HOME
*





Sovite
Sovite (or sövite) is the coarse-grained variety (or facies) of carbonatite, an intrusive, igneous rock. The finer-grained variety of carbonatite is known as alvikite. The two varieties are distinguished by minor and trace element compositions. Sovite is often a medium-to-coarse-grained calcite rock with variable accessory amphibole, biotite, pyrite, pyrochlore and fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs sca ....Example from central African occurrence. A. R. Woolley, ''Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites of the World: Africa'', Geological Society of London (May 2001), p. 139 See also * Panda Hill Carbonatite References Igneous rocks {{petrology-stub ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Panda Hill Carbonatite
The Panda Hill Carbonatite is an apatite and pyrochlore bearing sovite carbonatite located in the Mbeya District of Tanzania. The deposit was found in the mid-1950s by the then Geological Survey of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Niobium ore occurs largely in pyrochlore bearing sovite (carbonatite composed largely of calcite) and Dolomite (mineral), dolmite-rich carbonatite. The deposit also contains lesser phosphate mineralisation associated with apatite. History Panda Hill was first developed for niobium in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the then N. V. Billiton. A pilot mill and small open pit mine operated from 1957 to 1960 that produced concentrate that was then shipped to the Netherlands for further processing. The deposit is currently under development by Cradle Resources to mine niobium by open pit mining methods. The project has reported resources of 96 million tonnes of mineralisation at an average grade of 0.52% Nb2O5. If successful the Panda Hill niobium deposit will ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Carbonatite
Carbonatite () is a type of intrusive rock, intrusive or extrusive rock, extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geochemical verification. Carbonatites usually occur as small volcanic plug, plugs within zoned alkalic intrusive complexes, or as dike (geology), dikes, sill (geology), sills, breccias, and vein (geology), veins. They are almost exclusively associated with continental rift-related tectonic settings. It seems that there has been a steady increase in the carbonatitic igneous activity through the Earth's history, from the Archean Eon (geology), eon to the present. Nearly all carbonatite occurrences are intrusives or subvolcanic rock, subvolcanic intrusives. This is because carbonatite lava flows, being composed largely of soluble carbonates, are easily weathered and are therefore unlikely to be preserved in the geologic record. Carbonatite erupti ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on Scratch hardness, scratch hardness comparison. Large calcite crystals are used in optical equipment, and limestone composed mostly of calcite has numerous uses. Other polymorphs of calcium carbonate are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite over timescales of days or less at temperatures exceeding 300 °C, and vaterite is even less stable. Etymology Calcite is derived from the German ''Calcit'', a term from the 19th century that came from the Latin word for Lime (material), lime, ''calx'' (genitive calcis) with the suffix "-ite" used to name minerals. It is thus etymologically related to chalk. When applied by archaeology, archaeologists and stone trade pr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Facies
In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formation), and the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area. A facies encompasses all of the characteristics of a rock including its chemical, physical, and biological features that distinguish it from adjacent rock. The term facies was introduced by the Swiss geologist Amanz Gressly in 1838 and was part of his significant contribution to the foundations of modern stratigraphy, which replaced the earlier notions of Neptunism. Types of facies Sedimentary facies Ideally, a Sedimentary structures, sedimentary facies is a distinctive rock unit that forms under certain conditions of sedimentation, reflecting a particular process or environment. Sedimentary facies are either descriptive or interpretative. Sedimentary facies ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Intrusive Rock
Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form ''Igneous intrusion, intrusions'', such as batholiths, dike (geology), dikes, Sill (geology), sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: March 27, 2017.Igneous intrusive rocks, accessdate: March 27, 2017.Britannica.comintrusive rock , geology , Britannica.com accessdate: March 27, 2017. Intrusion is one of the two ways igneous rock can form. The other is extrusive rock, extrusion, such as a Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruption or similar event. An intrusion is any body of intrusive igneous rock, formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of the planet. In contrast, an ''extrusion'' consists of extrusive rock, formed above the surface of the crust. Some geologists use the term plutonic rock synonymously with intrusive rock, but other geologists subdivide intrusive rock, by crystal size, into coarse-grai ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Igneous Rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from Partial melting, partial melts of existing rocks in either a Terrestrial planet, planet's mantle (geology), mantle or crust (geology), crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive (geology), extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form Volcanic glass, natural glasses. Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Trace Element
__NOTOC__ A trace element, also called minor element, is a chemical element whose concentration (or other measure of amount) is very low (a "trace amount"). They are classified into two groups: essential and non-essential. Essential trace elements are needed for many physiological and biochemical processes in both plants and animals. Not only do trace elements play a role in biological processes but they also serve as catalysts to engage in oxidation and reduction mechanisms. The exact definition depends on the field of science: * In analytical chemistry, a trace element is one whose average concentration is less than 100 parts per million (ppm) measured in the atomic count or less than 100 micrograms per gram. * In biochemistry, an essential trace element is a dietary element that is needed in very minute quantities for the proper growth, development, and physiology of the organism. The dietary elements or essential trace elements are those that are required to perform vit ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


South African Journal Of Geology
The ''South African Journal of Geology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Geological Society of South Africa that was established in March 1896 as the ''Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa'', obtaining its current title in 1987. Incorporated into the volumes up to and including volume 73 (1970) were the ''Proceedings of the Geological Society of South Africa''. The journal publishes scientific papers, notes, stratigraphic descriptions, and discussions in the broadly defined fields of geoscience that are related directly or indirectly to the geology of Africa. Contributions relevant to former supercontinents such as Gondwana and Pangaea are also published as are topical studies on any geology-related discipline."Publication Policy"
GSSA Publications. Retrieved 01 June 2019. The journal is

picture info

Calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on Scratch hardness, scratch hardness comparison. Large calcite crystals are used in optical equipment, and limestone composed mostly of calcite has numerous uses. Other polymorphs of calcium carbonate are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite over timescales of days or less at temperatures exceeding 300 °C, and vaterite is even less stable. Etymology Calcite is derived from the German ''Calcit'', a term from the 19th century that came from the Latin word for Lime (material), lime, ''calx'' (genitive calcis) with the suffix "-ite" used to name minerals. It is thus etymologically related to chalk. When applied by archaeology, archaeologists and stone trade pr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Amphibole
Amphibole () is a group of inosilicate minerals, forming prism or needlelike crystals, composed of double chain tetrahedra, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structures. Its IMA symbol is Amp. Amphiboles can be green, black, colorless, white, yellow, blue, or brown. The International Mineralogical Association currently classifies amphiboles as a mineral supergroup, within which are two groups and several subgroups. Mineralogy Amphiboles crystallize into two crystal systems, monoclinic and orthorhombic. In chemical composition and general characteristics they are similar to the pyroxenes. The chief differences from pyroxenes are that (i) amphiboles contain essential hydroxyl (OH) or halogen (F, Cl) and (ii) the basic structure is a double chain of tetrahedra (as opposed to the single chain structure of pyroxene). Most apparent, in hand specimens, is that amphiboles form oblique cleavage planes (at around 120 degrees), whe ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Biotite
Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous end-members include siderophyllite and eastonite. Biotite was regarded as a mineral ''species'' by the International Mineralogical Association until 1998, when its status was changed to a mineral ''group''. The term ''biotite'' is still used to describe unanalysed dark micas in the field. Biotite was named by J.F.L. Hausmann in 1847 in honor of the French physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot, who performed early research into the many optical properties of mica. Members of the biotite group are sheet silicates. Iron, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen form sheets that are weakly bound together by potassium ions. The term "iron mica" is sometimes used for iron-rich biotite, but the term also refers to a flaky micaceous form ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]