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Skaergaardite
Skaergaardite is an intermetallic platinum group mineral with the general chemical formula Pd Cu. The mineral is named after its discovery location: the Skaergaard intrusion, Kangerdlugssuaq area, East Greenland. The mineral name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association in 2003. The mineral has also been reported in the Duluth intrusion in Minnesota and the Rum layered intrusion in Scotland. Occurrence Skaergaardite is associated with igneous intrusions containing well-preserved, oxide-rich, tholeiitic gabbro. It is found as inclusions in titanian magnetite, ilmenite, pyroxenes, and plagioclase. Skaergaardite can occur as an inclusion by itself, but is more commonly found in composite microglobule inclusions of copper iron sulfide minerals and other precious metal bearing minerals. Crystallography and symmetry The crystallography of skaergaardite was determined using x-ray powder diffraction data. It has an isometric (cubic) crystal system and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skaergaard Intrusion
The Skaergaard intrusion is a layered igneous intrusion in the Kangerlussuaq area, East Greenland. It comprises various rock types including gabbro, ferro diorite, anorthosite and granophyre. Discovered by Lawrence Wager in 1931 during the British Arctic Air Route Expedition led by Gino Watkins, the intrusion has been important to the development of key concepts in igneous petrology, including magma differentiation and fractional crystallisation and the development of layering. The Skaergaard intrusion formed when tholeiitic magma was emplaced about 55 million years ago,Brooks, CK, Gleadow, AJW (1977) ''A fission-track age for the Skaergaard intrusion and the age of the East Greenland basalts''. Geology, v. 5, p. 539-540. during the initial opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. The body represents essentially a single pulse of magma, which crystallized from the bottom upward and the top downward. The intrusion is characterized by exceptionally well-developed cumulate layering d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platinum Group
The platinum-group metals (abbreviated as the PGMs; alternatively, the platinoids, platinides, platidises, platinum group, platinum metals, platinum family or platinum-group elements (PGEs)) are six noble, precious metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table. These elements are all transition metals in the d-block (groups 8, 9, and 10, periods 5 and 6). The six platinum-group metals are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. They have similar physical and chemical properties, and tend to occur together in the same mineral deposits. However, they can be further subdivided into the iridium-group platinum-group elements (IPGEs: Os, Ir, Ru) and the palladium-group platinum-group elements (PPGEs: Rh, Pt, Pd) based on their behaviour in geological systems. The three elements above the platinum group in the periodic table (iron, nickel and cobalt) are all ferromagnetic; these, including the lanthanide element gadolinium, are the only known tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine. Titanium was discovered in Cornwall, Great Britain, by William Gregor in 1791 and was named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth after the Titans of Greek mythology. The element occurs within a number of minerals, principally rutile and ilmenite, which are widely distributed in the Earth's crust and lithosphere; it is found in almost all living things, as well as bodies of water, rocks, and soils. The metal is extracted from its principal mineral ores by the Kroll and Hunter processes. The most common compound, titanium dioxide, is a popular photocatalyst and is used in the manufacture of white pigments. Other compounds include titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), a component of smoke screens and catalysts; and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcocite
Chalcocite (), copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque and dark gray to black, with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale. It is a sulfide with a monoclinic crystal system. The term ''chalcocite'' comes from the alteration of the obsolete name ''chalcosine'', from the Greek ''khalkos'', meaning "copper". It is also known as redruthite, vitreous copper, or copper-glance. Occurrence Chalcocite is sometimes found as a primary vein mineral in hydrothermal veins. However, most chalcocite occurs in the supergene enriched environment below the oxidation zone of copper deposits as a result of the leaching of copper from the oxidized minerals. It is also often found in sedimentary rocks. It has been mined for centuries and is one of the most profitable copper ores. The reasons for this is its high copper content (66.7% atomic ratio and nearly 80% by weight) and the ease at which copper can be separated from sulfur. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digenite
Digenite is a copper sulfide mineral with formula: Cu9S5. Digenite is a black to dark blue opaque mineral that crystallizes with a trigonal - hexagonal scalenohedral structure. In habit it is usually massive, but does often show pseudo-cubic forms. It has poor to indistinct cleavage and a brittle fracture. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3 and a specific gravity of 5.6. It is found in copper sulfide deposits of both primary and supergene occurrences. It is typically associated with and often intergrown with chalcocite, covellite, djurleite, bornite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. The type locality is Sangerhausen, Thuringia, Germany, in copper slate deposits. Occurrence Digenite occurs in the transitional zone of supergene oxidation of primary sulfide ore deposits, at the interface between the upper and lower saprolite ore zones. It is rarely an important mineral for copper ores, as it is more usually replaced by chalcocite further up in the weathering profile, and is a minor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite ( ) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green-tinged black. On exposure to air, chalcopyrite tarnishes to a variety of oxides, hydroxides, and sulfates. Associated copper minerals include the sulfides bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), digenite (Cu9S5); carbonates such as malachite and azurite, and rarely oxides such as cuprite (Cu2O). Is rarely found in association with native copper. Chalcopyrite is a conductor of electricity. Etymology The name chalcopyrite comes from the Greek words , which means copper, and ', which means striking fire. It was sometimes historically referred to as "yellow copper". Identification Chalcopyrite is often confused with pyrite and gold since all three of these minerals have a yell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bornite
Bornite, also known as peacock ore, is a sulfide mineral with chemical composition Cu5 Fe S4 that crystallizes in the orthorhombic system (pseudo-cubic). Appearance Bornite has a brown to copper-red color on fresh surfaces that tarnishes to various iridescent shades of blue to purple in places. Its striking iridescence gives it the nickname ''peacock copper'' or ''peacock ore''. Mineralogy Bornite is an important copper ore mineral and occurs widely in porphyry copper deposits along with the more common chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite and bornite are both typically replaced by chalcocite and covellite in the supergene enrichment zone of copper deposits. Bornite is also found as disseminations in mafic igneous rocks, in contact metamorphic skarn deposits, in pegmatites and in sedimentary cupriferous shales. It is important as an ore for its copper content of about 63 percent by mass. Structure At temperatures above , the structure is isometric with a unit cell that is about 5.5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aggregate (geology)
In the Earth sciences, aggregate has three possible meanings. In mineralogy and petrology, an aggregate is a mass of mineral crystals, mineraloid particles or rock particles. Examples are dolomite, which is an aggregate of crystals of the mineral dolomite, and ''rock gypsum'', an aggregate of crystals of the mineral gypsum. Lapis lazuli is a type of rock composed of an aggregate of crystals of many minerals including lazurite, pyrite, phlogopite, calcite, potassium feldspar, wollastonite and some sodalite group minerals. In the construction industry, an aggregate (often referred to as a construction aggregate) is sand, gravel or crushed rock that has been mined or quarried for use as a building material. In pedology, an aggregate is a mass of soil particles. If the aggregate has formed naturally, it can be called a ped; if formed artificially, it can be called a clod. Construction aggregate examples * basalt * dolomite * granite * gravel * limestoneSame Day Agg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann–Mauguin Notation
In geometry, Hermann–Mauguin notation is used to represent the symmetry elements in point groups, plane groups and space groups. It is named after the German crystallographer Carl Hermann (who introduced it in 1928) and the French mineralogist Charles-Victor Mauguin (who modified it in 1931). This notation is sometimes called international notation, because it was adopted as standard by the ''International Tables For Crystallography'' since their first edition in 1935. The Hermann–Mauguin notation, compared with the Schoenflies notation, is preferred in crystallography because it can easily be used to include translational symmetry elements, and it specifies the directions of the symmetry axes. Point groups Rotation axes are denoted by a number ''n'' — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... (angle of rotation ''φ'' = ). For improper rotations, Hermann–Mauguin symbols show rotoinversion axes, unlike Schoenflies and Shubnikov notations, that shows rotation-reflection axes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cubic Crystal System
In crystallography, the cubic (or isometric) crystal system is a crystal system where the Crystal_structure#Unit_cell, unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals. There are three main varieties of these crystals: *Primitive cubic (abbreviated ''cP'' and alternatively called simple cubic) *Body-centered cubic (abbreviated ''cI'' or bcc) *Face-centered cubic (abbreviated ''cF'' or fcc, and alternatively called Close-packing_of_equal_spheres, ''cubic close-packed'' or ccp) Each is subdivided into other variants listed below. Although the ''unit cells'' in these crystals are conventionally taken to be cubes, the primitive_cell, primitive unit cells often are not. Bravais lattices The three Bravais lattices in the cubic crystal system are: The primitive cubic lattice (cP) consists of one Lattice_(group), lattice point on each corner of the cube; this means each simple cubic unit cell has in total one latt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
X-ray Diffraction
X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles and intensities of these diffracted beams, a crystallographer can produce a three-dimensional picture of the density of electrons within the crystal. From this electron density, the mean positions of the atoms in the crystal can be determined, as well as their chemical bonds, their crystallographic disorder, and various other information. Since many materials can form crystals—such as salts, metals, minerals, semiconductors, as well as various inorganic, organic, and biological molecules—X-ray crystallography has been fundamental in the development of many scientific fields. In its first decades of use, this method determined the size of atoms, the lengths and types of chemical bonds, and the atomic-scale differences among various mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulfide Mineral
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide (S22−) as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the arsenides, the antimonides, the bismuthinides, the sulfarsenides and the sulfosalts.http://www.minerals.net/mineral/sort-met.hod/group/sulfgrp.htm Minerals.net Dana Classification, SulfidesKlein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1986, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', Wiley, 20th ed., pp 269-293 Sulfide minerals are inorganic compounds. Minerals Common or important examples include: * Acanthite *Chalcocite *Bornite * Galena * Sphalerite *Chalcopyrite *Pyrrhotite *Millerite *Pentlandite *Covellite *Cinnabar *Realgar *Orpiment *Stibnite *Pyrite *Marcasite *Molybdenite Sulfarsenides: *Cobaltite *Arsenopyrite *Gersdorffite Sulfosalts: *Pyrargyrite *Proustite *Tetrahedrite *Tennantite *Enargite *Bournonite * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
