Mineralogy

The collections that are held by the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, Belgium) include three collections of specimens, which are registered and stored separately: mineral, rock and fossil collections. The Geology department also houses large collections of maps and aerial photographs, as well as archives related to ore prospection, mining and geological research, both with a strong focus on Central Africa.

This book deals specifically with the mineral collection. It provides some information about the history, composition, and use of the collection, and some background information about the geological context of mineral occurrences in Central Africa. The main part of the book consists of a presentation of groups of minerals that are significant for the region. Central Africa is widely known to show a great abundance and variety of mineral occurrences, including deposits of significant economic value and comprising several localities that have produced mineral specimens of considerable aesthetic quality.

Dr. Florias Mees is a geologist, working at the Royal Museum for Central Africa as researcher and curator since 2007. As a researcher, he has published on a range of subjects, generally using mineralogical characteristics as important source of information. As curator, he is responsible for the collections of the Geology Department. He was in charge of creating the mineral exhibit that is part of the current permanent exposition of the museum, which was installed in 2018.

À commencer par le trona (1773) et le préhnite (1788), un grand nombre d'espèces minérales ont été décrites à partir de spécimens provenant de localités africaines, dont de fameux sites miniers tels que Tsumeb, en Namibie, et Shinkolobwe, en RD Congo. Cet ouvrage offre une première révision systématique, axée sur l'historique de leur description, des minéraux dont la localité type se situe en Afrique. Il reprend, organisés par pays, tous les minéraux valides, ainsi que les minéraux non valides, les composés non nommés à potentiel d'espèces minérales, et les minéraux dont la localité type n'est pas africaine mais dont l'historique de description comprend une étude de spécimens africains. Trois annexes étendent la révision aux minéraux décrits pour les météorites trouvés en Afrique, à la minéralogie type des territoires insulaires d'États non africains, et aux types de roches définis pour des localités africaines. Partout, le livre vise à attirer l'attention sur la minéralogie type des pays africains en tant qu'aspect spécifique de leur héritage naturel, qui mériterait d'être plus largement connu.

Le Dr Florias Mees est un géologue travaillant au Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale depuis 2007. En sa qualité de chercheur, ses publications portent sur toute une série de sujets, utilisant généralement des caractéristiques minéralogiques comme importante source d'informations ; parallèlement, en tant que conservateur, il est responsable des collections du département de géologie de l'institution. Il a notamment été chargé de la création de la partie minérale de l'exposition permanente actuelle du musée, installée en 2018.

Starting with trona (1773) and prehnite (1788), many minerals have been described as new species for localities in Africa, including some famous mining sites such as Tsumeb in Namibia and Shinkolobwe in the DR Congo. This book offers a first systematic review of minerals with African type localities, focusing on the history of their description. Organized by country, all valid minerals are covered, but also non valid minerals, unnamed compounds with mineral species potential, and minerals with non-African type localities whose description history involves the study of specimens from Africa. Three annexes extend the review to minerals described for meteorites found in Africa, to the type mineralogy of island territories of non-African nations, and to named rock types defined for African localities. Overall, the book aims to draw attention to the type mineralogy of African countries as a specific aspect of their natural heritage, which deserves to be more widely known.

Dr. Florias Mees is a geologist, working at the Royal Museum for Central Africa as researcher and curator since 2007. As a researcher, he has published on a range of subjects, generally using mineralogical characteristics as important source of information. As curator, he is responsible for the collections of the Geology Department. He was in charge of creating the mineral exhibit that is part of the current permanent exposition of the museum, which was installed in 2018.