Minerals species

Beryllium is found in some 30 mineral species, the most important of which are bertrandite, beryl, chrysoberyl, and phenacite. Aquamarine and emerald are precious forms of beryl. Beryl and bertrandite are the most important commercial sources of the element and its compounds. Most of the metal is now prepared by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal. Beryllium metal did not become readily available to industry until 1957. 

Scandium is apparently much more abundant (the 23rd most) in the sun and certain stars than on earth (the 50th most abundant). It is widely distributed on earth, occurring in very minute quantities in over 800 mineral species. The blue color of beryl (aquamarine variety) is said to be due to scandium. It occurs as a principal component in the rare mineral thortveihte, found in Scandinavia and Malagasy. It is also found in the residues remaining after the extrachon of tungsten from Zinnwald wolframite, and in wiikite and bazzite. 

It is not abundant, but is found in over 100 mineral species. It is sometimes found native, but more frequently as the sulfide stibnite. 

Rhenium does not occur free in nature or as a compound in a distinct mineral species. It is, however, widely spread throughout the earth s crust to the extent of about 0.001 ppm. Commercial rhenium in the U.S. today is obtained from molybdenum roaster-flue dusts obtained from copper-sulfide ores mined in the vicinity of Miami, Arizona, and elsewhere in Arizona and Utah. 

M. Fleisher, Glossay of Mineral Species, Mineralogical Record Publishing Co., Tucson, Ariz., 1991. 

Deposits. Selenium forms natural compounds with 16 other elements. It is a main constituent of 39 mineral species and a minor component of 37 others, chiefly sulfides. The minerals are finely disseminated and do not form a selenium ore. Because there are no deposits that can be worked for selenium recovery alone, there are no mine reserves. Nevertheless, the 1995 world reserves, chiefly in nonferrous metals sulfide deposits, are ca 70,000 metric tons and total resources are ca 130,000 t (24). The principal resources of the world are in the base metal sulfide deposits that are mined primarily for copper, zinc, nickel, and silver, and to a lesser extent, lead and mercury, where selenium recovery is secondary. 

Mineral species Other designations Main producers Wodd production, 1988, %... 

The comprehensive studies of rare-metal - rare-earth minerals of carbonatit associations were carried out. Some rarest mineral species were investigated. Two minerals were attested by the Commission on new minerals of International Mineralogical Association as new. 

Asbestos It is not the name of a distinct mineral species but is a commercial term applied to fibrous varieties of several silicate minerals such as amosite and crocido-lite. These extremely fine fibers are useful as fillers and/or reinforcements in plastics. Property performances include withstanding wear and high temperatures, chemical resistance, and strengths with high modulus of elasticity. When not properly handled or used, like other fibrous materials, they can be hazardous. 

The tendency to form boiler waterside deposits is partly dependent on factors such as the solubility of the particular mineral species and the strength of physical adherence involved. As a general rule, the rate of deposition tends to increase with higher levels of BW dissolved solids. Also, the rate of deposition increases with increase in heat-flux density and with the inadequate dosage, inappropriate feeding, or otherwise usage of antisealants and other deposit control agents (DCAs). 

Clays or shales have the ability to absorb water, thus causing the instability of wells either because of the swelling of some mineral species or because the supporting pressure is suppressed by modification of the pore pressure. The response of a shale to a water-based fluid depends on its initial water activity and on the composition of the fluid. The behavior of shales can be classified into either deformation mechanisms or transport mechanisms [1765]. Optimization of mud salinity, density, and filter-cake properties is important in achieving optimal shale stability and drilling efficiency with water-based mud. 

The colour is the most obvious and conspicuous external property of a large number of minerals. Minerals are distinguished by an extraordinary variety of colours and shades of varying richness and intensity. Some mineral species are characterised by a constant colour, which enables one to detect them almost unerroneously. Just as an example, mention may be made of a sulphidic mineral of copper, bomite (Cu5FeS4). The best identifying feature of this mineral is its purplish-blue tarnish over a bronze colour ( peacock ore). 

Fleischer, M. Glossary of Mineral Species 1980 Mineralogical Record Tucson, AZ, 1980. 

Mineral gemstones that have the same basic chemical composition, that is, are composed of the same major elements and differ only in color, are considered as variations of the same mineral species. As gemstones, however, minerals that have the same composition and crystalline structure but exhibit different colors are classified as different gemstones. Beryl, for example, a mineral (composed of beryllium aluminum silicate), includes a pink variety, known by the gemstone name of morganite, and also a well-known green variety, emerald. Table 18 lists and classifies, by composition and color, gemstones that have been appreciated since antiquity. 

Broadly speaking the classification of meteorites follows the geological mineral classification and with 275 mineral species reported so far this quickly becomes complex some classes of meteorite have only one member. The mineral structure does convey essential information about the temperature at which the meteorite formed as well as the reduction-oxidation (redox) environment was the environment in which it formed rich in oxygen Meteorites have been classified into three broad classes ... 

Arsenic is a major constituent of at least 245 mineral species, of which arsenopyrite is the most common (NAS 1977). In general, background concentrations of arsenic are 0.2 to 15 mg/kg in the lithosphere, 0.005 to 0.1 pg/m3 in air, <10 pg/L in water, and <15 mg/kg in soil (NRCC 1978 ATSDR 1992). The commercial use and production of arsenic compounds have raised local concentrations in the environment far above the natural background concentrations (Table 28.1). 

Many chemical processes of undoubted antiquity, such as dyeing, soapmaking, and various metallurgical skills, must have required the ability to identify the correct raw materials or ingredients, and thus represent the application of an early form of analytical chemistry. It is likely, however, that this took the form of experience rather than direct analysis, in much the same way as a skilled mineralogist can identify hundreds of mineral species by eye, using indicators such as color, shape, mode of occurrence, and mineral associations, without resorting directly to chemical or structural analytical procedures. The earliest analytical test that we know of is that used to... 

Computer software packages assist in matching the unknown diffraction patterns with a stored database. Problems arise if the sample contains more than one mineral species, since the pattern for each species gives rise to a complex overlapping pattern that cannot be easily interpreted. If one species can be easily identihed and its reflections subtracted from the pattern, it may then be possible to identify a second species. Three species becomes even more complicated. In such circumstances it is advisable if possible to physically sort ( pick ) the sample into different minerals under the microscope before... 

Table II shows representative Auger parameters for several silicon and aluminum species. Both mineral and non-mineral species are shown to give some idea of the range of values. For these calculations, the fused silicon and aluminum 2P3/2 1/2 photoelectron lines are used in conjunction with the KLL Auger lines.

There are over 3,500 recognized mineral species and countless mineral varieties that have been classified as crystalline phases using the conventional methods listed above. Guidelines for naming minerals have been published by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (CNMMN) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). 

Antimony - the atomic number is 51 and the chemical symbol is Sb. The name derives from the Greek, anti + monos for not alone or not one because it was found in many compounds. The chemical symbol, Sb, comes from the original name, stibium, which is derived from the Greek stibi for mark , since it was used for blackening eyebrows and eyelashes. The name was changed from stibium to antimonium to antimony. The minerals stibnite (Sb2S3) and stibine (SbHj) are two of more than one hundred mineral species, which were known in the ancient world. 

Harvey et al. [43] reported the synthesis of alkali beryUophosphate molecular sieves with the RHO, GIS, EDI and ANA shucture topologies and a novel structure, BPH. Simultaneously, the first beryUophosphate mineral species were reported hptopite [with the cancrinite (CAN) topology] by Peacor et al. [50] and pahasapaite (with the RHO topology) by Rouse et al. [51]. 

Petersen, O.V., Giester, G., Brandstatter, F., and Niedermayr, G. (2002) Nabesite, Na2BeSi4O10-4H2O, a new mineral species from the lllmaussaq alkaline complex. South Greenland. Can. 

Till Geochemical Results Ni-Cu ores in the TNB are dominated by pentlandite, pyrrhotite, pyrite and millerite (Burnham et al. 2003 Layton-Matthews et al. 2007) and thus local metal-rich till is Ni-rich (up to 3760 ppm). Till samples that contain the highest Ni contents also contain up to 50,000 pentlandite grains/10 kg in the 0.25-0.5 mm fraction. Till with elevated Cu values (215 ppm) at the Thompson and Pipe mines contain up to 2500 chalcopyrite grains/10 kg. TNB ore also contains Te, As, Sb, Co, Cd, Se and Bi-bearing mineral species, which are likely the source of elevated... 

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