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Friday, 03 September 2010

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Victor Yakovenchuk

Biography

Ph. D. (mineralogy and crystallography), Senior Researcher of Laboratory of Self-Organizing Mineral Systems, the Geological Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Science.
V. N. Yakovenchuk was born on October, 27, 1950 in the village of Zvenigorod, Borshchevsky area, Ternopolsky region, Ukraine. Having finished the Geological Branch of Kamenets-Podolsky Industrial Technical School in 1969, he was assignment to the Far East Complex Prospecting Expedition (Vladivostok), where he got the first practical skills of field work, advanced later by ten years’ work as a member of search-card-making groups of Murmansk Geological-Prospecting Expedition, and then the Central-Kola Prospecting-Surveying Expedition.
In 1982 V.N. Yakovenchuk moved to the Geological Institute of Kola Branch of the Academy of Science USSR, where he is still working today, having made the way from Senior Engineer to Senior Researcher, one of the leaders of modern mineralogy, whose works are widely known all over the world.
In 1989 V.N. Yakovenchuk graduated from the Voronezh State University on a specialty “Geology of ore deposits, exploration and mineral prospecting”, specializing before in mineralogy of alkali-granite pegmatite. But being a passionate collector he spent all his spare time studying the Khibiny minerals. Scrupulous studying of these minerals gave him opportunity, across with his basic scientific activity, to prepare and defend the PhD thesis “Mineralogy and origin of carbonates in hydrothermal veins of Kukisvumchorr apatite deposit (the Khibiny massif)” on a specialty “Mineralogy, Crystallography” in St. Petersburg State University.
Within the next 10 years of active studying of mineralogy of the Khibiny, Lovozero and Kovdor massifs V.N. Yakovenchuk published four books (“Minerals of Kovdor”, “Minerals of the Khibiny massif”, “Kovdor”, “Khibiny”) and more than 50 articles in leading scientific journals, including the description of 13 new mineral species discovered by him: ankilite-(La), armbrusterite, cerite-(La), chlorbartonite, isolueshite, kukharenkoite-(Ce), kukisvumite, tuliokite, (Khibiny), chivruaiite, krivovichevite (Lovozero), henrymeyerite, juonniite, pakhomovskyite (Kovdor). Nearly all minerals of these massifs have been investigated anew, with use of modern methods of research, including about 150 minerals, first found here by V.N. Yakovenchuk and his colleagues.
Yakovenchuk’s last works are dedicated to the studying of titanium- and zirconium-rich silicates of alkaline metals with cation-exchange and nonlineal optical properties, minerals– molecular sieves and unusual minerals, crystal structure of which made of nanotubes and nanoclusters. His works are dedicated to processes of self-organization of mineral substance are well-known, such as: dedicated to formation of dendrites and skeletal crystals, zone-ring structures of oxidation, percolating clusters, spiral crystals etc.
Yakovenchuk’s contribution to studying of mineralogy of the Kola Peninsula is deservedly reflected in the name of a new rare-earth silicate yakovenchukite-(Y) from hydrothermalites of Mt. Kukisvumchorr in the Khibiny, approved by CNM IMA in 2006.

