MINERALS-GIANTS of the SOUTHERN URALS Sergey V
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New Data on Minerals. 2013. Vol. 48 157 MINERALS-GIANTS OF THE SOUTHERN URALS Sergey V. Kolisnichenko Institute of Mineralogy, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Miass, [email protected] Mineralogy of the South Urals has different variations. The set of deposits, which has been and is being mined for minerals in addition to the useful component do also often contain unique minerals, sometimes in the form of giant properly shaped crystals. The article presents information on the findings of such giants, according to the lite- rature, on personal observations and on the oral reports of geologists. 6 figures, 10 references. Keywords: mineral, crystal, crystal giant, deposit, South Urals. The stone nature of Earth is generous and world". First found in the mines of the Zla- diverse. In it's marvelous works, it is attrac- toust, Urals, he remained a "native" residents tive with imagination, originality and exclu- of those places. Until now, the best and large sivity of creations. The same mineral may crystals of this mineral occur at perovskite have been born in different parts of the world mines of Chernorechenskie Mountains. The and may look like a twin or may look fabu- largest crystals are considered to be samples lously dissimilar. There is no person who has of M.P. Melnikov in 1882. It was a crystal-in- never admired these masterpieces – crystals! dividuals with an edge length of 12 cm. No- As he admires the sunset and sea wave, or a wadays there are perovskites up to 5–6 cm in heap of stone mountains. size. A rare lump has sometimes up to 30–40 Crystals have surprised human intellect at perovskite crystals of up to 4 cm each! the dawn of the emergence with it's perfec- Zircon. Large zircon crystals were found tion and completeness of forms. Special rarity in the Ilmeny Mountains. One of them is a passed from person to person, from genera- sample found in 1837: "... in this pit [kop’ tion to generation for hundreds of years. The number 12 – hereinafter in brackets annota- evidence for this are the legends about giant tions made by author] found the most enor- precious rubies and diamonds. mous zircon in the Ilmeny mines, weighing 8 There are cyclops and giants in the world pounds 61 spool. It consists of several fused in of mineral monsters. Not every corner of the a parallel position indivisible" (Melnikov, earth has given birth to its bosom these rari- 1883). It is extended to 22 cm splice of several ties. In the South Urals so many unique crys- individuals weighing about 3.5 kg. In the pit tals were found that was enough for a large of academician Koksharov No. 20 "zircons narrative. Giant crystals were observed by crystals differentiate – up to 1.5 inches long researchers, mineralogists, geologists. Often, (6.5 cm) and met very often." Crystals of a these creatures of nature long maintained, "fist" size caught in the Ilmeny Mountains but more often simply destroyed during pro- repeatedly in syenite-pegmatite veins. Also, duction or used as a raw material. Rare fin- A.E. Fersman noted that G.G. Kitaev has pre- dings settled in museum collections. sented him a similar sample (Balandin, 1982). Interestingly, the phrase "crystal giant" for Zircon crystal (8×6 cm) from the vicinity of different minerals characterizes completely Selyankino village exhibited at the exposi- different in size crystals. For example, even a tion of Natural History Museum of the Ilmeny meter long quartz crystal (morion) from the State Reserve. Urals is not a giant compare to quartz veins of Giant zircon crystals are constantly mined Kazakhstan or Ukraine, where in pegmatites in Vishnevogorsk on the Mountain Karavay. much more substantial in size individuals were In nepheline pegmatites of "Vein No. 5" prop- mined. And at the same time, transparent er shaped zircon crystals can reach sizes up to quartz crystals "Diamonds" (Herkimer "Dia- 10 cm and weight of 2–2.5 kg, crystals weig- monds" or the South Urals Ust Katavsk "dia- hing 1 kg are no rarity. There were rumors monds") are considered as giant with crystal that at the mine "Central" of Vishnevogorsk size of only 3–5 cm! In this article there more niobium deposits was found a crystal weig- than two dozen South Ural minerals noted, hing 17 kg! crystals which have outstanding size. Microcline. This mineral goes alone with Perovskite. This mineral several times granitic pegmatites. Reliable data on crystals- pleased Urals with its "appearance in the giants are on topaz pit “Polyakov” on the 158 New Data on Minerals. 