Kainite, KMg(SO4)Cl⋅2.75H2O, is one of the most common hydrated sulfate minerals, and it plays an important role as a source of potassium. However, its properties and structure have, to date, been insufficiently studied. In our present work, kainite was investigated using multiple techniques, including single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The mineral is monoclinic, C2/m, a = 19.6742(2), b = 16.18240(10), c = 9.49140(10) Å, β = 94.8840(10)°, V = 3010.86(5) Å3 and Z = 16. The structure was refined to R1 = 0.0230 for 3080 unique observed reflections with |Fo| ≥ 4σF. The complex hydrogen bonding system for kainite is described for the first time. The structure of kainite contains seven symmetrically independent sites occupied by water molecules, six of which are strongly bonded to Mg2+ cations while the seventh resides in the framework cavities. The acceptors of the hydrogen bonds are either chloride anions, neighbouring water molecules or oxygens atoms of sulfate groups. A bifurcated hydrogen bond was described for one of the water molecules. Based on the analysis of the crystal structure, we have confirmed and propose the correct formula for kainite as KMg(SO4)Cl⋅2.75H2O. The thermal studies of kainite in the temperature range of –150°C to +600°C indicate its stability to 190°C. The decomposition products are K2Mg2(SO4)3, KCl and K2SO4. The thermal expansion was calculated, which for kainite has a character typical for monoclinic crystals and similar to the compressibility tensor described earlier.

Backscattered electron imaging of cordierite-muscovite intergrowths near the margin of a schist xenolith in trachytic tephra of the Wehr Volcano, East Eifel area, Germany, show that they have undergone disequilibrium melting to form spinel + biotite + sillimanite/?mullite + peraluminous melt. Textures indicate that in the initial stage of reaction, spinel, biotite and sillimanite/?mullite formed with melt produced in cordierite and spinel + ?mullite with melt after muscovite, providing evidence of two different reaction pathways. Fe-Mg distributions between biotite/spinel, cordierite/spinel, cordierite/ biotite suggest a melting temperature of ∼770°C, implying overstepping of various calculated and experimentally determined mineral breakdown curves of between 30 and 170°C during short-term heating before the xenolith was quenched on eruption.

Coiraite, ideally (Pb,Sn2+)12.5As3Fe2+Sn4+S28, occurs as an economically important tin ore in the large Ag-Sn-Zn polymetallic Pirquitas deposit, Jujuy Province, NW-Argentina. The new mineral species is the As derivative of franckeite and belongs to the cylindrite group of complex Pb sulphosalts with incommensurate composite-layered structures. It is a primary mineral, frequently found in colloform textures, and formed from hydrothermal solutions at low temperature. Associated minerals are franckeite, cylindrite, pyrite-marcasite, as well as minor amounts of hocartite, Ag-rich rhodostannite. arsenopyrite and galena. Laminae of coiraite consist of extremely thin bent platy crystals up to 50 urn long. Electron microprobe analysis (n = 31) gave an empirical formula Pb11.21As2.99Ag0.13Fe1.10Sn6.13S28.0 close to the ideal formula (Pb11.3Sn2+1.2)Σ=12.5As3Fe2+Sn4+S28. Coiraite has two monoclinic sub-cells, Q (pseudotetragonal) and H (pseudohexagonal). Q: a 5.84(1) Å, b 5.86(1) Å, c 17.32(1) Å, β 94.14(1)°, F 590.05(3) Å3, Z = 4, a:b:c = 0.997:1:2.955; H (orthogonal setting): a 6.28(1) Å, b 3.66(1) Å, c 17.33(1) Å, β 91.46(1)°, V398.01(6) Å3, Z = 2, a∶b∶c = 1.716∶1∶4.735. The strongest Debye-Scherrer camera X-ray powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I), (hkl)] are: 5.78, (20), (Q and H 003); 4.34, (40), (Q 004); 3.46, (30), (Q and H 005); 3.339, (20), (Q 104); 2.876, (100), (Q and H 006); 2.068, (60), (Q 220).

This new ilmenite-like mineral, containing lead and manganese, was found in rounded fragments and rough crystals in the diamond bearing sands of Diamantina, Minas Geraes, Brazil (at Dattas, Rio Cipó, &c.).

In April 1909 a paper on artificial reproduction of meteoric structure in alloys of iron aud carbon was read by the author before the Russian Mineralogical Society. In that paper special reference was made to the work of Sorby, who, to cite his own words, for ‘more than twenty years … commenced to carefully study the microscopical structure of iron and steel in order, if possible, to throw light on the origin of meteoric iron’. A brief survey of the work of Stodart and Faraday, of Osmond, Rinne, and Berwerth was also given and, subsequently, the structure of a carbon-steel containing 0.55 % carbon with perfectly developed Widmanstätten figures was described.

Attention is drawn to anomalies in the nomenclature of the niobatetantalates, and the fergusonite series as used by Dana is renamed the fergusonite-formanite series. Chemical variations in this series are discussed with particular reference to H2O, Ca, Ti, Yt, individual lanthanons, Th, and U. Members of the series usually show heavy lanthanons exceeding light lanthanons but one specimen shows high Gd+Tb+Dy.

Fuel-oil contamination of groundwater and waterways is common throughout the world. The fuel components methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-, p- and m-xylenes (BTEX) compounds are most likely to reach a borehole after a contamination event, and also those that pose the greatest risk.

Various gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) methods are available for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) but many of these are not suitable for rapid and combined analysis of MTBE and BTEX. Here we describe and validate a simple and reliable method that fulfils these requirements. The method is quick: 48 samples can be analysed in a 24 hour period using the Precept II® autosampler and therefore is suitable for high throughput work. Validation of our experiments is presented in the form of linearity, precision and intra-day repeatability of standards as well as limits of detection and limits of quantification for the range 1—20 μg/l.

This MTBE/BTEX analytical method developed was used to study the optimization of a modular post-abstraction remediation system incorporating air-stripping and granular activated carbon (GAC) technologies (Hall, 2004), from which a selection of sample data is presented.

The new mineral campostriniite, (Bi3+,Na)3(NH4,K)2Na2(SO4)6·H2O, was found in an active fumarole (fumarole FA, temperature ∼350°C) at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano, Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Italy. It occurs on a pyroclastic breccia as white prismatic crystals up to 0.2 mm long, in association with adranosite, demicheleite-(Br), demicheleite-(I), argesite and sassolite. The mineral is monoclinic, space group: C2/c (no. 15) with a = 17.748(3), b = 6.982(1) c = 18.221(3) Å, β = 113.97(1)°, V = 2063(1) Å3 and Z = 4. The six strongest reflections in the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are: [dobs in Å (I)(hkl)] 6.396(100)(110), 7.507(75)(202), 2.766(60)(316), 3.380(57)(312), 5.677(55)(111), 3.166(50)(4 0 2). The empirical formula (based on 25 anions p.f.u.) is Bi2.41N1.52Na2.41K0.48 S6.07H8.08O25. The calculated density is 3.87 g cm–3. Using single-crystal diffraction data, the structure was refined to a final R(F) = 0.051 for 3025 independent observed reflections [I > 2σ(I)]. Campostriniite is isostructural with görgeyite and belongs to the 7.CD group of the Strunz classification system. The structure contains two independent nine-fold coordinated sites, one of them located on a two-fold axis (M1) and the other one in general position (M2) essentially occupied by Bi3+ atoms and minor amounts of Na+ ions, an eight-fold coordinated site fully occupied by Na +ions and another eight-fold coordinated site occupied by NH+4 and K+ ions; three independent sulfate anions in a general position and a water molecule coordinated to M1 and located on a two-fold axis are also present.

The design of a novel MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) sensor-based monitoring system is presented in this article for the in situ monitoring of the conditions (temperature, relative humidity) of an engineered bentonite barrier for the underground disposal of radioactive waste in a geological disposal facility (GDF). A first prototype of the monitoring system incorporating multiple state-of-the-art MEMS sensors has been developed on a PCB-based (Printed Circuit Board) structure, in order to measure the variation of temperature and relative humidity inside a cylindrical bentonite block during the hydration process. The monitoring system comprises separate sensor boards, the microcontroller-equipped interface board and the software user interface in the Labview environment. One of the main design priorities is to reduce the size of the embedded sensors in order to minimize their influence on the hydro-mechanical response of the bentonite block. The sensor boards are encapsulated in different manners to protect them from moisture, chemical corrosion and mechanical shocks. The sensor system has been tested and calibrated in the temperature range between –20°C and 120°C, and at different relative humidity levels implemented by saturated salt solutions in enclosed containers. Test results demonstrate that the sensors have shown good functionality and robustness in harsh test environments such as high temperature and high humidity. Both temperature and relative humidity sensors have shown satisfactory precision level and temporal stability, which are in good accordance with the design specification of these devices.

Quartz is the commonest of minerals and reference to any dictionary will show that it is crystalline silica, but how or when this substance acquired the name quartz seems to be a still unsolved mystery.

Theophrastus, the pupil and successor of Aristotle, in his book on stones (19), mentions among other stones used for engraving seals, a stone called crystal This name, apparently, is derived from cold, and contract. It would seem from this that the ancient Greeks, as implied by Pliny, believed crystal (modern quartz) to be a variety of supercooled ice. In point of fact the formation of crystal in nature is explained by the earliest writers in a different way. Diodorus Siculus (circa 30 B.C.) suggests that crystal was formed from water hardened by heavenly fire, while Pliny the Elder (circa A.D. 60) says that crystal is ‘a substance which assumes a concrete form from excessive congelation’, and goes on to explain that crystal is only to be found ‘in places where the winter snow freezes with the greatest intensity’ (15, Book 37, 2, 9). Pliny's description of crystal, however, leaves no doubt that he applied this name to the crystalline variety of silica which is now called quartz.

Debattistiite, ideally Ag9Hg0.5As6S12Te2, is a new mineral (IMA-CNMNC 2011-098) from the Lengenbach quarry in the Binn Valley, Valais, Switzerland. It occurs as very rare tabular euhedral crystals up to 150 μm across in cavities in dolomitic marble, associated with realgar, rutile, trechmannite and hutchinsonite. Debattistiite is opaque with a metallic lustre and a grey streak. It is brittle; the Vickers hardness (VHN25) is 80 kg mm–2 (range: 65–94), corresponding to a Mohs hardness of 2–2½. In reflected light debattistiite is dark grey, highly bireflectant and weakly pleochroic from dark grey to a slightly greenish grey. Between crossed polars it is highly anisotropic with brownish to blue rotation tints. Internal reflections are absent. Reflectance percentages for the four COM wavelengths (Rmin and Rmax) are 27.2, 34.5 (471.1 nm), 25.5, 31.0 (548.3 nm), 22.9, 28.4 (586.6 nm), and 20.1, 25.2 (652.3 nm), respectively.

Debattistiite is triclinic, space group P1, with a = 7.832(5), b = 8.606(4), c = 10.755(5) Å, α = 95.563(9), β = 95.880(5), γ = 116.79(4)°, V = 635.3(6) Å3 and Z = 1. The crystal structure [R1 = 0.0826 for 795 reflections with I > 2σ(I)] consists of corner-sharing AsS3 pyramids forming three-membered distorted rings linked by Ag atoms in triangular or tetrahedral coordination.

The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å (I/I0) (hkl)] are as follows: 10.56 (6) (001); 3.301 (5) (12); 2.991 (4) (22); 2.742 (1) and 2.733 (10) (30). A mean of nine electron microprobe analyses gave: Ag 44.88, Hg 4.49, As 20.77, S 17.72, Te 11.82; total 99.68 wt.%, which corresponds to Ag9.02Hg0.49As6.012S11.98Te2.01, on the basis of 29.5 atoms. The new mineral is named for Luca De Battisti, a systematic mineralogist and expert on the minerals of Lengenbach quarry.

A zeolite found in a soil profile developed in Danian chalk was studied. The results showed that it is a heulandite, temperature-stable to above 600°C with a Si/Al ratio of 2.88 and almost completely K-exchanged. The mineral probably formed under burial diagenetic conditions in the chalk formation.

