100. Mineral Names (1960s)

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Mineral Names

The Geological Survey of Canada, since its earliest days, has been one of the leading Canadian institutions for the identification of new minerals and for publishing scientific information about them.

Mineral names come from many realms. Some are descriptive of the mineral, some refer to the location where it was found, and some are named for a person. Often the person is a fellow scientist who the mineral’s discoverer wishes to honour, and the mineral name is formed by tacking “ite” onto the person’s name.

Over 25 Survey geologists and mineralogists have been so honoured. Of that number, six have their names attached to new minerals from the Mont St-Hilaire intrusion near Montreal, which yielded over 65 new minerals in the 1960s. For example, Survey mineralogist Ann Sabina named her 1966 mineral find at Montreal’s Francon quarry weloganite in honour of Survey founder William Edmond Logan. In turn, another new mineral, sabinaite, from that same site was named for her as its discoverer.

Decade: 1960s

Category: Rocks, Fossils, Minerals and Meteorites

References:

Sabinaite. http://www.mindat.org/min-3495.html

Weloganite. http://www.mindat.org/min-4266.html

GSC 175 - CGC 175

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