ELECTRON MICROPROBE STUDY OF TURQUOISE-GROUP SOLID SOLUTIONS IN THE NEYSHABOUR AND MEYDOOK MINES, NORTHEAST AND SOUTHERN IRAN

摘要

Turquoise, CuAl6(PO4)(4)(OH)(8)center dot 4H(2)O, belongs to the turquoise group, which consists of turquoise, chalcosiderite, aheylite, faustite, planerite, and UM1981-32-PO:FeH. In order to study turquoise-group solid solutions in samples from the Neyshabour and Meydook mines, 17 samples were selected and investigated using electron probe microanalysis. In addition, their major elements were compared in order to evaluate the feasibility of distinguishing the provenance of Persian turquoises. The electron microprobe data show that the studied samples are not constituted of pure turquoise (or any other pure endmember) and belong, from the chemical point of view, to turquoise-group solid solutions.