American Mineralogist's Image Gallery

Stornesite-(Y): (Y, Ca)[ ]2Na6(Ca,Na)8(Mg,Fe)43(PO4)36

Comments: BSE image of stornesite-(Y) (Sto) partially surrounding a spherical quartz(Qz)-biotite(Bt) aggregate in apatite (Ap). Other mineral phases include xenotime (Xnt), sillmanite Sil) and corderite (Crd). AmMin, v91, p 1416.
Location: Paragneiss specimens from Johnston Fjord, Stornes Peninsula, Antarctica. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Suessite: (Fe,Ni)3Si

Comments: B&W image of suessite (white) as vein fillings and blebs. Silicates (olivine, pigeonite) are gray; carbonaceous matrix is black. Hydrous ferric oxide veins are (light gray).
Location: North Haig olivine pigeonite achondrite (ureilite). (AmMin, v67:126). Scale: Scale Bar 100 µm.
© American Mineralogist

Suhailite: (NH4)Fe3(Si3Al)O10(OH)2

Comments: PPL thin-section showing unoriented grains of graphite-rich golden suhailite. Suh - suhalite, Ann - annite, Sil - sillimanite. (AmMin v94:211).
Location: Betic Cordillera gneisses (Spain). Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Suredaite: PbSnS3

Comments: BSE image of a large zoned crystal of suredaite, chemically SU-3, surrounded (replaced) by SU-2. White is skeletal galena. (AmMin 85:1068).
Location: Pirquitas Ag-Sn deposit (Province Jujuy, NW-Argentina). Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Surinamite: (Mg,Fe++)3Al4BeSi3O16

Comments: PPL thin-section image of blue surinamite (Sur) enclosing orthopyroxene (Opx) and sillimanite (Sil) with corderite (Crd), and quartz (Qtz). AmMin, v65:1474.
Location: South Harris Igneous Complex, N.W. Scotland. Scale: Picture Size 1.2 mm.
© American Mineralogist

Tatyanaite: (Pt,Pd,Cu)9Cu3Sn4  
Rustenburgite: (Pt,Pd)3Sn

Comments: Back-scattered electron images showing inclusions of rustenburgite intergrown with taimyrite-tatyanaite aggregates. (AmMin, v 42, p 608).
Location: Kondyor PGE placer, Khabarovskiy Kray, eastern Siberia, Russia. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Terranovaite: (Na,Ca)8(Si68Al12)O160·29(H2O)

Comments: B&W image of terranovaite crystal. (AmMin, v82:423).
Location: Jurassic Ferrar dolerites of Mt. Adamson, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Tetrataenite: FeNi

Comments: a) B&W reflected-light image of lightly etched tetraraenite (Tt), cloudy taenite (CT), and kamacite (K) and b) X-polarizer image showing unetched optical anisotropy and irregular crystals in the tetrataenite rim.
Location: Estherville mesosiderite meteorite. AmMin v65:624. Scale: Scale Bar 50 µm.
© American Mineralogist

Tin: Sn  
Sorosite: Cu(Sn,Sb)  
Stistaite: SnSb

Comments: Back-scattered electron image of large sorosite crystal (So=partly skeletal) adjacent to stistaite (St). Tn=native tin. Note abundant microcrystals of sorosite isolated within native tin. (AmMin 83:903).
Location: Baimka gold-platinum group mineral placer deposit, Chukotka, Russian Far East. Scale: Image Size 1.5 cm.
© American Mineralogist

Tistarite: Ti2O3  
Khamrabaevite: (Ti,V,Fe)C

Comments: BSE image showing one tistarite (Ti2O3) grain along with khamrabaevite (TiC) and corundum. The cross marks where the electron back-scattered diffraction pattern (shown in Fig. 4) was collected. (AmMin, v94:841.
Location: From inside a chondrule from the Allende meteorite. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Tschortnerite: Ca4(Ca,Sr,K,Ba)3Cu3(OH)8[Si12Al12O48]·x(H2O), x>=20

Comments: Scanning electron micrograph of tschortnerite. (AmMin 83:608).
Location: Ca-rich xenolith at the Bellberg volcano near Mayen, Eifel, Germany. Scale: Scale Bar 20 µm.
© American Mineralogist

Tumchaite: Na2(Zr,Sn)Si4O11·2(H2O)

Comments: SEM photomicrograph of typical tumchaite crystals shaped by the prism {hkl}, and by two pinacoids {100} and {h0l}. Grains are tabular on (100), elongated along [001]. (AmMin 85:1517).
Location: Vuoriyarvi alkali-ultrabasic massif, Murmansk Region, Russia. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Vajdakite: [(MoO2)2(H2O)2As2O5]·(H2O)

Comments: Scanning electron microscope photograph of aggregate of acicular vajdakite crystals (AmMin, 87:984).
Location: Jáchymov, NW Bohemia, Czech Republic. Scale: 300x magnification.
© American Mineralogist

Virgilite: LixAlxSi3-xO6

Comments: B&W image of euhedral virgilite crystal surrounded by glass containing several other virgilite crystals. Plane polarized light. AmMin v63:461.
Location: Clear pale-green glass found as stream cobbles near Macusani, Peru. Scale: Crystal Size 40 µm.
© American Mineralogist

Wadalite: Ca6Al5Si2O16Cl3  
Kumtyubeite: Ca5(SiO4)2F2  
Srebrodolskite: Ca2Fe+++2O5  
Rondorfite: Ca8Mg(SiO4)4Cl2

Comments: BSE image of kumtyubeite (Kmt) associated with srebrodolskite (Srb), bultfonteinite (Blt), Ca- kydrosilicates, wadalite (Wad), rondorfite (Rndr), and ettringite (dark gray). (AmMin, v94:1361).
Location: Rock-forming mineral found in skarn carbonate-xenoliths in ignimbrites of the Upper Chegem volcanic structure, Kabardino-Balkaria, Northern Caucasus, Russia. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Wairauite: CoFe

Comments: Octahedra of wairauite in serpentinite. AmMin v33:942.
Location: Red Hills serpentinites of the Wairau Valley, South Island, New Zealand. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Walthierite: Ba0.5Al3(SO4)2(OH)6

Comments: SEM BSE image of subhedral and euhedral walthierite (light gray) enclosed within alunite (dark gray). (AmMin, v77:1275).
Location: El Indio gold, silver, and copper deposit, Tambo mining district, Coquimbo region, Chile. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Werdingite: (Mg,Fe)2Al14B4Si4O37

Comments: B&W PPL image of grandidierite-hercynite symplectite replacing werdingite (W), whereas adjacent kornerupine (K) appears unafected. (AmMin, v75:415).
Location: Granulite facies of the Namaqualand metamorphic complex at Bok se Puts, Namaqualand, South Africa. Scale: Picture Size 3 mm.
© American Mineralogist

Xitieshanite: Fe+++(SO4)(Cl)·7(H2O)

Comments: Photomicrographs of xitieshanite crystals from acid mine drainage seeps. AmMin, v90, p 1520.
Location: Green Valley, Vigo County, Indiana, USA. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist

Xocolatlite: Ca2Mn++++2Te++++++2O12·H2O

Comments: SEM image showing the gel-like texture in xocolatlite at the contact with quartz. (AmMin, v93:1912).
Location: Bambolla mine, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico. Scale: See Image.
© American Mineralogist