Coexisting calcium-rich and calcium-poor pyroxenes have been separated from the gabbros and ferrogabbros of the Skaergaard layered basic intrusion and chemically analysed. Nine new analyses of augites, three of inverted pigeonites, and one of orthopyroxene are presented, together with optical properties. The trend of crystallization of the augites is different from that drawn by previous investigators. The stages at which the orthopyroxene and pigeonite begin and cease to erystallize are defined, and the sub-solidus exsolution and inversion textures of the pigeonites are examined in detail. The characters of the exsolution textures and the degree of pigeonite inversion (monoclinic to orthorhombic pyroxene) are shown to change gradually with height in the intrusion, and are related to a gradual change in the interval between the temperatures of crystallization and inversion.

Three new analyses of kalsilite are given, with optical and X-ray data; two (K/(K + Na) = 0·95. 0·98) are from rocks where it is closely associated with nepheline. An analysis of one of the nephelines is also given (K/(K + Na) = 0·31). The cell dimensions vary appreciably with sodium content, and the composition of kalsilite may be determined from the equation:

100 K/(K + Na) = 100−227·27(Δ 6·264),

where Δ is the difference, in degrees, between the diffraction angles 2ϑ for 102 and 101, using Cu-Kα radiation.

Mineragraphic, chemical, and X-ray data are presented on the titanomagnetites1 from a differentiated teschenite sill. The minerals are generally homogeneous. The earliest titanomagnetites are Fe3O4.Fe2TiO4.FeTiO3 a solid solutions; the titanomagnetite crystallization trend is one of enrichment in Fe3O4 and FeTiO3 at the expense of Fe2TiO4. The relations of the titanomagnetites to the parent rocks and associated minerals, and their role in basaltic magma iron enrichment are also discussed.

Chemically analysed samples of magnetites carrying exsolved ulvöspinel and ilmenite have been heated in vacuo at various temperatures without change in overall chemical composition and the changes occurring studied microscopically, magnetically, and by X-rays.

Magnetite with exsolution bodies of ulvöncl can be homogenized probably below 600°C.; thermomagnetic curves and microscopic textures suggest that the solvus curve is very steep at the Fe3O4 end of the Fe3O4-Fe2TiO4 series.

On heating magnetite containing ilmenite lamellae up to 950°C., some interchange of ions between the phases occurs (Fe3O4+FeTiO3 → Fe2TiO4+Fe2O3, the ilmenite lamellae taking Fe2O3 into solid solution. The accompanying host magnetite not only gains Fe2TiO4, but at the same time dissolves some FeTiO3. Above 950°C. extensive decomposition takes place, with the production of pseudobrookite, and homogenization has not been achieved. It is suggested that under magmatic conditions extensive solid solution exists in which the FeTiO3 component may be regarded as having a spinel (γ) structure; after exsolution, monotropic inversion may occur to yield a rhombohedral ferri-ilmenite (Chevallier et al., 1955), which on slow cooling changes in composition towards FeTiO3.

Magnetite with exsolution bodies of both ulvöspinel and il menite shows on heating the features of both the above binary types.

The absorption spectra of talc, saponite, and hectorite between 4000 and 400 cm. −1 are closely related, although the bands of the smectites are more diffuse as a result of isomorphous substitutions in the tale structure. Using oriented specimens, vibrations in which the change of dipole moment is perpendicular to the sheets of the minerals are identified, and the results compared with theoretical predictions. Three bands arising from the stretching vibrations of interlayer water molecules in the smectites are distinguished, one of which corresponds to a very weak hydrogen bond. Spectral changes arising from vigorous grinding are discussed.

Cosalite, aikinite, zinckenite, jamesonite, and boulangerite occur at Grainsgill; the first three minerals have not hitherto been recorded from Britain. The specimens probably come from a series of low-temperature quartz-carbonate veins, later than the original mineralization and also distinet from the east west copper-lead veins.

The unit cell of okenite (CaO.2SiO2.2H2O) has been determined for a specimen from Bombay, India, using a combination of X-ray, electron-microscope, and electron-diffraction methods. It is anorthic with a 9·84, b 7·20, c 21·33Å., α 90·0°, β 103·9°, γ, 111·5°, elongation b, Z 9. These data are compatible with the goniometric results of Boggild (1922) and allow the latter to be interpreted.

A specimen from Crestmore, California, which Eakle (1917) had described as okenite, was also examined. It was found to be a new species, having the same composition as okenite but distinguishable from it by its optical properties, X-ray powder data, and unit cell. The latter is anorthic with a 7·60, b 7·32, c 9·86 Å, α 111° 48′, β 86° 12′, γ 103° 54′, elongation b, Z = 3. Because of the relation to okenite, the name nekoite is suggested.

The high-temperature phase equilibrium relationships in the system diopside-anorthite—åkermanite have been investigated by the quenching method. This system may be regarded as essentially a simple eutectic system. The eutectic is located at the composition 9 diopside:44 anorthite:47 åkermanite (by weight) and at a temperature of 1226° C. Åkermanite is a stable phase at least as low as this temperature. Triclinic anorthite is the only form of CaAl2Si2O8 encountered in the liquidus range of temperatures.