Yakov Pakhomovsky

Biography

Ph. D. (mineralogy and crystallography), Head of the Laboratory of Physical Methods of Rocks, Ores and Minerals Investigation, the Geological Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Science, Apatity, Russia.
Ya. A. Pakhomovsky was born on July, 26, 1948 in Kandalaksha, Murmansk Region. In 1972 he graduated from the Physical Department of Leningrad State University on a specialty “physics of solid state,” and found a job at the laboratory of physical methods of investigation at Geological Institute, Kola branch of Academy of Science of USSR. Having quickly mastered one of the first X-ray microprobe MS-46 “Cameca”, Ya.A. Pakhomovsky became the real expert of microprobe analysis and was able to define most complex substances. This immediately made him an irreplaceable person in studying mineralogy of alkaline rocks and granitic pegmatites of Kola Peninsula and Karelia with their hydrous rare-metal minerals.
However the analysis, even the most refined, didn’t limit the young physicist’s interests, and he began active geological and mineralogical studying in one of the most difficult objects of the Kola Peninsula – granite and amazonite pegmatites. First with assistance, then equal in rights in cooperation with A. V. Voloshin, leading expert in mineralogy of these pegmatites, Ya. A. Pakhomovsky participated in annual field expeditions and following laboratory works. Within 10 years of active studying of these pegmatites more than 20 minerals were discovered with his direct assistance: alumotantite, calciotantite, cesplumtantite, cesstibtantite, clinobehoite, ftuorthalenite-(Y), hingganite-(Yb), irtyshite, keiviite-(Y), keiviite-(Yb), koragoite, kuliokite-(Y), lithiotantite, lithiowodginite, lun’okite, manganosegelerite, natrobistantite, natrotantite, sosedkoite, tantite, tusionite and vyuntspakhkite-(Y).
Their detailed characteristic made a base of his Ph. D. thesis “Mineralogy of tantalum and niobium in rare-metal pegmatites of Northwest of USSR”, brilliantly defended in 1985 at Leningrad State University.
In 1988 Ya. A. Pakhomovsky became Head of the Laboratory of Physical Methods of Investigation of Rocks, Ores and Minerals, and now methodical supervision of not only local X-ray microprobe, but also X-ray fluorescent and X-ray structure methods of investigation of substance were in a circle of his duties.
Works at deposits of alkaline-granite pegmatites at that time were gradually reduced, and in the early 1990s Ya.A. Pakhomovsky collaborated with V.N. Yakovenchuk, S.N. Britvin, Yu.P. Men’shikov, V.V. Subbotin and G.Yu. Ivanyuk, an informal task group later transformed in the company “Laplandia Minerals”. Alkaline and alkaline ultrabasic massifs with carbonatites became the main objects of investigation of the company. Between 1990 to 2006, the following minerals were discovered with his efforts in specified complexes: ancylite-(La), armbrusterite, bakhchisaraitsevite, bel’kovite, cerite-(La), chivruaiite, chlorbartonite, henrymeyerite, girvasite, gladiusite juonniite, komkovite, krasnovite, krivovichevite, kukharenkoite-(Ce), kukisvumite, rimkorol’gite, strontsiowhitlockite, ternovite, tuliokite, tumchaite, vuoriyarvite-K. And the total number of the minerals ran up to 50.
Ya.A. Pakhomovsky is the author of more than 200 scientific works, including 5 monographs: “Minerals and evolution of mineral formation in amazonite pegmatites of the Kola Peninsula” (1986), “Mineralogy of tantalum and niobium in rare-metal pegmatites” (1988), “Minerals of the Khibiny massif” (1999), “Kovdor” (2002), “Khibiny” (2005).
Recently discovered in carbonatite veins of the Kovdor massif pakhomovskyite, a cobalt analogue of vivianite, was named in honour of Ya.A. Pakhomovsky.

Yuriy Menshikov

Biography

Researcher of the Laboratory of Physical Methods of Rocks, Ores and Minerals Investigation, the Geological Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Science, Apatity, Russia.
Yu. P. Men'shikov was born in 1934 in Saida-Guba village, Polarny area, Leningradsky region. Having finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Kirovsky Mining and Chemical Technical School. He completed successfully the school in 1954 on a specialty “ prospecting boring”. By assignment Yu.P. Men’shikov went to Estonia and started working in the all-year-round meliorative group. Working in winter bogs undermined health of young specialist’s so he was sent to the “health resort”: seasonal work on the Mangyshlak Lake. After military service Yu. P. Men’shikov returned to the North and got fixed up in a tunnel group that was engaged in the lining of the well-known “Material’naya” stulm at Mt. Yuksporr, and he gave a good account of himself. But his interests were far from this work, and in 1958 he became the laboratory assistant of Geological Institute of Kola Branch of Academy of Science of USSR. It has been his only work station since that time. Since 1964 Yu. P. Men’shikov works in a group of X-ray structure analysis of the Laboratory of Physical Methods of Rocks, Ores and Minerals Investigation. He became an irreplaceable specialist, a real expert in X-ray structure analysis. With his direct assistance 44 new minerals were discovered: alumotantite, ancylite-(La), armbrusterite, belovite-(La), bornemanite, bussenite, bykovaite, cerite-(La), cesstibtantite, chivruaiite, chlorbartonite, denisovite, edgarite, ershovite, eveslogite, ferronikelplatinum, hingganite-(Yb), inagliite, kolfanite, komkovite, konderite, krivovichevite, kuproiridsite, kuprorodsite, lovdarite, nabaphite, naphoite, natisite, natrosilite, natrotantite, oulankaite, padmaite, penkvilksite, perlialite, raite, shkatulkalite, sitinakite, sosedkoite, sorosite, ternovite, vozhminite, vuonnemite, vyuntspakhkite-(Y) and zorite.
In 1971 Yu.P. Men’shikov graduated from Perm State University on a specialty “engineer-geologist”, which gave him an opportunity to solve not only mineralogical but also geological search tasks. In 1975 for the first time he discovered a wide distribution of corundum mineralization in the Khibiny Massif and recommendations for the extraction of sapphires were made. In 1985-1990s he first established areal of distribution of kalsilite-bearing rocks in the Khibiny and developed the technique of quantitative determination of kalsilite using X-ray technique. During these years a new type of rare-metal (loparite) mineralization was discovered with his energetic assistance.
Yu. P. Men’shikov is the author of more than 80 papers and 2 books on mineralogy of the Khibiny massif: “Minerals of the Khibiny massif” (1999) and “Khibiny” (2005). One of Men’shikov’s numerous team-mates, A. Yu. Barkov named a new mineral men’shikovite in honor of Yu. P. Men’shikov.

