Mössbauer studies of raw materials from Misti volcano of Arequipa (Peru) for its potential application in the ceramic field

We would like to introduce, the study of two different colour "sillar" samples: white and pink, belonging to the Añashuayco quarry in the Arequipa Region (Peru). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates the presence of several mineralogical phases, such as feldpars and biotite for the both white and pink "sillar" whereas cristobalite and quartz are detected only in the first sample and amorphous phase in the second one. In room temperature, Mössbauer spectroscopy, the presence of hematite (α-Fe2O3) was detected as the main phase for both samples, this was not detected in the XRD measurements. Moreover, corresponding doublets in the Mössbauer spectra indicate the presence of iron in the aluminium-silicate minerals. The rates Fe2∈+∈/Fe 3∈+∈ are 0.0752 and 0.0526 to the white and pink samples respectively. The minerals composing the white tuff form a heterogeneous aggregate of uniform aspect. Mining of these materials generates a great amount of waste in the form of lumps of varying size and which are raw materials studied in the present work for potential application in the ceramic field. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.