Recent Contributions of Female Scientists to the Advancement of Mineral Science

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 (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 9866

Special Issue Editors

Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Interests: crystal structure; chemistry; mineralogy; crystallography; powder diffraction; single-crystal diffraction; electron microscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Interests: high-pressure mineral physics; X-ray crystallography; vibrational spectroscopy
Poornaprajna Institute of Scientific Research, Bengaluru 562164, India
Interests: neutron and X-ray crystallography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A key to understanding mineral properties that vary under different pressure and temperature conditions is to understand its crystal structure. This Special Issue based on “Recent Contributions of Female Scientists to the Advancement of Mineral Science” will contain female contributions to this broad field. Female researchers have made significant contributions to this research area in the past, for example, Prof. Helen Megaw from Cambridge University and Prof. Gabrielle Donnay from McGill University. Women in science will continue to contribute to mineral science in the future.

The Special Issue will contain articles from female researchers (and their co-workers) in the general area of mineral science.  Papers related to state-of-the-art experimental characterization of natural and their synthetic counterparts as well as theoretical studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Sytle M. Antao
Prof. Dr. Jennifer Kung
Prof. Dr. Nalini G. Sundaram
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

  • mineralogy
  • crystallography
  • mineral science
  • diffraction
  • scattering
  • spectroscopy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 7299 KiB  
Article
Mineralogy and Mineral Chemistry of the Au-Ag-Te-(Bi-Se) San Luis Alta Deposit, Mid-South Peru
by Pura Alfonso, Elsa Ccolqque, Maite Garcia-Valles, Arnau Martínez, Maria Teresa Yubero, Hernan Anticoi and Nor Sidki-Rius
Minerals 2023, 13(4), 568; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13040568 - 18 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1273
Abstract
A mineralogical and mineral chemistry study was carried out in the San Luis Alta telluride-rich gold deposit, mid-south Peru, to contribute towards determining its formation and improving the ore processing. The San Luis mineralization is considered an intrusion-related gold deposit located in the [...] Read more.
A mineralogical and mineral chemistry study was carried out in the San Luis Alta telluride-rich gold deposit, mid-south Peru, to contribute towards determining its formation and improving the ore processing. The San Luis mineralization is considered an intrusion-related gold deposit located in the Arequipa segment of the Coastal Batholith. The mineralization occurs in quartz veins hosted in diorites and granodiorites from the Tiabaya Super-Unit. These veins are sulfide-rich in the deep areas and contain abundant iron oxides. Sulfides are mainly pyrite with minor chalcopyrite and galena. Native gold and telluride minerals are abundant. Mineral chemistry was determined using an electron microprobe. The mineralogy of veins was classified into four stages. Gold occurs in the three last stages either in large grains, visible to the naked eye, or, more frequently, in grains of less than 10 µm. Gold appears as grains encapsulated in pyrite, Fe oxides, quartz and filling fractures. The first stage is characterized by the deposition of quartz and massive pyrite, which does not contain gold. During the second stage, hessite, calaverite, petzite and altaite are formed. Additionally, Bi-tellurides, mainly volynskite, rucklidgeite, kochkarite and tellurobusmuthine, are formed. Some of these minerals occur as blebs encapsulated in pyrite, suggesting that a Bi-Te-rich melt was formed from the ore-forming hydrothermal fluid and transported the Au and Ag elements. This stage was followed by a fracturing event and tellurobismuthite, tetradymite and montbrayite precipitated. In the last stage, a supergene replacement formed covellite, bornite and goethite. Te-Bi minerals do not appear in this stage, but selenium minerals occur in minor amounts. Chlorargyrite and iodargyrite occur and are associated with gold. Full article
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12 pages, 3448 KiB  
