The First Find of Biogenic Nanohematite in the Bauxite-Bearing Weathering Crust in Basalt from South Vietnam

摘要

The abundance of microbial forms (bacteria, bio-films, bacterial mats, glycocalyx) participating in the formation of iron oxide and hydroxide minerals is a peculiar feature of weathering crusts (CWs) in basalt from South Vietnam. Their maximal concentration is observed in the zone of lateritic bauxite and cuirass formed above in the undersoil horizon. Currently magnetite Fe_3O_4 is well-studied as a product of iron biomineralization by modern organisms and included in the top ten by scientific and practical importance. Special attention has been paid to natural, as well as synthetic, minerals formed with participation of magnitotactic bacteria.