stolen the emerald. For the sake of substantiating this version, the text of L. F. Yaroshevitsky’s report was distorted. Under the name of the “Emerald of Kokovin”, another Ural mineral got into the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences. There is also no certainty that the author of the version was A. E. Fersman himself, because the academic died in 1945, leaving the second volume of Essays unfinished. The authority of academic A. E. Fersman and the popularity of his Essays (last reprinted in 2003) still contribute to the replication of the unfounded version of L. A. Perovsky’s stealing the “Emerald of Kokovin”. The purpose of this article is to justify the name of the “zealous lover of mineralogy”, as the famous German mineralogist prof. Gustav Rose called Lev Perovsky.

Путь горного инженера Константина Егорова и его отражение в коллекции Минералогического музея им. А.Е. Ферсмана

В статье прослеживается связь жизненного пути горного инженера Константина Федоровича Егорова с его вкладом в коллекцию Минералогического музея им. А.Е. Ферсмана. Его продолжительное и плодотворное сотрудничество с Минералогическим музеем и коллекционерами дает основание полагать, что даже теми 1643 образцами в коллекциях музея, для которых указано его авторство, его вклад в коллекции не исчерпывается. За богатейшей коллекцией, собранной им за время работы в Российской империи и в эмиграции, стоит ряд открытий в минералогии, геологии, палеонтологии, богатая событиями и драмами история первой половины XX века. The article traces the connection of mining engineer Konstantin Fedorovich Egorov biography with his contribution to the Fersman Mineralogical Museum collection. His long and fruitful cooperation with the Museum and collectors gives reason to believe that Museum's collection may include more than 1643 samples for which his authorship was indicated. Behind the richest collection, gathered by him during his work in the Russian Empire and in exile, there are a number of discoveries in mineralogy, geology, paleontology, an eventful and dramatic history of the first half of the XX century.

Amgaite, Tl3+2Te6+O6, a New Mineral from the Khokhoyskoe Gold Deposit, Eastern Siberia, Russia

The new mineral amgaite was discovered at the Khokhoyskoe gold deposit, 120 km W of Aldan town, Aldanskiy District, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Eastern Siberia, Russia. Amgaite forms fine-grained colloform aggregates up to 0.05 mm across, and is often intimately intergrown with avicennite, unidentified carbonates and antimonates of Tl. Other associated minerals include gold, silver, acanthite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, berthierite, chalcocite, weissbergite, chlorargyrite, calcite, quartz, goethite etc. Amgaite is dark reddish brown to black. It has submetallic luster, black streak, brittle tenacity and conchoidal fracture. Its density calculated from the empirical formula and powder XRD data is 8.358 g/cm3. Its Mohs’ hardness is ca. 1.5–2. Optically, amgaite is uniaxial. In reflected light, it is gray with a bluish shade, very weakly anisotropic with rare brownish red internal reflections. Reflectance values for the four COM wavelengths [Rmin, Rmax (%)(λ in nm)] are: 13.5, 14.2 (470); 12.7, 13.2 (546); 12.3, 12.7 (589); and 11.7, 12.3 (650). The Raman spectrum shows bands of Te–O and Tl–O bonds and confirms the absence in amgaite of H2O, OH–, CO32– groups and B–O bonds. The chemical composition is (electron microprobe, wt.%): MgO 0.43, CaO 1.62, Fe2O3 0.36, Tl2O3 66.27, Sb2O5 3.48, TeO3 27.31, total 99.47. The empirical formula based on 6 O apfu is Tl3+1.74Ca0.17Mg0.06Fe3+0.03Te6+0.93Sb5+0.13O6. Amgaite is trigonal, space group P321; unit-cell parameters are as follows: a = 9.0600(9), c = 4.9913(11) Å, V = 354.82(8) Å3, Z = 3. The strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [dobs, Å (I, %) (hkl)] are as follows: 3.352 (100) (111), 3.063 (15) (201), 2.619 (49) (300), 2.065 (18) (221), 1.804 (28) (302), 1.697 (8) (321), 1.625 (9) (411). The crystal structure of amgaite is the same as of synthetic Tl3+2Te6+O6. The new mineral is named after the Amga River, the basin of which hosts the type locality, Khokhoyskoe occurrence. The type material is deposited in the collections of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, with the registration number 5773/1.

