Academic literature on the topic 'Anjanabonoina, Madagascar'

AbstractA gem-quality purplish-red tourmaline sample of alleged liddicoatitic composition from the Anjanabonoina pegmatite, Madagascar, has been fully characterised using a multi-analytical approach to define its crystal-chemical identity. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, chemical and spectroscopic analysis resulted in the formula: X(Na0.41□0.35Ca0.24)Σ1.00Y(Al1.81Li1.00Fe3+0.04Mn3+0.02Mn2+0.12Ti0.004)Σ3.00ZAl6 [T(Si5.60B0.40)Σ6.00O18] (BO3)3 (OH)3W[(OH)0.50F0.13O0.37]Σ1.00 which corresponds to the tourmaline species elbaite having the typical space group R3m and relatively small unit-cell dimensions, a = 15.7935(4) Å, c = 7.0860(2) Å and V = 7.0860(2) Å3.Optical absorption spectroscopy showed that the purplish-red colour is caused by minor amounts of Mn3+ (Mn2O3 = 0.20 wt.%). Thermal treatment in air up to 750°C strongly intensified the colour of the sample due to the oxidation of all Mn2+ to Mn3+ (Mn2O3 up to 1.21 wt.%). Based on infrared and Raman data, a crystal-chemical model regarding the electrostatic interaction between the X cation and W anion, and involving the Y cations as well, is proposed to explain the absence or rarity of the mineral species ‘liddicoatite’.

[1] Four specimens of zoned tourmaline from granitic pegmatites are characterised in detail, each having unusual compositional and/or morphologic features: (1) a crystal from Black Rapids Glacier, Alaska, showing a central pink zone of elbaite mantled by a thin rim of green liddicoatite; (2) a large (~25 cm) slab of Madagascar liddicoatite cut along (001) showing complex patterns of oscillatory zoning; and (3) a wheatsheaf and (4) a mushroom elbaite from Mogok, Myanmar, both showing extensive bifurcation of fibrous crystals originating from a central core crystal, and showing pronounced discontinuous colour zoning. Crystal chemistry and crystal structure of these samples are characterised by SREF, EMPA, and 11B and 27Al MAS NMR and Mössbauer spectroscopies. For each sample, compositional change, as a function of crystal growth, is characterised by EMPA traverses, and the total chemical variation is reduced to a series of linear substitution mechanisms. Of particular interest are substitutions accommodating the variation in [4]B: (1) TB + YAl ↔ TSi + Y(Fe, Mn)2+, where transition metals are present, and (2) TB2 + YAl ↔ TSi2 + YLi, where transition metals are absent. Integration of all data sets delineates constraints on melt evolution and crystal growth mechanisms. [2] Uncertainty has surrounded the occurrence of [4]Al and [4]B at the T-site in tourmaline, because B is difficult to quantify by EMPA and Al is typically assigned to the octahedral Y- and Z-sites. Although both [4]Al and [4]B have been shown to occur in natural tourmalines, it is not currently known how common these substituents are. Using 11B and 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy, the presence of [4]B and [4]Al is determined in fifty inclusion-free tourmalines of low transition-metal content with compositions corresponding to five different species. Chemical shifts of [4]B and [3]B in 11B spectra, and [4]Al and [6]Al in 27Al spectra, are well-resolved, allowing detection of very small (< ~0.1 apfu) amounts of T-site constituents. Results show that contents of 0.0 < [4]B, [4]Al < 0.5 apfu are common in tourmalines containing low amounts of paramagnetic species, and that all combinations of Si, Al and B occur in natural tourmalines.