Hydrogen in H-feldspar obtained by ion-exchange was studied in the spectral range 1000–5500 cm−1 by single crystal IR microspectroscopy. Spectra were almost identical for H-feldspars prepared either from sanidine or from adularia. Two bands in the middle-infrared were identified by D/H exchange as OH vibration modes. One broad band with a maximum at 3000 cm−1 and shoulders at 2800, 3200 and 3500 cm−1 confirms previous work. An additional OH absorption band with a maximum at 2485 cm−1 was observed for the first time in feldspars. The pleochroism of the OH absorption bands suggests that the H-feldspar is composed of two phases, an amorphous phase and a feldspathic phase. The proportion of the amorphous phase is increased by heating, producing a shift of the maximum of the band at 3000 cm−1 towards higher wavenumber and a decrease of the intensity of the band at 2485 cm−1. Near-infrared spectroscopy showed that hydrogen is present as hydroxyl groups bound to tetrahedral cations in both phases. Molecular water was not detected. The experimental results imply that hydrogen is incorporated in the H-feldspars as protons attached to bridging oxygen as well as to non-bridging oxygen. The complex structure of the IR spectra implies that the protons are distributed over a large number of sites in the cation cavity of the feldspars.

Phlogopite occurs as an early crystallizing mineral in many ultrapotassic lavas of basaltic affinities. Based on high-pressure experiments in lavas of these compositions, the early crystallization of phlogopite is controlled in large part by the bulk compositions of the liquids from which it crystallizes but also by the total pressure and by the aH2O, with early phlogopite forming under a narrow range of aH2O, less than that represented by H2O-saturated conditions. Variations in fO2 do not appreciably affect phlogopite crystallization but high aCO2 suppresses its crystallization. In ultrapotassic magmas, phlogopite will preferentially incorporate K2O, TiO2, MgO, and Al2O3 relative to the coexisting early silicate minerals, olivine and clinopyroxene, and thus, on fractionation of these minerals, phlogopite will be more effective in reducing these oxides in residual liquids. Phenocrysts and microphenocrysts of phlogopite in ultrapotassic lavas are directly related with respect to their K/Ti, K/Al, K/(K + Na), and Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratios. Textural relations suggest phlogopite may form by reaction relationships involving liquid with olivine, and/or clinopyroxene. Such relationships are supported by the experimental studies on ultrapotassic rock compositions.

A detrital assemblage of magnesian ilmenite, pyrope, chrome-diopside, rutile, and zircon has been traced to outcropping ultrabasic alkaline rocks, hitherto unknown in the Melanesian region. Analyses and descriptions of these ‘kimberlite indicator minerals’ are given. The host rocks comprise alnöite, an alnöite breccia with calcite matrix, and a magnesian ankaratrite, which are described, with chemical analyses. Emphasis is laid on the abundance of ultrabasic inclusions and xenocrysts and the replacements and transformations they have undergone. Malaita Island promises to contribute significantly to the understanding of the relations between alnöite, melilite basalts, and kimberlites.