General educational aspect of a mineralogical museum of the North-Eastern Federal university, Yakutsk

The paper refers to a museum of the Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU, Yakutsk) as a socio-cultural institution. The restoration, preservation and development of the NEFU mineralogical museum requires a conceptual rethinking of its role, expansion of its functional capabilities, awareness and reassessment of its social role for the university, city and region. From the viewpoint of the museum pedagogy, the museum forms not only an educational, but also an educational and cultural environment for the formation of a harmoniously developed personality. Keywords: museum, museum pedagogy, mineralogical collection, museology, value, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University

V. I. Vernadsky and national museums of natural science

The article examines the part of the work of the outstanding naturalist Vladimir Vernadsky, which is the least covered in the literature, i.e. scientific and organizational activities in Russian natural science museums. The collected materials make it possible to present the great scientist as a versatile and outstanding person in the field of museums, who actually revived the mineralogical collections. Due to V. Vernadsky input, the mineralogical offices (museums) of St. Petersburg and Moscow Universities as well as Mineralogical Department of the Mineralogical-Geological Museum of the Academy of Sciences turned into research centers, and then into the largest mineralogical museums. The authors consider Vernadsky’s relationship with a number of local museums, his scientist’s assistance in their work as a scientific advisor, donor and protector. A remarkable period in scientist’s biography relates to the time when he established the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, including his plan for creating National Mineralogical Museum. Another project of Vernadsky, which received partial implementation, is the establishment of Museum for the History of Knowledge under the Commission for the History of Knowledge of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

A Mineralogical Museum as a Geotourism Attraction: A Case Study

The Zaruma-Portovelo mining district in Ecuador, and in particular, Portovelo City, is home to the oldest mining museum in the country. This museum, named Museo Mineralógico Magner Turner (MMMT in Spanish), is a centre that reflects, through its collections, the history and culture of this territory. This work aimed to evaluate the MMMT as a possible geosite by analysing its contributions to the geomining heritage of the Zaruma-Portovelo district, and thus, to enhance it and promote its collections as a geotouristic attraction. The work involved three phases: (i) describing the museum and its surroundings; (ii) a semiquantitative evaluation of the museum using the Brilha method and a geosites assessment model (GAM); and (iii) a qualitative evaluation using the Delphi and SWOT methodologies to define strategies and proposals for museum development. The results obtained by the semiquantitative evaluation of the geosite with the Brilha method reflect high scientific (330/400), educational (380/400) and touristic (365/400) appeal. The applied GAM shows the museum as a geosite with high principal and additional value, placing it in the Z33 field of the global valuation matrix. In addition, the semiquantitative and qualitative evaluation made it possible to describe the importance of the museum and its collections in the development of the area. The study carried out qualified the museum as a mining site with an appropriate valuation, an example of ex-situ geological heritage conservation and a basis for geotourism development.

Сollectable stone of Kryvyi Rih basin

The results of geological and mineralogical researches of deposits, manifestations, points of mineralization of gemstones in iron ore productive and host strata of Kryvyi Rih basin deposits have been analyzed. The list of the main varieties has been given. Representative samples of the collectable stone from the exposition of the Mineralogical museum named after E.K.Fuks in Kryvyi Rih national university have been described.

MORE THAN JUST A ROCK COLLECTION. THE METEORITE COLLECTION OF THE ITALIAN GEOLOGIST TEODORO MONTICELLI (1759–1845)

ABSTRACT This paper is focused on the meteorite collection that belonged to the Italian naturalist and geologist Teodoro Monticelli (1759–1845). Today he is mainly remembered as both the author of books and essays on the volcanic activity of Mount Vesuvius and as the owner of a mineralogical cabinet of more than 16,000 specimens. Monticelli’s scientific activity as a meteorite collector is, however, largely forgotten. This contribution presents for the first time the meteorite collection that belonged to Teodoro Monticelli and is now preserved at the Royal Mineralogical Museum of Naples. We reconstruct the history of the collection and argue that it represents an exceptional example of historical heritage. We also highlight the potential of the collection as a scientific research tool.

Major and trace element composition of olivine from magnesian skarns and silicate marbles

Abstract Olivine is a major rock-forming mineral in various magmatic and metamorphic rocks and the upper mantle. In this paper, we present the first high-precision analyses of olivine from 15 samples of magnesian skarns and silicate marbles (MSSM) from the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum (Moscow, Russia). Mg# [Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)·100, mol%] of olivine from the samples studied varies from 86 to nearly 100. The main distinctive features of the olivine are anomalously low contents of Co (<51 mg/g), Cr (<5 mg/g), and Ni (<44 mg/g) and high content of B (23–856 mg/g), which correlate with host-rock compositions. Phosphorus (5–377 mg/g) incorporation in olivine is charge balanced by the incorporation of Li (0.15–61 mg/g) and Na (<14.3 mg/g). Y and REE contents exhibit positive correlations with Na, which suggests that REE incorporation into MSSM olivine could occur via charge-balanced coupled substitution with Na at low temperature and low aSiO2 conditions during MSSM formation. The documented compositional features of olivine from magnesian skarns and silicate marbles can help reconstruct the genesis of the host-rocks and identify xenocrysts of MSSM olivine in magmatic rocks.

