The mineralogy collection contains over 26,000 specimens, which form the basis for carrying out activities related to research, dissemination and scientific communication.
The collection is divided into four sub-collections, according to the features of the specimens:
- General mineralogy: made up of the most significant mineral samples. It represents the collection’s greatest cultural heritage. At present, this sub-collection consists of 15,680 registered items and contains over 1,000 well-identified species.
- Micromounts: made up of small mineral samples that require the use of magnifying optical aids (between 20X and 60X) in order to observe them. This sub-collection consists of 9,500 registered items and contains 2,500 identified mineral species, some of which are extremely rare. It is a reference collection for mineral characterisation studies, often related to the description of new species.
- Gemmology: made up of 998 registered items, it includes all the faceted, polished and cut minerals. Worthy of note is the good representation of gemstones from different locations on the Iberian Peninsula.
- Meteorites and related items: made up of 66 registered items. This section contains meteorites, tektites and impactites. It contains specimens from various locations around the world, including samples of historic meteorites in Catalonia, such as those from Terrassa (1704), Nulles (1851), Canyelles (1861) and Garraf (1905).
- Staff
- Projects
- Publications
Museum staff
-
Marc Campeny : mineralogy curator
Collaborators
- Laura Culí: collaborator research projects
- Salvador Rodà: reviewer of the micromounts sub-collection
- Miquel Roquet: collaborator research projects
Projects associated with the collection
With regard to the documentation, conservation and dissemination of the collection, the main projects carried out by the Mineralogy Department are:
- The documentation and characterization of specimens from different sub-collections.
- The conservation and improvement of the protocols related to the preservation of specimens sensitive to environmental conditions, radioactive minerals and asbestos.
- The PangeaDB® Project: the development of a new collection management tool created by the MCNB.
- The dissemination and publication of data associated with the collection’s specimens on online public portals.
- The dissemination and carrying out of activities related to mineralogy and the Earth sciences..
Research projects
Research projects developed in the Mineralogy Department are included in the following continuous lines of research:
“Critical metals for the energy transition”
“Metallogenesis of the Earth’s mantle”
“Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry”
- Díaz-Acha, Y., Campeny, M., Casas, Ll., Di Febo, R., Ibáñez-Insa, J., Jawhari, T., Bosch, J., Borrell, F., Jorge-Villar, S.E., Greneche, J.M., Tauler, E., Melgarejo, J.C., 2022. Colours of Gemmy Phosphates from the Gavà Neolithic Mines (Catalonia, Spain): Origin and Archaeological Significance. Minerals. 12 (3): 368.
- Culí, L., Solé, J., Campeny, M., Oalmann, J.A.G., 2021. High-temperature metamorphic garnets from Grenvillian granulites of southwestern Oaxacan Complex (southern Mexico): petrology, geochemistry, geothermobarometry, and tectonic implications. Minerals. 11 (8): 805.
- Mederos, J., Wang, Y.L., Duque-Valero, S., Campeny, M., 2020. A new fossil species of Trentepohlia (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the Dominican Miocene Zoosystema. 42, 583-592.
- Llovet, X., Proenza, J., Pujol-Solà, N., Farré-De Pablo, J., Campeny, M., 2020. Correction of Secondary Fluorescence Across Phase Boundaries in Electron Probe Microanalysis of Mineral Inclusions. Microscopy and Microanalysis 26, 1-11.
- Díaz-Acha, Y., Campeny, M., Tauler, E., Bosch, J., Melgarejo, J.C., Camprubí, A., 2020. Critical elements in supergene phosphates: the example of the weathering profile at the Gavà Neolithic mines, Catalonia, Spain. Minerals 10, 3.
- Castillo-Oliver, M., Melgarejo, J.C., Torró, L., Villanova-de-Benavent, C., Campeny, M., Díaz-Acha, Y., Amores-Casals, S., Xu, J., Proenza, J.A., Tauler, E., 2020. Sandstone-Hosted Uranium Deposits as a Possible Source for Critical Elements: The Eureka Mine Case, Castell-Estaó, Catalonia. Minerals 10, 34.
- Roqué-Rosell, J., Pinto, A., Marini, C., Prieto-Burgos, J., Groenen, J., Campeny, M., Sciau, P., 2020. Synchrotron XAS study of Mn and Fe in Chinese blue-and-white Ming porcelains from the second half of the 15th century. Ceramics International 47, 2715-2724.
- Llorca, J., Campeny, M., Ibañez-Cortina, N., Allepuz, D., Camarasa, J.M., Aurell-Garrido, J., 2020. The meteorite of Barcelona (1704): history, discovery and classification. Meteoritical and Planetary Sciences 55, 705-725.
