World Journal of Engineering
Micro-nano mineral study and new mineral discovery
Jinfu Shu1, Jingsui Yang2, He Rong2 and Ho-kwang Mao1
1
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.20015
Key Laboratory for Continnetal Dynamics, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences,
Beijing 100037, China
2
Micro-nano-minerals occur in many geological
settings of the Earth’s crust and mantle, as well as
in lunar rocks, meteorites and mineral inclusions in
diamonds that provide an important source of
information about the deep Earth and planetary. The
composition and structure of new micro-nanominerals
are
of
great
importance
for
the
understanding the Earth’s interior and other
terrestrial or Jovian planets.
The studied minerals include new mineral
Tuite -Ca3(PO4)2,
Xieite, (FeCr2O4, a high-
pressure polymorph of chromite) from the shockmetamorphosed
Suizhou
meteorite(Fig.1).
Magnetite lamellae in olivine from the Dabie
harzburgite, hydroxyl-rich topaz in the Sulu kyanite
quartzite(Fig.2), coesite inclusion in the Venezuela
diamond, and new lunar mineral Hapkeite (Fe2Si)
Figure 1. Back-scattered electron (BSE) images of
shock-metamorphosed chromite-spinel grains.
from the Dhofar 280 that is a lunar fragmental
(A) A chromite grain was transformed to a CT phase
zone (CT) contacting with shock vein, and partially
to a CF phase zone (CF) between the CT phase zone
and the chromite zone (Ch) apart from the shock
vein. The CF phase occurs as lamella-like slices
associating with a chromite matrix, and two to three
sets of slices are observed. On the image, both the
CT and CF phases are brighter than chromite. Pyx,
pyroxene.
breccia meteorite found in the Dhofar region of
Oman. There are lots of very small new mineral
found in the podiform chromitites of the luobusha
ophiolite in Tibet, China, Such as Rubusaite (Fe0.83
Si2), etc. And the diamond has been discovered in
eclogite from the Chinese Continental Scientific
(B) BSE image showing that a high density of CF phase
slices occurs in neighboring areas to the CT phase
zone, but some slices distribute in the chromite zone
apart from the shock vein.
Drilling Project Main Hole (CCSD-MH) in the
Sulu UHPM belt.
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World Journal of Engineering
brilliant (105-7 times conventional x-ray), and can
be focused to a couple of micron size spots by
mirror. Since the system at APS HPCAT Beam 16
and at BNLNSLS X17C beam are built for highpressure experiments, the angle and energydipersive X-ray diffraction system combined with
the Ge detector provides the state-of-the-art
technique to investigate the micro-mineral
experiment. In summary these results obtained by
the Synchrotron x-ray diffraction technique
combining with other petrological and
mineralogical data will provide important
information of origin and evolution of these rocks
containing micro-nano mineral and develop a new
micro-nano-mineralogy.
Reference
(1). Ru Y. Zhang, Jin F. Shu, H.K.Mao, and Juhn
G. Liou (1999) Magnetite lamellae in olivine
and clinohumite from Dabie UHF ultramafic
rocks,
Central
China.
American
Mineralogist, 84, 564-569.
(2). Ming Chen, Jinfu Shu Xiande Xie, and Hokwang Mao (2003) Natural CaTi2O4structured FeCr2O4 polymorph in Suizhou
meteorite and its significance in mantle
mineralogy Geochimica et Cosmochimica
Acta Vol. 67, No.20, pp3937-3942
(3). Jinfu Shu, Ho-kwang Mao, Russel J.Hemley
(2002) Micromineral study by Synchrotron
X-ray Diffraction.
he 4th World Chinese Conference on
Geological
Science,
Nanjing
China
Abstracts pp.227
Figure 2. (a) Magnetite (Mag) lamellae exsolved from
harzburgitic olivine and crosscut by fractures filled with
serpentine and minute grains of magnetite. Cr-bearing
magnetite (Cr-Mag) lamellae also occur (plane polarized
light, width of view = 0.39 mm).
(b) Back-scattered electron image of a small area from
(a) Some lamellae beneath the surface do not appear in
this image. The rods marked by arrows are the same as
those in Figure 2a, (scale bar = 10 m).
Due to the study natural micro-nano mineral
sample are very rare and small, we need to use a
much stronger X-ray source as well as a smaller Xray spots. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction technique
which has been successfully applied to study of
very high-pressure experiments and micro- nano
minerals in natural rock is powerful to identify new
mineral and crystal structure of micro-nano
minerals. Synchrotron light source x-ray is very
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