Oxybismutomicrolite, a new pyrochlore-supergroup mineral from the Malkhan pegmatite field, Central Transbaikalia, Russia

AbstractOxybismutomicrolite, ideally [(Bi3+,#)2]Σ4+Ta2O6O, where # = subordinate substituents, such as Na+, Ca2+ and vacancy (□), is a microlite-group, pyrochlore-supergroup mineral discovered at the Solnechnaya (‘Sunny’) pegmatite vein, Malkhan pegmatite field, Zabaykalskiy Kray, Central Transbaikalia, Russia. It forms rough octahedral crystals up to 1 mm across and equant grains up to 2 mm across embedded in an albite–lepidolite–elbaite complex. Other associated minerals are Bi-rich fluornatromicrolite, bismutotantalite and stibiotantalite. The new mineral is black, with resinous lustre; the streak is greyish white. It is non-fluorescent under ultraviolet light. Oxybismutomicrolite is brittle, with Mohs’ hardness of ~5. Cleavage is not observed, fracture is uneven. Dmeas. = 6.98(2) g/cm3 and Dcalc. = 7.056 g/cm3. The mineral is optically isotropic. The mean refractive index calculated from the Gladstone–Dale equation is 2.184. The infrared spectrum shows the absence of H2O molecules and OH groups. The chemical composition is (electron microprobe, wt.%): Na2O 3.45, CaO 2.88, MnO 0.31, PbO 0.76, Bi2O3 29.81, ThO2 0.18, TiO2 3.89, SnO2 1.77, Nb2O5 4.50, Ta2O5 51.08, F 1.17, O = F –0.49, total 99.31. The empirical formula, on the basis of 2 cations at the B site, is (Bi0.79Na0.68Ca0.32Mn0.03Pb0.02□0.16)Σ2.00(Ta1.42Ti0.30Nb0.21Sn0.07)Σ2.00O6.00(O0.52F0.38□0.10)Σ1.00. The crystal structure refinement (R = 0.019) gave the following data: cubic, Fd–3m, a = 10.4746(11) Å, V = 1149.2(4) Å3 and Z = 8. The eight strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [d, Å(I, %)(hkl)] are: 6.051(12)(111), 3.160(10)(311), 3.026(100)(222), 2.621(32)(400), 1.854(33)(440), 1.581(27)(622), 1.514(7)(444) and 1.203(7)(662). Type material is deposited in the collections of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, registration number 5409/1.

Platina in the 18th century: mineralogy of the crude concentrate used in the first modern attempts at refining platinum

AbstractA platina sample brought to Spain in the last quarter of the 18th century is nowadays exhibited at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. It originated from the ancient Mineralogical Museum of the School of Applied Chemistry at El Turco Street in Madrid and most probably corresponds to the material used by François Chabaneau for his experiments to purify platinum metal in the late 18th century. The sample is a heavy-mineral concentrate consisting of Pt–Fe alloys and gold nuggets associated with ilmenite–hematite, chromian spinel, goethite and minor quartz, sphene, rutile, magnetite, hornblende, garnet, calcite, pyrite, native bismuth and bismite. The Pt–Fe alloys exhibit a characteristic composition (81.97–90.75 wt.% Pt and 5.08–10.81 wt.% Fe with minor amounts of Cu, Os, Ir, Ru, Rh and Pd) and mineralogy of solid inclusions (abundant inclusions of Ir alloy as well as Os alloy, laurite–erlichmanite, bowieite, tulameenite and undetermined Pt–Pd–Ir–Rh antimonides and tellurides) that are very similar to those Pt–Fe alloys currently mined in western Colombia (the Chocó Department). These features allow us to discuss the provenance of the sample (probably from the proximal or medial reaches of any of the Chocó rivers) and evaluate the suitability of the Chabaneau's method for purifying platina. Our results show that the method became effective only with platina samples depleted or lacking iridium.

Research on local history and the museum as a tool to preserve heritage in a region with a broken economy: On the example of the Mama village in the Irkutsk region

The article is devoted to the history of museums and the modern development of local history work in one of the northernmost districts of the Irkutsk region. The article briefly describes the circumstances of the foundation of a mica mining enterprise on the banks of the Vitim and Mama rivers in the late 1920s as well as the history of production being stopped and the degradation of settlements in the post-Perestroika period. In 1965, a mineralogical museum was established in the Mama village. In 2003, it was converted into a local history museum. In recent decades, the functions of the modern museum have changed, but this has manifested itself in the work of a local history museum of the Mama village only in the form of concentrated pedagogical activities. Important functions for studying the heritage of the Soviet time, documenting the modern life of the district, working with society, in particular, with an older audience, were gradually taken over by a group of enthusiasts who founded the voluntary Mamskoe Historical and Local History Association (MICRO) in 2008. Over the past twelve years, the Association has organized about twenty museum and street exhibitions, published a number of monographs, stories about the residents of Mama, and published two photo albums. Photos have been published as well as archival documents, and oral histories of local elders, many of whom are descendants of repressed peasant families forcibly resettled here in the early 1930s. Participation in district and regional conferences on local history helps to influence the social situation and supports the proper level of cultural life of the region. The article touches on such modern museological concepts as “social inclusion”, “intangible cultural heritage” and “participatory practices”. The authors hope that in the future, experts will be able to discuss the possibilities of developing the tourism sector in this area.