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Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes

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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 (22 October 2021) | Viewed by 9043

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gioacchino Tempesta

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Guest Editor

Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, University of Bari, 70123 Bari, Italy
Interests: mineral characterization; crystal growth; applied spectroscopy; LIBS; Raman; X-ray imaging; structural defects

Dr. Giovanna Agrosì

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Guest Editor

Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences, University of Bari, 70123 Bari, Italy
Interests: characterization of minerals and synthetic counterparts; structural defects; crystal growth and crystal deformation; X-ray diffraction topography (Lang chamber); transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue “Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes” is to address current challenges in studies of crystal physics and crystal chemistry to solve geological open questions.

For this issue, we invite contributions that underline the key role of the crystallography and physical chemistry of minerals in geological processes. Minerals form in a variety of different geological environments, from solutions, melts, or vapor, or by solid–solid transitions. Crystalline features, as well as structural defects, represent records of geological events responsible of the mineral’s formation and/or mineral’s transformation/phase transition. Consequently, their study can help to shed light on complex geologic events.

We encourage authors also to submit multidisciplinary papers in which the role of crystal characterization is marked. Research may also include spectroscopic studies of natural and synthetic crystals and crystal growth process.

Considering your outstanding contributions in this fascinating research field, we would like to cordially invite you to submit a paper to this Special Issue.

Dr. Gioacchino Tempesta
Dr. Giovanna Agrosì
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

crystal physics
geological process
structural defects
X-ray methods
spectroscopic methods
crystal chemistry

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of High-Grade Metamorphism on Cr-Spinel from the Archean Sittampundi Complex, South India

by Davide Lenaz, Bidyananda Maibam, Jacob Adetunji and Henrik Skogby

Minerals 2021, 11(12), 1370; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11121370 - 03 Dec 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2251

Abstract

We investigated the crystal and structural behavior of Cr-bearing spinels from the Archean chromitites of Sittampundi (India), which had been subjected to very high-grade metamorphism. The structural data show that their oxygen positional parameters are among the highest ever recorded for Cr-bearing spinels with similar Cr# and Mg# and very similar to those found for other Archean occurrences. The general agreement between electron microprobe and Mössbauer data indicates that the analyzed spinels are stoichiometric. It is therefore most likely that the P_H₂O and P_total values as well as both the oxygen fugacity and the temperature reached during high-grade metamorphism inhibited the possibility of the non-stoichiometry of chromites, contrary to what can happen in ophiolites, where non-stoichiometry has recently been documented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes)

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27 pages, 12716 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Luminescence Properties of Tetrahedral Coordinated Mn²⁺; Genthelvite and Willemite Examples

by Maria Czaja, Radosław Lisiecki, Rafał Juroszek and Tomasz Krzykawski

Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11111215 - 30 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2275

Abstract

The cause of the split of ⁴A⁴E(⁴G) Mn²⁺ excited level measured on minerals spectra is discussed. It is our view that ∆E = |4E(4G) − 4A(4G)| should be considered an important spectroscopic parameter. Among the possible reasons for the energy levels splitting taken under consideration, such as the covalent bond theory, the geometric deformation of the coordination polyhedron and the lattice site’s symmetry, the first one was found to be inappropriate. Two studied willemite samples showed that the impurities occur in one of the two available lattice sites differently in both crystals. Moreover, it was revealed that the calculated crystal field Dq parameter can indicate which of the two non-equivalent lattice sites positions in the willemite crystal structure was occupied by Mn²⁺. The above conclusions were confirmed by X-ray structure measurements. Significant differences were also noted in the Raman spectra of these willemites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes)

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19 pages, 6193 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potassic-Hastingsite from the Kedrovy District (East Siberia, Russia): Petrographic Description, Crystal Chemistry, Spectroscopy, and Thermal Behavior

by Ekaterina Kaneva, Tatiana Radomskaya, Roman Shendrik, Victor Chubarov and Victoria Danilovsky

Minerals 2021, 11(10), 1049; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11101049 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1667

Abstract

In this work we report on a petrographic, crystal-chemical, and optical characterization, obtained from different analytical methods, of amphibole species. Potassic-hastingsite, ideally ^AK^BCa₂^C(Fe²⁺₄Fe³⁺)^T(Si₆Al₂)O₂₂^W(OH)₂, has been found in the Kedrovy district (East Siberia, Russia). The sample occurs as well-formed and large radially radiant aggregates of dark green, almost black crystals. The unit cell dimensions are a = 9.9724(3) Å, b = 18.2968(4) Å, c = 5.3573(1) Å, β = 104.945(3)°, V = 944.44(4) Å³, Z = 2. Site populations were determined by combining single-crystal structure refinement and electron probe microanalysis, and Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ratio was obtained from X-ray fluorescence analysis. Infrared, diffuse light UV/Vis/NIR absorption, and electron spin resonance spectra are presented and discussed. A thermoelastic behavior of a powder of potassic-hastingsite was studied by in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction. A thermal expansion and subsequent significant contraction in the unit cell volume during a high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction experiment is observed as a consequence of the deprotonation process, which is locally balanced via oxidation of Fe²⁺. According to the data obtained for potassic-hastingsite, these processes occur within 400–600 °C. The thermal expansion of the mineral is anisotropic; the thermal expansivity coefficients α_a:α_b:α_c (×10⁻⁶) = −18.06:9.59:−1.09 at 400 °C, −26.15:−1.52:2.22 at 600 °C and 23.77:−25.06:42.08 at 750 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes)

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22 pages, 5871 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Elucidating Pathfinding Elements from the Kubi Gold Mine in Ghana

by Gabriel K. Nzulu, Babak Bakhit, Hans Högberg, Lars Hultman and Martin Magnuson

Minerals 2021, 11(9), 912; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11090912 - 24 Aug 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2200

Abstract

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) are applied to investigate the properties of fine-grained concentrates on artisanal, small-scale gold mining samples from the Kubi Gold Project of the Asante Gold Corporation near Dunwka-on-Offin in the Central Region of Ghana. Both techniques show that the Au-containing residual sediments are dominated by the host elements Fe, Ag, Al, N, O, Si, Hg, and Ti that either form alloys with gold or with inherent elements in the sediments. For comparison, a bulk nugget sample mainly consisting of Au forms an electrum, i.e., a solid solution with Ag. Untreated (impure) sediments, fine-grained Au concentrate, coarse-grained Au concentrate, and processed ore (Au bulk/nugget) samples were found to contain clusters of O, C, N, and Ag, with Au concentrations significantly lower than that of the related elements. This finding can be attributed to primary geochemical dispersion, which evolved from the crystallization of magma and hydrothermal liquids as well as the migration of metasomatic elements and the rapid rate of chemical weathering of lateralization in secondary processes. The results indicate that Si and Ag are strongly concomitant with Au because of their eutectic characteristics, while N, C, and O follow alongside because of their affinity to Si. These non-noble elements thus act as pathfinders for Au ores in the exploration area. This paper further discusses relationships between gold and sediments of auriferous lodes as key to determining indicator minerals of gold in mining sites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crystallography and Related Research on Minerals and Their Synthetic Homologous for Geological Purposes)

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