Aragonite Analysis, Vanadium Ore Textures, and New Mineral Belmonteite Announced

The European Journal of Mineralogy released three 2026 studies that advance both analytical techniques and mineral discovery. The first paper describes an attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared method applied to synthetic mixtures of aragonite-group carbonates. It offers qualitative and quantitative analysis without sample preparation and introduces calibration curves that quantify strontianite and witherite in these mixtures using absorbance ratios between peaks, thereby reducing measurement variability.¹

A second article examines exsolution textures in Fe–Ti oxide minerals within vanadium ores from South Africa’s Bushveld Complex. These microscopic textures influence how efficiently vanadium can be extracted; some intergrow tightly and hinder separation, while others form coarser structures that improve processing by magnetic and flotation methods. Identifying the texture type is essential for optimizing crushing strategies and pre‑concentration of vanadium and titanium resources.¹

Finally, researchers reported a new arsenate mineral named Belmonteite (CaMn₂(AsO₄)₂(H₂O)₅·2H₂O). It was found in Mn ore deposits of the Graveglia Valley in eastern Liguria, Italy. Its crystal structure shows {010} layers of six‑fold coordinated manganese atoms decorated on both sides by (AsO₄) groups and calcium atoms, connected through hydrogen bonds. The genesis relates to As‑rich oxidizing fluids circulating within the deposit, and the name honors Donato Belmonte for his contributions to Ligurian mineralogy.¹