Minerals discovered in Belgium during the 20th century

The inventory of Belgian mineral species was practically complete at the end of the 19th century, comprising species from abroad as well as species described for the first time in Belgium. Today the mining exploitation, the decline of which began during the second half of the 20th century, is no longer active. The remaining exploitations are open pit mines that work stones for building and for roads, limestone and chalk for cement and concrete, clays for bricks as well as some handicraft slate and coticule quarries.

In the absence of new production sources, the discovery of new mineral species will be linked to the progress of technology. It is now possible to study very tiny quantities of matter thanks to electron microprobe, microthermogravimetry and microdiffractometry, defining in this way new mineral species. It is the case for 5 of the new species described below, only fraipontite having larger dimensions but being very rare.

The chronology of the new discoveries is as follows: Fraipontite, a zinc alumino-silicate, described in the deposit of Moresnet in 1927 by Cesàro; the species is dedicated to two paleontologists of the University of Liège: J. Fraipont (1857-1810) and his son C. Fraipont (1883-1946).

Fraipontite.

Viseite from Visé is a calcium alumino-silicate and phosphate discovered by J. Mélon in 1942. Drugmanite is a microscopic species occurring at Richelle; it was described by Van Tassel and co-workers in 1979 and was named in honour of Julien Drugman.

Ferristrunzite is a ferric variety of strunzite, originated from Blaton and described by Peacor and co-workers in 1987

Ferristrunzite.

Vantasselite is an aluminium phosphate discovered by Fransolet at Bihain, also in 1987; the name was given in honour of René Van Tassel (born 1916), mineralogist and retired head of the department of Mineralogy of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

Vantasselite.

Finally, viaeneite, found at Engis in 1996, is an oxy-sulfide of iron and lead; Kucha and his co-workers dedicated the new species to Professor Willy Viaene, mineralogist of the Catholic University of Louvain.

Biblography

Fransolet, A.-M. , 1987, Vantasselite, a new mineral species from Stavelot massif, Belgium. , Bulletin Minéralogique, 110, 647-656.

Kucha, H., Osuch, W., and Elsen, J., 1996, Viaeneite, a new mineral with mixed sulphur valencies from Engis, Belgium., European Journal of Mineralogy, 8, 93-102.

Mélon, J. Bourguignon, P. & Fransolet, A.-M., 1976, Les minéraux de Belgique., Editions G. Lelotte, Dison. 280 pp.

Peacor, D.R., Dunn, P.J., Simmons, W.B. & Ramik, R.A., 1987, Ferristrunzite, a new member of the strunzite group, from Blaton, Belgium., Neues Jahrbuch Mineralogie Monatshefte, 453-45.

Van Tassel, R., Fransolet, A.-M. & Abraham, K., 1979, Drugmanite, a new mineral from Richelle, Belgium., Mineralogical Magazine, 43, 463-467.