John B. Paine III on sat 4 aug 01
Hi: Those of you who need Lepidolite (a lithium-bearing mineral of the mica
family) for glaze recipes need to know that this mineral is characteristic
of the core zones of "Lithium pegmatites", most of which are fairly small
orebodies, and thus commercially ephemeral. However, there is at least one
giant pegmatite I know of that has lepidolite, and is being mined in a
significant way for some of the other minerals it contains, specifically for
tantalum (microlite, wodginite, manganotantalite), and cesium (pollucite).
I do not know whether this mine currently mills lepidolite. The pegmatite
in question is the Tanco Pegmatite, in Bernic Lake, Manitoba, Canada. This
mine currently belongs to the Cabot Corporation, which is probably the place
to direct enquiries to. Cabot is a major player in the world of tantalum.
One might also equire with the manager or geologists at Bernic Lake. If any
of you succeed with them, let me know. (Feel free to surf the web, e.g.
Google, to find out the necessary addresses for Cabot and Tanco.) Tanco has
a lot of feldspar, much of it with elevated rubidium content. Pollucite,
the cesium mineral, might also be of interest as a glaze ingredient,
provided, of course, that cesium does not volatilize during firing.
Regards,
John B. Paine III
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