Glossary & Definitions
You will find below a glossary of terms and abbreviations found on this site. I am also including links to an English-French dictionary and a French-English dictionnary provided by Philippe Saget of the French Micromineralogy Association that will prove invaluable in correspondance or reading French mineralogical literature.
AP – | Altered pegmatites. |
BR – | Igneous breccias. |
Breccia – | Rock consisting of sharp fragments in a fine grained matrix. |
FR – | Rock forming minerals. |
HF – | Hornfels. |
Hornfels – | Fine grained silicate rock produced by metamorphism. |
MC – | Miarolitic cavities. |
Miarolitic – | Irregular cavities into which well-formed crystals project. |
MSH – | Mont Saint-Hilaire. |
MX – | Marble xenoliths. |
PE – | Unaltered pegmatites |
Pegmatite – | Natural igneous rock formation usually characterized by a coarse texture caused by crystallization from an exceptionally fluid magma rich in mineralizers containing rare elements |
Rarity factors – | Rarity factor tables from common to extremely rare species as explained on the legend page. |
SEM – | Scanning electron microscope. |
SS – | Sodalite syenite. |
SX – | Incorrectly called sodalite xenolith, proper name is tawite. |
Syenite – | Intrusive igneous rock composed of dominant alkaline feldspar. |
Xenolith – | Fragment of a rock included in another rock. |