#merelaniite

[simpystarrr]

Gem lore facts

Tanzanite 4WI’s gem has merelaniite inclusions in it, which affects her physical form. She has a black streak in her hair from that.

(Precious face)

In the real world, merelaniite inclusions in tanzanite are very rare and tanzanites bring very rare themselves makes it prized. However, 4WI hates her inclusions and wants a flawless cut like 4FG (aka) main Tanzy.

[materialsworld]

5 things you didn’t know about…merelaniite

1. Merelaniite is a mineral having the formula Mo4Pb4VSbS15.

2. Researchers named the new chemical compound for the Merelani mining district of Tanzania, a region rich in rare minerals.

3. It occurs sporadically as metallic dark gray cylindrical whiskers that are typically tens of micrometres in diameter and up to a millimetre long, although a few whiskers up to 12mm long have been observed.

4. Merelaniite has been recorded so far in association with calcite, chabazite, diopside, graphite, quartz, fluorapatite, prehnite, stilbite, tremolite, laumontite, titanite, zoisite (tanzanite), alabandite, clausthalite, pyrite, and wurtzite.

5. Researchers at MIT used Ramen spectrometry and electron microscopy to study the merelaniite mineral, which forms into tiny coiled sheets of molybdenum, lead and sulfur.

To read more on the history and properties of a wide-range of materials and elements, read our Material of the Month features at bit.ly/1SNOQII

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Close up of the new mineral merelaniite

A team led by a physicist from Michigan Technological University has discovered a new mineral, named for the region in Tanzania where it comes from.

John Jaszczak, a professor of physics, knew that something was very unusual about the mineral specimen he was examining under the microscope of a Raman spectrometer in the basement of Fisher Hall at Michigan Tech.

On a hunch, Jaszczak decided to look into it further. The diagnostic studies with Raman spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy showed a layered structure rich in molybdenum, lead and sulfur that may be a new mineral. Now, Jaszczak and the team he pulled together can confirm that gut feeling: The tiny, silvery, cylindrical whiskers are indeed a new mineral—merelaniite. The journal Minerals published the team's findings this week.

Read more.