New Experimental Insights into Lithium‑Boron Transport in Pegmatites

A team led by Christian Ronny Singer and colleagues reported in the European Journal of Mineralogy an experimental setup designed to study element transport and isotope fractionation of lithium (Li) and boron (B) during late‑stage pegmatite formation. By connecting two melt reservoirs only through a fluid phase they simulated fluid exsolution and measured how Li and B moved from one melt to another. Both elements were carried by the fluid, but the observed transport rates were small. Experiments also showed that Li isotopes fractionate between melt and fluid, with the fluid becoming preferentially enriched in the heavier ^7Li ¹.com].

In a separate issue, the IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification released Newsletter 92. The newsletter, authored by Ferdinando Bosi, Frédéric Hatert, Marco Pasero, and Stuart J. Mills, summarizes recent developments in mineral nomenclature and classification and provides updates on newly approved minerals for the commission’s database ¹.com].

Another article in the same journal examined water retention in mantle xenoliths derived from the Allègre and Ray Pic volcanoes in France’s Massif Central. Konstantinos Thomaidis, Jannick Ingrin, Etienne Deloule, Lydéric France, and Huan Chen investigated hydrous‑point‑defect pyroxenes within these xenoliths as tracers of deep hydrogen signatures. Their work highlighted gaps in understanding how much water is altered during lava emplacement, cooling at the surface, and eruption style (effusive versus explosive) ¹.com].