Abstract
THE ferromagnetism of cassiterite, a widely occurring mineral consisting essentially of stannic oxide (SnO2), is commonly thought to be due to the small quantities of iron impurity present (less than 1 per cent by weight)1–3. We present here Mössbauer spectra from several samples of cassiterite, taken from widely different geographic locations, which show that either Fe2+ or Fe3+ can occur in dark magnetic cassiterites, contrary to inference from previous observations2,4. Further, by measuring 57Fe Mössbauer absorption as a function of temperature and magnetic field, we have deduced that the magnetic impurity in cassiterite occurs as a superparamagnetic precipitate in a wide range of particle sizes, down to spheres of a few tens of Ångstroms diameter. Finely divided particles in iron–manganese nodules have recently been found to behave in a similar way5.
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BANERJEE, S., JOHNSON, C. & KRS, M. Mossbauer Study to find the Origin of Weak Ferromagnetism in Cassiterite. Nature 225, 173–175 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225173a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225173a0
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