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Khibiny Routes 2002
The dumps of the "Materialnaya-2" adit ( the new tunnel).
The "Materialnaya" adit (the New tunnel) is situated on the South mountainside of the Yukspor Mountain in the central part of Khibiny massif. Due to the fact that the dumps of the adit contain lumps of the gigantic high-alkaline urtite-pegmatite this deposit is widely known for finds of lamellar lamprophyllite crystals, black aegirine radial aggregates. Moreover a range of other rare minerals was described there: georgechaoite, zeophyllite, etc.
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Kirovsk mine quarry.
Kirovsk mine is situated in the central part of Khibiny massif - between the mountain spurs of the Yukspor Mountain, Kukisvumchorr and Vortkeuaiv Mountains. In the open-cast of the mine (non feldspar urtites development zone) repeated finds of pegmatite bodies of average size, containing aggregates of honey-yellow and fawn titanite. Besides, rich inclusions of crimson eudialyte which is used as jobbing material (stone of commerce) can be found in apatite ores.
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The route to the upper reaches of Tuliok River.
Tuliok River originates itself from little nameless lake in one of the circuses of the Kukisvumchorr mountain in the central part of Khibiny massif. This region which is set by foyaites is characterized by the wide development of pegmatites and late albite veins. When the albitization processes are combined with rocks and pegmatite, which were formed before, change of the initial structure takes place. Thus in the places of intersection of early pegmatite and late albites the radial aggregates (stars) of goldish yellow astrophyllite and different unusual psevdomorphoses of early minerals (eudialyte, loparite-(Ce), etc) can be found.
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The route to the Aikuaivenchorr Mountain.
The Aykuaivenchorr Mountain is located in the Southern part of Khibiny massif. At the Southern spur in the small crevice, in khibinyte, the high-alkali pegmatite is placed, which is widely known for the finds of spherical, hollow (cored) aggregates of the acicular, fibrous aegirine, sometimes enchased with analcime crystals. The finds of small lamellar crystals of hazel catapleiite, small crystals of chabazite and albite, plates of polylithionite and splintered crystals of eudidymite and other crystals were made in this pegmatite. The pegmatite has been worked out - thus the material can be gathered only in dumps of the pegmatite body.
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The route to the Gakman canyon and Yukspor Mountain.
The Gakman canyon splits the Southern mountainside of the Yukspor Mountain, which is situated in the central part of Khibiny massif into two parts. The Yukspor Mountain consists of a range of the rocks: beginning with rocks of the middle circular zone of the massif (urtite, ijolite, rischorrite, etc) and ending up with foyaite. The rocks represented in the cut of Gakman canyon belong mostly to the middle circular zone.
One of the interesting points is located on the top of Yuksporr river - it is a big pegmatite with pink fibrous yuksporite forming striking radial aggregates in the rock, silvery white perlialite and other minerals. The other place is the dumps of the derelicted adits of the Lovchorrit mine where one can find big flinders of the rosin-yellow lovchorrite. The third point lies on leaving from the canyon. In the dumps of pegmatite body one can find small brushes of natrolite and laumontite crystals, small chlorine crystals of apatite, round and more rarely radial isolated samples of graphite.
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The route to the top of Putelichorr Mountain.
At the top of Putelichorr Mountain at the North- Western part of Khibiny massif in the massive khibinyte development zone there is big alkaline pegmatite with unique eudialyte crystals. These crystals are considered to be the best in the world. The eudialyte crystals (up to 5 cm) is included in green mass of acicular green aegirine. Lamellar goldish yellow lamprophyllite can be found in association with it.
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The route to the Northeastern mountainside of Putelichorr Mountain.
In one of the glacial valleys on the South-Eastern mountainside of Putelichorr Mountain at the contact point of two different khibinytes there is a pegmatite field of average size with wide normandite mineralization. Normandite is represented by fine-fibred, bright orange aggregates and makes up 50 % of the whole pegmatite rock at some zones. The samples of normandite-feldspar with bright green radial aegirine aggregates look spectacular. Small crystals of titanite, barytolamprophyllite, astrophyllite can be found in association with it.
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The route to the Kaskasniunchorr Mountain.
The Kaskasniunchorr Mountain is located in the Northern part of Khibiny massif.
The mountain is made of three main types of rocks: rischorrites, foyaites and medium-grained aegirine-nepheline syenites. Several pegmatite fields which are different by their structure and composition are situated there. One of these fields is characterized by wide development of mangan-neptunite mineralization. Small crystals (up to 3 cm ) and joins of mangan-neptunite in association with analcime, natrolite and aegirine can be found in the pegmatites of this field.
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The route to Marchenko peak
Marchenko peak is one of the numerous spurs of the gigantic Kukisvumchorr plateau. It consists mostly of rischorrites. Except of high-alkali (agpaite) pegmatites, which are the borderline case of rischorrites contact with other kinds of rocks, the low-alkali (miaskite) pegmatites are represented on Marchenko peak.
The field of the law-alkali pegmatites is located on the edge of long law-alkali pegmatites zone (beginning from the Vortkeuaiv mountainous pass through Kukisvumchorr plateau ending by Marchenko peak ). The samples of ilmenite, natrlollite and zircon crystals can be interesting as collection samples.
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The route to the eastern mine ( Koashva apatite field )
The Koashva Mountain is situated in the South-eastern part of Khibiny mountain range. Eastern and north-eastern mountain sides are cut through by the acting apatite ore open-cast mine.
Pegmatites of Koashva Mountain are divided into two parts, they are located within a vast field at the contact of big urtites and apatite rocks. The first group is rischorrite-pegmatites, numerous lode solids, which have rather simple mineral composition: orthoclase, nepheline, amphibole, aegirin, eudialyte, biotite, rinkite and lamprophylite. The second group is differentiated pegmatites, rare solids of zonal structure and complicated mineralogical composition. In separate cases the outside or separate edge sections have the composition of simple rischorrite-pegmatites.
From the edge to the center they are gradually superceded by the zone of dark-green fibrous acicular aegirine crystals with inclusions of lamprophyllite, arfvedsonite, lomonosovite, scherbakovite, villiaumite and other minerals. The interstice which were formed by eudialyte dilution are met in the aegirine zone. They are often filled with natrolite and often contain various zirconium and titanium silicates: vadeite, kostylevite, umbite, paraumbite, sazykinaite-(Y), sitinakite, lemmleinite-(K) and others. In the central parts of differentiated pegmatite solids the inner nucleus is usually situated - it usually consists of natrolite and pectolite or in other cases villiaumite, sodalite and pectolite. The sulphides are typical for many pegmatite nucleuses. The most wide spread of them are sphalerite and different phosphates like nacaphite, vitusite-(Ce), nefedovite, the minerals of crystal chemical apatite family, etc.
The pegmatite mineralogy of Koashva Mountain is very rich. Only in differentiated pegmatites about 100 kinds of minerals were found for the present moment. And it is here where many of them were found for the first time.
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Khibiny 2003
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