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PINK LANTHANITE-(Nd) FROM WHITIANGA QUARRY, COROMANDEL PENINSULA, NEW ZEALAND

Ian T. Graham^1,, Ross E. Pogson², David M. Colchester³, Janet Hergt⁴, Rod Martin⁵ and Peter A. Williams⁶

¹ Geoscience, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
² Geoscience, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
³ Geoscience, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia, and School of Natural Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia
⁴ School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
⁵ Glenfield, North Shore City, New Zealand
⁶ School of Natural Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC NSW 1797, Australia

E-mail address: i.graham{at}unsw.edu.au

Lanthanite-(Nd) occurs in tuffaceous, altered andesitic agglomerate in the Whitianga quarry, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. The usual platy habit is represented, together with more unusual blocky equant crystals. The former show the new forms {201}, {102} and {111}, and the latter, {111}. ICP–MS analyses show that the distribution of REE (and Ga) is consistent with the formulation (Nd_0.63La_0.59Ce_0.35Pr_0.15Sm_0.10Gd_0.069Y_0.06Eu_0.03Dy_0.02Ga_0.01) _2.04(CO₃)₃·8H₂O; the REE sum of 2.04 is due solely to rounding errors. The find represents the first occurrence of this rare mineral in New Zealand. The mineral formed under comparatively oxidizing conditions. The REE are probably scavenged by warm waters circulating through underlying greywackes of the Manaia Hill Group. We also characterized the lanthanite-(Nd) by X-ray diffraction (powder method) and Raman spectroscopy.

Keywords: lanthanite-(Nd), rare-earth elements, composition, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand.