Specimen data for Pyrochlore

Tom Mortimer catalog number: 1711

Identification method: Habit and color are consistant with other Conway granite pyrochlore specimens. Another vitrious dark brown zone on this specimen, photo below, appears to be un-altered Pyrochlore. Rocks & Minerals, Vol 65 No. 4, July-Aug 1990, pg 295 notes the Albany, NH occurrance found by Peter Samuelson, "Pyrochlore was found as octahedra up to 1.4 cm having a dull off-white surface and a brown-black interior, intergrown with zircon." This specimen was recovered from the dump pile Peter left behind.
A Nov. 2012 Raman analysis of two points from a grain sample from this specimen reported:
"good match to yttropyrochlore-(Y); fair match to ishikawaite (but two peaks only)"
An EDXRF analysis gave a noisy, but usuable, spectra suggesting a niobate with less U and Fe than samarskite or ishikawaite.

Notes: