Gemmological and Mineralogical Characteristics of Turquoise from Tongling, Anhui Province

In this paper, the mineral componets of the different forms of turquoise (plate-shaped, grain-shaped, loose ball-shaped) from Zongyang County, Tongling, Anhui Province were analyzed by EDXRF, LA-ICP-MS and XRD, as well as infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The report determined the contents of major and trace elements of the turquoise samples from Tongling, Anhui Province by means of EDXRF and LA-ICP-MS, and their major elements vary with morphology. The content of Ba element in turquoise samples from Tongling, Anhui Province is different from that from Ma'anshan, Anhui Province. The infrared spectra showed that the vibrational spectra peak at 3 510, 3 466, 3 289, 3 077, 1 646, 1 126, 1 071, 1 014, 900, 839, 652, 588, 491, 434 cm^-1. It was determined that paragenetic mineral concludes quartz, anatase and barite by the means of Raman spectra; and according to XRD testing result, the structure of grain-shaped and plate-shaped turquoise samples' surrounding rock are illite, quartz, feldspar and kaolin, and the kaolin only existes in the turquoise surrounding rock of grain-shaped turquoise samples. Combined with the regional stratigraphic characteristics of Tongling area, it is determined that the surrounding rock lithology is clayey silt.