Jimthompsonite amphibolite
Collection:
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Microscope
Click the microscope button to view a thin section for this sample.
Microscope

Fact sheet

Jimthompsonite amphibolite

This sample is a metamorphosed igneous rock from a ultramafic/mafic complex which outcrops S.W. of Achmelvich in the vicinity of An Fharaid Mhor in NW Scotland. The complex comprises a folded sequence of inter-layered ultramafic, mafic and quartzo-feldspathic gneisses. The ultramafic rocks are composed  mainly of combinations of Ca-amphibole (actinolite or tremolite), talc, chlorite, dolomite and magnetite. The pronounced compositional layering possibly reflecting original igneous layering.

In thin section, the rock contains actinolite amphibole and two rare pyriboles (pyriboles are triple-chain silicate minerals, allied to both pyroxenes and amphiboles). Clinojimthompsonite forms euhedral wedge-shaped overgrowths on actinolite cores. Other associated species are chlorite, calcite and magnetite.

Since the minerals are rare it may help identification to know that rotation 1 is mainly clinojimthompsonite although one part of the central cluster is jimthompsonite.

Map
58.16169, -5.31634
Description:
Near Achmelvich, NW Scotland
Precision:
Moderate
About this collection

The United Kingdom Virtual Microscope (UKVM) collection consists of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from around the UK.

It is intended as a teaching resource, helping to tell the story of the common rock types and how they form, and reflecting the history of the UK at the margins of the continent of Europe. The collection is a series of teaching sets, for example igneous rocks from the North Atlantic Igneous Province and SW England; high-temperature metamorphic rocks from Scotland and low-temperature metamorphic rocks from Wales; and sedimentary rocks, including English limestones and sandstones.

Sample details

Type
metamorphic
Category
amphibolite
Rock-forming mineral
jimthompsonite
clinojimthompsonite
actinolite
Accessory minerals
chlorite
calcite
magnetite
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: