New rare cave minerals from the Perolas-Santana karst system (Sào Paulo State, Brazil).

• Main Authors: Forti Paolo, Galli Ermanno, Rossi Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of South Florida Libraries 2000-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Speleology
• Subjects: lithophorite; chemistry; cave mineral; Brazil; Perolas-Santana
• Online Access: http://www.ijs.speleo.it/pdf/60.119.29_Forti.Galli.Rossi.pdf

The Perolas-Santana karst system (Sào Paulo State, Brazil) has been partially studied from the mineralogical point of view. The present paper will contribute to the knowledge of the minerals in these caves, describing the occurrence of euhedral celestite crystals and of a rather rare mineral for a cavern environment: lithiophorite. Thanks to these new discoveries the Perolas-Santana karst system becomes one of the most important in Brazil from a mineralogical point of view. Finally, the result of the chemical analyses carried out on this newly discovered Monoxyhydroxide put in evidence a zonation in the distribution of the different elements which may be related to several subsequent depositional events characterized by solutions with a chemical content variable in time.