User:Zaighamalavi/sandbox

Article for review: STILLWATER IGNEOUS COMPLEX

Clarity

The clarity of this article is somewhat low. Firstly, there is not a lot of information on the Stillwater Igneous Complex and the information that IS present is to very thoroughly explained.

Structure

As stated in the Clarity section, there is not a lot of information present, so the structure for this article cannot be fully assesed.

Balanced Coverage

This article only discusses the Geology and the Orebodies that are present in the Complex. There isn't really any coverage to begin with.

Neutrality

The article is very neutral in the information that it provides. However the information is low so there really isn't any room for bias.

Talk Page

The talk page for this article is empty.

Sources

The sources for this article are very poor. Citations do not have links to them and most of the sources provided are very old dating back to 1933. An citation that could be useful for this article is "Jones, W. R., Peoples, J. W., & Howland, A. L. (1960). Igneous and tectonic structures of the Stillwater Complex, Montana. US Government Printing Office." However this article is also fairly old (1960) but other sources may exist that are more recent in date.

Suggestions for improvement

This article has more weaknesses than it does strengths. There is very little information present in this article. The main points are addressed but they are very weak and too few. Some suggestions for this article would be to add more information on the geology of the Complex, information on the structures present in the Complex, as well as some industrial uses for this Complex.

ADDING TO AN ARTICLE

Added to the Geography section to the Stillwater Igneous Complex article: ''The complex contains Paleozoic sedimentary rocks on its northern side and contains Precambrian rocks of granite, granite gneiss and schist on its southern side. The Precambrian rock on its southern side is mostly provided by the Beartooth Mountains.''

Added a reference as well: ''"Igneous and tectonic structures of the Stillwater complex, Montana". 1960.''

START DRAFTING YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS

Started contributing to the Chromite article

This article needs improvement in many aspects. It is very bare when describing the properties of chromite and very briefly explains it's occurrences. The reason that adding a properties section for this article is important is because when people are searching for chromite, it is essential to explain what chromite is and what its properties are. This will significantly improve the article because the mineral will be fully explained and will have details behind what makes this mineral and its physical and chemical properties. Also, information on the deposit location of this mineral will also add significance to the article as a physical distribution is important when discussing where this mineral is most abundant.

Some sources that could help in improving this article and that could help in adding information to the sections listed above are:

https://materials.springer.com/isp/crystallographic/docs/sd_1714529

https://www.pmfias.com/copper-nickel-chromite-distribution/

Bondioli, F., Ferrari, A. M., Leonelli, C. and Manfredini, T. (2008). Chromite as a Pigment for Fast‐Fired Porcelain Tiles. In 98th Annual Meeting and the Ceramic Manufacturing Council's Workshop and Exposition: Materials & Equipment/Whitewares: Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings, R. K. Wood (Ed.). doi:10.1002/9780470294420.ch6   (this reference talks about an application that can be used by using chromite)

In this sandbox, I will add a contribution in the form of an application section. The original article has a Uses section but doesn't contain any applications of chromite that can be used. I will use information from the Uses section of the article as well as the source listed above to get information from:

Applications
Chromite can be used as a refractory material, because of its high heat stability.

Porcelain Tile Pigmentation
Porcelain tiles are often produced with many different colours and pigmentations. The usual contributor to colour in fast-fired porcelain tiles are black (Fe,Cr)2O3 pigment, which is fairly expensive and is synthetic. Natural chromite allows for an inexpensive and inorganic pigmentation alternative to the expensive (Fe,Cr)2O3 and allows for the microstructure and mechanical properties of the tiles to not be substantially altered or modified when introduced.

WORK TO BE MOVED TO CHROMITE ARTICLE (this section contains information from the already produced chromite article as well as my new information)
Chromite is a mineral and can be described as an iron chromium oxide, with a chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite (MgCr2O4). A substitution of the element aluminium can also occur, leading to form hercynite (FeAl2O4). Chromite today is mined particularly to make stainless steel through the production of ferrochrome (FeCr), which is an iron-chromium alloy.

