Study on Chemical Compositions and Microstructures of Nephrite from Hetian

The main mineral components, chemical compositions and microstructures of the nephrite samples from Hetian, Xinjiang, are studied by using the field emission scanning electron microscope and compared with the nephrite samples from other localities, such as Qinghai, Liaoning, Henan of China, and Korea.The results indicate that the mineral components, chemical compositions and microstructures of the samples from the different localities have the differences to some degree.The nephrite sample from Hetian contains magnesium chlorite, the nephrite sample from Liaoning Province contains more sphalerite, the nephrite sample from Qinghai Province contains Zr-bearing mineral particles, and the nephrite sample from Henan Province contains La-and Ce-bearing mineral particles.It is very difficult to distinguish where the pure nephrites are from only by their main chemical compositions, but it is functional by their trace elements.Compared with the nephrite samples from other localities, the microstructure of tremolite in nephrite samples from Hetian are more compact and their sizes are smaller.The above information is important to decide where the nephrites come from.