DOCSLIB.ORG

The Mineral Newsletter Meeting: February 26 Time: 7:45 P.M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Mineral Newsletter Meeting: February 26 Time: 7:45 P.M The Mineral Newsletter Meeting: February 26 Time: 7:45 p.m. Long Branch Nature Center, 625 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington, VA 22204 Volume 59, No. 2 February 2018 Explore our website! February Meeting Program: Kola Peninsula Minerals In this issue … Mineral of the month: Pyromorphite ....... p. 2 February program details .......................... p. 4 The Prez Sez ............................................... p. 4 January meeting minutes .......................... p. 5 Poem: “Foundling” .................................... p. 6 EFMLS: Safety matters .............................. p. 7 EFMLS/AFMS: Annual convention ............ p. 7 Source: Wikipedia. Photo: Rob Lavinsky. AFMS: Regional federation shows ............ p. 8 Field trips ................................................... p. 8 Deadline for Submissions Age of the Grand Canyon .......................... p. 9 February 20 Virginia’s Mountain Lake: part 2 ............... p. 11 Please make your submission by the 20th of the month! Submissions re- Upcoming events ....................................... p. 15 ceived later might go into a later newsletter. Mineral of the Month Pyromorphite by Sue Marcus Happy Valentine’s Day! This month, we are learning together about the min- eral pyromorphite. Northern Virginia Mineral Club Name Origin members, One of the first things I learned is to be grateful for the Please join our February speaker, Casper Voogt, for name. This lead mineral has been known since at least dinner at the Olive Garden on February 26 at 6 p.m. the mid-1700s, when it was called Grön Blyspat (Swe- dish), Minera plumbi viridis (Latin), and Mine de Olive Garden, Baileys Cross Roads (across from plumb verte (French). I assume the latter two are Skyline Towers), 3548 South Jefferson St. roughly translated as “green lead mineral.” (intersecting Leesburg Pike), Falls Church, VA Grön Blyspat was the name used by the Swedish Phone: 703-671-7507 chemist Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (1709–1785). The cognate in German would be Grünbleispat or grüner Reservations are under Ti Meredith, Vice-President, Bleispat, meaning green lead spar. Pyromorphite was NVMC. Please RSVP to me at [email protected]. also known as Grünbleierz (green lead ore), Braun- bleierz (brown lead ore), Traubenblei (grape-shaped lead, no doubt for a botryoidal form), polysphaerite, nuissierite, miesite, cherokine, collieite, plumbeine, and finally (true!) sexagulit. Why so many different names? Probably because this mineral is unusual (though not rare) and often colorful (though in different colors or shades), so people thought they had specimens of different chemical com- positions and therefore different minerals. The name “pyromorphite,” bestowed in 1813 by the German mineralogist Johann Friedrich Ludwig Haus- mann (1782–1859), makes sense when we tease out its meaning. Pyro means fire in Greek, and morpho is shape. When melted, by heat (fire), the goo will begin to recrystallize as it cools, taking shape, as it were, from the fires of melting. Characteristics Pyromorphite is known for occurring in shades of green (like on the cover), from deep forest greens, through richer, brighter hues, then into the yellow- greens, like the color of the different mineral olivine (peridot). Pyromorphite also forms lovely yellow crys- tals; unusual orange crystals take their coloration from arsenic. The crystals of pyromorphite are often barrel-shaped and sometimes hollow. Single crystals are rare, alt- Pyromorphite from New South Wales, Australia (top) and hough micromounters can probably mount one. Like the Bunker Hill Mine in Idaho (bottom). Source: Smithsonian National Mineral Gallery; photos—Chip Clark. The Mineral Newsletter February 2018 2 the samples on the cover and shown above, pyromor- whether rockhounds are welcome at the country club phite commonly forms clusters, with the best speci- in collecting attire? mens being lustrous. Easthampton, MA, has produced small though lovely When calcium replaces some of the lead in the crystal crystals. Closer to home, pyromorphite has been found lattice (structure), the specimens are lighter in weight in several places in Virginia, although not in stunning (with less lead) and usually lighter in color, too. specimens. Mindat reports it from the Morefield and Rutherford Mines near Richmond. With a chemical formula of Pb5(PO4)3Cl, pyromor- phite can be used as a lead ore if present in sufficient France is the source of some of the first and finest py- quantities—though as a mineral collector, I don’t want romorphite specimens. The Les Farges Mine speci- to think of crystalized specimens going through the mens are noted for their intense green color. The Beau- mill! voir Quarry in the French Alps produced delicate, tiny crystals. Pyromorphite forms a solid solution series with mim- etite (Pb5(AsO4)3Cl), so some specimens may be Broken Hill, Australia, is another noted specimen lo- somewhere along the spectrum from pure pyromor- cality, and China is currently producing nice speci- phite to pure mimetite. In fact, these two minerals are mens. Germany and Mexico are also sources of pyro- good examples of a solid solution series—that is, min- morphite specimens. erals that share very similar chemical formulas but Although pyromorphite can be faceted or used as a have chemical substitutions that form a range in the gem, specimens are seldom large enough, and fracture- composition from one mineral to the other. Vanadinite free, and wearing lead-based minerals or gems is not (Pb (VO ) Cl) also forms a chemical series with pyro- 5 4 3 advisable. Pyromorphite is an unusual gemstone for morphite, although intermediate specimens (chemi- these reasons. cally between pyromorphite and vanadinite) are rare and unknown to me. Technical details: Pyromorphite is a secondary mineral, forming through Chemical formula ...... Pb5(PO4)3Cl the oxidation of primary lead minerals and ores. So Crystal form ............... Hexagonal where there is lead, there may be pyromorphite. Pyro- Hardness .................... 3.5–4 morphite isn’t rare, although excellent specimens are Specific gravity.......... 6.5–7.1 always sought by collectors. Color .......................... Usually green, though also Pyromorphite can even form from biological pro- orange, yellow, brown, white, rarely colorless cesses! Paecilomyces javanicus, a mold in lead-pol- Streak ......................... White luted soil, can form biominerals of pyromorphite. Cleavage .................... None Localities Fracture ...................... Subconchoidal We are fortunate to have a former major pyromorphite Luster ......................... Vitreous, resinous locality in the United States. The Bunker Hill Mine, in the Coeur d’Alene District of Idaho, was a significant Sources source of specimens at all prices, for many years. Alt- Amethyst Galleries. 2014. The mineral pyromorphite. hough mining began in the 1880s, most mineral speci- Gemdat. 2018. Pyromorphite. mens came out in the 1980s and 1990s. Mindat. 2018. Pyromorphite. The mine is now closed and is a superfund site. Unfor- Mineralogy Database. N.d. Pyromorphite mineral tunately, mining polluted the Coeur d’Alene River data. with lead and other toxic materials. Minerals.net. 2018. The mineral pyromorphite. Penn Minerals. 2017. Museum: Pyromorphite from The mines near Phoenixville, PA, were another fa- Wheatley Mines Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. mous U.S. locality for pyromorphite. The mines closed Wikipedia. 2017. Pyromorphite. more than a century ago, so fine specimens are rare. Collecting may still be allowed for pay at the dumps on the grounds of a local country club. Wonder The Mineral Newsletter February 2018 3 Casper Voogt The Prez Sez Kola Peninsula Minerals by Bob Cooke, President February 26 Program There’s no rest for the weary. Just got ast year, from August 24 to September 1, Mindat L back from my son’s wedding and Hutch hosted an adventure trip to the Kola Peninsula in the is telling me how anxious he is to go to far northwestern part of Russia. The Kola Peninsula is print with this newsletter and I’m the home to a huge number of rare mineral species, many holdout. So I guess I’d better suck it up and get on with of them found nowhere else on Earth. Guided by local business. and international experts, a group of 12 people visited some of the most exciting and remote mineral locali- At this point, I should tell everyone what a great pack- ties in the world. age of activities we have lined up for the coming year. Oops! I have no idea what’s planned. That is Ti’s pur- One participant in this Mindat adventure was NVMC view. She is the one who has planned and organized member Casper Voogt. Casper will present an over- all the meeting programs. I have no idea how she has view of the trip, which included visits to museums and found such great speakers for us, but she has come private collections in addition to various Kola Penin- through again and again. I, for one, am extremely sula localities—mines, dumps, and quarries in Apatity, grateful for her efforts. If you are aware of potential Afrikanda, Kovdor, and Lovozero. Participants had speaker or if there’s a subject that you would like to opportunities for both purchasing and collecting. Cas- learn about, please let Ti know. per will present mineralogical and other highlights of the trip, showing us some of the specimens he brought For the past several years, Professor Lance Kearns of back. James Madison University has invited NVMC, along with other mineral clubs in the metro area, to visit Casper is a part-time mineral dealer, lifelong mineral James Madison University to see the school’s miner- collector, and avid traveler. His academic background alogy facilities and mineral museum. This has always is in architecture (Princeton and Georgia Tech). He has been an enjoyable trip and has allowed us to acquire lived in the United States, the Netherlands, Aruba, and specimens from Lance’s stock of minerals that were Switzerland. In “real life,” he runs a web development excess to his teaching and research needs. company and is the webmaster for the NVMC and cowebmaster for the MSDC. Unfortunately for us, Lance has retired. The JMU road trip will not be possible this year.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download PDF About Minerals Sorted by Mineral Name
    MINERALS SORTED BY NAME Here is an alphabetical list of minerals discussed on this site. More information on and photographs of these minerals in Kentucky is available in the book “Rocks and Minerals of Kentucky” (Anderson, 1994). APATITE Crystal system: hexagonal. Fracture: conchoidal. Color: red, brown, white. Hardness: 5.0. Luster: opaque or semitransparent. Specific gravity: 3.1. Apatite, also called cellophane, occurs in peridotites in eastern and western Kentucky. A microcrystalline variety of collophane found in northern Woodford County is dark reddish brown, porous, and occurs in phosphatic beds, lenses, and nodules in the Tanglewood Member of the Lexington Limestone. Some fossils in the Tanglewood Member are coated with phosphate. Beds are generally very thin, but occasionally several feet thick. The Woodford County phosphate beds were mined during the early 1900s near Wallace, Ky. BARITE Crystal system: orthorhombic. Cleavage: often in groups of platy or tabular crystals. Color: usually white, but may be light shades of blue, brown, yellow, or red. Hardness: 3.0 to 3.5. Streak: white. Luster: vitreous to pearly. Specific gravity: 4.5. Tenacity: brittle. Uses: in heavy muds in oil-well drilling, to increase brilliance in the glass-making industry, as filler for paper, cosmetics, textiles, linoleum, rubber goods, paints. Barite generally occurs in a white massive variety (often appearing earthy when weathered), although some clear to bluish, bladed barite crystals have been observed in several vein deposits in central Kentucky, and commonly occurs as a solid solution series with celestite where barium and strontium can substitute for each other. Various nodular zones have been observed in Silurian–Devonian rocks in east-central Kentucky.
    [Show full text]
  • Twinning in Pyromorphite: the First Documented Occurrence of Twinning by Merohedry in the Apatite Supergroup
    American Mineralogist, Volume 97, pages 415–418, 2012 Twinning in pyromorphite: The first documented occurrence of twinning by merohedry in the apatite supergroup STUART J. MILLS,1,2,* GIOVANNI FERRARIS,3 ANTHONY R. KAMPF,2 AND GEORGES FAVREAU4 1Geosciences, Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne 3001, Australia 2Mineral Sciences Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, U.S.A. 3Dipartimento di Scienze Mineralogiche e Petrologiche, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy 4421 Avenue Jean Monnet, 13090 Aix-en-Provence, France ABSTRACT We describe the first documented case of {1010} twinning by reflection (or by twofold rotation about [100]) or merohedry (class II) in a member of the apatite supergroup. Twinning about [100] had previously been noted for the apatite supergroup but not confirmed. Pyromorphite crystals from Puech de Compolibat, Combret, Aveyron, France, were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction 3 [a = 10.0017(19), c = 7.3413(16) Å, and V = 636.0(2) Å , in P63/m], where twinning was confirmed with the approximate twin fraction 62:38. Subsequent inspection of the morphology confirmed the nature of the twinning. The pyromorphite crystals are typically elongate and show the faces: (21 10), (2110), (0001), (0001), (1010), (1010), (101 2), and (1012). Keywords: Twinning by merohedry class II, pyromorphite, Puech de Compolibat, apatite supergroup, crystal structure INTRODUCTION and the center of symmetry 1 may always be considered as twin Twinning is the oriented association of two or more law. In class II twins, instead, the superimposed lattice nodes individuals that are related by a twin operation belonging to (and the corresponding superimposed diffracted intensities) are the point group either of the lattice (twinning by merohedry) not equivalent in the Laue group [e.g., crystal point group 6/m, or of a sublattice (twinning by reticular merohedry), but not Laue group 6/m, twin operation (1010) plane].
    [Show full text]
  • 2012 Bmc Auction Specimens
    A SAMPLER OF SELECTED 2017 BMC AUCTION SPECIMENS (2017 Auction Date is Saturday, 21 January) Volume 3 3+ Hematite [Fe 2O3] & Quartz [SiO2] Locality Cleator Moor Iron Mines Cleator Moor West Cumberland Iron Field Cumbria, England, UK Size 13.5 x 9.5 x 7.0 cm 1498 g Donated by Stonetrust Hematite Crystal System: Trigonal Photograph by Mike Haritos Physical Properties Transparency: Subtranslucent to opaque Mohs hardness: 6.5 Density: approx 5.3 gm/cm3 Streak: Red Luster: Metalic Vanadinite [Pb5(VO4)3Cl] var. Endlichite Locality Erupción Mine (Ahumada Mine) Los Lamentos Mountains (Sierra de Los Lamentos) Mun. de Ahumada Chihuahua, Mexico Size 12.0 x 9.5 x 7.0 cm 1134 g Donated by Stonetrust Crystal System: Hexagonal Physical Properties Transparency: Subtranslucent to opaque Mohs hardness: 3.5-4 Photograph by Mike Haritos Density: 6.8 to 7.1 gm/cm3 Streak: Brownish yellow Endlichite, Pb5([V, As]O4)3Cl, is the arsenic rich Luster: Adamantine variety of vanadinite with arsenic atoms (As) substituting for some of the vanadium (V) 2+ Dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] & Chalcopyrite [CuFe S2] Locality Picher Field Tri-State District Ottawa Co. Oklahoma, USA Size 19.0 x 14.5 x 6.0 cm 1892 g Consigned with Reserve by Stonetrust Dolomite Crystal System: Trigonal Physical Properties Photograph by Mike Haritos Transparency: Transparent, Translucent, Opaque Mohs hardness: 3.5 to 4 Density: 2.8 to 2.9 gm/cm3 Streak: White Luster: Vitreous Calcite [CaCO3] Locality Mexico Size 15.5 x 12.8 x 6.2 cm 1074 g Donated by Stonetrust Calcite Crystal System: Trigonal Physical Properties Transparency: Transparent, Translucent Mohs hardness: 3 Density: 2.71 gm/cm3 Streak: White Luster: Vitreous, Sub-Vitreous, Photograph by Mike Haritos Resinous, Waxy, Pearly Quartz [SiO2], var.
    [Show full text]
  • Descloizite Pbzn(VO4)(OH) C 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, Version 1
    Descloizite PbZn(VO4)(OH) c 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, version 1 Crystal Data: Orthorhombic. Point Group: 2/m 2/m 2/m. As crystals, equant or pyramidal {111}, prismatic [001] or [100], or tabular {100}, with {101}, {201}, many others, rarely skeletal, to 5 cm, commonly in drusy crusts, stalactitic or botryoidal, coarsely fibrous, granular to compact, massive. Physical Properties: Fracture: Small conchoidal to uneven. Tenacity: Brittle. Hardness = 3–3.5 D(meas.) = ∼6.2 D(calc.) = 6.202 Optical Properties: Transparent to nearly opaque. Color: Brownish red, red-orange, reddish brown to blackish brown, nearly black. Streak: Orange to brownish red. Luster: Greasy. Optical Class: Biaxial (–), rarely biaxial (+). Pleochroism: Weak to strong; X = Y = canary-yellow to greenish yellow; Z = brownish yellow. Orientation: X = c; Y = b; Z = a. Dispersion: r> v,strong; rarely r< v.α= 2.185(10) β = 2.265(10) γ = 2.35(10) 2V(meas.) = ∼90◦ Cell Data: Space Group: P nma. a = 7.593 b = 6.057 c = 9.416 Z = 4 X-ray Powder Pattern: Venus mine, [El Guaico district, C´ordobaProvince,] Argentina; close to mottramite. 3.23 (vvs), 5.12 (vs), 2.90 (vs), 2.69 (vsb), 2.62 (vsb), 1.652 (vs), 4.25 (s) Chemistry: (1) (2) (1) (2) SiO2 0.02 ZnO 19.21 10.08 As2O5 0.00 PbO 55.47 55.30 +350◦ V2O5 22.76 22.53 H2O 2.17 −350◦ FeO trace H2O 0.02 MnO trace H2O 2.23 CuO 0.56 9.86 Total 100.21 100.00 (1) Abenab, Namibia.
    [Show full text]
  • Tungsten Minerals and Deposits
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director Bulletin 652 4"^ TUNGSTEN MINERALS AND DEPOSITS BY FRANK L. HESS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1917 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 25 CENTS PER COPY CONTENTS. Page. Introduction.............................................................. , 7 Inquiries concerning tungsten......................................... 7 Survey publications on tungsten........................................ 7 Scope of this report.................................................... 9 Technical terms...................................................... 9 Tungsten................................................................. H Characteristics and properties........................................... n Uses................................................................. 15 Forms in which tungsten is found...................................... 18 Tungsten minerals........................................................ 19 Chemical and physical features......................................... 19 The wolframites...................................................... 21 Composition...................................................... 21 Ferberite......................................................... 22 Physical features.............................................. 22 Minerals of similar appearance.................................
    [Show full text]
  • Mottramite, Descloizite, and Vanadinite) in the Caldbeck Area of Cumberland
    289 New occurrences of vanadium minerals (mottramite, descloizite, and vanadinite) in the Caldbeck area of Cumberland. By ART~VR W. G. KINGSBURu F.G.S., Dept. of Geology and Mineralogy, University Museum, Oxford, and J. HARTLnY, B.Sc., F.G.S., Dept. of Geology, University of Leeds. [Taken as read 10 June 1954.] Summary.--Four new occurrences of vanadium minerals are described. New X-ray powder data are given for descloizite and mottramite, and show appreciable differences. Evidence is brought that the original occurrence of mottramite was not at Mottram St. Andrew, Cheshire, but Pim Hill, Shropshire, and that most if not all specimens labelled Mottram St. Andrew or Cheshire really came from Pim Hill. ANADIUM minerals are rare in the British Isles, and only two V species, mottramite (Cu, Zn)PbV0tOH and vanadinite Pbs(VO4)aC1, have so far been recorded from a limited number of localities. We do not include the vanadiferous nodules from Budleigh Salterton in Devon, as the vanadiferous mineral has not been identified. Mottramite, supposedly from Mottram St. Andrew in Cheshire, was first described in 1876,1 but we have evidence (below, p. 293) that the locality was in fact Pim Hill in Shropshire. ~ Vanadinite has so far only been found at Leadhills and Wanlockhead in Scotland. Vauquelinite has been de- scribed from Leadhills and Wanlockhead,a but the specimens have since been shown to be mottramite. 4 As a result of our investigations in the Lake District, we have found several new localities in the Caldbeck area for raottramite, deseloizite, and vanadinite. Higher part of Brandy Gill, Carroek Fell.