Article
UV Induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Caffeine Using TiO2–H-Beta Zeolite Composite
by Gayathri G., Joyce Q. D’Souza and Nalini G. Sundaram
Minerals 2023, 13(4), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13040465 - 25 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1484
Abstract
An anatase phase of the TiO2-H-beta (THB) zeolite composite photocatalyst is used for the photocatalytic degradation of caffeine, a persistent organic pollutant (POP). It is synthesized by a simple two-step sol-gel method. Phase formation, morphology, bandgap, and photocatalytic properties were analyzed [...] Read more.
An anatase phase of the TiO2-H-beta (THB) zeolite composite photocatalyst is used for the photocatalytic degradation of caffeine, a persistent organic pollutant (POP). It is synthesized by a simple two-step sol-gel method. Phase formation, morphology, bandgap, and photocatalytic properties were analyzed using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, respectively. The THB and the anatase TiO2 samples were then tested for the photocatalytic activity of the degradation of caffeine. Photocatalytic studies reveal that the as-prepared THB composite showed excellent activity for the degradation of 10 ppm caffeine solution. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis found caffeine to have degraded with an efficiency of 96%. Scavenging experiments indicated that the hydroxide radical played an important role in the degradation of caffeine. The results highlight the role of the H-beta zeolite as an effective support to TiO2 and improved the photocatalytic activity. The study demonstrates that the THB composite could be effectively applied for the photocatalytic degradation of other POPs largely present in active pharmaceutical ingredients. Full article
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13 pages, 3399 KiB  
Article
Provenance and Stratigraphy of the Upper Carboniferous—Lower Permian Strata of October Revolution Island (Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago): Implications for Geological History of the Russian High Arctic
by Victoria Ershova, Andrei Prokopiev, Daniel Stockli, Daria Zbukova and Anton Shmanyak
Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1325; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101325 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1392
Abstract
Small depressions across the north-eastern part of October Revolution Island (Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, Kara terrane) are filled with continental terrigenous rocks, dated as Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian in age based on palynological data. These rocks overlie Ordovician volcaniclastic rocks above a prominent angular unconformity. [...] Read more.
Small depressions across the north-eastern part of October Revolution Island (Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, Kara terrane) are filled with continental terrigenous rocks, dated as Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian in age based on palynological data. These rocks overlie Ordovician volcaniclastic rocks above a prominent angular unconformity. U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Late Carboniferous–Lower Permian rocks reveals that most grains are Ordovician in age, ranging between 475–455 Ma. A subordinate population of Silurian detrital zircons is also present, contributing up to 15% of the dated population, while Precambrian grains mainly yield Neo-Mesoproterozoic ages and do not form prominent peaks. The combined U-Pb and (U-Th)/He ages indicate that most zircon (U-Th)/He ages were reset and average at ca. 317 Ma, suggesting ~6–7 km of Late Carboniferous uplift within the provenance area. This provenance area, mainly comprising Ordovician magmatic and volcanic rocks, was located close to the study area based on the coarse-grained nature of Late Carboniferous–Lower Permian rocks of north-eastern October Revolution Island. Therefore, we propose that Late Paleozoic tectonism significantly affected both the southern margin of the Kara terrane, as previously supposed, and also its north-eastern part. We propose that the Late Paleozoic Uralian suture zone continued to the north-eastern October Revolution Island and was responsible for the significant tectonic uplift of the studied region. This suture zone is now hidden beneath the younger Arctic basins. Full article
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Review

