The mineral, rock, and fossil collection of the Department of Geology is one of the most important systematic academic collections in Slovenia. While arranging the mineral collection, geologists noticed that the mineral composition of the asbestos samples is either unknown or questionable. Asbestos is the commercial name for silica minerals of fibrous habit, the mechanical properties of which were generally sought-after in the construction industry and civil engineering.
Using the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and the scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) we have determined the mineral composition of all ten samples and named them accordingly.
Sample 11153 (labelled as amphibole asbestos from Jordalsgrend) is an anthophyllite. Samples 12629 (labelled as anthophyllite from Krumovgrad) and 14181 (labelled as asbestos from Pohorje) are anthophyllites as well. Samples 4290 (labelled as regular asbestos from Binnental, Wallis canton), 9243 (labelled as crocidolite asbestos from Corsica), and 2437 (marked as amphibole asbestos from the Zillertal valley in Austrian Tyrol) are all tremolites. Sample 13482 (marked as asbestos found in Mozambique) belongs to the actinolite-tremolite series and is most likely an actinolite. Sample 9447 (marked as serpentine asbestos from Sverdlovsk) is a chrysotile as is sample number 11969 (also found in Sverdlovsk, also marked as asbestos). Sample 13721 (labelled as amphibole asbestos from North Macedonia) is a crocidolite.
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