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Published 1962 | public
Journal Article

The Habit of Apatite in Synthetic Systems and Igneous Rocks

Abstract

Apatite crystals co-existing with liquid or with vapour in the system CaO-CaF_2-P_2O_6-H_2O-CO_2 are equant whereas those precipitated from a liquid during a quench are greatly elongated parallel to the c-axis and they exhibit skeletal forms. Basic rocks in the Karroo volcanic succession of Southern Rhodesia contain apatite crystals with forms very similar to the synthetic quench apatites. Acicular apatite crystals may prove to be of value as a criterion for the former existence of a liquid phase in rocks whose origin is debatable.

Additional Information

© 1962 Oxford University Press. Thanks are due to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research who supported the experimental work, and to the Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa who supported the field work. We are also grateful to Drs. R.S. Bradley and P.G. Harris for reading the manuscript.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023