Gortdrumite superficially resembles chalcocite but is more distinctly anisotropic, and is present in a vein containing ferroan dolomite and baryte which cuts dolomitized limestones from the Gortdrum Orebody of County Tipperary, Ireland. It has an empirical formula of approximately (Cu,Fe)6Hg2S5. A distinctive powder diffraction X-ray pattern has been obtained which indicates a probable orthorhombic crystal lattice with a 14.96, b 7.90, and c 24.1 Å. The reflectivity at 589 nm is 25.1 to 27.9% and the VHN10 hardness range 186 to 230.

Thebaite-(NH4), (NH4,K)3Al(C2O4)(PO3OH)2(H2O), is a new mineral species (IMA2020-072) from the Rowley mine, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. It occurs in an unusual bat-guano-related, post-mining assemblage of phases that include a variety of vanadates, phosphates, oxalates and chlorides, some containing NH4+. Other secondary minerals found in association with thebaite-(NH4) are antipinite, vanadinite and at least one other new mineral. Crystals of thebaite-(NH4) are colourless blades up to ~0.1 mm in length. The streak is white, lustre is vitreous, Mohs hardness is 1½–2, tenacity is brittle and fracture is splintery. There are two good cleavages in the [010] zone, probably {100} and {10$\bar{2}$}. The calculated density is 2.093 g⋅cm–3. Thebaite-(NH4) is optically biaxial (–) with α = 1.490(2), β = 1.534(2), γ = 1.570(2) (white light); 2V = 82.7(5)°; slight r > v dispersion; and orientation X = b, Y ^ c = 13° in obtuse β. Electron microprobe analysis gave the empirical formula [(NH4)2.12K0.69Na0.20]Σ3.01(Al0.84Fe3+0.11V3+0.04)Σ0.99(C2O4)[(P0.98Si0.02)O3OH]2(H2O), with the C, N and H contents constrained by the crystal structure. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of NH4 and C2O4. Thebaite-(NH4) is monoclinic, P21/c, with a = 11.156(9), b = 6.234(6), c = 18.651(16) Å, β = 102.928(15)°, V = 1264.2(19) Å3 and Z = 4. The structural unit in the crystal structure of thebaite-(NH4) (R1 = 0.0612 for 863 Io > 2σI reflections) is a double-strand chain of corner-sharing AlO6 octahedra and PO3OH tetrahedra decorated by additional PO3OH tetrahedra and C2O4 groups. The decorated chains connect to one another through bonds to NH4+ and K+ and through hydrogen bonds.

Chalcopyrite samples from Mt Isa, Australia have been experimentally shortened by up to 30% at temperatures up to 450°C at a constant confining pressure of 300 (400) MPa, and different strain rates in the range from 10-5 to 10-8 sec-1. After deformation, the X-ray pole figures show a maximum of (220/204) perpendicular to the compression axis for each of the samples, which has already been described for room temperature experiments by Lang (1968). The overlapping pseudocubic peaks of chalcopyrite can be separated into true tetragonal peaks by neutron diffraction texture analysis using a position sensitive detector combined with profile analysis (Will et al., 1989). The five investigated samples each show a combination of two or four main orientations of the crystallites, which represent neither a pseudocubic nor a tetragonal fibre texture.

Sulphide minerals and their analogues yield gases as a result of oxidation reactions. Even where sulphide minerals are in contact with mildly reducing groundwaters, S2- ions pass into solution and their dispersion patterns can be detected in soil as acid-released H2S. In more oxidising conditions, the metastable gases COS and CS2 are generated. Anomalous dispersion patterns of COS have been reported in soils above more than ten sulphide ore deposits, many of them concealed beneath transported exotic overburden. High concentrations of CS2 occur in the soils over several of the same deposits and uniquely reflect others. Anomalies of SO2 over sulphide deposits are confined to arid terrains. Certain anomalous dispersion patterns of arsenic and tellurium in soils are attributed to the generation and migration of unspecified gases from the oxidation of arsenide and telluride minerals.