Pinnoite, first described by Staute in 1884, is straw-yellow, granular to faintly fibrous. It occurs in the upper kainite layers at Stassfurt, and is found associated with earthy boracite from which it is freed by washing with water. The analysis corresponds to the formula MgO.B2O3.3H2O, and Staute assumes the mineral to be an alteration product of boracite, 6MgO.MgCl2.8B2O3. Groth classes pinnoite together with CaO.B2O3 as a hydrated metaborate. This assumption does not seem justified, as will be pointed out later.

Philipsburgite has been redefined as the intermediate member of the goldhillite–philipsburgite–kipushite isomorphous series with the ideal formula Cu5Zn[(AsO4)(PO4)](OH)6⋅H2O due to the site-selective As–P substitution. The new mineral goldhillite, ideally Cu5Zn(AsO4)2(OH)6⋅H2O [or Cu5Zn(AsO4)(AsO4)(OH)6⋅H2O], is the arsenate end-member of this series. Goldhillite occurs on fracture surfaces in a rock comprised mostly of quartz with iron hydroxides in association with mixite, cornwallite and conichalcite. Goldhillite forms transparent, bright emerald-green, tabular crystals with vitreous lustre, flattened on {100}, up to 1 mm across and in rosettes up to 1.5 mm. The mineral is brittle with uneven fracture and perfect cleavage on {100}; the Mohs hardness is 3.5. The calculated density for the holotype is 4.199 g cm–3. The Raman spectrum is consistent with the presence of H2O-molecules, OH-groups, AsO4 tetrahedra and traces of PO4. Electron microprobe analyses of goldhillite (H2O content based on the crystal structure) provided: CuO 48.91, ZnO 13.18, As2O5 26.06, P2O5 3.25, H2O 8.97, total 100.37 wt.%. The empirical formula for goldhillite based on O = 15 apfu is (Cu4.69Zn1.23)Σ5.92(As0.86P0.18O4)2(OH)5.61⋅H2O. The crystal structures of goldhillite and philipsburgite were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and refined to R1 = 0.054 (for 2365 I > 2σI reflections) and 0.052 (for 2308 I > 2σI reflections), respectively. Goldhillite is monoclinic, P21/c, a = 12.3573(5), b = 9.2325(3), c = 10.7163(4) Å, β = 97.346(4)°, V = 1212.59(8) Å3 and Z = 4. Philipsburgite is monoclinic, P21/c, a = 12.3095(9), b = 9.2276(3), c = 10.7195(3) Å, β = 97.137(7)°, V = 1208.16(10) Å3 and Z = 4. The strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern of goldhillite [d, Å (I, %)(hkl)] are: 4.09 (28)(300), 3.41 (23)(12$\bar{2}$, 221, 311), 2.57 (100)(132, 11$\bar{4}$, 20$\bar{4}$), 2.17 (18)(42$\bar{3}$, 332), 1.95 (22)(432) and 1.54 (20)(13$\bar{6}$, 060). Goldhillite is named after its type locality, the Gold Hill mine, Tooele County, Utah, USA.

Curves relating spacing, Or content, and structural state of alkali feldspars are reviewed. Discrepancies between the compositions of heated natural perthitic alkali feldspars determined by this method and by chemical analysis are discussed and shown to be largely consistent with incomplete homogenization.

An unusual occurrence of porphyritic plagioclase-hornblende-pyroxene granulite (porphyritic basic charnockite) has been observed within the ‘Charnockite region’ of the Eastern Ghats of the Precambrian formations of India. From the X-ray and chemical data the phenocrysts are considered to be augite phenocrysts. Based on petrographic and chemical evidence it is inferred that the basic charnockites of Chipurupalli area in Visakhapatnam district are formed from tholeiitic magma as a gabbroic mass under deep seated plutonic conditions. The gabbroic mass has been recrystallized as plagioclase-hornblende-pyroxene granulite due to later metamorphism, leaving most of the phenocrysts unaffected.