2013. Vol. 48 Fig. 1. Microcline crystals. Length of the longest is 0.75 m. Eremkinskaya pegmatite vein, the South Urals. Photo: S. Kolisnichenko. Fig. 2. Morion. Crystal weight is 100 kg. Svetlinskiy pegmatite quarry, South Urals. Photo: V. Musatov. shores of Lake Argazi in the Ilmeny Moun- vety”) in Moscow. On Astafyevskoye deposit tains and on Svetlinskiy pegmatite quarry. large crystals reach a length of up to one There were met crystals with length of about meter with weight of 300 kg. There was mined 50 cm. In 2008 pegmatite vein at the former a unique one –piezocrystal of 100 kg! Teren- steading Eremkin (Kochkarskiy district) was sayskoye deposit of piezoquartz (Orenburg discovered area with crystal size of 60×75 cm! region) also excelled by giants. There was (Fig. 1) found the largest crystal cellar of Urals with Amazonite. The large-sized crystals were capacity of 176 m3. The largest crystals, observed in the pits of Ilmeny Mountains. On extracted from this cellar, weighed from 350 Lobachevskaya pit No. 85 "... Amazon stone to 750 kg. There was the famous crystal 1 was more than /4 yard and actually because "Baby" (“Malyutka”) among them, weighing of this, topaz crystals reached to one pound 784 kg, which is stored in the Geological weight". On pit No. 82, "the value of the pieces Museum of Ekaterinburg. 1 of the Amazon stone reached /2 yard..." (Mel- Morion. Large crystals of morion are typi- nikov, 1883). Amazonite crystals up to 30 cm cal for Svetlinskiy pegmatite quarry (Koch- were found in the pit No. 395. karskiy district). Larinskaya Geological Re- Rock crystal. South Urals is characterized connaissance Expedition worked there and by particularly large size of quartz crystals. In removed from the cavities crystals weighing 1967 at Svetlinskoye deposit of piezoelectric over a hundred kilograms. Usually it would quartz at a depth of 13 meters has been dis- be isometric crystals (with short prisms and covered a crystal cellar with crystals in the developed rhombohedrons facets). In 1998 vein No. 500. Two of those rock crystal from was mined crystal morion of one meter long this nest weighed three tons each! They were and weighing 100 kg. The crystal was shaped shaped as short-prism, with developed rhom- as long-prism, obelisk form (Fig. 2). The head bohedrons faces. The crystalls were called part of the crystal was perfectly clean and "Jubilee-1" and "Jubilee-2". By processing of hardly shone in a bright beam of light. one of them was produced 92 kg piezoelectric Apatite. To the north-east of Vishnevye materials. The other crystal is kept at the en- Mountains, in the city of Snezhinsk "Seven trance to the Museum "Gems" (“Samots- Keys" apatite crystal locality is known. Apati- Minerals-Giants of the Southern Urals 159 te crystals found in the peculiar pegmatite linskoye deposit of piezoelectric quartz. Ne- consisting of phlogopite, albite and apatite. edle length in excess of 40 cm pierce smoky Apatite appeared around phlogopite to the rock crystal (Geological Museum, Ekate- direction of the contact with the host rock rinburg). (ultra-basic and serpentinized rocks) almost Titanite. Sphene (titanite) of South Urals ideal crystals bottle-green with olive tinge. is known from the pits Ilmeny Mountains. The largest crystal is considered to be an indi- Crystals up to 15 cm have been repeatedly vidual length of about 100 cm with a thick- found there. Vishnevye Mountains spear-sha- ness of 20 cm. Not uncommon are the find- ped crystal of titanite length of 15 cm were ings of crystals up to 50 cm. found in nepheline pegmatite vein in Svistu- Polyakovite. In the Ilmeny Mountains, at nov log (1986). Crystal about 20 cm in size the pit No. 97 for the first time in the world was found in a similar vein of Yushtinsk ridge was discovered and described mineral to the north of the Ilmeny Mountains. White polyakovite – chrome analogue of chevki- and cream titanites with sizes up to 12×18 cm nite. In 2007, in the pits in ultra-basic peg- with a thickness of 1 cm (Fig. 4) are known to matite vein (richterite-phlogopite composi- Nicolae-Maximilian mine (village Kusinsk tion) were found two polyakovite crystals, Magnitka). which dimensions were 12×8×6 cm. They we- Topaz. The largest crystals of topaz in the re the largest crystals in the history of the South Urals should be considered as samples study of this mineral. Polyakovite was found from the Ilmeny Mountains. Here we describe in the same place in the veins of carbonatite- the crystals of amazonite pegmatites up to 10 bearing pegmatites in association with mon- pounds (4 kg) weight (Melnikov, 1883). Al- azite and aeschynite, but here it is only reach though it is likely that it was given the weight 6.5 cm size of the crystals (Fig. 3). of all the stones from the same nest. Basically, Rutile. Rutile crystals in granulated quartz there were found the individual crystals in veins are known to Kyshtym deposit in the 1 pound.