WinEudclas, a Windows program for eudialyte-group minerals

Abstract

A Microsoft® Visual Basic software, WinEudclas, has been developed to calculate the chemical compositions of eudialyte-group minerals based on data obtained from wet-chemical and electron-microprobe analyses. WinEudclas currently evaluates 32 valid mineral species using the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMMC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) nomenclature scheme for the eudialyte-group minerals, with the general formula [N(1)N(2)N(3)N(4)N(5)]₃M1₆M2₃M3M4Z₃(Si₉O₂₇)₂(Si₃O₉)₂Ø_4-6X1X2. The program recalculates and estimates the chemical formulas of eudialyte-group species based on 72 oxygen atoms, with the total of Si+Al+Ti+Zr+Hf+Nb+Ta+W = 29 atoms per formula unit normalization approach. WinEudclas operates in five stages: (1) it estimates cation and anion contents provided by input chemical data; (2) it determines the zirconium- and zirconium-titanium eudialytes; (3) it assigns the Ca-rich and Ca-poor eudialytes; (4) it specifies the eudialyte subgroups and eudialyte series along with various variants; and (5) it classifies the eudialyte-group species into an appropriate group and series such as ferrokentbrooksite subgroup and feklichevite series. WinEudclas allows users to: (1) enter up to 40 input variables for mineral-chemical analyses; (2) type and load multiple eudialyte group mineral compositions in the data entry section; (3) edit and load the Microsoft® Excel files used in calculating, classifying, and naming the eudialyte-group minerals, and (4) store all the calculated parameters in the output of a Microsoft® Excel file for further data evaluations. The program is distributed as a self-extracting setup file, including the necessary support files used by the program, a help file, and representative sample data files.