Minerals, Volume 4, Issue 4 (December 2014) – 3 articles , Pages 758-834

Consistently classified among the references for calcite simple prisms, the microstructural units that form the outer layer of the Pinctada margaritifera have been investigated through a series of morphological, crystallographical and biochemical characterizations. It is often said that the polygonal transverse shape of the prisms result from the competition for space between adjacent crystals. In contrast to this classical scheme the Pinctada prisms appear to be composed of four successive developmental stages from the concentrically growing disks on the internal side of the periostracum to the morphological, structural and compositional changes in both envelopes and mineral components at the end of the prisms. These latest structural and compositional changes predate nacre deposition, so that the end of prism growth is not caused by occurrence of nacre, but by metabolic changes in the secretory epithelium. This sequence makes obvious the permanent biological control exerted by the outer cell layer of the mantle in both organic envelopes and mineralizing organic phases. Full article

Molybdenite in the Aitik deposit and its southern extension was studied through mineralogical/chemical analysis and laboratory flotation tests. It is demonstrated that molybdenite varies considerably in grain size, ranging from coarse (>20 μm) to very fine (<2 μm) and occurs predominantly as single grains in the groundmass of the rocks, as grain aggregates, and intergrown with chalcopyrite and pyrite. The dominating molybdenite-bearing rocks are the mica schists, the quartz-monzodiorite, and the Salmijärvi biotite-amphibole gneiss, the latter containing mostly medium-coarsegrained molybdenite. Later geological features, such as garnet-magnetite-anhydrite-K feldspar alteration and pegmatite dikes appear to be responsible for a significant part of the distribution pattern of molybdenite. Molybdenite grains contain up to 1587 ppm Re, with an average of 211 ± 10 ppm in Aitik molybdenite and 452 ± 33 ppm in Salmijärvi molybdenite. The higher Re concentrations are found in molybdenite associated with sericite- and quartz-amphibole-magnetite altered rocks, whereas low Re values occur in rocks in which potassic alteration is prominent. Molybdenite recovery is influenced by the mineralogy of the host rock and the alteration grade; hence both of these factors will have an impact on potential recoveries. The recovery of molybdenite was lower from flotation feeds with significant amounts of Mg-bearing clay-micas. Full article

Bulk magnetic properties of soils and sediments are often sensitive proxies for environmental change but commonly require interpretation in terms of the different sources of magnetic minerals (or components) that combine to generate them. Discrimination of different components in the bulk magnetic record is often attempted through endmember unmixing and/or high resolution measurements that can require intensive measurement plans, assume linear additivity, and sometimes have difficulty in discriminating a large number of sources. As an alternative, magnetic measurements can be made on isolated sediment fractions that constitute the bulk sample. When these types of measurements are taken, heterogeneity is frequently observed between the magnetic properties of different fractions, suggesting different magnetic components often associate with different physical grain sizes. Using a particle size-specific methodology, individual components can be isolated and studied and bulk magnetic properties can be linked to, and isolated from, sedimentological variations. Deconvolving sedimentary and magnetic variability in this way has strong potential for increased understanding of how magnetic fragments are carried in natural systems, how they vary with different source(s), and allows for a better assessment of the effect environmental variability has in driving bulk magnetic properties. However, despite these benefits, very few studies exploit the information they can provide. Here, I present an overview of the different sources of magnetic minerals, why they might associate with different sediment fractions, how bulk magnetic measurements have been used to understand the contribution of different components to the bulk magnetic record, and outline how particle size-specific magnetic measurements can assist in their better understanding. Advantages and disadvantages of this methodology, their role alongside bulk magnetic measurements, and potential future directions of research are also discussed. Full article