Volume 38 (2007): Issue 2 (January 2007)

Radiation induced defects (RID-s) and transition metal ion impurities were revealed by EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) spectroscopy in kaolinites from a number of Polish deposits. Arelationship between the intensity of the EPR signals of the RID-s and quantity of radioactive elements was defined in these minerals. In one of the deposits of kaolinites (Wyszonowice) the EPR signal intensity depends on grain size. Other clay minerals studied (illites, montmorillonites) only show weak signals of the RID type.

Atoll garnets in aposkarn serpentinite from the Wiluy River, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia, have the classic form comprising a garnet core, an intermediate zone filled with chlorite-group minerals and an outer garnet atoll. The core of an illustrated example is complexly zoned from schorlomite to grossular-andradite. Morphologically, the core is a rhombic dodecahedral crystal. The atoll crystallized as a tetragon-trisoctahedron with minor rhombic dodecahedron faces and is composed of hibschite and "hydroandradite". The atoll garnet formed as the result of selective dissolution and substitution by chlorite of an internal hibschite zone with columnar structure that became unstable under new conditions of crystallization. The pattern of dissolution traces defects in the garnet crystal. The growth of the atoll garnets reflects the main stages in the evolution of the Wiluy deposit itself and is associated with the development of the Siberian traps.

Optimization of the synthetic procedures described in literature aimed at preparing pure δ-Na₂Si₂O₅ has been carried out. The results show that a substantial shortening of the calcination time of amorphous silicate precursor is required, in order to minimize the appearance of the thermodynamically stable α-Na₂Si₂O₅. The use of commercial water glass solution rather than freshly synthesized silica/NaOH slurry is the preferred source of the starting amorphous silicate. Optimized preparative routes for synthesis of single-phase δ-Na₂Si₂O₅ and α-Na₂Si₂O₅ have been described.

Reaction of δ-Na₂Si₂O₅ and α-Na₂Si₂O₅ with water at ambient conditions has been studied. The first substrate produced kanemite, the other a crystalline solid, assumed to be the layered hydrated α phase of yet unknown structure. Important differences have been observed in the kinetics of δ-Na₂Si₂O₅ and α-Na₂Si₂O₅ reactions with water, the phase transformation of the latter being distinctly slower. The observed different rates of hydration were associated with the different structural properties of the disilicates investigated. Hydrated δ-Na₂Si₂O₅ and α-Na₂Si₂O₅ possess, respectively, the platy and the needle-like morphology. Hydrated α-Na₂Si₂O₅ contains less interlayer water, which is considered the reason for basal spacing being lower than that of kanemite. The interlayer water trapped between the layers of hydrated α-Na₂Si₂O₅ is more strongly bound than that in kanemite.

This report presents the results of a petrographical, mineralogical (SEM/EDS, XRD) and geochemical (XRF, CV-AAS, ICP-MS) study of gorceixite (barium aluminophosphate) from the abandoned Podwiśniówka mine pit. This site is highlighted by the presence of highly acidic pit pond whose chemistry is strongly affected by the exposed pyrite-bearing zone. The gorceixite occurs in the Upper Cambrian carbonaceous clayey shales, quartzites and tuffs in form of minute accumulations varying from about 0.5 to 100 μm in diameter. These accumulations infill voids, cavities, cracks and partly fissures in the rocks examined. The other minerals of the crandallite series, i.e. florencite and goyazite, can be found only in trace amounts. The gorceixite-bearing rocks, especially carbonaceous clayey shales, are characterized by the highest concentrations of REE reaching 455.09 mg·kg^-1. In addition, these rocks are distinctly enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE), with the La/Yb ratio ranging from 24.44 through 36.30. Some of the examined gorceixite accumulations are paragenetically linked to the veined pyrite and nacrite. The latter mineral is indicative of crystallization temperatures of about 200 to 300°C. The coexistence of gorceixite with the veined nacrite or pyrite mineralization and the volcaniclastic rocks, as well as the microtextural features and high concentrations of REE in the gorceixite-bearing parent rocks suggest that this mineral formed as a result of both hydrothermal and volcanic activity in a shallow-marine basin during the late Cambrian.

The authors studied the poorly-known, uneconomic sulphide mineralization site in Sowia Dolina near Karpacz. Host rocks are hornfelses of the Velká Úpa schist series, which belongs to the Izera-Kowary Unit. Ore minerals assemblage includes: pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena and marcasite, accompanied by ilmenite and rutile. The oldest sulphide is high-temperature pyrrhotite crystallized at about 600°C, which is in good agreement with the temperature range of contact metamorphic conditions, revealed by muscovitesillimanite transformation. Low-temperature pyrrhotite and other sulphides formed at about 390°C (arsenopyrite geothermometer) down to 265°C (pyrrhotite geothermometer), whereas fluid inclusions studies of vein quartz demonstrated the temperature range 380-150°C. Mineralization in Sowia Dolina is similar to other ore hydrothermal deposits known from the proximal or distal contact zone of the Karkonosze granite.