    [Show full text]
  • Mimetite Pb5(Aso4)3Cl C 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, Version 1 Crystal Data: Hexagonal
    Mimetite Pb5(AsO4)3Cl c 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, version 1 Crystal Data: Hexagonal. Point Group: 6/m. Crystals are usually prismatic to acicular k [0001], to 12 cm, may be tabular, showing {1010}, {0001}, {1011}, rarely {1121}, {2131}, others; rounded, barrel-shaped, mammillary, stalactitic, granular. Twinning: On {1122}, very rare. Physical Properties: Cleavage: On {1011}, interrupted. Fracture: Uneven to subconchoidal. Tenacity: Brittle. Hardness = 3.5–4 D(meas.) = 7.24 D(calc.) = 7.26 Piezoelectric; may fluoresce reddish yellow under LW or SW UV. Optical Properties: Transparent to translucent. Color: Pale to bright yellow, yellowish brown, yellow-orange, white, may be colorless; colorless or pale yellow in transmitted light. Streak: White. Luster: Resinous to subadamantine. Optical Class: Uniaxial (–), commonly anomalously biaxial (–), sectored. Pleochroism: Weak. Absorption: O < E. ω = 2.147 = 2.128 Cell Data: Space Group: P 63/m (synthetic). a = 10.250(2) c = 7.454(1) Z = 2 X-ray Powder Pattern: Synthetic. 3.06 (100), 3.01 (90), 2.962 (66), 3.36 (38), 2.110 (30), 1.994 (22), 1.905 (20) Chemistry: (1) (2) P2O5 0.14 As2O5 23.17 23.17 PbO 74.58 74.99 Cl 2.39 2.38 −O=Cl2 0.54 0.54 Total 99.74 100.00 (1) Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA. (2) Pb5(AsO4)3Cl. Polymorphism & Series: Dimorphous with clinomimetite. Mineral Group: Apatite group. Occurrence: A common secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of arsenic-bearing lead deposits. Association: Cerussite, anglesite, smithsonite, willemite, pyromorphite, wulfenite. Distribution: Many localities. A few for well-crystallized material include: Johanngeorgenstadt, Saxony, Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • Diamond Dan's Mineral Names Dictionary
    A Dictionary of Mineral Names By Darryl Powell Mineral Names What do they mean? Who created them? What can I learn from them? This mineral diction‐ ary is unique because it is illustrated, both with mineral drawings as well as pictures of people and places after which some minerals are named. The people pictured on this page have all made a con‐ tribution to what is formally called “mineral nomenclature.” Keep reading and you will discover who they are and what they did. In 1995, Diamond Dan Publications pub‐ lished its first full book, “A Mineral Collector’s Guide to Common Mineral Names: Their Ori‐ gins & Meanings.” Now it is twenty years later. What you will discover in this issue and in the March issue is a re‐ vised and improved version of this book. This Mineral Names Dictionary contains mineral names that the average mineral collector will encounter while collecting minerals, attending shows and visiting museum displays. In addition to the most common min‐ eral names, there are some unofficial names which you will still find on labels. Each mineral name has a story to tell or a lesson to teach. If you wanted to take the time, each name could become a topic to study. Armalcolite, for example, could quickly be‐ come a study of a mineral, first discovered on the moon, and brought back to earth by the astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins (do you see parts of their names in this mineral name?) This could lead you to a study of American astronauts landing on the moon, what it took to get there and what we discovered by landing on the moon.
    [Show full text]
  • Contaminant Bioavailability in Soils, Sediments, and Aquatic Environments
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 96, pp. 3365–3371, March 1999 Colloquium Paper This paper was presented at the National Academy of Sciences colloquium ‘‘Geology, Mineralogy, and Human Welfare,’’ held November 8–9, 1998 at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. Contaminant bioavailability in soils, sediments, and aquatic environments SAMUEL J. TRAINA* AND VALE´RIE LAPERCHE School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210 ABSTRACT The aqueous concentrations of heavy metals ion, or a molecule typically is controlled by its chemical and in soils, sediments, and aquatic environments frequently are physical state, or speciation (2–10). Thus, regulations based on controlled by the dissolution and precipitation of discrete absolute concentration may be convenient, but their scientific mineral phases. Contaminant uptake by organisms as well as validity may be in question. contaminant transport in natural systems typically occurs Knowledge of the link between chemical speciation and through the solution phase. Thus, the thermodynamic solu- bioavailability is not new, nor did it originate with concerns of bility of contaminant-containing minerals in these environ- contaminant toxicity or environmental pollution. The fields of ments can directly influence the chemical reactivity, trans- soil chemistry and soil fertility were, in part, created by the port, and ecotoxicity of their constituent ions. In many cases, recognition that total soil concentration is a poor predictor of Pb-contaminated soils and sediments contain the minerals the bioavailability of essential nutrients required for plant anglesite (PbSO4), cerussite (PbCO3), and various lead oxides growth and food production. This recognition has led to (e.g., litharge, PbO) as well as Pb21 adsorbed to Fe and Mn extensive research on the identity and form of nutrient ele- (hydr)oxides.
    [Show full text]
  • Download PDF About Minerals Sorted by Mineral Group
    MINERALS SORTED BY MINERAL GROUP Most minerals are chemically classified as native elements, sulfides, sulfates, oxides, silicates, carbonates, phosphates, halides, nitrates, tungstates, molybdates, arsenates, or vanadates. More information on and photographs of these minerals in Kentucky is available in the book “Rocks and Minerals of Kentucky” (Anderson, 1994). NATIVE ELEMENTS (DIAMOND, SULFUR, GOLD) Native elements are minerals composed of only one element, such as copper, sulfur, gold, silver, and diamond. They are not common in Kentucky, but are mentioned because of their appeal to collectors. DIAMOND Crystal system: isometric. Cleavage: perfect octahedral. Color: colorless, pale shades of yellow, orange, or blue. Hardness: 10. Specific gravity: 3.5. Uses: jewelry, saws, polishing equipment. Diamond, the hardest of any naturally formed mineral, is also highly refractive, causing light to be split into a spectrum of colors commonly called play of colors. Because of its high specific gravity, it is easily concentrated in alluvial gravels, where it can be mined. This is one of the main mining methods used in South Africa, where most of the world's diamonds originate. The source rock of diamonds is the igneous rock kimberlite, also referred to as diamond pipe. A nongem variety of diamond is called bort. Kentucky has kimberlites in Elliott County in eastern Kentucky and Crittenden and Livingston Counties in western Kentucky, but no diamonds have ever been discovered in or authenticated from these rocks. A diamond was found in Adair County, but it was determined to have been brought in from somewhere else. SULFUR Crystal system: orthorhombic. Fracture: uneven. Color: yellow. Hardness 1 to 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Method Development for the Synthesis of Large Crystals of Pyromorphite
    Method development for the synthesis of large crystals of pyromorphite Laura W. Y. Lo Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Abstract In the UK, water utilities add phosphate to drinking water in order to prevent lead being released from older properties that are supplied by lead water pipes. The mechanism of reduction is thought to involve the formation of insoluble lead phosphates. This research was carried out to optimise the growth of large lead apatite crystals for use in future atomic force microscopy work. In this case study, pyromorphite crystals exhibiting both prismatic hexagonal and needle-like structures with sizes up to 0.2mm were successfully grown using a caesium chloride flux. They were produced both at lower temperatures and in less time than previous studies. All samples were characterised using a variety of analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, infrared spectrometry, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Keywords: Pyromorphite; apatite; lead; crystal growth; phosphates; water treatment. Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to my project supervisor, Dr Jeremy Hopwood, for all the help and guidance I have received throughout this research. I would also like to thank Dr Gareth Parkes, Margaret Scott and James Rooney for their valuable analytical input. Introduction To date, research has been limited on the production of large lead phosphate crystals of pyromorphite. Naturally, large-sized lead phosphate crystals are hard to come by, therefore the research goal of this study was to produce a methodology that gives reproducible results for the formation of crystal particles of a larger size (mm+) than were initially synthesised (approximately 250nm).
    [Show full text]
  • Major, Minor and Trace Element Composition of Pyromorphite-Group Minerals As Recorder of Supergene Weathering Processes From
    1 Major, minor and trace element composition of pyromorphite-group minerals as 2 recorder of supergene weathering processes from the Schwarzwald mining 3 district, SW Germany 4 5 6 REVISION 1 7 8 9 10 Gregor Markl*, Michael A. W. Marks, Johannes Holzäpfel, Thomas Wenzel 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, 18 Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 56, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany. 19 20 *corresponding author: [email protected] 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Keywords: pyromorphite, mimetite, vanadinite, fluorophosphohedyphane, hedyphane, 28 trace elements, solid solution, “hydroxylmimetite” 29 30 31 Abstract 32 33 More than 150 samples of pyromorphite, mimetite, vanadinite and minerals of the 34 hedyphane-group (which collectively are summarized here under the term PyGM for 35 pyromorphite-group minerals) from the Schwarzwald mining district, SW Germany, 36 have been analyzed by electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS. In this largest study of its 37 kind, the relations of PyGM composition to host rock and fluid compositions and the 38 amount of solid solution between the various endmembers were investigated. In 39 addition, we report the colors of the many analyzed mineral compositions. The most 40 important results are: 41 - pyromorphite and mimetite are completely miscible; 42 - at conditions of the oxidation zone in ore deposits, the solvus between pyromorphite 43 and vanadinite appears to asymmetrical with up to about 3 mol% of vanadinite 44 component in pyromorphite and up to about 39 mol%
    [Show full text]