Chromite grains are commonly found in large mafic intrusions such as the Bushveld Tranvancore in India. Chromite is iron-black in colour with a metallic lustre and a dark brown streak.

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Properties
Chromite minerals are mainly found in mafic-ultramafic igneous intrusions. The chromite minerals occur in layered formations that can be hundreds of kilometres long and a few meters thick. Chromite is also common in iron meteorites and form in association with silicates and troilite minerals.

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Crystal Structure
The chemical composition of chromite is Fe2+Cr3+2O4. Chromite, when presented as an ore, or in massive form, forms as fine granular aggregates. The structure of the ore can be seen as platy, with breakages along planes of weakness. Chromite can also be presented in a thin section. The grains seen in thin sections are disseminated with crystals that are euhedral to subhedral.

Chromite contains Mg, ferric iron [Fe(III)], Al and trace amounts of Ti. Chromite can change into different minerals based on the amounts of each element in the mineral.

Chromite is a part of the spinel group, which means that it is able to form a complete solid solution series with other members in the same group. These include minerals such as Chenmingite (FeCr2O4), Xieite (FeCr2O4), Magnesiochromite (MgCr2O4) and Magnetite (Fe2+Fe3+2O4). Chenmingite and Xieite are polymorphs of chromite while Magnesiochromite and Magnetite are isostructural with chromite.

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Crystal Size and Morphology
Chromite occurs as massive and granular crystals and very rarely as octahedral crystals. Twinning for this mineral occurs on the {III} plane as described by the spinel law.

Grains of minerals are generally small in size. However chromite grains up to 3 cm have been found. These grains are seen to crystallize from the liquid of a meteorite body where there are low amounts of Cr and O. The large grains are associated with stable supersaturated conditions seen from the meteorite body.

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Reactions
Chromite is an important mineral in helping to determine the conditions that rocks form. It can have reactions with various gases such as CO and CO2. The reaction the between these gases and the solid chromite grains results in the reduction of the chromite and allows for the formation of iron and chromium alloys. There could also be a formation of metal carbides from the interacting with chromite and the gases.

Chromite is seen to form early in the crystallization process. This allows for chromite to be resistant to alteration effects of high temperatures and pressures. It is able to progress through the metamorphic series unaltered. Other minerals with a lower resistance are seen to alter in this series to minerals such as serpentine, biotite and garnet.

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Distribution of deposits
Chromite is found in large quantities that is available for commercial mining. The chromite minerals are found in 2 main deposits, which are stratiform deposits and podiform deposits. Stratiform deposits in layered intrusions are the main source of chromite resources and are seen in countries such as South Africa, Canada, Finland, and Madagascar. Chromite resources from podiform deposits are mainly found in Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Albania. Zimbabwe is the only country that can obtain chromite resources from both stratiform and podiform deposits.

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Stratiform deposits
Stratiform deposits are formed as large sheet-like bodies, usually formed in layered mafic to ultramafic igneous complexes. This type of deposit is used to obtain 98% of the worldwide chromite reserves.

Stratiform deposits are typically seen to be of Precambrian in age and are found in cratons. The mafic to ultramafic igneous provinces that these deposits are formed in were likely intruded into continental crust, which may have contained granites or gneisses. The shapes of these intrusions are described as tabular or funnel-shaped. The tabular intrusions were placed in the form of sills with the layering of these intrusions being parallel. Examples of these tabular intrusions can be seen in the Stillwater Igneous Complex and Bird River. The funnel-shaped intrusions are seen to be dipping towards the center of the intrusion. This gives the layers in this intrusion a syncline formation. Examples of this type of intrusion can be seen in the Bushveld Igneous Complex and the Great Dyke.

