Spinel Group Minerals, Volume II

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2020) | Viewed by 13440

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Department of Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Trieste, 34128 Trieste, Italy
Interests: mineralogy; geochemistry; igneous petrology; mantle oxidation; sedimentary petrology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The members of the spinel group are frequent accessory minerals of both igneous and metamorphic rocks and occur also as detrital grains in many sediments. Many spinels can be important for their industrial application, and some of them constitute important ore deposits.

The idea coming from this second issue dedicated to spinel group minerals is to bring together, once again, specialists from different fields in order to acquire new knowledge on the geological history and industrial applications of these important minerals that can tell us so much about the interior of the Earth as well as the story of meteorites.

Spectoscopic, as well as provenance or archeometric studies are welcome for submission.

Dr. Davide Lenaz
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Structure
  • Chemistry Isotopes
  • Experimental works
  • Paragenesis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Oxygen fugacity
  • Industrial application

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 11723 KiB  
Article
Coulsonite FeV2O4—A Rare Vanadium Spinel Group Mineral in Metamorphosed Massive Sulfide Ores of the Kola Region, Russia
by Alena A. Kompanchenko
Minerals 2020, 10(10), 843; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10100843 - 24 Sep 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2597
Abstract
This work presents new data on a rare vanadium spinel group mineral, i.e., coulsonite FeV2O4 established in massive sulfide ores of the Bragino occurrence in the Kola region, Russia. Coulsonite in massive sulfide ores of the Bragino occurrence is one [...] Read more.
This work presents new data on a rare vanadium spinel group mineral, i.e., coulsonite FeV2O4 established in massive sulfide ores of the Bragino occurrence in the Kola region, Russia. Coulsonite in massive sulfide ores of the Bragino occurrence is one of the most common vanadium minerals. Three varieties of coulsonite were established based on its chemical composition, some physical properties, and mineral association: coulsonite-I, coulsonite-II, and coulsonite-III. Coulsonite-I forms octahedral crystal clusters of up to 500 µm, and has a uniformly high content of Cr2O3 (20–30 wt.%), ZnO (up to 4.5 wt.%), and MnO (2.8 wt.%), high microhardness (743 kg/mm2) and coefficient of reflection. Coulsonite-II was found in relics of quartz–albite veins in association with other vanadium minerals. Its features are a thin tabular shape and enrichment in TiO2 of up to 18 wt.%. Coulsonite-III is the most common variety in massive sulfide ores of the Bragino occurrence. Coulsonite-III forms octahedral crystals of up to 150 µm, crystal clusters, and intergrowths with V-bearing ilmenite, W-V-bearing rutile, Sc-V-bearing senaite, etc. Chemical composition of coulsonite-III is characterized by wide variation of the major compounds—Fe, V, Cr. In some crystals of coulsonite-III, relics of chromite are observed. The microhardness of coulsonite-III is 577 kg/mm2, the reflection coefficient changes in relation to iron, vanadium, and chromium content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spinel Group Minerals, Volume II)
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19 pages, 3928 KiB  
Article
Magma Mingling in Kimberlites: Evidence from the Groundmass Cocrystallization of Two Spinel-Group Minerals
by Jingyao Xu, Joan Carles Melgarejo, Qiuli Li, Lisard Torró i Abat and Montgarri Castillo-Oliver
Minerals 2020, 10(9), 829; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090829 - 20 Sep 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3025
Abstract
We present the results of a detailed petrographic study of fresh coherent samples of the Menominee kimberlite sampled at site 73, located in Menominee County, MI, USA. Our objective is to account for its unusual and complex paragenetic sequence. Several generations of olivine, [...] Read more.
We present the results of a detailed petrographic study of fresh coherent samples of the Menominee kimberlite sampled at site 73, located in Menominee County, MI, USA. Our objective is to account for its unusual and complex paragenetic sequence. Several generations of olivine, ilmenite, and spinel-group minerals are described. Early olivine and ilmenite are xenocrystic and were replaced or overgrown by primary minerals. Zoned microcrysts of olivine have a xenocrystic core mantled by a first rim in which rutile, geikielite, and spinel s.s. (spinel sensu stricto) cocrystallized. The in situ U–Pb dating of a microcryst of primary rutile yielded 168.9 ± 4.4 Ma, which was interpreted as the age of emplacement. The groundmass consists of olivine, spinel s.s., a magnesian ulvöspinel–ulvöspinel–magnetite (MUM) spinel, calcite, and dolomite. An extremely low activity of Si is suggested by the crystallization of spinel s.s. instead of phlogopite in the groundmass. The presence of djerfisherite microcrysts indicates high activities of Cl and S during the late stages of melt crystallization. The occurrence of two distinct spinel-group minerals (spinel s.s. and qandilite-rich MUM) in the groundmass is interpreted as clear evidence of the mingling of a magnesiocarbonatitic melt with a dominant kimberlitic melt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spinel Group Minerals, Volume II)
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18 pages, 14393 KiB  
Article
Compositional Variations of Cr-Spinel in High-Mg Intrusions of the Primorsky Ridge (Western Baikal Region, Russia)
by Aleksey S. Mekhonoshin, Tatiana B. Kolotilina, Artemy A. Doroshkov and Evgeniya E. Pikiner
Minerals 2020, 10(7), 608; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10070608 - 7 Jul 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3562
Abstract
Composition variations of Cr-spinel in high-Mg rocks of the Primorsky Ridge (Western Baikal region, Russia) are reported here. A specific feature of Cr-spinels in ultramafic rocks of the Primorsky Ridge is their noticeably high Ti content (up to 6.5 wt.%) compared to spinels [...] Read more.
Composition variations of Cr-spinel in high-Mg rocks of the Primorsky Ridge (Western Baikal region, Russia) are reported here. A specific feature of Cr-spinels in ultramafic rocks of the Primorsky Ridge is their noticeably high Ti content (up to 6.5 wt.%) compared to spinels in mantle peridotites. The presence of high TiO2 content in Cr-spinels enclosed in olivine crystals may be a clear indication of the primary magmatic nature of Ti enrichment. Two types of Cr-spinel were identified in ultramafic rocks from all intrusions. Cr-spinels of Type I are enclosed in the inner part of olivine crystals and are homogeneous Al-rich chromites and Fe2+-rich chromites. They are characterized by variable content of TiO2 (1.0–5.3 wt.%), moderately high Cr# (0.7–0.83), and low Fe3+# (0.20–0.34). Cr-spinels of type II occur in the interstitial space and occur as homogeneous and zoned grains with Al-rich chromite and Fe2+-rich chromite cores. Al-rich chromite cores have a composition similar to that of the Cr-spinel enclosed in olivine crystals. Fe2+-rich chromite cores have relatively high MgO (3.8–6.2 wt.%), Al2O3 (8–9 wt.%), and TiO2 (2.6–2.8 wt.%) content, low MnO (0.34–0.52 wt.%) content, and a low Fe3+# (0.25–0.27) ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spinel Group Minerals, Volume II)
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30 pages, 7876 KiB  
Article
In-Situ Crystallization and Continuous Modification of Chromian Spinel in the “Sulfide-Poor Platinum-Group Metal Ores” of the Norilsk-1 Intrusion (Northern Siberia, Russia)
by Ivan F. Chayka, Liudmila M. Zhitova, Tatiana N. Antsiferova, Adam Abersteiner, Artem Ya. Shevko, Andrey E. Izokh, Nadezhda D. Tolstykh, Marina P. Gora, Valery M. Chubarov and Vadim S. Kamenetsky
Minerals 2020, 10(6), 498; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10060498 - 30 May 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3626
Abstract
Layers rich in chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) occur in numerous differentiated and layered intrusions. These layers are often characterized by elevated and even economic concentrations of platinum-group-elements (PGEs), but only scarce sulfide mineralization. One particular type of such lithology occurs in the roof parts [...] Read more.
Layers rich in chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) occur in numerous differentiated and layered intrusions. These layers are often characterized by elevated and even economic concentrations of platinum-group-elements (PGEs), but only scarce sulfide mineralization. One particular type of such lithology occurs in the roof parts of the Norilsk-type differentiated intrusions (Russia) and is referred to as the “sulfide-poor PGE ores”. We investigated rocks containing variable enrichments in Cr-spinel, sulfides, and platinum-group minerals (PGMs) from two sections of the upper zone of the Norilsk-1 intrusion, with a focus on Cr-spinel. The rocks are dominated by two lithological types: (1) leucogabbro/troctolitic and (2) olivine-gabbro. Fine-grained (5–100 μm) disperse disseminations with varying modal abundances of Cr-spinel are characteristic for the rocks studied. Those abundances range from scarce mineralization through to very dense (up to 30 vol. % Cr-spinel) cloud-like accumulations. However, compact-grained accumulations and cumulate-like textures, which are typical for chromitites of layered intrusions, are not characteristic for the studied rocks. Instead, the disseminations exhibit chain- and trail-like alignments of Cr-spinel grains, which cross the boundaries between enclosing silicates, and sub-circular arrangements. The study revealed millimeter-scaled patchy distribution of Cr-spinel compositions within a given dissemination with Cr-spinel chemistry being strongly correlated with a kind of the enclosing silicate. (1) In unaltered rocks, plagioclase hosts more magnesian Cr-spinel (Mg# 30–60), while Cr-spinel in mafic minerals is less magnesian (Mg# 18–35). (2) In altered rocks, more magnesian Cr-spinel is hosted by less altered silicates, while strongly altered silicates mainly host less magnesian Cr-spinel. Systematics of trivalent cations exhibits divergent trends, even on a scale of a thin section, and depends on a kind of hosting lithology. Leucogabbro/troctolite lithologies contain Cr-spinel with anomalously low Fe3+ and extremely high Ti contents, whereas Cr-spinel from olivine-gabbro lithologies have moderate Fe3+ and moderately-high Ti contents. It is envisaged that crystallization of Cr-spinel and their host rocks occurred from viscous mingled magmas, which had different compositions and redox state. Subsequent processes involved (1) high-temperature re-equilibration of Cr-spinel with enclosing silicates and (2) post-magmatic alteration and partial recrystallization of Cr-spinel. During these processes, Cr-spinel was losing Mg and Al and gaining Fe and Ti. These chemical trends are generally coincident with those established for other intrusions worldwide, but the upper zone of the Norilsk-1 intrusion seems to possess an exceptional variety of Cr-spinel compositions, not recorded elsewhere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spinel Group Minerals, Volume II)
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