Some samples of hollandite-type titanates from the Murun alkaline complex (Yakutia, Russia) contain appreciable amounts of Pb (up to 12.5 wt.% PbO). These titanates occur in a pegmatitic K-feldsparaegirine rock containing subordinate K-rich batisite, titanite, wadeite and other minerals. The Pb-bearing crystals coexist with hollandite-type phases devoid of detectable Pb and zoned from a Kdominant (priderite) core to a Ba-dominant (henrymeyerite) rim. Recalculation of the microprobe analyses on the stoichiometric basis indicates that most of the Fe occurs in this mineral in trivalent form, suggesting the existence of a solid solution between the Ba(Ti6Fe)O16, K2(Ti6Fe)O16 and Pb(Ti6Fe)O16 end-members. The maximum proportion of the latter end-member in the Murun titanates is ∽45 mol.%. The Ba-free compositions [Pb1.0–1.3(Ti,Fe)8O16] and intermediate members of the (Ba1–xPbx)(Ti6Fe)O16 series were synthesized at 1050 –1100ºC. The synthesis products comprise tetragonal hollandites of various stoichiometry intermixed with rutile, a pseudobrookite-type phase and (for the Ba-free compositions) minor macedonite. Electron microprobe analyses of the hollandites indicate that there is a continuous series of compositions between the two hexatitanate end-members, Ba(Ti6Fe)O16 and Pb(Ti6Fe)O16. The crystal structure of one intermediate member was refined by the Rietveld method in space group I4/m, and found to differ from the hollandite archetype (i.e. Pb-bearing Ba manganate) in that Pb is preferentially partitioned into the 2b tunnel site at (0,0,½), whereas Ba is partitioned into the larger 4e site at (0,0,∽0.8).

The crystal structure of mendeleevite-(Ce), (Cs,☐)6(☐,Cs)6(☐,K)6(REE,Ca,☐)6(Si70O175) (H2O,OH,F,D)35, a new mineral from the moraine of the Darai-Pioz glacier, the Alai mountain ridge. Tien-Shan mountains, northern Tajikistan, was solved by direct methods and refined to Ri = 4.15% based on 2274 observed [Fo > 4σ|F|] unique reflections measured with Mo-Kα. radiation on a Bruker PA diffractorneter equipped with a CCD detector. Mendeleevite-(Ce) is cubic, space group Pm3̄, a 21.9148(4) Å, V 10525(1) Å3, Z = 2, Dcalc = 3.066 g/cm3. The empirical formula (electron microprobe) is CS5.94K2.22[(Ce11.35La5.86Nd3.23Pr1.54Sm0.32Gd0.20)Σ22.50(Ca4.68Sr1.00)Σ5.68]Σ28.18 Si70.12O203.17H45.67F6.83, Z = 2, calculated on the basis of 210 (O + F) a.p.f.u., with H2O and OH calculated from structure refinement (OH + F = 17 p.f.u.; H2O = 17.75 p.f.u.).

The structural formula is (Cs4.65☐1.35)Σ6(☐4.71Cs1.29)Σ6(☐3.78K2.22)Σ6﹛[(Ce11.35La5.86Nd3.23 Pr1.54Sm0.32Gd0.20)Σ22.50(Ca4.68Sr1.00)Σ5.68]Σ28.18☐1.82﹜Σ30(Si70O175)[(OH)10.17F6.83]Σ17(H2O)17.75. Simplified and endmember formulae are as follows: (Cs,☐)6(☐,Cs)6(☐,K)6(REE,Ca,☐)30(Si70O175) (H2O,OH,F,☐)35 and Cs6(REE22Ca6)(Si70O175)(OH,F)14(H20)21. The crystal structure of mendeleevite-(Ce) is an intercalation of two independent Si—O radicals and an M framework of (REE,Ca) polyhedra. The Si—O radicals are an (Si140O260)104– framework and an (Si36O90)36– cluster which do not link directly. The M framework is located between the Si—O framework and the Si—O clusters. Interstitial cations occupy two types of cages and channels. Cages I and II are 78 and 22% occupied by Cs. Channels along [100↻] contain K atoms and H2O groups. Mendeleevite-(Ce) has no natural or synthetic structural analogues. Mendeleevite-(Ce) is a framework mineral with large cavities and it has the potential to be used as a model for the synthesis of microporous materials of industrial interest.