Gregory Ivanyuk

Biography

Ph.D. (mineralogy and crystallography), Dr. Sci. (mineralogy and crystallography, petrology and volcanology). Head of Laboratory of Self-Organizing Mineral Systems, the Geological Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Science, Apatity, Russia.
G. Yu. Ivanyuk was born on February, 23, 1966 in Perm, Russia. In 1983 he finished secondary physical and mathematical school no. 9 in Perm and entered the Geological Department of Leningrad State University. During the first courses Ivanyuk studied mineralogy of charoite-bearing deposit “The Lilac Stone” under the leadership by M. D. Evdokimov. Later magnetite, the principal ore constituent of Banded Iron-Formation of the Kola Peninsula, became the object of his graduation research. In the course of this work, G.Yu.Ivanyuk, together with Professor of S.I.Vavilov State Optical Institute, M. G. Tomilin, invented the method of studying of magnetic substances using nematic liquid crystals. This method allowed him to get, under the leadership of Professor A. G. Bulah, new data with reference to the nature of striation and plication of iron quartzites.
The work related to studying of magnetite were continued by G. Yu. Ivanyuk, under the leadership of profs A. G. Bulah and P. M. Goryainov, in internal postgraduate study at the Kola Branch of Academy of Science of USSR. The result of the work was Ph.D. thesis “Magnetite of iron quartzites of the Kola Peninsula”, defended on a specialty “Mineralogy, Crystallography” in 1992 at St. Petersburg State University.
Active studying of iron-ore formation from the position of theory of self-organization is continued after presentation of Ph.D. thesis, and within the following 10 years Ivanyuk published more than 60 works relative to geological self-organization, formation of regular structures of different nature, geological fractals, determined-chaotic dynamics of ore systems (including 2 monographs: “Introduction in nonlinear geology” and “Self-organization of mineral systems”). Natural result of this stage of searches was presentation of doctoral thesis “Mineralogy and petrology of Banded Iron-Formation of the Kola Peninsula” on specialties “Mineralogy, Crystallography” and “Petrology, Volcanology” at St. Petersburg State University in 2004.
During research of processes of self-organization in mineral systems G.Yu.Ivanyuk had to consistently expand the range of objects, to which, first of all, had alkaline and alkaline-ultrabasic massifs of the Kola Peninsula (Khibiny, Lovozero, Kovdor) with their unique deposits of phosphorus, iron, zirconium, niobium and rare-earth elements. On the basis of results of study of these massifs, Ivanyuk and his colleagues published 4 books (“Minerals of Kovdor”, “Minerals of the Khibiny massif”, “Kovdor”, “Khibiny”) which received critical acclaim from leading scientists all over the world.
Long-term enthusiasm on painting, photograph and computer design, as a matter of fact, has recently merged with Ivanyuk’s professional scientific activity, having allowed him, together with V.N. Yakovenchuk and Ya.A. Pakhomovsky, to organize a book-publishing firm “Laplandia Minerals”. Beside the listed above monographs on geology and mineralogy, the firm prepared a number of books about the nature of the Kola Peninsula (“Splendor of Khibiny”, “Botanical excursions in the Khibiny and Lovozero mountains” ) and history of industrial development (“Apatit” – from century to century”).

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