Chromite can be seen in stratiform deposits as multiple layers which consist of chromitite. Thicknesses for these layers range between 1 cm to 1 m. Lateral depths can reach lengths of 70 km. Chromitite is the main rock in these layers, with 50-95% of it being made of chromite and the rest being composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and the various alteration products of these minerals. An indication of water in the magma is by the presence of brown mica.

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Podiform deposits
Podiform deposits are seen to occur within the ophiolite sequences. The stratigraphy of the ophiolite sequence is deep-ocean sediments, pillow lavas, sheeted dykes, gabbros and ultramafic tectonites.

These deposits are found in ultramafic rocks, most notably in tectonites. It is seen that the abundance of podiform deposits increase towards the top of the tectonites.

Podiform deposits are irregular in shape. "Pod" is term given by geologists to express the uncertain morphology of this deposit. This deposit shows foliation that is parallel to the foliation of the host rock. Podiform deposits are described as discordant, subconcordant and concordant. Chromite in podiform deposits from as anhedral grains. The ores seen in this type of deposit have nodular texture and are loosely-packed nodules with a size range of 5-20 mm. Other minerals that are seen in this type of deposit are olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, pargasite, Na-mica, albite, and jadeite.

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Health effects
Chromite ore can be mined to produce chromite concentrate. It can also be crushed and processed. Chromite concentrate, when combined with a reductant such as coal or coke and a high temperature furnace can produce ferrochrome. Ferrochrome is a type of ferroalloy that is an alloy in between chromium and iron. This ferroalloy, as well as chromite concentrate introduce various health effects.

Chromite ore is found in underground conditions. Therefore, when exposed to aboveground conditions, various effects will occur. Some of these effects include weathering and oxidation. The element chromium is most abundant in chromite in the form of trivalent (Cr-III) chromium. When chromite ore is exposed to aboveground conditions, Cr-III can be converted to Cr-VI, which is the hexavalent state of chromium. Cr-VI is produced from Cr-III by means of dry milling or grinding of the ore. This mostly has to do with the moistness of the milling process as well as the atmosphere in which the milling is taking place. A wet environment and a non-oxygenated atmosphere are ideal conditions to produce less Cr-VI, while the opposite is known to create more Cr-VI.

Production of ferrochrome is observed to omit pollutants into the air such as nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides and sulfur oxides, as well as dust particulates with a high concentration of heavy metals such as chromium, zinc, lead, nickel and cadmium. During high temperature smelting of chromite ore to produce ferrochrome, Cr-III is converted to Cr-VI. As with chromite ore, ferrochrome is milled and therefore produces Cr-VI. Cr-VI is therefore introduced into the dust when the ferrochrome is produced. This introduces health risks such as inhalation potential and leaching of toxins into the environment.

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Applications
Chromite can be used as a refractory material, because of its high heat stability.

Porcelain tile pigmentation
Porcelain tiles are often produced with many different colours and pigmentations. The usual contributor to colour in fast-fired porcelain tiles are black (Fe,Cr)2O3 pigment, which is fairly expensive and is synthetic. Natural chromite allows for an inexpensive and inorganic pigmentation alternative to the expensive (Fe,Cr)2O3 and allows for the microstructure and mechanical properties of the tiles to not be substantially altered or modified when introduced.

Stainless steel manufacturing
Chromium, which is mostly composed of chromite, is a main constituent in the manufacturing of stainless steel. Stainless steel contains 18% chromium. Chromium allows for the stainless steel to be hardened and toughened. It also allows for corrosion resistance at high temperatures. 90% of mined chromite ore is used for stainless steel production. Chromite ore production has been on a steady incline, which causes a rise in demand for the stainless steel markets.

Nichrome alloys
Chromite, when alloyed with iron and nickel creates an alloy called nichrome. Nichrome is described as being 80% nickel and 20% chromium. Due to the alloys that make nichrome, nichrome is seen to be heat resistant up to temperatures of 1250°C (2282°F). Due to the high heat resistance of nichrome, it is mainly used for heating units. Nichrome alloys also have very good mechanical properties which allow for good oxidation and corrosion properties.

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Gallery of chromite samples
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Critiquing articles
Throughout my progression for this assignment, I learned many things about Wikipedia that I had not known before. One of the things that I learned was that there were lots of tools provided by Wikipedia to help assist in creating and modifying articles. These tools include the citation tool, the linking tool and the database of images that are in the Wikipedia Commons. Another thing that I learned was that of the sandbox. I believe the sandbox is a very useful tool in that it helps to assist in making drafts and edits before officially adding them to the Wikipedia article. I believe that that is very helpful because it allows for the existing Wikipedia article to be up to standard while edits are done in the sandbox.

The article I chose to critique and better was that of Chromite. In our instructions for choosing a Wikipedia article, we were advised to "choose one element or commodity and either make substantial edits to or write entirely new sections of the Wikipedia articles on that subject." Having this in mind, I looked through the various articles on Wikipedia that related to both elements and commodities. After my search, I deemed the article Chromite to be my chosen article. This was because there was very little information on the article and I thought that I would be able to contribute more information to it.

At first I was uncertain as to what exactly I should add to my article. I then decided to look at other articles of other elements and see what was used in those articles. I then decided that the information that I had added was consistent with many other articles on Wikipedia and added greatly to the knowledge that is needed when looking at chromite.

Summarizing your contributions
The edits that I had made to the chromite article were very extensive. I added a lot of information that was previously not included. Such additions include properties (crystal structure, size, reactions), where deposits are located as well as what kind of deposits they are found in, health effects, applications of the mineral and images of the mineral. The reason I added these additions were because they are critical when one is interested in searching about chromite. The properties of this mineral were not stated in earlier versions and I believe that they should be because they set a baseline in explaining what this mineral is and how it forms. The deposits section was to explain in what deposits this mineral forms and where in the world it is mined and can be found. Health effect were also important in my opinion because it addresses the effects this mineral has on humans and the environment. The applications of the mineral were also important because it goes into a broader look at this mineral and not just in its scientific properties. The images for the mineral was also important because I believe it is easier to understand and absorb knowledge when visuals are provided. Compared to the earlier versions of this article, I believe that my version adds significantly more information and provides more context for the mineral.

Peer review
During our assignment we were instructed to do a peer review of 2 different articles. When I did my peer reviews, I tried to address a couple main factors. These factors included the structure of the lead section of the article, the balance of the sections, the neutrality of the information and the sources. I believe that these are important factors when looking and critiquing a Wikipedia article.

When my peers reviewed my article, they suggested many things that were very essential in making my Wikipedia article a good one. These suggestions were to use sources that were not dated too far back and to adjust the information to an audience that is not completely familiar with the science behind chromite so that a wide range of people can use the information in my article as well as understand it.

Feedback
I did receive feedback from one other Wikipedia editor, whose name is User:Vsmith. This editor addressed me of some issues with the Wikipedia article that I edited. Such issues were that I included a link to another article in my "See also" section when it was already linked to that article in the body of my article. I responded to this editors suggestion in the talk page of the chromite article and changed it in the article itself. I also noticed that various changes had been made by this editor to the article by looking at the "View history" tab on the chromite article. I thanked the user for the changes as they helped the article and fixed issues such as redundancies.

Wikipedia generally
I feel like I learned a lot during this assignment. I learned about the strict rules that need to be followed in order to make an acceptable Wikipedia article. I also learned about the millions of articles there are in the Wikipedia database.

This Wikipedia assignment is very different from other assignments that I have done in the past. Reasons for this are that this is the first assignment that is seen by millions of people around the world and can be used for interaction with them as well.

Wikipedia can be used to improve public understanding of my field, which is Earth Sciences, by adding more relevant topics on this field of study and by improving already existing articles to help convey correct information to those looking into this field.