An experimental and theoretical study has been made in order to determine the number and the structure of the possible polymorphs and to determine the structural relations between them. The simplest structures are 1M, 2M1, 2M2, 3T, 20, and 6H polymorphs, and more complicated types can be developed. Some of the previously described polymorphs were not contained in the theoretical list and were re-examined. The 6M structure was found to be a 2M2 polymorph, the 6-layer triclinic type was found to be a 2M1 polymorph, and the 3M structure was shown to be a 3T type. The 24-layer triclinic structure could be described on a simpler 8-layer cell. This type together with a new 12-layer monoclinic structure, as well as other structures of higher periodicity, presumably consists of complex stacking and results from spiral-growth mechanism. Two extreme types of layer-disordered crystals may be built and a disorder of individual ions may also occur. Single stacking faults result in twinned crystals. A new twin relation (180° rotation about the [100] axis) has been recognized. Twenty specimens from extreme geological environments have been examined in order to evaluate the control of environment on the stacking. The type of stacking could not be attributed solely to the influence of pressure and temperature. Composition appears to play a dominant role in the type of stacking, and semi-quantitative structural arguments appear to support this contention. The influence of growth mechanism is discussed. A scheme for the identification of the mica polymorphs by X-ray powder and single-crystal methods is given.

Lead-zinc ore-bodies in dolomite at Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia, consist of a sulphide core surrounded by an oxidized sheath. Oxidation has been proved to persist to a depth of at least 1150 ft. below surface. In the transitional zone between sulphide and oxidized ore galena forms a thin rim to relict masses of blende, and farther into the sulphide core it penetrates the blende along cracks and cleavages. Locally it comprises over 5 % of the ore. From its relations to smithsonite and willemite it is clearly supergene in origin and must have been deposited above the water table. This considerable migration of lead in the zone of weathering is believed to have occurred during a former period of aridity.

X-ray diffraction data on serpentine minerals are discussed. There arc three structural varieties of chrysotile: ortho-chrysotile, clino-chrysotile, and para-chrysotile. Methods are described for the estimation of the proportions of the first two of these in mixed specimens, and their distribution in nature is reviewed. The variations observed in powder photographs of serpentine minerals are interpreted in accordance with this classification. The criteria proposed by Selfridge for distinguishing between chrysotile and antigorite are shown to be unreliable, but valid criteria are presented. The powder photographs also reveal the existence of a third serpentine mineral, distinct from chrysotile and antigorite, for which the name lizardite is proposed. Four samples of bastite are shown to consist of chrysotile or lizardite rather than antigorite. All the serpentine minerals examined consist either of antigorite or of one or more of the group comprising lizardite and the chrysotile varieties.

Morphological characters of zircons in concentrates have been studied by measurement of length along the c-axis and breadth along the a1- or a2-axis of 200 doubly terminated crystals for each sample. The sample is represented graphically by a line fitted mathematically to a scatter plot of the measurements. This line, the reduced major axis, is visualized as a growth trend, and samples are described and compared statistically.

From a careful study of zircons in a tonalite it is concluded that zircon crystallized over a short range before crystallization of the main constituent minerals.

The distribution of zircon in a batholith of magmatic origin has also been studied. The batholith grades from a core of granodiorite to a mantle of tonalite, but the zircons are uniform throughout. Small bodies of granodiorite and quartz monzonite have sharp contacts against the main batholithic rocks, and zircon samples from these intrusives differ from one another and from those of the batholith. It is concluded that the batholith represents a single intrusion which differentiated after emplacement, and that the later intrusives each crystallized under different conditions.

The specimen described by Claringbull and Hey (1952) has been re-examined using electron-microscope, electron-diffraction, X-ray, and dehydration isobar methods. It differs from other specimens in several respects. The basal spacing does not shrink appreciably on dehydration. The principal cleavage is (100) and not (001). The body-centred pseudo-cell of normal dimensions, but the distribution of the weak reflections differs from that found for other specimens. The mechanism of conversion into wollastonite has also been examined.

The optical properties and specific gravity, and the variations in these properties, of analysed plagioclases separated from the meteorite (eucrite) from Juvinas, France, are compared with the corresponding values for a terrestrial plagioclase of almost identical composition from an allivalite from Rhum. The range in properties for the Juvinas plagioclase indicates a compositional range from about Ab35An65 to Ab15An85, but the great majority of grains are bytownite with approximately 83 % (molecular) anorthite.

The frequency of occurrence of the twin-laws of the Juvinas plagioclase resembles that of plagioclase from basalts and allied rocks.

The variable changes and, in some grains, absence of change in the optical properties shown by the Juvinas plagioclase crystals, after heating to 1100°C. for 48 hours followed by rapid cooling, contrasts with the small but constant optical changes shown by the allivalite plagioclase (for which geological evidence indicates slow cooling) after identical heat treatment. It is inferred that the meteoritic plagioclase grains have had differing thermal histories, and that some grains have been subjected to previous natural quenching.

