# Loveringite

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{{Short description|Oxide mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name        = Loveringite
| category    = [Oxide minerals](/source/Oxide_minerals)
| boxwidth    =
| boxbgcolor  =
| image       =Loveringite.jpg
| imagesize   =
| caption     =
| formula     = {{chem2|(Ca,Ce)(Ti,Fe,Cr,Mg)21O38}}
| IMAsymbol   = Lvg<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}</ref>
| molweight   =
| strunz      = 4.CC.40
| system      = Trigonal
| class       = Rhombohedral ({{overline|3}}) <br/><small>(same [H-M symbol](/source/H-M_symbol))</small>
| symmetry    = ''R''{{overline|3}}
| unit cell   = a = 10.33, c = 20.67&nbsp;[Å]; Z&nbsp;=&nbsp;3
| color       = Black
| habit       = Anhedral, can be acicular - occurs as needle-like crystals
| twinning    =
| cleavage    =
| fracture    =  conchoidal
| tenacity    =
| mohs  = 7.5
| luster      =  Metallic
| refractive  =
| opticalprop = Uniaxial
| birefringence =
| pleochroism =
| streak      =  Grayish black
| gravity     = 4.41
| density     =
| melt        =
| fusibility  =
| diagnostic  =
| solubility  =
| diaphaneity =  Opaque
| other       = [metamict](/source/metamict) due to trace to minor [uranium](/source/uranium) substitution
| references  = <ref name=Webmin>[http://webmineral.com/data/Loveringite.shtml Webmineral data]</ref><ref name=Mindat/><ref name=HBM/>
}}

'''Loveringite''' is a rare metallic [oxide mineral](/source/oxide_mineral) of the [crichtonite](/source/crichtonite) group with the chemical formula {{chem2|(Ca,Ce)(Ti,Fe,Cr,Mg)21O38}}.  It is a late-stage [magmatic](/source/magmatic) mineral, formed in the residual melt of [mafic](/source/mafic) [layered intrusion](/source/layered_intrusion)s in either the [olivine](/source/olivine)-[chromite](/source/chromite), [pyroxene](/source/pyroxene), or [plagioclase](/source/plagioclase)-rich layers.<ref name=HBM>[http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/loveringite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy]</ref>

==Discovery and occurrence==
Loveringite was discovered in 1978 in the Jimberlana Intrusion, [Dundas Shire](/source/Dundas_Shire), [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia),<ref name=Mindat>[http://www.mindat.org/min-2444.html Mindat with locations]</ref> and was named for Australian geochemist and [University of Melbourne](/source/University_of_Melbourne) professor [John Francis Lovering](/source/John_Francis_Lovering), in recognition of his work on fission-track methods in [geochemistry](/source/geochemistry).<ref name=Webmin/><ref name=HBM/>

Loveringite has also been generally found in areas of medium-grade metamorphism, reported from the [Hoggar Mountains](/source/Hoggar_Mountains) of [Algeria](/source/Algeria); the
[Hohe Tauern Mountains](/source/Hohe_Tauern_Mountains), [Salzburg](/source/Salzburg), [Austria](/source/Austria); the Koitelainen intrusion of [Lappland](/source/Lapland_(Finland)), [Finland](/source/Finland); Bourg d’Oisans, Isere, [France](/source/France); Bracco, [Liguria](/source/Liguria), [Italy](/source/Italy); the [Kerguelen Islands](/source/Kerguelen_Islands); the [Khibiny Massif](/source/Khibiny_Massif) in the [Kola Peninsula](/source/Kola_Peninsula) of [Russia](/source/Russia);<ref name=Mindat/><ref name=HBM/> and at [Makwiro](/source/Makwiro) on the [Great Dyke](/source/Great_Dyke) in Zimbabwe.<ref>{{cite journal|date=2000|title=Unconventional PGE occurrences and PGE mineralization in the Great Dyke: metallogenic and economic aspects|journal=Mineralium Deposita|volume=35|issue=2–3|pages=260–280|author=Stribrny, B., Wellmer, F. W., Burgath, K. P., Oberthür, T., Tarkian, M., Pfeiffer, T.|doi=10.1007/s001260050019|bibcode=2000MinDe..35..260S|s2cid=129011473}}</ref>

==Crystallography==
Loveringite is [trigonal](/source/trigonal) (crystal system), rhombohedral (crystal class), meaning it contains three equal axes each related by 120° and one axis perpendicular to these. It has a three-fold rotation axis as well as a center of symmetry and belongs to the space group R3.<ref>[http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM63/AM63_28.pdf Gatehouse, B. M., I. E. Grey, I. H. Campbell and P. Kelly (1978). The crystal structure of loveringite-a new member of the crichtonite group. American Mineralogist, 63, 28-36]</ref>  Loveringite is found to be grayish white to gray in plane polarized light and does not display [pleochroism](/source/pleochroism).  Additionally, when viewed in plane polarized light, Loveringite is found to have high relief and has sharp grain boundaries, shows fractures and cleavages well, and sticks out above other minerals in the thin section.  Reflectance data indicates that loveringite is [anisotropic](/source/anisotropic), showing properties of different values when measured in different directions.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Oxide minerals
Category:Calcium minerals
Category:Lanthanide minerals
Category:Titanium minerals
Category:Chromium minerals
Category:Iron minerals
Category:Magnesium minerals
Category:Trigonal minerals
Category:Minerals in space group 148

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Loveringite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveringite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveringite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.