The compositional zonation of both undeformed and plastically deformed tourmaline crystals from an amphibolite-facies mylonitic pegmatite from the Sierras Pampeanas (NW Argentina) has been investigated using electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). Undeformed tourmaline shows optical and compositional major and minor element growth zonation with a Ca- and Mg-rich rim zone and an Fe- rich core zone. The tourmaline population of the mylonite consists of crystals which appear undeformed at microscopic scale, and of weakly, moderately, and strongly deformed crystals. Depending on the intensity of plastic deformation, the optical zonation is blurred or absent, and the compositional zonation is less pronounced or destroyed. Plastic deformation mobilizes small cations (Fe2+, Mg2+) more efficiently and at lower deformation intensity than larger cations (Na+, Ca2+). In addition to intra-crystal homogenization, plastic deformation caused variable but generally minor Fe, Mg, Si, Al, Ca, and Na exchange between deformed tourmaline domains and co-existing fluid or solid phases. Dislocation creep is interpreted as the dominant deformation mechanism leading to the homogenization of the initial tourmaline growth zonation. The composition and the degree of homogeneity of deformed tourmaline domains depend on the initial composition of the growth zones, their initial volume ratio, the intensity and homogeneity of plastic deformation, and the size of the mobilized cation. Consequently, the composition of and the element distribution within plastically deformed crystals is not entirely controlled by intensive variables (P-T-X), and therefore not suitable for petrogenetic interpretation.

The 100 Ma complex LCT-type composite pegmatite- aplite dykes, intruded into various units of the Southern California Batholith, are known to contain bismuth minerals. Jahns and Wright (1951) reported the following primary and secondary bismuth minerals from the quartz-rich cores of a number of dykes in the Pala district, San Diego Co., California: native bismuth, bismuthinite, bismite, bismutite, and beyerite.

Norilskite, (Pd,Ag)7Pb4 is a new platinum-group mineral discovered in the Mayak mine of the Talnakh deposit, Russia. It forms anhedral grains in aggregates (up to ∼400 μm) with polarite, zvyagintsevite, Pd-rich tetra-auricupride, Pd-Pt bearing auricupride,Ag-Au alloys, (Pb,As,Sb) bearing atokite, mayakite, Bi-Pb-rich kotulskite and sperrylite in pentlandite, cubanite and talnakhite. Norilskite is brittle, has a metallic lustre and a grey streak. Values of VHN20 fall between 296 and 342 kg mm–2, with a mean valueof 310 kg mm–2, corresponding to a Mohs hardness of ∼4. In plane-polarized light, norilskite is orange-brownish pink, has moderate to strong bireflectance, orange-pink to greyish-pink pleochroism, and strong anisotropy; it exhibits no internal reflections. Reflectancevalues of norilskite in air (Ro, Re' in %) are: 51.1, 48.8 at 470 nm, 56.8, 52.2 at 546 nm, 59.9, 53.5 at 589 nm and 64.7, 55.5 at 650 nm. Sixteen electronmicroprobe analyses of natural norilskite gave an average composition: Pd 44.33, Ag 2.68, Bi 0.33 and Pb 52.34, total99.68 wt.%, corresponding to the empirical formula (Pd6.56Ag0.39)∑6.95(Pb3.97Bi0.03)∑4.00 based on 4 Pb + Bi atoms; the average of eight analyses on synthetic norilskite is: Pd 42.95, Ag 3.87 and Pb 53.51, total 100.33wt.%, corresponding to (Pd6.25Ag0.56)∑6.81Pb4.00. The mineral is trigonal, space group P3121, with a = 8.9656(4), c = 17.2801(8) Å, V = 1202.92(9) Å3 and Z = 6. The crystalstructure was solved and refined from the powder X-ray diffraction data of synthetic (Pd,Ag)7Pb4. Norilskite crystallizes in the Ni13Ga3Ge6 structure type, related to nickeline. The strongest lines in the powder X-ray diffraction patternof synthetic norilskite [d in Å (I) (hkl)] are: 3.2201(29)(023,203), 2.3130(91)(026,206), 2.2414(100)(220), 1.6098(28)(046,406), 1.3076(38)(246,462), 1.2942(18)(600), 1.2115(37)(22.12,12.13), 0.9626(44) (06.12,60.12). The mineral is named for the locality, the Noril'sk district in Russia.