- Tauler, E., Xu, J., Campeny, M., Amores, S., Melgarejo, J.C., Martínez, S., Gonçalves, A.O., 2019. A new kaolin deposit in western Africa: mineralogical and compositional features of kaolinite from Caluquembe (Angola). Clays and Clay Minerals 67, 1-16.
- Menéndez, I., Campeny, M., Quevedo-González, L., Mangas, J., Méndez, J., 2019. Distribution of REE-bearing minerals in felsic magmatic rocks and paleosols from Gran Canaria, Spain: intraplate oceanic islands as a new example of potential, non-conventional sources of rare-earth elements. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 204, 270-278.
- Díaz-Acha, Y., Campeny, M., Melgarejo, J.C., Bosch, J., Lehbib, S., Torró, L., Proenza, J.A., Castillo-Oliver, M., Camprubí, A., Villanova-de-Benavent, C., Andreazini, A., Pastor, M., Pujol-Solà, N., Amores, S., Xu, J., Farré, J., 2019. Geological context and origin of the mineralization of the historic and prehistòric iron mines in the Gavà area, Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 71, 321-342.
- Torró, L., Cazorla, M., Melgarejo, J.C., Camprubí, A., Tarrés, M., Gemmrich, L., Campeny, M., Artiaga, D., Torres, B., Martínez, A., Mollinedo, D., Alfonso, P., Arce-Burgoa, O.R., 2019. Indium Mineralization in the Volcanic Dome-Hosted Ánimas–Chocaya–Siete Suyos Polymetallic Deposit, Potosí, Bolivia. Minerals 9, 604.
- Cacho, A., Melgarejo, J.C., Camprubí, A., Torró, L., Castillo-Oliver, M., Torres, B., Artiaga, D., Tauler, E., Martínez, A., Campeny, M., Alfonso, P., Arce-Buroga, O.R., 2019. Mineralogy and Distribution of Critical Elements in the Sn-W-Pb-Ag-Zn Huanuni Deposit, Bolivia. Minerals. 9, 753.
- Díaz-Acha, Y., Melgarejo, J.C., Bosch, J., Andreazini, A., Pastor, M., Pujol-Solà, N., Campeny, M., Torró, L., Villanova-de-Benavent, C., Castillo-Oliver, M., Lehbib, S., Camprubí, A., Proenza, J.A., 2019. The Neolithic variscite mines of Gavà, Catalonia: criteria for mineral exploration and exploitation in the Prehistory. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 71, 295-319.
- Torres, B., Melgarejo, J.C., Torró, L., Camprubí, A., Castillo-Oliver, M., Artiaga, D., Campeny, M., Tauler, E., Jiménez-Franco, A., Alfonso, P., Arce-Buroga, O.R., 2019. The Poopó polymetallic epithermal deposit, Bolivia: Mineralogy, genetic contraints and distribution of critical elements. Minerals 9, 472-499.
- Villanova-de-Benavent, C., Torró, L., Castillo-Oliver, M., Campeny, M., Melgarejo, J.C., Llovet, X., Galí, S., Gonçalves, A.O., 2018. Fe-Ti Oxide Deposits of the Kunene Anorthosite Complex (SW Angola. Mineralogy and Thermo-Oxybarometry. Minerals 7, 246-273.
- Díez-Pastor, J.F., Jorge-Villar, S., Arnaiz-González, A., García-Osorio, C., Díaz-Acha, Y., Campeny, M., Bosch, J., Melgarejo, J.C., 2018. Machine learning algorithms applied to Raman spectra for the identification of variscite originating from the mining complex of Gavà. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 2018-1, 12.
- Campeny, M., Melgarejo, J.C., Mangas, J., Manuel, J., Gonçalves, A.O., 2017. Recent carbonatitic magmatism in Angola: the dykes of the Chiva lagoon maar Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 69, 209-222.
- Giuliani, A., Campeny, M., Kamenetsky, V., Afonso, J., Maas, R., Melgarejo, J.C., Kohn, B., Matchan, E., Mangas, J., Gonçalves, A.O., Manuel, J., 2017. Southwestern Africa on the burner: Pleistocene carbonatite volcanism linked to deep mantle upwelling in Angola. Geology 45, 971-974.
- Xu, J., Campeny, M., Tauler, E., Melgarejo, J.C., Gonçalves, A.O., 2016. Vermiculite expansion through non-artificial processes in pyroclastic carbonatites from Catanda (Angola). Clay Minerals 51, 747-762.
- Campeny, M., Kamenetsky, V., Melgarejo, J.C., Mangas, J., Manuel, J., Alfonso, P., Kamenetsky, M.B., Bambi, A.C.J.M., Gonçalves, A., 2015. Carbonatitic lavas in Catanda (Kwanza Sul, Angola. mineralogical and geochemical constraints on the parental melt. Lithos 232, 1-11.