Moissanite in Rocks of the Bobruisk Basement Inlier, Belarusian Crystalline Massif, East European Craton

Abstract

A large range of minerals, native, intermetallic, and amorphous compounds containing K, Na, Fe, Mn, Ca, Ba, Sr, Cu, Pb, Co, Ni, Sn, Zn, Al, Ce, Nd, La, Pr, Sm, Y, Yb, Nb, Hf, W, Mo, Zr, Cr, V, Ag, Ti, Si, As, P, Bi, O, H, F, Cl, S, Se, C, B, N, and F has been identified in rocks from the Bobruisk basement inlier of the Belarusian crystalline massif in the western part of the East European craton. One of the identified phases was moissanite, which occurs as anhedral and subhedral grains up to 1.5 mm and is the 6H hexagonal polytype. One of the moissanite grains contained mineral inclusions inherent in meteorites: sinoite (Si₂N₂O), xifengite (Si₅Fe₃), and awaruite (Ni₃Fe). The moissanite and native, intermetallic, and amorphous phases associated with it occur as rare disseminated grains of various size in rocks of three rock complexes in the basement of the Bobruisk inlier. This indicates that the mineralization is overprinted. The whole set of crystalline and amorphous phases found in association with moissanite is proposed to be named bobruiskites. The minerals were most probably formed by an meteorite impact on rocks of the East European craton.