The discovery of new mineral species and type minerals from Brazil

Abstract

Minerals were seen merely as sources of chemicals: iron ore, copper ore, etc. However, minerals are not just chemicals associations, since they display crystal structures. These two features together provide properties that can be technologically useful. Even though a mineral occurs in very small amount, which does not allow its extraction, it can serve as a model for obtaining the synthetic analogue on an industrial scale. It is necessary that a new-mineral proposal be submitted for approval by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) before publication. Only 65 valid mineral species were first described from Brazil, that is, the type minerals from Brazil. Nineteen of these were published between 1789 and 1959 (0.11 per year). From 1959, when the CNMMN (today CNMNC) - IMA was established, to 2000, 18 approved Brazilian mineral species remain valid (0.43 per year). However, the number of type minerals from Brazil approved in the last 15 years (2000 to 2014) was substantially increased: 28 (1.87 per year). This number is very small considering the wide range of Brazilian geological environments. The two first type species from Brazil, discovered in the 18th century, chrysoberyl and euclase, are important gemological minerals. Two other gem minerals, tourmaline-supergroup members, were published only in the 21st century: uvite and fluor-elbaite. Some type minerals from Brazil are very important technologically speaking. Some examples are menezesite, coutinhoite, lindbergite, pauloabibite, and waimirite-(Y).