A detailed mineralogical examination of representative material from the P2-West 'kimberlite' located in the Wajrakarur Kimberlite Field (India) demonstrates that significant differences exist between these rocks and archetypal hypabyssal kimberlite. The intrusion consists of an olivine-phyric facies which has been transected by, and includes clasts of, a consanguineous phlogopite-rich pegmatitic facies. The olivine-rich parts of P2-West are relatively fresh and consist of euhedral-to-subhedral microphenocrystal olivine set in a groundmass of fine-grained anhedral monticellite, amoeboid apatite, and subhedral-to-euhedral perovskite within a partially chloritized-to-fresh phlogopite-rich mesostasis. The rock lacks the abundant olivine macrocrysts characteristic of kimberlite. Monticellite crystals are commonly partially or completely replaced by pectolite and hydrogarnet. Similar material occurs as irregular aggregates randomly scattered throughout the groundmass. The groundmass, in contrast to that of hypabyssal kimberlites, is relatively poor in spinels. Atoll spinels are absent, with the majority of spinels occurring principally as mantles upon microphenocrystal olivine. Disaggregated cumulate-like assemblages of intergrown anhedral perovskite and spinel are common. Spinel compositions are unlike those of kimberlites and their evolutionary trend is similar to that of lamproite and lamprophyre spinels. The pegmatitic facies of the intrusion are highly and pervasively altered, and characterized by the presence of large clasts, veins, and irregular aggregates consisting of large (1–5 mm) crystals of pinkish-bronze Al-poor phlogopite intergrown with and/or including: apatite; pectolite-hydrogarnet pseudomorphs after an unidentified euhedral phase; chlorite laths; barytolamprophyllite; perovskite; tausonite; diverse Sr-Ba-carbonates; and baryte. The presence of barytolamprophyllite and tausonite are typical of potassic undersaturated alkaline rocks and have never been reported from kimberlite; however, neither feldspar nor feldspathoids are present in P2-West. Micas in fresh and altered rocks are Al2O3- and BaO-poor, and exhibit compositional evolutionary trends towards tetraferriphlogopite rather than kinoshitalite. On the basis of these mineralogical data it is suggested that P2-West represents an unusual lamproite-like intrusion which has undergone extensive hydrothermal deuteric alteration and should not be considered a bona fide kimberlite.

Zadovite, BaCa6[(SiO4)(PO4)](PO4)2F (R3m, a = 7.0966(1) Å, c = 25.7284(3), V = 1122.13(3) Å3, Z = 3) and aradite, BaCa6[(SiO4)(VO4)] (VO4)2F (R3m, a = 7.1300(1), c = 26.2033(9) Å, V = 1153.63(6) Å3, Z = 3) are two new mineral species of a novel modular structure type related closely to the structure of nabimusaite, KCa12(SiO4)4(SO4)2O2F. Both minerals occur in paralavas enclosed in pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Complex, Negev desert, Israel. Zadovite and aradite are colourless, transparent with a white streak, have a vitreous lustre and an uneven fracture. Both minerals are uniaxial (–) with refractive indices (589 nm) ω = 1.711(2), ε = 1.708(2) (zadovite) and ω = 1.784(3), ε = 1.780(3) (aradite). The zadovite structure type comprises two tetrahedral sites, which may host a broad compositional range of atoms such as Si, P, V and S. Results of electron microprobe analyses show a correlation between excess Si4+ and S6+ contents, suggesting the substitution scheme 2(P,V)5+ = Si4+ + S6+ at the tetrahedral sites. This points to the possibility of new minerals isostructural with zadovite with end-member formulae BaCa6(SiO4)2[(PO4)(SO4)]F, BaCa6(SiO4)2[(VO4)(SO4)]F, BaCa6[(SiO4)1.5(SO4)0.5](PO4)2F and BaCa6[(SiO4)1.5(SO4)0.5](VO4)2F. The Raman spectra of aradite and zadovite reflect the varying PO4 (e.g. change of band intensity at ∼1031 cm–1) and VO4 contents (e.g. change of band intensity at ∼835 cm–1). The presence of SO4 leads to an additional Raman band at ∼997 cm–1. The structure of zadovite-series minerals belonging to the nabimusaite group is characterized by a 1:1 alternation of antiperovskite-like {[FCa6](TO4)2}4+ modules and Ba(TO4)2–4 modules.

Alumoåkermanite, (Ca,Na)2(Al,Mg,Fe2+)(Si2O7), is a new mineral member of the melilite group from the active carbonatite-nephelinite-phonolite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. The mineral occurs as tabular phenocrysts and microphenocrysts in melilite-nephelinitic ashes and lapilli-tuffs. Alumoåkermanite is light brown in colour; it is transparent, with a vitreous lustre and the streak is white. Cleavages or partings are not observed. The mineral is brittle with an uneven fracture. The measured density is 2.96(2) g/cm3. The Mohs hardness is ~4.5–6. Alumoåkermanite is uniaxial (–) with ω = 1.635(1) and ε = 1.624–1.626(1). In a 30 mm thin section (+N), the mineral has a yellow to orange interference colour, straight extinction and positive elongation, and is nonpleochroic. The average chemical formula of the mineral derived from electron microprobe analyses is: (Ca1.48Na0.50Sr0.02 K0.01)(Si1.99Al0.01O7). Alumoåkermanite is tetragonal, space group P421m with a = 7.7661(4) Å, c = 5.0297(4) Å, V = 303.4(1) Å3 and Z = 2. The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I/Io), hkl] are: 3.712, (13), (111); 3.075, (25), (201); 2.859, (100), (211); 2.456, (32), (311); 1.757, (19), (312). Single-crystal structure refinement (R1 = 0.018) revealed structure topology typical of the melilite-group minerals, i.e. tetrahedral [(Al,Mg)(Si2O7)] sheets interleaved with layers of (CaNa) cations. The name reflects the chemical composition of the mineral.

Garnet porphyroblasts in metasediments from Magerøy crystallized during static metamorphism. They display three optical zones, each having characteristic inclusions and chemistry. The compositional zoning is related to prograde metamorphism (an inner zone, 1, and a graphite-bearing zone) and retrogression (the outer zone, 2). Inclusions of two types are present in zone 1: type 1 are equidimensional remnants of the matrix, preferentially included along planes of rapid growth; type 2 are tubular and represent recrystallized quartz grains concentrated along defects in the garnet lattice. The defects are lineage boundaries between growth segments related to screw dislocations on crystal faces. Crystal growth developed at relatively high degrees of supersaturation, but below the supersaturation required for the development of dendrites. The inclusions suggest rapid growth of zone 1, caused by heat flow from an adjacent interkinematic mafic/ultramafic intrusive complex. The graphite-bearing zone crystallized at the metamorphic peak, while the inclusion-free idioblasfic rim probably developed during retrograde metamorphism.

Hydrotalcite, ideally [Mg6Al2(OH)16](CO3)(H2O)4, was studied in samples from Dypingdal, Snarum, Norway (3R and 2H), Zelentsovskaya pit (2H) and Praskovie–Evgenievskaya pit (2H) (both Southern Urals, Russia), Talnakh, Siberia, Russia (3R), Khibiny, Kola, Russia (3R), and St. Lawrence, New York, USA (3R and 2H). Two polytypes, 3R and 2H (both ‘classical’), were confirmed on the basis of single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction data. Their chemical composition was studied by electron-microprobe analysis, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystal structure of hydrotalcite-3R was solved by direct methods in the space group R$ {\bar 3} $m on three crystals (two data collections at 290 K and one at 120 K). The unit-cell parameters are as follows (290/290/120 K): a = 3.0728(9)/3.0626(3)/3.0617(4), c = 23.326(9)/23.313(3)/23.203(3) Å and V = 190.7(1)/189.37(4)/188.36(4) Å3. The crystal structures were refined on the basis of 304/150/101 reflections to R1 = 0.075/0.041/0.038. Hydrotalcite-2H crystallises in the P63/mmc space group; unit-cell parameters for two crystals are (data collection at 290 K and 93 K): a = 3.046(1)/3.0521(9), c = 15.447(6)/15.439(4) Å, V = 124.39(8)/124.55(8) Å3. The crystal structures were refined on the basis of 160/142 reflections to R1 = 0.077/0.059. This paper reports the first single-crystal structure data on hydrotalcite. Hydrotalcite distribution in Nature, diagnostic features, polytypism, interlayer topology and localisation of M2+–M3+ cations within metal hydroxide layers are discussed.

The specimen described by Claringbull and Hey (1952) has been re-examined using electron-microscope, electron-diffraction, X-ray, and dehydration isobar methods. It differs from other specimens in several respects. The basal spacing does not shrink appreciably on dehydration. The principal cleavage is (100) and not (001). The body-centred pseudo-cell of normal dimensions, but the distribution of the weak reflections differs from that found for other specimens. The mechanism of conversion into wollastonite has also been examined.