The presence of garnet in acid rocks of the charnockite series south of Madras is reported. Petrographic deseriptions of garnetiferous enderbites and related pyroxene-granulites, khondalites, and leptynites are accompanied by new chemical analyses of 6 rocks, 8 garnets, and 5 orthopyroxenes from the type area near Madras, and from Ceylon, Varberg, and Uganda. The garnets show a considerably higher FeO/MgO ratio than the coexisting ortbopyroxenes and the host rocks. The presence or absence of garnet appears to be related to the bulk chemistry of the rocks. Basic garnetiferous granulites associated with these rocks are considered to represent an unstable mineral assemblage and may be genetically unrelated to the acid types. Attention is drawn to the prevalence of enderbitic rocks in the type area.

Evidence from four recent boreholes in the Yorkshire potash field suggests that carnallitic was an important original constituent of the Middle Evaporite Bed, and that much of the sylvine of the potash zone is of secondary origin.

The carnallitie rocks have been affected by complex replacements, an earlier series involving sylvine, halite, and anhydrite, and a later series involving rinneite, halite, sylvine, and carnallitic.

Blanfordite (a manganiferous aegirine), rhodonite, alurgite, manganophyllite, and piemontite are deseribed from a pegmatite that cuts a manganese ore band in the Sitasaongi mine, Chikla, Bhandara district, India. In addition, rhodonite and piemontite are described from gneiss and schist areas. Chemical analyses and optical properties of all these minerals are given and their possible origin suggested.

An X-ray study of a number of rare-earth silicates has been carried out; single-crystal and powder data are presented.

It is found that cerites can contain up to at least 6 % CaO without disruption of the structure, which is trigonal with probable space-group P321 etc. The cell dimensions are a ca. 10·8 Å., c ca. 37–38 Å., although there is a strong pseudo-cell with halved c-axis. An ideal formula (Ca,Ln†)3Si2(O,OH,F)9 is proposed for this series.

Lessingite and beckelite can be regarded chemically as lime-rich members of this cerite series. They do not, however, have the same crystal structure as cerite; their diffraction patterns are very similar to that of britholite, and indicate a structure dimensionally comparable with apatite. For a hexagonal cell, the dimensions are a ca. 9·7 Å., c ca. 7·1 Å., with probable space-group P63, &c. An ideal formula (Ca,Ln)2(Si,Al,P)(O,OH,F)5 is proposed for this series. Marked biaxial optical properties suggest that the structure may be truly orthorhombic, with a very close dimensional approximation to a hexagonal cell.

The new mineral, stillwellite, is unrelated to either of these series. It is trigonal with cell dimensions a ca. 6·9 Å., c ca. 6·7 Å., with probable space-group P3112. An ideal formula (Ca,Ln)(Si,Al,P)B(O,OH,F)5 suggested by previous work is confirmed.

Specimens from some forty different localities over the composition range from about 20 % An to about 70 % An have been examined by X-ray single-crystal methods. The majority of these specimens show the normal intermediate plagioclase pattern characterized by weak pairs of subsidiary layer-lines of variable separation. It has been found that the separation of these layer-lines is a linear function of composition over the whole composition range. Further, this range is found to extend to more soda-rich compositions than was formerly believed, whilst the limits of the range are approximately defined by the compositions at which the separations of the subsidiary layer-lines about either the a- or the b-axes become zero.

The anomalous patterns shown by some specimens are discussed, and it is shown that most of these may be interpreted in terms of the previous geological history of the specimens.

A comparison of the present results with those obtained by previous workers in this field is made, and it is shown how the principal points of difference may be resolved. An account of the phase relationships of the low-temperature plagioclase series is given, and the problems arising from the present work are discussed.

The angular separations (2θ (131)+2θ (220)−4θ and (2θ for 111 analysed plagioclase felspars have been determined from diffractometer records. From An0 to An70 the petrological environment has a strong influence on these separations, and if the An-content is independently known an accurate estimate of the structural state can he made from the first of these angular separations. From An70 to An100 there are only small variations in both separations with An-content and structural state. From An85 to An100 inconsistencies in the data suggest that other factors can influence any interpretation so seriously that only qualitative or semi-quantitative deductions may be made. Consideration of the angular separations and subsidiary reflections of sodie plagioclases from a wide range of geological environments has led to the novel hypothesis that in this composition region even plutonic specimens are in a metastable state with slightly disordered structures.

The value to the petrographer of the available methods for the estimation of An- content and structural state is critically discussed. Although it is thought that the standard optical curves in present use are in need of some revision, the determination of optical orientation by universal-stage methods is probably adequate for routine studies. For more detailed investigations, this may be supplemented by X-ray powder data and refractive index measurements, whilst a complete description of the felspar requires the addition both of chemical analysis and single-crystal X-ray work. In particular, the efficacy of the various X-ray methods that have been proposed is discussed, and recommendations of the most suitable method for various composition ranges are made.