Garnierite

Garnierite is a general name for a green nickel ore which is found in pockets and veins within weathered and serpentinized ultramafic rocks.

[5] In 2008, yet another study used X-ray diffraction to find the composition of garnierite samples collected at the Falcondo mine in the Dominican Republic.

[7] In 2011, the most recent study performed used Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) analysis to determine the composition of their garnierite samples.

[2] According to X-ray and thermal analysis, the garnierites of the Ural deposits are multiphase formations and consist of a serpentinites (pecoraite 2McI, chrysotile 2McI, chrysotile 2OrcI, lisardite 6T, lisardite 1T, népouite – nickel lisardite 1T), chlorites (clinochlore IIB, sepiolite, palygorskite), clay minerals (nontronite, saponite, montmorillonite, vermiculite), minerals of the mica supergroup (talc, vilemsite, clintonite, annite, phlogopite) and quartz.

Calcite, sauconite, beidellite, halloysite, thomsonite, goethite, maghemite, opal, moganite, nickel hexahydrite, accessory magnesiochromite and rivsite are among the sporadic minerals found in them.

[4][6][10] The main difference between the serpentine-like and talc-like variants of garnierite is the spacing between layers in the structure, seen in X-ray powder diffraction studies.

[11] Garnierite commonly has a colloform texture, typical of minerals that fill open spaces from a solution.

[1] This leads to a very common occurrence of garnierite as fracture fillings of millimeter to centimeter thick veins or as a fabric or coatings at the Falcondo mine in the Dominican Republic.

[1] Jules Garnier, a French geologist, published his work on the geology of New Caledonia in 1867, announcing the discovery of nickel there.