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21 pages, 3031 KiB  
Review
Platinum Group Elements (PGE) Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Low Economic Potential (Rh-Pt-Pd)-Rich Chromitites from Ophiolite Complexes
by Federica Zaccarini, Maria Economou-Eliopoulos, Olga Kiseleva, Giorgio Garuti, Basilios Tsikouras, Evgenii Pushkarev and Arifudin Idrus
Minerals 2022, 12(12), 1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12121565 - 05 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3185
Abstract
This contribution provides an overview of platinum group elements (PGE) distribution and mineralogy in ophiolitic chromitites, which are unusually enriched in the low melting-point Rh, Pt and Pd (PPGE) compared with most chromite deposits associated with ophiolites, which are dominated by the refractory [...] Read more.
This contribution provides an overview of platinum group elements (PGE) distribution and mineralogy in ophiolitic chromitites, which are unusually enriched in the low melting-point Rh, Pt and Pd (PPGE) compared with most chromite deposits associated with ophiolites, which are dominated by the refractory Os, Ir and Ru (IPGE). The PPGE-rich chromitites examined in this paper have a PPGE/IPGE ratio equal to or higher than 1 and represent about 7% of the ophiolitic chromitite population. These chromitites occur in the mantle unit, in the mantle-transition zone (MTZ), as well as in the supra-Moho cumulate sequence of ophiolite complexes. The age of their host ophiolites varies from Proterozoic to Eocene and, based on their composition, the chromitites can be classified into Cr-rich and Al-rich categories. Mineralogical assemblages observed in this investigation suggest that the PPGE enrichment was achieved in the magmatic stage thanks to the formation of an immiscible sulfide liquid segregating during or immediately after chromite precipitation. The sulfide liquid collected the available chalcophile PPGE that precipitated as specific phases together with Ni-Cu-Fe sulfides in the host chromitite and the silicate matrix. After their magmatic precipitation, the PPGM and associated sulfides were altered during low-temperature serpentinization and hydrothermal processes. Therefore, the original high-temperature assemblage underwent desulfurization, generating awaruite and alloys characterized by variable Pt-Pd-Rh-Cu-Ni-Fe assemblages. The occurrence of secondary PPGM containing Sb, As, Bi, Te, Sn, Hg, Pb and Au suggests that these elements might have been originally present in the differentiating magmatic sulfide liquid or, alternatively, they were introduced by an external source transported by hydrothermal and hydrous fluids during the low-temperature evolution of the host ophiolite. Although the PGE content may be as high as 81,867 ppb, as was found in one sample from Shetland chromite deposits, the ophiolitic chromitites are not presently considered as a potential resource because of the following circumstances: (1) enrichment of PPGE in podiform chromitites is a local event that occurs randomly in ophiolite sequences, (2) ore deposits are small and characterized by uneven distribution and high discontinuity, (3) physical characters of the mineralization only allow poor recovery of the precious metals mainly due to the minute grain size, and (4) for these reasons, the PPGE reserves in ophiolitic chromitites cannot compete, at the moment, with those in chromite deposits of the Bushveld type that will supply world demands for centuries using current mining techniques. Full article
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15 pages, 7043 KiB  
Review
On the Origin of New and Rare Minerals Discovered in the Othrys and Vermion Ophiolites, Greece: An Overview
by Maria Economou-Eliopoulos and Federica Zaccarini
Minerals 2022, 12(10), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101214 - 26 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1308
Abstract
In this contribution we review the mineralogical characteristics of five new and rare minerals discovered in the Othrys and Vermion ophiolites located in Greece, with the aim to better understand their origin. Three new minerals, namely tsikourasite Mo3Ni2P(1+x) [...] Read more.
In this contribution we review the mineralogical characteristics of five new and rare minerals discovered in the Othrys and Vermion ophiolites located in Greece, with the aim to better understand their origin. Three new minerals, namely tsikourasite Mo3Ni2P(1+x) (x < 0.25), grammatikopoulosite NiVP and eliopoulosite V7S8, were found in the chromitite from the Agios Stefanos deposit, whereas arsenotučekite Ni18Sb3AsS16 was discovered in the Eretria (Tsangli) chromium mine, located in the Othrys ophiolite complex. The formation of the new phosphides tsikourasite and grammatikopoulosite and the sulfide eliopoulosite from Agios Stefanos took place after the precipitation of the host chromitite. Very likely, they formed at lower pressure in an extremely low fO2 and reducing environment during the serpentinization that affected the host ophiolite. The origin of arsenotučekite in chromitites coexisting with Fe–Ni–Cu-sulfide mineralization and magnetite at the Eretria (Tsangli) mine, is believed to be related to a circulating hydrothermal system. The most salient feature of theophrastite Ni(OH)2 and associated unnamed (Ni,Co,Mn)(OH)2 with a varying compositional range and a concentrating development, as successive thin layers, composed by fine fibrous crystals. The extremely tiny crystals of these hydroxides and the spatial association of mixed layers of Ni-silicides with theophrastite may reflect the significant role of the interaction process between adjacent layers on the observed structural features. The scarcity in nature of the new minerals reviewed in this paper is probably due to the required extreme physical-chemical conditions, which are rarely precipitated. Full article
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