Russellite Bi2O3. WO3 occurs in a small pegmatite near Poona, Western Australia. The fine-grained yellow to pale green material is an inseparable mixture of russellite, bismite, koechlinite, and bismutite. X-ray powder diffraction, physical, and chemical data agree in general with the original description of the mineral from Cornwall, England. The original analyses made on micro quantities are now supplemented by analyses on macro quantities.

The granites of Sardinia have been analysed for copper, lead, and zinc, and each element has been found to show a regional variation. There is a close relationship between the copper and lead contents of the granites and the distribution of copper and lead mineralization in the island, but very little relation between the zinc contents of the granites and the distribution of zinc mineralization. This is attributed to a greater degree of lithophile character of zinc in the magmatic source region.

Natrotitanite, ideally (Na0.5Y0.5)Ti(SiO4)O, is a new mineral from the Verkhnee Espe rare-element deposit at the northern exo-contact of the Akjailyautas granite massif in the northern part of the Tarbagatai mountain range, Eastern Kazakhstan. Both the mineral and the name have been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA 2010-033). Star-shaped aggregates of small short prisms of yellow or yellowish white (Na,Y,REE)-bearing titanite rimmed by thin (∼2 μm) rims of natrotitanite are embedded in yttrium-bearing fluorite and replace narsarsukite. Associated minerals are microcline, albite, quartz, riebeckite, aegirine, biotite, astrophyllite, rutile, zircon and elpidite. Natrotitanite is milky white to yellowish grey, transparent to translucent, and has a white streak and a vitreous lustre. It shows pale orange cathodoluminescence but does not fluoresce under ultraviolet light. It shows no cleavage or parting, and is brittle; the calculated density is 3.833 g cm–3. The indices of refraction, measured with the Bloss spindle stage for the wavelength 590 nm using a gel filter, are α = 1.904, γ = 2.030, and these values are in accord with the mean refractive index, 1.988, calculated from the Gladstone-Dale relation. Natrotitanite is monoclinic, C2/c, a = 6.5691(2), b = 8.6869(3), c = 7.0924(2) Å, β = 114.1269(4)°, V = 369.4(2) Å3, Z = 4, a:b:c = 0.7562:1: 0.8164. The seven strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern [in the order d (Å), I, (hkl)] are as follows: 2.597, 10, (130); 3.248, 8, (11); 2.994, 6, (200); 1.641, 4, (330); 4.941, 3, (110); 1.498, 3, (400); 2.273, 3, (11). Chemical analysis by electron microprobe gave Nb2O5 1.28, SiO2 27.83, TiO2 35.00, SnO2 0.57, V2O3 0.36, Fe2O3 0.23, Y2O3 7.87, Ce2O3 0.83, Sm2O3 0.26, Gd2O3 0.46, Tb2O3 0.17, Dy2O3 2.45, Ho2O3 0.16, Er2O3 2.24, Tm2O3 0.50, Yb2O3 2.53, Nd2O3 0.35, Lu2O3 0.28, MnO 0.33, CaO 8.16, Na2O 5.55, F 1.52 O ≡ F –0.64, sum 98.71 wt.%. The resulting empirical formula is (Na0.39Ca0.32Y0.15Dy0.03Yb0.03Er0.03Ce0.01Ho0.01Tm0.01Gd0.01Nd0.01)Σ1.00(Ti0.95Nb0.02Sn0.01Fe3+0.01Mn0.01V0.01)Σ1.01Si1.01O4.00(O0.83F0.17), calculated on the basis of 3 cations per formula unit. The general formula is written as (Na,Ca,Y,REE)TiSiO4(O,F), and the endmember formula is (Na0.5Y0.5)Ti(SiO4)O.

