[Rockhounds] Columbite

[Pmodreski at aol.com]

It was standardized (the original paper was by Levinson himself, back  
several decades ago--but only for the rare-earth minerals.
 
Using this system for other minerals was the subject of quite a bit of  
discussion in Tucson; apparently, the authors of the Glossary of Minerals  
unilaterally decided to adopt this system for the mineral names therein, for  many 
mineral groups--apatite, apophyllite, columbite--I haven't checked through  the 
whole Glossary to see how many names they thus altered.  People seemed  to feel 
that it was premature for them to have done this, because there has not  been 
any formal IMA--sanctioned journal article published, stating that "this is  
the agreed-upon way this shall be done".  The sentiment expressed was that  
"the way mineral names are thus written, in the Glossary, has no "official"  
status; it is just one pair of authors' personal opinion as to how they would  
like to see these names used.
 
Whereas as I said, this convention has the virtue of the minerals being  
grouped together alphabetically, it has the down sides of dropping some  
long-accepted mineral names, and also, of some of these names becoming quite  
cumbersome--becoming not just a name, but a shorteneed version of the chemical  
formula, which in some cases leads to the question--how the heck do you  pronounce 
this name verbally, without explaining where all the parentheses go  and so 
forth?  For example, the common mineral of the apatite group, which  of course in 
the old days used to be just called "apatite" and we have now  finally just 
about convinved and informed everyone, is properly known as  fluorapatite, is 
now listed in the Glossary as, "apatite-(CaF)".  I'm  really not sure how one is 
supposed to say that when speaking.
 
I took a picture of one specimen label in a case at the Tucson Show, which  
did display a specimen of apatite, labeled this way; Apatite-(CaF), from the 
Pea  Ridge mine, Missouri.  It was, of course, in a case of specimens from the  
Royal Ontario Museum (home of both authors of the present edition of the  
Glossary).
 
My personal feeling is that this is NOT the most desirable system for  
mineral names, and that there is a good chance that it may not really be adopted  
widely, or that it may be simply ignored.  I kind of hope that this is the  
first and last time I will have seen "apatite-(CaF)" printed on a mineral  label!  
As I say, just my personal opinion on this.  So I would advise  collectors 
and museum NOT to rush out and re-do all their labels.
 
Pete Modreski
 
 



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