The alteration of Malayan ilmenite grains and the question of "arizonite"

X-ray and other investigations of concentrates from a Malayan alluvial deposit show that ilmenite is undergoing alteration in the solid state by oxidation and leaching processes, In an initial stage, little alteration is apparent but in a second stage, the ilmenite structure has broken down into an amorphous state, the content of TiO ₂ is much higher (and FeO is lower), and magnetic susceptibility is decreased to an extent affecting commercial extraction of the material, for which the name hydroilmenite is proposed. A third state has been described from Arizona but has not been found in the Malayan deposits; the term arizonite should be retained for his material, in which recrystallization into a mixture of rutile, anatase, and hematite has occurred.

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This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. A. Schroeder, J. J. Le Golvan, and M. F. Roden Weathering of ilmenite from granite and chlorite schist in the Georgia Piedmont American Mineralogist, November 1, 2002; 87(11-12): 1616 - 1625. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]