The crystal structure of a composite optically continuous crystal of natrotitanite and (Na, Y)-bearing titanite was mounted on a Bruker D8 three-circle diffractometer equipped with a rotating anode generator (MoKα radiation), a multi-layer optics incident-beam path and an APEX-II CCD detector. The crystal structure was refined in space group C2/c to a final R1 index of 1.8%. Natrotitanite is isostructural with titanite, (Na + Y + REE) replacing Ca at the Ca site in the titanite structure.

The new mineral centennialite (IMA 2013-110), CaCu3(OH)6Cl2·nH2O, was identified from three cotype specimens originating from the Centennial Mine, Houghton County, Michigan, USA, where it occurs as a secondary product, after acid water action upon supergene Cu mineralization in association with, and essentially indivisible from, other copper-containing minerals such as calumetite and atacamite family minerals. It forms as pale to azure blue encrustations, often taking a botryoidal form. Centennialite is trigonal, , a = 6.6606(9) Å, c = 5.8004(8) Å, V= 222.85(6) Å3, Z= 1. The strongest powder X-ray diffraction lines are dobs/Å [I%] (hkl), 5.799 [100] (001), 2.583 [75] (201), 2.886 [51] (111), 1.665 [20] (220), 1.605 [17] (023), 1.600 [15] (221), 1.444 [11] (222). The X-ray refined structure forms a kagome net of planar coordinated CuO4 units with Jahn-Teller coordinated Cl apices to form octahedra that edge-share to in-plane adjacent and flattened CaO6 octahedra, which are centred about the lattice origin. All oxygen sites are protonated and shared between one Ca-octahedron and one CuO4 planar unit. Three protonated sites are linked, by hydrogen-bonding to Cl sites, which sit on the triad axis. Each lattice has one Cl above and one below the Ca-Cu polyhedral plane. Consequently, the layers are stacked, along ⟨001⟩, with two Cl sites between layers. In addition to this kapellasite-like topology, an extra c/2 site is identified as being variably water-hosting and extends the coordination of the Ca-site to 8-fold, akin to the body-diagonal Pb-Cu sheet in murdochite. Centennialite conforms to the description of the ‘Unidentified Cu-Ca-Cl Mineral’ noted in Heinrich's Mineralogy of Michigan and is almost certainly identical to the supposed hexagonal basic calcium-copper hydroxychloride monohydrate of Erdös et al. (1981). We comment upon relationships between calumetite and centennialite and propose a substructure model for a synthetic calumetite-like phase that is related directly to centennialite.

The degree of transport and retention of 14CH4 in soil is being investigated in a series of laboratory experiments in preparation for field scale trials at the University of Nottingham. The experimental programme focusses on the behaviour and fate of 14CH4 injected into subsoil and its subsequent incorporation into vegetation under field conditions. Due to restrictions on the use of radioactive tracers in the field, 13CH4 is being used as a surrogate gas which can be handled conveniently in the laboratory and field and which can be measured with high precision using gas chromatography with isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The laboratory data indicate significant differences between the diffusion and oxidation rates of 13CH4 in re-packed and undisturbed soil columns, with both rates appearing to be significantly lower in undisturbed soils. Data from both laboratory and field experiments will be used to inform the development of a model of 14CH4 migration and its fate in the biosphere above a geological disposal facility.

Sixteen samples of crocidolite asbestos from weathered zones in mines in Cape Province, Transvaal, Western Australia, and Bolivia have been studied by thermal analysis methods and their characteristics are compared with those of fresh crocidolite from Koegas-Westerberg given by Hodgson, Freeman, and Taylor (1965). New chemical analyses of these samples are reported.

The effect of natural weathering on crocidolite tends to a removal of ¼ of the OH groups and an adjustment of the Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio to unity, but there are only minor changes in the physical characteristics of the fibre. The d.t.a. pattern of decomposition is not affected by weathering, but the endothermic peak corresponding to final decomposition is moved to higher temperatures as the Mg content of crocidolite increases. Mg-blocking of this decomposition is considered to be more important than Mg-blocking of the oxidation reaction at 400–450° C, suggested by Addison et al. (1962).

D.t.a. and other evidence shows that the Transvaal crocidolite contains intergrown amosite fibres, and suggests that the Bolivian crocidolite is admixed with anthophyllite.