Almandine garnets in the cordierite-bearing granite of Sweltor Quarry, Dartmoor, contain < 10 mol. % of the spessartine end-member, whilst those in the Lundy granite have c. 10 mol. % spessartine. Experimental work indicates that such compositions can grow in equilibrium with siliceous melts at depths of 18–25 km. This evidence, reaction rims, lack of marked zoning and comparison with garnets in other siliceous calc-alkaline siliceous rocks point to a genesis involving partial melting of the ‘local’ lower crust. A restite origin rather than direct crystallization from magma is favoured but the evidence is equivocal. The Dartmoor granite (Hercynian) is a typical peraluminous late- to post-tectonic S-type granite. The S-type character of the Lundy (Tertiary) granite is revealed by the occurrence of garnet and topaz together with biotite enriched in Rb, Cs and F, despite its close association with Tertiary basic magmatism in an anorogenic setting.

Charoite, ideally (K,Sr,Ba,Mn)15–16(Ca,Na)32[(Si70(O,OH)180)](OH,F)4·nH20, is a rock-forming mineral from the Murun massif in Yakutia, Sakha Republic, Siberia, Russia, where it occurs in a unique alkaline intrusion. Charoite occurs as four different polytypes, which are commonly intergrown in nanocrystallme fibres. We report the structure of charoite-96 (a = 32.11(6), b = 19.77(4), c = 7.23(1) Å, β = 95.85(9)°, V = 4565(24) Å3, space group P21/m), which was solved ab initio by direct methods on the basis of 2676 unique electron diffraction reflections collected by automated diffraction tomography and refined to R1/wR2 = 0.34/0.37. The structure of charoite-96 is related to that of the charoite-90, which was also solved recently. Both structures are composed of three different types of dreier silicate chains running along [001] and separated by ribbons of edge-sharing Ca- and Na-centred octahedra. In the structure of charoite-96, adjacent blocks formed by three different silicate chains and stacked along the x axis, are shifted by a translation of 1/2 c. The shifts involve a hybrid dreier quadruple chain, [Si17O43]18– and a double dreier chain, [Si6O17]10–. In charoite-90 adjacent blocks are stacked without shifts.

At least six separate rare earth and uranium-bearing daughter crystals occur in fluid inclusions hosted by andraditic garnet from the Mary Kathleen REE-U ore skarn, Queensland, Australia. The daughter minerals are particularly high in La, Nd and Ce which reflects the relatively high concentration of these in the bulk ore (La2O3 = 33.5%, Nd2O3 = 9.1% and Ce2O2 = 51.5% of the 2.6 wt. % REE common in the ore). The host garnets themselves contain up to 7600 ppm REE and 5 to 2700 ppm U. The energy-dispersive spectra (EDS) are consistent with the following minerals: a (Y, Ce, U, Ca, Fe, Nb, Ta) mineral; a (Ca, Fe, Ce) carbonate(?) mineral; a (Fe, Ca, Y, Ce, Nb, Ta) mineral; a possible carbonate of La, Mn and Nd; a chlorite of Mn and La as well as a possible chloride or oxychloride of K, Mg, Mn and La. Their occurrence infers that relatively high concentrations of REE and U prevailed in the original, oxidized, concentrated (30–70 wt. % total dissolved salts), high-temperature (550–670°) ore solutions. Their presence as daughter crystals may be due to the fact that CaCl2 is a dominant salt in the solutions and that the latter's solubility was sufficiently high to ‘salt out’ the less soluble REE-U components.

Intermediate members of the grossular–andradite and grossular–uvarovite series are known to display anomalous birefringence, which is inconsistent with the ideal cubic space group of garnet Iad. To determine the reason for such birefringence, the crystal structures of at least 15 samples were refined by different authors including the present ones. The crystals with the value of anomalous birefringence of Δn > 0.001 are normally characterized by partial ordering of the octahedral cations (Al/Fe and Al/Cr for grossular–andradite and grossular–uvarovite series, respectively). This reduces the symmetry to the orthorhombic space group Fddd or even to the triclinic space group I. As is seen from the distribution of occupancies over octahedral sites in the triclinic space group, eight occupancies are grouped into two quartets of similar occupancies, leading to pseudo-orthorhombic crystal structures. The variety of structures with different degrees of pseudo-orthorhombicity is due to the action of the growth dissymmetrization mechanism. Simulations of the optical indicatrix in the point-dipole approximation confirm cation ordering as the main cause of the anomalous birefringence.

Pseudorutile, , has recently been revalidated as a mineral species, and the neotype locality is now South Neptune Island, South Australia. Powder X-ray diffraction data are given on a hexagonal primitive unit cell with a = 2.8667(5) and c = 4.5985(9) Å. Leucoxene, arizonite and proarizonite are considered to be mixtures. Kleberite is considered to be a hydroxylian pseudorutile, .

Darwin (1881) was one of the first scientists to formally record that earthworms excrete calcium carbonate granules, with some up to 2 mm in diameter. However, since Darwin’s studies they have received relatively little attention. The function of the granules remains a mystery, but may be related to regulation of Ca, CO2, pH or some other as yet undiscovered metabolic process (Robertson, 1936; Piearce, 1972). There has recently been an increase in research activity focussed on earthworm calcium carbonate granules driven by the work of Canti (Canti, 1998, 2007; Cantian d Piearce, 2003) and largely relating to their potential use in archaeology.

Determination of the solid-phase arsenic speciation in sediments hosting high-arsenic groundwaters, utilized for drinking and irrigation in Bengal, SE Asia and elsewhere is important in order to understand the biogeochemistry of arsenic. Despite this, there is a relative paucity of speciation data for solid-phase arsenic in such systems, due to preservation difficulties, low arsenic concentrations in the sediments, multiple coordination environments and sample heterogeneity. In this study, X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy was used in conjunction with linear least-squares fitting of model compounds to determine the oxidation state of arsenic in sediments from West Bengal and Cambodia. Whatever the collection and storage method used, substantial oxidation of arsenic was commonly observed over periods of weeks to several months. Sands were particularly susceptible to changes in arsenic oxidation state during storage. Analysis within two or three weeks of collection is therefore recommended, whilst on-site storage under a nitrogen atmosphere immediately after collection is particularly recommended for the preservation of sandy samples. Both muds and sands from West Bengal and Cambodia were dominated by arsenite (As(III)) with <35±10% arsenate (As(V)). Complete oxidation to arsenate was never observed suggesting that a significant proportion of the sedimentary arsenic is inaccessible within crystalline phases. Centrifuging under anaerobic conditions enabled more detailed information about a variety of arsenic coordination environments to be determined.

The present paper summarizes the facts at present known regarding a characteristic effect that is often produced in the fresh plagioclase felspars of igneous rocks by thermal metamorphism—namely the development of a special type of cloudiness caused by the appearance of minute inclusions. Reference is also made to certain wel|-known rocks in which the clouding of plagioclase felspars has been described without any suggestion that the peculiarity of the felspars is connected with thermal metamorphism.

Chemical analyses of sixteen lithium-aluminium micas are presented along with their optical, physical, and X-ray data. Compositional variation, substitution relations in structural positions, and octahedral occupancy are discussed. The 2M2 structural types are found to crystallize in volatilerich low-temperature environments whereas the 1M polytypes occur in comparatively volatile-poor and higher-temperature environments. Variation diagrams have been constructed to show the relationship between octahedral sites occupied by and refractive indices and specific gravities.

Mineralogists have long been accustomed to describe hardness with the aid of a scale devised by Friedrich Mohs, who lived from 1773 to 1839. The test is qualitative, each mineral in the scale being capable of scratching those that precede it, but the ten minerals have held their ground as a useful representative series with which it is now interesting to compare another method of estimating hardness.