Mida nephrite deposit, Qiemo Co. (Qerqen Co.; Cherchen Co.), Bayin'gholin Autonomous Prefecture (Bayingolin Autonomous Prefecture; Bayinguoleng Autonomous Prefecture), Xinjiang, Chinai
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
37° 8' 52'' North , 85° 24' 24'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Mindat Locality ID:
439607
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:439607:2
GUID (UUID V4):
2da56ed5-a767-47fa-b1b6-a735d5c0bf37
Most Mida nephrites show a typical ivory white color, fine texture, semitranslucent-to-opaque transparency and greasy luster, while a smaller portion shows less transparency than the former and a porcelain-like luster. Mida nephrites show distinctive differences from Xinjiang white nephrite, which is known for its fine-grained texture, semitransparent-to-translucent appearance and greasy luster, as well as Qinghai white nephrite, which shows higher transparency and a vitreous luster.
The Mida nephrite deposit occurs in the Tokuzidaban Formation in Karamiran in the Late Paleozoic trench–arc–basin system between the Altyn fault and Muztag–Jingyu Lake fault. Zircon U–Pb dating of the volcanic rocks in the Tokuzidaban Formation in the Aksu River region indicates the formation age ranges from 364 to 343 Ma. The Tokuzidaban Formation is located in the South Kunlun terrane, which is part of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt. The East Kunlun Orogenic Belt is divided into North Kunlun, South Kunlun and Bayan Har terranes based on the boundary between the Central Kunlun fault and the South Kunlun fault.
Field investigations have revealed that the nephrite orebodies occur as blocks, veins and irregular banded bodies within gray-white or gray-black carbonate rocks composed mainly of marble and marbleized limestone. The main minerals in the carbonate rocks are calcite, with small quantities of tremolite and graphite, along with carbonaceous bands in the center. The carbonate rocks exhibit a large scale, measuring approximately 30 m in horizontal width and over 300 m in length and extending vertically for about 500 m in the Mida nephrite deposit.
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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
5 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
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Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 References: |
| ⓘ Diopside Formula: CaMgSi2O6 References: |
| ⓘ Graphite Formula: C References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 References: |
| ⓘ Tremolite Formula: ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 References: |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Graphite | 1.CB.05a | C |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Diopside | 9.DA.15 | CaMgSi2O6 |
| ⓘ | Tremolite | 9.DE.10 | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Graphite | C |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| Mg | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| Ca | ⓘ Tremolite | ◻Ca2Mg5(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
AsiaContinent
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
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References
[1]Jiang, Tianlong, Shi, Guanghai, Ye, Danning, Zhang, Xiaochong, Zhang, Linjing, Han, Hongwei (2023) A New Type of White Nephrite from Limestone Replacement along the Kunlun–Altyn Tagh Mountains: A Case from the Mida Deposit, Qiemo County, Xinjiang, China. Crystals, 13 (12) doi:10.3390/cryst13121677
