Locality: N. Sugarloaf Mtn., Bethlehem, NH
Specimen Size: 11 mm field of view. Acicular red-brown zircon in feldspar.
Field Collected: Tom Mortimer
Catalog No.: u2174
Notes: A polished grain EDS analysis (BC276) confirmed zircon, with a trace of uranium. This specimen was the source for the EDS analysis.
Locality: N. Sugarloaf Mtn., Bethlehem, NH
Specimen Size: 3 cm specimen with black, sub-metalic samarskite-(Y) in feldspar.
Field Collected: Gene Bearss
Catalog No.: 2090
Notes: Polished grain EDS analyses (BC264 & BC279) indicated samarskite-(Y). There is an unlabeled Y peak between the Ta and Nb peaks. Fred Davis computed Ercit plots ( Ercit plot 1 , Ercit plot 2 ) from these analyses.
Locality: Oliver Trench, Moat Mtn, Hale's Location, NH
Specimen Size: 2.8 cm specimen with 3 mm tuft of bavenite crystals, top center
Field Collected: Bob Janules
Catalog No.: A Bob Janules specimen
Notes: I was unable to get a satisfactory close-up shot of the bavenite crystals due to the low contrast between the milky-clear crystals and the white background.
Locality: Government Pit, Albany, NH
Specimen Size: 1.8 mm milarite crystal
Field Collected: Found in large box of uncleaned, untrimmed, Government Pit specimens collected by Leroy Grant of Albany, NH (deceased). Collected in the 1970's.
Catalog No.: u2206
Notes:
Locality: Crane Prospect, Whitefield, NH
Specimen Size: 5.5 cm specimen. Molybdenite in white quartz.
Field Collected: Bob Whitmore. Purchased from Ted Johnson, Yankee Minerals, 8/18.
Catalog No.: 2086
Notes: Showed this specimen to Bob Whitmore 8/18. He recalled collecting it. Said "it was a nice one." This is an obscure locality!
Locality: Palermo Mine, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 1.8 cm specimen.
Field Collected: Janet Cares - 1976
Catalog No.: From Janet Cares TN collection
Notes: Green is alluaudite.
Locality: N. Sugarloaf Mtn. Bethlehem, NH
Specimen Size: 2.3 cm high specimen.
Field Collected: Gene Bearss
Catalog No.: 2087
Notes: A polished grain EDS analysis BC274, showed an iron dominant niobium mineral. Interesting that the Ta plot peak is much higher than the Nb peak, but the atomic percent (in table) of Nb is much greater than the atomic percent of Ta. This demonstrates the difference between the element abundance ratio implied by the plot and the element atomic percents computed by the EDS instrument software after applying the ZAF and instrument calibration corrections. This is a lesson in "do not read too much into relative peak values."
The APFU calculated from the EDS atomic percents gives: (Fe3.51,Mn0.95)(Nb1.53,Ta0.46)O20.7 , normalized for Nb + Ta = 2. Columbite-(Fe) chemistry is: FeNb2O6 . This Sugarloaf analysis shows about twice as much Fe + Mn as columbite-(Fe) should have. Unsure what to make of this.
Specimen backside has nice micro bertrandite.
Locality: N. Sugarloaf Mtn. Bethlehem, NH
Specimen Size: 5.3 cm specimen with 1.3 cm jet black samarskite mineral at top.
Field Collected: Gene Bearss
Catalog No.: 2088
Notes: A polished grain EDS analysis BC275B, showed a Nb, Ta, Fe, Y, U, mineral. The tiny bit of Se is likely a miss-identification by the instrument element assignment software.
This specimen gives a moderate response on my scintillometer.
Fred Davis opined: "the general trend for quantities of elements [for this specimen] doesn't fit [samarskite] (Fe and Y+REE swap places, quantity-wise). Qualitatively, yes, the elements are present but including quantity takes the match process up a notch with a little more certainty. None of [these possible] species has that much iron. [summarizing]:
Yttrocolumbite Nb+Ta > Y+REE > U+Th > Fe
Petscheckite Nb+Ta > U+Th > Fe > Y+REE
Ishikawaite Nb+Ta > U+Th > Fe > Y+REE
Samarskite Nb+Ta > Y+REE > U+Th > Fe
[This] N. Sugarloaf Nb+Ta > Fe > U > Y "
Locality: N. Sugarloaf Mtn. Bethlehem, NH
Specimen Size: 8 mm field of view. Tested mineral is resinous brown upper center and mid center.
Field Collected: Gene Bearss
Catalog No.: 2089
Notes: A carbon tape mounted grain EDS analysis BC288A, showed a Nb, Ta, U, Ca mineral. The tiny bit of Al is likely surface contaminent.
This specimen gives a weak response on my scintillometer.
Fred Davis contributed: "Not a super great fit for Ercit plot (it's missing lots of elements like Y, LREE, HREE, Ti, Pb, etc). But I plugged in the data and [generated this plot]. Suggested mineral is a pyrochlore (Ercit preceded the whole renaming debacle.) It does sorta fit with the old Handbook of Mineralogy data for uranpyrochlore. Nb-dominant pyrochlore is certainly better than microlite which is Ta-dominant."
Locality: Palermo #1 Mine, Pod #3, N. Groton, NH
Specimen Size: 8 mm field of view top photo. 2 mm field of view, second photo.
Field Collected: Forrest Fogg. Passed along to tm by Gordon Jackson.
Catalog No.: u2205
Notes: Green, tufty, radial balls, of frondelite on hummocks of mitridatite. Frondelite confirmed by polished grain EDS analyses (BC22 - set 19). Chemistry from analysis: Mn1.17Fe4P3.96O22 , normalized for 4 Fe.
Frondelite chemistry is : Mn2+Fe43+(PO4)3(OH)5 .
Frondelite is listed for the Palermo #1 Mine in Whitmore & Lawrence's book The Pegmatite Mines Known as Palermo, but no illustration is included.
In some areas of the specimen, the frondelite appears as scaly masses, third photo.
The fourth view shows the overall 3.5 cm specimen. Zones of frondelite are present on both sides of the specimen.
Fifth photo is attempt to capture some small individual crystal groups.
Whitmore & Lawrence's book lists frondelite for pods #4 and #7, but not for Pod #3.
The label that came with the specimen simply said: "Dark green on mitridatite."